Kurumi Valentine
“───Ufufu, fufu.”
Tokisaki Kurumi smiled while in a good mood, looking up at the display shelf for ingredients for sweets.
With porcelain skin and glossy black hair, she was a lovely girl wearing a black coat over her slender limbs.
Well, her left eye was ticking regularly, but that alone was an indication of her somewhat extraordinary experiences.
“Now then, what are you going to do?”
Kurumi took delight in muttering to herself as she lined up the chocolates in order by hand.
Kurumi was currently working at a confectionary material store on the main street of Tengu City. Beginning from melting a block of chocolate, she would use a chocolate pen with granulated sugar to write on a message plate. Moreover, colored wrapping paper would be used to compartmentalize everything into a confined space.
That should do it. Today is February 11th. It was three days before St. Valentine’s Day, a day of celebration for girls in love.
Of course, Kurumi’s goal here was also materials for handmade chocolate. Imagining the perfect shape for chocolates in her head, she threw everything she needed into the shopping basket.
Despite this, Kurumi was neither intending to give a sweet love confession or distribute obligation chocolate.
“───Kihihi, hihi”
While grabbing the dark chocolate with high cacao content, Kurumi raised the corners of her mouth with a smile.
“Look forward to it, Shido-san.”
Yes, this was all for the sake of turning the young man with the power to seal reiryoku, Itsuka Shido, into her captive of lust just through her wiles.
Therefore, Kurumi’s flawless plan required obtaining handmade chocolate materials at the confectionary store.
Her words for dialogue were a spear to the chest.
The touch of her fingertips was the edge of a blade.
And this chocolate was a bomb to shatter the walls of Shido’s mind into fine dust.
Every method for the sake of making Shido fall in love.
…By no means was this to make Shido pleased, or conceivably the reason being to earn his praise.
“…Ara?”
Suddenly, Kurumi’s eyebrows twitched as she turned behind.
For some reason, it felt like a gaze was watching her.
However, there was no such figure behind her.
Rather than behind her it was only from the walls, floor, and Kurumi’s own shadow.
“Ah…”
Kurumi, who had a faint idea of the owner of that gaze, slightly shrugged her shoulders as she went back to shopping for ingredients for the chocolate.
◇◇◇
“Kusukusukusu.”
“Kusukusukusu.”
Countless laughter resounded inside the dark, obscure shadows.
Inside the shadows──that expression was neither a metaphor nor exaggeration.
It wasn’t a dimly lit place or a location with no one present. Within the black vortex on every crevice on the walls and floor, there were several girls breathing.
Innumerable──girls with the same face.
“Ara, ara, what are you doing, me?”
Noticing the laughter of that girl──one of the Kurumi raised such a question. Then, another Kurumi with the same face replied while nodding.
Yes, everyone in the shadow was Kurumi. By manipulating the Angel of time <Zafkiel>, Tokisaki Kurumi’s past forms could be revived as a clone.
“Ah, me. Just peeked out of the shadow a little.”
“Me, also went out to look?”
“What happened outside?”
“Yes, yes, it appears that me is buying chocolate ingredients.”
“Ara, ara.”
While saying that, a Kurumi placed her hand on her chin and peered out to look at the outside world just like the other Kurumi.
“I see it’s a gift for Shido-san.”
“Yes, yes. Me certainly has quite the cheerful look.”
“Ufufu, looking at this makes myself feel embarrassed.”
While watching Kurumi act this way, all of the clones laughed.
Yes, the appearance of Kurumi seen from the shadows certainly did look more blissful than usual.
However, while watching this scene, one of the clones raised her voice after recalling something.
“But, me seems to say that it is only a means to make Shido-san fall in love.”
“Yes, that was said.”
“There is no other meaning behind this, that point was always emphasized like that.”
As one clone said that, the other clones stood up in astonishment.
“Eh!”
“Is that true?”
“That’s a little suspicious.”
“Ah, she’s singing. Singing.”
“The person in question doesn’t seem to have noticed it herself yet.”
“The song is Valentine’s Kiss. The song selection seems a bit old.”
As they each shared their opinions, Kurumi laughed.
Apart from this, it wasn’t as if they were treating Kurumi like an idiot. After all, the real Kurumi was the equivalent to their own future. Rather, it would be better to say they were watching with a smile.
“But──”
“A bit enviable, of me.”
“Yes, yes, certainly.”
“I also want to give a gift to Shido-san.”
“But we ought to be aware…acting without permission is not allowed.”
“But.”
“No.”
“But.”
“But.”
Despite all of them being Kurumi, there were subtle differences in thinking and values depending on the age they were created from. Although all of them shared the same overall goal, not everyone would give the same reply.
In the shadows, the voices coming from Kurumi echoed several times over.
◇◇◇
“──Now, preparations are all set.”
The night of February 13th. At one of her various locations in the city.
Kurumi changed into her underwear, while placing her hand on her waist she made a final inspection for the upcoming final battle.
“Uniform, check. Winter gear, check. Shoes, check. Underwear──
“Fufu.”
Kurumi made a pose in front of the dressing mirror and nodded lightly.
Sensual underwear covered enchanting snow white skin. Although it was a bit self-proclaimed, there was no man whose heart wouldn’t skip a beat seeing this.
“Good. Now then──”
As Kurumi abruptly raised the corners of her lips, she turned her body to point to a decorated box on her desk.
“Chocolate, all set.”
Naturally, the taste of the chocolate was self-explanatory, but Kurumi was also quite confident that the wrapping was finely done as well. Kurumi smiled in satisfaction as she carefully placed the box into a paper bag.
And then──
“…Ara?”
Unexpectedly, Kurumi slanted her head.
The shadow on the floor suddenly distorted as a girl with the same face as Kurumi crawled out from there.
Moreover, the Astral Dress covering her body was in ruins. She was clutching her own shoulders, gasping with a painful look. Seeing that unusual appearance, Kurumi couldn’t help but purse her brow.
“Ha…ha…n-not good, me.”
“What on earth happened? Don’t tell me that something happened to Shido-san──”
As Kurumi asked that, the clone shook her head.
“W-We have rebelled…!”
“…Ha?”
Hearing those unexpected words, Kurumi’s face was left utterly baffled.
Rebellion. Of course, she knew the meaning behind that word. But when it came to that word, she would never associate it with her personal clone vanguard that shared the same mentality.
Certainly, the clones were a part of Kurumi’s past history. Since they are taken from distinct time periods, there may or may not be some guileless individuals from a so-called rebellious phase.
However, Kurumi’s absolute goal has never once been shaken. Therefore, even with individual differences between clones, the common thought process should remain the same.
But, the clone raised her head, looking at Kurumi with a serious look as she continued explaining.
“At first, it was just a little quarrel. But then the radical we began to rise.”
“Radical we?”
Hearing those all too familiar words, Kurumi couldn’t help but repeat those words just like a parrot.
The clone continued to speak in a fervent tone.
“Even though from the beginning the moderate we tried frantically to stop them…”
“Moderate we?”
“From a certain perspective, there was a dispute between the new Tokisaki faction and the old Tokisaki faction. Taking advantage of that opportunity, the me who was the representative of the principle Kurumi doctrine staged an uprising. No…thinking about it now, it may have all gone according to the grand plan depicted by me.”
“…I’m not quite sure, anyway what happened?”
As Kurumi said while scratching her cheek, the clone lightly nodded her head as she continued to speak.
“There is a group of me who have formed an alliance to give Shido-san a gift and ran out of the shadow…”
“…?! Please inform me of this earlier!”
When hearing what the clone had said, Kurumi widened her eyes as her voice turned inside out.
Although it wasn’t easy to understand abstract concepts like rebellion, radical, and moderation, this was the most important matter.
The clones doing something unnecessary could hinder Kurumi’s goal──and above all else.
“The past me sending a gift to Shido-san…? Y-you’ve got to be kidding…!”
Kurumi’s face turned pale as she immediately snapped her fingers.
In an instant, the shadows clung onto Kurumi’s body, forming a red and black dress. Astral Dress, the absolute armor fortress for a Spirit.
“This has to be immediately stopped now…! How many offenders are there?!”
“Yes, although most of the radicals have been stopped by us, four culprits have taken advantage of this opportunity…”
“So there are four of them. I understand. ──Please assign the remaining me to the next task.”
“Could it be that you are intending to go alone? The whereabouts of me are still unknown…”
The clone expressed her concerns as Kurumi gave out her instructions.
Kurumi turned her body around as she huffed from her nose.
“I can’t afford to spare more people. ──Besides, who do you think I am? Aren’t I the final form for all of me? The thoughts of me are as clear as the things held in the palm of my hand.”
As Kurumi spoke, she made a small jump at that spot, diving into the shadows.
──Moonlight shined through the window, filling the classroom with a fantasy-like light.
The time was 2:00 AM. In the empty school, the sound of small footsteps was heard.
It was neither a teacher on night duty nor a student who sneaked back into school to grab something that was forgotten. ──It was the Spirit, Tokisaki Kurumi.
“Ufufu, fufu.”
Kurumi smiled a little, narrowing her eyes at this commonplace romantic scene as she slowly walked into the classroom.
Kurumi was currently in classroom 204 of Raizen High School.
A class Kurumi once transferred into and where Itsuka Shido was enrolled.
Walking in tandem with the neatly arranged desks, Kurumi stopped at a particular desk.
“If I’m not mistaken…it should be here.”
While saying so, she raised the corners of her lips. ──Yes, if the memory of Kurumi serves, here should be Shido’s seat.
“Fufu…”
Kurumi slowly took out a beautifully wrapped case from a paper bag. ──It was chocolate.
And then, she hid it within Shido’s desk.
So the next morning, when Shido came to school, he would find this. Together along with a mysterious message──
But just at that moment.
“──That’s far enough, me.”
Accompanied by a familiar voice, a shadow appeared in the vision of Kurumi.
“Wha…!”
Confronted by that sudden occurrence, Kurumi twitched her shoulders as she turned to the direction of that voice.
Standing there was the real Kurumi, who crossed her arms with the moon appearing behind her.
“…Sure enough, you’ve come here.”
Kurumi, who had discovered one of the culprits quite early, tensed her eyebrows in displeasure.
The first location to arrive would be classroom 204. It appeared that she was trying to hide chocolates in Shido’s desk.
“Ara, ara…if it isn’t me. What are you doing here at this hour?”
The Kurumi who was caught at the scene of the crime didn’t appear to be the slightest shaken as she feigned being calm.
Even so, this wasn’t entirely unsurprising. After all, it was her old self standing before her. For Kurumi, she was inadvertently self-aware of this state of mind. Simply put, she would consider being in a flustered state to be more detestable.
However, criticizing her for coming out now would come off as too boorish. …In any case, it would even feel a bit uncomfortable for her. Kurumi sighed as she half closed her eyes.
“Don’t play dumb, me. I’ve already heard the story. ──Haven’t you been recklessly and excessively behaving at your own convenience?’
While saying this, Kurumi looked on at the culprit illuminated by the moonlight.
Needless to say, the other party was a clone and had an identical face to Kurumi. But her outfit was slightly different from the current Kurumi.
It was a Gothic Lolita dress with a black and white basis. Rather than tying up her hair, her head was decorated with an ornament resembling a rose.
Moreover, the biggest feature was the left eye. She was wearing a medical eyepatch to hide the clock-piece on that eye.
…A few years ago, there was a time she was tired of being dressed the same as her clones and made a conscious effort to differentiate her image. The Gothic Lolita Dress from this eyepatch Kurumi must be from around five years ago.
Nowadays, she realized that looking identical to her clones could help in deceiving the eyes of the enemy. But still, this Kurumi represented her brief phase of blowing up her self-individuality.
In that regard, the existence of this eyepatch Kurumi could be considered as Kurumi’s natural enemy. After all, everybody has bitter memories of the past…but this so-called black history has manifested in the form of a person. Just thinking about it was bad for her mental health.
Eyepatch Kurumi likely realized that it was futile to keep dodging the topic. She vented out a sigh, shrugging her shoulders while pulling out the box she was trying to hide in Shido’s desk.
“This isn’t being crafty at all, me. We just wanted to give Shido-san a gift.”
Eyepatch Kurumi spoke while not in the slightest afraid. Even so, Kurumi still felt anxious at her reply.
“Tokisaki Kurumi, you are the me of that era. You are just a reproduction of my past. Please don’t hinder my plan.”
“It’s because there was no one in my time period like Shido-san. Besides, what’s wrong with adding a few more gifts?”
“It・ is・a・huge・problem…!”
Hearing what eyepatch Kurumi had said, Kurumi raised her voice without bothering to conceal her anger.
Then, with that momentum, she hastily took a step forward to snatch the box away from eyepatch Kurumi.
“Kya, what are you doing?!”
Eyepatch Kurumi sent out a look of criticism. However, Kurumi didn’t pay attention to that as she turned her attention to the box.
“My past aesthetics is whom I’m most distrustful of! What would be done if you send something strange that Shido-san hates!”
“How rude to call it something strange. It’s just plain chocolate.”
Eyepatch Kurumi spoke while pouting.
As it turned out, she wasn’t lying. However, the problem was not there. Kurumi lowered her eyes to the card stuck on the box.
“…What is this?”
With a gloomy expression, Kurumi carefully scrutinized.
It was a black card the size of a business card. However, there was no information or contact info on it. Instead there was a stylish font (a typeface likely to be displayed on a screen when a mysterious person was talking through a communication device) with only the letter K printed.
It was just like the calling card of a phantom thief.
──Your heart, I’ve come to accept it…how utterly bothersome! Kurumi internalized the role of a tsukkomi in her thoughts.
Looking at each constituent factor individually, it might come off as cool. But when these elements are mixed together layer by layer, it was an unbearable sight to behold.
However, eyepatch Kurumi stared blankly while tilting her head.
“Don’t you feel that it is cool?”
“It’s not cool at all…! It’s a hundred steps back, the chocolate itself was good enough, why would you attach something like this!”
“Because he wouldn’t even know who sent this…ha!”
As she said that, eyepatch Kurumi widened her eye as if noticing something.
“I-I see…that is certainly true.”
Suddenly, her hand began to tremble. Seeing her in this state, Kurumi finally breathed out a sigh.
“Do you finally understand now?”
“Yes…if there is only a K, there is the possibility of it being mistaken as a gift from Kaguya- san or Kotori-san, right? As expected, I need to add a clock symbol…”
“That’s not it at all aaaaaaaaah!”
Kurumi screamed as she slammed against the floor with her foot.
From there, the shadows spread outward, grabbing onto eyepatch Kurumi’s feet.
“Kyaah!”
Eyepatch Kurumi let out a scream──but as soon as she quickly understood the situation, her expression turned fearless with cold sweat dripping down her cheeks.
“Regretfully…it seems that this is as far as I can go. ──But, I am only the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings of Kurumi. I’m looking forward to how you confront the three remaining me! Kihihihi! Kihihihihihihi──”
Eyepatch Kurumi continued to speak until being forcefully dragged into the shadow.
“…No, what are the Four Heavenly Kings of Kurumi?”
Kurumi felt a little dizzy as she dived into the shadows to catch the next culprit.
◇◇◇
After that, Kurumi departed for the main entrance of the High School.
Although it wasn’t clear which other generation of Kurumi had instigated the revolt, as long as it was her old self, she felt the opportunity of putting chocolate in his shoe drawer.
“…Sure enough, I was right.”
There was a Kurumi closely peeking into Shido’s shoe cupboard. The original could only sigh at this sight.
Here, as expected, one of the clones was putting chocolate into a shoe cupboard.
Despite it being gratifying for things to go as expected, when considering it closer this meant she was reading their thoughts as if it were her own. Kurumi felt slightly depressed at the prospects of this.
But in any case, she couldn’t let this clone proceed any farther. While making loud footsteps, Kurumi leaped towards that spot.
“Stop right there, me!”
“…! Wha…!”
Seeing Kurumi appear, the clone faintly wrinkled her brow as she turned to the direction of the real Kurumi.
“…”
Just from looking at her appearance, Kurumi felt a semi-automatic spasm strike her cheeks.
As in the case of the Kurumi earlier, she was dressed differently than a normal clone. She was wearing a Gothic punk-style with bandages covering her entire body. Her right hand, left foot, and of course left eye were also covered in bandages.
Although similar to the previous Kurumi, the direction of this person was even more twisted. Kurumi felt a mysterious headache just looking at her.
And then bandage Kurumi tried to keep calm while opening her mouth.
“Ara, ara…if it isn’t me. At such a time──”
“Aah, those words have already been spoken, so you can spare the effort. You are the second one. That should give you enough of an idea.”
As Kurumi turned her face away after speaking, bandage Kurumi let out a “boo” sound as she pouted her lips to complain.
“Eh, that’s too unfair. I would also like to deliver to an exceptionally strong person. Taking upon that challenge is restorative after fighting the enemy.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
Kurumi sighed and then continued speaking while pointing to the bag that bandage Kurumi was holding.
“Compared to that, if you give that box to Shido-san, various problems are likely to occur. Let me collect it right now.”
“That is tyranny! Why on earth would delivering this gift cause problems?!”
Bandage Kurumi let loose her complaints. However, Kurumi was without the slightest shred of sympathy as she glared at the gift with her eyes half-closed.
“…Say, why did you use English newspapers for wrapping in the first place?”
“Is it not quite stylish?”
“…So why is a cross-shaped ribbon wrapped around it?”
“Is it not quite stylish?”
“…So why are there bloodstains everywhere on the wrapping paper?”
“Is it not quite stylish?”
Bandage Kurumi replied instantly without taking time to think. Apparently, it seemed she actually thought so from the bottom of her heart. Kurumi placed her hand against her forehead, letting out a small groan from the dizziness.
“Do you regard this as fine, me? Although the packaging is indeed quite surprising, only a selective group of unusual people would choose this option.”
“Eh, is that right?”
“Yes, the bloodstains are especially undignified. Even if there is ordinary chocolate inside, most people would feel uneasy about what was placed inside. Wouldn’t this be thrown out without even looking inside?”
So, apparently the bloodstain wasn’t a print, but an actual stain on the wrapper. Although she wasn’t sure if it was real blood, anyone would get suspicious if they discovered this in the shoe drawer. To tell the truth, this creepy appearance gave the impression of stuffing the dead body of a small animal inside rather than chocolate.
After listening to what Kurumi had said, bandage Kurumi rounded her eyes in astonishment.
“How could this be! I have not put anything dangerous inside. It is just chocolate──”
“Like I said, even if there is something ordinary inside this package…”
“──and simply paired together with a human skull ring.”
“Don’t add something so unnecessary aaaaah!”
As Kurumi screamed, just as before, the shadow on the floor expanded and entangled bandage Kurumi’s legs.
“What──hey!”
Bandage Kurumi let out a sorrowful scream as she was sucked into the shadow.
It was then that the box containing her gift slipped from her hands and rolled onto the floor.
Looking at it with a glance, Kurumi slowly bent her knees as she picked up the box.
“…Ara?”
It was then that she discovered a part that was hidden in a blind spot beforehand.
There was a card attached to the ribbon.
“…”
Taking it out, it read the words Welcome to the hell! drawn in blood-soaked letters.
“…”
Kurumi shuddered from every fiber of her being as she threw the box into the shadows.
◇◇◇
“…In any case, this is halfway there.”
After capturing two clones, Kurumi left the school as she advanced forward by swimming inside her shadow.
…Despite not even thirty minutes passing in time, for some reason she felt unbearably weary. Thinking of this, Kurumi couldn’t help but sigh greatly.
“Ara, ara, fatigue must have struck, me.”
“Don’t overdo it. Why don’t you take a break for today?”
The two clones tried to offer words of comfort to Kurumi.
However, Kurumi was unable to feel at ease from those words.
But that was of course natural. After all, the ones talking to her now were the eyepatch and bandage Kurumi that were just caught beforehand.
Naturally, in order to prevent them from causing another disturbance, their hands and feet were tied up. But since their mouths were still free, they still tried to incessantly hinder Kurumi’s movements.
Kurumi, with great trouble to avoid looking directly at the two, glared at them.
“If you wish me to be comfortable, how about revealing the locations of the remaining two? That way I can soon fall asleep.”
“While saying that, Kurumi let out a long sigh.
Then, after eyepatch and bandage Kurumi exchanged glances for a brief moment, they gave a slight nod as they began to open their mouths to speak in turn.
“If memory serves correctly, the third me was searching for a French pastry chef to make the perfect chocolate.”
“Ah, ah, that’s true. I remember that the fourth me said about going to Trinidad and Tobago in order to gather high quality cacao beans.”
Both of them spoke in a serious manner. …Of course, it was a lie. It was obvious that they were trying to shelter the remaining two clones.
Kurumi released a weary sigh once again before replying to those two.
“Yes, thank you for that precious information. …Then next I will investigate the road between the school and Shido-san’s house.”
“Giku.”
“Wow.”
As Kurumi said that, eyepatch and bandage Kurumi faintly trembled from their shoulders. …This response made their attempts at concealment all the more conspicuous.
Sure enough, the next location appeared to be there.
Well, that would be a reasonable place. Based on the two major points so far being the school classroom and shoe drawer, the next should most likely be the street that Shido always passed through.
But she didn’t have a clue about any specifically designated points other than a rough outline. Kurumi rushed out from the shadows of the night, carefully exploring her surroundings.
Shortly afterwards──
“…?!”
After walking for a bit, Kurumi’s feet came to stop as the shudders traveled up to her shoulders.
The reason was extremely simple. In the middle of the road, there was a huge box about 1 meter in length.
Not only that, it wasn’t an ordinary box. The entire surface was decorated with colorful rhinestones that glistened brightly when exposed to the streetlights. The ribbon on the lid was made a lace simply for the purpose of being flashy.
“…”
Kurumi had a suspicious look on her face as she bent her knees to draw her ears closer to the box.
“──Fufufufufufufufufu♪”
Then, a familiar voice was heard through the box.
“…Thud.”
Kurumi stood up, raising her right leg to kick the box open.
“It hurts?! I say!”
The lid of the gorgeous box fell open as one of the clones rolled out from the inside.
The clone crouched down while pressing the severe bruise on her head. After a few seconds, she turned to deliver a resentful look to Kurumi.
“W-what are you doing…!”
“That’s my line.”
Kurumi sharpened the intensity of her glare at the clone.
This individual was different from even the previous eyepatch and bandage Kurumi. After all, her clothes weren’t black. She wore a frilly white dress, a sleek hood over her head and an overtly cute heart-shaped eyepatch.
Yes, it goes without saying that this was the sweet Lolita fashion. Once upon a time, for a brief moment, Kurumi fell into that delusive fashion style and this time period had been accurately reproduced as a clone.
However, after seeing eyepatch and bandage Kurumi already, Kurumi had predicted the appearance of this version. Kurumi breathed out a melancholic sigh as she turned to look at the box she just kicked over.
“…What is this box?”
As Kurumi inquired in a disgusted tone, sweet Lolita Kurumi proudly flaunted her chest.
“What are you saying? Naturally, it is me having decided on a present!”
Sweet Lolita Kurumi confidently spoke. Kurumi pressed her hand against her forehead to suppress the dizziness.
“…So you were inside there?”
“Yes, yes. Everything is fine except for being a little cold.”
“…Could it be you are intending to stay here until Shido-san passes by?”
“Of course not. It is a present. ──Ah, there is chocolate as well, so please rest assured.”
“…”
Kurumi’s sullen expression sank into silence. There were so many chances to play the role of the tsukkomi that she didn’t know what to say anymore.
But sweet Lolita Kurumi didn’t seem to notice this as she lifted up the fallen box as if to proudly boast the display to Kurumi.
“Please take a look, much labor was spent on this portion of the cover. It took quite a while to make everything glitter. Ah, there’s also this side portion. I deliberately painted a cat pattern. And over here…”
Sweet Lolita Kurumi eloquently explained her work.
Kurumi sweetly smiled, extending her right hand forward. A pistol flew out from the shadows and landed on her hand.
“<Zafkiel>──”
“Hey! Please wait!”
Kurumi raised the pistol as sweet Lolita Kurumi screamed in a hurry.
“Here, please look here! As soon as you open the lid, you can see the name ‘Kurumi♡’ written on the back with red rhinestones! This will surely make Shido-san’s heartbeat race!”
“The Fourth Bullet <Dalet>♡”
Kurumi smiled softly while pulling the trigger.
One of the abilities of the Angel that manipulated time <Zafkiel>, the Fourth Bullet <Dalet> which rerolled time struck the box. Sweet Lolita Kurumi’s masterpiece changed back into various materials in a flash.
“Kyaaaaaaaah! My five hours and forty-five minutes!”
Sweet Lolita Kurumi screamed as she sorrowfully watched the rhinestones scatter around.
However, Kurumi completely ignored the sight in front of her as she spread out her shadow from the ground to completely swallow sweet Lolita Kurumi and the decorative materials.
“Wasn’t the glistening sparkle beautiful aaaaaah?!”
Sweet Lolita Kurumi raised a strange cry before being sucked into the shadows.
At that moment.
“…Ara?”
Kurumi found a small box that fell on the street. A stuffed black cat toy holding onto a box overly decorated with frill and lace materials. Presumably, this was the box of chocolates prepared by sweet Lolita Kurumi.
Kurumi sighed as she threw the box into the shadows where sweet Lolita Kurumi had disappeared into.
“So…finally there’s only one more left.”
Yes, certainly there were four culprits that had fled. Eyepatch Kurumi had also inexplicably said the words the Four Heavenly Kings of Kurumi.
However, with eyepatch, bandage, and sweet Lolita Kurumi, it was only dense individuals during Kurumi’s travels that had revolted. When considering the last individual of herself, Kurumi felt a little uneasy.
“Well, even so these worries are in vain.”
While scratching her head, Kurumi racked her brain for ideas.
“One more person, if it is a place where you can surely give a present to Shido-san…”
Kurumi placed her hand against her chin, raising her face further up.
◇◇◇
“────── Ufufu.”
The sound of such small laughter was heard in the quiet room.
That was to be expected. The time was already around 3:00 AM. People in this room had already entered a dream-like state.
Kurumi peeked out and examined the situation before emerging from the shadows.
In terms of size, the space was around 6 six tatami mats. On the wooden floor, there was furniture such as a desk and a bookshelf and a uniform was hung on the wall.
And on a bed in the corner of the room, the owner of this room was sleeping quietly.
That’s right. In order to deliver chocolate to Shido, the final Kurumi made the choice──of none other than Shido’s room.
Certainly, it was possible to deliver the chocolate to the classroom desk or Shido’s shoe drawer or home mailbox.
But from the perspective of favorability, there was no location that could beat here. After all, Shido was already here. As long as she delivers the chocolates to his pillow just like Santa Claus, it’ll be noticed as soon as he gets up in the morning.
Moreover, this came with the benefit of being noticed by Shido a step earlier than even Kotori who lived in the same household.
And also──
“Ufufu, fufu.”
Kurumi smiled happily as she walked gently towards the bed.
Of course, this was to place the chocolate by his bedside──but at the same time there was the useful opportunity of watching Shido’s sleeping face a little.
Kurumi reached out her hand to the bed while thinking that.
But, at the very next moment.
“Kihi?!”
A hand suddenly protruded out from the bedsheets, tightly clutching her wrist. Kurumi involuntarily let out her voice.
For a moment, she thought she had been discovered by Shido──but that wasn’t it. It was clearly not a man’s hand that had grabbed Kurumi’s wrist just now. The skin was white and slender, as if looking familiar──
“──Caught you, me.”
As Kurumi widened her eyes in panic, the real Kurumi revealed herself from the shadows of the bedsheets.
Kurumi slowly crawled out while grabbing onto Kurumi’s wrist.
Yes, Kurumi had expected without a doubt that the final clone would be here to sneak beside Shido’s bedsheets.
“You’re the last one, me.”
“Ku──”
As Kurumi said that, the clone used all of her strength to fling off Kurumi’s grip and retreat a step back.
The moonlight slipping through the window made it possible to see the appearance of this clone.
“…”
Gazing at the appearance of this clone, Kurumi couldn’t help but tremble.
But that was unavoidable since, just like the previous three, this clone was dressed differently than the norm.
A gorgeous kimono with a floral pattern drawn on a black background, an obi sash worn as a corset, and frills peering out through spacious cuffs──and finally the pattern of the eyepatch covering her left eye was just like the sheath of the swordsmen Yagyū Jūbei.
Yes, in front of Kurumi right now was a Japanese gothic Lolita, an individual dressed in the Japanese Goth style.
“…Ah, ah─…”
Kurumi placed her hand against her forehead, while groaning as if recalling the past.
…Speaking of which, there was a phase where she indeed dressed this way.
How to describe it, although Kurumi’s original preference was Gothic Lolita, there was a certain time she thought that Japanese style clothes were also exquisite. Investigating the names of various swords, using old fonts meaninglessly, indulging in romance of the Taisho era and mimicking dresses from that time period…who out there didn’t have a brief phase like this? Like this, Kurumi subconsciously tried to find an excuse for herself.
“What’s with that reaction?”
Japanese gothic Kurumi raised her eyebrow in suspicion of Kurumi’s response. Kurumi powerlessly smiled as she lifted up her face.
“…Nothing, just remembering that there were a lot of mistakes from that time.”
“What mistakes?!”
Listening to what Kurumi had said, Japanese gothic Kurumi raised her voice to criticize.
“Japanese style and gothic! Japanese style and Lolita! This appearance is the gesture of truth I am pursuing!
“…Um, can you please stop saying Lolita? For some reason my back feels chilly.”
Kurumi trembled from the sudden chill, coughing a few times to reinvigorate her spirits.
Then, she bent down to pick up the box of chocolates that Japanese gothic Kurumi had just dropped.
“Ah! M-My chocolates!”
“Like I said, stop talking like that.” (Japanese gothic Kurumi talks in a manner with dramatic pauses in Japanese)
Kurumi said with sweat dropping as she turned to the box she had acquired.
A frilly ribbon and vividly colorful paper for wrapping…the personality of the gift maker had already erupted at this point, but the problem was the thing attached to the box.
For a moment, she thought it was a calling card just like an eyepatch, but this wasn’t the same. The address was written To Shido-san. From the faint thickness──it was an envelope.
“…”
Despite the ill feeling, Kurumi opened the envelope. Meanwhile Japanese gothic Kurumi let out an “Ah! Don’t!” scream, but Kurumi chose to ignore this.
“…Oh”
A few seconds later, Kurumi felt beads of sweat form on her forehead.
This was undoubtedly a love letter meticulously written to detail sentiments of adoration. Moreover, the usage was a misunderstood attempt at the romance of the old-fashioned Taisho era. The only saving grace was that this imitation of calligraphy was almost impossible to read.
Although Kurumi was sweating profusely, she managed to stabilize her heartbeat and raised her face up once more.
“…A-Anyway, your thoughts have been seen through, please resign yourself.”
However, Japanese gothic Kurumi suddenly cheekily smiled back in response.
“Yes, yes…as expected of the future me. I didn’t expect to be this cleverly preempted.”
“Even if you offer praise now, nothing will change──”
“Also, on the grounds of the ambush, sharing a bed with Shido-san…as I thought the adult me is truly radical. I will need to continue studying honestly.”
“…”
Hearing what Japanese gothic Kurumi had said, Kurumi turned silent.
Then, as if to match that, Shido let out an “hmm” sound while turning over in his sleep.
“…”
Kurumi pulled the bed sheets to cover Shido’s shoulders and then turned to spread her shadow below Japanese gothic Kurumi’s feet.
“Ehhhhh?! Ignoring me?!”
Japanese gothic Kurumi left that last complaint before being sucked into the shadow.
“…Fu.”
As the figure of Japanese gothic Kurumi disappeared from Shido’s room, Kurumi’s shadow returned to its original size.
Kurumi sighed slightly, leaning back to stretch her body.
“Yare, yare…all of them doing as they please.”
She was forced to do such extraneous things when it obvious that the main event would be tomorrow──
“…”
At that moment, thinking back to what Japanese Gothic Kurumi had said, Kurumi turned back to look at Shido.
A quiet look at his unprotected sleeping face.
“…”
Kurumi held her breath back as she suddenly averted her gaze. For some reason, her face felt slightly hot.
It must have been due to the lack of sleep. Kurumi slammed her heel on the floor as she dived into her shadow.
◇◇◇
“Ha…at long last I managed to settle this before morning.”
Returning to her stronghold, Kurumi let out a long sigh before snapping her finger.
The Astral Dress she was wearing dissolved into the air as she changed back to her original underwear.
“──Me.”
“Yes.”
Under Kurumi’s command, a clone dressed normally (the so-called moderate Kurumi) appeared from the shadows.
“I have to take a nap. I’ll ask later about what happened during this period. ──In addition, the four clones caught today should absolutely not be let loose.”
“Understood, then please rest well, me.”
After giving that courtesy, the clone returned back to the shadows.
“Really, it took quite a lot of time and effort…”
Kurumi sighed once more. Just before preparing to take off her underwear and get ready for bed, Kurumi suddenly remembered something.
“Incidentally…”
She snapped her fingers again. Then, in response to that movement, four boxes flew out from her shadow.
A box with a black card.
A box with blood stains on the wrapping paper.
A flashy box held by a cat.
A box with colorful paper and accompanied with a letter.
Yes, these boxes were the presents that the radical Kurumi tried to give to Shido.
Everything had been collected immediately due to an issue with packaging, delivery method, or attachments──speaking of which, she still hadn’t confirmed what chocolate they had made.
Not knowing what was inside now was of no particular concern, but Kurumi let her curiosity get the better of herself. She opened the boxes one by one.
“…! This is…”
Then, all of the boxes had been opened. Kurumi’s eyes widened as she held back her breath.
The reason was extremely simple. After all, eyepatch, bandage, sweet Lolita, and Japanese gothic Kurumi, all of them──had chosen the same designs for the chocolate.
Cute chocolates in the shape of small cats lined up regularly in the box.
“…”
Staring at this for a while, Kurumi let out a long sigh.
“…Really, it can’t be helped now.”
As Kurumi said so, she took out a box from the paper bag on the table──the chocolates that she had made herself to give to Shido tomorrow.
Although a bit wasteful, she unpacked and opened the box.
Then inside, cat-shaped chocolates similar to the ones made by her clones appeared in sight.
That’s right. The four clones had all chosen the same shape of chocolates as the original Kurumi.
“…In the end, I am still me.”
Kurumi let out a self-deprecating laugh as she removed four chocolates and replaced the empty space with a single chocolate made from each of her four clones.
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