"Ah, I got it. I'll be careful..."
Shidou turned his head aside.
"But... is there really a need to be that cautious about Tenqi-san?"
"...No matter what, being cautious is never a bad thing — though it might not actually help much."
Kotori sighed, setting her laptop aside.
Watching her movements, Shidou's mind once again strung together his earlier doubts.
"Hey, Kotori..."
"Hmm? What is it?"
Kotori lifted her gaze toward him.
"You said you became a Spirit. What exactly happened five years ago?"
Spirits and humans were fundamentally different beings. For a human to suddenly turn into a Spirit — or to gain power equal to one — what could possibly explain that?
Yet Kotori only shook her head blankly.
"That... I almost don't remember."
"Huh...? You don't remember...?"
"Yeah... I vaguely know that something happened, but no matter how hard I try, I can't recall it — no, more precisely... I do remember that I became a Spirit, but I can't remember why."
"Would a normal person really forget something that important?"
"I don't think the brother who forgot his sister became a Spirit is qualified to say that."
"Ugh..."
Hearing that, Shidou was left speechless.
She was right — he really wasn't in any position to talk.
Kotori sighed again before continuing,
"But... yeah, you're right."
"What do you mean?"
"A normal person wouldn't forget something that significant. I agree with that. Shidou's case is a bit of an exception, but as for me — how could I possibly forget something that overturned my very existence?"
"What do you mean by exception? What exception? My memory isn't that bad, you know!"
Shidou squinted his eyes, displeased.
But Kotori ignored his protest and went on,
"Five years ago, two people in that place lost their memories at the same time... don't you think that's strange?"
"Huh? Kotori, are you saying..."
"For example, what if someone erased our memories?"
"Wha—"
Someone erased their memories?
Hearing such an unpleasant theory, Shidou frowned.
If one used manifestation devices, or a Spirit's Angel with limitless potential, then... yes, it was possible.
But who would do that? For what purpose? Why erase their memories specifically?
Maybe noticing his tense expression, Kotori shrugged.
"Well, that's just one possible theory, of course."
Even with that addendum, sweat trickled down Shidou's back.
Indeed, if he thought along those lines, many unexplained points suddenly made sense.
But since neither of them could remember, there was no point overthinking it now.
So, Shidou asked something else that had been on his mind.
"But... after that, you went back to living a normal life, right? How did you manage that?"
From the fire incident five years ago until now, Kotori had never shown any trace of being a Spirit.
"Huh? Are you joking?"
Kotori gave him a puzzled look.
"Of course you sealed my powers, Shidou. What else could it be?"
"Huh?"
Shidou froze.
"M–Me? Oh... right, that's why yesterday you said something like 'I'll temporarily return it'..."
Shidou rubbed his forehead and muttered. The needle-like headache he'd felt when he saw Kotori in her Astral Dress surfaced again.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall the details of that event. His memories refused to return.
"That's right... After you sealed my powers,
"..."
Shidou had nothing to say.
"That's also why I chose you, Shidou, as the one who would convince the Spirits. Even if I don't know the reason, you do have the ability to seal their powers."
No wonder. It all made sense now.
When he had first boarded the airship Fraxinus, Shidou had wondered how Ratatoskr even knew about his ability to seal Spirits — but now it turned out he had already used it five years ago, on his own sister.
And thinking of his own healing flames, everything fell neatly into place.
Kotori, seemingly reading his thoughts from his expression, nodded deeply.
"That's right. Shidou, your regenerative power actually comes from my strength. Therefore... Shidou, stand up."
"Uh, why?"
Shidou looked at her in confusion as she stood up and came closer.
"Stop whining and get over here."
"Ah... okay."
Following her instructions, Shidou stepped toward her.
At that moment, Kotori suddenly punched him hard in the chest.
His body bent over like a cooked shrimp, and he collapsed in pain.
"I told you, didn't I? I told you to 'be careful,' and that 'you could die easily in your current state,' didn't I?"
Her voice grew colder with every word.
"But you still rushed in front of me! You actually jumped in front of Camael to protect Kurumi! It's a miracle you're alive — if I hadn't regained consciousness and pulled back at the last moment, and if Tenqi hadn't protected you for my sake, you'd be charcoal right now!
And because of that, Kurumi and Tenqi both escaped! Hey, are you even listening to me!?"
"Y–Yeah... I'm listening..."
Shidou nodded weakly. After a while, he managed to catch his breath, sit back on the chair, and exhale softly.
"Wait, Kotori — you said, Tenqi-san protected me for your sake?"
Realizing the name he'd just caught, Shidou asked sharply.
"Yeah, that's what she said. Didn't you hear it?"
"Uh... my head was still hurting then... I only remember her saying to take care of you..."
Shidou rubbed his temple.
"But Kotori, you didn't know Tenqi-san before all this, right? Why would she protect me for your sake?"
"I've been thinking about that too," Kotori murmured, twirling her lollipop. "That's why I paid special attention to her strange reaction in the video — when she saw my 'body,' she clearly remembered something. There must be a connection between the two."
"I... I see..."
That wasn't the most pressing question right now, but there was something else Shidou couldn't overlook.
"Kotori, just now, you said 'regained consciousness,' right?"
Kotori's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Yeah, that's right. I did."
Shidou recalled what had happened on the rooftop — Kotori aiming her cannon-form Camael at Kurumi. That Kotori didn't seem like the usual her at all.
Yet, she could still talk, still reason — she wasn't completely gone.
"I don't know," Kotori said quietly, sighing in rare resignation.
"After I took back my Spirit powers from you... I sometimes couldn't stop myself. I'd feel this urge to destroy things, to kill people.
Right now, I'm suppressing it with medication... but without a doubt, at that time, I really intended to kill Kurumi."
"Wha—"
"I'm terrified, Shidou. Because I have no idea what I might do next. I can't control myself at all.
And though I don't remember, maybe... maybe I did something terrible five years ago.
In that part of my memory that's gone... maybe I killed someone. If that's true, then I..."
Kotori was not like Tenqi or Kurumi — killing wasn't something she could shrug off.
"Kotori..."
Shidou could only manage her name.
Kotori stopped speaking. Then, as if shaking off her fear, she shook her head.
"Ah... that's not something a commander should be saying, huh? Forget it."
"T-Then... what now...?"
"Well, the only way is to seal it again."
"Seal... again?"
"That's right."
After saying that, Kotori pulled the lollipop from her mouth and pointed it straight at Shidou.
"You must... make me fall in love with you."