Chapter 85: Confronting Kaguya
After completing the time loop, though Kazama Chiba was itching to immediately tear Kaguya apart with his bare hands, he still suppressed his killing intent and decided to first verify a core hypothesis about the Rat Talisman.
So he ducked into a dark dead-end alley. After confirming no one was around, he used The Illusion card.
Though he'd fused with the Rat Talisman and gained the ability to bestow life upon illusions.
But where were the boundaries of this ability? Could he exploit bugs? He still needed to experiment.
So as magical power was infused, after a distortion in the air, two familiar figures appeared out of nowhere.
One was an elementary school student wearing round glasses with a miserable expression, the other was a robotic cat with a blue fatty build and no ears.
Nobi Nobita and Doraemon.
Countless people's childhood.
Then Chiba mobilized the Rat Talisman's magical power within his body and pointed at that blue figure.
"Bestow... life."
Gray flowing light instantly merged into the phantom body.
Doraemon's originally somewhat dull eyes suddenly became lively. It even reflexively shook off the dorayaki crumbs on its body.
"Waaaah! Doraemon! Gian bullied me again!!"
Nobita beside it was just a soulless phantom.
Acting according to the script Chiba had set, he immediately hugged the robotic cat's thigh and wailed, that pathetic appearance perfectly replicating the essence of the original work.
The newly alive Doraemon was obviously still confused.
Clearly just a second ago it had been eating dorayaki in its room, so how did it suddenly end up in this pitch-black alley?
But seeing Nobita's familiar pathetic state, the babysitter instinct carved into its DNA instantly took over its brain.
"Honestly! Nobita, you caused trouble again, didn't you?!"
"Sigh, you're hopeless."
It complained while habitually extending its round hand toward the white four-dimensional pocket on its belly.
"Can't help it. If you're being bullied, then I can only use that gadget..."
Hiding behind a tree, Chiba held his breath and stared intently at that hand.
If...
If it really could pull out some gadget, even if just a bamboo-copter, or even an air cannon...
Then this world's entire style would change.
Who would bother painstakingly collecting Clow Cards after that?
Just use the What-If Phone Booth to turn Kaguya into an ordinary person, or use the Lying 800 to make her play herself to death, wouldn't that work?
However, after fumbling around for a while.
The blue fatty's expression shifted from confidence to confusion, then from confusion to horror.
It stuck its entire head into the pocket, its two short legs flailing wildly in the air—the panic of having turned the pocket completely inside out without touching anything.
"Eh? Eh eh eh?! Where's the Anywhere Door? Where's the bamboo-copter? Even the Dress-Up Camera is gone?!"
Doraemon was so anxious it broke into a sweat. It turned to look at Nobita who was still fake-crying, its face completely collapsed.
"Nobita! Did you take my spare pocket to wash it?! All my gadgets are gone ahhhhh!"
"I didn't!!"
Watching the robotic cat spinning in circles over there, already doubting its existence, Chiba hiding in the shadows sighed. The expectation in his eyes instantly cooled.
The conclusion was obvious.
The Rat Talisman could bestow life and personality upon Doraemon's image, and could even replicate its thought patterns.
But those gadgets in the four-dimensional pocket were external objects, not within the scope of biological composition.
Even if it was a robotic cat, that pocket was just equipment, not an organ.
Wanting to mass-produce causal weapons by exploiting this bug? No way.
"Since the physical cheating route doesn't work, then I can only fight head-on."
So Chiba withdrew his magical power.
Doraemon, who was doubting cat-life, and Nobita, who was still acting, instantly dispersed into points of light.
Since there was no way to exploit bugs and take shortcuts, he could only solve the problem using the most primitive method.
No longer hesitating, Chiba drew The Move card from his deck.
"Locate... Ougihoshi Kaguya."
As the Clow Cards' judge, Kaguya's magical power fluctuations were as conspicuous to him as a lighthouse in the night.
"Teleport."
...
On the outskirts of Kamimizu City, at a luxury villa halfway up a mountain.
The massive outdoor swimming pool sparkled under the sunlight, with several flamingo-shaped inflatable rafts floating on the water's surface.
Ougihoshi Kaguya was lying on one of those inflatable rafts, holding a cocktail with a little umbrella in her hand, looking completely at ease.
Today she wasn't wearing that iconic teacher's uniform, but had instead changed into a deep blue school swimsuit.
That outdated style, worn on her body, didn't look ridiculous at all. Instead, it outlined a distinctive, contrast-filled allure.
Those long, slender legs were casually draped in the water, her toes gently playing with the ripples.
"Hm?"
Hearing the sound of space being torn apart, Kaguya slowly opened her eyes and straightened up.
Looking at Chiba who had suddenly appeared poolside, there was no panic in her eyes, only a hint of surprise.
"Oh my."
She reached out to brush aside her wet hair, the corner of her mouth curling into an amused smile.
"If it isn't our still-wet-behind-the-ears Cardcaptor. I thought you'd be lost in the temporal currents for at least three to five days. Didn't expect you to return so quickly?"
"What's wrong? Wasn't the future fun over there? Or perhaps..."
Her gaze swept over Chiba in a circle, that look in her eyes like she was watching a rabbit that had suddenly learned to bite.
"You missed your teacher?"
"Cut the crap."
Chiba let out a cold laugh. His gaze unabashedly lingered for two seconds on that highly contrasting swimsuit on her body, with not even a trace of being captivated by beauty in his eyes.
"As a judge, your twisted sense of humor really opens my eyes. Playing the proper teacher at school on one hand, while hiding here wearing a school swimsuit on the other?"
"What's this? Some kind of special fetish of yours?"
Facing this merciless mockery, Kaguya not only wasn't angry, but slowly placed her drink on a floating tray beside her.
"Hehehe... Young man, this is called living."
"As long as the rules allow it, what's wrong with enjoying human pleasures in this world?"
"But you—you returned faster than I expected. Looks like that Time card couldn't hold you for long."
Chiba took a step forward, magical power beginning to surge through his body, causing ripples to spread across the pool's surface.
"Sneak attacks, planting bombs—using such underhanded methods. Is this what so-called higher beings are like? From any angle, you look more like a petty thief who can only lurk in the shadows."
"Watch your words, young man."
Kaguya let out a soft sigh, seeming bored with this low-level provocation.
"These are the rules. Before the game ends, I have the right to add a bit of difficulty, don't I?"
She slid from the inflatable raft into the water, her body stretching gracefully in the clear pool like an elegant mermaid.
"Besides... you should be thanking me."
Then Kaguya swam to the pool's edge and leaned against the side, tilting her head up to look at Chiba.
Water droplets slid down her pale neck and disappeared into that deep blue fabric.
"If not for the rule restrictions requiring me to wait until you've collected all the Clow Cards before initiating the Final Judgment."
"Otherwise, a weak insect like you would have been crushed by me ten thousand times already."
"So until that day arrives, I can only use these little tricks to add some game difficulty for you and kill some time out of boredom."
"Throwing you into the past was just to teach you a lesson. Otherwise you'd already be dead countless times."
"So be grateful, young man. Be grateful I spared you."