A Promise She Keeps

Chapter 03 - Chapter 04

By : Tohka_Yatogami

...

Summary

To seal a Spirit, Shido must open their heart. Kurumi's heart though, was a fortress. One closed shut by a promise that she would give everything, except for her power. A night of passion however, starts them down an arduous path as Shido and Kurumi confront friend, family and enemy alike, and ultimately, discover what they mean to each other.

Chapter 03: A Promise She Gives

Then.

Night was cold. An obvious fact, yet one that was truly felt if you stood atop a skyscraper during said night. The wind would howl against your face, sending sharp slivers of cold slicing deep into your skin; a discomforting situation at best, and unbearably frigid at its worst, but Kurumi paid little heed to the biting chill as she leaned forward against the railing. Her Astral Dress already protected her from the worst of the elements, but even if it couldn't, she would have barely noticed if the bitter cold somehow managed to penetrate deeply into her bones; she was far too lost in the turmoil of her own thoughts, in the raging tumult of conflicting emotions twisting and turning within her heart, to notice such things.

She supposed it was all a bit melodramatic, the stuff all movie dramas were made of: the villainess, beautiful, dark and mystifying, gazing down from atop a building with but her thoughts for company, beneath gentle moonlight and unforgiving cold. But Kurumi enjoyed it, found a peaceful calm in the perspective the view gave her. A million or more humans, scurrying about in an unending river of moving lights. A beautiful sight, in a way. A shame then, that she still wasn't able to enjoy it, for that single question burning in her mind ever since her meeting with her clones earlier that day.

What did Shido mean to her?

Such a simple question, yet one with so much meaning layered beneath it. It irked her to no end that it had been her own clones who posed such a dilemma to her. Truthfully, when that alarm had gone off in the morning while she sat atop Shido, Kurumi had welcomed the distraction. Kurumi hated breaking her word, even if it had been made in a fuzzy, post-coitus haze, and Shido would have definitely questioned her about what they meant to each other now. If she couldn't present the answer to her own clones' question, then how would she ever be able to answer his?

Kurumi sighed.

So what did Shido mean to her? At first, food. Another human, though better than most of the rabble that filled the streets of the city. But in the initial scheme of things, he was inconsequential as a person. It was his power that attracted her. A means to an end. But then, even after seeing what she had done, he had stepped in front of a definitively fatal blow aimed at her. Undoubtedly, he had saved her life. And despite herself, Kurumi found her interest piqued, wondering what sort of person would do such a thing. She had assumed that his moralistic views of the world were little more than a veneer for whatever lay beneath. The good did not exist in this world. Everyone wanted something for themselves; something that she knew personally, all too well.

But she had seen him hold staunchly onto his beliefs, refusing to let her kill Miku even after the songstress had stolen everything from him. An ally of convenience then? They had made a pretty fantastic team when they partnered up to save the world from Origami, and Origami from herself. He trusted her implicitly, taking her word and advice at face value, even if he hadn't said so explicitly.

But then, even as she put them in a situation where they would be rivals once more, last night happened.

Was he a lover? The most dangerous label of them all. Kurumi was no stranger to sex, and had used it as a weapon in itself. But as the pleasant memories of the night returned, sending the smallest shivers down her spine, it was impossible to call it sex for the sake of seduction. Kurumi could barely remember the last time she had such an intense climax. But of all the snatches of the night that passed her eyes, one in particular stayed with her; the look of euphoria on Shido's face as their bodies met in a most intimate unison – but more than that, she saw the unmistakable adoration that shone brightly in his eyes, as he gazed up at her, hands gently holding onto her hips…

She closed her eyes, forcing the images away.

Stop it. He only cares about sealing your power. He doesn't care about you.

Yes. He only really cared about sealing her. Kurumi told herself she could live with that; in the end, all she needed was his power. She didn't need his feelings, whether they be real or imagined. But if that was the case, then why did the thought hurt so much? And why then, did the memories of that night keep surfacing?

Nowhere close to resolving her own feelings, Kurumi welcomed the sudden distraction as the sound of feet lightly touching against the floor reached her ears. Other senses kicked in; the familiar sensation of faded Reiryoku from a sealed Spirit washing over her skin, and a pair of hostile eyes boring into her back. She gracefully spun around in two smooth steps, her dress flaring up around her with the motion. As expected, a slim, white-haired girl stood before her a few metres away.

Kurumi offered her a charming smile.

"Good evening, Origami-san. What can I do for you tonight? It's a little late for a tea party, unfortunately." As Kurumi tilted her head, her smile became more scandalous in nature, and she touched the tip of her finger to her lips. "Or perhaps you are here for, dare I say, a late night rendezvous?"

The searing heat of her smile, promising all sorts of unearthly pleasures, in tandem with her suggestive tone, laced with sensual meaning, would have rendered most men and indeed, most women, incoherent messes. It was one of her favourite ways to throw people off-balance – letting their own imaginations run wild and do the work for her.

Origami ignored it all.

"You had sex with Shido." As usual, the white-haired Spirit's words were blunter than a hammer.

Kurumi gave a light laugh, her smile widening. "Perhaps I did. And what of it?"

If Kurumi had been in possession of a fan, she would have undoubtedly unfolded it in front of her mouth by now, exposing only her twinkling eyes. Origami maintained her steady gaze, entirely focused on her goal.

"I want your memories."

That was unexpected. Kurumi couldn't keep her surprise from the only words that made it past her lips: "Excuse me?"

Origami didn't so much as blink. "Zaphkiel has the power to share memories. Shido confirmed this when he said you showed him yours. Therefore, I want your memories of when you had sex with him."

"Ara ara~" Kurumi recovered with a smile. "What a strange request. But really Origami-san…did you honestly think you could just find me and demand such a thing? I thought you better than that."

Origami shook her head. "This isn't a demand. I want to bargain. Zaphkiel requires time to use its powers. I'm willing to give you my time, as much as you require, plus extra, in exchange for those memories."

Kurumi gave her opposite a thoughtful look. For once, the teasing smile had dropped from her face as she took in the other Spirit. Her long, pitch-black hair, carried by the wind, tickled gently across her cheeks, and her mismatched red and golden eyes met Origami's pure blue ones. One looking upon the scene wouldn't be able to help but contrast the two girls as they stood across from each other – Kurumi, the taller of the two, bold in dress and personality, met the slighter, expressionless and near emotionless Origami, the pure white of her limited Astral Dress shining bright, in an intense contest of wills.

Eventually, Kurumi shrugged. Even her patience had limits. "My apologies Origami-san, but I must kindly decline your offer. My memories are mine alone."

"I see." Beyond those words, Origami barely blinked in response to the rejection.

Kurumi's smile returned, seeing as no further response was forthcoming from the other Spirit. "So what will it be now, Origami-san? Will you, as you said the last time we met like this, use any means necessary to make me agree?"

"No."

"Ara…what a surprise. I wonder what it is that you're planning…" Kurumi's eyes narrowed.

"Nothing. But I have one thing that I want to ask you."

"I think you've used up all the questions that you're allowed to ask by now."

Unblinking and undeterred by Kurumi's rejection, Origami, emotionless at the best of times, looked serious as she stared at the other girl. "Why did you have sex with Shido?"

For the second time that night, Kurumi was caught off-guard. Suspicion lingered in her scarlet eye. Origami might not have been the most knowledgeable in relationships; in fact, her definition of an intimate relationship would quite easily translate into a relationship of an entirely different nature by most other people's definition – most of the Spirits for that matter, were severely lacking in this area – but she wasn't stupid. There had to be a reason why she had asked that specific question. "You have a penchant for asking strange questions, Origami-san. Surely you know why."

"I want to know what you have schemed. Shido is a good person. Even though he gives the others too much attention, he genuinely cares for our wellbeing and our happiness." Origami gave Kurumi an intense stare. "…including yours."

"And what makes you think that, Origami-san?"

"His tone changes, and he has a far-off look whenever he talks about you. He doesn't appear to be aware of it, but I can tell. As a person, he doesn't treat any of us lightly. Undoubtedly, having sex would mean something to him. It would be cruel for you to have sex with him and then throw it away."

Kurumi gave an ironic laugh. "Cruel? Did you happen to forget who you're talking to, Origami-san?"

"No. It confuses me why he would choose you first, and I have made a mistake in underestimating your craftiness. But regardless, Shido does not deserve to have his feelings twisted by someone like you. He has shown all of us nothing but love and care, and he deserves to be happy. He has constantly shown you support, regardless of how little you might deserve it. But, if you cannot see the type of person he is, or how much he cares about you, and you use sex to hurt him – then you are truly deserving of your title as the Worst Spirit."

Unfathomably, Origami's words stung, and any biting response Kurumi had died in her mouth. Origami paused, before speaking up again. "And if you do so much as hurt him, then I will hurt you in return."

That caused Kurumi to glance up, and she forced a laugh. "Is that a threat, Origami-san?"

"No. It is a promise."

Without looking back, Origami turned and flew off into the night sky, leaving Kurumi alone on the roof with only the weight of the other Spirit's words for company.

He genuinely cares about us. Including you.

Anger swelled up within her heart again, and Kurumi resisted the urge to slam her fist against the railing. That the anger wasn't aimed towards Shido, or even at Origami, made it all the more worse.

After all, all of that anger was directed solely at herself.

So caught up in the roiling emotions, Kurumi was barely aware of the passage of time, until one of her clones hesitantly stepped up to her. She turned, taking note of the look of concern.

"Me… The clone started in a faltering voice. She cleared her throat again.

"We have a…issue, at Shido-san's house…"

Now.

"Me…"

Kurumi was no stranger to death. She had killed people with her own two hands, had seen herself cut down in droves. She had even experienced it herself, at least twice before. It didn't make the spectre of death facing her right now any less terrifying. After all, she had never seen her death coming with her own eyes.

"You've certainly been up to quite a lot, as usual," the real Kurumi was saying. "It's been a while since we last saw each other; we really do need to catch up, wouldn't you agree? As a matter of fact, why don't you start, me? I've been dying to know."

Kurumi's emphasis did not go unnoticed, and Kurumi shivered beneath that icy glare.

"And please don't lie to me. I can already guess, and smell, what happened," Kurumi added.

Kurumi knew better than to beg or plead: her fate had been sealed the moment she had knocked on Shido's door last night, and it was something she was perfectly fine with. She would not however, allow any harm to befall him because of her.

"It is as you said, me. I came to see Shido-san last night of my own volition. Things…escalated from there," Kurumi said in a low voice, as not to wake Shido. She was also unable to prevent the light blush that rose to her cheeks at the memory.

"That much I gathered." Kurumi didn't appear impressed by her statement at all. "What have you told him?"

"Only the truth, me."

"The truth," Kurumi parroted back. "I don't recall ordering any of my clones to tell Shido-san 'the truth'."

"You didn't – I chose to tell him myself."

"And what could have possibly possessed you, to think that you should do that against my orders?"

"It was a simple choice, me. I thought that Shido-san should be aware of the scale of the sacrifice that we, and you, made for him. Is that not beneficial for all of us? Doesn't it increase his chance of survival, if he knows what danger he is going to experience? And…doesn't it warm your heart, knowing that he appreciates the sacrifices that we have all made to get this far?" Kurumi had sat up on the bed now, but still remained next to the sleeping Shido, a hand on his bare chest.

Kurumi stayed quiet, ruminating over her clone's words. She would have to check on her other clone now, the one with the eyepatch and the rose in her hair, back when she had suddenly become self-conscious of her own individuality. This clone appeared to have caught onto that clone's peculiar habit of answering questions with questions. As valid as they were, and even that much Kurumi hated admitting, even to herself, it was still not something she could just let go by.

"It isn't that simple," Kurumi tried to argue.

"From my perspective, it really is," she replied simply.

A pregnant pause filled the air, broken only by the sounds of Shido's breathing as he continued to sleep, oblivious to the sheer tension and danger in his very room.

"Get up," Kurumi ordered at last.

She did so, gingerly separating herself from Shido, who let out a disappointed groan and twisted about at the sudden loss of warmth. Standing naked before Kurumi, there was a quick flash as the shadows rose up and surrounded the clone. By the time the shadows disappeared into flecks, she was again clad in her Astral Dress; and in moments, she was all but indistinguishable from the Kurumi sitting on the chair across from her.

"Before I kill you, I have one more question."

The clone nodded in response.

"Why did you do this? You know what the punishment for disobeying my will is. I cannot afford to have any of me turn rogue, not at a critical time like this. Surely you knew that you would be caught. Yet you did so anyway, and not for the first time either. So then, why? Even I am not so suicidal as to do such a thing." Kurumi arched a brow questioningly.

"You already know why, me," her clone looked demurely at the ground.

"Indulge me."

For the first time since her real self had shown up, Kurumi raised her head and smiled, as faint as it was. "Because I love him, me. And…so do you."

Kurumi froze. Again – and it was starting to become a distressingly common occurrence – she was rendered speechless as she tried to come up with something, anything, to say to counter her clone's misperceptions.

If anything, her lack of a response caused the clone to smile more openly. "I'm right, am I not? It's okay, me. I don't hate you for that. I am still me in the end, regardless of who Shido-san chooses among us."

That finally got a rise out of Kurumi, and she rose from the chair before storming over to stand before her clone. Credit to her, she barely flinched as an angry Kurumi loomed threateningly over her, almost nose-to-nose.

"You are not me," Kurumi growled between gritted teeth. "You were born from a memory long passed: immature, naïve, soft."

The harsh evaluation of her character didn't stop the clone's smile from softening. "Perhaps I am all of those. But at least I am honest with my heart."

Kurumi glared at her, deciding not to dignify the clone with a response. Instead, taking a breath to calm down and regain her composure, Kurumi took two steps back.

"Is there anything else that you have to say for yourself?" Kurumi asked, much like a judge before the convicted. An analogy not too far removed, given that she was basically the judge, jury and executor in this very situation.

The clone shook her head. "No. Nothing more. I have already told him that I am willing to give my life for him. All I ask of me is this: please do not let him see me die. Not again."

Kurumi glared at her, weighing up her request before finally settling on a decision. "Very well. For your transgressions, I cannot allow you to live any longer. Pass onto the next life."

She raised her hand and clenched it into a fist. The shadow beneath her clone suddenly expanded and numerous elongated, sickly white hands grabbed her limbs and pulled. The clone sunk into the shadow slowly, almost ponderously. A tear fell from her eyes, but she made no attempt to escape as she was dragged inexorably to her final fate.

"Kurumi!"

Shido's hand suddenly reached out for her from seemingly nowhere, and grasped her arm in a death grip. She looked up, shock breaking through the tears. He pulled, and pulled, and pulled, but even his desperation-fuelled attempts was not able to overcome the force that slowly sucked the clone into the shadow. "No! I won't let you go!"

"S-Shido-san…"

Kurumi sighed explosively, shaking her head at the drama unfolding before her. "How troublesome…"

She snapped a finger, and the shadow beneath Shido suddenly grew and encompassed his entire person. Pale, ghostly arms wrapped themselves around his waist and limbs, and a familiar, icy-cold sensation seeped into his bones as he sunk into Kurumi's shadow with all the slow finality of a doomed man in quicksand.

He felt the strength leave him as Kurumi disappeared into the shadow, managing to see her trying to mouth something to him before being dragged beneath the black. The last thing he saw before the same shadows swallowed him up was Kurumi's face. A complicated mix of emotions crossed her face as their eyes met.

"Ku…ru…mi…" He managed one last, choking gurgle before he too disappeared, and the shadows closed up after him.

It was over within seconds: Kurumi stood alone in Shido's room where three people once were. Gone was any trace of the other Kurumi. So too was any trace of Shido, with the exception of his belongings. The Spirit sighed again, not dissimilar to a parent after disciplining a petulant child and started moving to the Shido's desk. The boy's shout was loud enough to wake the neighbours, let alone Kotori who slept in the same house. The fiery Spirit was probably getting ready to break down the door any minute now, and that was not a conversation that Kurumi planned on having – particularly given that it would likely devolve into a conversation involving bullets.

Sitting down at the desk again, Kurumi grabbed the nearest pen and paper before neatly writing out a note. She gave a quick once over, before folding it neatly and leaving it on the desk. The sound of a person thundering down the hallway was indication enough that her time was up. It took only a second for her to sink into her shadow once more, disappearing from the physical realm moments before the door burst open under a furious foot.

Kurumi let out another sigh as the muffled sounds of Kotori's anger faded away. That was far too close for her comfort. While she was under no impression that the note would pacify Kotori in anyway, it would (hopefully) at least signify to her that she was not in the middle of making an attempt on Shido's life. Her clone on the other hand – that was another story altogether.

Cold…cold, cold, cold cold coldcoldcold…

Being sucked into Kurumi's shadow was never a pleasant experience. Doubly so when Kurumi's ire was drawn.

Even disregarding the fact that she used her shadow to consume people's time, it would be impossible to ignore the icy tendrils of numbness sinking its teeth into his limbs, and the all-pervasive blackness surrounding him disorientated every sense of direction. Making things worse was the fact that he couldn't see the clone. His mind immediately leapt to the worst-possible outcome: gone, out of his reach, dead…

Shido panicked.

"Kurumi!"

He, for lack of a better word, tried to frantically 'swim' through the shadows, but with everything being pitch-black around him, and having no landmarks to orientate himself to, he couldn't even tell if he was moving or not.

"Kurumi!"

A pair of slender, pale arms suddenly wrapped themselves around his waist, pinning his arms to his side. He knew – somehow – that they did not belong to the clone from last night.

"Shido-san, I understand that you are worried, but I need you to relax," Kurumi's voice in his ear urged him.

It had about the same effect as politely asking an enraged bull to stop charging.

"Kurumi! Let me go!" Shido immediately started to twist and turn, as if he could wriggle his way out of the arms locked around him.

"Shido-san, please calm down. I don't want to hurt you, so please stop moving," Kurumi sounded more exasperated as she tried to calm him down.

Not that it appeared to help – the boy still thrashed and struggled within her grasp, fighting to escape to goodness-where, given that they were in Kurumi's shadow dimension.

"Shido-san, please!"

Shido was suddenly spun around, and he stopped the moment he saw Kurumi. The Spirit somehow stood out perfectly clearly against the pitch blackness surrounding them, as if she was standing in front of him in broad daylight instead of the murky darkness. But it wasn't the fact that he could see her clearly that stopped him from moving. Rather, it was which clone he saw. It most certainly wasn't the real Kurumi, but it also wasn't the clone he had just been with – that much was obvious, given the Kurumi clone holding him by the shoulders wore a frilled black and white dress, but also, most distinctively, wore a medical eye-patch over her left eye and had let her hair down, pinned with a single ornamental rose.

It was the same Kurumi that he saw when he had gone back in time to change the world after Origami's inversion.

"Kurumi?" He wrinkled his brow in confusion.

In reply, the other Kurumi sighed. "Thank you."

She released him, before floating back, enough to not loom in Shido's face while speaking.

"First thing: here are your clothes. Please get dressed, Shido-san," the oddly-dressed clone held out a set of clothing for Shido. His cheeks burning in embarrassment as he realised his nudity, he quickly pulled his clothes on, not noticing the clone's appreciative gaze.

Now fully-dressed, the clone cleared her throat before continuing.

"We don't have much time before the real me summons us again. I will warn you now: me is quite upset. If you want to save the other me, then you will need to take drastic action, and quickly. There will be little time to spare," Kurumi's clone warned him.

"But, Kurumi…" Having been dragged from sleep what felt like minutes ago, and confronted with the literal life-or-death situation with the other Kurumi clone, it was hardly surprising that Shido could barely string a sentence together.

The clone before him sighed, but any words she had to say were cut-off as the shadows opened up above them.

"Time to go. Remember what I told you," Kurumi said, gently wrapping her arms around Shido's waist from behind and flying towards the opening.

Shido blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the sudden onset of light. Having been in Kurumi's shadow once before, it was disorientating enough to come out onto a darkened stage; even more so when he suddenly emerged into a brightly lit room, the sun piercing through the curtain covering the window. It appeared to be a bedroom, and wouldn't have been out of place in any other house in Tengu city, save for the sparseness; aside from a double bed, well-made, and a desk and chair, there was very little else by way of decoration in the room. Shido realised that Kurumi must have taken them to yet another one of her safehouses sequestered in the city.

He felt more than he saw the clone's arms releasing him, gently guiding him onto solid ground; his mouth going dry at the sight before him.

One Kurumi stood in front of him - and he could tell it was the real Kurumi, given the dangerous demeanour she was radiating; yet in spite of that, he couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat upon seeing her. And across the room from him…his heart leapt into his throat this time as he saw the clone from Tanabata, looking shocked but unharmed. She made to rush over, but Shido, remembering what the other clone had told him about Kurumi's mood, shook his head quickly, nodding over at Kurumi standing not too far away from them. The clone stopped dead in her tracks, and nodded subtly, and Shido turned back to the real Kurumi.

The real Kurumi gave the clone presumably behind him a dour glare before turning her attention back to Shido. Her expression softened marginally as she met his gaze.

"Good morning, Shido-san. My apologies for troubling you this morning, and for any inconveniences that me over there might have caused you last night." Kurumi gave him a small curtsy and dipped her head briefly.

"There was no trouble," Shido replied automatically, before he shook himself out of it and remembered the other clone's warning. "Kurumi, wait! Don't hurt her, she didn't do anything wrong…"

Kurumi tilted her head questioningly.

"She just came to see me last night – she told me the truth about you and your clones, and what all of you have done for me. She didn't mean to hurt you or anything." Seeing as how Kurumi hardly looked impressed by his explanation, Shido decided that he needed to do something more drastic. "And she's still you! I don't want you to keep killing yourself!"

Kurumi scoffed. "Ara ara, how presumptuous of you, Shido-san. I share myself with you willingly, everything, my body included, and this how you repay me? To assume that any of them are still me? That girl standing over there next to you, is not me."

"I…"

"And as for not meaning to hurt me? I know what you and her got up to last night, Shido-san," Kurumi gave him a very pointed look, causing Shido to blush furiously.

"I didn't mean to hurt you!" Shido managed to cry out.

Kurumi tsked. "Shido-san, you really need to learn how to deal with a girl's feelings better. However, I'm not hurt by your actions: perhaps a bit upset, but not hurt."

Both Shido and the clone almost-visibly relaxed – until Kurumi spoke up again.

"However, that doesn't mean I am especially happy with this situation. That me has wilfully disobeyed my orders. So while I have no intention of hurting you, Shido-san, punishment must be meted out for her."

Kurumi's pistol flew up into her hand, and in an instant was levelled at the clone, much to the clone's alarm and Shido's shock.

"Me, remember what I asked!"

"Kurumi, wait!" Shido reacted faster than Kurumi thought possible, the boy clearing the distance in record time and throwing himself in front of her clone, spreading himself bodily out in front of her; blocking any clear shot Kurumi had. "Don't kill her!"

"Shido-san, move." Kurumi's pistol did not waver in the slightest.

He shook his head, refusing to budge. "I won't let you kill her again."

Kurumi's clone, who had her hand on his shoulder, tightened her grasp slightly. By way of contrast, Kurumi's finger tightened almost imperceptibly on the trigger.

For Shido, memories were brought back; far less pleasant ones, too. Kurumi, standing among the gore and bodies, before almost casually disposing of the last of the group. Kurumi right now was just as terrifying as she was back then. He hadn't felt fear from Kurumi this strong since that time when they had first met.

But he had grown a lot since then too.

"If you kill her…I won't forgive you! I'll never give you what you want willingly! You'll have to take it from my dead body!" It was a desperate gamble, as he used the only chip that he had left on the bargaining table.

"Be careful what you wish for, Shido-san," Kurumi warned. "If that is what you wish, then I can always just take what I want from you."

"But you won't," Shido countered, heart pounding, arms still outstretched and covering the clone bodily. "Remember our bet, Kurumi? If you can capture my heart, then my powers are yours? If you kill her, then you'll never be able to win my heart ever again. You'll lose."

"What makes you so sure I won't deceive you and kill her sometime after, Shido-san?"

"Because you keep your word, Kurumi," Shido's voice was stable, surprising even himself. "As you always have done. I'm confident about that."

Another moment passed.

Kurumi's eyes narrowed, but Shido saw that her finger had loosened from the trigger slightly, and pushed on. Figuring that threatening her all the time was not going to work, he tried something else.

"Please Kurumi. If you let her live, then...then I might have a change of heart! You don't have to keep resorting to killing every time something happens; you can be better than this. I know…I want you to be better than this," he all but pleaded with her, meeting her mismatched glare.

The silence in the room lasted for almost a minute. Yet it felt like an eternity for everyone watching – even more so for the clone, given that it was her life or death on the line. But finally, Kurumi's glare softened, and she let out a sigh – whether in disappointment or for some other reason, Shido wasn't able to tell – before lowering the pistol.

"Very well then," she said at last. "Then let me propose this: if, if both of you listen to my orders exactly, then I will consider not killing her."

Kurumi waited a moment, before taking their silence as an agreement. She gestured to the bed behind Shido and her clone. "Sit."

Both of them moved back and gingerly sat as ordered, while Kurumi pulled up a chair before them; worryingly, with pistol still in hand, even as she leaned back comfortably.

"As it stands, I still cannot leave this infraction be; that me broke my orders, very deliberately. Were she to go unpunished, it might encourage the other mes with more…whimsical tendencies to take matters into their own hands," Kurumi stated, and continued before her clone and Shido could get a word in. "Since you would rather that I do not lay hands on her…then you, Shido-san, will punish her for me."

A moment passed as Kurumi's words sank in, and Shido exploded in a flurry of movement and protest, while her clone simply sat still, absorbing the words.

"What?! Kurumi, are you crazy? You want me to punish her? I thought you agreed not to hurt her!"

Kurumi raised an eyebrow. "Ara, someone appears to have forgotten our agreement. I suppose this will have to do it instead then…" she said, raising the pistol threateningly.

"Wait, wait! Stop!" Shido furiously waved his hands at her to stop. "What do you want me to do?"

"Punish her," Kurumi answered simply. "How else would you discipline an unruly child?"

Shido's look of confusion caused Kurumi to smile ever-so-slightly before she answered her own question. "Take her over your knee, and discipline her."

The pieces finally clicked together in Shido's head.

"I can't do that!" He protested again. "I won't do that! I've never hit anyone before, and –"

"It's okay, Shido-san," the Kurumi clone finally spoke up again, and he turned to face her. Incredibly, she had a light blush on her cheeks as she spoke. "It is as me says: I have been unruly. And if it's you…then I don't mind."

Shocked speechless, Shido had no answer as Kurumi smiled triumphantly. "Then, get a move on, me."

The clone nodded, before she discarded her boots and tucked her legs beneath her. She gave Shido a soft smile, before luxuriously stretching herself out over his lap with cat-like grace. Bunching her dress, she pulled it up, exposing her smooth, perfectly shaped rear, still clad in the black, lacy panties he had chosen for her almost a year ago.

The reality sinking in, Shido gulped, before gently placing his hand on her rear. If anything, the feeling of her smooth and firm flesh in his hands only reinforced the realness of what he was about to do. The clone, Kurumi, noticing his hesitation, craned her neck around to glance up at him, giving him a reassuring nod.

Now or never.

Shido lifted his hand, and brought it down on Kurumi's right cheek with a gentle slap. She flinched slightly at the impact, but otherwise made no other reaction.

Kurumi on the other hand, rolled her eyes. "Harder, Shido-san," she rebuked him. "You can do better than that. I'm not asking you to kill her, just punish her."

"S-sorry…"

Unsure of whether that was intended for the Kurumi sitting in the chair, or the Kurumi on his lap, Shido swallowed, and brought his hand up again. This time, he brought it down on her left cheek with a resounding crack. Kurumi yelped in a mixture of pain and shock, the firm flesh of her rear shaking satisfyingly with the impact.

"That's better," Kurumi noted with approval. "Again."

With more confidence this time, Shido raised his hand again and brought it down with another meaty smack on her cheek. This time, Kurumi let out a stifled moan of pain, gripping the covers on the bed between her fingers.

"Keep going," Kurumi ordered. She felt her heart skip a beat at the sound of the next strike, and crossed her legs before leaning forward, her interest spiking.

Mentally apologising to the Kurumi on his lap, Shido again lifted his hand and struck Kurumi's rear. Again. And again. And again. Alternating between cheeks, he struck her, the room filling with the sharp cracks of hand meeting flesh and Kurumi's moans of pain, growing in volume as her attempts to stifle them slowly failed. By the time he struck her for the fifth time, Kurumi broke, and finally cried out, squeezing her eyes shut, a tear falling to the covers. The sound caused Shido to freeze.

The Kurumi who had instigated all of this nodded for him to continue, looking at him expectantly. Remembering her words, and left with little choice but to continue, he reluctantly raised his hand again. Moments before he could bring his hand down again, Kurumi suddenly interrupted him.

"Wait – remove her panties."

With little choice but to obey, Shido slid his hands across Kurumi's hips. Granted a brief reprieve from the painful slaps, the Kurumi lying on Shido's lap shuddered briefly as he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her panties. She raised her hips slightly to allow him to yank them off her, exposing her rear for him and the real Kurumi to see. The skin of her rear, once snow-white and perfect, was now burning a bright red from his blows.

Shido felt himself harden again, seeing the compromising position that Kurumi had been forced into. It wasn't just the sight of her perfect rear pushed into the air. That alone would have been enough to spike his arousal; but there was also something oddly intoxicating and heady about having such a dominant personality, even if it was a clone, rendered helpless and squirming in his lap. The squirming certainly didn't reduce his arousal either, the smooth skin of her stomach rubbing up against his length. He couldn't resist gently caressing her ass, lovingly touching the area where he had struck her moments ago. The sensation, the starkest contrast between harsh blows and loving touch, caused Kurumi to gasp. He was suddenly brought out of his near-reverie when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped themselves around his neck, and Kurumi's lips brushed against his ear.

"Look at her. How does that make you feel? Seeing me, so helpless, so powerless, in your lap? How does it feel, knowing you've left your mark on her?" Kurumi whispered, her fingers tracing their way down his chest. "I'll let you in on a little secret of me: we enjoy the pain…"

Something in Kurumi's voice or her words sparked a flare of interest in Shido. She was right. The sheer power that he held over the Kurumi in his lap, the eroticism, all of it fed into a heady mixture that made focusing on anything but the Kurumi on his lap impossible. For the first time, he raised his hand of his own will, bringing it down yet again in a stinging slap. Kurumi cried out in pain.

"Good," Kurumi whispered, tracing circles on his chest with her nails, the teasing touches sending another spike of arousal through him. "Remember, this me has been a very naughty girl. She has hurt a lot of people. And you get to punish her for her sins."

Almost on reflex, the hand came down again, and Kurumi's pain-laced voice filled the room. Falling into a rhythm, Shido's hand came down again and again and again. With each stinging slap, Kurumi's cries of pain accompanied it, as the clone did her best to quietly muffle her sobs and tears into the covers, her rear shaking from each sharp impact. In time, the cries died away, Kurumi growing numb to the pain of each slap against her rear, a low moan of pain – and something else – escaping her hoarse throat each time. With a start, Shido looked down and realised that Kurumi was actually becoming aroused from the pain; in the light of the room, he could clearly see her lower lips nestled between her cheeks: her swollen, engorged lower lips, wet and trickling with her with arousal. Kurumi was actually enjoying the harsh blows that he had been delivering – so much so, that she was actually turned on by his punishment. And she wasn't the only Kurumi secretly enjoying the experience.

Kurumi had initially gotten up to whisper encouragement in Shido's ear, but as he continued, she had wandered back around so that she could see more clearly. She couldn't help but lick her lips at the sight of herself spread out over Shido's lap, subjected a relentless series of stinging slaps that rendered snow-white skin an angry, burning red, and for a brief moment she couldn't help but wish it was her in her clone's place instead. As the cries of pain gave way to moans of pleasure mixed with pain, soon, even those thoughts had fallen away, much like the pistol which had long fallen from her fingers; fingers that were now delicately brushing across her breasts, the teasing caresses heightening her own arousal. Her breaths shortened and became heavier, as one of her secret fantasies played out before her; only this time, it was real.

Almost without conscious thought or deliberation, one of Kurumi's hands slipped down lower between her thighs, and a moan escaped her own lips as she lightly ran a finger across the front of her panties. The experience was almost surreal; here was she was, masturbating, touching herself to the sight of Shido smacking her clone across the rear, inducing cries of equal parts pleasure and pain.

Eventually, her own hunger and arousal got the better of her.

"Enough," Kurumi ordered, although not nearly as authoritatively as she would have liked, her own voice shaky. Shido and her clone looked up at her as she staggered over, and shoved Shido onto his back.

"Strip," Kurumi ordered, clearly directed at Shido. To her clone, she gave a hard 'move'. Shido and her clone hastily obeyed, removing clothing and sluggishly shifting around on the bed respectively, before the clone sat up to give Kurumi space. Barely acknowledging her clone's presence, Kurumi quickly dropped down and straddled Shido's waist, dismissing her Astral Dress as she did so. By the time she pressed her sex against his rock-hard length, she was already naked, and the boy groaned at the sudden heat and wetness enveloping his cock.

Kurumi spared her clone a glance, even as she elicited another grunt of pleasure from Shido, her hips rocking back and forth along his length, leaving a trail of her own arousal along his rigidity – almost as if she was marking her territory. She saw a mixture of shock, excitement and confusion milling on her clone's face, as the clone stared, mesmerised, unable to take her own eyes off her progenitor's actions.

"You wanted to have sex with Shido-san, me?" Kurumi emphasised her words with an assertive roll of her hips, forcing another groan from Shido, louder this time as she deliberately ground her lower lips against his sensitive head. "Then watch."

With that, Kurumi swiftly reached down, repositioned Shido's cock beneath her, and dropped down in a single smooth motion.

"Ah!" Kurumi hissed at the sudden violation of her sex, but that was nothing compared to the cry of pleasure that Shido let out; the feeling of her hot, wet flesh clamping down and sliding across his length, as aroused and pent-up as he was from having spent what felt like forever disciplining the clone, was nothing short of divine.

Kurumi didn't give herself any time to recover, before she lifted her hips and drove Shido back into her. Both of them cried out in pleasure, the aching emptiness that had been gnawing away at Kurumi since she had forced Shido to discipline her clone so satisfyingly fulfilled. And again, she lifted herself up, as far as she dared without letting Shido slip out from her sex, before dropping back down again, their hips meeting in carnal unison with a meaty smack.

This was unlike the last time she had spent the night with Shido. That night had been dominated by thoughts of giving herself to him, of convincing him that the near-unearthly pleasure she was capable of granting him would be worth forfeiting his life for. There had been a tenderness to her actions, a certain affection almost, as she took his virginity and guided him to intimacy with a woman. This time, there was none of that. Now, her thoughts were filled with the need to dominate him, fully, completely, absolutely, to make him hers. The thought almost made her giddy with excitement, even as pleasure began to fill her being as much as Shido's hard cock filled her sex.

Even as she rode him roughly, slamming her hips and driving him deeper into her waiting and hungry flesh, Kurumi remembered that her clone was still there, next to him.

She spared her a glance, noting the redness in her cheeks, the wetness of her lips as her tongue flicked out, and the dampness trickling down her thighs as her fingers dipped between her legs.

"Is this…what you wanted…me?" Kurumi gasped between panting breaths, speaking each time she impaled herself on Shido's length. "Did you – oh!"

Kurumi was cut-off mid-sentence when Shido gripped her hips tightly, and hilted himself deeply into her, even as she brought herself down. The unexpected thrust spent a burst of dizzying pleasure rushing through Kurumi, and she momentarily lost her train of thought in the haze of pleasure.

"S-Shido-san…just like that…" Kurumi panted.

The boy letting out a shuddering moan of pleasure when the beautiful Spirit riding him roughly suddenly slowed down, resisting his attempts to thrust back up, and forcing him to feel every last inch of her wet flesh sliding down his length.

Kurumi, breaths coming in short pants, was brought out of her daze when she met his gaze. Rather than the lust or hate she expected after everything she had done so far, she was stunned when all she could see was the shining adoration in his eyes. The sight caused everything she had done so far to leave a sour taste in her mouth, and Kurumi felt that same conflicting anger and confusion swelling up in her chest again, even as her loins burned with pleasure and fullness.

Tearing herself away from his eyes, she suddenly raked her nails down Shido's chest, forcing a cry of pain from him even as she rocked her hips against him once again.

"Don't you think I'm a bad person?"

She gripped his chest tightly, and roughly impaled herself back onto his length once again, sending a heady mixture of pain and pleasure shooting through Shido's entire being.

"Ku-Kurumi…please…" Shido was only able to moan her name, almost pitifully, at the twinned sensations; but none of them were able to break his gaze, consumed as he was by Kurumi in almost every sense: physical, mental and emotional.

"I've hurt so many people!" Kurumi dug her nails deeper into his chest, almost drawing blood, even as her inner walls clamped tightly around Shido's girth, taking him deeper within her sex.

You've helped others, too. Shido, unable to respond for the sheer pleasure coursing through him – a pleasure that was only enhanced by the pain – could only wish that Kurumi was able to read his mind.

"I was going to hurt you."

But you didn't. And you didn't hurt her.

Even as she continued, rocking her hips back and forth, taking him deeper into her, forcing him to question her very being, Kurumi could never, ever get the adoration to leave Shido's eyes; nor could she forget them, seeing that gaze even as she closed her own eyes, composure cracking beneath the pleasure of Shido's cock pushing through her soaked folds, leaving her so deliciously full. And at some point, the line between pleasure and punishment and pain – if there ever was one – had been blurred.

Ah…my clone…

The thought suddenly drifted through her mind, and Kurumi realised with a start that she had forgotten all about her clone. And it was at that point, that her clone saw fit to join them.

"Let me help you, me," her voice whispered into her ear. It was a tone that she had never used on herself, and it sent shivers running down her spine.

She felt her clone's arms wrap around her, hands lightly brushing along her thighs, running up her sides, yet they never dipped between the swell of her legs, where Shido's length was still buried in her, still driving deep into her. Then the arms coiled tightly around her like a snake constricting around its prey; trapping her own arms behind her back, stopping her from moving, holding her still – rendering her helpless. She wasn't fucking Shido anymore, but rather, quite the opposite: he was fucking her. He could dictate the pace, how fast to slam into her, how deeply he drove his length into her sopping wet heat.

Kurumi had never given up control before, not like this; never like this.

It sent a thrill of forbidden excitement racing through her, amplified the pleasure she felt as his cock penetrated her tenfold. That she could be rendered so helpless, left at their mercy – that she could be so used.

Kurumi loved every second of it.

It wasn't lovemaking at its sweetest. There were no caring whispers, no loving glances, no gentle caresses. It was sex and lust in its purest form, raw and primal. Shido's hands gripped her hips tightly, almost painfully, and she loved the feeling of his rougher and more calloused skin digging into her skin as his hips slammed against hers, driving deeper into her hungry sex. His hands and actions, so hard and masculine, contrasted wonderfully against her clone's more feminine, supple and soft hands, as the other Kurumi gently caressed the smooth swell of her own breasts. Frustratingly, her clone never gave her breasts the attention she desperately craved; no fingers bit deeply into her soft flesh, and her nipples, despite standing stiff and proud, were never so much as touched. Such was the attention that she craved, Kurumi felt her breasts painfully aching from the lack of touch.

And then a hand ghosted over her nipple. Kurumi almost cried out, in anticipation of sweet relief, of fingers digging into and twisting her flesh – yet it disappeared just as quickly, and Kurumi groaned in disappointment. Immediately after, Shido's cock thrust deeper into her pussy, and Kurumi gasped. The twinned sensations of the burning heat and desire between her legs, growing as Shido continued to fuck her, and painful lack of attention to her breasts, made infuriatingly worse by her clone's continual ghost-like touches along the underside of her breasts, was driving Kurumi nearly insane with pleasure and frustration.

"Mmmm, you look desperate, me," her clone breathed into her ear, before she gently traced a series of kisses down her neck.

Shido groaned as he sank deeper into Kurumi's heat, enraptured by sight before him – Kurumi, her mouth open in pleasure as his length slid deeper and deeper into her, while another Kurumi hugged her from behind, sensually massaging her own self's breasts whilst suckling on her neck. A moan escaped Kurumi's lips, and her clone paused in her kisses to look up and wink at him, mouthing the words 'slow down' before she pressed her lips against Kurumi's ear.

Kurumi whined as she felt Shido's thrusts stop and his length begin to pull out. She desperately worked her hips, trying to bury his delicious hardness into her again, but her clone's leverage over her meant she wasn't able to move a muscle, as her voice sounded huskily in her ear again.

"If me begs Shido-san, maybe he'll understand what me wants…"

In any other situation, Kurumi would have found it absolutely humiliating that her own clone would order her to beg to be fucked. Her pride would have ordinarily never allowed it. She was the seductress. She rendered men and women begging for sweet release. She didn't beg. But Kurumi's inner masochist had been revelling in the situation; giving up control to Shido, letting him fuck and use her, letting her clone who she had treated so poorly control her orgasm, sent Kurumi's arousal skyrocketing and excitement tingling through her whole body. It had been something she craved.

All Kurumi could think about now was the aching emptiness between her legs, her clone's hands as they gently traced their way across her sensitive breasts, the soft lips and tongue that were a copy of her own descending down her neck to that spot she knew she loved. She wanted Shido's cock to spear deep into her hot and needy sex, she wanted to come – she was so close, but her clone's stubborn refusal to give her breasts any attention seemingly kept her orgasm maddeningly out of reach.

Kurumi gave in.

"Shido-san, please, fuck me, I'm begging you…" If she had been any less consumed by lust, Kurumi probably would have died before saying those words, but as it were, her overwhelming need for release swept any other concerns by the wayside. Anything to have

Fortunately, Shido didn't need any more encouragement than her clone smiling and giving him a nod; he had been holding back as much as possible to avoid slamming back into her wet heat. He gripped Kurumi's hips, and forcefully pulled her down, impaling his length as deeply as he could within her. Kurumi cried out blissfully at the sudden violation, delighting in the sensation of herself being filled so wonderfully. At the same time, her clone finally pressed her lips and nipped at the curve of her neck, and roughly grabbed her breasts; carelessly squeezing soft, malleable flesh between her hands before at long last, pinching and twisting her nipples to the point where pleasure blurred with pain and Kurumi could no longer tell which was which.

Kurumi all but howled in pleasure.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, please, keep going -!" Kurumi cried out, barely able to form coherent sentences through the haze of lust and pleasure clouding her mind as the tidal wave of pleasure flooded her body. With the inevitability of a weakened dam straining to hold back a flood, Kurumi could feel her orgasm building, rearing its head to crash over her and wash everything away; but she struggled to force it back, grasping onto the last strands of coherent thought, desperate to keep experiencing the overwhelming pleasure of Shido's cock ploughing through her soaked folds, of her clone painfully twisting her nipples and kneading her breasts for even one second longer. "Please, fuck me, please, use me, let me come, please, please please please please…"

The dam didn't burst – it exploded.

Stars suddenly filled her vision, and a torrent of pleasure tore through her entire body. Kurumi threw her head back, eyes wide, mouth open in a silent scream, limbs locked in place as if her body had suddenly disconnected from her mind due to the sheer, overwhelming pleasure. The smallest of strangled gasps managed to escape her throat as her body twitched, her mind racing ahead of her physical form.

Then, her body finally caught up, and Kurumi screamed. Pleasure and ecstasy in its purest, most overpowering form flooded her entire being, setting every nerve alight. Her entire body convulsed and spasmed as she lost any semblance of higher thought and control. Her inner walls clamped down tightly around Shido's cock, trying to draw out his precious essence, and he cried out as his own orgasm finally burst, his cock erupting with almost painful relief and smearing Kurumi's inner folds with his seed.

Kurumi froze as the sensation set off her second orgasm. Her voice died entirely in her throat and her body seized up in ecstasy. She was a prisoner in her own body, unable to move, unable to speak or even scream as pleasure wracked her to her very core. Such was the intensity of her orgasm, Kurumi blanked out, almost as if her body reacted instinctively to protect her mind.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pleasure finally subsided and Kurumi, quite literally, collapsed. Her clone caught her before she could topple off the bed; it spoke volumes of her lack of facility over her own body, in the aftermath of what was quite possibly the most intense orgasm Kurumi had ever experienced.

"There there," Kurumi's clone soothed, gently stroking her original's hair and holding onto her still-convulsing, near-insensate body. She giggled as she looked at Shido, who groaned as he slipped out of Kurumi's sex, looking similarly spent. "That was amazing, Shido-san. I'm almost jealous of me."

Kurumi groaned in response, her form stirring and senses slowly returning to her.

"Y-you, sh- should be, me," Kurumi managed to gasp, barely responsive as her clone gently laid her out on the bed next to Shido. The boy looked conflicted, torn between paying attention to Kurumi, or her clone; finally settling on gingerly rubbed Kurumi's back as she heaved huge breaths, trying to recover.

"Me, take Shido-san back home, please. Before Kotori-san does anything she regrets." Kurumi ordered at last. "Stay with him too. Make sure he survives."

Her clone looked astonished at the order. Shido's heart jumped into his throat as the implication settled. "Kurumi, you mean, you're not going to kill her?"

Kurumi wearily pushed herself up on shaking arms. "Do you believe me to be so cruel? That I would go back on my word, or that I would kill her after that?"

She gave a tired smile, even as Shido tried to stammer out a response. No matter how much they coupled, outside of that it appeared that he was always flustered in her presence – and admittedly, she found it cute and endearing.

"Please go Shido-san, before Kotori-san embarks on a warpath."

Shido clamped his mouth shut, took a deep breath and looked her dead in the eye. "Kurumi, thank you."

Her clone stepped up next to him, fully dressed, and her shadow expanded beneath her feet. She gently took hold of his arm, and they started sinking into its depths. Before they disappeared, her clone turned to her – and gave her a grateful nod.

Kurumi sighed as she collapsed back onto the bed. By the gods, she was exhausted. Physically and emotionally. Despite being a supernatural being with limits far beyond normal human endurance, even she could tire. She had barely slept the night before, and then...this. Kurumi tried to go over everything that had just happened. She had every intention to kill her clone again. Her attachment to Shido was dangerous for her own plans, and at a crucial time like this, Kurumi needed everything to go according to plan. But when Shido had stood in front of her, and all but begged her not to pull the trigger, she had seen the look in his eyes. Something had told her, that if she pulled the trigger, she wouldn't just be killing her clone – she'd be destroying anything that existed between Shido and herself too. Yet for all her declarations that their feelings meant nothing to her, she found herself unable to carry through with the act. Her heart had wavered, as she listened to his impassioned pleas for her to be better. A notion she would have scoffed at ordinarily, but it was the sheer emotion that she saw in his eyes and heard in his voice that stayed with her. He genuinely wanted her to be a better person.

And despite herself, Kurumi couldn't help but remember Origami's words from the night before.

…he genuinely cares for our wellbeing and our happiness…including yours…

And if you use sex to hurt him – then you are truly deserving of your title as the Worst Spirit.

"What would you say now, Origami-san?" Kurumi murmured to herself, wondering how she had gotten herself into this mess. Unwilling to think about it any longer, she let the exhaustion take her. She was only just aware of the covers shifting as another clone pulled them over her naked form. The clone smiled, and gently brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. Kurumi could barely feel that either, but to her exhausted mind, she dreamed that Shido's hand had done so, and Kurumi couldn't help but smile.

Her last thought before succumbing to sleep was that as far as backfiring plans were concerned, this one at least had backfired in a spectacularly special way.

.

.

.

Chapter 04: A(nother) Promise He Gives

For the second time in what felt as many hours, Shido was once again enveloped in the complete inky blackness of Kurumi's shadow. An involuntary shiver ran through him, his body reacting instinctively to the unnatural phenomenon that engulfed him. He realised with a start that the very person who should have been there, the clone from Tatabana, was not. He twisted back and forth as he tried to search for the person who had dragged him inside.

"Kurumi?" he called out.

No response. Slightly alarmed, he tried again.

"Kurumi?"

Again, no response. Not even an echo from his voice.

He took a deep breath and prepared to shout, when a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. He shouted in alarm for a brief moment before he registered who was before him.

"Kurumi!" he exclaimed into the face of the very girl he was trying to find.

For her part, Kurumi, or her clone, only recoiled briefly before regaining her composure, her signature smile on her face. "Ara ara, does Shido-san miss me already?"

Rather than rise to the tease, Shido let out a sigh of relief.

"You're okay," he breathed. Kurumi giggled in response, patting his head gently.

"Please relax, Shido-san. I only left briefly to recover your clothes," Kurumi said, as she held up his outfit to demonstrate. "After all, we will be meeting with Kotori-san in but a few moments, and I do not think that she would be appreciative of you being in your current state…no matter how much I appreciate it~"

Kurumi finished with a giggle and an appreciative glance before passing his clothes back to him.

"If Shido-san were to be so kind as to put on his clothes, I will take us back to your house."

Dressing within Kurumi's shadow was more of a struggle that Shido would admit. The lack of solid ground and the feeling of floating was disorientating, and the instinct to push against something to pull on his pants failed him, causing him to spin in place, kicking ineffectually.

Kurumi's giggles filled the space. "Oh Shido-san, you are so adorable," Kurumi laughed as she floated up to him. "Please stop moving, and let me help you."

Cheeks burning with embarrassment, Shido stopped struggling as Kurumi dressed him, stopping just before doing up his pants. He looked down at her, jaw dropping and an electrifying tingle running through his body as she placed a kiss against his clothed crotch.

Kurumi looked up at him, eyes slightly wide and a red flush spreading across her cheeks, almost like she was surprised by her own actions. "A-a-…a promise for later," she stammered, as if trying to regain her composure and fall back on being the enchanting seductress. As she straightened up, the two of them averted their gaze for a brief moment, willing the awkward moment to pass.

"Come, Shido-san," Kurumi said, clearing her throat. "I am certain that Kotori-san is close to starting on a warpath to find you, so let's not delay any further." The clone wrapped her arms around Shido's waist and without any further theatrics, lifted the two of them up through a hole that suddenly appeared above them.

Intense, bright light almost seared Shido's vision, unprepared as he was for the sudden change in environment as they passed into the world proper. He stumbled as their feet touched the ground and Kurumi released him. Were it not for Kurumi grabbing his arm and steadying him, Shido would have likely been greeting the ground with his face. As it were, he brought up his arm to shield his eyes from the glare until they adjusted, and he could take a proper look around them.

Kurumi had taken them to the doorstep of the Itsuka household. The innocuous looking door suddenly looked like the foreboding entrance to the lion's den - if said lion could throw the meanest gut punches in the land and transform into a fire-breathing monster. Caught up in his thoughts and the invariable dressing down that awaited him, Shido lingered at the door. So focused as he was on his impending demise, he jumped in shock when a hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

"H-hey Kurumi?!"

The Spirit was holding onto his arm, moulding herself to his side in what he hoped was a show of support (though he had doubts about how that would be perceived by the occupants of the house) as she looked at him.

"It's time for you to introduce me to your family now, is it not, Shido-san?" Kurumi smiled impishly.

"Ah, I suppose it is…" Grasping the doorknob, Shido took a deep breath, steeled himself for the shouting, or worse, and entered the lion's den, Kurumi in tow.

That he wasn't immediately greeted by a verbal hurricane, or a fist to the gut, was a promising start. The reason for that though, was apparent.

The entry hall was dark, unlit. No voices echoed around the house, until Shido spoke up.

"I'm home!" Shido called out, undoing his shoes. Kurumi followed suit, pulling off her boots before padding after him, stockinged feet slipping quietly against the floor.

He frowned, slightly perturbed by the lack of response as he moved through his home. Kurumi politely declined an offer of a drink, so the only thing to do was to check upstairs. They reached the stairs leading to the bedrooms with nary a soul in sight or sound.

Shido turned to face Kurumi, an apologetic smile on his face. "Well, I guess introductions will have to wait for a bit," he joked awkwardly, half-relieved that they could delay the inevitable Kurumi-Kotori confrontation to later.

But the moment he turned back around, a Kotori-shaped missile rocketed down the stairs and planted a small foot on his chest. The impact immediately launched Shido back down the hallway.

"YOU IDIOT!" Kotori bellowed by way of introduction.

Shido barely had time to get back up before Kotori was stomping forward, the fiery anger in her eyes matching that of her Angel's. Any size difference between the siblings of them was rendered moot by the sheer fury exuding from Kotori.

She stopped when Kurumi placed herself between her and Shido.

"Ara ara, is this how we treat family in this house? If so, it's no wonder Shido-san sought refuge in my arms." Kurumi's words were accompanied by a smile, but the dangerous glint in her eyes betrayed the nature of said smile.

Seeing Kurumi in her house, Kotori stopped short, but her anger didn't fade; if anything, the other Spirit's presence only seemed to fan her anger to an even greater degree.

" You ."

The metaphorical flames in Kotori's eyes were on the verge of becoming very real ones, as she began to clench her fists together; all signs pointing towards the imminent manifestation of her Angel.

For her part, Kurumi coolly stared down Kotori, fingers flexing, as she prepared to summon her pistol at a moment's notice.

"Kurumi, Kotori! Wait wait wait!" Shido suddenly threw himself in the middle, hands flapping frantically as he tried to wave off a confrontation between the two; whatever the destruction that followed a Spacequake, it would pale in comparison to the damage the two Spirits could cause should they actually decide to throw down.

"Kurumi didn't do anythi - she didn't hurt me!" Shido corrected himself halfway. "Don't hurt her!"

Both parties stared at him; Kurumi with a genuine smile and something close to adoration, while Kotori just looked flabbergasted at his reaction. The fiery Ratatoskr commander's state of stupor didn't last long however.

"What the hell is wrong with your brain? She kidnapped you!" Kotori snapped. "What, are you so blindly in love with her that you don't even notice what she's doing? Use your head, Shido!"

"But I'm okay now, see? I'm fine! And this Kurumi, she's not the real Kurumi, she's a clone. She's the one who told us everything."

His words, unfortunately, didn't have the intended effect of waving down Kotori. His adoptive sister still had murder in her eyes, as her gaze bored through him to the other Spirit he was shielding. In retrospect, it was probably too much to expect that Kotori could be dissuaded by such a simple statement. So if words weren't going to cut it, then he would have to try another approach.

He closed the gap between them with two quick steps, and just as quickly, brought his sister in for a hug. She froze up when she felt his arms around her. Shido placed his head against hers, letting everything sink in for a moment.

"I'm alright Kotori. See? I'm alright," he soothed. One hand reached behind Kotori to gently rub her back, and he whispered calming words into her ear as he brought her in for a hug. Kotori trembled in his arms, seemingly building up to some unknown peak. And when she burst, the outcome was entirely unexpected.

Kotori let out a loud cry that was equal parts anger and embarrassment as she pushed out of his embrace, her cheeks colouring to match her hair.

"D-d-don't do that!" Kotori cried out, flustered. "You've got to give me some warning first before you go and do something like that!"

"Sorry, sorry," Shido couldn't help but laugh, hands held up apologetically, though he was not particularly sorry about the result.

The tension in the room had dropped dramatically. Kurumi's smile had become more genuine as she looked on, head tilted as she observed the siblings interact. Kotori was only just getting past her embarrassment, and thus not in any particular state to be threatening or menacing to the other Spirit.

Shido gave her another moment to recover before speaking again.

"Look Kotori, I promise: I'm perfectly fine. Kurumi didn't do anything bad to me, and she also sent her," he nodded back at the clone, who had walked up to stand side-by-side, "to help look after and protect me from any threats."

"Or just to spy on you and find the best time to eat you," Kotori scoffed, but left it at that, unable to fully accept the other Spirit without a parting comment.

"Kotori…"

"Fine, fine. But she's not staying in this house. There's a room next door in the Spirit mansion. She can stay there, if she wants." Kotori pulled out her phone, tapping away quickly. While she did that, Shido felt a slight tug on his sleeve, and looked next to him to find Kurumi looking at him with questioning eyes. He nodded once, reassuring her that everything would be fine. Kurumi relaxed then, just as Kotori finished whatever she was doing on her phone.

No sooner had she put it away, did the doorbell ring and a pair of men appear in the room. They were uniformly dressed in sharp suits, with eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, and looked to Kotori for instructions.

"Please escort this Spirit to the Tokisaki room in the mansion. She will be a guest with us." Kotori then turned to Kurumi, and her expression hardened. "Kurumi, these men are working for us. If you so much as hurt them…"

"Yes, yes, you will return the favour ten-fold. I understand, and I won't touch a single hair on these men," Kurumi smiled, utterly at ease despite the threat hanging over her head. She turned to face Shido. "Shido-san, I will see you later. Please visit my new room whenever you feel like it."

Kurumi dipped her head in a bow, before allowing herself to be led away by the suited men. The group turned to leave, Kurumi's voice following behind her as she introduced herself to the men, both siblings watching carefully: Shido with unsurety, and Kotori with a hardened gaze as she sucked away at another lollipop. The two of them didn't move even as the Spirit and the suited men disappeared out of sight, tense until they heard the door click shut.

Kotori sighed explosively, and without a word, trudged over to the kitchen. Shido followed her, uncertain; but when he saw her slump into a chair at the dining table, old habits kicked in. He settled into the usual routine, grabbing a cup from the cabinet, a cool drink from the fridge, and pouring out a glass for Kotori. She looked up when he placed the cup in front of her, mumbled a thanks. He similarly poured one out for himself, and settled down across from her. Neither sibling drank from the cups, the old tension returning.

Shido was the first to break it.

"Kotori, I'm sorry I didn't tell you what was happening. But one of Kurumi's clones was in trouble, and I had to help her. She did a lot for us, and also alerted us to the threat from DEM."

"You could've died, Shido!" Kotori exclaimed. "Do you know how much stress I've been under ever since you first disappeared? I have to worry every time you disappear without warning, and when Kurumi provides a note or a message telling us that you're safe, it's not exactly reassuring!"

For the first time, Shido noticed that Kotori's appearance was far from her usual self - the clothes she wore were crumpled, and despite being so young, her face looked haggard and exhausted. Guilt crept up in his throat, as he realised that his escapades with Kurumi was likely the cause of Kotori's ragged appearance.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worried." Shido lowered his gaze to his cup, unable to look his sister in the eye.

"The other Spirits aren't as worried. They trust you to succeed, and sometimes don't really understand the world around them, the danger that you can be in - but I do. I'm your commander, Shido. I'm responsible for your safety," Kotori sounded completely exhausted, and Shido had the sudden feeling that the pressure Kotori was under wasn't just about his recent dalliances with Kurumi.

"But you died, Shido. You died, and none of us could do a thing about it. Not even Kurumi could bring you back. That means I failed." Kotori, her voice small, sunk her head into her hands. "And when you disappeared again, and Kurumi was the one who took you away…I thought that she had given up and just decided to steal you away from our very own home."

"Kotori…" Shido quickly moved around the table to hug his adopted sister close, just as her breath hitched, and the first sob choked its way out of her throat. He held her tightly to his chest, her tears staining his shirt as he rocked her gently back and forth. At some point, he managed to guide her - still glued to his chest - over to the couch. There they sat, as he whispered soothing words into her ear.

He didn't know how long it took or how long they stayed together, but Kotori's tears eventually stopped. Sobs became hiccups, as she slowly began the long climb down from her emotional outburst. By the time it all subsided, Kotori looked like she had been defeated and drained of all emotion. She gave a final sniffle, and then pushed away from his chest, sitting back against the opposite end of the couch, looking up at him with red-raw eyes.

"I need to know what's happening, Shido. I can't protect you if I don't know what's going on. I know you care for the Spirits, including Kurumi, but this seems to go even beyond that. So please, tell me what's happening, why you keep running off with Kurumi, so we can at least come up with a way to ensure your protection," Kotori pleaded with him.

With a sigh, Shido leaned back, trying to gather his thoughts. Was there any good explanation of why he kept chasing after Kurumi? The easiest one was that he didn't seek her out, that Kurumi had come to him. But even though it was both the truth and the simplest explanation to give, he couldn't find it within himself to actually blame what happened on Kurumi.

"I can't really explain it, to be honest," he started, before holding up both hands to stop Kotori's retort before he could finish.

"Please, let me finish. You guys, you all see Kurumi as a rival or an enemy, but when Kurumi showed me her memories-" she had also shown him a lot more than just her memories, but he decided that mentioning that now was not prudent, "-I saw more than just the Spirit. There's a person underneath, and she needs our help. Kurumi's not the same person as she was before. Plus she showed me her memories; I don't think you can fake something like that. I've got the feeling that she's changing, so if I can keep persuading her and give her something else to look forward to, maybe she won't need to keep fighting."

"Shido, I know you like to look for the best in everyone, but have you ever considered that everything Kurumi's done so far, has been to get you to lower your guard?"

He shook his head, unwilling to entertain the thought. Kotori sighed with the frustration of a teacher working with a rebellious student in response.

"Kurumi is dangerous , Shido. Lethally so, and there are things she could do to you that even Camael can't fix. We don't have the luxury of trusting gut feelings when it comes to her. Has she agreed to anything similar to what you just suggested, or even considered it?"

He fell silent. As much as wanted to disregard Kotori's words, as much as he wanted to believe that what he had experienced with Kurumi was genuine, Kotori did have valid points; particularly that Kurumi had never given a single indication, after everything they did, that she had abandoned her goal, or had even wavered slightly from it. So it begged the question: did Kurumi actually feel anything for him when she offered herself up, and was he wrong in seeing more in her eyes than there really were? The implications, should he be wrong, were terrifying.

His discomfort evident in the way his mood had suddenly become sullen, Kotori shook her head in a mix of frustration and pity, and reached out across the couch to grab his hand.

"Shido, I'm not trying to make you hate Kurumi. I just want you to be safe, as your commander and as your sister. If we can help her, we'll definitely do everything we can, okay? Look for now, just don't keep running off after her, especially since her clone is hanging around. Hold off on doing anything rash, and before you decide to talk to her next time, tell us first. We can come up with a plan to help you, and get you out if anything goes wrong." Kotori stood up from the couch and gestured for him to get up.

"Come on, let's go. I'm taking you to Reine for a medical examination. We're going to make sure that you're fine - and that Kurumi didn't do something to your head."

"Kotori, Kurumi isn't going to try to do anything with my hea-"

"Now ."

Shido sighed as he trudged up the stairs towards his room. Hours had passed since Kotori had dragged him out of the house and squirrelled him away into an underground Ratatoskr base. There, he had been subjected to a battery of tests, administered and overseen by Reine. They were exhaustive: physical checks on his person, personality tests, cerebral scans. If it was something about him, it was tested. He honestly doubted the need for at least half of them, quietly suspecting that Kotori was using that as a chance to indirectly punish him for his actions and endeavours with Kurumi. At least Reine had noticed his lack of energy towards the end of the tests, and had handed him some food before sending him back home. Now, exhausted and full, Shido was looking forward to finally getting some rest.

Alas, that was not to be, as no sooner had he reached the top of the stairs, did the door to the guest room open up, and Tohka poked her head out.

"S-Shido!" Tohka waved at him with nervous energy. "C-can I talk to you?"

His exhaustion forgotten, Shido couldn't help but smile at the girl who had changed his life completely. "Of course, Tohka," he said, as he followed her into the guest room.

They found themselves sitting quietly on the bed, Tohka at the head, legs folded over each other, while Shido sat at the foot of the bed. They had done this countless times since they had met, usually with Shido trying to explain some human quirk to Tohka. Shido had always enjoyed spending time with Tohka. But this time, something felt different; Shido soon lost himself to his thoughts, even as Tohka began to speak.

It didn't take long before his eyes started to roam over Tohka's curvaceous form. Making love with Kurumi, three times now, had been an eye-opening experience into the pleasures and intimacy of a woman's body. While he was very conscious about the Spirit's otherworldly beauty before, and it was something that he couldn't help but appreciate subconsciously.

Tohka, as usual, was dressed in a tightly-fitting purple T-shirt. What was more unusual, was how much more attention Shido realised he was paying to her body. Her shirt was doing less to conceal her significant bust than it did at emphasising it. Tohka was busty enough that her nipples poked out against the material, a sight that sent a thrill of desire through his body. Not to be outdone, the plain grey shorts that she wore also did little to hide the long, pale expanse of her shapely legs, and it was all he could do to avoid tracing the pleasant lines of her legs up to her thighs and what lay hidden beneath her shorts.

"...Shido? Shido?"

"Oh!"

With a start, Shido jerked back into reality. as he realised that he had been lost in his thoughts and not-subtle appreciation of Tohka's form. Something that he began to feel guilty over (for what? Ignoring her? Paying attention to her when he was already with Kurumi?), though it appeared that Tohka didn't seem to notice.

"Tohka! Sorry…what were you asking?"

Tohka settled back, folding her legs under her again. She was sitting close enough for her knees to bump into his if she rocked forward even slightly.

"I said, we never got a chance to have a talk after we had the meeting on the Fraxinus." Tohka pouted.

"Ah that's right, sorry about that Tohka. Things have just been really busy since then," Shido said. "I'll try to spend some time with you now though. What did you want to talk about?"

"You said you had sex, and then everyone became so excited and energetic…why was everyone being so strange about it?"

"Ah…sex?" Shido's voice was smaller than one of Kotori's lollipops.

"Mmm mmm," Tohka nodded enthusiastically, her ponytail bobbing up and down with the motion.

"Tohka…do you know what sex is?"

"Muuuu…Kaguya did try to explain something to me…but she kept referring to a 'holy sword' that would 'pierce the darkness' and 'light the way to womanhood'...I didn't really understand what she was referring to," Tohka mused, puffing her cheeks out in an adorable fashion as she tried hard to remember the exact phrases that Kaguya had used.

"Ah ha ha…that's Kaguya for you…" Shido couldn't help but let out a half-despairing chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head. In a way, he supposed that it was a good thing that Kaguya had not succeeded in explaining sex to Tohka.

The next thirty minutes was, quite possibly, one of the more awkward moments in Shido's life, as he tried to explain the concept of sex to Tohka. If he wasn't so embarrassed about it, it might have been interesting in a sense: Tohka understood the difference between a male body and a female one, and had some rudimentary knowledge of concepts like the privacy of one's intimate parts. However she had never married the two concepts together, and completely lacked awareness of cultural and social implications of sex.

By the time he had finished explaining the general concept of sex and its significance (physical and cultural), Tohka was beet-red in the face, and unable to look him in the eye without another flare of embarrassment and an accompanying squeak. He himself, despite having actually done the deed, was also unable to look Tohka in the eye. However in trying to look anywhere else except in her eyes, he noticed other things: for one, Tohka kept squirming and fidgeting, as if she was unable to settle down - in particular, she kept rubbing her thighs together, as though she was trying to scratch at some internal itch.

Seeing as the silence was continuing, Shido opted to break it first, with the most pressing question on his mind. "You're handling this pretty well, Tohka. Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Tohka blinked up at him, drawn from her thoughts. She immediately turned red again, and glanced away. "Muuu…I guess so? I still don't really understand why the others were so loud before when you said you had sex with Kurumi. You're doing it because you need to save her, right?"

"Yeah…I guess so." Shido flushed and looked away. Tohka sounded uncertain and confused, but he supposed her not fully comprehending the idea of sex, and its implications, was probably a godsend given her tendency to explode into emotional outbursts; though she had become significantly better at managing her emotions and accepting Shido's need to pay attention to other Spirits during the course of his mission.

The same uncomfortable silence permeated the air between them again.

"Hey Shido," Tohka prompted, finally able to look at him directly without turning into a tomato. "What does Kurumi mean to you?"

"Ah…" Any awkwardness from their previous conversation had faded, as Shido was reminded of his own internal dilemma regarding Kurumi.

"You said that sex is not just about feeling good, but it's normally something that you do and share with someone special to you. So if you did that with Kurumi, then does that mean Kurumi is very special to you?"

"Well, it's complicated…" Shido said, trying to come up with an explanation that wouldn't involve an emotional explosion from Tohka. "Sometimes people have sex just to enjoy it, and sometimes maybe people use it to try and achieve something else?"

He realised halfway through his rambling that Tohka had become lost, and that he had somehow avoided actually answering her question. So he took a moment to reflect; to think about what Kurumi really meant to him. In almost any other situation, having made love to Kurumi several times already, he wouldn't have really hesitated to believe that there was something special between them. He was almost unable to go a day without thinking of her in some way, and everything over the last few days had revolved around her. It wasn't an understatement to say that he had been wholly consumed by her. But that was undeniably, Kurumi. She had that sort of irresistible magnetism about her, that bewitching aura of mystery that drew him in like a moth to a flame. The only question was whether the flame was a warm glow to alight on, or a trap to lure in the unsuspecting and lower his guard.

He had desperately wanted to believe that the girl he saw in her eyes when they were so physically entangled with each other existed, and that she wanted to break out of this endless cycle of death and rebirth. But Kotori had pulled him back into reality, had forced him to question his own relationship with Kurumi. She was, after all, a masterful actress, able to slip into so many personas, present so many fronts that it made trying to find the real Kurumi underneath nearly impossible.

So he answered Tohka, as truthfully as he could. "I…don't really know, Tohka. I want to believe there's something special there. And I really want to save her. But she's never done anything to make me think that she might feel the same way, or that she wants to give up on her goal."

"Muuu…" Tohka pursed her lips, deep in thought. "I think, if Kurumi did that with you, and she started it, then doesn't it mean that Kurumi would have to feel something for you as well? "

"I don't think it's that simple, Tohka…"

Tohka thought for another moment, mildly miffed that her suggestion wasn't correct. So she tried again. "Could you ask her? Kurumi might do the things she's doing because she doesn't know any other way. Remember when we first met Kurumi, and you weren't sure what to do because she was so different from the other Spirits? I could have become like her, but you showed me a different way Shido. I didn't know I could live like this, be a normal person, and not have to fight for everything. So maybe you have to show her that there is another way."

Ask her. And show her another way.

The simplicity of it was astounding, yet it seemed more Herculean than mere words suggested. But if there was any chance that it could help him save Kurumi, then it was worth a try.

Ideas buzzing through his head still, Shido stood up and gave Tohka an affectionate peck on the cheek, causing her to blush furiously.

"Uw-wha!"

"Thank you, Tokha," Shido smiled at her, determination in his eyes. "You've been really helpful."

Still blushing, Tohka barely managed a response out of her mouth, as Shido started for the door, a plan forming in his head. Just before he left however, Tohka called after him once again.

"Shido?"

He turned to face her, hand on the door handle. Tohka was fidgeting even more than before now, and her mouth opened and closed several times, as if she knew what she wanted to ask, but was unable to form the words, until at last -

"When you save Kurumi, I want to ummm, have sex, with you," Tohka somehow managed to say it without exploding out of embarrassment. "You're special to me too!" She quickly blurted out.

Shido gave an affirmative hum and a nod, also blushing at the request.

"O-of course, Tohka. When we finish saving Kurumi," he promised.

Dusk saw him knocking on the clone Kurumi's door in the Spirit mansion, a picture frame held behind his back. Barely two heartbeats passed before the door opened wide. Kurumi, still in her Astral Dress, stood at the entrance with one hand braced against the frame; looking for all the world as if she had known that he would be the one knocking at her door.

"Good evening, Shido-san," Kurumi gave him an alluring smile. "Please, come in." She stepped to the side as she invited him in, smoothly sweeping her arm out in welcome at the same time.

Shido took stock of her room as he stepped inside, Kurumi closing the door behind him. The room was warmly furnished, yet sparsely decorated; hardly surprising, given that Kurumi had occupied it for all of a single day. Although the room was purposely designed with a calming atmosphere - all warm, gentle lighting and colours - it was impossible for one to shake the feeling that it was a place of rest, rather than a home. A king-sized bed dominated the room, with accommodations made for desks and a set of mirrored wardrobes; and it was upon this bed that Kurumi sat primly, hands folded across her lap, eyes watching Shido keenly as he finished his observation of her room.

"I, umm, have something for you," Shido said, proffering the picture frame with both hands.

"If it is a gift from Shido-san, then it is one that I will gladly accept with my heart," Kurumi said warmly as she accepted the frame. She glanced down on it with a gentle smile, running a finger down the side of the photo. "I had a feeling that this is what Shido-san wanted to give me."

"I'm glad you liked it," Shido smiled at her, but there was an undercurrent of nervousness to it. He paced with nervous energy for two circles, as Kurumi settled back on the bed, picture frame in hand.

"Is something the matter, Shido-san?" Kurumi asked.

Taking the opportunity, Shido finally took a deep breath, and stopped pacing in front of her.

"I actually have a question to ask you," Shido confessed, sitting down on the bed next to her.

Kurumi placed the picture on the stand beside the bed, before looking back up at him, head tilting. "Please, ask away."

Shido took a breath. "It's about you. Or rather, the, well, real , Kurumi."

If anything, the clone didn't seem to be bothered by the subject of the question, her smile widening in anticipation.

"When we did… that ," Shido couldn't help the slight blush on his face, not quite able to look Kurumi in the eyes, "did it mean anything to Kurumi?"

The clone cocked her head at him but remained quiet, sensing that he was not quite finished talking.

"Did she really care for me? Or was it all just an act, and she only wanted me to think that way to get the reiryorku in me?" Shido finished. There was an odd, disconcerting feeling swirling about his chest, as he voiced the doubts that had been stirred up about Kurumi to her very clone.

Kurumi's clone leaned back slightly, as if to take in his entire form. "Ara ara…what a difficult and pertinent question you have there, Shido-san. Are you asking me to betray the feelings of me to help you win the game?"

"It's-it's not about the game anymore, it's not about sealing her power," Shido shook his head vehemently. "It's about her, it's about what she feels for me, for us? I don't-"

Kurumi stopped him with a sudden hush, a finger pressed against his lips. "I have another idea," she declared. "Let me show you how I feel, Shido-san. After that, ask yourself the same question: how do you think me feels?"

In a blink, Kurumi had suddenly swung herself over him, straddling his lap.

"How does that sound, Shido-san?" Her voice had dropped to a whisper, eyes piercing into his. And within her scarlet eye, all he could see was an yearning desire, if he would accept her offer.

He nodded. "Okay."

Kurumi brought him in for a searing kiss, lips crashing against his as her tongue forced itself into his mouth; running along his teeth, exploring his mouth, and suckling on his tongue as she drew him out. Unlike the kiss with Tohka, which was prim and chaste, Kurumi's kiss was on an altogether different level. Where Tohka's was sweet and brief, with the barest linger between them, Kurumi devoured his lips, almost as if she could suck out his life-force through her kiss alone (and that was something he wasn't entirely sure he would fight either). She was like a vixen, drawing out his lust and all but demanding that he throw out any inhibition towards proper, gentlemanly conduct. So it was little wonder that Kurumi found his hands wandering across her body, inevitably making their way downwards towards her shapely rear, even as he kissed her in return.

She separated from him with a gasp, panting as she sucked air into her lungs and tried to calm her own hammering heart. Shido, for his part, was in a similar state, his arousal painfully straining against his pants.

" Me , should you ask her, will tell you this: that I am a mere clone; naive, trusting, unhardened to the harsh reality of life. She will tell you that I am not her ," Kurumi breathlessly said.

Her hands wound their way behind Shido's head, and she pulled the boy into another passionate kiss. A moan escaped his throat as she nibbled his lower lip, the feeling of teeth scraping against sensitive skin suddenly replaced by her hot, wet tongue. She pulled back again, and this time, couldn't help the subconscious movement of her hips, as she ground her soaking panties against his crotch, eliciting a hiss of pleasure from him.

She spoke again, though it was debatable whether Shido, delirious with lust and desire, was still able to comprehend her words at this point.

"Me is wrong. I was born from her memories. Her desires are my desires - so what I feel, is what she feels."

There was no time left for words. Shido, inflamed by lust and by so much pent-up emotions, lunged forward to capture her lips with his. And in a reversal of the situation before, Kurumi couldn't help but moan as he bit her lips, and scraped his teeth against her tongue. She felt his hands grasp her arms, looking to turn her. She allowed him, and was momentarily surprised when he suddenly shoved her back onto the bed.

Such was the softness of the blanket, the sheer luxuriousness of the material, it billowed around her for the briefest of moments; and then Shido was all over her, suckling at her neck, almost tearing into the soft, milky-white flesh with abandon.

Kurumi was left gasping and writhing beneath him, mewling as nipping teeth found sensitive skin. Crimson spots blossomed on her ivory skin, as Shido marked his way down from her jaw down to her throat. Kurumi groaned as she felt his clothed crotch rub and push against her nether regions - a pale imitation of the act to come, but already the promise of such bodily pleasures was setting fire to Kurumi's nerves. In spite of all this, Shido had yet to stop attempting to mark every centimetre of her skin. His lips had reached the skin above her breasts when Kurumi suddenly pushed back against him, and wrestled him back onto the bed.

Shido hit the bed with a grunt, Kurumi straddling his crotch, his hands on her waist. Her chest was rising and falling deeply, eyes cloudy with lust, and one of the straps of her dress had fallen from her shoulder; exposing the pale, smooth skin, and giving a tantalising peak at the round swell of her breast, the dress barely hanging on out of pure luck.

In that moment, clone or not, Kurumi was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on.

Seeing that he was unable to take his eyes off the swell of her breasts, Kurumi smiled, and with a sensuous sway of her body, made a show of slowly easing the remaining strap off her other shoulder. That moment alone proved that Kurumi didn't need her Angel to be a master of time: time slowed to a crawl as the thin strap of material slipped its way down her arm, and Shido's eyes never left it, fixated, as if it was the only thing that mattered in the world. Shido's mouth went dry, when the only thing that stopped Kurumi from baring her breasts to the world, passed the point of no return.

Time stood still for the briefest of moments, as Kurumi's Astral Dress stubbornly clung on to her body. Shido's breath hitched when her dress finally slipped off her body and pooled around her waist, revealing Kurumi in all her naked glory.

For a moment, Shido forgot about the world as he soaked in the sight of Kurumi's nakedness. No matter how many times he had seen her naked since that first night together, he would never get tired of the sight.

"...you're so beautiful," he breathed, reaching out for her. Kurumi blushed, but made no move to stop him as his hand touched her breast.

There was no harshness in his actions, no raw primal desire to grasp and to conquer and to take. He gently, almost reverentially, cupped her breast in his hand. He felt the unbelievably smooth skin, let its substantial weight pillow into his palm, relishing the feeling of fingers sinking into soft flesh. Hearing Kurumi's breathy sigh of pleasure was just as exciting, if not more so, and the cadence of her voice - low, breathy, husky - sent a tingly thrill of pleasure racing down his spine.

The first time he had coupled with this particular clone, there had been an undercurrent of desperation in her actions, a certain frenzy to reach the climax and to have him in her, as soon as possible. He now knew why, of course: the clone had disobeyed Kurumi's instructions, and was, in every sense of the phrase, running on borrowed time. But now, there was no sense of urgency, no looming danger overhead. There was time now, time to explore each other's bodies, to enjoy the feeling of connection, of not being alone as flesh pressed against flesh. In a sense, Shido was reminded of his first time with Kurumi; it was that same wondrous sense of amazement at her naked beauty before him, the same giddy delight of exploring another's body, the feeling of pressing the accelerator on a relationship and reaching new highs.

All things considered, Shido was still a boy, and was subject to his own hormonal desires. That manifested itself as an overwhelming urge to experience more and more of her body. His remaining hand quickly came up to grasp her other breast, and his touches became rougher, more aggressive: fingers sinking deeper into her breasts, thumbs playing across her nipples, as he did his damndest to draw out as many moans as he could from her throat.

"You…really…like…my breasts-ah!-don't you, Shido-san?" Kurumi panted. In spite of that, the lilting tease was more than evident from her tone.

She soon pushed away from him, Shido's disappointed groan matching the sudden ache in her core. His groan swiftly dissipated when she lowered herself between his legs, yanking off his pants and underwear down his legs, his penis springing forth to attention at full mast, the tip glistening with his arousal. Kurumi couldn't help a little giggle, and there was a not-insignificant part of her that was still fiercely proud that she was able to exact such a potent reaction from him. She let him kick a leg away and out of his clothes, before grabbing his penis and beginning to stroke him slowly.

"Kurumi…" Shido moaned, in equal parts relief and frustration. Relief, that Kurumi was finally able to massage out some of the pent-up tension that had been steadily building up in his groin, and frustration from the teasingly slow strokes.

Despite supposedly being younger and less experienced, Kurumi was still a clone of herself, and as such, she shared that same masochistic streak. Hearing Shido turn into a molten mess beneath her hand lit an inferno within her core. "Ara ara…if Shido-san likes my breasts so much, I think that he would very much enjoy this…"

Shido groaned when Kurumi lowered herself to press his cock against one of her breasts, amazed at the sensation of her soft, pliable flesh smothering the sensitive head of his cock.

"Does that feel good, Shido-san?" Kurumi innocently asked, batting her eyelashes at him, as if she didn't have his cock in her hand.

He couldn't answer, too taken by the overwhelming friction against his sensitive tip. Such was the intensity of the pleasure, that he couldn't help but to throw his head back with a shuddering moan. He nearly collapsed back onto the bed when his arm suddenly gave way, almost unable to hold him up against the pleasure. He scrabbled back up into a sitting position, unwilling to let his eyes miss out on even a single moment. And just in time too; as Kurumi pulled his cock away, a thin, clear strand of fluid connected the tip of his length to her breast.

Tracing along the length of it back to her breast, there was a wild flare of excitement when he realised his penis had left a sheen across the milky expanse of her skin. Kurumi had also noticed, and he watched, fascinated, as she touched two fingers to her shining skin and drew them across the great arcs of sticky fluid. It clung to her fingers in short, clear lengths before she raised her hand to her mouth; and looking at Shido dead in the eye, Kurumi lasciviously licked the fluid off her fingers.

Shido stared, mesmerised.

"Ara ara~ look at the mess you've made," Kurumi playfully scolded him, a wicked smile on her face. Yet she made no attempt to stop, grasping his cock and bringing it to her other breast, playing the tip of his length against her skin, pressing it against her nipple, leaving behind a sticky, shining trail. The saliva on her hand only added to the sloppy mess of fluids shining on his cock as she continued to stroke him, drawing out a series of grunts and moans from Shido.

There was an undeniable eroticism to Kurumi's actions; from the way that Kurumi carelessly jerked his cock off into her breasts, from the sight of his cock pushing into her perfect, pale flesh, and from the way that it painted the underside of Kurumi's breasts with a mixture of his arousal and her saliva, marking her with his masculinity.

And judging from the way that Kurumi took deep, shuddering breaths even as she painted herself with his cock, she too found the whole experience equally arousing.

Shido groaned in disappointment when Kurumi settled back, a pleading look in his eyes as he all but begged her to continue. Kurumi however, had other ideas.

"Say, Shido-san," Kurumi began, even as she continued to lazily pump her hand up and down his cock. "I made you a promise before, did I not?"

Befuddled with lust and desperation to feel more of Kurumi than just her hand, Shido could barely remember, so taken as he was by the present pleasures. He was reminded when Kurumi leaned down, and planted a kiss and a brief swirl of her tongue on his sensitive tip.

"Oh god Kurumi-!" Shido bucked his hips up at the sudden sensation, but Kurumi had already pulled back out of reach, a lazy smile on her face.

"Now you remember," she teased, her hand slowing. "Fret not Shido-san. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it."

With that declaration, Kurumi sank her head down on his cock.

For Shido, it was as if a fire had suddenly been lit in his loins. Kurumi, a clone as she was, less experienced than her true counterpart, was nevertheless so very capable as a lover. She focused her earnest attention on the tip of his penis, her soft lips gliding back and forth across the excruciatingly sensitive head. His nerves were set alight with every pass, feeling her hot, wet tongue lovingly lavish the underside of his cock even as she pulled back, only to rock forward again, leaving him writhing and trashing under her adoring ministrations. He panted, gasped, screwed his eyes shut as he endured the feather-light touches of her lips and tongue, caught exquisitely between the pleasure of feeling her lips across his cock, and the agonising frustration that Kurumi refused to use any more pressure. He gripped the quilt tightly, bunching the material up in one hand as Kurumi continued to take the tip of his penis in her mouth, and feeling a animalistic desire build up within him, a pent-up need to throw Kurumi back on the bed, to bury himself in her, to so furiously rut her with wanton need until he achieved that sweet, blissful release.

He didn't have to wait long, fortunately for his control, which had been stretched so dangerously thin, moments from snapping.

Kurumi had released his length, her hand slick with their combined fluids. She stood up without a word, slightly wobbling and unsteady, and any question Shido had died on his tongue as she shimmied her underwear down long, stockinged legs. He caught a glimpse of her panties as she lifted a leg to pull them off: all sensual black lace, save for the tiny pink bow tied at the front; the kind of panties that seared themselves in the eyes of the beholder, the type that caused niggling doubts and wild fantasies of what they represented of the wearer. They were the same pair of panties that he had chosen for her on their first date.

Had Kurumi been more devious, more sensual, she may have taken pleasure in dragging out his obvious interest in her intimates: placing them in his hand to let him feel the residual body heat and sheer dampness of the material, or dangling them in plain view, just out of his reach. But Kurumi, too consumed by passion, too taken by sheer lust, tossed her panties aside as she threw herself bodily across Shido's lap. His breath hitched as he felt her comfortable and familiar weight settle across his legs. His hands grasped her hips by instinct, and she pulled him in for another passionate kiss.

She slid down on him with little fanfare. Shido groaned as he felt wet heat slide down his cock, but the groan turned into disappointment when his length merely slid along between her wet folds; a matching groan of equal parts frustration and disappointment coming from Kurumi's throat. She reached back, and realigned his cock with her pussy, before sinking down. This time, there were no mistakes, and the pair moaned in fulfilment as Shido's cock pushed past her lower lips.

Kurumi stopped suddenly, having only taken the head within her.

"Kurumi…don't tease me," Shido groaned. When she didn't move, he was about to thrust up, muscles tensing, only to be stopped when Kurumi lifted her hips, almost taking him out of her entirely: the threat clear as day. Shido was forced to resort to a less dignified approach. "Please Kurumi…"

"Shido-san's voice when he begs is so cute~" Kurumi relished the moment, savouring his words, before slowly easing down.

Shido threw his head back, lost in sheer pleasure as tight, wet flesh gradually enveloped his cock. Kurumi was hot: so insanely hot, her sex positively dripping with arousal. The feeling of her flesh clamping down on him as she took more and more of his cock into herself was sensational. Kurumi herself couldn't hold back a moan of delight when she bottomed out, feeling so deliciously filled. Shido's cock was perfect; not too long, not too short, almost as if it was a missing part of her, the final piece of the puzzle all fitting in place. There was a moment as the two lovers allowed themselves to enjoy the moment, to enjoy the feeling of completeness , of being so perfectly joined together. It wasn't long before Kurumi, wanting more, began to lift herself up and roll her hips back constantly, taking Shido back into her with a meaty smack.

By the third thrust, Shido panicked as he felt a now-familiar tension building up in his balls. He gritted his teeth and tensed his muscles, desperate to continue to feel the pleasure for as long as humanly possible. He thrust back up into Kurumi's descending sex, their hips meeting with a meaty smack.

Grit and determination only lasted so long in the face of reality however, and it wasn't long before Shido surrendered to the inevitable.

"K-Kuru-Kurumi, I'm- I'm going to-!"

He never finished his sentence. Whether she knew he was on the edge or not, Kurumi thrust herself back down on his cock - hard , and tightened her vaginal muscles at the same time.

Shido erupted in her.

He didn't remember much of his orgasm; at least, not fully, only able to recall snatches of the moment. He vaguely heard himself calling out Kurumi's name as he came, he fuzzily recalled gripping her hips tightly, locking their bodies together as he emptied himself into her waiting sex.

But there were the moments he did remember. The feeling of it all: of her hot, wet sex clamped around his length. The sheer relief and overwhelming satisfaction, the tension flowing away as spurt after spurt of his seed splattered Kurumi's depths. He remembered the hypnotic sway of her breasts, rising and falling as she impaled herself upon his length; he recalled her eyes, clouded in a haze of lust, a gasp punctuating every slick, meaty smack of their hips.

Having been subjected to Kurumi's skillful touches with her hands and her mouth, it wasn't surprising that Shido had reached his orgasm first. However even after his last spurt of semen had been squeezed out of him, he still remained hard for the moment - enough for Kurumi to continue thrusting her hips back, lost in the pleasure. Every roll of her hips elicited a yelp and an almost-painful groan from Shido, overstimulated as his over-sensitive head and length filled her hungry, needy sex.

As aroused and aching for relief as she was, it wouldn't have taken long for Kurumi to reach her peak, her voice rising with her pleasure as she rode desperately towards her orgasm, her nails digging into Shido's chest. Then Shido's hands slid beneath her arms and grasped her breasts; he pinched her nipples, groped and pawed at her flesh fiercely until ivory skin was lined with angry red marks. It was just the right push Kurumi needed to send her over the precipice; except she didn't so much as crest the peak, as much as she shot over it.

Her orgasm struck her with the force of a freight train, and Kurumi only, just barely, had the presence of mind to remember they were in a shared house. She grabbed Shido's hand and clamped it over her mouth, muffling a series of screams as she rode out her orgasm, body shaking from sheer pleasure.

There was a single, timeless moment where everything stood still: Kurumi, trembling as the aftershocks of her orgasm visibly made their way through her body, Shido, panting and gulping deep breaths of air, his length still buried in Kurumi's pussy. Then she toppled off him and onto the bed, his now-softening cock finally slipping loose with a messy, slick noise, their fluids mixing together and slowly oozing out of Kurumi's satiated sex and onto her thigh. There was a murmur of satisfaction from Kurumi, as she shifted to lie against him, head resting against his chest. He held her to him, enjoying the post-coital glow, feeling her chest gently press against his side as she took deep, slowing breaths.

Eventually, as time passed and breathing returned to normal levels, Kurumi lifted her head off his chest and propped her chin up on one arm, looking him in the eyes. "Shido-san. You asked how me felt about you. Whether the sex meant something, or whether it was all an act. How do you feel now?"

"I think-"

Kurumi's clone placed a finger on his lips, hushing any answer. "Whatever answer you have, that is for me and yourself, Shido-san."

In the end, Shido thought, it was probably natural that they were all deferential to the actual Kurumi. The clone had told him as much before: in the end, loving Kurumi would be the same as loving them.

"Then, do you know where Kurumi is?" Shido asked, having made up his mind.

The clone nodded, a slight smile on her face, as if she knew his thoughts better than he did.

"Then please: take me to her," Shido said, resolute. "I need to talk with Kurumi."

TO BE CONTINUED...