Chapter 351 - Extra 9: The Trouble Arrives 1 (2/2)

"SASUKE!" - Kakashi's shout echoed throughout Konoha, only for everyone to ignore it as if nothing had happened.

"Is this a normal thing, my beloved black flame knight?" - Shion asked as his eyes flashed slightly.

Kurama felt a stab in his heart at the nickname the blonde had said to him while his smile remained - "Y-Yes... having screams echo throughout Konoha is a normal thing..."

"I see... I guess it has to be some kind of ritual for the prosperity of these mortals" - Shion nodded while looking around and seeing how happy the citizens of Konoha were - "Interesting, I guess I'll do something similar as well, maybe my inhabitants will like the idea."

"Anyway, is there somewhere you want to go?" - Kurama asked while maintaining his cordial smile.

"Indeed" - nodded Shion while her eyes sparkled for a few seconds - "I heard of an interesting location while traveling towards the Hokage tower and I wish I could check if it's to my liking so I can negotiate with the owners so they can build a new branch in Oni no Kuni"

"I see... I guess we can go..." - Kurama nodded, though after a few seconds he would regret agreeing so quickly.

* * *

The afternoon had passed calmly for Konoha, with the clear exception of Kurama who was lying on a park bench with a vacant expression on his face, even some passersby could swear they could see how the albino's soul was leaving his body.

"That was a most pleasant experience, thank you very much my Maou ~" - smiled Shion as she looked happily at the albino.

The reason for all this?

Kurama was psychologically exhausted from everything he had gone through during his little date with Shion.

The first thing they did was to go to the venue that Shion had requested and to Kurama's terror, this was none other than a Cosplay Café, a venue that had become popular lately in Konoha. The purpose of the place was to be able to choose a themed costume and enjoy the delicacies the store had to offer while the customers performed according to their outfits.

Kurama had tried to escape from the place, but Shion grabbed him by the arm and dragged him inside.

Out of politeness, the albino didn't do anything that would attempt against Shion because he didn't want to end up with a scenario like with Koyuki's, so he remained passive throughout the evening, even though it meant that he had to disguise himself as Shion asked him to, the choice was being a Demon King (Maou) outfit while she was disguised as a Princess Knight (Himekishi), a dangerous combination if one understood the context.

The evening continued for a few hours, which had caused the albino to suffer blow after blow on his psyche because he honestly didn't want Konoha or Uzu to come into political conflict with Oni no Kuni, mostly because Shion wasn't a bad girl, just a little crazy.

"That was fun!" - Shion smiled as she looked up at the night sky.

"For you!" - Kurama shouted as he looked at the blonde girl, only to shake his head - "Although it was a bit damaging to my mind, I have to admit it was fun..."

"It was exciting to see how you took the role of a Maou" - said Shion curiously - "Were you even one during one of your past lives?"

". . ." - Kurama just kept silent as he decided to ignore the question.

"Well, never mind, after all, you are my promised knight" - smiled Shion as she offered her hand - "Come on, there's one last place I'd like to see."

Kurama looked at her for a few seconds before nodding, then holding her hand. If he had started, he had to at least finish so he could give the girl a nice evening.

* * *

"A bookstore?" - Kurama asked as he noticed the name of the place.

"I've finished reading all the books I have at home, so I wish to acquire new knowledge" - Shion answered while giving a smile to her escort - "I may find the incantation to be able to unlock our old sealed memories."

Kurama gave the girl a blank look before pinching the bridge of his nose and following her, not noticing how she was watching him and noticing his every action.

* * *

"Thank you for joining me" - Shion smiled as she did a short spin. She was holding a slightly old-looking book in her arms as she looked at the albino - "I really appreciate it."

"You don't have to thank me" - replied Kurama calmly.

"No, I really do have to thank you" - Shion replied as her expression changed to a vacant one - "I thank you for playing along despite all the suffering I was causing you..."

Kurama opened his eyes in surprise when he heard this because he always thought the girl was ignorant of her surroundings.

"Surprised?" - Shion asked as her eyes twinkled slightly before fading - "I guess it's normal for you to think that way about me..."

"Everyone judges me before they even know me" - Shio replied as she looked up at the sky - "They think that because I'm the priestess of Oni no Kuni, I have to be happy because I'm surrounded by luxuries, but they're wrong... I've never been happy..."

Kurama glanced at the girl, only to notice how a couple of tears ran down her cheeks.

"I was born with this curse, being able to see the death of others..." - Shion murmured as she looked up at the starry sky - "Every time I closed my eyes I saw how someone different died, without being able to do anything to be able to free myself from all those nightmares..."

"I thought my life would be a constant hell, until my mother, may she rest in peace, handed me a book..." - continued Shion as a real smile appeared on her lips - "A hero saving the princess, a story so cliché that any idiot could think of its plot, but that simple story saved me, brought me hope."

"Slowly the memories of all those deaths started to disappear while my memories of all those stories remained constant" - Shion said as her lilac eyes connected with the different colored ones of the albino - "I guess it was all a product of my longing to be like those princesses, to have that heroic someone by my side, protecting me from all this suffering that was tormenting me."

"As the years went by, I grew convinced that I was like them, a second personality if you want to call it that" - continued Shion as she went back to observe the starry sky - "A self-defense system to resist all the pressure I felt, after all, I lost my mother shortly after she gave me the book because of that demon that we guarded... thanks for avenging my mother, by the way"

Kurama didn't know how to react because he had never expected such a drastic change in the girl he honestly thought she was crazy.

"My life was monotonous, I could only read my books over and over again while imagining myself in the place of those women" - Shion decided to continue with her story - "At least that's how it was until those bastards appeared, those who wished to release the demon..."

Shion was silent for a few seconds before continuing - "During that time, I had lost hope, or at least it was so until I received the vision about you, a handsome young man who would save me from my darkness, from my pain, from my mission."

Kurama took a few steps back when he noticed the girl's passionate gaze.

"Finally I had found my hero, finally I could say that I was just like all those women I had read about" - Shio said with a sad smile - "Too bad I was just another person in your odyssey..."

Shion slowly closed her eyes for a few seconds before suddenly opening them - "But I couldn't allow that, no, I didn't wish for things to end that way, that's why I begged your clone to accompany me, maybe that way..."

Shion again fell silent as she tried to express what she was trying to say, only to sigh regretfully as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

Kurama understood that the girl was much worse off than he thought, so he went over to her and gave her a small hug so she could release everything inside her.

"I..." - Shio murmured as she hugged the boy back, only to burst into tears.

Kurama knew that this would bring him a lot more trouble in the future, but for now, he decided to ignore his logical thinking.

The girl needed to release her emotions or they would end up hurting her more than he thought.

"This will come to bite me in the a.s.s later, but for now I'm going to help her..." - Kurama thought as he looked on as the girl continued to cry in his arms.

* * *

"I'm sorry for showing you such a bad appearance" - muttered Shion as the strength of her hug increased.

"Don't apologize..." - Kurama replied with a smile, only to be surprised to feel the girl's lips on his.

"Thank you for everything" - smiled Shion as her eyes shone like stars - "My Knight..."

". . ." - Kurama gave the girl a blank look, though now he could feel a different meaning in the nickname Shion was giving him.

"By the way..." - Shion muttered with red cheeks - "That was my first kiss..."