After a necessary scolding directed at Ruby who had, yet again, somehow inhaled a week's worth of rations in a single day I went to my room for a much-needed rest.
Waking up, I found my roommate already stirring.
"Listen closely, Ruby," I instructed, my voice firm. "Go out. Buy the groceries. And this time, do not eat them on the way home.
Also, keep your eyes open. If you see anything strange, anything at all, you come straight back. Understood?"
"Mhm," she hummed, nodding her head with a questionable level of sincerity.
"Good. When I return, I better not see you responsible for an empty pantry," I stated before slipping out, my illusionary disguise already in place. It masked my silver hair and sharp grey eyes, turning me into an entirely unremarkable figure.
"Hello~"
The familiar, chillingly sweet voice called out from directly behind me. I stopped, the hairs on the back of my neck prickling. Turning around, I saw her: Kurumi Tokisaki. She was magnificent, terrifying, and distinctly present in her crimson and black Spirit attire.
"How did you find me?" I asked, keeping my voice low and neutral.
"Well, you first tell me who you are~" she purred, a dangerous smile playing on her lips.
"Heh. We're better off finding a quiet place to talk. Trust me, we're being watched right now," I countered. The familiar sensation of surveillance was strong, indicating the ever-present AST.
"Ara~ ara~ How bold," Kurumi giggled, accepting the need for discretion. "Lead the way."
[Timeskip brought to you by Future Marisa]
"Hello, da ze~" she chirped, giving a playful wink.
"Marisa, you are absolutely not supposed to be here!" I hissed.
"Awww, you're such a party pooper, ze~" she pouted, clutching her broomstick.
"Hey! Don't make me contact the Author and demand your arc is limited to only five chapters!"
"Eh!? Wait, wait! Let's not be rash, ze!"
"Then you better fix that hole in the fourth wall, or else."
"Okay, ze~" she relented, pulling out a roll of duct tape and comically patching the metaphysical rift.
Returning to the main narrative, I arrived at a dense forest away from the urban sprawl.
"So, will you change back, or…?" Kurumi prompted, gesturing to my disguise.
With a sigh, I let the spell drop. My hair immediately returned to its signature silver, and my eyes snapped back to their original, unsettling grey. I was Sakuya Izayoi again.
"Oh, wow. Are you sure you're not a Spirit?" Kurumi breathed, her red-and-gold gaze assessing me.
"I am not," I replied simply.
"Okay, fine. Let's say you're not. That still doesn't explain why you possess an energy signature so similar to my Angel's," she pressed, her eyes narrowed in scrutiny.
"Sounds like a you problem," I deadpanned. Kurumi's face twitched.
"Well, if you have nothing else to say, I will be leaving," I stated, walking past her.
In an instant, her demeanor changed.
She smoothly drew her flintlock pistols, and without a moment's delay, I did the same, pulling my own flintlocks. We stood back-to-back, weapons aimed at each other, the tension thick enough to cut.
"Ara ara~ We even use the same weapons," she giggled, an element of perverse delight in her tone.
"Lower your weapon and walk away," I warned, my gaze unblinking.
"I could do that, but it seems our time has run out."
Suddenly, the air was filled with the metallic whine of flight units as multiple members of the AST (Anti-Spirit Team) descended around us.
"Shall we dance?" I asked, a dark smile touching my lips.
Kurumi chuckled, her hand already reaching for her skirt. "Sure. You take the lead."
[playing: U. N. Owen Was Her]
"Keep up," I called out, pulling a handful of throwing knives from my inner skirt pockets.
"Za Warudo!" I uttered the invocation.
"Zafkiel!" Kurumi simultaneously called out her Angel's name.
Then time itself shuddered to a halt.
[Effect: Time Stop - Only Sakuya and Kurumi (and perhaps one other entity) can move.]
"Ara ara~ You do have time powers, too," Kurumi commented, looking genuinely surprised.
I face-palmed. "Let's just finish this."
I flung the knives. They froze mid-air, a deadly arc of steel inches from the faces of the nearest AST members.
"Three, Two, One, Zero."
Time resumed. The knives plunged into their targets. Some AST members screamed; others managed to throw up their shields just in time.
"Damn you, Spirit!" a person with distinctive white hair the infamous Tobichi Origami shouted, charging at us recklessly.
"Useless."
I grabbed a handful of playing cards, used power to teleport, dropping the cards as a decoy. I reappeared behind Origami and delivered a swift, hard kick that sent her flying into a thick tree.
"Gah!" she cried out.
I glanced at Kurumi. "Next time, find a better spot." Before she could reply, I teleported away.
[ Ending : U. N. Owen Was Her]
As I materialized in a quiet park nearby, I spotted a young man with blue hair wearing a nearly invisible ear piece.
"Hello," he said, a noticeable nervousness in his voice.
"Who are you?" I asked, instantly on my guard.
"My name is Shidou Itsuka," he replied.
"Right. Anyway, I have things to do." I prepared to teleport, but a distinct voice chirped from his earpiece.
"Shidou! Don't let her leave! Think of something to make her stay!" a frantic female voice coached him.
"Wait! I'm quite lost. Can you help me?" he blurted out, scratching his head awkwardly.
"…Really?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," he mumbled.
"Alright. It's not like I'm in a hurry," I conceded, momentarily dismissing the strange feeling I had just gotten.
Meanwhile, Back at the Apartment
"Okay, Miss Sakuya isn't here yet, and I just bought ten boxes of cookies… TIME TO EAT!" Ruby declared, tearing into the boxes. She began inhaling the cookies at an alarming rate.
"Bark! Bark!" Zwei, Ruby's companion, barked, clearly wanting a share.
"No, Zwei! You can't eat cookies!" Ruby said, mid-chew.
"Arf," Zwei whimpered, looking utterly sad and rejected.
"Awww, don't be like that. Here, I bought you some treats!" She cooed, pulling out a bag of dog biscuits, instantly cheering Zwei up.
"Achoo! Man, I feel like someone is eating without me," I muttered, continuing to walk through the city alongside Shidou.
"This tea is so good, da ze~" Marisa said, reappearing with a teacup.
FZZZZT.
The Author suddenly manifested and drop-kicked Marisa back through the fourth wall.
"Stop doing that!"
"Awoo…" Marisa whimpered, then was handed a roll of duct tape to fix the newly broken wall.
The walk was awkward. Shidou tried to initiate a conversation several times, but each time, my indifferent look was enough to shut him down.
"Shidou! Why did you stop! Try to have a conversation with her!" the voice in his ear rang out again.
"Sorry! I just can't start a conversation with her! Her eyes just shut me down," he whispered back to his earpiece.
"Shidou, her mood is indifferent! Try to have a conversation with her! Don't you want to save her?"
"I do, but…"
"So, what were you doing in the forest?" I cut in, my voice piercing the air.
"Well, I was just walking, then I got lost and saw you," he said, sounding like he was reciting lines from a bad script.
"Well… I guess you already know me, right?" I said, causing him to tense up visibly.
"Yes! You're a Spirit!" he declared. "And I want to save you!" he added with sudden, forced determination.
I looked into his eyes, and a small, genuine smile touched my lips before my expression hardened again.
"No. I don't need saving, as I am not a Spirit," I stated firmly.
"Not a Spirit? But you tel–" He paused, cutting himself off just in time, but I knew exactly what he was about to say.
"Shidou! Her mood just rose and dropped! Do the thing you did to make her mood rise!" the voice commanded.
"I don't know what I did!" he whispered frantically into his collar.
"Give me a chance! A date!" he blurted out.
That amused me. I let out a small, genuine laugh, followed by another small smile.
"Fine. But… without them," I said.
"Them?" he asked.
"Your earpiece."
The voice on the other end went silent. "She knows," it said, filled with sudden dread.
Before Shidou could react, the small electronic device flew out of his ear and into my hand. I crushed it with a casual squeeze, letting the debris fall to the ground. I looked at him, my expression serious.
"Do it without them."
With that i teleported away, leaving a bewildered and panicked Shidou Itsuka alone in the city street.
A/n: chat in the next world which character would like as the next reward for "sakuya".
Patchouli
flandre
Reisen
Vote which character you would like to see in the next arc.