Chapter 32: Miku

September 8 heralded the end of summer break. It was a sunny afternoon, still trapped in the summer heat, and a strange mood hung over the Raizen High School gym. Even so, the air filled with the chatting and laughing of the students. All of them except for one certain blue-haired boy. Evident in his constant yawning and tired eyes. A weary aura surrounded him. "What's the matter, Shido? You don't look like you've slept at all". Tohka, who was beside him, noticed and asked. He rubbed his eyes, "I haven't, to be honest. I keep having these weird dreams that wake me up at night." "dreams?" standing beside him on the other side, Hikaru asked with interest. Shido sighed, "They started happening after our last trip, and they're just random scenes that don't make sense. The only thing that connects them is that Hikaru is in every one of them, but with yellow-golden hair instead of black..." Hikaru's eyes widened in realization, and her voice trembled. "Wait, don't tell me... Could it be that kind of dream!?" Shido took a moment to grasp the implication of her words, his face flushing a deep shade of crimson. In a flurry of denial, he vigorously shook his hands. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no! It's not what you're thinking! While some details may be hazy, I assure you it's not that type of dream... Well, perhaps occasionally, but it's beyond my control!" "occasionally? Da fauq do you mean!" Tohka tilted her head to one side in confusion, "I'm not sure I understand what Hikaru is so upset about?" Shido chuckled nervously, "Ha ha ha ha, you don't need to worry about it, Tohka." "Ladies and gentlemen. Pitiful vanquished soldiers, I ask you this: Must we continue in torment? Are we worms? Will we forever be trapped in the despair of defeat?!" Feedback from the mic squealed through the hall. "Oh! It's started," Shido said as he turned his attention to the stage. "started?" Tohka and Hikaru echoed in unison, exchanging perplexed glances as their attention shifted toward the direction of the source. Ai Yamabuki on the platform as Mai Hazakura and Mii Fujibakama, stood "at ease" to either side, like royal sentries or bodyguards. School flags hung next to them toward the edge of the stage. "No! We will not! They have made a fatal error! They gave us the time to sharpen our fangs! And now the appointed hour has arrived! Rise, Raizen! Onward to glory! We shall surge forward with all our combined might and tear out their throats!!" "Yaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Ai thrust a fist into the air, and the students crammed into the gymnasium cheered as one. The windows shook, and the lingering echoes of this powerful shout almost made his ears hurt. "Ha-ha! She's getting into it." Shido Itsuka grinned as he watched his classmate onstage give this address. And it wasn't like he didn't understand her passion. After all... "Shido, what is Ai talking about? Are we going to war?" came a dubious voice from his right. "It's that time of the year," he told her. "You know, the month of the Tenou Festival." shido answered as he turned toward Tohka. "Tenou Festival? What's that?", this time, Hikaru's voice interjected from his other side, her expression marked with a perplexed frown. "Mm, well, put simply, it's a super-huge school festival." "School festival?" Tohka's eyes glimmered. "Ooh, I've seen that on TV. That's the one where your school sets up all the food stalls, right? It's like a magical dream come true!" "Hmm, you're not wrong, but..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "I still don't quite grasp its concept, but if Tohka understands it, I'll simply pretend I do as well," Hikaru muttered under her breath. "Keh-keh... I see. I fully comprehend the reason why Ai and the others tremble with such emotion." "Understood. If that is the case, we must not lose." "...!" shido and as he heard a voice from behind. He looked back to find two identical girls had come to stand there at some point. One had a determined look, hair tied up on her head. She was so slender, she looked as though she would break in half if squeezed tightly, but she was haughty in a way that didn't suit this fragility. The other had her hair in a braid. Her beautiful face was adorned with eyelids that naturally hung low, and her stunning proportions seemed to pull Shido's attention this way and that. "Kaguya. Yuzuru. What are you doing here?" Yes. These were the Spirits whose power Shido had locked away two months ago: the sisters Kaguya and Yuzuru Yamai. They had transferred into the neighboring Year 2, Class 3 at the start of the new term. They were going to transfer into Shido's Class 4 at first, but their mental states were quite stable as long as they were together, unlike Tohka, who grew anxious when she wasn't with Shido, and Hikaru who wasn't sealed by Shido yet. It had been six long months since their initial meeting, and despite going on twenty different dates with Hikaru, every single one failed. It wasn't that she rejected him outright, she simply didn't give him the chance in the first place. Every single Date she comes up with an excuse... or a trick in her case to make the whole plan fail. In the end, Ratatoskr had lost hope in the traditional approach and was now searching for a new strategy. Back to Kaguya and yuzuru. They were supposed to be split up by class. The Yamai sisters should have been off to the side with the rest of Class 3. But Shido quickly realized why they weren't. With the zealous students repeating Ai's Raizen call, there was no meaning in things like class divisions. "Keh. That said, however, so long as the Yamai sisters stand with you, Raizen's victory is assured." "Agreement. Yuzuru and Kaguya are the most powerful duo. Invincible against any enemy." "Keh-keh, yes, exactly. Yuzuru here is a master of all the arts, whatever they might be" "Affirmation. Not to mention that the perfect Kaguya stands here. Her loss is outside the realm of reason." "Oh, you! Hee-hee! How embarrassing, Yuzuru. Poke, poke!" Poke, poke!" "Smile. You too, Kaguya. Poke, poke." They poked at each other's arms, grinning happily. "Ha-ha!" Shido laughed as he watched the two of them. The sisters were so affectionate with each other now, like a new honeymoon couple. Who would believe they had been fighting so violently two months ago that they dragged everything around them into their conflict? He shifted his eyes from the Yamai sisters and their private world back over to Tohka. "I get it," she said, nodding thoughtfully. "So that means there'll be lots of places selling food?" "FOOOD! Oh boy, FOOOOOOD!" Hikaru exclaimed, seizing him with excitement, her eyes gleaming. "Well. Yeah. Mm. I guess," he said with a smile. "I LOVE FESTIVAL!" she exclaimed in pure delight, her mouth watered as her ahoge bounced on her head in sync with her overflowing enthusiasm. "How is her hair move—" "The results of this ruthless poll are in!" Before he could finish the sentence, a voice interrupted him from up ahead. "I present the organizer of this year's Ten-oh Festival: Known to work 25 Hours a day, 8 days a week, Itsuka Shido-kun!" "Wha—?!" Shido's eyes flew open at this sudden declaration. He was about to protest, however— "Quiet!" Ai called from the stage. For a fleeting moment, he thought she would talk them all down. But of course, he was being far too optimistic. "We have heard your petition! By popular endorsement and universal agreement, Year Two, Class Four's Shido Itsuka is hereby appointed to the Tenou Festival planning committee!" "Hey!!" """Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!""" Shido's voice was drowned out by the cheer that rocked the gymnasium. (...) The sun had descended—seven thirty PM. Shido trudged along the dark road. "I-I'm so tired..." In the end, he'd been unable to fight back against the violence and was formally appointed a member of the Tenou Festival committee. He'd essentially been railroaded into taking the job and forced to get to work right away. "It wasn't all that bad, though," Hikaru remarked, strolling alongside him. "For someone who spent the entire time munching away as I went through the hell, you said something like that" "HEY, don't be so grumpy. I did help you out," "Yes, by eating my lunch. Thank you ever so much," Shido snarked back. "You...!" Hikaru felt a surge of frustration, knowing deep down that he was right. She couldn't help but simmer with impotent anger. "Hmm?" shido stopped in his tracks. On the road ahead, he could see a small shadow illuminated by streetlights. A tiny girl was wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat and a light-colored dress. Her beautiful blue eyes and the rabbit puppet that adorned her left hand were particularly striking. She was looking at a poster on the wall. She opened her wide eyes even wider, deeply fascinated. "Yoshino?" he called. "...!" The girl—Yoshino—jumped and turned her gaze toward Shido. "Oh...Shido." "YOSHINO!" "...!" Hikaru's voice rang out. Without hesitation, she bounded toward the little girl, scooping her up into her arms. Yoshino's cheeks were soon met with gentle rubs against Hikaru's own. "Oh, my adorable little sister!" Hikaru squealed with delight, spinning around joyfully, and embracing Yoshino tightly. "H-Hikaru-onee-san, I-I can't... Please," Yoshino's face flushed a bright shade of crimson as she became aware of the attention they were drawing from the onlookers. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Hikaru lowered her back to the ground. "You don't know to hold back aren't you," Shido said "He-he-he-he" Hikaru just let an embarrassed laugh as she rubs the back of her head. Shido just sighed and turned his attention toward Yoshino, "What's up? What are you doing here? It's dark." "Uh, um...I. Went to. Your house. But...you were late. Going home, and Kotori...was worried...so..." It seemed that she had come to check on him. Shido scratched the back of his head. "Oh, yeah? But it's already dark out. You shouldn't be wandering by yourselves." Yoshino's shoulders slumped apologetically. "O-ohhh..." "Don't be mad at her. Yoshino didn't mean to cause any trouble. She's just worried about you!" "I know. Thanks, Yoshino." "S-sure!" She bobbed her head up and down. Because of the large straw hat, her face disappeared and reappeared in Shido's view. "hmmm!" Shido sensed a dark aura beginning to envelop them. As he turned towards the source, he discovered Hikaru on her knees, her gaze fixed sadly upon the ground. "What's the matter with you again?" he asked. "Everyone's worried about you, but no one cares about me...it's not fair!" she cried out. "I really can't tell if she's serious or not..." Shido pondered to himself He was about to say something when Yoshino intervened, speaking softly, "U-um, Hikaru-onee-san, I'm sorry." She approached Hikaru, lowering herself and gently patting her on the head. "Hikaru-onee-san is a mature woman, so I thought it may not be necessary to worry about you... But I promise next time I'll make sure to worry about you too, so please don't be mad." "OHHHHHHHHHHHH! How could I ever be mad at my cute little sister!" Hikaru's sadness instantly vanished, as if it had never been there in the first place. She embraced Yoshino once again, this time holding her even tighter. "Well anyway, let's make our way back home," he said "Okay!" Hikaru exclaimed Y-yeah..." Yoshino agreed timidly. However, as they were about to move. Vwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnmmmmm. "...! Wha—?" ...the spacequake alarm began to sound "Kotori!" shido shouted. "I'm on it, the Fraxinus will transport you there in a second"... Kotori answered. (...) "Ngh..." Shido frowned as a sudden buoyancy enveloped him, like he'd jumped into a high-speed elevator, and his field of view changed from the gloomy interior of the airship to the road at night. He'd been transported in an almost instantaneous shift with the transporter on Fraxinus. He pressed a hand to his forehead to stabilize himself, but he felt like he had been drugged, and he dug his heels into the ground. "ugg... no matter how many times I endure this transportation, I can never get used to it," a voice grumbled from his right. "I told you, you didn't have to come with me," Shido said as he turned to face Hikaru. Although Yoshino had already gone back home, Hikaru insisted on coming with him. "and get all the fun without me, hell nah" "Fun? What's so fun about what I'm doing? Every time I attempt to seal a new Spirit, I get my ass beating" he lamented. "yeah yeah, whatever let's start the mission already!" Hikaru shouted as she led the way "..." Shido followed behind as he scanned the surroundings. He found himself walking in the plaza in front of Tatsunami Station on the west side of Tengu. Because it was the closest station to the multipurpose Tengu Arena, the area was crowded with people on days when there were concerts or other events. He'd actually been surprised before at the number of people around when he'd passed through the area, not knowing that a popular band was holding a concert. But there wasn't a soul in sight in that plaza now. And that was as it should have been. Before his eyes were something like a crater, the majority of the plaza gouged out like a bowl. Only part of the fence remained. Spacequakes. The anomalous catastrophes eat away at humanity. A wide-ranging tremor that erased all within its area of effect in the span of an instant. "Looks like you've arrived safely on the scene," he heard Kotori say through the small earpiece in his right ear. Kotori, the Ratatoskr commander, was currently monitoring him from the airship Fraxinus, which was hanging fifteen thousand meters above him. "The Spirit signal is moving south from ground zero. Hurry up." "Roger!" He started running. "...! Hey boy why are running? Wait for me" Hikaru followed behind. As they continued running toward where the signal was coming from, they soon started to hear a voice.... someone was singing. "It's...singing?" "wow, what a beautiful voice!" Shido eyebrows jumped. Ahead—from the direction of Tengu Arena, where the singing was coming from "Well, it seems we know where our target is, boy. I'll watch from the shadow now if anything happens, ya" Hikaru waved as she vanished from his sight. "Yeah, I'll count on you," he said as he pushed open the large door half in a daze and stepped inside the arena. He walked forward until he had a view of the stage. Instantly, he felt like he'd been pinned in place by a sharp gaze. The center of the arena. The performers and staff had no doubt left the stage as it was when they evacuated, and in the middle of the dark venue, the stage rose like a tower, illuminated by several spotlights from below. A girl stood in the center, dressed in a dazzling outfit that looked almost woven out of particles of light, her voice echoing throughout the venue. A quiet tune like a lullaby composed of words he'd never heard before reached his ears. "Ah..." He let slip a cry of admiration. She wasn't accompanied by any instrumentation. Or using a mic or any other device to amplify her voice. Her song was completely unadorned. But the power of it was so overwhelming that it nearly caused him to hallucinate—like it was passing through his ears and penetrating his brain stem. "That can't be...Diva?!" "...!" Kotori's sudden shout in his right ear brought him back to his senses. Shido lowered his eyes and shook his head. He clenched his jaw slightly and refocused. Right. This was no time to be engrossed in a song. He had an extremely difficult and important job to do. "Diva... Is that her code name?" "Yes. A Spirit confirmed just once, about six months ago. She was registered in the database at any rate, but we have no detailed information on her, including her personality and temperament. Not to mention her abilities or her Angel. Be extra careful when you make contact." "G-got it." Shido gulped and turned his face toward the girl once more as he stepped forward. Klak. A dry sound rang out. "Ah..." He froze with one foot forward. He had kicked an empty can on the floor. Hearing this, the girl abruptly stopped singing. "Oh deaaar?" she said, drawing out the vowel. Her voice sounded different from her singing voice. "Idiot. What are you doing?" "Sorry... It's dark, and I can't see my feet—" But Shido didn't get to finish excusing himself. Because the girl kept speaking as she swiveled her head, looking out at the arena. "So there is someone in the audieeeeence? I thought I was alone." Her voice was gentle and relaxed. The audience seating was too dark for her to see Shido, it seemed. "Where are yoooou? I was just getting bored all by myself. If you don't mind, maybe we could talk a bit?" Shido scratched his cheek, sweat beading on his forehead. He couldn't split his focus in a situation like this. He took a deep breath and then raced up the stairs to come out on the stage. Illuminated by too many spotlights, the stage was as dazzlingly bright and hot as a summer's day. But he couldn't afford to close his eyes. He made sure to open them wide and direct his gaze at the girl standing onstage. She slowly looked over her shoulder, having heard him come up. "Oh, you went to the trouble of coming up heeere? Good evening. I'm—" The Spirit whirled around, a bright smile on her face until she caught sight of Shido and froze. "Huh?" "Shido. What are you doing?" He was baffled for a second, but he had to say something. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth. "Oh, hi there. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. You have a beautiful—" A shrill alarm began to ring on the other end of his earpiece. "Th-this is... Likability, mood, mental state—all her parameters are plummeting! What is going on?! Shido, you're not flashing her or anything, are you?!" "Wha—? No! I'm not!" he said, glancing down just to make sure. Nothing was pulled down, and there wasn't anything scandalous exposed. But then why on earth...?! "We'll just have to try a different option. One! Compliment her looks!" Bzzt! Bzzt! "Likability's dropped even further!" "It's reached the point where she's feeling hatred for Shido!" "Wh-what did you say?!" He heard the emergency alarm followed by the panicked voices of the crew and Kotori. Bzzt! Bzzzzzzt! "I-I've never seen numbers this low!" "This likability is lower than a cockroach's!" "He didn't even speak yet!" The cries of the crew pounded in his right ear. While all this was going on, a sudden change came over the frozen girl before him. Kree, kree... She turned her neck like a rusted machine, threw her head back, and took a deep breath. "Uh. Um...," Shido said, but the girl ignored him. The shrill alarm was still going off in his ear. And then the girl finished breathing in and glared at him. "Ah!!" She cried out at an incredible volume. Her voice echoed throughout the stage, reaching the far corners of the auditorium with astonishing intensity. The sheer force of it took Shido aback, and he instinctively raised his hands to shield himself. "...?" But... nothing came. Instead, a gentle and soft sensation enveloped his right arm, and he no longer felt the solid ground beneath his feet. Slowly, he opened his eyes. "Hikaru?!" only to find himself being carried in a princess-style embrace by Hikaru, perched atop the roof trusses of the stage. She gracefully leaped back down to the stage floor, gently setting him down. "See? I told you that you'd need me!" she proclaimed, a radiant smile adorning her face. "Yeah... thank you," he replied, feeling a strange sense of loss deep within. "Anyway, it seems it's time for—" "Oh, dear!" "...!" Hikaru's words caught in her throat as she beheld the Spirit standing right before her. "Isn't this niiiice? Isn't this wonderful? Yes, this is the audience I want! Yes, deeeefinitely. Especially..." She looked completely different. Her hands were clasped together, and her eyes shimmered with an otherworldly light. "How did she...? I didn't sense her approach. Did my instincts fail me? No, that can't be. After all, the girl before me harbors no negative emotions toward me. My senses didn't perceive any danger," Hikaru pondered silently. She knew nothing about this formidable adversary, except for the attack she had unleashed upon Shido. "Damn it," she cursed inwardly, preparing to leap away in an attempt to create some distance. "...!" however In the next instant, the spirit grabbed both her arms and prevented her from fleeing. "No running away, not before..." The spirit's words hung in the air, leaving Hikaru bewildered and anxious. "What th—" Hikaru's sentence was abruptly cut off, her words swallowed by surprise as Diva, the spirit, captured her lips in a deep and passionate kiss. "Mmm..??" Hikaru's mind went blank as the spirit's lips pressed hard against hers. The sensation was so sudden and unexpected that she couldn't comprehend what was happening. The spirit's grip tightened as they both fell onto the hard surface of the stage. "What the fuck is that—" Shido stood frozen, his eyes widening with disbelief as he witnessed the scene unfolding before him. Not only Shido but the entire Ratatoskr team was left in utter disbelief as they observed the spectacle unfolding on the screen. "C-Captain, the Diva mood stats are increasing once more," one of the team members reported "..." Kotori, on the other hand, was rendered speechless, her usual sharp tongue momentarily silenced as she struggled to process the unfolding situation. The sound of their bodies hitting the floor echoed throughout the room. Hikaru thoughts were a blur as she struggled to make sense of the situation. She could feel the spirit's body pressing against hers, pinning her down. "Is she kissing me? But I'm in a girl's body... What is wrong with her? Wait, it must be an attack! What kind of attack is this? I need to break free from her grip! But why does my body feel numb and weak? I can't even catch my breath!" A whirlwind of thoughts and questions spun in Hikaru's mind, leaving her overwhelmed and uncertain of her next move. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the spirit broke the kiss and released Hikaru. Gasping for air, she lay there on the floor, her body still trembling with the aftereffects of the kiss. The spirit stood up and smiled down at her, then vanished into thin air. "Thanks for the meal," she said with an enigmatic smile.