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"Who's that?"
Still outside the gate and already being blocked, Kuroka raised an eyebrow slightly.
As the strongest combat type among the nekomata—the nekoshō—her temper was never exactly what one would call gentle.
The so-called "gentle and cute demeanor" was reserved only for Bokue Keikain; anyone else foolish enough to anger her would simply be shown firsthand what true cruelty meant.
Especially now—after years of Bokue's "careful training"—her power had long since reached the level of a legendary yōkai.
"That's Ryūji Keikain—he's my little sister Yura's older brother." Bokue Keikain said casually.
Bokue's little sister's brother?
Kuroka blinked at the strange way Bokue phrased it, then quickly pieced it together.
"Eh? Wait, but... you two don't look anything alike!"
"Well, our Keikain Clan is kinda special."
Bokue shrugged and explained.
"Ever since the thirteenth family head, our clan has followed a special tradition. Instead of bloodlines, the next head is chosen from among the branch families—whoever shows the most talent gets adopted into the main family. In short, it's a merit-based system, not inherited by blood."
"Technically, Yura and I are both from the Keikain main family now, and on the family tree we appear as biological siblings. But originally, when we were still part of the branch families, our blood relation was already four or five generations apart. As for Ryūji—he was Yura's real brother when they were still branch family members."
"Ohhh?"
Kuroka made a sound that suggested she'd sniffed out something suspicious.
Come to think of it, this was the first time she was hearing about these family dynamics from Bokue.
But thinking about it—it was kind of like when families remarry and siblings come from different original parents.
A little sister clinging to her second brother, while her first brother resents that second brother...
In this case, the pattern was obvious—
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"Yo!"
Without paying any attention to the scowl thrown his way, Bokue Keikain strolled forward, raised a hand, and greeted lazily:
"Long time no see, Ryūji. What's with the attitude? This is my house, isn't it? I'm just coming home—what's the problem?"
"Problem? You're asking if there's Problem?"
The black-haired young man's face darkened, his teeth clenched tightly— It was as if Bokue had plucked the final fraying nerve of his sanity.
"You vanished for ten years without a single word, not a shred of warning—and now you just waltz back in like nothing happened, saying 'my house' as if that solves everything! Do you have any idea how Yura felt all these years—"
"Whoa, stop right there."
Bokue raised both hands as if physically pushing the air back.
"Don't make it sound so weird. You're making it seem like I ditched Yura and broke her heart like some scumbag boyfriend."
"I just haven't been staying at home these past few years—more precisely, I haven't been living at the Kyoto estate. I didn't completely disappear. I wasn't lost. I wasn't dead—And I wasn't captured by Orochimaru for human experiments or anything."
"And didn't I leave you a message for Yura before I left? Didn't you tell her?"
"Huh?"
Ryūji's forehead twitched violently.
Bokue narrowed his eyes slightly, drilling down:
"You seriously forgot? I even remember what I said word for word— Yura, your dear brother is going out for training. I'm not missing. I'm not dead. Definitely not abducted by Orochimaru. So please, don't pull a Naruto-level clingy drama queen act chasing after me. Not that you could catch up even if you tried. So just think about it, don't act on it. Anyway, stay healthy, study hard, make me proud—see you someday!"
Without even pausing for breath, Bokue rattled off the entire speech smoothly, casually, as if it had been etched into his memory.
Also—what the hell was that about "Orochimaru human experiment" and "Naruto-level clingy girl" references?
By the time Bokue finished, Ryūji's face had gone completely black.
But Bokue acted like he hadn't noticed a thing.
He walked up, gave Ryūji a hearty slap on the shoulder like they were old drinking buddies, and said brightly:
"Well, sneaking back quietly like this really isn't my style anyway. Guess I should make a proper entrance—"
"Hey—!"
Ryūji realized what Bokue was about to do and tried to stop him—but it was already too late.
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The boy's body erupted in golden spiritual flames, blazing across his entire figure.
Even the shockwave of raw power he released sent Ryūji stumbling backward several steps.
Bokue inhaled deeply, spiritual energy surging.
"I——AM——BACK——!!!"
His voice boomed across Kyoto like a peal of thunder from Heaven—echoing for hundreds of miles without straining his throat at all.
Like a king announcing his return.
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After that mighty roar, Bokue didn't say another word.
Instead, he listened quietly—listened to the Keikain estate behind the gate, which in just a few seconds went from peaceful silence to absolute chaos.
Satisfied, Bokue turned back toward the girls—who had wisely plugged their ears ahead of time.
Grinning, he waved them forward.
Then, like it was the most natural thing in the world, he bent down, slung the unconscious Ryūji over his shoulder, and strode inside.
"Come on, come on— Let's see how much things have changed around here."
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As Bokue and the others passed through the main gate, they soon reached the steps before the grand Main Hall.
There, standing neatly under the steps, was a black-haired girl in a junior high school uniform, waiting quietly.
She wasn't very tall—only reaching about Bokue's waist—and looked like she was still at the age where being scolded by a teacher would make her clutch her sleeves and tear up.
Her features somewhat resembled Ryūji's, but where Ryūji was cold and sharp, this girl gave off a feeling more like morning dew in winter— Chilly, but not gloomy.
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Bokue stopped at the bottom of the steps.
Without hesitation, he casually tossed the still-unconscious Ryūji off his shoulder and to the side.
Then, smiling warmly, he stepped forward and scooped the black-haired girl up into a huge hug.
"Yura~! Long time no see! Did you miss me? Aren't you happy to see me?"
"Mmm..."
The cool-faced girl was caught completely off guard by his sudden enthusiasm.
A faint blush rose on her pale cheeks, and her beautiful dark eyes shyly glanced away.
"Not that surprised, honestly... Even if you hadn't come back today, I was going to call you later and tell you to come back tomorrow."
"Oh?"
Bokue raised an eyebrow.
He was just about to tease her for developing such bossy-sister energy when the girl continued:
"Around noon, the Lion King Organization contacted the Keikain Clan. They said there's a classified matter they want to discuss—and they specifically requested you be present."
"...Huh?"
The Lion King Organization?
Looking for him?
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