"Uwaaah, the lunch rush at the cafeteria was brutal today. But look!" Tonomachi proudly held up a small, slightly-squashed pastry to Shidou. "I scored the last yakisoba bun!"
"Yeah, yeah. Great job." Shidou sighed as he glanced over beside him. Though the usual occupant was almost as emotionless as the desk itself, her absence still felt gave him a sense of loneliness. It's almost been a week since Origami stopped showing up for school. I hope she's ok…
"Whatever is the matter, Shidou?" The boy jumped up in surprise as the face of Kurumi Tokisaki popped up in front of him, her signature coy smile shining with mischief.
"N-nothing!" He sputtered, looking away with a blush. "Just… wondering where Origami is right now."
"Oh? There's a beautiful young woman in front of you, and yet you're still thinking of other girls?" Kurumi put her hands over her face, sobbing tearfully. "Am I really so unattractive?"
"Don't listen to Itsuka!" Tonomachi butt in, dropping down to one knee. "I think that you're as beautiful as the moon!"
Kurumi paused her crying for a moment to give him a glare through her fingers. "No one asked you."
"Guh!" Tonomachi stumbled away with listless eyes as Kurumi resumed her crying.
"Ugh, look. Tonomachi just tried hitting on the new girl again." Ai, a blonde-haired girl who I definitely did not forget the existence of until now, commented with a hint of disgust.
"And now Itsuka made Kurumi cry again!" Her friend, Mai, added.
"Both of them are so lame," the final girl of the trio, Mii, chirped.
Now painfully aware of the glaring eyes of more and more eavesdropping classmates, Shidou quickly waved his hands in protest. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that! I- I think you're really cute!"
Immediately, Kurumi withdrew her facade and smiled sweetly, touching a finger to her lower lip. "In that case, would you go out on a date with me today?"
The classroom suddenly went dead silent. A round of cold sweat erupted on Shidou's back as the jealous killing intent of twenty high school boys washed over him. Stuttering as he spoke, he quickly choked out an answer. "Um… I don't…" Noticing Kurumi's hands inching towards her face again, he quickly amended his statement. "I'd love to!" Kotori's gonna kill me when I tell her I agreed to meet with Kurumi alone.
"Wonderful!" Kurumi cheered, stepping back with a twirl and a wink. "I'll meet you after school at the front entrance alright?"
"S-sure," Shidou agreed quickly, smiling weakly as he wiped a layer of sweat off his brow. I'm so glad Rinne took Tohka to buy lunch today. Otherwise, this classroom might've been destroyed…
"Oh, and don't worry about Origami," Kurumi added with a mysterious smile, her one exposed eye gleaming with mockery. "I'm sure she's doing just fine."
——————I am the dividing line that shifts perspectives——————
Origami sat quietly in her bedroom, staring venomously at the location monitor attached to her left ankle. I still can't figure out why there was an entire squad guarding the armory. I was never informed about any sort of gathering like that!
She shifted her gaze to Ryouko Kusakabe, who was slowly peeling an orange near the door. And why did Team Captain volunteer to watch me personally? If it were anyone else, I probably would have escaped by now. But her…
"Seriously, I recommend that you give up," Ryouko suddenly spoke tiredly, her eyes fixated on the orange in her hands. "I've already spent far too long arguing with the higher ups to not suspend your Realizer license indefinitely. If you keep on trying to escape, even I won't be able to help you anymore."
"But-" Origami hesitated before slowly speaking again. "Team Leader, you don't agree with this new order, do you? The Spirits have taken so much from us. How can we-"
"Enough." The exhausted woman sighed, putting a hand on Origami's head. "In the end, the best strategy is the best strategy. Our goal is to get rid of the danger posed by Spirits. That's why the AST exists; not for the sake of hunting enemies, but for preserving humanity. So if Ratatoskr's method is better, then we should support them."
"...tch." Origami bit her lip, her eyes filled with a quiet unwillingness. But what about everyone the Spirits have already killed? Mom, Dad, and millions of others… is this the justice they deserve?
"C'mon." Ryouko rubbed her head gently, holding out a freshly-peeled orange slice to her mouth. "I know what happened to your parents was a tragedy, but I'm sure they wouldn't want to see their daughter consumed by vengeance for the rest of her life. Avenging them by killing [Efreet] isn't the only way to honour their memory."
Origami wordlessly took the orange in her mouth, staring into a dark corner of her room. The shadows seemed alive, writhing in a way that felt as though they were mocking her powerlessness.
—————I am the dividing line that shifts time and perspective—————
Shidou shuffled nervously at the front gate of Razien High School, unconsciously fiddling his earpiece every now and again. "Hey, Kotori? Why do you think Kurumi showed up again, anyway?"
"Why the hell would I know?" Kotori replied irritably through the speaker. "Focus on the date, ok? I won't even ask that you raise her affection level; just try not to piss her off so much that she tries to kill you."
"Ahaha…" Shidou chuckled sheepishly. "Gotcha."
"Good, because Kurumi's approaching. Get ready."
"Eh?" He whirled around to see Kurumi slowly walking towards him with a faint smile, a light breeze gently ruffling her twintails. If it weren't for the golden glow of her left eye, Shidou could almost believe that she was a normal high school girl.
"Good afternoon, Shidou." She did a small curtsy as she greeted him.
Shidou hurriedly bowed reflexively. "G-good afternoon!"
"It's good to see you so eager." Kurumi's grin widened. "Now then, shall we be off?"
Over the intercom, he heard a small sigh accompanied by the clacking of a lollipop against Kotori's teeth. "You heard her; let's begin our date."
—————I am the dividing line that shifts time and perspective—————
35827… 35828… 35829… Kyo mindlessly continued counting the seconds as the last few people in front of him slowly inched forwards. Holy baby, it's almost been ten straight hours of standing in line for this. The mall only opened thirty minutes before I got here! How is it even possible that ten hour's worth of people lined up in just thirty minutes?
"Er, excuse me…" Kyo looked up. The space in front of him was clear, with nothing but a somewhat bored-looking clerk looking at him.
Fudging finally. "Sorry about that. I'll take-"
He paused. Wait, what exactly did she want from here again? Grasping [Naught] on his chain necklace, he quickly reviewed his memories of talking to Nia. Apple tarts, manga deadlines, breakfast… you're fudging me. I really never asked?
"Sir?"
Kyo scowled. "Fudge it. I want one of everything."
"E-everything?" The clerk's eyes widened. "Are you sure about that?"
"Capitalism isn't gonna fund itself," Kyo replied wearily as he slammed down four five thousand yen bills on the table. Whatever. It's money she insisted I take for helping with her manga, so technically she's the one paying for it.
"Um… alright…" Casting him one last concerned look, the clerk began packing an assortment of boxes, books, and other knicknacks Kyo couldn't be bothered to identify into a bag. If whatever Nia wanted already sold out by now, then I swear by every single Aeon out there that I will-
"L-lingerie shop?!" A scream ran out through the air, immediately drawing a wave of glances and whispers somewhere behind him. Kyo rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. This damn Shidou. Why can't you… wait, lingerie shop? Wasn't that something that he should've done with Kurum-
WHOOM-
Kyo's eyes widened as he quickly ripped [Naught] off his neck and grew it to full size. Around him, a void of red and black hues had suddenly manifested. Kurumi's Time-Eating Castle? No, something else entirely…
A flash of white suddenly appeared at the corner of his eye. Kyo jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding some sort of seemingly light-based projectile. What the hell is that? It doesn't match any Spirit ability that I remember!
Raising his head, he finally caught sight of his opponent - a figure cloaked in a mainly dark purple robe, their face obscured by a transparent veil. Three sets of wings sprouted on their back, and two halos floated behind them.
Kyo frowned, silently commanding the power of Nihility to engulf the sheath of [Naught]. As he did so, the space around the blade seemed to tremble. "Identify yourself," he ordered coldly. "This is your only warni-"
Before he could finish speaking, the figure sent another projectile of light flying towards him. Kyo nimbly intercepted it, confirming in his heart that the entire thing had crumbled into nothingness after exposure to the power of Nihility. He then charged upwards, mercilessly cleaving the figure into quarters before stabbing both the head and chest, allowing the body to corrode into dust.
"Then die without a corpse," Kyo spat, reigning in the coating of Nihility around [Naught]. What the hell is happening? The Neo Tengu, this supposed barrier, Nia's mind going blank every time Raziel is summoned… is this the power of the butterfly effect? But what the hell changed to alter the future like this?
A chill went down Kyo's spine as he suddenly whirled around, barely parrying another projectile. From the endless red-and-black void, another four robed figures had silently appeared, each one readying another strike.
"Oh, you muddlefudging shirt-eaters!" Kyo's eyes narrowed as he channeled even more Nihility into [Naught]. "Just-"
WHOOM-
"-die!" Kyo snarled.
"Your change is ¥3,06- EEK!"
Faced with the sight of both an oversized katana and sudden murderous declaration, the clerk shrieked and scampered backwards. Kyo's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself in the exact position as he was before entering that strange void, ominous Nihility still cloaking his blade that was now directed at an innocent woman.
"...sorry, that was a joke," Kyo apologized, suppressing the Nihility but still keeping a steady grip on his blade. "Keep the change," he added, grabbing the bag of merchandise.
Whatever attacked me, they did so instantly and without warning, he thought, turning around with a dramatic flair of his cloak. In that case, Nia's in danger… though Shidou might be too. And if he dies, Mio's gonna go haywire…
"I- I think the black lace would look better!" Another strangled yell came from somewhere behind him. Kyo's face blackened, and he sped off without another moment of hesitation.
Forget him. Nia's the priority.