My first fanfic! Feedback and critique are helpful and wanted! I plan to do AixShidou(idk if he'll reciprocate yet) pairing, since I haven't seen anyone attempt it! Seems like an interesting idea, right?

It was another normal day for the Ai-Mai-Mii trio. They were gossiping about the smallest of events among the students at school on their way to school.

"Oi, did you hear about that first-year that got coldly rejected when he tried to ask out his crush?" Mai asked her friends with a giggle.

By the way, the first-year was actually just asking his childhood friend if she needed help with packing up since she was moving. And she declined. Politely.

"Yeah! I heard that his crush just laughed at him and walked away. And as he was chasing her, he tripped over himself and face planted into the dirt! He even yelled her name while reaching from the ground and crying like an injured old man!" Ai added on with a snicker.

Never happened. The two friends waved to each other as they went in opposite directions for their classes.

"That's so lame." Mii stated her usual catch phrase in a monotonous, yet disgusted tone.

They proceeded to talk about and fabricate every single event that came to their minds on their way to school. Needless to say, they were enjoying themselves very much while doing so. Somewhere along the way, their most hated person came up as a topic. That's right, it's Itsuka Shidou. The three girls shivered in disgust at the mere mention of his name. Ai was the first to start the conversation.

"I heard that Shidou was caught doing something indecent to Tohka-san in public last week!" Ai stated, which was followed by a gasp from Mai and Mii. Ai proceeded to take out her phone and show them the footage recorded by a bystander. It showed… Shidou pinning a blushing, resisting, and dumbfounded Tohka and against a wall in a dark alley. That was actually Natsumi causing trouble for Shidou while he was training to use his spirit powers at will with Kotori on Fraxinus. Needless to say, it was impossible for the three to have known that.

"…Unforgivable."

"Lame…"

Mai and Mii stated, as they couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Just then, Shidou was sprinting in the direction of the school, panting and sweating. His path was blocked by the trio.

"Wh-what're you… I don't have time for this!" Shidou shouted with irritation.

Mai took a step forward.

"Want to explain this!? She shoved the phone with the video in his face.

Shidou stared in disbelief. After about ten seconds, he came to a conclusion.

"Nrgh… That Natsumi…" He grumbled.

"Hnn? What was that?" Ai questioned with a hint of triumph.

"Please! I'll explain that later(he literally couldn't do that)! But I really need to get to the school! The students' lives are at stake!" Shidou pleaded.

"No way, you're not getting out of this one!" Mai blocked his attempt to run around them(Which, if he wasn't so tired, would've been an effortless thing for him due to his training).

Ai stepped in.

"Trying to run away instead of taking responsibility?" She smirked.

"That's so lame." Mii added on to Ai's insult.

Shidou, however, was telling the truth. He was trying to save the students, in a desperate race against time, the strongpoint of a particular evil spirit…

FLASHBACK

"Hiya!" Shidou swung Sandalphon, which he'd learned to summon with ease, down at Kotori.

"Hnn, your swordsmanship has improved, onii-chan. But you're still light-years behind me!" Kotori taunted as she blocked Shidou's swing and sent a brutal kick to his gut, sending him flying around 40 meters.

"Guh!" Shidou was sent into Fraxinus' wall hard enough to create a small crater. He declared a loss for the nth time.

"Well it can't be helped, since I can only summon the weapon and not the durability, speed, strength, or reflexes of a spirit." Shidou sighed, knowing that there was no way he'd ever be able to best his sister.

"Excuses!" Kotori yelled nonchalantly. Kotori's attitude had been getting even more annoying for Shidou recently, as he kept losing to her. He'd already reached the limit of his patience. He couldn't rely on sibling love to keep him from going ballistic on her forever.

"Before you start running your mouth, get rid of your astral dress, and fight me without using your full spirit powers." Shidou challenged. His voice was so serious, he almost had a murderous aura about him, which kind of shook Kotori. But she didn't want to lose her strong front, so she played into it. Though her fear was easily heard in the way she spoke the next couple of sentences.

"F-fine! Don't cry when you lose, oni-nii-chan!" Her thoughts at that moment were: "What have I done… I'm gonna die…"

In a white flash, Kotori's astral dress was gone and she was in her school uniform. What happened almost immediately after reverting was…

"Jouto…" Kotori could barely hold her spear. Her coordination was also cut by criminally huge amount. Kotori saw that Shidou noticed, as he was just barely containing his laughter. In her embarrassment, she recklessly charged at him without warning. She hoped to get a lucky blow and then scold him for "turning his attention away from the opponent" and keep up her strong front. Though, this was not what happened at all. As she was charging him(more like dragging the spear on the ground behind her), Shidou let out an indifferent "hmph" and sidestepped her swing, if you could call it that. In Kotori's eyes, he was lightning fast, she didn't even see him move! Then she felt it, a light tap on the head with the flat side of shidou's sword.

"You lose. Hope that enlightens you on how easy you have it with the body of a spirit." Shidou said, trying to let as much of his built up annoyance out without seeming like a total jerk. Kotori, on the other hand, was speechless. Shidou took notice of this and tried to ease the tension born from what he just did by patting her head and suggesting they end training for the day. Kotori nodded silently as they walked into the control room. He let Kotori go in front of him, claiming that he needed to test a theory about his spirit powers. As soon as she left the training room, Shidou found himself in a dark void.

"Wh-wha…?" He looking around frantically with no idea what was happening. Then he heard a voice.

"Ara, ara. Who would've guessed Shidou-kun would learn to use the powers he had sealed? Keep this "training" up and I may not be able to keep myself from devouring you~" The voice stated seductively and playfully. The confused boy knew immediately who it was.

"K-Kurumi…?"

"Bingo!" Kurumi materialized herself in front of Shidou while approaching him in a seductive manner.

"Well? Did ya miss me?" She stuck out her tongue teasingly. The target wasn't amused.

"Kurumi, why'd you bring me here? What're you planning?" The boy caught on a bit faster than Kurumi had expected, much to her amusement.

"Well, since I can hardly wait for the feast I've got planned for today, I guess I'll give you a straight answer for the sake of time."

This alarmed the teen. "Think. She could have a 'feast' just about anywhere, since the AST's no match for her. But she mentioned time. But the only thing that would require her to preserve her time would be… dealing with spirits. And the spirits as well as me(I mean, why else would she bring me here if I wasn't gonna be involved in this incident?) all gather up in a place that allows her to have a feast, and that place would be… !" Kurumi saw his eyes widen and guessed he figured out what she had planned.

"The sch-"

"That's right, Shidou-kun! I'll feast there on the students, the best wizard origami, and the spirits! And when you're in the peak of despair, when you're most ripe at the end of it all, I'll finish off my meal with… you." Shidou was in dismay.

"No way… You can't-!"

"Ara, ara. Looks like our time is up, Shidou-kun~ It was fun getting to see you again! I can't wait to see how tasty you all will be! Don't disappoint me~" With that, she disappeared and a despairing Shidou was sent back to Fraxinus. The teen wasted no time rushing to hq.

"Send me outta here. We've got a situation." Shidou's demands weren't listened to. Instead, Kotori's obsessive vice-commander got up from his seat and sent Shidou a glare.

"Who made you in charge? I don't know what you did in training, but my commander walked in here totally shaken up! I won't do as you say, the only person with higher authority here is Kotori-san." Kyouhei was clearly upset with Shidou, but the teen had no time for this. Shidou summoned Sandalphon and held it to the vice-commander's neck.

"Now."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wanna bet?" The teen pulled his sword up and then swung down with murderous intent. A large crash could be heard throughout the ship has the impact of the swing had created a huge crater in the floor(and silenced the workers that were applauding Kyouhei's show of authority). Kyouhei, absolutely shocked, had just barely dodged it. "This kid is serious!" , the vc thought. The nearly killed man raised his hand and gave the signal to teleport Shidou.

"You… You better have a good reason for this." The teen gave nothing but a nonchalant "hmph" and disappeared in a white light. At that moment, Kotori, having regained her composure, came into the control room wondering what the ruckus was.

"Commander, glad to see you're back on the job. Had you arrived a minute or two earlier, you would've witnessed your older brother make an attempt on my life." Kyouhei stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I was just out of it for a little while and-" She froze, trying to process the second sentence she just heard.

"NANIIIIIIIIIII!?" Kotori's shocked scream definitely showed that she'd gotten her a-game back.

"Commander, if I may ask… What happened to that boy? He used to be so timid, but now he's arrogant, murderous, and violent." Kyouhei inquired while holding his ears, which still hurt from his superior's earsplitting yell. Kotori's expression showed concern and sadness.

"You don't want to know."

FLASHBACK WITHIN A FLASHBACK

"Miku! MIKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Shidou was holding Miku's limp body.

"Sh-Shidou… Y-You're not hurt, are you? I… I did well. R-right?" Even talking was an ordeal for the fatally injured girl. Even with the pain she was in, she desperately tried to calm Shidou, her love, down with a smile(albeit it was ineffective due to her shaky voice, wounds, and tears). Her vision was blurry.

"T-that's right. You pr-protected me… I'm safe, you did awesome, alright?" Shidou was talking in between sniffles and cries. The both of them continued their futile attempts to calm one another down and keep each other happy until Miku finally passed. It was then that Shidou made a loud, raging warcry. Ellen and her bandersnatches, as well as the spirits that she was engaged in battle with(that being Tohka, Yoshino, and Kotori) all turned towards the pained teen. He'd lost Kaguya, Yuzuru, and now Miku. All in one fell swoop. In one surprise attack of reasons unknown. He was enraged.

"I… I'll kill you all…" He stomped his feet, and summoned the true sandalphon. Unlike Tohka, who only had a small percentage of her spirit powers, Shidou brought out the full power of the sword(Remember when Shidou was shot by origami and Tohka summoned that huge supersized version? Yeah, that's the one). He took one step forward and repeated himself with enough volume for his voice to be heard for miles.

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" With that, he swung his sword furiously, destroying robot after robot with it. All that were out of its range were destroyed either by the shockwave coming from the sheer power or the energy wave that trailed it. The spirits, tired and wounded, decided to rest behind him. Ellen, with all her allies destroyed in a matter of seconds, made a desperate charge for him, putting all her energy into this one blow. She knew he had at most one swing at her before she made contact. If she could just withstand that… But to her surprise, Shidou was looking at her with a calculating and murderous calm. He turned his back on her to talk to the spirits, inciting her rage.

"Don't worry, Tohka, Yoshino, Kotori. This'll be over soon. We'll be able to go home as soon as I take care of this." The teen had a reassuring, calm, protective aura as he spoke. That along with his warm smile. The spirits relaxed, suddenly feeling that they could trust him to take care of the job.

"DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON ME! I'M THE STRONGEST WIZARD!" Ellen screamed as she charged at him full speed, full power, with everything she had. Shidou gave an unamused "hmph" and easily swung through her territory. He sliced her in half with one hand holding the sword before she even had a chance to react to the first swing making a cross-slash while covering Yoshino's eyes with his free hand.

"Wha… Did I… Lose?" Ellen, wide-eyed, died before she could even process everything that happened. Shidou hugged the three spirits right after. He was crying his heart out in the process.

"Everybody, I'm so sorry…"

"Wha, why're you apologizing? You saved us Shidou-san…"

"Don't be so modest, onii-chan! You really helped us out, we would've been dead without you!"

"Shidou, you saved us, why are you crying?"
The remaining girls tried to cheer him up, but to no avail.

"I.. I couldn't save Miku, or Kaguya, or Yuzuru…" At that moment, he began talking to himself, the blankness in his eyes became visible to the others.

"Why, why couldn't this sword have come out sooner? Why did it take so much for me to not be powerless? It's not fair… WHY!?" The others were rendered speechless. None of them knew what to say to cheer him up. There was nothing they could say. As a result, none of them spoke a word until the teen finished his weeping and decided that they should all go home. With their help, he'd gone back to normal, somewhat. He'd managed to overcome his depression, albeit deciding to hone his spirit skills. However, that event left a permanent change. For better, or for worse.

BACK TO THE PRESENT WITH THE AI MAI MII TRIO

The blue-haired teen was on the verge of attacking the trio in order to get by, but at that moment, the spacequake alarm rang. He took advantage of this opportunity to run past the three. They decided that they'd get him later and that their safety was most important, so they ran towards the nearest shelter. As they were approaching the entrance, Ai saw a nearby cat licking milk off the ground. Her fetish got the best of her and she went to play with it, forgetting completely about her current situation.

"Kawaii~" She mused, while playing with the cat's paws and throwing him up and down. The cat's licking his paws and wagging his tails didn't help. Mai and Mii's voices didn't reach Ai in time. There were police keeping Mai and Mii from leaving the shelter. It wasn't until the shelter's door closed, until Ai found herself in a completely silent and barren city that she snapped out of her trance.

"Wh-what… did I just do?" It was too late. She was left for dead and there was nothing anyone could do for her. So she decided to head to the school. So that she could revisit as many memories of school and friends as she could before her time came. As she entered the main hallway where the first-year classes was, she saw something no person should ever have to witness. What she saw was the entire student body, being eaten by clones of a single girl in an orange and black dress, with heterochromatic eyes and an inhumanly evil & wide grin. All the students were knocked out, and still didn't wake up when they were slowly eaten at, in ways differing per clone. She saw missing arms here, a couple of lose organs there, twisted broken bones, and a lot of blood. She stood there, in complete and utter horror for what felt like an eternity. Then she felt it, a voice(her own) inside her head.

"Run." Ai's legs trembled a little bit but stayed planted in the ground.

"Run." The girl's legs just barely allowed her to back up a few small steps.

"RUNNNN!" Ai turned around and ran for dear life. She was heard and seen by one of the Kurumi clones, who gave chase. Ai had slid down the rails, vaulted over the cafeteria tables, but Kurumi's tenacity and ability to fly allowed her to stay hot on Ai's trail. This caused the girl to panic and take random turns. She eventually found herself in a dark corner of one of the buildings. The best thing she could think to do at this dead end was hide under the stairs that led her here. So she did.

"Ara, ara. Quite the interesting prey, aren't you?" Ai felt breathing down her neck and turned around. A scream and a desperate dash followed. Kurumi simply teleported in front of Ai and grabbed her by her neck, choking her before tossing her into a nearby wall. With that, Ai found herself unable to move. She just closed her eyes and cried, awaiting her inevitable death.

"Somebody, anybody, help me!" She thought, though she knew it was futile. Still she wanted to hold on. Kurumi laughed at this girl's display of fear. She leaned in and whispered into Ai's ear.

"There's nobody coming to help you." Ai's spirit and calm were completely shattered at that one powerful statement. At this point she could care less about going out fighting or with dignity. She just wanted to survive. Kurumi raised her arm and formed a swordsman-like stance, eyeing Ai's chest , as if she was planning to stab her hand right through it.

"HELP ME! PLEASE!" The strike to her vital point never came. After 10 seconds of silence, Ai slowly opened her eyes and she couldn't believe what she saw. Her attacker was beheaded, and there was someone holding a huge sword in between he two. Ai brought her eyes up to see…

"Sh-Shidou-san…?