Date A Live

The smell was the odd thing he felt first in the dark.

It smelled sweet like a flower or soap. It clearly didn"t belong to him but, it suddenly tickled s.h.i.+dou’s nose.

“Hn…….”

He stirred around while making a small groan before taking a stretch while lying down.

This time after he did that, he felt a warm and soft feeling at the back of his hand and a soft [Kyaa] could be heard at the same time as well.

“Heh……?”

After s.h.i.+dou forcefully awaken his cloudy consciousness, he rubbed his eyes while slowly raising his body.

His familiar bed was the first thing that entered his view. On top of the white sheets, there were wrinkled blankets and bath blankets covered on top. But, it was clear that the feeling he felt on his hand was not that and more importantly, cloths don’t give out voices. s.h.i.+dou slowly raised his sights.

When he did that,

“Fufu…..Good morning, s.h.i.+dou-kun”

A girl in her underwear was snuggling beside s.h.i.+dou while relaxing her mouth charmingly and lifting her hair erotically.

She should be in her mid-twenties; she had slender limbs and voluptuous b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She was a beauty with prided proportions that would make even models feel shame.

“…….Hnn, aahh, Goo------“

s.h.i.+dou replied in a half-awake state before-----stopping mid-way in his words.

“U-uwaahhhhhhhh!?”

The same time his brain understood the strange situation, s.h.i.+dou took some distance back to make a gap between the beauty. But, this was on top of the bed. Having lost the s.p.a.ce to support his b.u.t.t, s.h.i.+dou fell backwards just like that and hit his head on the floor.

“Guwahh!”

“A-ra a-ra. Mouu, you have to notice this you know, s.h.i.+dou-kun”

The sound of the girl giggling could be heard. After s.h.i.+dou raised his head up in his face-up body posture, he looked up towards the bed with feelings of perplexity and surprise mixed together.

“Na……….Natsumi……!? Why are you-----“

He then called the girl’s name with a voice filled with panic.

Yes. s.h.i.+dou knows this girl. Natsumi. She was the Spirit that had her Reiryoku sealed by s.h.i.+dou a few days ago.

“What do you mean why, it’s a greeting. I came here to wake up the sleepyhead you know”

After Natsumi slowly raised her body, she [hnnn] stretched. Even though it was just that, it looked like that one scene that happens in movies.

s.h.i.+dou was close to being attracted to Natsumi’s beautiful gesture for one moment but, he immediately regained his composure and swung his head.

“Not that………..! No, I am curious as to why you"re sleeping there too but, more importantly----“

s.h.i.+dou rubbed his eyes once more; he also pinched his cheeks and confirmed that he wasn’t daydreaming before continuing his words.

“Natsumi, why are you an adult!?”

Yes. Actually, this beautiful lady was not Natsumi’s real appearance.

Natsumi was a spirit with transformation abilities and this was her appearance after she transformed her body to match an ideal woman’s body.

But, the current Natsumi should have her Reiryoku sealed away by s.h.i.+dou. Thinking normally, there was no way she could use her transformation abilities. Even if she use her limited released powers, it should be only possible when the spirit"s mental state is in considerable disorder.

That means, Natsumi’s body has probably fallen prey to a severe stress. No, from what he could see from Natsumi, it didn"t look like her mental state was in disorder at all------

The room door suddenly opened, just when s.h.i.+dou was thinking about that.

“Just what is going on, you were so noisy just now”

A middle school aged girl with her hair tied into two sides (twin tails) with black ribbons entered the room. It was s.h.i.+dou’s sister, Itsuka Kotori. It seems, she felt suspicious and came to check the situation out because I raised a loud shout when I fell down to the floor just now.

“……………wait”

After Kotori looked around the room while opening the door, she looked at Natsumi who was half-naked, and s.h.i.+dou who was on the ground before *twitch* her eyebrows twitched.

Not caring that her panties could be seen from s.h.i.+dou’s angle, she swung her legs up before dropping her heel onto s.h.i.+dou’s stomach while he was facing upwards.

“What the heck are you doing this early in the morningggggg!”

“Gyaann……..”

After s.h.i.+dou bent his body like the shape of the word く, he held his stomach while groaning in agony. Maintaining the momentum from when she heel dropped s.h.i.+dou, Kotori turned her back to s.h.i.+dou and after both her legs landed on the ground, she slammed her left palm into her right fist and took a finis.h.i.+ng pose. If this was a fighting game then, there was no mistake that the word [KO!] would be dancing between them.

“Fuun, gyaan huh. How about changing your occupation to an antique shop owner?”

“Wh-why you……”

Even though he was raising a voice filled with pain, it seems Kotori did not bother to listen.

“So, just what were you thinking about when you were going to commit an obscene act in the house which has your sister in it? I thought you were someone more discrete and prudent”

“That’s false accusations!”

“Uwah, false accusations huh…….how indecent”

“Don’t judge it by the appearance of the word! Anyway, Natsumi was sleeping beside me when I woke up for some reason”

“…………is that so?”

Kotori looked towards Natsumi with a dubious look.

Natsumi’s cheeks turned red when Kotori did that, and she opened her mouth embarra.s.singly while hugging her chest.

“s.h.i.+dou-kun…….Pervert”

“………!”

After Kotori’s sights turned sharp, she once again lifted her leg and was about to drop her heel on s.h.i.+dou. But, s.h.i.+dou managed to block it in the nick of time and shouted as if he was trying to appeal to her.

“Ca-calm down! I didn’t do anything, I am serious here!”

“……….You better be right?”

“I-it’s the truth! Rather, why can Natsumi turn into her adult version!? What happened!?”

“Aah………..”

Kotori slowly moved her legs away from s.h.i.+dou when he asked.

“Now that I think about it, I didn’t tell you.------about Natsumi’s condition”

“Condition? What do you mean? Don’t tell me the seal was not enough………..?”

s.h.i.+dou said that in a nervous tone. But, Kotori cast her eyes down and swung her head.

“Noo. The seal was successful. Just like the other spirits, Natsumi’s reiryoku was properly sealed by s.h.i.+dou.”

“Then………..did something happen to make Natsumi’s mental state be in disorder!?”

After he said that, Kotori made a complicated face while groaning.

“Uuuun……….that might be the case……..if you put it that way”

“? What do you mean……….?”

He could not get any of the points at all. s.h.i.+dou wring his neck. When he did that, Kotori bent down and brought her face closer to s.h.i.+dou’s ear in order to prevent Natsumi from hearing; she was probably being considerate.

“…..you know, Natsumi’s mentality is super weak right”

“………ahh……”

s.h.i.+dou scratched his cheeks while maintaining a weird pose. Now that he thought about it, the untransformed Natsumi was a cl.u.s.ter of complexes and her mood would break even from little things.

“So that’s the case. Natsumi’s ability appears much easier compared to the others”

“I-isnt that kind of dangerous……?”

“Uuuun……nonetheless, her abilities only appear to transform her own body so I guess it will work out somehow for the time being. Most likely, she would naturally hide her real appearance when she feels embarra.s.s and wants to escape from peoples eyes. We have no choice but to take time and let her get used to this”

“I-I see…….”

“Hey, what are you two whispering about? Don’t leave this onee-san out from the group”

In an unnecessarily erotic pose, Natsumi said that while fixing her disordered hair. Not even a spec of a weak mentality could be felt and she was giving off a confident appearance. Now that he thought about it, Natsumi’s personality will transform into something filled with confidence just like the word as if the person changed.

“Natsumi, you………….”

Kotori stood up and sighed while opening her eyes half way.

“It’s okay to wake s.h.i.+dou up but, do something about the habit of transforming whenever you like. If you keep that up, you will not mix into society no matter how long it takes.”

“Aaan, you got angry because I took the role to wake s.h.i.+dou-kun up huh. Your cute face will go to waste you know?”

“I-I didn’t say that!”

“Fufu, it’s written on your face even if you don’t say it. But see, s.h.i.+dou-kun won’t notice Kotori-chan even if you snuggled beside him with that body”

“Wh-what did you say!?”

After Natsumi said that while folding her arms and lifting her big b.r.e.a.s.t.s, Kotori shouted in an unbearable state.

“That’s the truth right? It might look promising in some specific aspects but, how should I say this, it’s lacking firepower or it’s a work of art with the wind resistance being close to zero”

“Do-don’t look down on me! I am still in p.u.b.erty!”

“Eeeh……..but b.r.e.a.s.t.s stop growing around the age of 15 you know?”

“I-I am still 14! Forget that, why are you acting big for! You might have a nice body in your transformed form but, your real body is lower than mine!”

“………………………!”

The moment Kotori shouted, Natsumi’s expression which was filled with confidence turned into astonishment. There was a hallucination as if the surroundings suddenly just got dark. If this was a manga then, there would probably be sound effects like [Gaaaan] or [Zuuun] appearing on top of Natsumi’s head.

“Li-like I thought……Kotori thinks that way of me. U-uuuu……I look like an idiot. Turning all jolly alone after making friends………..it is impossible for people to accept someone like me…………..”

Natsumi covered her face with both her hands and her shoulders were trembling periodically. I see, her mentality was as weak as tofu. Kotori made a [Oh c.r.a.p] face before walking to Natsumi in panic.

“I-I don’t think that. How should I say this, that was just the spur of the moment or, that was a t.i.t for tat errr……”

“Uu….uu…….it’s okay Kotori-chan, don’t force yourself. Sorry to make you keep someone like me company……I am more of a midget than Kotori-chan anyway………”

“No, I am serious! I don’t think that way!”

“But……I am more of a midget than Kotori-chan anyway…..”

“Th-that is not true!?”

“………Then, Kotori-chan is more of a midget than me….?”

“U, th-that’s……”

Kotori hesitated while sweat was flowing down her forehead. When she did that, large teardrops started to form on Natsumi’s eyes and she started crying.

“It was a lie like I thoughttttt! It’s the kind lie that hurts a person’s heart the most rightttt!”

“Ah……aaah, mouuu! That’s right! I am more of a midget than Natsumi!”

Kotori gave up and said that. Natsumi then stopped crying like it was a lie just now and *pan**pan* started laughing on the bed this time.

“Aha-hahahhaa! She"s a midget! Kotori-chan is a midget!”

“Wha…….”

Unable to comprehend what happened, Kotori went blank for a moment but her sights turned sharp immediately and she glared at Natsumi.

“Y-you…..you tricked me!?”

“Kyaa! The midget is attacking!”

Natsumi made an innocent smile while jumping off the bed and exited the room before heading to the first floor.

“Why you little, wait there……!”

Kotori chased after Natsumi and *batabata* ran down the stairs.

---and finally, peace visited s.h.i.+dou’s room.

“……..I guess I’ll wash my face”

s.h.i.+dou *ya-re ya-re* made a tired sigh before slowly standing up from his place on the floor.

Although there was a morning wake up surprise, that day’s morning was shockingly [Normal] if that event was excluded.

He washed his face, changed his clothes, finished his breakfast with Kotori, who let Natsumi get away in the end, and left the house.

When he did that, a cheerful voice echoed from the mansion next door.

“s.h.i.+dou!”

When he brought his eyes there, he saw a girl in the same Raizen high school uniform waving her hands to him.

She had characteristic long night black hair and s.h.i.+nning crystal-like eyes; she was a girl whose beauty seemed almost artificial. She had a well-proportioned nose bridge, and sakura petal-like lips. Anyone who sees her will feel a somewhat artificial mystique aura coming from her.

But, the lovely expression on her face was enough to flip that impression of her around; it was a cheerful and intimate smile.

Yatogami Tohka. She was the Itsuka family house"s neighbor and at the same time s.h.i.+dou’s cla.s.smate.

“Ou, Tohka. Good morning”

“Umu, good morning!”

After s.h.i.+dou waved his hand, Tohka made a satisfied smile while making a big nod. All of her behavior was filled with life and cheerfulness. As usual, she was living her life to the fullest.

“It’s nice weather today too! It feels warm and cozy!”

“Aah, it doesn’t feel like November at all.-----wait, now that I think about it, where are Kaguya and Yuzuru? Don’t tell me they overslept?”

s.h.i.+dou tilted his head and looked behind Tohka. The Yamai Kaguya and Yuzuru sisters who were living in the same mansion as Tohka could not be seen there.

“No, both of them went already. It seems they were having a compet.i.tion on who would reach the school first”

“Aah, I see”

At that [normal] reason, s.h.i.+dou unintentionally made a wry smile. Kaguya and Yuzuru are very close sisters but, they love competing more than the second meal of rice (I was going to say third meal but, it seems they competed on not having meals three times already and it was invalid for competing anymore) and would come up with something to compete.

“Well then, let’s go”

“Umu!”

Tohka made a cheerful nod when s.h.i.+dou said that. They then started walking to school along the path they frequently used to get there.

This was also a scene from their usual normal days.

This was one part of the everyday life that they repeated several times these past few months. The strange scenery of the special existence-Spirits that crosses the category of logic had become something normal to s.h.i.+dou before he noticed.

“……….ouch ouch”

And suddenly, s.h.i.+dou"s neck hurted when he looked up to the sky and he puckered his face.

"Nu? What’s wrong, s.h.i.+dou”

“Aah…….I fell off the bed this morning”

“Muu, you have to be careful”

Tohka said that worryingly. s.h.i.+dou said [I am okay] and made a wry smile.

“I won’t fall off normally. Today, Natsumi-----“

“Natsumi? What happened to Natsumi?”

“Ah, no, nothing”

s.h.i.+dou swung his hand to trick her. Tohka made a dubious face but, she immediately recalled something and opened her eyes wide.

“Oh yeah s.h.i.+dou, speaking of Natsumi, there was something I"ve been wondering about from before”

“Hn? What is it?”

“Natsumi is called natsumi[10a 1] because she is loved by everyone?”

“…….Ah---“

Although he was relieved that the topic changed, it was only for a brief moment. Sweat flow down s.h.i.+dou’s cheeks.

The word [Natsumi] was taught to Tohka by s.h.i.+dou a few days back ago. The meaning is [I like you]. ……..well actually, It was something s.h.i.+dou made up to trick Tohka when he called her Natsumi.

“T-that’s right. Words like [Love] and [Like] are good ones as expected. It’s often used as names. You see, Yamabuki from our cla.s.s is named [Ai] too if I am correct right?”

“Ooo! I see!”

s.h.i.+dou brought up something random and Tohka hit her hand as if she was impressed from the bottom of her heart………….his chest hurting. Incidentally, Yamabuki from his cla.s.s was [Ai[10a 2]] not [Ai[10a 3]].

After talking about that while walking, both of them reached the high school.

He changed his shoes like usual, climbed the stairs as usual, entered the cla.s.sroom as usual and reached his seat as usual. s.h.i.+dou’s seat was the second seat from the window, Tohka’s seat was beside him…………for some reason, the moment s.h.i.+dou entered the cla.s.sroom, his cla.s.smates were sending cautious looks to him but, well he decided to now worry about that.

What’s left was to prepare for cla.s.ses and he should just have a random conversation with Tohka until homeroom starts. This was also the same as usual.

---But.

“………….”

He looked at the seat to his left silently.

The seat was still vacant. s.h.i.+dou’s cla.s.smate----Tob.i.+.c.hi Origami’s seat.

Yes. There was something missing in his days which should be normal.

“Origami…….”

s.h.i.+dou called her name with a soft voice.

“Mu…….”

When he did that, Tohka looked towards Origami"s seat when she noticed him doing that.

Origami was in the AST-----a member of the team that aims to exterminate the Spirits. And of course, Origami was not close to Tohka who was a Spirit. No, their relations.h.i.+p was so bad it’s even proper to call it the relation of dogs and monkeys.

But, what is going on, he could feel that Tohka’s eyes had some kind of complex emotion inside when she was looking at that vacant seat.

However, that was something only natural. s.h.i.+dou made a small nod to answer Tohka’s word before sighing and recalled back the memory of when he last saw Origami.

---it happened a few days earlier. Tenguu city was in danger.

The DEM industry dropped an artificial satellite with explosion arts installed on the city from the satellite"s...o...b..t.

Thanks to the efforts of s.h.i.+dou, the spirits and , they managed to stop it at the last minute but, DEM industries had one secret move prepared.

A bomb with the same power as the one installed on the artificial satellite was dropped towards Tenguu city from an airs.h.i.+p.

Completely depleted of energy, s.h.i.+dou and the group were in a predicament. There was nothing left they could do.

At that time-----a Wizard appeared from the skies and destroyed it with one hit. That was Origami.

“What….was that”

After s.h.i.+dou mumbled that as if to ask himself that, he placed his hands on his forehead and immersed himself in thoughts.

Thinking normally, that event was just Origami coming to save s.h.i.+dou and the group from a pinch. All he had to do was to raise both his hands in happiness and thank Origami.

But, the situation was not something that could end that easily.

The CR-unit Origami was wearing-----instead of the official basic equipment’s from the JGSDF that she usually wears; the unit was something from DEM industries.

Just what does that mean? In the end, Origami did not descend towards the gang and left the spot after leaving a meaningful sight to them. He thought he would ask her in details next time they meet but…………

And at that moment, he could hear a familiar chime from the speaker installed in the cla.s.sroom.

“……….Oh, it’s homeroom”

The students scattered around the cla.s.sroom quickly started returning to their own seats. When he looked out the window, he could see several boys and girls slipping pa.s.s the school gate while it was closing.

But------Origami could be not seen among them.

“……….She’s absent today huh”

s.h.i.+dou made a small sigh. Disappointment and------a slight relief was mixed in his sigh.

Nonetheless, there was no problem fixing this issue. Even though he was going to head back today, it’s better to visit Origami’s home with an excuse like a home visit.

When s.h.i.+dou was thinking about that, the teacher Okamine Tamae AKA Tama-chan entered the cla.s.sroom.

Stand, bow, sit. After performing the usual greeting, Tama-chan-sensei opened the attendance book.

“………Okay, gooood morning everyone. Let’s be in high-spirits today too”

Tama-chan-sensei said it in a dark voice compared to the high-spirits she said, and dropped her sights to the attendance book.

The cla.s.s was worried when they saw Tama-chan-sensei in a downhearted mood compared to her usual self.

“Eh…….What, what happened Tama-chan?”

“Doesn’t she look un-energetic?”

“Ah, perhaps the marriage interview was no good again?”

“Ah---………….”

Random speculation came flying from left and right.

Maybe Tama-chan did not hear that, *Haaa* she made a sigh.

“Before we take attendance, there is sad news I need to tell everyone……”

After saying that, Tama-chan frowned her eyebrows like the word 八. Seeing her weird state, everyone in the cla.s.s said […….Like I thought].

“That’s why I kept telling her not to go all out on the photo for the marriage interview……..”

“It’s true they won’t even let you meet if the first impression is bad but, it’s bad if the gap is too big”

“I-yaa, but would she go through all the trouble to announce that during the homeroom?”

“Ehh, what is it then”

“She went through a scam marriage and lost all her inheritance?”

“Uwaaah, now that’s sad”

Etc etc, many rumors started to form. Tama-chan gave a warning by *cough**cough* purposely coughing before continuing her words.

“Actually……..Tob.i.+.c.hi-san is going to transfer schools due to sudden circ.u.mstances…….”

“Huh……..!?”

s.h.i.+dou stood up by reflex when he heard Tama-chan-sensei"s words. Beside him, Tohka was also opening her eyes wide in surprise.

Everyone in the cla.s.s was surprised too but, s.h.i.+dou’s reaction was too big. Everyone’s sights gathered on s.h.i.+dou.

Normally, it was an uncomfortable situation. But right now, s.h.i.+dou didn’t have the leisure to worry about it. He slammed on the table and threw questions at Tama-chan.

“Wa-wait a second. Origami is going!? What’s going on!?”

“E-even if you tell me that………I don’t know the details. Tob.i.+.c.hi-san suddenly called me and told me she was transferring, and will send the necessary doc.u.ments later……..”

“No way………”

s.h.i.+dou could not hide his discomposure and hit his forehead with his hand. The surrounding cla.s.smates started whispering. Everyone probably thought s.h.i.+dou’s panic was unexpected.-----No, speaking it in a more correct term, they might be shocked that s.h.i.+dou did not hear the situation from Origami.

“S-so……….Which school was she transferring to?”

s.h.i.+dou continued his words as if he was imploring. As long as he knows the school’s name, it was possible to have investigate it for him.

It seems s.h.i.+dou’s desperate state could be conveyed to Tama-chan. She quickly looked through the printout pinched between the attendance book and raised her face.

“Ab-about that…….”

But, that expression was filled with bewilderment.

“A-a school in Britain……..”

“……………..uh”

s.h.i.+dou heard those words and gulped down.

“U……..u-ugaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

This was in a room of the spirit mansion located beside the Itsuka house.

Natsumi was planting her face into a pillow while shouting.

Incidentally, even though she disliked the dust puffing up nearby, she continued swinging her limbs and *poof**poof* it was. .h.i.tting the bed. She would sometimes cover her face from recalling back memories while writhing in agony. It was like she was possessed or sick, or maybe a high school boy who had his hidden treasure under his bed discovered by his mother.

“U-uguuuu……….”

After continuing those actions for a few more minutes, Natsumi lied on top of the bed completely exhausted.

Nonetheless, it’s not like she was satisfied. It was just simply because she got exhausted from going wild.

Natsumi waited to recover some of her stamina before heavily raising her body and looking at a mirror placed on the wall.

A small, thin, and dark-faced girl was shown on it. At the very least, there were no traces of the onee-san who gave off an attractive and lovely scent when she was snuggling beside s.h.i.+dou.

This was Natsumi’s real appearance.

“Ahhh…….mouu, why am I like this”

She made her hair messy and once again threw herself onto the bed.

Nonetheless, it’s not like Natsumi hated her real self like last time.

………no, it would be a lie if she said she had no dissatisfaction with her body at all. She would like to be taller or, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to be bigger; the insufficient parts she wanted to increase was endless.

But, that complex was quite an improvement compared to the Natsumi a while back. Natsumi has come to accept her real appearance that she hated until she could not bear it.

This and that was all thanks to s.h.i.+dou and the other spirits. They [Transformed] Natsumi----and more importantly, they [accepted] Natsumi.

She was thankful to them. That is why, Natsumi was thinking of a way to repay them somehow. And the results was, she decided to wake everyone up in the morning for now.

However, it wasn’t that simple.

For starters, things went well when she sneaked into s.h.i.+dou’s room but, a weird nervousness fell upon Natsumi the moment she thought of waking s.h.i.+dou up.

Once she wakes s.h.i.+dou up, just what kind of answer should she give if he asked why Natsumi was here. No, it’s obvious the answer was she went there to wake s.h.i.+dou up but, there is a possibility he would ask back [Why?]. No no, that is still better. If s.h.i.+dou is someone that gets in bad mood once he wakes up then there might be a possibility he might scold her………? No no no, more important than that, if-----

Etc etc etc, after thinking all that, s.h.i.+dou suddenly [u……….nn……..] moaned while turning over.

Natsumi’s nervousness reached its peak in an instant…………..and before she knew it, Natsumi’s body turned into her Onee-san version which was supposed to be sealed away.

Strangely enough, the only thing that was supposed to change was her outer appearance but, she would oddly be very big-hearted when she turned into that appearance, and was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with confidence……….All the things Natsumi could not do before could easily be done now.

Specifically speaking, she could snuggle beside s.h.i.+dou in an underwear appearance, make his heart start pumping hard when he wakes up, or even trick Kotori by faking her cries…………those types of examples.

Natsumi then ran away from Kotori and reached her room and laughed for a period of time before turning back to normal and------

“Ugooooo………”

And thus, she fell into a tremendous self-hatred.

She hated her weak heart. She was completely soft and frail. If this goes on, a soft tofu was tons more times st.u.r.dier than her.

At that moment. The chime rang without any warning at all, and Natsumi twitched her shoulders. And judging from the sound, it was not from the entrance but rather it was the chime installed in front of her room.

She was close to transforming to her adult version from the shock but, she placed her hands on her chest and somehow managed to suppress the heartbeat. After fixing her breathing, Natsumi walked towards the door while walking silently for some reason.

For an instant, she thought s.h.i.+dou and Kotori chased her to the mansion but, both of them should have gone to school already. Then who is………..

“W-who is it…….?”

Standing in front of the door, Natsumi timidly asked (She was scared to peek at the door scope for some reason) before, a soft voice answered back soon. The door was made st.u.r.dy just in case for any emergencies but, since there was a mike and speaker installed on it like an intercom, it was possible to have a conversation through the door.

“E-err……it’s Yos.h.i.+no”

“Yos.h.i.+non is here too~”

“…….!?”

Natsumi brought her eyebrows closer from the unexpected voice.

Nonetheless, it’s not like she didn’t know the owner of the voice. It was Yos.h.i.+no. She was one of the spirits living in the mansion just like Natsumi.

Just what business does she have with her? Natsumi wrung her neck while placing her hand on the door k.n.o.b.

But, she then noticed her appearance when she saw her reflection in the mirror on the shoe box (closet?) door and immediately gasped. Because she was rolling around on her bed until now, the hair she carefully combed during the morning turned totally messy without any trace of neatness left. Maybe it was because of the amount of hair she has; it totally exploded because she let her guard down.

“Wai…..wait a moment!”

“Eh? O….okay”

After Yos.h.i.+no replied through the door, Natsumi ran through the corridor to the washroom and used a big brush to fix her hair.

“Al……alright”

About 3 minutes later. Natsumi put down the brush and ran back to the door. Of course, it was far from satisfaction but, it can’t be helped. At the minimum, she probably managed to exorcise the unsightly bed hair.

Natsumi took a deep breath before putting on her sandals and opened the door.

At the same time she did that, a small girl standing there bowed her head.

“Errr………Good morning, Natsumi-san”

It was a cute girl with a casket hat with a cute design on her head and a puppet in her left hand. Her soft wavy hair was blue like the sea and her eyes were like glittering sapphires.

“Gooood morninggg Natsumi-chan. How are you doing---?”

Next off, the puppet worn on Yos.h.i.+no’s left hand greeted her while skillfully moving its hands. It was Yos.h.i.+no’s friend [Yos.h.i.+non].

“A……Go-ood………ning”

Natsumi averted her sights away in difficulty before greeting back…………….If she was in her adult appearance, she would probably say [Good morning Yos.h.i.+no and Yos.h.i.+non. What brings you here? Perhaps you came to visit me? Yaaan, Natsumi is moved---] and hug her but……….that level was too hard for Natsumi now. The silence continued for a few moments.

---What should I do in this situation? She came all the way here so, [Talking while standing is tiring so, come on in. I have good tea] naturally urging her like that would be a good choice for a good woman? However if it was something she could finish here then, Yos.h.i.+no might be the one to be considerate instead. She pa.s.sed through the room, and finishes her business with one or two words after having some tea. In a way, there might be some people who thinks that it’s a good idea to enjoy having a fun conversation but, that would be a heartless excuse of a monster with the communication skills to be able to converse with someone naturally. If she could do that then, Natsumi wouldn’t be silently standing frozen at the door. Incidentally, Natsumi has no idea what tea was good even though her room has tea in it.

“Neee neee Natsumi-chan. How long should we be doing this? Can we enter the room please?”

[Yos.h.i.+non] moved its mouth when Natsumi was in agony with sweat flowing down her forehead. What a lifeboat at an amazing timing. She was a good women compared to Natsumi.

“uu, Yos.h.i.+non………!”

Yos.h.i.+no warned [Yos.h.i.+non] but, Natsumi quickly swung her head.

“I-it’s okay. Come in. It’s nothing much anyway……..”

“Sorry, Natsumi-san……”

“I-it’s totally okay. Rather, I was thinking of saying that anyway…….:

Natsumi urged Yos.h.i.+no and [Yos.h.i.+non] into the room after saying that in a shrill voice. Yos.h.i.+no bowed down and said I will be intruding before taking off her shoes, neatly arranged them and entering the room. Incidentally, Natsumi’s shoes were thrown aside in a ハshape…………..Natsumi somehow felt embarra.s.sed and secretly arranged her shoes properly.

“S-sit anywhere you like. I will prepare the tea……….”

After urging Yos.h.i.+no into the living room, she took a tea bag from the shelves installed in the room and put it into a cup before pouring hot water into it. There were proper tea leaves there but, she had no clue how to prepare tea with them.

Natsumi lined up the tea and random snacks on the table before sitting at the opposite side of Yos.h.i.+no.

“G-go ahead………”

“Sorry…….Thank you very much”

Yos.h.i.+no slightly lowered her head and took a sip of the tea. Natsumi did the same and placed the cup to her mouth.

“…………….”

“………………”

But since both Natsumi and Yos.h.i.+no didn’t have a talkative personality, silence flowed in again at this moment. Natsumi was giving off the feeling of [I am drinking tea so I can’t talk] but, she was taking peeks at Yos.h.i.+no.

Although she invited her into her room following the flow, just what kind of business does she have where she has to visit Natsumi. Nothing came to Natsumi’s mind.

“……………uh”

But at that moment, Natsumi reached one possibility.

In the first place, before s.h.i.+dou sealed Natsumi’s Reiryoku, she caused an incident and dragged s.h.i.+dou and the spirits into it. Everyone forgave her already but……….It was not weird if there was at least one person that only showed her agreement because everyone else had and still felt some resentment towards her.

What’s more, [Yos.h.i.+non] was the thing Natsumi transformed into…………..it was Yos.h.i.+no’s irreplaceable friend. She waited for the moment when s.h.i.+dou and the other spirits went to school and it was not weird she was going to have her pay back then.

“Errr, Natsumi-san…….?”

“Hiii!”

She got called out suddenly. Natsumi twitched her shoulders and hid under the table like that.

“S-sorry, I……..!”

Natsumi said that while shaking the table causing Yos.h.i.+no and [Yos.h.i.+non] to tilt her head in a puzzled manner.

“Why are you apologizing? Haa, don’t tell me you put a dose of something inside the tea Yos.h.i.+no drank!?”

“E-eehh……….?”

“Aah, Yos.h.i.+no is going to collapse after a sudden sleepiness attacks her. Inside the hazy consciousness, the last thing Yos.h.i.+no saw was Natsumi-chan licking her lips while making a l.u.s.tful smile……….Welcome to the Yuri-yuri[10a 4] world!”

“I-I didn’t, there’s no way…….!”

She couldn’t stand it and raised her face. But, since she hid under the table, Natsumi b.u.mped her head under the table severely.

“Ouch!”

“A-are you okay, Natsumi-san…….!”

“Ah….i-I’m okay…….”

After Natsumi replied back to Yos.h.i.+no who said that worryingly, she slowly got out from under the table.

But again, it was thanks to [Yos.h.i.+non] that the nervousness got cleared, even though it’s a little. Natsumi silently took a deep breath before asking Yos.h.i.+no.

“So………soo…….what do you want with me……?”

When Natsumi said that, Yos.h.i.+no [Errr………] spoke something ambiguously before her cheeks started to blush while looking away. But, she immediately decided to try over again and looked straight at Natsumi’s eye before opening her small lips.

“Err………Na-Natsumi-san started living here recently so, I thought you don’t know……..about this city………”

Yos.h.i.+no *kokun* gulped down the nervousness before continuing her words.

“If it is okay………with you, I thought of……..giving you a tour of the city………”

“Eh…….?”

Natsumi opened her eyes wide from the unexpected sentence.

Just what did she take Natsumi’s reaction for, Yos.h.i.+no swung her hands in panic.

“E-errr……………….I am not too clear about the city too and I might not be so useful to you but………..I think I can do something simple like giving a simple tour. Errrr, really, if it isn’t any trouble for you…….”

“…………..uh-aahh”

While hearing Yos.h.i.+no’s words, Natsumi covered her eyes with both her hands. The reason was simple. Yos.h.i.+no was so dazzling that she could not look straight at her.

Even though it was for a moment, she hated herself for thinking something disgusting like Yos.h.i.+no might be here for revenge. She even thought that it was an unforgivable blasphemy to even look at Yos.h.i.+no with her corrupted views.

“u-errrr, sorry, I didn’t think you would hate it that much…………”

“…….you’re wrong. That’s not it…….Its just, I am sorry to have been born……”

“Na-natsumi-san………..?”

Yos.h.i.+no tilted her head in a troubled manner. Natsumi slowly opened her eyes before looking back at Yos.h.i.+no after she was able to look straight at her.

She then moved her sights away while letting out a soft voice.

“…………eerr, okay……..I am counting on you”

“Y-yes!”

Yos.h.i.+no’s voice bounced happily when Natsumi replied and made an angelic smile. Natsumi was close to covering her eyes again when she saw that.

“But………….why would you go so far to do something like that for me?”

While half of it was a pure question the remaining half was to hide her embarra.s.sment, when Natsumi asked that in that manner while scratching her cheeks, Yos.h.i.+no shrugged her shoulders before answering.

“I was…..a little happy. At this time, s.h.i.+dou-san and the others would go to school so………….I can talk a lot with Natsumi since you have come here………….that’s what I thought. Also, err……..”

Yos.h.i.+no’s cheeks turned red before continuing her words.

“W-we……are friends so……….”

After saying that, Yos.h.i.+no closed her eyes tightly in embarra.s.sment. Natsumi’s face turned completely red when she saw that.

“Uwahh……what’s with this girl, I want to marry her…….”

“……..Fueee!?”

“Oooyaaa?”

“………!"

She accidentally proposed from Yos.h.i.+no’s cuteness. Yos.h.i.+no twitched her shoulders from Natsumi’s words that unconsciously spilled out from her mouth, and [Yos.h.i.+non] was stroking its chin. Natsumi then *buun**buun* swung her head.

“No-nothing! Mo-more importantly, you"re going to give me a tour of the city right!? Then let’s go, let’s go quickly, let’s go now!”

“Errrrrrr………O-okay”

Natsumi pushed the puzzled Yos.h.i.+no and exited the room.

“------The number you have dialed cannot be connected to because it is either in a place where signals can"t reach or it does not have any power. Please wait a while before---------“

“Kuh………….”

In front of the Raizen high school gates. s.h.i.+dou clenched his teeth after hearing the announcement from his phone receiver.

It was 9:30am. Of course it was still cla.s.s time but, after being told that Origami was going to transfer schools, s.h.i.+dou could not stand still and left school early after acting sick.

Tohka looked worried but……………..she decided to stay in school in the end. He thought it was not a good idea to let the spirits meet Origami with her intentions still unknown to him.

He recalled back to the last time he saw Origami-----the time while she was in DEM’s CR-unit. He clenched the phone which was repeatedly giving off an automated announcement.

After being told that Origami was going to transfer during homeroom, he tried calling her several times but, none of them connected at all.

s.h.i.+dou cut the line and put the phone in his phone before letting out a small sigh.

Regret and a powerless feeling were gradually filling his heart. Origami was wearing DEM’s equipment. Even after seeing that, somewhere in s.h.i.+dou’s heart, he thought Origami would still come to school normally. He never would have thought his days with Origami would collapse.

“Kuh--------“

s.h.i.+dou lifted his face and started running.

There was only one goal, it was Origami’s mansion. He doesn’t know if Origami was still there but……….even if she was not there, she might have left some kind of clue there. Whatever the reason may be, he has to hurry now.

“……….*huff* ……………*huff*”

s.h.i.+dou continued running without caring about the pain coming from his lungs and legs. If he takes his time then, he felt that Origami would go to a place where his hands can never reach.

After running for who knows how long, s.h.i.+dou reached the mansion Origami was living in.

“Haaa………..haa……….”

All the palpitation and fatigue s.h.i.+dou had been restraining until now, attacked him at once when he stopped his legs. He placed his hands on his knees for a while and arranged his breathing.

“Please be here……Origami”

After s.h.i.+dou entered the entrance with feelings like praying, he typed in Origami’s room number in the intercom.

But-----no reply came no matter how long he waited. He repeated this for a 2nd and 3rd time but, the results was the same. Maybe her room was vacant already………..or maybe she was ignoring him.

While s.h.i.+dou was thinking that, a woman most likely a resident of the mansion entered the mansion through the entrance with her shopping bags in her hands.

“…………..*hmf*”

After s.h.i.+dou left the intercom, he acted like a resident checking his mailbox and faced his back to the woman.

The woman then typed her pa.s.sword in a familiar manner and entered the mansion through the opened automated door.

“…………..”

Seeing her do that with the side of his eye, s.h.i.+dou gulped before waiting for the woman to be gone and slipped into the automated door the moment the door was going to close.

“Sorry, it’s only for this time…….”

While apologizing in a soft voice, s.h.i.+dou walked into the corridor.

He then ascended to the next floor with the escalator and reached Origami’s room.

“………okay”

After making a small nod, s.h.i.+dou pushed the intercom installed beside the door.

*pin pon* He could hear the sound echo throughout the room.

But as expected, there was no response. s.h.i.+dou knocked on the door while talking.

“Origami, it’s me. Please answer me if you are here”

However, there was no reply. While thinking it was a useless act, s.h.i.+dou placed his hands on the door k.n.o.b.

“Hnn…….?”

s.h.i.+dou raised his eyebrows. The reason was simple. He could not feel the resistance from the k.n.o.b he imagined when twisting the door k.n.o.b.

“The door………..isn’t locked?”

Having a realization pa.s.s through his head, s.h.i.+dou felt a small hope s.h.i.+ning into his head. After s.h.i.+dou made up his mind, he inserted energy into his hand and opened the door in one go.

“Origami!”

But.

s.h.i.+dou lost the small hope he had in an instant.

---by the scenery of the empty room.

“Wha……”

After s.h.i.+dou opened his eyes wide, he simply took off his shoes and entered the room. Even though he went to search in the corridor, living room and also bedroom………..it was the same. Forget furniture, not even the intruder/escapee preventing traps were left there even though it was something laid out carefully. He even thought that he entered a vacant room by mistake for an instant.

“What the h.e.l.l is this…….”

s.h.i.+dou placed his hands on his head and unenergetically collapsed onto the ground.

It’s not like this result wasn’t within his predicted possibilities. Rather, the worst possible outcome was regularly floating in his head right when he was running here after leaving the school. But, when that reality was brought forward to him, it became a tremendous impact and squeezed s.h.i.+dou’s chest.

“Where…..did you go, Origami…….”

But staying here like this was meaningless. s.h.i.+dou scratched his head before putting strength into his legs and stood up from the floor.

He then headed to the next location.

He headed to a place that might have clues about Origami-----the JGSDF Tenguu city garrison.

Of course, that place was on a whole different level than Origami’s mansion. It was a JGSDF garrison vital to the country’s defense; what’s more the existence of the AST was a secret to the public citizens. 8 or 9 out of 10 times, he will probably be forced away from the gate without them hearing anything he says.

But, there was no place that came to mind left. He started moving forward as if to cling onto that small possibility.

However, even though he determined the next place he was going to head, s.h.i.+dou stopped his legs the moment he left the mansion’s entrance.

The reason was simple. One girl was in the alley facing towards the mansion’s entrance.

She was a characteristic girl with hair that reaches her shoulders, white skin, and an expressionless face like a doll.

Yes------It was the girl s.h.i.+dou was looking for, Tob.i.+.c.hi Origami.

“Origami!?”

After s.h.i.+dou called her name with a loud voice, he quickly ran towards Origami. He then grabbed both her shoulders. Overenthusiastically………..that was also a reason but he felt that she might disappear somewhere again if he doesn’t catch her properly.

“Just where were you!? What’s with suddenly transferring schools! Your room is empty too-----“

“………..”

When s.h.i.+dou continued talking, Origami silently made one finger stand. She then placed her index finger on s.h.i.+dou’s lips to interrupt his words and stared back at him.

Then,

“-------I want to talk alone with you. Follow me”

After saying it in a quiet tone, Origami slipped past s.h.i.+dou’s hands by turning her heel and walked towards the back-alley.

“O-O-Origami!”

Even though s.h.i.+dou called out to her, Origami did not stop her feet. She did not turn back and continued walking.

“Kuh……..”

After s.h.i.+dou slightly brought his eyebrows together, he lightly hit his cheeks before following after Origami. He went looking for Origami to talk to her in the first place anyway. There was nothing to lose.

But, no matter how long they walked, Origami would not stop. They kept going deep into a back-alley and the surroundings started to be less populated.

“Hey……..Origami, where are we going?”

“Almost there”

Origami said that without taking a glance at s.h.i.+dou and continued walking in silence.

“……………..”

Even though he felt that it was weird, he just followed her.

And the moment----- he turned a corner for who knows how many times already, while he was following Origami.

“Ah-re…………?”

s.h.i.+dou opened his eyes wide in surprise. Origami who should have turned the corner a moment ago was not there at all.

“Origami? where are we……..------!?”

In an instant----s.h.i.+dou gasped.

Just when he thought someone suddenly grappled him from behind, a handkerchief covered his mouth and nose.

“Wha-this is…….!”

He took a big breathe because of the sudden event. And immediately, a strong odor struck his nose and at the same time, a feeling as if the ground was wobbling attacked him.

“Uuaa-----“

His view got distorted and his consciousness turned hazy. It became a hard task to stand not long later and-----s.h.i.+dou collapsed onto the ground.