Kuki Shinobu grew angrier as she spoke, wishing she could crack open Arataki Itto's skull to see if it was hollow inside.
In the past, though he was eccentric, he was never confused about major matters of right and wrong. What had possessed him today?
Outside the shed, the figures of King and the others had already disappeared around the corner of the Machi Street.
Inside the shed, in the dim light, the foolish expression on Arataki Itto's face receded like a tide.
He was silent for a few seconds, then with a dark face, he raised his hand and brushed away Kuki Shinobu's hand, which was still tugging at his hair.
Kuki Shinobu was stunned.
She had never seen this expression on Itto's face before.
"...Shinobu,"
Arataki Itto spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally deep, completely lacking his usual boisterousness:
"I don't want to be an idiot anymore."
"What did you say?"
Kuki Shinobu's pupils contracted slightly, thinking she had misheard.
"I said,"
Arataki Itto looked at her, something Burning in his crimson eyes: "I don't want to be just a laughable, despised 'idiot oni' in Inazuma City for the rest of my life."
Kuki Shinobu felt her breath hitch for a moment. She stared intently at the familiar yet strange boss before her, her voice lowered: "You... what do you want to do? Do you know what you're saying?"
Arataki Itto curled his lips, seemingly wanting to smile, but he couldn't.
"Shinobu, I want to take a gamble."
"I want to have a real identity."
"Just like a long, long time ago, like that hero of our oni race, Lord Torachiyo."
"At a time like this?"
"..."
"You want to earn the merit of supporting a new ruler?!"
Kuki Shinobu gasped, her voice trembling slightly: "Are you crazy?!"
"Look closely, that lord..."
"Can't you feel his aura?"
"That is an existence that ordinary people simply cannot reach!"
"You want to follow him?"
"With what? With your beetle fighting and clowning around?!"
Her questions were like knives, but Arataki Itto didn't jump up to argue as he usually did.
He just remained silent, then raised his hand and touched the sturdy oni horns on his head.
After a long while.
Arataki Itto's lips curled into a somewhat bitter smile: "It's laughable, isn't it?"
"A hoodlum oni who spends all day fighting beetles on the street and being chased by the Tenryou Commission actually dares to think of this."
"It's not a matter of whether it's laughable or not!"
Kuki Shinobu felt her thread of reason snapping. "Boss, wake up! Do you know what this means? This is a gamble with your life, with the entire Arataki Gang!"
"And you were clearly just a... a..."
She was confused. Was the boss who was so simple he was almost stupid in her memory really the same person as this guy with calm eyes talking about'supporting a new ruler'?"
"Why did I act like an idiot before..."
Arataki Itto finished her unspoken sentence, his tone as flat as if he were talking about someone else: "Shinobu, you're smarter than me. You should have seen through it long ago, right?"
He raised his hand, pointing to the conspicuous crimson horns on his head, then to the surrounding Inazuma citizens who, though they didn't dare approach, still cast secret glances of disgust.
"Look at this. Look at their eyes..."
"In the eyes of Inazuma people, the oni race is 'trouble,' 'unstable,' and 'non-human' just like monsters."
"Shinobu, I'm tired."
"I'm really tired."
"I don't want to pretend I don't understand those looks anymore, I don't want to pretend I don't hear those whispers behind my back..."
"That lord from Fontaine just now... the way he looked at me was different from those people."
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