Chapter 42: Healing Kanade! A Live-in Angel Guest?
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Sobu High School, The Rooftop.
Standing before Kanade Tachibana once again, Seito offered a gentle smile. He reached out, resting his palm lightly on her silver-haired head.
A soft, pulsating white light radiated from his hand—the Life Restoration skill in action. The light seeped through her hair and flowed into her body like a warm current.
Kanade gasped.
She felt her heart, once a fragile, fluttering thing, begin to beat with a newfound, rhythmic strength. Her chronic fatigue washed away, replaced by a cozy, enveloping warmth that made her soul feel lighter than air.
After ten seconds, Seito withdrew his hand.
Kanade trembled. Her eyes were tightly shut, and two streaks of crystalline tears traced paths down her pale cheeks. When she finally opened her eyes to look at Seito, her voice was thick with emotion.
"I..."
The words caught in her throat. The suffocating weight of her terminal illness was gone. It wasn't just a physical repair; it felt as if a spring breeze had swept through the coldest corners of her heart.
She looked at him with a gaze that bordered on worship. "Are you... my God?"
"If you want me to be," Seito replied with a tender smile.
In his eyes, every "Angel" deserved a miracle.
"Keep it our little secret, okay?" Seito's body shimmered with white light as he deactivated his gear, returning to his standard school uniform.
"Mm!"
Kanade threw herself into his arms, a radiant, breathtaking smile finally gracing her face. Seito held her, quietly stroking her soft hair as the wind whistled around them.
After a long moment, she looked up from his chest. "Seito-kun, where do you live?"
In the original story, Kanade was a stoic, "Kuudere" figure. But now that her heart was healed and her burden lifted, she was regaining the vibrant personality of a normal teenage girl. She was still soft-spoken, but her words held a new purpose.
"Why do you ask?" Seito looked at her, surprised.
"I want to live with you," she replied, her expression blank but her tone dead serious.
Whoa...
Seito, a self-proclaimed man of culture (and a low-key degenerate), certainly wasn't going to say no to a beautiful girl moving in.
However, reality had hurdles.
"What about your parents?"
"I'll send them a message," Kanade said simply. "I'll tell them I'm staying with a 'trusted friend' for a while."
Because of her condition, her parents spoiled her to no end. A single phone call was all it would take; if their daughter wanted to stay out, they would move mountains to ensure she was happy and safe.
"Fine. We'll head back together after school," Seito said, ruffling her hair.
They chatted on the rooftop until the afternoon bell rang, then parted ways to return to their respective classes. At the door of Class A, Kanade watched him walk away with a lingering, reluctant gaze.
...
After School.
Seito woke from his final nap of the day, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Suddenly, he felt a chill.
Why is everyone looking at me like I'm a criminal?
He scanned the room."Flatty" Yukino Yukinoshita was gritting her teeth so hard it looked painful. Maple (Kaede) was staring at him with a deep, sorrowful pout.
"Seito-kun, let's go home."
A soft, familiar voice drifted from the doorway. Seito turned to see Kanade standing there, her school bag in hand, waiting for him with her usual stoic grace.
Ah... so that's why.
Seito stood up, stretching his limbs. He looked at the sea of envious faces and sighed dramatically.
"Alas, in this beautiful school life, it seems the 'Single Dogs' are truly the majority. Come on, Kanade-chan, let's go home! We're having a feast tonight!"
He strolled out of the room with the silver-haired angel by his side.
The Class: "..."
What the hell did he just say?! 'Single Dogs'?! Is he mocking us?!
Maple felt a strange, tight sensation in her chest. "Risa... I feel... uncomfortable."
"Oh?" Risa Shiramine's eyes widened as she leaned in, whispering into Maple's ear.
"Could it be... that you actually like Seito-kun?"
"L-Like...?" Maple's entire face turned a brilliant shade of crimson. Her brain seemed to short-circuit. "I—We're just teammates! Risa, don't say weird things!"
Yep. She's got it bad, Risa thought, shaking her head. Poor kid, she's walking straight into a love triangle.
Meanwhile, Yukino Yukinoshita's mood was at an all-time low. Even though she knew Seito's personality and figured Kanade wasn't necessarily his "girlfriend" yet, seeing another girl follow him home made her blood boil.
Seito was her first real friend. They had a history; she had even invited him to her house back in middle school.
"Hmph," Yukino exhaled sharply. "My sister mentioned she was visiting Seito's place on Saturday. I suppose I'll just have to tag along."
Seito was blissfully unaware of the storm brewing in Class D.
He was busy grocery shopping with Kanade. He bought her a high-end neural helmet so she could join the Fatui in-game, then loaded up on fresh ingredients for dinner.
Seito lived in a quiet apartment complex on the second floor. The Takanashi sisters lived above him, but the rest of his floor was currently empty, the other units waiting for new owners.
After a twenty-minute walk, the "God" and his "Angel" finally arrived at his front door.
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Thank you for reading.