Reincarnated as Itsuka Shido: Collecting Spirits as Lovers

At Raizen High School, the morning sunlight streamed through the glass doors as Shido and Tohka entered the building together. The air buzzed with the chatter of students arriving for class, but Shido's mind was preoccupied.

Walking toward his shoe locker, his thoughts wandered to Origami.

After what had happened last night, he knew he couldn't avoid her.

She had seen something far beyond what she could have imagined, the person she cared about was actually the being she despised most.

Shido sighed in his mind. Her mind must be a mess right now.

It wasn't fair to Origami, and Shido knew he had to take responsibility for what happened.

While Kurumi was the main reason for the chaos, Shido also blamed himself. Things wouldn't have escalated like this if he hadn't transformed into his Spirit form or been so careless.

Lost in thought, Shido opened his shoe locker to change his shoes when a familiar voice interrupted.

"Good morning, Itsuka. You seem to be having a wonderful morning!"

Shido turned around and saw Tonomachi grinning at him. His lips twitched slightly.

"Tonomachi... it's you."

A wonderful morning? Shido couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile. After the mess earlier, involving both Tohka and the mischievous trio, wonderful was the last thing he would call this morning.

Before Tonomachi could continue talking, Tohka suddenly stepped between them, arms spread wide as if shielding Shido from harm.

"You can't have him, Tonomachi! Shido's mine!"

Tohka declared, her voice firm with resolve.

Both Shido and Tonomachi froze in place, staring at her in disbelief. The statement was so out of the blue that neither of them knew what to say.

Even the students around them that was also changing shoes were stunned.

Shido and Tonomachi felt really embarrassed by this situation so they have to clear this misunderstanding.

After a brief pause, Tonomachi was the first to recover.

"Uh, Yatogami-san, I already have a girlfriend, see?"

He held up his phone, showing a image of his supposed girlfriend.

Tohka leaned in to take a closer look, her expression softening into relief.

"Oh, I see. Thank goodness."

Shido's eye twitched, and he placed a hand over his forehead.

'Why are you so relieved? And why aren't you surprised by his 'girlfriend'?'

He stared at the image on Tonomachi's phone and a character from a galge was displayed on his screen.

Seeing this Shido had no words to say.

But then Shido raised an eyebrow, then asked, "And why did you think Tonomachi had something going on with me?"

Tohka, with her usual innocent gaze, answered honestly, "Ah, that. Ai, Mai, and Mii said that Tonomachi swings that way, so they told me I had to protect you. They said he might try to snatch you from me."

Shido blinked, his lips twitching slightly as he felt a nerve almost pop on his forehead. "Those three are really..." He was at a loss for words. He couldn't believe the mischievous trio had taught Tohka this ridiculous thing.

A part of him made a mental note to give them a lesson they wouldn't forget the next time he saw them.

"I'll have to deal with those three later," he murmured.

For now, Shido and Tohka turned and headed toward their class, leaving Tonomachi behind, still engrossed in his phone with the so-called "girlfriend" displayed on the screen.

As Shido pulled himself together, he gently nudged Tohka toward their classroom. "Let's get to class before we became late."

Tohka nodded cheerfully and followed his lead. Meanwhile, Tonomachi, now fully absorbed in his game, stayed behind, swiping happily on his phone.

...

Inside the classroom, Okamine Tamae called out her student's names for attendance. Reine, typically assisting as a substitute teacher, was notably absent.

"Shimada-san?"

"Here."

"Suzuki-kun?"

"Here."

"Izumi-kun?"

"Here."

Shido sat stiffly, tension radiating off him.

Cold sweat trickled down his face as he sat down on his chair. He would rather face Kurumi again than endure the oppressive atmosphere.

On his left, Origami sat silently, her gaze fixed forward. Her unusually clear and piercing eyes made Shido feel like a cornered sheep. Meanwhile, on his right, Tohka was peacefully dozing, muttering Kinako Bread in her sleep. Overindulging during breakfast had lulled her into a food coma.

Looking at her carefree, blissful smile, Shido felt his lips twitch in disbelief. At his most desperate moment, Tohka, his supposed ally, was in her dreamland.

Mentally, he screamed, "Tohka, you dummy! Wake up and save me!" Unfortunately, his plea was met only with a soft snore.

Relief finally came when Tamae-sensei announced the day's classroom activity, cooking.

Upon hearing the word food, Tohka's ears twitched, and she instantly sprang awake, running around the classroom in excitement. Her silly antics made Shido groan. He quickly caught her and pinched her cheeks until they turned red.

"Don't run around so suddenly!"

As the day went by, the activity and classes progressed without incident. Eventually, the school ended, and the students began packing their things to head home.

Shido, still expecting Origami to confront him about last night, was thrown off guard when she didn't approach him immediately.

However, just as he finished packing, she finally walked over with her usual expressionless face causing tension to rise again.

Origami went directly in front of Shido's desk but this caught Tohka's attention.

She swiftly stood between Shido and Origami like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

"What do you want with Shido?" she demanded, glaring at Origami. Her attempt to intimidate, however, looked more comical than imposing.

Origami didn't reply and completely ignored her existence and said, "I need to talk to you."

Tohka's jaw dropped. "K-Kuh! You're ignoring me?! How rude!" Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at being brushed aside. She flailed her arms around as if fighting her yet Origami didn't even flinched at her comical action.

Shido felt a little amused watching Tohka's antics but he quickly returned to being serious, recognizing the weight of Origami's voice.

"Alright." he responded calmly. He glanced back at Tohka and spoke in a tone soft yet firm.

"Tohka, can you go home by yourself today?"

Tohka was startled by his sudden words. "S-Shido! Are you abandoning me for her?!" she cried, pointing at Origami, tears welling up in her eyes.

"No, no, it's not like that, how did you even come up with that idea?" he was speechless by her guess so he quickly assured her.

"I just have something important to take care of, so I can't walk home with you today."

Still pouting, Tohka looked unconvinced until Shido threw out a tempting offer. "When I get home, I'll cook a full-course meal with all your favorite dishes."

Her eyes sparkled at his words, though a bit of skepticism lingered. After looking between Shido and Origami a few more times, she reluctantly relented. "Fine," she grumbled. "But it better be delicious!"

"Of course, it will be." Shido promised with a small smile forming on his face.

"You can call Kotori or Reine-san to come pick you up from Fraxinus. Don't wander around too much, okay?"

"Okay~"

Satisfied, Tohka nodded before leaving, though her occasional glances over her shoulder betrayed lingering jealousy. Once she was gone, Shido turned back to Origami. "Let's go." he said with a calm, resolute expression.

Without a word, Origami led the way to a secluded place while Shido followed close behind. He prepared himself for whatever was waiting ahead, knowing there was no avoiding it now.