Chapter 54: Eden: Evening of the First Day

"Please, help yourselves!" Rinne gestured to the dinner table of the Itsuka household, where she had just finished laying out several large plates of assorted traditional Japanese dishes. The scent of miso and grilled fish filled the air, and the eyes of everyone around the table brightened. Everyone except Kyo, who stared at Rinne with an increasingly suspicious gaze.

"Umu! Then I will help myself!" Tohka immediately began digging into the dishes with a look of bliss on her face. "Delicious!"

"T-thank you for the meal…" Yoshino bowed her head shyly.

Ah, what a nice environment, Shidou sighed happily. Everyone's eating happily, and no one's mad at each other. Well, other than-

CREAK-

Kyo suddenly stood up, his eyes looking directly at Rinne with an emotion that Shidou couldn't quite place. "So, Sonogami Rinne," he began in a tone that left no room for negotiation. "If it isn't too much trouble, do you mind speaking with me in private?"

Aaand there it is. Shidou sighed internally as Kotori stood up and began to protest on behalf of Rinne. Ever since I introduced him to Rinne, he's been glancing at her every other minute. Maybe Kurumi knows what he's so agitated about? Too bad she declined the invitation to have dinner with us…

"Kotori, it's fine," Rinne soothed, patting her head gently. "I'm sure it'll only take a minute…"

"B-but…" Kotori's hands twitched as she fiddled with her white hair ribbons.

"You heard her," Kyo interrupted as he pushed open the door to the living room, gesturing for Rinne to follow.

"Ungh…" Kotori grit her teeth. "Be nice, Kyo."

"What kind of person do you take me for?" He rolled his eyes as he walked off. Rinne trailed after him, closing the door behind them.

——————I am the dividing line that shifts perspectives——————

Sonogami Rinne… the pink-haired so-called childhood friend of Shidou? What utter nonsense. Kyo shook his head and sat down on a couch as Rinne entered the living room, closing the door behind her. "So, what the help are you doing?"

"E-excuse me?" Rinne asked nervously, concern apparent on her face.

"Seriously? You're still feigning ignorance?" Kyo crossed his arms and sighed at the ground. "You're one paranoid duck, Mio."

"...Mio?" The girl tilted her head. "I… think you've mistaken me for someone else…"

"...wait, what?" Kyo examined her face, looking for any sign of deception. "...say that I theoretically wanted to punch Shinji in the face. What would you say?"

"Er… I'd want to know why you want to punch him?" She said with mild uncertainty. "Actually, you shouldn't be punching anyone!"

…she really isn't Mio, is she? Kyo's mind whirled as he clutched his necklace, desperately searching through his memories. But Mio definitely transformed into this so-called "Rinne" person back in Season III. Surely she didn't choose a normal highschool girl to disguise herself as… and even if she did, Shidou would've surely recognized her disguise if this "Rinne" were actually his childhood friend. So what the fudge is happening here?

"Um, hello? Mr. Kyo?" Rinne's voice quickly roused Kyo from his musings.

"...if you're not her, then you're even more suspicious than I thought," he declared, lightning suddenly sparking from his eyes. "What are you? A Spirit? Or… could you be a Memokeeper?"

"A… 'memokeeper?'" Rinne laughed awkwardly, brushing a stray lock of pink hair to the side. "Are you asking if I keep a diary?"

Kyo narrowed his eyes, attempting to gauge the trustworthiness of her words. Well, come to think of it, I haven't seen any evidence that the Paths exist here. Excluding me, anyway… ugh, whatever. I should just go back and ask Nia what she is.

"What's he talking about?" 

"Shhh!"

"..." Kyo glanced over at the door to the next room, where a mix of hushed voices whispered at a volume that they probably believed was too quiet for him to hear. Sighing to himself, he walked swiftly over to the door and opened it abruptly, sending Kotori, Tohka, Shidou, and Yoshino falling to the floor.

"Ow!" Tohka rubbed her head gently, her eyes slightly tearing up in pain. "Why would you do that?"

"You're the one blaming me?" Kyo asked back dryly, silently picking Yoshino off the ground and setting her on her feet. The small girl gave a quick nod of thanks before scurrying off behind Rinne. Well, at least she didn't freeze me the second I touched her.

"Ahaha…" Shidou scratched his cheek as he stood up. "We were just… uh, going to tell you that your food was getting cold!"

"...I'll pretend I believe you," Kyo replied with an expression that clearly said otherwise. "But you can give that portion to Tohka; I'm leaving."

"Eh?" Rinne's expression fell only a little slower than the author's sanity. "Is there something about the food that you don't like?"

"Nothing at all," Kyo shrugged. Rather, it's something about you that I have a bad feeling about.

"Oh… well, it was nice meeting you!" Rinne flashed a cautious smile, holding out her hand as a gesture of peace.

"...likewise." Kyo grasped her hand after a moment of hesitation. Jeez, now I feel like a jerk. Oh well. Turning towards the front door, he found his arm suddenly being pulled. Looking down, he saw Kotori motioning for him to lean down.

"Look, I don't know what you want with Rinne, but I'll have you know that she's just a regular civilian girl. That means that she's not supposed to know about Spirits or Ratatoskr," she warned quietly, tip-toeing in order to whisper into his ear. "Don't tell her anything she doesn't need to know."

…what? Kyo's brows furrowed. She's really just a regular girl? But that still doesn't explain why Shidou wouldn't recognize Mio when he disguised herself as Rinne, nor how I can't remember a single thing about her… ugh. There's no point in baseless speculation. He shook his head, turning to leave. "I'll keep that in mind. Bye."

—————I am the dividing line that shifts time and perspective—————

"I'm back," Kyo called as he slipped through the door to the apartment. Immediately, the smell of burning apples filled his nostrils. What the help?

"Oh, welcome back!" Nia turned to look at him from the kitchen, holding up a tray of misshapen blackened objects. "You're just in time for, uh… wait, what was I making again?" [Raziel] suddenly manifested in the air in front of her and flipped open. "Right, apple tarts!"

"...and here I thought you were dabbling in witchcraft." Kyo said tiredly as he shook his head. "How did you even manage to burn them this thoroughly?"

"I was too busy read- er, drawing manga and forgot about them until I started to smell burning!" Nia stuck out her tongue as [Raziel] disappeared into the ether.

"...so, how much do you still have to draw this week?" Kyo's eyes twitched.

Nia coughed. "Uhhh… nevermind that! More importantly, did you manage to find anyone who didn't know about Neo Tengu?" 

"...half of one person?" Kyo shrugged. "Apparently, Shidou had a blank-out moment this morning. Forgot that Neo Tengu existed. Oh, and speaking of him, there's something I need you to search up."

"Hm? What is it?" Nia gingerly picked up one of the blackened pastries off the tray and inspected it, hesitantly opening her mouth to take a bite.

"Don't eat that," Kyo sighed and gently grasped her hand, moving it away from her lips. "I need to know everything you can find about a person named Sonogami Rinne."

"Sonogami…" Nia froze, the burnt tart dropping from her fingers. She stared into space, her eyes clouding over slightly.

What kind of reaction is that? Kyo frowned before waving his hand in her face. "Are you ok? Is there something wrong with what I asked?"

"Eh?" Nia shook her head as her eyes gradually cleared up, though a hint of confusion remained on her face. "No, everything's fine. Are you talking about Shidou's neighbor?"

"...eh?" Kyo stared at her, mouth agape. "You… you actually know her?"

"Well, yeah?" Nia gave him a weird look. "Of course I know her. Although… come to think of it, I can't remember where I first met her."

…Nia knows Rinne? Hold on, am I actually the one going crazy? Did I actually lose some of my memories and never notice? Surely not… Kyo grit his teeth. "But you're sure she has always existed?"

"Uh… are you feeling alright?" Nia put down the tray and touched a hand to his forehead. "Your head seems to be fine… maybe a little colder than normal, actually."

"Nevermind that." Kyo lightly brushed her hand off, smiling lightly in an attempt to ease the concern on Nia's face. "Seriously. Anyway, could you do a quick search for Rinne in [Raziel]? I'm not asking you for any details about her life, mind you; I just need to know if she's really just a human."

"Um… well, if you insist." With a flash, [Raziel] appeared once more in her hand. Kyo waited in silence as she stared down at its contents. Ten seconds passed, and she remained in her position, her eyes once again somewhat glazed-over.

"...hello? Nia?" She visibly jumped at the sound of his voice, her eyes regaining clarity. Kyo brows knit together in unease. Ok, that's happened way too many times to be a coincidence. Something's wrong.

"Yeah? Uh, she's just a human," Nia said quickly, allowing [Raziel] to dissipate again. "Nothing out of the ordinar-"

"Forget that for now," Kyo dismissed, placing a hand on her shoulder and turning her body to face him. "Rather, what's up with you? You've been acting weirdly every time you summon [Raziel] lately. Is something wrong?"

"...maybe it's just a lack of energy?" She offered weakly. "After all, I was going to eat those apple tarts for dinner…"

"...I'll go make you something quick," Kyo said resignedly, pinching the bridge of his nose. And I guess I'll hold on asking about the barrier for now, at least until she doesn't space out every time she summons [Raziel].

Nia clasped her hands together. "Thank you very much!"

——————I am the dividing line that shifts perspectives——————

Rinne frowned as she removed her influence from Nia's mind. Kyo… why didn't [Eden] affect his memories? Even now, I can't seem to enter his mind at all. Is it just a fluke, or is there something more? I've managed to avert his questions to the Omniscient [Raziel] for now, but… 

She sighed, slumping down against the empty room of her house- or rather, the shell of a house that she had constructed with [Eden]. Holding out a hand, an image of Kyo chopping vegetables appeared in a cloud of Reiryoku.

"...he's already suspicious of me," she muttered to herself. "But there's no need to worry; there were bound to be a few problems in the beginning. If he ends up becoming an issue…"

I just need to remove him.