"Hey, hey. What's with the attitude, Misaki? You can't just say things like that."
Another voice rang out right after. It belonged to a man. His age was impossible to pin down. He wore a black face mask printed with shark teeth, had silvery white hair, and thick black sunglasses—even though it wasn't sunny, and this was nowhere near a beach. But if you looked closely, reflected in those lenses were sharp, pure amber-green eyes.
"Oh, come on, Uncle! He really is handsome!" Misaki said eagerly, her cheeks faintly flushed. She shot a pointed glare at the strange older man standing there, her eyes like little bullets.
"You call yourself WHITE BEAR and you have zero sense of aesthetics! How can you look at him and not see how good-looking he is?"
"Shh!... Who told you to say my Esper name out loud? I told you not to mention it while we're here. You silly girl."
The two of them whispered back and forth. This only flustered Masaru further. He was happy—it was the first time a girl had ever complimented him—but he was also terrified by that very fact.
His heart raced. His stomach clenched instinctively. Yet, within those demonic red eyes, a tiny glimmer of hope flickered. Even though, deep down, he didn't dare to hope.
"Nice to meet you! Sorry if this is a bit sudden—I hope you don't mind! I'm Minamoto Misaki. I'm from Osaka, just visiting as a tourist. And you are...?"
Misaki quickly struck up a conversation with Masaru. She tilted her head, flashing a radiant smile, her eyes unable to hide their excitement at standing before this newly discovered "ideal."
Behind her, WHITE BEAR just yawned repeatedly. Still, his bored demeanor put Masaru on guard.
Masaru gave a slight, polite bow.
"Uh... um... M-my name is... Toyotomi Masaru."
Snap!
A nerve snapped in WHITE BEAR's brain the moment Masaru finished speaking. His gaze sharpened on the red-eyed boy.
Toyotomi?
A feeling—both unpleasant and strange—stirred within WHITE BEAR. It was like clicking on a history video, forcing him to recall memories he hadn't revisited in a very long time. Memories from about five hundred years ago.
Why? Why was there still someone bearing the Toyotomi name? Was this boy a descendant? No. It couldn't be that simple. If so, any survivors would have surely changed their name by now. Was this a joke?
Memories, thoughts, and tangled emotions crashed against each other like waves against a cliff. Meanwhile, Misaki kept chatting away with Masaru, seemingly oblivious. And Masaru just listened, nodding, then shaking his head, then nodding again, his face burning.
If that's the case... this kid...
WHITE BEAR studied Masaru intently, as if trying to rewind the film of the boy's entire life.
...This Masaru... He must have suffered so much.
The biting chill of winter seemed to pierce straight into WHITE BEAR's core. Even someone as adaptable as him didn't know what to feel. Pity or resentment? Scorn or prejudice? Concern or indifference? Perhaps that question would forever remain a mystery within his heart as he looked upon this strange-looking boy. Although... he himself was far more grotesque... yet here he was judging someone else. An indescribable emotion settled in his chest.
"Hey, Uncle..." Misaki sidled up close to WHITE BEAR, her manner suggesting she was about to unleash her best wheedling tactics.
"If you've got something to say, spit it out!"
"You go do your own thing, okay... I'm gonna hang out with Masaru for a bit. He agreed to show me around Nozawa Onsen!" Misaki beamed, like a kid whose big brother had just agreed to take her to the park, her face brimming with hope. She knew full well today was Valentine's Day—she hadn't expected the timing to be so perfect. The day she wanted to befriend Masaru just happened to fall on this occasion.
WHITE BEAR could only sigh deeply.
"Fine, fine, what a pain! Just don't go too far, okay? And tone down that Kansai accent a little. You'll scare people. You understand me?"
"Roger! Yes Sir!" Misaki replied crisply, then quickly set off with Masaru, their footsteps crunching over the white snow as they passed through the hazy steam rising from the hot spring pools.
WHITE BEAR watched the two figures disappear into the distance, a hint of loneliness creeping in. But still, he figured he should let the kids have their fun. Besides, he was here on a mission. He'd received intel that a member of the JURA organization was lurking in this area. Bringing Misaki along was one part of it. The other part was to investigate what exactly they were plotting in this bustling resort town. Strangely enough, he couldn't sense the powerful presence of any Esper nearby.
Good grief, this Misaki girl was such a boy-crazy flirt. And yet, Masaru was surprisingly easy to coax. But no matter how you looked at it, the kid didn't seem to have any friends. No. In fact...
WHITE BEAR paused at that thought. That indescribable feeling welled up inside him again. When he looked into the boy's eyes... there was something deeply tragic there.
---
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!…
Masaru's heart pounded frantically in his chest, like the drums of a rock band playing so hard the kit might fall apart. His body flushed with heat despite the freezing weather. He couldn't believe he was actually walking alongside a girl.
Was this a date? No. Impossible... Masaru quickly crushed the thought. She just wanted to see the village, and he was helping. But wouldn't it have been better to ask someone else? Why a demon like me? Why? Questions, thoughts, and a toxic mix of shame, self-loathing, and resentment made him feel like he was suffocating. Suffocating under that invisible pressure. He clenched his fists as if he wanted to crush a thousand oranges. And yet... deep within that decaying heart, his subconscious still smoldered with hope—a persistent hope that someday, someone would acknowledge him, love him...
Masaru was overjoyed. He was both happy and terrified that this moment would end. And then he'd have to return to that life. His everyday hell.
"What's wrong? Why do your eyes look so sad? Is something the matter?"
Misaki asked, her voice brimming with genuine concern. Her gaze pierced deep into Masaru's mind, making him flustered. For someone constantly shunned by the world, this sudden care felt like an electric current running down his spine—both numbing and terrifying.
"Ah... no... it's nothing. I'm fine."
Masaru stammered, even as every muscle in his face staged a rebellion against the tension. He still hadn't recovered from the shock of Misaki's boisterous, energetic Kansai accent. It was the complete opposite of Nozawa Onsen's deadly quiet. Internally, Masaru was in the midst of a civil war: on one side, his ingrained self-loathing; on the other, the desperate desire to touch this warmth. His heart, once a rusted, abandoned bell, was suddenly ringing out with powerful, life-affirming beats, shattering the mountain's silence.
"Huh? Fine where? You look like you're about to collapse!" Misaki said bluntly, without a hint of reservation.
Realizing she might have been too harsh and that Masaru's expression had worsened, she scratched her head and laughed sheepishly. "Just kidding... But seriously, if anything's wrong, you can talk to me, okay? I'm pretty good with this kinda stuff!"
"Th... thank you."
"Hee hee. 'Cause we're friends now, right? Right, Masaru?"
Friends? Masaru's blazing red pupils contracted. That word had never existed in the dictionary of his life. It was so extravagant, so dazzling, that it stunned him. Did he... have a friend now? With someone like her? The painful memories, the festering scars—all of it felt as though a gentle hand was suddenly soothing them, mending the gaping holes in his soul.
Misaki fell quiet for a moment, her large, round eyes observing Masaru as if trying to see straight through his thorny exterior. She wanted to see him smile—a real smile, not that twisted, resigned grimace.
"Hmph! Hmph! So, you said you'd show me around the village, right? Let's go!"
Masaru froze. Going into the village meant facing those "demons" in human form—the ones who had tormented him for years. His legs began to tremble as if they'd turned to ice. But looking at Misaki's lively, retreating figure, Masaru clenched his fists.
No! I can't be a coward forever. Just this once... let me... let me be happy.
He stepped forward. Every footstep on the cold snow was an affirmation. Even if disgusting stares awaited him out there, even if memories might ambush him like wild beasts, he would keep moving forward. Because today, for the first time in his life, he wasn't walking alone.
---
In a certain chat room...
--CHINSU has entered the chat--
--REX has entered the chat--
--ALL SPIDER has entered the chat--
[How's the search going, you lot?]
{Not good, Boss.}
[?]
{WHITE BEAR is here. Who'd have guessed he'd show up?}
[=0]
(These academy folks have sharp noses. Looks like finding that sword won't be easy.)
{We should wait it out 'til he leaves, Boss. Tangling with him is too much trouble.}
[Whoa there... This party's gettin' spicy... Why's it gotta be harder than a demon's backside?!]
(Where'd the Boss pick up that Kansai twang?)
[What kinda weirdo question is that, ya muppet?! Honest to goodness, I ain't got a clue what kinda nonsense you're spoutin'. Ya live out in the sticks with the monkeys and crows, ya gotta talk the talk, y'know? Pfft... Dumb as a post, I swear!]
{=)))}
{So what's the plan for this, Boss?}
[Good grief alive! What's with all the stupid questions, eh? Obviously we bash 'em and then hit the gas and scram! Use yer noggin for once, ya old goat!]
{Roger.}
(Roger.)
--ALL SPIDER has left the chat--
--CHINSU has left the chat--
[Huh? What's the big idea? Haven't even gotten a whiff of the good stuff yet and you're already bouncin'? That's just plum weird, ya know!]
--REX has left the chat--