Yusuke

“You live in this dump?” I say, dumbfounded, gaping at the old two-story building in front of me. The place isn’t dirty, but it’s clearly meant for underprivileged humans and hardly suitable for an angel princess. Not to mention, the neighborhood seems dark and dangerous, which adds to my unease.

“Please, do not call my apartment a dump,” Fukuyama-san grumbles, her cheeks puffed out. “It is my current home, you know.”

“I’m sorry, but there’s no way this dump is your home. Are you lying to me so that I can’t find where you really live? Is it because I’m a demon? Don’t you trust me?” I retort, still shocked. “I swear that this building is going to collapse any minute now.”

Fukuyama-san releases my hand and heads toward the stairs. “Thank you for protecting me from the attackers and bringing me home, Hasegawa-san.” She waves goodbye with her back to me.

I poke my head inside the car and instruct the servant to return to the mansion. “Go back to the mansion, Fukuo. I’ll be staying here for a while.”

“But, Your Highness, this place isn’t—”

“It’s an order,” I declare, my voice grave and my expression serious.

“Yes, Your Highness. Please, take care,” the servant responds before speeding off.

“Wait, why are you not inside that car that just drove away? Why are you still here?” Fukuyama-san stands still in the middle of the stairs to the second floor, staring at me with wide eyes.

My lips curl into a smug smile as I respond, “I’m staying here with you until I deem it safe.” I slowly walk toward her.

She gasps. “What? You are joking, right?”

I shake my head. “Nope.” I walk past her and continue up the stairs, deliberately ignoring the angel’s complaints about my stubbornness and need to do whatever I want.

I’m genuinely worried about her safety. Since the assailants are hybrids, I have an idea of who might be behind the attack, but I can’t accuse someone without concrete proof. I’m uncertain whether they’re after the angel princess or Fukuyama Nami, which is why I don’t intend to let my guard down and give them an opportunity to finish what they started before I intervened.

“Hasegawa-san?” Fukuyama-san stops in front of the last door at the far right end of the second floor. “My apartment is this one.” She unlocks and opens it, gesturing for me to go inside. “I am not pleased that you have chosen to invade my private space without consulting me first, but I am not going to lie—I am relieved that you are keeping me company tonight, as I am still shaken by the attack.”

I smile in response and step into the entryway without any hesitation, internally excited to be here. “It’ll be my pleasure to keep you company for as long as you wish, Princess Nami.”

She follows me and locks the door behind us, frowning. “It is weird when you call me Princess Nami.”

I tilt my head to the side after taking off my shoes. “Why?”

She doesn’t answer. Instead, she leads me to another room, which I assume is her bedroom due to the white bed against one of the white walls. There’s also a small white desk with a floor chair underneath it, a small white bookshelf with fashion magazines, a built-in wardrobe on another wall, a thirty-two-inch TV on a white TV stand, a white carpet, and that’s it.

“I’m guessing your favorite color is white,” I comment, suddenly feeling awkward and shy about being in her room.

“As a matter of fact, it is. I also like light purple, but it is challenging to find furniture in that color here in the human realm.” Fukuyama-san glances at me. “Why are you blushing? Have you never been in a girl’s bedroom before?” She smirks, dropping her shoulder bag onto her bed.

I look away from her, mortified that my own body is betraying me, and reply, “Yes, I have.” It’s true; I’ve been in other girls’ rooms before, but only for brief moments, and I’ve never felt any interest in their decorations or in simply seeing what they looked like. For example, I’ve been to Emica’s bedroom several times, but I can’t tell the color of the walls or what furniture—aside from the bed—it has because I’ve never cared to look.

Fukuyama-san rolls her eyes and snorts. “Of course, you have. You are the school’s heartbreaker, after all.”

Do I sense a tinge of jealousy in her voice, or am I imagining it?

I clear my throat and put on a nonchalant mask to hide my true emotions, avoiding any embarrassment. “Your apartment is really small. Where is the kitchen?”

“We walked past it on our way to this room.” She points to the door that leads to the entryway. “It is right next to the entryway.”

I blink a couple of times, puzzled. “I don’t remember seeing a kitchen on our way here. Can I check it?” I reach for the door handle.

She shrugs and sits on the bed, crossing her legs. “Go ahead.”

I open the door and glance at the tight, short hallway, and lo and behold, there are indeed two small counters against the wall with a compact sink and a single-burner electric stove on them. I also see a small fridge and a five-kilogram washing machine crammed into the space.

“Geez, how can you live in this dump? Really?” I say, baffled by the angel’s living conditions.

Although I can’t see Fukuyama-san, I hear her sarcastic response. “Excuse you for not living in a mansion.”

I step back into the bedroom, my mouth still hanging open. “Did you deliberately choose this place when you moved to Tokyo?”

“My father did.”

“But why?” My exasperation is palpable at this point.

“Because no one would expect a princess to live here.”

I fall into thought as I make sense of her words.

It’s true; no one would expect to find the angel princess in a dump like this. I suppose she’s safer here than in a fancier neighborhood.

A fluffy white cat appears out of nowhere on Fukuyama-san’s lap. Due to its glowing dark blue wings and majestic appearance, I assume it’s the guardian the angel mentioned when she bought the collar.

It meows and purrs happily upon receiving head scratches from the angel, who is more than ecstatic to give it lots of cuddles.

“Hi, Yuki. I am back.” Fukuyama-san gazes lovingly at the ball of fur lying on her thighs.

“What exactly is that?” I point at the cat. “I’ve never seen a cat with wings before.”

Fukuyama-san looks up, our eyes locking immediately. “He is a Cat Guardian, more specifically, a guardian from the Kingdom of Angels.”

As though noticing my presence for the first time, the cat glances at me. 

“Will it hiss at me because I’m a demon?” I wonder silently, observing its reaction warily. To my relief, it does nothing.

Fukuyama-san continues, “My brother told me I should bring him to Tokyo with me to keep me company and protect me if necessary because, apparently, he can use magic even in the human realm.”

“Really? That’s interesting. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it’s a guardian rather than a normal cat.” As I speak, my eyes start to itch, and my throat starts to scratch. A sudden sneeze erupts from my body with full force, startling both the cat and Fukuyama-san, the latter rising to her feet and approaching me, looking surprised.

“Do not tell me that you are allergic to Yuki?” she asks, holding the cat right in front of my face, which makes me sneeze again and again. She laughs, amused. “Oh, you are allergic to him. That is a pity because I really would like for you two to get along well.” She plants a kiss on the cat’s head. “Can you do that for me, Yuki? Please? Can you be a nice kitty and do something about the demon’s allergy?”

The cat nuzzles against her chin and purrs. “Meow!” When it looks at me again, its deep blue eyes shine with such intensity that I feel blinded for a moment.

“What the—?” I glance up, my eyes widening in alarm as I see a ball of water forming above me, ready to explode at any second.

“Yuki, stop!” Fukuyama-san begs, panicking. “The water ball is going to soak my entire room.”

Despite her pleading, the next thing I know, the ball of water explodes, drenching me from head to toe in crystalline, cold water and almost literally freezing me on the spot. I tremble from the cold, wishing I were in the Kingdom of Demons at that particular moment, where it’s warm, with fire pits spread throughout the entire kingdom.

“My bedroom,” Fukuyama-san shrieks. “Wait a minute. The floor is dry.” She gazes at me. “Yuu-kun, why is the floor dry? Why are you the only one wet? How is that possible?”

A massive smile spreads across my face as I notice, “You called me Yuu-kun for the first time.” My heart leaps in my chest, my stomach fluttering like nothing else. I wrap my arms around myself and shiver, mumbling, “Brrr, it’s cold.”

“You should take a hot bath to warm your body.” The angel puts the cat on the bed and heads to the kitchen-slash-hallway-slash-entryway. She opens another door—was it already there when I checked the kitchen?—and disappears from my view, leaving me standing in the doorway to the bedroom.

The sound of the bathtub filling with water informs me that she’s preparing a bath for me, warming my soul like no fire pit or fire spell ever could. So much so that despite being wet and cold, I’m the happiest I could ever be.

“Hasegawa-san, do you mind wearing my brother’s clothes while I wash and dry your school uniform? You and Sora have the same athletic build, and I believe his sweatpants and long-sleeved shirts will fit you like a glove.” Fukuyama-san closes the shower room door and approaches me.

My eyebrows knit together as I wonder aloud, “Why do you have your brother’s clothes in your apartment?”

She chuckles and enters the bedroom, heading straight to the wardrobe. “Because both my brothers visit me in the human realm frequently. Sometimes, they spend the night to keep me company.”

“You have two brothers?”

She opens a drawer and fishes out a pair of gray sweatpants and a dark blue hooded long-sleeved shirt. “I am surprised you did not know that I have two elder brothers—Sora is twenty-two, and Souma is twenty-four, to be more precise. Sora is the current angel king of the Kingdom of Angels, and Souma spends most of his time supporting and assisting the angel commoners.” She hands me the clothes, a new pair of men’s underwear, and a white towel.

“Oh, yeah. Now that I recall, you do have two older brothers, and one of them is the king.” I scratch my wet hair. “But I’ve heard almost nothing about the other one. I wonder why.”

“Souma does not care about being a member of the royal family and does his best to avoid events related to it. Although he is a prince and is treated as such, he would rather stay with the commoners than be confined within the castle,” she elaborates, shrugging. “Not that it matters, though, as I love both of my brothers equally.”

A soft smile plays on my lips as I comment, “It must be nice to have siblings.”

“Are you an only child?”

“Yes, I am. Although my cousin has lived in the palace for as long as I can remember, my parents always scold me for not treating him like a brother.” I cringe as unpleasant memories resurface unannounced. “Orochi is a self-centered demon who has been aiming for the throne ever since I was sent here, and I bet he’ll try to steal my position in the royal family at the first opportunity he gets.” I clench my hand into a fist. “I’ll stop him before that happens.”

“I may be way out of line for asking this question, but do you want to be the demon king?” Fukuyama-san stares at me intently. 

I purse my lips, choosing to stay silent rather than give her a dishonest or half-hearted answer, as I myself am not sure of anything concerning my future anymore. If someone had told me I’d be falling for an angel someday, I’d have cursed and punished them with all my might. However, as Princess Nami’s arrival in Tokyo has proven me wrong, I can’t foresee what else will change as future events unfold.

“Hasegawa-san, have you died from the cold and forgotten to close your eyes?” Fukuyama-san jokes, snapping me back to the present moment.

I laugh and head to the door. “I’m going to take a bath.”

“Can you leave your school uniform outside the shower room door, please?”

“Yes, Your Highness.” I shoot her a playful smile before turning my back to her again, silently admitting to myself that I’m running away, unable to control or decipher the strange feelings her mere presence awakens within me.

* * *