Shichen ran over by the station, scanning his surroundings, craning his neck left and right, but he couldn't spot that familiar figure he'd glimpsed outside the family restaurant.
With his sharp eyesight, there was no way he could have been mistaken. He'd definitely recognize that silhouette. And that red-gray uniform resembling a high school outfit, plus that platinum-blonde hair—finally, he rembered why there were two Tokyo Towers in this world.
He never expected that they would exist here, too!
So, where was she now?
Could she be on a mission?
Had he missed his chance just like that?
He felt a pang of emptiness in his chest. Who knew when he'd get another shot at running into her?
But just then, the chanical voice in his head rang out:
[Detected a target hosting a Divine Fragnt!]
[Identified a matching Divine Fragnt!]
[Target: Nishikigi Chisato!]
[You can acquire her Divine Fragnt at any ti (temporarily unavailable).]
A lot of startling information there, but Shichen had no ti to process it. He whipped around—and found a bright-eyed girl standing right behind him.
She had gleaming red eyes, short, white-gold hair with a small tuft on the left side tied back with a red ribbon, revealing a petite left ear; her bangs just grazed the top of her eyes. She wore that red-gray, school-like uniform—a collared dress ending at her knees, a blue ribbon at her neckline, black mid-length socks on her calves, and brown round-toed shoes.
Her face was lit by a beaming smile—so dazzling and sunny. But what confused Shichen was that she was staring directly at him with clear excitent in her eyes, slightly open-mouthed.
It felt…as if she recognized him?
Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Now Shichen had no idea how to react. He just stood there while she eyed him.
"Um…"
"Are you…my savior?" the girl asked softly before he could speak, almost murmuring to herself.
"Savior?" Shichen frowned, not following.
"It has to be you! I'd never mistake you!" the girl exclaid. Suddenly, she ca closer, looking him up and down, as though trying to morize every inch of him.
Seeing her face at this distance, she looked even cuter. But there were more pressing questions at the mont.
"Could you be mixing up with soone?" he asked.
"Wait, aren't you Shichen-oniichan?" she asked outright.
"…How do you know my na?" Shichen was even more confused.
"I knew it—you really are Shichen-oniichan!" The girl wasted no ti in throwing her arms around him, pressing her cheek to his chest and exclaiming excitedly, "I'm Chisato! Have you forgotten ? You saved my life!"
Shichen, of course, knew who she was—Nishikigi Chisato, from the world of Lycoris Recoil.
From the mont he glimpsed her, he rembered her and the whole "two Tokyo Towers" detail. After all, the old Tokyo Tower in that series got ssed up largely thanks to this bright, bubbly girl.
But from her perspective, it seed like they'd t before. And yet he'd only been in this world for half a month—how could they have t?
Let alone the fact she thought he was her savior.
Unless…he had ti-traveled.
From what Chisato was saying, it sounded like a future version of him must have done sothing. But how would he pull that off?
He could worry about that later.
"Hang on," he said, gripping her shoulders and gently pushing her away.
"Shichen-oniichan?" She gazed at him, puzzled.
He looked into her red eyes and began explaining, "First off, the you know and the standing here now…they're not exactly the sa."
"Huh?" Chisato tilted her head in confusion.
"…How do I put this? You may not believe it, but I'm not yet the one who saved you."
"What do you an? You're Shichen-oniichan. You haven't changed at all," she said.
"You're not wrong. But right now, I haven't saved you. That must be so future version of ." He tried to clarify patiently.
He was certain now that his future self must have ti-traveled. But it looked like Chisato herself didn't know he'd co from another ti—just that soone nad Shichen saved her.
Shichen didn't feel right accepting her gratitude for sothing he personally hadn't done yet. He wanted to experience it himself; otherwise, it felt like cheating—even if it was his own future.
"I don't get it," Chisato said, shaking her head.
"Look, it's simpler than it sounds. When did I supposedly save you?"
"Ten years ago!" she replied brightly.
"Ten years… Then do you see anything strange about now?"
"Not at all. You look exactly like you did back then, Shichen-oniichan," she said.
"Exactly. Doesn't that seem odd? If it's been a decade, why haven't I aged at all?" he pressed.
"Uh?" Chisato blinked. "Well…co to think of it, that is weird. But maybe it's just because you're super handso. I heard so good-looking people barely change with ti."
"…Thanks for the complint, but that's obviously not the reason."
"Is it? Well, who cares? You're definitely Shichen-oniichan. I finally found you!" She tried hugging him again.
Shichen firmly held her shoulders. "Let finish."
"Oh," she said, still all smiles.
He ca clean: "You might not believe this, but I think I traveled through ti to save you."
"Ti travel?" Chisato repeated, blinking in surprise.
"You must think it's crazy—"
"No, I believe you!"
"…Don't just blindly believe everything I say."
"But I do trust you, because you're obviously not normal at all, Shichen-oniichan."
"Huh?"
Now he was the confused one. "What do you an?"
"Hehe, ten years ago, when you saved , you were riding this huge, deep-blue beast. That's definitely not normal, right?" Chisato said with a grin.
"A deep-blue beast?" Shichen frowned, trying to recall. He had no idea what she ant.
"Yeah—four-legged, big and majestic."
"What else can you tell about it?" he asked.
"Mm… I forget. All I really rember is you, Shichen-oniichan."
"…"
Shichen realized Chisato had a knack for making one's heart skip a beat.
"In any case, I'm so glad I found you! I've been searching for you for ten whole years!" Once more, she dove in for a hug, and this ti he let her.
"Ten years, huh?" He gently patted her back.
"Yeah, I even went to your ho country, but I just couldn't track you down."
"You do know it's huge, right? You'd never just stumble on there," he pointed out.
"Well, you were the one who disappeared without a word and didn't take along!"
"If you believe I ti-traveled, you must realize I couldn't have taken you back with ."
"Hmph! It's still Shichen-oniichan's fault!" Chisato pouted, rubbing her face against his chest. "But I finally found you, so don't you dare leave again!"
"You want to stay with ?" he asked eagerly.
"Of course! I've spent ten years trying to find you!"
"Just because I saved you?"
"Isn't that enough? You even fixed my heart condition—basically gave a new life."
"Your heart disease is cured?" He picked up on that instantly, excited. Under normal circumstances, Chisato should have an artificial heart that wasn't a permanent solution.
Way to go, future !
"Mhm, all thanks to Shichen-oniichan," she said with a beaming smile.
"That's fantastic!" He grinned from ear to ear.
"Heehee~ You really are sweet, Shichen-oniichan. I want to stay with you!" she repeated happily.
"What about DA, though?"
DA—short for Direct Attack—was this world's independent security organization, with huge privileges, even licensed to kill. But its mbers were mostly teens.
"I already left DA," Chisato answered proudly.
"You left?"
"You told to live how I wanted, right? I decided to quit DA."
"So you've just been hunting for this whole ti?"
"It was really hard," Chisato said, puffing out her cheeks.
Shichen patted her head affectionately. "In that case, co live with from now on."
"Mm!" she agreed with gusto.
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