The person who opened the door was not Mirei: rather, it was a tall man with raven black hair, a stubble, and a scarred, somewhat wrinkled face.
Oh, you must be the Yamanaka kid. Mirei is getting ready, please do come in.
He simply said, pushing the door wide open and gesturing for Shusuke to enter.
The wall the door was part of was not the external wall of the house, as one could have imagined: instead. between that wall and the actual house there was a large, traditional, perfectly curated garden, complete with bonsais and
that thing that goes doink. A central area, directly in front of the house itself, had been visibly cleared out of anything that could constitute an obstacle, and that was where the man was leading the young ninja: clearly the duel was going to take place there.
So, my daughters tell me you were talking trash about our clan: is that true?
Despite the threatening tone, the question was immediately followed by a good-hearted laugh
That's awesome! I love kids who have guts and an attitude: if you lack the courage to get on the nerves of those who are above you, you'll never go far in this profession! And knowing Mirei, I'm sure deep down she appreciates that too: if she doesn't kill you today, I'm sure you could become great friends!
There was something bone-chilling about how easily the possibility of someone being killed had been brought up in casual conversation... But then something else happened that was also bone-chilling: out of nowhere, without the slightest warning, Shusuke could suddenly feel a presence behind him, a presence that just a nanosecond before simply wasn't there. It was almost as if someone had abruptly materialized out of thin air... And just as quickly, before the youngster could even react, something had already completely enveloped: a vice grip was tightening around his neck, so tight it felt as though it could easily snap his spine, while his face was being pushed into something extremely large and extremely squishy, cutting off his air.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW HE'S SO CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!
A voice from somewhere beyond the suffocating darkness yelled out.
Mitsuki-chan has a lot of cute classmates, but this one takes the cake! Can we keep him? Pretty please?
Uh, Kotori, I'm sure the legality of what you're doing right now is... Questionable, at the very least.
The voice of the man from before replied. And then finally, thankfully, Shusuke heard a voice he actually recognized.
W-w-w-w-what the hell do you think you're doing? Let him go, you perverted old hag!
Ara ara, Mirei-chan! Is that any way of talking to your own mother?
Whatever, just let go of him! Can't you see you're smothering him?
Aww, I suppose you're right...
And at last the vice grip was broken, and Shusuke was able to breathe and see again: standing in front of him was a beautiful woman, who was... Essentially Mirei, the color of both her eyes and her hair was basically the same: however, she was nearly twice as tall and had absolutely, positively, monstrously gigantic breasts. She was regarding Shusuke with a serene smile on her face, and standing next to her was Mirei herself, blushing so violently she looked about ready to explode.
I... I'm sorry. My family is like this, unfortunately.
Was all Mirei managed to blurt out.