The next day, in the morning of the 5th of June, in the kitchen of Tatsurou's apartment, was Shirayuki, wearing her usual shrine maiden clothes with an apron over them, and she was preparing breakfast for her, Marie and Tatsurou...
"Morning, Shirayuki..." Marie, that was wearing her usual sailor fuku and nuns habit on her head, said with a sleepy voice, as she entered the kitchen.
"Good morning, Marie!" Shirayuki said with a very happy tone, as she looked at Marie.
"My, aren't you really happy, this morning?" Marie asked with a curious tone as she pulled a chair and took a seat on it.
"Did something good, happen?" Marie asked as she rested her head, on her hand.
"Well...actually, yes, something really good, happened!" Shirayuki said still with her happy tone, as she smiled, while placing a plate with two slices of toast and a mug with milk in front of Marie.
"Now, I'm really curious, come on, tell me!" Marie said with a curious tone, as she looked at Shirayuki.
"You see, Marie...last night...when Tatsurou came home, he asked...if he could call me without honorifics!" Shirayuki said with an embarrassed and happy tone as she placed her hands on her cheeks and fidgeted a bit.
"Huh? R-Really?" Marie asked with a curious and surprised tone, as she got up from the chair.
"Really, it was quite unexpected, but I was so happy! I barely slept tonight!" Shirayuki said as she blushed and smiled.
"Shirayuki...I'm so happy for you!" Marie said as she got close to Shirayuki and held her hands, and soon enough they were both hopping around a bit, to celebrate Shirayuki's achievement.
"Good morning...what are you two, doing?" Tatsurou, that was wearing a black hoodie jacket with a white t-shirt under it and black jeans, asked as he entered the kitchen and saw Shirayuki and Marie hopping around.
"N-Nothing..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone, as she blushed while letting go of Marie's hands.
"W-We were just doing, a bit of exercise, before eating breakfast!" Marie said as she blushed and raised her index finger a bit.
"I see..." Tatsurou said as he pulled a chair and took a seat.
"Well, with that said, here's your breakfast, T-Tatsurou..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone as she got close to Tatsurou and placed a plate with two slices of toast and a mug with milk in front of him.
"Thanks, S-Shirayuki..." Tatsurou said also with an embarrassed tone as he looked a bit away from Shirayuki, Marie meanwhile just looked at them as she took her seat again.
"Honestly...these two are so cute when they do something, they're embarrassed about..." Marie thought as she smiled, upon seeing the way Tatsurou and Shirayuki were acting.
"Well then everyone, let's eat!" Shirayuki said as she placed a plate and a mug for her and took a seat next to Marie, and so, they began eating and talking...
"And that's what happened yesterday, more or less..." Tatsurou said as he took a sip from his mug.
"I can't believe someone like that, was running around the town, like that!" Marie said with an impressed and surprised tone, as she took a bite of her toast.
"I have to agree with Marie...now I understand why you told us to stay home..." Shirayuki said as she also took a sip from her mug.
"I'm sorry for not having told you sooner, but I didn't want to worry you two, with this..." Tatsurou said as he put his mug down, while he scratched his cheek a bit.
"It's ok, we understand..." Marie said as she placed her toast down and smiled.
"But I have to admit, if someone tries to hurt Shirayuki, they'll have to come through me first!" Marie said with a determined tone as she smiled and hugged Shirayuki.
"I would do the same, Marie...I would never let anyone hurt you!" Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone, as she blushed and smiled.
"I'm really happy to see, that they're such good and close friends...and that they care for each other like that..." Tatsurou thought as he grabbed his mug, upon seeing Shirayuki and Marie smiling.
"But say, Tatsurou, why aren't you wearing, your school uniform?" Marie asked with a curious tone, as she kept hugging Shirayuki.
"Oh! That? It's because we don't have classes today...I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you, Marie..." Tatsurou said in an apologetic tone as he placed his mug down.
"Heh? So I put my school uniform on, for nothing...oh well, it's not the end of the world...but, why don't we have classes today?" Marie asked with a curious tone, as she sighed, while letting go of Shirayuki.
"It's because Yumeko as to take care, of a few things..." Tatsurou said as he scratched his head.
"Hmm, now that I think about it, we didn't have classes when I got here too, is this normal? Because this never happened back in Lourdes..." Marie asked with a curious tone, as she placed her index finger on her cheek.
"Well, since Yumeko, works with the Soteria sometimes she has to skip classes, because of urgent meetings or sudden alerts, that require her help..." Tatsurou said as he rubbed his chin a bit.
"To compensate for these absences, usually teachers that work with the Soteria unit, either give extra classes or they have to be a bit advanced with what they are teaching, in Yumeko's case, she is pretty much finishing up our school book..." Tatsurou said as smiled and sighed a bit.
"I see...your kind of lucky, the teachers in Lourdes never took absence..." Marie said with a surprised tone as she looked at Tatsurou.
"But I have to be honest, these constant absences make it hard to have time to ask for help, with the subjects were studying and with the summer exams, right around the corner, it gets even more complicated..." Tatsurou said as he sighed.
"Well, looks like we have to work pretty hard for these, exams..." Marie said as she smiled.
"You can bet on that..." Tatsurou said with a depressed tone, as he sighed again while he grabbed his mug to take another sip...
A while later, as Tatsurou, Shirayuki, and Marie finished eating, and they were now in the process of cleaning up the table...
"And here's the last plate..." Tatsurou said as he handed a plate to Shirayuki.
"Thanks!" Shirayuki said as she placed the plate in the sink.
"Well then, today's my turn to clean the dishes, but I'll go change clothes first, then I'll clean them..." Marie said as she made her way out of the kitchen and into her and Shirayuki's room.
"As for me, I have to go to the hospital..." Tatsurou said as he stretched a bit.
"You have to go to the hospital? Why?" Shirayuki asked with a curious tone, as she took off her apron.
"Well, the girl I was working with on that mission and her friend, got hospitalized and since I got the day off, I'll go make them a visit..." Tatsurou said as he scratched his head a bit.
"I see, but are they ok?" Shirayuki asked with a worried and curious tone, but more worried if anything.
"Don't worry, they're ok, it wasn't anything too bad..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he, gently head patted Shirayuki.
"I see, that's good to know..." Shirayuki said with a relieved tone as she smiled.
"Well, the faster I go, the faster I can come back home..." Tatsurou said as he stooped head patting Shirayuki and went to the door, but as Tatsurou placed his hand on the door's handle.
"Have a safe trip...Tatsurou!" Shirayuki said as she got close to Tatsurou.
"I will...Shirayuki!" Tatsurou said as he opened the door and went outside and as soon as the door closed...
"I-I was able to say it!" Shirayuki said with a happy tone, as her ahoge wiggled around.
"My, aren't you having fun?" Marie, that was now wearing a white sleeveless sweater, blue jeans, and her nun's habit on her head, said as she got close to Shirayuki.
"M-Marie! You changed clothes fast!" Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone, while she jolted a bit, upon hearing Marie.
"I'm used to dressing up quickly...but that's not important right now..." Marie said, as she gently placed her hands, on Shirayuki's shoulders.
"Shirayuki, Shirayuki... you're not trying to get in front of me, are you?" Marie asked with a stoic tone to Shirayuki.
"N-No! Of course not, Marie, I wouldn't do that!" Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone, as she blushed from ear to ear.
"Fufu, I know that you wouldn't do that, I'm just pulling on your leg a bit..." Marie said as she laughed and looked at Shirayuki, that was now pouting.
"But to be honest, I'm kind of sad...you asked me for my help and I didn't end up doing anything...and I already had come up, with 4 plans to help you...but now it's useless..." Marie said with a faint sad tone, as she looked at Shirayuki.
"Come on, Marie, there's going to be, more chances to help!" Shirayuki said as she gave a smile to Marie, that responded with one too.
"Well, with that said, what are you going to do now, Shirayuki?" Marie asked with a curious tone, as she took her hands off Shirayuki's shoulders.
"Well, today's Thursday, so I have to go buy groceries since there's usually a lot of sales at the store..." Shirayuki said as she placed her index finger on her cheek.
"Hmm, I see, then I'll accompany you and help, carrying the bags on the way back!" Marie said as she placed her hands together.
"But first, let me wash the dishes, then we can go!" Marie said as she turned to the kitchen to wash the dishes.
"Wait, Marie! Let me help you with that!" Shirayuki said as she followed Marie to the kitchen...
Meanwhile, as Tatsurou went down the stairs to the ground floor, he had a big smile on his face.
"I'm so happy, that I started to call Shirayuki, without honorifics..." Tatsurou said as he finally got to the ground floor.
"I'm also happy to see that Shirayuki, is good friends with Marie, but now that I think about it, they seemed more close than usual..." Tatsurou thought as he made his way towards the gate of the apartment complex, while he rubbed his chin, but his thoughts were suddenly interrupted.
"Good morning, Tatsurou-chan!" Wise, that was wearing her usual sweater and jeans with an apron over it and was holding a broom, said as she saw Tatsurou, walking towards the gate.
"Morning, Wise-san...are you cleaning up?" Tatsurou asked as he saw Wise coming close.
"I sure am...Ah! Tatsurou-chan, don't tell me you're going to cut classes?!" Wise asked with a faint angry tone, as she got close to Tatsurou and noticed that he wasn't wearing his school uniform.
"You know, I would never cut classes! Yumeko had something to take care of, so we don't have any today..." As Tatsurou said this, Wise leaned a bit forward.
"Really?" Wise asked with a stoic tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.
"Really, you can ask her, no problem!" Tatsurou said with an honest tone as he looked at Wise.
"I'm just kidding, Tatsurou-chan! I know that you wouldn't do that..." Wise said as she laughed a bit, but she suddenly stooped, as she began looking at Tatsurou for a bit.
"My, Tatsurou-chan, that's quite the big smile you have today! Did something good happen?" Wise asked with a curious tone, as her tail wagged around.
"N-Nothing happened..." Tatsurou said as he blushed a bit and looked away from Wise, a mistake in all honesty, as Wise got close and sniffed Tatsurou a bit.
"I smell a little lair here!" Wise said with a smug tone and expression, which made Tatsurou jolt a bit.
"Come on, tell me, tell me, did something good happen with Shirayuki-chan? Or was it with that Marie girl, that started to live with you two?" Wise asked still with her smug tone, as she got close to Tatsurou.
"I'm telling you, nothing happened!" Tatsurou said as he kept blushing.
"Heh? Lying is bad, Tatsurou-chan!" Wise said as she got even closer to Tatsurou.
"I'm not lying, Wise-san!" Tatsurou said as he steeped a bit away from Wise.
"Now if you would excuse me, I have to go..." Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone, as he turned his back to Wise and walked away.
"Wait, Tatsurou-chan!" Wise called, but it was mostly useless as Tatsurou didn't listen to her, as he kept walking away.
"I know, that something happened! This nose of mine, never fails!" Wise said as she pouted while her ears pointed upwards and her tail wagged again.
"Tatsurou-chan won't tell me, so I'll just ask, Shirayuki-chan, when I see her!" Wise said with a mischievous tone, as she turned to the complex to clean it up...
And meanwhile, already a bit far from the apartment complex...
"This was, what I was afraid about..." Tatsurou said as he let out a sigh.
"Wise won't let me go now, until she knows what happened...and when she does, her teasing will know, no bounds..." Tatsurou said as he let out another sigh.
"But well, calling Shirayuki without honorifics isn't something bad, a bit embarrassing, but not something bad..." Tatsurou said as he blushed a bit.
"No, I can't think like that, if I keep on like this, I'll never be able to tell Shirayuki, how I feel...but before, I can even do that...I have to learn how to control this power and become stronger..." Tatsurou said with a determined tone, as he looked at his hand, but as he did that, he stooped walking.
"Getting stronger..." Tatsurou said as he looked up at the sky and one of Raiko's many words echoed in his head.
"You'll let the past repeat itself..." These were the words that stuck with Tatsurou and that made him think a bit as he kept looking up at the sky.
"I...won't let the past, repeat itself again...I will never let what happened 9 years ago, repeat itself again...and I won't hurt anyone, ever again..." Tatsurou said as he slowly looked down and back at his hand.
"I was able to create a contract with Frida, that was the first of many steps I have to take...I won't stop here...I'll get stronger, I'll protect not just Shirayuki, but also Marie, and I won't let anyone take their smiles away!" Tatsurou said still with his determined tone, as he closed his hand and remembered how Shirayuki and Marie smiled this morning, but...
"God! That was so embarrassing! I would die, if they heard this..." Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone, as he blushed while placing his hands in front of his face, making people look at him confused, as they passed him.
"A-Anyway, I have to go to the hospital, but before that..." Tatsurou said as he slowly regained his composure and began walking again...
A bit later, Tatsurou was now in District 4's public hospital, on a hallway of the second floor to be precise...
"Let's see, room 114..." Tatsurou, that was holding two bouquets that consisted of, pink daisies and peonies flowers, said as he looked at the many doors of the never-ending hospital hall.
"Ah! Here it is..." Tatsurou said as he saw a door that had a sign, with the number 114 on, and as he opened it and stepped inside the room, Tatsurou saw Naoki sitting on the hospital bed, with a bespectacled young woman sitting on a chair next to the said bed.
"I already told you, Aoki-nee, I can eat by myself!" Naoki, that had her hair down and was wearing a hospital gown, said with an angry tone, to the woman sitting on the chair.
"Come on, Naoki-chan! What's so bad of letting me, feeding and taking care of you?" The young woman, that had black hair with white tips, cut in a short bob, and wearing a business suit with a pencil skirt, asked as she held a plate, with an apple, cut in slices.
"I don't mind, as long as you don't treat me like a kid!" Naoki said with an angry tone, as she looked away from the woman.
"But I have to treat you like one since you act reckless and end up in the hospital! Do you know how worried I was, when Yumeko-senpai called me last night, telling me you were hospitalized!" The woman said as she put the plate down on a bedside desk and pulled on Naoki's ear.
"Ow, ow, I get it, Aoki-nee, I'm sorry!" Naoki said as she held the woman's hand so that she didn't pull as hard, but it was also at that moment that the woman noticed Tatsurou.
"Hmm? Who are you?" The woman asked with a curious tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.
"K-Kurokami?!" Naoki said with an embarrassed tone, as she saw Tatsurou.
"Is he...your friend, Naoki-chan?" The woman asked with a curious tone as she let go of Naoki's ear.
"Well...he...well..." Naoki said with an embarrassed tone, as she looked to all sides.
"Ahem, yes, I'm Izumi's friend and provisional partner in the Soteria intern program, the name is, Kurokami Tatsurou..." Tatsurou said with a very polite tone, as he did a slight bow towards the woman.
"Kurokami...Tatsurou...Wait! Kurokami Tatsurou!?" The woman said with a surprised tone, as she got up from her chair and got close to Tatsurou.
"I can't believe, we finally meet, Kurokami-san! But where are my manners, I'm Izumi Aoki, I'm Naoki's older sister and Yumeko's partner in the Soteria unit!" Aoki said with an excited tone, as she grabbed Tatsurou's hand and shook it.
"I see..." Tatsurou said with a surprised tone, as he looked at Aoki that kept shaking his hand.
"Yumeko-senpai, told me a lot about you, and I have to say, I'm impressed that you weren't even in the Soteria unit, and you already did a lot, of very impressive things! And it hasn't been a week since you joined the Soteria Intern program and you already finished a mission!" Aoki said with an impressed tone, as she stooped shaking Tatsurou's hand.
"Well, I didn't do anything that impressive..." Tatsurou said with a faintly embarrassed tone, as he smiled a bit.
"No, no! You deserve praise where praise is due, Kurokami-san!" Aoki said still with her impressed tone, as she adjusted her round glasses a bit.
"Oh! These flowers are so pretty! They're for Naoki-chan, right?" Aoki asked with a curious tone, as she pointed at the flowers Tatsurou was holding.
"Y-Yes, that's right..." As Tatsurou said this, he looked at Aoki that began crying.
"Finally! A boy brought flowers to my cute little sister...I'm so happy!" Aoki said as she took her round glasses off and cleaned the tears she was shedding with a handkerchief.
"A-Aoki-nee, stop spouting nonsense, right this instant!" Naoki said with an angry tone as she blushed and pointed at Aoki.
"Ok, ok, I'll stop Naoki-chan..." Aoki said as she smiled and cleaned her tears, some more.
"Well, I have to go back to work now, so I'll leave you two alone!" Aoki said as she put her glasses back on and began to walk out of the room, but as she did that, Aoki quickly turned to Tatsurou again and held his hand.
"Kurokami-san! Please, take good care of my little sister, ok?" Aoki said with a mischievous tone, as she gave Tatsurou a wink, but it was this remark, that made Naoki snap.
"Shut up and go away! Aoki-nee!!!" Naoki said as she drew a magic circle and out of it she took her M1911 and began shooting Aoki, that dodged every bullet that came of it, effortlessly, in a way it looked as if she was dancing.
"Fufufu, you still have a lot to learn before you can hit me, Naoki-chan!" Aoki said with a jocking tone, as she placed her hand in front of her mouth and laughed as she left the room, leaving Tatsurou standing in the middle of all this, with a dumbfounded expression and Naoki huffing quite hard, after failing to hit Aoki even once.
"How come, that two sisters can be so different..." Tatsurou thought as he glanced at Naoki for a moment.
"But anyway, it's good that at least the wall, didn't end up like swiss cheese..." Tatsurou thought again as he looked at the wall, that didn't have, a single hole in it, after all the shooting Naoki did.
"K-K-Kurokami!" As Naoki called Tatsurou, he was brought back from his thoughts as he looked at Naoki.
"Don't get the wrong idea! Aoki-nee is just an idiot, that spouts nonsense, all the time!" Naoki said with an embarrassed tone, as she blushed and pointed at Tatsurou.
"Don't worry, I think she was really nice..." Tatsurou said as he got close to Naoki's bed.
"Why, did you bring flowers?" Naoki asked as she saw Tatsurou, placing one of the bouquets on the vase, that was on the bedside table.
"Well, when your hospitalized, flowers are really good! Cheers and brights up the room and it's something pretty to look at!" Tatsurou said as he smiled at Naoki, that sighed, upon hearing him.
"Listen, Kurokami, I'm going to get discharged today, so buying these flowers was just a waste of money...but...thanks, for bringing them..." Naoki said as she looked a bit away from Tatsurou.
"Don't worry about it, Izumi!" Tatsurou said as he finished putting the flowers in the vase.
"Say, Kurokami, what happened to Raiko and his group?" Naoki asked with a curious tone as she saw Tatsurou taking a seat.
"Well, as of now, I'm not sure...I haven't talked with Yumeko today, so I'm in the dark as much as you are..." Tatsurou said as he sighed a bit.
"I see..." Naoki said with a faint sad tone as she looked down.
"Is something, wrong?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he looked at Naoki.
"Well...you see, Kurokami..." As Naoki said this, she began telling Tatsurou what happened inside the school building, yesterday...
"And, that's about it..." Naoki said as she let out a small sigh.
"I see, so that girl was also a research subject..." Tatsurou said with a faint sad tone, as he scratched his head a bit.
"Yes, but I think...that she wasn't a bad person...I believe she was being manipulated by that asshole to act and do those all those things..." Naoki said as she looked down while she gripped the blankets of the bed hard.
"I believe...that your right, Izumi..." Tatsurou said as he sighed a bit.
"You do?" Naoki asked with a curious tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.
"I do...because when I talked with Raiko, I figured that everyone that was in his group was brought into it, because he influenced them, and sure enough they all were subjected to some kind of research...which made them easier to influence..." Tatsurou said with a sad tone.
"You did good, by leaving that message behind, asking to help her..." Tatsurou said as he smiled, something that made Naoki blush, but not for long.
"Kurokami...that asshole said that you two were similar...so does that mean, that you were a research subject too?" Naoki asked with a curious tone as she scratched her cheek and looked a bit away from Tatsurou.
"Well, you heard him and there's no use in hiding it..." Tatsurou said as he made a small pause.
"Yes, I was a research subject, exactly 9 years ago..." Tatsurou said as he looked a bit down.
"And the things that girl told you, are all true...being a research subject, is for a lack of better words...painful...horrible...I..." Tatsurou said with a very depressed tone, as he kept looking down and clenching his fists tight.
"Kurokami..." As Naoki said this, she placed her hands on top of Tatsurou's, something that surprised him a bit.
"You're...not comfortable talking about that, right? So you don't need to tell me, what happened, nor I want you to force yourself, into telling me..." Naoki said with a calm and reassuring tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.
"Thanks...for understanding, Izumi..." Tatsurou said as he smiled something that made Naoki look away from him for a bit, as she moved her hands away from Tatsurou's.
"Ahem! W-With that said, I have to tell you something now, Kurokami..." Naoki said with an embarrassed tone as she looked at Tatsurou.
"What is it?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he smiled.
"Well then, Kurokami, I...want to apologize...for my rude and bad behavior towards you, for the last two days, it was wrong of me...to treat you like that...and I hope you can forgive me for it...and that we can be friends now..." Naoki said with a apologetic tone, as she bowed towards Tatsurou
"Sure, I forgive you..." Tatsurou said with a stoic tone towards Naoki, as he nodded a bit.
"Of course...I knew you wouldn't forgive that easily...wait...what?!" Naoki asked with a surprised and confused tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.
"You heard me right, I forgive you..." Tatsurou said again with a stoic tone, as he looked at Naoki.
"Are you an idiot? I treat you harshly and you forgive me, just like that?!" Naoki asked with a confused tone to Tatsurou.
"Yes, and to be honest, being angry at you won't do me any good...so why should I?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone.
"After the way, I've treated you, of course, you should be angry! You should reprimand me! You should lash out at me! You should punish me!" Naoki said with an angry tone, as she pointed at Tatsurou.
"P-Please, Izumi, don't say things that can easily be, misunderstood!" Tatsurou said as he saw a nurse entering the room and leaving it as she blushed, upon hearing Naoki said.
"Listen, Izumi, I forgive you, so, don't think too much about it...ok?" Tatsurou said as he sighed a bit.
"Speaking of which, can you get up?" Tatsurou asked as he looked at Naoki, to change the subject a bit.
"Yes...I can, why?" Naoki asked with a curious tone as she tilted her head.
"Well, I still have this other bouquet for, Shimaki-san, so how about you and me go..." As Tatsurou said this Naoki interrupted him.
"Don't even think about it!" Naoki said with an angry tone, as she shook her head.
"Heh? Why?" Tatsurou asked with a surprised tone and expression.
"Why? After what happened yesterday, there's no way I can face Miyu! It's like I said, she got hurt because of me and I bet she doesn't even want to see me..." Naoki said with a sad tone, as she looked down.
"I...don't think that's the case, and I bet Shimaki-san isn't angry..." As Tatsurou said this, he was interrupted again.
"It doesn't matter! You can go, but I'll stay here, and that's final!" Naoki said as she looked away from Tatsurou.
"How can someone be so stubborn..." Tatsurou thought as he sighed and looked at Naoki, something that didn't last long, as Tatsurou, put on a determined face.
"Izumi...can you hold this?" Tatsurou said as he handed the bouquet that was for Shimaki, to Naoki.
"Sure, why?" Naoki asked with a curious tone, as she held the bouquet in her arms.
"Punishment, for being stubborn..." Tatsurou said with a faint angry tone, as he looked at Naoki.
"K-Kurokami? What are you...!" Naoki said with a worried tone, as she saw Tatsurou getting up from his chair, still with a determined face on...