The Raven Dark Hero 30

Chapter 30 : The First Blind Date

TL:SummerPeanut

10Q for the support paullouis and BobTheLost! :'D

Author’s Note:

※Oops! Teaser’s name wasn’t changed before so I fixed it. Her name’s Rumi!

The next day Kouki, who had fully recovered from his injuries after being revived, was attending school as usual.

Hiro was apparently absent. It was within expectation considering what happened yesterday, but coincidentally, Fuuka was also absent today.

So, for the first time in a long time, Kouki was lying alone on the rooftop during lunch break.

Yesterday, he had prepared himself that this time he might really be dead when Iori had killed him but...

...Due to the activation of the Revived Hunter ability, 'Silent Stealth' has been acquired.

The voice rang in his head, and he felt a sense of relief knowing that he had been revived.

(Body manipulation-type gift, Silent Stealth... So that was how Iori was able to completely kill her presence and take my six.)

Kouki had acquired yet another new gift.

When Silent Stealth is activated, all noise caused by the user’s action will be voided. On top of that, even his body will be invisible.

However, he will need to improve his mastery of this covert gift to completely erase his presence, and parts of him can still be seen as if there’s slightly distorted space if one were to look closely.

As for the compatibility with the three existing gifts, Speed Star and Lonsdaleite can be used together, but the stealth effect seems to wear off when activated with an action-based gift like Invisible Slash.

In any case, it is a very strong gift on its own. It can be used for reconnaissance, assassination, infiltration, escape, and many more. The gift rank is also A, not any lower than Invisible Slash.

(Iori's individual combat strength was not even comparable to Saejima who was also a lieutenant. She must have been promoted to a lieutenant because of her useful gift ability.)

The death of Iori's appeared in Kouki's mind.

...She was a beautiful woman. Recalling her conversations and actions with Hiro, she was also a fine soldier.

If he had enlisted in the NDF, she might have been a supervisor worthy of respect.

(Maybe I didn't have to kill her just because she was an enemy...)

Yesterday, Kouki killed most of the more than 100 soldiers, including Saejima and Iori.

(...All of them must have, their own lives...)

If he was asked if he regrets his action, he certainly does.

Thinking back, it was the same when Revived Hunter activated for the first time. Immediately after being revived, he feels that he become terribly belligerent and cannot control his urge for violence. He also felt the same thing that time with the members of the corpse disposal team where it shouldn’t have been necessary to kill them.

(Light within darkness huh..? Inside that, will I(Suou Kouki) be swallowed by me(Bright)?)

As he was being attacked by incomprehensible anxiety, Takahiko came to talk to him.

“Yo, you don’t seem so well. Must be ‘cuz your gf not here.”

“..It's not like that.”

Takahiko sat down next to Kouki, who was lying down, staring only at the sky in silence.

He didn't say anything, just stayed next to him. This is unusual for Takahiko, who is usually very cheerful, Kouki thought.

"You're the one who's been quiet today, aren't you?”

"Mn? I guess so. I'm in a sentimental mood sometimes too.

"Hmm, you being sentimental? It's gonna snow tomorrow I guess…”

"Hahahaha, I'll make a snowman then!”

It was a casual conversation, but it lightened his dark gloomy feeling and guilt from realizing that he is a mass murderer now.

"...that's right. Hey, Kouki! Since Fuuka’s not here today! Come hang out with me after school for a bit!”

"Hmm? I suppose... once in a while is fine. What’s the plan?”

"Guhehe, that's for you to find out later!"

"...stop if it’s related to Yoshida, okay? It's already a trauma for me..."

"No, it's not! Besides, Yoshida and the others have become so quiet lately that they don't hang around you anymore, do they?"

"Well, it's been pretty normal to talk to girls these days..."

"That's why I can ask you out without hesitation! Guheheheh..."

Although he was unsure what Takahiko was scheming, but he decided to take up his offer.

-After school.

"Oi Takahiko, are we seriously going karaoke with just two of us?"

"Don’t mind so much, just think of it as you being tricked by me!"

Takahiko took Kouki to a karaoke bar.

(Going karaoke with two guys only is kinda sad, you know? ....oh well, I’ll just think of it as a change of pace and sing as much as I can!)

He went along with Takahiko, thinking about what to sing. And then...

"Hey, Misako-chan!”

"Ah! You're finally here! You're late, Takahiko-kun!"

There were already three high school girls waiting for Takahiko and him in front of the reception desk.

(......? There are t-three other girls?!)

Kouki grabbed Takahiko’s arm in fluster before whispering his question.

"Hey! What's this all about?"

"You see~, I was having a good time with this Misako girl, and we decided to have a blind date. Then she told me to bring someone really cool, so yeah..."

"So why me?! You could have called the other guys!"

"No! You're just as popular as Hiro now that you've become much more approachable. For some reason, Yoshida and the others don't seem to be interfering anymore too. So, you know! I thought you’d help out your best friend... right?"

Fuuka's face flashed through Kouki's mind as he was told so. But, but! He doesn't hate girls. In fact, he loves them. He pretended that he’s used to seeing Hiro and his harem but he was actually very jealous of him.

"...You owe me one, alright?"

"Oh! My bosom friend!"

(Well, it's okay once in a while. ...Hmm? Once in a while? No, no, no, this is the first time I've ever been to karaoke with the opposite sex!)

After becoming conscious of that fact, Kouki turned stiff from nervousness and entered the room without saying a single word.

The sofa in the private room was in a U-shape, from the right with the gyaru Misako, then Takahiko to her right, the neat and clean Mai-chan on the centre, Kouki, and short-cut beauty Rumi alone on the left.

"Hmm~, so you’re Kouki. He’s certainly as cool as what Takahiko said! Don’t you think so too, Mai!"

"Yeah...Ah, I am Mai. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Misako! Nice to meet you~! Rumi, you should introduce yourself too!"

"...oh, I'm fine, just have fun with the four of you."

"Huh? Rumi, you're not looking well, aren’t you?"

"Sorry, Takahiko. Rumi is a little down today. I was worried about her, so I brought her here."

"Oh, really? Well then, let's change that by singing and having a good time today!"

"Yay! Let's have fun!"

It seems that all three of them are in their third year of high school, one year older than Kouki and Takahiko. The older sister type is also easily within Kouki’s strike zone so he became even more nervous.

While Misako and Takahiko were having fun, Kouki was so nervous that his mind went blank. Obviously, he didn’t stare directly at the girls.

(A flower(girl) on both hands!? What am I supposed to do?! Damn it... I don’t have any resistance to a harem situation like this! That's right, in times like this, I need to sing! Let's sing a song to soften the tension!)

After that, they ordered their own drinks and enjoyed talking for a while. But only Takahiko and Misako were actually doing the talking.

Kouki also wanted to sing, but the electronic remote control was under Misako's arm, and he was having trouble asking for it.

"...do you have any hobbies, Kouki-kun?"

"...Ahiih? Oh, me?"

Suddenly, Mai spoke to Kouki, and his voice rose from surprise.

(Ahh that was so embarrassing! But, she’s acting as if nothing had happened...)

"H-hobby, is it? I like all stuffs related to heroes, you know?"

"......?"

Mai stared at him as if Kouki is a weird person.

(What am the fuck I saying? Talking about heroes with a girl! Of course, she’ll feel disgusted!)

However, Rumi, who was sitting on the left side of him for some reason, took the bite from his hero talk.

"Hmm~. So you like heroes? What kind of things do you like?"

(Oh? She’s okay with the hero topic? Okay...if it’s about heroes I can talk all day!)

Kouki turned to Rumi and starts talking. He had been too nervous to look at the girls' faces up until now.

"Although sentai genre is good in itself, I think ‘kamen ninja series’ is the bes...ah?"

There, a brown hair Teaser, the person who had gone through death throes with him yesterday.

Author’s Note:

※Tagyo Uta-san. ‘Masked ninja’. I'm apologize for adopting your work. m(__)m [1]

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TL’s note:

1. Kamen rider ninja? Not sure though.