Vol 2 Chapter 1 (1/2)
Chapter 1: Mission: Under One Roof
Part 1
”Haaa”
shi+dou let out a long and heavy sigh
Walking upon the residential street as the sun slowly set, he dragged his legs and knees like an old man as he slowly moved forward
Fatigue had set into his face, and so his eyes had lost its luster
Although he was only a 16-year-old boyhe looked older than his age
But, that was so to be expected!
”Haaa”
He sighed one more time
In the end, Tohka and Origa to intervene
Plus, the conflict between the two of them wasn't new
Although Tohka enrolled just a h School that shi+dou was attending, the two of theale day
——However, if it was si some verbal quarrels, shi+dou probably wouldn't be in such a critical condition
””
shi+dou recalled Tohka and Origami's forms from last month
On one side was an evil [Spirit] that people thought as a disaster that would wreck the world
On the other side was an Anti-Spirit Tea to the JGSDF
They were both girls with abnormal powers beyond that of humans
For the ti, shi+dou, as acting as the irls
”Seriously, can't those two just get along?”
After saying that, shi+dou lowered his head gloo his own dumb remarks
Until a oals would have been to take each other's life
Right now, in order to prevent Tohka's Spirit froa for her life according to the [Orders]Naturally, for to be a simple task — that was obvious
However, if this were to continue on, then shi+dou's body wouldn't last, as one would expect from this situation
shi+dou then released his biggest sigh yet——
”Hmm?”
Suddenly, he lifted his head up
Unexpectedly, standing alone, he felt so cold drip on his neck
”Uwaa”
He said it like he was groaning, and a frown appeared on his face
Before he knew it, the sky was getting covered by heavy gray clouds
”Rain, huh? Hey, hey, didn't the weather forecast say it was going to be clear [fine day]?”
He ranted against the weather forecaster whose recent predictions have been off the mark
And with an unbelievable tiinning, splash splash, large water droplets started to stain the asphalt road
”Argh, damn it”
In a hurry, he raised his bag that he was holding onto above his head He then hurriedly jogged to his house
But, as if the rain was laughing at shi+dou, it intensified in a blink of an eye
”Hey, hey, you can't be serious”
As he felt the cold sensation spread all over his uniform, shi+dou frowned his eyebrows in annoyance
Now that both of his parents were overseas on a business trip and the houseas thus left to shi+dou, the latter, instead of thinking ofto my body, how uncomfortable” or ”it'd be bad if I were to catch a cold”, was rather concerned about whether his uniforet dry the next day A concern that is usually left to the housewife Trying ashis clothes wet, he ran toward the direction of his house even though he knew that it would be a futile effort
However, iht at a T-junction
”Ah”
In the
He resisted the nus were tired, or that he stopped caring about being drenched
But because in front of him was --------
Instead of the water jewels that were falling fro else that bothered him that appeared from afar
”A girl?”
shi+dou's lips spoke those words
Yes, it was apparently a girl
A n, wrapped around her body, was for a small shadow
Her face was not visible, mainly because her hood with decorative rabbit ears was covering her entire face
What was standing out the most was her left hand
An a rabbit-shaped puppet was equipped on it
Such a girl, in an area which was empty of people
pyon pyon
was hopping around cheerfully in circles
”What?”
shi+dou scrunched his eyebrows and watched the girl
In his head, questions were being processed
'Why was that girl not holding an u up and down under the rain instead?'— No, that wasn't the question
Why?
Why did he feel like as if his eyes were being stolen by that girl?
It was a question like that
She was certainly wearing an eye-catching attire
But no, it's wasn't about that
Although he couldn't put it into words well, an unco in shi+dou's mind
It was an inco identical to that
””
The cold rain clung against his skin as his clothes et, but he no longer cared about this discomfort
He could only stare at the girl, as dancing freely in the middle of the downpour of cold raindrops—
Sliiiiiiiiide!
”What?”
He opened his eyes, bewildered by what just happened
The girl lost her footing
Her face and sto the water puddle Incidentally, the puppet on her left hand slipped off and fleard
And then, lying face-down on the ground, she had stopped
”H-Hey!”
shi+dou in panic rushed over, and turned her over while holding her small body
”A-Are you okay? Hey!”
For the first tiirl's face
Her age should be around shi+dou's sister's - Kotori's age Her azure, fluttering hair was blue as the sea Her soft lips had a pink color and she was a girl that looked like a beautiful French doll
”!”
And then, the girl opened her eyes, revealing her long eyelashes and her sapphire-like pupils
”AhhI'lad Are you hurt somewhere?”
After shi+dou said that, the girl's face turned ghastly pale and her eyes were spinning round and round, then she sprung up as if she was trying to escape from shi+dou
After that, she pulled a certain distance between them; her whole body started to faintly tremble She looked at shi+dou with fear in her eyes
”Err”
Well, although it was simply in order to help her, he did suddenly touch her body, which ht have been a careless actdespite that, shi+dou was still a little shocked
”Ab-About that I was just——”
”—! Don't, come closer please”
”Eh?”
Just as shi+dou irl timidly said:
”PleaseDon't hurtme”
The girl folloith those words
Did she see shi+dou as someone ould har little animal
”Errr”
And, to shi+dou, who had no idea how to react to that, noticed the puppet that fell on the ground
It should be soirl's hand He slowly bended over, picking it up, then presented it to the girl
”Is thisyours?”
”!”
The girl widened her eyes and wanted to rush towards shi+dou, but suddenly stopped
Although she wanted to retrieve that puppet, sheshi+dou, so she restlessly kept waiting for a better ti
When shi+dou saw the girl's state, he ht forward his hand that was holding the puppet to slowly shorten the distance
”!”
The girl twitched her shoulders ——maybe because she realized shi+dou's intentions, she crept forward and approached slowly
And then, she snatched the puppet from shi+dou's hand and wore it on her left hand
Suddenly, the girl startedthe puppet's mouth to open and close it
”Yaahh——, sorry 'bout that bro You're a life-saver—”
It was probably ventriloquish-pitched voice
Tilting its head to the side, it looked at the girl's face as though it was questioning herAnd as if it wanted to barge between shi+dou and the girl, the rabbit puppet continued talking
”———H me up, it looked like ya touched Yoshi+non in lots of places So, hoas it hmmm? Be honest and tell us hoas it?”
”W-What?”
The puppetkara kara, clattering and ly
”Oh you're kidding—— Don't pretend, ya lucky pervertWell, for the ti, ya did help aveyou”
”Haaa, yeah”
After the puppet said those words, he gave back a bitter smile
”Umm, well, see ya Thanks, sir”
After the puppet said those words, the girl turned on her heels and then ran away
”Ah—hey!”
Even though shi+dou called to her, the girl did not respond
She continued running and followed the bending road Her figure instantly disappeared
”What wasthat?”
A few seconds had passed after watching the strange girl retreat shi+dou was still standing at that sa his cheek
”Ah”
And then he realized
He didn't realize it when he was having his attention taken away froirl, but—— shi+dou's whole body was now totally dripping wet
To top it off, because of the place where his knees touched the ground, his trousers were left nificently dirty
”Gosh——really”
While wondering whether there was any more stain remover left at home, he disheveled and scratched his hair Droplets of water left his hair and flew in every direction
There was nothing he could do since he was already this wet Thus, shi+dou conveyed his currentto cheer up, and continued walking back home
”AhhhI' wet”
A few
”Hm?”
After finally arriving in front of his house, as he inserted the key into the house entrance, shi+dou slightly frowned
After turning the doorknob, he pulled the door
As expected, the door that was locked after he left opened without any resistance
”——Kotorithat girl, she finally came home”
After taking a deep breath, shi+dou's expression faintly stiffened
shi+dou's sister, Itsuka Kotori, attends the junior high school in the neighborhood, as a 13-year-old second year junior high school student
And at the saanization that neutralized Spirits through peaceful means <ratatoskr>
Since his sister had to help the Anti-disposal unit with so the protection of the Spirit Tohka, she has not cohed as the ie of Kotori's face came to his mind
”Really”
Even though he understood that she was busy on Tohka's case, he still couldn't forgive her for sleeping outside of home without his consent
Although she ed to attend school normallyas a brother, he had to lecture her for a while
”Besides——”
shi+dou gulped
There were a lot of questions that shi+dou had to ask Kotori no matter what
shi+dou went through events that were hard to believe just a o
Kotori had an important role to play in them
””
Although it's just
shi+dou strengthened his resolve and eei! slapped his own cheek Then, he stepped foot into the house
”——I'm home”
He took off the shoes and socks that were soaking wet because of the rain, rolled up the cuffs of his trousers before leaving wet footprints on the wooden floor as he walked
Fro out from the television; there was no doubt that Kotori should be in the living room
shi+dou changed his direction to the bathroom and tip-toed towards it
It was i wet anyway It should be better to enter the living roo his clothes
While holding his bag and socks with one hand, shi+dou opened the bathroom's door like he always used to
And—
”——!?”
In an instant, shi+dou's body froze
—In the bathrooirl
Covered under the long night-colored hair were eyes that shone like crystals
Even by adding the ten randiose adjective he could think of, they would not be enough to represent 10 of the beauty of this beautiful girl that gave off an overwhel presence
That girl was the only one in shi+dou's memory
It was the Spirit as supposed to bring destruction to the world But also the second year, class 4, student nuh School
Yatogami Tohka was there
—There was not a single cloth that was covering her body
”To-Tohka?”
shi+dou muttered, dumbfounded
Her limbs could be qualified as artistically beautiful In an instant, shi+dou's retina, optic nerve, brain cells, vibrated, became feverish and exploded
She had breasts that could be entirely covered by his palm, a slender waist, and buttocks that looked soft All the girls in the world would hold a reverence that would pierce through the boundaries of envy or jealousy to this char yet mysterious naked body
”?!”
And finally, Tohka twitched her shoulders and turned her face towards his direction
”Whashi+-shi+dou!?”
”—! Ah, Er, No , this is a …! It's because—”
Although he didn't knoas wrong, those words automatically came off shi+dou's mouth
”E-Enough Just get the hell out!”
”Guefugh!?”
shi+dou took ahim to fly backwards, hit the wall behind, and fall hard on the floor, butt-first
In a flash, Slahtly closed
”Cough, coughgosh, that girl, she punched me seriously”
He said that while coughing violently, but his ht a little correction
If Tohka were to punch him seriously, shi+dou's body would already become a convenient container that could be detached into two parts
Gradually, the pain inflicted on his stoether with the skin-color corrosion from the impact—— he also somehow took back his heart's composure
Then, the bathrooh the gap with her cheeks flushed bright red
”Did you see, shi+dou?”
”—!”
shi+dou shook his head furiously at Tohka, as staring him intensively
He actually did see a little, but if he were to be naively honest and tell her, this time his whole body would become able to fit into a suitcase
Tentatively she understood that and careement, after Tohka made the sound [muu], she fully opened the door
Of course, Tohka has already put on her clothes
But it wasn't the usual school uniform Kotori probably lent it to her; it was shi+dou's favorite dressing gown
Due to her size being slightly bigger, her skin was showing fro it oddly erotic It was a little troubling for shi+dou to knohere to place his eyes
However, noasn't the tiers at Tohka, and shouted
”Wh-What are you doing over here, Tohka!”
But Tohka tilted her head to the side, wondering what shi+dou was talking about
”What? Didn't you hear fro about so here for the ti”
She said that nonchalantly
”T-Training!?”
After shi+dou had brought his eyebrows together, he set his sight towards the corridor
He then stood up, walked briskly, and slammed open the door in confusion
”Kotori! What the hell is this about!?”
”Oh—”
When he did that, the little twin-tailed kid that was sitting on the sofa, watching the television, turned around, bringing those round eyes that looked like an acorn towards shi+dou
”O-Onii-chan Welcome back!”
”H-Hey I'm homeWait, that's not it!”
He replied nor, and then furiously shook his head
”You brought Tohka here, didn't you? Oh, and training, what on earth is this about!?”
”No Calm down, calm down”
”How can I cal Tohka here? Isn't she supposed to go home with Reine-san as usual!”
”Eh? Well—about that—”
Kotori stretched a finger in the direction of the kitchen
”Oh?”
shi+dou brought his eyes towards the direction that Kotori was pointing at—and again, he stiffened
”Ah, I' in”
That's what she said
There was a wo table that was separating the living rooar cubes into a stea hot cup
—She was Murasame Reine, the analysis officer of [Ratatoskr] and also the assistant hoe of shi+dou's class
Incidentally, she was not wearing her usual military uniform, a white robe, but the paja around her neck Her hair was somehow a little moist
”Re-Reine-san? What are you doing?”
”Fumuu?”
After reflecting on shi+dou's question for a short while, she scratched her head and said:
”Ah, I'ar?”
”No, that's not the problem!”
He couldn't help but shout
Reine definitely put enough sugar cubes in that cup to worry about getting hyperglycemia, but that is not important now
To calhtly patted his chest and then continued, saying:
”What is this about? Shouldn't Tohka be currently living in <fraxinus>?”
Tohka, as currently being protected by [Ratatoskr], should now be living in the isolated area, which also happened to be a part of the airshi+p interior the organization owned called <fraxinus> It was said that she also commuted to school from there
Though she had her powers sealed, she was previously known as a Spirit that bringing destruction to the world
It waswere to happen, immediate actions could be taken Not only there was that, in order to conduct a regular inspection efficiently, it see seal was placed in that isolated area which also had rooms prepared
Therefore, when Tohka finished school, she should have returned with Reine to <fraxinus>
”Aah, that's right I should've given you an explanation”
Reine said that while rubbing her eyes, that had dark circles around them
”But, before that”
”Before that?”
”Wouldn't it be better if you change your clothes first? The floor is getting wet”
”Ah”
After being reminded of that, shi+dou let out a brief sound
Part 2
”So? What is this all about?”
shi+dou, having changed into his casual clothes, set his sights towards Reine and Kotori, ere sitting on the other side of the table
These three people were currently on the second floor of the Itsuka residence, in Kotori's room
The space was about the size of six tatami mats The room was filled by pink dressers, a bed, and there was a crowd of fancy accessories and dolls that were placed everywhere
He originally wanted to continue the conversation in the living room, but due to some sensitive topics that should not reach Tohka's ears, they relocated here
Incidentally, Tohka was under a trance, watching rebroadcasted ani room She should be quiet for the next 20 minutes
”Well—about this”
Kotori poked her soft cheek with her finger, pushi+ng it upward
”Fro here in our house!”
Then, puffing her chest out with pride, she made an innocent smile
”That is why I' how it turned out to be like thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!”
”Now, please calm down, shi+ntarou”
As shi+dou was shouting, Reine spoke out
Whether or not it was a matter of course, she had still mistaken his name
”It isn't shi+ntarou, but shi+dou”
”Ah, you're right I take it back Sorry about that, shi+n”
””
It was not taken back It just became a nickname
He couldn't help but think it was on purpose butas he looked closely at Reine's face, he couldn't help but think that she ht have really mistaken his name
However, shi+dou could not corner her about his name any more than this
”The reasons can be more or less classified into two parts”
Reine started speaking with a seely calm voice
”The first part is about——ill continue to take care of her afterwards”
”Take care of her afterwardswhat do you mean?”
”shi+n Last ht?”
”Ugh, Ye-Yeah”
shi+dou lowered his head in defeat
At the sa from that time resurfaced, and his face reddened a little
”Ah—Onii-chan's face is getting red- How cute~~”
”Sh-Shut up!”
Kotori, who seemed to enjoy that, said it cheerfully froht aardly
”Well, that's fine, but there's a proble like an invisible connection running between shi+n and Tohka”
”Connection? What does that mean?”
”To put it into simpler words, when Tohka's mental states becomes unstable, there's the chance that the spiritual power that is sealed within your body will reflux”
”Wha?”
shi+dou's body froze in fear
——So the seal that was placed on Tohka's spirit poould let theet back to her?
Does it not ain have the power to slice heaven and earth in a single swing?
If by any chance that was the case—— this was a possibility that canabout it
”As you know, Tohka is now living in the isolated area of <fraxinus>”
Whether she are or not of shi+dou's panicked state, Reine continued talking in a soft manner
”Although we are usuallyTohka's conditionSomehohen she is on <fraxinus>, the levels of stress her compared to the levels when she is at school”
”I-Is that so?”
”Yes Moreover, it seeular inspections that occur twice a day Although it is within her tolerance for now, it would be hard even for an expert to say whether we could continue on like this—— And that's why—”
Reine touched her chin with her fingers
”—considering that the results gained fro Tohka's living quarters to outside of <fraxinus> for a while” ”Ha-Haais that so”
”Ahh Due to these circu in this house for the ti is being built”
”Please wait”
shi+dou put his right pal
”What's wrong?”
”Wh-Why does it have to be my house?”
Reine roan at shi+dou's question
”Well, to put it bluntly— when she is with you, Tohka's mental state will be at its most stable condition”
”Eh”
As soon as those words were said, he held his breath
”That is to say— while this is hard for us to judge, Tohka hasn't put her trust on any huh we had many opportunities to be in contact with her—— that wasn't the case Firstly, even if it's by a little, ill secure a safe place Then, ill test whether if Tohka is capable of living a normal life”
”I see”
shi+dou wiped the sweat on his forehead
Certainly, after the explanation, everything seemed to be clear to shi+dou
What more— well, he was told that Tohka trusted him
He didn't hate it
But, as if he was going to change his htly shook his head This wasn't a request he could easily accept As if he was trying to dodge it, he asked a new question that was directed at Reine
”SoWhat is the other reason?”
”Ahh, this one is ”
””
The words that were o were repeated
Training With that single word, many unpleasant memories surfaced in his mind
”Oh yeah, that topic did turn upBut, there is no need for any ht?”
”Huh? Why is that?”
”Why is that'cos the the Spirit's power has already been sealed”
When shi+dou said that, Reine turned into a wobbly state whichher head to the side
”Who told you that Tohka is the only Spirit?”
”Eh? What do meanby—”
”It means exactly what I said A special trait of the cala spacequakes But Tohka isn't the only one At this current time, we have confirmed that there are other ones beside her”
”Wha——”
shi+dou suddenly felt like his heart was getting pulled and squeezed
—The Spirits So Tohka wasn't the only one?
Wondering whether it was nervousness or fear, whirlpools were for in the bottom of his stomach It was an e that his whole body was releasing could be felt froertips
But Reine didn't care about the stiffened up shi+dou, and went on
”shi+n We want you to continue taking on the role of conversing with the Spirits That's what the training is about”
”Y-You're kidding—”
Then, just as he shouted and struck his thigh
”——Huh?”
Kotori, who has been quietly listening to the conversation, raised her small voice
Before anyone noticed, the color of the ribbon that had been tying her hair in twintails had changed from white to black
”——!”
shi+dou felt like he had already seen this before Kotori was now in Commander Mode
”You don't want to, shi+dou? Are you saying that you hate dating Spirits andthem fall for you?”
Her tone was totally different fro off adult-like vibes, Kotori had spoken
—Right
[Ratatoskr] proposed to use this h peaceful and non-violent means—
That is for shi+dou to get in good terms with the Spirits, and then seal the powers in his own body— even to put it in words, this was a stupid thing to do
”Uh, o-of course I don't!”
shi+dou having said that, Kotori bent her body slightly forhile opening her lips
”Geez— If that's the case, then there's nothing we can do anymore”
”Ah?”
”We can either quietly watch the world getting messed up by spacequakes or patiently wait for athe AST kill the Spirits It'll probably be one of those two”
”!”
After being told that, shi+dou was left speechless
It was not like he has forgotten about it— but having that reality facing hiain made his heart struck by a prickly pain