Kurumi Friend
Her height and proportions were just like Kurumi’s own.
She had beautiful maroon hair tied into braids, and fangs that occasionally glistened when she smiled.
While it wasn’t in her nature to be afraid, she was sometimes stubborn in unusual ways, like how she continued to put sugar in black tea. She lived alone in the suburbs with a cat named Marron.
It felt unimaginable for the two of them to be interacting, but whenever she talked to her, she always felt her heart calm down.
If someone were to ask Kurumi, they would definitely get such an answer. Even when confronted with gossipy people wanting to know about her close friend, Kurumi wouldn’t mince words.
In fact, Kurumi could confidently say that, besides Sawa’s family, she was the person that knew her best. No, depending on the specific topic, she might even know her better than anyone else.
After all, in this world, only Kurumi knew the cause for her death—
“—mi-San. Kurumi-san.”
“…!”
When she heard someone call out her name, Kurumi faintly raised her shoulders. The bangs covering her forehead swayed to her shoulders, exposing her left eye that had been concealed.
Then, Kurumi fixed her bangs and lifted up her head that she had kept lowered for who knows how long. What shone into her eyes was the scenery of a classroom, and the figure of Yamauchi Sawa sitting opposite her.
“What’s wrong, Kurumi-san? You seem dazed.”
“Ah, I just stayed up too late yesterday, that’s all.”
“Oh, were you watching that animal video again?”
After saying that, Sawa laughed. Small fangs appeared from the slight cracks in her lips.
Kurumi chose to neither confirm nor deny this, giving a dubious look as she sighed.
It was 12:30: lunch break. The students were eating and chattering idly; Kurumi was no exception. The two of them pressed their tables against each other and opened their lunch boxes.
Indeed, it was quite an ordinary scene. The words they shared didn’t contain any deeper meaning, nor were they seeking any additional consequence in their actions. This was simply a typical moment in their daily lives.
—However, Kurumi had noticed. Only she understood that the situation she saw before her eyes was the result of an exceptional miracle.
After all, the friend that was smiling right before her—had died a long time ago.
“…”
No. Kurumi suddenly lowered her eyes and shook her head slightly.
While that was a normal response, it was inappropriate. To Kurumi, this was averting her eyes from her own sins, and desperately trying to run away.
Kurumi opened her eyes again, staring intently at Sawa’s face.
—The face of a friend that she had personally killed.
That’s right, when Kurumi became a Spirit, she killed her.
That being said, while Kurumi held no hatred towards Sawa, it wasn’t an accident or negligence that killed her.
Sawa, having been transformed into a monster by the Mio—the Spirit of Origin, was an ‘enemy’ that she ruthlessly shot down.
This was the starting point of Kurumi’s grudge against the Spirit of Origin, and the beginning of her journey for revenge.
It was this incident which motivated Kurumi to return to the past through <Zafkiel>’s power and venture to change everything so that this never occurred.
—And now, the daily life she so frantically sought after was right in front of her.
“—Sawa-san.”
“Un, what’s the matter Kurumi-san?”
“Ufufu, I just felt like calling out to you.”
“Eh… what… Think about everyone else, you’re going to cause misunderstandings.”
She said with her eyes half-closed and face dripping with sweat. Her silly expression made Kurumi smile just from the sheer nostalgia.
That’s right. With the battle against Mio over, everything had come to an end.
When Mio died, she used the power of her Sephira Crystal. Sawa, who had died long before, and everyone that she had devoured for the sake of her goal had all come back to life.
The other Spirits were all also enjoying themselves as they resumed their lives. Reportedly, through the magical treatment, even Mana’s scarred body had been successfully treated.
Such a happy ending seemed like a joke. Almost everything had been completed magnificently, just as she wanted. A dream-like world filled with happiness, right within her grasp.
“Speaking of which, Kurumi-san. What about that matter?”
As if suddenly remembering something, Sawa raised her finger. Kurumi tilted her head slightly in response.
“That matter?”
“You know, the club activities. Didn’t we talk last time about visiting some after we finished studying? How about after school today?”
“Aah—”
Kurumi nodded her head in sudden realization, as she recalled having said those words some time beforehand.
Indeed, using the power of the Sephira Crystal, Sawa had been brought back to life. However, more than two decades have passed since the time they had lived together. It would be impossible for it to be exactly the same as before.
Therefore, Sawa still needed asylum from a supporting organization to be able to finally resume her studies at Raizen High School.
The excuse was that Sawa was suffering from an illness that was difficult to treat with the medical technology of the time, so she was put into cryogenic sleep to wait for better, newer treatment methods. Since Kurumi hadn’t changed at all either, she took up a similar backstory.
Although Sawa was very confused about the status quo at the beginning, she gradually got used to her current life. Therefore, Kurumi had proposed “Since we have the opportunity, why don’t you participate in a club activity?”
“Well, that’s no problem. Do you have any clubs you want to join?”
After Kurumi finished speaking, Sawa nodded and pulled out a notepad from her bag.
“Yeah, there are a few clubs I want to visit. The literature department, the fine arts department—the Feline Research Society also sounds interesting.”
“…!”
After hearing Sawa say that, Kurumi’s eyebrows faintly stirred.
“Ah, as expected. You’re interested in the Feline Research Society?”
“Un, not really. How could I possibly be…”
“Eh, is that so? Then how about we go visit the literature department today?”
“…”
“Hehe, I’m just kidding. Don’t go all sullen on me.”
Sawa said with a smile. Likely feeling her own face light up in delight, Kurumi patted her cheeks.
Immediately afterwards, the smile on Sawa’s face grew brighter.
“Ah, sure enough, you really were down about that.”
“…! Sawa-san, you.”
“Ahaha, sorry.”
After saying that, Sawa lowered her head slightly.
Even though Kurumi looked like she was fuming on the surface, she couldn’t help but sigh.
—Aah. That’s right. She would always tease her like this before.
Kurumi smiled again, realizing the daily life she had yearned for had finally returned.
After finishing classes for the day, Kurumi and Sawa finally arrived at the club room.
While it would usually be bustling with more activity here, it seemed rather calm today. Well, given it was already March now, this wasn’t surprising.
The main activities and general assemblies were basically over, with all that remained being the graduation ceremony. It was hard to imagine hopeful people returning to school to scout for clubs at a time like this.
“So, it should probably be right over here…?”
Soon afterwards, they arrived outside a club with a sign that said ‘Feline Research Society’ hanging on the door. Looking at the door, there were densely packed hand-drawn cats and paw prints. For some reason, the cat drawing also had an eyepatch.
“…”
“What’s wrong, Kurumi-san?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
After hearing Sawa’s voice, Kurumi nodded.
…She didn’t know why, but she had a subtle feeling of unease. However, nothing could really go wrong; she was probably overthinking it. With that at the back of her mind, Kurumi spoke while knocking on the door of the “Feline Research Society.”
“Excuse me. We came here to visit and learn more about your club’s activities—”
“Ara.”
“Ara.”
“Ara.”
“Ara.”
At the moment when Kurumi opened the door to the club’s activity room, four girls that looked identical to her all called out with the same voice.
That’s right. They were renditions of Kurumi’s past, born through the power of the Eighth Bullet <Het> of Kurumi’s Angel <Zafkiel>. No, to be more precise, they were the same as Kurumi.
These four clones were distinguished by a medical eyepatch, bloody bandages, a decorated eyepatch, and an antiquated eyepatch on their left eyes.
Although they were all wearing their school uniforms, each had variations that could be seen on the inside pattern emerging from their sleeves and the hems of their skirts.
That’s right. The four that appeared here were the four most difficult Kurumi clones to deal with—the ones that claimed to be the ‘Elite Four Kurumi.’
“W-Why are you all here—”
“—Ugh.”
A sound of despair leaked from Kurumi’s throat.
Sawa, who was peeking into the room from behind her, spoke out in surprise.
“Everyone is Kurumi-san…?! W-What is going on…”
“…!”
The words wouldn’t come out from Kurumi’s mouth.
—Precisely at that moment, her brain started processing at high speed. Now that Sawa had seen each clone, justifying it with a misunderstanding would be too difficult. That being said, being honest and telling her outright what was happening would also be a massive blunder. If the other party at least took what Sawa said as being weird, then it would be acceptable. At any rate, having her learn anything about the Spirits must be avoided at all costs.
The time it took was around 2.5 seconds. After condensing her strenuous thinking, Kurumi clapped her hands.
“Well! It’s been a long time everyone! I didn’t know you were into this sort of stuff!”
Pretending as if nothing strange was happening, Kurumi called out to them.
She quickly turned her body around, stretching out her arms to introduce everyone in the club activity room.
“Sawa, let me introduce you—my youngest cousin, second cousin, third cousin, and fourth cousin.”
“…Huh?”
After hearing Kurumi’s words, Sawa’s eyes widened as she stared blankly.
“…Isn’t that right?”
Kurumi turned her head and casted a sharp gaze.
“—”
When all is said and done, the clones were still ‘Kurumi’, and so they quickly understood her intentions. In a flash, everyone exchanged gazes and nodded deeply.
“Yes, yes. It’s nice to meet you. I am… um, Tokisaki (眼三).”
“I am Tokisaki (包三). To always be under your care… rather my cousin, Kurumi, has always been under your care, thank you.”
“So you must be Yamauchi Sawa, I’ve known about your distinguished name for a long time. I am Tokisaki (甘三).”
“Then I am… Tokisaki (和三), please remember it.”
In this manner, eyepatch Kurumi, bandage Kurumi, Lolita Kurumi, and Gothic Kurumi all said hello to Sawa in turn.
Sawa appeared unresponsive for a moment, but then finally moved her shoulders in response to everyone.
“That really frightened me, Kurumi-san… I didn’t know you had so many cousins that look so similar.”
“U-Uhh…”
Kurumi’s brow was dripping with sweat. Although it was an excuse made in a hurry, it seemed she had bought it for now. Well, without knowledge of Spirits or Angels, it wouldn’t make sense to consider that they were doppelgangers. As such, there was no room for any other reasoning except this.
The Elite Four Kurumi all nodded as they whispered.
“Yes, yes.”
“We certainly do look alike.”
“The five of us are often mistaken for one another.”
“We’re like the Gotoubun no Tokisaki.”
“…Please don’t say anything unnecessary, okay?”
Kurumi whispered with her eyes half-opened.
“Speaking of which, what are you all doing here?”
“It’s just as you can see: we are the Feline Research Society.”
“Yes. We mainly observe stray cats.”
“With all the problems resolved, we also want to usher in a perfect ending.”
“Since that is the case, we also wanted to enjoy school life a little.”
“…”
After hearing the clones’ replies, Kurumi sighed and placed her hand against her forehead.
Indeed, although it had happened by accident, all of Kurumi’s goals had been virtually achieved with Mio’s death. But for the clones, this was like a company shutting down and everyone collectively becoming unemployed.
The lifespan of each clone is directly proportional to the ‘time’ used during their creation. Even though they were her past selves, it didn’t change the fact that they had been working hard as comrades for Kurumi until now, so she gave them permission to freely dictate how they would like to spend the remainder of their lives.
—However, she never imagined that there would be such inconsiderate individuals that would stay at the same school as Kurumi. And out of all of them, it had to be these four. If an outsider had seen this, they would definitely be a bit frightened.
Then, as if she realized something, Sawa tilted her head.
“So you are Kurumi-san’s cousin, second cousin, third cousin, and fourth cousin…? How old are all of you now? Kurumi and I were under comas for more than twenty years to cure our illnesses…”
“…”
After hearing what she asked, Kurumi’s expression strained under this predicament. Indeed, having suspicions about that point would be natural. Even for a flimsy excuse made up on the spot, this situation really was turning for the worst.
“A-Actually, all four of us caught the same disease, so we were all treated together.”
“Eh, is that true?!”
“Well… from a genetic point of view, we belong to a family that is very susceptible to this specific disease…”
Kurumi, whose back was now soaked in sweat, took the risk and made this excuse… Next time, she ought to have <Ratatoskr> fill in the blanks to make it more believable.
At that moment, Kurumi suddenly felt an annoyed look pierce her back. But looking closely, she saw that the Elite Four Kurumi were all looking back at her with smiles.
“…What’s wrong?”
“No, no, it’s nothing. The facts are just as Kurumi Ane-sama had said.”
Eyepatch Kurumi deliberately shrugged.
Immediately afterwards, Sawa slanted her head again.
“But, if everyone is as close as you said, why did you say it’s been a long time… didn’t you see Kurumi-san when you woke up? And it seems like you didn’t know that everyone was in this club…”
“T-That’s because…”
While Kurumi was struggling to come up with a new excuse, as if to help out, the voices of the Elite Four Kurumi came out from behind Kurumi.
“No, no, it wouldn’t have been good to tell Kurumi Ane-sama.”
“It’s not like we hate Kurumi Ane-sama or anything…”
“You see, isn’t big sister Kurumi a little too self-centered? Whenever something happened that we couldn’t explain, she’d always be so quick to get angry at us.”
“Can I say a little bit about her dark history? Kurumi Ane-sama used to be a little awkward in the past. Although she was only a little bit prickly… to be honest, it was a bit difficult to get along with her.”
“Gu…”
This wasn’t helpful at all. Kurumi’s eyebrows tensed up as her expression soured.
They likely knew that Kurumi would never lash out at them in front of Sawa, so the Elite Four Kurumi were saying whatever they wanted at their own leisure.
Kurumi tried to maintain the smile on her face, turned to the Elite Four Kurumi and moved her lips without making a sound.
—Give. Me. A. Reason.
Immediately, as if realizing she had been pushed far enough, the Elite Four forced a laugh while looking away.
“Ha… really—Sawa-san, it’s just as you can see. If I had to join a club, I would want to be as far from here as possible.”
“Eh? Is that alright? All of your cousins are here.”
“It’s better to say I don’t want to have any relationship with them at all. While I do like to do things like observing stray cats, I wouldn’t do it as a group activity. We’d be better off just playing with Marron at home. Let’s head back.”
“Ha, ha…”
If Sawa continued to get along with the Elite Four, who knows what sort of dark history would come bursting out. Kurumi tried to discreetly push Sawa away from this club room.
However—something suddenly tugged on the sleeves of Kurumi’s uniform.
“What are you doing? You should know there’s no reason for me to stay—”
Kurumi impatiently turned around as she spoke—and then, Kurumi finally realized her mistake.
The clones were renditions of Kurumi’s past. Although some things were different depending on when in her life they came from, her general likes and dislikes were still similar.
That is to say—
“Marron…?”
The Elite Four were all extraordinarily fond of the Marron living in the Yamauchi household.
◇◇◇
About twenty minutes after that, Kurumi was walking the path back from school with a somber look.
Next to Kurumi was Sawa and behind was the Elite Four happily talking and chatting.
That’s right. After the Elite Four began singing praises about Marron, Sawa agreed to having the four of them join with a wry smile. So everyone was walking along the path to Sawa’s home.
Incidentally, of course, the Marron that originally lived in Sawa’s home had long since died. Due to the current circumstances, however, he had also been resurrected through Mio’s Sephira Crystal, but of course, there was no way she could tell that to Sawa, so she confessed that this cat was the original Marron’s grandson, Marron III.
“—That being said, he still is Marron after all.”
“It’s been such a long time… no, I’ve only heard about this from Kurumi Ane-sama before.”
“Yes, yes. I was hoping for the opportunity to meet each other beforehand. I’m really looking forward to this.”
“Ah, but if we all try to touch it at the same time, Marron will get tired fast. We need to take turns.”
Continuing on in this manner, the Elite Four kept conversing in this happy atmosphere. Kurumi deeply sighed as she glanced back.
“Since Sawa has agreed, I won’t say much. But I ask you all to comply with our agreement—Tokisaki (眼 三), Tokisaki (包三), Tokisaki (甜三), and Tokisaki (和三).”
After Kurumi finished talking, the Elite Four each gave an expression as if asking, “Who are you talking to?” But then, seemingly remembering the pseudonyms they had come up with, all four of them nodded.
“Yes, yes, of course.”
“Just leave it to me, Tokisaki (甜三).”
“…”
Kurumi still felt uneasy, so once again she let out a sigh.
Seeing her act this way, Sawa couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Everyone really loves cats. Sure enough, they really are Kurumi-san’s relatives.”
“Ara, ara. Is Kurumi Ane-sama that fond of Marron?”
As Gothic Kurumi excitedly asked, Sawa nodded while smiling.
“Indeed. She used to come to my house to play with Marron almost every day. But Kurumi-san, even if she was a little shy, looked completely immersed when she played with Marron. She always had a different reason to come over, like ‘Let’s study together’, or ‘I have some good tea leaves’, but every time, she would bring a ball of yarn.”
“S-Sawa-san…!”
Kurumi’s face turned red as she tried to interrupt Sawa, but the smile on Sawa’s face grew thicker.
…No, the clones all should also have memories of this, but there was still slight embarrassment with Sawa bringing up an old matter like this.
They soon arrived at Sawa’s house, the time having passed before they could notice.
A single-family western house right before their eyes, reproducing Sawa’s original house as well as possible. A magnificent blue roof ridge joined a lofty courtyard wall. Although the courtyard itself was very small, a bed of roses could be seen inside.
Sawa walked through the courtyard, opened the door to her house with her key, and placed five pairs of slippers in front of the door.
“Everyone, please come in.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Please excuse me.”
“…”
After giving their greetings, they removed their shoes and put on the prepared slippers. Immediately afterwards, Sawa slanted her head again with a confused look.
“Huh? Usually he’d be around near the entrance hall when there’s noise—Marron?”
Sawa called out Marron’s name, but the house remained silent.
“Ara, ara.”
“No one is coming over.”
“That’s really strange…”
Sawa frowned, walked over to the corridor, and went up the stairs. Kurumi and the others all followed her to the second floor.
And then—
“Ah…”
As Sawa stepped into the bedroom at the end of the second floor, her eyes widened.
The bedroom window was creaking from the wind, and a cat seemed to have jumped out the window. Scratches and shed fur could be seen on the curtains. It appeared that Marron had escaped through this forgotten window.
“You’ve got to be kidding; it shouldn’t be possible from here…”
Sawa walked over to the window and leaned out to glance outside.
However, there were no signs of Marron to be seen. Sawa sighed and turned to Kurumi.
“Sorry, it looks like that cat ran outside. Marron III did inherit the original’s blood after all…”
Sawa said that while ruffling her hair. Speaking of which, Marron being restless like this and wandering outside was a common occurrence in the past.
“Oh my… that’s really a shame. Then it’s impossible for today—”
Kurumi suddenly stopped talking. The Elite Four all had unsightly looks on their faces.
“…My goodness. To really escape outside like this, but this area…”
“Speaking as members of the Feline Research Society, we would recommend finding Marron as soon as possible.”
Eyepatch and bandage Kurumi both supported their mouths with their hands while speaking in turn.
“Huh? I think Marron should come back when he’s hungry… it was the same with the first generation Marron.”
As Sawa widened her eyes, Lolita Kurumi continued on in response.
“Actually, there are two huge groups of stray cats that fight over this area.”
“Huge…?”
“Stray cats…?”
Kurumi and Sawa muttered blankly as Lolita Kurumi nodded.
“That’s right. Two factions known as the ‘Triad Tails’ and the ‘Undead Tiger Group.’ If a domestic cat gets caught in a conflict between them… Well, it’s not hard to imagine what the results will be.”
“Triad Tails…?”
“Undead Tiger Group…?”
The names of these stray cat groups felt a little strange, but they understood that Marron was in danger nonetheless. Kurumi wiped the sweat dripping down her face with the sleeve of her uniform and turned to look at Sawa.
It looked like Sawa was having the same thoughts at this moment. The two of them exchanged glances and nodded.
“Kurumi-san…!”
“Right.”
The two of them nodded to each other, went back down the stairs, changed their shoes and left the house.
“Sawa, try to search the path to go to school. If you find Marron first, contact me immediately.”
“Alright, I will.”
Sawa faintly lowered her head and started running straight on the road.
After the sight of Sawa’s back disappeared into the distance, Kurumi turned back and walked to the clones that were on standby.
“Alright then, Sawa’s gone out looking for Marron. Now, I can seriously start searching.”
Kurumi didn’t intend to stand by and watch if he was really in danger; she wanted to protect him immediately.
—However, she held too many cards she couldn’t reveal in front of Sawa.
So Kurumi gave a signal, the clones nodded and agreed.
“Finding a cat would be a breeze with all of me.”
“Yes, but it would be too boring if it was just that.”
“…Huh?”
As Kurumi frowned, the clones raised the corners of their mouths and continued to speak.
“We should hold a contest searching for Marron.”
“Yes, that matches my thoughts as well. The me that finds Marron first has the right to caress him first… what do you all think?”
While the Elite Four continued their heated discussion. Kurumi sighed and crossed her arms.
“…We?”
“Ara, is this no good?”
“We didn’t say we’d just sit idly by without an incentive.”
“That’s right. It’s better to say that this kind of competition will lend itself to higher efficiency.”
“Or could it be… you’re not confident you could beat me?”
“…”
Met with such provocations, Kurumi’s eyebrows twitched for a bit.
“…Certainly not, but are you really okay with this?”
Kurumi said with her eyes half-opened. The Elite Four nodded as soon as they saw that.
“Yes, yes.”
“Then, we won’t have any more time if we don’t start searching.”
“Marron search, begin!”
Lolita Kurumi announced the start of the operation. Seeing this, the Elite Four Kurumi kicked their feet against the ground.
However—
“—<Rasiel>.”
After Kurumi called out that name, a book emerged from the void as the Elite Four tumbled down one after another.
“Oh my, what’s the matter? You should be more careful.”
Kurumi said while shedding crocodile tears, and then opened the shining book.
<Rasiel>. From the previous battle, Kurumi had obtained this Angel from DEM’s Isaac Westcott.
Its power was omniscience. As long as she traced her hand along the page, the owner could know any information.
Even the state secrets of a dominant power were all easily available.
—Of course, the location of a cat that had fled from home would also be a cinch.
There was no point in competing. The winner had already been decided from the very beginning.
“H-How despicable, me!”
“Precisely! That’s not fair!”
The Elite Four struggled to get back up while protesting. However, Kurumi simply shrugged her shoulders.
“What strange things are you saying, we? Isn’t the goal to protect Marron as soon as possible?—Or are you saying we should slow down the search without regard for whether he gets injured?”
“Guu…”
“It’s annoying how right that statement is…”
The Elite Four clenched their teeth. Feeling as if she had finally gotten back at the four people who’ve teased her all throughout the day, Kurumi huffed from her nose.
“Now—”
Immediately, Kurumi turned her attention to a page of <Rasiel> while talking on the side. As Kurumi traced her finger along the page, its pages began to shine as the information flowed directly into her head.
“—Found him. The address is in West Tengu, 2-Chōme-3-5 land lot. It seems to be an abandoned hut at the end of the street. A general search would likely have failed to find such a place.”
“…!”
After Kurumi finished speaking, the Elite Four suddenly all tensed up.
“…? What’s wrong?”
“Did you just say an abandoned hut in West Tengu, 2-Chōme-3-5?”
“Yes, that’s exactly right.”
As Kurumi nodded, eyepatch Kurumi quickly squatted down, stretching her hand into the shadows. After some fumbling around, she took out a notebook entitled ‘Feline Research Society Secret Report.’
“…I hope you’ll refrain from placing things like that in our shadow in the future.”
Eyepatch Kurumi ignored her and began to read the notes.
“Sure enough. That place is—the base camp of the ‘Triad Tails.’”
“—What did you say?!”
After hearing eyepatch Kurumi’s words, Kurumi’s expression became sharp.
“Either being caught or stumbling into there by accident—no matter the situation, this can’t be ignored. Let’s hurry up and save Marron!”
“Please wait, me.”
However, just as eyepatch Kurumi was about to head to this destination, Lolita and bandage Kurumi noisily protested.
“The rubble of the Triad Tails’s base camp is piled up like a mountain, so only cats can get in. Several of us went there many times but couldn’t enter, so we had to observe from a distance.”
“Yes, yes, of course cleaning up the rubble would mean we could access the interior… but I wish to avoid destroying the stray cats’ den.”
After listening to the other clones, Gothic Kurumi frowned.
“What are you talking about, me? So it doesn’t matter if Marron is injured?”
“I never said that. However, we must avoid a change in habitat of nearby stray cats from human intervention. If that sort of thing happens, the possibility of stray cat bloodshed could increase significantly.”
“That being said…!”
The clones began to argue among themselves. Even though they all started out as the same ‘Kurumi’, there were subtle differences in each’s thought processes due to the different time periods. Thus, it was inevitable there would be disagreements.
However, time was sparse. Kurumi shouted to stop the argument.
“—Since that is the case, let’s go. We will arrive at the destination first and wait on standby. Only when Marron’s safety is directly threatened will such a straightforward rescue attempt be allowed.”
“…Then, what will me do?”
After hearing Kurumi’s instructions, eyepatch Kurumi raised that question, and in response, Kurumi momentarily licked her lips.
“—As long as we can avoid human intervention? In that case, I have an idea.”
◇◇◇
“…Wow, really? Now, this round? No way—”
In the top floor of the Spirit mansion, inside the room closest to the corner.
The Spirit Natsumi stared at her computer while whispering to herself.
The screen showed the back of a hero with a gun standing on a huge stage. This was a so-called TPS (Third Person Shooter) game. Because there were no special arrangements today, she could enjoy online battles until dinner time.
“Ku, damn it, I just got killed. Ah, really, I can’t aim at all…”
“—Ah, that won’t do, Natsumi-san. With your aiming method, it goes without saying you can’t land a hit on your mark.”
“No, even if you say that… I can’t land a hit even if I try to aim.”
“As long as it’s a living human, their body will never stay completely still. You shouldn’t try to forcibly halt the shaking of your own body. Instead, try to grasp at the rhythm.”
“You say it like it’s so simple… eh?”
At last, Natsumi noticed that feeling of unease as she turned her head around. Because she had been so intently playing the game, she didn’t pay any special attention to her surroundings and barely caught herself so casually talking to someone.
For only a moment, Natsumi thought she had only been chatting with another person over the game—but that wasn’t right. In order to avoid talking to others as much as possible, Natsumi usually turned off voice chat and played the game alone.
—In that case, the voice just now was…
Natsumi looked back in horror.
“Ahaha, good to see you, Natsumi-san.”
“Aaaaaaaa—?!”
Suddenly seeing the face of a girl, Natsumi immediately rolled off her chair. In an instant, her character on screen was shot by an artillery shell, and the text GAME OVER was displayed on the screen.
“Kuru—Kuuuuruuu—Kurumi…?! Why are you in my room…?!”
Natsumi shouted the girl’s name. That’s right: Tokisaki Kurumi. The person standing in front of her now, the girl known as the Worst Spirit.
“Ara, ara, please don’t be so surprised. I’m not here to devour you, Natsumi-san.”
Kurumi spoke with a grin. Hearing those words, Natsumi’s restless heart grew a little bit calmer.
“…You, what are you after? We’ve never really interacted before, right…?
Kurumi touched her lips with her index finger.
“—There’s something I need. Please help me, Natsumi-san.”
◇◇◇
“…! I found Marron!”
“Huh, where? Where?”
“Look, you can see through that opening.”
“Jeez, can we switch places, me?”
Eyepatch Kurumi, bandage Kurumi, Lolita Kurumi, and Gothic Kurumi were all lying on the roof ridge of a private house, peeping inside with binoculars. With their shoulders pressed up and pushing against each other, it looked like they were playing around just like kids would.
Following the Elite Four’s gaze, there was an abandoned house that looked like it was about to collapse at a moment’s notice. Carefully raising their ears to listen, they could faintly hear the meows of several cats.
That’s right, this was the abandoned land lot at West Tengu, 2-Chōme-3-5. It was the home base of the Triad Tails, and where Marron was currently located. Under Kurumi’s instructions, the Elite Four were now carefully observing the scene at hand.
“There don’t seem to be any injuries…”
“Hmm, but it looks like Marron is surrounded… no, I should mention that the surrounding cats all have fierce looks.”
“…! In the far off corner, that huge white cat with the ribbon is…”
“Yes, that is the boss of the Triad Tails, the Ghost Emperor.”
The Elite Four took deep breaths and continued using the binoculars to survey the situation inside.
Although it was fortunate that nothing serious had transpired yet, the atmosphere seemed far from friendly. It was as if Marron, while peacefully walking along the street none the wiser, was suddenly met by some thugs from a powerful organization and interrogated.
If there was any disturbance, the scene would quickly become a one-sided slaughterfest. Drops of sweat dripped down eyepatch Kurumi’s face. Her demeanor became imposing as she stood up.
“…Me seems to have other considerations, so unless it is a last resort, we will have to wait. But when that time comes—”
“…”
Hearing eyepatch Kurumi’s words, the remaining three shared nervous looks and nodded.
As if echoing this sentiment, the boss cat deep within the abandoned hut let out a loud “meooooooooow.”
That shout seemed to be a command for the subordinates. The cats surrounding Marron seemed to be growing impatient. They lowered their heads one after another as their fur stood upright. Meanwhile, Marron, in a frightened manner, coiled his tail into a ball and backed away.
“…I can’t continue to wait like this, me.”
“It can’t be helped. Let’s go.”
Bandage and Gothic Kurumi quickly stood up.
However—
“…! Wait, me! There seems to be something—”
At that moment, Lolita Kurumi stopped them. A black flash bolted across the image reflected in the binoculars.
“Huh?”
Eyepatch Kurumi cried out as her uncovered eye widened.
That was to be expected, everyone let out a gasp of surprise over the flash. The cats that were about to pounce on Marron all let out short groans as they tumbled onto the ground.
“…!”
Eyepatch Kurumi tightly gripped the binoculars.
Then, as if to respond to this, a cat stood in front of Marron.
She had black fur as gorgeous as obsidian, the collar on her neck was decorated with a lovable ribbon, and—eyes that were heterochromatic.
Although cats are more susceptible to iris heterochromia than humans, this cat didn’t fit that description.
Because in the left eye of this black cat—
There was a golden clock dial.
“T-That’s—”
“—Meow.”
The black cat let out a short cry and looked around. Immediately, the surrounding cats all froze, lowered their tails, and shrank back their ears.
However, this response wasn’t unreasonable. Even from eyepatch Kurumi’s perspective, the power of that black cat was overwhelming.
Not to mention her elegance as she stood like a noble, and the look in her eyes—full of danger, like a trigger about to be pulled. Faced with the murderous intent exuded by that cat, ordinary cats could only lower their heads.
“—Fu… fu… fu…!”
Despite this situation, the boss cat tried to hopelessly feign its majesty to the bitter end. However—
The black cat approached at a slow pace, until finally the boss cat lowered its tail and looked away—a declaration of defeat.
“—Meow!”
The black cat let out a powerful roar, using her paw to gently stroke the head of the boss cat. Afterwards, the black cat walked over to Marron.
Not knowing at all who this black cat is, he was still afraid, but as soon as it smelled the black cat’s scent, he felt at ease and began to lick his face.
—And so, everything was concluded peacefully.
Feeling a sense of accomplishment, Kurumi meowed again and began to lick her front paw.
That’s right, this was Kurumi’s secret plan. By utilizing the power of Natsumi’s <Haniel>, Kurumi had transformed herself into a black cat.
Well, strictly speaking, this method did involve directly intervening in the cats’ natural environment, but this method was much better than the alternative. A cat problem must be solved by a cat—this was the best option for this situation. It wasn’t because she wanted to try being a cat for a while. There was definitely, absolutely, no such reasoning.
Kurumi walked out of the abandoned hut with Marron, stretching out her back into an arch—If she could turn into a cat again, she wanted to try this one more. It turned out that this made her feel unexpectedly good.
Now all that remained was returning Marron to Sawa. No, before that, perhaps she should go back to Natsumi, who was standing nearby, to relieve herself of this transformation. If other people caught wind of this situation, she would never be able to explain it, and it would be in poor taste to make Natsumi continue to wait—
“—Marron!”
Just as Kurumi was thinking this, she heard a familiar voice from behind.
Looking back, she could see Sawa running over here while panting. It seemed that her search of the nearby area led her here.
“—Meow!”
Marron also seemed to notice Sawa’s arrival, letting out a sharp cry and running towards her. She immediately picked him up, stroking his back with a relieved look on her face.
“Really, where did you run off to? I was so worried!”
As if to respond to Sawa, he let out another meow. Just seeing that, Kurumi let out a sigh of relief—It seems she could forgo delivering Marron back to Sawa now.
Just as Kurumi was intending to withdraw from the scene, Sawa appeared to have noticed her and called out.
“Ara? Are you… Marron’s friend?”
Sawa squatted down beside Kurumi while speaking, and then she whispered to Kurumi.
“Where did you come from? Did you come to play with him? Thank you.”
Sawa teasingly caressed Kurumi’s throat… How to describe it, because her body had become a cat, this subtle touch was irresistible. A forbidden sound leaked from her throat.
This couldn’t go on. After finding Marron, Sawa would definitely try to contact Kurumi, and who knows what the clones would say if they saw this—
“—Ara, ara.”
At that moment.
The last sounds she wanted to hear entered her eardrums.
The Elite Four stood behind Kurumi with excited looks across their faces.
“Ah, everyone! Thank you for your help! I found Marron!”
“Well, that’s more important than anything else.”
“So what about that cat over there?”
“Ah, that cat was staying right next to Marron. I think she’s his friend.”
After Sawa finished speaking, the Elite Four burst into laughter, unable to hold back any longer.
Kurumi could tell just looking from their expressions—they had all noticed that she was Kurumi.
“A friend of Marron? If that’s the case… she looks quite comfortable right now.”
“That’s right, that’s right. You look like a cat that loves being pampered, so let me stroke you as well.”
“Kya! Your body looks like it’s trembling in fear, like it’s too comfortable to bear even if you wanted to refuse.”
“Is it here? Or over here? Even if you’re not resigning to this, you seem to be really enjoying it.”
The Elite Four had looks of joy as they continued stroking Kurumi’s body back and forth.
“But even though there’s such a cute cat here, I don’t see Kurumi Ane-sama at all…?”
“That girl is a bit too crafty. Surely she must be off having fun somewhere.”
“Yes, yes. Her running around while not knowing we’ve found Marron isn’t out of the question.”
“How many times do you want to be touched? Three times? Is it three times? You sure are greedy.”
—Grrrrrrrrrr.
Kurumi twisted her body and let out an angry cry.
“U-Um… everyone? Don’t stroke that hard—huh?”
As if she discovered something, Sawa suddenly frowned. The Elite Four stopped their hands that were caressing Kurumi’s body and turned to Sawa.
“What’s wrong, Sawa-san?”
“It’s nothing, it just feels that there’s something wrong with Marron… Marron, what’s wrong? Does it hurt somewhere?”
After saying that, Sawa stared at Marron with a worried look.
Indeed, Marron’s body seemed to be trembling slightly, but there were no visible scars on his body. What had happened before Kurumi arrived?
That being said—it wasn’t difficult to imagine why. As she was thinking, Kurumi fiercely twisted her body.
“—Meow, meow!”
And just like that, Kurumi escaped from the Elite Four’s clutches and ran straight into an alley.
“Wah, me—no, little black kitty!”
Without knowing which of the four had screamed, Kurumi made a run for it.
Then, after about three minutes, she reached a trail with some difficult terrain, and finally arrived ‘there.’ At the end of this dark valley, Natsumi was sitting and playing with her smartphone.
“—Meow.”
“…Hmm?”
Kurumi meowed, Natsumi raised her eyebrows along with her head.
“Huh… it’s you. Are you satisfied already?”
“—Meow.”
“…I can’t understand what you are saying. How about it? Do you want to change back?”
Natsumi said that with her eyes half-open. Afterwards, she waved her hand to Kurumi.
“…Fufufufufu… let me change!”
Natsumi closed her eyes, groaning as if in pain. Immediately afterwards, her hand began to shine dazzlingly as Kurumi’s body changed back to its original shape.
“…Hehe, thank you very much Natsumi-san. You were of great help.”
“…Ah, I’m exhausted. Every time I use my Reiryoku I have to think about something nasty, so I really don’t want to do this work as much as possible… You owe me a favor.”
“Yes, yes. I am well aware—When there’s ever another time I need your assistance, I’ll make sure you don’t have to experience this pain again.”
“It’s not the pain I’m worried about!”
“Ahaha, I’m just joking.”
Kurumi winked and then took a deep breath to collect her focus—and then <Rasiel> appeared in her hands.
Seeing this, Natsumi immediately straightened up and assumed a fighting stance.
“W-What…?”
“Please don’t worry. The condition of a kitten named Marron is a bit unpleasant right now, so I want to investigate the reason, but I can’t show this Angel in front of Sawa-san.”
While talking, Kurumi touched <Rasiel>’s pages.
Kurumi’s fingertips fumbled on the pages of the book, drawing forth its information. At that moment, the information poured into Kurumi’s head at great speed.
—And then.
“—Huh?”
Immediately afterwards, Kurumi let out a confused cry.
Of course, this wasn’t because the Angel couldn’t tell her the reasons behind Marron’s condition. That was identified the moment Kurumi manifested her Angel. There was just a small thorn caught in his paw. This was something that could easily be resolved just by having a veterinarian pull it out with some tweezers and disinfect the spot.
However, this wasn’t the only information that Kurumi had learned.
Kurumi didn’t limit the scope of her search to only Marron’s ailments, nor did she restrict it solely on the location of the abnormality. Kurumi was confident that as long as she had <Rasiel> in hand, she only needed to investigate the ‘matter about Marron’ and all the relevant information would naturally flow into her mind.
As she wished, Kurumi had obtained all the information about Marron.
But at the same moment, <Rasiel> also transmitted the full ‘truth’ in accordance with Kurumi’s instructions.
That was all.
What happened just now was really just that.
“…Kurumi? What’s wrong?”
Kurumi remained silent for a long time. Natsumi voiced her concern with a confused look.
“…No. It’s—nothing.”
Kurumi suppressed the urge to vomit as she reluctantly let out those three words.
◇◇◇
—Nighttime. Just following the yearly seasonal changes.
Kurumi visited Sawa’s home once again. Since it was originally located in a quiet residential area, this added a bit more tranquility than during the daytime. Excluding the faint sound of cicadas signaling arrival of springtime, Kurumi’s heartbeat was probably the loudest noise here.
“…”
Kurumi tried to reach out her hand, attempting to ring the doorbell—but, just as she was about to touch it, she lowered her arm again.
She had already repeated this action several times now.
—”Just ring the doorbell, then it will all be over.” Even she couldn’t force herself to think of it like this.
Perhaps it would be better for Kurumi to do nothing at all. If so, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or even every day from now into the future could continue on like this.
However, she knew what was happening. Even if she stumbled upon this by chance, Kurumi was the one who chose to take the bumpy road here.
“Ah—”
Kurumi lost her voice. She continued to keep mumbling and sighing over and over.
—After that, she said goodbye to Natsumi and headed back to Sawa. There, she pretended to inspect Marron like a doctor, and informed everyone that he had stabbed his paw before departing.
Then, after she returned home, she manifested <Rasiel> once more—thinking up anything that would let her get to the bottom of this situation.
While tracing circles on <Rasiel>’s pages, Kurumi’s hunch gradually developed into confidence.
Betting on this slight possibility, she even used the Tenth Bullet <Yud> on herself to awaken her past memories.
Kurumi’s uneasiness—eventually became reality.
Her legs naturally began to walk over to that place.
And then—
“—Meow.”
“…!”
The melancholic meow caused Kurumi to raise her head.
In front of her eyes was the open window on the second floor, and the face of Marron gazing out at her at that window.
“Really Marron, why are you crying out like that… huh, Kurumi-san?”
“Sawa… san.”
Seeing her appearance, Kurumi could only emptily call out her name.
Sawa rubbed her sleepy eyes. Perhaps at last catching on to Kurumi’s abnormal expression, she opened her eyes and leaned out the window.
“Even though I don’t know what’s going on… let’s go to the living room. I’ll open the door for you immediately.”
“Ah—”
After saying that, Sawa’s figure disappeared, replaced by the sound of clearly audible footsteps.
If I leave now, I might be able to continue this ordinary life. However, there’s no way it would work out like that. Kurumi couldn’t leave here. Just as she was hesitating, Sawa opened the porch door and prepared sandals for Kurumi.
“Kurumi-san, it’s cold out there. Please come in, I’ll make you a cup of tea.”
“Y-Yes…”
Sawa pulled Kurumi’s hand and led her inside the house.
“It’ll be ready soon, so please hold on for a minute.”
Kurumi walked to the sofa in the living room and sat down. Marron quickly jumped up and perched by Kurumi’s side. She fiddled with the tip of his tail. Marron, feeling that this wasn’t enough, stood up and shook his body.
“…Hehe.”
Kurumi involuntarily laughed. Probably from seeing this, Sawa let out a sigh of relief as she brought the black tea over.
“Ah, you finally laughed. I didn’t know what I was going to do if you kept being so gloomy.”
“…Was my expression really that bad?”
“Well, I was wondering if there was a ghost standing in front of my house…”
“…Ara, ara.”
After hearing what Sawa said, Kurumi faintly smiled.
It really felt nostalgic. She had thought the same yesterday afternoon as well. Sawa always liked Kurumi to the point of teasing her; the two had such a close relationship perhaps because they both said and did whatever they wanted with the other.
Ah, she really—
“—is the same as Sawa-san.”
Kurumi said that almost unconsciously.
She didn’t say that with any sort of goal in mind. It was just that, for her, the previous shock was already gone. The moment Kurumi came here, she was already mentally prepared.
“Huh?”
Hearing what she had said, Sawa stared blankly.
However, she seemed to realize those words weren’t a joke and sighed softly.
“…Ah, so that’s it. You found out, Kurumi-san.”
Then, Sawa lowered her head and sadly spoke.
“…You already knew? That you aren’t the real Sawa-san?”
“No, I only noticed it just now—because Kurumi-san is so fixated on finding the ‘truth.’”
After listening to what Sawa said, Kurumi sighed, as she knew the meaning behind those words.
That’s right. This was the ‘truth’ that she had obtained.
While investigating Marron’s condition, she realized that he wasn’t the real one.
No—it wasn’t just Marron.
Kurumi’s crimes being redeemed as if all was well and good.
Mana’s body being cured.
—And the dead Sawa being resurrected.
This new world where everything was fine was all fake.
At that moment, Kurumi understood. This sense of disobedience, the absurdity of this entire world that was forcibly inserted during its creation—all of this was a lie.
However, until yesterday, Kurumi didn’t notice this. This must be the power of this world.
This dream-like space was created by the Spirit who snatched away Mio’s Sephira Crystal during its last moments, just as it was about to disappear. That person was the true god of this world.
With that being the case—there was only one thing Kurumi could do with this knowledge.
“—Sawa-san.”
“I must expose this world; I must pass this truth to the people with power, because I still haven’t achieved anything until now.”
“Yes. Kurumi-san should press forward with what she believes in.”
Sawa nodded without hesitation.
Debunking the world—this path was equivalent to eliminating the world where Sawa and Marron lived.
However, even with full understanding of this, Sawa still stared directly back into Kurumi’s eyes and nodded.
—This is entirely a forcibly inserted world. For a moment, Kurumi thought because it was this Sawa that she expected such an answer.
However, Kurumi quickly shook her head again—If it was the real Sawa, she would have definitely had the same reaction. Because she was a girl like that, Kurumi had devoted her life to getting her back.
“—Sawa-san, I have to say goodbye to you for now, but I will definitely come back for you someday. So until then, please wait for me.”
“—Alright, I’ll wait for you. Because Kurumi-san has no friends, you’ll probably get lonely if I’m not there.”
Sawa shrugged while speaking. Hearing her words, Kurumi couldn’t help but laugh.
“Then, I should go—Sawa-san?”
“Hm, what’s wrong?”
“…Can I lean on you for a bit?”
After Kurumi finished speaking, Sawa slightly widened her eyes and suddenly laughed.
“Who are you and what have you done to Kurumi-san?… I’m just kidding, of course you can—it’s just that the price for doing so might be a little high.”
“Ara, ara.”
Kurumi smiled bitterly, buried her cheeks in Sawa’s chest, and cried for a bit.
◇◇◇
As if to tear through the night sky, the silhouette of a girl took a great step forward in this world.
Kurumi, who had left Sawa’s house, was walking along the deserted street, her heels tapping against the ground.
“—We.”
As if chanting, Kurumi muttered to herself.
Immediately following, her shadow expanded several times, and an unknown number of Kurumi climbed out from the shadow. The figure of four people wearing different outfits from the rest was also among them.
All of them knew the situation from the information in Kurumi’s head. The truth of this world that she had learned, and her determination, all of it was transmitted into all of their minds.
One footstep turned into two.
Two footsteps turned into four.
Four footsteps turned into eight.
The solo resonating in the night sky had now turned into a chorus that shook the earth.
“So, let’s go, we—The other party is the Spirit who created this world, a Spirit tantamount to God. No matter how it is done, let us use our power to its fullest extent.”
“—Fufu, is this revenge for deceiving me?”
The clones said with a smile.
Kurumi suddenly smiled and shook her head.
“How could I? This really was a good dream to return to.”
—This was a world of dreams created by that Spirit for a certain someone.
Yet, it was also a world destined to collapse.
In that case, for Kurumi, helping her was the only thing she could do in this matter.
“Now—shall we start our war (date)?”
A gust of wind rolled up Kurumi’s beautiful hair.
The clock piece reflected on her left eye, which was constantly turning, looked bewitching under this moonlit night.
—For Tokisaki Kurumi, the time frozen in her gentle nap in this world was now flowing once more.
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