Goddess of Ice: Corrupting Bleach

Chapter 3: Getting Free

Just like Yuna and Naruto, Hinata was an orphan. Apparently, her father ran away early on, while her mother doesn't have the means to raise a child. Due to looking through parts of her mother's memories, she knew her father's face, so she briefly pondered on whether she should hunt him down at some point in time, but she decided not to bother with him.

Anyway, since she knew that Yuna and Naruto had better means to investigate how this world works, she decided to wholeheartedly spend her time getting stronger and look for the duo as soon as possible.

Just like Yuna, Hinata... found some money which she partially donated to the orphanage to improve the food quality.

Hinata planned to invest quite a bit of time into finding Yuna and Naruto after she had gotten a little older, but fortunately, that wasn't necessary as they somehow not only ended up at the same school but even in the same class. Naturally, she was very excited that her reunion with Yuna and Naruto happened so fast.

Anyway, a few days passed, and Yuna was currently sitting inside the school's library and was studying a thick geography book, while the desk in front of her was filled with pieces of paper that seemed to have random scribbles on them. Occasionally, she would put the book down and add a few more scribbles before resuming to read. By now, she had already established herself as a bookworm at school, so no one was bothering her, which fit her just right. Unlike Naruto, who sought after social interactions, Yuna couldn't care less. Well, Hinata was sitting next to her and was reading an adventure book, so it was not like Yuna had no social interactions.

Meanwhile, Hinata saw Yuna scribble down a few more symbols and couldn't contain her curiosity any longer.

"Yuna, what exacty are doing?"

"Calculating."

Naturally, Hinata had no idea what she meant, so she was waiting for Yuna to continue her explanation, but Yuna apparently thought that that single word was more than enough.

"What do you mean by calculating?"

Yuna looked up from her book when she realized she wasn't paying proper attention to Hinata and chuckled a little.

"Sorry, I was engrossed in what I was doing. Basically, I'm studying the shape of this world, the position of mountains and rivers, and stuff like that to find out which places have the highest chance to be rich in Natural Energy."

Hinata's eyes widened in surprise when she heard Yuna's explanation. She had never heard about such a mystical-sounding method.

"Is that really possible?"

Yuna nodded her head as she focused back on the book she was holding while continuing her explanation.

"It's more or less a statistical process combined with my vast experience about the shape of different worlds. If this planet were in its natural state, this would have been an easy process, but due to how much humans have intervened in the environment of this planet, things have become significantly more complicated."

Hinata simply nodded her head in understanding. Although she still wasn't entirely certain about the process itself, she could easily imagine that all the pollution and stuff like that would interfere with the flow of Natural Energy.

Yuna continued reading and writing for another 30 minutes before a glint passed through her eyes as she drew a final set of symbols.

"I found a potentially good place that isn't too far away from our current position."

Hinata heard Yuna's words and leaned over to her to take a look at the position Yuna had just marked on a map.

"Karakura Town, huh? That certainly isn't too far away. We should be able to reach that place if we run for a few hours."

Yuna nodded her head and quickly collected all the paper she had used for her calculations. She doubted that anyone could understand what she had done, but she would rather be safe than sorry, so she would get rid of all the evidence.

"Yeah, with our current level of strength, meager as it is, running there should be doable. However, I don't want to simply run away from here as that might cause a lot of trouble for us later on."

Hinata simply nodded her head when she heard Yuna's words. After all, if three children just went missing, a lot of people would be sent out to look for them, and people might even make posters for other people to see, significantly complicating their future life.

A few days later, it was the weekend, so Yuna decided to get a few things rolling that would be necessary for the future. Although she had found a potential place that would provide a better cultivation environment, she had to reach there first. Obviously, Naruto and her could just run away from the orphanage, but that would bring more trouble than necessary in the long run, so she would take another option.

So, she was currently wearing a brown jacket, black trousers, and high-heels, which weren't easy to find considering her size. Additionally, she wore thick glasses and had applied make-up to her face, giving her a few wrinkles and making her look older. Her intentions were rather obvious: she wanted other people to assume that she had dwarfism.

Moments later, a taxi rounded the corner, which she quickly waved towards to get the driver's attention. At first, the driver had confusion written all over his face as the person who called him here had a mature voice, but after getting a better look at Yuna, he understood the situation.

After a short drive, Yuna arrived at her: an electronics store. She has decided to get herself a laptop to access the internet. Over the internet, a lot of things can be done anonymously, which obviously would be helpful for her. Well, she at least assumed that to be the case. It's not like she has ever used it, but she had seen networks like this before and people wanting to do stuff anonymously was pretty much what always happened.

Anyway, she already knew what she wanted to get, so she motioned for the driver to keep the clock running and wait for her to return. Obviously, she couldn't just get the biggest and best model as she would have to hide it. So, she would get something small instead of going for power alone. She did consider getting a phone instead, but she felt like that might restrict her in what she could do. As for money, well, she... found... some just lying around, so there was no problem.

Around ten minutes later, she left the shop with a small box under her arm and a slight smile on her face.

'Hehe, time to find out how advanced this world's porn industry is.'

[So that was your real motive, huh?]

A few more weeks passed, and Yuna was currently sitting in her room while typing away at her laptop's keyboard at high speed while wearing a pair of fox-ear-looking headphones. She had ridiculous control over her body and had used similar devices before, so learning how to type with ten fingers simultaneously was no big deal at all.

A few minutes later, she noticed a presence approaching the door, and she was just about to hide away her laptop when she realized that that presence belonged to Naruto. The door opened, revealing Naruto wearing a casual orange shirt and black trousers.

"Yo, what are you doing, nee-sam?"

Naturally, Naruto knew about the laptop Yuna bought, as there was no point in hiding it. Hearing Naruto's question, Yuna simply shrugged her shoulders as she continued typing away.

"I'm doing some research."

"Oh? What are you researching about?"

Naruto approached Yuna and looked over her shoulder to see what she was currently doing, but as soon as he saw the laptop's screen, his face became blank.

Five windows were opened simultaneously. Four of them covered a quarter of the screen each, while the fifth one was in the middle of the screen, covering small parts of the other four. While large walls of text were speedily scrolling through the fifth window, the other four showed naked women and men doing... activities.

"Seriously? You are straight up watching porn, nee-san?"

"What are you talking about, Naruto? The porn is clearly in the background, while the information is in the foreground. I'm not watching porn; I'm collecting information while porn coincidently runs in the background."

"Sure, coincidently. A hacker must have highjacked your laptop and opened those four windows before you could stop them."

"I swear, that is exactly how it happened."

"Sure, I believe you."

"As you should."

A few seconds later, a glint passed through Yuna's eyes as she noticed a particular post.

"Oh? Someone claimed to have posted the world's greatest porn clip. Now that sounds like a massive trap."

"It does..."

Yuna moved the mouse, and with a small click, she opened the link.

"Let's walk straight in."

"... *Sigh* I knew it."

Moments later, the video loaded, and music started playing, while a young man with a striped shirt and a jacket started dancing around. The scene switched to the man dancing around in another outfit, then to a dancing woman, and then back to the man. Moments later, the lyrics started.

"We are no strangers to love~"

exactly 3 minutes and 32 seconds later, the video ended, resulting in question marks popping up above Yuna and Naruto's heads.

"What the hell was that all about?

"I have no clue."

The duo glanced at each other and then simply shrugged their shoulders.

A few more days passed, and Yuna was yet again looking through the internet, searching for something. After around an hour of doing so, she paused as she had found what she was looking for. On the computer screen was a newspaper article that had the picture of a man next to it, a mugshot.

"This one might be a good candidate. His eyes show all the right emotions for him to be as I want him to be."

After reading the whole article, a smirk appeared on Yuna's face.

"Oh yeah, this one is a prime candidate for my next plan. Oh well, I'll do some more research about him before I start planning my next move."

A few more months passed, and Yuna was yet again typing away. A few minutes later, the door opened, and Naruto entered.

"Yo, nee-s... What the hell are you doing?"

Naruto couldn't help but be surprised by what he saw, as Yuna was not in one of her usual outfits but wore black trousers, a black hoody, and a black ski mask. When she heard Naruto's question, she could only roll her eyes at him before refocusing on her laptop screen.

"Isn't that obvious from my outfit? I'm doing crimes on the internet."

Naruto couldn't help but facepalm as she approached Yuna and looked over her shoulder.

"A fake ID? What are we supposed to do with that?"

"Hehe, it's not for us. Besides, I'm not just getting myself a fake ID; I'm creating a whole fake person and company."

Naruto couldn't help but frown when he heard that as he started pondering on what Yuna might want to do with that.

'Pretty sure it isn't for us since we can't do anything with that anyway. So, it must be for someone else. Our current main goal is getting independent, and for that, we need to get out of the orphanage. In conclusion, it's likely a plan to get us out of here. In conclusion...'

"You are creating a person that can adopt us without asking too many questions."

A smirk appeared on Yuna's face while meticulously reading through the information displayed on her screen so she wouldn't miss even the slightest mistake.

"As expected, you saw through it. Yes, I'm going to create a person that can adopt us."

Naruto nodded in understanding, but moments later, a frown appeared on his face as he saw a flaw in Yuna's plan.

"That's all nice and dandy, but how will you actually simulate the physical appearance of such a person? I fear children can't be adopted over the internet."

Yuna chuckled in amusement due to Naruto's joke and simply shrugged her shoulders.

"That's the neat part, the person already exists; he just doesn't know about his luck yet."

As she said that, she clicked on a bookmarked link, resulting in another news article popping up. It was about a man who went to prison a few years ago and was recently released. Naruto couldn't help but frown when he saw that article.

"Why would someone write about that? This article pretty much draws a target on this guy's back."

A devilish smirk appeared on Yuna's face as she quickly went back to work.

"Yup, he is sad, he feels betrayed, he's broken, at the lowest point of his life, and on top of that, the whole country can happily read about his misery. In conclusion, he is the perfect target to be manipulated by me."

"*Sigh* Your evil if showing again, nee-san."

"Whoops, it slipped out again."

Another month passed, and inside a dark alley, a haggard-looking man with dead eyes was staring at nothing. It was clear to see that he was currently going through some hardships in his life.

His name was Kimura Hideo, and he was initially a well-known politician. Despite being only 25 at that time, he was already well connected and had a high chance of one day becoming the country's prime Minister.

Unfortunately, his fast rise garnered the ire of an opposing party, resulting in them setting up a trap for him. The oldest trap of them all: the honey trap.

During a party, he hooked up with a young girl and had a one-night stand with her. In the aftermath, it turns out that girl was younger than he thought, turning mutual sex between two adults into him raping a minor. Worst of all, the girl confessed with tears in her eyes that he had forced her into sex, closing the case almost instantly. As for why an underage girl was attending a party for adults? Well, that was obvious.

"[What do you desire, human?]"

Kimura's body shook as someone started talking to him in an eery voice that sounded like a man and a woman speaking simultaneously. He looked around the alley and quickly found the source of the voice. It was an eery-looking figure that was easily over three meters tall. It was ridiculously lanky for that kind of size and wore a massive tattered-looking black robe that hid most of the figure's face. The only thing that was visible was a pair of small purple eyes that seemed to pierce directly into Kimura's soul.

He couldn't help but tremble when he saw that weird creature suddenly appearing in front of him. No matter how he looked at it, this thing couldn't possibly be human. He didn't believe in monsters and stuff like that, but now that that creepy creature was in front of him, he decided he had to change his opinion.

"W-What do you want from me, monster."

A small, almost child-like giggle came from the middle of the creature, giving Kimura the creeps. Then the creature spoke again. However, this time it sounded like two men were speaking simultaneously, while the voice came from the lower section of the creature.

"[I am impressed that you can stay calm in front of my presence, human. Yes, we want something from you, but that can wait. First, tell us your desire. We only trade fairly, and if your desire does not match the worth of ours, you are not worth our time.]"

Kimura calmed down a little when he heard that he would be presented with a fair trade. Well, he didn't exactly trust the creature in front of him, but it was a better deal than getting mauled immediately. He also noticed that the creature called itself "we," which at least somewhat explained the different voices it was using.

'Is it really multiple entities, or does it simply have multiple personalities? However, all its personalities seem more or less of the same mind. At least they don't seem to be actively fighting each other. I have no clue why this thing appeared in front of me, but this might actually be a chance for me. Damn, what has prison done to me? I'm actually thinking that making a deal with the devil is a good idea.'

A wry smile appeared on his face as he fixed his gaze on the creature in front of him while determination shone in his eyes.

"I do not desire revenge against those that tricked me. Well, that's not entirely true, but I have other priorities. I want my life back. I don't even need to go back to being a politician; I just want to live a normal life without people looking at me with disgust."

The creature stood still for a few moments, making Kimura nervous, and a few seconds later, the creature gave its judgment with voices simultaneously.

"""[[Acceptable, human.]]"""

"Urgh, could you stop calling me human? My name is Kim..."

"[We do not care what you label yourself, human. Anyway, your wish is granted.]"

Kimura's eyebrows twitched in irritation as the creature interrupted him with the combination of a boy's and a man's voice. Before he could retort any further, a small piece of plastic flew out of the creature's middle section, followed by a wad of cash from its lower section. Before Kimura could ask any questions, the creature resumed talking with a little girl's voice, giving him the creeps again.

"This is your new ID. You will have to change your hairstyle a little and wear fake glasses, but that should be a small price to pay for your freedom. The cash is for you to do whatever you want. Start a business or whatever."

Before Kimura could get a word in and ask why the being in front of him suddenly switched into a business mindset, it continued speaking with the voice of a young girl and boy.

""We have created a fake company for you to boost your resume. Do with it what you want.""

Kimura couldn't help but look at the creature weirdly. After all, rather than a supernatural encounter, didn't this feel like a business deal?

'Shouldn't there be magic, blood, and dark rituals? Why is everything so... normal?'

Unfortunately, the creature picked up on his thoughts, resulting in the surrounding temperature plummeting, allowing Kimura to see his own breath.

"Are you dissatisfied, human? Would you rather I use magic to grant you want you to desire? Do you want me just to make everything great with the snap of my finger? That is not how the world works, human."

This time, only a mature female voice radiating power and dignity was talking, putting a lot of pressure on Kimura. He was used to speaking in public and in front of important people, but the pressure the thing in front of him gave off was on a whole other level.

"N-N, n-not at all. In fact, rather than some magic I can't understand anything about, I prefer things that are actually anchored in reality, so this is perfect."

The creature nodded his head, well, it at least looked like it did, and moments later, it resumed speaking with its first voice combination.

"[Very well. Listen, human. You are not to ask any questions. You will do what we want you to do and will do so without even a single question leaving your mouth.]"

Kimura frowned when he heard that but continued listening for now. Frankly, he didn't like that he wasn't allowed to question what he was about to do, but he had already decided to make a deal with the devil, so there was nothing he could do about it. Additionally, the creature initially mentioned that it wanted his ambitions to match the worth of their task, so he didn't think he had to do anything outrageous. Moments later, the creature resumed speaking.

"[We want you to visit this city's two orphanages. First, you will visit Strawberry Fields orphanage and adopt two children. A girl named Yuna and a boy named Naruto. They are twins. Then, you will visit the other orphanage and will adopt a girl called Hinata.]"

Although Kimurafelt was a little weirded out that he was supposed to adopt children, he simply nodded his head. He could only hope that the creature in front of him wouldn't want to eat them or some other f*cked up stuff like that. As these thoughts swirled around his head, the creature continued talking.

"[After you adopted all three of them, you will do the following: You will stop paying any attention to them. You will pretend you never adopted them, and finally, you will forget you ever adopted them. You will not be allowed to look for them or interact with them in any shape, form, or fashion. You will act like you have never seen them.]"

Naturally, Kimura was shocked when he heard these words. He simply couldn't grasp why a weird, otherworldy monster would approach him just to have him turn a trio of children into homeless people. However, before he could ask any questions, the creature continued talking.

"[You probably have doubts about our motives, but we couldn't care less. You might think that abandoning these children will doom them, but that is not the case. You don't need to know why, but they will be fine by themselves.]"

When he heard the creature's words, a deep frown appeared on Kimura's face. He pondered them for a short while and came to the conclusion that those three children likely weren't ordinary people either. If a three-meter tall monstrosity could appear in front of him to offer him a deal, why shouldn't it be possible for a bunch of children not to be what he initially thought they would be? In conclusion, he forcefully convinced himself that possible allowing three children to die on the streets to get back his everyday life was fine since he guessed that there was something special about said children. Well, he never claimed to be a good person, so it can't be helped.

"Since I haven't accepted yet, I should be allowed to ask questions, right?"

Hearing Kimura's question, the creature chuckled with three childish voices simultaneously before speaking with a single female one.

"We are fond of such word games. Ask away, but whether we will answer or not isn't certain."

Kimura nodded his head as he gave himself a brief moment to ponder what he wanted to know the most, but he realized quickly that that was obvious.

"Why did you choose me for this task? I don't think there is anything special about me."

The creature hummed for a short moment, seemingly pondering its answer and whether it should answer the question in the first place, before shrugging its shoulders; a surprisingly human gesture.

"You are special. Or rather, your situation is special. You are desperate and at the lowest point of your life. Additionally, you were a politician, making you a good liar. Your skills will be needed to adopt those three children."

Naturally, Kimura's face fell when he heard that answer. Telling someone he is special because he is desperate and a good liar isn't precisely something someone would like to hear. Despite being not happy about it, it also caused Kimura to put down his guard a little further. Both reasons were logical and understandable. If the creature started talking about fate or something like that, he would have been much more suspicious.

"Alright, next question, is there something special about those three?"

"Yes."

Kimura's eyebrows twitched in irritation at that one-word answer. Obviously, he was hoping to gain a little more information, but that was clearly not the creature's intention.

"Are those three in any way related to you?"

"Yes."

Yet again, Kimura's eyebrow twitched in irritation. Also, he had gotten at least some information; he couldn't help but be slightly dissatisfied by those blunt answers. Nevertheless, he decided not to bother about this any further.

"Fine, whatever. I will do as you ask, but I need to get presentable first. There is no way they would allow someone who looks like he is homeless to adopt any children."

The creature simply nodded its head before turning around and leaving. However, just before it rounded the corner, it stopped and turned around again. Its robe parted, revealing an additional two pairs of eyes in its mid and lower section, causing shivers of terror to go down Kimura's spine. Moments later, the creature started speaking with three childish voices simultaneously.

"""Do not dare to betray us, human. We will find you no matter where you hide and when we find you... well, let's just say you won't have a good time."""

Then, the creature simply vanished, leaving a trembling Kimura behind. He took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm his rapidly beating heart, but it still took him over a minute to finally get at least some control back.

'Holy shit, what was that? That whole thing was already creepy as f*ck, but that last reveal almost caused me a heart attack. No matter how I look at it, I absolutely need to fulfill that thing's wishes. Well, first I need to get presentable. New clothes, a shower, a good night of sleep in a proper bed, and alcohol. Massive amounts of alcohol.'

While Kimura was slowly calming down and planning the rest of his day, the creature appeared in another alley a completely removed its cloak, revealing three children that seemed to be around six years old. A boy with blonde hair, with his feet firmly planted on the ground, a girl with blue hair standing on top of his shoulders, and another girl with red and blue hair standing on top of the other girl's shoulders. Naturally, these three were Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto, who just scammed Kimura with the appearance of a fake monster.

They got off each other's shoulders and immediately high-fived each other while laughing loudly.

"Well, that went pretty well. Good joy, Hinata, Naruto."

"Hehe, that was more fun than I thought it would be, nee-san."

"*Sigh* To think I would one day enjoy tricking a man at the lowest point of his life into such a shabby deal. I can't deny that I feel a little dirty."

"We both know that you like it a little dirty, Hinata."

While saying that, Yuna wiggled her eyebrows, causing Hinata to blush a little while glaring at Yuna. On the other hand, Naruto only zoned out, looking at a particularly interesting part of a nearby wall with great intensity. He had no interest in listening to his sister flirting with her girlfriend.

A few more days passed, and currently, a smartly dressed man was knocking on the door of a certain orphanage with confidence and a straight back. He was wearing a black business suit, a pair of thick-framed glasses, and had short combed-back hair.

A few seconds later, one of the orphanage's caretakers opened the door and looked at the man with interest. Occasionally, people who wanted to adopt one of the children they cared for appeared, and the man in front of her seemed like a possible candidate. Obviously, she was happy that one of the orphaned children would possibly find a family, but she was slightly worried at the same, as the man in front of her appeared to be very stern.

"Yes, how can I help you, sir?"

Grief flashed through the man's eyes for a brief moment before he answered the caretaker's question in a steady voice.

"Good day, my name is Kodama Kei, and recently I was informed that the children of... an acquainted.... were at this orphanage, so I decided to take a look whether it was true or not. In case it was the truth, I would like to adopt them for the sake of my br... acquaintance."

The caretaker nodded her head in understanding and allowed Kodama to enter the orphanage. She off-handedly noticed how Kodama was about to call the twin's father his brother, but she didn't comment any further on that.

'So he is the twin's uncle? But why doesn't he want to call his brother "brother"? Besides, why does he only come after seven years to adopt his brother's children? There is definitely more to this than meets the eye.'

On the other hand, Kodama, who was previously called Kimura Hideo, couldn't help but be a little nervous. Obviously, he wanted to fulfill the creature's demands, but he couldn't help but worry that he might fail, resulting in some form of punishment. He didn't dare to think about what the creature would do to him if he were to fail.

A few seconds later, the duo arrived in front of an opened office door. Inside said office sat a stern-looking old lady that was currently doing paperwork. This was the orphanage's matron.

"Excuse me~ We have a guest that would like to adopt the twins."

The old lady looked up from her work and focused on Kodama. After seeing his neat appearance, she nodded in approval and straightened her back. Obviously, she wouldn't decide whether someone can adopt children or not based on appearance, but it was definitely the first step.

"The twins? Is there a specific reason why you want to adopt them?"

Kodama nervously rubbed his hands together as grief briefly flashed through his eyes. As a once successful politician, he had trained how to manipulate his body language a long time ago. Also, he had been a bit rusty; he used the last few weeks to get back into training. So, he resumed speaking with a grief-filled voice.

"It's a long story, but I'm their uncle."

The matron's eyes slightly widened, and moments later, she pointed at the seat on the other side of her desk, motioning Kodama to take a seat.

"In that case, please take a seat and tell me that long story."

Kodama nodded nervously and did as he was told. He took a deep breath, seemingly to calm his nerves, and started telling his story.

Kodama told the matron how he had to work overseas for around a year and that his brother got his girlfriend pregnant during that time. However, his brother decided that he wouldn't tell Kodama about it, so he could surprise him when he returned. Unfortunately, his brother had an accident just one day after the twins were born.

The matron nodded her head in understanding as he continued his story. Obviously, there was still something missing.

"What about your brother's girlfriend? Why did she drop the twins on our doorstep?"

Kodama gritted his teeth in anger when he heard that question.

"That damn whor... *cough* excuse me. That damn woman gave them away simply because she didn't want to take care of them alone."

The matron nodded her head in understanding, and after thinking about the situation a few seconds longer, she asked her next question. In that case, why did you only come here after six years? Surely you didn't need that much time searching for the correct orphanage, right?"

Kodama visibly deflated when he heard the net question. He looked like he was genuinely regretting something.

"*Sigh* I didn't even know that those children existed. I only found out about it a few days ago. I coincidently met that woman at a party. She got too drunk and lost control over herself, resulting in her spilling her secret. At first, I thought she was just drunkenly spouting some nonsense, but her story persistently stuck to me. So, I decided to ask her about it again while she was sober. This time, I got the whole story from her. *Tsk* That damn bi... *cough* woman wasn't even sorry about this whole matter."

The matron could only sadly shake her head as soon as the story was over. She wasn't expecting to hear such a weird story, but she was pretty sure that Kodama's emotions were genuine while he told the story.

"May I ask why you try not to call your brother "brother"? If that is too personal, then you don't have to answer that question."

Kodama managed to look even sadder when he heard that question. Silence reigned the room for a few seconds before he took a deep breath and resumed talking.

"I failed to take care of his children for over six years. Am I even still allowed to call him my brother? I have failed him."

The matron couldn't help but feel sad when she heard his words and saw his defeated posture.

'He is a good man.'

The duo continued chatting as the matron inquired about Kodama's living situation and financial stability before she simply nodded in approval.

"I don't think there is any trouble allowing you to take custody of these two children, mister Kei."

Naturally, a happy smile appeared on Kodama's face when he realized that he had succeeded in convincing the matron. With this, a good chunk of his task was already completed.

The matron made a quick phone call, and around a minute later, the door was opened by a pair of children. Kodama couldn't help but feel a chill go down his spine, as one of the children's eyes looked exactly like that monster's but with less pressure behind them.

"You asked us to come to your office, old lady?"

The matron shook her head at how Yuna addressed her and motioned for the twins to come closer. On the other hand, Kodama was terrified out of his mind, as Yuna's voice sounded exactly like one of the voices the creature had.

'Just what is the relationship between that thing and these two?'

"Yuna, Naruto, this gentleman has decided to adopt you two."

Yuna and Naruto looked at each other for a brief moment before directing their gaze at Kodama.

""Cool, nice to meet you.""

The matron could only smile wryly due to the unpassionate greeting. In her mind, she thought that the twins didn't understand what they were just told properly. The other possible reason for that tame response might also be that the duo didn't care in the first place since they mostly kept to themselves and rarely interacted with other people. As long as they stayed together, they didn't care where they had to go.

Around half an hour later, all the documents were signed, and the trio exited the building.

"Great, that went well. Now we just have to fetch Hinata, and we are done with this."

Kodama froze up when Yuna mentioned Hinata. After all, in his mind, there was no way for her to know about Hinata.

"H-How do you know about that?"

Hearing Kodama's question, Yuna glanced at him and rolled her eyes.

"Pretty sure we asked you not to ask any question."

Kodama almost fainted when he heard Yuna's words. After all, she pretty much implied that she was part of that monster.

"Y-You are a part of it?"

Yuna rolled her eyes yet again as she answered that question.

"Yes, I'm part of it."

"Are you an enemy of mankind?"

"Seriously, why is everyone foreign immediately declared the enemy of mankind?"

"If you are not, then what are your goals."

"Getting asked less pointless questions."

Kodama was just about to continue asking questions when powerful pressure descended on him, causing him to choke. Yuna's image in front of him seems to be turning bigger and bigger, making her look like a giant from his perspective.

"Are you done asking questions, human?"

Kodama realized that he had messed up. Due to Yuna's current form, he had lost most of his fear, emboldening him to push for an answer while forgetting that the being in front of him wasn't a simple little girl but a part of a monster.

He barely managed to nod his head, which immediately resulted in the pressure waning. Kodama took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and simply kept his mouth shut. He already had one strike and didn't want to find how many would be an "out".

A while later, the trio reached the next orphanage, where Hinata was waiting. Obviously, Yuna and Naruto wouldn't enter and simply waited outside while Kodama repeated the made-up story again. Around an hour later, Hinata and Kodama exited the building, causing Yuna and Naruto to smile.

As soon as Hinata and Kodama stood in front of Yuna, Yuna took out a rolled-up piece of paper and handed it to Kodama. He looked at it in confusion, and after unrolling and reading it, his eyes widened in surprise. As soon as he signed this document, someone else would get custody of Yuna, Naruto, and Hinata.

After thinking about the situation for a short moment, he simply shrugged his shoulders and signed the document. Although he didn't know who would take custody of these three, but he couldn't care less.

After signing the document, he simply turned around and left. Since he isn't supposed to ask any questions, he decided to stop caring about whatever will happen to those three. Besides that, he was certain that they could take care of themselves. He was just about to round the corner when...

*Splat*

And just like that, Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto can now roam around the country mostly unhindered.

Meanwhile, a middle-aged man was pouring over stacks of paperwork, and while doing so, he picked up a rather interesting report. It was a report of the "cake incident". He briefly wondered why the focus was on the cake and not the man that briefly abducted a Shinigami, but he decided to ponder that matter at a later time.

He had sent his third seat to investigate this matter, so he expected the mystery to be solved quickly. Surprisingly, his third seat has been gone for a month by now, meaning his investigation wasn't done yet, forcing him to write a monthly report.

He quickly started reading the report, but the more he read, the more his face fell. After he was done reading, he sighed deeply.

"So, in conclusion: cake."

Somehow, his third seat, the third strongest Shinigami in his division, had developed PTSD from getting cake thrown into his face from out of nowhere.

The man leaned back on his chair as he sighed deeply.

"What the hell is going on in the world of the living? *Sigh* I need a drink."