A shuraba—a messy situation. Easy to label, but its nuances vary. Typically, it's tangled romantic drama. For Itsuka Shidou, an ordinary student, such scenes were mere TV tropes—until a month ago.
"Calm down, both of you!"
"Which cookies do you want, Shidou?"
"Huh?"
Shidou's dumbfounded voice meets piercing glares from two stunning girls, each thrusting cookie containers forward. Their beauty draws envious stares from classmates, enough to kill.
"Choose, Shidou!"
Yatogami Tohka: waist-length midnight hair, crystal-clear eyes, a face befitting "peerless"—a term Shidou feels is overused lately.
Tobiichi Origami: short, pale hair, flawless features, but so expressionless she seems doll-like.
(This is…!)
Their glares bore into him; classmates' murderous intent hits from behind. No escape. A textbook shuraba. Against ordinary girls, Shidou might've accepted his fate. But these two are far from ordinary.
Tohka: a Spirit, a designated disaster from another realm, causing spatial quakes upon arrival. Clad in spiritual armor immune to conventional weapons, wielding an Angel—a weapon of incomprehensible power. A calamity capable of destroying the world.
Origami: a Wizard of the Anti-Spirit Team (AST), using Realizer tech to annihilate Spirits. For reasons unknown, she harbors intense feelings for Shidou.
These mortal enemies shouldn't share a peaceful shuraba. Yet Shidou, the linchpin, makes the impossible possible. Unlike the AST's extermination approach, Ratatosk, led by Shidou's sister Kotori, seeks peaceful resolutions through dialogue. With their support, Shidou, the only one able to seal Spirits, endured a near-death war date to seal Tohka's powers—a romantic, guilt-ridden act. Now, Tohka's human-like, safe from AST's open attacks, per Kotori. This bizarre setup birthed today's shuraba.
Back to now. Tohka's misshapen, slightly burnt cookies versus Origami's flawless, uniform ones.
(Either choice gets me killed.)
Recalling the nightmare of his dark past exposed during Ratatosk's galge training, Shidou senses a death flag. In a flash, he grabs cookies from both, shoving them in his mouth simultaneously.
"Delicious! Both of you!"
He gauges their reactions. They stare, then—
"My cookies were eaten just a tad faster!"
"Mine were 0.02 seconds faster."
They speak in unison. Shidou sighs, no time to relax. This isn't their first shuraba since Tohka's transfer. As fists fly for vital spots, he dances between them.
(Wonder how Kurumi's doing…)
In the split second before punches land, her image—the girl he hasn't seen since their promise—flashes in his mind.
"…Achoo!"
"A cold? Rare for you."
"No Spirit catches colds. Someone's talking about me."
Kurumi adds, likely that clingy puppy, with a casual expression. Across the table, the robed girl nods, understanding. They sit in a Tenguu City apartment, their main base among many.
"How's things with Shidou?"
"Out of nowhere, huh?"
"I'm curious! I didn't tell you his name or looks, yet you, Kurumi, knew him already."
"Nothing special. A chance meeting, that's all. Haven't seen him in a month. I'll devour his spiritual power—that's it."
Kurumi's tone is flat, emotionless. The robed girl hums playfully.
"Yet when Shidou got shot, a hole in his gut, you were rattled, even over comms."
"What?! He's vital to my wish! His death would ruin it!"
"Exactly. You were that frantic."
Kurumi glares, cheeks faintly red, her poker face crumbling. The robed girl, though faceless, clearly enjoys this rare chance to tease. Their long acquaintance makes Kurumi's fluster unprecedented.
Still, teasing has limits. Shidou and Princess's romantic moment could be fodder, but that risks a bullet.
"I'm curious about Shidou's character, moving you so much after a few meetings."
"I'm not moved! You knew him, didn't you?"
Kurumi shifts topics, suspicious. She's here because the robed girl said Shidou's essential to her wish. Surely, she knows him better.
"I know what he is, not the boy Itsuka Shidou. That's all."
"Cryptic as ever."
"You'll understand eventually. I'm curious because I don't know him. Facing Spirits fearlessly, saving Princess's hardened heart—his grit intrigues me."
Spirits are threats. To Shidou, a month ago just a student, that's undeniable. Yet he stood beside Princess, dated her—a ludicrous method—and won her over. Despite her lack of malice, it's abnormal.
(He didn't seem to know about sealed Spirits' powers either.)
The robed girl recalls Shidou's gut wound. Flames of spiritual power regenerated him, erasing the injury. Likely dormant power, unused for ages. His panic suggests he didn't know about his regeneration—or possibly his sealing ability. Yet he vowed to affirm Princess, defying the world, a reckless declaration without knowing how to seal.
"Shidou-san—"
Another voice, identical to Kurumi's, interrupts. Not her, but another Kurumi, in a maid outfit, carrying a tea tray.
"You're… enjoying that outfit, me?"
"A compliment! I'm honored."
"I'm not praising you!"
"Tea, then?"
"You're already pouring!"
Kurumi glares, veins bulging, as Maid Kurumi gracefully serves tea, transforming the scene into a café. To an outsider, they're twins. But no—this is Kurumi, a clone from past time. Inexplicably, a maid.
"Unbearable."
Kurumi, exasperated by this clone from a complicated time, sighs, stands, and heads for the door.
"Where to, me?"
"Not in the mood to talk. Back by evening."
She exits, slamming the door. Maid Kurumi, unfazed, sits elegantly, savoring tea.
"She's stormy, me."
"Mostly your fault," the robed girl sighs, sipping tea, accustomed to such scenes.
"What now?" Maid Kurumi asks.
"What?"
"Our purpose. Or rather, you and Shidou-san?"
The air shifts, heavier. Cups clink.
"For our purpose, we endured, waited, storing time until that moment."
"Exactly. That's why I brought Kurumi to Shidou."
"He's wonderful—tempting to devour immediately."
A mad grin, licking her lips. Shidou's a means to her end. Emotions shouldn't matter.
"But it's me, not us, who'll do it. Yet me seems quite taken with him."
Not consumption—affection. Maid Kurumi suggests Original Kurumi might care for Shidou.
"No way. Caring for a target? Like a mummy hunter becoming the mummy."
"You planned this?"
"No! I knew him, not Shidou the boy."
The robed girl didn't anticipate Kurumi's reaction.
"Fate, maybe? Shidou's destined to meet Spirits. How else could he slip into stubborn Kurumi's heart?"
"You brought us here, yet so cavalier. I agree I'm stubborn."
The robed girl chuckles under her hood. Even Maid Kurumi admits Original Kurumi's obstinacy. What is Shidou, breaching her heart?
"A young me might fall, but me trusting a human? Impossible."
"Right. At most, she'd take his time or reject him outright."
"I'm curious about Shidou-san, stirring my emotions."
Kurumi's no pushover. Her resolve, obsession, hatred, and despair drive her. She's walked this path, bearing sin, for her wish. Why, then, does she soften for Shidou?
"Maybe… love at first sight?"
The robed girl sips tea casually. Maid Kurumi freezes, then bursts into laughter.
"Hahaha! That'd be rich! Hilarious!"
"That funny? Only Original Kurumi knows, since she's the one who met him."
"And you?"
"Me?"
"Your plan. With Shidou and me meeting unexpectedly, what now, Nameless Spirit?"
Maid Kurumi leans forward, tilting her head cutely. Her red eyes meet the robed girl's shadowed hood, its intent unreadable.
"Nothing changes. I act for Queen Kurumi."
What was she about to say? Walking aimlessly, Kurumi ponders her interrupted words.
Shidou-san— What followed? She doesn't know—or avoids knowing.
"I'll help with anything! Rely on me!!"
A foolish boy's earnest words. She couldn't dismiss them. Shidou, vital to her wish, yet a naive fool reaching out to save even Spirits.
"Irrelevant."
She shuts her eyes, banishing thoughts. Nothing changes. Her bloodstained hands will—
"…Rain."
A cold drop on her neck interrupts. Heavy rain pours, soaking her. Unfazed, she stops, sensing something.
(Nearby…)
A presence like hers. Experience tells her it's another Spirit. Not Princess, whose power is sealed. It must be the other known Spirit. Curiosity piqued, she follows the sensation. Usually, she delegates scouting to clones or that girl, but this intrigues her.
She finds it quickly.
"Don't… hurt me…"
"Uh…"
Shidou, looming over a frail girl—a shocking sight.
"Oh my."
Even Kurumi's startled, but she quickly assesses. No spatial quake; Shidou's here by chance. An absurdly perfect coincidence.
"Shidou-san, I didn't peg you for that type."
"Kurumi?!"
She approached stealthily; he's caught off guard. Her voice cuts through the rain's din, and there she stands—Tokisaki Kurumi.
"To think you're such a person… I'm heartbroken."
"Why're you here?! No, wait, it's not like that! She fell, I helped her up—"
His frantic explanation mirrors the rippling puddle at his feet. His unchanged demeanor makes Kurumi forget her purpose, smiling.
"Just kidding. I know you're not like that."
"Stop with the heart-attack jokes!"
In this day and age, it's no laughing matter. Relieved she doesn't misunderstand, Shidou turns to the girl, who recoils, her rabbit-eared hood hiding her face.
"Uh…"
"Shidou-san, look."
His heart skips as Kurumi steps beside him, but he focuses on her pointing. A white puppet lies on the ground, once on the girl's left arm. She likely approached to retrieve it.
Shidou picks it up gently, offering it to her.
"This yours?"
Her eyes widen, she steps forward—then stops, warily gauging distance. Shidou smiles bitterly, as does Kurumi, who offers gentle reassurance.
"It's okay. He won't hurt you."
Her smile, perhaps her gender or another reason, eases the girl's fear. She inches closer. Shidou waits patiently. Rushing would undo progress. Finally, she snatches the puppet, puts it on, and moves its mouth like ventriloquism.
"Heya! Thanks, big bro and pretty lady!"
A high-pitched voice, cheekily calling only Kurumi pretty—Shidou fully agrees. He tilts his head, doubting the girl speaks, but the puppet continues.
"When you helped Yoshinon up, you touched all sorts'a places. So? Spill it, how was it?"
"What?!"
The girl's words stun him. Alone, he'd just be flustered, but Kurumi's here. He glances at her, expecting disdain, but finds a troubled expression.
"No worries, I know you meant nothing by it. I said it was a joke."
"Right, sorry."
"Besides, I doubt you've got that kind of nerve."
"That stings…"
"Just kidding."
Kurumi's shifting expressions—teasing, laughing—captivate Shidou. He worried about her misunderstanding, scratching his head in embarrassment.
"Wow, you two are showin' off!"
The puppet's high-pitched voice teases them.
"Uh…?"
"For such an understanding, gorgeous girlfriend, I'll let that lucky grope slide!"
"G-Girlfriend?!"
Ignoring Shidou's shock—missing Kurumi's reaction—the girl bolts off after speaking, vanishing despite Shidou's call.
"What was that?"
"A cute fairy, maybe?"
"Fairy, huh…"
Having seen Spirits, he can't dismiss it as a joke.
"Been a while, Kurumi. You okay?"
"Yes, quite well. You're… a bit different."
"Huh?"
He touches his face, confused. Her giggle confirms it's not physical.
"Not like that. Your aura's changed. Something happen this month?"
"Well… lots, I guess."
His eyes grow distant. A girl as stunning as Kurumi at a quake's epicenter, nearly killing him; Ratatosk's galge training exposing his cringe-worthy past; and with Tohka—
(No, forget it!)
It was to save Tohka. Her power's sealed; it won't happen again. Guilt for taking an innocent girl's first and an inexplicable guilt toward Kurumi make him shake his head.
"You okay?"
"N-Nothing. Why're you here—"
In the downpour, Kurumi, sans umbrella, tilts her head cutely, soaked. Her clothes cling, distracting, but Shidou focuses.
"Kurumi, no umbrella? You'll catch a cold!"
"It's fine. I never get sick."
"That's not the point…"
Even if true, she's drenched. Shidou, no scoundrel, can't ignore a soaked girl—especially Kurumi.
He's soaked too, so lending his blazer won't help. So—
"Come to my place?"
Too hasty. Her pale skin flushes; his blunder dawns on him.
"Shidou-san…?"
"No, no! I mean, to avoid a cold, just crash at my place! No weird intentions!"
"Of course. My mistake."
"No, my bad for phrasing it like that."
Kurumi chides herself. Misinterpreting his kindness? Uncharacteristic. Shidou throws her off, a new sensation. She suppresses her racing heart. She'll infiltrate his life on her terms.
"Your offer's kind, but I'll pass. I told my household I'd be back by evening."
"Right…"
He nods, chastising himself. Inviting a girl home impulsively? Reckless. Yet he's disappointed, wanting more time with her.
"It's not about trust. I'd worry them if I'm late."
Her subtle hint—she might've accepted otherwise—complicates things.
"Got it. I'm glad you trust me, but don't just accept a guy's invite like that."
"Your kindness makes it special."
Her finger to her lips, seductive smile, leaves Shidou blushing. Special doesn't mean that, just good-guy status. Contradicting himself and needing her reassurance stings.
"I'll take my leave."
She curtsies elegantly in the rain, turning away. Reluctant, Shidou prepares to part when she spins back—
"I forgot the most important thing—I'm glad we met again, Shidou-san."
Her blooming smile lifts him.
"Me too, Kurumi!"
Worried his grin's goofy, her waved response reassures him. They wave until out of sight. Her words erase his reluctance, thrilling him. A simple teen, her affection hits hard.
"So simple, me."
Scratching his head, water scatters. Worrying about her cold while risking one himself, he heads home, uplifted, forgetting daily fatigue.
He forgot to ask why she was there—a question buried by Ratatosk's training later.