Spoils of Victory

When I awoke after the fight, the first thing I heard was the sound of Satori playfully jabbing at someone.

“Hey, hey, Rentarou, are you even trying?”

“Stand still, and then I can hit you!”

“Nope! That defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?”

I sat up to see what was really happening, and I saw Rentarou and Satori fighting. At least, it should’ve been a fight, but it seemed to be more of a game of tag that Satori was obviously winning.

I turned to my side to see what else was around me, and I saw Hinako next to me. She was silently holding her hands together, close to her mouth as if she was praying. I scooted slightly closer to her to see if I could hear what she was saying, and I could; she was muttering one phrase without end: “Please don’t get hurt.”

Oh… she was worried about Rentarou. I’m not sure why, but that realization caused me to burst out in laughter. When I did, Hinako nearly jumped out of her seat. And that reaction only caused me to laugh more.

“W-W-Why are you laughing?”

“No reason. No reason at all.” I stood up after I said that, but my legs were still shaking after that fight. “Anyway, where’s Yukimura?”

Before Hinako could answer, Takeda, who was sitting on the other side of her, answered for her. “Suki went back inside to rest.”

“Okay, then I’ll go back and rest in the hotel, too.”

“Oh, so you don’t want your prize?” Takeda’s question made me halt my approach to the door. Prize?

“What prize are you talking about? I lost the fight.”

“You may have lost the fight. But the effort you put into preparing for this fight was good. I can tell you’ve started to grasp the reins on the K-word inside of you. So, ask me one question, and I’ll answer it to the best of my ability. Anything you want?”

Anything… I want? Then, I can ask anything about Yukimura? I can ask about what she likes to do… or her favorite hobbies… or even her… Wait, no. I can find that stuff out by being around Yukimura more. I need to ask a question that only Takeda knows the answer to… something important… something… like grandma.

Takeda waited as I straightened out my thoughts to ask him, “Was my grandmother an Onmyoji?” I looked at him in the face as I asked this, and I could see a small but evident smirk on his face as he answered.

“Yes, she was.”

“What type of Onmyoji was she?”

“She was a kind one. You know the one that helped Rentarou out when he was younger? That was her, and—” Before Takeda could finish, Hinako broke into the conversation.

“Are you talking about Teacher? She was the best! She was amazing too! She taught me everything I know about sealing! And… I-I-I’m probably talking too much, aren’t I?” Hinako calmed her own burst of excitement, and that caused me to laugh even more.

I’m just glad to know what my grandmother was. I was going to ask her myself that day if I had the chance to.

“Thank you for indulging me, Takeda and Hinako.” It’s not like I can ask him about the voice I heard earlier. I bowed before taking my leave for the hotel. However, before I could exit the colosseum, Takeda said one last thing.

“Shin, don’t be late to dinner. I have something important to discuss regarding the results of the battle.”