"I'm Yuu Izumi," he said with a calm smile as he slipped his hands into his pockets. "And you?"
The girl, still recovering from the mini emotional heart attack from a moment ago, blinked twice.
She seemed hesitant for a second before finally nodding slightly.
"Ah... Miko. Miko Yotsuya. It's a pleasure to meet you, Izumi-san."
'Miko... Yotsuya?'
He'd heard it somewhere before, but since he couldn't remember where, he decided not to think too much about it.
For now, instead, he looked at her, because there was something far more interesting about her that deserved his attention.
Even though she was human...
She's got a lot of spiritual power.
It wasn't something the average person could sense just by looking, but for someone like Yuu, it was pretty easy to notice.
To do that, he'd had to take a peek at her soul, and that's when he realized Miko had powerful spirituality.
It was pretty interesting, considering most humans were completely numb to anything spiritual. That meant they couldn't sense even the faintest whisper from another plane.
That powerful spirituality was the reason Miko could see spirits, and probably also why she'd been dragged into the darker, scarier side of the world.
However, even though she saw them, she still kept her calm look, at least on the outside. She didn't scream or run away like crazy, trying not to make things worse.
If she gave the slightest hint that she could see or hear them, the spirits would never let her go. They'd drag her straight to death.
Most people, once they saw the true face of the world, just broke.
Being able to see the true face of the world and not completely fall apart... that took some serious mental strength.
Miko, without a doubt, had it.
One could also say that's exactly why she suffered in silence. Because no one else could really understand what she was going through.
Honestly, that earned his respect.
Meanwhile, Miko was a bit worried other spirits might've seen what had just happened. That'd be bad for her.
Then her eyes widened as she looked around.
The spirits.
All the ones that used to hang around the library.
They were gone.
Or rather, they'd run away.
'...Are they afraid of him?'
Her gaze went back to Yuu.
He, not paying attention to anything, pulled something out of his pants pocket.
"Here." He held out a small black card.
Instinctively, she took it.
She held it in both hands as she examined it. In the center of the ticket was the image of a snake biting its own tail. And below that, the word —Ouroboros—. On the back, a phrase written in silver letters.
"Is this...?"
"It's a link. If you ever need me, pray exactly as it's written on the back, and I'll come. But..."
Miko blinked.
"But what?"
Yuu looked her straight in the eye, and his tone grew a bit more serious.
"Once you choose to do it, you've gotta be ready for whatever comes. There's no turning back."
He didn't explain anything else. Didn't say what "whatever comes" meant, or what kind of consequences summoning him might bring.
"..."
Miko swallowed hard as she stared at the ticket.
'It's enough for her to know she can call me. If she decides to, it'll be her choice.'
Actually, the ticket was something he made based on the one Rias's servant had given him.
Even if the purpose was different, the basic concept was the same. After all, it was a medium for being summoned.
Using his power, he linked the ticket directly to himself. If someone prayed using the exact words on the back, he'd be alerted and could choose whether or not to respond, no matter the distance or situation.
Even though he'd originally created it out of curiosity, he quickly realized it was also an effective way to attract followers.
After all, who didn't want help?
Miko, however, didn't seem to be thinking about any of that. To her, the ticket was just a strange object she'd gotten from someone even stranger.
When Miko looked back up, her face had returned to its usual blank expression.
"Either way... thank you, Izumi-san," she said, bowing slightly in gratitude. "I'll keep this."
Even though Yuu saw doubt in her eyes, he nodded.
And as he walked away, the words on the card shimmered faintly under the soft library light.
×××
After class, Yuu didn't bother walking home like any decent student.
Without anyone noticing, his body vanished. And in the next second, he reappeared in his living room.
"..."
As he'd suspected, Yue was in the same place he'd left her that morning.
Lying on her stomach on the couch, legs crossed in the air, eyes glued to her phone.
Her fingers moved fast across the screen.
'At this rate, I'm scared to introduce her to a computer. Wouldn't she become a gamer or something?'
But when she felt his presence, Yue lifted her head, dropped the phone onto the couch, and ran over to him, her footsteps going —tap, tap, tap— on the floor.
"Yuu..."
She hugged him tightly. Her thin arms wrapped around his waist, and without hesitation, she buried her face in his neck.
"Did you miss me?" He smiled and patted her head.
"Mmm... A lot," she murmured, inhaling his scent like she'd been waiting for it all day.
"Yue, don't you want some cat ear accessories?"
She looked more like a cat than a vampire.
"I'm a vampire, thank you very much!"
But Yue felt insulted, and bit him.
After a few minutes of sucking and muffled moans, Yue pulled back, licking her lips like always, and Yuu went to change into more comfortable clothes. He chose loose pants and a slightly baggy white T-shirt.
He flopped down on the couch and stretched his neck.
"Time to try something new."
He extended a finger. A drop of white blood floated from his fingertip.
Yue, as if hypnotized, leaned in with her mouth open.
"No. Don't eat this."
He pushed her face away.
"Fufu~ just kidding."
"Sure you were."
Yue sat next to him, pressing up against him while watching the floating drop with intense focus. Her phone had been tossed aside because she was far more interested in whatever Yuu was about to do.
'Alright... I want to make something practical that works with anyone.'
He'd been thinking about it for a while. If he was going to have followers, he needed a simple, visual, and clear way for them to grow.
He closed his eyes and reached his consciousness to the Clastle of Fate. From there, his consciousness extended to the universes outside the castle, and he began to read the records of every worlds at once.
Then his eyes stopped on one spot.
A world where gods granted "blessings" to mortals. With those seals, they could level up, get stronger based on their effort.
'That could work.'
But he found one problem.
Even the strongest in that world, maxed out, were still weak.
'So I'll tweak it.'
He opened his eyes.
The floating drop of blood began to absorb runes. One after another.
One glowed gold. Another, deep blue. Another, green...
One rune meant "Growth." Another, "Compatibility." Another, "Evolution." All these runes were directly connected to Yuu's core.
As he worked, Yue watched with fascination. Her crimson eyes didn't blink as the colors reflected in her pupils.
When the last rune fused into the drop, it glowed with a pure white light before being absorbed into his body.
"Perfect."
He turned to Yue.
"Wanna be the first to try it out?"
"Mm."
Even though Yue didn't know what "it" was, she trusted Yuu completely, so her response was immediate.
A faint beep rang in his mind before Yuu could even tell her what to do.
"..."
It wasn't an actual sound, more like a call.
A prayer.
Someone had activated one of the tickets.
Someone was calling his name.
'So... it's begun.'
The first summoning had arrived.
×××
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