Part 2
---[Underwood] Underground City, In front of the rubble that was the dormitory.
The cleaning up for the rubble on-scene had already begun. It had been an hour since the end of the Titan's surprise attack and in view of the need to complete their reconstructions before the eve of the Harvest Festival, every minute and second would be very precious to them.
Perhaps they should be grateful for the open heartedness of the South Side residents for being willing to hear out Yō's request as well as help her out even in the midst of their busy schedules.
However, upon seeing the corpse that was left of the headphones, Asuka had immediately expressed her thoughts:
"Just give it up."
"……Uh……Can't we try a little harder?"
"That's impossible. From the perspective of physics, it is completely impossible to restore its original appearance. Rather than trying to fix the headphones, you might as well try to think up a way to appease Izayoi-san."
Asuka had already given up on the headphones and was casting around for other suggestions to solve the problem.
Although Yō really wanted to repair those headphones regardless of its state…… alas, the world worked in a way which didn't allow everything to be as smooth-sailing as what one would have wanted.
If it were only the cushion or the headband that got separated, things would've looked much brighter. The problem was that the outer casing had been crushed completely and it would be an impossible task for the both of them to try fixing it.
"But…… talking about appeasing Izayoi……how should I do that?"
"Well, about that… I think the best choice…… Would be to package the Kuro Usagi-eating plant and Kuro Usagi as a set and……"
"What do you intent to do next, huh?! You baka!"
*Pak!* The attack launched with a paper fan came from behind.
Yō's eyes widened in alarm.
"That's a really great suggestion!"
"There should be limits on wanting to play dumb too!"
*Pak!* The paper fan came down once more.
It would seem that Kuro Usagi had already returned together with Jin and Jack from Sala's place.
And a depressed Calico cat was carried in Jin's arms.
"Seriously……Yō-san! We've already heard the details from Calico Cat-san. Why didn't you choose to come discuss with Kuro Usagi about it!"
"Uh……Because……The titans came suddenly and there wasn't time to talk about that kind of ……"
"Kuro Usagi isn't referring to that incident! I meant about the number of days that you can participate in the Harvest Festival! If you were willing to find Kuro Usagi to discuss, Kuro Usagi and Izayoi-san……and Asuka-san would have given Yō-san the priority to attend! But why was it that you refused to come talk to us about it?!"
Kuro Usagi grabbed Yō's shoulders and started to rock the whole person to and fro and to and fro and to and fro and to and fro and to and fro and to and fro and to and fro and to and fro[89] as she pressed her for the answers. Yō felt as though she were about to get a concussion, but it wasn't the time for her to care about such things.
"Bu……But……already... said that we would use the game to decide……"
"A game will always be just a game! But we live under the same roof, shared our good times and bad times as one and are comrades who fight shoulder to shoulder under the same flag! If you had any worries, it would be reasonable for you to have come to us to discuss it! Moreover……Yō-san, to actually be so worried to the extent of tampering with the game result! And Kuro Usagi being completely unaware of it……"
Yō and Asuka were startled and exchanged a look.
Then the sights of the two naturally turned towards Jack.
"Jack……was it you……"
"Yahoho……While we were on our way here, I had a talk with Kuro Usagi……Seems like it was something that I should have kept mum about."
He scratched his pumpkin head.
Kuro Usagi looked at the two of them with tears in her eyes.
"Jack-san told Kuro Usagi……the Gift Game that was previously hosted by [Will-O'-Wisp] was cleared by the both of you together. And though it was a game that they had clearly lost, Jack-san was still proudly talking about how the both of you displayed an admirable sense of teamwork, allowing him to gain quite a bit from it……"
"……Uu……"
The earnest tone of Kuro Usagi left the both of them speechless and they bowed their heads, looking down.
---That's right. Yō and Asuka had both participated in the game that [Will-O'-Wisp] hosted before the Harvest Festival.
That candlestick stand that could store fire was a trophy that the both of them had won together.
The first to be unable to stand the silence was Asuka who stepped forward trying to explain:
"No……Kuro Usagi, it's not like that! It was my initiative to suggest the plan to Yō-san……"
"No it's not. It's because Asuka saw me in my dilemma and was worried about me……"
"……No. Kuro Usagi also has a responsibility in causing both of you to be so bothered. It's because of Kuro Usagi's high expectations that caused the little gap to open between us...Kuro Usagi is really…Very sorry."
The three of them expressed their apologies in three different ways[90].
Jin who still carried Calico cat walked to Yō's side. Tilting his head, he asked:
"Are the headphones really done for?"
"……Nn…Really…Very sorry……"
"No. Since it's already spoilt, then there's no way either. If it is irreparable, then we can only choose another approach to solve the problem. And I have a proposal if you guys are willing to hear me out for a while?"
Hearing Jin's sudden proposition, Yō looked up in surprise. It would seem that Yō didn't expect Jin to come up with a proposal.
However, just at that moment, the bell that was used to alert everyone about an emergency started to toll and echo throughout [Underwood].
A teenage dryad girl leapt from the web like patterned tree roots and shouted to everyone:
"Bad News! The Titan tribe is leading a scary army of an unprecedented size……They have started their attack on [Underwood]!"
---Following that, the sound of the Earth being trampled upon reverberated through the entire Underground City.
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