Yoshino blinked.
That innocent, gentle expression of hers — it could melt even the coldest hearts.
"Alright, alright. Since Yoshino said so… if you can manage it, then give it a try," Yoshinon said with a grin.
Haruto chuckled and nodded softly.
From his perspective, Yoshino and Yoshinon were two different beings.
They always stayed together — inseparable, yet strangely distinct. Even if they had two bodies, their bond would never change.
But just as Haruto was smiling in satisfaction, Yoshinon's voice rang out again, laced with playful complaint.
"Haruto, are you that kind of person? Never satisfied, huh? Then at least give me a body too! Yoshino, if I were made into a rice bowl, I'd taste like forbidden fruit…"
The rest of her teasing words were drowned out by Yoshino's panicked interruption.
The corners of Haruto's mouth twitched twice.
Yoshinon…
Wasn't she being a bit too mischievous?
And where did Yoshino even learn those kinds of weird lines?
Aren't Spirits supposed to only have basic human knowledge? No memories beyond that? She should be innocent — sweet — like Shidou once said.
But Yoshino avoided Haruto's gaze, her little face flushed red.
The embarrassment was too much for her small frame.
If a crack had opened on the floor right then, she would've dived straight in.
Haruto sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Well… looks like Yoshino isn't as pure as I thought."
After all, if she didn't understand, she wouldn't react like that.
With a helpless expression, Haruto lightly flicked both the doll and the girl on the forehead.
"Alright, eat up before it melts," he said. "After that, I'll take you to customize a body, Yoshinon. Later, a lady named Murasame Reine will come pick you two up. I still have some things to handle, but I'll come visit afterward."
Both Yoshino and Yoshinon raised their heads from their defensive crouches.
Yoshino looked worried — almost scared.
Except for Haruto, she still feared others.
Feared they might hurt her.
Yoshinon stayed silent, watching Haruto closely — as if trying to gauge if she could trust anyone else.
Haruto smiled gently.
"Don't worry. The people you'll meet next are ones who'd never hurt you. The woman coming to get you is very kind — she'll take good care of you."
He wanted to tell them that Murasame Reine was like their spiritual mother, but he stopped himself.
Better to let them find that bond on their own.
Before coming to this parallel reality of Spirits, Haruto had once asked Reine — or rather, Mio Takamiya, her true self — what she thought of the Spirits.
Her reply was simple, yet filled with warmth.
"They're all my children."
A comforting answer indeed.
Moments later, the rhythmic click of heels echoed in the dessert shop.
Murasame Reine appeared — eyes weary, dark circles deep as ever.
But this time, she wasn't wearing her usual lab coat. She'd changed into casual clothes that suited her surprisingly well. Though no one could ever mistake her for anything but a researcher on the brink of collapse, for Reine, this was already a big transformation.
Usually, she cared for nothing but her experiments — her own appearance was an afterthought.
But today, she had changed for them.
When Reine arrived, she stood there for a moment, unsure what to say.
Yoshino fidgeted nervously, mirroring her awkwardness.
So Haruto spoke first.
"Then, I'll leave the rest to you, Miss Reine."
He smiled and gently pushed Yoshino forward.
Caught off guard, the little Spirit stumbled — right into Reine's arms.
"Haruto, you're so mean!" she complained, puffing her cheeks.
But she didn't resist the embrace.
Maybe it was fate — or something deeper. When the two little ones met Reine, they felt an inexplicable closeness.
Their acceptance came far easier than Haruto expected.
After a few moments, Reine took Yoshino and Yoshinon's forms and left the shop with quiet steps.
Haruto watched them go, then turned his gaze to the street.
And there — outside the dessert shop — a man knelt on one knee.
Haruto's expression hardened.
The man wore a torn tactical uniform, a pistol hanging from one hand. Blood dripped steadily from a wounded arm. He looked up slowly at Haruto's approaching footsteps.
Those eyes — three irises of different colors — gleamed faintly.
"According to the general containment procedures of the SCP Foundation," Haruto said calmly, "you are hereby contained. Please cooperate."
The man's strange eyes narrowed. It was Dr. Clef.
He didn't look surprised to hear the words SCP Foundation.
As a former senior agent of the Global Occult Coalition, Clef knew plenty about the Foundation — its structure, its goals, its anomalies, even some Site locations.
Although this wasn't one of the sites listed in the old GOC archives, everything about this place felt right.
What did surprise him was the Foundation staff member standing before him — an anomaly himself.
And not just any anomaly, but one that could interact with him.
Since his cursed birth, only two anomalies had ever done that.
One was the love of his life — the woman he killed with his own hands. The other was his daughter, floating somewhere in space, her fate unknown.
Clef slowly dropped his pistol, raising his remaining hand weakly.
"I'll cooperate with containment," he said. "In fact… I'd even pledge allegiance to the SCP Foundation."
A decision born not from loyalty, but survival.
If there was any safe haven left in this fractured world, it was within the Foundation's walls.
The GOC might be powerful — but its hatred for the Foundation ran deep.
And its fear was justified.
Because the SCP Foundation held countless unknown anomalies — some powerful enough to end the world with a thought.
Haruto's eyes softened slightly.
"It's good that you're willing to comply," he said. "As for allegiance, that will be reviewed later."
He waved his hand, and several Foundation operatives emerged from the shop.
They lifted Clef onto a stretcher, carefully carrying him away for treatment and containment.
It was Haruto's first time encountering a counter-reality warper up close.
And strangely… Clef's aura felt familiar.
It overlapped faintly with another anomaly Haruto had once rescued — SCP-166, the succubus girl from Shuchiin Academy.
That connection would have to be investigated.
Still, if Clef passed the Foundation's assessment, he could become a valuable asset — a potential cornerstone of their future operations.
The strategic worth of a counter-reality warper was immeasurable.
But Haruto had little time to dwell on that thought.
The thunder of propellers shook the air above.
Several helicopters hovered over the dessert shop, while a squad of mechanized suits advanced on the ground.
Haruto's gaze turned upward, expression unreadable.
It wasn't the machines that bothered him — it was the aura that came with them.
A nauseating, corrupt presence…
One that made even a god like him feel disgusted.