"Hah... Hah..."
Running on the bustling street, the physical exertion made Shido's breathing rapid, and sweat began to seep from his forehead.
Although he had undergone considerable training in the virtual world, Shido's physical fitness in the real world was rely that of an ordinary high school student. After sprinting for less than three kiloters, he quickly felt his stamina bottoming out.
Looks like I'll have to exercise regularly from now on. Shido thought in frustration.
"Finally... here..."
Resting his hands on his knees to steady himself, Shido took a deep breath of air and then looked around.
Tengu Station. After confirming with his phone's map, this was the location where Yutsuki's lightning struck.
Since it was close to evening and the peak of rush hour, Shido could see many office workers waiting for their trains at the station entrance.
"...Strange?"
Looking at this station where it seed nothing had happened, Shido couldn't help but feel a sense of oddity.
Just monts ago, Shido had seen with his own eyes the inverted Origami flying in this direction. Leaving aside why Origami hadn't destroyed the city, if Origami and Yutsuki's spirit waves were detected, the city's spacequake alarm should have sounded, sending citizens to air raid shelters.
Or rather, even if the alarm didn't react, Yutsuki should have sounded it herself.
"What exactly... is going on?"
Shido muttered to himself in confusion.
With a mix of anticipation and anxiety, Shido began searching for Origami and Yutsuki around the station. Soon, he spotted Origami looking bewildered in front of the Hachiko statue at the station entrance.
"Eh? Itsuka-kun?"
Seeing Shido, Tobiichi Origami's eyes widened, seeming very surprised to run into him here.
"Why are you here, Itsuka-kun?"
"Well... it's a long story." Shido smiled bitterly and gave a vague answer to Origami's question, then asked in return, "What about you, Origami? Why are you at the station?"
"Um, actually, I... don't really know myself."
Sighing with a bitter smile, Origami held her forehead in confusion.
"This kind of thing has been happening a lot lately... my consciousness suddenly cuts off for no reason, and when I co back to my senses, so ti has already passed. The doctor said it was anemia... but, I rember I was looking for my hairpin on the school rooftop... why am I at the station when I ca to?"
"Consciousness... huh."
Hearing Origami's words, Shido couldn't help but frown.
Clearly, the Origami before him had no mory of transforming into an inverted Spirit. The contrast between the Spirit Origami radiating negative killing intent and the current cute, beautiful girl Origami was just too great. If the current Origami's state could be explained by re 'acting', Shido would absolutely not hesitate to award her an Oscar for Best Actress.
Recalling Yutsuki's intel over the broadcast earlier that 'she reacts to Spirit power', and the fact that the inverted Origami stopped paying attention to him and Kurumi after they retracted their Angels... Perhaps the Origami of this world transforms into a Spirit and inverts due to reacting to Spirit power.
Most likely, after drawing Origami's attention, Yutsuki retracted her Spirit power and hid. As a result, Origami, who had chased her to the station, reverted to her original form because she lost her target.
Confirming this in his mind, Shido took a deep breath and said to Origami:
"Are you okay? If there's anything troubling you, you can talk to ."
"N-No! It's nothing major. Thank you for your concern, Itsuka-kun."
Origami hurriedly waved her hands to indicate she was fine. Then, seemingly thinking of sothing, her pretty face flushed red, and she looked down, whispering shyly.
"Um... Itsuka-kun, the note I passed you during class... d-did you read it?"
"Eh...? Ah, ah ah... I read it. Saturday, right?"
"Y-Yes..."
Hearing Shido's answer, Origami couldn't help but show a joyful smile.
"Ah, it's almost ti for dinner. I should be heading back soon. Itsuka-kun, see you tomorrow. Ah, right—"
Just as she was about to go ho, Origami suddenly turned around as if she rembered sothing and looked at Shido curiously.
"Speaking of which, Itsuka-kun, you haven't told why you ca to the station."
"Uh..." Shido hesitated for a mont and answered sowhat lancholically, "I ca here looking for a family mber... a family mber who suddenly left without a word."
Hearing this, Origami was slightly moved.
"Is that so... They must be a very important family mber, right?"
"Mhm."
Perhaps because she understood the pain of losing family, Origami gently held Shido's hands and said softly:
"Do your best. I hope you can reunite with your family soon."
Shido nodded silently.
"Thank you, Origami... Hearing you say that is better than anything."
"Honestly, you're exaggerating, Itsuka-kun."
Origami smiled bitterly. Letting go of his hands, she turned and left.
Watching Origami go ho, Shido let out a long breath and stared fixedly at the bustling station.
Among the crowd, he didn't see the figure he was hoping for.
(...)
He clenched his hands tightly into fists, then slowly relaxed them.
"Forget it, it's getting late. If I don't go back and prepare dinner for Tohka and the others, it'll be bad."
Telling himself this, Shido scratched his hair and turned to leave.
However, just at this mont, an incredibly trivial detail made Shido suddenly stop in his tracks.
"Akihabara..."
On the electronic notice board in front of the station, it showed that a train heading to Akihabara had departed from here not long ago.
Akihabara. Shido had been there a few tis with Tohka and the others. It's an electric town famous for otaku culture, and reportedly an area revered as a holy land within the otaku community.
And coincidentally, Shido knew very well that Ryougi Yutsuki was exactly an enthusiast of otaku culture.
(The train's departure ti perfectly aligns with when I saw the lightning strike. Is this just a simple coincidence? Or...)
After hesitating for a mont, Shido took out his phone.
[Subject: Coming Ho Late.
I might be coming ho late today. Sorry Kotori, just order takeout for dinner tonight,sorry again.]
Imagining Kotori's angry expression when she receives this text, Shido pressed the send button with a slightly guilty conscience.
Then, putting his phone back in his pocket, Shido walked briskly to the station's ticket counter and bought a ticket to Akihabara.
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