Chapter 34: The Sonogami Household

"Welcome back, Shido."

A soft voice sounded at the beginning of midnight.

"Hey Mayuri, did you wait long?"

Shido asked with a smile.

"No, it's only been a few minutes. I shouldn't be bored already~" Mayuri replied with a chuckle. She had long, blonde hair, a face that glowed, and one of the sweetest smiles Shido had ever seen. You should thank Rinne, she used a lot of reiryoku for your sake."

"Of course, thank you so much for granting me time with Mukuro." Shido turned his head and bowed to the girl beside Mayuri. This girl had a soft expression on her face, her pink hair radiated and glowed in the starlight, which soothed the emotions of anyone who met her.

"Anything for you, Shido." Rinne smiled lightly.

"I know this is ruining the mood, but…" Shido asked tentatively, "who exactly are you, Rinne-san?"

"..."

"..."

Shido laughed nervously, "…Rinne-san?"

"..."

"..."

Sighing in defeat, Mayuri shook her head and grumbled. "...Ha, I can't stand this anymore. How much longer will you keep being a goldfish?"

"Huh? Goldfish?" Shido scratched his head in confusion.

"This is a world that has relations with [Eden], you should be able to remember her." Mayuri folded her arms with a pout.

"Wait, so what do you mean that —"

Whack!

Suddenly, Mayuri jumped toward Shido and chopped him in the neck!

"Awwwww!?...What was that for?"

Rubbing his painful neck, Shido groaned at Mayuri. Then, he stopped…

This is…

Yeah— Now I remember. The girl that always keeps a smile on her face, always striving so hard for someone…I shouldn't have forgotten her in the first place!

Ahh, what the hell was wrong with me? How could I forget such an important—

"Rinne?"

"Now I remember….All of it, everything…Sorry…I..I have been such an…"

"It can't be helped, since we have been apart for so long."

Rinne smiled with tears of joy.

This voice, this tone….making my eyes wet with tears. Shido thought to himself while sniffling. But I must hold them in. I should embrace the reunion with her with a smile—

"...Thank you, Mayuri. You helped me…remember something so important."

Shido bowed to Mayuri while resisting the urge to cry.

"I didn't really do much, I simply hit you with my special ability." Mayuri turned her head away and replied with a "hmph" sound.

"Hehe, Mayuri has the power to awaken memories sealed by weird reiryoku." Rinne patted Mayuri's head like a gentle older sister spoiling her little sister. "It's not Shido's fault, it was Ren's anyway."

"...Wait, Ren sealed my memories about you, Rinne?" Shido asked in disbelief.

"What else is new?" Rinne continued patting Mayuri in her arms. "After all we have been through, this is a child's play."

"True."

Indeed, Ren was a master of manipulation, sealing memories shouldn't be a hard feat for her. But, why would she seal off her existence in the first place? Also, how come she never came after her target over the past year? What the hell was she planning?

There were just too many questions in Shido's mind.

"Achoo!"

A cute sneeze sounded in the desolated desert, and it turned out to be from Mayuri. Guess it was expected, since it was a desert at night time.

"My my, it's cold out here." Rinne gave a wry smile, and suggested. "Why don't we go somewhere warm?"

With that, the trio flew and headed to a certain location.

…

Itsuka's Residence

"Kaka, finally, we have reached the demon king's castle again!"

"Declare. Kaguya is such a child missing her daddy."

Two naked girls showed up in the center of the living room. They had identical pretty faces, though one full of energy while the other one full of listlessness. The difference between them was easy to tell, as long as you shifted your gaze a little bit downward…

"Hey! What do you mean I'm a child! You were the one moaning 'daddy' in your sleep!"

"Rebuttal. Kaguya is the one who drooled while touching herself…"

"Stop! I won't let you have your way tonight!"

"Acceptance. Yuzuru will make…Argh!"

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by the other party grabbing her plump chest. But she wasn't easy to mess with, and she returned the favor in an instant, causing the attacker to moan as well.

This went on for a minute, until they both grew breathless and stopped.

"Ha….now you know better than to oppose me…"

"Clarification. Kaguya is wetter than Yuzuru."

"U-Urusai!"

The two still bickered at one another, until the listless sister realized one major issue:

"Question. Where is Shido right now?"

"Now that you mention it…"

They looked around the house, and Shido was nowhere to be found!

…

"Papa, welcome home!"

"Heh, you finally visited us."

A child's voice sounded merrily, but it was followed by a sarcastic tone.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Rio, Marina."

Shido smiled apologetically to the little girl and the black-haired Tsundere girl as he entered the house, feeling himself at home.

This was the top of Fuji Mountain, which was supposed to be freezing as hell. Fortunately, the house was surrounded by a pink shield, and it was super cozy inside. Naturally, this was Rinne's power at work.

While Rinne and Mayuri were away, Marina watched over Rio in their hideout. She wanted to help as well, but she couldn't leave Rio by herself.

"Please sit down, I will make us some tea."

Rinne suddenly returned to the state of a hostess, showing the guest warm hospitality.

Nodding in thanks to Rinne, Shido sat in the living room with Mayuri, Rio, and Marina. Of course, Rio sat in his laps, snuggling him cozily.

"Rio misses you so much, papa."

"Me too, Rio. You are such a good girl."

Mayuri smiled amusingly as she stared at the father and daughter enjoying their reunion, and when she turned her head around, she saw Marina folding her arms with a pout. Suddenly, a smile crept at the corner of her lips.

"Shido, Marina wants a head pat."

"H….huh! What are you saying!? I don't need a head pat, baka!"

Marina quickly retorted at Mayuri's teasing.

Not giving her a chance to escape, Mayuri grabbed Shido's head and put it on Tsundere's head.

"Hmmm…"

The expected tantrum didn't occur, instead, it was simply a soft pur.

Shido gave a wry smile as he stroked Marina's soft silky hair. He had no problem handling a Tsundere like her, after all, Kotori had been his practice partner for all his life.

"Sorry to keep you waiting…Oh, Marina finally got a head pat, huh?"

Rinne walked to the startled quartet with a plate of tea cups, the warm aroma filling the living room. Currently, she was having a mischievous smile on her soothing face.

"No…NO! It was Mayuri!"

Marina quickly backed away with a flustered expression.

"My my, dishonest girls don't get rewards, you know."

Mayuri continued her teasing.

"Yamate!" Marina shrieked and grabbed Rio from Shido's laps. "Let's stay away from them, Rio!"

"No, stay with Rio." The innocent girl grasped Shido's shirt and refused to let go.

".Ahh….Fine…"

Giggling at the silly interaction, Rinne put the tea down and sat down with them as well.

"Well then, Shido. Let's talk business."

…

"C'mon, where are you, Shido!"

"Restless. Shido can't be in danger in two weeks."

The Yamai Twins left the Itsuka's Residence and flew high in the night sky with their Angels summoned, trying to search for their lover's trace. However, he was nowhere to be found in the entire Chiba City.

"It's been an hour already! Where the hell can Shido be? He can't be on a date right now, right?"

"Disbelief. Shido never dates any other girls."

The two expanded their search zone to another city, but the result was still the same.

"Recollection. What did Master Origami teach Yuzuru?"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Silence. Yuzuru needs to concentrate."

Yuzuru shushed her sister and closed her eyes, focusing on directing the flow of reiryoku in her body. In a short while, she opened her eyes with a gleam.

"Secure. Yuzuru has a vague idea where Shido might be."

"Really? Where!?" Kaguya asked excitedly.

Turning her body, Yuzuru pointed in the direction of a high elevation.

…

"So, what you are saying is…[Ren wants to kill Mio, and in order to hurt her, she wants to kill me first]!?"

In the living room of the Sonogami Household, Shido's flabbergasting voice echoed loudly.

"Keep your voice down… Rio's asleep now."

Rinne reprimanded Shido with a shush. Currently, she was caressing Rio, who was sleeping on her lap. It was past midnight, after all, way past Rio's bedtime.

"Sorry, sorry…"

"That's right, pretty dramatic, isn't it?"

Mayuri shook her head lightly.

"But Mio is already gone, right? So why is she still doing this?" Shido asked in doubt.

"She doesn't believe that our mother is gone, 'cause otherwise, we wouldn't have existed right now." Rinne shook her head in defeat. "Her reason is solid, though, as bizarre as it may be."

"True," Mayuri agreed, "but our mother is really gone, right?"

"Yes, I saw her disappearing with Shinji with my own eyes…" Shido was taken aback. "What could be missing…?"

Despite asking Rinne all the questions about Ren that he had in mind, more mysteries started surfacing, and this really gave him a headache. He may have learned the fact that Ren's hatred toward him was no longer irreversible, but it wouldn't stop the fanatic villainess from targeting him again. He needed a solution out of this predicament soon.

"Ahhh-haaa~"

Mayuri and Rinne both yawned simultaneously. Considering the fierce battle that they had been through, it was perfectly normal.

"It's pretty late, you two should get some sleep." Marina smiled awkwardly. "A lady shouldn't stay up late."

"Says the one who stayed up late waiting for us~"

"Tsk…"

Marina pouted cutely.

"Rinne!"

Marina suddenly stood up.

"Huh?" Everyone shifted their gazes at her.

"Someone's coming, and at an astonishing speed!"

Marina was on high alert, her Astral Dress forming on her delicate body. Her ability allowed her to hack into the cameras around the city, so she was able to detect fast movements and have them transmitted to her brain instantly.

"Don't tell me it's Ren," Mayuri groaned, "I swear to God that I will…"

"No, there are two of them." Marina clarified.

At this time, someone raised his hand weakly.

"Shido?"

Rinne asked curiously.

"I think I know who they are…"

Shido smiled sheepishly.

A/N:

Oh crap! Shido's in another trouble!