"Take this! Maximum Sister Power Kick!"
That night, when Shido returned ho, he was welcod by a powerful Rider Kick from his younger sister, Itsuka Kotori.
"—Blergh!"
The unexpected impact to his stomach made Shido double over, clutching his gut as he fell to his knees.
"...Wh-Why are you suddenly doing this to ? Kotori..."
"This isn't the ti to say 'what are you doing'! Why did you make a bet with Kurumi on your own? Do you realize that if you lose, you'll die!?"
"I know... but the situation back then..."
Seeing Kotori's furious expression, Shido shrunk his neck and whispered in his own defense.
"I know. Of course, I know you had no other choice but to accept Kurumi's proposal! But understanding it and accepting it are two different things!"
"Y-Yes... I'm sorry."
"Hah..."
Letting out a long breath, Kotori scratched her head, trying to calm her irritable mood.
"Well... it was also our failure on the support side for not being able to help in ti at a crucial mont. Shido! You hit too! That will make us even!"
"Eh..."
Shido looked at Kotori, feeling troubled. As an older brother, there was naturally no reason for him to use violence against his younger sister. But seeing Kotori close her eyes tightly and offer her cheek to him, he knew that if he just brushed it off, she probably wouldn't forgive him.
After hesitating for a mont, Shido quietly circled around to Kotori's back, reached his hands under her armpits, and then—started wiggling his fingers, tickling her.
"What! W-Wait... Ahaha, ahahahahaha!"
Kotori couldn't hold it in and started twisting her body, laughing out loud.
"Mhm, that should do it."
"Hah... Hah... That's too dirty... Shido..."
Releasing the blushing Kotori, Shido walked toward the living room, feeling satisfied.
Then, about ten minutes later, everyone gathered at the Itsuka residence. This included Tohka and the other Spirits living in the Spirit apartnt, Nia, Miku, and Origami who had their own places in the city, as well as Ratatoskr's analyst, Murasa Reine.
Among them was also a guest who surprised Shido.
"It has been a long ti! Nii-sama!"
"Mana?!"
Seeing Mana greet him with full vigor, Shido was quite surprised.
"What happened? Why are you injured?"
Noticing the bandages wrapped around Mana, Shido asked in shock.
"Um, a few things happened..."
Mana carefully glanced in Kotori's direction and spoke sowhat hesitantly.
Moreover, it wasn't just Mana. Shido soon noticed that the Yamai sisters also had quite a few bandages on them.
"Did sothing happen?"
"My, as expected of the enemy's strongest sword. Even as a Child of the Typhoon, I could not retreat unscathed."
"Sigh. It's been a long ti since we faced such a tough battle."
"Are you guys alright... Kotori, what exactly happened?"
Looking at the three of them with concern, Shido couldn't help but ask Kotori.
"I will explain everything together, including that. Anyway, is everyone... Where's Yutsuki-nee?"
"U-Um! Yutsuki just sent a text saying she'll be here in a bit and told us to start the eting first."
Using Mukuro as a human shield to dodge Miku, who was constantly trying to pounce on her, Natsumi hurriedly explained.
"Eh~ Don't run away, Natsumi-san."
Seeing Natsumi resist so much, Miku didn't give up. Instead, her desire to hug her and rub her cheeks grew even stronger, leading to a ga of tag around the living room.
"What ga is this?"
Mukuro asked with a curious face.
"—Ahem!"
Kotori coughed forcefully twice, drawing everyone's attention to herself.
"Since Yutsuki-nee said so, let's start the eting first. First of all—"
Then, Kotori began to explain the various events that happened today.
Tokisaki Kurumi's return to school.
DEM's sudden attack in the evening.
Mana, the Yamai sisters, and Yutsuki forming so kind of cooperative relationship with Kurumi.
The life or death duel between Shido and Kurumi, centered around a date.
"Mana, first of all, how did you know the ti of DEM's attack? Why were you working with Kurumi's clone? And why didn't you inform beforehand, instead of sneaking out of the dical facility by yourself?"
"M-Misunderstanding."
Feeling Kotori's icy stare, a drop of cold sweat appeared on Mana's forehead, and she hurriedly waved her hands to explain.
"The reason I did not tell you is because I was also half-doubting the intel about DEM's attack."
Hearing Mana's words, Kotori frowned in confusion.
"Half-doubting? What do you an?"
Then, Mana began to explain the whole story.
Just last night, Tokisaki Kurumi suddenly appeared in Mana's room.
At first, Mana thought the other party was planning a night raid, so she chopped off her head without a word.
But then, Kurumi's clones appeared in front of Mana one after another. After continuously killing several clones and realizing the other party didn't seem to have any hostility, Mana finally stopped attacking. She held her sword against her neck and asked about her intentions.
Then, Kurumi clearly told Mana the intel about today's DEM attack, including the ti and place.
Although Mana didn't fully believe Kurumi's words, just in case, she quietly went there.
As for why she didn't tell Kotori.
"If I said it, I felt like Kotori would stop ..."
Mana turned her head away and whispered her explanation. At this, veins slightly popped on Kotori's forehead.
"Ara~ You understand quite well, don't you? When we have ti, how about we have a nice, long~ talk?"
"Ugh, my chronic illness seems to be acting up."
Ignoring Mana, who started pretending to be sick, Kotori looked at the Yamai sisters and asked.
"Yuzuru, Kaguya. Were you two also approached by Kurumi and told about the DEM attack?"
Faced with Kotori's continuous questions, Kaguya and Yuzuru looked at each other and answered sowhat confusedly.
"Ugh... Even if you ask . I haven't interacted with the Ti Witch either. We rely saw Mana in trouble and lent a helping hand."
"Answer. At the ti, Yuzuru and Kaguya only received a request for assistance from Yutsuki while on the way to school. eting Kurumi was purely a coincidence."
"Kuku— Exactly. Protecting everyone from danger from the shadows... I've always wanted to try doing sothing so cool. So, I gladly agreed."
"So it was Yutsuki-nee after all..."
Hearing the Yamai sisters' answer, Kotori sighed helplessly.
"In other words, Biri-chan also t Kurumin just like Manacchi and then passed the intel to the Yamai sisters?"
After listening to everyone's conversation, Nia asked.
"That's probably it. When I saw Yutsuki this morning, she seed to know about Kurumi returning to school in advance."
Shido said.
"I'm back."
Just then, the sound of the front door opening ca from the hallway. Then, everyone saw Yutsuki walk into the living room as if nothing had happened.
"Phew~ Speak of the devil. Yutsuki-chan, your timing is too perfect. Were you hiding outside the door listening in?"
Yoshinon said with a giggle.
"Honey~ Welco back. Would you like to eat first, or take a bath first? Or—"
"I definitely won't be eating you."
Skillfully blocking Miku, who was lunging at her with open arms, Yutsuki said helplessly.
"Yutsuki-nee. Could you explain the whole story to us?"
Seeing Kotori's serious expression and everyone's worried gazes, Yutsuki shrugged, nodded, and said.
"Alright, alright~ I will tell you everything I can. But your face is too stiff. Relax a little, Kotori-chan."
"Ugh— S-Stop it, Yutsuki-nee—"
Rubbing Kotori's smooth cheeks, Yutsuki sighed contentedly.
————————————
Back in ti.
"Today, after school, Shido-san will be killed by DEM Wizards on the rooftop of Raizen High School."
"What?"
Hearing Kurumi's words, Yutsuki frowned in confusion.
Staring at Kurumi's smiling expression, Yutsuki thought for a mont before asking.
"The exact ti of the attack this afternoon?"
"5:30 to 5:35 PM."
Kurumi answered without hesitation.
"Who are the enemy mbers?"
"Ellen Mathers, Artemisia Bell Ashcroft, Ai Mulian, hundreds of pseudo-Spirits nad 'Nibelcole,' and three drones responsible for sniping."
"Hmph, you know it quite in detail."
Yutsuki narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. Although it was hard to believe that DEM's security was this bad, the details of this surprise attack plan didn't sound like sothing made up on the spot.
"Of course, because it is the truth."
Seemingly seeing through Yutsuki's thoughts, Kurumi explained with a smile.
"..."
Ignoring Kurumi's words, Yutsuki continued asking.
"Why do you know Shido will go to the rooftop at that ti?"
"That is simple, because after arriving at school, I will ask him to et on the rooftop."
Kurumi answered in a relaxed tone, as if it were a matter of course.
"—!?"
The mont she heard this, Yutsuki's expression drastically changed. She glared at Kurumi, her eyes filled with murderous intent.
Crackle, crackle—Blue white electricity started dancing around her bangs. But after a mont, Yutsuki withdrew her Spirit power. Her gaze toward Kurumi returned to calm, and she sighed helplessly.
"Does testing like this make you happy, Kurumi?"
Kurumi raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Ara. Hearing what I just said, did you not think I was joining forces with the DEM Wizards to eliminate Shido-san?"
To Kurumi's question, Yutsuki grumbled.
"DEM's goal is to obtain the power of Inversed Spirits, while your goal is to devour the Spirit power inside Shido. It's hard to believe you guys would plan on splitting the spoils. Furthermore, you want to devour Spirit power to go back to the past and change history. If you succeed, the present will also change, and the fact that DEM obtained the Inversed Sephira Crystals will disappear. Westcott, who has Beelzebub, obviously wouldn't be unaware of this. No matter from the perspective of stance, interest, or emotion, there is no possibility of cooperation between you and DEM. And even if you really did cooperate, why would you go out of your way to tell ? Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"Haha— Indeed."
Hearing Yutsuki's answer, Kurumi clapped her hands in satisfaction.
"Then, could you tell ? Where did you get the intel about DEM attacking Shido?"
"Mhm, naturally. Please forgive my previous rudeness. Just as 'Yutsuki-san' said, Yutsuki-san is trustworthy."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Noticing the strange phrasing in Kurumi's words, a hint of confusion appeared on Yutsuki's face.
"Yutsuki-san, you ask how I know DEM's plan? The reason is actually very simple."
Kurumi looked at Yutsuki and said.
"Because I traveled back through ti from the future."
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