The Demon Queen

Gyutaro's Return

It was almost another two weeks later when Douma brought Gyutaro back. He showed up to my wing with his hand on Gyutaro's shoulder, calling, "Yoo-hoo! Sakura-chan!"

Luckily, I was in my wing and not particularly busy, so I found Douma in the room I had given to Gyutaro and Daki.

"Ooh! I'm glad you arrived so fast!" Douma laughed. "Gyutaro's gotten pretty sick of me, haven't you Gyutaro-kun?" He patted him on the shoulder.

"I've been with you for too long," he said in a grumbling voice.

"Ah! You see? He's not yelling!" Douma winked at me.

Gyutaro stared at me. I could see in his eyes that he wished to spin around and slice Douma's head in half. But, he did nothing and said nothing. That was a huge improvement. Besides that, he was standing straighter and his hair seemed a bit tamer and better taken care of.

Hey, Douma actually achieved something here, I thought.

"What do you think, Sakura-chan? Hm? Hm?"

I looked to Douma and smiled. "Douma, will you leave?" I asked.

"Ehm ... huh?" he asked with a cute expression on his face.

"You aren't supposed to be at the castle, and I can see you've made great progress with Gyutaro." I shot Gyutaro an encouraging glance. "So, Douma ... leave, please."

Douma pouted. "Oh, Sakura-chan, you don't have to do this," he said in a light whining tone. "I've been solely with Gyutaro-kun and my followers for almost six weeks now! I miss you so much and I'd just like to see you for a while!"

"I've got business with Gyutaro. Leave."

His pout resembled that of a small child's. "Is Gyokko here so I can say hello to him?"

"He's out with Hantengu. Leave."

Gyutaro smirked.

Douma folded his arms across his chest. "Fine, go on and spoil my evening. I won't mind one bit." He stuck his nose up in the air and left.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "Seriously, Douma?" I said to myself.

"Does he always do things like this?" Gyutaro asked.

I looked at him. "Yeah."

"So, he's kinda like Daki." He snickered.

"Ehm ... maybe?" I scratched my head. "I don't know, really."

Gyutaro laughed.

"Anyway, back to you," I said. I walked over to him. "You look great, my cute little Dandruff Boy!" I exclaimed proudly and patted him on the head.

Gyutaro blushed. "M-me?" he asked. "Cute?"

"Mhm!" I nodded. "You look very cute."

Gyutaro blushed brightly in his cheeks. He then grinned. "Then, you're pretty yourself, Scarface!" He snickered awkwardly.

I smiled. "So then, Gyutaro, now that you're calmer and found some self-control, I've got a question for you."

"Huh?" he asked with a shy expression on his face.

"Will you be my bodyguard?"

He stared at me in disbelief. "Me? Your what?" he asked.

"My bodyguard," I replied. I pointed to my face. "You know, so something like this doesn't happen to me again."

"You think I can do that?" he asked.

"Of course. That's why I'm asking you to do it. I had it in mind for a while. I just needed you to develop some more self-control first. And besides, you're made with my blood, Gyutaro. You're capable of anything, because that alone makes you a very strong demon. So, what do you say?"

Gyutaro smiled. His smile got larger and he chuckled a little. "You know I'll do it!" he exclaimed, and stood there in front of me beaming with pride.