Chapter 9: Fem-Kazuma (2)

The symphony of technological mechanisms and the rhythmic tapping of control panels filled the air within the Fraxinus's command center. Shido stood amid the orchestrated chaos, his eyes fixed on the luminous display screen. The subdued lighting cast shadows across the faces of the crew, each member engrossed in their tasks. The holographic projection flickered, capturing the ethereal presence of Aqua in a seemingly peaceful slumber. The urgent atmosphere was palpable. Kotori's voice cut through the hum of activity, "Shido, we need a plan. The world is watching, and we can't afford any missteps." He nodded, "We have to find Aqua before she triggers another Spacequake. Any leads on her whereabouts?" A technician, fingers dancing over the keyboard, chimed in, "The last known location was the watery planet, but beyond that, we're in the dark." Kotori added, "Our intel suggests she might reappear in a different location. We can't know exactly where, but we could use the fluctuations in her energy signature to predict where she would reappear by 2 minutes apart" Shido cast his mind back to the destruction Aqua caused when she first appeared, and his brows frowned, "What would happen if she reappeared in a residential area..." "...The second Spacequake would be much weaker than the first one, so the destruction she would cause would be significantly less. If she somehow ended up reappearing in Tengu City, we would be able to protect the citizens using the special shelters. However, anywhere else, I can't guarantee there would be no victims. Until recently, there was no need for such precautions. I just have the time to reactivate the safety devices against the Spacequakes in Tengu City..." He dropped his gaze as he heard what he'd feared, "How much time do we have until the Earth is affected by the absence of the oceans?" Kotori took a deep breath, her expression grave. "It's challenging to pinpoint an exact timeframe, but the immediate effects are already rippling across the globe. The oceans' draining is causing disruptions in weather patterns, leading to the collapse of marine ecosystems." She continued, "The economic impact is equally severe. Without seas, commercial ships can't deliver cargo, disrupting global trade. This will result in shortages, price hikes, and economic instability on a global scale." Gesturing toward the holographic projection, which showed Earth without its oceans, she explained, "The absence of water also means the loss of a critical heat sink for the planet. Oceans play a vital role in absorbing and distributing heat and regulating temperatures. Without them, we face escalating global temperatures, impacting weather, agriculture, and biodiversity." With a sigh, Kotori concluded, "Overall, we have less than one day to act before we reach the point of no return." Shido took a moment to collect his thoughts. His eyes widened as he realized something. What if Aqua didn't reappear before the end of the day? He knew that spirits could disappear for months in some cases. What would happen to the world then? "Then..." Kotori chimed in, and from Shido's reaction, she knew what he was thinking. "We would try and use Zadkiel. Yoshino's Angel has a water nature, after all. Even though controlling that much water would be difficult, if not impossible, it would be our last hope." Shido pursed his lips and picked at his hair. Should he try to return the water to the ocean by himself? Could he even do it? As Kotori said, it was near impossible for him to control such an amount of water, and he doubted that even with Yoshino's help, they would be able to do it—certainly not in a safe way and without causing significant destruction. But did that mean just standing and watching the world fall to its doom? They would be lucky if Aqua reappeared, but it didn't mean she would comply with his request. Why would she do something like that in the first place? He'd been saddled with a such difficult situation, and he had no idea what to do or decide. Kotori, watching his internal struggle, could almost read his thoughts. She leaned back slightly and lifted her chin, "Shido...", but Before She could voice her concern, one of the crew members chimed in. "Captain, we've got a new spirit signal" Everyone's attention snapped to the source of the information. Kotori, quick to respond, asked, "Where is she?" The crew member, fingers dancing over the keyboard, reported, "Directly below us, in the middle of Tengu City, Captain" Shido's facial expression shifted from worry to a glimmer of hope at the mention of the spirit signal. Kotori pulled one of her beloved Chupa Chups from her pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth, "Prepare for the Spacequake. Shido, we need you on the ground" "Got it!" He responded with a grin. Part 2: "Master! Are you in there? Do you have a stomachache?" Her voice echoed from behind the toilet door, searching for any sign of Shido. Standing in the hallway, she cupped her hands around her mouth, trying once more, but no response came. "Did he step out? Leave the house for something?" Shirou, the girl with the long pink hair, pondered as she strolled through the second-floor corridors. Just moments ago, she and Shido were chatting in the living room, and now, he seemed to have vanished into thin air. Maybe he went to the bathroom, she thought, but he wasn't there. Nowhere in the entire house. "Okay..." Shirou let go of the idea of finding him and checked the wall clock. "Let's wake up the girls for breakfast, at least for now." Shirou continued her stroll through the Itsuka house. A modest one with a two-story structure held the essence of daily life within its walls. The first floor hosted a shared living room and kitchen, where the spirits often gathered for meals and relaxation. A small storage room tucked away served as a repository for household items. A full bathroom, complete with a sink, was situated conveniently on the first floor. Meanwhile, the second floor accommodated three rooms. Shido had one room to himself, while Kotori occupied another. The third room was shared by their parents who were at the moment out on a business trip. As for the spirits, they found residence in a special dwelling adjacent to Shido's house. This was the same place where Shirou currently lived, surrounded by the other spirits. "First, Yuzuru and Kaguya. I heard it was their turn to spend the night with Shido in his bedroom... they didn't wake up yet, huh..." She mused to herself as she approached the closed door of Shido's room, gently knocking, "Yuzuru, Kaguya, time to wake up for breakfast." No response came from within. "Ugh... In the end, I have to see that sight once again," she sighed, cautiously pushing the door open. A peculiar mix of heavy scents and warmth greeted her, prompting a narrowing of her eyes as she stepped inside the room. Used condoms filled with Shido stuff were scattered everywhere. Amidst the chaos on Shido's bed, a certain orange-haired girl lay fast asleep, completely naked. "Yuzuru, time to wake up." Once again, there was no response. Having gathered all the condoms and thrown them into the trash can, Shirou grabbed the blanket that Yuzuru was sleeping over and pulled it away forcefully. "Wahh!!" Yuzuru tumbled off the bed, landing unceremoniously on the cold floor. The sudden intrusion into her peaceful slumber left her disoriented, and her eyes blinked open in confusion. "C-Confused, Wha... What's happening?" Shirou didn't spare any sympathy, "Time to wake up, Yuzuru. Breakfast is waiting." As Yuzuru struggled to gather her bearings, Shirou raised an eyebrow, "Where is Kaguya?" Yuzuru, still on the floor, simply pointed behind her back. There, lying above the wardrobe with a drooling smile on her face, "How did she end up there..." "Explain. Kaguya was curious about what it would feel like to do it while floating—" "There was no need to explain something like that to me..." Shirou interrupted her expression deadpan. She sighed, shaking her head. "Anyway, get dressed and wake up your sister. I still have to go to the spirit resident to check on the others." "Answered. As you wish, ma'am." She said with a smug for some reason. After delivering the directive, Shirou exited The room, leaving Yuzuru to hurriedly gather herself and attend to Kaguya. As She closed the door behind her. She couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Honestly, when did this become a regular morning routine." She sighed taking the downstairs. "Shido!" A cheerful voice echoed through the front door corridor just as Shirou was about to reach the knob. "Oh, Tohka..." Shirou was a little surprised by the sudden opening of the door. With long hair the color of the night and distinctive eyes that glittered like crystals, Tohka stood there. "Sorry we were late because Nia didn't want to wake up," Tohka explained with a sheepish smile. "Hahaha, my bad, my bad. I ended up working on a new chapter for my work all night, so..." Nia added, her eyes half-closed in exhaustion. Following behind them was Origami, who nodded in agreement. "Ah, good. I don't have to go all the way to the residence to check on you guys," said Shirou. "Good morning, Shirou-san." "Good morning..." As Tohka, Origami, and Nia stepped inside, both Yoshino and Natsumi greeted Shirou, taking their entry as well "Ah, good morning. Now is everyone here—" "SHIROU-CHAN!!" Before she could finish her sentence, a certain bluish-purple-haired girl jumped out of nowhere toward Shirou. However, Shirou expertly dodged, leaving the girl wiping the ground with her face. "Oh~~ How mean of you, Shirou-Chan, dodging my lovely hug like that." "The breakfast is ready. Let's head to the table." Shirou Totaly ignored her. Part 3: "...So, Shido just suddenly disappeared?" "Yeah..." Shirou responded from the kitchen to Tohka's question. Walking around the Kitchen, she was busy arranging utensils to serve breakfast. Origami assisted her, while the remaining girls waited in the living room. "...I was preparing breakfast, and he was sitting in the living room waiting. Suddenly, when I was about to ask him something, there was no sight of him." "Addition. Kototi is also missing..." Yuzuke chimed in. Having dressed up and joined the others at the table. Kaguya laughed, "Ku ku, it seems another addition will join us soon." "Another spirit? By the way, neither Shido nor Kotori explained the story behind the reappearance of new spirits. Didn't Mio give up her plan?" Miku questioned, making a cute motion by pointing her fingers towards her chin. Origami returned the gesture by nodding her head. "What do you think, Shirou-san?" She asked Placing the plates on the table, Shirou tilted her head in wonder, "Well, I am not sure." She reached for her cheek with one finger, walking back to the kitchen as she spoke, "I don't belong to this world or at least this timeline. There are so many similarities between where I came from and this world, apart from technological development. The biggest difference is that I don't remember something like spacequake or spirits." "You're not from this world?" Tohka tilted her head as she asked. "Probably. Spirits are supposed to be highly secret beings that are kept from the public, which may explain my unawareness of their existence. But the great spacequake 32 years ago that led to the death of 150 million lives? I don't think I would be unaware of such a thing." In response to Shirou's words, the Spirits started to gossip around. So that everyone quieted down, Origami resumed, adding another question. "Do you remember your past before becoming a spirit, and when did you become one and how?" Shirou was about to answer immediately but she gave herself a pause for a few moments to think about something. "I think I remember everything apart from before an old accident... From 2005, the year I was summoned, I think I slept for quite some time before coming to this world. As for how... well, not sure. But Ruby was behind that, though she said someone helped her at that." "You said there is still a chance this world and the one you came from are the same, just a different timeline, right?" "Yeah, there's a chance..." Origami rested a hand on her cheek as she fell into deep thought. Saying this, Natsumi chimed in, asking, "Did you grasp something, Origami?" Faced with Natsumi's question, Origami replied while pointing two fingers, "I have two theories. Given the dates, Yoshino was the first one to receive a Sephira Crystal from Mio 28 years ago, Nia was the second 26 years ago, then Kurumi, and then Shirou came 15 years ago... That means Mio somehow gave Shirou her Sephira Crystal without her knowledge way back then and not recently but..." Origami furrowed her eyebrows, "We know Mio divided her power into 10 parts or into what we know as Qlipha Crystals for her plan to turn Shido or Shinji into a god-like being to stay with her forever by making him absorb this power from the ten chosen spirits. She didn't make her move until Shido succeeded in sealing all the spirits, except for Shirou, who theoretically at the time was still sleeping in the void. There was no point in turning Shirou into a spirit if she didn't wait for her plan to complete and for Shido to seal Shirou's power. But she didn't, which means she didn't know about Shirou's existence in the first place. This leads to the fact that Shirou didn't become a spirit by Mio... at least not the one from this world, which leads us to my second theory." "There's a being similar to that "Mio" from my world that turned me into a spirit, right?" Shirou added with a knowing gaze Origami nodded, "Yeah, though it's just a simple theory, and we still don't know how you ended up here." As they both sank into a pool of puzzling thoughts, a 'Muu!' was called, and they turned toward the source. "Can we eat our breakfast already? I feel My head is about to explode" said Tohka, a visible puff of smoke seemingly rising from her head. With Tohka's plea for breakfast, Shirou and Origami shook off their deep thoughts and turned their attention back to the present. "Sorry about that, let's eat first and then talk," Shirou said. As everyone took their seats around the table, she served the breakfast she had prepared. While eating, Tohka, with a mouthful of food, asked, "By the way, Shirou, are you okay with that?" "Hm?" Shirou raised an eyebrow as she took a sip from her soup, "What do you mean?" With an innocent face, Tohka asked as she tilted her head to one side, "You haven't spent your first night with Shido yet." "Wha..." Shirou was about to spill the soup out of her mouth in shock, "First night?" "OH, my?" Nia chimed in with a playful grin, "It's already a week, and we haven't set a fixed time for her." "Suggestion. Why not just make her join the Loli squad?" "L-Loli what?!!" After listening to Yuzuru's Suggestion, Natsumi didn't leave the chat and continued without objection, "I'm already sharing my time with Kotori and Yoshino while you guys enjoy your night alone with Shido. That's not fair!" Yoshino expressed a faint smile, trying to hide her embarrassment behind, "I-I don't mind..." "No!" Natsumi objected again, "Yoshino if you always act that kind, they will take advantage of you. What about her?" She pointed her finger to Origami. "She did share her time with Tohka when Mio was around; she can do the same with Shirou this time, right?" Origami turned her face to the other side, pretending not to hear anything. "HEY! Don't ignore me!" Shirou, still processing the unexpected turn of conversation, tried to regain control of the situation. "Hold on, hold on! Why are you guys assuming I want something like that?" "You don't?" they said in unison, looking genuinely surprised. "I don't. In the first place, I don't think of him that way to have something like that with him." "Oh~? And in what way are you seeing him?" Nia asked with a mischievous grin. "W-Well..." Shirou scratched her cheek, caught off guard by the question, "He's a nice guy, and I am thankful for his help without expecting anything in return... But that's it, for real." "Oh~ What a tsundere." "I AM NOT A TSUNDERE." "Then why were your cheeks red while you were talking about him?" "Were they?" She reached for her cheek in confusion. "Nah, I was just joking, hahaha." "Y-You!" If her cheeks weren't red at first, they were now from embarrassment. "Muu, stop teasing my Shirou-chan like that, she's still an innocent little girl." A hug came from behind Shirou, and her eyes widened. From where did this woman come from, she wondered as Miku hugged her tightly. But something else caught her attention. "I am not a little girl; I may look like this, but I am already an adult." She tried to buff her chest in pride. "I can tell..." Said Nia trying to catch her laugh Shirou's cheek puffed in fury, and she was about to stand to punish her, but someone had already intervened. "Hmm, Yoshino?" Nia was surprised by Yoshino suddenly standing beside her. Without saying a word, the little blue-haired girl extended both her hands to grab Nia's cheek. "W-Wait, Yoshino? Ow! What are you doing? Ow, ow!" Yoshino maintained a deadpan expression as she continued to squish Nia's cheeks with a firm grip. Nia caught off guard, struggled to free herself, her protests muffled by Yoshino's relentless grasp. "Someone, help me here!" Nia pleaded, her voice strained. No one answered. Not because they didn't want to help the poor spirit, but because they didn't dare to go against Yoshino. It was rare for them to see Yoshino angry, and it was terrifying to go against her in that state. In a panic, Nia threw her hand around, and due to the excessive force, the momentum directed her backward onto her chair. "Oww!" Having struck the back of her head, she lay there unconscious, stars floating around her head. "No teasing about people's looks," Yoshino said with a nod of satisfaction. Turning toward Shirou with a confident smile, she gave her a thumbs-up. Shirou hesitated, returning the thumbs-up with a wry smile... "...............!" As the spirits exchanged glances about the situation, a sharp siren resonated throughout the city. "T-That?!" "A Spacequake siren!?" "So, it was a spirit, though I haven't heard that sound in a long time." The sudden blare of the Spacequake siren injected urgency into the room. Everyone's expressions shifted from the light-hearted banter to one of concern and readiness. Everyone seemed to know what to do except Shirou, who was lost. "Spacequake siren?" Part 4: The sight was blurred, close to being underwater, even though she was standing on the hard ground. Her eyes were wide open, taking in the surreal scene before her. In the middle of a crater of destruction, she stood, surrounded by the remnants of what once was. The once towering skyscrapers now stood as shattered skeletons. "Akh... My head," the being reached to its head. The city sprawled around her, its high-rise buildings appearing as distant sentinels, both ominous and strangely beautiful. She took a tentative step forward, her movements slow and deliberate. The world seemed to echo with the silence of abandonment. "W-What happened..." Her head felt heavy, a whistling sound echoed through her head as she tried to collect her thoughts. "Ah, yeah, that pervert was following me, and that weird light appeared out of nowhere, then...!" The realization hit her, and her eyes widened. "Aqua...Huh?!" She called for a name but suddenly stopped. Something was odd. "W-What's wrong with my voice..." She slowly reached for her throat, and with her head bending down, something came into her view. The odd clothes she was in weren't the thing that caught her focus, but the womanly breast thing on her chest. "Oh, shit!" Her hand slowly reached for them, squeezing them to see if they were real. "That's real..." She withdrew her hand down and took a deep breath, "AQUA, WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!!!!!!!!!"