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Shizuku’s True Feelings

The fierce sound of clashing blades resounded through the large space where a huge round ice pillar was standing at the center

"HAAAAAAH!"

{Oh, your swords with spirit-filled war cry, she unleashed a quick god-like sword draw Several streaks of black lines drew through the air in an instant, but not a single one of those sharp sword flashes reached the opponent

Instead, the opponent who mocked her swords thrust She so her head, but a shallow cut was left on her te Wave’!"

The thrust that alashi’s own techniques Therefore, Shizuku understood better than anyone that the thrust consisted of three stages Her tehtly disarrayed posture

Before the approaching flash of the second thrust could gouge her, Shizuku pushed her sheath on the ground and scattered the shockwave The ice shards of the sed into ie

{It’s great that you have the present from him, isn’t it? If you didn’t have that, you would have been dead against ainst the white Shizuku as sheathing her white katana while teasing her, the black ponytailed Shizuku kept silent while her shoulders heaved

Currently, Shizuku was fighting her false ie she faced was different with Hajime’s in that it was really white White hair in a ponytail and skin that was like white porcelain Her blade and clothes were also all white Her piercing reddish black eyes were awfully eye-catching

That white Shizuku opened hera wide grin that was uni froo The content of her speech was naturally the exposition of Shizuku’s negative emotions

{It hurts? Painful? Scary? Do you want to cry? You don’t need to hide it, you know? I a}

It had been fifteenthat time, Shizuku’s blade didn’t strike once The white Shizuku still looked clean

In contrast, although she barely evaded a fatal wound just now, Shizuku had shallow cuts all over her body She was soaked ith sweat and blood Even now, the blood flowing fro down drop by drop fro like learning the sword Rather than wearing Japanese clothes or a dojo uniform, I wanted to wear cute and frilly western clothes Rather than carrying a balittery accessories are far better}

"… Shut up"

The first ti a barandfather was the head of the Yaegashi faashi-style Surely, hethe bas to happen, the four-year-old Shizuku displayed a glirandfather who realized that her cute granddaughter inherited a talent for the style broke out from his usual sour look Even now, Shizuku clearly rerandfather’s smile was

Since that day, sword art and kendo practice becarandfather, her father, and everyone in the dojo too, all of the she was…

But, actually…

{That tiht that a prince had finally arrived ‘I will protect Shizuku-chan too’, I think? I dreamed of a cool boy that would say that to me like in a picture book story If it’s hiirl He will protectthat But, you see?}

"Shut up"

While clenching her teeth hard, Shizuku’s figure turned hazy using ‘No Beat’, stepping in with god speed and drawing her sword A flash of space ruptured – ’Flash Blossoh space itself to bisect the white Shizuku, but a white track that drew exactly the sa up, Shizuku further unleashed her slashes, but everything was evaded, blocked, and her opponent didn’tto increase Shizuku’s wounds

{What Kouki brought about was only jealousy toward you Isn’t that right? Kouki was overfloith a sense of justice and kindness since ele skillfully and beca bah you are female, your short hair, your plain clothes, you who couldn’t talk about girly topics, by being at the side of such a Kouki irls unable to tolerate it Yes, yes, even now I reirls who liked Kouki ‘You are a girl?’ she said That was shocking, right?}

"Just shut your mouth!"

The bitter memory from elementary school revived in the back of Shizuku’s brain At that period, her hair was cut short to practice the sword A lot of her clothes were also plain Her beauty over cuteness was certainly weakened related to girlishness

With such a Shizuku, there was no way the girls would stay quiet if she was together with Kouki, as popular since he was elementary school student Shizuku received the jealousy of other children who didn’t knowthose, those words were so aside her external appearance and her sword skill, Shizuku’s inside was exactly a girl For such a Shizuku, those words were a large bitter shock

Once, she had asked for help from Kouki But, at that kind of ti to say He would say, "Surely, they didn’t ood kid, you know?", "They will understand if you talk to theirls about their attitude towards Shizuku It ithout saying that the harsh treater Furthermore, the conceals happened increased all the more

Even when Shizuku consulted Kouki, what Kouki returned to her was only a troubled s on Kouki

Such a living continued throughout her period of elementary school If she didn’t meet Kaori, who stayed by her side when she entered middle school, perhaps her heart would have broken and she would have abandoned everything

{Even though I actually hated it, it was scary to betraythe sword Even though Kouki was the cause, I couldn’t distance le speck of ill will because of irl}

"-such a thing-!?"

The sword of the white Shizuku severed gravity using ‘Multi Flash’ and brought Shizuku a htlessness and suspension At thathorizontally Along with that, ‘Scorching Wave’ was also invoked White ripples of h to almost bloay Shizuku’s consciousness attacked her exposed defenseless side Her body was bloay grandly

Shizuku bounced several tiround before she soehoh"

Blood was spat out in a splatter fro mouth She felt intense pain from her ribs Two or three of her bones had obviously been broken It seeans In some way or another, she fastened her consciousness that was departing to the beyond

Brisk footsteps resounded toward Shizuku, who couldn’t immediately stand up It was just like a countdown that notified her of approaching death Iled to stand up desperately

The white Shizuku sweetly whispered to that agonized Shizuku with a kind tone, heropen like a crescent moon She was like a demon

{It’s fine even if you don’t stand up anymore, you know? Someone else will clear this labyrinth even without you suffering like this If you do that, you can go hoive up here, I won’t take your life If you sleep just like this, by the ti will be over}

"What, are you…"

{Just giving a choice… Of course, if you don’t give up, I’ll kill you I’ll slice you apart without rin could make somebody tremble in fear The naked white blade in her hand was sticky with the proof of how it had shredded Shizuku The blood trickling through it looked as though it was flowing through white snow From the tip that was pointed at Shizuku for show, drop by drop of her own blood dripped down Looking at that scene, the crouching Shizuku’s expression turned pale

But, the next e without paying attention to the blood spurting froth

"Guh, uaAAAAH!!"

{… I see That’s right, isn’t it? If it’s you, then you will stand up, isn’t it?}

The white Shizuku nodded once, her eyes narrowed quietly, and she swung down the thin white blade It was blocked by Shizuku’s black blade while she was on her knees raising a war cry

Si a skill for the sake of pulling things apart, Shizuku soht soracefully on the ground with a solance

"You are annoying, yapping like that You just keep saying incoical battle"

{Psychological battle, huh? So you won’t acknowledge your own feelings until the end Until this year, you kept being stubborn like that You th, constantly paying attention to someone… so that you aren’t even aware that you are actually wishing to lean on so that you are noisy!?"

Shizuku charged without even a little of her usual caling her sword unsightly through the air with reckless swords to shut up the opponent was clear to see

The false iet and using that as the base And then if the exposed eth would rise without end In reverse, if the target accepted her own fault then the false ie would be weakened… but the current Shizuku was in the former state

Therefore, with her heart disarrayed, Shizuku’s sword attack was already like child’s play against the white Shizuku, whose strength increased

The white Shizuku lightly handled the full ht of Shizuku’s technique and beat her down in reverse with a polished sword technique The injury on Shizuku’s flank, the daans, and the blood lossher injuries to increase further That turned into irow violent and made her movement even duller It was a vicious cycle

To add insult to injury against such a Shizuku, the white Shizuku opened her h

{That tiht? In truth, you were full of anxiety You were scared from the bottoation of the devil race The night when you first killed a monster, you cried in a place where no one could know it The feeling of cutting flesh wouldn’t disappear The blood clinging to your skin felt like it wouldn’t go away You were hidingto wash it off, weren’t you?}

"Haaa-!!"

Shizuku tried to drown the words of the false ie with her spirited yell But, that act itself expressed Shizuku’s denial, because she couldn’t accept it, the difference in strength between theuth into consoling the deranged Kaori, surely, the one ould be crushed by terror would be you Since that day, when you felt a real death, all the ti… you continued to be afraid}

"Aguh!?"

The white Shizuku’s ‘Lightning Blosso, a white flash caressed Shizuku’s neck pushu-! With that sound, fresh blood scattered out

Thanks to Shizuku enfolding herself in ‘Scorching Wave’ and blowing away their bodies to open a distance, shelike a river froainst her neck Her carotid artery wasn’t cut, but even so, it was a wound on her neck The bleeding was quite a lot

A clear vision of death floated in her brain An overwhelan to assault Shizuku’s heart The emotion that she desperately suppressed leaked out and her hand that was holding the black katana was clattering

The white Shizuku’s lips that looked excessively red split open widely Sticky words flowed out like a muddy stream

{Hey, you You were happy at that time, weren’t you?}

"Eh?"

That sudden questionon her neck

{I’uht? There is no way you can forget that …"

{A life threatening and despairing pinch… no? At that ti to accept the unreasonable death and gave up everything You didn’t believe that anyone would coallantly in this world… Because of that, that red radiance, that large back, that overwhel poithout any match, it stole your heart}

"Yo, you’re wro-…"

If felt like sonize by anyto be said Shizuku ih to tell her that such resistance was pointless, the white Shizuku mercilessly declared

{That time when Kaori was killed was also like that If you aren’t aware yourself, then I’ll say it At that time, for the first tiumo-kun To such a you, he said ‘believe me and wait’ And then he really answered your expectation Just like you believed, he saved your best friend along with your heart Since that day, you kept desperately averting your eyes, but… now, you won’t be able to lie to yourself any I’ her head like a kid refusing soe thrust the truth that she couldn’t possibly escape froued Her head was still shaking left and right in denial She didn’t even have the co from her cut neck

The reason was because that was an enize Because that was an unforgivable feeling, a proof of the worst betrayal

Toward Shizuku, whose mind had been cornered so much that she didn’t even have the leeway to say a word of denial, the false ih she was sending her a flower for the departed

{Geez you, to fall in love with the beloved person of your best friend ??This traitor}

"…"

Shizuku’s knees lost strength She only just supported herself enough with the black katana that she didn’t fall on her knees, but the light of deter from her eyes

The words thrust into her heart… were just that severe

It was really hard to control this thing called a heart It was not an exaggeration to call a person who could perfectly control their own heart as abnor another person, soic That hy, even if Shizuku fell in love with Hajieration to call her a betrayer just froative e stated that she was a ‘betrayer’

Perhaps, that originated froratitude and good will toward her led up to at her s for her treasured Kaori were too strong that she couldn’t forgive herself just by liking Hajime Not to mention the various faces she showed to Haji face fro face watching in a daze, her sulky face, and even her relieved sleeping face… all those happening in a place where Kaori didn’t know Such a thing was also a reason that spurred her guilty feeling

{Furthermore, you attacked Shia, didn’t you? Why was that, I wonder? Why it wasn’t Yue or Kaori but Shia, why do you think?}

"I, am…"

{The answer is simple You envy Shia, don’t you? You understood froainst Yue, so you don’t even feel jealous of her There is no way you can attack Kaori no matter how jealous you are at her That’s why, you selected that girl as the target of your attack The one as recognized by him as a lover and the easiest one to envy… You really are a coward aren’t you?}

"…"

Already, she couldn’t hope to avert her eyes The enemy before her eyes wouldn’t allow that Each tih her words of rebuttal and broke it apart Strength was leaking out from under her feet In contrast, the white Shizuku was overfloith bountiful strength

As the proof of that, the white Shizuku stepped in with ‘No Beat’ and unleashed a kick that scooped up Shizuku froainst Shizuku, whose breath was forced out and her body floating in the air, countless slashes assaulted her like a pouring rain At an unconscious level, Shizuku lifted her black katana as a replace could block everything…

"AAAAAAAAH!?"

Her whole body was chopped up to the heart’s content of white Shizuku The white Shizuku struck the sheath at the shrieking Shizuku as though h she was run over by a dump truck and her back struck the ice wall The ice wall at her back was pulverized in a radiating shape

All the air in her lungs was forcefully spat out due to the ied cloth The pain came from so many slash wounds that she didn’t understand anymore where the pain come from Shizuku’s body informed her that it was at the limit Just like that, Shizuku’s body slid down the ice wall and now she was in a sitting down posture with her back reclining on the ice while her four limbs splayed open

Blood stickily stuck on the ice wall, even the ground started to have a puddle of blood gathering there With hazy eyes, Shizuku was staring at her other self cal up burden on her mind was sapped of any will toout the short stick will have the curtain closed here The reason for this comes as a result of your own hand, you’re truly foolish}

Shizuku didn’t respond She was quiet as she looked up at the white Shizuku From an appearance ounds all over her body without even twitching, she even looked like she had expired already

{Is there so you want to say in your last moment, I wonder? I’ll carve it in the ice wall for you Each of the spaces are connected to each other in this place, so if your luck is good soht arrive here and find you last will you know?}

"…"

Shizuku didn’t respond In exchange, at her cheek, tear drops were flowing down Grains of light were silently tracing her cheeks, creating a stain on her lap drop by drop

Shizuku herself wasn’t clear just why tears were overflowing like this Was she in terror because she sensed her own death? Was she in despair that she would lose her future? Was it fros said to her? Was it fro unable to meet her important people any doordlessly, white Shizuku drew back her naked blade tightly behind She took a crouching posture, her hand that was holding the sheath stuck out in aiet was Shizuku’s head

The sharpness of the white katana was the same as the black katana It was possible to have her life ended without feeling any pain by piercing through her forehead

The sudden swelling killing intent and the finishing bloas right in front of her eyes

In front of the tip that was ai up Herto express that e of her own reputation or appearance

"… I, still… don’t want… to die"

{…}

There was no way anyone would listen to those words here It was merely earnest words that wished to live That she still didn’t want to die She wanted to meet… Her best friend, her comrades, and then, the person she fell in love with at this land of another world One more time

But, she wasn’t able to stand up by herself anymore Because both her body and her heart were completely tired

That hy…

"He… lp, me… some, one… he, lp,like a child Shizuku was always so on, and then she always gave help to those people She had never done so for help to anyone while crying, saying that she couldn’t do it anymore, that she couldn’t stand it anyirl that was protected like a princess’, but while she kept looking for that, she was compelled by necessity to polish herself, and then her role becaht instead Before she knew it, she even tolerated this version of herself without any dissatisfaction, however… as expected…

{How unfortunate To use those words is too late already}

Her true feeling that leaked out at the very end was drowned by herintent was emitted frohtly The brutal white blade thrust straight toward that forehead, to pierce her life

…

…

"?"

{… This is impossible}

No matter how much time passed her death didn’t arrive The ht all of a sudden, but rather than soot attracted to the dumbfounded voice of the white Shizuku

Shizuku timidly opened her eyes

Over there was…

"Eh, eh?"

"Geez, what’s with this tireat labyrinth itself"

There was the white tip that stopped just before it touched her skin and thesounds, aout fro the killing blade a hair breadth from Shizuku

The complaint that she could hear at the same time made Shizuku opened her eyes wide, and she looked back over her shoulder Over there was a passage where the ice wall had disappeared before anyone realized, Haji to support the sitting Shizuku with an eumo, kun?"

"… Chih, you are too beaten up"

Hajilared at the white Shizuku with a beastly sharp glint And then red spark ran fro the white katana Ian to vibrate with super high speed that it blurred

KIIIIIIIIIII!!

{-this-}

A peculiar running sound could be heard At the same time, the white blade creaked and cracked The dumbfounded white Shizuku returned to her senses with ‘hah’ and pulled back trying to recover her katana but… in the next h it was crushed

Without stopping Hajiht at the white Shizuku and fro bullet was fired Fierce i with a red ripple, blowing her far away

Furthermore, Hajime took out crossbits and let them fly to the white Shizuku to assault her He didn’t have any intention of killing her because this wasn’t Haji time

To separate the two parties, seven crossbits fired buckshot while taking skilled cooperation While feeling like the thunderous roar was far away, Shizuku stared fixedly at the face of Hajih she was seeing a dream, that actually she had been killed and the Hajime in front of her eyes was just a phanto She feared that in the next moment, he would vanish

Hajime took out a tube container from his ’Treasure Warehouse’ while Shizuku was like that He opened the lid and without reservation, he thrust it into the mouth of Shizuku that was opened absentmindedly

"Nmuh!?"