Date A Live

"We are meeting…here right?"

s.h.i.+dou was holding a paper bag filled with pastries in his left hand, while in the right a map drawn on some memo paper. Right after making a gloomy sigh, he looked up at the high-rise apartment.

To calm down his nervousness he patted his chest, [This is work, it"s inevitable] and took a deep breath.

…But, nevertheless.

"Why is it that I have to do something like a robber…?"

"There is not much of a choice. s.h.i.+dou is the only person that can get invited into the Tob.i.+.c.hi"s residence."

When s.h.i.+dou complained, from the intercam equipped on his right ear, he heard Kotori"s voice.

Yes—right now s.h.i.+dou has arrived at Origami Tob.i.+.c.hi"s house which is an apartment.

From the carefully investigated images taken at that time, when Yos.h.i.+no went Lost—we found out that when Origami was returning to base, she picked up the puppet and brought it back with her.

The only way to reclaim it was to: "Hey Tob.i.+.c.hi, is it okay if I come over to your house to play?"

He asked her this a few days ago and thus he was invited to her house.

"…Speaking of which, from the beginning is there even a need for me to be invited here? If it"s something like retrieving one puppet, it should be easy for [Ratatoskr] to—"

"…We tried, specially."

"Eh?"

From the sigh mixed words, s.h.i.+dou tilted his head.

"I"m saying that even though we tried infiltrating 3 times a few days ago, all of it was a failure—In the room there were infra-red lasers set up, tear gas that sprays out, even sentry guns were installed in important parts of the room……6 members of our mechanics division got sent to the hospital. Seriously, what on earth is that girl fighting with?"

"Ha-Haa…"

"There is the possibility of retrieving it by forcefully entering and using brute force but—if we have the privilege of getting an invitation...Then isn"t that a better choice?"

"…I understand."

To s.h.i.+dou who is a normal timid person, it was a really reluctant kind of work to do but… When he saw the uneasiness on Yos.h.i.+no, he could no longer say anything.

And what"s more—to s.h.i.+dou himself, there was something that he wanted to discuss with Origami.

And, there was one more thing that was bothering s.h.i.+dou—s.h.i.+dou asked Kotori a question.

"Speaking of which…How is Tohka doing?"

"It"s the same as usual. She is locked up in her room."

"…I see."

s.h.i.+dou scratched his cheek troubled.

A few days ago, right after she saw Yos.h.i.+no invited to his house, Tohka"s condition still remained strange.

No, it does not mean that she had continued locking herself up in her room like last time; she goes to school properly but somehow he felt like she was avoiding him for some reason.

And after he asked the question, he pulled himself together.

That was a problem that could cause a stomach ache but this is more important right now.

"—Okay."

s.h.i.+dou resolved himself, and facing the apartment door he stepped forward.

The automatic door opened, and to the machine installed near the entrance, he typed in Origami"s house number.

When he did that, he immediately heard Origami"s voice.

"Identify."

"A-Ah…it"s me, Itsuka s.h.i.+dou."

"Enter."

As soon as she said that, the automatic door of the inside entrance opened.

s.h.i.+dou, while remaining hesitant entered the apartment, and rode the elevator 6 floors up, just like that he reached the designated room number.

"…Well then, according to the plan."

"Okay, leave it to me."

He said that, and Kotori replied back with those words.

Right now, flying around near s.h.i.+dou was [Ratatoskr]"s controlled super small-sized camera that was the size of a bug.

The plan was—while s.h.i.+dou was getting Origami"s attention, the camera would go around performing the search.

"…Fuu."

And after taking a deep breath once more, he rang the doorbell.

When he did that, immediately—as if Origami was waiting in front of the door, the door opened.

"H-Hey Tob.i.+.c.hi. Sorry about making such a unreasonable request—"

s.h.i.+dou lightly raised his hand to give a greeting—and froze. *splat* He dropped the bag filled with pastries that he carried in his left hand. The silence that followed was as if the staff was now unable to enjoy a delicious cake which he has planned earlier.

The reason was simple—Origami"s attire was...

It"s true that this was Tob.i.+.c.hi"s house. It is her freedom to wear what she wants. It was not something that s.h.i.+dou should be complaining about.

But that was just—beyond expectations.

A dark blue one piece with a frilled ap.r.o.n attached to it. And on her head a cute head dress.

Yes, right now she was from head to toe, in complete maid style costume.

The number 1 genius of his high school, of all things. That permafrost, Miss Tob.i.+.c.hi Cocytus Origami.

"E-Errr……T.o.b.i.i.c.h.i.-s.a.n…?"

"Yes?"

Gems of sweat were forming on s.h.i.+dou"s face while he let out his voice, but Origami just tilted her head a little. Her expression as always, was expressionless like a doll.

That was the state that Origami was in.

Truthfully speaking "I am Origami"s twin sister, the cosplay loving Irogami-chan!" In such a scenario, s.h.i.+dou entrusted his hope to this fleeting scenario but his hope was completely smashed.

"N-No…what kind of attire is that...you?"

Origami, lowered her eyes down onto her own attire curiously and after that, tilted her head once again.

"You don"t like it?"

"No……It"s not about that……"

Instead of hating it, it"s more like he wants more of it but it would be embarra.s.sing to put that into words.

……Somehow, he couldn"t look straight anymore. While s.h.i.+dou"s face was red, his eyes wandered around trying to avoid looking at her.

"Enter."

Without showing any sign of caring, Origami invited s.h.i.+dou inside the room.

"So-Sorry to bother you…"

s.h.i.+dou picked up the paper bag that fell on the floor, and closed the door with his slightly trembling fingers grabbing onto the k.n.o.b.

"……?"

And, s.h.i.+dou frowned. Suddenly from the intercam, static-noise echoed.

As if to ask Kotori what was wrong, he poked the intercam. When he did that, he heard a little of Kotori"s voice mixed in with the static.

"Ku………uh, Don"t tell me———jamming——s.h.i.+—, Can"t——conne——, somehow——"

He heard it until there and then, *snap*, that sound interrupted, and he no longer could hear anything from it.

"……!? O-Oi…"

"What"s wrong?"

When he was asking the intercam, Origami who was in front of him turned back.

"Ah…N-No…It"s nothing."

"I see."

Origami turned back to the direction that she was facing, and he made a big sigh.

He does not know the reason but it seems that transmissions aren"t getting through here. If that is the case, then the camera might also be out of service too.

No…even if by chance the camera was still functional. The situation was still the same since they couldn"t send any information back to s.h.i.+dou.

The point is—right now he has no choice but to successfully clear this mission all on his own.

"…Oi oi, are you serious?"

After s.h.i.+dou grumbled in a volume that Origami couldn"t hear, he scratched his forelocks.

But even if he was to state his displeasure, nothing would change. To confirm his determination s.h.i.+dou swallowed down his saliva and chased after Origami.

And then, Origami pressed on, and entered the living room.

"…Un? This smell is…"

And, the moment he entered the living room, he smelled a floating sweet aroma.

Although, it does not feel like it is the smell of food. To put it another way, this is—

"Tob.i.+.c.hi? Are you using incense?"

"Yes."

"He, heee………"

How do you put it, it was a little unexpected. It might be a self-created image but, Tob.i.+.c.hi Origami didn"t seem to be the type to be interested in these sorts of things or pleasures.

He felt he saw a side of her that she hadn"t shown to her other cla.s.smates before, it was a little embarra.s.sing.

…But, wondering why.

This aroma, when he sniffed some of it, his head went a little blank, it was like if you were to lose focus, your whole consciousness would be blown away……well, it was a product that was highly effective for creating a relaxing mood.

"Have a seat."

"Ah, aah…"

After being told that, he sat down in front of the coffee table that was placed in the middle of the living room.

"……"

And then, after seeing s.h.i.+dou sit down, Origami also lowered her hips to settle down.

Right beside s.h.i.+dou.

"Eh…?"

Normally, he thought that she was supposed to sit opposite of him but in the Tob.i.+.c.hi house this might be a normal thing.

Seeing Origami"s refres.h.i.+ng face, he started wondering if his common sense was correct or wrong, s.h.i.+dou started being a little uncertain of it.

"Err…"

"……"

"About that…"

"………"

After a few moment. s.h.i.+dou nodded in agreement.

—Yes, I see. As expected, to the Tob.i.+.c.hi family this position is the standard one. There was no sweat flowing down his cheeks. That is because this is a normal thing to do.

But as expected it immediately started to get awkward, feeling that he should be the one to start a conversation, s.h.i.+dou opened his lips.

"To-Tob.i.+.c.hi?"

"Yes?"

"No, it"s just a simple question……Tob.i.+.c.hi, you are living here alone?"

Origami, made a small consent.

"…I-I see."

It might be……was as he had thought but when it was made clear that, the fact that he was intruding into a girl"s house, one in which lives alone, his heart beat started to get violent.

"Wh-When did you start living alone?"

When s.h.i.+dou asked her, as if complementing she continued adding on.

"Right after my parents died 5 years ago, I lived with my grandmother for a while but around the time I entered high school, I transferred here alone."

"Living alone starting from high school huh……isn"t it a problem?"

"That does not seem to be the case."

She said that with minimum use of her facial muscles, and was continuously staring at s.h.i.+dou"s face. And as you know, the distance was very close.

…It was somehow, although they were only having a conversation but there was a strange atmosphere developing.

s.h.i.+dou tried to hide his embarra.s.sment from her; he scratched the back of his head exaggeratedly.

"No, haha,ha…but as I thought I really do think you are amazing. Sooner or later I will probably start living alone too but somehow, if I"m alone whether it"s food or cleaning it"ll be a problem."

"No problem."

"Eh?"

To the Origami who plainly declared that, he turned his face to her in wonder.

"I will do it."

s.h.i.+dou"s body froze up in an instant.

"Uh…!? Errr…that means…"

However, faster than s.h.i.+dou talking, Origami stood up from her spot.

"Eh?..."

"Wait here."

And just like that even without the sound of footsteps, she walked into the kitchen.

It would seem that she went to the kitchen to get the tea ready.

s.h.i.+dou was blankly staring at Origami"s back who was standing in the kitchen……and immediately swung his neck sideways.

"…Oh yeah, the puppet is…"

He made a soft mutter, and sent his sights around the room"s interior.

The completed set of light-colored simple furniture was beautifully arranged inside the room.

Instead of it being girly-like, he could not feel the presence of this room being used in daily life. It was like the interior design of a model house.

"…Un."

From the quick survey, he could not see any puppet like objects.

Objects itself are limited here but the house structure s.p.a.ce was large, it was going to be a problem finding it.

And what"s more, it was a problem on how to deceive Origami"s eyes. As expected, it would be necessary to start searching properly when Origami takes the tray away. No, it should be the opposite; s.h.i.+dou would pretend to take the tray away and then—

And like that, Origami returned carrying a tray that had a pair of saucers and teacups with sugar and milk.

While being silent, she arranged all of it on the table.

"By all means."

Saying that, while approaching s.h.i.+dou and once again she lowered her hips to settle down beside him……he wondered why, compared to just now the distance was much closer this time.

"Ah-Aah. Thank you."

The smell was different from the incense, a faint scent of Origami"s shampoo drifted into his nasal cavity.

After wiping off the sweat that was naturally spewing out using his sleeves, he extended his hands to the teacup.

"……!?"

But, just before he touched the cup, he frowned his eyebrows instinctively.

The contents of teacups between Origami and s.h.i.+dou, were clearly different.

From looking at Origami"s tea, it was clear, transparent and reddish brown.

And the other one which belonged to s.h.i.+dou, he could not understand what was at the bottom of the cup until he faltered; it was a mud like liquid.

He thought it was coffee for an instant but…it was wrong.

To try and identify what this liquid was, he lowered his face towards it, the moment he got close, a strong irritating smell equivalent to that of biological weapons or nuclear waste, performed a raid inside s.h.i.+dou"s nasal cavity.

"——Enfrt!?"

Instinctively, his body bent backwards like a bow.

"What"s wrong?"

"Wh-What"s wrong…what on earth is this!?"

"Tea, from overseas."

"Tha-That"s quite a special country…"

s.h.i.+dou frowned while pinching his nose and peeked at the cup again. s.h.i.+dou"s animal instinct was stubbornly telling him to refuse drinking it— It might be that, if he were to drink this he would be recognized as an adult, it might be that kind of thing.

"Ah…Tob.i.+.c.hi? I feel bad for having you prepare something so precious. I, might be weak against this—"

But, with s.h.i.+dou restraining himself, Origami advanced the teacup further towards s.h.i.+dou.

"No……Tob.i.+.c.hi?"

"By all means."

"No, It"s not by all means…"

"By all means."

"Err, about this"

"By all means."

"………Itadakimasu."[2D 1]

Somehow, he felt like he hated his own character. In the end without turning it down, s.h.i.+dou faced towards the cup again.

"……"

But, as expected if he were to just drink like this it would feel awkward.

Even if it was a just little, s.h.i.+dou wanted to make the taste milder. He took the milk that was placed on the table with his other hand, and poured it into the cup filled with that liquid.

…Speaking of the result, it did not dissolve into it.

It was completely separated and the milk was floating on the tea"s surface—it was like an ocean that has heavy oil poured onto it. On the contrary, he felt that the current situation was getting worse.

"…Eei, I don"t care anymore!"

When s.h.i.+dou made up his mind, he held up the cup, and let the liquid flow into the depths of his throat.

"——Obufuuu…!?"

He did not lose to the odor but the stimulating taste was violating s.h.i.+dou"s taste buds.

There might be a chance that he will never put this into his mouth but he felt that if he were to drink hydrochloric acid the taste might be the same, it was that kind of taste he was feeling now. It was not bitter or spicy, it just hurt.

"Wa……, Water…!"

But, there was no water in his arms reach.

"……!"

s.h.i.+dou immediately, breaking the packaging of the box of cakes he had brought over, and then shoved in the broken human shaped cookies from [Tenguu excellent cakes], into his mouth.

A gentle sweetness was spreading through inside his mouth. …s.h.i.+dou lost all his energy and fell on his back, and finally took a breath.

"Haa…, haa…"

And—

"…Ah?"

s.h.i.+dou pressed his chest.

For some reason, his body was strangely hot; it felt like his body was burning. …He was wondering if today"s temperature was high.

In addition to that.

"……"

For some reason Origami, placed her hands beside s.h.i.+dou"s face which was now facing upwards because of him falling over. Her body sat over his stomach area—she had taken a mount position.

"……!? Tob.i.+.c.hi!?"

"Yes?"

It was as if s.h.i.+dou was the one who was saying weird things, she replied back in a cool and calm manner.

"N-No, what are you…"

"I can"t?"

"I-I think you…can"t."

While s.h.i.+dou was restraining his head from almost being embraced, he somehow made those words.

Whether it was Origami"s moderate weight, the smell that only girls have, the soft touch, or the rustling of the maid clothing, this was bad even if you didn"t mix all of that together. If he were to relax even a bit, it felt like she would activate a Trap Card on him. [2D 2]

"I see."

When Origami said that, she blinked her eyes.

"Then, make a trade."

"Huh...?"

"In return for me stepping aside, I have only one request. I want you to swallow it unconditionally."

"Wha-What is it…?"

Right after he swallowed his saliva down, he asked.

When he did that Origami, after unusually taking some time hesitating, she let out a soft voice.

"You, call Yatogami Tohka with Tohka."

"Heh…? Aah…ye-yeah you"re right."

s.h.i.+dou made a small nod. It was certainly true.

No, because the name [Tohka] was originally given to her by s.h.i.+dou, it was a normal thing to do. The talk of forging a surname in the family register for her was Reine"s doing.

"But you call me, by using Tob.i.+.c.hi."

"Ah,aah……"

"This is quite unfair."

With that said, *pui* Origami turned her face away.

"Eh……? No, err…"

s.h.i.+dou weighed Origami"s intention but question marks were floating in his head.

"So this means…? Should I call Tohka with Yatogami from now on? Somehow I can"t get used to that…"

"………"

Origami without saying anything, tightened the mount, increasing the weight on his stomach.

It was around the weight of a normal girl. It was not that heavy.

But still, the question was not about that. Because of the feeling of steam almost erupting out of his ears, s.h.i.+dou attacked.

"Then…Then what are you telling me to do…!?"

When Origami relaxed the mount back to normal, while turning her face away a little, she let out her words.

"I want you, to call me Origami."

"Err……"

"You can"t?"

Origami said that to him.

Although it was the usual vocal sound without any accent but—just a little, he felt that she was holding in an insecure echo in her voice.

"No…it is not that I can"t……I think."

"I see."

"………"

"………"

And again for a while, silence was flowing by.

This was expected, even s.h.i.+dou understood that. …After clearing his throat with a cough, he shook his throat.

"Errrr………O-Origami."

"………"

When s.h.i.+dou called her that, Origami raised her hips from s.h.i.+dou"s stomach without saying anything, and then stood up on the spot.

And then while being expressionless, *hop*, she hopped.

"Heh…?"

Because of the surreal scenery, s.h.i.+dou who had also gotten up, stared at her in wonder.

But Origami was not in the att.i.tude to be caring about that; she opened her lips a little.

"—s.h.i.+dou."

"……!"

Speaking of which, this might be the first time Origami called him that. …It felt like usually it would be [Itsuka s.h.i.+dou], he would be called in his full name.

"O,Ou."

Somehow he felt something itching him while replying back to her, and after that Origami *hop* hopped once again, and of course her facial muscles did not move an inch.

……It might be that, she was in delight.

After being immersed in the aftertaste, a few seconds pa.s.sed and Origami cast her eyes down and she took a deep breath.

And then—

"Please wait."

For some reason she suddenly said that, and turned back.

"O-Oi, Tobi—"

"………"

"…Origami, where are you going?"

"Shower."

Origami, turned to s.h.i.+dou and made a small glimpse, and said only that word before leaving the living room.

"Huh…?"

s.h.i.+dou who was left alone in the living room, after being dumbfounded for a while, he finally understood the situation, [hafuu] and he took a deep breath. Just like that, he once again fell on his back.

"Ah—"

He placed his hands on his chest.

His heart was beating at an unbelievable rate.

But, he can"t keep on doing that. Right after a few seconds, he immediately woke his body up.

"Oh yea……! Isn"t this a good chance to find the puppet?"

Because of the continuous amount of stimulating experiences he had, he had almost forgotten about today"s goal, to find the puppet.

This was the antic.i.p.ated opening—a once in a life time chance.

"But why did she……suddenly have to take a shower?"

He twisted his neck, did she get sweaty or something?

……But really isn"t she a little bit too defenseless? If s.h.i.+dou had more courage, there might be a chance that he might go and peek in the bathroom. The behavior just now was also the same but, he felt that Origami did not pay much attention to these sorts of things.

"……Well, it does not change the fact that I got saved."

s.h.i.+dou stood up straight and he began to carefully examine the living room much more thoroughly compared to the earlier quick survey.

"The places in plain sight where it could be easily seen……nope."

He mumbled, and while hiding his footsteps, he also checked the middle of the shelves.

In reality, it might be more effective if he searched for it by scattering all of the objects from the inside, like a burglar"s household search, but……obviously he can"t do such a thing here.

The absolute objective this time was to recover Yos.h.i.+no"s puppet, but it was also to not let Origami sense what he was up to as much as possible.

"…Somehow, it is hard to investigate since I have to rearrange everything back to how it was…"

Because all of the insides of the drawer"s s.p.a.ce had been meticulously arranged, if the arrangement was off even a little she would discover it immediately.

But, if he were to always take that into consideration nothing could be accomplished. While rearranging it back to its normal place as best he could, he continued with his search.

"Looks like it"s not inside the living room…which means…"

s.h.i.+dou brought his eyes to the kitchen which was separated by the dining table.

He thought that the probability of it being there was low but the chances of the puppet being used as an oven glove wasn"t zero. It might be a good idea to have a quick look just in case.

"Let"s see…?"

When he arrived in the kitchen, he searched systematically starting from the cupboard to under the sink, he checked it all.

"Un…this is?"

And, s.h.i.+dou"s eyebrows twitched.

In the rubbish bin located at the deepest part of the kitchen, he spotted several small empty bottles in it.

"What the heck is this…?"

He tilted his head, and used his hands to pick them up.

"Certain-kill Red viper."

"Large unequaled black nose-goblin."

"Soft sh.e.l.l turtle gourd 1000."

"The Great Mana."

Etc, etc, etc…

It was a lineup of useless high grade energy drinks, that costs don"t know how many thousand yen.

No matter how you would look at it, these aren"t the type of goods that a high school girl should be taking as a nutrition subst.i.tutes.

s.h.i.+dou scratched his cheek.

…Well, most probably it is something impossible but, he was thinking that, if this was all poured inside a pot and boiled, it might produce a liquid with an extremely strong taste.

Incidentally, if it was given to a man to drink, not only would his whole body turn s.h.i.+ning gold and immediately turn into hyper mode, a certain part of his lower area would probably turn red from the heat produced.

"We-Well, it is a violation of privacy to pry into other peoples tastes."

Well, conducting a house-search inside a girls house itself, was a very high ranking intrusion of privacy, so s.h.i.+dou does not sound convincing at all even if he were to say anything.

"As expected, it is not in the kitchen. So the next place would be—"

s.h.i.+dou returned the medicine drink bottles back into the rubbish bin, and started walking, while he was focusing his attention at the living room entrance.

He was certain that in the corridor, where he entered the house but just before the living room was a door; the only door to the left.

It had now been over 15 minutes since Origami had gone to the shower room. Feeling a need to increase his pace, s.h.i.+dou hurried to the corridor.

And walked to the last door without stopping—

"…Uh."

Reaching halfway, he stopped his legs.

Just right in front of the last door, there was a door connected to the bathroom door, and he heard the sound of water dropping from the shower coming from there.

His heart beat that had dropped a little, suddenly spiked again.

"…Calm down, calm down."

For the time being he wrote the word [human] on his palm three times and swallowed it, he tried imagining Origami having a potato head, and he also tried counting prime numbers to calm himself down.

……Honestly speaking, he was really not that calm.

For some reason today, the Berserker inside of s.h.i.+dou"s head was running wild. Seriously what was the reason? It was like the stimulation of having drunk many types of high vigor medicines.

If he were to continue and stay here, there might be a chance that he might do something crazy.

s.h.i.+dou impatiently placed his hands on the last door and flung the door open.

"………This is the…bedroom."

In the s.p.a.ce of six tatami mats, the bed and clothes closets were arranged.

"………Unn?"

And, immediately after entering the room, s.h.i.+dou made a doubtful voice as he narrowed his eyes.

…Somehow, he felt that there was something out of place.

The room is small…? No, this is—

"…That girl sleeps in quite a huge bed."

Yes. For some reason the bed was double sized. Thanks to that, the room looks strangely small.

And mysteriously, compared to the other furniture this bed was oddly new. New as in, it seemed that it was a product that had only been removed from its packaging only in the last few days.

"Did she buy a new one recently…? No, but still…"

While saying that he moved to the bed"s pillow side—and then twist his head again.

It could be compared to a hotel"s bed maker, on top of the tightly beautiful sheets, there were two pillows arranged side by side.

And what"s more, on the pillow cover a message [No problem], was embroidered on it.

"………"

He flipped it to the back.

On the back [I don"t mind] was written there.

There was no room for option.

"………"

After a silence that was longer than before.

"We-Well then………where is the puppet…"

Since he didn"t understand it no matter how much he thought about it—eventually s.h.i.+dou, stopped thinking about it.

And—over there.

"Ah."

s.h.i.+dou that has his face looking up let out a small sound.

On top of the tall wardrobe located at the side of the room, a slightly recognizable silhouette was being enshrined there.

A rabbit shaped puppet that had been given a comical design—without a mistake, that belongs to Yos.h.i.+no.

"So you are in such a place huh…"

Like this, he was able to save Yos.h.i.+no now. In s.h.i.+dou"s side, he took a breather.

But, the moment s.h.i.+dou took a step towards the wardrobe"s direction, at that time.

"………"

From outside the bedroom, *kachin*, he heard such a sound.

It was not the sound of a normal door. That is most likely, the sound of the shower room being opened.

It would seem, that Origami finished her showering.

"This is bad……"

s.h.i.+dou quickly grabbed the puppet on top the wardrobe, and forcibly stuffed it into his pocket; he then killed the sound of his footsteps and returned back to the living room.

It was in hair"s breadth. He made it just in time. s.h.i.+dou took a small unwinding breath.

The only thing left after this was to hold onto this, and safely retreat.

…The degree of difficulty on the last thing left to do… …he felt that it would be high if he does it, and hoped that it was only his imagination.

"Ah………Oh yeah."

Suddenly, he let out his voice which sounded like an internal monologue.

The most important goal for visiting the Tob.i.+.c.hi house, he managed to achieve it.

But s.h.i.+dou, has one more private objective for himself.

It has been Origami pace when he was invited into the house, and he was not able to pull the strings of the conversation but………there might be no other chance than this.

Once more—he wanted to try having a talk with Origami.

Regarding the Spirits.

And, like that, and as if to suspend s.h.i.+dou"s thinking, he opened the living room door. It would seem that Origami returned.

s.h.i.+dou *gulp* drank his saliva, while letting out his voice he was faced towards her direction.

"H-Hey Origami. There is something I want to ask you about—"

But.

"I…………Uh!?"

s.h.i.+dou placed his eyes on Origami, and stopped at her body.

The state of Origami that was inside the living room was, not the maid outfit from just now—She was now naked and was covered with a bath towel.

What"s more, since she has just bathed in water, the towel was gracefully clinging to her, because of that her body line rose up to the surface. A very alluring beauty was in the air.

"Wha, whawhawha………"

No matter how much this is her own house, it was visiting time, and in the time while having a male which is in the same generation as her in her house, as one would expect, her appearance is too abnormal.

"What?"

But when Origami said it like it was extremely normal, she tilted her head a little as if wondering why s.h.i.+dou froze up.

"……Ah, aah, did you forget your change of clothes? Ah, hahahaha………you"re quite clumsy huh."

When s.h.i.+dou made a dry laugh, like a machine that has not been oiled, he faced towards the direction of the day after tomorrow.

"………"

What"s more, while being silent Origami approached s.h.i.+dou without making any sound of footsteps—like the same as just now, she folded her knees to the part he is breathing, and he then felt a warm temperature there on that area.

"—!?"

s.h.i.+dou got shocked and twitched his shoulders; he then took some distance away from Origami by jumping.

"……?"

Origami tilted her head in wonder.

"What"s wrong?"

"Wha…, what"s wrong…"

While she was saying that, Origami steadily filled in the gap in distance.

s.h.i.+dou desperately enclosed himself with thoughts—and immediately released his voice.

"O-Origami! Err— th,there is something that I wanted to ask you!"

Origami, stopped in her tracks.

"What?"

"Ah……aah, err…………"

To confirm something, s.h.i.+dou poked the intercam.

There was—no sound, could be heard. The communication was, completely being cut off.

If it is now, no matter what he says, it would not be transmitted to Kotori and the others.

After strengthening his resolve, s.h.i.+dou opened his mouth.

"Err………Origami. You— hate, the Spirits………right?"

"………"

The moment s.h.i.+dou said those words; he felt that Origami"s mood changed.

She tilted her head a little, as if she doubted s.h.i.+dou for bringing up that topic.

"Why?"

Origami looked directly at s.h.i.+dou"s eyes and asked.

This was only natural. Since honestly speaking, it did not make sense. If he was not able to communicate with then, she would definitely avoid leaking any unwanted information; she was probably scolded that she has been stirring up unwanted suspicions.

But s.h.i.+dou, could not bear to not ask any longer.

To Origami. Because of the Spirits she lost her parents—and was now, bearing her fangs at the Spirits.

"……………No, err— about that. E-Even among the Spirits, there are good people………such a thing."

"Impossible."

Without even thinking, it was immediately cut down.

"Even by just appearing the Spirit would break the world. Just by [Being here] they destroy the world. That is evil. That is a disaster. They are the enemy of all living things."

"Th……That kind of way saying that is—"

"—I, will never forget."

s.h.i.+dou"s sentence was interrupted midway.

Her expression, and her voice tone, has not changed even one bit but………he wondered why, he felt a cold intimidating air from her.

"5 years ago, the Spirit that took away my parents."

"5 years…….ago?"

When s.h.i.+dou made a dumbfounded voice, Origami made a small nod and continued.

"5 years ago,a large-scaled fire occurred at the Tenguu City Nankou town."

"Eh…?"

s.h.i.+dou raised his eyebrows. s.h.i.+dou used to live there too before.

Because of the fire his house got burned down, and the current house now is from after he moved.

"The matter was officially covered up but...that fire was—started by a Spirit."

"Wha……?"

s.h.i.+dou opened his eyes wide in shock.

"It was a Spirit that has pure red blazing flames covering her. I— lost everything to that Spirit. I definitely will not forgive her. I will not let any more people feel the same way as I did before."

Although it was soft but, she said it in a voice that made him think it was filled with firm determination, Origami clenched her fist tightly.

"And, of course—Yatogami Tohka is not an exception."

"Eh…?"

Because of Tohka"s name suddenly appeared in the conversation, s.h.i.+dou stared into wonder.

"Right now she is...not confirmed as a Spirit. But, I cannot pardon her existence."

"………Bu-But, if the Tohka now does not cause any s.p.a.cequakes, she won"t go on a rampage. If that happens then—she is no different than a normal girl right?"

But, without showing a single speck of hesitation or indecision Origami swung her head sideways.

"It is true that her Spirit readings have vanished. But, because the reason is still unclear, it is normal to be ready for the worst case scenario."

"………Tha-That is—"

s.h.i.+dou became hesitant.

The point that Origami said was right. That"s because, she does not know that Tohka"s powers had been sealed by s.h.i.+dou"s ability.

"But……even if the s.p.a.cequakes do occur, it isn"t their will to make it happen right!? Despite that—"

"—?"

When s.h.i.+dou said it like that, Origami tilted her head in curiosity.

"How...do you know that?"

"………Uh, no, that is—"

He said too much. s.h.i.+dou was finding some evasive answers while his sights were swimming around.

But, Origami continued on using a monotonous voice.

"Since this is a good chance, there is also something that I wanted to ask you."

"Wha-What is it……?"

"On the 21th of April. I saw you when I was in the middle of an operation."

"……Uh."

When she said that date, s.h.i.+dou"s back froze.

That date was—the day when Tohka came over to this world silently.

This means—it was on that, day that Tohka got her powers sealed by the kiss from s.h.i.+dou.

"What kind of person are you?"

While she was staring at s.h.i.+dou with peaceful eyes, Origami said that.

"No, errr, about that…"

He can"t leak information about [Ratatoskr]. s.h.i.+dou became fl.u.s.tered—

"………"

But, he bit his lower lips and breathed to calm himself down.

"…Tob.i.+.c.hi. You might not believe this but—even if it"s a little, could you listen to what I have to say?"

Without a speck of hesitation, Origami lowered her head forward.

"Un……err, that. Although I can"t say it specifically……in reality, I have met with Spirits plenty of times, and I have talked to them— Not only Tohka………Yos.h.i.+no too."

"Yos.h.i.+no?"

"Aah— it"s the Spirit that you call the [Hermit]."

Although Origami"s expression did not move at all, the moment s.h.i.+dou said that, *breathe*, it felt that her usual breathing got a little faster.

"That is very dangerous. You should stop it."

With a voice that has no accent, she warned him.

But s.h.i.+dou swung his head sideways.

"—Tob.i.+.c.hi. You, have you even once tried talking to Yos.h.i.+no……? No—probably not. Since you don"t even know her name."

He turned his whole body towards Origami, and continued.

"I beg you. Even if it"s little, even if it is a little it"s okay. If Yos.h.i.+no appears from the other world this time, try talking to her— Just like what you said, there might be evil Spirits out there. But, Tohka and Yos.h.i.+no— I don"t know how am I going to put this into words but…they are really...good people…! Those girls are really kind, they are so kind that it is rare to find them even in human society……!"

"………"

Without saying anything, Origami was staring at s.h.i.+dou in a very calm state.

It was quiet. But he could not feel that cold and mysterious air anymore; it was a mysterious gaze instead.

"………"

—Ah, I see. s.h.i.+dou finally realized it.

He knew that Origami had no authority to make left and right decisions for the AST.

But even so, the reason for him to specially take on the risk of leakage of information just so that he can talk to Origami about this matter—it is because he just had to do it.

Of course, the biggest reason was to save Yos.h.i.+no, but that was not the only reason he had.

That was, he felt that he finally understood it by experiencing it directly.

"I—see, I………"

Once again, s.h.i.+dou faced his eyes towards Origami.

"I……I think I want to do something about Yos.h.i.+no— I want to save her, I also want you to accept Tohka too. However, on the same level as those wishes. I don"t want you, Tob.i.+.c.hi—yes, I don"t want you to kill all those...good people…!"

"………"

"I know that, you are also a good person too……! Although you are still in high school, but you are fighting to protect the world! It is not something anyone can do. I respect you for that."

Yes. s.h.i.+dou does not have the right to say that Origami was wrong.

She lost her parents to the Spirits 5 years ago—and she did not want other victims to be like her anymore, she was a n.o.ble girl that took up weapons to protect others.

At that determination, there was no way s.h.i.+dou"s cheap words could stain it.

But—

"How……how did things turn out to be this way…… There is no one—there is no one that is bad at all. Tohka, Yos.h.i.+no, and Tob.i.+.c.hi, even you too, you are all good people yet."

"That is—"

Beginning to speak, after Origami made a small gulp she continued.

"That is, something that cannot be helped."

"……Uh."

"Provisionally, the things you said are true, about [Hermit] not wis.h.i.+ng to have any conflicts with us —But, as the fact is, she is a Spirit. Therefore the threat of a s.p.a.cequake occurring is still there. We can"t just ignore this danger that threatens so many people, just for that one girl only."

It was a very accurate a.s.sertion. Kotori had also said the same thing.

Surely, if there was someone wrong it would probably be s.h.i.+dou.

s.h.i.+dou, s.h.i.+fted his eyes to his hands that were acc.u.mulating sweat, while trying to hide his expression he was grinding his molars.

In his head, he could understand what Origami just said. But he could not agree to it, no matter how he tried.

"—There is one last thing that I want to confirm."

When he said that, Origami tilted her head in curiosity.

"If you all can"t confirm Spirit powers, like Tohka—there won"t be any reason to attack that Spirit anymore right?"

Yes. What s.h.i.+dou was saying were his idealistic thoughts. It was just too unreasonable.

—But, due to the Tohka incident there was a chance that these unreasonable thoughts might succeed.

"………"

Origami kept silent for a while before replying.

"From my point of view it is not my intention to do so. Just because her readings disappeared, it is too dangerous to leave the Spirit alone."

"………Uh, that sort of—"

"—But. To the higher ups, as long as there is no confirmation on the Spirit"s reading, we have no choice but to recognize it as a human. I cannot attack her based on my own judgments."

"Whi-Which means?"

"That question, shows positive signs"

Origami said that while remaining cool.

s.h.i.+dou, unconsciously drank his saliva, and gripped his hands tightly.

"—Thank you. It is enough now since I heard that."

"I see."

After Origami replied with that short sentence.

"—Is that the reason why...you said you wanted to come over today?"

Just a little, just by a little her eyelids fell, as she said those words.

Although there were no changes in her voice that has no accent, for some reason he could feel that she was unhappy.

"Uh, no……th-there is no such thing. The reason I came here today, was to talk to Tob.i.+.c.hi……"

As expected, he can"t say anything about the puppet, so he made a lie.

Because of the intercam being dead, it became s.h.i.+dou"s job to conduct the search—Originally, while the camera was conducting the search, it was supposed to be s.h.i.+dou"s goal to distract Origami through conversation and to prevent raising any suspicions.

"………"

As soon as Origami heard s.h.i.+dou"s answer, the atmosphere that became a little th.o.r.n.y vanished in an instant.

And then, she steadily approached s.h.i.+dou for a second time.

But, at that time.

*UUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu—*

And, the s.p.a.cequake alarm rang from outside.

"Th-The alarm…?"

"………"

Origami became silent for a few moments. Before standing up she took a breath.

"Origami……?"

"—Dispatch. Hurry and go to the shelter."

Origami said only that before, going out to the corridor.

Right after s.h.i.+dou was left alone and was dumbfounded for a while.

"…Don"t tell me, Yos.h.i.+no—?"

He raised his eyebrows from the alarm that was shaking his eardrums—and gripped tightly onto the puppet inside his pocket.