Kanade's eyes lit up the instant she spotted the white pup perched on Erika's head.
"Ghost!"
Her scream carried a dangerously familiar kind of joy.
Akira felt it immediately.
Danger. Immediate danger.
Before he could react, Kanade lunged forward.
"Eririn! Give him to me!"
Akira yelped and sprang into the air, twisting desperately to escape, but Erika's hand snapped out with perfect timing, catching him by the scruff before he could flee. She pulled him back against her chest, holding him firmly.
"Don't worry," Erika's calm voice echoed in his mind. "I won't let her take you."
Akira almost cried in relief.
Kanade pouted dramatically. "Eeeh? Don't keep him all to yourself! I want to pet him too!"
"I'm sorry," Erika replied smoothly, one hand resting protectively on Akira's back. "He's a bit scared right now."
"That's true, onee-chan," Haruna said quickly as she stepped in. "You'll scare him."
Kanade huffed. "I wouldn't…"
But before she could finish, more students had already gathered around them.
"Whoa, that dog is adorable."
"What breed is that?"
"Can we pet him?"
"I didn't know pets were allowed here."
Akira stiffened.
Too many hands.
Too many people.
Too many unfamiliar presences.
Instinctively, he pressed closer to Erika.
Then he heard a familiar voice.
"Oh. It's Ghost."
Akira froze.
At some point, Iori had appeared, crouching slightly with an amused smile as he reached out. "Haven't seen you in a while. Good to see you again."
Akira snapped his tiny jaws at empty air, trying to bite him.
Iori withdrew his hand effortlessly. "Ohhh. He's angry."
The air suddenly cooled.
Erika radiated a quiet, unmistakable anger, just enough to make everyone nearby pause. She turned her gaze to her brother.
"Oh, don't worry," she said sweetly. "He's just a little jumpy because some idiot decided to trick him."
Her eyes slid toward Iori.
"We can talk about that later, oni-san."
Iori laughed lightly. "Looking forward to it."
Then Erika straightened. "Oh, right. I almost forgot," she added casually. "I'm moving out of my dorm today."
Iori blinked. "…Really?"
Erika nodded, "Yeah."
Iori thought for a bit, then asked, "…Are you going back home?"
Erika smiled. "You know where I'm going."
Understanding clicked instantly.
Iori's grin widened. "Ohhh. Then… good luck."
She nodded. "Later. I've got things to take care of."
With that, she turned and walked toward the dorm rooms, Akira held securely in her arms.
Akira peeked back over her shoulder.
Iori waved.
Akira narrowed his eyes.
"Mark my words," he thought darkly. "Vengeance will be mine."
Erika hugged Akira a little closer as she carried him up the stairs toward the third floor.
Midway up, Akira suddenly thought of something.
"…Hey."
His voice echoed gently in her mind.
"Erika… can you somehow get my clothes back?"
She paused mid-step. "Your clothes?"
"Yeah," Akira replied. "The ones I left in the locker."
Erika frowned slightly. "Did you leave something important in them?"
"No. All my important stuff is in my inventory," he said casually. "But the clothes themselves are enchanted. I don't want them ending up in someone else's hands."
She blinked. "Wait. They're enchanted?"
Akira said. "Well, yeah. I enchant all my things."
She stopped again.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. I always enchant everything I wear." Then, as if it were an afterthought, "I even enchanted the necklace I gave you just now."
She froze.
"…Wait. You enchanted that, too?"
Akira said. "Of course."
Her voice shifted, quieter but unmistakably proud. "…With what?"
"Nothing fancy," Akira replied. "Just low-level protection. Dirt resistance. And self-repair."
Erika stared straight ahead.
"…Why would you enchant normal clothes like that?"
Akira tilted his puppy head. "What if someone just pulled up and started blasting?"
She looked even more confused. "…Huh?"
"I mean, remember when we were attacked by werewolves when we were kids? Stuff like that," he said. "And I have a lot of enemies now. Most of them I don't even know about. I don't want my clothes getting destroyed every time I fight."
She sighed and rubbed her temples. "Then why not give them high-level protection?"
"I wanted to," Akira admitted. "But the materials are normal. They can't handle strong enchantments. The structure would collapse."
"…I'll try to get them back," Erika said at last. "But why didn't you grab them?"
"I was escaping," Akira complained. "Also, that mad woman was chasing me."
Erika raised an eyebrow. "…Mad woman. You mean… Kanade?"
Akira shrugged, "Yes."
She laughed softly. "Why are you so scared of her anyway?"
Akira went quiet for a moment.
Then he shook his puppy head.
"She almost crushed me. And in this form, I'm very weak."
After a pause, he added, "Have you ever been killed by suffocation?"
Erika blinked. "…No."
"I have," Akira said dryly. "A few times. During training with my mother. It's not a great way to go."
Erika didn't know what to say to that.
By then, they had reached her room.
Erika opened the door to her dorm room.
Akira stepped inside and immediately looked around. The room was small, but clean and well-organized. Everything had its place, and it was fully air-conditioned. far better furnished than he had expected. Honestly, it felt nicer than most hotel rooms.
Then his eyes landed on the bed.
It was completely covered in plushies. An entire army of them.
Akira froze.
"…Wait."
He rushed forward, leapt onto the bed, and transformed back into his human form midair, landing among the pile with a soft thump. He grabbed one plush after another, his eyes widening as memories flooded back.
He remembered them.
All of them.
Every single plush here was one he had given her when they were kids.
Akira looked up at her in disbelief. "You kept all of them?"
Then he noticed one in particular.
He picked it up carefully.
"…You even have this one."
It was the Eevee plush. The very first one he had ever given her.
Erika glanced over while opening her closet and said calmly, "I told you I'd take good care of them, didn't I? Having them all here makes me feel… more comfortable."
Akira smiled. "I see."
Then, without hesitation, he dove face-first into the pile of plushies.
"…It is fun having more plushies," he said happily.
Erika sighed as he rolled around on her bed. "You're impossible."
Leaving him there, she started packing, beginning with her clothes.
Akira watched her for a moment before remembering he was supposed to be helping. He hopped off the bed and walked over. "I'll help."
Before Erika could stop him, Akira reached for a pile of clothes.
"Wait…you don't need to…" she said quickly, grabbing the same bundle from the other side.
"It's fine, I'll help too," Akira said, still holding on.
They both pulled.
And lifted it up at the same time.
What appeared was her underwear.
Cute. Pink. Very unmistakable.
The room froze.
Erika's face turned bright red.
Akira's brain immediately entered emergency mode.
"Okay. I will leave you to it."
He released the clothes, spun around, made a full tactical retreat back to the bed, transformed into his puppy form mid-run, and disappeared under the sea of plushies.
No one would ever find him there.
Erika covered her face for a moment, then continued packing, pretending absolutely nothing had happened.
After a while, she closed her bag and turned toward the fridge.
"…What should I do with these blood packs?" she muttered.
Then she heard Akira's voice in her head.
"Leave them to me."
She glanced back at the bed to see Akira nestled comfortably among the plushies, peeking out as he added, "I can use them in my experiments."
The sight was… unexpectedly cute.
"…Fine," Erika said.
She finished packing and stored most of her belongings in her inventory, leaving only two bags.
Akira, still in his white direwolf pup form, hopped onto her shoulder.
Together, they left the room.
By the time they reached the dorm hallway, the crowd that had gathered earlier had already dispersed. The place was strangely quiet, and they didn't run into anyone on the way out.
Once they exited the school grounds, Akira reverted back to his human form and, without saying a word, reached over and took one of Erika's bags.
Erika glanced at him briefly, then looked around.
"Where are Raven and Rose anyway?" she asked. "They were supposed to be back by now, right?"
Akira nodded. "They said they were surveying the surroundings. They should…"
Caw.
Both of them stopped.
Caw. Caw.
Then.
Caw caw caw.
Akira and Erika slowly looked up.
The sky above them was filled with crows.
Not two.
Dozens.
At the center of the swirling flock, Raven and Rose descended calmly. Raven, in particular, looked… proud.
Akira stared.
"We only left them alone for half a day," he thought. "How did this even happen?"
Out loud, he asked, "What the hell happened?"
Raven puffed out his chest. "Caw. I became their boss."
Akira blinked.
"…What?"
Raven flapped dramatically. "Caw. These are my followers."
Rose landed beside him and immediately shook her head. "I tried to stop him."
Raven cut in at once. "Caw. We should keep all of them."
Akira was too tired to even process this properly.
He slowly turned to Erika. "What should we do?"
Erika stared at the sky. Then at the flock. Then at Raven.
Too many things had happened today.
She exhaled. "Let's talk about it tomorrow. I'm too tired for this."
Akira nodded. "Fair."
He looked back up at Raven. "Fine. They can stay. But if they want to poop, make them do it somewhere else. And if they damage my house, you're fired. Literally."
Raven snapped a sharp salute with one wing. "Caw. Understood."
With an entire army of crows circling overhead, they made their way back toward the mansion.
Erika sighed quietly to herself.
"…This is my life now."
Then, after a moment, she added softly,
"But it's definitely more interesting than before. At least."