‘My head ached…
Though some time had passed, unlike previous occasions, the memories of her dream remained remarkably vivid. The blacksmith’s pleas, the samurai’s rage, and the malevolent spirit’s roars—all played out before her mind’s eye.
‘What was this? A hint from the game system?’
Yet, with only these fragments, she couldn’t piece together the full scope of the story, and the so-called ‘truth’ remained largely inscrutable to her.
‘Never mind that for now… compared to these pressing thoughts…’
“Ayane, my arm is going numb…” A tingling sensation spread through her right arm as she slowly regained full consciousness. When she tried to move it, she found it utterly unresponsive.
Opening her eyes, she saw Kujou Sakuya sleeping beside her, on her right.
‘Wait, Sakuya, why are you sleeping on my arm too!’ Shion was about to complain, intending to lift her right hand and gently move Sakuya’s head.
‘Hold on, was my left arm severed?’ Shion’s mind raced with frantic complaints. She tried to lift her left arm, but it felt as if it simply wasn’t there, completely refusing to respond.
‘Ah… this is bad… My left arm… it seems… completely numb.’
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake…’ Shion strained to lift her head, turning to her left. As her hearing gradually returned, she discerned a sound…
…an earth-shattering snore.
While her hands remained immobile, her head, at least, could still move. With considerable effort, she turned it to her other side. There, Hoshimori Ayane lay sprawled across her left arm, mouth agape, a silly smile plastered on her face, snoring loud enough to shake the heavens. ‘No, wait, when Ayane first fell asleep, her soft little snores were quite adorable! How did they suddenly become so deafening?’ Shion thought. ‘No wonder I woke up so abruptly, and I still haven’t had enough sleep!’
Heavens, it was truly a blessing that she and Ayane didn’t usually share a room. Otherwise, she couldn’t even imagine what her nights would be like; she’d probably be exorcising spirits every night, ending up bruised and battered, or simply collapsing on the battlefield, only to wake up punctually in her own bed the next morning.
And what’s more…
“Ayane, your drool! Wipe it off! It’s dripping onto my sleeve!” Shion practically yelled into Ayane’s ear. She didn’t even have a free hand to wipe away the drool Ayane had left in her sleep; her other arm was still pinned by Sakuya, utterly immobilized!
‘Good heavens, what a troublesome younger sister!’
Moreover, the sky was already beginning to darken. The clear blue expanse she’d seen before falling asleep was now veiled by a thin layer of grey. The once bright surroundings had grown noticeably dimmer.
It seemed quite late already. However, Shion had no idea of the exact time, as both her hands were currently occupied, each by one of the two troublesome individuals beside her. It was as if they were about to pick up her hands and start gnawing on them.
Extending her still-responsive right hand, Shion struggled to reach for her phone in her backpack. Though her hand was already numb from Sakuya sleeping on it, and the numbness was steadily worsening, Shion persevered, finally grasping her phone and illuminating its screen.
It was already six in the evening!
“You two! Get up right now!” Shion could no longer contain herself, shouting it aloud.
“Hm? What is it?” Sakuya was the first to stir, rubbing her eyes and lifting her head slightly. “Huh? What happened? Is… is dinner ready?”
“Dinner, my foot! The sky is turning dark!” Shion cried, on the verge of tears. “If it gets completely dark, we might not even be able to get down the mountain!”
“Eh?!” Upon hearing that it was getting dark, Sakuya instantly sobered up. She knew all too well what could happen if she wasn’t home by nightfall, especially after her experience yesterday.
However, a significant reason Sakuya had dared to sleep so carelessly on the mountain was Shion’s presence beside her. After all, from Sakuya’s perspective, when she was being chased by those terrifying entities yesterday, Shion had descended like an angel, and the malevolent spirits had simply vanished.
‘Well, if Shion is here with me, those scary things definitely won’t dare to come.’
Though Sakuya didn’t voice it, that’s precisely how she felt. As long as Shion was by her side, she was perfectly safe.
With that thought, Sakuya almost wanted to lie back down and continue sleeping. After all, opportunities to ‘spend the night’ with Shion like this weren’t exactly plentiful, were they?
“Kujou-san, please don’t lie there anymore! My arm is going completely numb because of you!” Shion pleaded with Sakuya, her voice almost a wail.
Only then did Sakuya realize she had been holding Shion’s arm the entire time she slept. She scratched her head sheepishly. “Shion-san’s arm is really comfortable to sleep on. It’s so soft, like a plush air mattress.”
“Kujou-san, you haven’t known Kazama-san for very long, have you…? Yet, I feel like you’re becoming more and more like her…” Shion couldn’t help but mutter.
“Uh… what about Kazama-san?” Sakuya asked. Although everyone had become considerably more familiar with each other during the tutoring sessions for Shion, and all of them, except Igarashi Rie, had even gone out for a celebration dinner after Shion’s exams.
“It’s… that shameless feeling.”
“What are you talking about!”
‘Hmm, it’s a good thing Nanami isn’t here today.’
Meanwhile, on her other side, the reason Shion still couldn’t sit up and talk to Sakuya was…
“Ayane! You!” Shion struggled to turn towards her other side. Ayane was still clutching Shion’s arm, and though the snoring had ceased, she appeared to be deep in slumber.
Of course, her younger sister’s little tricks couldn’t fool her. Shion used her other hand, the one that had just been numbed by Sakuya, to firmly grasp Ayane’s cheek. “Idiot Ayane! Get up right now!”
“Sister…” Ayane seemed unfazed, instead tightening her grip on Shion’s hand even further, murmuring as if speaking in her dreams.
“Idiot Ayane! Do you think I don’t know? You’ve been awake for ages!” Shion continued to pinch her sister’s cheek, then gave her head a direct, playful bump!
Ayane finally winced in pain and opened her eyes. At such close proximity, Shion noticed for the first time that within Ayane’s pupils, there seemed to be faint white specks, like threads of starlight.
“Honestly! Idiot Sister, can’t you let me sleep a little longer?” Ayane rubbed her head, wincing, but still refused to release Shion’s arm.
“If you don’t let go, my hand will truly go numb… it’s already lost all sensation…” Shion gently tapped her sister’s head. “You can sleep more when we get back.”
“No way! It’s been so long since Sister and I slept together, what’s wrong with sleeping a little longer today?” Ayane clung to Shion’s hand, utterly unwilling to let go.
“Well, since Ayane-san wants to keep sleeping,” Sakuya said, immediately grabbing Shion’s other hand. “Let me use you as a pillow a bit longer too, and we can watch the moon tonight.”
“You two!”