Yusuke

“You live in this dump?” I exclaimed, dumbfounded, while gaping at the old two-story building in front of me. The place wasn’t dirty, but it was evident that it was intended for underprivileged humans and hardly suitable for an angel princess. Not to mention that the neighborhood seemed dark and dangerous, adding to my unease. 

“Please, do not call my apartment a dump,” grumbled Fukuyama-san, 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 retorted, still shocked. “I swear that this building is going to collapse any minute now.”

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

I poked my head inside the car and instructed 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 declared, my voice grave and my expression serious.

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

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

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

She gasped, “What? You are joking, right?” 

I shook my head. “Nope.” I walked past her and continued going up the stairs, deliberately ignoring the angel’s complaints about my stubbornness and need to do whatever I wanted. 

I was genuinely worried about her safety. Since the assailants were hybrids, I had an idea of who might be behind the attack, but I couldn’t accuse someone without concrete proof. I was uncertain whether they were after the Angel Princess or Fukuyama Nami, which was why I didn’t intend to let my guard down and give them an opportunity to finish what they started when I intervened. 

“Hasegawa-san?” Fukuyama-san stopped in front of the last door at the far right end of the second floor of the building. “My apartment is this one.” She unlocked and opened 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. I am still shaken by the attack.” 

I smiled in response and stepped into the entryway without any hesitation, internally excited to be there. “It will be my pleasure to keep you company for as long as you wish, Princess Nami.” 

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

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

She didn’t answer. Instead, she led me to another room, which I assumed was her bedroom due to the white bed against one of the white walls. There was also a small white desktop 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 was it. 

“I’m guessing your favorite color is white,” I commented, 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 glanced at me. “Why are you blushing? Have you never been in a girl’s bedroom before?” she smirked, dropping her shoulder bag onto her bed.

I looked away from her, mortified that my own body was betraying me. I replied, “Yes, I have.” It was true; I had been in other girls’ rooms before, but only for brief moments, and I never felt the interest to pay attention to their decoration or simply see what they looked like. For example, I had been to Emica’s bedroom several times, but I couldn’t tell the wall’s color or what furniture—aside from the bed—it had because I simply never cared to look at it. 

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

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

I cleared my throat and put on a nonchalant mask to conceal my true emotions, preventing any potential embarrassment. “Your apartment is really small. Where is the kitchen?” 

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

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

She shrugged and took a seat on the bed, crossing her legs. “Go ahead.”

I opened the door and glanced at the tight and short hallway, and lo and behold, there were indeed two small counters against the wall with a compact sink and a single-burner electric stove on them. I also saw a small fridge and a five-kilogram washing machine, cramped up. 

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

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

I stepped 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 was palpable at that point. 

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

I fell into thought as I made 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 appeared out of nowhere on Fukuyama-san's lap. Due to its glowing dark blue wings and majestic appearance, I assumed it was the guardian the angel mentioned when she bought the collar.

It meowed and purred happily upon receiving head scratches from the angel, who was more than ecstatic to give it lots of cuddles.

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

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

Fukuyama-san looked 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 glanced at me. Will it hiss at me because I’m a demon? I wondered silently, observing its reaction warily. However, to my relief, it simply did nothing.

Fukuyama-san continued, “My brother told me I should bring him to Tokyo with me to keep me company and protect me if necessary. 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 spoke, my eyes started to itch and my throat to scratch. A sudden sneeze erupted from my body with full force, startling both the cat and Fukuyama-san. The latter rose to her feet and approached me, looking surprised. 

“Do not tell me that you are allergic to Yuki?” she suggested, holding the cat right in front of my face, causing me to sneeze again and again. She laughed, amused. “Oh, you are allergic to him. That is a pity because I really would like for you two to get along well.” She planted 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 nuzzled against her chin and purred. “Meow.” When it looked at me again, its deep blue eyes shone with such intensity that I felt blinded for a moment. 

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

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

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

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

A massive smile erupted on my face as I observed, “You called me Yuu-kun for the first time.” My heart made leaps in my chest, and my stomach fluttered like nothing else. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered, mumbling, “Brrr, it’s cold.” 

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

The sound of the bathtub filling with water informed me that she was preparing a bath for me, warming my soul like no fire pit or fire spell could ever do. Despite being wet and cold, I was 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 closed the shower room door and approached me. 

My eyebrows knitted together as I wondered out loud, “Why do you have your brother’s clothes in your apartment?”

She chuckled and entered 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 opened a drawer and fished out a pair of grey sweatpants and a dark blue hooded long-sleeved shirt. “I am surprised you didn’t 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 handed 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 scratched 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 Angel Commoners than be confined within the castle,” she elaborated, shrugging. “Not that it matters, though, as I love both of my brothers equally.”

A soft smile played on my lips as I remarked, “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 cringed as unpleasant memories resurfaced unannounced. “Orochi is a self-centered demon who has been aiming for the throne ever since I was sent here, and I bet he will try to steal my position in the Royal Family at the first opportunity he gets.” I clenched my hand into a fist. “I will 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 stared at me intently. 

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

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

I laughed and headed 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 shot her a playful smile before turning my back to her again, admitting to myself that I was running away, unable to control and decipher the strange feelings her mere presence awakened within me. 

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