Chapter 555: The Spirit of Time, Tokisaki Kurumi
The delicate fruit salad and the steaming cup of hot cocoa disappeared all too quickly. The young girl set her empty cup down, a lingering trace of warmth coloring her pale cheeks. She had never tasted a cocoa quite so mellow, its rich, velvety texture coating her palate with a comforting sweetness that defied ordinary logic.
She looked across the counter at Ren, her mismatched eyes narrowing slightly in contemplation. "Shopkeeper Ren, how exactly do you prepare this hot cocoa? I watched you, and it felt like the standard process, yet the taste is simply leagues above anything I have ever experienced."
Yakumo Yukari and the rest of the patrons leaned in, equally curious. Riven, nursing her drink, paused to listen.
Ren offered a faint, understated smile. "It is quite simple."
"Oh?" The young girl tilted her head. "Do tell."
"With heart."
A collective silence fell over the tavern. The sheer cliché of the answer left them momentarily stunned. Ren chuckled softly, wiping down the wooden counter. "It sounds exaggerated to claim that pure intention is infused into the cooking. In reality, it simply means that the more focused effort a chef pours into their craft, the fewer mistakes they make. They catch the minute details, control the temperature perfectly, and naturally, the final dish becomes far more delicious."
Riven let out a low laugh, returning to her wine.
The young girl paused, letting the words sink in, before a graceful, airy laugh escaped her lips. "That truly is a cunning answer. But... Shopkeeper Ren, you really are like a sly fox."
"A sly fox?" Ren mused. "An interesting description, though only cunning animals manage to survive and gain more."
Lucifer scoffed from her seat, swirling the crimson liquid in her glass. "Cunning is one thing, but calling him a fox is entirely off the mark. A wolf would be far more accurate."
Ren let out a quiet sigh. "Just as a side note, I actually prefer being human."
"It was a figure of speech!" Lucifer snapped, her regal composure breaking into irritation. "Can you not just play along for once?"
"Then why don't you demonstrate how it is done?" Ren replied dryly.
"I will try! No, wait... you are bullying me again! I refuse!"
The young girl let out a soft sigh, her lips curving into a dangerous, alluring smile. "No matter the animal, the cunning is undeniably present. But Shopkeeper Ren is far more fascinating than other men I have encountered. Tell me, am I permitted to visit this place again?"
Ren briefly outlined the rules of the restaurant's shifting entrance. The young girl's eyes widened in genuine surprise. "My, that truly is an extraordinary establishment. Any location will suffice?"
"Yes. Anything that can conceptually be defined as a door will work," Ren explained calmly. "That includes cave entrances, igloos, and the like."
She nodded slowly, a predatory glint flashing in her striking eyes. "You know, Shopkeeper Ren, I cannot shake the feeling that you are the most powerful existence in this entire shop."
Lucifer smirked, her irritation fading into pride. "You have excellent taste. That is absolutely correct. In here, no one is a match for Ren."
"Oh my..." The young girl rested a pale hand against her cheek. "That is truly incredible. Fortunately, I did not entertain the thought of consuming your time, Shopkeeper Ren."
Ren remained perfectly impassive, wiping the counter without missing a beat. The others, however, stiffened. Yakumo Yukari narrowed her violet eyes, her lazy demeanor vanishing instantly.
"Time?" Yukari repeated, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "You can control time?"
The young girl gasped softly, bringing a hand to her lips in a theatrical display of feigned shock. "Ara ara, it seems I accidentally let that slip. But yes, I can indeed manipulate time."
Lucifer stared at the girl, her crimson eyes practically shining with sudden avarice. To the Queen of Hell, this girl was a walking, breathing time synchronizer.
Reimu tilted her head, her shrine maiden instincts flaring. "So, how exactly do you control it?"
The young girl tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... probably something like this?"
Before anyone could react, an antique flintlock pistol materialized in her grasp. She raised the heavy barrel, pressing the cold iron directly against her own temple.
"Huh?!"
"What are you doing?!"
Multiple voices cried out in alarm, but the girl simply pulled the trigger. A deafening crack echoed through the tavern. Yet, there was no gruesome spray of blood. Instead, the bullet struck, and the young girl vanished into thin air, leaving behind only the scent of gunpowder.
Ren let out a quiet sigh. He casually reached a hand across the counter and flicked his fingers upward.
A split second later, the young girl abruptly materialized right in front of him, her momentum entirely broken. The barrel of her flintlock pistol, which had been aimed squarely at him in her accelerated state, was knocked harmlessly toward the ceiling by Ren's effortless flick.
The young girl froze, her mismatched eyes widening in absolute shock. She lowered the gun, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. "Well, that is how it works. Acceleration and the like."
Lucifer leaned forward, her gaze piercing through the temporal illusion. "So, where is your true body hiding?"
The girl stiffened again, completely caught off guard. A moment later, a pool of dark, viscous shadow bubbled up from the wooden floorboards near the entrance. The shadow expanded, and the true form of the young girl gracefully rose from the darkness, stepping into the light.
Yakumo Ran's fox ears twitched as she observed the phenomenon. "Oh. A clone."
The young girl offered a polite, somewhat strained smile. "How did you know that was merely a clone?"
"It is a simple trick to spot," Ran explained smoothly. "That entity operates entirely by using your unique ability as its life force. If your domain is time, then your earlier comment about consuming time must refer to spending your own lifespan to fuel these shadows. It is quite a fascinating mechanism."
For a fraction of a second, the young girl's heart rate spiked, her deepest secrets laid bare by a casual glance. She quickly reigned in her composure, smoothing her dress with a flawless smile. "You are all truly sharp. And Shopkeeper Ren... you are truly terrifying."
"It is nothing special," Ren replied, his tone perfectly flat.
Yuuka Kazami swirled her tea, her serene gaze locking onto the newcomer. "You are not an ordinary human, are you?"
The young girl gathered the edges of her dress and performed a flawless, elegant curtsy. "I am Tokisaki Kurumi. I am a Spirit." She glanced back at the counter. "Shopkeeper Ren, you do not seem the least bit surprised."
"Why should I be surprised?"
"Because a Spirit has graced your establishment."
Ren sighed, gesturing vaguely around the dining room. "Right now, sitting in this very room, we have a seasoned warrior, the Queen of Hell, ancient Youkai, and a Hakurei Shrine Maiden. A Spirit is perfectly acceptable. Earlier today, we had Pokémon running around like small pets, and we frequently serve Slimes. You fit right in."
Kurumi blinked, her haughty aura deflating slightly. "Suddenly, I feel as though I am not quite so special anymore."
Lucifer waved a hand dismissively. "No, no, do not sell yourself short. In a very specific sense, you have been a massive help to us just by walking through that door."
Ren offered a polite smile. "Miss Tokisaki, would you care to order anything else?"
"Hmm..." Kurumi tapped her cheek. "Not for now. I still need to watch my figure, after all."
"Spirits can gain weight?" Ren asked, genuinely curious.
"It is precisely because I am not entirely sure that I must exercise caution," Kurumi replied, her eyes curving into crescents. "But Shopkeeper Ren's cooking is truly divine. I have a feeling I will become a very regular customer."
"Having repeat customers is always something to be happy about," Ren said gently.
Lucifer scoffed. "Isn't it just because she is a beautiful customer?"
"If my goal was merely to surround myself with beautiful women, I would have opened an entertainment agency long ago, not a restaurant," Ren countered dryly.
Lucifer leaned over the counter, her anticipation evident in the sharp grin on her face. "This time, we can synchronize another quarter, right?"
Ren nodded slowly.
Kurumi tilted her head, her curiosity piqued. "Synchronize what, exactly?"
Lucifer quickly explained the restaurant's unique mechanic of aligning the temporal flow between different dimensions. Kurumi listened, her composure cracking as genuine shock washed over her features. Synchronizing the time axis of two entirely separate worlds? The sheer magnitude of temporal energy required to achieve such a feat was beyond comprehension.
Ren closed his eyes and spoke a single, quiet command. "Synchronize."
Kurumi whipped her head around, staring intently at the heavy wooden door of the shop. Out of thin air, the ethereal, glowing projection of an immense clock face materialized over the entrance. The hands spun wildly, locking into a new metaphysical alignment.
"Such terrifying time energy!" Kurumi gasped, taking a reflexive step back.
With a heavy, resonant chime, the spectral clock face dissolved into motes of golden light.
Yakumo Yukari sighed, resting her chin on her hand. "I truly do not understand how you perceive that as powerful. To the rest of us, it just looks like a very perfunctory light show."
But Kurumi knew better. Because she commanded the domain of time, her senses were acutely attuned to the raw, unfathomable forces at play. If her own formidable temporal power was a mere wisp of a gentle breeze, the concentrated energy radiating from that clock face just now was a raging, apocalyptic hurricane.
[Akarin's Note: Tokisaki Kurumi is a major character from the Date A Live series. She is a highly dangerous Spirit who manipulates time using her angel, Zafkiel. Her abilities require her to consume her own 'time' (lifespan) as fuel, which she replenishes by draining the time of others. Her shadow clones are a signature part of her arsenal, acting as extensions of her will.]
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