As though stopping Shidou from thinking too much, Kurumi spoke to him.
"Hm......?"
Hearing that, Shidou raised his head. He saw many thick bamboos placed alongside the stores of the shopping district, the leaves extending towards the night sky. There were already countless tanzaku hung on the branches, creating a colourful sight.
"Wah, that really looks beautiful."
"Yeah......Look, they seem to be giving out tanzaku there. Didn't you come over for that reason?"
"Yeah, I'll just help myself then——Isn't Shidou-san going to write one too?"
"Eh, no, I'll just......"
"It's a rare chance after all, will you write it together with me?"
Kurumi gently smiled, taking Shidou's hand in hers. Just like that he was pulled by Kurumi, walking next to the bamboos.
The dense number of bamboo leaves were just like a curtain. Long tables were placed below the bamboos to allow people to write their tanzaku more easily.
Shidou and Kurumi both took tanzaku from the staff members, after taking out pens from a makeshift pen holder from a plastic bottle with its top cut off, they started to think of what to write.
"A wish......huh."
Although he did have wishes,......but when he wanted to write them down, he found it difficult to decide.
As such, Shidou naturally thought, what did the others write, at the same time he looked up.
"Hm......?"
Amongst the few tanzaku that he saw, a familiar name was seen.
[I want to eat Katsu-karē for dinner tonight. Yatogami Tohka]
"T-that girl......when did she come here?"
Judging from that distinct handwriting, it was definitely written by Tohka herself. Shidou scratched his cheek in suspicion, deciding in his heart——he will remember to buy ingredients for Katsu-karē on his way home.
Following that, looking beside the tanzaku, he saw others.
[I wish that I can speak to people in the eye. Yoshino]
[I wish that Yoshino will be happy. Yoshinon]
"Haha......"
Looking at such heartwarming wishes, Shidou couldn't help but smile. It seems that Yoshino and [Yoshinon] came here with Tohka.
"Then, probably......"
Shidou continued to look at other tanzaku.
[I wish that Shidou would be more useful. Itsuka Kotori]
"T-that girl......"
That was definitely Shidou's sister·Kotori's tanzaku. Shidou's facial muscles twitched, his eyebrows started creasing ——Suddenly, he noticed that there seemed to be smudges on the right side of her wish.
"......"
It was very unlikely that that imouto-sama would write incorrectly. She probably wrote some unsightly insults, so she had no choice but to rewrite.
Shidou heaved a sigh, at the same time using his finger to scratch his face before turning to look at his tanzaku once more.
Looks like there was no need to be overly serious. Shidou intended to write [I wish that all Spirits will obtain happiness]——before recalling that the existence of [Spirits] is a secret.
So, he changed his words to read [I wish that spacequakes would not occur again, let there be peace on earth.]. Although it sounds more subtle, the meaning behind it is generally the same.
"Let's leave it like that......"
Saying that, Shidou turned to look at Kurumi's direction.
To be honest, in regards to what wish she would be writing, it would be impossible not to feel curious.
"Kurumi, what did you write?"
As he spoke, Shidou glanced at the tanzaku in her hands. However Kurumi immediately flipped that tanzaku over, preventing him from seeing it.
"Fufu, that's a no no, you dare peek at a maiden's secrets, Shidou-san is a mean person."
Kurumi displayed an alluring smile, raising her index finger, swiftly pressing onto Shidou's lips.
"You......!"
"Fufu, Shidou-san's reaction is really cute."
"D-don't tease me anymore."
Shidou wiped his lips with his arm, Kurumi on the other hand started to happily giggle.
"Never mind that, in short, you're done as well right? Then let's hang our tanzaku on the branches."
Hearing his words, Kurumi obediently nodded her head.
"Yeah, then where shall we hang it?"
"Well......there's a saying, the closer you hang it to the heavens, the higher the chance that the wish would come true......"
"Closer to the heavens......then that means, over there?"
Kurumi pointed up to the sky, over there, a massive bamboo with a height taller than the roof of the building swayed with the wind. Such a height, no man could reach, so there were no tanzaku hung.
"Um, that really is high......but that's too dangerous. Look, there's some space on the bamboo over there, let's hang it there."
"Mm, alright."
Shidou and Kurumi both held their tanzaku in their hands, walking forwards under the cover of the leaves.
Nearing the end of the road, one could see that there was still space to hang tanzaku.
"Yeah, then let's hang these here."
Saying that, Shidou stretched out his hand, hanging his tanzaku onto the branch.
However, Kurumi still held onto her tanzaku, not moving from her spot. Shidou saw that, tilting his head in confusion.
"Kurumi? What's wrong with you?"
Hearing his words, Kurumi weakly smiled before slowly speaking.
"Shidou-san......You had said it before right, Hikoboshi and Orihime, no matter how many years of rain, would never forget each other."
"Eh? Yeah......I did say that."
Hearing that, Kurumi, as though wishing to deeply remember this sentence, drooped her head, continuing to speak.
"Hey......Shidou-san. No matter how many years of rain, would Shidou-san not forget about me too?"
"Eh?"
Such a sudden question, caused Shidou to hesitate.
However, Kurumi did not seem to be making fun of him.
So, after Shidou thought for a few seconds, he nodded to Kurumi.
"Yes, I won't forget you. Futhermore......A girl with such a strong presence as you, I can't forget even if I wanted to."
Shidou bitterly smiled as he replied.
"Is that so."
Hearing that, Kurumi let out a satisfied smile.
"What's with you......what a strange fellow. Alright, let's hurry up and hang the tanzaku shall we? If you don't want me to look at what you wrote, I can step back for a while——"
"No."
However, Kurumi shook her head from side to side.
"Looks like......time is already up."
"Time is......up?"
Hearing Kurumi's words that held a deeper meaning, Shidou couldn't help but frown.
And in the next instant——
"——I finally found you, [Me]."
From behind Kurumi——within the dark alley separated from the hustle and bustle of the busy street, he heard such a voice.
"What......"
After that, the moment he saw the figure that materialized, Shidou was rendered speechless.
It was a beautiful, wearing a long skirt that had vermillion and black interwoven like blood and shadow, black hair tied into two uneven bunches on both sides, as well as heterochromatic eyes. Furthermore, that face——
There was no question about it, it was Kurumi herself.
The Kurumi who was standing in the shadows, parted her lips slightly.
"You really went and done some selfish things......But, it all ends here. A clone that doesn't obey my will, will only stand in my way if you exist."
"A, clone......!?"
Shidou widened his eyes, looking at the Kurumi who was holding her tanzaku.
Kurumi was able to extract as well as hide copies of her past self in her shadows completely, that was something that he had understood last month.
——But, don't tell me, the Kurumi that was with him the entire day all this while, was actually a clone.
Shidou's head was in a midst of chaos. On the other hand, standing in the shadows——Kurumi's [real body] bent her knees slightly while pinching the ends of her skirt, bowing to Shidou.
"It's really been a while, Shidou-san. I'm really sorry, my incompetent clone seemed to have given you some trouble."
"This, what on earth is going on?"
Shidou's confusion could be told from his expression. Hearing such a question, the real Kurumi looked at her clone from the corner of her eye, lazily starting to explain.
"I've said it before right, my clones are my past, my experiences. The [Tokisaki Kurumi] standing over there is the same, she was taken out of a random instant of my past, another personality. It's just that, the instant where I had taken her out from was really from a terrible moment."
"Terrible......?"
The real Kurumi nodded her head.
"That [Me] was when I was replenishing my clones......I accidentally recreated her from the time when Shidou-san was talking to my other self on the roof last month......I really don't know whether it can be counted as a prank from god."
"Wha——"
Shidou was speechless.
He still recalled clearly.
Last month, on top of Raizen High School, Shidou and Kurumi had indeed spoken to each other.
Not only did the Kurumi of that time expand a barrier within the school, she also attempted to trigger a spacequake. Shidou on the other hand successfully persuaded her to stop, but the moment Kurumi was about to reciprocate his feelings——
At that moment, the original Kurumi showed up, and killed that Kurumi.
"Then that means, you're Kurumi, from that time......?"
"............"
Kurumi did not reply, she merely revealed a sad smile.
Looking at her, the real Kurumi impatiently sighed.
"I'm really sorry, a clone that doesn't listen to my orders cannot be left alone——especially [Me] who already had developed feelings for Shidou-san."
Saying that, the real Kurumi slowly raised her right arm, and ——swiftly formed a fist.
Following that, Kurumi's feet sprouted countless pale arms, slowly pulling her into the darkness.
"Ku——Kurumi......!"
Shidou hastily extended his arm, hoping to grab Kurumi's hand——However it was already too late.
"Shidou-san. Today——I was happy, really......"
Kurumi did not make any form of resistance, she let the white arms wrap around herself, until her figure was completely submerged by the darkness.
It was as though......she had already known that she would meet such an end from the start.
"Kuru, mi......"
"......Killing the same [Me] twice, what an unpleasant feeling."
The real Kurumi said as such, at the same time she pinched her skirt just like before, dipping her head and making a bow.
"I've done wh
As though stopping Shidou from thinking too much, Kurumi spoke to him.
"Hm......?"
Hearing that, Shidou raised his head. He saw many thick bamboos placed alongside the stores of the shopping district, the leaves extending towards the night sky. There were already countless tanzaku hung on the branches, creating a colourful sight.
"Wah, that really looks beautiful."
"Yeah......Look, they seem to be giving out tanzaku there. Didn't you come over for that reason?"
"Yeah, I'll just help myself then——Isn't Shidou-san going to write one too?"
"Eh, no, I'll just......"
"It's a rare chance after all, will you write it together with me?"
Kurumi gently smiled, taking Shidou's hand in hers. Just like that he was pulled by Kurumi, walking next to the bamboos.
The dense number of bamboo leaves were just like a curtain. Long tables were placed below the bamboos to allow people to write their tanzaku more easily.
Shidou and Kurumi both took tanzaku from the staff members, after taking out pens from a makeshift pen holder from a plastic bottle with its top cut off, they started to think of what to write.
"A wish......huh."
Although he did have wishes,......but when he wanted to write them down, he found it difficult to decide.
As such, Shidou naturally thought, what did the others write, at the same time he looked up.
"Hm......?"
Amongst the few tanzaku that he saw, a familiar name was seen.
[I want to eat Katsu-karē for dinner tonight. Yatogami Tohka]
"T-that girl......when did she come here?"
Judging from that distinct handwriting, it was definitely written by Tohka herself. Shidou scratched his cheek in suspicion, deciding in his heart——he will remember to buy ingredients for Katsu-karē on his way home.
Following that, looking beside the tanzaku, he saw others.
[I wish that I can speak to people in the eye. Yoshino]
[I wish that Yoshino will be happy. Yoshinon]
"Haha......"
Looking at such heartwarming wishes, Shidou couldn't help but smile. It seems that Yoshino and [Yoshinon] came here with Tohka.
"Then, probably......"
Shidou continued to look at other tanzaku.
[I wish that Shidou would be more useful. Itsuka Kotori]
"T-that girl......"
That was definitely Shidou's sister·Kotori's tanzaku. Shidou's facial muscles twitched, his eyebrows started creasing ——Suddenly, he noticed that there seemed to be smudges on the right side of her wish.
"......"
It was very unlikely that that imouto-sama would write incorrectly. She probably wrote some unsightly insults, so she had no choice but to rewrite.
Shidou heaved a sigh, at the same time using his finger to scratch his face before turning to look at his tanzaku once more.
Looks like there was no need to be overly serious. Shidou intended to write [I wish that all Spirits will obtain happiness]——before recalling that the existence of [Spirits] is a secret.
So, he changed his words to read [I wish that spacequakes would not occur again, let there be peace on earth.]. Although it sounds more subtle, the meaning behind it is generally the same.
"Let's leave it like that......"
Saying that, Shidou turned to look at Kurumi's direction.
To be honest, in regards to what wish she would be writing, it would be impossible not to feel curious.
"Kurumi, what did you write?"
As he spoke, Shidou glanced at the tanzaku in her hands. However Kurumi immediately flipped that tanzaku over, preventing him from seeing it.
"Fufu, that's a no no, you dare peek at a maiden's secrets, Shidou-san is a mean person."
Kurumi displayed an alluring smile, raising her index finger, swiftly pressing onto Shidou's lips.
"You......!"
"Fufu, Shidou-san's reaction is really cute."
"D-don't tease me anymore."
Shidou wiped his lips with his arm, Kurumi on the other hand started to happily giggle.
"Never mind that, in short, you're done as well right? Then let's hang our tanzaku on the branches."
Hearing his words, Kurumi obediently nodded her head.
"Yeah, then where shall we hang it?"
"Well......there's a saying, the closer you hang it to the heavens, the higher the chance that the wish would come true......"
"Closer to the heavens......then that means, over there?"
Kurumi pointed up to the sky, over there, a massive bamboo with a height taller than the roof of the building swayed with the wind. Such a height, no man could reach, so there were no tanzaku hung.
"Um, that really is high......but that's too dangerous. Look, there's some space on the bamboo over there, let's hang it there."
"Mm, alright."
Shidou and Kurumi both held their tanzaku in their hands, walking forwards under the cover of the leaves.
Nearing the end of the road, one could see that there was still space to hang tanzaku.
"Yeah, then let's hang these here."
Saying that, Shidou stretched out his hand, hanging his tanzaku onto the branch.
However, Kurumi still held onto her tanzaku, not moving from her spot. Shidou saw that, tilting his head in confusion.
"Kurumi? What's wrong with you?"
Hearing his words, Kurumi weakly smiled before slowly speaking.
"Shidou-san......You had said it before right, Hikoboshi and Orihime, no matter how many years of rain, would never forget each other."
"Eh? Yeah......I did say that."
Hearing that, Kurumi, as though wishing to deeply remember this sentence, drooped her head, continuing to speak.
"Hey......Shidou-san. No matter how many years of rain, would Shidou-san not forget about me too?"
"Eh?"
Such a sudden question, caused Shidou to hesitate.
However, Kurumi did not seem to be making fun of him.
So, after Shidou thought for a few seconds, he nodded to Kurumi.
"Yes, I won't forget you. Futhermore......A girl with such a strong presence as you, I can't forget even if I wanted to."
Shidou bitterly smiled as he replied.
"Is that so."
Hearing that, Kurumi let out a satisfied smile.
"What's with you......what a strange fellow. Alright, let's hurry up and hang the tanzaku shall we? If you don't want me to look at what you wrote, I can step back for a while——"
"No."
However, Kurumi shook her head from side to side.
"Looks like......time is already up."
"Time is......up?"
Hearing Kurumi's words that held a deeper meaning, Shidou couldn't help but frown.
And in the next instant——
"——I finally found you, [Me]."
From behind Kurumi——within the dark alley separated from the hustle and bustle of the busy street, he heard such a voice.
"What......"
After that, the moment he saw the figure that materialized, Shidou was rendered speechless.
It was a beautiful, wearing a long skirt that had vermillion and black interwoven like blood and shadow, black hair tied into two uneven bunches on both sides, as well as heterochromatic eyes. Furthermore, that face——
There was no question about it, it was Kurumi herself.
The Kurumi who was standing in the shadows, parted her lips slightly.
"You really went and done some selfish things......But, it all ends here. A clone that doesn't obey my will, will only stand in my way if you exist."
"A, clone......!?"
Shidou widened his eyes, looking at the Kurumi who was holding her tanzaku.
Kurumi was able to extract as well as hide copies of her past self in her shadows completely, that was something that he had understood last month.
——But, don't tell me, the Kurumi that was with him the entire day all this while, was actually a clone.
Shidou's head was in a midst of chaos. On the other hand, standing in the shadows——Kurumi's [real body] bent her knees slightly while pinching the ends of her skirt, bowing to Shidou.
"It's really been a while, Shidou-san. I'm really sorry, my incompetent clone seemed to have given you some trouble."
"This, what on earth is going on?"
Shidou's confusion could be told from his expression. Hearing such a question, the real Kurumi looked at her clone from the corner of her eye, lazily starting to explain.
"I've said it before right, my clones are my past, my experiences. The [Tokisaki Kurumi] standing over there is the same, she was taken out of a random instant of my past, another personality. It's just that, the instant where I had taken her out from was really from a terrible moment."
"Terrible......?"
The real Kurumi nodded her head.
"That [Me] was when I was replenishing my clones......I accidentally recreated her from the time when Shidou-san was talking to my other self on the roof last month......I really don't know whether it can be counted as a prank from god."
"Wha——"
Shidou was speechless.
He still recalled clearly.
Last month, on top of Raizen High School, Shidou and Kurumi had indeed spoken to each other.
Not only did the Kurumi of that time expand a barrier within the school, she also attempted to trigger a spacequake. Shidou on the other hand successfully persuaded her to stop, but the moment Kurumi was about to reciprocate his feelings——
At that moment, the original Kurumi showed up, and killed that Kurumi.
"Then that means, you're Kurumi, from that time......?"
"............"
Kurumi did not reply, she merely revealed a sad smile.
Looking at her, the real Kurumi impatiently sighed.
"I'm really sorry, a clone that doesn't listen to my orders cannot be left alone——especially [Me] who already had developed feelings for Shidou-san."
Saying that, the real Kurumi slowly raised her right arm, and ——swiftly formed a fist.
Following that, Kurumi's feet sprouted countless pale arms, slowly pulling her into the darkness.
"Ku——Kurumi......!"
Shidou hastily extended his arm, hoping to grab Kurumi's hand——However it was already too late.
"Shidou-san. Today——I was happy, really......"
Kurumi did not make any form of resistance, she let the white arms wrap around herself, until her figure was completely submerged by the darkness.
It was as though......she had already known that she would meet such an end from the start.
"Kuru, mi......"
"......Killing the same [Me] twice, what an unpleasant feeling."
The real Kurumi said as such, at the same time she pinched her skirt just like before, dipping her head and making a bow.
"I've done wh
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