“Wait.”
Just as Azuma was about to begin running, someone spoke. Beneath her teal hair, her usual poker face was nowhere to be seen. She stared at Azuma in horror at what he was about to do.
“Do you realize what you’re saying? That’s her. It’s Kaguya. If you break that hero’s egg, she’ll—”
“Takanashi. I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to coax you through this right now.”
He couldn’t let himself listen to that kind of talk right now. This hero—this monster that was standing before him—was possibly one of the strongest they had ever faced. On par with even the hero from six years ago. If they didn’t do something about it, the scale of destruction was going to be immense.
“Kaguya…”
The hero towered in front of the school building with imposing gravity, not yet hostile, its scarlet petals swaying passively in the night. But it would likely not be long before it grew aggressive.
No one could save her now. If there were one person who might have been capable, it would have been Azuma, seeing as he had once begun to turn into a hero himself. But unfortunately…
“The only thing we’re capable of now is defeating the hero. Just as we’ve always done.”
For several seconds no one spoke. It was the same chilling silence as when Sakura had turned.
“You’re right,” Koyuki said, at last. “I-I don’t want to watch Kaguya turn into a hero. But even if she turns all the way, I won’t let her hurt anyone. Ever.”
This wasn’t her first time killing a team member. Laying them to rest like this was her own act of kindness.
She and Azuma were in agreement. Azuma brandished his newly acquired Chronos. It was a little heavy for him and somewhat difficult to use—the blade now housed Sakura’s consciousness.
It was now or never. Before Kaguya could become a murderer. Before she could become a monster, a destroyer. Azuma held his blade at the ready and shouted her name.
“Kaguya!!”
“Kaguya—”
Kaguya was suddenly snapped out of her reverie by the sound of someone calling her name.
The place she was in was quiet. As she came to, she took a look around. It was the front entrance to a private residential house. The roof was red.
After several seconds, Kaguya remembered that this was her own home.
“Wait, when did I…?”
She felt as if she had been somewhere else just a moment ago.
“What are you doing out there, silly? Hurry up and come inside,” said a voice.
Kaguya turned to see who it was. The person who spoke had brown hair. It was her brother, standing in the entrance, looking exasperated.
Chestnut brown hair and pale violet eyes. After taking in the sight, Kaguya realized she had been standing out there for the past several seconds, almost as if time had stopped.
“That’s weird… What am I doing just standing here…?”
“Snap out of it already, sleepyhead. Did you forget we both have the day off today?”
“We do? Oh yes. That’s right.”
Now that he mentioned it, they did. When she tried to remember, the information suddenly came floating back to the surface of her mind.
That’s right… We have today off. How could I have forgotten something like that?
Like her brother said, they were both off duty today, and he was going to make them a nice big meal for a change. Where was her head at, forgetting such a thing?
“You seem a little out of it… Never mind, though. Hurry up, come inside, and have a seat.”
“Yes… Of course!”
Her brother disappeared toward the living room. As Kaguya removed her shoes, a feeling of joy suffused her chest. It had been so long since it had been just the two of them.
She lined her shoes up neatly in the entryway and prepared to head into the living room. As soon as she began to take the first step…
“—!!”
“Huh…?”
…her leg froze. She could have sworn she heard a voice. Like someone was calling her name. A man’s voice, maybe?
“Hey, Ren…?” she said, quickly chasing after her brother. “Did you just hear somebody call for me?”
“Huh?” Kaguya’s brother narrowed his feral eyes in response to this strange question, scoffing in an uncharacteristic fashion. “Yeah, stupid, that was me. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Oh, of course, thought Kaguya, realizing her mistake. Now that she thought about it, they were the only ones there. Just Kaguya and her brother. What had she been thinking?
“Ha…ha-ha, I know, right? Maybe I really am sleep-deprived after all.”
With that, Kaguya shoved the voice from her mind and followed her brother, her heart leaping with excitement in her chest. Everything smelled so good. Kaguya was sure, instinctively, that whatever waited for her beyond that door was going to be just delightful.
“Wow…! Just wow!”
Kaguya’s instincts had been correct. As they entered the living room, a royal feast awaited her. Large platters piled high with dishes of all sorts—Japanese, Western, and Chinese alike. There were also small side dishes as well.
“D-did you make all of this? This is incredible… I had no idea you could cook like this.”
“Well, it’s my first time cooking for someone else.”
“This is too much for just the two of us, though. I think you got a little carried away.”
“I’m actually worried it won’t be enough…”
“If you say so,” Kaguya said as she sat down at the table, unaware of just how prodigious her own appetite truly was.
Up first was the omelet with rice that sat directly in front of her. But as she set eyes on the plate, ready to dig in, she was suddenly hit with the feeling that something wasn’t right. She had a strange sense of déjà vu.
Wait a second. Isn’t this…?
Kaguya recognized the dish sitting before her.
“…? Isn’t this from the cafeteria at Headquarters?”
It was one of the cafeteria’s specials. Kaguya was certain that she recognized it.
Wait a second. If all of the food here was cooked by my brother, then…
“What’s wrong now, Kaguya? Did you forget how to eat?”
“What?!”
Kaguya snapped out of it and turned toward her brother, who she saw was already chowing down. He flashed a familial grin at Kaguya, who had been just sitting there in a daze.
“N-no, I’m fine.”
Kaguya smiled back in turn and picked up her spoon. When she looked back at the plate this time, it was a cutely presented omelet with rice, unlike anything she had ever seen before.
I must be spending too much time at Technical lately, she thought. I’m starting to see things.
She lifted her spoon, carrying the first bite toward her mouth.