After Shichen used "going to sleep" as an excuse to end the conversation, both Chisato and Tohru refrained from talking further. Clinging to him, they quickly drifted off.
Chisato, finally able to relax completely with Shichen at her side, fell asleep right away. Tohru dozed off just because she was used to sleeping while hugging Shichen. After several days of this routine, she'd developed a biological clock similar to a human's—or maybe it was just her superior adaptability.
Shichen, however, didn't fall asleep right away. There was sothing he hadn't cleared up yet.
He let his consciousness sink into his mind. Soon, he perceived the sa white space where his body had been reshaped. His consciousness took form there again.
Once again, he found himself standing on a surface like still water. Gazing downward, he realized his reflection matched his current appearance; this ti, however, he was wearing pajamas rather than being naked.
He had half-expected to see his old self here—so stories work that way—but it seed that this place manifested him exactly as he was in reality. Perhaps it was a reflection of his current unity of body and mind. Either way, it didn't matter to him; he was here for more pressing questions.
"You around?" he called out to the chanical-sounding voice, and it responded promptly:
[What is it?]
"What's going on with the duplicated Divine Fragnt in Chisato's body?" Shichen asked. That was what had bothered him the most about the earlier prompt; he'd montarily pushed it aside while focusing on Chisato, but he had ti to think about it now.
[She actually has two fragnts in her body. One of them is identical to the one you possess.]
"Identical to mine?" Shichen frowned. "You an the fragnt I got from Frieren?"
He currently only had that one.
[Yes.]
"What's that supposed to an? Do Divine Fragnts co in matching pairs or sothing?"
[You should already understand.]
"…Right."
Shichen did understand. If Chisato bore the sa fragnt he had, it could only be because he himself gave it to her when he traveled through ti.
So why would he do that?
"What's the actual function of these Divine Fragnts?" he pressed.
[They can accomplish virtually anything, but you can't use them directly on yourself.]
"I see."
So that must be how, in the future, he cured Chisato's heart condition—using the Divine Fragnt.
"But why can't I use it on myself?"
The voice offered no reply.
Shichen wasn't surprised—it often refused to elaborate. "All right, then, how co I can't harvest Chisato's fragnt?"
[Matching fragnts would cause a conflict.]
"A conflict…"
So it seed he wouldn't be able to collect Chisato's fragnt until after ti travel, presumably. That suited him fine—he wanted to see the story unfold for himself anyway.
"One last question: is this what you ant by 'regretting it' before?"
If he hadn't gathered the fragnt back then, presumably he wouldn't have been able to save Chisato. That might indeed cause regret. But even if he'd missed that fragnt, he could have gotten one from Tohru soon after, right? Unless he traveled to the past before obtaining Tohru's fragnt?
[I don't know. But you'll find out when the ti cos.]
"All right."
He couldn't tell if the voice truly didn't know or was just being cryptic. He sighed—no point pushing further.
"By the way, where exactly is my fragnt? I can't feel it in at all."
[Didn't you say that was your last question?]
"Cough, it just ca to mind."
[It's behind you.]
Turning around, Shichen saw a piece of glowing, golden shard about the size of his palm, with irregular edges and obvious notches where parts were missing.
He frowned slightly as he gazed at it. Strangely, he felt sothing warm and familiar, a sense of closeness. He reached out, and the fragnt seed to sense him, floating toward his hand. It felt smooth and faintly warm. Beyond that, he couldn't make use of it, at least not yet.
So he really did need to gather all ninety-nine pieces? Well, knowing he'd be traveling to various two-dinsional worlds only filled him with anticipation now.
Releasing the fragnt, he prepared to leave. "See you later," he said.
With a single thought, he vanished from the white space, leaving no trace.
The space fell silent once more, except for the glowing fragnt that lingered there. Who knew how much ti passed before that chanical voice spoke again, softly:
[Goodbye…]
…
Next morning, Kasumigaoka Utaha showed up quite early—just in ti to catch them at breakfast.
Shichen, Tohru, and Chisato had just finished washing up and started cooking, enjoying a lively family atmosphere. Suddenly, soone knocked on the door.
He was curious as to who would co so early for coffee. Opening the door, he was greeted by Utaha in casual clothes. She wore a blue one-piece dress ending just above her knees with a thin jacket over it. To his surprise, she had no black stockings—just short socks and sneakers. Her calf looked surprisingly pale.
"What are you doing here?" Shichen asked, puzzled.
"What, am I not allowed?" Utaha retorted, squeezing past him into the shop.
Shichen shut the door behind her. "Did you leave sothing here yesterday?"
"I ca to have breakfast," she replied breezily, turning to head for the kitchen.
"Breakfast?" Shichen followed her, his tone questioning.
"What, you don't want here? Or am I interrupting your glorious morning of hugging two girls on either side?" she said, giving him a sideways glance.
"Where'd that co from?" He tried to feign ignorance.
"So there's no issue, then?"
"You're not actually jealous or anything, are you? Coming this early in the morning just to check on ?" he teased.
"…Ridiculous." She replied, keeping a neutral face. "I just didn't feel like making breakfast myself, and I've got a flood of ideas to get down."
"Sure, sure. If you say so," Shichen said, grinning.
"…!" She blushed slightly and gave him a glare.
Tohru and Chisato had nearly finished up the cooking by then. When Utaha entered the kitchen, she saw the tempting dishes laid out on the table, her nose already filled with the aromatic scents.
"Utaha? What are you doing here?" Tohru frowned at the sight of her.
"I'm here to eat with you," Utaha responded without a hint of courtesy, sounding as if they were all close friends.
"Huh?" Tohru looked to Shichen in confusion.
"Guess we'll whip up sothing extra," Shichen suggested.
"All right…" Tohru agreed grudgingly.
"Haha! Utaha, you can have a seat first," Chisato said warmly, apparently taking no issue with her.
"Thanks."
They had a small rectangular table. Utaha didn't act like a guest at all—she casually sat along one side, with Shichen across from her.
Already three dishes were on the table, quite lavish for early morning, but it was the first breakfast with Chisato around. She and Tohru had insisted on sothing "festive," and Shichen had simply gone along, since they weren't complaining about the effort.
Tohru soon finished the last dish, then ca over to sit. Tohru and Shichen took one side, while Chisato and Utaha occupied the other.
"Let's eat!"
Despite the initial tension, breakfast was relatively harmonious. Tohru and Chisato kept fussing over Shichen, piling food onto his plate, leaving him to quietly shovel rice. Utaha ate silently yet elegantly from start to finish; Shichen suspected she really was here just for the breakfast rather than to make a scene.
After the al, Utaha went out to the main shop area to work on her novel, while Tohru and Chisato tidied up, getting ready to open. Since the morning rush typically wasn't busy, they decided to do so "life essentials" shopping for Chisato in the evening. With not much else to do, Shichen killed ti by watching Utaha write.
Watching an author type away was interesting—he got to see all the bits she cut or changed, both the official story sections and the "maybe" story bits. Utaha was unconcerned by him hovering, entirely absorbed in her creative flow, fingers dancing over the keyboard.
Shichen quietly observed without interrupting. He was just a reader—no need to give suggestions. In the end, an author writes what they want, not what the reader demands.
At opening ti, Shichen left her to it. And maybe thanks to Chisato's presence—yet another pretty face—male custors seed to abound that day.
Her work ability was pretty great, too, and her cheerful, lively deanor put custors at ease. Shichen barely needed to do anything. He just hung around looking good, attracting so female patrons.
~~~
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