"I'm talking about business—not this 'angel'!"
Minamiya Natsuki misunderstood, thinking Shichen meant Kanase Kanon looked like an angel, and shot him an irritable glare. Then it hit her: why hadn't this little girl gone home yet? It was late already.
"Natsuki, I'm not joking. The 'synthetic angel' you mentioned—it's Kanon."
"What do you mean?" Natsuki frowned.
"It's because of her foster father…"
Shichen explained, and Natsuki quickly grasped the situation.
"So that's it… But Kanon's body seems no different from a normal person."
"I've already restored her."
"How did you do that?"
"This flame has the power to purify and heal." Shichen turned his hand over and showed the golden fire.
"A flame with purification and healing? That's not very Primogenitor-like," Natsuki muttered—Primogenitors were supposed to be cursed beings, after all.
"I'm the impossible Fifth Primogenitor. Bending the rules a little is normal," Shichen said, circling to the sofa and—out of habit—putting an arm around Kanon.
Kanon smiled softly and leaned into him without thinking.
"?" Natsuki knit her brows, eyeing the two of them in puzzlement. How did it look this natural?
"Natsuki, it's fine if Kanon lives here from now on, right?" Shichen asked.
"It's fine—as long as you don't get up to anything," she said coolly.
"When have I ever 'gotten up to' anything?" Shichen protested.
"Forgot what you did to Tritos and the others? It's been what, a few days? And you 'polished off' all eleven of them," Natsuki said, staring him down.
"Ahem." Shichen had no rebuttal. It was true—and he had found it hard to stop. Petite Kaguya and the rest were too tempting; nestled in his arms, he hardly had to move—ahem.
"Humph. Kanon, be careful—don't let this guy 'polish you off,'" Natsuki warned.
"'Polish off'…" Kanon blushed, thinking of what had happened earlier that day. Just the memory made her feel hot.
"Kanon?" Natsuki noticed her reaction and realized something was off. "Shichen, you…?"
"No, no. You can see the change in Kaguya and the others—can't you see Kanon's condition?" Shichen said.
"Kanon is still untouched, but who knows if you did anything beastly," Natsuki shot back.
"'Beastly' is a bit much, isn't it?" he muttered.
"How old is Kanon? A third year? Even if this world isn't strict about such things, you can't just do whatever you want."
"Natsuki-nee, I'm already fourteen," Kanon corrected, firm despite her soft tone.
"…" Natsuki had nothing to add. With Kanon saying that much, did her feelings for Shichen really need spelling out?
All she could do was glare at Shichen and warn, "Kanon may not know any better—but you behave."
"Yes, yes… so you are jealous again," Shichen chuckled.
"What would I be jealous of?" Natsuki's face went blank at once.
"I know you, don't I?"
He sat down beside her—close enough to touch.
"W-what are you doing?" Her tone actually wavered—she'd remembered his stolen kiss from two days ago. He was right: even if this body wasn't her real one, her mind had been kissed, and had felt it. That couldn't be denied. She had never imagined she'd kiss anyone, and the feeling had been so strange. If it had been her true body… who knew how she'd react.
Shichen had said he could free her from her constraints; she hadn't agreed. She suspected that if he did free her, he might soon leave—and she didn't want that. The stretch he'd been gone had been painfully lonely. She used to be fine on her own. Then he'd shown up, and she'd learned how nice it was to have someone around. She couldn't go back to solitude.
"What could I be doing?" Shichen didn't stand on ceremony—he picked her up and set her on his lap. In the black gothic-lolita dress, she really did look like a doll.
"Y-you… Wait! Kanon is still here—don't try anything!" Natsuki warned, flustered.
"Kanon's family now. What's there to be shy about?"
"That's different. You are not allowed to do what you did to me the other day!"
"Eh? Did he do something to you, Natsuki-nee?" Kanon asked, head tilted, all innocence. Her way of addressing Shichen had, of course, grown more intimate.
"Nothing at all," Natsuki said promptly. "Kanon, it's late. Take a bath and get to bed—you've got class tomorrow."
"I already bathed today. I stayed home all day—no need."
She'd bathed not long after Shichen left—because she was covered in kisses. She didn't mind being marked by him—in fact she wouldn't have washed at all if she could help it. The thought of him tasting every inch of her made it hard to part with it. But she also knew how much he liked that sort of thing—so she had to stay fresh and sweet.
"If you've bathed, then go rest. Or are you disobeying me?"
"N-no. I'll listen to you, Natsuki-nee."
"Then off to bed," Natsuki said firmly. She could feel Shichen's arm tightening at her waist. He was absolutely about to misbehave—and once would become twice. She couldn't slip free; space magic wouldn't answer her, either. Best to send Kanon off before he got started—for the sake of her dignity.
"…Alright," Kanon said. She glanced at Shichen; seeing him nod, she left the room.
Once the door shut, Natsuki finally exhaled. Now there was nothing to worry about. Shichen also didn't waste time. He turned her to face him. Delicate face, youthful features—however you looked at it, the body was that of a little doll. But it was a puppet; the person herself was in her twenties—perfectly legal.
…Did it count as being attracted to a doll? Shichen couldn't help thinking. Whatever. Doll or not, she had a mind of her own.
"Your eyes…" Natsuki noticed the heat growing in his gaze. Her heart skipped; nerves crept in.
"Natsuki… there's no one else here now," he murmured, leaning in.
"Aren't you getting a bit out of hand?" she asked, head bowed, unable to meet his eyes.
"You know I like you," he admitted openly.
"You've never even seen what I really look like… You lolicon!"
"Relax. Whatever you look like, I'll like you," he said, lifting a hand to pinch her chin up. The distance between them was less than a centimeter—their noses almost touched.
"Fresh off 'polishing off' Tritos and the rest, and you can still say that," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Is Natsuki the type to care about that?"
"I am a woman."
"Fair enough… But I'm not letting go."
"You…" In his eyes she saw desire—for her—and real affection. He truly liked her. He really was a strange man; he'd appeared out of nowhere, decided to live with her for no reason, trusted her for no reason. She didn't want to be apart from him.
She closed her eyes.
Shichen's heart leapt—she was accepting him. That impulsive kiss two days ago had been the right call. If he'd kept tiptoeing, who knew how long it would have taken.
He didn't dither—he tilted in and kissed her small lips. Cool to the touch, but his heart roared.
Natsuki's lashes trembled; her chest tightened. This time she was ready—the sensation much stronger. His heat flowed perfectly into her.
The living room was quiet, no interruptions; Shichen held the tiny puppet tight, and this time the kiss went deeper.