-Ayako's POV-
"Ok Ayako, what's with the long face?" I look up from my desk to see Shido leaning over my seat with a worried look. "You've been sighing non-stop today, and that last one was a long one."
"I don't know what you're talking about." I growl in response and go back to studying my desk. Ugh why are you making me do this Onee-sama? I reactivateZuriel, pulling up an invisible screen in front of my eyes allowing me to watch a dark haired girl strutting down the sidewalk somewhere in town and grit my teeth. Why is she making me watch Nightmare now after all this time? She always told me to ignore her and not step in whenever something with her came up, but now all of a sudden she wants me to watch her non-stop. She does remember her spatial abilities allows for an easier time spying on people than my hacking abilities doesn't she?
"Earth to Ayako, did you fall asleep on me?" I squeal loud enough that the entire class stops and turns as I feel Shido poke my side. My face lights up bright red and I slither down into my seat, hiding my face in my hands. "Oops sorry, I forgot you were ticklish."
"Ayako are you alright? I heard your scream from the hallway!" Tohka skids into the room and stops by my desk, the spectacle only adding further embarrassment to what was going on.
"I didn't scream, I was just surprised by Shido jabbing me." I mumble slightly while keeping my eyes glued to my desk.
"Shido you can't just go around hurting your friend." Tohka scolds as she turns to him. "Especially Ayako, she's so small you could hurt her."
"I am not small!" I shout.
"Me hurt her? I swear when she's angry Ayako could take down a bear with her bare hands." He responds exasperated. "I once beat her in Uno and she nearly threw the table at me!"
"Ayako is that scary?" Tohka stares at me, her eyes wide with surprise as I look away in embarrassment.
"Look I don't wanna talk about it." I mutter. The bell rings and I scoop up my bag and move toward the door. "Sorry guys I can't hang out today, I have plans after school today." I explain before they can ask me anything. I tell them I'll see them tomorrow and dash out of the class, making a beeline for the school exit. I slow my pace as I step off school grounds and pull out my phone to reply to Onee-sama's message saying she will be home late and asking if I can pick up groceries so she can cook when she gets home. After responding, I change course and make my way to the local store. I pause as I walk past a candy shop and stare at a familiar person whose face was pressed up against the glass. "Yoshino?" The girl jumps in surprise as I call out her name and she slowly turns around.
"Oh... hi Ayako." She says, her voice soft as usual.
"Sorry did I surprise you?" I ask apologetically.
She shakes her head. "No I'm ok." She smiles at me which I return.
"Good, I'll be more careful next time though. So whatcha doing out over here? We're pretty far from Shido's house." I comment.
"Being at home all day while Shido, Tohka and Kotori are at school gets kinda lonely, so I like to wander around the city while I wait." She explains, seeming to relax the longer we talk.
"That does sound like it would be really boring, having to stay home all day with nothing to do. So what's with the candy store?" I motion to the building behind her and she blushes slightly and pulls her hood lower over her face in embarrassment.
"I really like candy, and the stuff in the window looked so yummy, I just had to stop and take a look, but I don't have any money, but I can't walk away." Her voice trails off as she gets even more embarrassed from confessing her weakness for candy.
"Who doesn't like candy? I know! Let me treat you to some ok?" She looks up from staring at the ground and I grin at her. I grab her hand and pull her into the store before she can protest.
"Finally decided to come did you? Welcome to Koroshin's Candy Store." The woman behind the counter says as we walk in. "You don't have to be so shy you know." She smiles at us.
"I didn't have any money though…" Yoshino responds in her usual quiet voice as she stands partially behind me.
"I would've given you a sample, if you wanted I could have even let you do a few chores for me in exchange for some candy." She says kindly.
"Yoshino, go get anything you like, as much as you like, I'll take care of it." I tell her and give her a little push before going to the shelf that has a huge variety of options and grab several bags of different types of gummy worms and bears as well as some gobstoppers. I drop them on the counter and wait for Yoshino to come up with her pickings before I remember and grab a brick of fudge for Tsubasa to enjoy, and not scold me for getting so much candy.
"Yoshino?" I put the fudge on the counter and head to the back to find her contemplating all the options in the back of the store.
"Ayako… I don't know what to get. It all looks so good." She whines and looks at me apologetically.
"Well then, get a little bit of everything." I say and her eyes widen. "You can get a little bit of everything and share it with everyone at home. That way you don't have to worry about getting too much."
"Isn't that a little much?" Yoshino asks as I start pulling things off the shelf. "You won't have any money afterwards if you buy this much."
I smirk and keep grabbing candy. "I have plenty of money, I could probably buy everything in the store and be totally fine, so this isn't a problem. Plus we're friends,so it's my treat." I help her carry the stuff up to the counter and pay for everything with my credit card, not even caring about the final total. I lead Yoshino out of the candy store and she accompanies me down the street to the grocery store, waiting outside with the candy while I do some quick shopping. "Thanks for the help Yoshino, I really appreciate you helping me carry everything."
"Mm mm, thank you for keeping me company, it's nice to spend some time with someone while Shido is busy." She smiles at me and I can't help but smile back at how much more comfortable she is with me than when we first started hanging out earlier.
"That reminds me, Yoshino, so you won't be so bored all the time while we're at school, I'm going to have something sent to Shido's for you. It'll be a surprise but I'm sure you'll enjoy it." I offer.
"A surprise? What is it?" She asks curiously.
"Ah ah ah, you'll just have to wait and find out, otherwise it's not a surprise." I smile as she thanks me shyly and we continue down the sidewalk. I hang back a bit and activate Zuriel and quickly zone in on Kurumi's location. I focus on what she's doing and my eyes go wide. I drop my groceries and run to the nearest trashcan and throw up. W-What is she doing?! I stand there trembling, gripping the trashcan tightly, coughing and heaving slightly as I watch the feed of Kurumi murdering innocent people in an alleyway.
"Ayako are you ok?" Yoshino appears at my shoulder, her voice filled with worry over my sudden bout of sickness.
"I'll be fine… Yoshino I just remembered I have something else to do so I'll see you later." I wave goodbye after I collect what I dropped before and start walking off towards Cupid. Does Onee-sama not know Nightmare does stuff like this? There's no way she knows, if she did then she would've done something about her before now.
I walk into the lobby of her building and make for the elevator, my whole body shaky from shock. "Excuse me, Miss, do you have an appointment? Those elevators lead up to the top members of our company and are not to be disturbed." The new receptionist says, halting me in my tracks. "Hey, are you ok? You don't look well." Concern creeps into her voice as I stop and start fiddling with my phone.
"I-I'm Tsubasa Tenshima's little sister, I sent you an email with the information. Don't bother calling her, I'm heading up right now to meet her." My voice hoarse as I respond and use my keycard to open the elevator. I hit the top floor button before sagging against the wall and suck in a shaky breath. I shove off the wall and make my way to her office as soon as the elevator opens and walk into Tsubasa's office without knocking.
"I believe I requested to not be desturbed." She snaps irritably without looking up from her computer.
"Onee-sama…" She looks up and concern immediately covers her face as she sees me standing in her doorway.
"Ayako are you ok? You're pale and shaking." She quickly gets up and helps me over to the couch, taking the groceries from me. She gives me a quick pat down to make sure I haven't been hurt before kneeling down next to me.
"I was keeping an eye on Nightmare like you asked, checking on her location occasionally throughout the day and… I saw her cornered in an alley. I wasn't worried about her since she's a Spirit but… she killed them. She just shot them over and over again until their bodies weren't even recognizable. When she finished shooting… she just stood there covered in their blood, a smile on her face." I take the water she offers me and take a quick sip. "Onee-sama we have to stop her, we can't leave a monster like her alone." She stares at me silently for a second then lets out a deep, weary sigh massages her temples.
"For now, please just continue to monitor her from a distance." She cuts me off before I can protest. "I understand it doesn't sit right with you, but currently that's all we can do."
"But Onee-sama you're the strongest Spirit! There's no way you could lose to Nightmare, there is no way she'd be strong enough to give you trouble." She places her hand on my head and rubs it slowly and I close my eyes and hum in pleasure at the relaxing feeling.
"Just because I can kill her or stop her doesn't mean that's the right thing to do. Ratatoskr's goal is to save all spirits, if you or I suddenly attack her we'll be their enemies. Trust me, everything will be alright." She leans in and hugs me to her chest and I close my eyes, letting her soothing presence wash over me. "I'm sorry you had to see something like that Ayako, and I wish you didn't have too." She stands up and lets the front desk know she's leaving for the day then without any hesitation, picks me up princess style. "I think a pampering day is in order for you, let's go home and I'll make you something easy on your stomach and then we can watch some tv together." She smiles down at me and I feel my cheeks flush a bit. Onee-sama's so cool and nice. I stare up at her admiringly as she walks us through the portal into my room and sets me on my bed. "Get into something comfy, I just washed your sweatpants so those will be nice and fluffy and when you're ready go sit on the couch, I'll lay out a blanket for you to curl up in."
She plants a light kiss on my forehead before walking out of the room. I strip out of my school uniform before putting on a t-shirt and sweats and pad barefoot into the living room. I sit down on the couch and wrap the blanket around my shoulders and turn the TV on. I snuggle down into the couch and start to doze off a bit before Tsubasa gently shakes me awake.
"Here's some miso soup and tea." She puts the tea in front of me and hands the soup to me before sitting on the couch and pulling me close to her side. "Just relax ok? When you're ready for bed let me know and I'll take you to my room, I know you enjoy sleeping there from time to time." She smiles down at me and I stare down at my soup to hide my embarrassment. She takes the remote from me and puts on No Game No Life season 2 and I gape up at her in shock.
"Wait how do you have this? There isn't even a release date for NGNL season 2!" She shushes me and wraps an arm around me.
"Please, your Onee-sama can get anything for her little sister. Something like getting the second season of an anime that hasn't been fully announced yet is no problem for me." She declares proudly and I bounce happily but stop after thinking for a second.
"Wait… Onee-sama you didn't steal access to this with your powers did you?" I look at her accusingly.
"Ayako how could you think I would do something like that? I thought you thought better of me, I'm a respected CEO you know." She feigns hurt before we both start giggling. "You brat, you know I wouldn't steal like that. I just called in a favor from someone high up at their company that's all." She sticks her tongue out at me and chuckles. She hits play and we watch together while I drink my soup, setting it aside when I finish it and enjoy the sweet tea Onee-sama got for me. "So Ayako, whom do you want to end up together with who?" She asks, looking sideways at me.
"Like my couple pairings? It's a little tough, I definitely want Chlammy and Fiel to end up together in the end, but as for the main four… it's set up to be a Harem for Sora, but if Sora was a girl and Shiro wasn't a child I would definitely say those two, but since she is a kid she should probably be left out of it." I reply, not taking my eyes off the screen. "Honestly all them I think should be together, but it feels like Sora and Shiro are meant for each other, though that's kinda how the show set it up with their backstories and all, but I wouldn't want to deprive the other two of this relationship either." I sigh heavily. "That's what I hate about anime sometimes, they line up so many options for the main character to pick form, but you come to like almost all of them and then you don't want to see them crushed and left alone. That's why some anime do it right, and give other options for those characters, like Darling and the Franxx."
"Yea, but it's not like they're real characters Ayako." Tsubasa responds, poking my cheek to get my attention.
"That's why you're so bad at making games Onee-sama." I look up at her with a blank face and she winces at the sight of my face. "You treat them as just characters on a page, or people on a screen. To write a proper story you have to imagine them as real, breathe life into them." I tell her sagely. "If you do a good enough job people can picture what's going on in the creators imagination just by a few simple words on a page. I know you've understood, I've seen the way you read some of your novels. I bet you if I made a virtual world of that game and put you in as a character in their story they wouldn't feel like characters in a game when they interact with you."
Tsubasa pauses the anime and shakes her head, a small smile forming on her face. "To think that my little sister would be lecturing me like this." She chuckles and hugs me tight. "You missed one important thing though Ayako." She says softly close to my ear, causing me to shutter involuntarily. "I understand it not because of the books I read, but from your own writing. You are quite passionate about the stories you write aren't you?" I turn my head to look up at her eyes wide and face rapidly growing hot.
"W-Wait wait wait, how do you know about the stories I've written Onee-sama? Those are locked on my private profile in an encrypted file, there's now way you'd know about them!" My voice is full of panic as she stares down at me with a knowing smile.
"Silly Ayako, don't think you can hide anything from your big sister." She smirks. "I've read all your game ideas and scripts, even made some adjustments to them."
"Y-You did what?!" I panic and squirm against Tsubasa, but she hugs me tighter so I can't escape.
"I even saw some of those private stories, my little sister is such a talented writer, but so lewd sometimes. I never would've thought my shy little sister could or would write such lewd things." She says with exaggerated shock.
"Ahhhh! Stop it stop it stop it! Don't say anymore!" I cry out and squirm harder.
"Oh so you DO write lewd things? I guess that means I wasn't looking in the right locations. I'll be sure to find it next time though. My little sister isn't allowed to keep any secrets from her Onee-sama." She cuddles me close to her, nuzzling her cheek into my hair.
"O-Onee-sama stop it! You can't just go through my private stuff like that! I'm so increasing the security of my profile and finishing my server as soon as I can!" I try to get away but she pulls me into her lap and wraps her arms around me tightly, locking me in place.
"No no no that's not allowed at all. You aren't allowed to keep anything from me ever!" She giggles as she holds me tight.
"That's not fair Onee-sama!" I pout in her lap and she just chuckles and rests her chin on my head and hits play again. "Onee-sama can be such a bully…"
"I can't help it when my little sister is just so darn cute." She responds softly as we settle down and go back to watching the anime. I stay in her lap for the rest of the evening and after we finish the show she puts something else on and I start to doze off. Half asleep, she picks me up and I feel her carry me to her room and tuck me in snuggly. "Night Ayako, sweet dreams." She kisses my forehead and slips out of her room, closing the door softly behind her.
-The next day, Ayako's POV-
"You seem happy today, a complete one-eighty from yesterday." Shido comments as I walk into the classroom, a dreamy satisfied smile on my face.
"Ehehe yea I guess." I laugh a little as I sit down at my desk and he leans over towards me.
"Hey are you ok? Yoshino told me she ran into you after school and that you threw up and looked really pale and shaky, I sent you a text but you never answered, is something going on?" His voice is full of concern as he stares at my face.
"Yea I'm fine, I was just feeling ill, that's all." I brush it off and avert my eyes. Sorry Shido, but even if I could tell you, you wouldn't want to know what caused it.
"Well, if you're sure." He sits back unconvinced as everyone else files into class followed by Tama-chan who immediately asks everyone to take their seats.
"Everyone today we have a surprise. We have a new transfer student starting today, could you please come in and introduce yourself to everyone?" The door opens and a young girl walks in slowly and moves to the middle of the room. She looks around the room and her eyes lock with mine then travel to Shido's.
"Hello, my name is Kurumi Tokisaki, and just so you know I'm a Spirit." She says with a smile and everyone just stares at her confused, everyone except Shido, Origami, Tohka and myself, who all start in surprise.
"That's certainly an interesting introduction. Why don't you take a seat behind Miss Tenshima." Tama-chan says after a moments pause.
"Certainly, but before that." She walks over and stops in front of me, a smile still on her face. "Ayako right? Would you be willing to show me around the school during lunch? I'm afraid that since I've just arrived here I don't know my way around."
"... I probably wouldn't be the best person to show you, but I guess I can if Tama-chan wants me too." I reply, looking away like I don't care. Why is Nightmare in my class? I have to contact Onee-sama, no if I do she might notice Zuriel if I use it now. She thanks me and walks past taking the seat behind me and I can feel her eyes drilling into my back the entire class and all the way through lunch.
The bell rings and before I can move I feel a hand grip my shoulder and I flinch as Kurumi walks around to where I can see her. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you, I just didn't want you to forget and leave before you showed me around." She says, a pleasant smile on her face and I grumble quietly before standing up.
"I didn't forget." I snatch the sandwich I bought this morning from my desk and motion for her to follow me. "Hope you can eat on the go, it's a pretty big school." I lead the way from the classroom and toss the wrapper from my sandwich and start munching on my food. I take my time, showing her the nurses office, the gym, the cafeteria, where all the bathrooms are, and anything she might need to know while keeping watch for any funny business.
"Thank you for showing me around Ayako, I really appreciate you giving up your lunch to show me where everything is." She thanks me when we finally sit down and take a break.
"No problem, it's not that big of a hassle." I reply.
"I got something I wanna do before lunch is over so I'll see you in class." She stands up to leave but pauses for a moment. "Oh quick question before I go, how's Tsubasa doing?" I freeze and slowly look up at her sinister smile.
"I-I'm sorry what did you say?" I ask her, hoping I had heard her wrong.
"Nothing nevermind." She waves at me as she turns away and hurries down the hall. I sit there for a few minutes before shakily reaching into my pocket and pulling out my phone. I open it and dial Tsubasa's cell and wait as it rings.
"You don't usually call during school Ayako, is everything ok?" I let out a soft sigh, just hearing her voice helps me relax a bit.
"Onee-sama, Nightmare is at my school. She transferred into my class and her name is Kurumi. She had me show her around the school and just left, but before she left she asked me how you were." I tell her, the words rushing.
"Calm down Ayako you're fine. I know you are still a bit shaken from what happened yesterday, but don't forget you're a Spirit too, and one that I trained. It doesn't seem like she's hostile yet, but just in case you should activate Zuriel while she isn't near you. That way I can talk to you if something needs to happen." She hangs up after saying bye and I activate Zuriel. "This is a very handy function of Zuriel, allowing me to talk to you through hacking into my cell, too bad I can't hear your cute little voice, but I've got an eye on you so don't worry." I smile at the reassurance and head back to class, taking my seat before the bell rings.
Class starts and I start to zone out a bit until Shido leans over. "Hey Ayako, where's Kurumi? You didn't ditch her while showing her around did you?"
I glare at him for several moments before turning to look behind me, realizing for the first time that Kurumi didn't come back to class. I open my mouth but before I can talk a wave of pain crashes over me and I clutch my head, I look over and see Shido in a similar state as all our classmates start to drop like flies, passing out and falling out of their seats.
"Shido, why does my body feel so heavy?" Tohka asks in a strange voice as they both stand up.
"It's Kurumi, she put up a barrier that is knocking everyone out, if we don't hurry and stop her everyone could be in danger." He explains quickly after talking with Reina on the Fraxinus.
Suddenly a giggle resounds over the loudspeaker. "Hey can anyone hear me? If anyone needs anything at all, feel free to join me on the roof. You might want to join me up here as soon as possible." She laughs again before the intercom is cut.
"Stay here Tohka, you can barely move right now. I'm going to stop her, and I'm going to save her." He says and dashes from the room. Tohka braces herself against his desk before slowly following after him, leaning heavily on the wall. I wait for her footsteps to fade then stand up.
"I think that was directed at you." Tsubasa's voice sounds in my ear. "Summon your Astral Dress but don't go out there right away, I want to see what Shido does." I let out a sigh and summon Zuriel fully and leap out the window and conceal myself nearby and pay attention to what's going on on the roof. I watch as Shido comes out onto the roof and confronts Kurumi, talking to her before a blue haired girl lands between them. While watching I learn she is Shido's biological sister and has been hunting down and killing clones of Kurumi all over. She launches herself at Kurumi only to be completely overwhelmed by her, frozen in place by Kurumi's time freezing bullet, and shot all over, immobilizing her while forcing Shido to watch. Right after that Tohka and Origami dash onto the roof and are quickly surrounded by Kurumi clones.
"Steady Ayako, Efreet is inbound to help save Shido, keep your distance for now." Tsubasa warns me right before Kotori appears over the school.
I watch as Kurumi and Kotori begin to battle on the roof, with Kurumi quickly overwhelming Kotori and driving her into a corner before seemingly finishing her off. I gasp in shock and was about to go to help Shido before Kotori stands back up unharmed. I watch as Kurumi gets ready to attack but pauses for a split second, a sour look on her face before commanding her clones to attack. Kotori continues to push Kurumi back to my surprise, but I notice her stumble for a moment and worry she might be hurt from when she got shot before, but instead she I hear her call on her Angel again and her Halberd changes to a massive flame cannon. Kurumi takes a step to avoid the attack but her face contorts again and she drops to her knees, heaving. She rallies her clones to block the attack and they get vaporised while protecting her and a massive hole gets blown into Zafkiel. Kurumi keeps heaving and vomits onto the roof, gasping as she stares back at Kotori who is aiming her cannon again while Shido tries to talk her down.
"Ayako you have to protect her!" Tsubasa yells through her phone and I launch myself from my hiding spot as Kotori begins to charge her cannon again.
"Camael, Megiddo!" She fires the cannon again and I slide to a stop between Kurumi's hunched form and the oncoming blast.
"Zuriel, Sosei!" I raise my hands and summon my holo screens in front of me to form a multi layered shield. I grit my teeth as the powerful fire blast slams into my shields, shattering the first layer on impact. I hold the shields up, watching them crack and break slowly until the attack dissipates, leaving me panting heavily, and with only 3 of the 7 layered shield left.
"Another one joins the battle. You are interrupting my war." Koroti declares loudly and I realize this isn't the normal playful Koroti or the serious captain of the Fraxinus. "If you're going to interfere with my fight then I will incinerate you as well." She hefts her halberd and aims it at me.
"I don't want to fight you Efreet, but it doesn't look like I have much of a choice. Zuriel, Kurudo." I hold my hand out and a massive zweihander manifests in my hand. "Aww you gotta be kidding me Zuriel, can't you give me something more conventional?" I complain before gripping the handle with both hands and slide into a sparring stance, holding the sword easily despite it being almost double my height.
"Very well, you will be the first to burn!" She changes the cannon back to its halberd form and rushes across the roof at me, raising her weapon high for an overhead strike which I deflect by raising my sword and diverting her blow, her axe skittering off my blade and sinking into the roof. I slash horizontally at her, my sword connecting with the pole of her halberd, the force of my blow dislodging the axe and sending Kotori back several steps. "Hmm, you're quite strong despite your small size." She smirks and I grit my teeth and rush her.
"I'm taller than you are, you little braaaat!" I yell at her and smash my sword into her guard, launching her skyward from the force of the attack. I take off after her, quickly dodging her retaliatory strike, spinning past her and hitting her with a sharp kick to the side. I steady myself in the air as she recovers from my blow and leveling my sword by my cheek, the tip of pointing at her chest.
"Seems you've got some skills." She admits as she draws closer, twirling her massive halberd in her small hands like it was a baton. She stops spinning it, gripping it tightly and starts walking through the air toward me slowly. I back up a step, unnerved by her casual gait and lack of guard. "So let's turn up the heat shall we?" The flames around her flare up, and she grins menacingly at me but I just smirk back at her.
"You think so? Personally I think it's time we take things down a notch, Kumu." I call on my Angel again and the fire surrounding Kotori begins to die down before fizzling out completely. The grin on her face turns to a look of confusion as her flames dwindle away and she seems to struggle just a tiny bit under the weight of Camael. "You look confused Efreet, it seems you didn't know that I can digitize a person's strengths and abilities, your "stats" so to speak and then debuff them, draining your abilities temporarily." I take a step towards her and she reflexively takes one back. "Not so confident now are you?" I charge her, swatting her guard away easily and slip in close, driving my fist into her stomach, the force of the blow causing her to clutch her stomach and double over. I quickly leap above her and bring the flat of my sword down on her back hard and launch her down toward the roof again. She grunts in pain but stops her descent with a blast of fire and quickly throws herself back up at me.
"Don't think you'll win because of a cheap trick!" She yells and swings her halberd wildly at me, forcing me back as I block and deflect her powerful blows. Geez even with Kumu affecting her she still has this much strength, it doesn't help that I'm not much of a combat type Spirit but still this is impressive. I swing my sword, locking blades with the flame Spirit with a resounding slash as we struggle against one another. She shoves hard against me then feints backwards, causing me to fall forwards right into the shaft of her halberd as she strikes up with it, the blow landing right across my face. I cry out in pain and reel back, but another blow from the butt to my stomach throws me backwards and I clutch my stomach, grunting slightly. "I told you, a dirty trick like that doesn't give you the edge in a fight." She pants, taking a minute to catch her breath before advancing on me. I right myself and she pauses her advance as I grimace at her, revealing a cracked holo screen where her last blow landed, protecting me from any real damage.
"And don't you think that just because you have raw power on me means you can walk all over me." I spit back and she growls in frustration and throws herself at me, launching a flurry of attacks that I match blow for blow, the force of each collision generating shockwaves around us as we pound away at each other furiously. Our weapons become a blur as each clash of metal hits harder than the last until finally we smash against one another again and the resulting force pushes both of us back.
"I've had enough! Camael!" She lifts her Angel up and it starts to change into cannon form again, lowering it again as she readies to fire
"Oh no you don't, Zuriel Sosei!" I summon several holo screens and line them up in front of me. I toss my sword away and hold my hands up to the screen, rotating them slightly and a small arch of electricity pops off my arm. "Mado magnification!" I fire a bolt of electricity through the screens, each one it passes through magnifying its size and power. Kotori doesn't even have time to react as the bolt shoots straight down the barrel of her cannon, destroying it and the force of the attack knocking her from the sky and sending her crashing into the rooftop. I follow her down, landing lightly next to Kurumi, who during the course of the battle has moved so her back was propped up against the fence and she was sitting where she could watch the whole thing.
I glare down at her. "Ayako I want you to escape with Kurumi, bring her to the house right now." I start in surprise. Why does Onee-sama want Kurumi to know where we live? She is dangerous, a psychopath.
"Get up, I'm taking you somewhere safe." I tell her but Shido calls out to me before I can help her up.
"Wait a minute, you're Roulette right? The Spirit that always shows up when another Spirit appears. What are you doing here, why did you protect Kurumi, where are you taking her?" He asks, taking a few steps towards us.
"You already know why I'm here, I came to protect the Spirits. I stopped Efreet from killing Nightmare, and Efreet is still alive, though unconscious, but she should be fine thanks to her regenerative powers. As for where we're going, that's none of your concern, just know Nightmare won't be causing you any trouble anytime soon." I respond curtly before helping Kurumi to her feet. 'Let's go Nightmare."
"Hold on, I want to help you both. I can seal your powers so the AST won't be after you anymore. You can live like normal girls." He says, holding his hand out to me.
"Who says I want your help?" I ask him, my voice turning icy. "I understand you mean well but aren't you being a bit presumptuous? I like my life, I like my powers, I don't need you to do anything for me. Now then, I'll be taking Nightmare with me, you should make sure your friend's are seen too, the only one that seems to be in real danger is the blue haired girl, the other three should be fine." I turn away from him and launch myself off the roof, Kurumi following close behind without a backwards glance.
-At Home-
I sit across from Tsubasa speechless as Kurumi sits curled up in her lap, resting her head on Tsubasa's shoulder. "O-Onee-sama, what's going on? Why is Kurumi sitting in your lap so casually and clinging to you?" I finally manage to force out.
Tsubasa scratches her cheek awkwardly and lets out a sigh. "Well… it's a little complicated." She starts weakly.
"We have all evening." I reply impatiently, not enjoying that tone from her. Onee-sama is strong and confident, that hesitant tone doesn't suit her.
She sighs again and nods her head. "It's like this Ayako, Kurumi and I are seeing each other." She finally says after a moment's hesitation. "We have been meeting on and off for a bit now."
"S-Seeing each other as in…" My voice trails off.
"As in we've been dating, and fucking. Tsubasa is really good at it too." Kurumi says with a smirk, but yelps as Tsubasa smacks her lightly.
"Yes Ayako, I'm dating Kurumi, that's why I asked you to keep an eye on her." She finally says.
I sit back slowly, shaking my head in disbelief. "I don't understand. How can you date a monster like her? She endangered everyone at school, I watched her murder those people in the alley." I watch her to see if there is any hint of remorse on her face.
She meets my gaze evenly then shrugs slowly. "I'm sorry you had to watch me kill them, but they were scum, and I needed them to recharge my powers. As for the school no one was in danger, I just wanted to test you. I wanted to see what you would do. I didn't expect Tsubasa to be helping you out, telling you to wait." She pouts a little, looking at Tsubasa who ignores her.
"Kurumi's power drains her time, in other words her life force. She has to replenish that or else she will die, so she takes it from people." Tsubasa explains calmly and I marvel at how easily she can talk about killing people.
"In my defense I only go after those that don't deserve their time, criminals and the like." Kurumi defends herself, though by the tone of her voice she doesn't care either way if it helps convince me or not.
"That doesn't make it right, murder is still murder." I accuse her. "What about me having to protect you at school? Was that also part of your test?"
"I'm also curious, were you sick?" Tsubasa asks and I grit my teeth in annoyance at the concern in her voice.
"Actually I was going to come talk to you about this after today." She blushes a little and squirms in Tsubasa's lap and I glare daggers at her. "I'm not sick per say, Tsubasa, the truth is… I'm pregnant." She smiles up at Tsubasa who stares blankly down at Kurumi. I watch them speechless as Kurumi drops the baby bomb.
"A-Are you sure?" Tsubasa asks, her voice shaking slightly from the news.
"I know I'm not the most trustworthy person, but even I wouldn't joke about this Tsubasa. I triple checked. I know I'm pregnant with your baby." She smiles up at Tsubasa and pulls her in for a tender kiss.
I catapult myself to my feet and spin around and start marching from the room. "Wait Ayako come back!" Tsubasa calls out, breaking the kiss with Kurumi but for once, I completely ignore her. "Come back so we can keep talking."
I pause but don't turn back around. "There's nothing to talk about Onee-sama, nothing at all. In fact, I'm happy for you, congratulations. Now leave me alone." I tell her, my icy voice slipping out through gritted teeth. I glance back at them over my shoulder, glad when I see her shoulders slump a bit when she sees my glare. "Now I'm going to my workshop, don't bother making dinner for me. In fact, don't bother waking me up for school anymore either, I'll handle that. I'll also buy my lunch at school, congrats, you got more time with your girlfriend." I spit that last word out and march off, slamming the door behind me.
