At Morpheus's question, Hachiman Hikigaya's expression grew uneasy, his eyes flicking toward Yukino Yukinoshita.
It wasn't just him. Yui Yuigahama, Hayato Hayama, and Yumiko Miura all turned their gazes to the poised young lady.
Yumiko, with her fiery temper, snapped, "We have her to thank for this mess."
She shot Yukino a sharp glare.
Yukino responded promptly, "This is my fault. I didn't expect Kyoto's nights to truly belong to yokai. I'll take responsibility for today's events."
Yumiko scoffed. "Responsibility? How? If someone hadn't saved us, we'd all be dead in the yokai's clutches. What could you possibly do?"
The others joined in, voicing their complaints against Yukino.
Yui Yuigahama quickly intervened. "You can't blame Yukino for this."
Yumiko rounded on her. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"
Hachiman, ever calm, said, "She's just stating the facts, isn't she?"
Yumiko's temper flared further as she glared at Hachiman. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying we're wrong to blame her?"
Hachiman's dead-fish eyes remained impassive. "Going out at night was a group decision. That's a fact. Why should Yukino bear all the blame?"
"Don't you share even a fraction of the responsibility? Or any of you?"
His sharp gaze swept over the group, and their faces grew uneasy.
Morpheus raised an eyebrow and addressed Hachiman. "Tell me the full story."
Nominated, Hachiman didn't hesitate. He nodded and recounted the night's events.
It turned out their presence in Kyoto was simple: a school trip.
For students in Tokyo, or across Japan, such trips were routine, almost mundane.
They happened nearly every year.
This time, their school had chosen Kyoto as the destination.
Hachiman and his group weren't strangers to Kyoto's reputation, though none had visited. They'd heard countless tales, including the saying that after midnight, Kyoto belonged to yokai.
The group was skeptical, caught between belief and doubt.
In an era of rampant rumors, it was hard to discern truth from fiction.
So, upon arriving in Kyoto, they were torn—curious to witness the truth but wary of being spotted by yokai.
It was a contradictory mindset.
The topic came up during a discussion on the train.
Yukino, in the same carriage, overheard and found it absurd.
Yokai?
In this day and age?
She wasn't entirely dismissive of the supernatural—vampires openly ruled a Dominion in the Europe, so yokai weren't implausible.
But the idea that Kyoto's nights were ruled by yokai? Yukino didn't buy it.
Did they think the government was incompetent?
How could such nonsense be real?
When Yui asked for her opinion, Yukino didn't hold back, bluntly sharing her skepticism.
Some students who believed in yokai challenged her, sparking a debate.
But they were no match for Yukino's sharp wit and were thoroughly dismantled.
Then, one student stood up and said, "If you don't believe Kyoto's nights belong to yokai, why don't you go wander the streets after midnight?"
"Childish," Yukino replied, dismissing the provocation.
School trip rules were strict: all students had to be in their rooms by ten, with teachers patrolling to enforce it.
Breaking curfew meant a mark on her record, and Yukino wasn't about to tarnish her pristine academic file over a silly dare.
But when she refused, her classmates took it as fear.
Those who disliked her began to jeer.
"Scared, huh?"
"All talk, but you're just bluffing."
Yukino found their taunts juvenile. Did they really think such a basic ploy would goad her?
Well, it did.
In front of everyone, she declared she'd go out after midnight to prove Kyoto's nights weren't ruled by yokai.
No such absurdity could exist.
So, after midnight that night, Yukino slipped out of her room to validate her stance.
But as she left, she ran into Yui Yuigahama, Yumiko Miura, Hachiman Hikigaya, and Hayato Hayama.
Yui and Hachiman were worried about her.
Yumiko and the others? They were there to supervise, ensuring Yukino didn't just take a quick stroll by the door to fool them.
So, they decided to follow her.
Morpheus listened, utterly baffled by their logic. "I don't get it. You all believed Kyoto's nights belonged to yokai, yet you followed Yukino out? Weren't you afraid of running into them?"
At his question, the group flushed, unable to respond.
Hachiman, ever incisive, cut through the silence. "You're right. We did consider that."
"Sure, we said we believed in yokai, but deep down, it's hard to picture something you've never seen. There's no clear image."
"So, we were skeptical, or rather, curious."
"Do yokai really exist?"
"If they do, what are they like?"
"Driven by that curiosity, we followed Yukino."
"And we ended up in this mess. We're truly sorry for the trouble."
With that, Hachiman bowed to Morpheus again.
Morpheus clicked his tongue. As expected of the Great Teacher—Hachiman had dissected their motives with surgical precision.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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