"Phew..."
Looking at the sleeping Mukuro in his arms, Shido breathed a long sigh of relief. His legs gave out, and he plopped down on the ground.
"I feel like I forgot sothing..."
Shido scratched his head in confusion. Although he felt there was still sothing important left to do, after sealing Mukuro, his mind was like a rubber band that had been stretched tight for a long ti and suddenly released. He couldn't get his thoughts together for a mont.
What did he forget? Shido stared at the night sky, deep in thought. The clouds looked as leisurely as if they hadn't noticed the commotion on the ground at all. They gathered in clumps, their shapes looking like Tohka's favorite kinako bread...
"Ah, speaking of which, Tohka and Yutsuki haven't—"
Shido suddenly realized, a drop of cold sweat appearing on his forehead.
"Shido, look out!"
"Eh?"
Just then, Origami suddenly stepped in front of Shido, looking nervously into the distance.
Following Origami's gaze, Shido saw a small dot in the sky flying quickly toward them.
Boom—!
The object suddenly landed about twenty ters away from Shido. It kept its sliding montum and continued forward, leaving two long gouges on the ground. Accompanied by billowing dust, it stopped right in front of Shido and Origami.
"Cough, cough—Wh-What?"
Shido couldn't help but cough twice, looking at the other party in confusion.
As the smoke cleared, what appeared before Shido was a girl wearing a pitch-black long dress, with night-colored long hair, and cold, sharp eyes.
The other party was none other than the inverted Tohka, who had been taken away by Yutsuki earlier. As for Yutsuki, she was being carried under Tohka's arm. Although she had quite a few injuries, it didn't look life-threatening.
(What's going on?)
Shido was a bit dumbfounded.
"T-Tohka?"
"..."
Staring at the sleeping Mukuro in Shido's arms, and then glancing at Shido a few tis, Tohka said with a disappointed face.
"—You turned a rare, excellent warrior into a child."
"Uh..."
Shido didn't know how to answer for a mont. Although he didn't know what happened over there, Tohka didn't seem to have any intention of continuing the fight.
Worried that Tohka would attack like before, Origami didn't dare lower her guard. She shielded Shido and Mukuro behind her, staying alert.
"Hoh? Are you planning to challenge ?"
Seemingly taking Origami's action as a provocation, Tohka's pupils widened slightly, and a warlike smile curled on her lips.
"Wait! We finally solved the problem, don't create any more unnecessary trouble. Origami, we are fine here, put down your weapon. Tohka too, don't just start fighting the mont you are provoked!"
Yutsuki hurriedly spoke up, stopping the two who were about to start fighting.
"Eh? I see, sorry!"
Hearing Yutsuki's words, Origami hurriedly lowered her weapon.
"Hmph, you have no right to order around."
Snorting unhappily, Tohka unceremoniously tossed Yutsuki toward Origami.
"Catch her! Take her to get treated later."
"Eh, eh??"
Seeing Yutsuki suddenly flying toward her, Origami panicked for a mont, but managed to catch her and carefully put her on the ground.
"Yutsuki, are you okay?"
"Hiss—I am fine, at least I am not dead."
Because that move aggravated her injuries, Yutsuki drew a sharp breath, but answered calmly.
"What happened on your end? Why did the inverted Tohka bring you back?"
"Well..."
Quietly glancing at Tohka, Yutsuki straightened her face and said seriously.
"Tohka and I had a fight. I didn't expect this Tohka to be so strong, I was beaten completely one-sided. But thanks to Tohka-sama's generosity, she said she wouldn't lower herself to killing a nobody like , and rcifully let go."
"..."
Black lines covered Origami's head. Although she knew Yutsuki probably wasn't lying, hearing an unhappy "Tch!" from the side told her things definitely weren't that simple.
"Itsuka Shido, stand up!"
"Y-Yes!"
Feeling the terrifying pressure coming from Tohka, Shido hurriedly put Mukuro down, stood up, and straightened his back to answer.
Just as he was nervously wondering what Tohka was going to say, Tohka grabbed his collar without a word, pulled him close, and kissed him forcefully and domineeringly.
"Mmph—"
"Iya?!"
"Ah..."
It took half a beat for Shido to understand the current situation, his eyes widening in surprise. On the side, Origami, witnessing this, blushed and let out a gasp, while Yutsuki smiled bitterly and sighed.
After a long while, their lips parted. Seeing Shido's dumbfounded expression, Tohka gave a proud, cold smile.
"Hmph, not bad. Seeing your silly face makes feel much better."
"Tohka..."
Looking at Tohka, Shido hesitated. Before he could think of the right words, Tohka let him go, and the Astral Dress she wore turned into light particles and scattered in the wind.
"—Don't let her."
Staring into Shido's face, "Tohka" said.
"Don't let 'Tohka' feel sad."
With that, Tohka lost consciousness and fell toward the ground like a robot running out of power.
Shido hurriedly supported Tohka with one hand.
"Mhm... Phew..."
The sound of steady breathing ca from Tohka's mouth. Although her appearance hadn't changed, that cold sharpness from earlier was gone.
Shido's intuition told him that the girl right now was the Yatogami Tohka he was familiar with.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Shido took off his jacket and shirt and draped them over Mukuro and Tohka's bodies. Although they were torn, they could at least cover them up a bit.
"Is it over..."
Looking at his injured arm, and shaking his head to look at the battered city around him, Shido mumbled subconsciously.
"Mhm, it's over."
Nodding affirmatively, Yutsuki looked at Shido with a gentle smile.
"Good job, Shido."
——————————
A few days after sealing Mukuro's Spirit energy, the impact of the Mukuro incident finally settled down.
With the hard work of Kotori and the other Fraxinus staff, the destroyed city and suburbs had mostly been restored to their original state. The cause of the disaster was attributed to spacequakes. The citizens of Tengu City, who were almost used to this, accepted it without much doubt and quickly returned to their normal lives.
Everyone's mories of "Shido" were also restored after Mukuro unlocked the lock on their mories.
Under the careful care of the Fraxinus, both Yutsuki, who was covered in injuries, and Shido, whose entire arm was severed, had completely healed.
Although it was inevitable that they got a severe scolding from Kotori, whose mories had returned.
As for Mukuro, after the usual physical examination confirming her Spirit energy was sealed and her body was fine, she moved into the Spirit apartnt today.
"Good day. Muku will be moving here today. Muku is deeply sorry for the trouble caused earlier. Please take care of Muku from now on."
"You are too formal, Mukuro. Relax."
Taking the Japanese sweets Mukuro brought, Yutsuki looked at Mukuro, who was standing tensely at the door, and couldn't help but pat her shoulder with a bitter smile.
"But as Muku knows, this is necessary etiquette when moving to a new ho. Is there sothing wrong with Muku's actions?"
Mukuro looked at Yutsuki with so unease.
"Mhm... it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong. Well, as long as you feel it's fine. We are family from now on, so if you run into any problems, feel free to ask ."
Hearing Yutsuki's answer, Mukuro's expression instantly brightened.
"Mhm, Muku understands! Thank you,Yutsuki onee-chan!"
"Onee-chan.."
Yutsuki's expression instantly froze.
"Mhm? What is wrong,Yutsuki onee-chan?"
Mukuro tilted her head in confusion.
"Nothing."
Yutsuki shook her head with a bitter smile.
(This child's unique pace is still the sa as ever.)
Although she knew it was impossible, hearing Mukuro call her "Onee-chan" instead of "Onii-chan" still made her feel a little disappointed.
(Well, it is better than being called Mom...)
Comforting herself helplessly in her heart, Yutsuki took a deep breath and adjusted her mood.
"By the way, since you are here, do you want to co in and sit for a bit? You can have tea or any drink you want."
To Yutsuki's invitation, Mukuro hesitated for a mont, then gently shook her head.
"Thank you,Yutsuki onee-chan. But Muku still has to visit the others, so it is inconvenient to stay too long."
"I see." Seeing the handbag full of sweets in Mukuro's hand, Yutsuki nodded in understanding. "Don't be too nervous, everyone is nice. Just relax and be natural."
"Mhm, Muku will do her best."
Clenching her fists slightly to cheer herself up, Mukuro gave a slight bow to Yutsuki, turned, and left.
(She is surprisingly well-mannered.)
Watching Mukuro leave, and then looking at the sweets in her hand, Yutsuki couldn't help but sigh. Moving greetings—not a single Spirit in this apartnt had ever done that.
Just as Yutsuki was preparing to go back to her room and continue playing gas, Reine suddenly appeared in the hallway.
"Yutsuki... have you seen Mukuro?... after taking her to her room and explaining things... she suddenly said she had sothing to do and left..."
"Ah, Mukuro was just here. She should be at Tohka or Yoshino's place on the fourth floor by now."
"Understood..."
After telling her she went to visit the other Spirits, Reine nodded, turned around, and prepared to go find Mukuro.
"Reine-san!"
Just then, Yutsuki suddenly stopped Reine.
"What is it..."
Stopping in her tracks, Reine didn't turn around, asking in a sleepy tone.
"Mukuro already told and Kotori about how she beca a Spirit. It seems that when she ran away from ho after a conflict with her family, she was given a Sephira Crystal by 'Phantom' and beca a Spirit. She wanted to use her Angel to solve the problem, but ended up making the conflict worse. In the end, she could only seal her mories and drift alone in space."
"I see... An unfortunate accident..."
"Yeah."
Staring at Reine's back, Yutsuki complained unhappily.
"Giving such dangerous power to a child whose mind is not yet mature, what was 'Phantom' thinking? If Mukuro hadn't beco a Spirit, maybe her sister would have found her, they would have had a small argunt at most, and then made up with a smile. Then, under her parents's guidance, she would slowly grow up and learn how to get along with others."
"Yes... maybe you are right..."
Without denying Yutsuki's words, Reine nodded, stepped forward, and walked into the elevator.
"Perhaps... 'Phantom' back then... was also just a child..."
(A child...)
Savoring the words Reine left behind, Yutsuki stared at the ceiling for a long ti, letting out a long sigh.
(Well, getting hung up on aningless "what ifs" like this, maybe I am still just a child myself.)
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