Time passed unnoticed. The orange sky had long deepened into a velvet night, and the silver moon hung lazily over the dark trees, casting a soft glow over the backyard.
The breeze was cool, the stars were twinkling, and Daita… was regretting every life choice that had led him to this moment. But it was far, far too late for regrets now.
Astra was hiccuping uncontrollably, her cheeks flushed as she swung an invisible sword through the air, mumbling, "I-I challenge the moon to a duel…! Come down here and fight me properly!"
Meanwhile, Arisu had decided the tree next to them was actually her long-lost ancestor.
She was petting its bark lovingly, whispering, "Great-Great-Great Grandpa… you've come back… but why you look so… wooden…"
Daita, who had somehow gotten stuck between the two chaos machines, was now standing awkwardly, gripping them both by the arms to stop them from wandering off into different disasters. His face was paler than a ghost's, eyes darting around as if praying someone would magically come save him.
"Please…someone…anyone…" he muttered miserably.
Astra suddenly turned to him with great seriousness, swaying dangerously, and poked his forehead.
"Hey you… listen closely…" she slurred. "I have decided… I'm going to become a celestial potato… and fly among the stars."
Daita blinked, stunned into silence, as Arisu gasped next to him and clapped her hands in excitement. "Me too! I'll be the queen of flying potatoes!"
"No, wait, wait, WAIT—!" Daita panicked, trying to hold them both back as they staggered forward as if trying to literally ascend into the sky.
He tightened his grip on their arms, muttering in absolute horror, "What did I get myself into…?!"
Daita was barely holding them back as Astra ranted about her celestial potato destiny and Arisu insisted she was summoning the spirit of the Great potato King. The two girls flailed their arms dramatically, pulling him left and right like two untrained puppies on leashes.
He felt his last thread of patience snap. Enough was enough.
Daita suddenly dropped their arms and stepped back, brushing his sleeves like he was preparing for battle.
In a swift, motion before Astra could attempt another somersault toward the moon Daita raised his hand with grim determination, muttered, "You want to become a flying potato right?! " and flicked Astra right in the center of her forehead.
Thunk!
Astra blinked once…..Twice.
Then—
Thud!
She collapsed backward like a falling tree, landing on the grass with a soft "oof."
Daita exhaled slowly, as if he had just defeated a mighty beast. He knelt down and carefully dragged Astra up, propping her against the tree trunk, making sure her head didn't loll too ridiculously.
Meanwhile, Arisu stared at the whole scene, wide-eyed and swaying, before she loudly gasped and pointed at Daita, her face horrified.
"You—!" she cried, her words slightly slurred, "You used forbidden technique!! You turned her into a… into a… sleeping potato!!"
Daita, still adjusting Astra like she was a heavy sack of rice, gave her a deadpan look.
"Making her sleep is peaceful right now," he muttered under his breath.
Arisu stumbled a few steps forward, poking Astra's cheek cautiously like she might explode.
When Astra gave a little snore instead, Arisu turned to Daita, pouted, and declared proudly,
"Fear not! I… I shall avenge my fallen comrade!"
She swung her arms wide… lost balance… and nearly faceplanted into the same tree.
Daita just caught her in time with one hand, his expression exhausted beyond words.
Arisu flailed in his grip, squinting suspiciously up at him. "W-What?! Leave me! Are you gonna flick my head too?!" she accused, wriggling like a stubborn toddler. "Are you gonna make me unconscious too with your forbidden tactics?!"
"Shut up," Daita snapped, his voice dry and utterly done. "Can't you be quiet for even a little?"
He tightened his hold on her before she could slip again, muttering under his breath,
"If you weren't Grandpa's granddaughter, I wouldn't be this nice toward you. Believe me."
Arisu puffed her cheeks out like a sulky child, wobbling unsteadily on her feet.
"Now just listen," Daita continued firmly, trying to keep her upright, "I'll take you back home. Just go and sleep. You won't sober up easily after drinking two bottles. It'll take at least a day to clear out, and after that—" he gave her a pointed look, "you're going to have a terrible hangover. A very terrible one."
Arisu blinked at him slowly, clearly struggling to focus, then turned her head to look at Astra, who was still slumped against the tree.
She pointed at Astra accusingly with a wobbling finger, her mouth opening—
then closing then opening again like a goldfish.
Before she could launch into another speech, Daita sighed and said flatly, "She's fine. I just made her sleep for a while. It's nothing harmful."
Arisu blinked again, still staring at Astra's peacefully snoring face.
"Now come with me," Daita ordered, no longer bothering to ask nicely. He grabbed Arisu by the arms and began dragging her along. Arisu shuffled after him reluctantly, still twisting her neck around to peek at Astra every two steps.
As she stumbled along, she whispered in an overly serious tone, "Blink twice if you're trapped, Astra…!"
Astra, blissfully asleep, just snored softly in response.
The street stretched ahead, long and silent under the pale moonlight. Crickets chirped lazily somewhere in the distance. The soft clack of Daita's boots echoed as he half-walked, half-dragged Arisu along.
She was swaying like a reed in the wind, humming some strange, tuneless melody under her breath.
Daita gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on her arm. He could practically feel his patience thinning by the second.
"Hold still," he hissed under his breath. "You're making us look like criminals sneaking off after a heist."
Arisu ignored him completely, instead leaning dangerously to the side, pointing at nothing in particular and mumbling, "Look…the moon is following us… suspiciously… we should…hide!"
Daita yanked her upright again before she could dive into a bush.
"It's the moon. It's supposed to be there!" he snapped, dragging her forward like a stubborn mule.
For a moment, there was peace. Arisu walked beside him quietly. Daita exhaled in relief.
Then she suddenly froze in place, gasped loudly, and clutched her chest. "My heart! I think it's…being kidnapped!"
Daita whirled around, eyes wide with horror. "WHAT?!"
She just wobbled on her feet and dramatically whispered, "By a handsome guy…"
Daita stared at her. Just stared.
Then he placed a hand over his face, inhaling deeply, trying to summon every ounce of self-restraint he had left. He could feel the urge in his fingers…the burning temptation…Just one flick to the forehead. Just one more and peace will return.
But he shook the thought off violently.
"No, no. Control yourself, Daita," he muttered. "If you make her unconscious too, then you'll have to carry her all the way…and I'm not carrying a drunk pretty lady through the streets looking like some kidnapper."
Meanwhile, Arisu had found a random stick and was now waving it around like a sword.
"Fear not, citizen! I, Arisu the Brave, shall protect you from the Bandits!" she declared loudly, swishing the stick so hard she almost hit Daita's head.
"FOR THE LOVE OF—"
Daita ducked, barely avoiding getting whacked, "PUT THAT DOWN!"
"Never!" Arisu yelled heroically, now running forward with the stick held high.
Daita ran his hand down his face, frustration boiling over.
"Daita! You should have thought about this! You wanted have some fun right?!… Are you having fun now?" he scolded himself under his breath. "Tsk… what am I even doing? I have to go to the mountain too!! I can't waste anymore time!"
He snapped his head up toward Arisu who had somehow sprinted several meters ahead, still brandishing her stick like a drunken knight errant.
Daita inhaled deeply through his nose, steadying his mind. Enough was enough.
He stepped back slightly, body relaxing into perfect balance.
And then in a flash he moved.
Like a sudden gust of wind slicing through the silent night, Daita closed the distance between them. So fast, the surrounding air barely even stirred.
Arisu, still humming nonsense to herself, blinked as she suddenly felt… something.
A weird, almost ghostly sensation crawling at the back of her neck.
She whipped around, wide-eyed Only to see… absolutely nothing. The empty, moonlit street stared back at her.
"Huh…?" she slurred, scratching her head lazily. With a shrug, she turned back around and nearly jumped out of her skin.
Daita was standing right in front of her. Silent. Expression blank.
Her pupils dilated in slow horror.
Before she could so much as open her mouth to yell,
thwack!
A single, sharp flick to the forehead. Arisu's body stiffened dramatically and then, like a puppet whose strings had been cut,
thud!
She collapsed forward right into Daita's waiting arms. He caught her easily with one arm, his expression exhausted beyond words.
"Finally," Daita muttered, shifting her weight more comfortably against him. "I should get an award for this. Or a pardon from the heavens."
Without wasting another second, he bent down slightly and hoisted Arisu up — throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of rice.
Daita exhaled deeply, gathering his strength.He took a step back, his body tensing again, ready to sprint at full speed and just end this miserable night…
But just as he bent his knees to launch off, Arisu, half-asleep, muttered against his back:
"Nooo… fast… slow… no speed…"
Daita froze.
He stood there for a long moment, eyes twitching, before sighing in utter defeat. Reluctantly, he straightened and began to walk step by slow, dragging step carrying Arisu like a bag of problems under the soft glow of the moon.
After what felt like an eternity of walking, Daita finally stopped a little distance away from the Kaneko mansion, slipping behind a nearby wall. His gaze quickly shifted to the two guards sleeping lazily by the gates neither of them seemed the least bit concerned.
He sighed in exasperation, noticing how they barely even moved, as though they'd been put there to sleep on the job.
Turning his attention to Arisu, Daita adjusted her, still unconscious, her head lolling against his shoulder as she mumbled in her sleep. He stared at her for a moment, then sighed, realizing there was no way around it.
With a groan, he muttered under his breath, "I don't think I have a choice now."
Deciding that the only way forward was to carry her inside himself, Daita began shifting her over his shoulder again. But just as his foot took the first step forward, a firm hand grabbed his arm, halting him.
Before Daita could turn, a voice full of shock and confusion rang out,
"Seventh Prince! What are you doing here?!"
Daita's muscles relaxed in immediate relief as he turned, facing the source of the voice. There, standing with a mix of concern and disbelief, was Zuzu, now dressed as Lady Suzuran. His eyes widened as he took in the scene, looking between Daita and the sleeping Arisu.
Daita glanced back at Arisu, briefly considering his options. He placed her gently against the wall and raised an eyebrow at Zuzu's reaction.
"What are you doing here?" Daita asked nonchalantly. "You said you succeeded in making her ask you to stay with her."
Zuzu ignored the question, his gaze flicking back to Arisu, still cradled in Daita's arms.
"But what are you doing here with… Grandpa's granddaughter?" Zuzu's voice was full of shock. "At this late hour? And why is she like this?!"
Daita was about to speak when Zuzu suddenly paused, his eyes widening as a new thought occurred to him. He took a dramatic step back and gasped.
"Don't tell me that your method was this?!" Zuzu's voice grew incredulous. "Seventh Prince, are you playing cheap tricks to blackmail Grandpa into agreeing?! No! Oh heavens!"
His hands flew to his mouth, eyes wide in horror at the realization. Daita, trying not to kill, stepped forward and smacked Zuzu's head harshly.
"Don't be ridiculous," Daita muttered. "It's not what you see."
Zuzu blinked, still wide-eyed, as Daita shifted, preparing to move again.
"Really, Mule-bag. Do you think I'd stoop to that level?"
Zuzu rubbed his head, trying to recover from the shock. "I didn't think you'd do something like that, but…" He trailed off, looking back at Arisu. "No one knows what with runs in your head."
Daita rolled his eyes and huffed, muttering under his breath, "Unbelievable."