Elysia's absence clearly caught Sakura off guard.
It seemed Elysia wasn't as unreliable as she'd feared, nor as perverted as Rin had described.
That was a huge relief.
Then night fell. After Tesla had finished talking with Shiraha, and the house had grown quiet, Sakura leaned by the window of her guest room and watched Shiraha slip out through the window.
Sakura: ….
Shiraha's movements were better than she'd expected. Though he clearly lacked formal training, his motions carried a childlike flair, very cool.
"See? Elysia's not worried at all, she's practically got the kid trained already."
Rin also sat by the window, her small beastly frame hidden behind the curtain, no one would notice a little fox lurking there.
She didn't bother guessing who Shiraha was sneaking off to see.
As for why Elysia wasn't around, she'd probably spotted the Oath of Judah. No one would question Elysia's sharpness.
Sakura hesitated.
"Just say it, sister. Elysia doesn't care what others think, you don't need to hesitate either."
Because Elysia was so open and unashamed, Rin often couldn't be bothered to hide her own actions either.
After all, if the biggest one didn't care, what were her little moves?
Besides, Shiraha's resistance was too strong, Rin couldn't even tell if her authority was affecting him at all.
Sakura's voice was unusually plain. "I'm just worried, is it safe for a kid to be out this late?"
Shiraha was still so young.
Rin was silent for a moment, then said flatly, "Blame Elysia."
It had to be Elysia's fault. You couldn't say Shiraha had contacted Schicksal somehow, learned Theresa was coming, and sent Elysia away to lay low.
Then, after Theresa rushed off to the Far East, he'd climbed out the window to find Elysia just to be "disobedient."
That explanation could work, but it was much more plausible that the famously mischievous Elysia had planned all this and decided to take a day off.
Elysia always trusted people, trusted Sakura, trusted Shiraha, trusted Rin.
Sakura had nothing to say, she still had a decent impression of Elysia, despite her special agenda. "She…"
…
Setting aside the speechless Sakura on the other side, Shiraha had spent the night dealing with Theresa, Tesla, who'd come on Einstein's behalf, and Kiana and Mei, who were still full of energy.
Finally, he'd made it out the window.
Theresa had gone back, she was anxious, not knowing the full situation, and assumed the Herrscher of Corruption was Yae Sakura.
As for Rin, no one was sure what "resolved" really meant. But Shiraha figured it was enough. When it came to trust, he was willing to follow his Nee-chan's example.
"Hey, kid, out looking for your mom?"
The cab driver wasn't exactly polite.
Shiraha didn't mind, he climbed into the back seat. "Take me to the southernmost tip of California."
Near the Mexican border.
Then, after a moment's thought, Shiraha very politely opened his bag and, among the cash, raised a gun.
He intended to pay, but in the Americas, he figured it was better to show this first.
Smooth sailing!
When he got out, Shiraha left behind a fare that made him wince, cabs in the Americas were outrageously expensive.
Arriving at their meeting spot, Shiraha wasn't in a rush. In this Honkai-less little town, he didn't call out his Nee-chan's name.
They'd agreed on this in advance, they had that understanding. But he wondered where the fairy, left to talk to herself all day, was hiding now.
From south to north, he walked the entire length of the town without finding her.
Shiraha slowed down.
The night wind blew through the empty streets, scattering a fallen leaf from somewhere.
A flicker of unease crept in, his Nee-chan hadn't seemed very strong lately, and he worried she might not be able to handle it.
He still didn't shout. The Omnipotent One had to stay calmer than anyone.
A few minutes later.
"Elysia!"
"Nee-chan!!"
His voice echoed through the empty streets, loud.
Where was she?!
Wasn't their meeting spot the end of the town? My dear Nee-chan, my dear fairy, my all-knowing Intel Elysia, this isn't the time for jokes.
After a few calls, the first reaction came from a nearby resident. "Hey, what are you yelling about, kid?"
Thankfully, language was standardized, at least basic communication was.
Shiraha forced himself calm, even putting on a polite look. "Sir, could you tell me if there's any scenic spot nearby?"
"Crazy kid!"
The window slammed shut.
He was a crazy kid, out in the middle of the night, screaming, then asking about tourist spots.
Shiraha's lips twitched. He patted his cheeks, sat on a bench, and was quiet for a moment.
"Grey Serpent, are there any scenic spots near my current location?"
The 2010 navigation system wasn't worth mentioning, Shiraha had to ask Grey Serpent, who seemed to know everything.
He didn't like asking Grey Serpent about personal matters, but his Nee-chan's sudden stubbornness had left him… uneasy.
Grey Serpent paused for about a minute, then sent a set of coordinates.
He didn't understand the situation, but the answer was simple enough.
The spot wasn't far, about a thousand meters away, by the sea.
It wasn't really a proper tourist site, just a small cliff with a swing, surrounded by flowers meant to attract visitors.
By day, people might take photos; by evening, couples might linger. But it was the middle of the night, no one else was around.
When he arrived, he spotted the always-lively fairy girl from a distance, silently sitting on the cliff edge, looking out at the sea, her hair hanging down, not blown by the wind.
"Why aren't you on the swing?"
Shiraha's voice was oddly calm. He walked over and sat beside her, watching until she finally reacted.
Elysia smiled helplessly. "I can't get it to move."
She fell silent again, her starry eyes still fixed on the shimmering sea.
I looked for you for so long.
I was so worried... or maybe I should say something else.
His thoughts swirled, but in the end, he just swung his legs and leaned against her, feeling drained.
"Nee-chan, you've cracked my invincible heart a little."
Elysia tilted her head, what invincible heart?
Shiraha reached out and openly pulled her into an embrace. Seeing the glimmer in her starry eyes, his voice dropped the usual pretense. "Nee-chan, you made me feel fear again."
Elysia blinked—eh?
That's not right, shouldn't I be the one saying that?
The beautiful fairy, sitting alone, unable to touch anyone, unable to talk to anyone, unable even to play on a swing by herself.
Sitting there, she couldn't even be bothered to make her hair ripple in the wind, those little affectations meant nothing when you were alone.
She just sat there, isolated from the world once more.
She'd even heard Little Shiraha's voice again, her usually radiant eyes now held a trace of moisture.
Shiraha buried his face in her neck, biting his lip. "I forgot, I'm always copying your tricks to tease others, but I've got the original right here."
Elysia's eyes stirred. She gently held him back, her chin resting on his head.
"What's this, you're not blaming me for that, are you?"
She'd already taken enough blame, couldn't carry any more. Though this kind of thing could pile up a bit more, it wasn't really blame.
Shiraha nuzzled against her, then looked up with a bright smile. "Nee-chan, Rin's situation is on hold for now. Theresa can't reach into Anti-Entropy. No one can separate us now."
"What about Sakura?" Elysia composed herself too, her little world had returned. "Did she say anything?"
The fairy's eyes no longer shimmered, alone, she couldn't even cry.
Together, she wouldn't cry either, so Elysia was a grown-up who didn't cry.
"Sakura? She said she missed you." Shiraha let out a deliberate huff. "For the sake of the bigger picture, I haven't even had time to miss you, and she's already thinking about you. How annoying."
Elysia laughed, she tried to hold it back, but her lips still curved upward. "Let me ask you this!"
"Can't you miss me even when you're doing important things?"
Her expression wasn't serious at all, her eyes crinkled, and to hide her smile, she stretched hard, arms overhead, like a flower slowly blooming in the morning light, even though it was night.
Now that they were reunited, she felt like playing on the swing, she'd wanted to for a while, but couldn't do it alone.
Shiraha paused. "Feelings need to be held back a little to burn hotter."
"Just like how Nee-chan gets a little stubborn, runs off here, and leaves me shouting alone without being able to find you."
He said it casually, and when she froze, he added, "But that's fine, a flower without desire has no color when it blooms, it's ugly. Nee-chan and I are both ambitious dreamers."
Elysia pressed her lips together. It was true, she'd gotten bored alone in town and started wandering around.
"Actually…" she said softly, "I thought you'd need a few days."
After all the preparation, she'd thought she'd be stuck alone around here for days, so she wanted to spend the first day taking in the scenery.
Shiraha was quiet for a moment.
It would have taken days, he should've observed how Sakura and Rin were getting along before making a decision.
But he just didn't have the heart to keep Theresa around. The white-haired shorty was no match for his pink-haired big sister.
He let the subject drop naturally, but didn't let his Nee-chan get up.
"Little Shiraha~"
Elysia's voice was lilting, she just felt her little brother was holding her a little too tightly today.
"That's not very gentlemanly, you know."
But she didn't mind, when you only had one person left, who wouldn't want them to hold on tighter?
Shiraha lifted his head, completely unapologetic. "We're from the Manticores, we're barbarians!"
Elysia laughed again, her voice carried away by the night breeze.
"Besides, Nee-chan really hurt me this time. I've never felt my invincible heart shaken so badly."
When he couldn't find her, he'd instinctively thought she'd scattered.
If she'd scattered here, with unfinished business, he'd never find out the truth.
Clearly, his Nee-chan's unstable state wasn't suited for being alone, especially not for long.
She needed to be watched over by the Omnipotent One.
"Anyway, Sister only has you now." Elysia looked resigned, pretending to accept her fate. "So how do you want to bully me, Little Shiraha?"
Just thinking about it was exciting, too bad Shiraha was still too young. If only he were a bit older.
…If only she'd pushed a little harder back in Siberia to speed up his growth.
But a self-made yet still underaged partner was wonderful too, mm, Elysia wasn't sure whether to regret it or not.
Shiraha had his own idea. "As punishment, I'm going to fool Nee-chan for the rest of her life."
Elysia stood up, even if Shiraha was holding on tight, she was the bigger sister.
"Fine, fine but now…" She paused, her smile bright. "Since I've finally managed to lure my good kid out, we can't just go back before dawn, can we?"
She sat on the swing, her shoes and socks somehow gone. She reached out her hand to him.
A swing was meant for one, but she liked it better with two. Together, everything was right.
Shiraha pressed his lips together, it should've been just a little game. But as Elysia gripped the chains, swinging back and forth, her voice lifted. "Little Shiraha, I think there's one magic trick I never taught you."
"Magic?"
She smiled radiantly. "A beautiful girl's magic."
No ghost rider, but she'd lured her little pig out. She had to do something with him.
The swing slowly rose and fell, carrying the sound of waves, but under the moonlight, there was only one shadow.
The next day, Einstein pressed her hand to her forehead.
"You're telling me Shiraha ran away because his imaginary… his Elysia-nee ran away?"
She almost laughed, who else's good kid would rebel for a reason like that?
Sakura forced a smile, yes, this was their all-important Origin superhuman.
"He sure made a scene." Welt was looking at the news, at photos spreading across forums, chuckling. "That kid."
In the photos, the once-barren coast was completely covered in flowers, red, white, pink, purple, all competing for attention. The swing, meant to lure tourists, was now wrapped in vines blooming with white petals.
The boy swung alone, his hands not even holding the chains.
Welt's smile turned bitter, with skills like that, why not go after Kiana or Mei?
Or even Natasha, for that matter.
But no... sigh.