Incident 104 and the Monsters

Leading them was a handsome youth with indigo hair.

An athletic jacket was casually draped over his shoulders, yet despite his brisk pace, it seemed magically fixed in place, showing no signs of slipping off.

His figure, not exceptionally tall but slender and upright, combined with long, straight legs outlined by form-fitting athletic pants, perfectly showcased his physical advantages.

Coupled with a face so elegant and beautiful he could be mistaken for a young girl...

This gave him a conflicting yet harmonious, captivating aura. Even Natori and the "Great Demon King" Tsuruga Ren, who were well-accustomed to the beautiful faces of the entertainment industry, couldn't help but freeze their gazes on him the moment he entered, a clear flash of amazement passing through their eyes.

The youth, however, was clearly accustomed to such looks and showed no particular reaction. He simply kept his head slightly tilted, speaking in low tones to the tall, handsome boy beside him.

The tall youth, wearing a black baseball cap and carrying a sharp, upright aura like an unsheathed sword, nodded in response from time to time. When patrons at other tables turned to look, he subtly shifted his body to shield the indigo-haired youth from their gaze. Under his friend's knowing and quietly grateful smile, he self-consciously pulled down the brim of his cap.

The other boys behind them possessed their own distinct charms.

Walking right behind the leading pair was a clean-cut youth with his eyes closed. Beside him was a black-haired, curly-haired boy who looked slightly younger than the rest, his face full of excitement. He was leaning in to discuss something eagerly, receiving occasional replies from the closed-eyed youth.

Behind them was another duo—a white-haired boy with a small ponytail and a faint, handsome, mischievous smirk playing on his lips, and a purple-haired youth with metal-framed glasses who appeared quiet and reserved.

These two also seemed very close. The white-haired boy with the ponytail casually slung an arm around the purple-haired youth's neck, leaning in to whisper to him. Although the purple-haired youth showed little outward reaction, the soft smile at the corner of his mouth made it clear he was in a very good mood.

The last two in the group were a sleepy, red-haired boy chewing bubble gum, and a bald, chocolate-skinned youth who carefully watched over him to ensure he wouldn't bump into the corners of the tables and chairs, while also keeping an eye on the group ahead.

In short, this group of boys all possessed outstanding looks and temperaments. Any single one of them would draw stares on the street, and here, eight of them were gathered together...

It was entirely understandable why the eyes of the few women in the restaurant suddenly lit up with intense interest.

Kurama lowered his gaze slightly, concealing the fleeting surprise and helplessness in his eyes. By now, he had developed a deep understanding of the complexity and all-encompassing nature of this world. Although he still felt surprised and amazed when new elements were introduced, it no longer hit him as intensely as the first few times.

However, compared to the demon fox, Natori seemed far more troubled by the arrival of these boys.

He had intentionally sought out a well-known ryokan that was highly selective of its clientele, and had chosen a time when, despite the season being perfect, most of the ryokan's usual guests were too busy to visit. He had done this to minimize the impact of resolving their current problem, hoping not to involve too many ordinary people.

But now...

Glancing at Kogoro, Conan, and the others who were rising to leave, and then at the lively group of outstanding youths heading off to gather food, Natori pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a massive headache coming on.

***

"Captain, did you feel like those people were looking at us strangely?"

Once Kurama and his group finished their meal and left the restaurant, the boys gathered together and exchanged looks. The curly-haired, seaweed-headed boy, who possessed the strongest wild instincts, was the first to speak.

The handsome youth with short indigo hair smiled slightly.

"Oh? Even Akaya noticed?"

The other party had been very discreet. If it weren't for someone as observant and sharp as himself, Renji, or Yagyuu, or someone like Genichiro, who was highly sensitive to others' gazes due to his strict family upbringing, it would have been hard to notice anything unusual.

—At least, looking at Jackal and Bunta's reactions, it was clear they hadn't noticed a thing.

The seaweed-headed youth pouted in dissatisfaction.

"I've grown a lot, you know," he mumbled. "Why do you still underestimate me, Captain?"

The youth he called captain cast a smiling glance at him.

Though it was a soft look with no threat behind it, the seaweed-headed boy immediately shut his mouth and shuffled backward, hiding behind the closed-eyed youth.

"Senior Yanagi..." he whispered.

The closed-eyed youth patted him helplessly.

His gesture seemed to say, "I told you not to provoke Seiichi, but you never listen."

The seaweed-headed youth shrunk further behind him, falling silent in frustration.

The beautiful, indigo-haired youth didn't actually intend to make things difficult for him. He smiled at him again before turning to his black-haired friend beside him:

"Genichiro, what do you think?"

The stern-faced, black-haired youth pondered for a moment.

"They didn't seem to harbor ill intent. Perhaps... our group is just a bit too eye-catching."

—*Who wears their school tennis uniforms on a vacation, Seiichi? What kind of twisted hobby is this...*

Although he complained inwardly, the black-haired youth maintained a completely serious expression.

Seeing this, the indigo-haired youth smiled, saying nothing. He simply stared at his friend until the black-haired youth's ears began to redden, and his "calm and steady" expression threatened to crumble. Only then did the captain look away, smiling at the rest of his team members, who were watching the show with various amused expressions:

"Alright. In any case, let's stay vigilant. Senior Matsuyama and the others are said to arrive at the inn tonight. Until then, let's try to stick together. I have a feeling things won't be simple."

—*Honestly, this was supposed to be a regular vacation and training camp. Why does it feel like trouble is brewing again?*

Yukimura Seiichi, the captain of the Rikkaidai Affiliated High School boys' tennis club, sighed softly. He turned his gaze toward the direction where the group of four had departed, his eyes filled with doubt and contemplation...

***

Naturally, Kurama and the others knew nothing of the Rikkaidai tennis boys' speculations.

Upon returning to their room from the restaurant, Natori, with Natsume's help, began setting up the array to cleanse the evil spirit from Kyoko.

As the protector of this ritual, and being entirely unfamiliar with the exorcist methods Natori used, Kurama watched with great interest. Occasionally, when he couldn't figure something out, he would ask Natori a few questions, and Natori would patiently explain while setting up the array.

Meanwhile, the "Great Demon King" Tsuruga Ren stayed by Kyoko's side, whispering encouraging and comforting words to her. Through their conversation, the girl's expression gradually became more relaxed and peaceful.

Finally, after nearly two hours of work, Natori finished setting up the array with Natsume's assistance.

Following his instructions, Kyoko walked into the center of the array and sat down. Natori and Natsume stood at the edge, chanting incantations to activate the array.

Kurama stood nearby, shielding Ren, watching as a black entity was slowly dragged out of Kyoko's body as the array activated.

The entity shrieked and wailed, refusing to leave, but under the joint efforts of Natori and Natsume, along with Kyoko's own cooperation—especially the support of the little Grudge-Kyokos clinging to her—it stood no chance.

Seeing that the situation was going much better than expected, Kurama lowered his guard slightly and turned to observe the solemn-faced, black-haired man beside him.

According to his observations, this top actor should also be able to see yokai and spirits, right?

Just now, when the black spirit wailed the loudest, he had seen Ren frown slightly, seemingly sensitive to the shrill cries.

He just didn't know how sharp Ren's ability was. Was he like Natsume, able to easily see all yokai and spirits without any external aid, or was he like most people with weak spiritual awareness, only able to vaguely sense a presence or see and hear things only under specific conditions?

Lost in his drifting thoughts, Kurama was briefly distracted.

Thus, when he heard Natori and Natsume shout "Watch out!" in unison, he seemed to have no time to react—because the black evil spirit that had been dragged out of Kyoko's body had somehow escaped the seal of Natori's array and was now lunging straight at Kurama's face!

Seeing that this distracted human had finally noticed it under the warning of the other two annoying exorcists, a malicious sneer twisted the spirit's blurry face...

"Too la—"

Before the word "late" could even escape, the spirit's movements ground to a sudden halt.

It looked down in disbelief at the fair hand impaling its chest. Until it dissolved completely into black smoke and vanished into the air, it couldn't comprehend how a mere ordinary human could harm, or even... destroy it with bare hands...

Meeting Natori and Natsume's gaze, which had turned from worry and terror to utter shock, the demon fox curled his lips into a warm, gentle smile:

"Ah... my apologies, I was a bit distracted just now and accidentally lost control of my strength. Are you alright, Mr. Natori? Did you still have a use for that thing?"

Natori's mouth twitched as he shook his head.

"No, I was only going to seal it. Honestly, for an evil spirit like this, it's best to destroy it."

By the end, he felt a sense of relief. Since the danger to Kyoko had been successfully resolved, he relaxed completely, his face once again wearing his soft, handsome smile:

"Though, Kurama, you've certainly opened my eyes."

It wasn't that exorcists couldn't destroy evil spirits with their bare hands, but an evil spirit so powerful that it required the combined strength of himself and Natsume to force it out of Kyoko's body using an array had been casually impaled and killed with a single hand...

It was truly demoralizing.

Pouting, Natori signaled the shikigami who had been silently guarding him from behind to clean up the room. He turned to his friend, who had immediately rushed into the array to check on Kyoko, and flashed a teasing, mischievous smirk:

"Hey, Ren, aren't you going to ask how Natsume, Kurama, and I are doing? After all, we put in a lot of effort and took a big risk."

The black-haired man, who was patting the girl's back and whispering comforts, raised his eyes to glare at Natori.

Natori immediately raised his hands and took two steps back.

"Alright, alright, I won't disturb you. We'll leave, okay?"

Saying this, he gave Natsume and Kurama a look, though he maliciously added:

"Natsume, Kurama, let's pack up and go soak in the hot spring to wash off the fatigue. Some people can't wait for us to leave, and certainly don't want to soak with us..."

—And if he didn't want to soak with them, who did he want to soak with?

Instantly catching the underlying implication in Natori's words, Kurama and Natsume couldn't help but glance at Ren.

This successfully caused the Great Demon King's smile to freeze once more.

In the end, Kurama and the other two quickly grabbed their things and ran out of the room, followed closely by Ren's burning gaze, which felt hot enough to incinerate them. The moment they stepped out of the room, the three of them looked at each other and burst into laughter.

With this interaction, their relationship seemed to grow closer.

At least in the hot spring, Natori was bold enough to tease Kurama, saying his skin was "so good it would make any girl jealous."

Of course, the demon fox retaliated with a knowing look down at Natori's lap, which instantly silenced the superstar.

It seemed they had bathed at a time when everyone else was away. From the moment they entered the hot spring to when they finished, they didn't run into a single soul, which made Kurama feel slightly uneasy.

Just as they rinsed off the spring water, changed into their yukata, and were about to walk out of the changing room, a sharp, piercing scream suddenly echoed down the hallway...

Kurama, Natori, and Natsume exchanged looks, dropped their bathing supplies, and rushed toward the source of the scream.

When they arrived, several people had already gathered around the screaming woman. Among them were the boys from the Rikkaidai tennis club they had met in the restaurant, and of course, the famous detective Kogoro Mouri and the little kid Conan.

Directly opposite the terrified crowd blocking the doorway, in a room decorated just like the others in the inn, a long-haired woman in a yukata hung limply from the ceiling. Water droplets from her wet, long hair were still dripping down her toes, splashing onto the floor one by one...

—The incident aura had officially been activated.

***

**Author's Note:**

With Conan around, how could someone not die? ╮(╯▽╰)╭

So, the boys of the Rikkaidai tennis club make their appearance! Of course, their appearance isn't without reason. In fact, the victims in this incident will have a connection to them, and there are other... well, let's not spoil it for now.

It turns out both the Captain and the Emperor are unexpectedly sharp, and the seaweed head's wild instincts are not to be underestimated either. Although Kurama didn't show any slip-ups, Natori's gaze was clearly noticed by the boys. First yokai, now a serial murder case—wait, did I say serial? *turns head* ...Boys, hang in there!

Next up, the illustration for this chapter features the Rikkaidai boys—

Since this story's character designs lean toward the anime version, the illustration is from the anime too~ The curves of the boys' calves are truly beautiful! *holds face*

Finally, the usual preview for the next chapter: "Serial and Entanglement." What is the connection between the boys and the victim? Will they really be dragged into the incident? And is the culprit a human or a yokai? Will young Conan be of help in this incident? Will Kurama get involved and cross paths with Conan or the boys? Please look forward to the next chapter of *The Demon Fox Kurama*: "Serial and Entanglement"!

P.S. Thank you, Taxueling, for the landmine! *hugs and rubs* And continuing to roll around asking for bookmarks =w= I'm very good and easy to raise ->