Gabriel blinked.
It took a fraction of a second for his awareness to fully return to the school corridor.
"Oh…"
He raised his hand to accept the handkerchief. Memories of the collision came back—the fallen ice cream, the flushed face, the awkward voice.
And then… something clicked.
A thin thread.
A small incident. A sense of responsibility. A desire to return the favor. A continued interaction.
A circle of cause and effect began forming in his mind.
Connection.
Slowly, the corner of Gabriel's mouth lifted faintly.
"…Thank you for returning it," he said lightly, this time truly looking at Origami.
Behind his calm gaze, a new scenario was beginning to take shape.
Moegami's face flushed slightly. She wasn't used to being looked at like this—though Gabriel's eyes were hidden behind his bangs, she could still feel the focus.
"I-I just… returned something that wasn't mine," she said softly, her fingers fidgeting awkwardly over her chest. "It's… normal…"
Gabriel suddenly broke into a bright smile.
"It's nothing!" he said lightly.
Without hesitation, he patted Moegami on both shoulders—a spontaneous gesture that made the girl flinch slightly.
"I'm really grateful!" he continued, full of enthusiasm.
"E-eh!?" Moegami blinked in surprise. "Shouldn't… I be the one saying thank you?"
"Not at all," Gabriel replied casually. "It should be me. So, next time I'll take you out and treat you. Anywhere you want—it's up to you."
Moegami froze.
"T-take… out?" she repeated softly, her face flushing even more. "Th-that sounds like…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
Her mind raced, trying to process whether this was a simple invitation, a polite gesture, or something with a deeper meaning.
"I-I don't demand any repayment," she added quickly, trying to sound calm. "But… if it's really your responsibility… I won't refuse."
The words sounded formal, almost like a military report, yet the color on her cheeks betrayed her true feelings.
Gabriel nodded with satisfaction, as if a single puzzle piece had just clicked perfectly into place.
"Good. See you later."
Without leaving any room for further discussion, he turned and walked away, leaving the two of them in the corridor.
Moegami stared at his retreating back, still holding onto the faint warmth from his shoulders.
Ren blinked slowly.
"…He just disappeared after tossing out a one-sided promise," Ren muttered flatly.
Then she turned to Moegami, a faint smile appearing on her face.
"Congratulations, Tobiichi-san. It seems you've just been drawn into a grand plan even I don't know the details of."
Moegami blinked once, then looked at Ren with an expression of complete confusion.
"What do you mean—"
Her sentence cut off mid-thought.
She realized.
"Wait… didn't Tomo-sensei assign me to guide Michaelis-kun?"
Ren smiled faintly.
Casually, she patted Moegami on the shoulder.
"That's right," she said calmly. "But if you wait for him to come to his senses on his own, you might graduate before the school tour even ends."
Her tone was gentle, yet clearly accustomed to situations like this.
"After all," Ren continued, "if you want to survive in the future… you need to get used to people who move however they please."
Moegami tilted her head slightly.
"The future…?" she repeated softly.
Ren just smiled, offering no further explanation.
Moegami fell silent for a moment, pondering those words.
"He… is a bit hard to understand," she finally murmured. "But… he doesn't feel like a bad person."
Her hand unconsciously touched her own shoulder—the spot where Gabriel had tapped her earlier.
"…Strange," she added softly. "It feels like I was just pushed into something… without knowing what it is."
Ren chuckled lightly.
"Believe me," she said casually, "I feel that way all the time too."
***
A week had passed.
In the Itsuka family residence, morning crept softly through the gaps in the curtains.
Sunlight fell gently onto the bedroom floor, touching the figure of Shido, who had just awakened. His black pajamas remained neatly in place, his hair slightly disheveled.
He stood in front of the window.
His gaze was vacant—but his mind was far from calm.
The memories returned.
Not faint. Not fragmented or blurry.
Everything was intact.
The night when buildings crumbled under the sudden awakening of Origami as a Spirit.
The chaos he hadn't fully comprehended before everything changed again—when Origami underwent the Inverse.
And Kurumi.
The truths she revealed. About the timeline. About the twisted cause and effect. About the unseen sacrifices.
Even further—
About himself, aided by Kurumi, using the Yud Bet bullets to rewrite history more deeply. To shift the starting point of the tragedy. To redraw the timeline so it wouldn't end in the same destruction.
So much had happened.
Yet in his mind, it all felt like a single page flipped too quickly—concise, dense, and heavy.
Shido stared at the morning sky.
"The world… has become peaceful, huh…" he murmured softly.
No explosions. No sirens. No Spirit alerts.
Tengu City looked… normal.
Too normal.
He lowered his gaze slightly.
"Now… how is Origami?" he whispered.
In this timeline, Origami was not a Spirit.
Had never become one.
That was how it should be.
Yet the memories from the erased world still lingered inside him—like an invisible scar.
And for some reason… his heart wasn't entirely at ease.
Just then, the bedroom door opened.
Kotori stood in the doorway, her black ribbon neatly tied—her commanding mode active since the morning.
"Oh?" she said lightly. "You're awake. Good. Shido, get ready. Today you have a date with Tohka and the others. Or do you want them all to disappear because of Natsumi's antics?"
Her tone sounded casual, but the meaning was clear.
Shido turned to face her. His expression was slightly blank—too slow to be mere casual joking.
Kotori narrowed her eyes.
"…Did you forget something, Shido?" she asked suspiciously.
Shido gave a warm smile.
"No. Nothing at all," he replied gently.
He stepped closer.
Then, without warning, he hugged Kotori tightly.
His body trembled slightly.
Not from cold.
But from a fear that hadn't fully disappeared—fear of losing her a second time.
Kotori froze.
"W-What—!?" Her face immediately flushed. "W-what is this all of a sudden?! Let go! What's gotten into you so early in the morning?!"
Her hands pushed against Shido's chest, but not with full strength.
Shido closed his eyes for a moment.
"Thank goodness…" he murmured softly. "You're unharmed."
Kotori stopped struggling.
"Huh?"
Shido slowly released his hug, but his hands remained on Kotori's shoulders, making sure she was really there.
"Just… feeling grateful," he said with a small smile.
Kotori looked at him, still confused, the blush on her cheeks not yet fading.
"You're strange," she finally commented. "If you're sleep-deprived, don't get all sentimental like this."
But she didn't ask further.
Meanwhile, in Shido's mind, his thoughts were racing.
If Kotori was fine…
That meant the Fraxinus crew was safe as well.
Reine. Kannazuki. The others.
This timeline—at least for now—hadn't brought the same tragedy.
Shido let out a quiet sigh.
The world might have changed.
But this time… he still had them all.
***
The clock showed nine o'clock, sunlight streaming onto the streets with shadows still long.
In a cozy, quiet cat café, Kurumi sat gracefully, her fingers stroking a fluffy black Angora cat.
Her movements were gentle, rhythmic, as if playing a silent melody.
Across from her, Gabriel cradled a gray Persian cat. His hands moved slowly, methodically—enough to keep the animal comfortable without disturbing it.
To get Kurumi to "play along" in the scenario he was orchestrating, Gabriel had to fulfill one of her requests: accompany her to the cat café.
It all started with a free ticket Kurumi had received—with one simple yet troublesome condition: she had to come with a male companion (in short, a boyfriend).
And here they were now.
Suddenly, Kurumi's hand paused. The cat in her lap looked up briefly before settling again.
She turned to Gabriel.
"Master-san," she said lightly, though there was a different gleam in her eyes. "Do you want to know something interesting? This morning, when I woke up… I received it."
A brief silence followed.
Gabriel furrowed his brow slightly, his eyes hidden beneath the black bangs that fell over part of his face.
"What do you mean?" he asked calmly.
Kurumi's smile widened just a little.
"My memories," she said softly. "About the previous timeline."
She leaned back against her chair.
"I once altered the timeline of this world with Shido. We rewound history… fixed what had been broken."
Her eyes sharpened.
"And the most interesting thing is… in that old timeline, you didn't exist at all, Master-san."
The atmosphere between them remained unchanged.
No glasses rattled. No hands froze.
Gabriel merely continued stroking the cat in his lap.
His expression stayed flat.
"I see," he replied lightly.
No shock. No objection.
As if the information were just a piece of data he had already expected to surface eventually.
____
Author' note:
My annoying spoiler, Gabriel will go on a date later. Ehehehe~ 😏
How do you like it? (•_<) tehe~
Support me! Don't forget to leave comments, your best reviews, add it to your favorites, and give all your power stones~!!!