Shichen ran over by the station, scanning his surroundings, craning his neck left and right, but he couldn't spot that familiar figure he'd glimpsed outside the family restaurant.
With his sharp eyesight, there was no way he could have been mistaken. He'd definitely recognize that silhouette. And that red-gray uniform resembling a high school outfit, plus that platinum-blonde hair—finally, he remembered why there were two Tokyo Towers in this world.
He never expected that they would exist here, too!
So, where was she now?
Could she be on a mission?
Had he missed his chance just like that?
He felt a pang of emptiness in his chest. Who knew when he'd get another shot at running into her?
But just then, the mechanical voice in his head rang out:
[Detected a target hosting a Divine Fragment!]
[Identified a matching Divine Fragment!]
[Target: Nishikigi Chisato!]
[You can acquire her Divine Fragment at any time (temporarily unavailable).]
A lot of startling information there, but Shichen had no time to process it. He whipped around—and found a bright-eyed girl standing right behind him.
She had gleaming red eyes, short, white-gold hair with a small tuft on the left side tied back with a red ribbon, revealing a petite left ear; her bangs just grazed the top of her eyes. She wore that red-gray, school-like uniform—a collared dress ending at her knees, a blue ribbon at her neckline, black mid-length socks on her calves, and brown round-toed shoes.
Her face was lit by a beaming smile—so dazzling and sunny. But what confused Shichen was that she was staring directly at him with clear excitement in her eyes, slightly open-mouthed.
It felt…as if she recognized him?
Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Now Shichen had no idea how to react. He just stood there while she eyed him.
"Um…"
"Are you…my savior?" the girl asked softly before he could speak, almost murmuring to herself.
"Savior?" Shichen frowned, not following.
"It has to be you! I'd never mistake you!" the girl exclaimed. Suddenly, she came closer, looking him up and down, as though trying to memorize every inch of him.
Seeing her face at this distance, she looked even cuter. But there were more pressing questions at the moment.
"Could you be mixing me up with someone?" he asked.
"Wait, aren't you Shichen-oniichan?" she asked outright.
"…How do you know my name?" Shichen was even more confused.
"I knew it—you really are Shichen-oniichan!" The girl wasted no time in throwing her arms around him, pressing her cheek to his chest and exclaiming excitedly, "I'm Chisato! Have you forgotten me? You saved my life!"
Shichen, of course, knew who she was—Nishikigi Chisato, from the world of Lycoris Recoil.
From the moment he glimpsed her, he remembered her and the whole "two Tokyo Towers" detail. After all, the old Tokyo Tower in that series got messed up largely thanks to this bright, bubbly girl.
But from her perspective, it seemed like they'd met before. And yet he'd only been in this world for half a month—how could they have met?
Let alone the fact she thought he was her savior.
Unless…he had time-traveled.
From what Chisato was saying, it sounded like a future version of him must have done something. But how would he pull that off?
He could worry about that later.
"Hang on," he said, gripping her shoulders and gently pushing her away.
"Shichen-oniichan?" She gazed at him, puzzled.
He looked into her red eyes and began explaining, "First off, the me you know and the me standing here now…they're not exactly the same."
"Huh?" Chisato tilted her head in confusion.
"…How do I put this? You may not believe it, but I'm not yet the one who saved you."
"What do you mean? You're Shichen-oniichan. You haven't changed at all," she said.
"You're not wrong. But right now, I haven't saved you. That must be some future version of me." He tried to clarify patiently.
He was certain now that his future self must have time-traveled. But it looked like Chisato herself didn't know he'd come from another time—just that someone named Shichen saved her.
Shichen didn't feel right accepting her gratitude for something he personally hadn't done yet. He wanted to experience it himself; otherwise, it felt like cheating—even if it was his own future.
"I don't get it," Chisato said, shaking her head.
"Look, it's simpler than it sounds. When did I supposedly save you?"
"Ten years ago!" she replied brightly.
"Ten years… Then do you see anything strange about me now?"
"Not at all. You look exactly like you did back then, Shichen-oniichan," she said.
"Exactly. Doesn't that seem odd? If it's been a decade, why haven't I aged at all?" he pressed.
"Uh?" Chisato blinked. "Well…come to think of it, that is weird. But maybe it's just because you're super handsome. I heard some good-looking people barely change with time."
"…Thanks for the compliment, but that's obviously not the reason."
"Is it? Well, who cares? You're definitely Shichen-oniichan. I finally found you!" She tried hugging him again.
Shichen firmly held her shoulders. "Let me finish."
"Oh," she said, still all smiles.
He came clean: "You might not believe this, but I think I traveled through time to save you."
"Time travel?" Chisato repeated, blinking in surprise.
"You must think it's crazy—"
"No, I believe you!"
"…Don't just blindly believe everything I say."
"But I do trust you, because you're obviously not normal at all, Shichen-oniichan."
"Huh?"
Now he was the confused one. "What do you mean?"
"Hehe, ten years ago, when you saved me, you were riding this huge, deep-blue beast. That's definitely not normal, right?" Chisato said with a grin.
"A deep-blue beast?" Shichen frowned, trying to recall. He had no idea what she meant.
"Yeah—four-legged, big and majestic."
"What else can you tell me about it?" he asked.
"Mm… I forget. All I really remember is you, Shichen-oniichan."
"…"
Shichen realized Chisato had a knack for making one's heart skip a beat.
"In any case, I'm so glad I found you! I've been searching for you for ten whole years!" Once more, she dove in for a hug, and this time he let her.
"Ten years, huh?" He gently patted her back.
"Yeah, I even went to your home country, but I just couldn't track you down."
"You do know it's huge, right? You'd never just stumble on me there," he pointed out.
"Well, you were the one who disappeared without a word and didn't take me along!"
"If you believe I time-traveled, you must realize I couldn't have taken you back with me."
"Hmph! It's still Shichen-oniichan's fault!" Chisato pouted, rubbing her face against his chest. "But I finally found you, so don't you dare leave me again!"
"You want to stay with me?" he asked eagerly.
"Of course! I've spent ten years trying to find you!"
"Just because I saved you?"
"Isn't that enough? You even fixed my heart condition—basically gave me a new life."
"Your heart disease is cured?" He picked up on that instantly, excited. Under normal circumstances, Chisato should have an artificial heart that wasn't a permanent solution.
Way to go, future me!
"Mhm, all thanks to Shichen-oniichan," she said with a beaming smile.
"That's fantastic!" He grinned from ear to ear.
"Heehee~ You really are sweet, Shichen-oniichan. I want to stay with you!" she repeated happily.
"What about DA, though?"
DA—short for Direct Attack—was this world's independent security organization, with huge privileges, even licensed to kill. But its members were mostly teens.
"I already left DA," Chisato answered proudly.
"You left?"
"You told me to live how I wanted, right? I decided to quit DA."
"So you've just been hunting for me this whole time?"
"It was really hard," Chisato said, puffing out her cheeks.
Shichen patted her head affectionately. "In that case, come live with me from now on."
"Mm!" she agreed with gusto.