This was the reason why Yuki was now on a date with these two Spirits. Tohka was fine and having fun, but Nia was a different story...
"Are you okay? Can you handle it?"
Since leaving the house, Nia hadn't let go of Yuki's arm. Her fear of humans was quite strong, causing her to tremble and cling tightly to Yuki whenever a human approached her.
"It's fine... I wanted to come, don't worry..."
Nia forced a smile, but she knew she was trying too hard. She couldn't help it; she was scared.
"Besides, as long as Yui-kun is with me... I'll be fine..."
That's right, as long as Yuki, her spiritual support, was by her side, Nia would overcome this obstacle. Humans were terrifying, but she had her savior with her, and there was nothing to fear...
"Is that so? Make sure you never let go of me..."
"Hm, I will. I'll hold on to Yui-kun for the rest of my life..."
Nia's smile was so captivating that Yuki couldn't help but stroke her cheek. There were moments when this perverted girl was quite charming...
"Yuki! Yuki! I want that!"
Unfortunately for the duo, Tohka broke the good chemistry between them and started pulling Yuki's arm. For Tohka, who had never before mingled in human society, everything was new, so even a simple game machine was a marvel to her...
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Yuki shuddered. He could feel it—someone connected to him was very close...
He released his spiritual power and tracked this person, but upon doing so, he couldn't help but stop...
"Tobichi Origami..."
The AST agent and also the girl whom his future self had marked, Origami was following and watching them through her device.
It was obvious she had recognized them, so he had to inform Kotori. Fortunately, Kotori was in Fraxinus at that moment, monitoring this 'date,' and Yuki had an earpiece to communicate...
"Kotori..."
[I know, I'm already on it...]
True to Ratatoskr's efficiency, they had already discovered Origami, so they were working on jamming the signals from her spy device.
"Make sure to block her phone; I don't want her calling for backup."
[You don't have to tell me, I already know.]
Kotori knew what to do, so she replied with annoyance and continued sucking her lollipop.
Since that was the case, Yuki no longer worried about Origami and continued with his date.
-------------------
"Tch! Interference?"
The image on her device suddenly started failing, and the floating camera stopped working. Origami narrowed her eyes at this. She wanted to keep her distance and monitor the spirits, but now that wasn't possible, so she had no choice but to get closer.
"That's enough..."
"?!"
However, before she could do so, a familiar voice was heard, stopping her. Origami went on high alert and didn't hesitate to use her emergency RC device...
"No need to be scared; I won't harm you... Sergeant Tobichi."
Stepping out of the shadows, Yuki sent a clone. Although he trusted Kotori, he knew he had to solve this problem. He needed to defuse this time bomb before it exploded.
"Onii-chan... Is that you?"
"..."
Yuki didn't answer Origami's question, remaining expressionless. The matters his future self had dealt with weren't the right time to reveal, as it would be counterproductive and create paradoxes in space-time...
Origami gritted her teeth. Yuki's refusal to answer left her sad and angry. She had spent so many years looking for her brother, and now that he was in front of her...
"You are Onii-chan!"
Origami's eyes turned red, and she drew her light sword, demanding answers...
"What happened to you?! Where have you been?! Why are you a spirit?!"
Origami's voice grew hoarser, and she gripped her light sword tighter. The magical power of her suit increased, ready to attack, yet she didn't...
"You're mistaken; I'm not your brother, Sergeant Tobichi... I'm not that person yet..."
"What?!"
Yuki's words confused Origami, leaving her even more bewildered...
"No... Why are you lying... You are my Onii-chan! You are!"
"I'm not yet..."
"..."
Origami's patience was running out, and her body began to tremble. Her emotional state was a mess...
"You... Why do you deny it?!..."
"I'm not denying it; it's the truth..."
"Enough! Tell me the truth! What happened to you?! Why did you disappear five years ago?"
"If you want to know what's going on, I advise you to quit now. It's a waste of time, and you won't like the truth..."
"..."
Both remained silent, staring at each other. Origami held strong resentment, while Yuki stayed calm. In the end, Origami was the first to relent, lowering her head, and the hand holding her sword trembled...
She wanted to attack this spirit, her mortal enemy, but she couldn't. This spirit was also her older brother. She was in the greatest dilemma of her life and didn't know what to do. Her head started to ache as several memories flashed through her mind. Five years ago, an event marked her forever. When she was on the verge of breaking, it was Yuki who saved her from madness. He was the one who helped her at that moment, and thanks to him, Origami had the courage to seek revenge against the spirits. Thanks to Yuki, Origami joined AST.
He gave her everything she needed...
But now...
"I didn't come here to talk about the past, Sergeant Tobichi. I came specifically to invite you to join Ratatoskr. Your potential as a magician is very good, and we want you on our team..."
A card floated into Yuki's palm and was sent directly to Origami. Before she could speak, Yuki continued.
"I know you have many questions, but I won't answer any of them. Now you have two options..."
Raising two fingers, Yuki narrowed his eyes while Origami looked at the business card in confusion, surprised by the proposal.
"You can join us and find the answers to your questions yourself, or fight me and make me talk. Either option is fine with me; you can decide for yourself..."
Sinking into the shadows, Yuki had nothing more to do. It was up to Origami to choose the easy or hard path. Even so, Origami tried to stop him...
"Wait!"
"When you're ready with your answer, you can call me..."
Not giving Origami the chance to get closer, Yuki disappeared into the shadows, leaving her speechless.
She truly wanted to embrace him and tell him everything that happened during his absence, but Yuki's cold response left her in pain. She hadn't expected the person she missed for the past five years to say such things...
Join or fight? Which will she choose?
Fighting Yuki wasn't wise. Her entire squad couldn't defeat him, and Origami didn't have confidence in winning. Even so, joining Ratatoskr wasn't good either. She didn't even know if this was a trick or if such an organization was behind the spirits. Moreover, Yuki said that even if she joined, he wouldn't tell her anything. Such an unreasonable option...
But...
(Maybe it's possible to defeat him...)
Origami remembered her captain mentioning that the production and high-tech department had been creating a new RC unit powerful enough to kill spirits alone.
Maybe using that equipment, there was a chance of victory. It broke her heart, but if it could save her older brother, Origami wouldn't hesitate...
(Wait for me, Onii-chan... I'll save you; I'll definitely find out what happened to you!)
Regardless of Yuki's circumstances, whether he was a spirit or his disappearance was related to this for some bizarre reason, Origami would find out. After all, her older brother was the only family she had left in this world...
With this purpose in mind, Origami stopped spying on the group of spirits, frowned, and bit her lips in frustration, but she knew it wasn't the time. She had to strengthen herself as quickly as possible and win...
Therefore, she didn't hesitate anymore and headed straight to the AST base...
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TN: Btw I created a discord server.. you can join if you want we will talk abt the novel or any other question you got there...
https://discord.gg/ZRZ7pQH9w3