"We're back."
"Mm! It feels so nostalgic~"
"Yeah…"
In the living room of a familiar apartment, Shichen stood with Yatogami Tohka and Yoshino, holding a hand on each side. Looking at the almost unchanged layout, a wave of guilt rose in his chest.
In this world, he'd only been gone for a month. But for him, it had really been a year or two.
And in that year or two, there'd been one little girl, living all alone in this whole building.
Even if, from this side's perspective, only a month had passed, he still felt guilty… and he didn't know if anyone had been here to keep her company.
But this time, now that he was back, he wasn't going to leave her behind again.
"Sit for a bit first, there shouldn't have been any—"
"Onii-chan!"
Shichen had just let go of the two girls' hands when a young, lively voice suddenly rang through the room. A flash of bright red shot out an instant later.
She had vivid crimson hair tied into twin tails with white ribbons, a small face that was delicately cute, and big watery eyes brimming with tears.
The moment the girl appeared, she launched herself straight at Shichen.
"Kotori?!"
Tohka yelped in surprise and shuffled aside with Yoshino.
Shichen spread his arms and caught the flying Itsuka Kotori. She was so small she felt like a doll in his arms, light as a feather.
It was still afternoon, during class hours. Kotori was still dressed in her middle school uniform—clearly, she had cut school to be here.
"Kotori, long time no see." Shichen hugged her gently and spoke in a soft voice.
"Onii-chan! I missed you so much! Why did you only come back now!" Kotori wrapped her legs around his waist like an octopus and clung to his neck, voice thick with the threat of tears.
"Didn't only a month go by?" Shichen patted her back, soothing.
"I don't care! A month is forever!" Kotori shook her head, making a fuss.
Shichen had no complaints at all. He just apologized, full of guilt. "Then I was wrong, okay?"
"Hmph~" Kotori buried her head in the crook of his neck, snorting softly as she begrudgingly accepted his apology.
"Don't worry. I won't leave you behind again from now on." Shichen added, comforting her.
"Really?" Kotori snapped her head up, staring at him with tear-filled eyes.
"Heh… I won't lie to you." One arm around her waist, Shichen raised his other hand to stroke her cheek, gently wiping away her tears.
"That's great!" Kotori hugged him tight again, rubbing her head against his chest.
Shichen let her vent for a bit, then patted her little backside and reminded her, "Okay, down you go—Tohka and the others are watching."
"Eh?" Kotori finally remembered, and hurriedly jumped out of his arms.
She immediately spotted Tohka and Yoshino watching her with fond smiles, and her face burned with embarrassment.
"Kotori, it's been a while."
"Kotori… long time no see."
The two walked up to her.
"Yeah… Long time. I'm so jealous of you guys." Kotori puffed her cheeks, speaking with envy.
Unlike her lonely life here, Shichen had taken the two of them with him when he left. Which meant, all this time, they had been with him.
She was the one who'd met "Onii-chan" first.
Kotori wasn't really jealous—just purely sulking.
"Didn't Shichen say it already? From now on you'll be with us all the time," Tohka comforted her.
"Mm." Yoshino nodded as well.
"That's true…" Kotori pursed her lips, eyes full of anticipation.
"Kotori, I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be in class right now, aren't you? How'd you end up running back here?" Shichen asked.
"With you and the others back, how am I supposed to focus on school?"
"That's not what a good student says, you know~"
"I don't care!"
"Okay, okay. As long as Kotori's happy, fine."
"Hmph~"
"Then you can skip class this afternoon. I'll make a big feast later and we'll have a proper celebration." Shichen stepped forward and ruffled Kotori's hair.
"Mm!" Kotori nodded hard.
"Right, I should ask Reine if she's free…"
"No need. I'm already here."
The voice arrived before the person did. A moment later, Murasame Reine appeared in the living room in her usual office wear.
Her figure was tall and shapely, a little black cat mascot pinned on her chest. Her grey-silver hair was tied lazily into a side ponytail, and behind her glasses were heavy, unmistakable dark circles.
The moment she appeared, Reine fixed her gaze on Shichen.
Shichen lifted a hand and greeted her with a smile. "Reine, long time no see. I'm back."
"Mm." Reine gave a small nod, her expression softening.
Only a month this time. Much better than last time.
"Reine, do you have classes this afternoon? If not, stay. I'm making a big dinner later—let's all eat together."
"No." Reine shook her head simply and flatly.
Her tone was such that even if she had class, the answer had to be "no."
"Good, then. Go ahead and sit down. You can chat with Tohka and the others—I'll go prep the ingredients."
"Need me to help?"
"No need. Just sit and wait to eat this time." Shichen waved her off and headed for the kitchen.
"I understand…"
"Reine, long time no see~" Tohka called out cheerfully.
Reine turned to her, expression easing even more, a hint of fondness in her eyes. "Long time no see, Tohka."
"Come on, sit. Shichen will probably take a while—we can wait and you can tell us what's been happening at school lately." Tohka tugged Reine's hand and pulled her over to the sofa.
Yoshino and Kotori took the two single-seaters off to the side.
"Nothing much has been happening at school," Reine replied gently.
"Then I guess I can go back to classes like normal." Tohka let out a sigh of relief.
"You're actually worried about school?" Kotori couldn't help but laugh.
"I am a student here too, you know~" Tohka said, a bit embarrassed.
"'Too'?" Kotori frowned slightly—she'd caught the key word.
Reine also glanced over, curious.
"Um… I can't tell you that yet," Tohka said, blinking, trying to dodge.
"Why not? I want to know what you've been doing this past month—where you went." Kotori pressed.
"Honestly, we didn't do much~ Anyway, you'll find out soon enough," Tohka said, unconcerned.
She wasn't trying to hide it from Kotori herself—Shichen had asked her not to mention the other world in front of Reine.
She didn't know why Shichen was so cautious with Reine, or why he wouldn't tell her, but she was definitely going to listen to him.
"'Soon'? How soon is 'soon'?"
"Shichen said he'll be able to settle everything on this side very soon," Tohka quickly shifted the blame.
"Onii-chan, huh… Fine." Kotori accepted it with a sigh.
Reine, on the other hand, looked toward the kitchen. From where she sat, she could see just a bit of Shichen's back as he worked, and she stared, lost in thought.
For dinner, Shichen pulled out the seafood he'd caught in Lala's world, plus lots of other stored ingredients, and prepared an extravagant spread.
The Gate of Babylon really was handy—everything inside stayed perfectly preserved. However it went in was how it came back out; there was no need to worry about spoilage.
When the plates of seafood were set out, Kotori—still not entirely calmed down—couldn't help swallowing.
The color, aroma, and presentation all screamed delicious; it was hard not to feel hungry.
"Alright then, let's celebrate—"
Ding-dong~
Before he could finish, the doorbell suddenly rang.
"I'll check…" Kotori took out her phone to pull up the intercom feed.
"Eh? It's one of your students, Onii-chan—that girl, Tobiichi Origami."
"Origami, huh?"
Shichen got up to open the door.
"Shichen-senpai, long time no see!" The moment the door opened, Tobiichi Origami dove into his arms.
"Origami, what brings you here?" Shichen asked, a bit amused.
"I saw on the… um, I sensed you'd come back, so I couldn't help but come see you."
"…Forget it. Since you're here, stay and eat with us." Shichen didn't bother interrogating her wording.
"Really?" Origami looked up at him—her usually expressionless face carrying a trace of hopeful light.
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"Thank you!"
"Come on in."
Shichen led Origami back into the room.
"Origami? What are you doing here?" Tohka immediately blurted when she saw her.
Back at school, the two of them had pretty much been rivals.
"I came to see Shichen-senpai," Origami replied calmly.
"What? You're still hung up on him…"
Ding-dong~
The doorbell rang again.
Shichen glanced at Kotori.
"Ah, it's that Tokisaki Kurumi!"
"She's here too?" Shichen went back to the door and opened it.
"Shichen~ I've come to see you~" Kurumi sing-songed sweetly from the doorway.