“Please remember,” she continued. “Did Itsuka swing his sword at you then? Did you yield to his power?”
“Shut your mouth.” Tohka’s expression immediately hardened once more. “Such a thing could never happen.”
Origami spread out her hands placatingly. “Th-that’s right! That’s exactly it!”
“…What?”
“In terms of sheer power, Itsuka could absolutely never beat you! But that’s not how things turned out! So, could you really say you won if you defeated Itsuka now through brute force? In fact, if you make the wrong move here, you might actually lose your chance to get your revenge, right?”
“…”
Tohka narrowed her eyes in thought. “How should I inflict humiliation on this boy, then?”
“You… H-his heart! True victory would be making him yield in spirit and not in might!”
“…U-uh, Origami?” Shido said nervously. He could tell she was trying to lead the warring Spirits down a different path, but he was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the direction she was heading in.
Wedged in between two Spirits on the brink of battle, Origami didn’t have the extra bandwidth to respond to him. She looked particularly unsettled herself, sweating profusely as she watched for the Spirits’ reactions.
Mukuro and Tohka tilted their heads simultaneously, questioning Origami.
“How, then, might I win the love of my lord from this insolent girl?”
“Answer me. What do I do to make the boy’s heart yield to me?”
“Right, yes.” Origami kicked her brain into high gear. “There’s a way to decide this contest while achieving your objectives!”
“Hmm?”
“Oh?”
They both seemed interested and waited to hear what Origami would say next.
“How about…” She cast about desperately and then raised a hand in a theatrical gesture, snapping a finger out at Shido. “Whoever takes Itsuka’s kiss is the winner!”
“…Whaaat?!” Shido let out a shrill cry.
Naturally, he was not alone.
“What?” Tohka turned suspicious eyes on Origami. “Do you toy with me?”
“O-of course not! Or is it that you’re scared? You might be a Spirit, bu— Aaah!” Origami stopped mid-sentence as the tip of Nahemah grazed the tip of her nose.
“I believe I told you to watch your mouth,” Tohka growled.
“R-right…,” Origami replied, legs shaking.
Tohka lowered her sword and put a hand to her chin as if deep in thought. “Mmm. When I last appeared here, this boy did perform such an act. I’m certain that he did in fact rout me then. It may be amusing to devastate him as I take my revenge.”
“…Huh?” Shido’s pupils shrank to tiny dots.
“Hold.” Mukuro pursed her lips unhappily. “You may not make this decision. My lord’s lips, you say? What reason would I have to accept such a contest?”
“It’s all right,” Origami reassured her. “Tohka’s objective is to make Itsuka’s heart yield to her. Assuming you and Itsuka are firmly coupled, you won’t have any problems. Or…are you maybe worried you won’t win? That Itsuka would pick Tohka over you?”
“…Hm-hmm?” Mukuro jabbed the tip of Michael at Origami’s abdomen.
“Eeep!” Origami shrieked. “Wh-what is this?! It doesn’t hurt, but it’s something! Something!”
“Shut your mouth lest I turn the key,” Mukuro warned distractedly. “But, well, to take my lord’s lips first… Hmm, this might be a reasonable means by which to inform this girl of her place.” She pulled the key out of Origami’s stomach.
“Wh-wha—?!” Shido was stunned. He never dreamed they would get on board with that wild idea. He turned a pleading gaze toward Origami, begging her with his eyes to tell him what was even going on here.
She caught his gaze and held a thumb up as if to say, “We did it, Itsuka,” then touched her own lips and patted her chest.
“What? …Oh!” A heartbeat later, he guessed at Origami’s intention.
She had not simply come up with some random, desperate plan, nor had she offered him up as a sacrifice. She was trying to break free of this deadlock by making them kiss him—and thus either sealing Mukuro’s Spirit power or calling back the real Tohka. He’d been surprised at the offbeat proposal, but it was true that this would—
In the next instant, his thoughts were interrupted.
“…?!”
A moment later, his brain caught up, and the scene was replayed. Tohka kicking at the packed earth. A shadow appearing in front of him. The sky spreading out. In the time it took to blink, Tohka had closed the distance between them, grabbed his collar, and forced him to his knees.
“Huh?! Ah?! Hey!” he yelped, eyes darting frantically.
“Quiet. This will be fast,” Tohka spat, cool as a cucumber, while she yanked Shido up. With a ruthless edge in her eyes, she looked down at him and brought her lips toward his.
He was helpless, powerless to resist.
But their lips never met. A second before they would have, the tip of an enormous key was thrust into Tohka’s head.
“I will not allow it!” Mukuro glared at Tohka, her eyes hard.
“Hmph.” Tohka neatly threw her head back and dodged this blow. She shot a quick glance at Mukuro and brought Nahemah down with the hand not holding Shido’s neck.
Black light jetted outward and dug deep into the surface of the earth.
Mukuro nimbly flipped back to avoid the attack and pushed Michael at Tohka once again.
Nahemah, which could slice even an Astral Dress with a single blow, and Michael, which could seal an opponent’s powers if it so much as made contact. The powerful Demon King and Angel clashed again and again so fast the eye could not follow.
All in front of Shido, who was quite literally held in place.
“Eek!” he shrieked. “Eeeaaah!”
Blade and staff dripping with Spirit power grazed the area millimeters in front of his nose.
Tohka’s firm hold on his neck had him stuck where he was. Not only could he not flee, if he flinched the wrong way, his head might end up taking a trip without the rest of his body.
“…!”
“Hah!”
Not to mention that in the midst of this storm of sword and staff, both Tohka and Mukuro were persistently diving toward him and his lips. Inevitably, his body swung around with his neck as the fulcrum, like nunchucks in the hands of a kung fu star. The incredible g-force generated weakened his hold on consciousness.
“Hey! Stop! Please stop, both of you!” Origami’s voice rang out once again, just as he was on the verge of passing out. “I-I’m telling you, this is not the way! Your objective is an actual kiss! If you take it by force, it’s the same as attacking him with your weapon!”
“…Mm?”
“…Hm-hmm?”
Tohka and Mukuro furrowed their brows, perplexed. The fighting stopped as quickly as it had started, and Shido hit the ground.
“Hnrrf !” he groaned.
Origami made a small, worried sound, while Mukuro grumbled about Tohka.
But Tohka, holding Shido’s neck, showed no sign of being particularly bothered by any of this. She turned her gaze toward Origami and looked the girl squarely in the eye. “So then, what do you suggest we do?”
“…Hm-hmm.” Mukuro shifted her prickly gaze from Tohka to Origami. This appeared to be the question on her mind as well.
Suddenly the focus of two belligerent Spirits, Origami’s eyes darted around as if searching for words, a cold sweat springing up on her face. “Uh? Um. F-for instance…”