Once upon a time, a young maiden with skin as fair as freshly-fallen snow and a nature as gentle as the morning mist fell in love.
The object of her affections was a beautiful, gallant horse. As it stood, its mane fluttered in the wind and shadows danced across its lean muscles.
The maiden’s father was opposed to the couple, but when he left in search of a husband for his daughter, the two married.
Enraged, the maiden’s father killed the horse when he returned home and hung its corpse from a tree.
Seeing his daughter clinging onto the horse in tears, his fury burnt brighter, and he used his axe to chop the horse’s head from its body.
But suddenly, the head flew off, carrying the grieving maiden with it, never to return.
And they lived happily ever after.
…But did they really?
Pop, pop… Pop, pop, pop…
Um, so what happened after that, Nagi-kun?
Mhm. So when I thought of Aomori I really only thought about apples and the Nebuta Festival and I thought it’d be kind of disrespectful to go on a study trip here with such a shallow understanding of it so I looked into some stuff on my phone while I was on break…
But then I lost signal for some reason and you know when you lose signal most people will start walking around with their phone up in the air to get signal again so of course I ended up doing that too but my phone slipped out of my hand and crashed through a shop’s display window—
Damn, this guy’s hammered.
He had one job and couldn’t even do it.
But Aomori is pretty famous for its apples and the Nebuta Festival!
It is. I was so surprised to see they had vending machines that only sold apple juice back at the station!
The Nebuta Festival’s held in the summertime, but since we’re going to the Lake Towada Winter Story Festival tomorrow, I hope the weather stays clear.
Ahh, winteeer… Odd thing about th’ winter is that the sun sets soooo early, and hyoomans grow sooo mush weaker.
Weaker how?
T’ be stronger, y’must intake trypt’phan, wish izza precursor t’ ser’tonin!
Toi, don’t bother tryna listen to ‘im.
I want you to listen to me though.
As I was saying about the dream I had recently…
Shamorock Holmes said, “The culprit’s one a’ these here ‘tween the red flesh tuna, the medium-fatty tuna, ‘n’ the fatty tuna.”
Oh, that reminds me, we were all looking forward to trying the local Aomori Shamorock chicken and the tuna they catch fresh from the Tsugaru Straits, right?
Oh, looks like they got ‘em on the menu. Ay, boss, get us some of the Shamorock and the tuna.
The culprit then flew into a rage and shouted, “I’ll turn alla youse into squid mincemeat!”
Get us some a’ that too.
Eheheh, it’s like Yodaka-san’s a walking menu.
(This is so fun…)
*popping*
(…Hm? What’s that sound?)
*popping*
Toi-kun, what’s that in your hand?
Ah… I’m sorry. I was just fidgeting with this…
It’s a pop it toy!
I really liked popping the leftover bubble wrap that Brother Dearest used to package his things, so…
I totally get you. I love doing that too. I didn’t even know a little toy like that existed.
(Did Ryui-kun bring something fragile with him here? I assume that Nagi-kun brought flowers like he did when we went to Hakodate, so maybe everyone in the Night Team just tends to overpack…)
Do you want to try it too, Chief?
Sure, I can try popping one.
You can do two if you want to! Or three even!
*popping*
Wow… It’s so satisfying…
The food and the sake here are both so delicious. I’m really glad we came to Aomori…
So our next feature tour will be our fourth!
What did everyone think of the Noon Team’s tour?
Oh, the one Kiro hosted? Wasn’t half bad.
Yeah! Kiro-chan was super cool…!
I enjoyed how he spilled out all of his feelings with a splash! With a crash!
It was lovely to see those boys living their youths.
I didn’t go to high school, so it was kind of exciting for me to visit their school. It brought back memories I don’t even have about sneaking onto the campus at night and riding my motorcycle around it.
So the Night Team’s up next, Mr. President?
Exactly. So with that being said… Would anyone like to volunteer to be the host?
……
Um, huh…?
Come on, don’t be shy now.
We should figure this out sooner rather than later, guys.
(It…shouldn’t be me, right…? None of the other team leaders were the hosts for their tours.)
(I’d like to give the other members a chance if any of them truly wish to do it.)
(So bothersome…)
(…The host gets to pick the trip destination, right?)
(But…)
……
Okay, it’s all yours, Buchi-san and Chief.
WHY?!
…Okay!
!
We have a hand-raiser!
Toi-kun, are you volunteering?
Yes. If that’s okay.
Um, the host gets to decide where we’re going for the study trip, right?
Right. Is there anywhere you had in mind, Toi?
I…want to go to Aomori.
…! Toi, you…
…Toi, I went to Hakodate to find a way to exorcize Astaroth. I wanted to go to Aomori to search for the roots of the Shiramitsu family.
But I ran into a wall in Hakodate.
There’s some powerful spiritual energy there, so it must’ve been hard for you, since you can take a lot of damage from that.
I can’t find anythin’ with the way I am now. I left you all alone just to come up with nothin’. It’s pathetic.
But I won’t let things stay this way, so don’t worry. I’ll exorcize that demon outta you and fucking kill them.
I’ll free you from the Shiramitsu family.
If Toi’s the main host, then…
Brother Dearest, will you do it with me?
Yeah. ‘Course I will.
I love you, Brother Dearest!
I love you too, Toi.
I super-love you!
Then I super-hyper-mega-ultra-uber-infini—
Alright, we get it already.
Okay, then it’s settled. A round of applause.
*applause*
So Toi will be the main host, and Ryui will the subhost. I’m excited to see what kind of tour you two will come up with.
If I’m doin’ it with Toi, it’s got a 1800% chance of succeeding.
And this time, I can finally…
……
(He’s probably going to try and find a way to expel Aa-chama from me.)
(Aa-chama is one of my best friends, but Brother Dearest is more important to me than they are, so…)
Alright, so I’ll start doing some research on Aomori! Daniel-san, you can join me after our meeting.
Ahh, sorry, but I got an appointment at the smoking area after this…
I, too, will join Daa in his puffing activities.
I can help you with your research, Chief. I’d love to know if there are any nice bars in the area.
(…I want to know too.)
(I want to know if there’s a way where I can stay a good person…)