On a day off after the Ten'ou Festival, Tobiichi Origami visited Yoshino's home. This was something they had agreed upon in advance. During the incident on Mikutama Island, Tobiichi Origami and Toujou Nozomi became friends. When she asked to visit, Toujou Nozomi thought about it and agreed. Although she didn't know why Tobiichi Origami wanted to visit, she thought there must be some reason.
"You surprised me a little when you called me, Origami," Toujou Nozomi said, sitting opposite Tobiichi Origami. She could sense that Tobiichi Origami was anxious, seemingly eager to understand something. "Is there anything you want to ask? If I know, I will tell you."
"I want to know if you know about the big fire in Tengu City five years ago, and if the real culprit who killed my parents five years ago was Efreet!" Tobiichi Origami, who had originally maintained a stoic expression, suddenly became agitated. The only thing that could cause such strong emotional fluctuations in her was probably the matter of her parents.
"This matter… how did you know about it? Could it be that you know who Efreet is?" Toujou Nozomi frowned, looking at her. Clearly, with their interference, Tokisaki Kurumi hadn't thought of trying to seize Itsuka Shido's power, and Itsuka Kotori hadn't revealed her identity as a Spirit. Logically, she shouldn't have known about this, unless through special means.
"You really do know. It seems I wasn't wrong after all. You used those mysterious tarot cards to divine many things in class, almost like foresight. In that case, you should be able to clear up my confusion." She then took out the information she had received on her phone earlier from her pocket and handed it to Toujou Nozomi. It showed information about Itsuka Kotori as a Spirit.
"Your purpose in coming this time is to confirm whether Itsuka Kotori is Efreet? And if you do confirm she is Efreet, then what? Are you going to kill her? Don't forget, she is Itsuka Shido's sister, the sister of the person you care about most. If you lay a hand on her, the relationship between you and Itsuka Shido will be completely fractured! Is that what you want to see?"
"...So I want to confirm whether Itsuka Kotori killed my parents. If she really did it, even if it means a complete break with Shido, I will kill her." Thinking of the scene where her mother died before her eyes, Tobiichi Origami's eyes couldn't help but fill with hatred! The great fire five years ago caused her parents, who were in the inferno, to be killed by a beam of light from the sky. Only later did she learn that all of this was caused by Spirits, and from then on, her path of revenge began.
"I don't think that's possible. Even if Itsuka Kotori is the Efreet you mentioned, she's only fourteen now. Five years ago, how could she have killed your parents?" Minami Kotori thought it over, and it was true. Itsuka Kotori was only five when she became a Spirit. Unless she was in a berserk state and killed Tobiichi Origami's parents at that time, how could a little girl possibly kill her parents? There was no hatred between them.
"This…" After hearing Minami Kotori's words, Tobiichi Origami also calmed down and began to think carefully. If what she said was true, then it couldn't have been Itsuka Kotori. However, that kind of attack method at the time was not an AST attack. So, besides Itsuka Kotori, there were other Spirits present in that big fire. But she only considered it a possibility, so she didn't quite believe it was true.
"Even if you say that, it's only a possibility. Without 100% certainty or evidence, I won't believe it." Tobiichi Origami looked directly at Minami Kotori. She didn't want to exclude suspects in such a deeply personal vendetta based on mere probability.
She also didn't want to become enemies with Itsuka Shido for such a reason. It was possible this was someone else's scheme, trying to turn her and Itsuka Shido against each other. As an honor student, she wasn't foolish. Upon learning this, she didn't immediately confront Itsuka Shido to uncover the truth. Instead, she came to Toujou Nozomi, whom she believed to be omniscient, to first understand the truth of the matter.
Yoshino and Shiina, who were watching from the side, exchanged glances, their hearts filled with complex emotions that were hard to calm. This matter was truly too cruel. Was it really good for her to know the truth?
"You must have seen your parents' deaths with your own eyes, right? Then tell us exactly what happened at that time. That way, we can help you think it through better. You know, with so many of us here, we can surely help you find a way."
"…That day, before the fire spread, my parents took me out of the house. Then, because the fire suddenly intensified, they were trapped in the blaze. And just then, a beam of light suddenly appeared in the sky and struck the house, which was already badly damaged by the fire. The house collapsed, and my parents were crushed and died in the collapse." Tobiichi Origami thought for a moment, then spoke.
"If it was a beam of light, it's not necessarily something she did. You should know that Itsuka Kotori, due to her young age at the time, accidentally lost control of her spirit crystal, and was then trapped in the sea of fire without launching any attacks. It wasn't until Itsuka Shido appeared and sealed her spirit crystal. So, the idea that she caused that beam of light is not valid." gaia had told her some of the events from five years ago, but there was no information about who actually killed Tobiichi Origami's parents. She used magic to display the image of Itsuka Shido sealing Itsuka Kotori's spirit crystal five years ago. "This is the only fragment I can detect. Beyond this, it's beyond my ability to sense."
"How could this be? Then who killed my parents? If it wasn't the Efreet, then was it Nightmare? Berserk? Or the Hermit!?" Tobiichi Origami, in a state of temporal confusion, looked around at all the Spirits, but then realized that none of their abilities were related to a beam of light. They used gun-type weapons, controlled wind, and water and ice. These weren't their attack patterns? Does that mean it was done by other unknown Spirits?
"Even if you know, what then? You should know that some things cannot be changed, Tobiichi-san." At this point, Yoshino looked at Tokisaki Kurumi in the distance with a meaningful gaze. She still hadn't given herself a clear answer regarding her desire to go back in time and kill the First Spirit.
"The past is the future, and the truth might be extremely cruel. I have a way to let you know the truth of what happened back then, but will you truly be able to bear it at that time?" Yoshino approached Tobiichi Origami and looked at her seriously. She remembered that in the original story, Tobiichi Origami had a mental breakdown and reversed after learning the truth. Even if she hadn't transformed into a Spirit now, she probably wouldn't be able to bear it. After all, she had made avenging her parents by slaying Spirits her pillar. If that pillar collapsed, it would lead to a complete psychological collapse.
"…I won't give up on the truth! Even if the truth ultimately breaks me, it's the same! So please tell me how I can know the truth!" For this girl, who deeply hated Spirits, to say 'please' to a Spirit was truly difficult for her. But this also showed her concern for the truth of the incident five years ago.
"I understand. This can be achieved through Sister Kurumi's power. By using the power of time to return to the past, Tobiichi-san will be able to witness the truth of what happened back then with her own eyes." Yoshino saw that Tobiichi Origami had made up her mind and knew that she couldn't stop her.
"Yoshino, are you planning to use the power of The Twelfth Bullet to send Origami back to the past, so she can witness what happened on Earth with her own eyes?" Hearing Yoshino say this, Tokisaki Kurumi immediately knew what Yoshino's plan was. After all, she was the master of that ability.
"That's right." Yoshino nodded to Tokisaki Kurumi. "If Tobiichi-san doesn't see the truth with her own eyes, she won't believe that the culprit who killed her parents was not Itsuka Kotori. So, seeing is believing. If she sees the truth with her own eyes, she will know who the culprit was." At this point, Yoshino's voice carried a hint of bitterness.
"Please! If you can let me know the truth of the matter, I will do my utmost to repay you! Even if it costs me my life, I won't hesitate!" Tobiichi Origami pleaded with Yoshino. Although she didn't understand why Yoshino had such power, she didn't care about that now. She just wanted to know who the culprit of the incident was!
"I know, I'm not saying I won't help you. But this act of sending someone back to the past is very serious. You should know what the so-called 'butterfly effect' is, Tobiichi-san."
"I know. This effect states that a butterfly in the Amazon rainforest of South America occasionally flapping its wings can cause a tornado in Texas, USA, two weeks later. But what does this have to do with me going back five years?" Tobiichi Origami asked, somewhat puzzled.
"It's related. You should know that any tiny action of you, as your future self, returning to the past will directly lead to changes in history. Moreover, the world's corrective force will forcibly erase you if your actions are too excessive! This is what I'm most worried about." Shiina warned Tobiichi Origami. Traveling to the past is not that simple. One wrong move could lead to huge changes in history.
"Then what's your idea? How exactly can you get me to five years ago?" Tobiichi Origami looked at Yoshino in confusion, wondering what she meant by all this.
"For this matter, let me go with you!" Yoshino told Tobiichi Origami. If history cannot be changed, then let there be a slight deviation in the trajectory of history!
"Or perhaps, let me do it, Yoshino. After all, I am the true Spirit of Time; you only obtained a part of my power. It would be safer for me to use The Twelfth Bullet." Tokisaki Kurumi stepped forward and said to Yoshino.
"No need, Sister Kurumi. Some things I must do myself. Even if your time can slowly recover, there will still be a period of weakness, which won't happen to me." With the power of an Angel and other powers, she wasn't worried about what would happen during their time travel. It's just that some things, with gaia and alaya's blessing, she could do, so she had to complete them herself.
"Then when do we start?" Although she wanted to avenge the Spirits alone, she could handle such things herself. But now she needed their help, so she would follow their arrangements.
"No need for any other time, we'll start immediately!"
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