Fifteen thousand ters above Tengu City, inside the airship Fraxinus EX.
"Report: Origami, Tohka, and Yutsuki have left the shopping mall with Hoshimiya Mukuro and Itsuka Shido, and are moving towards the city center."
"Tohka and Hoshimiya Mukuro's mood and stress levels are stable. There are currently no signs of a spacequake."
"Good. Keep watching them, and tell the ground forces to be ready to support Origami and Yutsuki-nee at any ti."
"Understood."
Calmly giving orders to the crew, Kotori, wearing black ribbons, sat in the captain's chair with a lollipop in her mouth, thoughtfully looking at the main screen.
On the screen, Yutsuki and Origami were taking the group shopping. anwhile, the inverted Tohka and an unknown Spirit were fighting over and trying to seduce the boy who had broken into her house that morning.
Although at first glance it just looked like a normal, ssy love triangle with two girls fighting over one boy, Kotori knew very well just how dangerous this situation was. The inverted Tohka and the unsealed Spirit—if either of them lost control, they would destroy everything around them.
(We have to seal their Spirit energy as quickly as possible. First, calm them down, raise their affection, and then—uh?)
In the middle of her thoughts, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her head. Kotori frowned and pressed her temples.
(There it is again, this feeling.)
"Commander?"
"It is nothing, do not worry about it."
Shaking her head gently, Kotori took a deep breath and continued to watch the movents of the five people on the screen.
About two hours ago, after getting the news from the Yamai sisters that Tohka had inverted and Origami had disappeared, Kotori, who was eating lunch at her middle school, quickly skipped her afternoon classes and rushed back to the Fraxinus EX to search for them.
However, for so reason, the signal from Origami's phone and Tohka's Spirit energy reaction suddenly vanished halfway. Having lost her targets, Kotori had no choice but to do a grid search of the entire Tengu City.
Half an hour later, just as Kotori was pulling her hair out over not having any news of Tohka and the others, a cafe owned by her company suddenly provided a sighting report of Tohka and Origami.
Not only that, but along with the report ca a detailed explanation of the situation from Ryougi Yutsuki.
The girl with long blonde hair was a Spirit nad Hoshimiya Mukuro. The boy who broke into her house that morning was actually her older brother, Itsuka Shido. Everyone had their mories of Itsuka Shido sealed by Hoshimiya Mukuro, while Origami and the inverted Tohka got their mories back for so reason.
Honestly, if it was not for her trust in Yutsuki, Kotori might have thought it was a prank soone was playing on her. After all, her parents only had one daughter since they got married. How could she suddenly have an older brother out of nowhere?
(But there really is sothing strange going on.)
Kotori thought secretly.
Why exactly did she beco a Spirit?
For what purpose did she beco the commander of this airship?
How did she et Tohka, Yutsuki, and these other Spirits?
And how did she seal their Spirit energy?
To her surprise, Kotori realized she could not give a logical answer to any of these questions. Key parts of her mory seed to have been erased with white-out, leaving her past full of logical holes.
The mont she realized this, Kotori made a decision. She would provide support for Yutsuki-nee, Origami, and her "brother" Itsuka Shido in their mission to conquer Mukuro and Tohka.
(I hope we can resolve this smoothly without any accidents.)
Kotori silently prayed in her heart.
But soon, a crew mber reported so bad news to Kotori.
"Report: Hoshimiya Mukuro's stress levels are rising rapidly!"
——————————
"Where are we going next?"
"That is a good question..."
Origami looked around hesitantly. They had already visited almost all the entertainnt spots she knew of. If she had to think of another place suitable for a date...
"How about there?"
Origami pointed at the tall tower in the city center.
"Oh, Tengu Tower."
A hint of curiosity appeared in Yutsuki's eyes.
Tengu Tower—that was the common na the city's residents used for that iron tower. It was a new, multi-purpose radio tower built when Tengu City was reconstructed thirty years ago after the South Kanto Great Spacequake in Japan.
Because the tower has an observation deck and is surrounded by various comrcial facilities, it is considered a quite famous attraction in Tengu City. On days off, many couples and families go there to have fun, making it very lively.
"Sure, I have not been to that tower to play either. Walking around there sounds nice."
With no special reason to refuse, Yutsuki agreed to Origami's suggestion.
"What do you guys think?"
"If we go to that tower, will it make this man's heart surrender?"
Looking doubtfully at the tall tower in the distance, Tohka asked Origami.
"Eh... um, there is a rumor that couples who kiss on the observation deck of this tower will be happy. And at night, the city looks as beautiful as a sea of stars from up there. It really is very romantic. I think it is a very fitting place for a date."
"Heh~"
Yutsuki looked at Origami with a aningful smile.
Noticing Yutsuki's reaction, Origami suddenly realized what she had just said. Blushing deeply, she waved her hands and tried to cover it up with a ssy explanation.
"N-No! I was not thinking about being kissed by Itsuka-kun on that tower one day—"
"Yes, yes~ I understand, you do not need to explain."
"Hmph, boring."
Sighing speechlessly, Tohka thought for a mont and then nodded.
"Whatever. As long as it can make this man's heart surrender, the location does not matter."
"OK! What do Itsuka-boy and Hoshimiya-san think?"
After getting Tohka's agreent, Yutsuki checked with the other two.
"I have no problem with it. What do you think, Mukuro?"
Shido also agreed.
However—
"..."
"Mukuro?"
A look of confusion appeared on Shido's face. For so reason, Mukuro, who had been clinging to him just a mont ago, was now silent, her feet rooted to the spot like they were nailed to the ground.
".....I do not want to."
After a long ti, Mukuro finally spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito's wings buzzing.
[Everyone, pay attention. Mukuro's condition has changed! Her stress levels are rising rapidly! Her mood is worsening!]
Right at that mont, the warning from Kotori's end made Yutsuki, Shido, and Origami's faces instantly change.
"I do not want to... I do not want to go... to that place... that place... I do not want to... I do not want to..."
Her face growing paler by the second, Mukuro hugged her shoulders and cried out in a trembling voice.
(Does Mukuro know that tower?)
Yutsuki guessed in her heart. Naturally, she was not stupid enough to think that a Spirit who could look down on Earth from space would be afraid of heights on a re several-hundred-ter-tall iron tower.
And judging by her exaggerated reaction, it probably was not as simple as just knowing it. It might be closely connected to the reason why Mukuro sealed her emotions and mories and chose to drift in space.
"Ah—Now that I think about it carefully, Tengu Tower is not that fun. Let us go sowhere else."
There was no need to deliberately pick at Mukuro's psychological scars right now, so Yutsuki quickly changed her tune.
Understanding Yutsuki's intent, Origami and Shido also quickly chid in.
"Mhm, mhm, that is true. Let us go sowhere else then. There are plenty of other famous date spots in Tengu City, we do not have to go to Tengu Tower."
"It is fine, Mukuro. If you do not want to go to Tengu Tower, we will go sowhere else."
However—
"So, that ans she is giving up, right?"
Suddenly cutting into the conversation between the three of them, Tohka glanced at Mukuro and said coldly.
Hearing Tohka's words, Mukuro's shoulders shook slightly.
"I do not care either way. My duel with you was just a side thing to begin with. If you have lost the will to fight, then stay here and obediently wait for this man to surrender to ."
(Tohka?)
Hearing Tohka's words, Yutsuki thought to herself, "This is bad."
"...Do not speak... nonsense..."
As expected, provoked by Tohka, Mukuro's gaze gradually sharpened. She straightened her back and walked toward Tohka step by step.
"Mukuro, are you okay? Please do not push yourself!"
Shido said worriedly from the side.
"Do not worry, Nushi-sama. Muku is fine."
Mukuro shook her head calmly, but the cold sweat covering her forehead told Shido that she was putting up a brave front.
"Nushi-sama... Muku will absolutely not hand him over to you!"
"Hmph. There is no point in winning if it is not like this."
Feeling the hostility in Mukuro's gaze, a smile curled on Tohka's lips. She turned and walked toward Tengu Tower.
Mukuro followed without backing down.
Even though they were very worried, seeing that they could not stop the two of them, Yutsuki, Origami, and Shido had no choice but to follow helplessly and buy sightseeing tickets for them.
—————————
The yellowish sunlight filtered through the iron pillars on the outside of the tall tower, shining into this small space.
Light and shadow took turns spinning. Accompanied by the slight trembling of the elevator, the scenery outside the glass window was constantly rising.
—It is so stuffy.
This was Hoshimiya Mukuro's only feeling right now.
Even when she was in space, an environnt tens of thousands of tis harsher than this, Mukuro had never felt such pain. Her lungs felt as weak as if they had been eroded by nicotine for decades. Every breath she took felt as heavy as lead. Her heart was beating violently as if fighting to survive. A large amount of sweat seeped from her skin, constantly taking away her body heat.
With every floor the elevator went up, Mukuro's bad physical reactions got worse. It was as if her instincts were warning her that she could not go any higher.
(What... is happening?)
Mukuro did not understand why her body would beco so weak just from going up this iron tower.
It was no exaggeration to say that right now, let alone Yatogami Tohka, even a gentle push from a five-year-old child could probably knock her down directly.
"Are you okay? Mukuro."
"If you really cannot do it, let's go back."
At this mont, everyone except Tohka was looking at her worriedly.
"No need... to worry..."
Mukuro answered with slurred speech. But in reality, it was very difficult for her to even stay standing right now. She could barely stay on her feet with Shido supporting her.
[Sorry—I forgot to tell you, my friends are coming with today too.]
(Eh?)
Mukuro looked confused. Without her noticing, Shido, who was standing beside her, suddenly disappeared. Instead, a high school girl in casual clothes was smiling apologetically at her.
For so reason, Mukuro felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity from that girl.
Even though Mukuro did not know this girl at all.
"Who... are you?"
Mukuro asked instinctively.
"Eh? What is wrong, Mukuro?"
Soon, the girl faded away like an afterimage. Mukuro saw that Shido was looking at her in confusion.
"It is nothing... Muku unconsciously said sothing strange. Nushi-sama, please forget it."
Shaking her head and brushing it off, Mukuro lowered her head, her heart full of confusion.
(Is Muku too tired?)
However, this phenonon did not stop there.
[Hey, look, look—! The view of the city from here is absolutely amazing!]
[—! The sweets they sell here are super delicious, you should try a bite too.]
[Sorry, sorry~ —, I accidentally talked too much with my friends.]
[—, did you have fun today?]
As if switching back and forth between two parallel worlds, ever since entering Tengu Tower, the world around Mukuro would change from ti to ti. Even though they were still in Tengu Tower, the people with her were not Shido and the others, but a few high school girls, led by the girl from earlier.
As if she knew her, while chatting with her friends, that girl would occasionally turn her gaze toward Mukuro and talk to her.
Every ti this happened, Mukuro felt exceptionally happy.
The scenery switched again. The faces of Shido and the others reappeared in Mukuro's eyes, telling her that she had returned to reality.
No, honestly, which side was reality? Which side was an illusion? Hoshimiya Mukuro was starting to lose track.
"Mukuro, are you really okay? You have spaced out a few tis already."
"...Muku is fine."
Unwilling to admit defeat to Tohka just like that, Mukuro grit her teeth and answered.
(What exactly... is happening?!)
[—! Where did you run off to! Everyone and I have been looking everywhere for you!]
The scene switched again. In a hallway of the tall tower, that girl was standing a bit away from Mukuro, her eyes full of tears.
Seeing this, Mukuro couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.
She ran anxiously toward Mukuro, but just one step away, the girl stopped in her tracks.
[—? What is... with that outfit?]
As if instinctively sensing danger, the girl asked uneasily.
Outfit? Mukuro looked down and found that her Astral Dress had changed back to its original form.
"This is—"
She hurriedly tried to explain sothing, but right when the words were about to leave her mouth, Mukuro realized that she didn't know this person at all.
And in that instant, the world seed like dismantled building blocks, turning into scattered photos, then crumbling into dust and falling apart.
Only then did Mukuro understand that all of this was just a dream.
An incredibly real, yet completely aningless dream.
[Monster! You monster!]
[Mukuro! Mukuro! What's wrong?!]
Accompanied by two completely different voices echoing in her ears at the sa ti, Hoshimiya Mukuro fell unconscious.
User Comments
0 comments from readers