r/Erma

“Three days until the trial ends.”

Fumiko sat at the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the woven bracelet—the last gift from Haru. A chill settled in her heart. Haru... I couldn’t protect you, she thought resignedly. Forgive me, if you can.

At that moment, there was a soft knock on the door, and Kenji hesitantly stepped into the bedroom.

“Lady Fumiko, sorry to bother you,” he said quietly, shifting uneasily. “May I come in? I need to talk to you about something very important.”

“Come in,” Fumiko replied in a dull voice, not looking up.

Kenji took a few steps forward, clutching the script Kimoto had prepared tightly in his hands, and spoke strictly according to the text:

“Lady Fumiko, I understand this is not the right time for such discussions... But I would like to ask your permission to leave the castle briefly to visit Haru’s parents.”

Fumiko snapped her head up, her gaze scorching Kenji with icy fire:

“Absolutely not! No one leaves this castle until we find and punish the killer.”

Kenji sighed heavily, defeated:

“I completely understand your anger... But please hear me out. Once, before Haru joined your service at the castle, we went on a hike to distant mountains together. Everything went well, but on one of the days...”

“A fire,” Fumiko interrupted. “I know. Haru told me about that. You almost burned alive.”

“Yes, we narrowly escaped turning to ashes,” Kenji nodded, feigning emotion. “Haru kept joking about it for a long time afterward.”

“Joking?” the warrior woman asked, surprised.

“Yes. He said, ‘The flames were so fierce that at one point it smelled like fried fish.’”

A faint, bitter smile flickered on Fumiko’s lips.

“That does sound funny...”

Kenji’s expression darkened, his voice dropping to a whisper:

“But after some time, something changed inside him. He suddenly became withdrawn, fearful, and sank into a deep depression.”

“Is that so?” Fumiko leaned forward.

“I was shocked myself. For weeks, he didn’t speak to anyone. But one night he came to me. I was asleep and woke up feeling something strange. When I opened my eyes, Haru was sitting on the edge of my bed, whispering fearfully, ‘I’m still dreaming... this is just a bad dream. He won’t take me, Kenji. He wouldn’t dare.’”

“Who is ‘he’?” Fumiko frowned.

“I asked him the same question,” Kenji paused dramatically. “Haru was silent for a long time, then confessed that after the fire, he was haunted every night by the same nightmare. He dreams of being trapped in a forest engulfed in flames. He runs desperately toward the exit, but right at the edge, a bony hand reaches out from the darkness and drags him back into the roaring fire.”

“Oh my God...” Fumiko whispered softly, clutching her chest.

“Yes. But the scariest thing wasn’t the fire itself. Above all else, Haru was terrified of who brought him back into that hell.”

“And who was it, Kenji?!”

“Shinigami. The god of death.”

Fumiko fell silent, stunned, trying to process the revelation.

“I tried to calm him down,” Kenji continued, sticking exactly to Kimoto’s script. “I told him it was just a silly dream, nothing more. But Haru looked at me with a serious, mature gaze and said, ‘I know, Kenji. But I’m not afraid for myself. I’m scared of what will happen to my elderly parents if I’m gone. That’s why I came to you. Promise me something.’”

“What promise?” Fumiko’s voice trembled.

“He asked me, ‘If anything happens to me... if I die... promise me you will personally go to my parents, tell them everything, and take care of them for at least the first year.’ That’s why, Lady Fumiko, I earnestly beg you to let me go. I must keep the vow I made to Haru.”

Fumiko sat motionless for a few seconds, wrestling with doubt, but Kimoto’s mint chocolate had already gently dulled her vigilance.

“Alright, Kenji. I agree,” she finally exhaled. “I give you permission. But on one condition: you stay in constant contact with me.”

“I promise, Lady. I’m leaving immediately.”

“Take care, Kenji.”

When the young man quietly closed the door behind him, Fumiko turned to Haru’s portrait on the dresser and whispered with unbearable sorrow:

“Haru... Why, why did you hide this from me?”

The clock struck midnight. Kimoto stood by the massive castle gates, holding the reins of a strong black horse, glancing impatiently down the road. Finally, Kenji emerged from the darkness.

“Good job, Kenji. You nailed it perfectly. Proud of you,” Kimoto smirked.

“Everything’s ready. Fumiko let me go,” Kenji reported breathlessly. “What now?”

“Now put this on,” Kimoto said, handing over the familiar bracelet.

“The one that masks the aura?”

“Exactly.”

Kenji obediently fastened the strap on his wrist:

“Alright, the aura is hidden. But won’t the castle’s magical radars detect that my energy just... disappeared? Fumiko will think I’m dead too and create a huge panic...”

Kimoto squinted cunningly, baring fangs in a smile:

“Who said your aura will vanish? Look at this beautiful mare. Right now, she’s carrying your energy.”

Kenji stared at the horse in stunned disbelief, then looked at Kimoto with horror:

“Wait... so this is why you took my blood?!”

“A little blood from you, a drop of alchemy from Amaiya’s grimoire—and voila! A magical duplicate is ready. Now we send this beauty on her way.”

Kimoto opened the gates and gave the horse a sharp slap on the rump. It neighed loudly and galloped at full speed toward Haru’s parents’ village.

“What if she gets lost or takes a wrong turn?” Kenji asked with concern, watching the fake trail vanish down the road.

“No chance,” Kimoto waved him off. “I hypnotized her well. She’ll reach the destination, leave your trail for the trackers, and return safely. Now it’s your turn to head to Tokyo. Listen carefully to the code phrase: when I call and say ‘cucumber kappa’ over the phone, you and Haru drop everything and rush back to the castle. Understand?”

“Understood.”

“Good. Until then, entertain and distract Haru however you can. If you need tips on taming him, call me—I’ll help.”

“Got it.”

“Our fugitive is just hanging out in one of Tokyo’s arcade halls right now. Here’s the exact address,” Kimoto handed over a slip of paper.

“Oh, I know where that is,” Kenji nodded.

“Perfect.”

Kimoto made a grand gesture, opening a glowing portal to the capital. As Kenji lifted his leg to step into the radiant circle, Kimoto called encouragingly:

“I believe in you, friend!”

With a quiet snap, the portal closed behind him, and Kenji vanished.

In an instant, Kenji found himself amidst the bustling, neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Wasting no time, he strode quickly toward the designated arcade.

Inside, amid the pounding music and electronic game sounds, he quickly spotted Haru. Thanks to Kimoto’s masking pendant, Kappa now looked just like any ordinary young man. Haru was engrossed in a zombie shooter, firing wildly at virtual undead, clearly aiming for a new personal record.

Kenji quietly approached from behind and called softly:

“Haru? Is that you?”

Startled, Haru muttered nervously without looking away from the screen:

“Sorry, you have me confused with someone else...”

“Come on, quit pretending,” Kenji smirked.

Haru finally set down the game controller and stared dumbfounded at his friend:

“Kenji?! What are you doing here?!”

“I just decided to relax a bit and escape the castle chaos. What about you?”

“To be honest... me too,” Haru scratched his head embarrassedly.

“Wait, but you told Fumiko you urgently went to visit your parents?” Kenji squinted slyly, pretending to expose the lie.

“Sorry... I lied,” Haru lowered his eyes guiltily.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Kenji gave him a friendly shoulder squeeze. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Hey, how about we hit that pizzeria around the corner, grab a huge slice each, and you can tell me everything?”

“Sounds great, let’s go!” Haru brightened up.

As they headed toward the arcade exit, Kenji looked grimly at the smiling Haru and thought to himself: God... what have I gotten myself into? If Fumiko finds out, neither of us will get away unscathed.

We saw that Akari initially seemed like an antagonist.

She warned the others that there was a human scent, tried to see where the humans were, and openly challenged Fumiko.

And Fumiko didn't seem to be a fan of Akari the first and second time they interacted.

But then I thought it was a very stressful situation for Fumiko, so maybe she actually even liked Akari, just at that moment. Akari was feeling down, and it's not exactly nice to pretend you want to eat someone's newly met brother-in-law and newly met half-human, half-yokai niece.

Akari, on the other hand, seemed to have at least a friendly relationship with Kenaro, considering she greeted him, unlike what she did with the others, whom she ignored.

In short, no one seemed to consider her a problem or an enemy.

So I'm wondering if there's any theory about what kind of relationship they have with her.

I mean, it was kind of closer when she and Rin were together, but now that she and Rin are no longer together, has it cooled down?

I've never really gotten along, and Kentaro is just the friendlier guy at the moment, and Akari just latched onto that for whatever reason?

Amy is excited because she managed to ask Terry out

Amy: I DID IT! HE LIKES ME! HE'S GONNA GO OUT WITH ME! I MADE A DATE WITH TERRY!!!

Amy began to realized that she just asked Terry out on a date

Amy: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

(Based on The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron)