"Shichen…"
After he finished transferring blood, Shichen had just pulled away from Tokisaki Kurumi's neck when she leaned in and kissed him on her own.
The side effect of having her blood drawn had kicked in.
It was actually something that could be resisted, as long as one's willpower was strong enough—and Kurumi's certainly was. But the one who had drunk her blood was Shichen, someone she trusted, someone she liked, so she had no intention of resisting at all.
There was still blood on Shichen's lips—his own, and Kurumi's—but she didn't care in the slightest as she kissed him.
The taste of intermingled blood lingered between them as the two wrapped their arms around each other and kissed passionately again.
Kissing is indeed something that's easy to get addicted to, especially for someone experiencing it for the first time.
Kurumi fell for it instantly, and on top of that, she was dealing with the side effects.
In the quiet lunchtime break, in the empty infirmary where no one would interrupt them, Shichen and Kurumi were completely absorbed in their dazed intoxication.
But it didn't last long.
While Kurumi was a novice, Shichen was very experienced. Before he realized it, he'd already started letting his hands wander.
Kurumi's shyness existed in a sort of Schrödinger state—sometimes she didn't care, sometimes it was very serious.
As soon as Shichen felt her heartbeat and flexed his fingers just a little, she startled and quickly pulled away from him.
Her breathing was ragged, her chest heaving. Unable to endure her embarrassment, she simply bolted.
"I-I have class—I'm going first!"
Leaving that behind, she fled the infirmary without looking back.
Shichen lay back on the bed, glanced at his own hand, and shook his head helplessly.
This is all your fault.
Couldn't he have exercised a bit of self-control?
Still, it wasn't a big problem. At least he'd gotten a taste—where there's a first time, there'll be a second. He'd just have to try again later.
He still had serious business to take care of.
After tidying up the infirmary, Shichen used spatial movement to return directly to Kurumi's house.
Back in Yamauchi Sawa's room, he found her still lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as if in a daze—sometimes grinning foolishly, sometimes looking pained.
It was like she'd developed a split personality.
"Sawa?" Shichen called softly.
Sawa didn't respond at first; she rolled around on the bed, and when she finally turned to face his side, she suddenly froze.
Her neck stiffly turned from low to high, until her gaze locked onto Shichen's face.
"Shichen? Wh-when… did you get back?" she stammered.
"Just now. What were you doing?" Shichen asked with a laugh.
"N-nothing at all!"
Sawa shot upright, cheeks flushed, and hurriedly changed the subject. "Shichen, where did you go? Why were you gone so long?"
"I went to fetch something."
"What is it? Why so mysterious?"
"You'll know in a bit." Shichen sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Sawa onto his lap.
Sawa let him, turning to face him and looping her arms around his neck, pouting playfully. "Shichen, you really love acting like the guy who speaks in riddles."
"Being the one who speaks in riddles is different from being the one listening to them," Shichen replied with a smile.
"Hmph~ I really want to see what you're up to. I don't have anything I'm hung up on, anyway."
"Really?"
"I can't think of anything."
"Then I'll help you remember… Let's do the serious part first."
"What 'serious part' again?"
"The thing you were just thinking about~" Shichen said with a faint smile.
"Eh?" Sawa froze in place.
Shichen didn't give her any time to react. He lowered his head, pulled her close, and took her in hand.
"Mmm…"
Sawa let out a soft sound, clinging to his neck and instinctively responding.
The room fell silent, no sound at all except for their heavy breathing now and then.
At some point, Sawa couldn't catch her breath and pulled away first.
"Haa—"
Shichen watched her for a moment, then leaned in toward her neck. His fangs extended, and he lightly pierced her skin.
"Mm!" Sawa cried out softly in pain.
"Shi? Why are you biting me?"
"Don't worry. I'm working on the serious part."
"…," was all Sawa could manage as she endured the strange sensation.
She could feel that Shichen seemed to be sucking her blood—just like a vampire.
It felt strange—not painful, but oddly pleasant.
She'd thought he was just playing around, adding a little "flavor" and giving her a love bite.
Is Shi a vampire?
She wasn't sure, but even if he was, it didn't matter. If it was him, he could drink as much as he wanted.
After a moment, she noticed something was off. Why did it feel like the blood was flowing back?
Because her body had been altered by the spirit crystal, she wasn't an ordinary human anymore; she could clearly feel that some unfamiliar blood, full of special energy, was returning through her veins.
That wasn't her blood—that was Shi's blood.
And within that blood, there was spirit power.
Shichen was infusing her with spirit power.
He was going to turn her into a spirit?
In that instant, she understood exactly what he'd meant earlier.
So he had noticed how much she cared about being different from the others—about not being a spirit—and he was fixing it for her.
Of course that made her like him even more.
Shichen was giving Sawa spirit power, but it wasn't actually his. It was Kurumi's, slightly modified.
Using his familiar Giratina's power of reversal, he had inverted Kurumi's spirit power and was now passing that reversed power on to Sawa.
In other words, he was turning Sawa into Kurumi's reverse form.
Because he was the one mediating it, the reverse power wouldn't go berserk; it would function just like ordinary spirit power, under her control.
She'd be like the others—just a normal spirit.
Since "normal" and "reversed" can't coexist, Kurumi and the others wouldn't be able to use the reverse power anyway, nor were they suited for it. So he could simply give it to someone who needed it.
And Sawa needed it very much.
This was just putting her on the path she was meant to walk.
As the spirit power in Shichen's blood continued to pour into Sawa's body, it gradually gathered and took shape as a prismatic crystal.
A spirit crystal.
This was the reversed power he'd stripped away from Kurumi's spirit crystal.
Once formed, the spirit crystal's energy spread throughout Sawa's body, reshaping it from within.
Her body had already been altered long ago; she adapted almost instantly to the influx of power. Thus, from an ordinary human, she became a spirit.
This time, it wasn't some incomplete spirit form, but a proper one—a human shape holding spirit power.
"Tenku Angels—Third Spirit Outfit."
The moment she seized the power, Sawa instinctively understood the nature of it and called out its name.
Light flared around her, wrapping her up, and her outward appearance changed.
Her loungewear was replaced by a pure white military-style uniform. Her flax-colored hair turned snowy white, and her hairstyle shifted as well—now she wore a military cap and twin ponytails.
Her appearance was now very similar to Kurumi's; even her eyes had changed, her left pupil becoming a blue astronomical clock.
She looked like a queen, her once-soft features now bold and commanding—though, sitting properly on Shichen's lap, she still seemed strangely well-behaved.
"I really… became a spirit?" Sawa stared down at her hands in disbelief.
"This is you now—you're the same as everyone else. You're a spirit," Shichen said, taking out a mirror and holding it up for her.
Sawa stared at her reflection, stunned. For a second, she thought she was looking at Tokisaki Kurumi.
But there were obvious differences in hair color, eye color, and facial details.
What she could see clearly, though, was that she'd become even prettier. Her features looked livelier, more charming, almost like a princess.
Before this, she'd just been… staying young forever.
"Now do you still care?" Shichen asked, smiling as he watched her spacing out.
Sawa burst into a grin, pushed the mirror away, and looked at him with a predatory glint in her eyes. "Shichen, you went this far just for me?"
"I am your future husband, aren't I? Who else am I supposed to take care of, if not you? I don't ever want to see you upset," he replied.
"Shichen, if you keep this up, I'm seriously gonna love you to death," Sawa said with a smile that was just a little bit unhinged—too happy, too intense.
Dangerously charming.
"Love me all you want—just don't actually die," he said.
"So… do you love me, Shichen?" she asked, smiling.
"Of course," Shichen answered without hesitation.
"Then love me. Right now," Sawa said, leaning in until their noses touched, eyes burning.
"This time… you're really prepared?"
"Don't tease me!"
Her aura had completely shifted—she kissed him with all the dominance of a queen.
Shichen realized he was surprisingly into that. He didn't fight back, just let her take the lead.
After a long while, Sawa finally pulled away, satisfied, then pushed him down onto the bed.
"Time to get to the real business."
"Your spirit outfit, though…"
"Doesn't Shichen like spirit outfits?"
"Well, yeah, but… was this your plan from the start?"
"Pretty much," Sawa nodded, then released her outfit.
Her clothes reverted back to her casual homewear, which she then started taking off—smooth, pale skin coming into view.
A loud gulp echoed in the room, and then silence fell.
Not long after, there was a faint murmur of pain—
And then the room filled with song.
Her voice was beautiful, tinged with tears, soft and mournful, yet sweet and clear—achingly lovely to hear.
~~~
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