Date A Live Encore - Volume 6 - Chapter 6

Mukuro Hair

 There was a saying that the 8-beat rhythm used in rock music was similar to a person’s heartbeat. 

 Therefore, it could be said that such a rhythm could be used to potentially lead a person to an excited state. 

 That said, it’s not currently known whether the rhythm being similar to that of a heartbeat is what makes people think an actual heart is beating, but the rhythm itself had an exciting effect— 

 But what was certain at this moment was that there was a large-scale rock festival taking place in Itsuka Shido’s heart. 

 “…! …! …” 

 His throat went dry as he let out a breath that matched the rhythm inside his heart. No, not only that, but his hands were trembling, his vision was becoming blurred, and he could feel sweat slowly trailing down his forehead to his cheeks little by little. 

 However, this was understandable. Shido’s gaze traveled from his right hand to the floor and back again without saying a word. Or to be precise, his gaze was placed just above the floor. 

 He held a pair of scissors in his right hand. 

 And on the floor—strands of beautiful golden hair. 

 Something that shouldn’t be on the floor. 

 “S-Shido…” 

 Tohka, who was standing behind him, spoke with a worried voice. Shido, moving like a machine that hadn’t been well oiled or refueled, slowly turned around and nodded slightly, as if to say “Leave this to me.” 

 However, perhaps because Shido’s face was too pale or worried, Tohka’s couldn’t be at ease, and that only made his expression even more uneasy. 

 “…” 

 Shido put the hand holding the scissors to his chest, tried to adjust his breathing, and began to reorganize his thoughts to figure out how he got into such a desperate situation in the first place. 

◇◇◇

 —Let’s go back in time thirty minutes. 

 Shido sat alone on his living room sofa, staring vacantly at the book in front of him. It was 2:20 in the afternoon, and there was still a bit of free time left before he had to prepare for dinner. The Spirits had all gone out, leaving the usually lively household more quiet than usual. It was a perfect time for reading that he hadn’t had in a while. 

 Although it was a nice day, Shido wasn’t reading an academic journal, or a popular magazine, or even a manga that high school students were interested in, but rather, a special edition of “Today’s Recipes January Issue: Using the leftovers in the refrigerator to make delicious dishes”. It was a family-type magazine. 

 “Whoa, so it’s really fake? The rest of the burnt skin can be made into a many-tier pie. It’s actually all made of flour. I’ll have to try that next time…” 

 Something resonated in Shido’s heart as he folded the corner of the page. At the same time, there was the sound of footsteps from the corridor. 

 “Nushi-sama? Are you home?” 

 A girl opened the door and called out as she walked into the living room. Shido looked up at the sound of her voice and raised a hand to greet her. 

 “Oh, Mukuro. What brings you here?” 

 Hoshimiya Mukuro. She was a Spirit who’d just had her powers sealed not too long ago, and a new resident of the apartment complex next to the Itsuka household. 

 Shido called out her name and glanced at her appearance. She had a petite body with an unfittingly large bust, blonde hair long enough to reach the ground that had been tied into odangos, and a braid that was wrapped around her neck. Mukuro quickly looked around and confirmed that there was no one else present aside from Shido before exhaling. 

 “Mun… Only Nushi-sama is present. Perfect.” 

 “Perfect?” 

 “Verily.” 

 Mukuro nodded her head as she fiddled with the strands of the braid around her neck and then said: 

 “Didn’t Nushi-sama promise to cut Muku’s hair before?” 

 Shido heard what Mukuro said and nodded as he closed the magazine. 

 Shido had made a promise to Mukuro before. 

 It was in the middle of January, after an intense battle that was critical to the survival of the earth and everyone who lived on it. At the end, he had finally managed to seal Mukuro’s Spirit powers. Then, one night, the two looked up at the starry sky and made the promise. 

 Mukuro cherished the long hair that was once praised by her sister, but because she now had a new family in Shido, she decided to say goodbye to her past and no longer cling to this long hair. 

 “You mean that thing, right? Of course, I still remember. Would you like for me to cut it now?” 

 “Muku is sorry for bothering Nushi-sama like this. It’s hard for me to wash my hair on my own.” 

 “Haha, that’s true.” 

 “If these words were shared in front of Miku, she would surely explode.” 

 “…Ahahaha.” 

 Shido listened and couldn’t help but smile weakly. He didn’t need to think very hard about what kind of trouble it could cause if she found out, so he didn’t bother asking. 

 “Anyway, I’m going to get everything ready, can you get your hair wet first?” 

 “Mun, Muku needs to wet my hair?” 

 “Yeah. It’s better to do it that way so it doesn’t get tangled. Ideally, it would be best to cut it directly without getting wet. However, if you cut it directly, your hair will end up all over the place. If your hair was short, we could use a spray bottle to wet it with water beforehand, but with hair as long as yours, that will take too much time.” 

 “Mun, Muku understands. Then please allow me to use Nushi-sama’s bathroom to do it.” 

 Mukuro made her way to the bathroom with awkward steps. 

 Shido smiled to himself as he stood up from the sofa and began to prepare everything he would need to help Mukuro cut her hair. 

 Although they hadn’t had to in recent years, Shido and Kotori used to have their haircuts done at home. He was sure the tools were still around here somewhere. Shido rummaged through his memories and opened the cabinet in the living room. 

 “Found them.” 

 He rummaged through the cabinet briefly before spotting the hair cutting kit and pulled out. He found it after opening some faded packing boxes and after making sure nothing was out of place, he returned to the living room and spread out old newspaper on the floor. 

 He then put a stool on the old newspaper and placed a full-length mirror across from it. From the corridor, he could hear rapid footsteps. It seems that Mukuro had returned. 

 “Oh, I’m ready now. You can come and sit here and put on this shawl—” 

 Shido’s shoulders shook as he turned around with the shawl in hand for her haircut. 

 This was an expected reaction, because in front of him stood the naked figure of Mukuro. Her hair was wet, but she hadn’t undone the braid, nor had she untied it. 

 “M-Mukuro!” 

 “It’s enough if that wraps around, right?” 

 Shido couldn’t help but panic, but Mukuro didn’t seem to mind as she accepted the shawl from Shido and she wrapped it around her neck. 

 Although it was a shawl, it was only meant for family use; it didn’t cover the whole body like the ones at a hair salon. In this case, the shawl only covered part of Mukuro’s chest, making it more revealing than ever. 

 “Isn’t this alright, Nushi-sama?” 

 “…N-N-No! Why aren’t you wearing any clothes!” 

 “Mun? Wouldn’t this be better? As a result, the cut hair won’t stick to Muku’s clothes.” 

 “That much is true, but still, this is definitely not okay, please go put your clothes back on!” 

 “Mun…” 

 Mukuro tilted her head with a confused expression before she left the room and made her way through the corridor. A few minutes later, Mukuro returned, wearing her clothes. 

 “Anyway… please sit right here.” 

 “Okay.” 

 Mukuro nodded and sat down on the stool. Shido sighed helplessly and stood behind Mukuro with the scissors in his hand. 

 There was a slight sense of nervousness in his fingertips, of course. 

 Although Shido was confident in his cooking ability, as with most other household chores, he had no experience in helping others cut their hair. In the past he, at most, only helped repair Kotori’s hair. A professional hairdresser would have been better. But that was unrealistic. 

 Because Mukuro, who cherished her hair very much, would only allow Shido to cut it. 

 Therefore, even if he wasn’t used to it, he still had to steel his nerves and just do it. Even if he cut her hair in a way that made her dissatisfied, it was unlikely that she would be unhappy. 

 Shido took a deep breath to mentally prepare himself and looked at Mukuro’s faced through the mirror and said: 

 “Okay, Ojou-sama, what kind of hairstyle would you like today?” 

 “Muku shall entrust this to Nushi-sama.” 

 “Haha… That is going to make it hard for me.” 

 After listening to what Mukuro said, Shido put a hand to his chin and pondered the situation for a moment. 

 Having noticed Shido’s contemplative expression from the mirror, Mukuro helpfully added: 

 “Mun… Really? Then Muku wants to at least keep the odangos.” 

 “Ahaha, that hairstyle really suits you.” 

 “Hehehe, even if Nushi-sama praises Muku so much, he won’t get any benefits.” 

 Despite her words, Mukuro still smiled happily at the praise. 

 Although there was still no clear idea of what kind of hairstyle to cut, as long as there is a general idea, it’s much easier to manage. After thinking for a moment, Shido finally nodded and said, “Okay.” 

 “So, I can cut your hair to a length where you can tie the odangos, but the whole style will feel more refreshing than it is now. My craftsmanship might not be able to match your hairstyle, though.” 

 “It will be fine, Nushi-sama.” 

 “Okay, I’m going to get started with cutting—ah, yes, it will be a problem if the cut pieces get into the eyes, so remember to close your eyes when I start cutting your bangs.” 

 “Okay.” 

 Mukuro responded as she closed her eyes tightly. 

 “No, you just need to close your eyes when I start cutting your bangs…” 

 Shido smiled bitterly… Well, it wouldn’t hinder the haircut. He mentally prepared himself to start cutting. 

 But then Shido stopped and made an ‘ah’ sound. Because he found that he had to cut her hair, but Mukuro’s hair was still tied up. 

 Logically said, that was something that they should have noticed sooner, but, probably due to seeing Mukuro’s naked body, Shido had missed this detail. 

 “I need to untie your hair first…” 

 Shido told her, intending to put down the comb and scissors in her hand. 

 However, in that moment— 

 “Shido! Look! I found this delicious kinako bread on the street!” 

 The door to the living room flew open with a loud bang, and a girl rushed in excitedly. She was the Spirit: Yatogami Tohka, who had hair as dark as night and crystalline eyes. 

 Because she was moving too quickly, she had no chance to slow down, and crashed into Shido who was standing in front of the doorway. Suddenly hit by Tohka, Shido couldn’t help but stumble backwards. 

 “Whoa!” 

 “Muu! Oh, sorry, Shido. I didn’t expect you to be standing so close.” 

 Tohka said apologetically. Shido shook his head and answered: 

 “No, it’s okay—” 

 Shido paused at that moment. 

 As he was straightening his posture, he heard the sound of something falling gently on the newspaper. 

 “…Huh?” 

 Shido’s eyes widened in horror as he looked at the source of the sound. 

 It was a golden semi-circular object. Shido’s first thought was that Tohka had dropped a lollipop from the street when she collided with him, but he quickly realized that he’d made a mistake. 

 Because what made up the semi-circular object on the ground wasn’t crisp biscuit dough, but instead glittering golden fibers. It would be better to say that… 

 “Mukuro’s… hair…” 

 Shido’s expression was pale and borderline blue as he barely managed to squeeze the words out of his throat. 

 —And that brings us to now. 

 When Tohka crashed into Shido, the scissors in his hand accidentally cut off one of Mukuro’s odangos. 

 He felt all of the blood in his body freeze in an instant, and he was sweating bullets. 

 After all, a woman’s hair was her life, especially in Mukuro’s case. She felt very strongly about her beautiful hair. When Shido planned to seal Mukuro, she was mentally preparing herself to cut it. And one of the things that set her off was when Inverse Tohka cut strands of her hair. 

 Even though Mukuro allowed Shido to cut her hair, if she realized that he had cut off her favorite odango hairstyle entirely, he didn’t know how she would react to that. He struggled to imagine it. 

 “—Mun? Nushi-sama, what happened? Is there someone else there?” 

 “…! N-N-No one else is here.” 

 Shido replied to her after his shoulders shook in fear. He tried to not let Mukuro notice the changes in the situation; if the other girls were present, Mukuro would feel uncomfortable. 

 “Mun…? Weird. Muku thought I heard the voice of another woman…” 

 “! Uh, that… I’m actually really interested in imitating other people’s voices recently! Cough, ah ah ah—” 

 Shido’s eyes darted around to Tohka as he coughed several times. 

 “Muu? What are you doing…?” 

 Tohka tilted her head suspiciously, but then her eyes widened again as she understood Shido’s intention. 

 “Ah, ah, ah—I’m Shido, and I’m very good at imitating voices.” 

 Then she made a sound that deliberately strengthened the lie. After Mukuro heard it, she was surprised and made a sound of “Oh~!” while swinging her feet. 

 “Was that Nushi-sama’s voice just now? That was really well mimicked.” 

 “Yeah… right?” 

 Shido tried very hard to not let his voice tremble in fear. Although it was just improvised off the top of his head, Mukuro seemed to accept it. 

 However, she did seem to sense that something was wrong, and started to shake her head gently. 

 “Mun…? Incidentally, Nushi-sama, the right side of Muku’s head seems a little light…” 

 “…! Ah, no, that’s… r-right! I was just pressing a pressure point! You can relieve sore shoulders and give that feeling of lightness!” 

 It’s like a tagline from a suspicious magazine advertisement… honestly, Shido had no clue what he was talking about either. 

 However, after hearing that sentence, Mukuro let out a sigh of admiration. 

 “It turns out that it’s true! It’s true, Nushi-sama! It can bring about this effect without any pain. Could you please help Muku press the pressure point on the left?” 

 “S-Sure… I’ll take care of it for you later.” 

 Mukuro innocently believed Shido’s blatant lies that he spoke, making him feel guilty. 

 However, now there were other problems that he had to solve. Shido swallowed and squatted down and picked up the hair that landed on the newspaper. 

 He then picked it up and moved his gaze back to the back of Mukuro’s head. There was still a beautiful odango still tied to the left side, and her long braid. Then—the right odango was cut off casually, leaving shoulder-length hair. Somehow a girl with a punk-type hairstyle was born here. 

 “T-This… is terrible…” 

 “M-Muu…” 

 Tohka and Shido looked at each other fearfully and they spoke in hushed voices so that Mukuro couldn’t hear them. 

 “Mun? Nushi-sama, what happened? Please continue cutting.” 

 “Oh, right.” 

 At Mukuro’s urging, Shido placed the lone odango on the side table before taking his place behind Mukuro. 

 But he had no idea on how he wanted to move forward. Shido stayed in place for a while working through his confusion and anxiousness. 

 At that moment— 

 “Hehe! I have appeared like the wind!” 

 “Appearance. Like a storm!” 

 Footsteps came from the corridor again, and a pair of identical twins appeared in the living room. These were also Spirits who lived in the same apartment complex as Tohka and the others—the Yamai sisters, Kaguya and Yuzuru. 

 Kaguya and Yuzuru made matching poses, and then probably noticed the scene unfolding in the living room and tilted their heads in confusion. 

 “…Huh?” 

 “Question. Shido, Tohka, what are you two doing?” 

 “Shhhhhhhhh!” 

 Shido raised his index finger and said, however—it was too late. Mukuro tilted her head with a puzzled expression on her face. 

 “Mun? There are more voices, but this time there are new ones…” 

 However, this time, Mukuro’s tone changed slightly. 

 “…Nushi-sama, you wouldn’t be secretly meeting with another woman while Muku’s eyes are closed, would you?” 

 “…! This… how would I be able to do such a thing?” 

 After hearing Mukuro’s icy tone, Shido’s vision started to blur. Of course, he wasn’t meeting any other women, but there were other Spirits in the house beside Mukuro. 

 “Is this serious? Even if Nushi-sama is good at imitating different sounds, there’s no way that he can make two sounds at the same time…” 

 “…!” 

 Shido immediately moved forward and picked up the remote control placed on the table, turned on the TV, and quickly turned the volume up to the max. The sound of the series that was airing began to fill the entire living room. 

 “Y-Yeah, I turned on the TV. Can you keep your eyes closed? I just wanted something to use as background music…” 

 “It turns out that it is such a thing. Mun, Nushi-sama, you really are empathetic.” 

 Mukuro nodded her head in agreement. Although Shido still felt a little guilty… he couldn’t bring himself to worry about it anymore. He then faced the confused Yamai sisters and lowered his voice to explain the whole story to them. 

 “…So that’s how it is. I’m troubled by not knowing what to do.” 

 “Muu… I’m sorry, Shido, this was my fault.” 

 After Shido finished speaking, Tohka bowed her head and shrugged shoulders apologetically. Shido stroked Tohka’s head and shook his head while answering: 

 “Don’t worry about that. It’s not your fault. I was the one who was careless with the scissors… but what should I do now…?” 

 As Shido felt his stress mount higher, Kaguya and Yuzuru heard this and showed a confident smile. 

 “Hehehe… What are you so worried about, servant? Have you already forgotten who managed to handle the bird’s nest that was Natsumi’s hair?” 

 “Echo. Leave it to the Yamai sisters. Both of us were able to trim it naturally.” 

 Kaguya snatched the scissors from Shido’s hands, and Yuzuru picked up a spare pair of scissors from next to him and struck a dramatic pose. Shido grimaced and put his hand on his chin. 

 “Hmm… But Mukuro would hate it if she found out that other people touched her hair, much less cut it…” 

 “So if she finds out about the current situation, the consequences would be unimaginable.” 

 “Question. Do you have anything that we can use to make it look like it was never messed up to start with?” 

 “Hmm…” 

 After hearing what the Yamai sisters said, Shido was speechless and lowered his head and said, “Please help me.” 

 “Hehe, you will now get to witness the special skills of the Yamai sisters!” 

 “Accept. It’s alright to leave this to us.” 

 The pair of them nodded confidently and stood behind Mukuro. 

 “Allow me to show off my skill! Behold my long-lost cutting skills, super imperial double-edged gale—” 

 When Kaguya came here while striking a dramatic pose. 

 “Bu… Buakkushoo!” 

 “—Achoo.” 

 The two sneezed at the same time, with a very different sensation. 

 “…Ah, what happened? I’m pretty sure I don’t have a cold.” 

 “Criticism. Maybe someone is talking about us…” 

 “Ah, there is indeed such a saying. I think, sneezing once is okay, but sneezing twice is bad. Hahaha, then someone is praising us.” 

 “No. Yuzuru and Kaguya are two different people. Yuzuru’s sneezing occured at the same time as Kaguya’s, so it should be counted toward yours, meaning someone is talking badly about you.” 

 “Why should that count on me! It should count on you instead!” 

 “H-Hey… you two…” 

 The Yamai sisters were about to start arguing with each other and Shido was quick to intervene, his voice hoarse. 

 “Well… Ah, sorry, sorry. I’ll cut it well.” 

 “Apology. I was influenced by what Kaguya said.” 

 Kaguya heard what Yuzuru said and wanted to retort but they stopped halfway. 

 Unfortunately, the Yamai sisters realized what happened too late—the odango on the left side of Mukuro’s head and the entire braid just fell to the floor. 

 “Eh—!” 

 “Shock. What—” 

 Kaguya and Yuzuru all but shrieked. 

 That’s right. Unfortunately, when the two of them sneezed, the scissors in their hands accidentally cut off the remaining odango, along with her braid. 

 “…Mun? Oh, Muku’s head has become lighter again.” 

 With her eyes still closed, Mukuro noted with a relaxed tone. Shido tried as hard as he could to suppress his rapidly beating heart and said: 

 “Ah, um… it’s become lighter, right?” 

 “Fumun. Then please continue at this pace.” 

 Mukuro responded with full confidence in Shido’s ability. Shido himself was sweating bullets. 

 At that moment, the stunned Kaguya and Yuzuru’s shoulders trembled, and they suddenly shook their heads to revive their confidence. 

 “D-Don’t worry! Just leave it to us.” 

 “Plead. Please allow Yuzuru to restore her reputation.” 

 After finishing this, Kaguya and Yuzuru struck another dramatic pose, picked up the scissors and comb, and trimmed Mukuro’s hair in a brisk manner. 

 “Fumun?” 

 During the haircut, Mukuro let out a surprised sound. 

 “Nushi-sama, Muku can feel you trimming the hair on both sides at the same time. How are you doing that?” 

 “Hey! A-Ah… it’s very powerful isn’t it! This is my ultimate technique: dual scissors! I’m using scissors in both hands!” 

 Shido finished with a little bit of arrogance, and Mukuro openly expressed her admiration. 

 “Muku didn’t know that Nushi-sama could manipulate scissors with both hands. That’s really impressive!” 

 “Y-Yeah…!” 

 Shido responded with a sharp voice and looked toward the sisters to encourage them. But it was that moment that he noticed them fighting back laughter. 

 “Pfft… hehe… he said dual scissors. He said dual scissors. I bet he meant to put it in katakana rather than kanji.” 

 “Conjecture. Perhaps dual rather than double is a fixation of Shido’s.” 

 “You’re the last people that I want to hear that from!” 

 Shido couldn’t help but shout loudly, but Mukuro shook her head in wonder so he quickly covered his mouth. 

 “…Anyway, please, you two…” 

 Shido whispered seriously. The Yamai sisters took a deep breath in and out to refocus themselves, then nodded confidently. 

 But— 

 “…Ah, Yuzuru, you cut too much there.” 

 “Refutation. That’s not Yuzuru’s cut, that’s the way it was before. Kaguya cut too much.” 

 “The same is true on my side too. Now that I think about it, in order to achieve a balance…” 

 It seemed that the part that was cut by accident at the beginning was too short, which made it difficult to trim. 

 Twenty minutes later— 

 “…U-Uh…” 

 “…Expose. How about this?” 

 The Yamai sisters rarely spoke without confidence. 

 “O-Oh…” 

 Shido looked at Mukuro’s face through the mirror and smiled dryly. 

 The hairstyle wasn’t ugly. It was important to admire the incredible skills of the Yamai sisters to restore such a hopeless situation to this point. 

 However, it may be because the initial failure was too severe. The length of the hair must match across both sides of her head, so the result was something much shorter, and very different from the original conditions that Mukuro expected. 

 “So… is this okay…?” 

 “What is it?” 

 “Mukuro’s hairstyle. I hope it’s not too short—Whoa!” 

 Shido suddenly jumped in shock. 

 However, his reaction was understandable. Because there was a young girl clinging to Shido’s side, and he didn’t know when she appeared there. 

 “O-Origami, when did you get here?” 

 “I just got here.” 

 That’s right. She was a classmate of Shido, and was also a Spirit: Tobiichi Origami. 

 Shido’s full attention was focused on Mukuro, but even so, he didn’t hear a single sound at all. It was certainly Origami after all. 

 Immediately afterward, other voices came from behind them. 

 “Mukuro-san is sitting there… right?” 

 “Wow, a change of image was pretty bold, right?” 

 He looked up at the source of the sound, and he could see two petite girls: the Spirits: Yoshino and Natsumi who were outside together. It seemed that they also came when the Yamai sisters came to help Mukuro cut her hair. 

 “So, what happened?” 

 Origami asked with her usual monotone. Shido nodded his head slightly as he explained the situation to them. 

 “…I see, so that’s the situation.” 

 “And that… will it be okay?” 

 “…No, it’s clearly a pretty big problem.” 

 After listening to Shido’s explanation, the three people showed three different reactions. 

 Origami pressed her hand against her chin, looking back and forth from Mukuro’s back to the scattered hair on the floor. 

 “So in other words, you want to restore Mukuro’s hair to its original condition, right?” 

 “Yes, that’s right… but wouldn’t it be better to wait for it to just grow out longer again?” 

 Shido finished speaking while Origami shook her head slightly. 

 “Hair is a part of the body, as long as the medical Realizer device is used, the hair can be brought back and things set right.” 

 “…! Origami… is that really possible?” 

 After listening to what Origami said, Shido’s eyes widened. 

 Origami was right. If they used the Realizer, it should be possible to reconnect the cut hair. 

 Shido and the Spirits often used them many times when they were injured to heal their wounds, but it never crossed their minds to use such a magical phenomenon for cutting hair, which was such a commonplace activity. But maybe Mukuro’s hair being cut too short could lead to panic and being unable to think clearly, which could justify it. 

 “But it will be difficult to use the Realizer device here, and it wouldn’t be very easy to leave Mukuro in this state. It would be best to contact Kotori immediately.” 

 “Oh, ah, right.” 

 Shido nodded, pulled out his phone from his pocket and called Kotori. 

 However, in the next moment, a light ringing and vibration came from the table next to him. 

 “Huh…?” 

 After Shido walked suspiciously toward the source of the sound, he spotted Kotori’s cell phone vibrating on the table. It seemed that she forgot to bring her cell phone. Now there was no way to reach her. 

 “Ugh… why did it have to happen now of all times…?!” 

 Shido frowned as he gave up dialing, Origami put a hand on his shoulder. 

 “Leave it to me.” 

 “Huh…?” 

 “I can figure out where Kotori is. I’ll go find her and bring her back here.” 

 “! R-Really?” 

 “Really. However, I need some time to be able to find her. Please buy some more time for me and don’t let Mukuro discover the current situation.” 

 “Buy more time…” 

 Shido glanced at Mukuro. Her eyes had been closed for several minutes, so he wouldn’t be surprised if she opened her eyes even if they weren’t finished yet. 

 As long as they put away the full length mirror in front of her eyes, they could buy a little bit more time. But it would be impossible to remove everything that could reveal Mukuro’s new hairstyle. More importantly, it would all be over if she touched her own head. 

 “It’s fine if only a little bit of time, as long as you’re able to trick Mukuro’s eyes.” 

 “U-Um…” 

 As Shido was in deep trouble, Yoshino (and the rabbit puppet worn on her left hand, Yoshinon) clapped her hands as though she’d just come up with an idea. 

 “Ah, Shido-kun, what do you think of this method~?” 

 “Eh?” 

 “Yoshino, help me out.” 

 “Okay…” 

 When urged by Yoshinon, Yoshino moved over to Mukuro’s side. 

 Then, Yoshinon picked up Mukuro’s long hair, held it in place, and untied her braid. 

 She then used it to cover Mukuro’s hair like a wig. 

 “Okay, it’s done~! The luxurious Yoshinon hairstyle!” 

 “O-Oh…” 

 After seeing the final result, Shido couldn’t help but respond with a wry smile. 

 It turns out that, since it was originally her own hair, the feeling or the touch would certainly not make her suspicious, but because they put a handful of hair on her head, it made her look more like a kelp monster. It would be impossible to fool Mukuro like that. 

 “…Mun? Is the haircut finished, Nushi-sama?” 

 Perhaps because she heard the word “done”, Mukuro couldn’t help but ask. 

 Then she shook her head as though fighting off an itch and made a movement to sweep the bangs out of her face and slowly open her eyes. 

 Everything was going to fall apart. Because she shook her head, the specially made wig made by Yoshinon slid off, showing a very strange look. If she saw her appearance when she opened her eyes, ignoring her bad mood, it wouldn’t surprise him if her Spirit powers flowed back into her. 

 “Wait! Mukuro, not yet—!” 

 “…! Everyone! Take cover!” 

 The sound rang out immediately, and everyone aside from Shido immediately dove under the table or behind the door. 

 “…Mun?” 

 Mukuro rubbed her eyes as though she’d just woken up and blinked. 

 She then stared intently at her reflection in the full length mirror placed in front of her, then murmured suspiciously: 

 “What’s the problem; has Nushi-sama not started trimming yet?” 

 “Huh?” 

 Hearing this sentence, he turned around and immediately rubbed his eyes furiously in disbelief. 

 This wasn’t a surprise after all. Because the blonde hair that was previously on the ground was now back on top of Mukuro’s head. 

 Moreover, the hair trimmed by the Yamai sisters and the special wig that Yoshinon made were still on the ground. Could it be that Mukuro hadn’t noticed? 

 “…! Ah—” 

 Shido froze for a moment, but then he spotted Natsumi, who was hiding behind the sofa while flashing a thumbs up, and he realized what had happened. 

 Natsumi’s Angel, <Haniel>. At the moment Mukuro was about to open her eyes, Natsumi used her power to change Mukuro’s shortened hair back into her longer hair. 

 “Wow!” 

 Mukuro’s eyes widened when she spotted the hair scattered around her feet. 

 “What’s going on? With so much cut, is there really this much hair left…? Well, it seems that what Ane-sama said was true. Muku’s hair really is quite long.” 

 Mukuro said with an approving look, and through the mirror, she crossed her eyes with Shido’s. 

 “Muku is really sorry, Nushi-sama. It seems that Muku has troubled you some. However, please be considerate of Muku. Muku can’t entrust this hair to someone she can’t trust to trim it properly.” 

 “Don’t worry. I know.” 

 Shido answered quickly while trying to swallow his spit and stop himself from trembling nervously. 

 “…Say, can I ask you something, Mukuro?” 

 “What is it?” 

 “This is just a hypothetical situation but what if… if your hair was trimmed by someone other than me, and cut into an ultra-short hairstyle… how would you feel?” 

 “…Mun?” 

 After hearing what Shido said, Mukuro tilted her head suspiciously. 

 “Nushi-sama, why are you asking about this?” 

 “Ah! No… I was just a little curious.” 

 “Mun… someone else trimming Muku’s hair…” 

 Mukuro whispered quietly, staring at her reflection in the full-length mirror while curling a lock of her golden hair with her fingers. 

 Just from looking at her expression, no one could tell if it was sad or angry, but regardless, a calm but powerful voice came from her. 

 “Muku doesn’t know. I’m not sure how I would react to such a thing.” 

 “…!” 

 Having heard this answer, Shido’s breath caught in his throat. No, it wasn’t just Shido, but the sound of the TV that echoed throughout the living room was also mixed with the trembling of the other Spirits hidden all around the room. 

 Although her Spirit powers had been sealed, everyone present knew how terrible Mukuro’s anger could be. If it weren’t for Shido’s intervention, in the worst case scenario, Mukuro might stop the earth’s rotation. 

 “Well, ‘tis a pointless concern. Muku’s hair was trimmed by Nushi-sama, right?” 

 “…Yes…” 

 “Mun? Nushi-sama, is there something on your mind?” 

 After hearing Shido’s stiff answer, Mukuro gazed at him suspiciously. Shido pretended to calmly and gently cough and continued to say: 

 “No… it’s okay… I’m going to start cutting again, can you please close your eyes?” 

 “Okay.” 

 She followed Shido’s instructions and closed her eyes without worry. 

 Once the Spirits hiding nearby determined that Mukuro’s eyes were closed, they all returned from their hiding places, but… the expressions on their faces were not really cheerful. 

 However, it was an indisputable fact that, thanks to Natsumi’s quick thinking, everyone was out of danger. Shido looked at Natsumi. 

 “…Y-You saved me, Natsumi. Thank you.” 

 “…There’s no need to thank me. If Mukuro got mad, it would be uncomfortable for me too.” 

 Shido lowered his voice to avoid Mukuro overhearing them. Natsumi listened, and then looked away and continued. 

 “…I think it should be possible to buy time like this. However, <Haniel> just makes the object assume a false shape, and I don’t have my full Spirit powers right now. I can’t maintain this state for long, so hurry and get that medical Realizer to restore her hair back to how it was.” 

 “Um—Origami, could you please hurry?” 

 “…” 

 After Shido spoke, Origami nodded without another word, and left the living room. 

 “Okay… but what can I do now?” 

 After sending Origami on her way, he put a hand on his chin to consider his options. 

 Although, thanks to Natsumi, he managed to temporarily avoid a crisis, he couldn’t be negligent until he found Kotori. 

 All he could do for now was wait for Origami to return, but if he didn’t do anything during this period, there was no doubt that Mukuro would get suspicious. 

 As Shido was thinking through his options for this kind of thing, he could hear more footsteps from the corridor. 

 “Huh…?” 

 For a moment, Shido thought that Origami was back and managed to find Kotori, but on reflection, it was impossible that she would have been able to find her so quickly. So who on earth was it? Shido looked down the corridor and spotted two tall girls as they entered the living room with cheerful smiles. These were two other Spirits: Miku and Nia. 

 “Oh, oh! It looks like everyone is here—Hey! Could it be that everyone was waiting for me~? Were we planning to do something today? Ah, for some reason, I just remembered that today happens to be my birthday. If everyone would give me a kiss as a birthday, that would be the perfect birthday gift~!” 

 “Ahaha! Mikki has the same fiery passion. Um… but really, what are you all doing together…?” 

 Finally, Nia spotted Mukuro who was sitting in front of the full-length mirror with a shawl wrapped around her body. 

 “Ah, wow, are you cutting Mukku-chin’s hair? Wow, that’s a really big project! What kind of hairstyle are you going to choose?” 

 “Eh~! Is that really true~? Ah, then there’s a hairstyle I want to give her~!” 

 With the tension skyrocketing, the two began to chat more and more enthusiastically. 

 Shido hurriedly stopped the two and urged them to speak softly. No matter how much he used TV sound as an excuse, if they made too much noise, Mukuro would quickly figure things out. 

 “Well? What’s wrong, Boy?” 

 “What happened~?” 

 “…Well, actually—” 

 Shido recounted the ins and outs of the incident to Miku and Nia. Their eyes widened and nodded suddenly. 

 “So that’s what happened… That’s terrible…” 

 “However, Natsumi-san is really smart~! I’ll give you a ticket for a Miku shoulder and breast massage as a reward~!” 

 “Eh?! …I don’t want that!” 

 Natsumi didn’t joke around, but instead gave a serious answer. However, Miku didn’t seem offended and said: “I hate this! Don’t say such things! Since you’re such a good girl, I’ll even add a ticket for a butt massage~!” This only served to make Natsumi raise her guard even higher. 

 “So Boy, what are you going to do next? It’ll take some time for Oririn to track down Imouto-chan and bring her back here, right? I don’t think it would be a good idea to leave Mukku-chin alone until then, right?” 

 “Nh… I don’t want to do that.” 

 That’s exactly what Shido was thinking about as he nodded with a stern expression. 

 But in any case, he had to avoid being reckless and end up making the situation worse. All he had to do was ask for a break to delay the haircut’s end and give Mukuro a chance to rest— 

 “—Ah!” 

 Just as the idea crossed Shido’s mind, Nia also seemed to have come up with an idea of her own, and suddenly clapped her hands. 

 She then smiled evilly as she waved Miku over and whispered in her: 

 So— 

 “…Oops!” 

 After hearing Nia’s whispered suggestion, her eyes seemed to shine like a bright light. She then raised her hands as though praying to God, twisting her body in excitement. 

 “That… that’s so wonderful~! Nia, you’re a genius~!” 

 “Oh, what sort of nonsense are you talking about, Mikki?” 

 Finally, Nia pretended to brush her bangs. The inexplicable excitement of the two made Shido feel a little uneasy. 

 “…Hey, what are you two talking about over there?” 

 “Huh? No, no big deal, we just want to help you out a little bit.” 

 “Y-Yeah~! We just want to help Darling out a little in exchange for a kiss coupon~!” 

 “…” 

 Shido could feel the muscles in his face twitch while sweat trickled down his face. How could he say this? He was suspicious because their words were full of danger. 

 “I think it would be better for Kotori to return…” 

 He was counting on Natsumi’s Angel to keep Mukuro’s hair long. He wanted to avoid more reckless people making their own plans, and making the situation worse. 

 However, Nia seemed to guess what Shido was thinking from his expression and she spread out her hands to stop him from speaking. 

 “No no no! It’s worse to step away rather than to step forward! If you don’t do anything, Mukku-chin will be suspicious!” 

 “And we don’t know how long Natsumi-san’s powers will last! If someone were to touch, hug, or lick Natsumi-san, her concentration would break, then what would we do~?” 

 “Tch…!” 

Hearing what Miku said, Natsumi’s breath caught in her throat. At the same time, Shido felt a cold sweat trail down his skin… At this point, it wasn’t so much that they were giving advice, it was practically coercive. 

 “So, why don’t you let us handle it? I have a hairstyle in mind that I want to try with Mukku-chin to make her cuter!” 

 “Hmm… but…” 

 “I understand that you’re a little uneasy, but don’t worry, I won’t use any scissors! I promise I won’t cut any of Mukku-chin’s hair! All I’ll be doing is braiding and dying it!” 

 “…Really?” 

 “I’m being honest here! If I lie, then my body will be yours!” 

 “Hey! Can I take you up on that? I also want that~!” 

 “…” 

 Shido heard what the two of them said and remained silent. …Somehow, it felt more difficult to trust them. 

 However, neither of them cared and continued their conversation with excited smiles. 

 “Then it’s decided like this! Let’s have everyone else turn around for a bit! Ah, Boy, come here.” 

 “Look forward to seeing the completed look!” 

 “Wow!” 

 “You… what are you doing…” 

 Nia and Miku pushed Tohka and the others back and drove them to a far corner of the living room, making them turn away from them. 

 After returning to Shido, the two of them pulled out handkerchiefs out of their pockets to cover his eyes as well. 

 “Hey! You… what are you doing?!” 

 “We just told you to look forward to the finished look. Once we finish, we’ll take off the handkerchieves.” 

 “Then why can’t I just turn around like everyone else…” 

 “What are you talking about? Only Boy is allowed to cut Mukku-chin’s hair, right? So you’ll have to cooperate with us.” 

 “Cooperate with you…?” 

 “Enough talk. We need to start.” 

 Nia slapped Shido’s back, which he took for the signal to turn around. At that moment, though, a quiet voice rang out. 

 “Nushi-sama, what are you doing?” 

 Nia and Miku seemed to have started, and Mukuro spoke in doubt. 

 Because it was Shido’s responsibility to help her with her hair, Nia and Miku couldn’t answer her themselves. 

 However, Shido’s eyes were blindfolded by the handkerchiefs. Although he felt overwhelmed by the situation, he still spoke to Mukuro with an air of confidence he didn’t truly feel. 

 “O-Oh… are you okay?” 

 He honestly didn’t know what the current situation was, so he could only speak such cautious words until he had a better understanding. Fortunately, Mukuro hadn’t suspected anything yet and responded: 

 “This is okay, it’s just a little itchy. But what’s the matter? Are you helping to trim Muku’s hair? 

 “Ah? Yes.” 

 “Mun…” 

 “W-What happened?” 

 “Nushi-sama, why are you touching Muku’s body so often?” 

 “…Eh?” 

 Hearing such unexpected words, Shido made a stunned voice. What the hell were those two girls doing? Such ideas filled his mind and made him feel confused. 

 However, he could only make things up based on the situation. Despite being confused, Shido answered: 

 “If you massage it like this, it will promote blood circulation throughout the body.” 

 “Oh, so that’s what this is. Nushi-sama, you are so knowledgeable.” 

 “Haha… y-yeah.” 

 “So, when you are touching Muku’s chest, is that also part of the massage?” 

 Shido couldn’t help but let out a high-pitched noise. So Mukuro answered doubtfully: “Mun?” 

 “What, it isn’t? Why, then? Nushi-sama, could it be that you like Muku’s chest that much?” 

 “T-That…” 

 Shido wanted to shout, “I’m not the one doing that!” But Mukuro couldn’t know that anyone besides Shido was around. He had to work hard to restrain this impulse, so he spoke with some self-abuse: 

 “…T-To be honest, yes. I really like Mukuro’s chest…” 

 “So that’s what it is. Then you can be honest about it from the beginning… Mun, but you are massaging a little forcefully. Please be calm.” 

 “Y-Yeah—Ah…!” 

 Shido apologized implicitly while sternly trying to warn Miku (although Nia was there, but the culprit was most likely Miku). 

 Soon afterwards, Mukuro wondered: 

 “Nushi-sama, Muku has been wondering about the matter from the beginning.” 

 “W-What is it, Mukuro?” 

 “Why, Nushi-sama, do you want to take off Muku’s clothes?” 

 “…What do you mean, hey—!” 

 Shido couldn’t take it anymore as he pulled off the handkerchieves covering his eyes and shouted at Miku and Nia. 

 “Eh…!” 

 However, Shido’s breath caught in his throat. 

 This was understandable, because Mukuro’s current appearance was to wrap her floor-length hair into a shape like a bikini, and wrap it around her nude body. This image was, in a way, very exciting. 

 Perhaps seeing Shido’s stunned reaction, Nia and Miku both proudly puffed out their chests. 

 “What do you think, Boy? I’ve always wanted to try something like this out. Mukku-chin’s hair is so long, I thought it might actually work!” 

 “Ah~! This is wonderful~! It’s too beautiful~!” 

 “…N-No, do you think that’s a good thing…?!” 

 After Shido raised his voice with his face red— 

 “Mun… why is it so noisy?” 

 Mukuro, whose eyes were closed, asked and then opened her eyes again. 

 “…!” 

 Faced with the sudden situation, the Spirits had no time to hide. Mukuro looked around and blinked in surprise. 

 “…Wow, everyone is back. Mun… Muku and Nushi-sama were spending time by ourselves.” 

 Mukuro pouted her lips with some dissatisfaction. Shido felt his shoulders tremble. 

 “I-I’m… sorry, Mukuro. I should have told you about this sooner…” 

 “Mun… well… it’s okay. More importantly…” 

 After she finished speaking, Mukuro stood up from her stool and noticed her peculiar “outfit”. 

 “What is this? Is this Muku’s hair all tied up?” 

 “Ah, this… that seems to be the case. I mean, that’s…” 

 Shido quickly caught himself as he began to sweat profusely. Nia and Miku were the ones who did this, but Shido had to act as though it were him. 

 Then Mukuro let out a “Fumun” as she looked at her reflection in the mirror curiously, turning around to take stock of her own appearance. 

 “Oh, Muku understands. Nushi-sama, do you think this look is suitable for Muku?” 

 “Huh! Ah, y-yes.” 

 Shido felt a cold sweat trail down his forehead as he nodded. In truth, this was done by Nia and Miku, but Mukuro wouldn’t trust her hair with anyone aside from Shido, so he couldn’t give an irresponsible answer. 

 So Mukuro, looking puzzled, nodded slightly. 

 “There is no problem, then. If you like it, Nushi-sama, then Muku has no objections.” 

 Mukuro finished speaking with an innocent smile. 

 “…!” 

 Shido looked at her expression and felt his breath catch in his throat again. 

 His heart was stolen by Mukuro’s innocent cuteness… well, not really. He was more ashamed that her mental state would collapse and her Spirit powers would flow back into her. 

 Mukuro trusted Shido enough to allow him to trim her cherished hair. However, Shido spent all of his time up until now trying to conceal his mistakes, and even dragged the other Spirits into it. He couldn’t help but hate himself, and his heart was filled with this emotion. 

 “…Mukuro, I’m sorry.” 

 After a few seconds, Shido sighed as he apologized. 

 “Mun? What’s wrong? Why are you apologizing? As long as you like it, Muku has no problems.” 

 “It’s not that. It’s just that I… did something unfair to you.” 

 Shido knelt down on the ground earnestly as he spoke. Mukuro stared at Shido with a surprised look on her face. 

 “The truth is…” 

 Just when Shido was about to confess to everything— 

 “—Shido!” 

 The living room door was thrown open, and Shido’s sister came into the room in a blind panic. 

 “…! Kotori!” 

 “Everyone’s okay! Ah, it looks like the Spirit power hasn’t flowed back yet… oh.” 

 Just then, Kotori paused. 

 Shido thought for a moment that she was shocked by Mukuro’s sexy “outfit” and her impressive bust, and she’d lost her ability to speak for a moment, but— 

 It was because, when Kotori opened the door, Natsumi was leaning against the door before slumping against the wall. Hard. 

 “…Gefuhl!” 

 Natsumi made such a sound as she lost consciousness and slumped to the ground. 

 At that moment, perhaps because the effects of <Haniel> required Natsumi to be conscious, the hair-bikini wrapped around Mukuro’s body shone brightly, and then disappeared into the hair. 

 “…Wha…? Wh-What… what’s going on here?!” 

 Mukuro’s panicked voice resounded throughout the entire living room of the Itsuka household. 

◇◇◇

 “…Oh, I see…” 

 It was thirty minutes later. 

 Mukuro, having already recovered after taking a long breath, replied. 

 Shido fully explained the situation to Mukuro. It seemed that for the moment, there was no reverse flow of Spirit power, but Mukuro’s expression was complicated as her fingers played with her short hair. 

 “I’m sorry! This is all my fault! I accidentally cut the odangos…!” 

 Shido put his hands on the table and bowed his head deeply to apologize. Then, the other Spirits sitting in a row next to him also apologized. 

 “No, it’s all my fault! It was because I accidentally crashed into Shido! If you want to get angry, then get angry with me!” 

 “No… it was my fault for cutting the other odango…” 

 “Reflection. It was Yuzuru who cut the braid.” 

 “Oh, but the hair-bikini was really great, Mukku-chin.” 

 “Hehehe, it was a spectacle for the eyes~!” 

 “…Nia, Miku, you two should reflect on this a little bit more.” 

 Natsumi, with a cold compress on her forehead, replied with narrowed eyes. Perhaps having seen that, Kotori let out a small sigh. 

 “…It looks like things have been resolved. I apologize for my brother too. I was able to recover all your hair, and we can set it back to the way it was before with the medical Realizer aboard the <Fraxinus>. I can’t ask you to just brush it off, but… I hope you can understand that everyone here had no bad intentions.” 

 “…Fumun.” 

 Mukuro replied quietly, and smiled a little bit. 

 “It’s okay. Muku has already said that I had already entrusted my hair to Nushi-sama, and no matter what kind of hairstyle was cut, there were no complaints from Muku.” 

 “Mukuro…” 

 “However, Muku can’t accept people aside from Nushi-sama touching my hair. If the hair is restored, can Nushi-sama personally trim Muku’s hair next time?” 

 Mukuro’s gaze met Shido’s eyes as she spoke. Shido nodded emphatically as he held her gaze. 

 “Yes, of course I will.” 

 “Mun. Then there’s no problem.” 

 After hearing Shido’s response, Mukuro smiled happily. Maybe because of her reaction, the other Spirits felt relieved. 

 Shido understood their feelings perfectly well. It was not because they were relieved about not being reprimanded, but they were worried about whether Mukuro would be upset by them trimming her hair. 

 “…” 

 So, after seeing everyone reacting to her shorter hair, she glanced at the full-length mirror and spoke to Shido again: 

 “Nushi-sama.” 

 “Hmm? What’s wrong, Mukuro?” 

 “Could you take a picture of Muku?” 

 “Huh…?” 

 After hearing those unexpected words, Shido’s eyes widened in surprise. Mukuro shrugged slightly and then said: 

 “Muku still wants Nushi-sama to cut my hair for me. But—it’s a pity that this look that you and everyone else worked hard to make will disappear.” 

 Shido and the other Spirits couldn’t help but stare at her with her eyes wide. 

 Perhaps it was because Mukuro, with her cheeks tinted red, wore a beautiful smile on her face.