A Short Word Count

"So this place..." Tohka's eyes sparkled, then softened with wistfulness. "It's so beautiful."

Her gaze swept over the bustling streets, the shop windows filled with goods, and the children playing in a distant park.

"There are so many wonderful things here. Such delicious food, and kind humans like you, Shiori... This world is so beautiful. They must be trying to protect it."

"I think I'm starting to understand why the robot army attacks me."

"..."

Shiori understood at once. By "robot army," Tohka meant AST—the unit equipped with cutting-edge Realizers and tasked with "handling" Spacequakes and Spirits. Yet Tohka had taken AST's attacks as an attempt to protect the world.

"That's not true!" Shiori protested. "Nothing happened today, did it? And Huanyue—I run into her on ordinary streets all the time. There must be another way."

She really is a little silly, putting herself in the role of a destroyer and quietly accepting the blame, Qian Huanyue thought.

"Of course there's a way to avoid causing a Spacequake." As a Spirit herself, Qian Huanyue knew what she was talking about.

Tohka jerked her head up, hope filling her violet eyes. "Really?! I really can... avoid destroying this world?"

"The power we have isn't a sin in itself. What matters is how we use it. If you learn to control your Spiritual Power precisely, until it becomes as natural a part of you as breathing..."

Qian Huanyue used her silver Spiritual Power to create a faint ripple in space, then sent another wisp against it until the two canceled each other out.

"Then you can arrive in this world like a falling feather, without leaving any trace of destruction."

Qian Huanyue, who was unusually sensitive about certain matters concerning 32, paused. Then she explained more carefully,

"For example, you could counter a Spacequake as you arrive with an equal amount of power."

"Really... I can do that? I can stay here... without destroying anything?"

"Of course you can!" they both answered.

Shiori and Qian Huanyue had spoken in unison.

The moment the words left their mouths, they both froze, then instinctively looked at each other.

"Heh~" Qian Huanyue's eyes curved into a smile, a hint of pride in her voice. "Looks like we were thinking the same thing, Shiori."

"Ah! Yes." Shiori blinked, scratched her cheek, and blushed faintly.

Before humans learned to express their feelings in words, they must have learned to do it with their bodies.

That was what Qian Huanyue thought when Tohka suddenly hugged her.

Tohka's sheer strength held her tight, but sensing the unease beneath the embrace, Qian Huanyue gently stroked her head.

The ribbon on Tohka's head bobbed with every stroke like a little tuft of hair. It was adorable.

The hug was a bit too tight, though. Especially with all three of them squeezed together.

Shiori! Why are you just watching?

Shiori, suddenly caught in the middle of this human sandwich, went completely stiff.

Her cheek was pressed into the hollow of Tohka's shoulder, with Qian Huanyue's silver hair on her other side. Two distinct yet equally fresh scents filled her nose. She could feel Tohka's arms wrapped tightly around her, and Qian Huanyue's grip—slender as she looked—left no room to escape either. Mostly because Tohka was squeezing them together.

Shiori's face flared bright red. Her mind went blank, and her hands hovered helplessly in the air, with nowhere to go.

"Shiori! Huanyue!" Tohka looked almost giddy. "Thank you! I love you both!"