“…Give… them… back…”
Kotori Itsuka’s face wavered as she let out a wail, like someone whose most precious possession had been stolen. Her feet, unable to reach the floor, kicked wildly in the air.
True, the spirit’s superhuman strength played a part, but from Shidou’s point of view, Kyoumi wasn’t actually much taller than Kotori. Normally, his little sister shouldn’t look this pathetic.
The key difference was the lack of external assistance.
Either Kyoumi had no common sense about removing shoes at the genkan, or the sight of adorable Kotori had made her forget. Shidou strongly suspected the latter.
Thanks to the height boost from her heeled boots, Kyoumi (now more than twenty centimeters taller than Kotori) looked perfectly natural holding the flailing girl aloft like Simba in The Lion King.
“Um, Kyoumi, could you put Kotori down first?”
Shidou’s eyes followed the clean floor to the girl’s feet, confirming there was no dirt, and only then spoke with a helpless tone.
“So this is how you two act when it’s just the two of you~”
Teasing him with her words, Kyoumi lowered the girl (who was swinging her arms like windmills yet still posed no threat) until her tiptoes touched the ground.
“What kind of comment is that…”
Shidou sighed as he changed into his house slippers, not pressing the issue further.
Their time together had been short, but the boy trusted that the girl knew where to draw the line. And her fondness for Kotori wasn’t fake.
The moment Kotori’s feet found solid ground, she leapt up to snatch back the ribbons still held high in Kyoumi’s hand, only to fall short.
“…Give them back!”
She jumped again, her voice already carrying a sob. It was hard to imagine that the same girl who could leap a full meter in the morning to deliver a 【Super Invincible I-Love-You Candy Flying Kick】 to her brother couldn’t even clear twenty centimeters in front of an outsider. Yet Kyoumi keenly noticed the tears forming in Kotori’s eyes.
…Ah… can’t drag this out any longer…
“Here, take them!”
Sighing inwardly, Kyoumi placed one hand on the girl’s head to stop her next assault, perfectly mimicking Kotori’s own tone (even the slight sob).
“But there are two conditions.”
She released the girl’s head and dangled the black ribbons in front of her.
“W-What conditions…”
All her earlier courage spent, Kotori stared at the ribbons with watery eyes and asked timidly.
“First, right now I’m just a guest, and Kotori is just Shidou’s cute little sister. The proud tsundere commander stays away.”
Kyoumi locked eyes with the girl, who flinched slightly, and stated her first demand.
Every previous time she’d seen Kotori, the girl had been wearing black ribbons. But the white-ribboned Kotori here at home was a completely different, adorable little-sister type.
The way she had reached for the black ribbons earlier was suspicious. For now, Kyoumi could only roughly guess that they acted like a switch for a second personality.
Yoshino was like that, and Kotori was similar (though not identical). Was that a trait of artificial spirits?
Kyoumi had actually planned to tie the black ribbons on herself to test the difference, but seeing Kotori’s face… if she didn’t return them soon, the girl would probably burst into tears. Tch…
What a waste.
“Second, no crying,” Kyoumi sighed again inwardly, raising a second finger while handing the ribbons to the vigorously nodding girl.
“…W-Who’s gonna cry…”
Afraid the offer would be revoked, Kotori snatched the ribbons and stuffed them into her skirt pocket, then scurried to the genkan and hid behind Shidou, peeking out from beside her brother.
“Kotori…”
His sleeve tugged, making movement difficult, Shidou looked at the slightly trembling girl behind him and gently rubbed her head with his palm. “What do you want for dinner tonight?”
Normally he should ask the guest first, but Kotori looked so nervous that Shidou used a soothing voice to ask her instead.
He couldn’t really blame her. Dealing with Kyoumi had never been easy for Kotori. Before the last battle it had still been manageable, but afterward even commander-mode Kotori had muttered things like “I never want to fight that monster again…” while looking utterly drained.
To be fair, anyone who fought Kyoumi would probably reach the same conclusion. The healing flames could restore injuries, but the pain endured during the attacks was very real.
In Shidou’s estimation, normal cute Kotori’s current emotional state upon seeing Kyoumi was no different from a small animal meeting its natural predator.
“…Omurice… and hamburger steak…”
Kotori mumbled something under her breath, but by the time it reached Shidou’s ears, only the menu items remained.
He’d heard somewhere that the right amount of sweetness and fried food helped relax the mind. Since she’d requested omurice, he wouldn’t need to prepare a separate dessert tonight.
“What about you, Kyoumi?”
While mentally checking the remaining ingredients in the fridge, Shidou turned his gaze to the girl in the hallway.
“…Hmm, double cheeseburger, apple pie, spaghetti?”
Her short boots dissolved into purple-red particles. Her jade-like feet, wrapped in dark thick stockings, landed with a soft pat on the floor. The purple-haired spirit tapped a finger against her soft lips and tilted her head.
“That’s way too many calories?! And we definitely don’t have ingredients for all that at home!”
“Eh? If we had the ingredients, could you actually make them, Shidou? I was just joking~”
Kyoumi looked at the boy (who was pulling Kotori closer) in surprise, then waved her hand dismissively.
“Mmm… alright. Since Tohka isn’t eating here tonight either and we don’t need to cook much, I’ll have the same as Kotori.”
“Tohka is still living in Fraxinus’s isolation zone. Meals are handled by professional chefs, so what they make is probably way more lavish than my cooking.”
He’d already answered this question once on the way home. Since Kotori was currently in little-sister mode, Shidou answered on her behalf.
“Yes, yes, safety first~”
Kyoumi frowned slightly but quickly relaxed, said nothing more, turned around, and walked toward the living room, judging the layout as she went.
“Onii-chan, why is she here…”
Only after the sound of the girl’s footsteps faded did Kotori timidly ask Shidou.
“She was waiting at the school gate when I got out. She said she’d found some leads on how spirits can stay in this world… And this time, just like with Tohka last time, her appearance didn’t trigger a spacequake…”
He instinctively looked to his sister for advice, and Kotori reflexively reached for the ribbons again.
After hesitating several times, she ultimately didn’t switch to her strong self.
“…I don’t really mind you bringing a girl home, Onii-chan…”
The non-commander Kotori couldn’t give Shidou a direct answer. Instead, she averted her gaze and changed the subject with an encouraging look. “But…”
“Is Onii-chan going to let her stay the night?”
“Eh?”
The boy froze.