Some say hummingbirds are symbols of good luck.

  They are said to bring joy and energy. Bullet is a perfect example of that. He is always there when you need him, and he always has a smile on his little face—if that is even possible. At least that is what Najun thinks, because he often just watches Bullet.

  He often asks himself why his father gave him a hummingbird of all things. One theory he has is that Aihara gave him something that Najun finds difficult to reach.

  It is joy. No matter how “normal” and “carefree” Najun appears, trying to be happy is simply difficult for him, and most of the time he is rather sad. He doesn’t fully understand it himself, but he knows that this is how it is.

  Najun: “Why are you so happy?”

  Najun asks this question often. He asks it not only to Bullet but to almost everyone in his life who shows even the smallest signs of genuine joy. Bullet, however, is the only one to whom Najun has asked this question directly. To everyone else, he has only ever asked it in his head.

  Bullet never answers. Not even through their synchronization. He simply smiles at Najun and flies around him. One could say that he is trying to tell Najun that joy is a state that simply comes on its own, but Najun’s definition of attaining joy is different. He believes that joy cannot exist without a trigger or stimulus. But what is it that he longs for?

  Deep inside, he knows the answer. He sees it as if through a window, but he does not want to acknowledge it. He convinces himself that there must be something deeper behind it. To compensate for his sadness, he imagines how others would answer this question.

  “Why are you so happy?”

  Naki: “I think I’m just a happy person. You can be happy even without a change in your life. It just comes to you. Like a cold.”

  Aihara: “Who says I’m happy? Don’t you find me frightening? Ah, my son, what wonderful questions you ask.”

  Ino: “I am happy when my family is happy.”

  Saku: “Someone like me can only be happy. Not everyone has the luxury of being even remotely like me.”

  Kogiri: “I don’t think about things like that… I guess.”

  Najun does not know Kogiri well enough to imagine a realistic answer to this question. The same problem applies to Hina, Narima, Akide, and his other siblings.

  Shinoa: “There is no answer to that. Some definitions or explanations that make sense to me might sound crazy to you. I can tell you why I am happy when I am, but I don’t know why I don’t have that mysterious sadness and dissatisfaction that you have.”

  Bullet: “Brrrrrrrr. Mmmmmmmm. Brrrr. Brrrrrrrrr. Mmmmmmmm.”

  Even after this fictional interview, he still does not want to open the window—almost as if he is deliberately letting himself remain sad. And yet his ideal happiness is nothing special, just something completely ordinary.

  A blow to Najun’s head brings us back to reality. Najun lies on the ground again, and Kiyomata is stomping him into the floor with his feet. Bullet is trapped inside a book that Kiyomata is pressing shut. If Bullet were a normal hummingbird, he would have been crushed long ago.

  Kiyomata: “Man, you’re really a weakling. I should’ve picked the other brother.”

  Kiyomata’s words do not bother Najun. He knows himself that Naki would have been a much more difficult opponent than he is, but the word weakling is too much.

  Najun: “Just leave me alone.”

  Najun grabs Kiyomata by the foot and knocks him over. He snatches the book containing Bullet and hides behind a bookshelf.

  He frees Bullet, who is now truly angry and immediately wants to attack Kiyomata. Najun stops him with two fingers.

  Najun: “We need to come up with a plan. That guy hasn’t shown even close to what he’s really capable of yet. He underestimates us, but that could actually work in our favor.”

  Bullet: “Brrrrr?”

  Najun: “Well, if he goes into this fight without giving his all, he’s vulnerable and careless. We need to use that bad attitude.”

  Bullet: “Brrrrrr. Brrrrrrr?”

  Najun: “I don’t know exactly what the plan will look like yet. But you will definitely be a part of it. Can I rely on you, my little friend?”

  Bullet: “Mmmmmm!”

  Najun closes his eyes and activates his Birth-Protection. Kiyomata is moving in the exact opposite direction from Najun, so he should still have some time to think of a plan.

  Kiyomata: “Hiding won’t help. Sooner or later I’ll find you, and the ending will be the same, so why don’t we shorten things and you surrender?”

  Kiyomata: “I also promise that the consequences won’t be too long or too bad. Death just has to be a little slow. Sorry—bet with my father.”

  Without getting an answer, he continues walking through the library, knocking heaps of books off the shelves. It looks like boredom, but he is doing it so Najun has no place to hide.

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  Kiyomata: “So you’re choosing the more exhausting version.”

  Birth-Pet: Hydra

  Najun stands up and grabs a few books.

  Najun: “[If I can confuse him, I should be able to reach the exit. The books can serve as noise makers or as weapons.]”

  Using his Birth-Protection, he checks Kiyomata’s position. He is still far away. Najun throws several books into a corner and quietly runs toward the exit. His plan works, and Kiyomata moves toward the thrown books.

  Najun: “[A master plan wasn’t even necessary. Hehehe.]”

  Bullet’s part of the plan is now to knock over books at another location. Kiyomata is now even farther away from Najun, and his escape seems guaranteed—but…

  Najun: “Did something just bite my leg?”

  Najun looks down and sees a lizard- or dragon-like head biting into his right leg. It is a very, very, very ugly creature. It pulls on Najun’s leg with such force that it drags him along. The neck of this creature is extremely long.

  Najun: “Aaaagggghhhhhhh!”

  Najun is hanging upside down in the air. The ugly creature is still clamped onto his leg.

  Kiyomata taps him on the forehead and gives Najun a creepy smile.

  Najun: “What kind of ugly animal is that? More importantly… how could it hide from my ability?”

  Kiyomata: “Take a closer look at her.”

  Najun does—and realizes that it is flying. Its wings are thin and flat. They make no sound and produce no noticeable airflow.

  Kiyomata: “Who are you calling ugly? She’s absolutely adorable.”

  Kiyomata hugs the creature’s body and even kisses it. Najun nearly throws up at the sight.

  Kiyomata: “You’re not the only one with a Birth-Pet. This is Hydra. My sweet and super-strong pet. I had to convince her not to bite your leg off, but sometimes she loses control and does things I don’t want. So if you suddenly fall to the ground, you can say goodbye to your leg forever.”

  Najun stops listening to Kiyomata and communicates with Bullet through their mental synchronization. He calls Bullet to him immediately and orders him to kill Hydra.

  Bullet flies in quickly and passes straight through Hydra’s long, thin neck. The head falls down—and with it, Najun. The jaw loosens, and Najun runs away. His leg makes it difficult, and he is limping rather than running. Bullet flies right behind him, and together they head for the exit.

  Kiyomata: “Hold it.”

  Faster than Najun, he stands in front of him and shoves him back.

  Without hesitation, Najun shoots Bullet toward Kiyomata. With two books, he crushes Bullet and holds him in place.

  Kiyomata: “So I was right. The longer your flight path, the stronger your tackle.”

  Kiyomata: “But with such a short distance, it could only be a pathetic attack.”

  Before Najun can protest, he feels two bites on both of his shoulders. They feel just like the one on his leg. They are two heads of Kiyomata’s ugly pet. They lift him up and place him directly in front of Kiyomata.

  Kiyomata: “Don’t you know the legend of this pretty creature? Every time you cut off one of her heads, it grows back. In your case it was less cutting and more shooting, but that apparently counts too.”

  Kiyomata steps closer to Najun and turns his head to the right. He kisses the right head of the Hydra—several times. He does the same with the left head. The disgust in Najun’s eyes is indescribable.

  Kiyomata: “Don’t hope for a kiss from me. Only my two sweet ones get that.”

  Najun: “Don’t worry. I would never accept that offer in my life.”

  Kiyomata: “Mhm.”

  Kiyomata talks to Najun about the current situation. He admits that he does not care at all about the damage to his family. He only fears losing the power he could gain because of them.

  Kiyomata: “Do you know the feeling when you think that your family doesn’t actually matter to you? I mean, I’m not saying I hate or ignore them, but sometimes they just don’t interest me. Not my father, brother, mother, aunt, uncle, grandmother, or grandfather. All just side characters who will disappear anyway.”

  Najun listens. He has no other choice while being held in front of him by two monster heads.

  Kiyomata: “I know you’re the little brother. Even though there are eight of you in total… well, now seven siblings, you always feel different, right? That’s not because you feel bad or anything. It’s because they just don’t matter to you. It feels so good to tell someone that.”

  Najun: “Then you’ll have to find another conversation partner.”

  Kiyomata: “Don’t be so shy. Just admit it.”

  Najun: “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Your weird description of your feelings toward your family is neither understandable nor justified to me. What you’re saying makes absolutely no sense.”

  Silence follows. Neither says a word after Najun’s clear rejection of Kiyomata’s attitude toward his family. If you look closely, Kiyomata has a disappointed expression. He absolutely did not expect Najun to oppose him so strongly.

  He thought Najun would try to deny it—or maybe even partially admit it. But this was not what he expected. He thought he could have a short private conversation without being judged, but that is not what he got.

  Kiyomata: “Mhm… you really are like your mother.”

  Najun looks at Kiyomata in confusion. He waits for an explanation as to how Kiyomata knows what his mother is like.

  Kiyomata: “Don’t worry, I don’t know her personally. My father and the head of the Fujiwara told me about her—about her story and her disappearance.”

  Najun: “What do you know?”

  Najun’s intense stare pierces Kiyomata’s body. He tenses his arms so that the Hydra has to bite harder.

  Kiyomata: “Not much. Just that she’s been gone since your birth. I assume you have little to no memory of her, right? She’s just a shadow of your past that you want to revive. You know, I have a funny little theory. I came up with it before the tribunal. What if your mother didn’t disappear—but ran away?”

  Kiyomata suppresses his laughter while Najun struggles to keep his mouth shut. He knew it happened after his birth, but he didn’t know exactly when.

  Kiyomata: “Maybe you were too ugly or too loud for her. I think she ran away—from you, your father, your siblings, more than half of whom aren’t even hers, and from her duties as a mother.”

  Najun: “Shut your mouth!”

  One could say that the brothers Najun and Naki suffer a mental breakdown at the same time—though for very different reasons. Najun loses control over the secret surrounding his mother, while Naki cannot believe that Najun supposedly killed Shinoa. Both let out strange sounds.

  Najun struggles more and more against the bites of the two Hydra heads. The flesh on his shoulder begins to tear. He bleeds through his white shirt until it is practically red. Najun doesn’t care. He just wants to know what Kiyomata knows about his mother—and who among his accomplices or family members knows more.

  Kiyomata: “I can tell you’re not quite yourself right now. I’d better calm you down a bit. Maybe with some light mental torture?”

  Kiyomata pulls a metallic hand with a violet stone on the back of it from his suit pocket. He presses it against Najun’s face, and the hand grips him. The violet stone is placed over his mouth. Najun looks as if he is wearing a gas mask. He struggles against the power of the hand, but it is too overwhelming and malicious. He loses consciousness, but his body reacts violently. He trembles and makes strange choking noises.

  Kiyomata: “Don’t think you’re just unconscious. This hand is a family gift of ours. Its name is Terror Hand. It infects your brain with strange roots from the stone and makes you experience terrible things. I don’t know exactly what those things are—but they’re supposed to be awful. Very awful.”

  Kiyomata: “Ah before I forget. Is someone at home because it’s not nice to visit an empty house? We even bought you some presents.”