Fraxinus, 15,000 meters above Tengu City.
"Phew… I thought we were about to go into combat mode for a second."
Kotori let out a sigh of relief, patting her almost non-existent chest.
She was on her classroom listening to the boring lecture of her teacher when Reine informed her of Kurumi's sudden appearance at the Raizen High School.
The moment she heard the name, her expression turned grim. Without hesitation, she made an excuse about feeling unwell and left immediately.
The teacher noticed Kotori's unnatural expression and assumed she was in pain. Concerned, they offered to have someone escort her to the nurse's office, but Kotori quickly refused.
Without another word, she walked out of the classroom alone.
The moment she stepped outside, a beam of light engulfed her body, instantly teleporting her to Fraxinus.
"Tokisaki Kurumi's emotional levels are currently stable, neutral scale. Hopefully, Shido-kun doesn't do anything to upset her."
Kyouhei, who had only just finished serving his punishment from Kotori, was back on Fraxinus, looking relieved to be yet excited of the things he did in the internship camp..
Kotori, however, didn't even glance in his direction.
Seated comfortably, she twirled a lollipop between her fingers, her gaze fixed on the holographic monitor in front of her.
"She seems way too familiar with Shido…" Kotori muttered, narrowing her eyes.
Then as she thought about that, her expression darkened.
"That idiot brother, he never even told me he had met Nightmare!"
Frustration bubbled inside her, and she bit down hard on her lollipop, as if taking her anger out on the innocent candy.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now." Reine said in her usual drowsy tone, gently patting Kotori's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "What's done is done."
"Still…" Kyouhei rubbed his chin in thought. "I gotta say, I'm impressed he managed ask her out on a date the moment she transferred. Bold move."
There was genuine admiration in his voice, as if Shido had pulled off some kind of strategic genius play.
"He's my brother after all. Of course, he has a talent for this."
A faint smile appeared on Kotori's face as she listened to Kyouhei's words. For a moment, pride swelled in her chest, Shido had reached the point where he could ask Spirits out without their help.
She suddenly felt her eyes sting and quickly wiped away the forming tears.
Still, deep down, Kotori firmly believed that Shido could conquer Spirits even faster if he sought guidance from the love masters of Ratatoskr. But since he had insisted that he didn't need their help, she had let it go.
For now.
Yet, if Shido knew what Kotori was thinking… he wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The so-called love masters of Fraxinus had a habit of picking the most ridiculous options rather than the most logical ones.
More often than not, they chose the most entertaining answer out of the three choices available, sometimes, by sheer luck, their plans actually worked.
However, most of the time… they failed spectacularly, leading to even more troublesome situations.
"But I wonder… what was the proposal Kurumi was talking about?" Kotori narrowed her eyes, watching as Shido and Kurumi that was walking back to their classroom as afternoon class was about to begin.
"We can just ask him later," Reine suggested casually. "I'm curious about what they talked about too."
Kotori nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Let's do that."
"Anyway, we can't let our guard down, yet." Kotori said firmly, her expression hardening. "This Spirit is the most dangerous one we've encountered so far."
Her crimson eyes gleamed with authority as she turned to Kyouhei.
"Prepare for combat mode at a moment's notice!"
Kyouhei straightened up, saluting her with a confident grin.
"Understood, Commander!" he responded, his tone filled with excitement. The thought of possibly engaging in battle with a Spirit had clearly fueled his enthusiasm.
Combat mode was rarely activated. Ratatoskr's primary mission was to protect and save Spirits, not to engage in battle. Normally, it was only used when facing AST forces.
Yet, despite this, Kotori had issued an order to prepare for combat mode at any moment.
Kyouhei could hardly contain his excitement. This was the first time their commander had ever given such a directive.
However, this is normal considering who they will be dealing with. It was Tokisaki Kurumi, a spirit that had taken over 10,000 lives.
She would kill anyone without any reason. And against such Spirit like her, the combat mode seemed to be more appropriate.
...
As they walked through the hallways of Raizen High School, heading back to their classroom, Kurumi turned to Shido with a gentle smile.
"I'm sorry for troubling you this whole afternoon, Shido-san." she said softly.
"I had a lot of fun."
Shido glanced at her, briefly meeting her golden-crimson gaze.
If she could always be this docile, he wouldn't mind spending time with her.
But he knew better.
Kurumi wasn't just any Spirit, she was the most unpredictable, dangerous one.
And taming her… wouldn't be easy.
"Well then, let's head back, Tokisaki-san..."
"Please, call me Kurumi."
Before Shido could react, Kurumi suddenly leaned in, her body almost pressing against his.
Although he didn't mind it and even like the feeling when she was pressing her body against his. It would be inappropriate to do so, especially when he could hear a sound of lollipop getting crushed every now and then on his earpiece.
So Shido kept his expression neutral, as if the intimate contact meant nothing.
However, it seemed that Kurumi overly familiar attitude was a bit hard for Shido to reject so he could only nod his head.
"Well then… Kurumi," Shido said.
Kurumi's eyes widened slightly before she beamed at him, her heart fluttering at the sound of her name coming out from his lips.
"Yes, Shido-san?" she asked sweetly, her voice carrying a hint of delight.
"Let's head back?"
"Okay!" she replied cheerfully, her radiant smile never fading.
"About our date..." She wanted to asked about their date but as she shifted her gaze, something caught her attention.
Two figures were peeking at them from behind a nearby wall.
Though they attempted to stay hidden, their heads were very much visible, sticking out in an obvious and poorly executed attempt at stealth.
Kurumi's lips curled into an amused smile.
"Ara ara~ It seems we have some stalkers trailing us." she chuckled gracefully, as if thoroughly entertained by the situation.
Shido, on the other hand, simply sighed.
He had noticed them from the very start.
He just hadn't said anything, choosing instead to let those two mischievous girls continue their little game.
"Just ignore them..." Shido muttered helplessly, wondering why they weren't even trying to hide properly.
It was as if they wanted to be noticed.
Kurumi stared at the purple-haired and white-haired girls for a moment, amusement flickering in her eyes.
Then, a sly thought crossed her mind.
A playful smile curled on her lips as she suddenly grabbed Shido's arm, before pressing it snugly between her chest.
Shido's mouth fell open in shock, forming the shape of an O.
His body stiffened at the softness surrounding his arm.
"You..."
He turned to Kurumi, but she merely smiled sweetly, her expression innocent, as if she hadn't just deliberately pulled this stunt.
As for the two girls tailing them, Kurumi's bold move completely caught them off guard.
Their eyes widened in shock.
In their flustered state, they fumbled, accidentally bumping into each other,
THUD!
With a sudden loss of balance, they toppled over, landing in a messy heap.
Tohka fall flat on the floor, while Origami ended up sprawled on top of her.