Early the next morning, as usual, Yuki woke up very early. Along with his clones, he prepared breakfast and patiently waited for the girls to come downstairs. The aroma of the food was too tempting, so the first to come down was Tohka, followed by Kotori.
Of course, it was no surprise, as Tohka is a bottomless pit with a monstrous appetite. She joined Yuki in the kitchen, stealing food as they cooked.
"Eh? So many spirits."
The last one to come down was the newcomer, Natsumi. She was also drawn by the pleasant smell and was surprised to see such a lively table. Last night, she had thought a lot about how to drive this male spirit into a frenzy. Although she met everyone just yesterday, seeing all the spirits gathered together made her think deeply. Each of these girls is undoubtedly a beauty.
However, Natsumi felt insecure about her own appearance, believing it would be difficult for Yuki to fall in love with her. This realization made her feel depressed, and the difficulty of her mission seemed to grow.
Moreover...
(They seem like a family.)
Watching all the spirits eating together, happily smiling and playing, a brief but painful flashback crossed Natsumi's mind. She unconsciously clenched her arm tightly.
The concept of a family was unknown to Natsumi. Her family, or more precisely, her mother, was never someone who loved her.
Natsumi was like a child lost in the cold, snowy darkness, looking through a window at those blessed by the warmth of happiness. Her eyes were wide with envy, longing for that warmth, but it was always out of reach. After all, she was alone in this world.
"Natsumi, come join us."
"Huh?"
Fortunately, at that moment, a hand touched her shoulder, pulling her from the darkness into the light.
"Natsumi!"
"Come, sit here!"
" Hehe..."
And just like that, the spirits welcomed her again with open arms.
Yuki smiled at this and prepared his best dishes. He had to celebrate, as both Natsumi and Kurumi had returned safe and sound.
This was a stark contrast to the previous timeline, where Natsumi had died...
(Witch...)
Recalling the small figure that had been pierced by the branches of the tower, Yuki sighed at the tragedy...
----------------------
**Tenguu City, AST Training Ground**
The AST Training Ground, as the name suggests, is an exact replica of the city, but it's underground. As a training ground, this area was built to withstand significant impacts, whether from missiles or magical weapons, making it perfect. At this moment, Origami had her eyes closed, waiting for the time...
She was wearing a battle suit, and around her, other girls were also waiting. Today was the day they would face the strongest spirit again, and they were nervous. They hadn't forgotten what happened the last time they faced him; they were all unable to resist. But now...
(We're stronger!)
Murmuring in their hearts, each of the girls clenched their fists. They had better equipment and had trained hard over the past few months for this day.
Although they failed with Natsumi, this was inevitable due to Natsumi's angel. Even so, given the nature of this angel and its ability to alter reality, even if Miku were here, these girls would give Natsumi a good fight and might even win.
The data collected from each of them made it theoretically possible, and they believed that in this battle, they wouldn't be trampled like last time...
*Tick, tack*
"He's here."
It was just then, at precisely 10:00 AM, when the sound of an old clock was heard, and a shadow on the ground expanded...
The whole group tensed up as they watched the figure emerge from the ground, that sinister yet warm Reiryoku.
Yuki, on the other hand, felt comfortable as he emerged from the shadows. Being in his domain, he enjoyed traveling through the darkness. Still, he smiled as he saw the magicians enter battle mode upon sensing his presence...
"Onii-chan."
"Darling!"
"Am I that scary?"
No one answered Yuki's question. Instead, he was interrupted by a girl with purple hair...
Miku's eyes lit up when she saw Yuki. She almost wanted to run and hug him, but she stopped herself. She felt lost, and her smile faltered, especially since Yuki wasn't alone...
"Um! Um! They're the mecha humans."
Tohka crossed her arms and nodded. Ever since the last time she traveled to space and faced the Yamai sisters, Tohka had wanted to fight. She didn't want to sit idly by and just watch Yuki fight; she wanted to help and save her fellow spirits as well. Because of this, Yuki had no choice but to bring her along.
Tohka scanned the group, and a burning desire to fight rose within her.
But this was to be expected, as she had been fighting against AST for some time now. This time, she would be the one to take the initiative...
"...."
Miku didn't know how to feel seeing Tohka. According to AST, Yuki had been in contact with other spirits, so Miku expected this, but that didn't mean she was mentally prepared. It saddened her.
What was so special about the other spirits?
Why didn't Yuki find her?
Even though she had already been creating spacequakes, Yuki never contacted her, while he saved the other spirits.
Her face darkened, and her eyes sharpened...
"Izayoi Miku, it's good to see you."
Yuki smiled but didn't dare to get too close to her. He had already sealed her, but he always remained cautious, knowing that Lilith could awaken if her Reiryoku was distorted.
"Darling... I... I..."
Miku regained her smile, clasped her hands together, and her eyes began to shine. The fact that Yuki knew her name meant that he had also lived through that 'dream.' This made her happy, her cheeks blushed, and she couldn't help but walk toward him. She missed him and wanted to feel his warmth. At the same time, Yuki's body trembled.
"Hm? What the..."
*Creakkkk*
However, her steps were interrupted by the sound of a crystal breaking, followed by a small explosion.
Everyone couldn't help but turn their heads, where a girl with sky-blue hair holding a rabbit puppet was gazing at Yuki with longing and desire...
Her beautiful angelic face was now distorted by these inexplicable emotions. At the same time, the Reiryoku around her began to intensify, and so did the weather, as everything started to freeze...
"Yoshino-chan?!"
"Hermit?!"
Miku and AST were shocked to see Yoshino floating, especially AST, as they never thought the girl Miku brought with her was Hermit, the cowardly ice spirit...
"Why?!"
Miku couldn't understand what was happening. Since yesterday, she had been excited about the news that she would finally see Yuki again after a long time, and she had told Yoshino everything as she waited at home. Yoshino, of course, was also excited, and why wouldn't she be? After all, Miku and Yuki were the only ones who cared for her and saved her many times from AST.
Although this happened in the other timeline, it was a fact that she was happy to see her 'hero' again.
So, she accompanied Miku to AST as a civilian, hiding her Reiryoku well for fear that AST would discover her and waited in the monitoring room.
But everything changed when Yuki manifested. The Sephira crystal inside her began to flash and sent inexplicable emotions through her body.
Her emotional state was a mess, and unable to control her power, it was unleashed, and her Reiryoku began to lower the temperature...
Yuki triggered a chain reaction in her, as Yoshinon in her hand glowed and began to grow in size.
"Yoshino Himekawa..."
Of course, Yuki was also a little surprised by this. He knew that Miku and Yoshino were together.
But the abnormal change in Yoshino was even more intense than in the previous timeline, not to mention that Yoshino is the only spirit who didn't die.
The most cowardly spirit and at the same time the luckiest one. After all, she was the only one whose power Requiem allowed to live.
...
TN: Sorry for the delay I was too busy..