Hearing Yukie's sudden request for a sparring match, Makoto paused. He took the fork from his mouth and held it loosely, pointing it toward Yukie as it wiggled slightly.
Makoto spoke up.
"…You're one weird lady."
"I am a deity."
Yukie replied at once.
Kiss X Reaper
Chapter 12: One of One, a Card
Behind the Grand Opera House stretched a vast, pristine green expanse, open and undisturbed. The grass fluttered gently in the wind. Yukie could be seen in the background, blurred as she walked away. The view cut to her-her skirt swaying with the breeze, the surrounding trees and small flowers moving softly alongside her.
The day was bright, the sky a clear blue, the scenery peaceful under the gentle wind.
Yukie lifted her right hand and placed it horizontally across her forehead, shielding her eyes as she looked upward. She gazed at the shining sun.
"Alright," she whispered.
She lowered her head again and looked toward Makoto in the distance.
"Is this good enough?" she called out.
Makoto gave a brief thumbs-up and shouted back, "Do not overdo it, or you may attract some deviants!"
She then closed her eyes.
"I will perform what I am most familiar with first… Spiritual Awakening," she thought, as a faint blue-white aura began to glow around her.
The surroundings fell silent for a moment. She let out a slow sigh, and as she began to exhale--
A tall, tornado-shaped mass of natural energy formed, with Yukie at its center. It spun rapidly, tightening upon itself until--
--the entire buildup of natural energy exploded and dispersed, shaking the land as blue-white energy erupted like a colossal flame. Reality blurred slightly, within the space where the awakening had been, and where Yukie stood. Her Spiritual Awakening surged, growing stronger by the second.
She exhaled once more, and the Awakening swelled even further, now enveloping the entire area and even covering the Grand Opera House itself.
Faint pink lines formed on her cheeks from relief. "This is quiete... Soothing," she murmured, her eyes still closed.
"Hey!" a distant voice shouted.
"Hey!" again.
She opened her eyes quickly and looked toward Makoto. From her distance, he appeared as a small cartoony white figure, stomping around as a steam-like icon rose from his head.
"Didnt we decide to not over do it!" Makoto shouted.
Seeing this, Yukie's expression shifted in surprise. She immediately diminished her Spiritual Awakening, halting the tremors and dispersing the aura.
From a distance, Makoto stood still, as unreadable as ever. The breeze passed through the open field, lifting his bangs and tugging at the loose end of his trench coat. Slowly, he raised his hand.
A card rested between his fingers. With a practiced motion, he flipped it, catching it neatly between his thumb and index finger.
When Makoto viewed the card, it bore a symbol of tree roots growing across its surface.
"That was sudden..."
he thought, recalling the moment.
During Yukie's Spiritual Awakening, when violent winds tore through the area, a card had flown past him. It drifted through the air in slow motion. He had glanced at it-then, with a sharp snap of his fingers, caught it one-handed.
Back in the present, Makoto stared at the card. He was about to flip it--
And the moment he did--
A vision struck.
Brown roots stretched in from every direction, small yellow flowers blooming along them. The roots crept forward, wrapping around a wide, open eye. Flowers and wood tightened their hold as the pupil rolled upward, the white spreading.
The sound of bone stretching-then snapping echoed as the eye was nearly consumed--
The image shattered.
As the vision faded, he saw the other side of the card-a lady in black and white wearing a dress, weeping on the ground as sunlight poured down on her.
While holding the card, he tilted his head slightly upward, gazing at the sky. His expression remained calm, yet beneath it lingered a quiet mix of curiosity and wariness.
"A card…?" Yukie asked, now standing in front of Makoto.
"It gave me a random vision," Makoto replied. "Hard to explain." He extended the card toward her.
She accepted it. Silence followed.
"Well?" he prompted.
Yukie flipped the card over once, then again. "I am unable to perceive anything of note," she said, tilting her head to the side.
She then raised the card above her head, closed her left eye, and used it to block the sun, as if testing it against the light.
"Hm…" she murmured. Lowering her hand, she returned the card to Makoto.
"How… weird,"
he whispered as he took it back.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked the screen. The wallpaper showed Mira asleep, drooling slightly.
A notification from Mira blinked into view.
"THE STAR STANZA HAVE ARRIVED."
We cut to the Grand Opera House's lobby.
"Good afternoon, House Director!" a woman with dark blue hair and a white dress exclaimed, bowing deeply.
She straightened and placed a palm over her chest.
"My name is Rin Erica. I am the violinist of Star Stanza-and this is our orchestra." She gestured over her shoulder, presenting the five individuals standing behind her.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Shirogane!" one of the men called out. The rest followed with a bow.
Makoto let out a quiet sigh, a bead of sweat forming at his temple as he closed his eyes, slightly awkward. "It's quite all right," he said. "You may speak informally."
Another man stepped forward, glancing around the lobby. "Amazing…" he murmured. "The Grand Opera House truly is a dream venue to perform in…"
"We apologize for the limitations," Erica continued, bowing once more. "We were only able to bring the six leaders of each fundamental section-violin, piano, cello, harp, double bass, and celesta. The others will follow from our city. We sincerely hope the six of us will suffice."
"Alright!" Mira suddenly exclaimed, stepping in and clapping her hands.
"This will do. Let us discuss further matters in the office, shall we?" She wore a faint smile as she walked forward. Rin and the other five bowed to Makoto once more before following Mira.
As they passed, one of the women from the group crossed paths with Yukie.
The background washed to white as time slowed. From the corner of their vision, both of their right eyes shifted-meeting briefly in a quiet, sideways gaze.
Then everything returned to normal.
The girl had already passed. Yukie turned her head slightly, following the group with her peripheral vision before facing forward again.
"Hm. The girl who just passed by me… she carried no clear intent," Yukie said calmly. "Yet there is something within her we should be aware of."
Hearing this, Makoto looked toward the group as they grew more distant-Mira and Rin walking side by side, speaking with relaxed smiles.
"She's right," Makoto thought.
"They don't feel like hunters. Nor deviants. But something more… unique."
As Makoto contemplated the situation, a fragment of earlier news resurfaced in his mind.
An interesting piece of information came up, Mira had said. It's said that the cities they perform in afterward randomly-and suspiciously-experience some form of causality. As mysterious as it sounds.
"Random causalities…" Makoto thought. Could they be…?
"You are likely already aware of this," Makoto said quietly, his tone turning serious. "Aside from Hunters, Deviants, and deities like you, there exists one more classification. They are neither chaotic nor allied forces. They are not beings in the conventional sense, but rather… phenomena. Hypothasis are manifestations of phenomena themselves. Not truly alive, yet existing solely to act as such in this world-either as blessings, or as warnings of impending grief."
Yukie nodded slightly.
"Right. I have heard and encountered them before," she replied. "More specifically, if this is indeed the case, they may be The Imminence Hypothasis-the dark phenomenon of great causal imminence."
!!
"What is being discussed?"
A faint, gentle voice slipped between them.
A woman leaned in from the space separating Makoto and Yukie, her head slightly inclined forward. Her eyes were closed, bearing a calm, knowing smile as she positioned herself between the two.
The panel framed Makoto and Yukie on either side- and the mysterious lady at the center.