Chapter 27: She Is Happy

As the morning sun streamed in through the window, casting a warm glow over the kitchen, the young boy stood at the stove, carefully cracking eggs into a bowl and whisking them together with a splash of milk. The smell of sizzling bacon filled the air, mingling with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. "Shido, when will breakfast be ready? I'm starving!" Tohka's voice broke through his reverie. Yatogami Tohka as she sat in her chair with her head and hand resting on the table, was a clear sign of her hunger. "uh!.. oh, tohka, it's Almost done, Just give me a few more minutes." shido returned, Despite his apparent focus on the task at hand, it was clear his mind was elsewhere. Shido's eyes flicked over to the table where the others sat. Tohka was practically drooling with hunger. Kotori was absorbed in the news on the TV, and Yoshino and Yoshinon were giggling over some of Hikaru's jokes. "Today too...." he thought as he returned his glance to the main task. It had been a week since he sealed Kotori's power, and Hikaru had been acting strange since then. He may be simply overanalyzing the situation, as the others did not seem to detect any changes, but still, that didn't erase that weird feeling from his heart. Cut! "ugh!.." He wasn't paying attention to his hands, and as a result, the knife slipped, nicking his finger with sharp pain. He hissed in pain and looked down to see a small but deep cut on his fingertip. "Shido!? You okay?" tohka noticed as she jumped up to check on him. "Oh! tohka don't worry, it's just a small scratch," he said, as He grabbed a nearby paper towel and held it to his finger "That's unusual. You're usually more focused when it comes to cooking, Nii-san," Kotori remarked as she stood up to grab the medical bag. "Oh boy? What happened? Did you get in a fight with a carrot?" Hikaru quipped, letting out a boisterous laugh. "Ha- ha- ha, sorry sorry, it seems my thought was elsewhere" he laughed awkwardly. As Kotori finished bandaging his finger, he was able to serve the food on the table. Tohka's eyes widened as she took in the sight before her. The breakfast spread out in front of her was nothing short of amazing. The aroma of the food made her mouth water, and she couldn't wait to dig in. She picked up her chopsticks "Itadakimas!" and started to fill her stomach, savoring the delicious flavors. On the other hand, Shido ate in silence, lost in a sea of his contemplation. It was only when a voice rang out in the room that he was snapped back to reality. "Oh right, wanna hear a joke, boy!" Hikaru called out to him. "Hmmm? What is it, Hikaru?" Shido asked, his gaze slowly moving toward the source. She shook into a cheerful giggle and quipped, "Do you know why the scientists don't believe atoms?'" "Why?" "Because they make up everything!" Hikaru burst out laughing, a loud and maniacal sound that echoed through the room. Tohka and Yoshino exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of what was so funny. Kotori remained silent, still eating her breakfast, but Shido knew she was observing everything that was happening. He tried to laugh along with Hikaru, but his laugh came out hollow and forced. "Right, right! You got it, i have another one! Why did the chicken cross the p-" "Let's leave it for another time, Hikaru. It's about time for school," Kotori interjected, standing up and directing her gaze toward Shido. shido nodded (...) The toll of the school bell reverberated through the halls, its chime signaling the commencement of another day of learning. But not for Raizen High School, where everything is weird and is not sitting on his desk waiting for the class to start He heard the classroom door opening from behind, and Ms. Tama appeared. "Okay, enough. Everyone, take your seats. It's time for homeroom, oh and before i forget, It's the last period of the day. But there's something we have to decide on before we leave." "Ummm! What are we deciding?" Tonomachi held his hand up high. "Roommate arrangements and seating on the flight for the school trip," Tama announced. "...Oh," Shido muttered. Now that she mentioned it, the school trip to Okinawa was coming up in mid-July, right before the summer break. With the group coma incident on top of finals and all the Spirit stuff, he'd forgotten about one of the biggest events of student life. It seemed that he wasn't the only one. About a third of the class joined Shido in nodding. "Oh, right." "Ha-ha-ha! You're all so forgetful. Okay then, let's get right to — Whoops! I just remembered." Tama's eyebrows shot up as something came to mind, and she pulled a stack of papers out from where they were wedged in her attendance book. "First things first. There's been a bit of a change in where we're going." "Huh?" went the entire class. There were only two weeks left before the trip. Destinations didn't just change at the last minute for no reason. "Mm." Tama nodded. "Well, that's exactly what's happened." "Umm, so then where are we going?" Tonomachi was asking the hard questions once again "Let's see... Arubi Island." Half the class groaned while the other half looked confused. "Arubi? That's by Izu, right?" "That's not a real destination. A downgrade." "Hey. It's not bad for a tourist spot." "Okay! Quiet, please." Tama clapped her hands to interrupt the sudden chatter. The class quickly came to the consensus—"Well, at least they didn't scrap a trip to the beach"—and followed their teacher's instruction. "We'll go through it in detail once the revised itinerary is done, so we'll settle on roommates for now. Please form groups of four or five with whoever you like." They all sent their eyes racing around the room before standing up, chairs clattering, and forming groups with their friends. Tonomachi walked over to Shido. "Hey, Itsuka, you and me—" "Shido!" But he was drowned out by a shout from Shido's right. Tohka was leaning across her desk, eyes shining. "Let's team up for this roommate thing!" "Uh... Uh?" He frowned. "Mm?" Tohka gave him a quizzical look like she couldn't understand Why Shido was surprised? "Is something wrong?" "Uh, actually, that would be a really bad idea." "Why? It's groups of five, right? So there's no problem." "N-no, Yatogami!" Tama shouted from the podium. "Girls and boys should form separate groups!" "Mmph." Tohka pouted. "Why? I want to be with Shido." "Wh-why...? It's...," Tama stammered, her face turning beet red. Shido sighed and turned toward Tohka. "I told you not to give the teacher. A hard time. Anyway, boys and girls have to be in separate rooms." "Mm. They do?" Tohka slumped for a moment, but she quickly lifted her face with a gasp. "I know!" She ran out of the classroom and slammed the door shut. He heard the Rattling of a locker from the hallway. A minute or so later, the door opened again, and Tohka. Came waltzing in. Wearing track pants instead of a skirt, and her long hair is tied back. "...Tohka?" Shido asked. Tohka?" Shido asked "No. I—I am To...To...Toru," Tohka replied, deliberately lowering her voice. "As you can see, Ms. "Tama, I'm a boy starting now. There shouldn't be any more problems." "There's a huge problem!" Tama shrieked, seeming at her wit's end. "Mm." Tohka drooped, looking utterly exhausted. "So this won't work, either, then." "Wait." An unexpected person threw Tohka a lifeline—Origami. "I want you to accept Tohka Yatogami's request. Be flexible, please. "The same here, i am on Nii-san's side" hikaru joined the party. Wh-what?!" Tama looked stunned at this from Origami, who fought like cats and dogs with Tohka. And ...who? "I'm sorry, but who are you?" Tama asked, seeking clarification. "He~he~he, glad you asked" Without missing a beat, Hikaru raised her hand to the sky and declared, "I am Hikaru Yatogami, the brother of Toru Yatogami, and the inconspicuous member of the class that no one remembers, "uh.. oh, I don't remember you, and I don't think I would forget one of my students, i think—?" "here, see" hikaru introduced her talk, and pointed to her name in the organized class notebook. Tama took a closer look at the notebook, and there it was - Hikaru Yatogami, written in small letters near the bottom of the page. 'That's my writing hand, Is it possible that I have overlooked one of my students? Could it be that age has finally caught up with me?' She pondered with a worried expression "I-I'm sorry, Hikaru-san," Tama said, feeling a little embarrassed. "I must have missed your name in the register." "It's quite alright, sensei," Hikaru replied with a friendly smile. "As I said, I'm the shadow of the class. It's not surprising that most people forget about me." she finished with a loud giggle. Shortly after, murmurs began to circulate amongst the students regarding the topic. "Did you happen to notice her?" one student whispered. "I didn't, but I guess we were too busy not noticing this hot thing" another replied. "I mean, if I had that kind of ability, 90% of my problems would disappear," a third student chimed in. Most of the students took the topic as a joke, but one boy seemed genuinely concerned about the situation. "That's strange," Shido pondered, resting his chin on his finger. "I distinctly remember her interacting with most of the students here, yet now they seem to have forgotten about her. Could Kurumi's incident have impacted their memories in some way? But if that's the case, then why do they still recall Tohka?" The remainder of the discussion regarding the school trip proceeded in a customary manner, typical of Raizen High School. Seeing this tentative conclusion, Tama heaved a sigh of relief. However... "W-well, you might not be able to share a room, but you can sit next to whoever you want on the plane," she noted entirely unnecessarily. "So you could always sit together, right?" Tohka's and Origami's eyes began to glitter once more. Monday, July 17. After about three hours on the airplane, Shido and the eleventh graders from Raizen High School landed on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. "Wh-whoa...!" Stepping out of the airport, Tohka's eyes grew wide, and her hands trembled. "UmU, Not bad, humans, you can't stop surprising me" Hikaru added as she followed tohka from behind. This was perfectly understandable. The view that greeted them was so vast that it was impossible to take in unless she physically turned her head from side to side. The ocean spread out on the other side of the road, past the sandy beach, and the horizon in the distance divided heaven and earth. The sky was a clear blue. The sun shone brilliantly, and a beautiful gradation colored the ocean water. "Th-this is...the sea?!" Tohka shouted and threw her arms out as if to try and measure its size. "Ha-ha... You're pretty excited, huh?" Shido grinned at her somewhat over-the-top gestures. On further thought, he realized that she might have never seen the ocean in person before. Shido glanced over at Hikaru, who was staring intently up at the sky. "What's up with her?" he asked, curious. Hikaru slowly lifted her hand. and then pointed her middle finger toward the sky "Whoa, Hikaru!" he exclaimed, rushing over to her and quickly pulling her hand down to avoid any unwanted attention. "What are you doing?!" "Oh, nothing," she replied innocently. "Then why did you...do that?" he asked, still puzzled. "I was just reading about satellites in a book on technology, and I thought to myself, what if there's some secret organization watching us from up there? So I figured I'd give them a little wave and say thanks for keeping an eye on us!" 'what the fuck?' "oh is that right? Let me try then" a voice called from behind. "...!" Shido's heart raced as he watched in horror as Tohka lifted her hand to the sky, her innocent face filled with curiosity. He knew what was coming next. "Wait!! Tohka, stop! NO, NO!" he shouted, his words falling on deaf ears. SNAP! "Huh?" Shido heard a snap. He cocked his head to the side and then they were suddenly bathed in the light of a flash. Were suddenly bathed in the light of a flash. He unconsciously covered his face with his hand. "Whoa!" He narrowed his dazzled eyes and looked in the direction of the light to find a girl standing there with a large camera. Pale blond hair fluttering in the wind. He recalled the phrase Nordic blond, though he wasn't sure if that was accurate. Her white skin stood out in this crowd, and her sharp features were not Asian. "Um. What was that?" Shido asked, bewildered. "Apologies." The girl lowered her camera and turned her gaze on him. "I'm Ellen Mathers, the photographer sent from Cross Travel to accompany you. I'll be keeping a record of your trip for the next three days. I'm sorry for the candid shot. If that was rude, I do apologize." "Uh, no, it's fine... Wait, can I take a look at that photo?" he wants to make sure of something. "... Of course," Ellen replied, handing him the camera. Shido's heart skipped a beat as he examined the photo, half-expecting to see Tohka's middle finger in the shot. But to his relief, the picture captured a moment before the disaster, with Tohka innocently looking up at the sky. "Safe..." Shido breathed a sigh of relief. Shido rolled his eyes as Hikaru tapped him on the back. "Ha-ha-ha, we're so different, aren't we, boy? The photo would be ironic if she took it at the right timing," Hikaru quipped. "Uh-huh," Shido deadpanned. "You act like a child sometimes." Hikaru just grinned. "Oh, come on, why so serious? We're on a trip, right? Enjoy! Oh, where are you off to, medieval lady?" hikaru called as she noticed Ellen was leaving. "Medieval?!" Ellen was about to storm off, She clenched her fist, trying to control her anger. 'Stay calm, Ellen. You're here on a mission Don't let these fools ruin everything. She turned back around, forcing a smile. "I still have work to do as a photographer. And for the record, I'm not medieval. I hope you don't go around calling people you don't know things like that." Hikaru laughed, ignoring Ellen's retort. "Ah, come on, don't be so sensitive! It was just a joke. You know, And besides, you don't look a day over 50! Ellen's forced smile vanished, replaced with a look of pure fury, 'I'm gonna kill this spirit' she mumbled under her breath. "No, you won't..." "What!?" "Oh, sorry, I was talking to my imaginary friend," Hikaru said with a grin. "...Well anyway, if you'll excuse me." Ellen bowed once more and walked toward the other students. "BYR BYE", A big smile spread across Hikaru's face as she waved goodbye. Shido just glanced at her and sighed, "What iam going to do with you" he thought. He then heard a doubtful sound from Tohka behind. When he turned to her, he saw her staring up at the sky, "What wrong tohka?" "Don't you think that looks weird?" she answered. "Huh...?" He turned his own eyes to the sky and was suddenly at a loss for words. "Wh-what...is that?" The sky had been clear until a moment ago, but now a vortex of gray clouds swirled above their heads. And the area around them was changing shockingly fast. The blue sky turned gray. The breeze, a gale. The peaceful water, crashing waves. In terms of time, not even a minute had passed, but in that fleeting instant, the world around them had changed completely. The wind roared like an earthquake, and the trees whipped about wildly. The gale was so strong, it was practically typhoon-level already. It seemed that at least one nearby garbage can had overturned, given that empty cans and newspapers now whipped across his field of view. Shido grabbed Tohka's and Hikaru's shoulders and pulled them down low. They might have been knocked over by the wind otherwise. "What...the hell...?!" He furrowed his brow as he covered his face with his arm. The weather forecast had said that all three days of their school trip would be sunny. Of course, Shido didn't think that would be 100 percent accurate, but this was just strange. "Tohka, Hikaru you okay— Wait where is Hikaru" shido was puzzled as he found hikaru disappear, but he found her as fast as he lost her sight. "ZEUS FUCK YOU!" "...!" shido eyes widened as he located hikaru in the middle of the road, her eyes to the sky followed by both hands, "I FUCK YOU IN MY DREAM, YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" She was laughing like crazy. Shido became more confused, he was about to say something but he frowned as he beheld something. In the center of the raging sky, he saw what looked to be two silhouettes. "That's..." He gasped. Floating people meant only two things to Shido: Spirits or AST wizards. "No way..." A bad feeling tickled his brain. A violent storm coming on so suddenly was a near impossibility. If it was because of a Spirit... "No, but...the spacequake alarm didn't go off. What exactly...?" Shido racked his brain for a few seconds before setting out again on his predetermined route. If those silhouettes were Spirits, he couldn't just walk away. But he didn't have any proof that they were, and his priority was getting Tohka and Hikaru to safety. He adjusted the way his unconscious passenger rested on his back and kept trudging toward the museum. However... "...!" He gasped. The two shadows clashing in the sky above slammed into each other so hard that they generated an even greater shock wave, and the wind grew impossibly strong, making everything up to that point feel like a gentle breeze. "Wh-whoa!" He braced his feet to keep from getting blown away and curled into himself. The shadows wreaking havoc with the air itself knocked each other out of the sky and crashed into the ground. Exactly to the right and left of Hikaru. "Wha...?" Sweat beaded on his forehead. Panic squeezed his heart, and his throat was suddenly dry as a bone. The storm raging around him abruptly weakened. "Huh...?" He furrowed his brow unconsciously and looked around. The storm had...not yet ended. Wind still blew on Arubi Island. But around Shido and Tohka—or to be more precise, around the two shadows that had fallen to earth—the air was calm, like the eye of a typhoon. "Keh. Keh-keh-keh-keh-keh..." From his right, a girl marched over, a bold smile on her face. She was around the same age as Shido. Long orange hair tied back on her head. Memercury-colored eyes. Her perfectly symmetrical face was twisted up into a sneer. Most distinctive of all was her outfit. Wrapped in a dark cloak, her body was covered in belts with buckles fastened seemingly at random. And she had manacles around her right wrist and ankle, complete with trailing broken chains, like a criminal who had committed an unspeakably awful crime. Or some kind of thrill-seeking masochist. "—Bravo, Yuzuru! As expected from my other half. Only you could manage to score twenty-five wins, twenty-five losses, and forty-nine draws. But that ends this very day." She had a slightly strange way of speaking, exaggerated or perhaps theatrical. "Objection. Kaguya does not get to decide this hundredth battle; Yuzuru does." This came from a girl with her long hair tied in a braid. Although her face was the spitting image of Kaguya's, her expression was languid, her eyes half-closed. She also wore bondage gear similar to Kaguya's, although the design was slightly different. And the manacles were on the opposite side, hanging from her left wrist and ankle. "THANK YOU ZEOS FOR THE GIFTS, I LOVE YOU!" and the last voice came from Hikaru as a big blush spread through her face.