Entry 5: Frostbite Yoshino 2 – Reconnection and Repairing

It was the second day after contact with Hermit- no, with Yoshino and Yoshinon, and Origami had found herself back at that mall. It was still raining. It had been raining for three days straight now.

The mall was still a wreck. There were large piles of rubble still strewn all over the place, and it looked as though the mall itself wouldn't be open for another week or so.

Origami was quite familiar with the process or post-Spacequake repairs. Most of the damage caused by the Spacequake itself was often repaired within the hour, while other damage was repaired over the course of a few days, depending on what it was.

There was something rather sombre about looking at a ruined mall. A place where everyone could gather, just... destroyed like this.

A slight pang of pain found its way into Origami's arm. It had been a while since she'd felt more than just a dull stiffness from it.

Before she could think more on it, she heard an unusual sound. Rubble being shifted. It was a rather heartbreaking thought, to know that someone was digging through the rubble to find something, or worse, someone.

Overcome by a sense of sympathy, Origami followed the noise to its source, and happened upon a girl in a familiar green raincoat.

"Yoshino?" Origami asked. The figure flinched, before turning around to look at her with nervous blue eyes. No doubt about it; that was Yoshino.

The tiny Spirit looked nervous, though not as much as she did when Origami first met her.

"Is everything alright?" Origami asked. "Are you looking for something?"

Yoshino looked around nervously, and Origami took notice that she could clearly see both of Yoshino's hands.

"Say," Origami said. "Where's your friend?"

Yoshinon was missing. Really, there was no need for Origami to even ask.

Yoshino tried to speak, but kept stumbling over her words. So, Origami supposed that Yoshino needed Yoshinon to properly interact with the outside world, then.

Well, only one thing to do, then.

Placing her umbrella in her bad hand, Origami began shifting through the rubble, much to Yoshino's surprise. "Your friend might be under all this, right?" Origami asked. "Then please, let me help you."

Yoshino looked at her, surprised, before nodding in response.

Hours passed in the blink of an eye, and they were nowhere closer to finding that hand puppet.

Up onboard the Fraxinus, the crew + Tohka watched as the duo bonded quietly and slowly.

[So, who exactly is Yoshinon?] Origami asked. [You must really respect them a lot, to be so attached.]

"That was a bit weak," Kotori commented. "Well, can't really fault her for it, since we're talking about a sock puppet."

"Isn't it mean to consider Yoshinon-san just 'a sock puppet'?" Tohka asked.

[Yoshinon is...] a small, quiet voice said, catching everyone, Origami included, by surprise. [… my Hero.]

[A hero, huh?] Origami muttered.

Yoshino hummed. [Yoshinon... can say the things I can't. Do the things I can't. Without him, I...]

[I understand,] Origami cut in. [Honestly, I'm a bit envious. If I had someone like Yoshinon-san in my life... maybe I wouldn't have turned out as twisted as I am.]

There was a rather expected pang of sympathy among the crew. "All hands, review footage!" Kyouhei instructed. "Find that rabbit, no matter what!"

Kotori kicked her sub-commander on the ass. "Don't take my lines, jackass!"

"Understood!" Kyouhei replied in ecstasy.

Not even a minute later, and the results were in.

"Target located," Reine said. "The puppet known as Yoshinon is currently in the possession of AST member Okamine Mikie."

Well, that was certainly going to make things... maybe not 'difficult', but certainly complicated.

"I'll go," Tohka said suddenly.

Down on the ground, Origami flinched in surprise. [Are you sure about this?] she muttered under her breath. [The AST, not to mention Okamine Mikie herself, have it out for you.]

"I know," Tohka said, "but Yoshino-san... I want her to know she's not along. That there's others like her out there, and that you can help us."

Prove that there are sisters in arms, then. It was a pretty good idea, actually.

"Permission granted," Kotori said. "Reine, Kozue and Hinako, you three are on Tohka duty! The rest of you, back up Origami! When we get a chance, send her a signal to meet up with Tohka!"

Tohka stood before the door of the apartment that belonged to Okamine Mikie.

A strange, nervous energy was building up inside of her. This was someone who had a mild vendetta against Spirits, and now here she was; a Spirit asking her to return something that belonged to a Spirit.

A part of Tohka wondered if this was what Origami had been feeling. Irony, was it? Having to try and turn a current enemy into an ally to actually make a difference?

It kinda made Tohka feel just a bit closer to Origami.

Shaking the thoughts off to focus on the here and now, Tohka knocked on the door.

"One moment, please!" someone called out. Tohka may not have met her that often (there was one or two moments during school over the past few days), but she knew that voice well enough as the one that belonged to her rival (she was trying not to consider her an enemy).

The door swung open. "Yes? How can I-"

Stunned silence filled the air. Neither party knew how to address the situation.

For Mikie, it was the shock of a potential threat being at her door.

For Tohka, it was the shock of a potential threat wearing nothing more than a towel, and still being covered slightly in water.

Tohka had caught Mikie fresh out of the shower.

After a long moment of silence, they both shouted their surprise.

Five minutes later, and the two were sat at opposite ends of the table.

Tohka felt more weirded out by the fact that, despite offering to wait a few minutes, Mikie hadn't thought to at least get dressed. Was this some sort of psychlo- psyco- spi... mental warfare?

In truth, the reason Mikie was still wearing the towel was because she believed that Tohka would take the chance to strike her down the moment she dropped her guard. Of course, this was all while ignoring the fact that Mikie didn't have a CR-Unit on hand right now, so even if she kept her guard up, she was completely vulnerable.

"So," Mikie said, fighting desperately to maintain composure. "Why are you here, Yatogami-senpai?"

Tohka took a deep breath. Right now, she needed to focus on the mission. "Mikie-san," she said, "Origami and I are looking for something. A few days ago, a little girl lost a white rabbit sock puppet at the mall. Origami said she saw you there on the day, so I thought I'd ask you if you saw anything."

It was, for all intents and purposes, Tohka reading a script. They both knew each others worst kept secrets, but at the moment, it was best for them to just not address the war-shaped elephant in the room.

"Eh? That's it?" Mikie asked, surprised. "You're... not here to kill me in an ambush?"

"Eh? Why would I kill you?" Tohka asked. "I mean, sure, I was pretty angry a while back after you shot Origami." Understatement of the decade right there. "But I don't think you're an enemy."

"But-!" Mikie slammed her hands on the table, before quickly returning them to their previous job of keeping the towel on. "But you're a Spirit! Enemy of mankind!"

At that, much to Mikie's surprise, Tohka looked sad. "It's not like we want to be," she muttered. "But, with Origami's help, we don't have to be. We can live peacefully, without breaking things."

Mikie looked at Tohka. Really looked at her, and saw not a walking force of destruction, but a girl barely older than herself, scared of what she once was, and was now free of that shackle, simply wishing the same for others like her.

And to that, Mikie began to cry.

"Ah!" Tohka exclaimed. "What's wrong? Why are you-"

"Because you're right!" Mikie sobbed. "I don't even know you, and I... I just assumed you were a bad person!"

Tohka was... seriously caught off guard. This was someone who had previously tried to kill her, right? And now, that someone was bawling her eyes out in front of her. It was... actually similar to what happened with Origami, now that she thought about it.

Although, with Origami, there was less tears. And more clothes being worn.

Tohka reached into her pocket, and pulled out a handkerchief, offering it to Mikie. "You know," Tohka said, "I think I get why Origami's so hung up on getting you out of the AST. You're... really kind, you know?"

Mikie sniffled for a moment, before standing up, and walking over to a drawer nearby. Reaching into it, she pulls out the much sought after puppet. "This is the one you're looking for, right?" she asked, sitting back down at the table. "I found it just after Hermit was Lost."

Tohka picked up the puppet. It felt weird, not seeing it alive and moving. But, she got what she came for, and then some. "Thank you, Mikie-chan," Tohka said.

Mikie's heart skipped a beat at being called 'chan'. "So," she said hesitantly. "Does this mean... we can at least be friends?"

"Of course!" And with that, Mikie began to cry again. "Ah! Why are you-"

Then, two phones began to ring. One for Tohka, and one for Mikie.

Both parties excused themselves to answer the phones. Seconds later, they both hung up in a panic, and both shouted "This is bad!"

Origami had to admit, the situation was easily the worst it could have been.

Behind her was Yoshino. In front of them, the AST. Legitimately a worst case scenario.

"I was honestly hoping it was just a one time thing," spoke Kusakabe Ryouko. "You helping a Spirit. I guess desperate times, and all that."

"I think 'shift in perspective' would be more accurate," Origami pointed out. "I do not suppose we can talk this out, can we?"

"The job of the AST is to defend the citizens from the threat of Spirits," Ryouko answered. "You know that better than anyone, Origami. In fact, you, out of everyone, stood by the belief that all Spirits needed to be eliminated."

Origami could tell that Yoshino was surprised by that statement, even without looking. "That was then," she said plainly. "Things have changed. How many Spirits does the old method have under its belt?"

It was a fair point, Ryouko had to admit. The AST had yet to actually defeat a Spirit, and Origami had, basically the moment she swapped sides, done... something to Princess that seemed to make her not only docile, but also managed to bring her down to a state of being a simple human girl.

But, the AST had a job, and she couldn't ignore it. Plus, there was a creeping suspicion in the back of Ryouko's mind. "Tell me, Origami," she said. "Can you prove that you are acting on your own influence?"

"What are you saying?" Origami asked.

"You were the one out of all of us who harboured the most hatred for Spirits," Ryouko explained. "You'd have done anything to eliminate the enemy. Yet, here you are now, getting all cosy with them. For all I know," she levelled her rifle at them, "you could just as easily have been brainwashed by those Spirits, for all we know!"

"That's..." Origami muttered. "That's unbelievably stupid." Everyone was caught off guard by her blunt statement. "We have fought with Toh-Princess for how long, and never once has the ability to brainwash ever come up? Even you have to admit, that's a poor excuse to not rethink your stance."

For a moment, Ryouko hovered there, wide-eyed. That was... actually a good point. In fact, no matter how she looked at it, Origami's current path was the right one.

Yet, command had given their orders, so what was she to do?

"Please wait!" a pair of voices called out, which was followed by two familiar individuals getting between Origami and Ryouko.

It took Origami half a second to recognise the duo as Tohka and Mikie. It took a further quarter of a second for her to quickly cover Yoshino's eyes, because for some ungodly reason, Mikie was only wearing a towel.

At least Tohka had thought to bring an umbrella for her. That was considerate thinking.

"Private Okamine," Ryouko said. "As much as I should be more concerned with you gallivanting with a Spirit, I must ask; why are you practically naked?"

Mikie looked momentarily confused, before reality caught up to her, and she blushed. "I did tell you to take the time to put some actual clothes on," Tohka said. "Mikie-san, you don't really think ahead, do you?"

"I-I panicked!" Mikie defended herself. "We were a bit pressed for time, Tohka-san!"

"Look, just-" Tohka quickly took her blazer off, and draped it over Mikie's shoulder. "At least wear that, okay? Save your dignity."

Origami, and frankly, the majority of the AST present, were confused. When had those two become so close?

"Alright, now I'm just confused," Ryouko muttered. "Private, mind explaining why you're with Princess?"

"Tohka," Tohka corrected. "My name is Yatogami Tohka."

"Right, sorry," Ryouko apologised automatically. "Private, mind explaining why you're with Yatogami Tohka?" A moment later, and Ryouko's expression turned into one that seemed to not believe either what she just heard, or what she just said.

"Why are you surprised she has a name?" Origami asked.

"Because!" Ryouko shouted uncharacteristically. "Spirit!"

"Tohka," Tohka responded.

"And this," Origami added, pointing at Yoshino as she removed her hand from her eyes, "is Yoshino."

Ryouko, and the rest of the AST for that matter, blinked in bewilderment. "They... have names," one of them said.

"I am..." Ryouko muttered. "So damn lost."

"Captain," Mikie said. "Tohka-senpai and Yoshino-chan, they're... they're just as much people as the rest of us. They don't want to destroy things just by being dragged into our world." Tohka and Yoshino nodded in response to that. "And Origami-senpai, she's able to help them. She managed it with Tohka-senpai, so why aren't we giving it a chance?"

"Because-" Ryouko cut herself off. Now that she really thought of it, she didn't really have a strong enough reason to stop them, right? "Okay, I'm just going to ask: How does it work?" she finally said. "How is Origami able to make it so that Spirits are pacified?"

"Rude," Tohka muttered. "We never wanted to cause trouble in the first place. You guys shot first."

"Easy, Tohka," Origami said. "It's less 'pacifying', and more 'sealing', honestly."

"Okay, then. Sealing," Ryouko said. "How does it work?"

Origami and Tohka shared a look between them. "Power of love," they both said with straight faces.

This, naturally, caused the expected responses. That being: Most of the AST face-faulting, and Yoshino blushing intensely.

"Are you pulling a fast one on us?" Ryouko asked. "No, of course not. You're Tobiichi Origami, after all."

"I know that," Origami said. "So, how about a bet? If I can make it so that Yoshino here can live peacefully, will you concede the handling of Spirits to us?"

"That's a tall order," Ryouko said plainly. "I'll give you ten minutes. If you can do as you say, then we'll... conveniently go slow on our work going forward." This was met with a raised brow from Origami. "And offer a liaison between our forces in the form of Private Okamine. How's that?"

"Wait, really?!" Mikie called out, sounding... a bit too excited about the idea.

[She drives a good bargain,] Kotori commented over the comms. [Plus, Yoshino's already at the tipping point of being sealable. All you really need to do is return the puppet, and you're golden. Take the deal!]

"I accept," Orgami replied. "Might you give us some space?"

"Very well," Ryouko agreed. "All troops, fall back! Keep an eye of the read-outs while you're at it!"

And with that, there was now only the four of them remaining. With the looming threat of the AST just around the corner, sure.

At that moment, Origami noticed Yoshino begin to tremble in fear. "Hey, it's alright," Origami tried to reassure.

"But," Yoshino muttered in a small, trembling voice. "But I..."

Tohka walked over to them, and crouched down beside Yoshino. "Origami's right," she said softly. "It will be alright. I was in the same situation as you a while ago."

Yoshino looked at Tohka in surprise. "Are you..."

"A Spirit, just like you," Tohka said, as she took Yoshinon out of one of her pockets. "Origami was able to save me, just as I'm sure she can save you."

Yoshino hesitantly took Yoshinon from Tohka, before looking at Origami. "I can... live in peace?"

"You can," Origami reassured. "You have the right to."

Tears began to well up in Yoshino's eyes. [Alright! You're in the clear!] Kotori shouted. [Kiss the girl, and save the world! Again!]

Steeling her determination, Origami placed a hand under Yoshino's chin. "Do you trust me?" she asked.

A nod was the only response needed. With that, Origami lent forward, and locked lips with Yoshino.

Both Tohka and Mikie looked away in embarrassment. In the recesses of her mind, Origami couldn't help but note that Yoshino carried the smell of a snowy day.

As she pulled away, Yoshino's Spirit Dress began to break apart into particles of light. Thinking quickly -and remembering what happened with Tohka-, Origami removed her own jacket, and draped it over Yoshino's petite frame. It was important to preserve this child's modesty, after all.

And, as if to signify this success, the clouds parted, and the sun shone through for the first time that day.

"Amazing," Mikie muttered. "She actually did it."

"Still wonder about the clothes thing, though," Tohka muttered.

Footsteps echoed through the empty streets, and Ryouko returned to them. "To think it was actually possible," she muttered. "Guess I was wrong to assume otherwise." Then, she noticed Yoshino's new state of dress, and sighed. "It's just one of those days, huh?" she muttered. "One of those days were everyone is inexplicably naked."

"For the record," Origami said, "I'm only 40% certain about why this occurs with Spirits. Okamine Mikie is an outlier to the statistic, and shall not be counted."

"Understandable," Ryouko agreed.

"Please don't treat me as a variable!" Mikie shouted.

Several days had passed since then. In that time, a new building had been constructed around Origami's home, which was to be the home of the Spirits going forward.

Something Origami had quickly learnt over the course of those few days was just how the sealing process was actually affecting her. Amazing what you could find out with a second subject to analyse.

Origami had first noticed (and subsequently gained an idea) when they had first returned to the Fraxinus after the sealing. Despite knowing the protocol, Origami had developed a sort of protective nature towards Yoshino. Reine had described it as almost maternal, and Origami felt inclined to agree.

Romantic love for Tohka, and maternal for Yoshino. Both a sort of exaggeration of what she felt towards them. Emotions that were not false, but enhanced by the connection they shared. It was somewhat confusing, to say the least.

On this Sunday, Origami was waiting outside her home with Tohka, Yoshino, and Mikie. Mikie had become, as promised by Ryouko, a quasi-liaison between Ratatoskr and the AST. Of course, the higher ups that gave the AST their orders weren't all too happy with this development, but the AST was short-staffed as it was, so they couldn't afford to fire Ryouko. Job security in such a sparse industry was amazing.

So, what exactly were these four waiting for, exactly? The answer came in the form of a van that had just pulled up before them. In the drivers seat was Reine, and riding shotgun was Kotori.

"Yo," Kotori greeted. "Keep you girls waiting long?"

"Yes," Origami answered bluntly, as she and the others climbed into the vehicle. "You are exactly 37 minutes and 41 seconds late."

For the record, the seating arrangement was: Origami in the middle, Tohka on her left, Mikie on her right, and Yoshino on her lap.

"Eh, details," Kotori shrugged. "Now, are we heading to those hot-springs or not?"

"Ain't the old lady the one driving?" Yoshinon commented. "Shouldn't you be askin' her?"

"Please do not call me 'old'," Reine said. "I am still under 30 years old."

"Ah, whatever," Kotori said. "Go! Go!"

The car drove off. After a few minutes of silence, the radio came on, playing a rather upbeat idol song. "Oh! I know this song!" Mikie said. "It's by Yoimachi Tsukino!" This was met by blanks stares and a resounding 'who' from everyone else. "Seriously?! None of you know the legendary idol Yoimachi Tsukino?!"

"I've mostly been 'career focused'," Origami defended.

"Same here," Kotori answered.

"I didn't even have a name up until a month ago," Tohka said.

"We barely had more than that," Yoshinon added.

"I'm just not big on music," Reine said.

Mikie seemed to deflate somewhat after that. "Aw. I was kinda hoping I could share an interest of mine."

"Um," Yoshino said quietly. "Could you... tell us about her, then?"

Mikie looked at Yoshino with stars in her eyes. Origami pulled Yoshino closer.

"You see," Mikie started energetically. " Yoimachi Tsukino first debuted two years ago under a stage name, where she became a smash hit overnight. But then, scandals broke out, forcing her into a temporary retirement. I heard for a time that she managed to start doing private concerts again, but I haven't heard much more for the past year. It's a shame, too. Her music was amazing."

"Probably a sex scandal," Kotori said. "My bet is, she refused to sleep with a big-shot producer, he took offence to that, and made her out to be some loose woman. To call that 'a shame' would probably be selling it short."

Origami had to agree with that. Why so many people could thing they were allowed to ruin another persons life was, at this point in time, beyond her understanding.

Sometimes, humans were the real bastards.

A/N:

And with that, the Yoshino arc is done! Surprised to see it end without any violence?

So am I! Then again, I'm the sort that goes with the flow when writing, so if the flow takes me down the road of 'Tohka bringing Mikie into the harem through diplomacy' and 'peaceful resolution with the AST because Origami's no longer with them to instigate violence', then so be it.

Kinda like how I had Ryouko seem so done with all the nudity, like she's not aware of what series she's in. Also, minor foreshadowing for the Miku arc down the line. Foreshadowing's always a bit of fun.

Also, to that one guy on (at this point, you know who you are, I hope); why are you complaining about gatling guns in chapter 4? There are no gatling guns in chapter 4. Ah well, you do you, I guess.

Well, we all know what next, don't we? Let's press on.