Date A Live: The new onslaught
It is necessary for me to formally greet and apologize to everyone for keeping you waiting. Hello once again! I have returned from my unnecessarily long break from writing. almost a year, yeah? crazy. I write this to address a serious issue completely involving my other fanfiction, Fire and Ice. with the release of more content to the light novel series of high school DxD, it interferes with my normal plans for the story: I originally planned for Cao Cao to claim the Longinus from Indra by means of force. however, he still escapes from the realm of the dead and Indra formally returns his Longinus in the light novel. I must re-draw the plan for what he and Georg will do after they just escaped from the realm of the dead. the ending of my story has fortunately remained unchanged! I'm sorry to say this just as i got back, but please give me more time to figure something out in the meantime. it really is pressuring to add this to my to-do list, alongside schoolwork and cross country. I can only hope this fanfiction will strike just as well...
Now with that out of the way, I gladly present to you, Chapter 1 for my first Date A Live fanfic! this series was a great hit when it was released, and I will be buying both seasons on DVD once the second season is available (I already bought the first). The movie, I will be practically obsessing over, be it a remake or continuation of the series. really a great series! I recommend this Anime for any who appreciate good hearted humor, extraordinary action scenes, and the case where two characters form a TRUE relationship! now as Kotori would say, Let the Date (Battle) Begin!
Chapter 1: Normal Life
Darkness.
that was the only thing that he could see.
for some reason, an unseen part of his body ached with pain.
his mind was literally blank, like it had undergone a restart program triggered by an unknown action.
'what happened before?'
it was impossible for him to guess, as he had absolutely no memory of the past events that lead up to now.
'have I been... asleep?'
that thought came with the realization that his eyes were indeed closed.
but why?
"N...N-Nn..."
he grunted, his voice being a bit shaky. slowly, he opened his eyes with some difficulty, which surprised him. had he been struck unconsciousness? possibly.
it was at this moment, that the white haze enveloping the area within his vision lifted.
what he saw, was something that he could not explain, for his lack of remembrance that led to this.
fire.
he was locked within a wide sea of flames, the small circle of solid earth around him mimicking an island of the same stature that one would find throughout the world's natural oceans.
"W...W...What...?!"
he cried out, his mind desperately trying to piece together the situation that lied before him, trying to get even the slightest grip of what was going on and why it was.
now panicked, he turned his head to his left, and his gaze befell on another sight, that shocked him further.
"K-Kotori...?"
surely enough, the figure that was lying face first on the ground was his younger sister, Itsuka Kotori.
her hair was rough and messy, caked with dirt and small pebbles that lodged themselves wherever they could in it. its natural red-pinkish color was now stained with darker patches of a red substance.
bearing itself on her body, her astral dress was equipped. contradict to the white kimono's usual beautiful appearance, it was now in tatters, shredded and nearly destroyed.
her main weapon in this form, Camael, was laying on the ground beside her, somehow in pieces.
the only other time he had seen an angel be destroyed was when Ellen Mathers attacked him and Tohka for the first time, on Arubi Island.
Tohka.
'The others... where are they?!'
he thought this hurriedly, scanning for any sign of the other girls.
he didn't have to look far to locate them.
directly behind Kotori, they were scattered within the ring, in a similar state to Kotori's own.
Yoshino was on her side, unmoving and with a large bloodstain on her right side. in her left hand, Yoshinon was ruined and burned beyond repair.
Kaguya was found next to her twin sister, Yuzuru's, body. Their astral dresses practically gone, both were covered in deep gashes presently appearing to have been made by a blade.
Miku was raised on top a rock, her back arched against its surface, in a sickening pose that suggested her arms and right leg were broken.
Natsumi, in her true child form, was lying in front of this same rock, her body severely burned and charred beyond recognition by something more devastating than fire.
besides them, 4 other girls he could not recognize were also lying: broken, defeated and pained. who they were and what they were also doing here, didn't matter to him.
however, it was who he didn't see that did entirely matter to him.
"S...S-Shi...do..."
an extremely weak and familiar voice called out to him from the right.
almost obediently, he turned towards the source.
there, lying against a boulder larger than herself, was Tohka.
Her long, dark purple hair, was stained with what he immediately knew to be her own blood.
the cheerful, bright look on her face has been degenerated to a worn, scarred look of defeat.
her eyes, which usually glowed with an unparalleled light of happiness and excitement, were now darkened and faint, as they struggled to remain open.
Adonai Melek, her astral dress, was stained with her blood, which came from a large gaping hole through her stomach.
the armor couldn't stop what caused all of this chaos... all of this madness.
it was seeing Tohka, that finally made him break down completely.
"T...Tohka...!" he cried out, his eyes pouring tears that streamed down the sides of his face. an overwhelming sense of despair and hopelessness was all he felt.
"TOHKA!" he yelled loudly in an almost-apparent scream. his body began to stand up, only for it to collapse.
the body part that hurt was his right ankle, which restricted normal movement and a quick approach to Tohka.
with this in mind, he then began to literally drag himself towards her, desperate to arrive before her eyes closed.
"Tohka... TOHKA...!" he screamed again, in a futile attempt to keep her eyes open.
instead, they turned and focused on him weakly, as they too were filled with despair: just like his.
"S...Shido...Get away..." she whispered to him.
after she said that, the sky above seemed to become a bit brighter than usual
"Me...t...n" a voice said, in a tone that suggested formidability and authority, the one who vocalized those words somehow being in the sky. the being's words were faint, but barely audible against a humming sound.
immediately, a blinding white light enveloped his vision as he reached out with a desperate hand.
"TOHKA!" he screamed one more time, before everything disappeared in light...
Itsuka Shido, a young man of 16 years of age, sat up in bed with a cold sweat, having just awoken from a terrifying nightmare.
his eyes were filled with panic, as his mind still thought for a split second that he was still in the dream.
"Eh... a dream?" he whispered to himself, quietly facing the darkness that enveloped his bedroom. his arm reached to his forehead, wiping off the sweat that was a reminder to the impossible dream that he just had.
surely something like that could never happen to him and the others...
"It was all a dream...just a dream..."
he muttered, before closing his eyes and returning to sleep soon after.
despite this, his mind continued to remain conscious, thinking about what he had seen in the dream. but like all others, the memory of it soon began to fade.
however, the image of Tohka dying still remained in his mind: a horrible thing that was forever burned into his mind.
during these thoughts, he remained unaware that he was within the sights of another being.
Morning
Sunlight poured into Shido's room from the window, the curtains having been pulled back by someone to allow it inside.
a new day has started, and Shido's time to arrive at Raizen high school was still plenty to let him sleep in for a few minutes. but, he woke up anyway.
"...Mh..." he groaned, before stretching his arms and looking around at his surroundings.
nothing about Shido's room was off or misplaced, with exception of the alarm clock that would wake him at 7:00 A.M every morning to prepare for school.
but it didn't go off yet.
"Oh! I woke up before the alarm." he said quietly to himself, remaining in bed to silence the alarm once it sounded. the time on its digital face read 6:58.
6:59...
*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP* it started, exactly the millisecond after the time turned to 7:00. quickly, it was suppressed as to allow his sister to continue sleeping.
soon after, Shido got out of bed, stepped quietly over to his closet, and opened it.
hanging up on many shirt and pants hangers, were many Raizen High School uniforms. to the right of these, a small section of other various clothing stood out like a sore thumb.
since he was wearing it most of the time, it was no problem to wear the school uniform mostly wherever he went.
with a smile on his face, Shido reached for a uniform, then immediately trailed to the Shower room in the house.
he hung the uniform on the doorknob outside of the Shower room, before quietly stepping inside.
8 minutes later, he was finished with the morning shower, wrapping a towel around his waist before opening the door to retrieve his uniform.
his hand snaked outside the door, retrieving the outfit in a manner of seconds. one again, the door shut to give him needed privacy for changing.
3 minutes later, he stepped out, now dressed in the uniform. alongside this, his blue hair was done to give it a "nice" look, even though it looked the same as always. his teeth was brushed... all he needed was breakfast, and he had some free time to watch some TV, or talk to Kotori, maybe even pay a visit to the girls next door.
*BOOM*
the foundation of the house shook with a small explosion of surprisingly intense magnitude, which originated from downstairs. outside the window, Shido could see a trail of smoke emanating from an open window in the kitchen.
The kitchen!
"What?" he said aloud, the smell of something burning filling his nostrils alerting his senses.
quickly, he rushed downstairs into the kitchen to see what was going on.
standing in front of the oven, was a girl of unmatched beauty that he knew very well.
Tohka Yatogami. the very first spirit that Shido saved.
Her natural dark purple hair seemed to reflect the light that bore upon it, her hair tied up with a red ribbon like, bow shaped hair tie that she always wore. she was also currently wearing the Raizen High School uniform for females, as she also attends regularly at the school. over top of it was an apron, with multiple splotches of an unknown mixture all over its front designs.
Tohka was looking him in the eyes, which were starting to brim with tears. lying in a pan, was a batch of black, charred circles, which he presumed were supposed to be pancakes.
"S-Shido...I'm so sorry... I tried to make you breakfast, but I burnt them...and now you'll hate me...!" she said, preparing to cry as a bright purple field of energy began to surround her. the spirit powers she once possessed normally, were starting to return to her.
"It's alright! something like this won't make me hate you!" he said, trying to calm her down before something really did explode.
his words had their intended effect, as the energy field subsided. Tohka reached up to her eyes, and wiped away the tears.
"Really...?" she asked, still with a saddened look on her face. whenever she or any of the girls were like this, Shido tended to them at once.
from the very first time that he learned he could seal the powers of a spirit, he made a silent promise to himself. he would do anything and everything to keep them safe and happy.
"Really." he replied, facing her with a relaxed expression and a smile on his face.
this calmed her down further, but she was still concerned.
"Really really?"
"Really really."
"Really really really?"
"Really really really."
and with that final sentence, Tohka smiled. it was when she smiled, that the words "Impossibly beautiful" completely applied to her. Shido's smile grew in response... he liked it when she smiled just like that.
"G-good morning, Shido-San..." another voice spoke sheepishly around the corner leading to the main room.
Shido turned his gaze, recognizing the voice belonging to Yoshino.
A kind, shy, and impossibly cute girl, Yoshino was the second spirit to have her powers sealed by him. her long blue hair fell down both sides of her face, with eyes of a matching color looking at him shyly. the light hint of a blush crossed her cheeks as she looked at him. her apparel consisted of a light blue short dress that she usually wears the majority of the time. the straw hat, with an attached red ribbon, she also wore was seen to be sitting on a chair in the living room.
"Hahaha! Shido-Kun, you're such a lady killer in the mornings!" another, more high pitched voice said. out from the same corner Yoshino peered from, the face of a white rabbit puppet also looked out at Shido.
in response, Shido chuckled at Yoshinon's remark.
Yoshino then blushed more darkly, before reaching for the puppet and holding her hand over Yoshinon's mouth, who began to flail its small arms wildly.
Yoshinon was the split personality of Yoshino, manifesting itself in the white rabbit puppet she wore on her left hand. as far as Shido knew, Yoshinon acted independently on its own will, as Yoshino has no control over what it does and what it will say. yet, it wasn't a bad thing. Yoshinon never once failed to lift a down mood in anybody it talked to.
Shido stepped over to Yoshino, reached out, and patted her head.
at first, she treated this with surprise and embarrassment, her face turning rapidly flushed. a second later, she began to smile.
Tohka especially watched this, and began to throw a comical-style fit. she too wanted Shido to pat her head.
"Shido! Shido!" she said, bowing her head towards him. Shido knew that Tohka wanted him to pat her head as well, which wasn't a problem at all.
Shido chuckled with delight, and reached out with another hand, beginning to pat Tohka's head. her smile, in turn, grew wider as she loved it when Shido did this.
10 seconds pass, and Shido steps away from the girls, reaching in a drawer to pull out a simple black apron. it was now his official goal to cook something for them to eat before he had to leave.
"Now, what would you like for breakfast?" he asked, facing them with a spatula in hand. even before he reached for the apron, Shido knew that at least one person would request a batch of pancakes; if not, all the girls would ask instead.
it was at that precise moment, that yet another voice spoke, taking the initiative to answer his question.
"Hm? Onii-Chan is making breakfast? YAY!" Cried Kotori, who made her entrance by jumping in excitement with a hand raised to the ceiling before landing onto the hardwood floor again.
Kotori was in an obvious bright and cheerful mood, which Shido knew why. the color of the ribbons tied to her twintails were a plain, pure white. this signaled that Kotori was in her "Little Sister mode". matching the ribbons in style, Kotori was wearing a white uniform with a black tie, short teal-colored skirt, and long black stockings. this is usually what she wears whilst in "Little Sister mode", as Shido observed. fortunately, she wasn't wearing black ribbons... yet.
"Ah, good morning." Shido replied, before turning back to face the oven, an assortment of mixes, a carton of eggs, and bread set out before him.
"Ooh! Good morning to you, Kotori!" Tohka said happily.
"G...Good Morning, Kotori-San..." Yoshino said shyly, followed by a smile.
after a peek at what Shido was doing, Kotori walked out into the living room to watch TV, preferably the News Network. Tohka and Yoshino took to joining her in doing so, simply to give Shido space while he was cooking.
things began to go smoothly at that point, until voices were heard outside the door leading outside.
in the next second, it opened to reveal three new figures: Two girls that were twins, and another who had a yellow flower petal hair clip. this newfound trio moved through the hallway, standing in the opening leading into the main room and kitchen.
"Haha! What is it that we, the all-knowing Yamai Sisters, will uncover about the mystery that is Shido's cooking today?" One of the twins, Kaguya, asked in a Flamboyant manner.
"Greeting. Good morning, Shido." the other twin, Yuzuru, said in a fashion similar to a Robot.
One who would see the Twins for the first time is entirely capable of noting the differences between them. Kaguya, having an outgoing and out-spoken personality, tended to speak in an unrealistic manner, expanding the overall meaning of a sentence to limits not attainable to someone other than her. Yuzuru on the other hand, shows no emotion in facial expression and body movement, whilst saying the point of a sentence before she says the rest: a simple, plain version of speaking, unlike Kaguya's. alongside this, each preferred a different choice of style to wear: Kaguya now tends to wear black colored clothing similar to the "emo" style, while Yuzuru primarily donned white.
this did not apply to today though, as the twins were both wearing a matching set of polka-dot designed blouses and short jeans.
"Ah, good morning Kaguya, Yuzuru." Shido replied, turning and waving to them for a second before returning to face the stove.
Kaguya and Yuzuru then began to take their places in the main room, joining Tohka and the others in observing the images behind the TV screen.
through all of this, the third girl had been hiding around the wall, listening in on them.
after assurance that she wouldn't be spotted, she began to sneak through the main room; her destination was obvious.
she was headed for the young man who was cooking breakfast.
meanwhile, Shido remained completely unaware of her presence, instead thinking of what he was going to do next.
a scent of perfume hit his nose, breaking his focus temporarily. Shido looked up from his work for a second. then came the whisper into his ear.
a soft, melodic voice spoke very quietly, saying "Good morning...Darling~". Shido lost all focus after that, his eyes widening as he began to turn around in haste. the voice that just spoke to him... impossible!
'Since when did SHE start to come here in the mornings?!' his mind thought in panic. she had caught him off guard for sure...
his gaze came to meet a face staring right back at him, smiling. light indigo eyes stared into his own, her face bordered by hair of matching color that ended at her midsection. her form of dress for the day was casual: a one piece dress colored a slightly darker purple, bearing 2 small frilly rings near the bottom, and another that outlined the utmost top part of the dress itself. it ended as a skirt that was above her knees. overlaying this dress was a simple pink short jacket with buttons comprised of a gold-like alloy. locked into her hair was a simple hair clip that looked like a flower with yellow petals.
"...Miku..." Shido whispered, daring not to attract the other's attention.
however, that wasn't needed out of him: Miku Izayoi would take care of that.
"Surprise!" she said in her regular voice, throwing her arms out at the air between herself and Shido, her eyes sparkling with delight for an unknown reason. perhaps she was doing that over breakfast, and the sole fact that she was going to have a taste of his morning cuisine.
Miku's voice obviously caught the other's attention. one second, she was silent and unseen. another second, and she was the center of attention.
"MIKU?!" all but Yuzuru cried out, who simply said "Exclamation. its you, Miku...", but her voice was drowned out by all others.
"Yep! it's me, flesh and blood. how is everyone doing this morning?" she asked, seemingly oblivious to the shock in the girls's gazes.
"G-Good... but Miku? shouldn't you be out and about considering your schedule...?" Kotori questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, I was to go about today like any other, but my manager got sick. the flu is REALLY contagious, you know?" she exclaimed. what she meant was that everyone else got sick as a result of Miku's manager being (foolishly) present at the set of her next music video. Miku, being a popular figure in the world of music, was burdened with continuous song recordings, music video shoots, autograph signings, photo shoots, and the like: all starting at 6 in the morning. because of that, she was unable to visit Shido and the others until her release, annually timed to be at precisely 7:38 in the evening. after that explanation, Miku joined the others in talk, sitting beside Yoshino on one of the sofas.
one could say that Miku finally earned a break: and a chance to spend the day with her beloved, or "Darling" as she called him.
the sound of a final plate being set down onto the table was heard among the girls's conversation.
"Alright!," Shido began, pausing to take a moment to congradulate himself. "Breakfast is now served!"
the contents on each one was perfectly alike. 2 pancakes topped with a small cube of butter and syrup, a piece of toast lightly toasted and topped with jelly, 2 slices of bacon, 7 glasses of orange juice for each, and one over-easy egg presented themselves to the girls, who took their places at the table. Shido sat down at the head, Tohka and Kotori beside him on either side, Miku and Yoshino sitting across from each other, and Kaguya and Yuzuru sitting on the opposite side close together. at the bottom of the table, an empty seat was present, but no one paid this any mind as all 7 clasped their hands together.
"Itadakimasu!" they said in unision, as they began to eat their western-style breakfast.
all at once, they began to convene in conversation, mostly questions directed to Miku and various statements about everyone's daily life. this continued on for 10 minutes.
however, there could be no better time for the cellphone in Shido's pocket to go off.
in response, he looked down, and his eyes widened.
it was 7:53. only 7 minutes before school would start. the piece of toast in his mouth nearly fell out in dread and panic.
Kotori seemed to react to this by suddenly getting up and heading upstairs, after she had cleaned up.
"OH NO!" Shido cried, literally stuffing what little pieces of food he had left onto his plate into his mouth, rapidly gulping down his glass of orange juice. he nearly choked, but that didn't matter. he had to get to class, or he would have after-school detention.
being a student that has never missed a single day of school, it was completely understandable why he was freaking out so much.
quickly, Shido rushed to the sink to deposit his plate and utensils in to wash later, before moving towards the main hallway to step outside. the time now read 7:55.
"Tohka! we have to go!" he cried, now in possession of his bag that he had set by the door as to pick it up when he would have to leave.
Tohka, who had been done for nearly 15 minutes, nodded in response and followed him closely behind.
as the door shut, Shido never really got the chance to say goodbye. or, he forgot to do that in his haste.
immediately, Shido beckoned Tohka to start running as his own pace quickened significantly. there was a small chance, that if being quick enough, they may just get to Raizen High School on time: although, they would definitely be a couple seconds behind still in that scenario.
I was now 7:57... Shido now was going at a near full out sprint, just to see something that would tell him he was close. but in actuality, the building was a good 23 minutes away, if taken by foot.
7:58...
"Come on, come on...!" Shido muttered to himself. he could hear the large clock at the front of the school now. they were close
Tohka now jogged beside Shido, without even breaking a sweat. being a spirit, she could probably run like this for a significant amount of time without showing any exhaustion.
7:59...
he could see the school now.
"Just a bit further, and we wi-"
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
his sentence was interrupted by one severely important thing that no one could just simply ignore. around him, buildings and streets began to sink into the ground in specially built bunkers, sealed off from the outside by thick reinforced steel doors that looked enough to endure just about anything. besides all this, a familiar blaring sound echoed throughout all of Tenguu city.
The Spacequake Alarm.
at its call, people then began to immediately evacuate: being taken underground to be protected from a disaster unlike anything the world has ever seen.
"Shido!" a voice shouted from within his right ear.
Kotori was now speaking to him through an earpiece the boy had left in it during yesterday's events.
"Kotori?," Shido said to the voice speaking to him "What's going on? is it another spirit?"
"Yes! we will port you and Tohka to Fraxinus for the time being. we need you to be here so that we can deal with the spirit once it arrives!" Kotori answered.
following after that, sound and space began to warp before Shido and Tohka's eyes, as a bright green light enveloped their bodies. when it dissipated, the two were no longer standing on the street in Tenguu city.
to be precise, they were now 15 Kilometers above it.
Shido now looked ahead to see a steel automatic door, leading out of a small room with metal walls. various colors ran across, above, below, and diagonally in blue, coated lines that were power circuits. in the middle of this room, a simple blue pad was there to act as the transporter and receiver between the city below, and all who were on board Fraxinus.
"W-Woah!" Cried Tohka, in surprise. "That felt weird..."
"Come on Tohka, we don't have much time." Shido said, stepping off the pad a bit shaken. he hadn't really gotten used to the warping process to and from Fraxinus, as he felt himself start to contract a headache: Motion Sickness. Tohka didn't look to be sick, but she still looked around her, bewildered: she had never used the warping feature other than once, back after her spirit powers had been sealed by Shido.
Following his lead, she too stepped off the pad, whilst the doors opened immediately into the command center of Fraxinus.
Kotori sat upon the commander's chair, her gaze fixed on a main screen that displayed a sort of graph, with interchanging lines of data. Shido assumed this to be a ways for the analysts to monitor the impeding Spacequake's data and such. to her right, vice-commander Kannazuki stood with a similar expression on his face, instead observing the analysts's actions. close to them, head analyst Murasame Reine was working at her station, away from the other 5 analysts, on a lower level to the left of the raised part of the command center that Kotori and Kannazuki watched from. besides her usual expression of exhaustion, obvious by the bags that were always under her eyes, she now looked oddly focused and coherent on the task at hand. Kawagoe, Mikimoto, Shiizaki, Nakatsugawa, and Minowa worked at separate consoles, imputing different commands and data for the main screen to display.
Only moments after he and Tohka arrived, the graph on the screen was suddenly replaced with a live video feed from a camera sent out from Fraxinus, pointing towards a densely wooded area that was little ways outside the city's boundaries. after this display, the sky above this area began to warp violently, signalling the impact which would happen in only a matter of seconds.
In that small time frame...
"The spacequake has begun." Shiizaki said, still stationed at her console.
Kotori nodded in response.
"Indeed..." Shido muttered under his breath.
Everyone else silently watched the screen, including Tohka.
From the feed, a sphere of dark matter manifested in the sky, quickly expanding rapidly to the ground below which was helpless: upon contact, the ground was violently obliterated along with everything else the sphere touched. followed by a rumbling sound, it soon reached the camera, which rendered the video feed to static.
after about 10 seconds waiting, the feed went live once again. the Spacequake was over, but the damage caused remained. a large crater was present in the middle of the forest, but otherwise rendered most of it untouched. luckily, the Spacequake didn't touch the city at all. compared to most, this one was noticeably smaller: but still as devastating.
While everyone else observed the screen, Kotori and Shido turned to look at each other.
"...Shido." Kotori said. from that, he knew immediately what to do.
"I'm going. Tohka..." Shido began, before turning to face her now. "please stay here with Kotori and the others, okay?"
Tohka nodded in response: she also knew what he had to do, and understood his request. as he turned to take his leave, Tohka returned her gaze to the screen with a sense of newfound purpose, despite not having any official job on Fraxinus.
Shido walked to the warping room, preparing to confront the spirit now present at the site of the Spacequake. as the doors leading to it opened at his approach, Kotori produced an object from the right pocket of the red commander's jacket she wore. a simple Chupa Chups lollipop, she unwrapped the covering around it and held it in her hand. a smirk appeared across her face, as the analysts started to pull up what they would need to deal with the spirit.
Just before Shido was warped to the site, Kotori spoke a simple phrase that ushered in the impeding times ahead.
"Now, let our date (Battle) begin."
-END OF CHAPTER 1-
Well then, that concludes that! currently, I am freezing in my room as I finish with the first chapter. so now, its complete!
just in the case if anyone is wondering about the new spirit, I plan to make her seem like Yoshino and Kotori combined: just take Yoshino's tendency to veer away from violence and Kotori's Tsundere personality (when in commander mode, of course), and you get how she will mainly act. I really am excited to write chapter 2 of this story, so do favorite it if you enjoyed chapter 1! I'll be back later (after I take a nice hot shower) to see how it's coming along... Bye for now, dear readers!