"Did you guys see that video too?" Right as Yuuko was returning from her first class, she heard the other teachers talking from outside the lounge's door.
It was no surprise what they were talking about, and that froze her body entirely in that place. Feeling heavy in the throat, she moved her hand away from the doorknob and gulped the bubbling dread before tears could form in her eyes.
"The one from that burner account, right?" Said another teacher on the inside.
"Didn't know she had it in her to do something like that," added a familiar female voice.
"Didn't know? Or didn't see it glaring in your face?" And then there was the conniving bitch who just loved to spew drama on the school's premises.
'Just go in!' Taking a long, deep breath, Yuuko grabbed the doorknob once more and pushed forward into the room.
The moment she stepped in all eyes gravitated toward her, and every lip shut itself in fear of being overheard. Some of the people in the room who'd shared many years with this woman felt pity towards her, while the others were relishing the controversy. Pretending to be ignorant, Yuuko kept her head lowered and quickly settled into her desk to avoid those judgmental gazes.
'I wanna die…' She thought, barely holding back the tears.
Trying to get her mind off of the whole thing, she busied herself with work. Even still, she would catch rumors floating all around her in the form of hushed whispers. The sneaky looks from her colleagues were the worst part since they made her watch all the time while working. Thankfully, however, she only had to suffer for a while before it was time to leave the longue to teach her next lecture.
To her misfortune, the situation in class was no different either. All the students whispered behind her back, and she even caught a whiff of unpleasant remarks about the similarities in the women's body in the video with hers.
'Don't listen, just work.' Already bombarded with embarrassment, she could only imagine how worse things were going to be once Hero confronted her about this whole ordeal. In fact, she had no intentions of returning home today, instead, she had another plan. 'Akira, I need to talk to him!'
With her memories now a lie, she felt a bond with Akira that made her crave his company under agonizing conditions. She wanted to be held by him, and be told that everything would be okay. Sneaking away into the restrooms the first chance she got, Yuuko confined herself in a stall. Her eyes shut closed, she tried to calm her heart and mind, but they wouldn't let her rest. Alas, hiding there until school was over, she took out her phone to call Akira.
***
Turning around with her umbrella still in hand, Mikato looked right at Akira and Mizuki. Smiling at the two, she turned her head forward and kept walking across the road.
"This has to be a trap, right?" Asked Akira.
"Probably," Mizuki replied, and yet the two kept following Mikato.
After a few minutes of walking, the demoness of overabundance closed her bamboo umbrella and walked into a fancy cafe. Following right behind her, the two went inside as well. Looking around they noticed Mikato seated at a corner table. Gesturing the two to come closer, she kept on smiling.
'We might still have time to bail.' Akira thought but also knew that they'd come too far to back up at this point.
Carefully approaching her, Akira sat down across from her on the table. As he leaned on the table, Mikato motioned something to a waiter before turning her attention back to Akira.
"So, how's your hunt going?" She asked, her smile enduring still.
"What do you mean?" Akira asked with a light frown.
Finally, her smile dropped in an instant. Wincing at his answer, she pulled her hands off the table and leaned back into her chair. Visibly disappointed, Mikato rolled her eyes.
"The man I told you to take care of, have you not even tried to find him yet?" She complained, feigning a forced smile once more.
The very next instance, the waiter came over to the table and placed three cups of steaming hot coffee in front of them. Glancing at Akira and Mikato both, and then even at the otherwise invisible Mizuki, she bowed her head gently before walking away from the table.
"No point hiding I suppose," revealing herself, Mizuki sat down beside Akira and picked up the coffee cup in her hand.
Right before she took a sip, however, Akira grabbed Mizuki's arm and made her put the cup back down. Being as cautious as he could, he didn't want to risk being poisoned by a competitor in the race to be the demon lord.
"I'll find the guy, I just need some time to cover things on my end," he explained, but Mikato was not in the least pleased.
"I do not care what you think you need to do, and neither will you when you die by your killer just because you kept stalling me," picking up her own cup, Mikato took a few sips and heaved a sigh. "A week…That's the time you have."
"For my death or to kill the guy?" Akira asked.
"Maybe both, who knows though?" Not able to help herself, she chuckled out loud before adding. "Me of course, but why would I tell a dead man? After all, dead men bring no bounty."
"Well fuck you too," Mizuki shot back and finally took a sip as well.
"Yeah, I'm glad we had this talk," seeing how this wasn't gonna lead anywhere other than him having to pull the two demons out of an argument, Akira grabbed Mizuki by the arm and began walking. "I'll get it done, just don't show your face at the school for a while."
Saying those words to Mikato who still had that uncanny smile, Akira decided to hasten his pace for his whole list of plans.
"Bitch…" Breathed Mizuki as the two left, and for once, Akira agreed with his partner's sentiment.