Scars and Precaution (爪痕と警戒, Soukon to Keikai?) is the first chapter of Volume 4 of the My Happy Marriage novel.
Summary[]
One winter day, Miyo gets herself ready and departs with Kiyoka to the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit station. She recalls what happened a few days prior. When they returned from the Kudou villa, they encountered Naoshi Usui who called her his daughter and mentioned a gift for Kiyoka in return for his actions in the village. The "gift" promptly arrived in the form of a paper familiar with a message detailing the unit's casualties, which includes Godou, caused by explosions on the Gifted Communion's bases. He implied that the military being able to identify all the bases in one fell swoop was a trap. When Kiyoka and Arata tried to capture him, Naoshi's body became transparent, making Kiyoka's hand pass through him and Arata's bullet miss. Usui suddenly got close to Miyo and whispered in her ear that he will come back for her before he vanished.
Upon their arrival at the station, Kiyoka takes Miyo to his office. Shortly thereafter, Kaoruko Jinnouchi joins them, introduced by Kiyoka as the person who will fill the void left by Godou and to serve as Miyo's bodyguard. Miyo is shocked to hear that Kaoruko was Kiyoka's former marriage candidate. The trio then proceeds to the meeting room for the unit's first gathering since the encounter with Usui. The meeting is also attended by Masashi Ookaito and various squad leaders from the unit. Miyo is involved in the discussions as a concerned party. Arata, as a representative of the Usuba family, is summoned as well, but notably absent, causing Miyo to feel anxious.
Following Kiyoka's introduction of Kaoruko, the meeting delves into the explosions, the wounded soldiers' conditions, unit's strategy, and Usui's plans. Squad leader Mukadeyama discovered that the enemy Gift-user Kiyoka encountered at the shack is a member of the Houjou family, which mysteriously lacks recent state records. When Ookaito mentions Arata's absence, the room erupts in whispers about their distrust towards the Usubas. Arata arrives at that moment and reveals that he discovered that Usui's Gift is the ability to manipulate the five senses. It is speculated that he used this ability to conceal the Houjou Gift-user from the government. As Usui is believed to seek the power of Dream-Sight, Kiyoka proposes that Miyo joins him at work daily in order to protect her, a proposal met with unanimous approval.
Arata leaves the station deeply worried. His research has him convinced of Usui's immense power and he realizes that only another Usuba Gift-user could challenge him, but he himself isn't up to the task. While someone with a Gift like Kiyoka's could potentially confront Usui, such individuals are rare, and they're facing not only Usui but also the Houjou family and potentially more Gifted allies. Arata believes the Usubas bear responsibility for the situation due to their failure to deal with Usui in the past. As the protector of this generation's Dream-Sight Medium, Arata is determined to eliminate Usui, even if it means sacrificing himself.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Miyo Saimori
- Kiyoka Kudou
- Yurie
- Arata Usuba
- Naoshi Usui (flashback)
- Kaoruko Jinnouchi
- Masashi Ookaito
- Mukadeyama
Mentioned characters[]
Chapter Notes[]
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