Chapter 11: Tsunayoshi Attacked

“The thing that carries and channels the power”? So what Mokona sensed wasn’t actually the flame? In this world, aside from boxes and rings, what else could possibly carry and channel the power of the flame?

Kurama’s gaze suddenly grew serious.

“Can you tell me more about it, Mokona?” he asked.

The fluffy white ball nudged his hand and nodded, “Of course.”

“However, Mokona’s senses are still vague, intermittent, as if something is interfering or blocking them. It’s never been clear or smooth,” Mokona said, as Kurama absentmindedly stroked its soft fur. Mokona wore a look of utter contentment. “But Mokona did catch a fleeting surge from that thing! It was thick—full of the essence of the earth!”

Kurama’s hand froze in surprise at Mokona’s words.

—The essence of the earth? Could Mokona have sensed the legendary Earth Ring sealed in the tomb of the first Simon?

“No…That seems unlikely,” Kurama frowned.

After all, aside from whether the tomb of the first Simon is within Mokona’s range, the original story clearly stated that because the Earth Ring was always sealed, its aura couldn’t be sensed by anyone. Otherwise, the Simon family wouldn’t have had to wait until the tomb collapsed due to tectonic shifts to retrieve their precious legendary treasure.

Yet, Kurama found it hard to completely dismiss the possibility. With Mokona’s experience, if it said the earthy aura was “extremely thick,” Kurama could hardly imagine anything besides the Simon Ring that could earn such a description.

“Can Mokona sense roughly where that thing is?” Kurama decided to set aside the question of whether it was the Simon Ring for now and listen to any other clues Mokona might have.

The white fluffball seemed to sense Kurama’s conflicted mood and behaved especially well.

“It’s probably over that way,” Mokona said, pointing out toward a direction beyond the garden, then looked up at Kurama, a hint of worry in its eyes. “But it’s very, very far away. Mokona can’t tell exactly.”

That must be close to the limit of Mokona’s sensing range.

Kurama furrowed his brow once more.

He did want to find the item and use it to bargain with Yuuko for a portion of his power, but considering its crucial role in the later plot…

He rubbed his chin, then suddenly smiled wryly.

Originally, he never cared much about these things. To this world, he was just a passerby. And what was that saying?

—“After I die, let the flood come!”

Kurama had started out with much the same attitude, not caring what impact he might have on this world. But after he became friends with Tsuna…

The fox demon had to admit he was now worried that any change he brought could affect Tsuna’s future safety.

“This is difficult…”

Throwing himself back onto the soft cushion, Kurama squinted in the gentle sunlight streaming down.

Mokona shuffled into his arms.

“Kurama doesn’t want to look for that thing anymore?” Mokona asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

Kurama turned aside and casually drew the little creature into his embrace. “Yes, yes, how did Mokona know?”

“Mokona just knows!” The little one puffed up with pride, then erupted into a burst of high-pitched laughter as Kurama mischievously tickled it. “Ahh—Kurama, stop—!”

Kurama seemed to have grown addicted to playing with the white fluff, poking and scratching until the little ball lay limp and motionless in his palm, only then gently resumed stroking its fur.

“Mokona is so considerate.”

He leaned down and kissed the creature’s forehead, speaking softly.

Mokona’s cheeks went pink. “Mokona is the most thoughtful child~ Yuuko and Clow used to say so all the time!”

“Oh? Then tell me more about Yuuko and Clow—and about Larg.”

—Larg was the black Mokona. Though both shared the name Mokona Modoki, each had a different middle name: the black one was Larg, the white one Sohuel. Only when together did they use their middle names for distinction, otherwise, both preferred to be called simply “Mokona,” by themselves and others. That’s why, even after Sohuel had told Kurama its unique name, Kurama still called it Mokona.

The afternoon sunlight was warm and gentle, caressing bodies in comfort. Kurama lay sideways along the wooden corridor, listening as Mokona nestled in his arms and spoke with a soft, adorable voice about those wondrous stories—the witch, the great magician, and all sorts of people who appeared around them.

It was a world Kurama had never seen.

But he didn’t feel regret.

“As Yuuko used to say, ‘If we have precious memories and experiences, we shouldn’t desire other equally precious ones. This world is so fair—it will never let anyone gain more without reason.’ So Kurama, thinking like this is wonderful! Mokona likes that Kurama is not greedy.”

—Though the grammar might be a little off, Kurama understood what Mokona meant.

More than that, he received the comfort Mokona wanted to convey.

“Thank you, Mokona.” Kurama smiled, rubbing the little one’s head. “I’m very happy.”

With that, he sat up, lifting the white fluff.

“All right, nap time is over! I think Mom’s about to start preparing dinner. Shall we help out together?”

“Yes! Mokona wants to help, too!”

Seeing that Kurama truly wasn’t forcing himself, Mokona relaxed as well.

Perhaps…Yuuko was right.

Kurama really could be the one to bring change and new beginnings.

Turning to gaze at the smiling red-haired fox, Mokona silently mused.

＊＊＊

No longer troubled by the Earth Ring, Kurama spent the next few days in great contentment.

Whenever Tsuna wasn’t forced to study by Reborn, he’d go out with Kurama or stay at home, playing games and chatting. When Tsuna was at school, Kurama helped Nana with housework or wandered alone through Namimori. He even had a few chance encounters with the town’s stern Disciplinary Committee Chairman, Hibari, but with his harmless appearance (→_→), he never attracted much attention—at most, Hibari thought the newcomer had an odd sense of incongruity.

Nana had once hesitantly asked about Kurama’s academic record, only to be stunned by the brilliant certificates he handed over with a shining smile.

—Of course, they weren’t forged. Kurama had genuinely earned them in the Yu Yu world.

Usually, they were stored along with other miscellaneous items in the space carried by his Devouring Grass, only brought out when needed.

…Eh? What’s Devouring Grass?

Actually…it’s another of Kurama’s modified demon world plants. Its original name…

Well, it was originally called Demon World Pitcher Plant ==

As the name implies, it’s a fierce plant that feeds on demon world monsters.

Kurama had studied them extensively and discovered a fascinating trait: their insect-trapping pitchers could swallow monsters much larger than their own size.

Though strange even for demon plants, Kurama was intrigued, so he researched further, eventually discovering the pitcher connected to a pocket dimension!

Inside this space, items remained as they were when first stored, preserved for decades or centuries without spoiling.

—This explained why the pitcher plant could keep swallowing monsters without bursting or dying, and why even if they went long without feeding, they wouldn’t starve easily.

Kurama, leveraging this feature, created a new demon plant variant—one that kept only the pocket space function, without the bloodthirsty appetite of the original.

He named it “Devouring Grass,” and the best-modified seed became his personal storage.

Although the pocket space was smaller after modification, only about a dozen cubic meters, it was more than enough for essentials, documents, and valuables.

So even traveling to another world, Kurama never worried about his livelihood—clothes, food, all in Devouring Grass’s space; if currency and cards were useless, he had plenty of gems and jewelry. Life was never a problem!

…Ahem! That’s a digression—back to the story.

In short, Kurama’s days at the Sawada house were exceedingly pleasant, making his already gentle temperament even sunnier. His warm, radiant smile made everyone around him feel like spring had come, earning praise as “Kurama-kun is such a kind person!”

Yet, at this moment, this gentle Kurama, simply by dropping his usual smile, suddenly radiated an aura so sharp it threatened to wound those who met his gaze!

“What happened?”

He stood at the entrance to the chaotic shopping street, face dark as water, staring at Tsuna—who wore nothing but underwear and was covered in bruises. Kurama’s gorgeous emerald eyes held not a trace of warmth, only a chilling, unsettling silence.

Author’s Note: Regarding whether the Simon Rings were sealed, the original doesn’t seem to specify—only that they slept with the first Simon in his tomb. Here, for the sake of the plot, I’ve slightly modified that setting. This bug can be fixed if needed =w=

So Kurama ended up soft-hearted, not even going to check, and decided not to take the ring! Of course, he won’t leave this world empty-handed—there may be few treasures early on, but there are always one or two. What exactly, I won’t spoil for now (~￣▽￣)~

Also, Demon World Pitcher Plant—that’s not my taste! It really is called that, so no mocking! [puffs cheeks]

Attached to this chapter is a fitting illustration: Kurama with his full aura on display—

Actually, the red-haired Shuichi version of Kurama is also beautiful—fell in love at first sight! [covers face]

And as always, next chapter preview: The leap and the opening. How will Tsuna react to Kurama’s full aura? And the crowd’s favorite (?), Dino-senpai finally makes his appearance! A new story arc is about to begin!

PS: Thanks to Black Circles for the thrown landmine—I only discovered it after so many days, orz.

And as for stealing Black Demon King’s thunder, I haven’t forgotten! I’ve been writing these past days, but the results…are shamefully few. Please bear with me, everyone? qaq