Chat Group : Another Fate From Honkai

"We're home!"

"Kurumi, I got you a gift~!"

The moment Itsuka Shido opened the door and stepped inside, he was greeted by an unfamiliar sight: a laid-back black-haired boy casually leaning against the sofa, and a quiet pink-haired girl sitting beside him.

Standing behind the boy was Tokisaki Kurumi, dressed in a brand-new maid outfit, exuding an air of elegance and seductive grace.

Shido's gaze shifted toward the source of the cheerful voice—and he instinctively froze in place.

Silence fell over him.

He slowly backed up, dragging along a similarly stunned Yatogami Tohka and Yoshino, shutting the door behind them.

Then, with a confused expression, he checked the nameplate on the door.

After confirming—several times—that it was indeed their apartment, they cautiously stepped back inside.

"Um… excuse me, but… who are you people?"

If not for the fact that the room was perfectly tidy, Shido might've thought they'd been robbed.

"Yo, what's up, kid?" the black-haired boy gave a relaxed wave and narrowed his eyes into a businesslike smile. "Name's Nagami. You could say… I'm your older brother, for now."

"Older brother? Shido, I thought you only had Kotori as a younger sister?"

Unlike the timid ice spirit Yoshino, who clung tightly to Shido's sleeve and hid behind him, the pure-hearted Tohka, after spending some time around humans, had grown far less fearful of them.

"Of course not!" Shido instantly denied it, staring warily at Nagami's gentle smile. "Sir, I'd appreciate it if you didn't joke about something like that."

Even though he was clearly rejecting the idea, Shido's tone was mild, revealing just how much of a nice guy he really was.

"No, he's not joking," came a sleepy voice from deeper inside the room.

Itsuka Kotori walked out, rubbing her eyes.

"He's my distant cousin. So technically, yeah… he's kind of your older brother too. Yaaawn~"

She didn't even finish her explanation before letting out a huge yawn, tears glimmering in the corners of her tired eyes.

She'd spent the whole night explaining the situations of Nia Honjo and Tokisaki Kurumi to the people at Ratatoskr, and even had to work out how to register them legally.

As the commander, Kotori had been overwhelmed with work.

"Oh, and welcome back, Shido."

"Distant cousin!?" x3

All three—Shido and the two Spirits—wore expressions of utter disbelief.

"What's with that reaction? Is it really so shocking?"

Kotori narrowed her eyes at Nagami, who was grinning smugly like he'd just won the lottery.

She delivered an elbow to his gut—though it looked vicious, it didn't pack much power.

Nagami hunched over in dramatic pain, groaning like he'd just been mortally wounded.

"Hey, Kotori, how come I've never heard anything about you having a cousin?"

Watching the two mess around like close siblings, Shido pulled Kotori aside to the corner of the living room, his face full of doubt.

That name… Nagami? He never heard it before.

And what was with the whole vibe—this guy looked like someone seriously rich.

He even had his own personal maid?

Since when did the Itsuka family have wealthy relatives like that?

"We do have quite a few distant relatives," Kotori said with a shrug. "Some of them are so far removed, even I barely know who they are."

"And don't forget—this one just come back from overseas."

"That's… fair, I guess," Shido replied, rubbing his chin. "Still, with the way you've been acting lately, it really feels like there's more to this than you're letting on…"

Crossing his arms, Shido stared at her from above, eyebrows furrowed.

His instincts told him something was definitely off.

Mainly because Kotori herself had changed a lot recently…

"How could you say that~? Do you really think your clever, perfect little sister would lie to you?"

A dazzling, sunshine-bright smile lit up Kotori's twin-tailed face, making her look irresistibly cute.

"It's just that my cousin's staying with us for a while, along with his friends."

There it is.

There it is again.

That feeling.

Shido took two steps back instinctively.

Faced with his sister's dazzling (but somewhat unsettling) smile, he wisely chose not to press any further.

As siblings who lived together, he could easily tell—Kotori had gone through a dramatic shift lately.

He hated to admit it as her big brother, but…

She was definitely becoming more and more scheming!

Not wanting to get caught up in anything dangerous, Shido obediently returned to the living room and politely greeted Nagami.

Seeing Shido's gesture, Yoshino slowly relaxed and offered her own timid greeting.

"Bro, seriously," Nagami grinned as he slung an arm around Shido's shoulders like they were old friends. "Your life is insane! Like, 'heaven in a cage' kind of insane!"

After exchanging greetings with the ice spirit in his usual laid-back, friendly manner, Nagami casually pulled Shido close.

Let's be real—the Fourth Spirit, Yoshino, is only 13 years old, you know?

Thirteen.

Then again… Spirits technically aren't bound by human laws.

So what Shido was doing probably didn't count as illegal.

"Uh, Nagami-nii… what do you mean by that…?"

Shido tilted his head in confusion, scratching the back of his head as he stared at Nagami with a puzzled look.

"Oh, nothing. Just a compliment."

Nagami gave him a friendly smile and gave Shido a couple of firm pats on the shoulders.

"Uh… thanks, I guess, Nagami-nii…"

Shido nodded politely, though he had no idea what Nagami really meant.

Deep down, he had the feeling that it definitely wasn't a compliment.

Watching Nagami's cheerful expression, Shido suddenly had a hunch about the cause behind Kotori's recent transformation.

He was just about to say something when—

'WEEOOO—!!'

A shrill siren tore through the sky, accompanied by the low rumble of massive machinery activating somewhere in Tengu City.

Steel skyscrapers began to slowly sink underground, retreating in anticipation of what was coming.

"No way! That sound… It's a spatial quake!"

Eyes going wide, Shido shot up from the sofa and turned to Kotori, who had also looked over in alarm.

"I know," she said quickly. "Ratatoskr is already en route. I'll send you to the site right away."

Biting down and crunching her lollipop in half, Kotori swiftly tied on her black hair ribbon.

Then, she glanced toward Nagami.

"The scale isn't that big. It shouldn't be too dangerous. This Spirit probably didn't trigger the spatial quake intentionally."

Nagami had already sensed it the moment the spatial quake appeared.

"Don't mind me, you guys go do your thing," he said, waving it off. "I'm not interested in twisted yuri freaks."

After scanning the center of the quake with his abilities, Nagami quickly identified the Spirit responsible.

Apparently, the original Date A Live plotline had been completely thrown into chaos due to his presence.

But it wasn't anything worth worrying about.

Compared to Herrschers, Spirits weren't particularly difficult to deal with.

With the exception of that walking bug Mio Takamiya, not even ten Spirits combined would pose a real threat to him.

"Just a friendly tip—you can let Shiori take the field this time~"

"Roger that! Got it!"

Kotori gave a bright, understanding nod—her expression screamed, "Leave it to me, I'm totally on board!"—and turned on her heel, black stockings hugging her legs as she ran toward Tohka's room.

Shido's own clothes didn't fit Kotori's disguise, but Tohka's were just about the right size.

"Here—your big bro is sponsoring a wig."

With a knowing look that said "I know you're lying to me, but at least try to act like you're not," Shido watched as blue-violet particles swirled in Nagami's hand, materializing a wig.

But this wasn't just any wig—it was smoother, softer, and more luxurious than even the most meticulously styled real hair.

"Hehe, got it~"

Kotori accepted the wig with a sweet, sugary smile and a voice dripping with cuteness.

Then she turned to Shido.

"Wait, what are you talking about?! Who's Shiori!?"

Eyes widening in horror, Shido blinked rapidly, his sense of dread growing as he was met with nothing but the eerily warm smiles of Kotori and Nagami.

"It's nothing! Come on, Shido, time to go! Ratatoskr is already in position!"

Now that she'd confirmed the spatial quake wasn't a major threat—thanks to Nagami—Kotori's focus had fully shifted to getting Shido into "Shiori mode."

"Oh! R-Right!"

No time to argue.

The priority now was to prevent the Spirit from destroying the city… or getting injured by AST forces.

Shido bolted out the door without another word.

"A new Spirit, huh? Master, would you like me to check it out?"

Kurumi asked sweetly, naturally linking her arm with Nagami's.

Her ample chest pressed against his arm, soft and bouncy enough to make his expression twitch involuntarily.

Those ruby-like eyes looked up at him with a playful gleam.

Feeling the warm pressure and silky smooth sensation, Nagami coughed awkwardly and quickly replied,

"Ahem—yeah, go take a look. If anything dangerous happens, don't hold back. I'll cover the cost of your 'Time'."

What could Miku Izayoi, the so-called twisted yuri idol, possibly do to Kurumi?

Replace Kurumi's head with those ridiculous pre-installed twin torpedoes on her chest?

"Then Master, I'll be back shortly~"

Receiving the answer she wanted, Kurumi gave a refined smile and a graceful curtsy before melting into the shadows.

Her destination—

The café next to where the Spirit had appeared.

After all, as a hardworking girl constantly being exploited by her boss, Kurumi had naturally mastered the sacred art of slacking off while on the job.

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