This was why Yurikawa Hana always had an enormous appetite.
However, recently, the reason Hana had been getting hungrier than usual was because of Tno Zen.
The malevolent spirits surrounding Tno Zen, along with the massive, terrifying presence of the spider-like humanoid vengeful spirit, drained Hana's life force whenever it came near her.
This week, Hana had even fainted from hunger once.
This was not something that could be solved by simply ignoring it.
In desperation, Yotsuya Miko had sent a distress message to Yukima Azuma.
When sending the message, Miko also prayed fervently, hoping that Yukima Azuma wouldn't refuse.
If he did, she truly wouldn't know who else to rely on.
Fortunately, while Yukima Azuma didn't immediately agree, he still accepted her request to meet and discuss the matter.
Yotsuya Miko sighed in relief.
She glanced at her friend Yurikawa Hana, who was completely unaware of what was happening, and silently made up her mind.
Whatever Yukima Azuma might ask, she would agree to it as long as she could.
She couldn't let her friend fall into danger.
Yurikawa Hana, with a suspicious expression, looked at Miko, whose hands were clenched in the air.
She felt that her friend had been acting strangely lately.
Ever since their encounter in Shimokitazawa, Miko's sudden shift into a "masochistic" behavior had shocked her.
Fortunately, after that event, there didn't seem to be any other odd situations.
Day after day, as they went to and from school together, Yurikawa Hana didn't see her friend sneaking to the love hotel or anything like that.
...
And so, time quietly passed, leading to Saturday.
Yukima Azuma had taken a day off.
Everyone in class was understanding, since Azuma had been busy all day the previous day.
His dedicated attitude was more than enough.
Shuka High School, where Miko studied, was really far from Shibuya Station.
Yukima Azuma took more than half an hour by bus to get there.
One could only say that it was truly a Bocchi moveavoiding meeting acquaintances during high school by enduring such a long commute every day.
What a decisive person!
When he arrived at the gates of Shuka High School, Yukima Azuma saw Yotsuya Miko walking slowly toward him.
"Yukima-senpai!" Miko called out loudly, bowing at a 90-degree angle.
The incredibly respectful gesture left the surrounding students confused.
Yukima Azuma immediately helped Miko straighten up.
"Let's go, we'll talk while walking and, while we're at it, check out your school festival."
Upon hearing this, Yotsuya Miko eagerly nodded repeatedly.
The two of them entered the Shuka High School campus together.
Many students turned to look at them.
Yukima Azuma's striking appearance truly drew attention.
As for Yotsuya Miko, she was walking on air.
So happy!
It was such a thrill!
It wasn't because she was being noticed that she felt excited.
Yotsuya Miko didn't have such particular preferences.
It was because she was walking alongside Yukima Azumathis was just amazing!
Normally, one could spot a few malicious spirits scattered around the school.
But right now, nearly all of them had disappeared.
The young man beside Yotsuya Miko seemed like a moving barrier.
From the moment Yukima Azuma appeared, Miko had noticed this.
The malicious spirits that usually latched onto people, asking, "Can you see me?"
As Azuma got closer, it was as if they wanted to grow two more legs, frantically running away as fast as they could.
In her sight, an almost spirit-free zone had formed.
There was no trace of any malicious spirits left.
Walking beside Yukima Azuma, Yotsuya Miko even felt as if she had returned to the time before she could see ghosts.
A normal, mundane life.
In Miko's eyes now, it was like a blessing from the heavens, as sweet as honey.
Even being Yukima Azuma's "dog" would be far better than the days of facing those terrifying things!
While Miko was lost in her thoughts...
"Yotsuya-san..."
"Yes! I want to be Yukima-sama's dog!"
Hearing Yukima Azuma call, Miko responded quickly, but she accidentally blurted out what was truly on her mind.
Yukima Azuma paused for a moment and then responded:
"Everyone has their own preferences. If Yotsuya-san really desires it, I won't object."
Preferences can be vivid, but people might die from embarrassment.
At that moment, Yotsuya Miko just wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
Chapter 97: Yotsuya Miko, The Cats, and The Spirits
After inadvertently saying "I want to be Azuma-sama's dog,"
Yotsuya Miko decided to completely let herself go.
She, who was usually quiet and obedient, now just diligently followed Yukima Azuma.
A submissive demeanor, ready to obey orders.
After all, as long as she wasn't facing evil spirits...
Even if Azuma intended to put a collar around her neck, Yotsuya Miko would not resist.
Yukima Azuma reached out to gently stroke the head of the girl with amber eyes.
"In short, let's invite that teacher of yours to a quiet place for us to talk."
Upon hearing this, Yotsuya Miko nodded obediently.
But soon after, she felt a little difficulty.
Because Teacher Toono Zen usually did not communicate with anyone.
Every day, he only arrived on time for class and left after class.
As soon as the school bell rang, he immediately left.
Any attempt at conversation outside of studies, he completely ignored.
Yotsuya Miko could not think of a way to invite him to a quiet place.
After all, she didn't even have a way to contact Toono Zen.
Just as Yotsuya Miko was feeling confused,
She suddenly spotted a figure in the distance slowly walking out of the school grounds.
"That person! That's my temporary homeroom teacher, Toono Zen!"
Yotsuya Miko pointed at that figure and said.
Yukima Azuma looked in the direction Yotsuya Miko pointed.
Due to the distance, Yukima Azuma couldn't smell anything.
"Let's follow. That teacher is surrounded by the spirits of cats."
"Recently, there have been a lot of missing cat reports in Tokyo."
Yotsuya Miko said with a worried tone.
She didn't want to see more cats harmed.
Yukima Azuma nodded.
Bocchi's performance would take place in the afternoon, near sunset.
There was still enough time now.
So, the two of them followed Toono Zen's figure.
They exited the school gate.
Toono Zen entered a nearby alley.
This action further confirmed the suspicion Yotsuya Miko voiced.
Because stray cats usually operate in alleys like this.
The two quietly followed Toono Zen from a distance.
Yotsuya Miko hoped to catch him in the act.
If they could gather evidence,
Maybe they could get Toono Zen arrested.
After all, many cats had gone missing, and in Japan, it was illegal to kill cats.
With that, the problem would be solved.
They passed through a few small alleys.
The three of them still did not see a single stray cat.
It seemed that all the stray cats in the area had disappeared.
After wandering around,
Eventually, Toono Zen turned under an arch bridge.
From there came the faint sound of a cat meowing.
Upon hearing the sound,
Toono Zen jumped over the railing and landed on the grassy field by the embankment.
"This is bad, we need to hurry!"
Seeing this scene, Yotsuya Miko quickly ran over.
For humans, cats were really fragile.
In just a few seconds, they could lose their lives.
At this moment, under the bridge, the painful cries of a cat echoed.
Yukima Azuma sped up, jumping over the railing and landing on the concrete ground beneath the bridge.
But he stopped in place, not continuing to act.
Yotsuya Miko hurriedly ran over.
But when she saw the scene under the bridge, everything was not as she had imagined.
Under the bridge, a three-colored stray cat huddled in a corner, letting out a frightened cry.
On the other side, Toono Zen was pinning a hoodie man to the ground.
Clearly, they had been in a brief wrestling match.
Toono Zen had the upper hand.
At this moment, Toono Zen was holding the man down, taking various items from his body and placing them on the concrete ground beside him.
Yotsuya Miko saw this and immediately took a sharp breath.
On the ground were pliers, a large syringe, a stun gun, and other items.
Moreover, these items had dry, faded bloodstains on them.
Even the pliers had some strands of fur stuck to them.
Upon seeing this, Yotsuya Miko understood.
The culprit behind the series of missing cats in Tokyo wasn't Toono Zen, as she had thought.
It was the man in the hoodie before her.
Toono Zen had likely gone through the alley, perhaps concerned about the missing cats.
Thus, he had wandered and conducted a patrol.
Perhaps the vengeful spirits of the cats had also followed Toono Zen as he patrolled.
Once Yotsuya Miko figured this out, she felt a bit ashamed.
She shouldn't have hastily judged someone as good or bad just based on what she had seen of spirits.
Hearing the noise, Toono Zen turned around and saw Yukima Azuma and Yotsuya Miko.
The strength in his hands loosened a bit.
The hooded man pinned to the ground began to breathe heavily.
Yukima Azuma looked at this scene, raising an eyebrow.
Humans always have many sides to them.
Toono Zen in front of them might not be evil.
But he certainly wasn't as good as Yotsuya Miko had believed.
If the two of them hadn't shown up here,
Toono Zen might have directly killed the hooded man.
The way he had restrained him earlier left no room for breathing.
It truly seemed intended to kill.
"What's your name again? I think you're one of my students. How did you end up here?"
Toono Zen asked Yotsuya Miko.
Clearly, he wasn't very good at communication.
He couldn't even remember the names of students in his class.
"My name is Yotsuya Miko, I... have something I want to say to Toono-sensei."
Yotsuya Miko wanted to explain but didn't know where to begin.
At that moment, in her line of sight, a massive humanoid spider suddenly emerged from Toono Zen's body.
Its enormous claws covered Toono Zen.
The terrifying face roared toward them.
Don't look!
Yukima Azuma stepped forward, grabbed the stun gun from the cement ground, and threw it to Toono Zen.
Toono Zen understood and stood up.
As he pulled his body away from the hooded man,
He switched on the stun gun and pressed it against the back of the hooded man's neck.
Accompanied by the man's screams and the smell of burning flesh,
The hooded man instantly passed out.
After finishing everything, Toono Zen looked at Yukima Azuma with a deep gaze.
Yotsuya Miko stood frozen in place.
Toono-sensei... seemed to be different from what she had thought.
"Yotsuya-san, what did you want to say to me?"
Toono Zen stood up and looked at Yotsuya Miko.
Yotsuya Miko thought for a moment.
Then, she looked at Yukima Azuma.
Yukima Azuma bluntly said, "If you have something to say, just say it, it's fine."
Yotsuya Miko nodded.
Then, she lifted her head.
The terrifying humanoid spider was now screeching wildly.
Yotsuya Miko understood.
The vengeful spirits of the cats were swirling around Toono Zen.
They weren't following him out of hatred.
On the contrary, they were thanking him.
That's why they surrounded Toono Zen, trying to keep him away from the massive humanoid spider.
The spider kept growling, "Don't look! Stay away from it!"
Although Yotsuya Miko didn't know exactly what was going on,
She felt that the reason Toono Zen didn't communicate with others
Might be because of the influence of this humanoid spider.
So, whether for friends or out of kindness,
"Enough, let Toono-sensei go free."
She faced the massive humanoid spider, several meters tall, and spoke these words.
The humanoid spider, which had been screaming wildly, seemed to be paused at the press of a button.
Its head slowly turned, its huge, fierce eyes staring at Yotsuya Miko.
It seemed to be confirming something.
Confirming whether Yotsuya Miko could see it.
After a moment of silence,
The gigantic creature with eight spider legs began to charge wildly on the ground, rushing toward Yotsuya Miko.
Toono Zen furrowed his brows.
He couldn't understand Yotsuya Miko's words.
But in that very moment, he felt his body become light as a feather.
A corner of his vision seemed to have something passing by.
Yotsuya Miko took two steps back, her legs already trembling.
Normally, she would try not to acknowledge the existence of these spirits.
But now, facing a monster that might be the most terrifying thing she had ever seen, Yotsuya Miko wanted to provoke it.
Her courage was shouting,
But her legs were truly weak.
Yukima Azuma caught a disgusting smell.
It was like the smell of rusted iron fences.
He tried activating his special vision that came with his cooking skills.
But within that strange vision, Yukima Azuma still couldn't catch sight of any ghostly figures.
It seemed that Yotsuya Miko's Yin-Yang eyes were an extremely special skill.
At this moment, the disgusting smell began to move.
Yukima Azuma raised his right index finger.
It was as though he was positioning a chess piece.
He pointed downward.
Through Yotsuya Miko's eyes, the massive humanoid spider suddenly bore an invisible pressure.
It was violently forced down to the ground.
The spider's eight legs emitted a series of screeching, unpleasant sounds.
They were bent and twisted into a heap.
The monster, once several meters tall, now...
At this moment, the humanoid spider, pressed to the ground by the invisible force, was no taller than Yotsuya Miko's calf.
Seeing this scene,
Yotsuya Miko breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that such a terrifying evil spirit,
In Yukima-sama's hands, could be suppressed with just a flick of a finger.
However, after waiting for a while,
Yotsuya Miko noticed that the invisible pressure still couldn't destroy the humanoid spider.
Immediately, she looked at Yukima Azuma with concern.
As a result, she saw Yukima Azuma seemed to be lost in thought.
He didn't appear strained or tense at all.
On the contrary, he seemed to be examining something.
When Yotsuya Miko was about to speak, Yukima Azuma slowly raised his hand.
