A bright day outside the city, Shido was out in the shopping districts of Tengu square. As he was strolling down the crowded streets, he suddenly gasped and looked to a direction behind him. Standing near a store, a middle school looking girl gazed at him with her cold red eyes.
"….!"
"You're Itsuka Shido, am I correct?"
When the young girl disappeared from his field vision, she suddenly appeared in front of him and asked him a question. Seeing how the girl suddenly appeared in front of him, Shido jumped back after he was startled
"Whaaa!" Shido looked back to where the girl was standing then back at the girl again
"…." The girl scratched her cheek in confusion
"H-How…Who are you anyway?!"
"Answer my question first" The girl insisted
"Yeah. I'm Itsuka Shido"
Shido regained his calm composure and answered the young girl's question. As she heard his answer, she grabbed his arm started dragging him away from the crowded streets.
"W-where are you talking me?!"
Surprisingly, the young girl was stronger than Shido as he couldn't break free from her grasp. Unknown to Shido, Kurumi was stalking her from the shadows. Seeing how a girl quickly dragged Shido away from her, Kurumi immediately followed them but…
"They're gone. I never thought she would interfere with my plans…"
Her irritation and annoyance was visible since her fingers slightly twitched and her eyes looked like they were craving for bloodshed.
"Here….."
As the girl dragged Shido, the girl then turned to an alley and as they were about to hit a wall, Shido closed his eyes.
"H-Huh?"
When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded and standing in what seems to be an endless darkness.
"We can have a private conversation now"
The girl sighed and relief as she sat down obviously not bothered by the infinite shadows surrounding them.
"Who are you anyway? Why did you bring me here? What exactly is going on?!"
"Just one question at a time, Itsuka Shido"
"…"
Annoyed at his multiple questions, she scratched her head and waved her hand in the air.
"First, Ratatoskr and DEM referred to me as [White]. Second, I did this so she won't follow us"
"Why did you drag me here? I don't understand"
Shido demanded an explanation due to the sudden turn of events. The girl wearing a white hood, [Crimson] sighed just seeing how Shido was panicking.
"I know what Tokisaki Kurumi have been doing to you"
"H-how did you…?"
"I've been watching for a while but I couldn't get close"
"Why did you know Kurumi?"
Kurumi was a psychotic and elusive Spirit that just loves torturing pretty much everybody. It's strange to see someone else well aware of Kurumi's existence with the exception of DEM Industries and Ratatoskr.
"Why don't you try asking her?" [Crimson] smirked as she teased Shido
"…..You brought me here because you want to talk to me, right?"
Brushing off [White]'s statement, Shido wanted to know why he was dragged by a young girl and brought inside a pocket shadow dimension.
"Yes"
"Then tell me what you want from me"
"Don't go to your date with Kurumi tomorrow"
"I can't do that"
"Is it because she will kill those Spirit friends of yours if you refuse? I know what Kurumi can do"
"If you know that then you should know why I can't"
He felt his heart tightened whenever he remembered his encounters with the psychotic Spirit. The girl in white seemed to be well aware of this and didn't persuade Shido to refuse anymore.
"Fine. But you must be prepared"
"For what?"
"Who knows what she will do. But rest assure, Kurumi won't kill the man she is obsessed with"
Her words were both relaxing and worrying since even she doesn't know what Kurumi will do to him tomorrow but she was sure Kurumi would never do anything to harm Shido.
"I need to take this gamble. I won't let anything happen to them"
"You're a nice man, Itsuka Shido. It's just a shame that a psychopath is deeply in love with you"
Shido was not sure if he would be angry or happy at the young girl's statement.
"Well, I said what I need to say" She stood up
"….?"
"I suggest you leave a note to your friends before-"
"Before Kurumi might do something to me, right? Yeah"
Shido cut off and finished [White]'s sentence. She doesn't seemed to be upset that someone just cut off her sentence, instead she gave off a pleasant smile as they left the pocket dimension and returned to reality.
"I will be watching your movements tomorrow. But I can't guarantee your safety"
"Thank you….."
"I'm only doing this out of personal reasons. Kurumi is out of control"
[White] slightly blushed when Shido sincerely thanked her and stated that she has her personal reasons.
Later…
Inside her own room, Kotori stretched her back and she was about to get out of her room…..she noticed a presence behind her. She gasped and as she turned around, she noticed a girl in white leaning against the wall.
"Who are you?! How did you get in my room?!" Kotori strengthened her guard at the mysterious stranger
"I just talked to Itsuka Shido. I just came here to tell you to watch over him tomorrow"
"What for?"
It's really strange for a hooded girl about her age to suddenly appear inside her room and mention Shido.
"If you don't…then something bad will happen to Shido"
"What are you talking about?"
[White] replied with a teasing smile instead of words which slightly annoyed Kotori.
"Tokisaki Kurumi is unpredictable…..even I couldn't predict her psychotic obsession"
"…."
"Let's meet tomorrow"
Without saying anything else, [White] manifested a portal behind her and retreated to disappear who knows where.
In an unknown location…..
Standing on top of a building while staring at the moon, Kurumi smiled as she let the cold breeze touch her skin.
"Have you found her, [Me]?" Kurumi asked one of her clones who just returned
"She's as elusive as you" The clone sadly replied
"She must be hiding in the shadows so we can't locate her" One of the clone added
"There's a high chance she will interfere with the date tomorrow"
"I can't let…..her…..stop my plans"
Hearing one of her clone's words, Kurumi angrily clenched her fist. Seeing how the original Kurumi released her angry presence, the clones took a step backwards.
The Next day…
From: [White]
Itsuka Kotori. Meet me at the Heaven's Café at 10:00.
Don't be late. This is important.
The text that Kotori received had short but frank details. Seeing the sender's name to be [White] reminded Kotori of a certain Spirit in their past records. Kotori followed as the message said since she arrived at the café just in time.
"It's strange that you trusted my message and came to meet me" [Crimson] smiled
"I can see from your eyes that you're not lying"
"Wow…..you're good at observation"
Impressed at Kotori's calm and serious composure, [Crimson] took a short sip from her fresh coffee.
"What do you know about my brother's situation?" Kotori furrowed her eyebrows
"A lot. Tokisaki Kurumi is directly involved in this so I had to interfere"
"Why do you know that Spirit?"
"Also a lot. I came here to stop her plans"
"Plans? What plans? Tell me"
[White] sighed at the red haired commander's demanding tone and several questions. She then sighed feeling discontent as she swept off the surface of her hair.
"You should go back to your…..ship right now"
"…..!"
"If you want to see Itsuka Shido again that is"
Without saying another word, [Crimson] disappeared and Kotori lost sight of her. She felt her heart raced as she felt fear after hearing the girl's last statement before leaving and disappearing.
Meanwhile…..
Shido's heart raced as he waited for Kurumi to arrive while he sat on a bench. He felt a slight of comfort seeing how the Spirits were staring at him from a safe distance. A few minutes later and Kurumi finally arrived…looking innocent like usual.
"Shall we start our date, Shido-san?" Kurumi gave Shido a friendly smile
(Don't show her you're scared, Shido. She can smell fear) Shidp thought to himself
"Where do you want to head first?"
Shido calmly asked Kurumi who was glaring at a distance but returned her attention back to him.
"How about you help me pick new lingerie?" Kurumi slyly suggested
"L-lingerie?!"
"Is there something wrong?"
Her expression darkened as she menacingly glared at a sweating and shaking Shido.
"It's fine…..! Really….."
Seeing how Kurumi's mood would drastically changed depending on his actions, Shido immediately thought of an answer to lighten her mood.
"What about you help me shop new clothes instead?"
"That's fine too…"
He sighed after the psychotic Spirit changed their first destination. He noticed how Kurumi angrily and menacingly glared at a distance as though she saw something she hated.
"Is there something wrong….?"
"Don't worry about me"
Yet again, Kurumi's mood lightened…..again as she tightly embraced Shido's arm while they walk to a clothing store.
"I think she saw us" Kaguya was shaking just like the other Spirits
Tohka, Yoshino, The Yamai twins, and Miku hid behind a wall every time Kurumi would look at their direction. They took a peak behind a wall and followed the two while they were walking together.
"I think we should split into two groups"
Miku suggested since people walking nearby were staring at six girls who looked like they were stalking someone.
"Okay! I'll take Yoshino for no malicious reasons"
Without saying another word, Miku dragged the young Spirit with her away with an obvious intent.
"W-wai-!" Kaguya tried to stop Miku
"Priority. We should focus on Shido first" Yuzuru tapped Kaguya's shoulders
"Right….." Kaguya nodded
As the three Spirits silently followed Kurumi and Shido slightly far behind Miku and Yoshino, Kurumi dug her fingers on Shido's shoulders which caused him to react in slight pain.
"Ouch! Is there something wrong?"
Shido noticed how Kurumi secretly bit her lips and squeezed his left arm. Forcing herself, Kurumi casted a fake innocent smile as she looked at Shido.
"Shido-san should focus on the date, don't you think?"
They finally stopped in front of the clothing store which displayed colorful and different kinds of dresses.
"How about this one?"
After picking out a dress and put it on, she asked Shido about his opinion if whether he liked the dress or not.
"You look good on dark clothing. I like the red rose though….."
All Kurumi would wear were dark and goth Lolita themed clothes which was kind of…repetitive. Since the black frilly dress with red rose designs actually looked good on her, Shido gave her a thumbs up.
"Then I'll take this one"
"….." Shido simply smiled while he watched Kurumi purchase the dress
"Where shall we go next?" Kurumi asked
Before Shido could reply, Kurumi suddenly went to a different direction and looked at the cats displayed in the pet shop.
(Sometimes…I think Kurumi used to have an innocent personality)
Even though he admitted that he was terrified of Kurumi due to her obsession and insanity, Shido suddenly felt comfortable being with her just seeing Kurumi actually smiled with pure happiness.
"You really like cats, don't you?"
"They're innocent and adorable" Kurumi turned her head to Shido
"I think so too"
After Shido stated those words, Kurumi embraced Shido's arm again but he wasn't bothered because Kurumi looked like she was actually…..innocent.
"Shido-san….."
"…?"
"I'm hungry" Kurumi whispered to Shido
"Let's have lunch then"
"I know a good restaurant to eat"
Without another word, Kurumi dragged Shido away. Seeing how Kurumi quickly dragged Shido away, the girls quickly followed the two.
"It looks like she noticed"
A girl wearing a black school uniform with and a beret, [Crimson] clicked her tongue out of discontent before leaving. When she turned to a corner where no humans were present, she noticed Kurumi's clones following her.
"You're quite elusive" The first clone spoke
"Obviously I don't want to die" [White] answered sarcastically
"You're little game of hide and seek…..is over" The second clone spoke
"You have to catch me first"
Even though she was cornered, she backed further into a wall and summoned a portal to disappear again.
"She escaped again….." One clone spoke in a sad manner
"The original [Me] won't be happy to know she escaped again" Another clone added
While the clones retreated into the shadows, the original Kurumi angrily grasped her fork while she held all of her negative emotions.
(She's angry…..? What is Kurumi angry about?) Shido noticed
"Are you okay?" Shido asked in a worried tone
"Shido-san…..I'm not feeling very well"
Kurumi pressed her fingers in her temple as she used her expert acting to fool Shido into thinking that she was in pain. The two stood up and Shido accompanied Kurumi…..somewhere. As they walked off the restaurant, Fraxinus' lost sight of the two since the cameras were destroyed.
"I'm feeling better now. I just had a headache"
After Fraxinus lost sight of Shido and Kurumi, the psychotic Spirit stopped acting her pained expression.
"Let's continue our date~"
She gleefully held Shido's hand and pointed to a direction while dragging him away again.
"What do you think about this underwear, Shido-san?"
When Kurumi showed Shido a black underwear….for bed…..Shido blushed bright red as he covered his eyes and turn away due to embarrassment.
"Waaaah!"
"Fu fu fu~ Shido-san looks cute when blushing"
She softly put her finger on her lips while giggling in a girly and innocent manner. Shido turned to look at how Kurumi looked actually like a normal girl during their date.
Later…..
It was already four o clock and their ended with Shido surviving without any physical and mental damage.
"Shido-san, thank you for the wonderful day"
"It was an unforgettable day for me too" Shido slightly blushed
"Since I enjoyed our date…..I will keep the end of the bargain"
Kurumi stopped on her feet and mentioned the deal they had the other day. Shido didn't react or say anything when Kurumi mentioned it.
"But…"
"…?" Suddenly…..Shido felt his heartbeat stop
"Oh nevermind…."
She shrugged off her thoughts and before leaving goodbye, she gave Shido a sweet kiss on the cheek as a farewell for the day. He touched his cheek where Kurumi's warm lips touched his cheek.
Somewhere…..
Later at night where the moon could only light some part of the surroundings, Kurumi crawled out of the dark with her clothes and skin stained with blood. No people were around but there were visible signs of blood splattered on the wall and pool forming on the ground. It was as though a lot of people were massacred in the most horrible way possible.
"Ordinary humans are not very tasty"
Kurumi licked her fingers similar to how a cat would lick its paws. Her cheeks were blushing as if she was enjoying licking her fingers.
"Haven't you killed enough….?!"
She stopped licking her fingers as she turned to the familiar voice speaking to her. She annoyingly and lazily glared at the young girl slowly walking towards to her direction.
"You killed my clones….."
Kurumi spoke in a soft and cold manner giving a visible hint that she was not interested with dealing with [White] right now.
"You've gone more mentally unstable than before"
She massaged her head while looking at Kurumi with both sympathy and pure hatred. She raised her hand and pointed her finger at Kurumi as she was [White] to fire a powerful blast from her fingertips.
"…." Kurumi looked like she does not even care
"For some reason I can't kill you in this state"
She raise down her fingers when she could not bear to kill a currently unstable Kurumi.
"What are you planning now?" She straightforwardly asked
"Get rid of those pests….."
Kurumi stood up and finally spoke in her usually calm and confident manner.
"You know I won't let you do that" [White] clenched her fists
"Then kill me now if you want to….." She dared the young Spirit
"I'll only do that...if you were to harm Itsuka Shido"
"I would never do that" Kurumi frowned
"You already did"
[White] spoke in a cold and deep tone as she turned her back away from Kurumi. Before she walked away, she turned her head to Kurumi and glared at her with pure hatred as she said those words. She then left without saying anything else and left Kurumi, who bit her lip and gently clenched her fists while cursing her inside her
