"I'm not a person now? How is it 'only' you at home?" Shichen laughed back at her.
"Shichen-nii!" Origami pouted and playfully scolded him.
"Heh…"
Seeing how expressive she'd become, Shichen couldn't help but smile. Girls were better like this.
The old Origami, with that blank face and cold eyes, had been beautiful in her own way—but that wasn't her true nature. That was what her childhood trauma had forced her into.
Now that she'd found her parents, her emotions had come back too.
Cool, aloof girls were attractive, sure. But Shichen didn't want them to become that way because of misery. So seeing Origami like this now… he was genuinely pleased.
This was what she was like when she lived by her own heart.
"Shichen-nii… are you really not interested in me?"
As she spoke, Origami got up, moved to sit straddling his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and stared him straight in the eyes.
"Do you honestly think I wouldn't be interested in you?" Shichen said, sliding his hands around her slender waist.
"Feels like… not really~" Origami glanced at his hands on her waist, then looked back at him with bright, happy eyes.
"Good. Just… this is your house. What if your parents suddenly come back? How awkward would that be?"
"It's fine. They'll be back really late. How about we go to my room? Even if they come home, I can just pretend I'm asleep," Origami suggested.
"You really…"
Shichen shook his head, half helpless, half amused.
This girl was really in a hurry, huh?
But it made sense. She'd found her parents, she no longer had that weight crushing her. Things she'd bottled up for years were obviously going to break loose.
"Shichen-nii, I want to become your Origami…" Origami leaned in toward him, slowly.
If a girl had already said that, time and place stopped mattering much.
"Have you really thought this through?" Shichen asked seriously.
"Mm!" Origami nodded hard.
"I already swore to myself… Once I found my parents, I'd live for my own sake. I'd finally let my heart find the person it belongs to."
"Maybe what you feel for me is just gratitude," Shichen reminded her.
"So what?" Origami smiled.
"Hm?"
"No matter the reason, liking someone is still liking someone. Why can't any reason be fine? Besides… can't you just make me like you more from now on?"
"You really have an interesting way of thinking… In that case…"
Shichen chuckled, then slid his arm under her legs and lifted her up princess-style, heading toward her bedroom.
"Shichen-nii…"
Origami tightened her arms around him, leaned closer, closed her eyes, and offered him a kiss.
Shichen lowered his head to return it, and they kissed.
Just lips meeting, but it didn't stop him from walking. He pushed her door open and carried her inside.
Even with her eyes closed, Origami deftly reached back with one foot and kicked the door shut.
They broke apart only then. Her eyes were glazed with emotion and desire, her delicate cheeks flushed a deep red.
"Shichen-nii… lock the door…" she whispered, breath sweet against his face.
He could smell that faint sweetness. Girls always carried that soft scent, and now that Origami had become a spirit, she really was pure and untouched.
Perfect for playing a certain "start-and-finish" game to quench his thirst.
Shichen locked the door, then, just to be safe, put up a soundproof barrier. From how eager Origami was, he had a feeling the "singing" later might get loud.
Cradling her, he walked over to the bed and gently laid her down.
"Shichen-nii… kiss me again…" Origami sat up and reached for him.
Shichen held her kneeling body at the edge of the bed and kissed her again—this time going deeper.
Origami was clumsy but very proactive, so Shichen took his time guiding and teaching her until she slowly took the lead.
Sometimes, just lying back and being on the receiving end was pretty nice too.
After a long while, Origami ran out of breath and pulled back on her own, collapsing bonelessly into his arms, gasping.
Shichen stroked her scarf-white hair, gently patting her head.
Maybe because she'd become a spirit, he could feel that her hair was shinier, softer, somehow more vivid.
"Shichen-nii… you're really energetic~" Origami said, once she'd recovered enough to glance down.
"Ahem. That just proves you're very attractive," he coughed twice and said.
"Really? Then… let me help you first?"
"Help with wh—"
He didn't even finish the question before he understood exactly what she meant. His eyes slid shut and he let out a long breath.
The room grew perfectly quiet.
After quite a while, Origami suddenly lifted her head to look at him.
"Shichen-nii, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"Did what on purpose?" he stroked her cheek.
"Doing it… that long…"
"Well, there's a thing called 'returning the favor,' you know," Shichen said after a moment's thought.
"What does that mean?" Origami tilted her head, not understanding.
"It means… now it's my turn to help you."
"Ah…"
Origami's eyes lit up instantly. It was obvious she was very interested.
"You really are…" Shichen looked at her and couldn't help shaking his head.
"Shichen-nii, hurry," Origami quickly scooted further up on the bed and made room for him.
Shichen climbed up and lay down beside her.
"Shichen-nii, then let's start~" Her voice was full of anticipation.
"You haven't even taken anything off," he reminded her.
"I wasn't wearing anything to begin with," Origami looked back at him over her shoulder, smiling proudly.
"…What?"
Shichen glanced down and finally noticed—under the skirt was nothing but snow.
He quenched his thirst, and then it was time for the "singing" part—but first he needed a little blood.
He leaned toward her neck; fangs slid out and pierced her almost translucent skin.
A fine red line appeared.
"Nn~" Origami moaned softly, eyes glazed.
The bite had come too suddenly; she hadn't had time to brace herself—though she was in no state to anyway.
Her mind was already fogged over. No wonder Shichen's face was still damp.
Her blood was light, but surprisingly had a sweet aftertaste. Shichen couldn't resist taking a bit more than usual.
Then he sent his own blood into her, turning her into one of his familiars and letting her fully control this spirit power.
After this, the First Spirit would no longer be able to force her into berserk states.
"Shichen-nii…"
The side effects of being bitten hit. Origami leaned in, wanting to kiss him, but he dodged.
Even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cub.
Instead, he lowered his head to check future "storage" conditions.
Of course there were no problems—in fact, everything was perfect. Once the inspection was done, it was time to sing and celebrate.
Just as he expected, Origami was eager to take the initiative. Their duet was loud and lovely, and he happily listened for most of the day.
When she finally got tired, she fell asleep first. Shichen was still wide awake and went to start on dinner.
It wasn't long before Origami's parents came home. The moment they saw Shichen, they were overjoyed and showered him with thanks.
They held no resentment at all, very open-hearted about the lost years. All they cared about was that their daughter had suffered.
That open-mindedness was probably part of why Origami had been able to recover so quickly.
This world knew about spirits; Origami told her parents everything, including the fact she'd become one.
She didn't want to hide it.
They didn't care about any of that—only what their daughter had gone through these past five years.
Thanks to that honesty, Shichen told a small lie of his own: he said he was just helping her adjust to her spirit power, and that she was in her room to stabilize it.
Naturally, they didn't disturb her.
Once dinner was ready, Shichen went to her room, healed her, and tidied the place up.
Yeah… the location really was a bit inconvenient.
As soon as Origami recovered, she wanted to cling to him for another "performance." She wasn't satisfied with her stamina the first time and wanted to make up for it.
If Shichen hadn't reminded her that evening had already fallen and her parents were home, she might have worn him down completely.
After having dinner with her family, Shichen headed back by himself. Being gone for a whole day, Tohka and the others were bound to start worrying.
He stayed in the present for another two days, accompanied Origami through a second "duet" so she could really understand exactly how terrifyingly strong he was, and then he began preparing to go back again.
There were still plenty of unsolved problems in the past.
But this time, he first returned to two years ago—because at that point in time, there was a helpless girl he needed to save.
Not just because he'd woken up and stopped fearing cause-and-effect and temporal paradoxes, but because he didn't want that girl to grow so disappointed in men that she ended up only wanting to cuddle with other girls.
He didn't have any interest in cross-dressing, even if he thought he might look quite pretty.
And, most importantly, some painful memories and experiences weren't meant to be carried forever until they hardened into unbreakable demons in someone's heart.