"Rest a bit longer, yeah? We need more info on the Spirit. Perfect chance—ask Yoshino some questions."
Kotori's voice crackles through the earpiece just as Shidou finishes eating, catching his breath.
"Questions?" he whispers, wary of asking about Spirits with Kurumi nearby.
"I can't keep imposing. Let me handle the dishes," Kurumi says, standing abruptly, fingers clasped, as if reading his mind.
"No, I can't let a guest—"
"Hold it, Shidou. This works in our favor."
"Don't mind it. Also—" Kurumi stacks the bowls, heading to the kitchen, whispering as she passes, "—talk to Yoshino-san to your heart's content."
Her sultry voice sends shivers down his spine. He ignores his reddening ears.
"She's sharp. Who is she?"
"No idea…"
Reflecting, Shidou recalls Kurumi's silence when Yoshino mentioned odd details. He assumed she missed Yoshino's faint voice, but maybe she heard and pretended otherwise? Her perceptiveness and tact leave him grateful—and slightly unnerved.
Not wasting her courtesy, he turns to Yoshino, content after devouring oyakodon.
"Hey, Yoshino. Can I ask you a few things?"
"…?"
Kotori prepped the questions. Yoshino tilts her head curiously as Shidou speaks.
"You seem to treasure it… What's Yoshinon to you?"
A personal curiosity too. She called it her friend, but details are sparse. With the puppet, she's lively, cheerful—unlike herself.
Yoshino hesitates, then speaks softly but clearly.
"Yoshinon… is my friend… and my hero."
"Hero?"
"Yoshinon is… my ideal… the me I admire. Not weak… not hesitant like me… strong, cool…"
"Ideal self…"
He recalls their department store encounter. With the puppet, Yoshinon's bold, energetic—unlike the shy Yoshino.
"I like the current you better, though."
A clatter interrupts. Shidou glances at Kurumi washing dishes—likely bowls colliding. Turning back, Yoshino's hunched, hood pulled over her face.
"Yoshino? You okay?"
"…N-Never… been told… that…"
"Really?"
She nods. Shidou accepts it—Spirits rarely interact with people. Kotori's voice cuts in.
"Shidou, was that… calculated?"
"What? Calculated?"
"Never mind. If it wasn't, fine."
"What's that mean?" Shidou frowns at his sister's cryptic remark, refocusing on Yoshino.
"Why don't you fight back against AST, even with your power?"
Like Tohka, Yoshino's a Spirit. Unsealed, she could crush AST effortlessly, yet she doesn't—not even deflecting like Tohka.
Clutching her hem, Yoshino's voice shrinks.
"I… hate pain. Hate fear. They… probably hate it too. So I…"
"What—"
Her faint voice stuns him. What is this?
It's too—
"But… I'm weak… scared. Alone, I… can't handle it. Pain, fear… it messes up my head… I'd do… terrible things…"
—too kind.
"So… Yoshinon's my hero. When I'm scared… Yoshinon says it's okay… and it really is. That's why…"
Biting her lip, she clenches her fists until they bleed. Shidou can barely endure her words.
She calls herself weak, cowardly. Wrong. Facing relentless killing intent, she still considers her attackers. That's strength—profound, compassionate, yet painfully warped.
"…Ah…"
Before thinking, Shidou's beside her, patting her head. He can't stop. This tragically kind girl—
"I'll save you."
He means it.
"I'll find Yoshinon. Give it back to you. And more—I'll make it so you don't need Yoshinon's protection. No more pain or fear near you. I'll be your hero."
He's getting heated, but the words won't stop. Her mercy spares everyone but herself. Who'll show her kindness? It's simple yet daunting—for a Spirit, nearly impossible. But no salvation for her? Unacceptable.
"…T-Thank you…"
He nods, smiling as she accepts his resolve. His eyes catch her lips, and he looks away.
"Uh… sorry about before. The kiss."
"…?"
He confesses, knowing it likely hurt her. But Yoshino blinks, confused, as if unaware.
"What's… a kiss?"
"Huh? It's… when lips touch—"
"Like… this?"
"…!"
Not understanding, she leans in, lips nearly brushing his. Heart pounding, Shidou recalls Ratatosk's training, barely staying calm.
Another clatter—louder. Kurumi's focused on dishes, probably not hearing their quiet talk. He refocuses.
"Y-Yeah, like that."
"…Don't… remember it well…"
"What?"
Her reply feels off, but before he processes—
"Shidou! I'm sorry—"
The door bursts open. Tohka, supposedly out with Reine, storms in, freezing mid-sentence.
No wonder—Shidou and Yoshino are inches from kissing.
"T-Tohka!?"
Pressure. A killing intent rivalling last time makes Shidou sweat. Yoshino, recognizing Tohka as the one who took her puppet, squeaks. Fraxisnus's alarm for an upset Spirit blares.
Tohka, with an eerily calm smile, enters—not toward them, but the kitchen.
"Tohka, wait—"
His words halt. Not interrupted—Kurumi's gone, vanished from the kitchen.
Tohka raids the fridge, ignoring them, and storms out, thundering upstairs. A door slams, shaking the house.
Back to square one.
"Quite a lively life, Shidou-san."
"Gah!?"
A hand on his shoulder, a whisper in his ear—Shidou jumps, startled. Kurumi, who was just in the kitchen, giggles.
"Kurumi? How—"
"I'm… good at hide-and-seek."
"Really…?"
More than hide-and-seek—lightning-fast movement. She was behind him instantly.
"What about Yoshino-san?"
"Huh? Yoshino…?"
She's gone from the sofa, like a ghost vanished. Kurumi points it out.
"She lost into the Boundary when Tohka approached. Smooth it over."
"Smooth it over…"
With perceptive Kurumi? He falters under her skeptical gaze.
"Uh… Tohka scared her off, haha…"
Zero points. "Idiot…" Kotori groans. The lame excuse makes Shidou brace for Kurumi's reaction. She narrows her eyes, sighs.
"If you say so, I'll accept it. You and Yoshino-san have your reasons, yes?"
"Sorry…"
He bows, grateful. He can't spill about Spirits or involve her. Her tact saves him.
"Don't apologize. In return, when I'm in trouble—keep your promise?"
"Of course! I'll help you, Kurumi. Promise."
She smiles, recalling their vow. He doesn't know her burdens or even his own feelings, but his desire to help her is true.
He'd reach out to her, no matter what.
"If your oath to Yoshino-san is real, then I…"
"Hm?"
Kurumi murmurs, softer than Yoshino. Shidou asks, but she laughs it off.
"Nothing. Just… you're quite the heartbreaker, Shidou-san."
"What?! No, Tohka's—"
He can't let that slide. Flailing like a caught cheater, he struggles to explain without mentioning Spirits.
…If that resolve is real, I'll…
"The puppet Hermit had—it's been found," the robed girl says casually, watching Kurumi work.
"Oh? Where was it, when we searched everywhere?"
"You're rough on us, Kurumi…"
Odd phrasing, but fitting for Kurumi's clones. Shrugging, the robed girl shares intel.
"Tobiichi Origami. JGSDF, AST, First Sergeant. Also, Shidou's classmate and a beauty."
"Skip the last part. She picked up Yoshinon that day?"
"Exactly. Shidou's at her place now, attempting a retrieval."
Kurumi pauses, tilting her head.
"Why Shidou? Couldn't those behind him—"
The robed girl silences her with a raised hand, showing six fingers.
"Six. Number of people hospitalized trying that retrieval."
"Cyborg?"
"No time manipulator. Infrared sensors, tear gas, auto-tracking sentry guns. What's she fighting?"
The robed girl's tone drips with disbelief, her face hidden. Kurumi looks equally baffled. Even they wouldn't go that far. A war-ready setup, proven by actual casualties.
"Shidou went to that place?"
"Worried?"
Kurumi glares briefly at the teasing tone, resuming work with a firm voice.
"Don't make me repeat myself. I need Shidou alive now. That's all."
"Sure. No need to worry. Origami's… fixated on Shidou."
His chastity's not my responsibility, the robed girl thinks, keeping it quiet. Origami's obsession is excessive, but if Shidou succumbs, that's his limit. She pities him, but that's it.
"By the way, why're you making oyakodon?"
"I won't lose."
Lose what? Like Shidou, the robed girl tilts her head but stops probing, awed by Kurumi's intense focus.
They'd be idle until Shidou retrieves the puppet. A sharp tension interrupts—spatial quake sirens blare.
"Will Shidou make it in time? For now—"
"I'm going."
Kurumi stops, removes her apron, and steps forward.
"They'd detect us eventually if we move. So I'll go myself. No objections?"
Shadows crawl up her feet, forming a crimson-draped dress—Elohim, her Astral Dress, the Spirit's armor.
In her blood-red gown, Kurumi smirks, her red and gold clock-eye piercing the robed girl.
No other answer will do.
"Ugh, fine…"
The robed girl grumbles. Kurumi's decision is final. They gauged Hermit's strength last time—no reason to stop her.
Besides—
"If anything happens, I'll handle it. Just watch."
"Hehe, leave it to me!"
If Kurumi says yes, it's yes for her.