-Ayako POV-
"Hey Shido, what's up?" I ask, answering my phone before placing it between my cheek and shoulder as I return my attention to my experimental VR headset in my lap, picking up my tools to continue tweaking it.
"I just wanted to check up on you and see how you're doing. By the time I woke up on the Fraxinus everyone at school was either sent to the hospital or sent home, and since the school was closed today I couldn't check to see if you were ok." He replies and I can hear the stress in his voice.
"That depends on what you mean by ok. I'm fine, there are no lasting effects from Kurumi's attack on the school." I tell him while I swap to a screwdriver and keep working on the headpiece.
"You say that like something isn't ok." He comments and the line goes silent as he waits for me to elaborate and I continue to work in silence. "Ayako talk to me."
"How's Kotori doing?" I ask abruptly. "Yes, I know she showed up at school as a Spirit and started rampaging, is she ok?"
"She says she's doing alright, but she seems pretty shaken up. The power is hard for her to control so I have to seal her as soon as possible. If we wait too long we won't be able to stop her from going berserk." His voice dwindles off and we sit in silence again.
"So then are you going to take her on a date?" I cut straight to the point, setting down my helmet for a minute so I can focus on the call.
"Yea, that's part of the reason I called actually. Tomorrow I'm taking Kotori to the water park, Tohka and Yoshino will be there too and I was hoping you and Tsubasa would meet us there for some moral support." I grit my teeth a little.
"I don't mind coming, but I don't know about Tsubasa, you can ask her yourself cause I won't bother. She's probably too busy anyway." I tell him, my voice dripping with anger. I shove myself away from the table, roll across the room and start typing away at my computer, building code and writing scripts for my VR system.
"Ok something is definitely going on, you can talk to me Ayako." Shido's voice is filled with concern but I brush it off and keep working without pause.
"It's none of my business to talk about. You should still have Tsubasa's number so you call her yourself. Now what time will we be meeting tomorrow?" I ask.
"Tomorrow at noon. I'll give Tsubasa a call after I hang up." He pauses a moment and sighs. "I don't know what's going on since you won't tell me, but whatever it is you and Tsubasa should work through it. You two are so close, whatever it is can't be worth losing that relationship over."
"You'd be surprised." I retort sharply then hang up and toss my phone onto the desk. I sigh loudly and recline in my chair, closing my eyes and just let myself wonder a bit. I give another aggravated sigh and sit back up and resume typing away on my computer. Just a bit more, the headset should be good enough for a trial run. All that's left now is to finish writing the code for this and get everything situated, all in all it should only be another few months or so before I can test the prototype for the VR system. I pause my typing when I hear a tentative knock on the door.
"Hey Ayako, lunch is ready if you want some. Also, I got a call from Shido just now, he invited me to go to the pool tomorrow, you don't mind if I come do you?" She asks hesitantly through the door.
"I don't care, you're an adult, I can't tell you to or not to come so do as you like. Oh and leave the food out in front of the door, I'll get it when I take a break." I tell her through the door before turning back to my computer.
-The Next Day, Ayako's POV-
"Kotori!" I run up and hug her as soon as I see her and Shido outside the water park, surprising her with a big bearhug from behind. "I'm so glad you're ok!"
"Ah! Ayako you're hugging me too tight!" She complains as I rock us both back and forth. "Of course I'm ok, and I know Shido told you I was fine too."
"Yea but it's better to see it with my own eyes than trust Shido, you know he's unreliable." I shoot Shido a cheeky grin and he sighs heavily.
"Gee thanks Ayako, that really means a lot." He grumbles, deflating a little bit. Kotori chuckles a little bit and I lean in close to her ear.
"So are you excited to finally get a date with your beloved big brother?" I whisper to her and she starts stuttering at my teasing.
"S-Shut up Ayako! What about you? Where is Tsubasa?" She counters and Shido flinches at that while I loosen my grip and Kotori quickly turns to face me. She stares at me puzzled at my downcast expression. "Ayako, did something happen between you and Tsubasa?" She asks with concern in her voice.
"She's on her way, but we should probably go in, Tohka is practically frothing at the mouth." We all turn to see Tohka waving frantically next to Yoshino, trying to get us to come with so we can all go inside. Shido chuckles a little and leads us over to the two of them and we all head inside together. The girls go to the changing room and I join Shido in finding a place to camp out.
"Not going to go get changed?" He asks as we claim a table near the wave pool.
"Already changed, it's on under my clothes." I yank my shirt over my head and drop my skirt, much to Shido's surprise and embarrassment as I reveal a simple school swimsuit.
"Huh, looks kinda plain to me." He says before my foot smashes into his face, knocking him out of his seat.
"You don't have to be so rude about it! Sorry I didn't have time to go shopping since you didn't ask me until yesterday!" I yell at him, glad that since it's so loud no one is paying attention. I huff and sit down in a chair, glaring at Shido as he sits back up, rubbing the back of his head and pinching his nose.
"Are you ok Shido?" I sit up straight as a voice sounds behind me.
"I'm ok Tsubasa, I kinda deserved it." Shido says with a guilty chuckle, obviously hoping Tsubasa didn't hear his "plain" comment. "Nice swimsuit by the way." He says, blushing slightly and averting his gaze. Great now I want to look.
"Thanks, I picked it up on my way here, that's why I was a bit late." She explains and walks around me to sit in one of the open chairs and I close my eyes to not stare at her fantastic figure. "What do you think Ayako, too much?"
I sigh and look at her and try to hide my expression as I scan her swimsuit. She's wearing a beautiful, rich purple two piece with dark blue line patterns on the top piece. To anyone who wasn't an idiot she was like a goddess who has come down to play at the pool. "... Looks fine I guess." I say dismissively and turn away, biting my cheek hard to keep my composure.
"Huh, well I'm glad it looks decent." She sighs heavily and stands back up. "If you need me I will be swimming in the lazy river." She stands up and casts one more sad look at me before turning and leaving us alone.
"Ayako…" Shido starts but gets interrupted as Tohka and Yoshino come running over with Kotori trailing behind.
"Hey Yoshino, wanna go play in the wave pool?" I ask her while Tohka tugs on Shido's arm, asking him to go down the water slide. She agrees and we hang out for a while before Tohka joins us so Shido can enjoy his date with Kotori, taking her to the amusement park. After a little while I climb out of the pool and sit at our table and order a light snack for myself. I relax as Yoshino and Tohka continue to play, going down the lazy river on inner tubes while Tsubasa is across the way, relaxing on an inflatable tube. I stand up to go get the two when an explosion happens in the direction of the amusement park. Shido, Kotori!
I start sprinting towards the exit to the amusement park as more explosions sound and people flood past me trying to escape the attack going on outside. "Zuriel!" I summon my Astral Dress and rush through the entry to see the sight of Kotori bound inside a territory and Shido blocking Origami from blasting her and Origami in a massive AST unit I've never seen before.
I rush over to them as she wraps Shido in another field and moves him aside while charging her cannons. "Origami! What the hell are you thinking?!" I roar and slide to a stop between them and summon a wall of Holo Screens to block her lazer shot. I growl in frustration as the force attack cracks my mask. I grab it and toss it aside, not caring about my identity at the moment with my friends' lives on the line
"Ayako? You're a Spirit too!?" Origami explaims in shock as my mask hits the ground.
"Yea I'm Roulette and your friend, just like you are Shido's friend, so what are you doing trying to kill Kotori?" I demand, keeping myself between her and Kotori.
"Five years ago Efreet killed my parents, and now I can take my revenge!" She lets loose a barrage of missiles and I let out a sigh as I raise another wall of screens and block all the shots.
"Shido, take Kotori somewhere safe and seal her powers, I'll hold Origami back." I tell him. Without looking in their direction I raise a hand and mutter "Rinsu" and the barriers holding them vanish.
"Ayako… I don't know what's going on but thank you." He says before scooping Kotori up in his arms and runs away from where Origami and I are squaring off.
I wait for them to get far enough away before I return my attention back to Origami, who seems to be struggling a bit as she hovers in the air. "Now that they're gone Origami, care to tell me about the fancy new machine you are rolling around in?" I smirk at her.
"I don't have to tell you anything. Now get out of my way or I'll end you as well." She declares and I just laugh.
"That toy won't be able to beat a fully powered Spirit. Unlike Kotori and the others I'm not restricted." I dismiss her claims like swatting a fly.
"You say that, but I shattered your shield and broke your mask." She counters, angry at my dismissal of her.
"There's no point in talking to you like this now." I say with a sigh. She yells angrily and fires another barrage of missiles at me. I summon a holographic keyboard in front of me and start typing away on it as I calculate the trajectories of each attack and summon a shield to block each one. "Now then let's see the specs on your new toy Origami." I mumble to myself as I pull up a screen in front of me and quickly use Rinsu to once again hack into her machine. "This thing is pretty advanced. Massive power payload, able to create multiple territories in specific locations. It certainly packs quite a punch. I glance up from my screen to see Origami charging at me with a powerful beam saber. I quickly deflect the attack with a raised barrier then summon another that I ram against her, forcing her back from me.
"Don't be a coward! Either fight me or get out of my way!" She yells as I continue to scour through the machine data. I quickly scan and download everything about the machine. This machine really is impressive but it seems to have a massive drain on the pilot.
"Hey Origami, you don't look too good so I'm going to turn that thing off for you." I tell her loudly before conjuring up a holographic big red button. "I've always wanted to do this." I smirk and slam my fist down on it, instantly causing the machine to start winding down until it sets her gently down on the ground.
"Y-You can't do this!" Origami cries as she stumbles weakly from the machine.
"Origami, I understand your pain, I would be devastated if someone took my sister from me, but you can't put Shido through that pain just to get revenge. Soon Kotori won't even be the flame Spirit anymore, Shido will seal her powers and she will go back to being just Kotori." I try to explain but she pulls a gun out and aims it at me with shaky hands.
"I-I can't do that. I have too…" She takes a few shaky steps towards me before collapsing on the ground unconscious. I let out a sigh of relief and start to walk away but a voice stops me before I can fly off.
"Are you going to explain what's up or just take off?" Shido asks.
"How's Kotori?" I ask, dodging his question.
"She is fine, she's resting right now and was just brought up to the Fraxinus to recover. Reine said there won't be any issues now." He answers and walks closer. "So you're a Spirit huh?"
"No hiding it, yea I'm the Spirit Roulette." I turn to face him, letting him see my Astral Dress up close.
"Does Tsubasa know you're a Spirit?" I chuckle at his question.
"Of course she does, there's no way I could hide something like this from my sister." I tell him and he nods his head slowly.
"You're right, but I have a lot of questions about this Ayako." He says.
I sigh and nod my head "Like how I became a Spirit and all that? I don't think now is the time or place for that, do you?" I ask and he shakes his head. "To keep it brief 6 years ago I somehow became a Spirit. The event caused me to fall into a coma until 4 years ago. Since then I've been practicing to control my powers and protecting other Spirits from the AST. There really isn't much to it after that." I say, giving a brief explanation
"Did you join Ratatoskr to hide yourself or interfere with our goals?" He asks, his tone turning serious.
"You mean did my sister join you to try to stop you from doing your job? She joined you to protect me and try to keep ahead of you. It's funny since we're best friends and you're the key to their plans and all." I laugh a little and the irony of it. "I have no intention of stopping you from your job, in fact I just said I've been protecting Spirits from the AST."
"You say that, but you protected Kurumi on the roof of the school, and what you said, about not wanting my help." He says weakly.
"I know what I said, but if I hadn't stepped in Kurumi would've died. Before you ask, I don't know where she is, just know that she won't bother you again." I assure him. "Now I'm heading off, I'll see you later Shido." I turn away but before I can fly off he grabs my wrist.
"Ayako, please let me seal your powers, or at least let me try!" I look back at his determined face.
"I don't think you could even if I wanted to give up my powers, Shido." I smile but he squeezes my wrist tighter in response.
"I understand, and I know you like your powers, but please let me at least try Ayako." He asks again and I let out an aggravated sigh.
I sigh again and scratch my head in irritation."Fine, I'll give you a date, but at a later time. After what just happened we should wait for things to calm down a bit. I'm sure you'll have to iron a few things out with Kotori and the Ratatoskr beforehand, so let's shoot for a week or so from now." I tell him and he smiles in agreement. "I'll see you later Shido." I step away and take off, flying towards home. My phone goes off and I activate my holo screen to pull up a message from Tsubasa saying she knows that I was exposed and to not worry about it, as she will handle Ratatoskr and to pick up dinner on the way home as she wouldn't be home tonight. Tch, even knowing full well I'm mad at her and don't want to talk to her she is still making sure I'm ok. Stupid Onee-sama, stop being so hard to stay mad at. I pick up the pace, hurrying home so I can continue working on my VR system for the rest of the day.
