“You’re from the future?”

“Yes,” Yuria sat down in front of all of us, her head low.

We had just told the others about what happened, and when we did, it seemed to undo the spell Yuria put over them and returned their memories.

“Why are you here?”

“It’s a long story...”

I looked at Miichan. She had a serious look on her face.

“I know that there are rules to revealing what could happen in the future, y’know, time ripples and all that… but, could you mind telling us from the beginning?”

Yuria looked at her *wristwatch. “It hasn’t responded since I told you I’m from the future… so it should be okay.”

“Alright, just start from the beginning. Why are you here?”

“A long time in the future, there was a war between angels and demons that nearly destroyed Earth. Humans were caught in the middle of this war, so before the rest of humanity became extinct, Queen Hikari sent all the humans to Eterna.”

“Queen Hikari?”

“Eh? Is Hikari-sama not a Queen in this timeline?”

“No. Since she was killed during her coronation thousands of years ago, she is still a princess.”

“That’s me,” I rose my hand. “I guess this means, I become a Queen soon.”

Yuria nodded.

“The humans and angels created *New Eterna, where they could live in peace. I had just recently passed my entrance exam into her Highness’s First Troop.”

“So, you’re still new as a knight.”

“Yes. But, I’ve always been good with magic. Lots of humans began studying magic after the war, and the school I went to was exclusively for witches and wizards.”

“So… what happened?”

Yuria gulped, pulling back her hair. “New Eterna… has fallen.”

“Eh?”

“It was during a royal ceremony… something happened, and before we knew it, the kingdom was starting to fall. Humans started turning into demons, angels were killed one by one, the walls of the royal palace started falling and burning, and Hikari-sama..!”

“Calm down.”

As Yuria caught her breath, she held onto her wrist.

“I was given this… by someone… I can’t remember who… They said I had to go back… and stop it from happening.”

“It?”

“Something happened in this timeline. A drastic change that altered the future… Argh, but I can’t remember!”

“Maybe something happened when you were going back that made you lose your memory.”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I remember… I saw Hikari-sama running from something… then, someone grabbed me and...” She looked to her side and noticed the calendar, her eyes widened. “Eh?!”

“What?”

She got up and looked at the calendar, counting off the days.

“Um… what is today?”

“Today is December 30th, 2014.”

“2014… ah! AAAAAH!!!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I went back too far!”

“Eh?!”

“Ah~ something must’ve happened when I cast the spell. I was supposed to be in early 2015. Was it January… or February?”

“A paradox,” Nana spoke.

“Eh? Para… pair of socks?”

“No. Paradox. A time paradox, in this case. Something interfered with your magic, and made you go back to far. Because of that, you also lost some of your memory.”

“I see...”

“So, do you think it will come back?”

“Probably. I’m sure it’ll take a while, but maybe if we get to the exact moment that changed the future, you’ll remember.”

“I get it! Yosh, then I’ll just have to stay here for now. I don’t wanna cause another pair of socks.”

“Paradox!”

“Oh, right. Haha.”

Well, now we know who Yuria is… but, what now?

…..

The three Akuma bowed before the Maou as he growled lowly, angered at the events he has witnessed.

“Not only has Princess Hikari awakened, you have also failed to retrieve the Crystal of Life.”

Momo looked up. “Isako was not to be trusted. She was greedy and her arrogance got in the way. That is why she died.”

“Now those two onee-chan-tachi have the light…”

“Hayate,” Nagato patted his head. He sunk his face into his teddy bear.

“No matter. The war shall go on as planned.”

“Yes, sir. Besides… we still have half of her heart. Once we have the second half, you’ll be able to get your body back.”

The Maou smiled. “Yes.”

“I have a plan. Leave it to me, my Lord.”

“Very well. I’ll be expecting you to succeed.”

…..

I walked into the kitchen and saw Yuria staring at a picture. I looked at it and saw there were two girls. One of them was dressed in the same outfit as her and had a witch hat, but the other was dressed in different clothing, and had a fur pelt over her.

“Yuria, who are they?”

She looked up and showed me the picture.

“Her name was Kumi,” she said pointing to one of them. “She was my best friend.”

“Really?”

“Un. And the other girl with us is one of my classmates, Kanon. She was a witch just like me.”

“The three of you must be really close. Is Kumi also a witch?”

“No… she’s a wolf.”

“Eh?”

“Or, perhaps she is what you call a lycan, or an ookami.”

She laid down the photo as I sat down beside her.

“She lived in the forest, somewhere deep inside and hidden off from the school. When I met her, I was able to tame her and help her control her animal side. She became more human little by little. And soon...”

“Hm?”

I saw a slight smile on her face. “We became like sisters.”

Sisters, like me and Naanya?

“She loved me.”

“I see.”

“No, I mean… she really, REALLY loved me.”

I looked at her eyes and saw what she meant.

“Oh… so, what happened to her..?”

“She was killed by another ookami… she was protecting me...”

She started crying. I leaned forward and hugged her.

“I’m so sorry...”

Just then, the little ookami pup we had walked up to Yuria’s leg, sniffing her foot and looking at her.

“Hey,” she smiled and picked the pup up. “Who is this?”

“That’s an ookami we saved from one of the Akuma. It was abused by them.”

“Aw~ you poor thing!” She rubbed her nose against the pup’s and giggled when it her cheek. “Haha, so cute~”

The pup barked.

She then looked at it, and her eyes widened. As if she noticed something.

“Eh…?”

“What’s wrong?”

She looked in the puppy’s eyes, more tears welling up.

“Kumi?”

Eh?

She smiled, tears falling down her face as she hugged the small white puppy.

“Kumi..! It’s her!”

“What…? That’s Kumi?”

“Un. It is. It’s really her.” She petted the pup’s head. “Kumi, I missed you.”

The pup just tilted its head cutely at her.

“You don’t know who I am. That’s okay. We’re gonna be best friends.” She looked at me. “Um, Mako...”

“Hm?”

“If it’s not too much, can I… have Kumi? Y’know, keep her until she’s able to turn human again.”

“Oh… hm…”

“If I can’t… I understand.”

Hm… well, Miichan did say that only someone worthy could be able to tame an ookami. And, since Yuria knows Kumi, she seems perfectly capable of taking care of her. Plus, maybe this time, she’ll have a second chance in saving her.

“Well, I guess there’s no problem with that, so… sure, you can keep her.”

“Yay!” She hugged me. “Thank you, Mako!”

“Don’t mention it.”

She smiled and petted the puppy again, feeling its fur lovingly and cuddling it.

“Oh, by the way.”

“Hm?”

“Did you not know I was Hikari when we first met?”

She shook her head.

“Eh? Why?”

“Hm… I don’t know. Maybe that’s another one of those, uh, para-socks things. Or, maybe I’m just not that bright…”

“Paradox. And, yes, that may be it.”

“I should’ve known.” She looked at me again, smiling. “I mean, besides, you have Hikari’s sparkling starry eyes and bright smile that’s like the sun!”

“E-eh?! That’s..!” I blushed a bit.

“Mako! Girls!” Miichan walked in, calling all of us.

“What’s up?”

“Check this out!” She held out a poster. “Tentomu chu has been asked to perform at the *New Years’ Live!”

“New Years’ Live?!”

================================

Footnotes

*1. Star Watch – A magic watch that channels Yuria’s power. It also allows her to communicate with others who also have Star Watches, and also to alter time(stop, speed up, or slow down, and of course, going back in time.)

*2. New Eterna – The future Eterna, where humans and Light angels co-exist. It is ruled by Queen Hikari, the future version of Mako.

*3. New Years’ Live – Reference to Kouhaku Uta Gassen. It’s a live special where various musicians perform and compete in two teams; the Red team(All female artists) and the White team(All male artists). It broadcasts live on New Years’ Eve, up until midnight on New Years’ Day.