"Shido, don't be so down. This isn't like you," Tohka said, her bright eyes filled with concern.
"Encouragement: Shido, pull yourself together," Yuzuru added flatly.
It was Friday, April 12th.
As the sun set, Shido and his companions walked home after a long day at university. Although dormitories were available, they preferred to return home—partly out of concern for Kotori and the others, and partly because it was the weekend, making the decision to head home feel natural.
For context, Shido had been skipping a lot of classes recently, earning the ire of his professors. Today, he had been singled out as a negative example, leaving him in a foul mood.
"Shido, you'll make something delicious when we get home, right?"
Tohka, her long black hair shimmering in the evening light, looked at Shido with hopeful eyes. Despite starting at the same university as Shido with Ratatoskr's help, her stomach had been grumbling since the afternoon.
"Of course," Shido said, patting Tohka's head. "I'll cook for you when we get home."
"You shouldn't burden Shido with cooking all the time," Origami interjected in her usual monotone. "Only by helping him will Shido like you more."
Although Origami didn't live in the Spirit Apartment, she often gathered at Shido's house for dinner, making her part of the group's walk home.
"Is that true, Shido?" Tohka asked tearfully. "If it's troubling you, I won't bother you anymore."
"Not at all," Shido replied with a wry smile. "The way you are now is what I like about you, Tohka."
"Then if I help you like Origami does, will you stop liking me?" Tohka asked, her voice trembling.
Feeling the weight of Origami's sharp gaze from the side, Shido scratched his head awkwardly and said, "I like both of you equally."
With that, the group finally arrived at the Itsuka household.
"Kotori, we're home!" Shido called out loudly, but no one responded.
"Huh?" Shido frowned, wondering if Kotori and the others were out or playing one of their pranks again. He searched the house, but there was no sign of anyone.
"Nobody's at the Spirit Apartment either," Origami added.
"That's strange," Shido muttered. "They didn't have school today, so where could they be?"
"Maybe they've been called by a divine mission to heed the call of a saint," Kaguya suggested with her usual flair.
"Mockery: Kaguya, please stop your delusions," Yuzuru retorted.
"Let's try calling them," Shido suggested, dialing Kotori's number.
Surprisingly, it rang for a long time with no answer.
"Could something have happened?" A sense of unease washed over Shido. He was about to try Yoshino's number when his phone suddenly lit up with an incoming call from Kotori.
"Hello, Kotori! Are you okay? Where is everyone? Is everything alright?" Shido asked anxiously.
"Geez, Shido, did you take some weird medicine? Why are you so flustered?" Kotori's voice came through, tinged with annoyance.
"I was worried about you," Shido admitted, realizing his tone had been overly panicked. "You weren't home, and you didn't pick up your phone."
"Is that so…" Kotori paused briefly before continuing, "I guess my brother does care about us after all."
"Of course I do! You're all incredibly important to me," Shido said earnestly.
"Well…" Kotori hesitated again before answering, "We're just working, that's all. I was busy earlier and couldn't answer the phone."
"Working?" Shido asked in confusion.
"Yeah, is that a problem?"
"It's not that… I just want to know what kind of work you're doing."
"We're at a place where we serve customers. If they're satisfied, they sometimes give us extra tips," Kotori said nonchalantly.
"What?!" Shido froze, unable to comprehend what Kotori had just said. "Kotori, what kind of work is that?!"
"Don't worry, Shido. Yoshino, Natsumi, Mukuro, and Mana are all here too. It's perfectly safe."
"That makes it worse!" Shido exclaimed. "Kotori, listen to me—don't do anything like that!"
"—Kotori-chan, hurry up! The customers are getting impatient," a voice called out in the background.
"Coming! Have Natsumi take care of it for now; she's the best at this," Kotori replied. "Anyway, bye, Shido." And with that, the call ended.
"Wait, Kotori!" Shido shouted into the phone, but the line had already gone dead.
Frantic, Shido tried calling the others, but no one answered.
"What's going on, Shido?" The group, noticing his distressed expression, gathered around.
"Listen up," Shido said gravely. "Kotori and the others might have been tricked into doing something… improper."
"What are you talking about?"
"Clarification: Please be more specific," Yuzuru prompted.
"They said they were working, but it sounded like something where they're… selling themselves," Shido explained, growing increasingly alarmed. "We need to find them immediately."
"Do you know where they are?" Origami asked.
"No," Shido admitted. "I don't even know where places like that are located. But we'll just have to check every one until we find them."
"I know a few places," Origami offered.
"What?!" Shido stared at her in shock.
"I've been on anti-vice raids before, so I know where to look," Origami explained calmly.
"That's… actually helpful," Shido said, relieved. "No time to waste—let's go!"
With that, the group set out to search for Kotori and the others.
Flashback to the previous night:
Kotori, Yoshino, Natsumi, Mukuro, and Mana were gathered at the Itsuka household.
"Kotori-san, I want to try working tomorrow. Is that okay?" Yoshino asked shyly.
"Working?"
"Yeah! Since Tohka accidentally destroyed the school building today, we have the day off tomorrow. I thought it'd be nice to do something productive," Yoshinon chimed in.
"Hmm…" Kotori glanced around. "What do the rest of you think?"
"Fumun, Muku supports Yoshino's idea. It sounds like a delightful activity."
"Working? This is my chance to shine!" Natsumi declared confidently.
"Huh?" Natsumi frowned. "I'm not cut out for this. I've tried different jobs before—writing novels, drawing manga, composing music—but I failed at all of them. I'll just mess things up again."
(That is a lie: She excelled in everything.)
"Natsumi-san, you have to believe in yourself. You can do it," Yoshino said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"F-fine, I'll come along. But I'll just watch from the sidelines," Natsumi relented.
"In that case," Kotori concluded, "let's meet here tomorrow morning. I'll have Ratatoskr find us a place to work, and we'll give it a try together."
"Yay!" the girls cheered, though Natsumi still wore a look of apprehension.