Today was a bright and peaceful day. Mikoto was walking through the departnt store beside Tengu Station, planning to buy so daily necessities.
"Hm?"
As she passed by an accessory shop, the corner of her eye caught sight of a hair clip engraved with an upside-down cross and shield pattern.
Without a doubt, it was not sothing Mikoto herself would like. However, from what she rembered…
[Kaguya said she wanted an accessory like this, didn't she? I might as well buy it as a gift.]
Thinking that, she picked up the hair clip and went to pay.
"Ara, if it isn't Yakumo-san."
At that mont, a familiar voice ca from beside her.
"Kurumi-san?"
Mikoto turned around and saw Kurumi dressed a little differently from usual. She had a rose-shaped hair ornant on her head, and the clock in her left eye was covered by a dical eyepatch. (TL:oh hell naw...it's that kurumi kewkkkkkkk)
"Is sothing the matter?"
Maybe it was just her imagination, but Mikoto felt that Kurumi's attention was not on her, but on the hair clip in her hand.
"About that… please co this way…"
Kurumi pulled Mikoto into an empty ergency stairwell, then said
"About that hair clip, would you be willing to give it to ?"
"The hair clip? But… this is a gift for Kaguya…"
Mikoto did not know why Kurumi wanted this hair clip, but she had no reason to hand over sothing that was ant to be Kaguya's gift.
"Kaguya-san, is it? Then this is simple. In exchange, please teach her this magic circle that gathers dark energy."
Kurumi took a marker out from her shadow, then pulled over Mikoto's hand and skillfully drew an inverted pentagram magic circle on the back of it.
"Well then, good day, Yakumo-san."
"Eh? Wa… wait…"
Before Mikoto could recover from Kurumi's strange behavior, Kurumi had already taken the hair clip and slipped into the shadows.
"Well…"
Giving up on the idea of trying to dig Kurumi out of the shadows, Mikoto stared blankly at the eerie magic circle on her hand.
She wanted to wipe it off, but the ink in the marker seed to be special. Whether she rubbed it with her hand or washed it with water, it would not co off.
Left with no other choice, she left the departnt store with the pattern still on her hand.
On the way…
"Mommy, what's that on that big sister's hand?"
"Shh, don't ask."
A mother and child passed by her.
And so, Mikoto was treated as either a delinquent girl with a tattoo, or a student still deep in her chuunibyou phase.
[…]
After a silent mont, she walked into a small shop near the station.
The reason she chose this shop, which gave off a rather suspicious air, was simply because she happened to see several rolls of bandages displayed on a shelf.
[At least I should find sothing to cover it.]
That was what the girl thought.
However…
[What are all these?]
The bandages in the shop were either covered in runes, or stained with fake blood on purpose.
In the end, Mikoto picked out the only roll of plain white bandage among them.
"Ah, oh no."
Just as she bought the bandage, a girl walked in and looked at the bandage in her hand with an expression close to tears.
"Kurumi-san?"
Yes.
It was Kurumi again.
However, this Kurumi had bandages wrapped around everything from her right hand to her left leg and left eye. (TL: what the hell is even going on kewk~)
"If possible, could Yakumo-san please give that roll of bandage to ?"
She said. It seed she had her eye on the sa item.
"W-why?"
First it was a hair clip, now it was bandages.
Mikoto felt like she could not understand what Kurumi was thinking today at all.
"Actually, that is a mysterious bandage that reveals magical runes when it cos into contact with human body heat." (TL: I'm cringing typing these)
[!!!]
Hearing Kurumi's words, Mikoto secretly felt relieved that she had not yet gone outside with that bandage wrapped around her hand.
"Then… how about exchanging it for the bandages on you?"
She looked at the bandaged Kurumi in front of her. The bandages on her body seed normal, aside from the fact that they had already been used.
"Ehehehe, deal."
Kurumi seed very happy.
And so, the two exchanged bandages.
After covering the magic circle on her hand with Kurumi's bandage, Mikoto continued on her way ho.
"Oh no, what should I do?"
As she passed by a clothing store, the shop owner was standing in front of the entrance with a troubled face.
Looking closer, the banner at the entrance that said "70% off Today" had slipped to one side because the rope holding it had snapped.
"Um… if you don't mind, would this work?"
Since she still had extra bandage left, using it as rope should be fine.
"Oh my, thank you so much. As thanks, please take this outfit."
"Eh? Um… th-thank you."
The enthusiastic shop owner gave her a dress covered in lace frills.
Although Mikoto felt that it did not suit her at all, she could not bring herself to refuse the other person's kindness.
As a result, Mikoto continued walking down the street with the dress in hand.
Then she was stopped again.
"Please wait, Yakumo-san."
"No way…"
Mikoto turned around and looked at Kurumi, who was standing in an alley wearing a sweet lolita outfit. She felt a little speechless.
"Could I ask you to…"
"You want this dress?"
There was no reason for her to know, but sohow Mikoto felt that Kurumi had co for this dress.
"Ara, that's right."
"Mm, then you can have it."
It was not an outfit Mikoto particularly wanted anyway. If soone liked it, giving it to them was better.
"Are you truly sure? Still, I cannot take it for free. In that case, as an exchange, I'll give Yakumo-san sothing that 'I' like very much."
"Um… thank you…"
Mikoto accepted the package Kurumi handed her and looked at it closely.
Written on it were the words: "Cat Food: Contains Silver Vine(matatabi)." (TL:that catnip thing, read 'yutsuki catfriend' chapter on my other novel to understand this more)
And so, carrying the cat food, Mikoto returned to the shrine.
What she saw there was Kurumi playing with a cat.
For so reason, Niboshi seed rather disobedient today, arching its back and owing at Kurumi with its fur standing on end.
"Eek! Y-Yakumo-san, when did you co back?"
Noticing Mikoto's presence, Kurumi looked rather embarrassed.
"Um… please listen to my explanation. This is absolutely not just simple cat teasing. I am trying to use Niboshi to locate the Nanko-gang's main base. If I do that… kihihihihihi, I'll be able to collect a lot of ti."
Kurumi's smile was dangerous, but it also contained a stiff and awkward feeling that looked like it would collapse with a single poke.
"Um… in any case, please don't do that. If one of the shrine's sponsors gets wiped out, I'll be in a lot of trouble."
Mikoto said with cold sweat on her face.
Then she noticed sothing.
Kurumi's gaze seed to be fixed on sothing in her hand.
"Do you perhaps want this?"
She handed the cat food to Kurumi.
"No… how could I… um…"
"Please take it. It was originally Kurumi-san's item anyway."
"Eh? My item?"
"Mm…"
Looking at the surprised Kurumi, Mikoto told her everything that had happened today, from Eyepatch Kurumi, to Bandage Kurumi, to Sweet Lolita Kurumi…
After listening, Kurumi's face rapidly turned red, to the point that it looked like it might start dripping blood.
"Ara, Yakumo-san must have mistaken them for soone else. Those girls were not '.'"
Kurumi raised her head and spoke in an extrely rational voice.
Yes.
So rational that it felt as if so part of her had inverted.
"But…"
"Those. Girls. Were. Not. '.'" (TL:yes)
"I-I see. Then I'll be going back. Goodbye, Kurumi-san."
Realizing that if she kept talking, she might be silenced, Mikoto wisely ended the topic.
"Well then… first, this side…"
Watching Mikoto leave, Kurumi suppressed the sha and anger in her heart, then used the cat food mixed with catnip on Niboshi, who was still bristling.
After picking up Niboshi, who had beco dazed after eating the cat food, and rubbing against it to her heart's content, she stood up.
"Ti for the elephant in the room. It seems 'we' not only failed to gather information, but also did quite a lot of unnecessary things."
Kurumi's Het (Eighth Bullet) could split off versions of herself from different points in ti.
Eyepatch Kurumi from five years ago.
Bandage Kurumi from six years ago.
Sweet Lolita Kurumi from seven years ago.
If possible, all of them were individuals she did not want to et.
And yet today, through a series of coincidences, these black history versions of herself had found Mikoto one after another.
"She saw us like that, didn't she?"
"Ara, ara, there's no helping it."
"It is difficult to escape the past, isn't it, ''?"
From within the shadows, many voices spoke over one another.
And then, Kurumi's reason completely broke.
"Co, co, Zafkiel! Let us go teach those 'selves' of ours who are not doing their work properly a lesson." (TL:feel like this not the first ti these kind of thing happened)
A fierce smile hung on Kurumi's flushed face.
Holding two flintlock pistols, one long and one short, she slowly stepped into the shadows.
_____________
During dinner ti, Mikoto still had no idea what exactly had happened today when she ca to the Itsuka household.
However, even though she had lost the hair clip, the magic circle on the back of her hand that could gather dark energy made Kaguya extrely happy.
Watching the girl copy down the magic circle and cheer in delight, Mikoto smiled as if thinking: "Maybe this turned out fine after all."
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