The orange-haired twins wore the Raizen High School uniform. Had Yimi paid even a little attention while Origami walked her to school, she would have known their classroom sat just one wall away from Origami's own.
Under normal circumstances, Japanese high schools had no evening study sessions. If you hadn't signed up for supplementary classes or joined a club, most schools let students go home as early as three in the afternoon.
The little girl circled the pair, studying them from every angle.
"What's with this kid?"
"Conjecture: she cannot locate her parents and has sought assistance from the more charming Yuzuru."
"More charming… hmph. By any measure, it is this princess who reigns supreme, is it not?"
Already the difference between them was obvious—one spoke with a lively, animated lilt; the other wore the same blank expression as Origami.
Just as they were winding up to bicker, the little girl had already leveled a finger at them and assigned a new nickname: "Same person."
Not quite.
She shifted her gaze—down to their chests.
"Different."
Yamai Yuzuru stood up straighter with pride. "Pride: this is the very source of Yuzuru's charm."
Yamai Kaguya flexed her hands into claws. "Keh! That is what draws foolish boys who utterly lack the ability to appreciate genuine appeal—attracted instead to your vulgar proportions."
"I'm a girl," Yimi raised her hand to object.
Yuzuru crouched and patted her on the head. "Affirmation: aesthetic appreciation transcends the boundaries of gender."
This person talks so strangely.
Yimi's eyes shifted. She pulled from her System-space the book she had just been snubbing. "For you."
"Puzzlement: from such a small frame, where were you hiding—" Yuzuru reached out to take it, but Kaguya snatched it first.
"Can this be… the legendary Tome of the Demon God…? I see it now—thou hast come of thine own will to pledge thyself as a vassal to Us, hast thou not?"
No—she had absolutely no idea what this thing was. But a book stamped with a weapon insignia and bound in rough animal hide happened to hit the chuunibyou sweet spot perfectly.
Yimi's face settled into a classic "Nyanpasu" expression.
The cat couldn't understand a single word these two were saying.
But this woman had accepted the useless book.
The little cat narrowed her eyes in a smile. The scales-bearing Stand flickered into existence behind her back—and Kaguya suddenly felt as though something had been scooped out of her body.
No—it was her Reiryoku. The small fragment she'd retained after Shiori's sealing had abruptly drained away.
"What did you do?! Was it that book?!" The stunned girl immediately checked her power reserves and found it was only ordinary depletion—the kind that recovered with rest.
The cat considered skill books useless, and equally doubted this exchange had netted anything worthwhile. Still, it had nudged the fusion progress forward—roughly sixty to seventy percent now.
Kaguya fixed a sharp gaze on the tiny stranger who had materialized out of nowhere. "Just who are you?"
"I'm Yimi." The cat raised a paw.
"Yimi?" She'd heard that name from Shiori—an unsealed Spirit. "Don't tell me you're the same type as Shi—no, wait. You never kissed me."
"Kissed?" Yimi tilted her head curiously.
"That's when your mouth meets… a-anyway, why is a little kid asking about that?!" Kaguya went scarlet.
Yuzuru turned aside, covering her mouth. "Mockery: though Yuzuru would not say so to Kaguya's face."
"You already said it! And on top of everything, can someone explain what is going on?! This thing siphoned off my Reiryoku and you're not even slightly concerned?!"
Yuzuru pressed a hand lightly to her lips. "Astonishment: Master Origami."
"Hm?" The familiar name turned Yimi's head.
Not far away, the white-haired, blank-faced girl was walking toward them at a measured pace, arms full of thick stacks of paper. She glanced down.
She pressed one sheet directly onto Yimi's clothes.
Yimi peeled it off and read it.
Lost Cat Notice.
It bore the photo Origami had attached when she messaged Shiori with "I have the cat."
Reward offered. Cat answers to Cuộn Cuộn. Lost for the second time due to her negligent caretaker. Eats two full bowls of premium-grade cat food daily—unaffordable for the average household. Contact owner at: …
Yimi looked up at Origami.
Origami looked down at her.
The daughter of the negligent teacher who had lost her cat.
Worth kidnapping.
"What are you doing?" The cat couldn't make sense of it.
"Cat went missing." Origami patted the thick sheaf of flyers in her hand and studied Yimi at length.
The little girl looked away. "Why are you staring at me?"
"Thinking about putting you in a pot." Delivered with perfect composure—threatening the child to spite the negligent teacher.
Yimi immediately bolted behind Yuzuru to hide.
Yuzuru cooperated without hesitation, extending an arm to shield her. "Objection: bullying children is unacceptable behavior."
Only then did Origami shift her attention to the two Spirits. Without a word, she handed each of them a Lost Cat Notice.
Kaguya pinched her chin, puzzled. "This cat… I feel like I've seen it somewhere."
On Ratatoskr's surveillance monitors.
"You won't find it." Yimi peeked out from behind Yuzuru, stating a simple fact.
"Why not?"
"Because the cat doesn't want to be found."
"Have you seen it?"
"No." Yimi looked away again.
Origami pinched her cheek. "Where is it?"
"Don't know. Yimi isn't a cat." She wasn't telling.
Origami raised her phone to her ear and played along. "Moshi moshi, Reine-sensei? Understood."
She lowered the phone, slipped it into her pocket, and told Yimi: "Murasame-sensei just called. She wants you to help me find the cat."
Yimi blinked, completely thrown off. Hadn't Grandma (fake) just told her to stay away from this person? And now she was suddenly being sent back?
Thinking the little one had caught on, Origami raised the phone again to cover her mouth and pinched her nose. "This is Murasame Reine. Tell the big sister in front of you where the kitty is right now. She'll buy you cake. Don't mind my voice—I just caught a cold."
"Cake?" The little girl finally reacted.
Big Cat was truly a bewildering creature. Just moments ago she'd told her to stay away—now she was sending her back.
Yimi stepped out from behind Yuzuru and pointed at Origami. "Give me cake first."
So that was it?
Origami gave a small nod, her mind already piecing together the full picture.
Negligent teacher was too lazy to look after the cat and deliberately set it loose. Or: negligent teacher found the cat too adorable and simply stole her student's pet.
Either way—my cat has been kidnapped, and cake is the ransom.
Origami took Yimi away, leaving the twins staring blankly at each other.
"Wait—how did my Reiryoku even disappear? All I got was one beat-up book?"
"Concern: will Master Origami put the child in a pot?"
"I'm exhausted! If there really were a world packed full of Spirits, if each of them manifested just once—we'd be done for!" Kotori slumped home and pounded her own shoulder, unwrapping a lollipop and crunching down on it.
When stress got bad, a lollipop helped immensely—at least, that was her theory.
"Hm? What's this?" She noticed a book sitting on the coffee table, left there by who knew whom. Something like an axe was printed on the cover.
The sort of thing Shiori might have collected during her chuunibyou phase.
Worth flipping through. Maybe there were some entertaining embarrassing stories inside.