Tome POV:
After a long run, we finally settled at the rather busy street, and Shido suddenly let go of my hand.
"Ha… ha…"
"Eh?"
As I slowly gasp in surprise with his action, Shido suddenly crouches down and faints real hard for some reason, with his face distorted in a painful way.
"You okay Shido?"
I immediately crouched down to him with a wary feeling, but he quickly waved it away with a smile while still fainting heavily.
"It's okay, Tome. It's just… I need a few minutes to rest."
"…"
It took him a bit to straighten his posture, flexing his hand showing his well-being… all the while I stood there, feeling tangled with my newly discovered idea.
"Fueh, better now. Now shall we go?"
With a faint smile, he stretched his hand to me, seemingly waiting for me to take…
But at his friendly gesture, I can help but reconsider it, about this whole thing.
Did I deserve to be saved? Am I deserving this chance?
Can I… truly accept being with him, and forget everything?
"… Yeah."
But regardless, despite all the growing doubt, all the accumulated fear, all the guilt I was supposed to feel … I still take his hand.
I need my answer, and I just can't leave it behind like this.
Besides, this may be my final time in this realm, and it's frankly quite fun… At least, I wanted to go through with him 'till the end—
Kotori POV:
"Hm…"
Watching Shido leading
Everything was perfect, once again, beside the little beefing just now… or what I've loved it to be.
'Cause her mood, up until now, has slightly reduced to below anxiety level.
In other words, fear.
She was afraid, and everyone here knew it.
But why? Why was she afraid?
That's the part I need the answer to right now, as soon as possible.
For if he didn't resolve her trouble, then his promises with her, and their effort, will go down the drain.
I clenched my teeth real hard on the candy, unknowingly that it's already breaking down…
Shido POV:
"Fuah!! That's so exhausting…"
Tome, still eating her hundredth hot dog, let out a tired sigh with a laid back expression, while I just smiled back at her.
After the whole thing back then, we spent the remaining time at the Tengu theme park to let Tome try many more attractions… and I then got distracted along with Tome here.
But I can't help but feel—weird.
I don't know why, but I just feel… something not just right.
Something so familiar, yet so distant… Weird.
I can't help but frowning the entire ride, although I did manage to hide it from Tome altogether…
By the time I realized it, the sun had slowly descended beyond the horizon and, along with the stacking cloud hanging over and the orange lighting, made a truly breathtaking scenery.
As a finishing blow for our date, we arrived at the park on the hill… the same place where I attempted to convince Nia to my side. The naive mistake I made just a few days ago.
Thanks to the Ratatoskr effort (or the AST? I have no idea), the park was completely repaired. Heck , if I wasn't the one directly involved with its destruction in the first place, I wouldn't believe that this place was merely ruined a few days before.
But still, this is the best place for the conclusion, and I can't deny that… and this is for her, so I'll swallow my regret back inside.
"Wow!! So cool!!"
Leaning beyond the handrail, Tome exclaimed with a rather childish expression with her star-shaped turned pupil, like with anime characters.
I have no idea how that works, maybe for another day.
"Shido look! Isn't this beautiful?!"
Tome excitedly pointed toward the disappearing sun, her energy, in contrast to me, didn't seem to be depleted a bit even after a whole date.
Dang, I have to say this once more, but Spirits are truly built differently…
"Yeah…"
I stand right by her side, slightly relaxing my gaze as I watch the canvas skies stretching from the horizon.
And in that moment, despite the difference, despite the situation, we're just… watching the sun slowly descend.
All in quiet, all with contempt…
"… I want to stay."
Finally, after a long while of quiet, Tome moved her eyes towards the horizon onto me, and said that with a soft gaze… too soft if I might add.
"I truly wanted to stay with you, Shido, and enjoy seeing this again…"
She continued to speak with me, her gaze slowly distant while her lips pursed down… making me slowly feel unease along with her.
"… But it seems like I can't after all."
Finally, with a long breath, Tome turns to me with a faint yet distant smile, a contempt… yet longing.
"Why…?"
"Because I can't feel it. What you told me would be."
What I… told her?
"When I attack the other… I can't feel it, I can't feel anything. I was supposed to feel guilty, pain, regret… And yet, I didn't."
"…"
The light in my view slowly fades away, my mind going blank with each of her soothing voices.
"The only thing I feel from them… is annoying, and empty! And that's when I realized—that I can't be with you Shido."
"I'm everything that those people say, Shido. A monster. A disaster. I… I'm not deserve to be happy."
Tome finally turned whole at me, her smile now barely forced.
"Thank you, Shido, for showing me the beauty of this world… and helping me realize what I should do…"
And at that moment, I finally understood the reasons for the feelings.
It was her. She was hiding her pain from me, trying to spend the remainder with me.
And if that was the case… then she'd already made up her mind back then. And I—was too ignorant to notice that…
In the
Tome affection level—are around friendly range.
Her mood is similarly high, and she didn't show any abnormality.
And yet, despite all their preparation, despite all their effort, her decision—
—Is the one they dreaded the most.
"Tch…"
Crushing the candy in her mouth, the twin tails can help but grunting.
Despite this burning feeling, she can't just intervene in this moment, not after everything.
So the only thing she can do, along with the crew, is to pray for his success beyond the screen…
"I won't allow that!"
"Huh?"
Shido suddenly screams on the screen, shocking the whole crew…
Shido POV:
"Eh…?"
I narrowed down my eyes staring straight at Tome, with her letting out a dumbfounded sound, her eyes slightly widened.
"Wha—"
"I won't let you go! I won't let you decide whether you should be alone or not! I—"
I burst out my frustration and screamed at a surprised Tome, unable to contain the emotions inside of me anymore.
I… just can't, not anymore. I've failed someone else before, I can't let her go either.
I can't let her suffer alone by herself… just like I once was…
"I… can't let you go… Please…"
"Shido…"
My energy quickly died down, as I desperately tried to plead with her with teary eyes.
I have to stop her, I can't fail her, not after everything I promised myself to her.
Everyone deserves to live, to be happy, to be together… even me…
"I can't… I won't let you get away… I have to make you understand… I—beg you."
And for a brief moment, merely less than a frame, I see it.
Tome figure—being replaced by an unknown figure.
I can't see her face, nor do I recognize her… but I feel it.
The familiarity in the figure, who I was longing for years ago…
"… Mom."
Out of desperation, or perhaps dread, I unconsciously murmur her identity… and Tome eyes widen further, now in total confusion and shock.
"You…"
And then, everything changed.
Kotori POV:
"Shido…"
Watching Shido break down on the screen, I… feel so powerless.
He's doing it again, showing that expression after so many years…
I thought we helped him over it—I helped him over it.
And yet, I can't be more mistaken at this moment than eve—
"Commander!!!"
I briefly heard Kannazuki's voice, one filled with horror, along with the rest.
Curious about what they saw, I return to the screen… and my eyes widen.
For the
Shido POV:
Everything happens in the blink of an eye.
One moment Tome expressed her surprise with my words.
The next… a blade pierced through her chest.
"Eh?"
And all I can do is stare at the blade, yet to comprehend the situation.
"Remember me,
Coming from the behind, is the familiar voice of someone, one that I just yet to know yesterday—
"El…len?"
Tome, with a cracking voice, asked the owner of that voice in my place.
"Oh, so you remember me. I'm flatter,
With a clearly mocking tone, Ellen retracted the blade from Tome, letting her fall down to the ground, her clothes slowly dissolved.
And standing there, donning the same bodysuit as yesterday, is indeed the same girl. Looses blond hair, purple eyes, weaning the same bodysuit as yesterday.
"How disappointing, this is too easy."
Ellen calmly says with a fallen Tome, her gaze now slightly shifted to me… or better yet, my direction.
"Thank you kid, couldn't do this without you."
"What…?"
Ellen finally turned to me with an ominous smile, shocking Tome's lying beside me.
I… did this…? But… that… makes sense…
"And for that, I'll make sure to make this as painless as possible."
With a bored sigh from Ellen—all I can see next is red.
Ah—
Fraxonus POV:
On the
The whole crew are on fire, with most of them expressing their concern over everything.
Everything in the span of a single minute has gone to hell.
Ellen somehow appeared out of nowhere, and proceeded to clean off
… All in the span of seconds.
It was too unreal to be true, yet it did.
"… Return them on
With a frown, the twin tails immediately break the silence and command the crew.
And yet, despite her calm demeanor at this moment… she feels dread deep inside.
After everything, after all that… she failed him, again.
She can't afford to fail him once more, not after seeing him breaking down… again…
"… Huh?"
Ellen POV:
How easy. How disgusting.
I thought she would realize that I am here, yet she's too deluded in her own ideal to even see that.
To think she'd actually consider being with us, humans… What a naive ideal.
You kind will, and could, never be one of us. Ever.
A mere Spirit like you should just offer your heart and rot away.
All for the sake of Ike vision—
The next thing I see, was my hand stretching down toward it suddenly severed. Cleanly.
It took me less than a moment to even acknowledge what just happened.
What? How? I didn't even feel anything?!
At that very moment, I finally saw it, slowly rising from beneath my feet… from my shadow.
That filthy, arrogant machine. The one humiliated me just a day prior, now arriving right below me.
But before I could say, or do anything to it, something suddenly blew me down the cliff…
Ultron POV:
"Thanks for the lift, Kurumi-san."
"Your welcome ~"
With a bow, Kurumi clones quickly sink back into my shadow, leaving me with the corpses.
Or at least 1 of them, to be exact.
Tome body, as if in rewind, ceased to bleed as the wound began to retract back… healing.
It took her body less than a minute to completely restore back to the beginning.
The restoration was so perfect in fact, everyone would think that she just slipped in a crime scene instead of the victim.
As I noted the result for research back later, Tome's eyes slowly opened… and moved towards me first, her eyes widened in awe.
"Glad you still remember me, Tome-san.
"You… again?"
I slightly bow down at her with a hint of "respect", and Tome slowly lifts herself up… only to stop half-way through.
"Shido…?"
With a disbelief yet trembling voice, she moved her attention whole on the dying boy… and shook him.
"Wake up Shido… wake up…"
Her shake slowly turns disoriented, her voice slowly loses its feels, her eyes losing the light.
She's shaking him, and shaking, and shaking…
And yet, he's still laying there, unresponsive, bleeding.
"Please… Wake up…"
Tome finally collapsed on top of the boy, tears started to overflow from her empty eyes. From the looks of it, I assume that she finally understands it.
Dying.
"… Why?"
Tome let out a hollow line, her eyes still on a bleeding kid.
"Why… didn't you wake up?"
"Because he's dead."
I answer her empty question with a straightforward tone, breaking the tone immediately.
There's no sugarcoating it in any way, and the fact's still there despite her desperation to cope with this.
"What…?"
Tome slowly lifted her head to my direction… and I can truly see how horrible she is.
She's broken, shattered, empty.
She didn't know what death truly is, and yet she still feels it from him.
"This is death, Tomes-san. The truest form of it."
I narrow down my gaze on Tome, and her eyes slowly return back to the bloody body of the boy.
"So this is… what he trying to tell m—"
As Tome was trying to murmur something, a bright violet light engulfed our surroundings, and my Reiryoku measurement went haywire.
This is…
"I won't lose again."
Appeared before me once more, is that same blondie, looking as frustrated as ever…
… Or maybe something else, I can't really understand emotion.
"You…"
As we prepared to shred each other to pieces, we both heard it.
An angry, desperate, haunting voice from Tome… now slowly ascends…
Tome POV:
… He died.
The very thing they convinced me, happened.
He died, in my arm, under my presence. suffix
… So this is how it feels, to have someone you care for die.
Desperate. Fear. Anger—Revenge.
He died in my arms, and I let it happen, right in front of me.
All because of her, all because of—
"I won't lose again."
Her voice… her melodic, charming yet frustrating voice…
Frustrating? Her?
She—Did she have the right to be angry? After everything?
"You…"
I slowly stand up, and finally turn fully to face the angry expression of her.
"—Kill you."
I stared back at her, finally acknowledging the girl in my mind…
And at this instance, at this very moments, all I ever desired for was—
"DIE!!!!"
With an unrecognizable roar, I donned both my
Ultron POV:
The next thing I realized… is an explosion.
After that, a bright light engulfed the whole view.
Then, comes the figure of Tome, donning her armors glitching unstably, against Ellen, now losing an arm.
She avoided Tome all out attack, one that she put all her feelings into.
"You rotten!! DIE!!!!"
With an inhuman roar, Tome let out another strike at Ellen…
… And she still managed to dodge that—albiet costing her left wing component.
"Tch."
With an annoying click, Ellen flies away from the place with her remaining parts on her
… But I ignore all that, and change my gaze down—at the boy.
To think this kid's still barely hanging with all those bleeding, how fascinating.
I might need to personally check his body after this whole thing.
I extended my hand toward the bloody body, and coated a layer of
Within moments, his neck has been attached cleanly, as if it's never existed in the first place.
"Hmph…"
With my part here completed, I signal back at Kurumi and let myself sink into the shadows…
Shido POV:
Ugh… My head…
So dizzy…
Eh?
I open both my eyes, feeling as heavy as a car.
My memory slowly returns, with the last thing I know… is Ellen severed my neck.
… And yet, I'm still here.
Why am I—still alive? Am I a zombie right now?
Or was that… all a dream? Was I just imagin—
"ELLEN!!!!!!!!"
An angry yet desperate scream fell into my ears from above the sky, and I realized that.
Seems like everything is real, I suppose. And Tome… is in the sky, attacking Ellen.
Even at this distance, I still shiver from her slashes.
Too feral, too angry—too much.
She's beyond angry, beyond grief, beyond common senses.
All I can see from the once beautiful yet understanding girl—is merely a beast, drowned in fear, anger and grief.
… But despite that, despite knowing she turned wild, despite worries for her being—I can't help but feel a bit happy.
If what I think is true, then she… she doesn't have to run away. She can be with me.
But as I was still pondering with my own thoughts, the city view before me suddenly changed to that of a grey wall.
This is…
"Shido!!!!"
A shadow suddenly stepped up in front of me, her twin tails waving with her steps, her face—
Without acknowledging her expression, I turned away from her. For I already know what will happen next.
Despite everything they do for me… I failed.
I fail to convince her, I fail to stop her rampage, I fail to stop her. And now, with my mistake, she's turning even more dangerous than she ever was.
… I just can't keep failing, am I?
"Shido…"
I heard Kotori calling for me, with various feelings in her voice. Broken. Concern. Relief.
Everything that I never expected her to express, especially in this state of her.
I turned to face, and my heart dropped. For she, the current commander of
Her expression is still the usual serious yet childish… but was tainted by the tears…
"You idiot…"
Her body slowly shakes, yet her eyes narrow down dangerously. She quickly approaches me still with teary eyes, so I subconsciously cover my guts ready to take her punch…
" … I'm sorry."
… But she did something that I never thought she would.
She—hugged me.
Without violence, without complaining, just hug me in tears… Huh?
"I'm sorry…"
With a tearful yet trembling, almost breaking down voice, she… apologize? But why? Why did she apolog—
"I take back the fire… I'm sorry… I'm sorry."
… Fire? What did she mean by that?
"Shin."
Finally, under the awkward atmosphere, Reine breaks the silence with a nonchalant voice while showing me a tablet.
"Rein—"
"We need you to kiss Tome."
"—I'm sorry, what?!"
I unintentionally let out a scream with Reine's sudden request, but her face didn't budge one bit.
"You must kiss her to stop all of this."
… What?