DATE AN ANGEL: Sandalphon Descend (Vol. 1)

Chapter 17

Kenji walked up to the bus station that would take him home. There, he saw someone he didn't expect to see. It was Origami, holding her school bag in front of her and looking ahead. Kenji froze when he saw her.

What is she doing here? Why is she still here? Might as well ask...

"U-Um, hey, Origami," he said nervously.

She looked at him with a neutral expression, albeit a hint of hostility was in her eyebrows.

"Kenji. Took you a while."

"Eh? Were you waiting for me?"

"Not particularly. Just waiting for the bus."

Sure you are. There must be a reason why you sometimes take a bus and sometimes you don't.

"About before... You said we should forget everything. But how do I ignore someone who preaches about becoming a murderer?"

"I told you already. I'm just protecting Tengu city from Spirits."

"Sure there's no hint of vengeance in there?"

She kept her silence.

"Uh, okay... You're not a vigilante, right? Are you a soldier?"

"You know I can't tell you if I was hypothetically a soldier anyway. Just the fact that you saw me yesterday could cause a lot of problems for us both if I was one as you claim."

"I figured. This is some sort of secret, isn't it? Spacequakes... Spirits are their true cause, right?"

"Undeniably. That's why I know a Spirit murdered my parents. Nothing else could do what they are capable of."

"And what if I tell everyone?"

She shook her head.

"If you're saying the existence of Spirits is a well-kept secret, you can figure what consequences that would have. You're not dumb, Kenji. I know you wouldn't do something foolish like that."

"Depends. You as the super genius should know that underestimating people is being ignorant."

"I'm not taking you for the average fool. There's a reason why you're the ADC's representative."

"The Anti-Disaster Committee... I'm guessing you won't tell me if they're in on the whole truth."

Silence. She didn't even blink.

"Still, you're really calm about this. I wouldn't be able to sleep after nearly killing someone."

"You get used to nightmares over time."

Ouch... That wasn't very nice of me. If I want to get through to her, I need to watch my tongue around her. She did lose her parents, one way or another.

The bus suddenly came as they got on it. Origami sat next to someone else, barring Kenji from sitting next to her. He sighed and sat by an empty seat as he watched the Sun on the horizon.

Meanwhile, Shido made it home, almost crawling. Kotori welcomed him by the door.

"Look who is home," she said with a lollipop.

"Bed...!" he uttered.

He tripped on the entrance and would fall, but Kotori caught him just in time.

"J-Jeez! What are you doing, you silly brother?!"

"Kotori, please help me reach bed... I need to sleep..." he pleaded.

She thought for a second before hesitantly pouting.