Dimensional Kaguya Ōtsutsuki

Kaguya gently closed her eyes, then suddenly opened them. A brilliant light flickered within her clear, crystalline pupils, as if an invisible force emanated from them and seeped into Touka Kirishima's body.

After a moment, Kaguya let out a sigh of relief.

It was just as she had suspected.

RC Cell Over-Secretion Disease—a condition caused by the blockage of the Rc cell ducts near the kagune sac. The afflicted individual is unable to release their kagune. More than that, the blocked Rc cells accumulate without release, and over time, the resulting pressure on surrounding tissues could lead to unpredictable complications.

In the original story, the consequences of this condition weren't elaborated on—only that the kagune couldn't be deployed.

However, under Kaguya's Star Eyes, she could see everything clearly. Due to the immense pressure, Rc cells were slowly leaking from the kagune sac and invading other tissues. This caused a surge in Rc concentration within the bloodstream, sharply increasing blood pressure and damaging internal organs. Essentially, the ghoul's regenerative ability was constantly being overtaxed, resulting in rapid internal deterioration.

If Touka were an ordinary human, she would have long since died from the extreme blood pressure.

Additionally, repeated damage and healing had caused a mild infection in her body. If left untreated, Touka might not survive through the night.

Now that the cause was identified, solving it became much easier.

There were two options—one was to surgically remove Touka's kagune sac and repair the Rc cell ducts inside. However, this would be akin to cutting out a huge chunk of flesh from her body. Even if Touka herself didn't object, Kaguya wouldn't do something so drastic.

The other option...

Kaguya took off her jacket and rolled up her sleeve. Don't misunderstand—she wasn't planning anything indecent, nor did she intend to take advantage of a sick girl. That would be far too depraved.

Besides, if she did that, Touka would probably chase her down with a knife the moment she recovered.

Kaguya extended her finger and made a small, precise cut on her wrist with a sharp chakra blade. A long gash appeared, and crimson blood gushed out from the wound. She placed her wrist against Touka's pale lips, letting the blood trickle into her mouth.

It really hurts...

Yes, the other option was to use her own blood.

Since her blood could greatly enhance a ghoul's abilities, it surely contained properties that could promote cellular recovery. If it could amplify kagune abilities, then it might also help unclog the Rc pathways and restore normal Rc cell flow, effectively curing the condition without any invasive procedures.

Sure enough, after only a short while, Touka's complexion gradually improved. The abnormal flush on her skin faded, and her breathing became steadier.

Seeing that Touka was out of danger, Kaguya finally breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, she wasn't completely sure this would work. After all, she wasn't a doctor, and even if one were here, they might not have found a better solution.

Thankfully, her plan had worked.

At that moment, Touka's lips trembled slightly, as if she were trying to say something.

Kaguya froze for a moment and leaned in closer.

"Liu...li..."

Kaguya was stunned. She never expected that, even in a fevered state, Touka would call out her name. This was beyond anything she had anticipated.

Did she really hold such an important place in Touka's heart?

Kaguya couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. She had indeed been somewhat distant toward Touka, perhaps she should have spent more time with her. Otherwise, showing up just to mooch off her food every day—wasn't that treating her like some kind of resource rather than a friend? Even if they weren't in an intimate relationship, at the very least, they were close friends.

But just as Kaguya was feeling remorseful, Touka suddenly muttered again in a hoarse voice, "Idiot... I'm going to kill you."

Kaguya froze in place.

Just as she was lost in thought, Touka Kirishima suddenly bit down on Kaguya's chest.

"Ahhh—!"

...

After a while.

Kaguya sat on the edge of the bed, her clothes slightly disheveled, with faint red marks visible on her skin. Touka, on the other hand, was wrapped tightly in a blanket, covering her curvaceous figure, her cheeks still tinged with a lingering blush.

"Who told you to come here?" Touka huffed coldly, her icy tone somewhat undermined by the redness still present on her face.

"Sorry," Kaguya said, "I saw that you seemed unwell, so I got worried and came over."

Hearing Kaguya's words, Touka's expression softened slightly.

"I don't need your help," Touka huffed in her typical tsundere fashion. "Even if I were to die, it wouldn't be any of your business."

Such a classic tsundere response—her lips said one thing, but the slight upturn of her mouth betrayed her true feelings. No matter how much she denied it, her actions spoke louder than words.

"Besides, I still have an unpaid tab, so I..."

Before Kaguya could finish, she felt a sudden chill fill the air. A shiver involuntarily ran down her spine, and she swallowed the rest of her words.

"If that's the case, and there's nothing else, you can leave now," Touka said, her face turning cold as she looked away. "I'm not feeling well and need to rest, so please don't disturb me. Thanks."

"Actually, you've got it all wrong," Kaguya said awkwardly. "There's nothing going on between me and her, really."

Well, at least nothing's happened yet.

If she phrased it like that, surely Touka would understand.

Touka crossed her arms and turned away, her expression sullen, letting out a soft huff. She looked just like a girlfriend sulking after a petty argument.

Kaguya sighed involuntarily.

Hearing this, Touka's heart trembled. She knew deep down that she was being a little unreasonable. After all, Kaguya hadn't really done anything wrong. They weren't even close enough for such accusations—whatever Kaguya did with others shouldn't concern her.

But seeing Kaguya come all the way here to apologize, Touka couldn't help but feel touched, especially when she remembered the squished dango from last night. There was no reason for Kaguya to eat it, but she did anyway.

She had wanted to have a proper conversation with Kaguya, but somehow, the words that came out were cold and distant.

It wasn't that Touka had fallen for Kaguya or anything; emotions didn't develop that quickly.

Though they often bickered and she rarely showed Kaguya a good attitude, their bond was strong—like two friends who were always close but never realized it. It wasn't until someone else entered the picture that Touka started to notice. Just like how anyone would feel upset if their best friend suddenly started hanging out with someone else and ignoring them.

And as a ghoul, she didn't really have many friends. It wasn't easy to find someone she could laugh with, even if they often fought.

Just as Touka was lost in thought, Kaguya suddenly pulled her into a tight hug, catching her completely off guard.

Without surprise, just when Kaguya wanted to take things a step further, Touka Kirishima landed a solid kick to her chest, sending her flying out of the room.

Seriously, was grabbing a little too much to ask for? Such a petty girl.

Kaguya adjusted her slightly disheveled clothes, the corners of her lips curling into a smug grin. Looks like she still had quite the charm—even a tsundere like Touka wasn't that hard to handle.

Of course, it would have been more convincing if there wasn't a bright red handprint on her face.

"That idiot, fool, moron!" Touka leaned against the door, clenching her fists tightly, her head lowered, her delicate face flushed red like a ripe apple.

Honestly, Kaguya had completely misunderstood the situation. Touka's feelings towards her had nothing to do with romance; it was more about feeling betrayed as a friend. It was that simple—a classic case of someone feeling like their best friend had been taken away from them, something most people could relate to.

Touka deeply valued friendship and longed for it. After finding out that Kaguya had once saved the 20th Ward's coffee shop, her goodwill toward Kaguya had skyrocketed, and unconsciously, she had started to consider her a close friend.

That's why, after not seeing Kaguya for a long time, she had gone out of her way on Christmas Eve to buy her favorite dango as an excuse to visit. However, being the tsundere that she was, expressing her true feelings wasn't exactly her forte. Still, little by little, she was changing.

Of course, this didn't mean she had fallen into some forbidden love with Kaguya—not yet, at least. But her flustered reactions and behavior had undoubtedly led to misunderstandings. Naturally, she interpreted it as Touka being attracted to her.

Today, it wasn't so much that Touka was angry as it was that she was flustered and confused. She had never been in love before, nor had she experienced such feelings. The unfamiliarity scared her—especially since the person in question was another girl, making her even more uncertain and at a loss for what to do.

In fact, things had escalated to the point where she couldn't even tell what she was feeling anymore. And when Kaguya grabbed her chest, it only made her panic even more, leading to the reflexive kick that sent Kaguya flying off the bed.

But now, she wasn't so sure anymore. That rapid heartbeat, Kaguya's aggressive gaze—it all made her heart race uncontrollably, as if a little deer were bouncing around inside her chest.

Could it really be... love?

Touka's face turned an even deeper shade of red.

However, dear girl, you were overthinking things. The racing heartbeat, the flushed cheeks—none of it had anything to do with love. It was simply a side effect of Kaguya's blood altering her body.

Of course, this was something she was completely unaware of.

With the situation somewhat resolved, Kaguya let out a sigh of relief. Although Touka's intense reaction had surprised her, she could somewhat understand it. Teenage girls could be a little sensitive, after all.

As she descended the stairs, she noticed that the coffee shop was unusually crowded. The once tranquil environment was now filled with noise, which surprised her. The 20th Ward coffee shop usually had a steady but modest stream of ghouls coming in for coffee, but today, there were a lot of unfamiliar faces.

It was clear that many of the patrons weren't ghouls, but ordinary humans—easily recognizable by their scent and behavior.

"Well, aren't you going to have a cup of coffee?"

An aged voice sounded from behind Kaguya.

Kaguya turned around and saw that it was the shop owner, Yoshimura.

"Sure, this time I actually brought money," Kaguya said with a smile.

"Is that so?" Yoshimura smiled gently and said, "But this time, it's my treat. Please don't refuse."

"That's great," Kaguya grinned. "It's been a while since I've tasted the shop owner's coffee."

If there was anyone in the Anteiku coffee shop with the best brewing skills, it was undoubtedly Yoshimura. Even Kaya Irimi's coffee couldn't compare to his.

"Here you go," Yoshimura said, placing a cup of coffee on Kaguya's table.

"Thank you, shop owner," Kaguya replied.

"If you don't mind, may I sit here?" Yoshimura asked.

"Of course," Kaguya smiled and gestured for him to sit.

Yoshimura sat across from her with a kind expression and said, "The last time we met was quite a while ago."

"Yeah," Kaguya sighed, realizing it had been more than a week.

"I was referring to the last time the CCG swept through the 20th Ward," Yoshimura added with a slight smile.

Hearing this, Kaguya set down her coffee cup, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I don't quite understand what you mean, shop owner."

"Although I don't know why you choose to hide it, I can see that you're not a bad person," Yoshimura said with a smile. "I have no other intentions; I just hope you can treat them well."

Who "they" were was clear to Kaguya, even if Yoshimura didn't specify. If she had guessed correctly, he was referring to the people at Anteiku.

"You're overthinking it, shop owner," Kaguya took a sip of her coffee and glanced at him. "I'm neither a good person nor someone without principles. I just don't want anyone interfering with me or disrupting my life, that's all."

"I see," Yoshimura placed his cup back on the table.

"But in the near future, I might do something significant that could disturb you all," Kaguya said, a faint smile appearing on her face. "But please don't worry—it's a good thing, not a bad one. A garden needs pruning to become more beautiful, and this world is the same. It's time for it to return to what it was meant to be."

Though the black-haired girl before him wore a warm smile, Yoshimura couldn't help but feel a deep chill creeping into his heart.

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