'W-Wait a minute!'
'Weren't we talking about the band? Why did Mom suddenly change the topic to the rest of my life?'
'And that tone... why does it feel like she's about to marry me off in the next second.'
Ikyuo's delicate face blushed slightly, but due to some secret little thoughts in her heart, she didn't interrupt her mom. Instead, she secretly glanced at the handsome boy next to her, expecting his answer.
Although Kaito also felt that Mrs. Kita's wording seemed somewhat problematic, his attention was more on the words "take care."
The purpose of his visit today was to bring Kita back to the band.
Now that Mrs. Kita had loosened her stance, only one promise from him remained. Naturally, Kaito wouldn't refuse at this point.
Back when he was in the Courting Death Sect, he had also taken care of junior disciples, so he had some experience.
So, facing Mrs. Kita's serious expression, he slightly nodded and gave his answer, "I'm willing."
———
When he left the Kita household, it was just dusk.
The last rays of sunlight were about to disappear behind the horizon, and the evening breeze gently swept across the world, bringing the scent of some unknown distant flowers, blending softly with the glow from the streetlights.
"Just now… I have to thank you again, Kaito-kun, for speaking up for me at the dinner table," Walking straight along the path, the red-haired girl quickly took a few steps forward, like a lively little deer, hands behind her back. Her amber eyes glanced over with a smile, and the dimples on her cheeks looked like spring water filled with blooming peach blossoms, sweet all the way to one's heart.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to persuade my mom~"
"Actually, Mrs. Kita was just going along with the situation," Kaito didn't claim credit. After all, as her only daughter, continuing the cold war wasn't a solution either. He merely acted as a stepping stone, allowing Mrs. Kita to back down without having to bow her head directly to her daughter.
"Whatever the case, the fact remains that you helped me a lot," Ikyuo clearly didn't agree with his words. The girl's slender brows slightly furrowed, as if deep in thought, "Let me think, how should I repay you… Got it!"
She put on a serious expression, "Kaito-kun, can I trouble you to come a little closer? I have a secret to tell you!"
"I'm not interested in secrets," Kaito crossed his arms defensively, his instinct as a cultivator raising his guard subconsciously. He had a feeling the girl in front of him was up to something, "If you really want to thank someone, thank Nijika and Bocchi instead. They've been worried about you for a long time."
"Ahem, of course I'll thank Senpai and Bocchi-chan too, but that's a separate matter," Kita cleared her throat. Her porcelain-like cheeks seemed to be tinged with a faint blush under the streetlamp's glow. Seeing Kaito still not coming closer, she looked a bit disappointed, biting her lip in a pitiful and melancholic way, "Am I really that untrustworthy in Kaito-kun's eyes?"
This familiar act of playing weak and pitiful made Kaito suddenly see the shadow of a certain Miss Yamada Ryou in a daze.
'Even little Kita's been corrupted... As the saying goes, proximity to cinnabar makes one red, proximity to ink makes one black, ancient wisdom never lies.'
But after some thought, he still didn't refuse. He stepped closer, curious to see what Kita really wanted to say.
"That secret is…", As the distance between them shrank… the red-haired girl could even hear her own nervous heartbeat. But she didn't back down. Carefully, she rose on her tiptoes and gently brought her cherry blossom-colored lips to his ear.
"My mom likes you very much."
"And… so does her daughter."
A soft, warm feeling remained on his cheek, like the gentleness of clouds, the caress of a breeze, or a spring rain sliding over lotus leaves, vanishing without a trace.
"Up ahead is the train station~ This is where I'll say goodbye~", Ikyuo took two steps back and waved at him with all her might. Her brilliant smile was like a little sun full of energy. Then she turned and jogged away, leaving only a faint, slightly trembling farewell in the wind.
"Bye-bye, Kaito-kun!"
———
Saint Kaito has never been defeated by the same move twice.
But… if you count the one in Hoori Town, this was already the second time he'd been kissed by Kita.
Kaito reached out and gently touched his cheek, still damp with a trace of warmth, falling into rare silence.
Although his master had often called him a "blockhead," that was in the past. Now is now.
After abandoning Path of Ruthlessness, he had slowly learned to experience the emotions people should have.
Not to mention, Kita's confession had no pretense at all, it was practically a clear "I like you."
If he still couldn't understand what she meant now, he wasn't just a regular blockhead, he was osmium(densest metal).
The last person who confessed that directly was Miura Yumiko.
The only difference from Yumiko was that Kita(Ikuyo) didn't give him a chance to respond. Perhaps fearing rejection, she only expressed her feelings unilaterally and ran away, more like fleeing in panic.
All this time, Kaito had thought of the girls in his team as friends. He never had any weird thoughts, be it Nijika, Ryou, or Kita.
But the friendship he believed to be indestructible… seemed not so pure?
Kaito fell into contemplation.
'Just when did Kita's feelings of friendship toward me start to change?'
He had no clue.
However, judging from her expression and the words she said, it was clear she had used up all her courage, she didn't even dare stay and hear his response.
Kaito couldn't just drag her back.
'…Might as well let things run their course.'
Even if he were to respond, it would have to wait until they met again next time.
Shaking off all these trivial thoughts, Kaito got on the train and headed home.
———
[Forty Minutes Later]
"Welcome back," Hearing the sound of the door opening, a girl with light green long hair came out of the living room, holding a lazy fat cat in her arms, looking just like a newlywed wife greeting her husband returning home.
Looking at the well-behaved, doll-like girl, Kaito shook his head and couldn't help but sigh.
'As expected, Mutsumi-chan is still the most worry-free.'
He handed over the plastic bag in his hand, which contained some snacks girls like and a few small dried fish.
"Share these with Kumiko, and as for the dried fish… just give them all to Kirara."
"Okay," Wakaba Mutsumi gently nodded. When she took the plastic bag, her pale fingers seemed to accidentally brush against his fingertips.
Kaito didn't think much of it and was about to walk into the living room, when he noticed the green-haired girl staring blankly at his cheek for some reason.
"What's wrong?"
Wakaba Mutsumi hesitated for a moment, then slightly shook her head and lowered her eyes. But in her mind, that scene still lingered.
'There is a faint cherry blossom-colored mark there.'
'Almost like… a kiss mark.'
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