Raizen High School, lunchti.
Shido understood. He understood that this was the inevitable result of changing history.
Just like the butterfly effect—Origami's parents had not died, so Origami would follow her parents. And because of that, whether she chose to attend Raizen High School would be affected by many different factors.
Now, the seat beside him was empty. That was a perfectly natural result.
Only...
The sense of loss in his heart made his mood sink low. Because of that, he did not choose to share lunch with Tohka, Kaguya, and Yuzuru.
The Spirits noticed that sothing was wrong with Shido's mood, and unlike usual, they did not cling to him.
And so, Shido took his lunch alone and ca to the stairway leading to the rooftop. Usually, there was no one in this place, making it very suitable for sitting quietly by himself. However...
[Huh?]
He noticed that the door leading to the rooftop was open.
Almost entirely on instinct, Shido pushed open the door and stepped onto the rooftop.
It was as if—he knew soone was waiting for him there.
"Ah..."
He saw the Spirit he had only t that morning—Yakumo Mikoto.
The girl was sitting there alone, enjoying her lunch.
"Ara, Shido. Did you co looking for ? I'm so happy!"
Seeing Shido arrive on the rooftop with his lunch, Mikoto smiled happily.
After learning that she ate lunch here, Shido would occasionally choose to co to the rooftop and spend the lunch break with her.
But after the Yamai sisters also entered Raizen High School, there were two more Spirits who ca looking for Shido during lunch break. The chances for the boy to co to the rooftop alone had grown fewer and fewer.
"Ugh... Y-yes... I suppose so..."
Although he had been misunderstood, he could not say sothing that would lower her affection, like [I just ca here by chance, Senpai, please keep eating lunch alone]. So Shido nodded and sat beside Mikoto.
The lunch Mikoto made was truly delicious, but Shido's mind was full of thoughts about Origami.
"Hey, Shido, how does this chicken rice ball taste?"
"Mm, it's very good."
Hearing Mikoto's question, Shido answered absentmindedly.
[Stare—]
Feeling a gaze full of pressure, Shido turned his head and saw the girl staring at him with cute half-lidded eyes.
"What's wrong... ah..."
Only then did he notice that the rice ball he was eating was pickled plum flavored, not chicken.
In other words, the fact that his mind was completely elsewhere had all been seen through by the girl.
"Shido... you really are not yourself today."
Although it made her a little angry that he was thinking about another girl while eating with a beautiful girl, Mikoto was more worried about Shido's health.
"Ahaha... you noticed?"
Shido smiled bitterly. Although he had tried his best to act as if nothing was wrong, it seed he had not managed to fool her.
"Of course. I can tell at a glance what condition Shido is in."
Mikoto nodded seriously, then said,
"If my guess is right, Shido is troubled over so woman right now."
[!!!]
Hearing Mikoto's words, Shido was startled. He really was troubled over Origami. The girl in front of him seed to have a very sharp intuition.
"Honestly, thinking about another girl while eating with ... As expected, I should punish Shido by making him eat this special spicy rice ball."
Just by looking at Shido's expression, she knew she had guessed correctly. Mikoto puffed out her cheeks and said that.
"Please spare from that, I beg you."
Shido put his hands together and apologized. No matter how he looked at it, that bright red rice ball did not seem rely a little spicy.
"So, who is it? Natsumi? Yoshino? Or Kotori?"
Mikoto tilted her head and asked.
"None of them. Actually, it's... Ori... gami..."
The mont Shido said Origami's na, he suddenly realized sothing—since Origami did not attend Raizen High School, Mikoto naturally should not know her.
"Origami? Shido knows Origami?"
Hearing Shido's words, Mikoto showed a surprised expression. She had never imagined that Shido would care about Origami's affairs. No, the more important question was, how did Shido know Origami in the first place?
"Wait... Yakumo-senpai knows Origami?"
On the other hand, Shido was even more surprised. Why did Mikoto know Origami?
"What do you an, know her or not... The friend I usually ntion who works in AST is Origami. Look... it's this girl, right?"
Mikoto opened her phone, pulled up a selfie she had taken while shopping with Origami, and showed it to Shido for confirmation.
[!!!]
Shido took Mikoto's phone and froze.
On the screen was a girl whose hair had changed from short to long, and whose face wore a cheerful smile Shido had never seen before. Together with Mikoto, she held an ice cream cone, wore fashionable clothes, and happily walked through the shopping district.
There was no doubt about it.
That girl was Tobiichi Origami.
[Thank goodness... truly, thank goodness...]
Looking at the girl's smile, a smile that had not been clouded by hatred, and seeing her look like an ordinary high school girl, Shido felt, from the bottom of his heart, that it was truly wonderful.
He really had changed history.
He had changed Origami's past.
"Shi... Shido... are you all right?"
When he ca back to himself, what he saw was Mikoto looking at him with an extrely worried expression.
Only then did Shido notice that, at so point, tears had already flowed down his cheeks and wet the phone screen.
"If you're not feeling well, maybe you really should go to Fraxinus and get checked?"
Seeing Shido like that, Mikoto's heart hung in the air.
Since morning, Shido had been acting very strange. First, he looked as if he did not rember anything at all. Then, for so reason, he was worrying about Origami.
How should she put it? The boy in front of her gave Mikoto a very unfamiliar feeling, as if he was Shido, yet also not Shido.
"No, it's nothing."
Seeing the girl's anxious expression, Shido felt a pain in his chest.
Thinking carefully, although he did not know Mikoto, the girl had always been worried about him. Like an older sister, or perhaps a lover, she would feel sad because of his sadness. She was sitting there, giving off a helpless feeling of wanting to help him, yet not knowing what she should do.
"S-sorry, Senpai. So sand just blew into my eyes."
Shido wiped his eyes and covered it up as he spoke.
"Shido..."
However, judging from the other person's expression, Mikoto did not believe that excuse at all.
"That expression you had just now is one you only show when you're worrying about us Spirits."
[!!!]
With one sentence, Shido once again experienced just how sharp the girl before him was—or rather, just how well she understood him.
"R-right, what kind of photos does Senpai have on her phone? Let see..."
He clumsily shifted the topic away from Origami and onto the photos on her phone.
"Photos... I think aside from Origami and group photos with everyone, the most common ones are probably photos of and Shido."
Although she knew Shido was changing the subject, if he did not want to say it, Mikoto would not press him.
"Eh? With ? Let see..."
Shido opened the folder with his na written on it.
This was a good chance. He could learn just what kind of ti he and Mikoto had spent together.
[W-what are theseeeee?!]
Then he saw himself wearing a shrine maiden outfit with an embarrassed expression, himself wearing a dinosaur costu with a helpless expression, and himself dressed as Shiori while being made to wear all kinds of clothes. (TL:hehe)
[!!!]
However, aside from those photos that almost made him cry out, there were also photos of him and Mikoto together at the sumr festival, holding grilled squid and cotton candy while smiling happily; the two of them shopping together, feeding each other ice cream at an ice cream shop with embarrassed expressions; the two of them going to a bookstore, holding cookbooks as if preparing to try new dishes.
They were scenes that felt both incredibly familiar and incredibly unfamiliar.
They were sweet mories that should never have been lost, yet now could no longer be found anywhere.
(TL:Shido you fcker)
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