"You are…"
Amid his hazy consciousness, a faint murmur reached his ears.
After several seconds, Shido finally noticed that the sound seed to have co from his own throat.
"Eh…? Strange, just now that was…"
"Awake, Shido?"
The blurred world gradually beca clear. The first thing to enter his vision was Yutsuki's face.
"Yutsuki… What happened to ?"
"The airship's infirmary. After you used Michael, you suddenly passed out."
"I see…"
Having vaguely guessed that was the case, Shido was not too surprised. He supported himself on the bed and slowly sat up.
Looking around, Shido realized that not only Yutsuki, but all the Spirits had gathered by his side, watching him with worry.
"Shido, are you all right?"
"Please… do not push yourself."
"Mm, I'm fine. Sorry for making you all worry."
Shido smiled and shook his head, indicating that he was all right. Hearing that, the Spirits' expressions imdiately relaxed.
"I see. As long as you are fine."
"Kuku—what unnecessary fuss. Did this one not say already? With the protection of us children of the typhoon, Shido would never co to harm."
"Exposure. Kaguya was clearly so worried just now that she almost cried."
"Y-Yuzuru, you were just as bad!"
"But truly, nothing is more important than boy being safe."
"It was thanks to my kiss that Sleeping Beauty awakened."
"…Eh?"
Shido felt as if he had just heard sothing outrageous and widened his eyes in surprise, staring at Origami, who looked perfectly composed.
Kotori silently chopped Origami on the forehead.
"That was obviously a lie the mont you heard it. Shido, don't believe her either."
"This is not false."
Origami continued speaking nonsense without changing expression.
"In this infirmary, many molecules are floating in the air, moving continuously and irregularly without external passage. It is not impossible that the molecules I breathed out touched Shido's lips. In other words, there is no issue with treating it as an indirect kiss."
"By that logic, you've indirectly kissed Tohka too."
Yutsuki could not help retorting. Hearing that, Origami's face darkened at a visible speed.
"…The worst nightmare."
"Hey! What do you an by that, Tobiichi Origami!"
"Well, according to Oririn's theory, does that an everyone in this room has already indirectly kissed each other?"
Nia said with a mischievous tone while snickering, clearly enjoying stirring things up.
"R-really?"
"Wonderful. Then Darling and Honey and everyone else are already in a constant state of passionate kisses, parting and reuniting molecule by molecule. What a progressive theory. What exactly is the academic world doing?"
"Although it's obviously fake… if my exhaled waste gas infects everyone, that would be bad… I'll go find a mask…"
"Ahaha."
Watching everyone gradually beco noisy, Shido could not help laughing.
"…"
"Hm?"
At that mont, Shido suddenly noticed that Mukuro had been silent this whole ti, as if sothing was weighing on her mind.
"Mukuro?"
Hearing Shido speak to her, Mukuro's shoulders trembled. She looked at Shido helplessly, then lowered her head guiltily.
"Forgive Muku… Nushi-sama. It is Muku's fault for suggesting this matter so irresponsibly…"
"You don't need to bla yourself, Mukuro. You only helped find a possible thod. I was the one who made the decision. And I probably only passed out because I was sleep-deprived. I was so tense since yesterday that I couldn't sleep. Now that I've woken up, I actually feel much better. See~"
As he spoke, Shido even deliberately bent his arm and struck a bodybuilder pose, trying to show off his strength.
Seeing that, Mukuro's brows gradually relaxed, and she nodded.
"Mm… Muku thanks Nushi-sama."
Then, a few seconds later, once everyone's conversation had settled down, Mana, who had been leaning against the wall, spoke.
"Now then, although it may not be ideal to ask right after you woke up. Nii-sama, how was it?"
"Mm?"
"I am asking about the result of Michael. From what I can see, your personality has not changed… Did you rember anything?"
"Well…"
Shido crossed his arms and fell into thought.
The room fell silent for a ti. Everyone seed very concerned about this matter as well. They stopped speaking almost at the sa ti and focused their gazes on Shido.
"I rember…"
Finally, Shido spoke while deep in thought.
Gulp. Everyone could not help swallowing nervously.
"I seed to encounter a very large spacequake. Then, within the destroyed area, I t a girl…"
"A girl? The Origin Spirit?"
"What did she look like? Were there any specific features?"
Mana and Kotori asked excitedly.
"Features… I rember… that woman was…"
After thinking for a long ti, Shido finally spoke hesitantly.
"…completely naked." (TL:heh~)
"..."
The infirmary once again fell silent, though in a different sense.
"U-um… everyone?"
Feeling everyone's gazes suddenly beco sowhat painful, Shido could not help feeling awkward.
"Haha! I see, I see. Boy is, after all, a healthy virgin male. If a shiny, bare-naked beautiful girl suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, it would be inevitable for his attention to be drawn by her che~st and hi~ps. Mm, n. It can't be helped. It can't be helped."
The first to react was Nia. She walked over to Shido, patted him on the shoulder, and laughed loudly.
Although she seed to be trying to smooth things over for Shido, it only made him even more embarrassed.
"Na-naked… Sh-Shido-san…"
"My, I never expected Shido-kun to have such a steamy dream while sleeping. How lewd~"
"Now that Nushi-sama ntions it, when Nushi-sama sealed Muku's spiritual power in the past, Muku's clothes were inexplicably stripped away, leaving Muku bare as well."
"Now that you say that, it's true… We've all been seen naked by idiot Shido…"
"Realization. Dreams reflect a person's subconscious. In other words, Shido harbors indecent feelings toward Yuzuru and Kaguya's bodies."
"H-how improper! My property, have you always looked at this one with such eyes?"
"My~ Darling is so Hentai~~"
"Is… is that true, Shido?"
"N-no, it's not."
Seeing his reputation take damage, Shido hurriedly tried to clear up the misunderstanding.
"This is just a misunderstanding. I only answered what I rembered. Hey—Origami! Why are you suddenly taking off your clothes?"
"If Shido desires it so much in his heart, then as his lover, I naturally must respond. Not fearing the gazes of others, no matter the ti or place—I made that resolve long ago."
Origami spoke while undoing the buttons of her top.
"I will not lose."
"What are you competing against!?"
"Sorry… Mana. Please take Origami outside to cool her head before she walks down the path of cri."
"Hah~ It cannot be helped. Let us go outside and get so air to calm down, Origami-neesan."
After watching the two leave the infirmary, Kotori pressed her temples and sighed with a headache.
"Then? Other than being naked, do you rember any other characteristics, Shido?"
"…I'm very sorry…"
After lowering his head and thinking for a long ti, Shido clenched his fists and bowed his head in deep guilt.
"Even though this is so important… I…"
"…It's all right, Shin. There's no need to rush. We can think of another way."
At that mont, Reine walked over, stroked his head, and spoke gently.
"Reine-san…"
"Well, forget it. For a monkey virgin like Shido, that scene must have been too impactful, so forgetting everything else cannot be helped. Although it is information better than nothing, thank you for your hard work, Shido."
Kotori sighed helplessly. Although it was sowhat depressing that their expectations had missed the mark, she quickly adjusted her emotions.
Afterward, Mana also wanted to try using Michael to recall her past mories. However, since there was already the precedent of Shido suddenly fainting, and because Mana herself had experience working at DEM, they were worried that she might suddenly collapse after rembering like Nia had. In the end, the matter was left unresolved.
For safety reasons, Shido was required to stay in the infirmary tonight in case of ergencies.
"Rough day, huh, Shido?"
"Yutsuki? You're not going back to the lounge with everyone?"
Seeing Yutsuki remain by the hospital bed, Shido asked in confusion.
"Well, there's still the matter of DEM's assassination attempts. We can't leave you alone in the infirmary, so everyone decided to take shifts watching over you every two hours. I'm first."
Yutsuki answered.
"Am I a baby who needs soone to change his diaper in the middle of the night?"
Shido smiled bitterly.
"Now that you ntion it, it really does feel like that. Got a problem?"
"No. But if possible, I'd have liked you to say sothing like, 'I'm staying by your side because I'm worried about you.'"
"Do you think I'd say that? Baka~"
Yutsuki lightly flicked Shido's forehead and smiled.
"Anyway, get a proper rest today. I'll read beside you to pass the ti. I won't make any noise."
"Mm. Good night, Yutsuki."
"Good night."
As she spoke, Yutsuki turned off the light and switched on another lamp that would not shine on Shido, then quietly began reading a novel.
Looking at Yutsuki like that, Shido smiled wryly, lay back down on the bed, pulled the blanket over himself, and closed his eyes to sleep.
And so, silent ti flowed between the two of them.
The faint sound of pages turning once every ten seconds or so told Shido that Yutsuki was there.
"…Yutsuki, are you there?"
After who knew how long, Shido asked from under the blanket.
"I'm here."
Yutsuki replied softly.
"What's wrong? Can't sleep?"
"Mm… I'm a little scared."
"Scared of what?"
"Scared that once I fall asleep… I'll dream."
"I see. So you did rember your past after all."
Hearing that, Shido could not help poking his head out from beneath the blanket and looking at Yutsuki, who showed no surprise and continued reading under the lamp.
"You noticed?"
"Well, you deliberately hid most of the information and only chose the feature 'completely naked' to shift everyone's focus. When facing Kotori-chan's question, you also didn't answer directly. Instead, you used body language like regret and sha to imply it, making everyone think 'you don't rember anything besides that.' Hiding the truth without telling a single lie. It's hard to imagine Shido having that kind of small cleverness."
"I learned it all from you, Yutsuki."
"Don't pin that on ."
Yutsuki gave Shido a speechless look, then sighed.
"Although your judgnt wasn't wrong, personally speaking, I still don't want you to learn tricks like this. It may not count as lying, but at most, it only reduces your own guilt a little. And the more you use it, the more everyone's trust in you will keep decreasing. Like the boy who cried wolf."
"…Mm, I understand."
Shido nodded honestly.
"Good. So, did your mories return?"
"Not yet. Only a small part."
Shido shook his head. After a short pause, he spoke sowhat hesitantly.
"But… I think it's only a matter of ti. I feel like… if I dream a few more tis… I'll rember everything."
"I see… Then, what about the girl you t in the dream?"
"I rember… how tall she was, what color her hair was, what she looked like… every detail, clear as day… as if it were engraved deep into my soul… I couldn't forget even if I wanted to."
"Is it her?"
"I don't know… but… she's very similar."
"As expected…"
Yutsuki let out a soft breath, closed her book, and turned to look at Shido.
"And so, you've started worrying about dreaming?"
"Mm… I said all those big, confident things to Kotori before, so it's embarrassing to admit."
Seeming sowhat ashad, Shido avoided Yutsuki's gaze and looked up at the ceiling.
"That dream… was both my dream and not my dream."
Until now, Shido had dread of becoming soone else before. He had learned about Mukuro's past through Michael sohow, and he had experienced Kurumi's life as if he were truly there through the power of Yud (Tenth Bullet).
Although every ti he woke up, the feelings from those dreams would still echo in his heart like lingering sound, he could still firmly answer, "I am Itsuka Shido."
But that dream was different.
The protagonist of the dream was him, yet it was not Itsuka Shido. The instant the boy fell in love at first sight with the girl in the dream, that feeling fused deep into his body like flesh and blood.
It was natural, yet unimaginably intense.
As if Itsuka Shido was the outsider.
If he continued having dreams like that, what would happen to him? Shido could not imagine it, and he did not dare to imagine it.
"There's nothing embarrassing about it. Fear is a human instinct, especially when the roots of your own self are being shaken. Even I once resisted because I couldn't accept the mories of another . Even if you give up and use Michael again to seal those mories away, I won't complain or oppose it."
"No… I won't give up."
Shido slowly shook his head.
"If I give up, maybe I'll be able to look away and keep living the sa life as before as if nothing happened. But Kurumi will never be saved. She will never be able to forgive herself…"
"I see."
"And besides, if I give up, you won't be able to save Kurumi alone, Yutsuki."
Hearing Shido's words, Yutsuki was first taken aback, then could not help laughing.
"Yeah. That's true. You really are amazing, Shido. To be able to walk so bravely toward the hardest choice."
"Well, even so… being alone is still scary."
Shido smiled bitterly.
"It's all right."
Yutsuki gently held Shido's hand and answered calmly, yet firmly.
"You're not alone. Even if you accidentally lose yourself, I'll wake you up. So go forward on the path you believe in."
As if answering her, Shido tightened his grip on Yutsuki's hand. Warmth passed through their palms and gradually filled Shido's heart.
"Mm. Thank you, Yutsuki. I think I'll be able to sleep well now."
"Mm. That's good."
…
"By the way, Yutsuki, can I ask one last thing before I sleep?"
"Mm? What is it?"
"After using Michael, a mory appeared in my mind. In that mory, you were wearing an extrely beautiful dance dress and confessed to . When did that happen?"
"…Who knows? I have no mory of that. You probably rembered a dream wrong."
"No, sothing on that scale obviously couldn't be just a dream. Ah, could it have been during my spiritual power rampage last year—"
Swoosh—
With a low sound of cutting through the air, Yutsuki swung the book in her hand. The spine of the book, ten centiters thick, abruptly stopped less than one centiter from Shido's eyeball.
The wind pressure stung Shido's eyelids.
"Mm? Did you say sothing just now, Shido?"
"No! This humble one said nothing! Then, good night, Yutsuki-sama."
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