Chapter 16: Youmu: Bullying My Haruto-sama? I Must Cut You Down!
Youmu slipped off her shoes at the entrance, her movements practiced and graceful as she slid open the shoji door. Her feet, clad in simple white socks, made no sound on the polished wooden floor. With practiced ease, she set her sun hat and the basket from her back in their usual corner.
When she looked up, she realized that Lady Yuyuko was not the only one present.
"Lady Yukari, Haruto-sama," she stammered, hurriedly bowing low. "Please excuse my rudeness. I was not aware you were visiting."
Her eyes darted to the low table, noting the empty teapot. She was about to turn and brew a fresh pot when a hand suddenly caught her arm. Thrown off balance, her foot slipped, and she tumbled straight into Haruto's lap.
Youmu was already flustered, but the sudden, intimate proximity to Haruto sent her mind into a complete tailspin. Her vision swam, her eyes turning into dizzying swirls, and even her ever-present Half-Spirit went limp, slumping bonelessly against her shoulder.
"What's this? Youmu, you have something to tell me?" Haruto's voice was a low murmur. "And it's so important we have to talk alone?"
He leaned in, pressing his ear close to her lips as if listening intently to a whispered secret. Youmu, having just regained a sliver of her senses, was stunned into silence by his words. Just as she opened her mouth to explain, Haruto shook his head with an air of grave finality.
"No, that won't do. I've already promised Yukari-nee a massage. How can a youkai go back on his word?"
"Haruto-sama, I didn't—mmmph!"
A large hand clamped heartlessly over her mouth, silencing her protest.
Haruto continued his one-sided performance, his expression shifting through a dozen different emotions as if he were weighing a monumental decision. At last, he slapped his knee with a resounding crack.
"But since you say it's a matter of great importance, I suppose I have no choice but to wrong Yukari-nee this once. I'm sure she'll understand."
Without waiting for Yakumo Yukari's agreement—or even a reaction—Haruto pulled the bewildered Youmu to her feet and whisked her away, leaving the Sage of Youkai staring after them in a daze. They made their way directly to the courtyard.
This was the quiet space where Youmu usually practiced her swordsmanship. She kept her head bowed, her youthful face flushed a brilliant, burning red. Haruto still held her hand, his gaze fixed on a withered tree in the distance. As the seconds ticked by, the silence between them grew thick and ambiguous.
"Haruto-sama, you..."
The moment Youmu spoke, she was pulled into a sudden embrace. Haruto buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply. The unexpected intimacy sent a fresh jolt through her, her brain buzzing and fogging over once more.
Then, just as suddenly, Youmu froze.
She lifted her head and met his dark eyes. In that instant, the shy, flustered girl vanished. Her expression hardened, and a chilling, razor-sharp killing intent erupted from her small frame.
"Haruto-sama," she asked, her voice dangerously low. "Did someone bully you?"
"...How could that be? Who in all of Gensokyo would dare to do such a thing?" Haruto shook his head, a faint smile on his lips.
Youmu's confusion only deepened. Beneath his casual denial, she could clearly read the sadness and regret swimming in his eyes.
"Could you dial back the killing intent just a little?" Haruto muttered under his breath. "You're cute like this, Youmu, but right now I'd much prefer a fragrant and soft Youmu."
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
His blunt words snapped her out of her battle-ready state. She hastily reined in her aura, the tips of her ears turning an even deeper shade of crimson.
"Haruto-sama, you seem to be in a bad mood... Could you tell me what's wrong?"
Before she could finish, the dam holding back the sadness in his eyes finally broke. Haruto recounted the events of the Death Game, leaving out no detail. Youmu listened with rapt attention, her emotions mirroring his own, her expression shifting from tension to anger.
When she heard that a spirit had possessed the audacity to try and attack her Haruto-sama, she instantly drew Roukanken, the longsword specialized in cleaving ghosts and phantoms. If she hadn't learned that the opponent was already dealt with, she would have likely charged off to find it that very second.
Seeing Youmu's "whoever dares bully my Haruto-sama gets cut down" posture, Haruto once again found himself regretting his bond with the Idiot Princess. Kaguya's overall power might be a level higher than Youmu's, but when it came to protecting one's master, the half-phantom gardener was in a league of her own. She wouldn't just protect him; if someone so much as spoke to him disrespectfully, Youmu would draw her sword to teach them a harsh lesson. On top of that, her Roukanken was the perfect counter to spiritual entities.
If it had been Kaguya... Haruto shuddered at the thought.
Given Kaguya's temperament, he'd be lucky if she didn't sell him out to save herself, let alone protect him. When danger appeared, their partnership would devolve into a competition of who could run faster and scream louder.
After giving Youmu a thorough head-pat and enjoying the shy, pleased expression that bloomed on her face, Haruto left Hakugyokurou, feeling much more satisfied. His next stop was Eientei.
He had barely stepped onto the estate grounds when he encountered a roadblock.
On the only path forward, Reisen was squatting on the ground, a pile of scattered potions surrounding her—some of them shattered into glittering fragments.
"It's over, it's over... The Master is definitely going to scold me this time. I'll have to test a whole bunch of new potions for sure."
Her voice trembled, and her hands shook as she tried to gather the spilled containers. The ground was grassy, but if the potions had soaked into bare soil, she looked desperate enough to lie flat and lick them up.
Haruto, standing a short distance away, had initially planned to wait for her to leave. But seeing her so distressed, he found he couldn't just stand by. He stepped forward and began helping her pick up the scattered vials.
"...Haruto-sama?"
Reisen noticed his presence and hurriedly wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve, her movements quickening. Before long, all the intact potions were back in her bamboo basket.
"I've really troubled you." She forced a faint smile and bowed in thanks, but her long rabbit ears, already drooping, had lost all their strength and flopped down completely.
"Don't be so sad. Everyone makes mistakes. I'm sure your Master won't blame you."
"Yeah." Reisen nodded despondently, but anyone could see she was in a terrible state, her mood a mix of misery and outright terror.
"How about this." Haruto reached out and gently pinched one of her crumpled ears, trying to straighten it. "Don't tell your Master for now. That includes the fact that I came to Eientei. After I leave, go tell Master Eirin that I was the one who accidentally knocked them over."
"This..." Reisen was clearly tempted. A flicker of hope lit up her eyes, but she immediately shook her head vigorously, her resolve firming. "I can't! This was Reisen's mistake. How could I let you take the blame, Haruto-sama!"
Looking at her stubborn expression—so clearly terrified yet insisting on taking responsibility—made Haruto like her even more. He couldn't resist petting her crumpled rabbit ears again.
"I have another method," he said. "But I don't know if it will work."
Haruto recalled a time when Yakumo Yukari had demonstrated a manipulation of the boundary of time, reversing it. Back then, he had just become a Boundary Youkai and couldn't even open a proper Gap, let alone attempt such a high-level application of his power.
Reisen's dim eyes lit up again. Under her expectant gaze, Haruto closed his own, carefully feeling for the flow of Boundary Power within him.
One second... two seconds... three...
Haruto opened his eyes and whispered, "The Boundary between Broken and Whole."
Subtle, shimmering ripples appeared in the air around the shattered potion bottles. Time began to flow backward. The shards of glass danced in reverse, piecing themselves back together. The spilled liquid retreated from the grass, flowing back into the newly reformed vials. Even the dark stains where the potions had seeped into the soil vanished without a trace.
"Haruto-sama! That's amazing!"
Seeing the potions all neatly arranged back in the bamboo basket as if nothing had ever happened, Reisen was overcome with excitement and lunged forward into a hug.
Meanwhile, deep within Eientei's pharmacy, Yagokoro Eirin's perception, which covered the entire estate, had made her privy to everything that transpired in the courtyard. She calmly picked up her teacup and took a small sip, a faint, knowing smile playing on her lips.
"Well," she murmured to the empty room. "That certainly saved me the trouble of concocting new medicine."
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