Kaitansha HQ—-
A few days later, Hayate was standing before the Kaitansha HQ building, addressing the crowd on a stage with all of the Kaidanchō except Omariro behind him.
"I know we have failed you, good people of Japan," Hayate admitted. "And we are in no position to beg for your forgiveness. But I come to let you know that our wayward Kaidanchō have rejoined the Kaitansha, and that the threat from Dokkōdan has been vanquished!"
Reporters began shoving microphones into his face.
"What happened to that Herald?"
"Are you going to fix the damage to Minato?"
"Can we really trust the Kaitansha to handle threats like this?"
Yuka took the stand. "I know I led you all on, and that I attempted to run from my duties. For that, I'm sorry. We all are."
Mizuki, Kaoru, and Kōichu nodded.
"One thing I can promise you, is that we'll never run again. We won't hide behind pain and rallies, and we won't treat you as tools for our ideals."
She smiled at them. "Omariro will still be our pillar, but we'll stand beside him, not behind him. We'll give him all the support we can to help him deal with the threats you just witnessed destroy this city!"
The crowd cheered, as Atsushi put a hand on Yuka's shoulder. "Well said, Natori."
He looked around. "I see Nyugawa couldn't be bothered to show up. That old man is always ditching his responsibilities."
"I believe he's handling something more important," Mizuki pointed out. "We should leave him be."
Cellblock—-
Omariro used his staff to walk through the halls as he entered the cellblock, where sure enough, Shion, Mirei, and Han were all in separate cells. Kohaku was at the far end, giving Omariro a wave. "Ah, there you are, my love! Here to take me home?"
"No."
"Heh. I can wait longer. Take your time. And don't you dare grow weak on me!"
Omariro stopped in front of Mirei's cell, who was standing up and looking at the wall. When she noticed him, she turned. "Hmph. Master. Did you come to free me?"
"No."
Mirei looked him dead in the eyes. "I love you, Master. How can you sit here and keep me locked away? How can you leave me and Shion and everyone else behind?"
"Kids murdered thousands," Omariro explained. "Kids refuse to atone."
Mirei slammed her hand on the wall. "It was for you! All of it was for you! Don't you understand? We did everything, became everything, endured everything, all because we wanted to be your students forever!"
"Girl lost way. Girl sit in cell and think about actions."
Shion lifted his head. "So, how long must we remain in this prison, Master? I guess you're pleased with everything, eh?"
Omariro looked at him. "Boy overconfident. Became boy's downfall. Reason beneath none. Lesson you must learn."
"Our love for you remains, Master," he promised. "Despite you shunning us, we will not falter. You will accept us once more. The other Heralds will make sure of that. Especially our Regent."
He stared at her. "She and our Lord have been dying to see you, Master."
"Hmph."
Mirei locked eyes with him as he went over to Han. "You're mine, Master. All mine."
Han remained in his cell, unmoving. Omariro addressed him. "Boy."
"I'm sorry about all of this, Sir," he apologized. "Clearly I went too far. And for nothing. Minato is destroyed."
"Boy's choice was mistake," Omariro told him. "I allowed choice. Fault not on boy alone. Boy must repent."
"I can't, sir. I'll never be back in the group. All of them hate me. Please, just leave me in this cell."
Omariro tapped his staff. "Boy must not become True Herald. True Herald beyond saving. Boy is not."
Han briefly looked up. "Really?"
"Yes."
Zaria entered the room. "Oh, there you are, sir. I just wanted to let you know we were ready to leave whenever you are."
She noticed Han, and she immediately gave him a cold glare, before hugging Omariro and leaving with no words.
"Uh-oh," Kohaku remarked. "Do I smell tension in the air?"
Marin and Hayate entered the room, examining Han. Hayate pressed his hand to the wall, meditating. "Hmm. It seems whatever power those Heralds gave him isn't permanent. I can use my Void Capsule to drag it out."
"Begin," Omariro ordered. "Power too dangerous for boy."
Hayate formed a Void Capsule around Han, and bit by bit, it began draining Daraku energy. To everyone's shock, the energy returned to Omariro.
"Omariro?" Marin questioned. "Are you…?"
"Power is mine," Omariro assured her. "Children merely stole it."
"We didn't steal it!" Mirei hissed. "We helped ease your curse!"
"Quiet, girl."
Hayate removed his Void Capsule, revealing Han, now without his armor. "Han. Even though you did ultimately help us out a ton by converting Yūto and his group and stopping a Herald, your crimes of treason cannot be overlooked. While you may not have hurt anyone personally, you gave the enemy support in their raid."
"I apologize, sir," Han said.
"You will be placed on house arrest until further notice," Hayate told him. "While we don't approve of what you did, this cell block is reserved for monsters, not merely teenagers who made a bad choice."
With a keycard, Hayate opened the cellblock doors, and an ankle monitor was placed on Han's ankle by an agent. "I appreciate the second chance, sir."
The agents led Han outside as Omariro began to leave. Mirei folded her arms. "Seriously? You leave us here, but he gets to go? We were under you for over a decade! He's only been with you a few months!"
"Girl will understand," Omariro told her. "Or girl will rot."
"Argh!"
He left, leaving Mirei alone, and she started to laugh. "That's fine. I still love you more than anything…what's another 40 years? I'll find you! I promise!"
Han and Omariro were escorted outside the HQ building as Hayate surveyed the damage. "Tsk. This might take a week. I'll have some Stone and Concrete Mahōshi come and deal with this. Maybe some Sōunsha too."
"Home need repairs," Omariro told him. "Fix home."
"Yeah, we'll work on restoring Minato Ward as well. It could take up to half a year, but I've got the best Kaitansha working to fix it!"
"Bring back home," Omariro demanded. "Or stick hit face."
"We'll work hard on it! I promise! In the meantime, do you have any suitable housing, or do you need us to help with that?"
"One remains," he noted. "Karuizawa."
"Ah. I'd almost forgotten. Why don't you ever go there?"
"Minato House maintained seal. No Minato House. No seal."
"Seal? You mean—-?"
Omariro nodded. "Yes."
He began to walk away. "Come, boy."
Hayate watched as they left, but when he turned around, Yūto, Airi, and Rio were standing there, expectantly. "You three. What do you want?"
"So, well…" Yūto admitted. "We'd like you to, you know…"
"Basically, we want our reward for helping," Airi insisted. "A home. A real one, this time."
Rio nodded. "Without the threat of death around our necks."
"Right. What to do about you…? You've got skills, so you could make proper Kaitansha. It's all about which Kaidanchō would be willing to pick you up…"
"I'll do it."
Kōichi walked up to Hayate. "Three rebellious kids with no common decency or respect? Sign me up."
"Kōichi! Perfect! Just the man I was thinking of! Kids, say hello to Kadianchō Kamishiro! You might know him as the leader of Eikaidan."
The kids shared mixed looks.
"Couldn't we get Mr. Nyugawa instead?" Yūto asked.
"Yeah, I want him," Airi stated.
"Agreed," Rio added.
Kōichi formed a cobweb, trapping them all inside it. "First order of business, runts. You don't talk back to your leader, got it?"
"Okay, okay! Sorry!" they said.
"Good. If you'll excuse me, Director, I'll be sending these brats through the wringer while I take a much-needed bath."
"Best of luck with that."
Kōichi dragged the former Dokkōdan trio along as Hayate stared at the HQ. "I wonder what's in store for us next. More Heralds? Another Huntress? Goodness, the possibilities are too much for me to bear…"
He headed inside the building, as the night grew long and quiet.
Karuizawa, Japan—-
The kids all walked into a large quiet mansion with their suitcases, admiring the decor and interior.
"Sir, this is badass!" Zaria complimented. "Is everything you do and own amazing?"
"It must be!" Rika said, clapping. "I'm so glad you took us in! Can I stream this to my followers?"
"No," he shot down.
"Aww…"
Nonoka walked up to Omariro, leaning into him. "I'm sorry about your house, Master."
Rei took his hand in hers. "Me too. Is there any way we could rebuild it? Like, the same way?"
"House gone. Repairs extensive. Come. Gather in new house."
The girls all went off to assign rooms as Sōshin dragged Han inside by the arm. "Come, Friend Han! You're still part of the group!"
"Barely," Han muttered. "Sōshin, you should go hang with the girls. Not a loser like me."
"Don't say that, Friend! Everyone messes up sometimes! What matters is you're back, and all our friends are alive!"
"I guess…"
Rika and Zaria were holding up girly outfits, matching with each other as they walked down the stairs toward Omariro.
"Sir, should we wear these?" Rika asked. "It took a lot of convincing for Zaria to put these on, but she said she'll do it for you!"
"Girls wear what they wish."
"Guess that's a yes!"
Both of them planted a kiss on his cheeks as they left, with Omariro noticing their sway in demeanor. "Girls different."
"They've cut me off," Han told him. "They probably decided to latch onto you harder, sir."
"It's okay!" Sōshin told him. "They'll get over it!"
Nonoka bumped past Han, rubbing Sōshin on the head and hugging Omariro before heading for her own room. Han sighed, lowering his head.
"Will they?"
Emeru emerged from Sōshin's shirt, forming into a humanoid girl. "I'll forgive you if you give me food! Feed me right now!"
"Sure, Emeru."
"Okay! You're forgiven!"
Han took her to the kitchen, briefly looking back at the girls, who were gathered on the steps as they talked. Zaria noticed him staring at her, then the others did, and they quickly hurried away. He caught a glimpse of the dirty looks they shot him.
"Han, you really screwed up," he told himself. "You're an asshole."
Minato Ward—-
A large green blob with multiple arms and legs tore through the wreckage of Minato, scouting for any sign of survivors.
"No trace of life. No trace of Nyugawa."
He stomped toward the destroyed Shinkaidan Mansion, where agents were surveying the damage. As soon as they noticed him, he quickly swallowed them, munching on their flesh.
The blob revealed itself to be Emerald, who landed on the mansion's remains. He picked up a picture. "Nyugawa's home. The coward fled. With my sister, nonetheless."
He stomped through the rest of the rubble, finding nothing of note, but as he prepared to leave, a golden sigil caught his attention, and he picked it up.
"What is this?"
The sigil began to shake, and golden light trickled out of it as it exploded, forming a golden orb that floated in the sky.
"You…" the orb spoke. "Who are you…?"
"My name is Emerald," the slime stated. "I come looking to kill Omariro Nyugawa."
"Nyugawa…" the orb noted. "My captor. Yes…he must die."
"Ah. Then it appears we share the same goals. Who might you be, friend?"
"Behemoth…" the orb spoke. "Lord of Earth, and Nyugawa's pet no longer. I reside deep below the lands, my power sealed."
"Then Behemoth, I shall free you, and in exchange, you will help me save my sister."
"A fair trade. Come, slime. Free the Lord of the Earth once more, and we shall kill Omariro Nyugawa."
Emerald took the orb, disappearing as more agents rolled onto the scene.
——