Date A Mysterious Being

Chapter 28 - Return

"Hee-hee-hee! Say, daaarling? You can come closer, you know? Come on nooow."

"Uh. So, umm, Miku."

"What is iiiit? Oh, right. I found this lovely little Italian place the other day. Do you have any plans toniiight? How about you join me?"

"Oh, uh, I have to make supper for Tohka and everyone, so..."

"Whaaat? Then let's go with Tohka and everyone, too. I'm not a petty woman, you knoooow. Of course, it would be my treat, so please don't worry about that."

"No, but seriously, Miku." Itsuka Shidou looked at the girl snuggling up to him with an innocent smile on her face, a troubled look upon his own.
Bluish-purple hair, smooth and shiny like silk, and well cared-for, luminous skin. She was-without exaggeration-gorgeous.

Izayoi Miku was in the grade above Shidou, but her behavior was always so childish that it was hard to believe she was actually the older one. Her body, however, was definitely mature. Every time she moved, her more-than-ample bosom pressed into Shidou, leaving him at a loss for what to do. All he could do was look anywhere but at her, a cold sweat popping up on his forehead.
But it wasn't only Miku's innocent come-on that was making Shidou freeze up.

""..."" Two people glaring intensely at him. Well, to be more precise, only one person stared intensively while the other didn't really have any reaction in particular.

His little sister Kotori and Lucas were sitting right in front of them. Kotori's hair was tied up in two black ribbons, eyes round like acorns, and a Chupa Chups stuck in her mouth. She wore a crimson jacket over her shoulders and was resting her chin in her hands as she grumpily watched Shidou and Miku's (one-way) flirting.

They were in a room on the airship Fraxinus. The space was dim, as though the lights had been purposefully lowered. Chairs had been set out in the center of the room and long tables set up around them. The scene was like a stressful job interview or even an audience at court. Miku didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest by the tense atmosphere.

"Maybe that's enough for now, Miku," Kotori said, finally.

"Hmm? Whaaat do you ever mean?" Miku said, innocently.

"I. Told. You!" Kotori gritted her teeth and slammed a hand down on the table. "This is an inquiry! Shidou's only here as a special favor, because you said you wouldn't do it unless your 'darling' came!"

"Ohhh, that's right." Miku laughed and turned toward Kotori. But her hand remained wrapped around Shidou's arm.

Kotori sighed heavily as she flipped through the documents in front of her. "So then, let's get on with the questions."

"Yes, yes. Pleeease do," Miku said, warmly.

Kotori let out another sigh. "There are a number of things we want to ask you about your powers and your Angel. But I'll set those aside for now. First..." She snapped her index finger out at Miku as she said, "We need to ask about the being that made you a Spirit."

"...!" Miku stiffened.

"You're not a natural-born Spirit- you were originally human," Kotori continued. "No mistake there, right?"

"..."
Miku frowned slightly and looked pained. She started breathing a little faster.
Shidou wondered for a second if there was something preventing Miku from answering Kotori's question, but then he remembered that she had become a Spirit at a time when she had lost her faith in human beings entirely and saw no good in the world. She was probably just reluctant to speak of that time.

"Are you all right, Miku?" he asked. "If this is difficult for you, we can take a break."

"No, it's all right." Miku shook her head. "I have you now, daaaarling. I've decided to move forward, and that means parting with everything in the past, too."