ACT II Part IV: Yūgen

                                    

                                          

"Well, what do you think?" You ask, bouncing on your feet. 
"He's nice, my father likes him," Comes the dry answer from Hakuji, his only reaction is to rub the back of his neck as he watches how your new friend Akio is having a conversation with Soyama-san. 
You don't hear about what they are talking about, and you don't care as long as Hakuji's father isn't in any form uncomfortable. But he has a soft expression as he listens to probably some bullshit story from Akio, intensely listening.  So you turn your attention back to Hakuji, "Figures, what about you?" 
"I hate him with every fiber of my being, something about him makes me want to punch him." He points his thumb toward the man in question, who laughs happily at whatever Soyama-san just told him, "Can I? Maybe I feel better after that." 
You giggle with absolute joy at how brutally honest he is, "Why am I not surprised, is it because he's blond?" 
"What?" 
In your mind, it doesn't sound so far stretched, maybe it's deep-rooted in his very core that Hakuji has an instant dislike towards blond people who are annoying, Douma is blond and annoying, and so is Akio.
Well, not in your case, weirdly enough Akio and you get along pretty well, maybe because you both don't question each other when the other says something dubious or weird. If anything, the more you think about it, the less sense it makes to you why he would like Akio. A mysterious man suddenly shows up with you which is already dubious as hell.
Thanks to the odd jobs, you may have many acquaintances, but never once did you bring anyone here, let alone introduce them as your friend, let alone introduce them as your friend. 
"Say, how did you meet him again?" 
Funny story, after our weird conversation, I got lost and I saw him snacking a demon, yes they are real, I thought wow that's kinda sick and cool at the same time, then I realized that he was my most important chance at finding my former fiance from my previous life who by now is a demon with six eyes and weird looking sword, and so I thought: I'm gonna follow him for the rest of my life.
"How many times do you want to ask me? After the festival, I got lost and he helped me to find my way back home. We talked and that's it." Your explanation sounds too simple and boring, but it's the truth, just only half of the whole story. 
Your sense of direction was actually shit when it's an unfamiliar area, and Akio found you at least as interesting as you him, so he helped you get home, and that's when you got some intriguing pieces of information. 
Currently, there are no female corps members, well at least no slayer or hashira according to Akio's knowledge. He could be wrong but he only knows of some female Kakushi, and probably a few medics. Which is a shame, because you would love to meet another woman that slays demons finally. 
But what's even more disappointing than the lack of some women being absolutely badass is that you're the first one he's ever met who actually uses the Breath of the Moon, nobody learned or mastered it.
These dumb peasants couldn't learn it even after you wrote down the most detailed explanation ever witnessed by mankind. It's disheartening to know that you wasted so much time writing it down when you could have spent that time eating mochi or annoying someone to death. 
Hakuji looks over at Akio again before glancing back at you, "So, why is he with you almost every day now?" 
It is a fair question but it's hard for you to think of a convincing answer that doesn't involve him being in your home all the damn time and sleeping under the same roof as you, since he somehow managed to win the heart of your loving mother and even of the damn fool Tsukihiko.