There was a reason why Kourin had four chaperones at her enrollment that day. The Shinomiya clan princess was also right that it was because Hotaru ordered that. But what exactly was that reason?
"It's quite unusual for you to immediately agree for Lady Kourin to take a walk with other people," Kana said to Takeru when the girl faced him.
"If you don't want that boy to become suspicious of us just because we didn't allow her to accept his invitation, I think I just made the right decision."
"The four of you... Why are you so kind to the princess, huh? We're supposed to be strict with her, especially at a time like this when we're dealing with unknown danger."
Amiko, Nanami, and Kana immediately turned their attention to the source of that voice. Takeru saw a woman with long and wavy brown hair approaching.
"Your mother hen mode is on again, Hotaru," he started, making Hotaru glare at him which he just laughed at. He was used to this kind of reaction from her, anyway.
"You're too much, Hotaru. It's better this way. And it will be easier for her to adapt to this place," Kana said.
"You mean, you're just spoiling Lady Kourin."
"Besides, it's not like we're forgetting our duties to allowing her to befriend someone, you know," Takeru added.
Usually, the other two women with him ー Nanami and Amiko -- would immediately give their opinion. But weird enough, he didn't hear any response. Instead, he saw those two looking in a certain direction with narrowed eyes.
"What's the matter with you two?"
But Hotaru's question was only answered when she and Takeru saw that had also caught the attention of the two girls.
"Time to work," Amiko said gravely before deciding to go after the princess. It was unlikely that the target of the four men who had previously been watching them was Kourin.
And not one of them would allow that to happen. That was what Takeru was sure of.
"Hotaru, Amiko, we'll go after the princess. Kana and Nanami, go after the other jerks," Takeru commanded and he was ahead of the run to chase the fools who planned to follow Kourin.
When he was like that as he would command them, those with him have no choice but to follow him. After all, he was older than any of the four women together at the moment. The girls might be higher than him in terms of ranks in the Shrouded Flowers, but that didn't change the fact that he was older. Shigeru ー one of Kana and Nanami's older brothers ー gave him a go signal to do that whenever the Miyuzaki sisters would accompany him on a certain errand. And so the girls did.
Takeru, Hotaru, and Amiko were very thankful that Kourin and Raiden haven't gone too far yet so there was no problem if they followed those two. But before they could do so, they noticed that two more men were following them.
Raiden soon brought Kourin to a Shinto shrine hidden from the public's view. The structure was similar to the Izumi Temple of the Shinomiya clan in Kyoto. Takeru even secretly smiled when he noticed that.
They saw one of the two men following Raiden and Kourin pulling out a dagger.
"Let's go!"
And that was the signal.
Two girls dashed towards the two suspects and all Takeru could do was shrug and sigh as he watched, knowing that he wouldn't have to break a sweat in dealing with two weak guys that he knew Amiko alone could takedown.
Several punches and a few deadly kicks did all the trick to finish the guys off. And now, their suspects were unconscious, as well.
"I guess these jerks weren't even a match to any of us," Hotaru commented after taking a deep breath.
Amiko, on the other hand, went to the spot where the dagger had fallen earlier when they chased the two men.
"What's wrong, Amiko?" Takeru asked as he approached the girl. He saw Amiko frown at the sight of the dagger.
"This dagger... This one belongs to the Dark Rose."
They understood what Amiko meant, especially when they saw how the girl's grip on the dagger tightened, causing her palm to bleed as she held it.
'Dark Rose...'
Even though those two words were simple, they had a different effect on all of them who knew what they meant. At the same time as mentioning them, it was the rising of immeasurable anger that continued to dwell in their hearts for the people involved in those two words.
Takeru was startled when his cellphone rang. He immediately answered that when he saw Kana's name on the screen. "How is it on your end?"
"We're done. Daryll is going to your location to pick up the bugs you put to sleep. Dr. Shingo will catch the other two here at our location."
Takeru seemed to want to laugh at the situation. Only women knocked down their opponents. Then why was he there?
"You're supposed to take care of the two youngsters first, Takeru. After all, you haven't shown your true ability yet, just take care of them for a while since it has been your specialty since we got here." And laughing, Kana ended that call.
Takeru just shook his head at the teasing of his partner in crime. If it could have been deadly and effective to send a glare through the cellphone he was holding, he might have been able to knock Kana out using that.
But since it was their duty to guard the girl ー their future leader, Takeru had no complaints about accepting it. Even if he was teased because of that. Then again, getting teased was nothing compared to their honor being trampled just like that night.