Chapter 79: Shoulder Blade The smile will not disappear, it will only shift. ...
It seems that Hayato Gokudera is quite vindictive.
Chaomu added another note to the small notebook while trying to do two things at once: standing on a stool and making apples.
She hadn't actually intended to use the same trick to prank the next guardian, but Yusi Lang insisted that instead of thinking of another way, it would be better to continue with this tactic.
"—That baseball idiot isn't defensive anyway, so I'll teach him a lesson. He shouldn't take food handed to him by strangers." As he spoke, the silver wolf's eyes flashed fiercely, its tail cocked high, waving like a propeller. "Are you sure there's no illusion cast on that apple? That guy has strong intuition and is probably more sensitive to illusions than I am."
He said "teach him a lesson," but his tone was more like "teaching him a lesson." It seemed like there was indeed a rift between Mukudera-kun and the so-called "Guardian of the Rain" he was talking about... but that was also par for the course; most people hated their instructors during military training and their colleagues at work.
"No magic, this is all handmade." The raccoon stood on a small stool, using the leftover scraps to make a poison apple. The chef, who had been soundly asleep a moment ago, was still asleep, snoring peacefully, his sleep quality quite enviable.
The short raccoon, with its well-groomed fur, looked a bit like a stuffed animal. Mukudera had only seen stuffed animals cooking in fairy tales, so he found her tiptoeing adorable with a subtle hint of humor. But when he thought about how others probably saw him in a similar light, he couldn't find her cute anymore... After all, the evil raccoon before him was entirely responsible for his current situation.
He crouched at the foot of the table, looking up at her as she expertly prepared the ingredients. Though she looked like an ordinary raccoon, only slightly cuter than a wild one, her handling of the ingredients was quite skillful, even elegant. While not a three-star Michelin chef, she certainly didn't look ordinary.
Her cooking skills can actually be seen from the craftsmanship of the apple she made - in any case, before he took a bite, Hayato Gokudera had no idea that it was not an ordinary apple, but a special "dish" made through artificial processing.
Plus, the food she made actually produced such a miraculous effect...
The raccoon seemed oblivious to his gaze, intently stuffing the apple with the chopped and mixed filling, a strange black tinge of multicolored filling. With such meticulous attention to detail, one might have mistaken her for a work of art. What was she calling "Apple Sage" in Japanese?
A pot of soup simmered on the countertop, steam rising from its bubbling pot. Gokudera's thoughts, unusually aimless, drifted like steam. His frail state made it impossible for him to share the Tenth Generation's worries. His focus and mental capacity seemed limited, too. The tasks he'd previously pondered vanished from his mind, leaving only what to do next... and what to eat for supper.
This experience was a bit new to Hayato Gokudera. After all, even when he was forced to take leave at the request of the Tenth Dalai Lama, his mind was still basically focused on work. Since his youth, he had long been accustomed to pouring his all into the Vongola, becoming the leader's right-hand man.
Gua rarely showed any interest in approaching him. She quietly curled up in a semicircle beside the silver wolf, chin tilted upward, ears pressed against her tail, the flames on her forehead wrapped around her body like the center of a Swiss roll. He instinctively wrapped his tail around her and looked at the raccoon fiddling with a pot of unknown objects. "...I think you and my sister might get along well."
Chaomu paused in stirring the soup, thinking that this was the wrong topic.
If this were a romance anime, this kind of statement would probably be a hint at meeting the parents, but she wasn't playing a love game after all... and hadn't Gokudera-kun's sister already...? He had just seen his sister in a near-death hallucination.
Did he actually mean to get rid of her? His tone didn't seem right, and the green name above his head, symbolizing friendship, hadn't turned red...
This question didn't bother her for long. The next second, the silver wolf's howl sounded again. "You and her are somewhat similar in culinary skills. Mr. Reborn will probably introduce you to her for exchange and learning."
Oh, it turns out that Sister Yusi is not dead.
Hearing him say this, Chaomu reacted immediately: if they were similar in cooking skills, Musi had only tasted the dark apples she cooked. Was her sister's cooking also of this type? It seemed understandable that he was thinking of his sister while holding his stomach.
"Is Mukudera-kun's sister also a member of the mafia?" she asked curiously. "Can her cooking also turn people into kittens, puppies, and mice?"
"That's not the case," Gokusi Wolf's ears drooped again, and his tail flicked the ground unconsciously twice. "Her nickname is Poison Scorpion Bi Yangqi... a well-known killer in the industry. Her poisonous dishes are extremely efficient props for anyone."
Chaomu: “…………”
Is he saying that the apples she made can kill people? What a joke!
The little raccoon frowned, holding up the apple and looking at him unhappily. "The food I cook isn't poisonous, nor is it a dark cuisine! I learned my cooking from an SSR-level teacher, and he even said that my grilled mushroom skewers are delicious. This apple tastes strange because I wanted to play a prank. When I'm serious about cooking, it's absolutely! Not dark at all!"
She's a talented chef with the SSR-level passive skill "How to Conquer Beika Town with Your Cooking Skills"! Every dish she creates is delicious... However, this passive skill buff is limited in scope and only works in Neon. That means she's only being looked down upon by Gokudera in Italy... Damn it! Sooner or later, he'll have to see her true strength!
The raccoon's anger was quite genuine. Prison Temple Wolf was startled by her and his ears perked up: What is this guy feeling wronged about? That apple dish just now was clearly a level of pure darkness.
He twitched his ears and looked at the subtle expression on the raccoon's face. It was really difficult to read emotions on a wolf's face, but Chaomu was sure that he read some kind of "Are you serious?" question.
The player who was questioned gnashed his teeth and almost rolled up his sleeves to make him three dishes and a soup: durian, mango and pineapple pizza, strawberry mapo tofu, pearl milk tea dumplings, and watercress, mushroom and lamb kidney soup - just to see if she doesn't charm him to death!
Fortunately, Yusilang didn't know what kind of crazy recipe she had come up with, otherwise, before being fascinated by her, as a tough Italian, he would have beaten her into a raccoon pancake as soon as he heard the name of the first dish.
Or he didn't know, otherwise Mukusi wouldn't have softened his attitude after seeing her angry look and tentatively comforted her: "Then why don't you make me those grilled mushroom skewers next time? I don't know what the dish will turn out like if you cook it carefully... Those grilled mushroom skewers shouldn't turn people into animals, right?"
"No, that's a benefit-enhancing dish." Seeing that he was sensible, Chaomu reluctantly stopped putting pineapple on the pizza and explained to the ignorant mortal, "My grilled mushroom skewers are a useful item that can enhance the five senses of human beings for a limited time! I won't let others use it even if they beg me to!"
So far, only my adoptive father has had the pleasure of tasting it... Maybe I'll try making it for Hagiwara and the others sometime next time? Maybe it'll help defuse bombs faster with improved senses.
"Improved five senses? That's definitely a benefit..." Although Mukudera still felt something was amiss, he couldn't figure out what was wrong after hearing her say that, so he half-believed and half-doubtedly agreed, "Next time, please let me try."
Chaomu snorted, barely being coaxed into submission by him: "It's a deal then, I'll definitely do it next time."
Yusi Wolf lay on the ground and watched her with her tail lifted up on the stool. His own tail also shook twice unconsciously, and a small whimpering sound came from his throat.
Gua was startled awake by the flapping of the wolf's fluffy tail. With his cat-like eyes wide open, he instinctively pounced, his fur flying everywhere. Prison Temple Wolf, who had been feeling a rare moment of relaxation, sprang up like a spring, squeezing out a bark of Italian curse words from between his sharp teeth: "Gua! You...!"
His movements caused the wolf's tail to swing even more vigorously, and Lanmao, completely captivated by this new cat toy, pounced on it with its back arched and tail erect. The cat and wolf tumbled together, sending hair flying all over the kitchen.
For the chef, it was a scene like hell. Although Mukudera still had some sense and didn't make too much noise, Gua didn't care. The two fur balls fought each other with barking and meowing.
By the time Chaomu put the finished apple into his arms, Wusilang's eyes were already dull, and he had let the melon do what it wanted. The victorious melon was stepping on its owner's soft belly, its tail raised in triumph.
The silver wolf's belly was turned up, and its soft silver-white fur was pink. The little raccoon passed by and couldn't control his sinful little paws, and quietly touched it twice.
Prison Temple Wolf: “……!”
He jumped up as if he had been electrocuted, holding his tail between his legs, his emerald green eyes glaring angrily: "Ms. Chaomu! Please don't do this... As the tenth-generation junior sister, you should remain a lady... Even if you can't, at least don't touch strange men casually..."
If your senior brother’s right-hand man finds out that you are touching his belly, would you touch it?
Little Raccoon: If it’s in your favor, you’ll have to do it even if you die.
She very skillfully stroked the silver wolf's soft belly twice, stroking against the fur. Facing his shameful and angry gaze, she said confidently, "What's wrong with touching it twice? Mukusi-kun is not a stranger."
The surgery was successful and it turned into a puppy. Isn't it normal to pet it a few times? It's what the puppy deserves.
"Even the cats can touch it, so why can't I, a little raccoon?" Because the touch was so good, Chaomu's paw pads moved down eagerly, but were slapped away by the silver wolf's claw. He could only curl his lips and say, "Yusi-kun is so stingy."
Gua is a purebred Box Weapon Cat—is Little Raccoon a purebred raccoon? Although I don’t know if she is a raccoon spirit or a human with special abilities... Anyway, she is obviously a girl!
Hayato Gokudera felt that he had no way to communicate with this cunning raccoon.
He was about to say a few more words to her when he saw the little raccoon, who had just been engrossed in sucking the wolf's hair, turn around, flick her fluffy tail, and pull out a golden prop that looked like a toilet plunger from somewhere. She easily cleaned up the fluff that had been flying everywhere during their playful encounter—the prop turned out to be something similar to a vacuum cleaner.
…It was clearly a prank, but he was quite tactful when it came to cleaning up afterward. What a contradictory guy.
But there were so many freaks in the Vongola that she wasn't the weirdest one. Gokudera hadn't even considered what kind of high-tech "vacuum cleaner" she was holding—Reborn's lizards could turn into guns, and Rambo could pull bazookas from his hair. A vacuum cleaner suddenly appearing in this world was perfectly normal.
The silver wolf cub, its fur tangled from the melons, stood there watching the raccoon clean up. Uncomfortably, he rubbed his head with his paws, trying to smooth it out. He raked the melons back and forth, pushing them back against the melons. His paws, one large and one small, one white and one yellow, fought on his forehead. "Melon! Stop messing around!"
"I feel like if Mukusi-kun scolds the melon, it'll only get worse." Chaomu skillfully cleaned the countertop, looked at the Raccoon Coin +1 in his backpack, and hopped down with the vacuum cleaner. "Mukusi-kun, don't you realize it's actually quite rebellious? Maybe there's something wrong with your usual communication methods? The melon even told me you didn't feed it."
Her tone of voice was like that of a TV mediator, and Yusi was successfully provoked by her and became furious. He gritted his teeth and said, "Is that what it said to you? It refused to eat the nutritious meal I carefully prepared for it!"
Gua slapped him on the forehead with a paw in disdain, meowing that the cat food he made was so disgusting that even dogs wouldn't eat it. Chaomu originally wanted to translate for him, but when he realized that Yusi, transformed into a small animal, could understand him, the cat and the wolf started arguing again.
Alas, every family has its own problems.
As a mediator, she skillfully climbed onto Silver Wolf's back, patted him on the back, and helped him hold the cat on his back: "Okay, Mukuro-kun, the child is still young, so it's normal for him to be picky about food. Consider changing his diet next time? He should like fried fish bones or something like that. By the way, send me some."
"Fried food is completely unsuitable for animals... Miss Chaomu can inform the kitchen if she wants some." Mukuro refused to budge. He took two steps forward carrying a cat and a raccoon before reacting, "Wait... why are you up here?"
"I'm just here to help Mukuji-kun deal with that naughty kitten. Come on, lick his fur. Look, he's almost scratched on the forehead." Chaomu held the Lan cat in his arms and saw that it had indeed become much more obedient. It reluctantly licked its master and little brother's fur twice. "To save time, I'd like to ask Mukuji-kun to lead the way... Let's go, Wang-chan?"
The silver wolf's head was licked by the kitten until it was wet and the fur stuck to his forehead. Although he still wanted to complain about the way he was called "Wangjiang", his protest was completely drowned out by the kitten's licking.
...Forget it, let's go. He won't be the only victim soon anyway.
He uttered a low sigh and moved his paws away in despair. Chaomu had also hung a small basket around his neck, with the apple lying quietly inside.
The silver wolf carrying the small animals in a basket jumped down the stairs like the wind. The chef sleeping beside him turned over in his dream, and his snoring was mixed with his sleep mumbling: "Mamma Mia... Anyone who puts pineapple on pizza should be sentenced to death..."
It was already dawn when the little animals came to the lawn in groups. Their target was doing morning exercises.
A raccoon's head emerged from the dense bushes, peeking out furtively. "Is that man in the haori and holding the sword Mr. Amemori?"
On a lawn, still shrouded in morning mist, a man stood still, sword in the stance of a sword-wielding sword. His black haori cascaded like a waterfall, his muscular arms bulging with veins, their curves flowing in rhythm with his breathing.
When Chaomu heard Musi call him a baseball idiot before, her first thought was of the cheerful and stupid character in the traditional hot-blooded sports anime; but now looking at the black-haired man holding the knife, she found it hard to imagine that he was passionate - although it was bathed in the morning light, there was no smile on that angular and handsome face, but rather like a sharp blade drawn from its sheath, and the amber pupils reflecting the blade's light were like mead frozen on ice.
Where is the hot blood? Does it mean that when someone is chopped, the blood that flows out is hot?
The little raccoon tugged at his ears, which had tilted back in alarm due to the sharp blade, and tried to straighten them out. "Or has Mukudera-kun led us the wrong way? This tough guy isn't the Rain Guardian you're talking about?"
The larger Silver Wolf struggled to emerge from the bushes with its head, its ears still stained with grass seeds from somewhere. "Yes, that's him... Yamamoto looks like this when he's practicing with his sword."
They had just returned Melon, exhausted and covered in fur from being licked by the wolf, to the bedroom, figuring that carrying Melon with him was no different from committing a crime under a real name. The Coon-Cat-Dog Team had been reduced to a Raccoon-Dog Team, the two fur balls peeking out from under the blades of grass, whispering to each other.
"Can we try someone else? I don't think Yamamoto-kun needs a lesson." The raccoon tilted his ears and offered his opinion sincerely, following his biological instinct. "I feel like the moment I hand over the apple, he'll chop it in half along with me."
Although it is still early and there is no loss in dying and going back to reload the game, there is no need to go to the mountain knowing that there is a tiger there, right?
"...Weren't you worried about this when you brought me the apples?" Mukusi Lang narrowed his eyes and stared at her. "In your opinion, I'm not as scary as this baseball idiot?"
Chaomu's gaze shifted slightly: That was mainly because after chatting with Gua, I guessed that he was probably a fluff person... and I had seen Yusi from a distance before, and didn't find him scary.
Seeing that she seemed to be really backing down, Mukudera decisively patted her shoulder, ready to physically dispel her idea of retreating: "Anyway, don't worry, that guy only looks powerful now, but he's actually a complete baseball idiot and won't resort to violence."
Before he could finish his words, the black-haired man who had been standing quietly just now slashed down with a knife. The clear knife light split the void and cut the wooden stake in front of him with the force of thunder.
Chaomu felt a chill on his forehead and silently hugged the apple in his arms tightly: "...This is totally unconvincing, Mukudera-kun."
But the current situation did not allow her to retreat - in the morning light not far away, the black-haired man sheathed his knife and walked towards the bushes where she was hiding in wooden clogs.
"Just now I felt something was there... It turned out to be a raccoon, so rare." Although he was backlit, when his eyebrows curved, the glint in his amber eyes, which had just seemed cold, flowed like honey, and his whole demeanor became cheerful. "Good morning, little one, are you coming for morning exercise too?"
…Although he looks like a cold-faced swordsman, he’s actually the type to talk to small animals with a smile!
His smile was quite contradictory. In a trance, he had the strange illusion that he had just been splashed with cold water in the face and then immediately dried by the sun.
She held the apple, blinking innocently, tilting her head and whimpering cutely. With a flick of her paw, she easily swatted the prison wolf that had retreated into the bushes nearby: "You actually want to sneak away like a wolf? Don't even think about it."
Prison Temple Wolf: “……?”
He hadn't expected the raccoon to be so strong, and was caught off guard and stumbled, poking his head out from between the leaves. Within two seconds of emerging, he realized something was wrong—sure enough, Yamamoto's gaze had already shifted from the raccoon to him.
"Eh? There's a puppy?" The black-haired man's eyes lit up. He half-knelt down and tentatively poked the silver wolf's head. "Are you two friends? Hanging out together? You have such a good relationship."
Chaomu called out sweetly, leaning towards the prison wolf: "Meow——"
That feeling is very good.
Mukuro Wolf was squeezed by her and it took a lot of effort for him to stand firm. He tried hard not to show disgust on his face: the tenth generation is so nice, and he is also simple-minded when dancing with Martino, so why is this junior sister completely different from them?
After all, Yamamoto hadn't learned any foreign languages, so he couldn't understand the turbulent and complicated interactions between the animals. From his perspective, the two fur balls, one gray and one silver, were cuddling affectionately together, clearly on good terms.
"Cute little guy." He tried to tickle Silver Wolf's chin, but when he saw the wolf retreat violently in resistance, he revealed a rare, somewhat distressed expression. "Eh? You don't want to play with me?"
It seems like he doesn't want to do that - Mukuro-kun has a lot of idol baggage and probably wouldn't be able to accept being tickled on the chin by a colleague.
Chaomu hadn't been counting on him in the first place. She meowed and then tilted her head back to hug the man's ankles. Yamamoto Takeshi was indeed distracted by her and looked slightly surprised. "Such a friendly little animal... are you inviting me along?"
The little raccoon held up an apple in a cute manner and rubbed it against him as if it were offering a treasure.
The prison wolf who was running for his life just now retreated with his ears erect, looking at the scene in front of him nervously: Although he thought it should be fine, the baseball idiot didn't seem like the type of person who would refuse small animals... but for some reason, he always felt that things would not go so smoothly.
Good news. Just as he and Chaomu had expected, Yamamoto Takeshi gladly accepted the apple: "Is it a gift? Then I'll accept it. Thank you."
Bad news. He accepted the apple but didn't eat it right away. Instead, he took out a baseball bat and a baseball, his smile bright and cheerful. "Nothing's good for nothing. Since I've accepted the gift, I'll take on the responsibility of playing with you. I think the puppy would love to play catch, right? Does the raccoon like it too?"
Of course, the raccoon had no interest in playing catch.
She was silent for two seconds, then nudged the Prison Temple Wolf beside her with her claws: He likes it, he likes it.
Prison Temple Wolf: “…………?”
The ominous premonition that had only vaguely emerged a moment ago completely enveloped him. He was about to lift his legs and run away when he saw the man in front of him had become serious and swung the bat: "Catch it—"
-----------------------
The author has something to say: He said he was the next victim, but in the end the victim was Gokudera himself (laughs)
My condition seems to be improving. I successfully completed six days of writing today... When will I be able to easily update ten thousand words a day?
I really want to do something like that but it will take some time for the Raccoon to open. These two days, while I am still in good shape, I will write about the hot spring sandwich of Hagi xmei xsong from Bozui next door.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
