"Why… Miku?" Shidou asked, bewildered by her presence. Their failed dialogue, aided by Kurumi, had only angered her. No promise was made. Then it hit him. "The promise?"
"Don't misunderstand!" Miku snapped. "I don't care about that suicidal maniac's nonsense. I'm here to add another Spirit to my collection!"
"Thanks, Miku!" Shidou said, grateful she'd help save Tohka, despite her harsh words.
"Hmph! I don't need your thanks. Where's that woman?" Miku asked.
"Kurumi? She's not here. We split up earlier," Shidou replied.
"Abandoned, huh? That girl spouted trust nonsense, but it's worth so little," Miku sneered.
"No. It's not like that. Kurumi trusts me, and I trust her. Trust isn't just being together," Shidou countered earnestly.
"Ugh, so lame! I'm sick of human platitudes!" Miku shouted.
"Miku…" Shidou sensed her refusal wasn't just a moral disconnect. Why did she reject people so fiercely? What turned the girl who sang so purely into someone with such warped values? He wanted to know her heart, her past—perhaps influenced by Zafkiel's Tenth Bullet: Yud or his own kindness. Likely both.
"Calling humans that… Miku, you're—"
"Shut up! I'm here for Tohka, not to talk to you!" Miku stormed down the corridor.
"Hey, Miku!" Shidou chased, desperate to understand the lonely songstress.
In the white-haired girl's view, blue and red clashed—Jessica's Scarlet Licorice against Mana's Vanalgand. Mana, a top-tier wizard, was matched.
"Bad taste," the girl muttered.
Jessica was skilled but no match for Mana. Hours ago, Mana crushed her, leaving visible wounds. Yet she fought now, fueled by forced magical enhancements—likely similar to Mana's, which gave her a decade at most. Jessica's life was forfeit, win or lose, to the defective Licorice.
She likely couldn't even think about it, her mind broken.
"It's so vile, it's ruining my mood," the girl spat.
"Quite grumpy today," a Kurumi clone said, shooting a wizard's unit.
The girl sliced a Bandersnatch, landing on a building. "I hate unrewarded, unjust acts."
She didn't know Jessica beyond data, but no reason justified treating her like a tool, discarded like Mana's cruel fate. To the girl, it was unjust.
"Then what will you do?" the clone asked.
"Nothing. It's not my problem, and there's a troublesome woman," the girl replied.
She couldn't save anything or undo injustice. Unlike a certain boy, she lacked the leeway. Plus, Ellen M. Mathers, DEM's strongest wizard, had joined Mana and Jessica's fight. The girl wanted to avoid her, more than a matter of strength. Even Mana might not last against both. Still, the girl prioritized her plan.
The clone chuckled. "Expected. By the way, Origami's heading here."
"What?" the girl blinked.
"Cobbled-together gear, cutting through the battlefield. Her CR-unit's likely locked," the clone said.
"Is she insane?" the girl blurted, certain Origami's recent White Licorice overuse had sidelined her. Yet she charged here?
"Such recklessness for Shidou seems noble," the clone teased.
"Too noble. It's troublesome," the girl sighed, conflicted by Origami's absence yet stunned by her suicidal resolve for Shidou. Not reckless or suicidal—stubborn, unyielding.
"Too similar… it's annoying," the girl muttered. Origami mirrored her queen, despite their differences, stirring her heart with her clumsy resolve and angry eyes.
"No choice," she said, moving. Origami might become her enemy someday, but not now. That drove her forward.
"Let's make a deal," Miku said, clapping as Shidou pressed on despite her insults. "Give up on Tohka, and my voice will enslave any girl you want, even Kurumi."
"Don't screw with me," Shidou growled, rage boiling. He could endure insults to himself, but not to them. Replacing Tohka? Controlling Kurumi? He glared, heedless of the consequences.
"Kurumi's not like that to me! Tohka's irreplaceable!" he shouted.
"Hmph! Stop pretending! Your 'love' and 'care' are cheap! I'm offering replacements, so take it! Why go so far?!" Miku yelled, her words seeming self-directed, laced with sadness, denying bonds.
"Miku…" Shidou's anger cooled, replaced by sorrow.
"Humans are my toys! Men are slaves! Girls are cute dolls! They're worth nothing else, so obey!" Miku screamed, her warped worldview her shield. She wasn't born this way—she feared humans, betrayed by them.
"Why hate men so much? Why treat girls like objects? Why see humans that way?" Shidou pressed.
"Who's the same?!" Miku snapped.
"You're human too!" Shidou declared.
Miku froze, stunned. "How do you know that?"
"You were human before Phantom gave you Spirit powers, right?" Shidou said, certain.
Miku gasped, unable to deny it. "How…?"
"A little bird told me," Shidou said. Using Zafkiel's Tenth Bullet: Yud, he glimpsed her past—a CD under Tsukino Yorimachi, a photo with her parents. He experienced fragments: her human origin, her idol career, the emotions in her songs.
Why had she become so warped? Kurumi said there was a reason. Something changed her beautiful voice.
"Tell me, Miku. What happened?" Shidou asked.
"Why should I?" she huffed.
"Miku," he insisted, needing to know what broke her.
Sighing, she relented, sharing her past.
Miku had only her song. She knew she lagged in other areas, but her voice was unmatched. Becoming an idol as Tsukino Yorimachi was natural. Her CDs sold, and her live shows were her peak—fans called her precious, their love her joy.
But it didn't last.
"My manager said a TV producer liked me… told me to 'get along' with him," Miku said.
"'Get along'…?" Shidou faltered, horrified.
With a pained expression, Miku continued. "Exactly. I refused. I just wanted to sing, not be on TV. But…"
A false scandal hit the tabloids, orchestrated by the producer and her agency's president. No one defended her. Worse, fans she trusted believed the lies, turning on her with vicious slander.
Her heart wore down, but her song kept her standing. She believed it would win them back. On stage—
"Psychogenic aphonia," Miku said. "I lost my voice."
Shidou winced. Tsukino Yorimachi's life ended. A girl with only her song, stripped of it by human ugliness.
With nothing left, she nearly ended her life. Then Phantom appeared, offering power to change the world. Miku gained her voice.
"I lost everything because of vile men! My voice, more precious than life! I thought of suicide, but God gave me this voice—one song enslaves all!" Miku cried.
Phantom—her God. To a despairing Miku, it was salvation, however warped.
Shidou understood her warped ethics, her fear of betrayal. She built a castle, rejecting bonds to protect her heart.
"That's why I hate men! Filthy, vile, disgusting! Girls too—only obedient ones matter! Everyone else can die!" Miku screamed.
Her pain, anger, despair—Shidou felt it all, having seen her past. But that wasn't enough.
"No! I get your despair. I want to punch that producer and those reporters! I'm furious at the fans who turned on you! But hating all humans for it isn't right!" Shidou argued.
"Shut up! All men are the same!" Miku retorted.
"I'm not that obedient! Were there really no fans who ignored the rumors, who waited for your song?" Shidou challenged.
"Those people—!" Miku faltered as wizards appeared. Shidou gripped Sandalphon, charging forward, slashing them down, refusing to let interruptions stop him.
"You're scared, Miku! You've built a terrifying illusion of humans, controlling them with your voice, making it worse, too afraid to talk to them!" Shidou said.
Her fear fueled control, blinding her to true feelings, inflating her illusion of humans as monsters.
"What?! Scared?! Me, afraid of humans?! We're in a fight!" Miku shrieked, her voice wall blocking bullets.
"Who cares?! You're scared to talk, surrounded by yes-men, but deep down, you want real connection!" Shidou insisted.
"Baseless nonsense!" Miku snapped.
"It's not! You wanted Shiori Itsuka—a human you couldn't control!" Shidou said.
Miku flinched, struck. Fearing defiance, she craved Shiori—proof she still wanted to believe.
"And when you redebuted, you used Miku Izayoi, your real name, despite hating familiarity! The name your parents gave you!" Shidou pressed.
A name was proof of existence, a joy when called by loved ones, like Shidou and Kurumi. Miku used her real name, wanting recognition.
"You wanted to be seen, to be acknowledged by humans!" Shidou declared.
"Shut up! You know-it-all idiot! Moron! Fool!" Miku screamed, her tantrum-like insults, laced with spirit power, blasting wizards away.
"Hit a nerve, huh?" Shidou teased.
"No! You're the idiot!" Miku yelled, childlike.
"You brat! I can't trust you with Yoshino, Kaguya, or Yuzuru! I'll seal your power!" Shidou shouted, her tantrum reminiscent of early Tohka, though different from Kurumi's. She'd probably say, "Don't lump me with her. I'm not a stubborn brat."
Miku trembled at sealing. "I won't let you! Without this voice, no one will look at me! You want me to be that pathetic again?!"
"I'm not saying that! I want you to sing with your true voice—Kurumi praised it, your beautiful song!" Shidou said.
"What?" Miku froze.
Shidou faced her, having swept aside a wizard. "I heard Tsukino Yorimachi's—Miku's—song. Earnest, inspiring, cool! Even Kurumi praised it. It's not worthless. At least we—Kurumi and I—will hear your true song, no matter what. Your fans are here!"
Not just one song—through Kurumi's power, he heard many, vibrant and enchanting, far beyond her controlling voice. Even cynical Kurumi praised her. Shidou would never let anyone deny it.
"Lies! Fans who said that didn't believe in me! When I suffered, no one helped!" Miku cried.
"I don't buy it! There had to be fans who believed! If not, I'll be the one to reach out!" Shidou vowed.
"Convenient words! If I were in Tohka's place, would you risk your life for me?" Miku challenged, her cry conflicted, hoping he'd falter.
But Shidou, unwavering, roared, "Obviously! I'd save you. That's a promise!"
He grinned, bold like a cherished girl. The boy who faced, connected with, and won the worst Spirit had no reason to hesitate.
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