"Ahhhhhhhhhhh~"

A loud yawn filled the air in the small room of the Itsuka residence on this early Sunday morning. A tired boy with blue hair peered past the crack between his eyelids to see the warm sun filling his room on the early Sunday morning.

"M-Morning already…" He said lazily as he stirred underneath his covers and creating a cocoon to keep warm in.

Several weeks had passed since Dark Tohka came and passed through Shido's life, and while the repairs to the city were still underway, his life had gone more or less back into the flow of things. He had always regretted leaving things the way they were with Kurumi, and hated himself even more for what had become of Tohka, but it was all in the past now and he knew he would always do his best to make it up to them, not to mention all of the other spirits that gave their lives to allow him to get there in the first place.

But today was not the day for that. He had just spent the past few days studying his brains out because he desperately needed to catch up with all the work that he had missed during the events. Since much of the city was destroyed in the accident many schools refused to have kids attend on the fact that many of their homes could have been destroyed. But as the system goes, that didn't even come close to stopping them from giving as much homework as possible to make up for it.

"Daaaaaaaaarling~!"

An alluring voice rang through the morning air from outside of his window, causing the mentally exhausted boy's eyes to shoot open followed by a long sigh. He knew the voice too well to know that nothing good could possibly come out of him answering her this early in the morning. He slowly shut his eyes back yearning for sleep to overtake his body once more. He struggled to find a comfortable position to sleep in as something seemed to be restricting his movements. A cold sensation flew down Shido's spine.

He knew it was in situations like these that something bad was bound to happen. He took a deep breath as he opened one eye and slow began raising the covers with his right hand to look underneath. Shido's breath hitched in his throat as he stared at the picture before him. "K-Kotori!?"

Before him laid his adorable younger sister with her arms wrapped around him. Her hair was let down since she never liked sleeping with the ribbons in her hair and her light pink pajamas were a little baggy on her tiny body, revealing a little bit of skin around her chest. But what caught Shido's attention were her eyes. They were dark and dry as if she had been crying for some time.

"O-Oi, Kotori!"

He gently began shaking the girl in hopes of rousing her from her slumber without pissing her off and receiving an early morning jab to his gut.

"Hmm~?"

The girl began to tighten her grip around her brother as if she didn't want to wake up yet either. But like Shido, she slowly gave up and began opening her eyes.

"Huh..? Where am I…?"

She pushed herself up into a sitting position as she rubbed the weariness out of her eyes. Shido looked slightly relieved but still curious to find out the reason himself.

"Huh?"

Finally Kotori had fully awakened, but not in the happiest of moods.

"What the hell, Shido!?" She shouted as she began wrapping his covers around herself in hopes of at least staying warm. She looked over at the clock.

"What are you doing waking me up at 7:30 on a Sunday morning!" She more or less hissed the last part, however Shido didn't flinch. In fact he let out a sigh of relief to see his sister with so much energy.

"Sorry Kotori, I was just a little startled when I saw you sleeping under the covers next to me." His face grew a tad more serious. "It looked as though you had been crying so I grew a little worried for you..." His voice was calm, but the passion and concern behind each of his words were almost visibly noticeable. Not expecting this so early in the morning, the red head began to blush before grabbing a pillow next to Shido.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" She quickly began bashing his body with the pillow. Even with his arms trying to protect himself, what was supposed to be bag of feathers felt like a cement block with the influence of his sister.

"O-Ow, hey! Watch-" Bull's eye. A direct slam into the face caused his sentence to be completely cut off as his head flew back into the pillow behind him.

"What the heck, Kotori, I'm just worried for you! I thought something was wrong! You never sleep with me anymore, and the fact that your eyes were dry and dark…" His voice slowly grew quieter as his sentence dragged on and his head began looking down at the covers. Kotori quickly picked up on this and couldn't help but feel slightly upset with herself. After all, her only family member was worried about her odd behavior and she didn't exactly think before she acted.

"H-Humph! I-It's nothing to be concerned about!" She began puffing out her cheeks and crossing her arms in embarrassment from her own actions.

Shido couldn't help but feel she was holding out on him.

"If that's the case, then what was the reason you were in my bed?" A small grin appeared on his face as his sister's turned to one of unexpected shock. She rigidly turned her head towards his direction with her arms still crossed. Her head slowly started to look down at the covers beneath her.

"Ihadanightmare…." She mumbled under her breath.

"Huh? Kotori, I'm not deaf, but you'll need to speak up…" He nervously laughed as he stroked the back of his head. Frustrated, Kotori lashed out at him.

"I HAD A NIGHTMARE, OKAY!?"

Nightmare. The word held multiple meanings to Shido, but he knew what his sister meant.

"What did you dream about?" He asked as he sat a little closer to his little sister. She looked very hesitant to say what she was thinking. Her body even began to tremble slightly. "Kotori…" He lightly placed his hand on her shoulder. It seemed to calm her down a little. She took in a deep breath.

"I keep having nightmares about you dying…" Shido couldn't believe his ears, but now wasn't the time to interrupt her. He needed to hear more. "I can't help but think about what would have happened if anything went differently during the whole Miku capturing process… I almost killed you… Miku and the other spirits almost killed you… The entire city tried to capture you to have you killed… The AST basically did kill you but you got lucky… Even Tohka almost killed you through that whole ordeal… God forbid if Nightmare was against us what would have happened…"

Shido let those words sink in. He never realized how many close calls he really had during this whole ordeal. He wanted to tell her how everything turned out okay, but he couldn't help but sympathize with her. He could only imagine what would have happened to his precious sister if he were to have fallen. During the time he thought what he was doing was right, and in the end it did turn out in the best case scenario more or less. But just what if anything had gone differently. He wouldn't even be able to speak to his sister the way he is right now.

"Kotori… I'm sorry…" He leaned in and brought the redhead down to his chest. He could feel her hiccupping against his chest, most likely at the thought of such memories coming back up. "Shhh shhh it's okay. I promise I won't be leaving you anytime soon. After all, I have to take care of my precious little sister, I can't be beaten just yet, right?" Shido pulled his little sister away from his body just far enough so that he could look at her and give her that wonderful 'everything will be okay' smile that she loved so much.

A small smile graced the sides of her lips before she leaned against her brother and burrowed her way into his chest. Shido couldn't help but smile himself at seeing Kotori looking slightly relaxed. She had been working without much rest for months on account of all the new spirits flooding in, not to mention taking care of them and watching their progress. No girl her age should have to go through all of this Shido often thought, but if it weren't for her the situation would have never been even close to as peaceful as it was now. Shido leaned down and rested his cheek on his sister's head, enjoying the moment.

"DARLING!?"

The door to Shido's room suddenly flew open, the hinges partially cracked. A tall busty woman stood at the door with her arms crossed and her foot extended to where the door had been. She had long light indigo locks of hair that cascaded down her backside only to be complimented by the light purple summer dress she had been wearing. As she lowered her leg she saw Shido tightly embracing his little sister.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!?"

Feeling the embarrassment of another person watching her in this tender moment caused Kotori to be thrown into a panic.

"L-Let go of me, you beast!" She wormed her way out of Shido's arms before promptly delivering a deadly right hook into the center of Shido's gut.

"Gouf!" Shido arched over grabbing his stomach in pain. "W-What did I do…?" He was left to ponder the question as his sister jumped out of the bed and walked out of the room with her head held high and a 'humph' following her exit. As she walked past Miku, she tried as hard as she possibly could to not make eye contact out of sheer embarrassment. The songstress picked up on this and leaned in to her ear before she walked past.

"Was he gentle?" As if a volcano had just gone off inside of Kotori, her whole face turned a ruby shade and prevented her from moving.

"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT, GEEZ!" She stomped down the hallway.

Miku let out a little sigh. "Well I guess it is a little early for a child to have such fun~" A mischievous smile graced her lips before she turned back to face Shido who was still practically KO'd from earlier. "And what are you doing this early, Darling?" Her voice completely feigning innocence. Shido didn't seem to enjoy it as much.

"Kotori just had something on her mind and I wanted to talk with her to make sure she was okay… what are you doing here so early, anyways?" Trying to ignore the bruise to his stomach, Shido sat on the side of the bed as if her were about to get up.

"You can't tell me you forgot that you were supposed to go on a date with me today did you?" A nerve almost seemed to pop out of Miku's head as she gritted her teeth at Shido's usual forgetfulness. Realizing this, he almost immediately backed up.

"O-Of course I didn't forget about that…. I, uh, just forgot to set my alarm for the right time!" He jumped out of bed and ran over to his closet grabbing the nicest set of clothes that first came into his view. Miku didn't seem to be impressed but decided to let it go as it probably wasn't worth it in the end.

"Well, at least hurry, please? I've been standing at your window for about half an hour yelling and trying to get your attention only to find that you were taking advantage of your poor little sister…" She cupped her hand against her cheek and made a slightly disappointed face.

"LIKE SHE SAID IT'S NOT LIKE THAT! Anyways, can you leave for a few minutes while I change?" Shido let out a sigh before taking his shirt off and throwing it into his hamper. Miku stared at his mildly toned body as if she were a predator about to pounce on its prey. "M-Miku?" Shido felt a shiver run down his spine as he glanced over to see her checking him out.

"Don't worry about me, Darling, just do what you would as if we were married!" Drool began forming on the curves of her mouth. Shido knew he had to stop this as soon as possible.

"Out!" He walked over and grabbed her shoulders trying his best to force her out of the room so that he could change. But it was needless to say that she wasn't easy to move being a spirit and all. She adamantly resisted his actions to force her out by clinging onto the door desperately.

"It's okay, this is what we'll be doing when we're married someday anyways! You need to get used to this!" She continued to struggle until she noticed that Shido began to gently interlock his fingers between hers. She slowly loosened her grip on the door frame as she closed her hands gently around his fingers.

"S-Shido…" Miku almost moaned from his gentle touch. Noticing Miku's guard was down, Shido quickly brought her arms in as he gently pushed her out the door and locked the loose frame behind her. Miku simply stood outside of the room staring down the hallway in shock. She turned around furiously and began barraging the door with her fists.

"Hey, that's not fair! How dare you trick me like that, you devil of a man!"

Shido couldn't help but let out a little sigh before it quickly turned into a large grin.

"It's going to be a great day, I can just tell."

He undressed himself as quickly as possible in order to not keep Miku waiting too long.

A loud sigh was heard behind the door. "I'll be waiting in the living room for you then, Darling." Her voice wasn't as sweet this time around, possibly on account of her being played the way she was. But Shido knew not to think about it too much because he would cheer her up on their date. As he heard her steps walking away from the door, more steps began making their way towards his room only to be followed by a soft knocking sound.

"One second, I'll be right there!" He yelled as he tried to straighten his light grey t-shirt beneath his navy blue dress shirt and smooth out his jeans. He ran to his door and opened it. Before him stood a girl with dark plum colored hair reaching all the way down to her waist. She stood at the door almost nervously, with her cheeks slightly puffed out.

"Tohka? What's the matter? You're usually not up this early, let alone here." He watched as the girl fidgeted around before him.

"Shido…" She said in her usual innocent voice. "A-Are you going on a date with Miku today?" She looked at him with shining desperate eyes. He was taken back by her before he decided she at least deserved and answer.

"W-Well, yes, I am. She had asked me a few days ago, and ever since the, uh, "accident"… we never really got the chance to go out on an actual date." Tohka didn't really seem to be upset more like she was taking in his words at this point.

"Muuu… So you're just trying to make up for before?" She asked still a little confused.

Shido gave her a reaffirming nod.

"Yes, that's more or less the case. It would be like if I were to have never gone on a date with you." Hearing those words caused Tohka's chest to hurt for some reason. She tightly gripped the clothing above her heart.

"T-Tohka, are you okay?" Shido was worried by her bizarre motion. Realizing this Tohka immediately snapped out of her trance.

"Mmm!" She shook her head up and down furiously. "If that's the case, then you should definitely help her out, just like you did for me!" Shido had always loved how understand Tohka could be compared to some of the other spirits.

"Thanks, Tohka. I should probably be on my way before Miku throws a tantrum hahah…" He nervously scratched his head before he tried to pass by. A hand reached out and grabbed his just as he was about to head down the stairs. Shido turned around to see Tohka grabbing his wrist while looking down at the floor, her face unable to be seen beneath her locks of hair.

"What's th-" Before he could finish, Tohka cut him off.

"I'm sorry for what happened, Shido… I," She paused to catch her breath. "...don't know what came over me that day. I didn't want to lose you and just seeing you being attacked like that… I just lost it…" Shido knew that this wasn't just something he could brush off. It must have been hard on her he thought, but he never really thought about it too much. He turned around to face her.

"It's wasn't your fault, Tohka, and you know that. I really am glad that you felt the need to protect me so badly that you would lose yourself to do so. But please don't do that again. You said how you hated to see me disappear before your eyes, right? Would you want me to have to go through the same thing as you did?" While the words were meant for Tohka, he was also saying them to himself after just having spoken to Kotori. Tohka seemed lost in thought.

"No… I would never want you to go through what I had to, but that's why I have to-" This time Shido silenced her.

"Tohka, please promise me, you will at least try not to, okay? There will always be times when we do things in the moment that we can never take back, but that's why we have to make the best decisions possible. So if I'm ever in danger I'll ask for you to protect me, and just as much if you are ever in pain I will be there doing my best, okay?" Tohka lightened up a little bit.

"Deal!" Her bright smile returning to her face. "But that doesn't mean you can be reckless okay Shido?" She pointed at him knowing that he was known for it. Shido couldn't hide the fact either and nodded with a wry smile. "Good! But, uh, Shido?" Her voice now becoming inquisitive.

"Hm? What is it, Tohka?" Shido tilted his head.

"Don't you have a date to be on right now?" The words slapped Shido as the sudden realization hit him like a freight train.

"Crap, you're right! Sorry ,Tohka, I have to go!" Shido spun around and bolted for the stairs as if his life were in danger. Which it probably was going to be soon. Tohka was left in the hall by herself now. She placed her hand over her heart again.

"I feel such pain watching him be with everyone, but at the same time I can't help but smile at the thought that he's helping all of us." A small smile appeared on her face. "I can only imagine how She feels…"

Shido flew down the stairs at an ungodly like speed. He whipped around the bottom rails and flew into the living room, only to be greeted by the songstress tapping her foot on the ground impatiently, while taking large breaths to calm herself.

"H-Hey, Mik-"

"YOU ARE LATE, AGAIN!" Her voice had probably woken up the neighbors.

"Sh-Shhhh, people are still sleep-"

"I DON'T CARE, YOU'VE KEPT ME WAITING ALL MORNING AND NOW YOU'RE GOING TO GET IT."

Miku furiously stomped over to where the panicking Shido was and grabbed onto his arm. She latched onto him with the force of a crocodile's jaw and dragged him towards the door, practically ripping his arm out of the socket. She ripped the door open, possibly cracking some of the hinges in the process. His doors were taking the full force of her heat today. As she was about to step outside she was greeted by a pair of orange headed twins. The one on the left, Kaguya, was visibly small in, well, many ways and had her hair braided into three parts. The one on the right, Yuzuru, appeared to be older simply because of the assets she possessed that her counterpart did not, and she had her hair braided into two parts.

As Kaguya raised her hand to greet the two at the door, Miku glared at her while the flames of rage engulfed her very presence.

"MOVE!" She angrily shouted. It was very rare for Miku to yell at girls, but when she was mad, this Diva was practically the reincarnation of relentless. Immediately after hearing the threat, the twins stepped off to either side of her and gave a mock salute as they watched Shido being dragged off. He looked back at them with desperation filling his eyes.

"WE ARE GOING TO ENJOY OURSELVES IF IT KILLS YOU." She stomped off. Kaguya and Yuruzu put their arms down and looked at each other.

"What do you think he got himself into this time?" Kaguya posed.

With a blank stare at Shido, Yuzuru opened her mouth. "Observation. No idea, but he appears to be a dead man."

Without so much as giving it a second thought the two entered the house as if it were their own.