The golden flame melted the ice coffin in an instant, leaving the woman inside unharmed.
Suspended in midair by Shichen, she drifted in the pure white chill; her hair—radiant, rainbow-tinted like rippling fire—lifted and flowed, dazzling and otherworldly.
Shichen stepped forward and gently gathered the slender woman into his arms. She was so light it felt as if she had no weight at all. He took her in with a glance—an adult beauty with a fey, unreal delicacy—though her arms and legs were long and fine, with little flesh on them.
She slowly opened her eyes—pale blue like a glacier. Awake, she looked even more beautiful, as if she had walked out of a Western oil painting—transcendent enough to make one lose themselves.
"Awake?" Shichen asked softly, smiling.
The woman seemed slow to process it. She blinked, studying him in a daze.
"Should I put you down?" he asked.
She didn't answer, still staring, so he set her lightly on her feet. She stood obediently before him, her graceful adult form fully revealed. She wore nothing; faintly prominent ribs and a slight swell of the chest were noticeable—she was thin, yet her translucent, fair skin was mesmerizing.
Still dazed, she watched as Shichen's eyes turned crimson and his fangs slid down. He drew her slender body close, lowered his head to her smooth neck, and sank his fangs in.
Warm blood flowed.
"Mm…" At last she reacted, brows knitting.
As a spare vessel for Kaleid Blood, Avrora's aptitude was exceptional—far beyond No. 5's. One of the Divine Fragments within Shichen's soul began to roil and, at last, its seal broke. Space seemed to ripple; pink-violet mana gathered within him, and a new Familiar awakened.
All at once, Shichen's grasp of space deepened—from merely using it to truly controlling it. In that moment, he became master of space. Before Minamiya Natsuki, if he wished, he could keep her from using spatial control at all.
(Which meant he could tease her as he pleased… but now wasn't the time.) He took only a little of the woman's blood, then began passing his own into her.
Color quickly returned to her cheeks. Mist gathered in those ice-blue eyes; head tipped back, she looked lost in bliss. Instinctively, she clung to him, hands roaming his back without thinking.
Shichen lifted his mouth from her neck, lips stained with red, looked at her, then lowered his head and kissed her.
"Mm!" Her eyes flew wide, then grew hazy. She tightened her hold and answered him, passive but yielding. The taste of his blood on his lips intoxicated her; her throat worked as she swallowed.
After a long moment they parted. She was breathless; without his arm, she would hardly have stood.
"How do you feel?" he asked softly, steadying her.
"Mm…" Her face flushed, she nodded shyly.
"Will you come with me?"
"Mm…" She crossed her arms over her chest at last, the shyness catching up to her.
"Don't be afraid. Your companion is here too," Shichen said, glancing back at No. 5, who had been watching quietly.
The woman looked as well, studying her with curiosity.
"No. 12…" No. 5 murmured, pressing her lips together.
"No. 5, explain things to Avrora in a bit," Shichen said. When he had drawn No. 5 into himself, he'd told her he would guarantee their safety and let them live in this world together. No. 5 couldn't be sure he meant it, but she had no choice—she already knew he had devoured Kaleid Blood. At that point, they could only accept their fate.
"Avrora?" The woman tilted her head, eyes questioning. "Is that… my name?"
"My… name?" she fluttered her lashes.
"Do you like it?"
"Mm! I like it very much!" Avrora nodded hard, using a quaint, old-fashioned "I."
"Heh." Shichen laughed and ruffled her flamelight hair. Avrora clearly liked having her head patted; she ducked slightly, smiling with crescent-moon eyes.
No. 5 watched in silence—and suddenly wondered why Shichen never treated her like that. (Had he known, he'd have said plainly: that cropped, boyish cut killed the mood. He could handle short hair—might even like it—but a masculine close-crop wasn't his thing.)
"A-are you making fun of me?" Avrora puffed her cheeks, annoyed.
"No. I think you're very cute."
"C-cute…" Her annoyance deflated into shy embarrassment.
"You two, hide for a moment—someone's coming." With that, Shichen drew them both back into himself and turned toward the door. He had no intention of running.
Two women entered, one leading and one following. The one in front was a crisp, capable beauty in a suit; behind her was a baby-faced woman in a wrinkled white coat, a lollipop in her mouth. Her features were childlike; her long hair was frizzy, poorly maintained; heavy lids made her look freshly awake.
Shichen's eyes fell on the badge on the baby-faced woman's chest: Akatsuki Mimori—Kojou and Nagisa's mother. She looked absurdly young; judged on appearance alone, you could mistake her for a teenager. Based on looks, no one would guess she had two adult children.
Shichen couldn't help wondering about the siblings' father's tastes—hopefully nothing questionable.
"The ice coffin is gone! And you are—?!" The suited beauty blanched, taking in the scene.
"Isn't that Shichen-sensei?" Mimori recognized him at once.
"Hello, ma'am," Shichen nodded.
"Oh, call me big sis—no need for 'ma'am.'"
"…"
"Shichen-sensei, what brings you here?" she asked.
"Do I really need to spell it out?" he countered.
"Fair enough. But where did Sleeping Beauty go?" Mimori glanced around. Aside from Shichen, no one was there.
"That's classified."
"Shichen-sensei, you're so naughty~ But fine. You can go," Mimori said, unconcerned.
"Director?" the suited beauty—Toyama Miwa—stared.
"Toyama, calm down. Do you really think we could handle someone who did… all this?" Mimori patted her shoulder.
"Er…"
"So we should be sensible. Shichen-sensei isn't going to harm us, right?" Mimori smiled at Shichen.
"Right. I'm no demon, and I don't kill innocents."
"Good. Then I can rest easy entrusting my daughter to you."
"Hm?" Shichen blinked, thrown by the abrupt topic shift.
"You didn't know? Nagisa likes you," Mimori said.
"…"
"Don't worry—I'm very open-minded, and I think Nagisa will be safer with you."
"Nagisa is still… young," Shichen tried.
"It's fine—she's already fourteen. She can do whatever she wants."
"…," Shichen tugged at the corner of his mouth. Deciding not to get dragged further into Mimori's tangents, he vanished from where he stood.
"Gone already," Mimori said, unsurprised—though a little regretful.
"Director… who is he, really?" Toyama couldn't help asking.
"Him? He might end up the king of Itogami Island," Mimori said.
"What?!"
…
Shichen left MAR's affiliated hospital, bought a few drinks at a nearby convenience store, and strolled back into the bookstore as if nothing had happened.
"Shichen-sensei, finally! What took you so long?" Asagi came up the moment he stepped in.
"Here." He handed her a bottle. "I went to take a look at the blast site."
"I see. Anything off?"
"Nothing at all."
"No aliens?" Nagisa popped up beside them.
"Heh—maybe someone hid them."
"Shichen-sensei." Kojou and Yaze walked over, and Shichen passed them drinks. "Kojou, how are you feeling?"
"Thanks, Sensei… I'm fine now. It suddenly stopped hurting."
"Good…"
[That person seems to have something of mine,] Avrora's voice sounded from within him just then—aimed at Kojou.
[What is it?] Shichen asked, feigning ignorance.
[It seems to be… a rib.]
~~~
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