“Okay then, Mukuro,” Shido said, following Fraxinus’s instructions. “How about we stop by my house? We’ve got a brush and hairpins and things there.”
“You speak of your abode?” Mukuro’s eyes grew wide, as if this was unexpected. “Oh, hmm. Interesting. Excellent. I entrust myself to you. Do as you wish.”
“Ha-ha! Thank you. I’m in your debt.” He shrugged and then bowed respectfully. He wasn’t sure what it was, but Mukuro’s stilted and old-fashioned way of speaking made him feel like he was her servant or retainer.
“Ha-ha-ha!” Mukuro said with a carefree laugh, perhaps aware of her own habits, perhaps not. “Well ho, my lord, you do speak curiously.”
“…Y-yeah.” Shido gave her a pained smile as he scratched his cheek.
“In any case, how do we reach this abode?” she asked.
Shido groaned as he peeked at the main road through a gap in the buildings.
Fortunately, they were in Tengu City. They could make it to his house in about twenty minutes on foot. But walking with such a remarkable girl in tow increased the difficulty of this mission exponentially.
While he struggled to figure out a way forward, Mukuro tilted her head.
“What troubles you?” she asked. “You simply return to your dwelling.”
“Mm. True, but…,” he started.
Mukuro put a hand on his shoulder, then stabbed her staff into empty space and twisted it sharply. “Michael. Lataib.”
Instantly, a door opened, large enough for a person to pass through.
“Wha—?” He gaped in amazement while she leaped into it without a moment’s hesitation.
A lone hand came back out of the door and beckoned him to follow.
“H-hey!” he cried.
“Shido, go after her! A drone will go with you!” Kotori said over the communication device in his ear.
He ran his hands through his hair anxiously and made up his mind. He threw himself into the door.
His field of view went dark for a moment, and then he saw Mukuro looking around at a familiar interior with fascination. Once he’d made it all the way through, the door shrank in on itself and disappeared.
“Hm-hmm,” Mukuro said curiously. “So, this is thy dwelling? How lovely.”
“Mukuro…”
“Mm?” She turned to look at him. “Is something the matter?”
“…No. To be honest, that was really helpful,” he said. “But maybe hold off on using your Angel in public?”
She stared at him curiously for a moment but eventually nodded. “Certainly.” She waved her hand, and Michael disappeared. “Now, what would you do, my lord?”
“Right. C’mere a minute.” He stood her in front of a mirror. “Okay. Sit right here.”
“Mm.” She obediently lowered herself onto the stool.
Shido untied the buns in her hair, picked up a brush, and started carefully pulling it through her golden hair.
“…Hm-hmm.” She twisted around toward him, and he stopped brushing.
“Oh, sorry,” he said. “Was I pulling?”
“It merely tickled. Pay it no mind. Continue.” Mukuro shook her head slightly as if to say more. The movement was adorable somehow, and Shido smiled to himself as he started again.
“How should we do it, then? We could do a whole updo. Or pigtails might work. Any requests?”
“Hm-hmm.” She stared into space thoughtfully. “I wish for you to assemble it into a style incapable of becoming disheveled.”
Shido furrowed his brow and sighed before combing her hair up into the buns she’d been wearing. He felt like this hairstyle was her trademark. He plaited the rest of her hair into braids.
It was a slightly complicated operation, but he had helped with Kotori’s hair for ages, so he was no stranger to braids. Before long, Mukuro’s blond hair was neatly pulled back into one long plait.
“Ho-ho!” she cried. “You are quite adept at this!”
“You do me great honor with your words.” Shido bowed respectfully. “I didn’t really do anything about the length, though. Maybe it’ll still be hard to walk?”
“No matter. Hup!” Mukuro said, and whirled her head around in the sharp, precise manner of a Kabuki actor. Her hair spun around with it to neatly wind itself about her neck.
Oh, that worked. This way, the length would indeed not be a problem.
He heard a cheery buzzer in his ear.
“Nice going, Shido,” Kotori said. “Your likability’s going up so smoothly, I can hardly believe she’s the same person. No need for sneak attacks, let’s go ahead and storm the front gates. Her hair’s done up and all. How about you go out on the town?”
“Roger… Oops!” Shido replied quietly and gave Mukuro a once-over. She would definitely stand out in her Astral Dress with the shining constellation design. “Oh, I know. I’m just gonna borrow some clothes, Kotori.”
“Huh? Oh, the Astral Dress, huh? Sure, go ahead.”
He went to Kotori’s room, picked out an outfit that looked all right, and returned to Mukuro.
“Hey, so I was thinking we could go out,” he said casually. “But your Astral Dress’s really conspicuous, so maybe you could wear this.”
“Ah, is that so?” Mukuro lifted her face and stood up from her stool.
When she clapped her hands, the Astral Dress covering her body melted away into particles of light and vanished into thin air, generously revealing her pale, naked body. The chest that had been restrained by her Astral Dress was now freed and jiggled like overfull water balloons.
“M-M-Mukuro?!”
“Why do you panic so? I must change my outfit. Give me the garments.” Despite the fact that she was wearing nothing but her birthday suit, she threw her head back with no sign of embarrassment and took Kotori’s clothes from his hand. She scrutinized the outfit as if to check its constitution before slipping her arms through the sleeves.
However…
“…Hm-hmm?” Mukuro frowned as she tried to button the blouse up. It didn’t appear to fit. “This will not work. It pains my chest.”
“…”
The silence over Shido’s earpiece was deafening. Deafening silence was a strange turn of phrase, but that was precisely how Shido perceived it. Kotori sounded as though she were desperately pushing down feelings she could not voice.
“You don’t have to wear that specific one. I mean, you can recreate clothes you see with your Spirit power, right?”
“Ah. Was that your intention?” Mukuro took off the outfit, tossed it aside, and clapped her hands once more.
Her body shone, and the hazy light gradually took the form of clothing. The design was the same as Kotori’s outfit, but the size was perfectly fitted to Mukuro’s body.
“Mm. This is commodious,” Mukuro said, pleased, and smiled brightly.
Shido heard a dissatisfied voice over his earpiece.
“…Huh? You could’ve just done that from the get-go. Why did she have to try on my clothes? Huh?”
“Ah. Ha-ha-ha,” he laughed weakly. “A-anyway, you wanna get going, Mukuro?”
“Mm. Let’s.” Mukuro nodded agreeably and held out her hand like a princess making a request of her escort.
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
“Um. So this is…” Shido thought hard for an instant before bowing like a butler and taking her hand. “Shall we away, my lady?”
“Mm. Hm-hmm! ” An excessively delighted smile rose to her face.
Seeing her so happy felt good. Shido took her hand and stepped out of the Itsuka house and into the city.