Daily Life With Yoshino

Healthy Troubles

There's nothing quite like a return to routine after a long break.

Though, in this case, the "break" was less a voluntary vacation and more a profound reckoning with misconceptions about love and struggling through an unseasonable snowstorm, but Shidou wasn't in the mood to split hairs at the moment.

After all, his misunderstanding with Tohka had been resolved amicably. Yoshino had found her puppet and her spirit powers had been sealed. About the only problem left was letting Origami know that they were not, in fact, dating but things like that could come with time.

Feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day, Shidou bounced down the stairs and opened the living room door.

It was a beautiful day, all things considered. Morning sunshine filtered through the patio blinds, lighting the house in a soft glow. Outside, the melodies chirping of birds affirmed the presence of summer. And Yoshino was on the kitchen table in a naked leg lock with Tohka, who was currently slamming her hips into the younger girl's.

At his entrance, the two glanced his way, one in excitement and the other in embarrassment.

"Ah! Shidou, did you know girls can have sex with each other!"

...

"Not on the kitchen table!" he shouted, sending the girls flying.

A short time later—

Tohka and Yoshino currently lay prostrate, palms and foreheads planted on the hardwood floor while Shidou stood above them, a hand on his hip with the bearing of a disappointed parent.

"I'm glad you two are getting along, but do you have to do this so early in the morning? And on the kitchen table, no less!"

He threw an arm out at the fixture and the offending article— the wet spot left as evidence of Tohka and Yoshino's tryst currently dripping onto the floor.

"At least clean up after yourselves..."

As he pulled a towel from the stove's handle to clean up the table, Yoshinon rose up from her position on the floor.

"We were going to do that, before someone rudely interrupted us!"

"Mm-hmm. Sex is messy, so there's no point worrying about cleanup until after!"

At this, Shidou froze mid-wipe.

...That had been a bit of an overreaction, hadn't it?

Walking in on the two of them post-coitus had been a surprise to be sure, but perhaps dressing the naked girls down was a tad uncalled for.

That was odd. He hadn't even made breakfast and yet he felt like he had egg all over his face.

"...Well, if you really can't help yourselves, at least put down a towel or something! Bodily fluids are bad for the finish..."

"Pufufu~! Sure thing! Shidou is such a tsundere!"

"I am not! I'm just worried about the—"

Realizing that he was, in fact, being a tsundere, Shidou cleared his unobstructed throat and changed the subject.

"Kay, glad we've cleared that up." He went over the stove and switched it on. "Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

"I want egg on rice!"

Tohka shot up from her naked dogeza, Yoshino following a moment later and letting out a quiet "I'm... fine with that too..."

Shidou was halfway through getting things ready when he realized that the two had elected to sit at the kitchen table while still wearing their birthday suits.

"And put some clothes on, please. You can't just traipse around the place naked."

"Clothing is a shackle and a curse, ensnaring and subjugating its wear—"

"My house, my rules."

...Wait, if Yoshinon said that, does that means it's actually Yoshino who wants to be naked...

Deciding that it was too early for such weighty philosophical questions, Shidou began preparing breakfast for the three of them. He briefly considered making a serving for Kotori, but if she hadn't shown up by now, she was probably still aboard the Fraxinus, finishing up the reports for Yoshino's sealing.

He just hoped that little sister of his was having a decent meal for breakfast. He'd seen the junk they had in the vending machines there. Those were not real meals.

In any case, Shidou got to placing the plates around the kitchen table. By then, the girls had returned, now thankfully fully dressed — Tohka in a simple t-shirt and gym shorts combo, and Yoshino wearing a sundress on loan from Kotori.

Tohka dug into her plate immediately, scarfing down a generous helping that left her body trembling as she held her cheek in bliss.

"The fluffiness of the eggs compliments the savoriness of the soy sauce so well, and the and the added texture of the rice is just perfection!"

Shidou couldn't help a good-natured smirk at this girl's antics. For anyone else, that would be a totally over-the-top reaction even in a food anime.

At this glowing review, Yoshino took a tentative bite of her own meal.

A moment later, she scrunched up her eyes and her body shivered. She banged the tabletop and squirmed her legs, earning a laugh from Tohka and a chuckle from Shidou.

Yeah, these girls were going to be a definite handful.

But somehow, that didn't seem like such a bad thing.

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New Behavior Patterns

It is incredibly common for those who have never had sex to fall prey to all manner of myths and misconceptions regarding sexual intercourse. After all, without any experience to validate such claims, how can anyone distinguish fact from fiction?

But, there is perhaps an even more at-risk group— those who have only had one partner.

Such individuals are liable to overgeneralize their first sexual experience to all future partners, the complaints of their victims falling on deaf ears. After all, they know how sex works now.

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing indeed, and Shidou was about to have a close call with this reality after returning home from school one afternoon.

He was slipping off his shoes in the foyer, when he noticed Yoshino standing by the living room door.

"Oh, hey, Yoshino. How was your day?"

"It was... good..." A pause. "...How was yours?"

"Same old, same old."

Shidou was about to head off to his room to change out of his uniform when Yoshino grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.

"Oh, do you need something?"

Immediately, the girl blushed and fidgeted in place.

"Um... nobody's home right now..."

Shidou blinked at that.

"...Yes, that's true?"

Kotori likely wouldn't be back for some time, and Tohka said she was hanging out with friends. They would indeed have the house to themselves for the time being.

"Fufu~," Yoshinon snickered. "Shidou and Yoshino are so cute!"

"Cute?"

"Of course! The way you two are so bad at flirting is so cute!"

Shidou's face scrunched in confusion.

"...I'm sorry, I didn't realize we were flirting?"

Maybe he was just ignorant about such matters, but he doubted anyone would interpret what Yoshino had done just now as flirting.

"Is that so? Well then, allow Yoshinon to remove the scales from your eyes!"

Saying so, the puppet grabbed at the hem of Yoshino's sundress, lifting it as the girl let out a squeak.

"Yoshinon...!"

Ignoring her protests, Yoshinon hoisted the skirt up to her chest, revealing that Yoshino was not wearing panties, which was perhaps for the best. Any underwear she might have worn would have been utterly soaked at the moment.

Fluid dripped down the inside of her legs, strands of it stretched thin across her thighs. Shidou honestly thought she'd wet herself for a second, but the thick consistency of the fluid belied its origin.

Utterly exposed, Yoshino covered her face in embarrassment, swinging her hips back and forth in... embarrassment. Apparently.

Well, antics aside, Shidou would have to be pretty dense not to pick up what was going on here.

He wrapped an arm around her delicate waist, pulling Yoshino in close as she happily kissed him, letting their tongues play as they pressed their bodies together.

Deftly, she began undoing the button and zipper of his slacks, tugging them down with his boxers until his cock sprung free.

Coming from the normally timid girl, it was a surprisingly assertive approach, and Shidou moaned into her mouth as she stroked and pumped up his erection even further.

Eventually, she pulled away from their kiss, running her tongue over her wet lips as she gazed up at him, and Shidou was taken aback by the utter desire she did so with.

It was completely different from Tohka's exuberant lust, passionate in its own right, but with a focused, adult edge to it— as if she were looking at a long-lost lover, finally reunited after many years.

"What are ya waiting for, Shidou?" Yoshinon snapped him back to reality. "Aren't you gonna lift Yoshino with your big, strong arms, or is she too heavy?

A dangerous question.

"No. Not at all."

An evasive answer.

It was true that if they wanted to make love here, and Yoshino clearly wanted to, suspended congress was about the only way to make it work with the major height difference between them.

I'm just worried about whether I'm strong enough to do it...

He and Tohka had tried such positions before, but they had quickly discovered that he lacked the upper body strength to pull it off. As a result, Shidou had mentally written off standing sex, but Yoshinon was a lot shorter than Tohka, so it did stand to reason that she'd be lighter as well.

"Alright, let's try it."

At his signal, Yoshino stood on the tips of her toes, kissing him as she rested her weight on his shoulders. Then, when Shidou placed his arms between her thighs, she leapt up and hooked her legs about his elbows.

She's surprisingly light...

He supposed he shouldn't have been so surprised. Yoshino was a lot daintier than Tohka, to say nothing of how much smaller she was, so it was only natural that he'd be able to lift her like this.

Now that they'd solved that problem, though, another issue immediately presented itself.

How exactly were they going to get his P in her V?

Shidou's hands were currently busy lifting Yoshino, and the girl herself was only really holding on to him with one hand, the other of course occupied by Yoshinon.

"We're just gonna have to go by faith, not sight! Use the force, Yoshino!"

Those words brought some concern to her face, but Yoshino did as told, squirming her hips in search of Shidou's cock. For his part, he made it a bit easier by lifting her a little higher and flexing his penis so she'd have a stiffer target.

Yoshino found his glans and — after a bit more wiggling — was able to insert it, a satisfied hum resonating through her body into Shidou's.

Immediately, Shidou was caught off guard by just how much smoother Yoshino was on the inside compared to Tohka. He'd never even considered how different two vaginas could be.

Yoshino squeezed him, wringing any thoughts of other women from his mind.

Bracing her in his arms, Shidou pumped into her pussy, which rippled as if eager to milk and massage his cock.

So perhaps it shouldn't have been so unexpected when he felt himself hurtling towards orgasm in no time at all.

"Y-Yoshino...! Hah!"

"...Shidou... Shidou...!"

His toes curled tight as orgasm racked his body and he pounded his hips into Yoshino. He tried not to be too rough, but honestly it was all he could do just to keep his footing.

"Ooo~ right there, right there... That's Yoshino's—oh—sweet spot!"

She squirted as Shidou continued plunging into her pussy, her squirt gushing down his thighs.

In the throes of orgasm, the two locked lips, kissing each other deeply until they had to break off to catch their breath, nuzzling as they did so.

Eventually, Shidou's member slipped out and he let Yoshino down, the girl placing a hand between her thighs to catch the cum dripping down them. While she did this, Yoshinon gave Shidou's shoulder a platonic pat.

"Whew! Thanks for that, Shidou! Yoshino really needed that pick-me-up!"

He looked at the puppet, a little unsure what to make of that.

"Uh, sure... No problem."

He'd gotten so used to sex with Tohka that he'd mistaken her way of doing it for the act itself, but it could be so different depending on who was involved.

When it came to Yoshino, Shidou would definitely have to be more proactive in matters of the bedroom. Or... the foyer, in this case.

In any case, he really wanted to get out of his sullied uniform now, so he ushered the two of them into the bathroom to get cleaned up.

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Shidou Wants to Keep It Secret

While Ratatoskr's prime directive was to neutralize the spirits by sealing their powers, it also wanted them to eventually become fully functioning members of society. To that end, television was an invaluable resource.

Concerns about undue influences aside, media has a powerful ability to shape its viewers' outlooks and opinions, but it just as often is a reflection of their habits and interests.

Shidou, for example, of course enjoyed romances and the like, but he was also a fan of life hack style content, reflecting a focus on practical domesticity. Tohka, interestingly enough, had taken a liking to documentaries, in addition to her love of Kinako-Man and the frankly bizarre adventures he and his buddies got up to, while the rare moments he caught Kotori not working, she was often watching "how it's made" style videos about random foodstuffs, usually confectioneries, which often enough ended up on the menu at some point, much to Shidou's chagrin.

Yes, the media one consumes reveals much about their character— even that which they'd rather keep secret.

At the moment, Shidou was loading the dishwasher as Yoshino watched a popular soap opera.

Tohka was out with friends, while Kotori was busy with work, so the two had the house to themselves. Well, three if Yoshinon counted, which Shidou was still unclear about.

In any case, as a connoisseur in all things romance, he was not unfamiliar with soap operas, though their focus on melodrama and meandering plot lines left something to be desired.

This soap in particular was one that Shidou had a passing familiarity with.

Originally airing nineteen years ago, All My Loves followed the story of a young woman stumbling upon her parents' double lives as swingers after running into them at a meetup. It had run for twenty-seven seasons, and even won various awards for acting and directing, as well as praise for raising awareness on several social issues of the day.

Anyway, Yoshino had been watching the show for the past few days, all the while Shidou pretending that he'd never seen it before.

He loaded the last plate and turned the dishwasher on before heading Yoshino's way.

"Did Naoto just confess to Himiko?"

She glanced back at him, nodding slightly.

"...Things are getting... dicey."

Coming up from behind, Shidou set his arms on the back of the couch.

"Yeah, this part of the show was originally panned by audiences, but the writers really managed to turn things around by the end."

Absentmindedly, he gave a careful answer intended to assuage any concerns about quality without spoiling anything of the current arc.

"Why, Shidou, you know an awful lot about All My Loves, don't you?"

At Yoshinon's curious tone, Shidou entered a fugue state as a terrifying premonition played out in his mind.

"Are you ... into romance?" Yoshino tried and failed to hide a smirk. "Isn't that... so old-fashioned?"

"Well, I ... I wouldn't say that...! I just... happen to watch from time to time...!"

At his pathetic attempts at defense, Yoshino cupped her chin and regarded him as though he were something lower than dirt, a condescending smirk completing the picture.

"How cute."

Humiliation.

Dishonor.

Despair.

"I-I wouldn't say I k-know any more than the average person!"

Shidou said this like a malfunctioning text-to-speech bot.

At his odd behavior, Yoshinon somehow raised an eyebrow.

"But you seem pretty knowledgeable though."

Having had a second to compose himself, Shidou shrugged nonchalantly.

"Kotori watches them, so I see them here and there."

"That girl's barely in the house. Does she even do anything besides work?"

"Sometimes. You've only been here a week or so, anyway. Kotori watches plenty of the stuff when she's in."

"Oh, what are some shows that she's watched?"

"I wouldn't know. I don't pay that much attention really?"

"You don't pay any attention to what your sister watches?"

"I didn't say that. I said I don't pay too much attention to what she watches."

"So you really don't have any recommendations at all?"

"I mean, I wouldn't say that..."

"Well then name some already!"

Shidou's mind froze for a moment. Should he keep pushing the ignorant brother act, or would letting slip some red herrings be better? Yoshinon was starting to get pretty pushy...

"...Himiko's Anatomy, Our Big, Unusual Family, The Old and the Restless, and Desperate Metamours. Those are all decent."

"Wow, you know an awful lot for someone who just sometimes happens to catch his sister watching soaps!"

Too much! That was too much!

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well this whole time, you've been going on about how little you know about soaps, and yet you just rattled off five like it was nothing."

"It was four, not five."

"Whatever. Are you some romance aficionado or what?"

As the dishwasher continued through the prewash cycle, Shidou could feel himself begin to sweat beneath Yoshinon's relentless interrogation.

Had he tipped his hand? Was the gig finally up? He didn't know, and it must have looked truly suspicious the way he completely froze.

"I... I, uh..."

But, just as all hope seemed lost—

"Yoshinon, quite being so mean..." Yoshino mercifully shut the puppet up. "You're bothering Shidou..."

"Whaddya mean, I was just asking questions..."

The two returned to watching the soap, and Shidou did a good job of acting calm.

That was incredibly close just now. He'd foolishly almost exposed his most secret shame.

He'd need to be more careful going forward.

Results of today's match:

Shidou's loss.

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Peace In The Home

One day, Shidou returned to the Itsuka house to find it nearly frozen over.

Well, "find it" makes it sound like he stumbled upon this scene completely unawares. In actuality, Ratatoskr had informed him of this situation suddenly while he was coming back from school and he had immediately rushed over to the aforementioned sight.

"Chin, are you at the house?"

That was Reine, who was currently acting commander while Kotori rushed to the Fraxinus.

Panting from the sprint he'd just run, Shidou pressed his earpiece.

"Yeah. How's Yoshino doing?"

"Vital signs are fine, though her mental state has dropped and is approaching the red."

Tohka had gone with friends, so he didn't have to worry about her, though if they didn't do something about this quick people would start to notice.

"Oh, Shidou. It looks like something happened to your house."

Speak of the devil.

Behind him, one of his neighbors, Miss Okada, hunched over her cane as she marveled at the state of his home.

"I-I must have left the fridge open! Ahaha, silly me! I'll go close it right away!"

Spouting this ridiculous lie, Shidou rushed into the house.

From the outside, it didn't look that bad. The windows clearly had frost on the interior side, and there was mist leaking out of the thing like some kind of effects show, but otherwise the house looked... mostly fine.

That was not the case on the inside.

Frost covered every centimeter of the house, tracing intricate patterns from ceiling to floor. Shidou watched his breath as he closed the front door behind himself.

As the weather had warmed up already, he was in light clothing. He shivered and rubbed his arms as he made his way towards the living room, which seemed to be the source of the freeze. It took some pounding, but he was eventually able to force the door open and stumble through, ice crunching underfoot.

Snowbanks had collected in the corners. Icicles hung from the ceiling, and from the ice in the kitchen sink, the pipes had burst. It looked just like when the city had frozen.

And just like them, at the center of it all was Yoshino, sitting on the couch and shaking from something that didn't seem like cold.

Somehow managing to keep his footing as the snow gave way to ice, Shidou shook the girl's shoulder.

"Yoshino! Yoshino, how's it going? Are you doing alright!"

"It's no use Chin. You have to find Yoshinon to calm her down."

At Reine's words, Shidou's face dropped in a grave frown.

This was serious.

Yoshino was hysterical right now, and only Yoshinon at her side would calm her down.

In a mad rush, Shidou checked the house from top to bottom. All their rooms, the bathroom, the guest room, even places that made no sense at all, like the garage. There was no point in prematurely ruling anywhere out.

But, even after searching everywhere, Yoshinon was nowhere to be found.

At a loss, Shidou returned to Yoshino in the living room.

He'd had some time to think now, and he realized he probably should have questioned Yoshino first. He dropped to his knees before her, trying to keep his teeth from chattering as he spoke.

"...Yoshino, do you r-remember where you last saw Yoshinon?"

The girl snuffled, rubbing the tears from her eyes.

"...We were watching videos... and then I got sleepy... and when I woke up...!"

Yoshino gripped her shoulders tightly.

"Without Yoshinon... I'll just... hurt others...!"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Shidou desperately tried to placate her. "It must be so hard for you, but please stay calm, okay?"

Yoshino settled down somewhat, and he stuck his hands under his armpits as he thought.

So they'd last been together while watching TV in the living room, then she'd fallen asleep, and woken up to find the puppet missing...

Well, Yoshinon couldn't have just got up and left. At least, Shidou was pretty certain Yoshinon wasn't capable of that...

Then that only leaves ...

"Yoshino, can you get up for a second?"

Shidou asked her but when Yoshino made no move to get up, he lifted her and set her down beside him.

He dug through the layer of snow that had settled on the couch, rummaging around behind the cushion with numb fingers until just pulling the thing free and tossing it aside.

Please tell me it's here ...

His heart nearly skipped a beat when he caught sight of Yoshinon's pink ear poking out of a cushion. Desperately, Shidou yanked the puppet free, dusting it off and presenting it to Yoshino.

"Yoshino! Yoshino! Look, it's Yoshinon!"

She glanced up and after a moment, her face lit up. She was all too eager to take Yoshinon back, the puppet rustling to life as she pulled it on.

"Whew! That was way too soon for me to be getting lost again!"

Tears filled Yoshino's eyes as the puppet spoke, and she let out an impassioned "Yoshinon...!" before hugging it tightly.

At the sight of their blissful reunion, Shidou tried to expel the tension in his body with a massive sigh, to little effect.

The girl had some surprisingly mature moments, but times like this reminded him that Yoshino was still very fragile emotionally speaking. She'd been under attack from the AST for decades. It would be a long while before the wounds from that time healed, if ever.

With that in mind, he took a look around the living room and kitchen.

Now, what where they gonna do about all this ice?

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Communication's Important

In life and love, communication is vitally important.

An obvious fact, but one that many struggle with, as Shidou had witnessed firsthand with Tohka, an experience he reflected on as he showered in the bathroom.

In hindsight, something like that should have been expected, given Tohka's ignorance of human culture, but it was hard to account for such gaps in knowledge.

Crazy to think that wasn't even a month ago ...

Time went by too fast. Someone really needed to invent a time machine already.

It was while reflecting on such things that Shidou noticed the bath door quietly sliding open.

Just from that, he knew it was Yoshino. Neither Tohka or Kotori would have been so silent.

"Hey, Yoshino, Yoshinon. Here for a shower, I take it?"

Nowadays, sharing the shower was becoming a common occurrence for him. So far, it had only been Tohka, but he wasn't surprised to see Yoshino doing the same. It brought to mind nostalgic memories of his time as a child, back before everyone had left.

"Actually, Yoshino wants to suck your dick!"

"That so? Well, go ahe—hey, wait a minute!"

He turned around to see the quiet girl (predictably) naked, Yoshinon wearing a shower cap, for some reason.

"You heard me right! Yoshino wants to slob on your knob! Like corn on a cob!"

"...Can I ask why?"

As wild as his life was getting, unsolicited blowjobs somehow broke his suspension of disbelief.

"What young man questions a free blowjob?"

"This young man."

Unimpressed by the attempt at peer pressure, Shidou planted a fist on his hip.

Honestly, he felt like most guys would question a random blowjob, no matter how "free" it was. Though admittedly, the two of them were in an established relationship...

His contemplations were interrupted when he noticed the sudden tears in Yoshino's eyes.

If he didn't know any better, he'd think she was just turning on the waterworks. But, like Tohka, this girl was just utterly sincere in everything she did. Deception was not a part of their makeup, it seemed.

For some reason, giving him a blowjob right now was very important to her. That much was obvious.

Yoshino's offer was unexpected, but doing things like this for one's partner was not unusual, her weird evasiveness aside.

So, with some lingering reluctance, Shidou stood so that his crotch was level with Yoshino's face. Due to his previous reservations, his member hung flaccid before her surprised eyes.

"If you want to... then it's fine."

At his words, Yoshinon slapped Yoshino's shoulder.

"You heard the man! Get to it, the little guy's not gonna erect himself!"

Spurred on, the girl pumped her hand, watching his foreskin slide back and forth over his glans, before leaning over and clamping her lips around his glans, her eyes sliding shut in concentration.

Her hand was soft, but her mouth was even softer. She ran her hot tongue along his shaft, gradually replacing the water coating it with a very different sort of fluid.

Letting out a satisfied groan, he turned his gaze towards the ceiling.

This was actually his first time getting a blowjob, wasn't it? He and Tohka had had sex plenty of times, but the thought of that wild girl's teeth anywhere near his junk was surprisingly terrifying.

Not really knowing what to do, he placed his hand on her head, prompting the girl to pull away and glance up at him, still stroking him absentmindedly.

"Yoshino?"

"How is it, Shidou? I taught Yoshino here some moves to spice things up in the bedroom!"

"Y-Yeah, she's doing really good..."

"You hear that? You're doing great, kid. Seriously. In all my years, I've never seen anyone hand a job quite like you."

Was this supposed to be a steamy sex scene or a sketch comedy skit? Shidou honestly couldn't tell.

Well, at least she seemed to be enjoying herself now.

Yoshino went back to sucking, the warmth of her mouth seeming all the sweeter for its absence.

She sucked on the head of his cock while jerking his shaft with her hand as fast as she could, until Shidou was on the brink of orgasm.

"Yoshi—no... I'm getting...gah—!"

As if she'd been waiting for this very moment, Yoshino began tonguing his urethra.

Yeah, that was it.

That final bit of stimulation sent Shidou over the edge, and he nearly fell over as he bucked into Yoshino's face.

In the throes of orgasm, Shidou tried to keep his fingers from gripping her hair too tightly, but Yoshino's ministrations were so overwhelming that he really lost track of what was going on.

When he came to, he was staring at the ceiling.

That was incredible.

He'd had no idea Yoshino was capable of something like that.

Letting out a shaky breath, Shidou blinked the stars out of his eyes and turned them onto the girl who'd just rocked his world.

Her hair was completely tousled, and both it and her face were plastered with thick strands of his cum. A long line lay across one of her eyes, which was closed tightly as if glued shut.

He'd really made a mess of her, hadn't he?

Wait, how had that happened? Had she aimed his cum at her face?

Beside her, Yoshinon threw out their arms in a showgirl pose.

"Looky here, Shidou! Yoshino's all covered in cum like a glazed donut! Doesn't she look like the picture of a mature, experienced older woman?"

Honestly, Shidou was still coming down from the incredible orgasm he'd just had, so he mumbled out a "...Yeah, that was incredible..."

Yoshino seemed to beam at these words, bouncing to her feet with an unusual cheeriness.

And then she was off, padding away on the tips of her toes as she often did.

Immediately, Shidou snapped out of his stupor.

Was this girl really about to just leave the shower room covered in cum like that? Not on his watch, she wasn't.

"Hold it."

Throwing an arm out, Shidou planted a palm on Yoshino's head, turning her around so that her scamper brought her to the bath stool.

There, he sat her down, flicking on the shower head and setting it on lukewarm so his cum wouldn't get glued to her hair. As he began to rinse it though, he couldn't help but notice that she seemed strangely morose all of a sudden.

I swear this girl is inscrutable ...

That was something that he'd come to appreciate about Tohka — just how expressive she was. Her face was a neon sign for whatever she was feeling at any given moment.

Yoshino was the opposite; if it weren't for Yoshinon constantly telegraphing her feelings, Shidou didn't know how he'd tell what she was thinking half the time.

In any case, if he wanted to understand this girl, excuses weren't gonna do him much good. He'd just have to pay more attention going forward.

And so, Shidou continued washing Yoshino's hair, completely oblivious to her failed intentions.

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Works In Progress

Evening time, Itsuka house.

Shidou was in the kitchen, trying his hand at some Nagoya-style grilled eel for the first time.

At the moment, only he and Yoshino were in the house.

Tohka was out with friends, something that was becoming increasingly common as of late. She'd told him that she'd be back around 6:00, though, knowing that girl, he should probably add a half hour to that time frame.

With nothing better to do, Shidou turned towards the living room, where Yoshino was watching videos on the television, Yoshinon sat lazily atop her hand. From his spot in the kitchen, only the puppet should have been able to see him.

Surreptitiously, he waved in its direction, half expecting the thing to wave back.

Somewhat surprisingly, it did not react, even after he flashed a few silly faces.

So it really is just a puppet!

Well, that was one mystery of the universe solved, though it wasn't clear when if ever this knowledge would come in handy.

Just then, Shidou received a text from Kotori that simply read "Come outside."

Raising an eyebrow at this, he slipped his terminal in his pocket.

"I'm heading outside for a few minutes. Don't mind me."

Yoshino let out an absentminded hum of acknowledgment, utterly rapt up in her drama.

Shidou found his sister on the sidewalk in front of their house, twirling a lollipop in her mouth as she waited for him. She was wearing casual clothes, but the black ribbons in her hair made it clear that she was in work mode.

"I take it you're the reason the Tadano's moved out and had their house demolished?"

Where there once was a house beside the Itsuka home, now there was merely an empty lot, a perfunctory "FOR SALE" sign marking the area.

"That's right. After that little episode with Yoshino, we realized that commercial housing can't handle even a sealed spirit's power."

"It took you until then to realize that?"

"So, we're constructing the Spirit Mansion, an apartment complex capable of housing and withstanding the spirits."

At this, Kotori twirled the lollipop in her mouth as something distasteful seemed to cross her mind.

"Well, that's the plan, anyway. The city's really dragging its ass on sending us the proper permits. Talk about useless..."

"An apartment complex, huh... So how big are talking?"

"Hehe, I'm glad you asked."

Taking the lollipop out of her mouth, Kotori grinned as she struck a dramatic pose.

"Three stories, fifteen rooms and a main hall on each floor, all constructed from the strongest materials money can buy." With a self-satisfied smirk, Kotori planted a hand on her hip. "It's a complex worthy of the name mansion, if I do say so myself."

Shidou just stared at his sister in utter disbelief.

"How many spirits do you expect me to fuck, Kotori?!"

"All of them."

"That's a little much, don't ya think!?"

Kotori just waved off his concerns.

"Oh, that should be nothing for a red-blooded young bull like yourself."

"What about me is red-blooded?"

"Your hemoglobin."

Shidou couldn't help a laugh despite himself.

"You're not even trying anymore, are you, you little shit!"

He made a show of swiping at her, Kotori dodging all the while sporting a poorly hidden smirk, until a small gasp interrupted the two.

Turning to face the source of that voice, they were greeted to none other than the sight of a trembling Yoshino, brandishing Yoshinon like a shield.

"A lover's quarrel, perhaps?"

"Lover's quarrel?"

Repeating this line at the same time like two quarrelsome lovers in a romantic comedy, Shidou and Kotori blinked in confusion.

Before either of them could formulate a proper response, Yoshino lowered her puppet just enough to reveal her eyes.

"...Fighting is... mean..."

A smirk.

"Yeah, Shidou. Don't you know you're supposed to treat your little sister a little more... erotic... ly?"

"That was terrible so I'm going to ignore it. Anyway, Yoshino, we weren't fighting. We were just... teasing each other, I guess."

"Teasing... each other?"

"You know, like messing around. Er, fooling around? I don't know."

Kotori, sighting a perfect opportunity for payback, sidled up to her brother.

"Teasing each other? Messing around? Fooling around? If you want to tell me something, there's no need to be so coy about it~"

Feeling a little dumb for having walked into that one, Shidou closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"With how quick that mouth of yours is, you should really consider putting it to better us—!"

He didn't realize until right at the end there that he'd set himself up for yet another innuendo. And from the look on Kotori's face, it seemed she had no intention of letting that opportunity go.

A second passed before Shidou cried out a preemptively defeated "Stop it!", and his sister just laughed as she turned her gaze on Yoshino, popping her lollipop back in her mouth.

"We haven't really had the chance to talk much, have we? How have things been for you? Any complaints? Suggestions for improvement?"

At this simple request, Yoshino shrank away beneath the other girl's innocuous scrutiny.

Kotori had an intense personality. She had a tendency to get an idea in her head and then aggressively pursue it to completion, a fact Shidou was intimately familiar with. That said, he was also well aware of how unexpectedly amenable she could be when faced with firm resistance.

But for someone like Yoshino, who struggled to voice her thoughts and opinions even at the best of times, Kotori was just about the worst match up imaginable.

Even something simple like asking for advice could be fraught with unforeseen consequences, because anything Yoshino said would be acted on immediately and without hesitation, and it would be incredibly difficult to change Kotori's mind afterwards.

Faced with such boisterous energy, the girl let out a yelp, hid behind Yoshinon, and then fled into the house.

In her wake, Kotori rested a hand on her hip, flashing a confused frown.

"Why does she run away from me?"

Having seen this scene several times already, Shidou let out a put upon breath.

"Probably because you scare her."

"Scare her? I'm cute as a button."

Shidou honestly couldn't tell whether she was joking or not.

"Well, dubious claims aside, why don't we head inside? You probably haven't eaten anything all day, right?"

"That's not true. I've eaten several lollipops today."

"That's candy, not food."

A scoff.

"It is totally food! They have calories and everything!"

"What? Like, fifty? That's hardly a meal, and I seriously doubt the nutritional content of a freaking lollipop."

Squabbling like so, the two completely lost track of time until Tohka came onto the scene, surprisingly arriving on time, before hurrying them into the house so she could enjoy Shidou's cooking.

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Everyday Kindness (Part 1)

One weekend, Shidou and Yoshino were returning from a shopping trip to take advantage of some last-minute deals. He carried the bulk of the groceries, but Yoshino had a few bags of her own.

Walking in comfortable silence like this, the two eventually arrived at the Itsuka house.

"Oh, I'm stopping by a neighbor's place." Shidou turned to her. "Would you like to come with?"

As she often did, Yoshino gave his words more thought than they really warranted, finally nodding her head after a solemn deliberation.

Bringing her to a house across the street, Shidou rang the doorbell, a muffled "I'm on my way!" immediately following. Half a minute later, the front door opened to an elderly woman with graying hair and a cane.

"Hey, Miss Okada, how's it going?"

Okada was a neighbor that had been a huge help to his family when they moved into the neighborhood after the Nankou Area Fire.

"I've got a few new aches and pains." She stepped aside to let them in. "But never mind that. Who's your new little girlie friend here?"

Why did old people always assume everyone was a couple? Of course, the two of them actually were together, but seriously, wasn't 'girlie friend' already old people slang when she was his age?

His "little girlie friend" fidgeted with her bags before answering.

"...My name is... Yoshino..."

"And I'm Yoshinon! Don't let my cuteness intimidate ya! Chira~ "

"Awww! What an adorable little sweetheart!"

Seems Okada had been won over, though Shidou had had no doubts in that department.

He and Yoshino followed her into her living room, passing knick-knacks, mementos, and other evidence of a life long-lived.

With a groan, Okada sat down in her armchair.

"The garbage bags are in the usual place, so I'll leave you to it."

Shidou glanced down at Yoshino.

"You mind keeping her company while I do that?"

"Oh, I'm not an invalid!" Okada waved off his concerns. "I'll keep Yoshino here company, and I'll have her charmed in no time flat, just you see!"

At that, Yoshinon puffed out her chest and planted her fists on her hips.

"Hehehe, I respect your confidence, Miss, but if you think Yoshino's gonna cave just because a GILF propositioned her, then you've got another thing coming!"

"Yoshinon!"

Yoshino tried to shut up the puppet, while Okada wheezed with laughter, doubled over in her chair.

"C-Careful with this one, Shidou! She's friendly but fierce!"

"Oh, I'm already well aware of that."

He went to set the front door's door closer. On the way back, it seemed Yoshino had already made herself comfortable, Okada regaling her with some tale.

"Let's see... Ah yes. Now, this was back when they still had English classes in school..."

Shidou made quick work of Okada's garbage, taking it out to the waste disposal bins at the end of the street. It was at the bottom of a hill, which might have proved no problem for an able-bodied person like him, but could be unexpectedly dangerous for an elderly person with mobility issues.

When he returned, he found Yoshino listening to Okada with rapt attention. She didn't even notice him until he tapped her shoulder, making the girl jump and knocking Okada out of her story.

"Oh, time to go already?"

"Yeah, sorry. We got some frozen stuff."

Okada grabbed her cane, following them to the front door to see them off.

"Oh! I almost forgot!"

While they slipped on their shoes, she excitedly hobbled into her kitchen before returning with strawberries.

"I bought these the other day. For all the help you've done."

"Oh? Well, that's very kind of you." He held out a grocery bag and let Okada slip the punnet inside. "Alright, we'll be going then. I'll be around same time next week."

"Of course. And you two enjoy yourselves, okay?" she said with a dirty smile. "That's what youth is for, after all!"

Okada laughed, and Shidou could only manage a rueful smile while Yoshino blushed beside him.

He'd suspected this for a while now, but this lady had definitely been a troublemaker back in her youth.

On the way back, Shidou considered the girl beside him.

She really was a kind and gentle girl.

So kind and gentle that she had split her own psyche in order to avoid even the chance of hurting others.

He recalled that time back in the kitchen, when Yoshino and Yoshinon were still separated. Back then, he'd been impressed by her quiet strength, but he was beginning to see that strength as something like a vise.

It was precisely because she was so strong — because she was so afraid of hurting people — that she was a danger.

Beside him, Yoshinon commented on the day's events.

"Man, Yoshinon hasn't met that many people in ages! Seems I've finally entered my popular arc!"

"That so..." Shidou mused with a smile. "What did you think, Yoshino?"

At his question, Yoshino stared down at the ground, considering her response, a slight smile in her voice when she finally spoke.

"...Everyone... was very... nice..."

Very nice, huh ...

To him, what he'd done today was just the kind of basic, everyday kindness that made the world go round.

"...I think you'll find that people often are."

Perhaps not the most accurate statement, but Shidou wanted to make a point of this.

People weren't so fragile that they couldn't handle a bit of trouble every now and then, nor was anyone so important that they couldn't afford the occasional inconvenience. Those who thought otherwise were the kind of pompous jackasses who made the world worse for everyone, or else the kind of meekly obedient doormats who only made the world worse for themselves.

He wanted Yoshino to realize that, to realize that she wasn't such a danger to everyone else, and to stop repressing herself so much.

Of course, one outing wasn't going to do much, but that was to be expected. Lasting change rarely resulted from revolutionary action, after all. It was more often the product of steady, patient effort done every day until, before one even realizes it, their daily life has completely transformed.

With a wry smirk, Shidou shook his head free of such idle thoughts.

That was so unlike him just now. He'd been starting to sound like the pompous jackasses he'd just been criticizing a moment ago.

As he and Yoshino entered the Itsuka house, Shidou turned his mind to more productive matters.

Now, what am I going to cook for dinner tonight ...

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She Was Like Water — Her Depths Ran Deep

Afternoon, the Itsuka master bedroom.

Shidou, Yoshino, and Tohka were currently seated on the room's queen sized bed. Sitting cross-legged and arms crossed at the center of the bed, Tohka wore a customarily serious expression as she sized up the other two, who were both kneeling seiza style.

How had things arrived at this?

Half an hour prior—

Shidou and Yoshino were on the living room couch, the former's hand caught between the latter's thighs. He was about to go further when he noticed hesitation on her face.

"Is everything okay?"

"Come on, Shidou. Are you really gonna make a lady say it?"

"Say what?"

"Yoshino doesn't want you to treat her gently, she wants you to fuck her brains out!"

"Yoshinon!"

"Basically, Yoshino's worried that you're worried that she's too delicate for that kind of stuff."

"Yoshino ... is it true?"

"I ... like it more... when you're rough..."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know ... I don't really know how to be rough, though."

"Oh, I think we can find someone for the job ..."

"Who do you have in mind?"

In the present moment, Tohka cupped her chin and narrowed her eyes.

"The first thing we should probably do is... get naked!"

Yoshino let out a squeak before lifting her airy sundress up and off while Tohka got to work removing the light jacket she wore over her blouse.

As they undressed, Shidou couldn't help mulling the situation over.

Had he really been dissatisfying Yoshino this whole time? Why hadn't she said anything?

No, it wasn't like that was a mystery. Yoshino had probably been trying to spare his feelings or something like that. But all that had accomplished was subjecting herself to unsatisfying sex.

And he hadn't noticed a thing at all. Some partner he was. But he'd honestly just never imagined someone like Yoshino would prefer it rougher in bed.

"Hey, Shidou! You need to take off your clothes too!"

"Yeah, it's weird if you're the only one clothed!"

"Unless Shidou has a secret fetish for CMNF. Ooo~ how scandalous!"

"CMNF? What's that?"

"No, I do not have any fetishes like that!" Shidou got to unbuttoning his shirt. "And Tohka, please ignore that!"

As usual, Yoshinon just had to stir up trouble.

Now that all three of them were sans-clothing, Tohka hummed in thought.

"...I'm not really sure how we should do this..."

"You mean you went into this without even a plan?"

Shidou probably shouldn't have been so surprised. Tohka did have a habit of winging things.

"...You could just show me how you and Yoshino... do it, I guess?"

"Oh! That would work!"

That got a chuckle out of Shidou, and he turned to Yoshino.

"What do you say, Yoshino? Does that work for you?"

There was a moment where she considered his words before, with a growing blush, Yoshino lay back and spread her legs, exposing her glistening lips to the afternoon sunlight filtering in through the curtains.

Taking her cue, Tohka scooted over on her knees, fingering herself as she got between Yoshino's thighs.

"First, I go like this..."

She got on top of the girl and began to pepper her with kisses. As she did so, Tohka leisurely rolled her hips, grinding them into her partner with enough force to press her ass into the sheets.

From his position at the side, Shidou watched on while nursing an erection.

Shit, this is pretty hot ...

And from the looks of it, it seemed like it was pretty hot for Yoshino as well. He could already make out a few damp spots on the towels beneath them.

Though, Shidou had to say, he wasn't entirely sure how this was different from what he normally did with Yoshino. What they were was doing right now seemed pretty sensual, exactly the kind of thing he usually went for during sex.

As if in response to his thoughts, Tohka sat up, hooking her arms around Yoshino's knees and adjusting her own.

"And then... mmm... I kinda just... go like this..."

And then, Tohka began to move.

He'd always wondered where the term "smashing" came from, but when he saw the way Tohka was slamming her hips into Yoshino's, Shidou felt he finally understood just what had inspired that euphemism for sex.

It almost looked violent.

Tohka's thrusts were short and sharp, and each impact rocked the bed. It was unexpectedly quiet though — the two girl's bodies were pressed too closely to clap against each other. The only sound of their lovemaking was of Yoshino squirting, the fluid sent flying onto the sheets from Tohka's relentless motions.

It was such a mesmerizing sight that Shidou almost didn't notice Yoshino slapping the bed sheets like a wrestler tapping out.

He was about to step in, thinking she was getting overwhelmed, when something about the scene gave him pause.

Back when he had first invited her into their home, he'd served her a helping of chicken and egg broth. Shidou recalled vividly the way she'd slapped the table after trying his food.

This was just like back then, wasn't it?

"Ooh~ You see, Shidou! Yoshino—is feeling—really good right now!"

The truth of Yoshinon's words was self-evident. Her eyes were obscured by her hair, but from the way her head was thrown back, mouth agape, Yoshino was clearly in utter ecstasy.

Tohka continued on for a little while longer, groaning as orgasm finally overcame her and left her grinding her hips mindlessly against Yoshino.

Eventually, she sat back with a huff, propping herself on one hand and massaging her pussy with the other as she caught her breath.

"...How was that... Shidou?" She tossed her hair back with a flick of her head. "Do you get... what Yoshino wants now...?"

"I... think?"

That was incredibly intense just now.

Yoshino wanted him to do that? Shidou honestly wasn't sure if he could manage it.

No, that didn't matter.

If Yoshino needed it rougher for satisfying sex, then that was how he would do it. He turned his gaze on the girl, who had rolled over onto her stomach at some point, her body still twitching from Tohka's work.

Shidou straddled her thighs, earning a shudder from Yoshino when his dick landed on her sopping lips, and when he pressed the tip inside those lips she let out a quiet moan, wriggling her ass in inviting little circles.

It was a sight he could have stared at all day, but right now he had a job to do.

Planting his palms on either side of Yoshino, Shidou slowly drove himself deeper and deeper into her, until his crotch was flush against her ass.

And then, he began moving.

The lewd sounds of his hips clapping against her ass cheeks and his cock plunging into her wet pussy were all Shidou could hear as he gradually ramped up the pace of his thrusts.

When he finally reached his maximum speed, he rested his face against the side of her head.

"Yoshino... how does... this feel!"

"Shidou, you're... killing the mood!"

Beside her, Yoshinon rose to face him.

"Huh? But... how... am I supposed to know... what feels good?"

"...H-Harder..."

His eyes bulged at that answer.

Harder?

She wanted it harder?

Shidou was pretty sure he was already going as hard as he could possibly go right now. How was he supposed to go even harder than that?

Already, he was running out of breath; there was no way he could keep this hare-like pace up forever.

Keep... going...!

With a guttural sound, Shidou slammed his hips into Yoshino's, and was surprised to hear a sharp yelp.

For the briefest of moments, he feared he had hurt her, but the way her pussy clenched like a vice just then put such thoughts to rest.

Instead, Shidou experimentally slammed into Yoshino once more, and once more she let out a cry of pleasure. And he did it a third time, and fourth, Yoshino's moans growing louder with each thrust.

That was it.

It wasn't the speed that did it for her, but rather the force with which it was done.

Tohka was the first girl he'd ever had sex with, and she liked long, drawn out strokes, so Shidou had mistakenly assumed every girl liked it that way. But it seemed Yoshino preferred shorter, harder thrusts that really left an impact.

At this speed, he could really target her G-spot. Against the otherwise smooth texture of her pussy, its wrinkles stood out clearly, a distinctive patch of ridges which brushed the head of his penis in mind-blowing ways.

Like this, Shidou angled each of his strokes to draw out the loudest cries of ecstasy, and it was not surprising at all when he saw Yoshino slapping the bed for dear life not long after.

There it was — the Yoshino seal of approval.

Not a second later, her pussy contracted powerfully and the girl let out a breathless shout as she came. Her hips tried to rise as she squirted onto the bed, but Shidou pounded her ass, fucking her into the bed as she squealed.

"Thar she blows!"

Yoshino's orgasm was accompanied by Yoshinon's somewhat out-of-place commentary, but it didn't stave off Shidou's own orgasm one bit. He came hard, reduced to helpless groans and moans as his body pumped a stream of cum that seemed endless.

Somehow, he managed not to fall on top of her when it did. Utterly drained, he sat back and tried to catch his breath, only bringing his attention back to his partner when her body shook as his dick finally popped out of her.

Yoshino was a complete mess.

Her hair, already wild on a good day, clung in long tendrils to the sweat on her slack-jawed face, obscuring all but her lolling tongue. Her ass yet trembled, red from the pounding Shidou had just given it, and his cum dripped from her gaping pussy into a puddle of her own ejaculate.

It was hard to reconcile this sight with the delicate, meek girl he'd come to know over the past few weeks.

She really was a tough one to pin down— this girl. Outside of the bedroom at least.

At times, far too accommodating to the demands of others, and at others stubborn about the oddest things. At once sensitive and gentle to a fault, but also unexpectedly sensual and lustful.

Shidou supposed it was his own fault for misunderstanding her, for misunderstanding how hidden her deepest depths were, and he resolved in that moment to explore as much of those depths as he could.

His post-nut musings were suddenly interrupted as Tohka threw her arms around his shoulder in a surprise hug.

"Shidou, you did it!" She planted a kiss on his cheek. "You made Yoshino cum so much!"

He couldn't help an awkward smile at her praise.

"Yeah, I guess I did..."

Despite the modest response, Shidou was honestly feeling pretty good about himself right now.

He'd finally figured out how to truly satisfy Yoshino. And for that he had received the praise of a beautiful girl who was currently pressing her naked body against his.

Yeah, he felt like he had one more in him.

Turning to Tohka, they shared a wet kiss as Shidou laid her down. He caressed the inside of her thigh with gentle touches, tracing a now familiar path on the way to their destination.

As he began to finger Tohka, he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes.

Yoshino had finally come to, and she rolled over to look at the state she'd left the bed in.

Not only had she soaked clean through the towel they'd laid down, she'd even squirted all the way onto the foot of the bed. The bed sheets were definitely going to need a thorough washing after this.

Her face was flush with something that was probably equal parts lingering arousal and embarrassment, and she covered her mouth as she muttered a quiet "S-Sorry...!"

Shidou could only smile at that.

"Don't worry about it. You were enjoying yourself, right?"

"Mh-hmm! Sex feels best when you can completely relax and enjoy it!" Tohka added with an uncharacteristic sagely aura.

Yes, that was true, wasn't it?

He had a bad habit of getting too in his head when it came to things and, though he'd never consider it for a general approach to life, it seemed he should try to stop that when it came to sex.

Propping himself up on one hand, Shidou positioned himself between Tohka's thighs with the other hand before pressing his cock deep inside her, drawing out a satisfied moan from the girl.

Keeping the sheets clean was already a wash, so the three of them might as well make sure they deserved a wash.

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Blacker Than The Night Sky

His chin resting in his palm, Shidou let out a yawn and tried to blink the sleep from his eyes as he waited for the start of homeroom.

Another Monday ...

Summer wouldn't officially start for another a few weeks, but the heat was already in full swing. It had been pretty sudden. It was only a few weeks ago that everyone was still wearing the school blazer, but now Shidou couldn't sight a single student who wasn't sporting a short-sleeve button-down.

Speaking of sudden changes, the Spirit Mansion had finally gotten approval from the city and been constructed shortly thereafter.

One day there had been an empty lot next to the Itsuka house and the next there was a fully constructed apartment complex, just like that.

It brought to mind an old video he had happened upon once, showcasing a time lapse of a building's construction back before the invention of Realizers and perhaps the most interesting thing about it was the way the changing seasons was actually visible during the construction process. It literally took months to build even small buildings back then. Nowadays, people got impatient if a skyscraper took more than a couple of months to put together.

Guess that was just the march of technology for ya.

Anyway, he'd expected Tohka and Yoshino to be a little more resistant to the idea of moving but, surprisingly, the two were all for it. Guess he'd underestimated the appeal of having one's own living space.

Ironically, he was the one who'd ended up hit hardest by the move. Of course, the girls stopped by often enough, particularly in the evenings after school, but the Itsuka household was now much quieter without the antics of those two to liven things up.

Talk about empty nest syndrome.

It was right about then that he realized he hadn't retained the last several pages he'd just read of So Lingers the Ocean at all.

He probably shouldn't have been reading it in class, given how indiscreet Tohka could be, but he was trying to reacquaint himself with the series before the surprise sequel dropped in a few days.

Either way, it looked like rereading was going to have to wait, as Miss Tamae entered the classroom right then, adjusting some papers at the podium before addressing the class.

"Everyone ready to start a brand new week?"

This elicited a predictable chorus of groans from half the class. Tamae, whose social life consisted of school and little else, bore this all with a strained smile.

"Oh, don't be like that! I have something exciting to announce!"

That got a few interested looks, among them Shidou, who raised his gaze to the front of the classroom as Tamae struck a silly pose.

"Everyone, please welcome our new classmate!"

At this cue, the door slid open and a girl stepped into the classroom.

Black.

That was his first impression of her.

She wore black, full-length stockings beneath the school's equally black winter blazer despite the summer heat, and her hair was black as well — not like Tohka's, but pitch black — long bangs hanging over the left half of her face like a curtain.

She moved like an aristocrat, gliding towards Tamae at the front of the class with refined movements.

The room fell silent, mesmerized by this girl's entrance — save for Shidou, who had already returned to his reading.

A new student. Amazing ...

Not one to care for such gossip-fodder even on a good day, he paid the girl little mind even as she began introducing herself.

"My name is Kurumi Tokisaki."

So her name's Kurumi Tokisaki ...

"I like animals more than people."

And she likes animals more than people ...

"Oh, and also— I'm a spirit."

Oh, and she's a spirit, on top of it all ...

...

...

Wait, whaaaa—!?