[What is this… What is going on?]
Tap, tap, tap…
Natsumi ran through the corridor, her mind in complete chaos. Could it be that everyone's attitude toward her over the past few days had been real?
[Impossible! Impossible! Soone like … Soone like …]
Natsumi desperately shook her head. She could not believe there were really people who would treat the unchanged [her] like this.
Because…
[No one has ever cared about when I looked like this.]
Yes. No one had ever paid attention to her tiny, shabby self. Not even once.
[But…]
Only Shido and the others were different. Even after seeing her true appearance, even after being troubled by her over and over again, they still cared about her.
[Impossible! Impossible!]
Natsumi shook her head desperately, trying to throw those thoughts out of her mind.
Bang!
Not paying attention to what was in front of her, she bumped into soone.
"Kotori? Perfect timing. I was just looking for you."
"Shi… Shido?"
Natsumi looked up and realized that she had bumped into Shido.
"Wh-what is it?"
In order to stop Shido from noticing her unease, she copied Kotori and put on a stern face.
"Um… During dinner tonight, should we let Natsumi co out too? If everyone eats together, Natsumi might feel happier, right?"
Shido asked.
"What? That's a pretty nasty idea. You're trying to win Natsumi over like this so you can seal her spirit power, right?"
Natsumi sneered.
No matter how confused she was, once she rembered that everything Shido and the others were doing was to seal her spirit power, Natsumi's heart sank again.
"What are you talking about? Sealing spirit power so Spirits can live happily and safely in this world—isn't that our goal?"
Shido asked, sowhat confused.
"Eh?"
However, even that reason, which had been like a lifeline for her doubts, was unintentionally shattered by Shido.
[Sealing spirit power is for the happiness and safety of Spirits?]
"And besides, it isn't just to raise her affection level. Think about it. Having to stay in an isolation facility and eat alone is way too lonely, isn't it?"
Drip, drip.
Finally, along with Shido's voice, Natsumi's tears fell to the floor.
_____________
A little earlier, in another part of the underground facility…
Tap, tap, tap!
Mikoto ran through the corridor, chasing after the figure that had disappeared.
[I was too careless!]
She secretly blad herself.
[I should have noticed earlier that girl wasn't Kotori.]
However, there was nothing she could do about that now. Her self exposure that morning had shaken her more than she had expected. All morning, she had been thinking about what kind of reaction Kotori and the others would have if they really learned about it.
Because of that, when she saw Kotori, who was actually Natsumi in disguise, her first reaction was not 'there is sothing off about Kotori's words', but 'did Kotori learn about my secret from Natsumi?'
And when Natsumi used Kotori's face to say [I know your secret] and then attacked her with cruel words, it truly hurt her quite badly. That made it even harder for her to calmly judge who the person before her really was.
"Hello, Kotori?"
She took out her phone and called Kotori.
[Oh, Mikoto? What's up?]
Kotori's relaxed voice ca from the other side. Her tone held none of the cruel sharpness from before.
"Where are you right now?"
[On Fraxinus. What's wrong?]
"I just t another you in the tea room of the underground facility."
Mikoto said simply.
[Ah…]
Although 'I saw another you' sounded rather supernatural and a little silly, unfortunately, everyone had already gotten used to that sort of thing lately. Naturally, they imdiately connected it to a certain person. Through the phone, Mikoto seed to hear Kotori's voice freeze completely.
_______________
After speaking with Kotori, Mikoto continued searching the underground facility for Natsumi.
"Shido!"
"Ah, Yakumo-senpai."
Turning a corner, she saw Shido. He had just placed sothing that looked like a Chupa Chups into his pocket.
"Did you see Natsumi?"
"Natsumi? No… I didn't…"
"What about Kotori? Did you see Kotori?"
"Kotori…"
Shido scratched his cheek. Not long ago, he had t Kotori. The usually confident and commanding Kotori had suddenly started crying, completely unlike herself, then had run away.
Unable to catch up to Kotori, all he had managed to pick up was a Chupa Chups that had fallen on the floor.
"That wasn't Kotori, Shido."
After hearing Shido's story, Mikoto sighed. It seed Shido had also t Natsumi and let her escape.
"Eh?"
Hearing Mikoto's words, Shido looked completely puzzled.
After an explanation, Shido also joined the search for Natsumi.
However, even after everyone searched the entire underground facility from top to bottom, they still could not find Natsumi.
So Mikoto and Shido ca up to the surface, planning to return to the Itsuka household first. When they arrived at the front door, the two noticed that the door was actually open.
"Could it be Natsumi?"
Shido's eyes lit up. At the mont, everyone else was still in the underground facility. The only person who could be in the Itsuka household was Natsumi.
"Wait, Shido!"
However, Mikoto grabbed him. Thinking carefully, if Natsumi was not in the underground facility, that likely ant she did not want to see anyone. If that was the case, what reason would Natsumi have to hide in the Itsuka household, a place where she was highly likely to be discovered?
Holding Shido's hand, Mikoto cautiously entered the house.
After entering the living room, she imdiately opened up Tsukuyomi to protect herself and Shido. At this mont, there really was a woman sitting in the room. However, it was not Natsumi.
It was Ellen Mira Mathers.
Seeing Mikoto beside Shido, Ellen frowned in displeasure.
"Ellen Mathers, why are you in a place like this?"
Shido asked.
"I won't beat around the bush. Where is the Spirit Witch, whom you took away several days ago?"
Perhaps realizing that with Mikoto present, she could not threaten Shido through force, Ellen spoke directly.
"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you."
Shido answered coldly.
"Hmph. I thought you would say that. Then how about we make a deal? In exchange for the safety of Yatogami Tohka, Yakumo Mikoto, Yoshino, the Yamai sisters, and Izayoi Miku, you will tell where Witch is. You wouldn't want your rare, happy little family to be destroyed, would you?"
Ellen said.
"Don't joke around. I will never tell you where Natsumi is."
However, Shido did not waver.
"If you want to hurt everyone, then try it. But I won't let you touch a single hair on their heads."
Mikoto also said without the slightest hesitation.
"What a sha. It seems negotiations have failed."
A platinum glow flashed, and Ellen shifted into her ard form, pointing her weapon at Mikoto and Shido inside the barrier.
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