For the next six hours or so, with the support of Ratatoskr, they wandered around the city of Tengu. Their date was a standard one—a stroll through the city stopping at shops that interested them, dinner, stepping into an art gallery that caught Mukuro’s attention.
He learned that she tended toward quiet places over busy hot spots, she liked Western food over Japanese, and she preferred more traditional ornaments and accessories. He asked her what sort of thing she would like to get in an accessory shop, and she pointed to the shop across from them, at a fan with a metallic lacquer. Shido was surprised. She had a young face, but her tastes were rather refined.
The clock struck seven, and the hasty winter sun hid itself behind the buildings. The sky was streaked with gradations of darkness.
Having had their fill of standard date ideas, Shido and Mukuro sat down together on a bench in a deserted park. Waving the metallic fan they’d bought earlier, Mukuro hummed in the highest of spirits.
“Looking good,” Kotori said. “Mukuro’s really opened up today, Shido. You’re almost there. Just another push to sealability. Why were we even working so hard before? Keep your guard up and push on to lock this down.”
“R-right…,” he agreed hesitantly as he watched the innocently excited Mukuro out of the corner of his eye.
Kotori must have noticed something going on with him. “What? Something wrong?” she asked curiously.
“No.” He shook his head slightly. “I mean, Mukuro’s having a great time, and if your likability and her mood are both going up, that’s all that counts. I’m a little worried, though.”
“About what?”
“Why did she lock her own heart? Why was she out in space alone?”
It had been weighing on Shido’s mind.
Mukuro was currently enjoying herself a great deal, and from what Kotori was telling him, her indices were all moving in a favorable direction. He’d been with her the whole day, and he hadn’t been able to find anything particularly out of sorts. In fact, as far as Spirits went, she was among the straightforward sort.
That was precisely why he couldn’t fathom a reason behind locking her own heart.
Feeling nothing, thinking nothing, believing nothing. Cutting off all connection with the world, simply drifting like a stone. What events led her to choose that?
Shido couldn’t help but feel Mukuro had a face he hadn’t yet seen.
“Okay, true,” Kotori conceded. “What’s important isn’t the old Mukuro, but the girl in front of you now, right? That question’s not a reason to let this chance to seal her power slip away.”
“Yeah.” He nodded slowly. “You’re right.”
“Hee-hee-hee!” Mukuro laughed. “I apprehend this now. You have indeed spoken, my lord. This was a pleasurable day.”
“Ha-ha… I’m just glad you enjoyed the day.”
“Why, yes. I shall thank thee. If Muku had remained thusly in the sky, she would not have tasted any of these pleasures. And you are the one who went to these lengths for me,” Mukuro said, and narrowed her eyes daringly.
“Huh?” Shido felt like she saw each of his worries. He threw his head back, as though seeking escape. “Wh-what?”
“Dost thou fancy Muku?” The adorable words she spoke with a playful smile were contrary to what he had thought she was going to say.
He laughed. “…I like you, Mukuro. I want to protect you.”
“Hm-hmm. I see, I see. So, you favor Muku. Hm-hmm.” She hid her mouth behind the fan and smiled gleefully as she kicked her legs back and forth. Then she flung herself forward, peered at Shido, and moved her flower-petal lips. “Muku also takes favor with thee. I like you, Shido.”
“…! O-oh…” He gasped, his heart beating faster. For some reason, the look on her face was strangely bewitching despite her small stature.
“That is not the response,” she demanded. “Once more.”
“Huh? Oh. I—I like you, too, Mukuro,” he said as prompted, and she smiled with satisfaction.
“Mm-heh-heh. If you would speak even those words unto me, then I have no other choice in the matter. Excellent. I shall consider the petition you made in space.”
“Really?!”
“Mm. Although the potential loss of my Spirit powers does cause some consternation, if you will protect Muku in return, then perhaps it would not be a terrible exchange,” Mukuro said, twirling her finger around in the air.
Shido felt the tight thread of tension around his heart loosen the slightest bit. He was indeed concerned about Mukuro’s past. But like Kotori said, the most important thing was Mukuro in the present. If she agreed to the sealing of her power, then he couldn’t ask for anything more.
The moment he started to sigh with relief, Mukuro continued speaking in the highest of spirits.
“There is, naturally, a condition. So long as you are pledged to Muku, you must vow to have no contact with the maidens in that room yesterday.”
“Sure, I— Wait, what?” She laid out the condition so naturally that Shido thoughtlessly started to agree, then stopped himself, tilting his head. “Huh? Wh-why?”
“Why does this surprise you so? Is this not natural? You like Muku, yes? And Muku also cares for thee. In which case, you may do as you wish with me. Would it not be strange for other maidens to intervene?” she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. In fact, she no doubt thought it was. It wasn’t like he couldn’t understand where she was coming from.
This way of thinking was more along the lines of what a person could expect from a marital relationship, though. For Shido, who had sealed the powers of the Spirits each time one appeared, this condition was a potentially fatal blow.
“Mm?” She looked at him with clear eyes. “Has Muku spoken strangely?”
“…Oh. Um. It’s just…” His eyes darted around. Given he was the only one with the power to seal the Spirits, he had to keep doing what he did, but when it was framed like that, he started to feel like he was being incredibly unfaithful to the Spirits.
“C’mon, Shido,” Kotori said suddenly in his ear. “How come you’re letting her win this?”
“S-sorry,” he stammered. “I’m having pangs of guilt…”
“Pang later! You know that condition is a nonstarter. And if you lie and accept it just to seal her power, the backlash later will be scary. We’ll just have to make her understand that sealing and marriage are different. Persuade her somehow.”
“…I guess.” Shido nodded slightly, took a moment to breathe, and then turned back to Mukuro. “So, Mukuro. Listen. I can’t do that.”
“Mm?” She arched an eyebrow. “Are you an adulterer?”
“…”
“Quit letting her get to you,” Kotori said, exasperated.
He cleared his throat to shift mental gears and continued. “Like I told you, I want to save all the Spirits. So…if another Spirit like you shows up in the future, I’ll have to seal her powers, too. I love all the Spirits I’ve sealed so far just as much as I love you, Mukuro. It’d make me really happy if you could be friends with them.”
“…Hm-hmm.” Mukuro fell silent, a puzzled look on her face. After a few seconds, she clapped her hands together. “I see, I see. Is that the case? You are so kind, my lord.”
“Huh?” His eyes widened. This was not the reaction he had expected.
She bobbed her head up and down like she had convinced herself of something. “Understood. No need to speak any further. You may leave this matter to Muku.”
She nimbly got to her feet, snapped her beautiful metallic fan shut, and brought it neatly to her lips. “Now, then. This is where we part ways this eve. We will meet again before long, my lord.” She abruptly turned and ran off down the dimly lit street.
“Mukuro?!” He hurried to chase after her, but her small shadow had already disappeared. She had probably used Michael to whisk herself off someplace.
“What exactly is she going to do…?” He stared blankly, standing stock-still on the road illuminated by the uncertain streetlamp, bewildered by her mysterious parting words.