Date A Live

"Oh, Itsuka…Eh? What happened to you?"

It was morning and s.h.i.+dou, who was dragging his heavy legs into the cla.s.sroom, was called out with a puzzled voice by Tonomachi.

Well even if it wasn"t him, looking at his current state, everyone would have had the same impression too.

Because whether it was his face or hands, his whole body was practically covered in bandages, on top of that his steps were staggering so much that it seemed like he would fall over anytime.

"…Aah, a little something."

s.h.i.+dou gave a wry smile while saying so, then let out a small sigh.

Over to the side Tonomachi, as if he remembered something, suppressed his laughter.

"Oh yeah, I heard that net radio, what was up with that? It was pretty d.a.m.n interesting."

s.h.i.+dou"s face twitched upon hearing those words.

"Y-you"ve already heard it? that..."

"Oh, I listened to it a little before I left the house. But... that"s supposed to be a joke right? It would be scary if that were real."

"Ah…Hahahaha… Yeah, y-you"re right…"

s.h.i.+dou let out a dry laugh and averted his gaze.

"Lea-Leaving that aside Tonomachi, what are you looking at?"

s.h.i.+dou raised his voice in order to change the topic as it would be troublesome if he gained more interest in that radio broadcast.

Tonomachi looked like he was gazing seriously at the gravure page in the back of a manga magazine.

"Ah, this— Oh yeah, I also want to ask you about something."

"W-what is it?"

s.h.i.+dou asked him back. Tonomachi was unusually serious and continued speaking.

"Nurse, miko, or maid…… Which one do you like most?"

"…Huh?"

s.h.i.+dou let out a startled voice due to Tonomachi"s unexpected question.

"It"s been decided that the gravure costume for the next issue will be based on the readers" voting poll… This is so troubling."

"…Ahh, is that so..."

s.h.i.+dou replied with a sigh. Tonomachi seemed like he didn"t mind and thrust the magazine towards s.h.i.+dou.

"So? Which one do you like!?"

"Eh…errrrmm…then……the maid…?"

s.h.i.+dou replied due to being pressured by Tonomachi"s unusual vigor. In that moment, Tonomachi"s eyebrows suddenly twitched.

"Wh-What"s wrong?"

"——To think that you would like maids! I"m sorry but our friends.h.i.+p ends here!"

"……"

s.h.i.+dou, scratched his cheek, then walked over to his own seat.

"H-Hey, where are you going? Itsuka!"

"……Our friends.h.i.+p ends here right?"

"Hey, What the heck? Aren"t you being too serious. Don"t you think a world where Maid lovers and Nurse lovers can coexist in peace is also kind of good? "

It seems like Tonomachi is in the Nurse faction.

s.h.i.+dou placed his bag on his seat, all the while ignoring Tonomachi who threw the magazine on his table and followed him over.

At that moment, the girl sitting beside him who was reading a bulky reference book——Origami Tob.i.+.c.hi glanced towards him.

"……"

"O-Oh…Tob.i.+.c.hi, good morning."

"Good morning."

Origami replied in a monotonous voice and then tilted her head.

"Maid?"

It seemed that she heard the conversation just now. s.h.i.+dou waved his hands all fl.u.s.tered.

"…Uh, n-no, don"t mind that."

"I see."

Origami made a short reply and once again returned her sights towards the book.

"Good mornin—"

Immediately after, Tonomachi waved his hands towards her, but Origami"s expression did not change in the slightest.

Tonomachi shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly, and started grinding s.h.i.+dou in the side of his stomach.

"Although this happens every time. Why is it always you who always gets a reply back after a welcome? Y-You…"

"Ho-How should I know? Stop it already."

s.h.i.+dou shook off the annoying Tonomachi, and arrived at his seat.

The door of the cla.s.sroom rolled open, and Tohka entered.

Naturally, due to Tohka currently now living in the Itsuka family house, the route to school was exactly the same as s.h.i.+dou"s. However, if they were to go to school together it would probably appear suspicious, so Tohka had to leave a bit later after s.h.i.+dou.

In addition to that, she was still affected by that terrible induction she received after moving into his house yesterday. He couldn"t bear adding more fuel to the fire when 75 days haven"t even past.

"……"

Tohka silently sat in her seat on the right side of s.h.i.+dou"s desk and without looking at him, she moved her lips.

"…Err, about…this morning, I"m sorry. Is your body okay?"

It seems she was still bothered about that matter this morning. s.h.i.+dou scratched his cheeks while making a bitter smile.

"O-Oh…Don"t worry about it…"

"Mu……"

Tohka made a small nod. And finally— s.h.i.+dou had realized something.

"…Ah."

Several cla.s.smates were listening in on their conversation and were sending them stares of interest.

But, it seems Tohka had not yet realized it.

"Bu-But you were also at fault too. You suddenly…You know…I was surprised."

Because of Tohka"s words, everyone listening caught their breath.

"To-Tohka…Why don"t we have this talk later…?"

"Huh? Why is that?"

Tohka faced s.h.i.+dou while tilting her head, and finally noticed the gazes coming from everyone.

"…Eh?"

Tohka gasped in surprise and sweat starting falling down her cheeks. She had remembered that yesterday at home it was explained to her that the fact that s.h.i.+dou and Tohka were living together was a secret.

"I-It"s not what you think everyone! It"s not like me and s.h.i.+dou are living together!?"

"——!?"

Everyone from the cla.s.s frowned all at the same time.

"I-Idiot…"

s.h.i.+dou muttered softly and then intentionally spoke in a loud voice.

"A-Aaah! In the morning when going to school we coincidentally b.u.mped into each other! Were you okay Tohka!?"

"Mu…? U-Umu, no problem!"

Tohka seemed to have guessed what s.h.i.+dou intended, although it was difficult, they matched their lies together.

Well, although it did look kind of forced…Originally, the talk of [a high school male and female living together] itself sounded unrealistic, he continued blabbering until everyone felt satisfied just in case.

…Well even so, there was still one person to s.h.i.+dou"s left side who wasn"t satisfied…A female student was releasing a glare that would give anyone the chills.

"……"

Somehow, he felt like he would come out tattered. s.h.i.+dou made a deep sigh.

—However, that problem would be resolved at a surprising speed.

The 4th period bell rang and echoed throughout the building, indicating that lunch break had started.

And at the same time,

"s.h.i.+dou! It"s lunch time!"

"……"

At s.h.i.+dou"s desk— to the left and right, *Jyan*! tables were docked on both sides.

And of course, on his right was Tohka, and on the left was Origami.

"…Nu…What do you want? You"re disturbing us."

"That"s my line."

From s.h.i.+dou"s left and right, sharp gazes were exchanged from both sides.

"We-Well……Calm down. Isn"t it okay if everyone eats together? Right…?"

When s.h.i.+dou said that, reluctantly, Tohka and Origami quietly sat down. And then both of them took out their own bentos [2B 1]. from their respective bags.

s.h.i.+dou followed, bringing out his own bento, and placed it on the table. All of them opened their lids together, and then—

"……"

He saw Origami"s eyes widen a little bit, and he cursed himself for being unprepared.

s.h.i.+dou"s bento was something he made for himself in the morning. And of course it was made along with Kotori"s (although she hadn"t been returning home this month).

Naturally— if it was necessary to prepare another person"s portion of hurriedly prepared bento, it was s.h.i.+dou"s job to do so.

"……"

Origami gave s.h.i.+dou a cold look, and compared s.h.i.+dou and Tohka"s bento boxes— checking the contents.

—The same menu was arranged inside both of their bentos, looking identical.

"Nu, wha-what? Even if you give me that look, I won"t give it to you…"

Tohka didn"t realize the seriousness of this matter and gave Origami a puzzled look.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Thi-This is…"

When Origami asked her question, s.h.i.+dou burst out in a cold sweat and avoided eye-contact.

"Ac-Actually. This was being sold by the lunch vendor this morning and coincidentally Tohka was also there—"

"Liar."

Origami interrupted s.h.i.+dou midway, and then removed s.h.i.+dou"s bento box lid.

"154 days ago, you bought this at the discount shop that is in front of the station for 1580 yen, and you are still using it. This is not something from the lunch vendor."

"H-How do you know something like tha-?"

"That isn"t important right now."

No, he thought that this was kind of an important question, but he was overpowered by Origami and wasn"t in a position to say anything. Like just now, his words would have been stopped halfway.

"Muu, what were you two talking about just now! Don"t split up the group!"

From the side, Tohka who was feeling left out, raised her voice, puffing up her cheeks.

And, at that moment.

*Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-----------*

A loud alarm sounded and echoed throughout the whole town.

In an instant, the noisy cla.s.sroom during lunch break, suddenly went quiet.

—It was the s.p.a.cequake alarm.

Around 30 years ago, a threat towards people, the worst disaster, was referred to as s.p.a.cequake, and looms as an omen for disaster.

"……"

At that moment, Origami had showed an expression of hesitation, and then immediately stood up from her seat and left the cla.s.sroom at an amazing speed.

"…Eh?"

s.h.i.+dou was in a confused state and could only follow her using his eyes…Well, although it was a little indiscreet, he couldn"t help but think that he was saved by the alarm ringing at the perfect time.

While Tob.i.+.c.hi Origami was a student, she was also a talented individual in the Ground Self-Defense Forces" AST.

Meaning, she was heading towards the battlefront right at this moment— To kill the Spirits, just like the situation with Tohka before.

"……"

s.h.i.+dou clenched his teeth.

He knew he couldn"t stop Origami. But—

Over there at the cla.s.sroom door, a girl"s voice echoed in a dazed state.

"……Everyone, it"s the alarm. Please evacuate to the underground shelter immediately."

The physics teacher dressed in a white coat— Reine, pointed her fingers towards the direction of the corridor.

After the students swallowed their saliva, they exited towards the corridor one by one.

"Nu? s.h.i.+dou, where is everyone going?"

Tohka asked while looking at the other cla.s.smates and tilting her head.

"Ah-Aah…to the shelter. There is one under the school."

"Shelter…?"

"Aah. For now, let"s leave the explanation for later. We are going too Tohka."

"Nu-Nuu."

Tohka regretfully glanced at her untouched bento, and stood up following s.h.i.+dou"s instruction.

They followed the other cla.s.smates and exited to the corridor.

"……s.h.i.+n. You"re coming this way."

Riene caught s.h.i.+dou by the collar.

"Uh, Reine-san? This way means…"

"……Isn"t it obvious? We"re going to the ."

When s.h.i.+dou questioned her, he raised his voice but not loud enough to allow the other students to hear them, and Reine replied.

"……It has only been one day……You might not have made your decision yet on what you will do from now on. But there"s something we want to show you. The Spirits and the current situation."

s.h.i.+dou swallowed his saliva to moisten his dry throat and clenched his fist.

"…I understand. I"ll go."

Reine made a small nod sleepily with one eye open, and after looking at the students that were lined up, she faced towards the entrance.

"……Well, let"s hurry. It won"t be long before the s.p.a.cequake."

"Y-Yes. And— Ah, Reine-san. Is it okay if we didn"t bring Tohka along?"

He said as he glanced towards Tohka.

Speaking of Tohka, she was looking confusedly at the cla.s.smates that were lining up for evacuation.

"……Aah, it"s about that— Umu, we will have Tohka evacuate to the shelter with everyone else."

"Eh? Is that okay?"

"……Aah. With her powers currently in a sealed state, Tohka isn"t that different from other humans. Also, if she sees the battle between the Spirit and the AST, she might be troubled if she remembers the time it happened to her. I told you right? [Ratatoskr] wants to avoid having Tohka acc.u.mulate stress as much as possible."

"No, but……"

Right when s.h.i.+dou wanted to say something, down from the direction of the corridor, a high pitched voice echoed.

"Ho-Hora, Itsuka-kun and Yatogami-san, even Murasame-sensei too! P-Please don"t just stop and stand over there! If both of you don"t hurry and evacuate, the dangerous is danger!"

s.h.i.+dou"s homeroom teacher Okamine Tamae, nicknamed Tama-chan, perked up her small shoulders and said that in a hurried state. The meaning of her words was confusing though.

"……Un, if we get caught we"ll end up in an annoying situation. Let"s go."

Reine made a signal with her eyes and faced her feet towards the entrance.

"Uh, ah wait a second—"

Although it was a little worrying, it couldn"t be helped. s.h.i.+dou made a small groan and scratched his head. He then took Tohka"s hand and placed it in Tama-chan"s hand.

"Sensei, I"m counting on you to take care of Tohka!"

"Fue? Eh? Ah, ye-yes, of course."

Tama-chan was quickly entrusted with Tohka, her eyes were in circles as if she was suddenly dumbfounded, while saying [I-I"m also a teacher too!"].

"s.h.i.+dou…?"

Tohka curved her eyebrows in uneasiness.

"Tohka, listen. Please evacuate together with Sensei to the shelter."

"What about you? What are you going to do s.h.i.+dou?"

"Ah…I, have an important task to do. Go on ahead without me. Okay?"

"…! Ah! s.h.i.+-s.h.i.+dou!"

"Itsuka-kun! Murasame-sensei too!? Where are the both of you going!?"

While hearing worried voices from the pair left behind, s.h.i.+dou and Reine ran outside the school building.

"—Aah, both of you came. The Spirit will soon appear. I"m counting on you for the preparations, Reine."

From the captain"s seat, Kotori said this to them, with s.h.i.+dou and Reine having arrived on the bridge of the .

"…Ah."

Reine made a small nod, flapping back her white coat"s hem, and sat down at her console on the lower bridge.

"—Now then…"

And, when s.h.i.+dou remained silent, Kotori asked him a question while tilting her head.

"Although we are sorry that we didn"t give you much time but have you made your decision? s.h.i.+dou."

"…Uh—"

He choked. But, over from the bridge, a loud sound from the siren echoed.

"Wha…What?"

"An unusually strong Spirit wave reading has been detected! It"s coming!"

A male crew member"s shout came from the lower bridge, and s.h.i.+dou"s eyes were spinning from the confusion.

When Kotori heard the shout, *pachin* she snapped her fingers.

"Okay. Switch the Main monitor to the image of where the prediction site is."

When Kotori gave the order, a bird"s-eye view of the town was projected on the main monitor.

It was the main street which was lined with many shops. Of course there were no human figures visible, as if it was a ghost town.

In the middle of that image, *Warp*.

"Eh…?"

At first, he had thought that the image projector was having some problems but— that was wrong.

The s.p.a.ce.

The s.p.a.ce, that originally was empty, distorted, it was as if a ripple on the surface of water was created by throwing a rock at it.

"Wha-What is this…?"

"Ara? Is this the first time s.h.i.+dou has seen this?"

The moment Kotori said that, the s.p.a.ce distortion grew larger—

He thought that a small light was produced on the screen, and together with the sound of an explosion, the screen had turned pure white.

"——!"

Although he knew that this was an event happening inside the screen, he instinctively covered his face with his arms.

After a few seconds, while slowly dropping his arms, he opened his eyes, and on the screen was a totally different scene from before.

In the town, a hole had opened up.

There was no other way to express it.

A portion of the buildings that were supposed to be lined up, were shaved off into a shallow bowl shape.

Shops, street lights, telephone poles, and even the surface of the road that was supposed to be there, everything, had disappeared.

What"s more, maybe due to the after-effects of the explosion, the surrounding area looked as if a huge hurricane had struck.

This mess…it resembles that place about one month ago, the place where he first met Tohka.

Which means, just now, that was—

"…s.p.a.cequake…"

s.h.i.+dou said in a shaky voice, Kotori [yes] consented.

"—This is the dimensional distortion that occurs when a Spirit comes over to this world. And the calamity of an outbreak-inducing nature."

"……"

He had seen the ruins of buildings many times but this was his first time seeing the moment the explosion occurred.

His palms were sweaty.

There were times when he tried to figure out the phenomenon in his head— and thanks to this experience, he finally felt like he understood it.

He understood the terror it causes— The town, the s.p.a.ce where people live their daily lives, was destroyed, all in an instant.

"Well, at least this time the explosion was on a small-scale."

"It seems like it."

Kotori and a tall man right behind her— Vice commander Kannazuki Kyouhei, had commented.

"Good fortune— was what I wanted to say, but since this is the [Hermit] this much should be normal."

"Well, I guess so. Even among the Spirits, she has the docile-type disposition."

s.h.i.+dou, still silent, pushed together his brows.

—That explosion just now, it was small-scaled?

At first, he didn"t understand what Kotori and the others were talking about, but then immediately remembered.

That might be the case. Since the s.p.a.cequake left a crater around 10 meters in diameter. From their perspective, it should be a small compared to the others.

Of course…even if he fully understood this now…

"…Hey, Kotori."

Something in Kotori and the others" conversation bothered s.h.i.+dou. He opened his mouth to speak.

"What on earth is [Hermit]?"

"Aah, it"s the code-name of the Spirit that just appeared. Wait for a moment— Can you zoom in on the screen?"

Kotori, pointed her finger towards the crew members on the lower bridge.

When she did that, the image zoomed in, towards the crater that was right in the middle of the town.

And with that, something changed on-screen.

"…Rain?"

s.h.i.+dou quietly muttered.

Without warning, he thought that the screen turn darker, *drip**drip*, rain started to descend.

But— that wasn"t what interested him, he no longer cared about the rain.

In the middle of the area that looked like a crater, they were able to detect the figure of a small girl.

"—?!"

A shock hit his heart, as if it had been grabbed by an eagle"s talons, and pa.s.sed throughout his whole body.

Standing still in the middle of the enlarged screen, was the figure of one girl. And what"s more— he recognized of her.

"Ah, that is…"

Covered by a hood with rabbit ears like accessories, was a blue haired girl.

She looked to be around 13 to 14 years old, wearing a large coat and innerwear made from a mysterious material.

And on her left hand, with a comical design, a rabbit puppet was equipped.

If s.h.i.+dou"s eyes and brain were working properly…then that was without a doubt—

The girl he had encountered yesterday when he was returning home from school.

"—? What"s wrong s.h.i.+dou?"

Seeing s.h.i.+dou act strangely, Kotori spoke in a dubious voice.

s.h.i.+dou, after gazing at the screen once, rea.s.serted himself.

"I-I"ve met that with that girl before…"

"What did you say? When did this happen?"

"Just yesterday…when I was returning home in a hurry, rain started falling—"

s.h.i.+dou, going through his memories, spoke briefly about the events that happened yesterday.

After hearing s.h.i.+dou talk for a while, Kotori pointed her fingers to the crew on the lower bridge.

"Send the Spirit wave reading from yesterday at 1600 to 1700 to my terminal, ASAP!"

And then she lowered her sights to the screen she was holding, and scratched her head in frustration.

"…It didn"t recognize the main numerical value of the disorder huh. It was the same with Tohka last time…s.h.i.+dou, why didn"t you tell me this at home yesterday?"

"Do-don"t say something impossible. I didn"t know she was a Spirit when I first met her…!"

At the same time s.h.i.+dou was shouting, the speaker that was installed on the bridge roared with a loud sound.

"—!? What, is going on—"

"—The Spirit did appear…So we aren"t the only ones taking action."

s.h.i.+dou"s finger tips twitched a little from Kotori"s words.

"The AST…huh?"

"Yes."

He glanced towards the screen— Smoke swirled around the place where the Spirit was — which was now being called [Hermit]. Probably, a missile or some sort of explosive was launched at her.

And surrounding her, a small number of humans wearing heavy mechanical armor were floating around.

The Ground Self-Defense Forces" Anti-Spirit Team, in short, the AST.

Different from the organization, [Ratatoskr], which was led by Kotori and the others, they were a special team holding military power that aimed to eliminate all Spirits.

Inside the smoke, a small silhouette *Hop*, jumped out— It was [Hermit].

The girl with her left hand tucked into a puppet came out. She twisted her body to escape from the surrounding AST members holding their ground, and leapt into the sky.

The AST members immediately responded, and pursued [Hermit] all at once.

And with the weapons that were installed into their armor, an innumerable amount of ammunitions were fired.

"—! Look out!"

Reflexively s.h.i.+dou had shouted— but the warning didn"t do anything useful across the screen. The large barrage of bullets and missiles released by the AST members. .h.i.t [Hermit]"s body mercilessly.

"Those guys……doing that to that girl…"

His eyes opened wide, and he was grinding the back of this teeth.

"……What are you trying to say after all this time?"

As he did that, Kotori, had said that while having her eyes halfway open.

"Didn"t you learn anything when this happened to Tohka? To the AST, it doesn"t matter what appearance the Spirits take. The only thing that matters is their sense of duty to protect this world; To those people, they would reject any dangerous existence and follow their survival instincts like animals."

"But…even so!"

The moment s.h.i.+dou opened his mouth, from the smoke, the girl leapt into the sky once again.

But- [Hermit] wasn"t fighting back and was only running from place to place.

"That girl…Why doesn"t she fight back?"

"This isn"t unusual. Even among the Spirits [Hermit] is a very docile type."

"…Then—"

"If you"re asking for the AST to have mercy, it"s useless— As long as that girl is a Spirit, they won"t stop."

"…Kuh!"

In response to the flat out answer, s.h.i.+dou bit his lip.

No…Even if he were to repeat himself, he already knew the answer.

Her disposition, or her personality, to the AST it doesn"t matter.

To them, they only cared about taking down the enemy that causes harm to this world.

—The method that could overthrow this situation…there was only one way.

s.h.i.+dou clenched his fingers in a fist so tightly, he thought that blood was about to flow out. Quietly, he cleared his throat.

"…Kotori."

"What?"

"…If it wasn"t because of her Spirit power…that girl would have never been targeted by the AST, right?"

When s.h.i.+dou said that, Kotori knitted her eyebrows together, and her eyes faced s.h.i.+dou.

"Yes— That"s absolutely right."

"The s.p.a.cequakes…they wouldn"t have occurred right?"

"Yes."

s.h.i.+dou kept quiet for a moment, he took a deep breath, and continued speaking.

"—And I can make that happen?"

"If you still don"t believe me after seeing Tohka"s present condition, then I don"t mind if you doubt me."

"……"

After s.h.i.+dou scratched his head, he used both his hands to pull his cheeks.

He gently lifted his down cast eyes, and rea.s.serted his determination.

"Help me with this, Kotori! …I— want to save that girl…!"

"—Fufu…"

Kotori, looking happy, made her candy rod stand up.

"Now that is—— My Onii-chan."

She turned to face the crew on the lower bridge, and shouted.

"All members prepare for a Level One capture!"

"ROGER!"

The crew members began manipulating their consoles all at once.

While Kotori was gazing upon this scene, she licked her lips.

"Now then—— let us begin the DateWar!"

"—Hey, Tama-chan sensei."

Tohka who had evacuated to the established large-type underground shelter in the school, as if to suppress her rustling feelings, grabbed the hem of her skirt tightly, and asked Tamae who was sitting right beside her.

"Ya-Yatogami-san even you have started calling me that…"

Tamae faced towards Tohka, Tamae had now calmed down to a degree compared with a while ago.

But Tohka, disregarding Tama"s sigh of rejection, continued her words.

"That sound just now, what was that? What on earth is this place?"

"Wha-What are you saying. That alarm just now was the s.p.a.cequake alarm. Because there might be a chance a s.p.a.cequake might occur, everyone has been evacuated to the underground shelter since it will be safe here."

"s.p.a.cequake…? What is that?"

Tohka tilted her head, and Tama-chan wore a "surprised" expression.

"Eh? What is a s.p.a.cequake? You don"t know?"

"……Muu."

After being told that, Tohka made an awkward and unhappy face.

It would seem that this "s.p.a.cequake" thing, was a word that everyone knows.

There might be a chance that she had asked a bad question. Tohka had been warned by s.h.i.+dou to avoid doing things that might stand out. "To be extremely ignorant is okay but try to avoid crossing the line that could lead to exposing yourself."

And, not knowing how to handle the silence, Tama-chan shook her hands in panic.

"Ah, no no, it"s alright. I guess that, there are still people that don"t know."

"…Nu, sorry."

Tama-chan said [no no] once more, and raised her finger.

"A s.p.a.cequake is a general term for occurrence of a large scale disaster. Well, in simple words, one day suddenly in the world somewhere, *DON*, an explosion will occur. Although there are many theories taught like the "Atmospheric Pressure Alteration theory" or "Plasma theory" but the real cause has still not been clarified."

"—An explosion, you say?"

Through Tama-chan explanation, Tohka raised her eyebrows.

"Yes. The biggest one to date was around 30 years ago. The Eurasia Sky Disaster. There were around 150 million casualties, it was the worst disaster since the dawn of history."

"Wha-What"s up with that, wasn"t that dangerous!"

"Yes. That is why everyone evacuates to the Shelters— Well, although there haven"t been any s.p.a.cequakes that big since then— in this neighborhood, for the past few years there have been small scale explosions occurring frequently."

From Tama-chan"s lecture, Tohka"s eyebrows came together closely.

"The-Then why isn"t s.h.i.+dou here at this dangerous time, where did he go?"

"Eh…? Eh, errrr……that is……"

Tamae, adjusting her gla.s.ses awkwardly, looked over to the other students that were sitting around.

"……"

While remaining silent Tohka, started gripping the hem of her skirt that was in her hands more tightly.

"……s.h.i.+dou."

*Thump* *Thump*

Around the area of her chest, she heard these sounds.

For some reason she didn"t know……She had a bad premonition.

And then, when the throbbing in her heart reached a climax.

"……Uh."

Tohka immediately raised her face.

"Errrr……I-It"s okay. Although I can"t see him around here……I think he most probably forgot something and went back to get it. He should be back here by now, somewhere around here in the Shelter…"

And, Tamae who was surveying the inside of the Shelter returned her sights to Tohka.

"Ara……? Ya-Yatogami-san?"

She looked at where Tohka was standing before but, her figure disappeared.

"Fuu…This way right?"

s.h.i.+dou who had been sent to the ground using the teleporter in the lower section of [Fraxinus], was following the voice in the small intercam that was equipped to his right ear.

"Yes. The Spirit is already inside the building. Don"t make a mistake with the first contact."

"……Understood."

s.h.i.+dou said that while his sweat dripped down his cheek, and separated his hand from the intercam.

And then, to calm down his throbbing heart, he took a deep breath.

Right now, s.h.i.+dou was in a large department tower just outside the shopping district.

It would seem that the [Hermit], was a Spirit that had a fairly high appearance rate— By using movement pattern statistics, which also incorporated the results of Reine"s thought a.n.a.lyses, they could estimate the Spirit"s most probable route.

And of course, due to the movements of the AST there might be a chance that the route would change. If that happens they would recover s.h.i.+dou, and then head towards the next predicted location— However, at this moment this department store location was ideal.

The AST"s main equipment— the CR-unit was unsuitable for indoor combat.

And naturally, there might be a chance that they would destroy the building to smoke out the Spirit like that time they did to Tohka. But, for the time being, they should be waiting for the Spirit to come out from the building on its own.

And therefore during this time, without the AST knowing, it was a precious opportunity for s.h.i.+dou to sneak onto the battlefield and converse with the Spirit, even if only for a few minutes.

"……"

In the middle of April, while wearing this intercam and following the instructions from [Ratatoskr], he remembered that time he had his conversation with Tohka.

And to think that, it hasn"t even been a month since then. He didn"t think that he would once again return onto the battlefield but it couldn"t be helped.

For some weird reason which he couldn"t understand, s.h.i.+dou had an unbelievable power.

If he used that power, it could stop the s.p.a.cequakes. It was also said that it could stop the attacks on the Spirits as well.

—And what"s more, that was something that s.h.i.+dou has wished and hoped for.

"…Well, even if I think that."

s.h.i.+dou made a small sigh… —And the reason was, he had to seduce the Spirits and kiss them— the difficulty level was somewhat too high for s.h.i.+dou.

"—s.h.i.+dou. The [Hermit]"s signal has entered the area."

"—!"

From the unexpected voice echoed by Kotori, it made s.h.i.+dou"s body nervous.

And, at that instant.

"—You, hav" ya come here to bully Yos.h.i.+non too…?"

"…Uh!?"

And suddenly a voice echoed from overhead, s.h.i.+dou quickly raised his head.

Over there was [Hermit], currently floating upside down as if she was defying the laws of gravity.

"Your wrong- Since Yos.h.i.+non is a kind girl who hasn"t done anything mische— Eh, unn?"

Suddenly, the girl"s body that was upside down, flipped around in mid-air— righting herself, before landing on the ground and stood there.

And then, *clatter* *clatter* she moved the puppets mouth.

"oOOYaa? I was wonderin" who it was but aren"t ya that lucky pervert Onii-chan?"

After looking at s.h.i.+dou with a serious face, the puppet skillfully *pon*, smacked his hands together.

…Seriously, how do you control something to that extent with only one hand?

But now wasn"t the time and situation to be asking something like that.

Immediately, from his right ear came Kotori"s voice, [wait for a moment].

Right after [Hermit] words.

① "Aah, long time no see. How you doing? You okay?" Frankly give a normal greeting.

② "Lucky Pervert? What do you mean by Lucky Pervert, Huh!" Give a casual tsukkomi. [2B 2]

③ "Fuu……, I don"t know nee. For I, am just a wanderer pa.s.sing by." Go with the "Hard-Boil" act.

Looking at the 3 choices displayed on the bridge"s main monitor, Kotori licked her lips.

By the way— on the bridge monitor, all sorts of other parameters were being displayed, including an enlarged projection of the [Hermit]"s bust, various stats and text windows.

No matter how you look at it, it was a love simulation game— in short a Galge screen.[2B 3]

"All members, Begin picking your choice!"

Together with Kotori"s command, the crew from the lower bridge pushed the b.u.t.tons on their hand.

All together—— ①,②,③ ,all received roughly the same number of votes.

"Eeh? It should be ②! This galge main character is the Tsukommi-type! It has to that one!"

One of the crew members insisted. However, immediately another voice came up from another direction.

"—But, wouldn"t it be dangerous since we don"t know for certain about the opponent"s character? I think ① would be appropriate here."

"No no, from the data we"ve gathered up till now, we know that [Hermit] rarely takes the chance to attack humans! We should setup a confrontation by choosing ③!"

"……Fuumu."

After hearing the opinions from all 3 directions, Kotori touched her jaw and groaned.

And then, facing towards the mike she opened her lips.

"—s.h.i.+dou, pick ③."

"……Uh, what the heck is that…"

s.h.i.+dou, muttered that while his b.u.t.t hit the floor.

The order delivered to his ear by Kotori— It was totally crazy.

"Uun? What"s up?"

The puppet skillfully tilted its head.

This wasn"t the time to argue.

s.h.i.+dou immediately stood up from that spot, finding a chair on display nearby, he put one of his legs on the chair.

"Fuu……, I don"t know nee. For I, am just a wanderer pa.s.sing by………"

*Swoosh*

After conceitedly saying that, he started roughing up his hair.

…Honestly, that was really embarra.s.sing.

"……"

The puppet that [Hermit] was controlling, *Deadpan* with its mouth wide open, kept quiet.

Just like that, a few seconds pa.s.sed by.

"…H-Hey, Kotori. What are we going to do about this atmosphere……?"

And, the moment s.h.i.+dou made a small voice of discontent to Kotori.

"Fu……,Ha-Hahahahahahaha!"

The puppet, *clatter**clatter* shook its head while laughing.

"Whaaat? Unexpectedly Onii-chan are you a facetious person? Ahahaha, no one would do that nowadays."

"Ha-Haha……I"m glad that you enjoyed it."

s.h.i.+dou following the puppet"s lead and laughed dryly. No one uses [facetious person] nowadays I think, but he refrained from saying that.

*gloom*

"……Yeah yeah, sorry about that."

The prideful Kotori replied with a small voice, and s.h.i.+dou returned his gaze back to [Hermit].

As if matching him, the puppet met s.h.i.+dou"s gaze.

"Iyaa—, but I"m lucky pervert Onii-chan. We meet again in such a weird place— Ahaha, I welcome people like ya Onii-san— It seems that everyone hates Yos.h.i.+non— If I were to leave this place, they would probably start attacking me again——"

After saying that, it once again started laughing.

"Well that"s one surprisingly, cheerful Spirit."

From his right ear, s.h.i.+dou heard the same words he was thinking about. As expected, even Kotori thought of the same thing.

And, inside [Hermit] words, there was a word that caught his interest. He opened his mouth a little.

"Hey…Who"s Yos.h.i.+non?"

When s.h.i.+dou asked, the puppet made a shocked expression, and opened its mouth wide.

"Ah, what a mistake! For Yos.h.i.+non of all people, to forget my own introduction! Yos.h.i.+non is Yos.h.i.+non"s naa—mee cute right? Cute right?"

"Aah,aahh…it"s a nice name."

Getting pressured by the high tensioned puppet, he nodded.

When he did that, from his right ear he heard Kotori"s dubious voice.

"—Yos.h.i.+non, huh? Fuun, this Spirit is different from Tohka— she has information of her own name."

"Ah…"

It seemed true after being told that— Tohka, didn"t have her own name.

The word [Tohka], was the name given by s.h.i.+dou.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as the puppet approached his face.

"Hm so? What is Onii-chan"s name?"

"Ah…Aah——My name is s.h.i.+dou. It"s Itsuka s.h.i.+dou."

"s.h.i.+dou huh? —That"s a cool name. Well, it doesn"t beat Yos.h.i.+non though~~"

"O-Oh…thanks. Errr…Yos.h.i.+non?"

"Hai Hai— What"s up? —This is what Yos.h.i.+non is impressed by —s.h.i.+dou-kun"s frontier Spirit —making clever conversation —and using the name you just remembered a moment ago——"

After giving back a dry smile to the puppet that was making an exaggerated gesture by opening its hand wide, s.h.i.+dou continued his words.

"No, it isn"t a very important thing, but errr……the Yos.h.i.+non I"m talking about— Isn"t the puppet but it"s your name right?"

With that said he set his sights pa.s.sed the puppet, towards its back——the blue-eyed girl.

"……"

When he did that, the puppet that had been cheerfully chatty until now, suddenly went silent.

Following that, from his right ear intercam, *Piiii!*, *Piiiii!* the sound of an alarm echoed.

"—Uh, s.h.i.+dou, the values of her mood suddenly dropped. What on earth did you just say?"

"Eh…? No, I was just, asking why she doesn"t talk instead of using ventriloquism…"

When s.h.i.+dou frankly voiced that question, the puppet wobbled nearer to his face.

"—I don"t understand what s.h.i.+dou-kun said……What is ventriloquism?"

The tone of its voice remained calm. By the way, the puppet"s facial expression didn"t change at all.

And yet, he felt an unbelievably strong pressure, s.h.i.+dou took a step back.

"N-No……About that."

"s.h.i.+dou. You can think of a reason later. You need to fix the Spirit"s mood right now."

An instruction came flying from Kotori. s.h.i.+dou moved his lips while avoiding eye-contact.

"Ye—Yeah you"re right! Yos.h.i.+non is Yos.h.i.+non. Iyaa……Haha…ha."

When he did that.

"Uun, mou——, it"s because s.h.i.+dou-kun is a mischievous guy——"

The dreadful mood from just now vanished like it was a lie, the puppet voice echoed in high pitch.

"……Wha-What was that just now?"

"Dunno……Well, no matter how friendly she is, the opponent is a Spirit. It"s a bad idea to lower your guard."

When s.h.i.+dou gave a small nod, he fixed his sights back to [Yos.h.i.+non].

"Errr——"

Although he didn"t let out any words immediately.

When s.h.i.+dou hesitated to say anything. Kotori"s irritated voice snapped.

"Don"t freeze up now. Set it up so that the Spirit can"t run away."

"…Ho-how…?"

"That sort of thing, isn"t it clear what you need to do? You are inside a large department store you know? Since you have time, you should be able to date, right? You understand? Listen— It"s not [why don"t we have a date?]— It"s [let"s go on a date], that is the goal. Don"t give the opponent an option to pick."

"Ha-Haa……"

While feeling nervous s.h.i.+dou, returned to facing [Yos.h.i.+non].

"L-Let"s go on a date?"

And without any preamble, he repeated the line exactly as heard.

"……Without any setup. Can"t you have played it a bit more smoother?"

Kotori said disappointedly.

[Yos.h.i.+non] didn"t seem to react. No, rather the tension seemed to have risen, making it hard to say anything.

*clap* *clap*

The puppet clapped its small hands together.

"HoHo~~! That"s nice—— Regardless of how ya look, ya"re pretty gutsy to give an invitation out like that. Ufuun, of course it"s an O-K. Rather, I finally encountered a human that I can have a decent conversation with. So it is more like Yos.h.i.+non to be the one wis.h.i.+ng for it~~"

With that said, *Clatter* *Clatter* it laughed.

"I-I see……"

"……Well, I guess everything turned out all right in the end."

While hearing Kotori"s voice mixed with her sigh, s.h.i.+dou together with [Yos.h.i.+non], began walking around the department store together.

"……"

Origami, whose whole body was wrapped by a wiring suit and stocked with ammunition for her auto-range weapon, was patrolling the sky above the department store.

Around her surroundings there were a few other AST members with the same equipment flying around, and they were all bracing themselves.

AST— Anti-Spirit Team, as a special unit of the JGSDF, they were a team with remarkable and highly special characteristics.

Prepared with a machine that can turn fantasy into reality— the Realizer. They are the team formed to counter the calamity that could destroy the world— the Spirits.

However, only a limited number of humans could use the Combat Realizer unit in practical combat— this limit resulted in the recruitment of irregular members like Origami.

Living in a house outside the garrison, moreover she was allowed to go to school, and only dispatched when there was an emergency.

Even though she received this special treatment, she was a JGSDF member whose dispatch frequency was extremely high.

"……"

Raindrops were continuously pelting the surface of her deployed Territory. [2B 4] That Spirit— it has been almost an hour since [Hermit] first entered the building.

But, [Hermit] was still hiding inside; even now she hasn"t made an appearance.

"—Looks like she"s being very persistent."

And through her transmitter, she heard the voice of her team captain, Kusakabe Ryouko.

"This is rare even for [Hermit]. To be staying in one spot like this. Normally she would have been spotted *Hop* *Hop* jumping around the place by now."

Yes. [Hermit]"s only movement pattern was mostly just running away.

Everytime Origami and the others had launched an attack, she would just run around, without even fighting back.

But, if she gained the knowledge that by pa.s.sing time inside buildings could result in a [Lost][2B 5]—— to Origami this was not an amusing matter.

"The permission to attack?"

Origami asked in a soft voice, and Ryouko replied with a hint of a sigh in her voice:

"—I did try asking for permission, just in case but they said to remain on stand-by."

"Even if the building structure was to collapse, there is the possibility for repairs."

"…Well, if you were to think about it logically, that would seem to be the case. But it isn"t that simple. Somebody has to pay for the repair unit, it isn"t free— If this situation was like the [Princess] cla.s.s, like last time then it would be okay— But this time the target is just the weakling [Hermit] cla.s.s, you know?"

"……"

[Princess].

From that code-name, Origami twitched her eyebrows a little.

Not knowing the exact details of what she went through but the Spirit that held that code-name was now, the human girl— Yatogami Tohka, who was attending the same high school as Origami.

Of course, Origami having confirmed Tohka"s existence, had informed Ryouko about it.

But for some reason they couldn"t detect a Spirit reading coming from her, thus the a.s.sault permission wasn"t granted.

Asking for the impossible and then having her family register investigated, they were unable to find anything suspicious.

At the very least, at this time —although Origami was extremely dissatisfied— she was a j.a.panese citizen, an existence that was Origami"s duty to protect.

And so—

"……?"

Origami narrowed her eyes unexpectedly.

In that moment, from the corner of her eye, she felt she saw the s.h.i.+mmer of beautiful black hair.

Yes. It was as if she saw Tohka over there.

Looking down— at the area that had become uninhabitable; she faced the main street that was under a heavy downpour.

"……"

But, she was unable to confirm Tohka"s presence.

Origami shook her head silently. It would seem like she was becoming edgy.

If she were to let the Spirit slip away like this, it would be embarra.s.sing. Origami took in a light breath, refocusing herself and continued her patrol.

—Sometime had pa.s.sed since he met [Yos.h.i.+non].

s.h.i.+dou and [Yos.h.i.+non] were having a lively conversation, while walking around the inside of the department store.

As normal, sometimes Kotori would whisper some instructions into his ear— oddly enough [Yos.h.i.+non] has a low susceptibility towards gags; no matter how lame it was *clatter* *clatter* she would still laugh.

In reality, the bridge was monitoring her mental condition, and good values were being reported.

It would make people think that the sudden change in her manner earlier was some kind of mistake; at the moment things were developing favorably.

"—Fumu, this is going beyond my expectations."

Kotori said those words.

"It might be that she has the characteristic that attracts people. The favorable impression is also great. Even if I say to kiss her right now, she won"t refuse right?"

"…Hey hey."

He couldn"t be sure whether those words were a joke or whether she was being serious, he scratched his cheek.

But in reality, s.h.i.+dou was also shocked.

Although he was able to talk to Tohka normally now, the first time they met she had a serious case of distrust against humans— each time she got the wrong idea he would encounter a life or death experience.

…But.

"As I thought being able to chat sure is F~u~N. It seems like those other people are boorish—"

"Ha……haha."

The puppet *clatter* *clatter* opened its mouth and said those words, and he replied in a strangled tone.

…How do you say it? He was still troubled.

That wish he hoped to grant— The conversation was proceeding smoothly and lively, and the values in her affection level were rising, then there shouldn"t be any problems……that should be the case, but...

"……"

s.h.i.+dou silently, glanced in the direction of the girl that was fiddling with her puppet.

When meeting her yesterday, and today too. The only one that was doing the speaking was the puppet through ventriloquisms; that person"s mouth herself did not even move an inch.

It was like…yes, she was like the string puller for the puppet at a stage theater.

"——Ooo?"

"……Uh!"

And, s.h.i.+dou was suddenly startled when the puppet unexpectedly turned its face towards him.

"Amazing!! What"s that—!"

The puppet excitedly clapped its hands and ran towards the place it had pointed out— Well, of course the one doing the running was that person herself.

The object that caught [Yos.h.i.+non] interest, was the thing a.s.sembled in one corner of the toy store, a small jungle gym that was made for little kids.

At the excessively colorful strengthen plastic castle, she skillfully climbed up with only her hands and legs.

And when she reached the top of it.

"Wahaha! How is it s.h.i.+dou-kun~? Am I cool? Is Yos.h.i.+non Cool~?"

Such a voice was bounced right down at him.

"H-Hey, it"s dangerous if you stand there."

The jungle gym was designed for indoor use and for children. Even if it wasn"t that big, she might hurt herself if she were to fall from the top.

No, although he knew she could fly up to the sky, but for some reason in s.h.i.+dou"s mind, he recalled yesterday"s image of her [Sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiddeee!].

In a panic, he rushed over to the base of the jungle gym.

But [Yos.h.i.+non] shook the puppet hand unsatisfied.

"unMou, even though I was asking if I was cool or not— and, wa-wawawa…!?"

"Wha—!"

It might be that her balance broke when she did that action, on the top of the jungle gym [Yos.h.i.+non] flapping her arms as if she was dancing, and then fell right on top of s.h.i.+dou.

And just like that, while breaking [Yos.h.i.+non]"s fall, they crashed onto the floor.

"Uh…ihee……"

While his face was facing upwards, he let out that sound. And for some reason, his front tooth hurt.

And— he had a bad feeling.

Somehow, the girl with blue hair, her graceful facial features were there— right in front of him.

—And just right around the area of his lips, an oddly soft sensation was felt.

"——Umh!?"

After a few seconds, he understood the current situation that he was being put under right now.

"…Wow. Good going, s.h.i.+dou!"

Even Kotori thought that this development was unexpected. She let out a surprised voice.

That was expected. Because right now s.h.i.+dou was— with the girl that fell from above, he just managed to perfectly exchange a kiss with her.

"……"

—Keeping quiet, [Yos.h.i.+non] raised her body. And at that moment, their lips finally separated.

Unexpectedly……they had kissed.

But with this, [Yos.h.i.+non]"s powers should be sealed.

But…wondering why, compared to last month, during the time when he exchanged kisses with Tohka— this time there wasn"t a warm feeling flowing into his body or how"d you put it?—

—And, once again from the other side of the intercam, a loud siren resounded.

"Wha…?"

He let out his voice while raising his eyebrows— shouldn"t her power have been sealed?

But this sound was, when the Spirit"s mood was breaking apart, something that would ring when danger was approaching s.h.i.+dou.

This meant that [Yos.h.i.+non] was now—

"Ouch ouch— ……Sorry sorry, s.h.i.+dou-kun. I was careless——"

But when [Yos.h.i.+non], *clatter* *Clatter* moved the puppet, she spoke calmly.

"Eh…?"

Dumbfounded, he opened his eyes wide. At [Yos.h.i.+non], who was not showing any signs of anger.

If that was the case, then what was the sound of the alarm that was being sent into his ears?

"——s.h.i.+dou, it"s an emergency …And most likely, the worst possible kind."

And Kotori, said with an unusually panicked voice.

"Huh…? What is…?"

And. From behind, *step*, the sound of a foot firmly stepping onto the ground, s.h.i.+dou shook his shoulders.

Timidly, he turned around his head to look backwards.

And over there was— an unexpected face.

"To-Tohka……?"

His eyes widened as he called the name of the girl who was standing there.

Yes, the person standing over there right now was Tohka, who should have evacuated to the Raizen high school underground shelter.

And what"s more, maybe it was due to the falling rain, her body was dripping wet. As if she had been running at full speed just now, she was now breathing heavily.

"——s.h.i.+dou."

As if to obstruct s.h.i.+dou"s process of thought, Tohka"s body swayed, and while swaying she let out her voice.

He wondered why— with her only just calling his name, caused s.h.i.+vers to run down his spine.

"……What did you do just now?"

"……Eh? Wha-What do you mean…?"

At that question he touched his lips without thinking— and immediately regaining his thoughts he put his hands behind his back.

But Tohka, wasn"t pleased with that response, while making an expression like a grumbling kid, she squeezed out her shaking voice from deep down her throat.

"—Aft-After making me so worried……"

"Eh……?"

"What are you doing flirting around with a girllllllll!!!!!!!!"

*STOMP*————!!

Tohka shouted, and the moment her foot struck the ground, in the middle of the floor where she stood *CLANG*!And, it collapsed forming a small crater; cracks were spreading outwards from the epicenter.

"Wha-Whahwahwah……!"

Due to the sudden situation, s.h.i.+dou opened his eyes wide and shuddered in fear.

An ordinary high school girl, couldn"t break the floor simply by just stomping on the floor.

And of course although Tohka wasn"t an ordinary high school girl…her Spirit power should have now been sealed— Following that logic, in this current situation the power she was displaying should only be her physical strength...

"Wha-What does this mean, Kotori……?"

When he asked that, Kotori replied with a sigh through the intercam.

"That"s why………this is what we"ve been trying to tell you from before. Between s.h.i.+dou and Tohka a link is pa.s.sing through you two, and if Tohka"s mental state becomes unstable, we fear that some of her powers will reverse back into her."

"H-Huh? What do you mean by that, are you saying that Tohka"s mental state is now unstable?"

"Yes. And so, before this situation gets any worse, you should fix Tohka"s mood somehow."

"E-Even if you say that how am I supposed to do—"

During the time he was saying that, Tohka managed to reach the base of the jungle gym where s.h.i.+dou and [Yos.h.i.+non] were entangled.

And then she alternated her piercing gaze between the both of them, [mumumu…] she murmured while remaining tightlipped.

Then, *glare*! sending a look towards s.h.i.+dou, followed by a glare at [Yos.h.i.+non] she extended a pointed finger at her.

"…s.h.i.+dou. The important task you said you had to do, was it to meet with this girl here?"

"Ah, no, about that…"

No well, although according to those words, it was certainly true but should he reply with a "Yes" now, he was in doubt whether to tell Tohka his true intentions or not.

And, that time.

"……Iyaa,iyaa……I get it now…"

The [Yos.h.i.+non] who had been staring blankly at Tohka since she first made her appearance, let out its high-pitched voice.

On the Puppet"s rabbit face, was a prankster like smile- he wondered how that got there.

"Onee-san? Err——"

"……It"s Tohka."

When the puppet said that, Tohka replied in a discouraging tone.

"Then Tohka-chan~ Although I feel bad for you but it would seem that s.h.i.+dou-kun has lost interest in you."

"Wha—?"

"—!?"

Tohka and s.h.i.+dou both gasped at the same time, and then faced towards the puppet.

"Iiyaa see, how do I put it? Hearing your conversation, it looks like he broke Tohka-chan"s promise and then came to visit Yos.h.i.+non right? Isn"t this crux of the story?"

"……Uh."

Tohka twitched her shoulders, and made a face like she could cry at any moment.

"Yo-You, what are you sayin——mguhhhh!?"

When s.h.i.+dou raised his voice towards the Puppets remark—— Tohka, *grab*, grabbed him by the mouth with both hands.

"Will you keep quiet for a while s.h.i.+dou?"

While releasing a force that would not allow him to consent or refuse, using an unbelievable amount of strength she *grind* *grind* clamped her grip on his cheekbone.

"……! ……!"

The puppet was in a pleasant mood and with an [it can"t be helped like] tone, continued speaking.

"Iiyaa—, Sis—, sorry, but this is probably Yos.h.i.+non"s fault~ her appearance is too charming~"

"Gu-Gugu……"

"It really isn"t that I am talking bad about Tohka-chan you know? Buut~ I can"t really blame s.h.i.+dou-kun for leaving behind Tohka-chan and running towards Yos.h.i.+non~"

"U-Ugahhh!!"

For a period of time, while Tohka was still gripping onto s.h.i.+dou"s face and suppressing her trembling shoulders, having reached her limits she screamed.

And finally, she took her hands off of s.h.i.+dou"s face.

"Sh-Shut up! Shutup shutup shutup! That"s no good! That kind of thing is no good!"

"Eehh—, even if say it"s no good. HoraaHoraa, s.h.i.+dou-kun how about saying it clearly, that Tohka-chan is already an unwanted child."

"—!"

That instant, Tohk