Hey there everyone! Tohka Yatogami here, and I'm happy to finally say after a long wait... that the remaster/reboot of Date A Re:Live has finally arrived!
For those who want to read the original fic, you can find it over on Archive of Our Own under the same pen name I have here. Also, if you're worried that reading the original fic will spoil everything in this version? It won't.
Without saying too much, you'll understand why by this chapter's end.
Joining me in making this remaster is my good friend and fellow author, kingpariah. He's the genius behind Date A New Live, which I highly recommend you read if you haven't already, and that's not just because I'm helping him make it as a co-writer like he's now doing with me for this story. Oh! And speaking of which, with his permission, there are some shared ideas from Date A New Live that will appear in this story, but won't be enough to spoil either fic since there are a lot of things exclusive to each.
The most important thing I need to say before we begin is that with the original story, I only had content up to V16 and details about Mio in the following two volumes. Now that the main story has finished, I can use a lot more, but that also doesn't guarantee everything, at least in the same form as in canon.
Before I say any more? I have a few things to say for the veteran readers, so skip the rest of this Author Note if you're a newer reader to avoid spoilers, though make sure to read the other one, since it has important info that won't be.
In the original story, there were two things I feel could have been handled better.
First of which is Mana, who was set up to be important, but was then defined by her running gag for a majority of the story. This time she'll be the outright deuteragonist and is as deeply connected to everything as Shido was. Second was how I nerfed DEM's overall level of power, which I now realize came off too strongly. This time, both they and Ratatoskr are on more even ground, and I have a good reason to justify them being equal in power to guarantee it.
Now, let's not keep this story waiting any longer and get this show on the road!
[Chapter 1 - Restart: April 10th]
The scene opened to the night sky, currently illuminated by the light of a few stars and a full moon.
On most occasions, such a sight would be beautiful if not outright romantic, but on this particular night... something was making romance the last thing that would go through anyone's mind.
*"KABOOM!"*
Explosions could be heard everywhere as they went off in a seemingly empty, if not outright abandoned city. However, these weren't your normal explosions of fire, but what could be best described as some kind of dark energy with a purple tint and an occasional lavender glow inside a few of them. As the last explosion in a set went off, the sight of a humanoid silhouette was seen flying through the sky, with only the surrounding buildings to cloak their presence.
Not that it mattered, as the silhouette was soon shown to have something chasing them. A group of what looked to be dark streams of an almost completely black color that acted as monstrous as they looked, showing no care or remorse as they continuously smashed through the very buildings the silhouette had been flying and weaving around.
'Already!?' The silhouette thought.
Getting within range of the silhouette, the dark streams began to shift their forms and release a volley of dark orbs towards them. Sensing the threat coming their way, they turned around and fired a few dark orbs of their own before moving to evade the ones aimed at themselves. Said orbs collided with some of the city, creating explosions that lacked the lavender glow as a result.
All of the dark streams quickly dodged the silhouette's orbs as well, revealing that the orbs fired by the silhouette were the ones that had the lavender glow as they exploded, easily painting them as a hero and the streams as villains. Using the opening they made to dart around a corner, the silhouette spun around and swung their hand out, which was revealed to be holding something, and unleashed dark energy in the form of a wave. The streams were caught by surprise by this, and most of them were swallowed up.
'Yes!' The silhouette cheered.
The silhouette wasted no time in taking the chance before them and made a run for it. Despite their losses, the dark streams that hadn't been slain by the wave charged at the silhouette once again, with one that had survived slowly reforming their body into its original shape. The silhouette continued their escape attempt, dodging a few dark orbs they fired with less success because of the now larger distance between them, unaware of a pair of streams that had broken away from the group and moved behind a building they were about to fly past.
"SKREE!"
Both stretched their hands back, with the lower of the two shooting theirs out first to damage the building. Only seconds after, the higher stream then did the same, striking the damaged structure with enough force to make it tilt forward. Despite the lack of light, the silhouette soon noticed the moving shadow coming near them and looked up to see the source, gasping as they saw it.
Watching it seemingly hit them, many of the dark streams flew forward to claim their prey...
*"SHATTER!"*
Only for glowing purple lines to spread across the broken building's form, causing all of the streams to freeze up as they felt a sense of danger flash through them, but by that point? It was already too late for them. A loud yell exited the silhouette's throat as they unleashed a shadowy whirlwind, which quickly transformed into a shadowy cyclone as the slashes cut the building into large slabs and small debris.
Before the streams could even attempt to run away, the debris shot out of the cyclone and hit them like a rain of bullets. Many streams released a horrid screech before they vanished in what looked like a mix of bursting and dissolving, while the rest of them got sucked into the cyclone and smashed into the slabs that continued to break, turning into makeshift shrapnel as a result, and slicing them to death.
The shadowy cyclone came to a stop as a single stream fell to the ground, being the one that had been trying to reform its body, now only a torso and everything above it.
"How do you like that?"
Lifting its faceless head towards the source of the voice, which was shown to have wisps acting as slash scars, the dark stream looked towards the silhouette as they landed on the ground before them. Their figure was fully illuminated by the moonlight, showing they were female and wearing some kind of armor. In her hand, the weapon she held was now revealed to be a one-handed sword that held great power within it.
"You just kept trying to kill and kill and kill me whenever I went... but now, it's time for you feel what it's like to die and die and die!" The girl said quietly, until it became loud as rage filled her eyes.
A feint screech left the stream as the girl gripped her sword's handle with both hands, then rose it over their head before stabbing through it and into the ground. The stream died instantly, and at that moment, the girl felt tears in her eyes. Her fight was over.
"I did it... I survived!" She cried as relief and peace filled her formerly terrified heart.
However, her relief was short lived.
The feelings of a strong pulse flashed across the area, with the girl sensing it as it passed by where she stood, making her tense up. Looking around, she heard the beginning of a faint rumbling sound reach her ears from above that grew louder by the second, making her look up. She immediately regretted it as she saw the source of the rumbling.
Slowly, the sky seemed to be stretching down in an attempt to reach the ground, with its only resistance being the slow speed it had in reaching the surface. The girl instantly felt something was wrong and held out her hand, knowing she had no time to run.
With this action, a dark energy barrier formed in front of her just as the sky touched the ground... and then exploded! The girl grunted as the entire city was enveloped and stripped to bare surface stone that continued to spread way past where her barrier had been protecting her. Looking behind her, she saw the remains of shattered buildings before they were completely vaporized.
"What... what is this!?" She questioned.
"SKREE!"
Her irises shrunk as a familiar noise reached her ears, and terror she had just believed to have been purged forever returned, turning her head to look at where the sky had touched the ground.
A crack now floated in midair, one that was getting wider by the second, until finally... said crack split apart, turning into some kind of tear as a familiar looking claw came out.
"No... No!" The girl realized, pure fear in her eyes.
The head of a dark stream slowly moved into view.
~ April 10th, 2020: Tenguu City
The gentle sounds of birds chirping and a slight breeze blowing filled the morning air of a Japanese city, feeling the rays of the sun slowly wake them. Nothing but the gentle quiet to nudge them from the dreams and return to the waking world.
"WAKE UP!"
That is... barring one exception, which came from a small two-story house of a small neighborhood called Nankou.
Within its walls, there was an interesting situation happening in the bedrooms belonging to one of its two residents.
"Mana, please stop. Just let me sleep." A male voice groaned.
"Absolutely... not, Shinji! You told me to... wake you up early because... today's the start of... the new school year!" A female voice grunted.
Said situation was the younger sister among a pair of two siblings was trying, and currently failing, to get her sleepy older brother out of bed.
"Now, for the last time... wake up already!" Mana screamed.
The brother of the two was revealed to be a 16-year old boy with short, straight blue hair and amber brown eyes. He was currently dressed in a pair of black pajamas, and groaning as his younger sister managed to pull him upright.
As for his little sister, she had the same hair and eye color, with her hair reaching to her bust that was quite gifted for someone her age, though looking much shorter due to how she had it tied in a ponytail that left some of her bangs left out. She was currently dressed in a pair of white pajamas.
"Success!" She cheered with a raised first.
Shinji said nothing, and then fell back into back, making Mana gawk at the sight.
"Just five minutes..." Shinji mumbled as he repositioned his covers over his body.
A vein throbbed on Mana's head response.
"Fine! If you're gonna be lazy, then you leave me no choice!" She stated, walking towards his doorway.
Just as Shinji got comfortable... he heard a snapping sound.
His eyes shot open as he saw his sister smacking the shinai she used for kendo practice, and had left by the door just for a situation like this, into her hand. Once she saw he noticed this, she moved her arms into an attacking position.
"Wait, Mana! I'll wake up! Please, just don't-" Shinji questioned, feeling himself start to sweat.
"HIYAH!"
His eyes went white as the wooden sword struck him in the stomach, making him release a quiet scream as the pain killed what remained of his fatigue.
"So, are you awake now?" Mana asked with a light smirk.
"Yeah, I am. Just... give my stomach a moment to regain consciousness." Shinji said in a slight wheeze, breathing heavily from what he just experienced.
Mana's smirk became a normal smile as she left the room.
"Be down in fifteen minutes. Otherwise, I'll come back up, and this time... I'll go for your head." Mana warned.
Shinji felt his body twitch as he immediately rolled himself out of bed, making Mana smile as she left his room.
'There, much better.' She thought.
Empowered by the fear of Mana's shinai hitting him again, Shinji went into overdrive and managed to shower, brush his teeth, and get himself dressed in less than 15 minutes by the time he made it downstairs.
He dashed into the area shared by the living room and kitchen, leaning against the island as he caught his breath. Mana, who was sitting on the couch, turned to look at him.
"I'm... I'm here, sis." Shinji panted.
She took a look at his uniform, making sure it looked alright due to him rushing to get downstairs. It consisted of a white short-sleeved shirt with his school emblem by his left armpit, grey shorts, and a blue tie with diagonal black and gray stripes.
"Glad to see you didn't go back to sleep after I left." Mana teasingly replied.
Shinji turned his head to give his sister a deadpan stare, seeing how Mana looked in her school uniform. It was a white Sailor Fuku with short-sleeves and a collar that had blue plaid on the rims and edges of the wrist cuffs, a matching skirt, a short black tie, white stockings that reached up to below her knees, and black shoes she'd pick up at her locker as well.
"How could I when you threatened to use your shinai on my head if I did? That thing really hurts!" Shinji retorted.
Mana let a playful giggle in response.
"Relax, you'll master the art of waking up by yourself... someday." She teased again, waving a hand towards him.
Shinji let out a sigh in response, just rolling with her verbal punches.
"Oh, I also cooked the rice bowls for today's offering." She mentioned.
"Really?" He said in surprise.
"Consider it compensation for how I had to wake you up." Mana apologized, finally dropping her teasing.
"Thanks." Shinji smiled.
He turned his head and spotted the said rice bowls, taking them in his hand and walking over to a spot in the living room where the shrine in question stood. It held a picture frame placed on top of a blue mat, two vases filled with white flowers, along with a sake cup filled with water, and a Tibetan singing bowl set.
The picture in the frame showed a woman with metallic light blue hair and green eyes, holding a 3-year old Shinji, who stood next to a man with brunette hair and brown eyes as he held a week-old Mana in his arms.
"Hey mom... Hey dad..." Shinji greeted.
Mana walked beside him as he placed the rice bowls on each side of the water filled sake cup, then they both closed their eyes and made prayer motions with their hands.
"Please watch over and protect us this year, like always." They said in unison.
With their prayers for the day now finished, Shinji and Mana opened their eyes, with Shinji walking into the stove Mana returning to the couch as she grabbed the remote.
"Any requests for breakfast?" Shinji inquired.
"Hmm... how about scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and a small salad with cherry tomatoes?" Mana requested, turning on the TV.
"Coming right up." Shinji replied.
As he began cooking the bacon, Mana put on the News Channel, and saw a reporter talking about a recent disaster in the nearest city that was halfway done with its repairs.
"A Spacequake was recorded last night in Yokohoma, leaving the city in ruin. However, despite the sudden timing of the quake's arrival, the citizens managed to evacuate fast enough to avoid any casualties. As usual, all current investigations to determine the cause behind them and their unexpected return have failed." The reporter stated, looking at his script.
"Seriously? Did he just say all of Yokohoma was totaled by the Spacequake!?" Shinji remarked, briefly turning his head around to look at the news report.
"Seems so." Mana confirmed, not turning her head.
Shinji let out a sigh as he pulled the strips of cooked bacon off the frying pan, then replaced them with a pair of eggs he began to scramble. It still shocked him that, not too long ago, people didn't have the same partial acceptance to the damage a Spacequake caused in the same way people accepted other natural disasters would always happen.
After all, they didn't exist until five years ago. Like the news report just stated, no one knew what caused them, or what their origins were. The only thing that people could agree on was one thing... that they were completely irrational and defied all normal understanding, in the same way a terrorist would detonating a bomb and try to justify it.
"There have been a lot more of them happening than usual lately too..." He mentioned.
"You're telling me, it's almost like Japan's begging them to keep coming." Mana agreed.
And she wasn't exaggerating. Some people had been studying the places Spacequakes had gone off to try and see if they followed some pattern, and some noticed that most of them seemed to do so in Japan, to the great worry and discomfort of the country's citizens. If it really was true, then what was drawing so many towards a single country?
"Want any seasoning?" Shinji asked.
"Oregano, please!" Mana exclaimed.
Shinji split the finished scrambled eggs in half and then moved each half onto a separate plate, then grabbed a shaker filled with homemade oregano and held it over Mana's plate as he drizzled it on.
When that was done, he grabbed some salad leaves and placed them into a strainer, turning on the water before grabbing some cherry tomatoes and a knife to cut them with.
"Hmm?" The reporter blinked as they saw someone waving to him.
He leaned closer as Mana saw whoever waved begin to whisper something, making the reporter's eyes widen as he cleared his throat.
"Attention everyone! It seems we just got word that one of the founders of Asgard Electronics has a big announcement!" He revealed.
A smaller screen that said [Audio Only] appeared in the corner.
"Thank you for having me. To everyone listening, we at Asgard Electronics have a new Realizer heading onto the market soon, one we have high confidence will help to reduce the strain caused by the constant Spacequakes that plague us. We hope you'll all enjoy it once it's finally released!" A male voice revealed.
The news team all looked excited from what they just heard.
"I bet that's the Realizer that Aunt Haruko and Uncle Tatsuo were working on." Mana realized.
"Food's ready!" Shinji called.
Mana hit the record button and turned off the TV, then moved to the table and sat down as Shinji brought the plates over.
As both began eating, Shinji looked at his sister.
"You have any plans for lunch today?" He asked.
"Kotori invited me and the others to eat at Danny's, so if you need to find me right after school is out, I'll be over there." Mana answered.
"Let me guess, she wants to celebrate with a deluxe kid's plate?" Shinji joked.
"Knowing her? I doubt that's a guess." Mana smiled, followed by a slight giggle.
Both of them quickly finished their breakfast.
"Time for us to seize the day!" Mana declared as she got up, grabbing her shinai bag and school bag.
Mana opened the door and as Shinji held his phone near a device, and activated their house's security.
"See you later, sis!" Shinji shouted.
"Same with you, bro!" Mana replied.
Mana eventually stopped by a crosswalk, and leaned against a light post as she pulled out her smartphone.
"Standing at the crosswalk right now. Send a text me once you see me." Mana said, saying her text out loud.
"Mana!"
Right as she sent the text, Mana turned to see one of its recipients running towards her.
"Hey!" She shouted while waving her hand out.
Said recipient was a girl with hair and eyes that were the as red as fresh strawberries, sporting twin tails with black ribbons that had white tips and gold flowers designs, with the rest of her hair flowing behind her like a waterfall. Also, like Mana, she had a gifted figure for her age.
"Kotori!" Mana smiled.
Mana opened her arms as Kotori ran up and hugged her, making both smile, which she released a few seconds later.
"I think you just broke a speed record." Mana praised.
"Wait, really? What makes you say that?" Kotori asked.
"I just sent everyone a text asking them to respond once they saw me. I never expected you'd be running into view right after I sent it." Mana stated, finding the irony as playfully funny.
"Guess I was too excited and hurried over the moment I was ready." Kotori answered.
Mana smirked slightly after hearing that.
"You mean your stomach is." She teased.
"H-Hey! That has nothing to do with this!" Kotori exclaimed, her face turning red in embarrassment.
Mana giggled in response, but before she could tease Kotori further, their phones let out two text alerts.
"Wait, did we both get-" Kotori realized.
"Yep, so it's gotta be them." Mana replied.
Turning to the side, two of their remaining trio of friends walked into view, one of which was hiding somewhat behind the other. Like them, they were also girls who had gifted figures for their age.
For the girl in front, she had long, curly blue hair that was a lighter shade of blue than Mana or Shinji's was, and matching eyes. She also wore one of many optional additions to their school attire in the form of a white beret, with a dark blue ribbon tied around its rim and silver button topping its middle.
For the girl behind her, she had long, messy green hair that had an unkempt yet cute look to it, and matching eyes. While her school attire didn't have any additions to it, she did have one notable difference in the form of her owning a navy backpack with a bunny keychain in place of having a school bag.
"Hey there Yoshino, Natsumi!" Mana greeted, waving at the duo.
"Good morning, Mana." The blue-haired girl replied with a smile.
The green-haired girl, now known as Natsumi, didn't say anything and just continued hiding behind Yoshino.
"Natsumi, are you in a bad mood?" Kotori asked.
"No, just... just a little afraid of anything causing a jinx and make something bad happen today..." She admitted.
Yoshino turned around and gently pet her head.
"Don't worry, it will be a great first day of school as long as we're here." She reassured her.
Natsumi didn't say anything, but her cheeks became a little rosy and she gave a faint smile.
"Now we only need-" Mana stated.
Right on cue, she got her final text alert as their final friend walked into the area. If the text itself hadn't been proof enough, then the sight of various male students stopping and blushing like idiots surely was.
The sight in question was a girl with long, golden blonde hair that reached to her waist and was partially tied in an odango style held by hot pink ribbons, with matching eyes.
Unlike the rest of her friends, her figure, while gifted, looked to be something that belonged to a high school student. The only reason anyone could tell she was a Junior High was because her face actually matched her age.
"Hey Mukuro, we're over here!" Mana called out.
The blonde-haired beauty stopped and turned to see them, smiling as she did.
"Hello everyone. Are you all excited for the new school year?" Mukuro greeted.
"Still a work in progress..." Natsumi said.
Everyone gave a playful laugh as they heard that, knowing that was going to be her reaction.
"Come on, let's see if my request for us to be in the same class went through." Mana smiled.
"Ooh! Please, let that be true!" Kotori begged.
And with those words, the group of five friends began continuing towards the school building.
In another part of the city, a loud scream of excitement was heard as a busty girl with long orange hair tied in a long braid skated the streets on her roller blades, scaring a few people as she raced by.
"Sorry! Coming through!" She apologized through a series of shouts.
"Seriously..." A voice sighed.
Following her at a slower pace was a girl who looked just like her, albeit her eyes were half-lidded as if she was always tired, revealing the former girl was her identical twin sister. They both wore the Raizen High uniform for girls, which was no different from its male counterpart aside from a red ribbon in place of a tie, and a skirt that matched said tie's color, with two thin black stripes horizontally wrapping around the bottom area.
However, each twin had an altered version of said uniform to help people tell them apart. The energetic twin's skirt was red instead of blue, whereas her tired twin had a blue ribbon instead of red.
"Come on Yuzuru, I'm gonna leave you behind at this right!" The energetic twin shouted, turning around without stopping.
"Kaguya, in front of you." The tired-looking twin warned.
Kaguya blinked, turning around right as she was about to crash into a couch being carried by two people. Her eyes briefly went white, right as she shifted her feet up, and managed to jump over them.
The two people carrying it stopped to look at her in shock, right as Kaguya looked around to look at her sister.
"Ha! Ha! Nice try world, but something so obviously cliché isn't enough to stop me in my tracks-" She laughed.
*"CLANG!"*
At that moment, due to not seeing where her was heading as she turned back around, Kaguya ended up crashing into a nearby light post, making her eyes widen before she whimpered and slid down until her butt hit the ground.
Yuzuru caught up to her a minute later, sighing as she shook her head in embarrassment.
"That was your fault, and only your fault." Yuzuru said.
"Yeah... that one was on me..." Kaguya mumbled, pushing herself up using her twin's bike.
"Get on." Yuzuru offered.
Kaguya shakily sat on the bike, holding onto her sister's waist as she biked them to school.
Luckily, she wasn't concussed.
At a particularly expensive looking building, a different high school was seen, one of a very fancy nature. Many of its students could be seen staring in one direction, looking towards the gate in admiration of the student who walked into view.
Wearing the female uniform of Rindouji High on her voluptuous form, which was a sailor fuku of a deep blue color with some white, stood a girl with long, light indigo hair in a hime cut and matching eyes. There was also a hair clip resembling a yellow crescent moon with a yellow five petaled flower on the left side of her hair.
"E-Excuse me, Miss Miku!?"
The girl known as Miku turned around, looking as a First-Year student who was currently shaking like a chihuahua, nervously holding an autograph board in her hands.
"What is it?" She asked.
"I-I... I saw you singing the other day, a-and want to support your dream, s-so..." She stuttered, her shaking getting worse.
She took a deep breath before bowing and holding out her autograph board.
"C-Can I have your autograph!?" She shouted, her unseen now a crimson red.
Miku blushed a little before smiling.
"Of course you can." Miku approved.
The student smiled and lifted her head up, watching as Miku took the marker from her hand and signed her name, then kissed its corner. In seconds, the kissed spot had color form to show where her lips had been due to a special property of the board.
"Thank you! Thank you so very much!" She exclaimed, now actually crying slightly.
Miku smiled as she saw the student run off, hugging the autograph close like a teddy bear, right before she heard a unique laugh behind her.
"Still as popular as ever, I see." Someone said.
Miku looked behind her to see a similarly voluptuous girl with red eyes and black hair in low twin tails, with the one on the left being longer to give her a small, but noticeable form of asymmetry that made her look particularly sexy. The fact her left eye was covered as a result of this, and her uniform's ribbon also followed this asymmetrical theme, only further enhanced its sexy allure.
There was one other difference that fit her asymmetrical theme, albeit unintentionally since it took the form of a red band wrapped around the end of her left sleeve, marking her role as Student Council President.
"Hello to you too, Kurumi." Miku greeted, giggling as she turned around.
"Wow, is that really all your response to me is, Miku?" Kurumi inquired.
She gave another giggle in response.
"Like you wouldn't add a kiss to an autograph if she had asked you for one?" Miku answered with her own question, putting a hand near her mouth to emphasize the teasing.
"True." Kurumi admitted.
A loud scream was soon heard by most of the nearby students, which got the pair's attention.
"Sounds like she was up late again, wasn't she?" Miku sighed at the familiar sounding scream.
"I guarantee it." Kurumi agreed.
Right on cue, the sight of a tall girl with a subtly gifted figure was seen rushing towards the gate, her breathing loud and noticeable as she rushed to reach it fast. She held her school bag with both hands as the light of the sun reflected off her square-framed glasses.
Just as she got past the school gate... she stumbled over part of the brick pathway, and tripped.
The nearby students heard her scream and accidentally tossed her school bag into the air, then winced as her face made contact with the pavement, followed by said bag then landing on her head.
*"SHATTER!"*
She groaned and lifted her head up, and due to the shattering sound, no one was surprised when they saw the lens of her glasses had broken. They then fell off, showing the impact caused the frame to snap as well.
The girl let out a sigh as her appearance finally came into focus. She had silvery gray hair, which was messy yet still cute, though because of untamed curling in comparison to Natsumi's wild and unruly hair, with its length reaching to where her cleavage would be if it were currently shown. As for her eyes that were no longer covered, they were light blue and currently seeing blurriness due to their poor eyesight.
"Not again..." She complained before reaching into her pocket.
She quickly pulled out a spare pair, putting them on and then adjusting them to her face. It around this time that Miku and Kurumi both offered her a hand.
"Nia, you really need to take better care of yourself." Kurumi remarked.
"You wouldn't want your beautiful face getting ruined from this and constantly overworking yourself." Miku added.
Nia took their hands and got on her feet, soon grabbing her school bag.
"Tell that to my publisher occasionally 'forgets' that I'm still in high school when choosing my deadlines." She replied with air quotes.
Kurumi and Miku both let out forced laughs in response.
"Why don't we all hurry up and get to class now?" Miku suggested, trying to change the topic.
"That sounds like a good plan." Kurumi agreed.
At the same time the above event was happening, Shinji finally arrived at Raizen High, and a trio of girls noticed him.
"Hmm?" One of them said.
The first of this trio was a tall girl with blonde hair tied in a small ponytail, hazel eyes, and had an above modest figure. The second girl had short brunette hair with a reddish tint to it, brown eyes, and had a below modest figure. The last girl had long black hair with a blueish tint and dark blue eyes, wearing a pair of thin, circular-framed glasses.
"Hey, is that boy who I think he is?" The blonde, Ai inquired.
"Depends, who do you think he is?" The brunette, Mai asked.
"Of course that's who you think it is, he's clearly that Shinji Takamiya boy we've heard about." The glasses girl, Mii answered.
Mai blinked a few times.
"I'm sorry, but who? Also, why is he important?" She asked.
Mii and Ai looked at her with shock.
"How do you not recognize his last name!?" Ai questioned.
"Should I?" Mai asked.
"Yes, because Takamiya is the last name of the couple who created the Realizers!" Mii explained.
That made Mai's eyes go widen as she looked at Shinji once again, still processing what she heard.
"You mean he's their-" She asked.
As that talk was happening, someone noticed Shinji and walked up to him.
"Hey there Shinji." They greeted.
Hearing his name and recognizing the owner of the voice, Shinji turned around to see a boy with spiky black hair that was slicked back, and matching eyes on his face, which was that of an obvious playboy.
"Uh... it's been a while, hasn't it, Hiroto..." He replied, looking somewhat uncomfortable.
Said trio was broken out of their discussion as they noticed Hiroto standing next to Shinji.
"That's gonna get old... and creepy." Mai stated.
"Gonna?" Mii questioned, feeling it already had.
As her friends talked about how Hiroto interacted with Shinji, Ai noticed someone with white hair walking by, not recognizing the particular student.
"Is something wrong Ai?" Mii asked.
"No, I'm fine. Though we should probably get to class before we miss the orientation assembly." She replied.
It wasn't long before they went inside, with Shinji managing to overhear what the said and forming an idea.
"Oh, excuse me! I have to help with orientation!" He quickly said.
Hiroto blinked in confusion as Shinji ran off, though didn't pay much mind to the somewhat obvious lie, and quickly shrugged his shoulders before going inside himself.
Shortly after, everyone gathered in the auditorium as the orientation assembly began, with the Student Council President walking up to the stand and clearing his throat.
"Welcome to the new school year, everyone!" He greeted.
He soon gave a speech where he talked about how the First-Year students were all new, how the Second-Year students needed to focus on their futures, and how the Third-Year Students would soon be graduating.
"Now, with all of that taken care of, please head to your classes to finish the rest of today's orientation. You'll be let out during lunch, and get a break halfway between now and then." The Council President finished.
With that, everyone stood up and learned where their classes were, with Shinji finding himself as part of Class 2-D... with Hiroto as one of his classmates.
"Aw man..." He whispered to himself, putting a hand on his forehead.
He soon walked into his classroom and found his seat, which was the second leftmost seat in the last row. Soon after, Hiroto came into the room and then walked up to him.
"How lucky you are to end up in the same class as me again? Some people would call this fate, and I would be one of those people." He remarked, unaware of how he was bothering Shinji.
"Of course you would..." Shinji sighed, lowering his head slightly.
What kami had he pissed off to deserve dealing with this mess?
*"DING!"*
At that moment, the morning bell went off, signaling everyone to get in their seats. Hiroto's ended up being left to the one in front of his, which was the one upside for Shinji about them sharing a classroom this year. He had been sitting next to him the year before, after all.
Their teacher walked into the room shortly after it stopped ringing, surprising a few of the students. She was a young-looking woman with a small body build and thin-rimmed glasses, wearing a pink dress with a yellow skirt.
"Oh, heck yeah! We got Tamae!" Hiroto cheered.
She cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention as a second woman, the class's deputy teacher, walked into the room.
The deputy teacher was a young-looking woman with light Nordic blonde hair, purple eyes, pale skin, and a slender body.
'Crap!' The trio of girls thought.
"Hello everyone. My name is Ms. Okamine, and as you may remember, Mrs. Toudou told you she'd be on maternity leave, so I'll be your teacher for the rest of you time here." She warmly greeted, causing a few of the boys in class to blush.
"And I'm her assistant, Ellen Mira Mathers, as well as your new Physics teacher. If any of you need help with anything, don't be afraid to ask me." The deputy teacher greeted.
Her eyes then glared at a certain trio of girls.
"That is... except you three over there, who I remember from last year." Ellen warned, a glare shadow soon forming on her face.
Ai, Mai, and Mii tensed up.
"She won't be letting that go anytime soon, will she?" Ai realized, sweating a little.
"Not at all." Mai and Mii agreed, also worried.
Tamae let out an awkward laugh in response.
"Now, before I forget? We have a transfer student that the faculty, due to the timing of her arrival, only just decided would be part of our class. Please help her feel welcome." She continued.
She looked towards the doorway, making the rest of the class do the same as Tamae motioned her hand inward.
"You come on in now!" She announced.
The door opened up, and everyone looked as a girl with long hair as white as the snow came into view, having a figure that easily put Ai's to shame. Turning to face the class, eyes as blue as the sky met their gaze along with her beautiful smile.
"Hello everyone. My name is Origami Tobiichi, and as of today, I'll be in your care." She greeted with a bow, her voice drawing in the boys like flies to honey.
Hiroto's cheeks turned red almost instantly.
"Look at that dazzling long white hair, and that pure innocent smile! She's cute enough to give my honey a run for my money!" He said, holding up his phone to show a girl from a dating sim.
'Right, his virtual girlfriend...' Shinji thought, unnerved by her uncanny resemblance to Kotori.
"The seats on either side of Shinji are open, so feel free to choose either one." Tamae offered.
"Sure, thanks." Origami replied.
She walked over towards Shinji, but once she was close enough? She let out a gasp.
"No way..." She said in surprise.
Shinji heard that and looked at her, noticing she was staring at him.
"Don't I know you?" Origami asked.
Hearing that made Shinji's gasp, but not because he recognized her.
It was the fact he seemed familiar to her that caught his attention.
The scene shifted over to Keisei Junior High, right as each school's break period arrived for their first day.
"We did it!"
Mana's class was currently watching the sight of her and Kotori holding each other's hands and cheering since, as like they had hoped, the two of them, Yoshino, Natsumi, and Mukuro were all in the same class.
"The Goddess of Luck has truly smiled upon us this year!" Kotori praised.
"I told you it would happen, and I'm so glad you believed." Mana agreed.
Natsumi cleared her throat.
"We still have half of the day left, so can you please not risk jinxing anything?" She begged, having noticeable jitters.
Mana and Kotori blushed and gave awkward laughs, right as the former's phone began ringing, making her pull it out.
"Is that Shinji calling?" Mukuro asked.
"Yeah, though why would he be calling me now of all times?" Mana verified, looking confused.
She walked into the hall and answered the call.
"Hey big bro, is something up?" She answered.
"Sort of. I met a classmate who wondered if she knew me, and wanted to see if she rings any bells to you." He answered.
Mana blinked in response.
'That was important enough to call me?' Mana questioned, feeling a sweat drop form on her face.
She sighed and shook her head, deciding to just go with it.
"I don't know anyone your age, but it's possible I've seen her before, so it couldn't hurt. What does she look like?" Mana asked.
"White hair, but not albino white, and sky-blue eyes. Also, her name is Origami Tobiichi if that rings any bells." Shinji revealed.
"Then I definitely haven't seen this girl before." She answered.
"Alright then. I've asked her to meet me on the roof, so I'll figure out the rest yourself. Talk to you later." He responded.
"See ya later." Mana replied.
Mana ended the call, with the scene switching over to Raizen High's rooftop as Shinji heard the door open, and turned to see Origami walk out.
"Um... was this for me? Did you want to talk about something?" She asked, holding out a note that asked for her to meet its writer on the roof.
Shinji nodded in response.
"Yeah, sorry to bother you Origami, and thank you." Shinji confirmed.
She was surprised by that, leaving Shinji confused over her reaction.
"Uh... is something wrong?" He asked.
"You used my first name." She replied.
At first he didn't get it, and then his eyes widened as he realized the issue. It was a common problem that was specific to Tenguu City, due to its origins.
"Oh, sorry! I wasn't being rude! Values in Tenguu City are more Western than the rest of Japan, so everyone uses their given names first." He explained.
Origami's eyes widened and a slight blush formed on her face as she held her hands up.
"No need to apologize! I actually used to live here until I moved away four years ago, so I'm still remembering how different everything is." She clarified.
She cleared her throat, regaining her bearings.
"I believe you're... Shinji, right?" Origami asked.
He nodded his head.
"What is this about?" Origami asked, getting the conversation back on track.
"A question. Back when class started, remember what you said?" He explained.
Origami let out a gasp.
"Oh, sorry if that's been bothering you! It's just that I was a little surprised. The thing is, you look just like someone I saw a long time ago." She apologized, explaining her surprise from earlier.
Shinji felt something familiar click in his head when he heard that, but he wasn't sure what it was.
"You mean... could we have-" Shinji asked.
"No, I don't think we've met! The person I'm referring to I saw around five years ago." Origami clarified.
She then lowed her head.
"Besides, that person actually passed away that same day... right before my eyes." She admitted.
He let out a silent gasp.
A memory flashed through his head, one of a white-haired girl and two adults staring at him as he was hit by debris.
Debris that hit him because had he pushed them away, after seeing them in a spot where the impact have been fatal.
'Oh my gosh...' He realized.
"So, shouldn't we get back to class now?" She suggested, thinking the conversation was over.
"Wait! Hold on a sec!" Shinji asked.
Origami nearly jumped in surprise.
"Five years ago... this didn't happen during the Nankou Fire, did it?" Shinji asked, needing verification.
Origami's eyes widened as she heard that.
"How did you know that?" She questioned.
A loud gasp escaped Origami's mouth, and she moved her right hand near her mouth.
"Wait... if you're asking me this, that would mean-" She inquired, connecting the dots.
He lightly nodded in response.
"It was me." Shinji confirmed.
Origami's voice shook for a moment before tears began to fill her eyes.
"Sorry for making you think I was dead all these years." He apologized.
She grabbed his hands.
"I owe you everything! The people whose lives you saved were my parents! If you hadn't been there, my mom and dad would have died for sure!" Origami revealed.
She pulled away and bowed her head.
"I'm forever grateful." Origami smiled.
"Oh... sure!" Shinji replied, feeling a little bashful as a blush formed on his face.
Origami then lifted her head.
"Ah! Sorry for blurting that out!" She apologized, feeling a little embarrassed.
"N-No, it's OK..." He smiled.
"I really am thankful for what you did for them that day." She praised.
Origami's face then lowered.
"Even though, as fate would have it... my parents then died in a car accident a year later." She revealed.
Shinji gasped after hearing that.
"No..." He breathed in disbelief.
"But thanks to your heroism, that last year they were alive? My mom and dad were able to give me so much love and happiness." She reassured him.
"Wow, I'm glad..." He replied.
Shinji soon closed his eyes, and Origami only then realized his reply seemed forced.
"Are you OK?" Origami asked.
"Honestly? No." He admitted.
He held up a hand before she could say anything, looking to the side before he continued.
"It isn't you, it's just... hearing your parents died hit a little close to home." Shinji confessed.
"You mean..." Origami realized.
"Yeah, only my parents died when I was really young. Just after my sister was born. Even worse, but it feels like the whole world knows them better than us." He explained.
Hearing how young he was when they died caught Origami's attention.
"Sorry if this is kind of forward, but... what's your last name?" She asked.
Shinji blinked in confusion.
"Why are you asking me-"
He paused as his mind finally caught up to the implications of her question.
"Oh, if you're thinking it's Takamiya, then you're right." Shinji confirmed.
Origami gasped as she heard that.
"Anyways, now that we've covered how you recognized me, I think we should-" Shinji suggested.
"Wait, please don't go yet!" She begged loudly.
That surprised him, as Origami hadn't been that loud in the short time he had come to know her.
"Uh... is something... wrong?" He nervously asked.
"Tell me, how do you think your parents died? I know it's weird, but... please answer this!" She asked.
Shinji gave her a strange look.
"Why are you asking me that...?" He questioned, now outright confused.
"Just answer the question! I'm not leaving until you do!" She demanded.
He flinched at the angry look on her face.
"They died during their efforts to stop a machine meltdown from happening, OK!?" Shinji answered, a near whimper in his voice.
Origami's eyes closed as her expression changed to a gentle smile.
"Sorry for scaring you, but I needed to know because there was something about that I may have needed to tell you." She apologized.
She opened her eyes.
"Would you be willing to hear what I have to say?" Origami asked.
"I would, but only if you're certain I need to hear it." He permitted.
Origami nodded, walking near the guard rails.
"To start things off... have you heard of the company known as Deus Ex Machina Industries, also known as DEM Industries?" She began.
"Sort of, my godparents work at Asgard Electronics, and I saw a video talking about how its founders split off from them." Shinji replied.
In response to that, Origami grabbed onto the guard rails.
"I was adopted by my mom's younger sister, my aunt, after their accident. During the move, I found an album that revealed something... a picture of my grandfather working at the company under the same division your parents were in charge of." Origami revealed.
"He did!?" Shinji said in shock.
"After seeing it, I asked her about the picture, and she was hesitant to tell me at first... though when she finally gave in? I found out that seventeen years ago, she and my mom got a call from my grandpa that ended with the sound of a loud explosion." She continued.
Shinji's eyes went wide.
"An explosion from seventeen years ago, as in that one failed experiment?" He realized.
"I do, and that call was a warning. A warning to never trust DEM Industries." She replied.
Those words caused Shinji to tense up a little.
"Not long after, half of DEM Industries' founders called out the others on public TV, revealing your parents had left the company and given them the sole rights to create and distribute Realizers to the public in a newer, safer company with any employees who wished to follow. This led to the DEM buildings in Japan and various other countries that agreed with the heads of Asgard Electronics to become AE's property. So, when you consider what happened two years later... I doubt it was just a coincidence." Origami said.
"Oh yeah, DEM tried to redo that experiment, and it failed a second time, though in a less explosive way than the first did. They never tried again after that." Shinji recalled.
His eyes widened as he realized something.
"Wait, Origami... are you saying-" He asked.
"I am. The fact your parents died a year after that? It's likely DEM Industries has always had rotten eggs within its ranks, possible the founders that remained themselves, and after your parents gave them enough trouble? They decided to make sure they would never interfere with them again by silencing them for good." Origami confirmed.
That last sentence echoed through his head.
Hearing that his parents, who had developed Realizer technology for humanitarian reasons that were the only reason the Spacequakes hadn't risked Humanity's extinction, may have been murdered by DEM Industries?
Shinji felt his throat go dry at the implication.
After saying that, Origami blushed a bit as she held out her hands, waving them as she became a little nervous and a sweat drop trickled down her left cheek.
"But don't take what I said too seriously! This came from what I learned about my grandfather and the timing of events, so I could be wrong!" She mentioned.
That snapped Shinji out of it.
"Y-Yeah, that can't really be what happened, can it? It is a pretty crazy story." Shinji replied.
"My apologies for that. I was kind of venting a bit, and got carried away." Origami apologized.
The bell went off at that moment, signifying the break was over.
"Has it really been that long? We better get back to class!" Origami realized, walking to the door.
She briefly stopped to look at Shinji.
"I'm glad we got to talk like this, and that I was able to properly thank you for five years ago." She smiled.
"You're welcome." He smiled back.
"Well, I'll meet you back in-" Origami replied, opening the door.
"Oh, wait! Just a moment!" Shinji shouted, holding his hand out.
This caught her attention.
"By any chance, could I get your number?" He requested.
Origami screamed as her face turned red, confusing Shinji.
"Like... as in a date!?" She asked.
Suddenly, he went red as he realized the implications behind his question, and held his hands out.
"No! I meant so that we can talk, outside of school! That's all!" He clarified, his face getting redder.
"O-Oh! You meant that as new friends!" Origami realized.
In her mind, Origami's mental self was screaming and holding her head, embarrassed over the assumption she made.
"I-I'll leave it on your desk, so... look at it later! After school's finished!" She promised, backing up towards the door.
She hit it, and nearly tripped over.
"S-See you back in class!" She said, louder than she intended to.
Watching the door close behind her, Shinji let out a deep breath.
'I know she said that was all just theories she made based on her grandpa, but... what if she's right?' He wondered.
Shinji began to sweat.
'Were our parents taken from us because they were murdered?' He thought, feeling the strangest feeling in his gut.
He shook those thoughts off, and headed back to class.
Time flew by until Lunch had arrived, and by extension, the end of their first day of school. All that needed to happen now was for the bell to ring, making it official.
"I hope you all had a good first day!" Tamae smiled.
Ellen looked at her phone, seeing a silent message being sent to her that made her gasp.
"Please excuse me, but I need to step out of the room for a moment." Ellen apologized.
Tamae noticed how Ellen was holding her phone.
"Oh, no worries! It's about time for everyone to leave anyways, so if you need to, feel free to go now." Tamae reassured her.
"Thank you." Ellen smiled.
She walked out of the room, and moved to a secluded spot in the hallway before pulling up a certain number on her phone.
"Is this what I think it is?" She inquired.
Ellen nodded as the caller replied, making a serious expression form on her face.
"Understood, I'm on my way." Ellen replied.
As everyone packed up, Origami was seen putting Shinji's number in her phone, looking away from him and blushing once she was had.
"Done..." She said quietly.
"Thank you." Shinji replied.
As he got up and prepared to go home, he saw Hiroto walk up to him.
"Hey Shinji, wanna go home together?" He asked.
Origami heard that and felt her face go a little blue, especially when she realized how uncomfortable Shinji looked.
'Does he not realize the way he talks sounds like flirting?' She questioned.
"Sorry, but I've got plans to meet my sister for lunch." Shinji quickly lied.
"Of course it would be your sister. After all, there's not a girl in this school with a sensitive and kind enough spirit to have lunch with you." Hiroto replied.
The students in the class all froze at his reply.
'That was not a compliment!' They all thought.
Just as Shinji was about to make a retort, both to what he said and to emphasize that he outright insulted him...
*"BLARE!"*
Everyone's eyes widened in fear as they heard that all too familiar alarm, and to quell any doubts to what it was after it went off?
"WARNING! YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE, THIS IS NOT A DRILL! THERE HAVE BEEN PRECURSORY SIGNS OF AN IMPENDING SPACEQUAKE IN THE CITY! PLEASE EVACUATE TO YOUR NEAREST SHELTER! I REPEAT!"
It was the real deal, prompting everyone to grab their stuff.
[Date A Live | Pride]
Shinji immediately called his sister, who picked up instantly.
"Big bro, are you OK!?" Mana asked.
"Yeah, are you and your friends evacuating? My class should start our evacuation any moment now." He answered.
"Same with us. Stay safe." Mana replied, taking deep breathes to calm herself.
Shinji nodded before he hung up. As this was happening, Origami could be seen standing in place, with her eyes going into a trance-like state as she left the room without anyone noticing.
"Everyone! Make sure you don't forget the three D's of Spacequake evacuation! Don't push, don't run, and don't wait around as you head to the shelters!" Tamae announced.
The students began heading to the shelter, while everyone outside the did the same as various buildings and structures began using Realizer technology to shift their positions to either protecting things like cars or transport people into the other shelters in the city.
While everyone was heading into the shelters, Shinji overhead some of the students talking.
"Hey, has anyone see Kaguya or Yuzuru!?"
"No, I haven't seen them since the alarm went off, but I'm sure they were in the classroom before it did! Where did they go!?"
Hearing that made Shinji's eyes widen as he realized something.
'I don't see Origami here either. Where did she-' Shinji thought, trying to hopefully spot her in the crowd of students.
Suddenly, he felt his mind blank as his eyes became half-lidded and his body gained a mind of its own, walking away.
"There isn't anyone else missing, is there?" Tamae asked, noticing Origami's absence.
It was around then that Ai noticed Shinji's sudden absence, despite seeing him enter the shelter entrance moments ago.
"Ms. Okamine, now Shinji's gone missing too!" She warned.
"W-What!?" She panicked, feeling her heartbeat speeding up.
Ellen walked into a mysterious location that was covered in mostly darkness, with only a few screens monitoring various things that only a seasoned scientist could fully understand lighting up the room.
"Status update!" Ellen ordered.
Among everyone present, only two silhouettes were shown to not be sitting among the various seats, with a female silhouette and a male silhouette in a different kind of chair standing in an area she walked towards before staying there.
"Usual readings are proceeding as normal. The target's location and timing have already been confirmed."
"Evacuation is going smoothly, all current notices are showing a 98% chance of us having no casualties."
She let out a sigh of relief as she heard that.
"Wait, hold on... am I really seeing this!?"
"What is it? What's wrong!?" The silhouetted woman asked, suddenly feeling nervous.
"Look at what the cameras just picked up!"
Bringing live footage into view, the sight of Shinji with his still half-lidded eyes, and Mana who had gained the same since his call to her, as they both walked through the city.
"Shinji and Mana!?" The same woman shouted.
"What are those two doing!?" Ellen questioned.
"I'm not sure, but it looks like they're not even fully conscious right now, and are being guiding somewhere."
"Where!?" The silhouetted man asked.
There was silence as everyone tried to figure out where the two were heading, only to gasp when they found it.
"To the target's landing spot!"
Ellen and the silhouettes gasped.
Near the area where the Spacequake would go off at any moment, the still semi-conscious Takamiya siblings were slowly closing in on each other, right as the sky began to warp and signal the incoming disaster.
Just like the silhouetted figure witnessed the night before, the sky started to stretch down in an attempt to reach the ground. However, since the sun was out, the preceding sight of the sky swirling from where the stretching point tried to reach the ground could now be witnessed, not unlike it would when a hurricane or a tornado was rampaging.
"I must..." Shinji mumbled.
"Find her..." Mana mumbled.
They continued walking until finally, they bumped into one another, causing them to gasp as their eyes fully opened, now completely conscious of where they were and what they were doing.
"What the? Where am I?" Mana panicked, looking around.
"Mana? Why are you here!?" Shinji questioned, seeing her.
He then blinked.
"Wait, why am I here!?" He asked, starting to panic himself.
It was only then they noticed they were by the Spacequake.
"Mana, get down!" Shinji screamed.
He dashed forward and pushed her to the ground, shielding her as the Spacequake went off, causing what was shown to be a giant explosion of energy that looked black due to the various colors mixing together like common paint would.
[Insert Song End]
Despite being in its path... the energy that would have hit them suddenly moved away, completely avoiding them. As they were too busy closing their eyes over the possibility that they might die together, neither of them was aware of this.
"Are... are we dead yet?" Mana asked, too afraid to open her eyes.
"Maybe?" Shinji answered.
He opened one of his eyes to check, and soon noticed they were still in Tenguu City, rather than a place one would describe as Heaven or Hell.
"Hold on, I think... we're still alive!" He answered.
Mana's eyes opened as she heard that, and the two got up as they saw the nearby Spacequake crater, which was small from their perspective.
"Was that it?" She asked.
"I don't know. The damage always seems further than the Spacequake, but maybe... just maybe we were far enough away that we avoided a lethal zone, if we didn't avoid getting hit by it entirely." Shinji answered, unsure of what else to say.
Mana looked at the crater to get a better idea of what happened... and then gasped at what she saw, repeatedly tapping her brother's shoulder like she was button mashing a QTE in a video game.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Big brother... you should look over there!" Mana begged, pointing a shaky finger at the crater's center.
He blinked in confusion before doing just that. Once he did, his eyes widened as he saw what Mana had.
"What the hell?" Shinji screamed, backing up.
Floating above the center of the crater was a crack, just like the one the silhouette had seen. However, this one was getting larger and spreading further, and while they didn't hear anything at first, it didn't take long before they heard the sound of something striking an object repeatedly. Since this was a crack, something must have been making it.
And it was close to succeeding.
"Maybe we should start backing up now?" Mana suggested, starting to shake in fear.
Shinji silently nodded as they began away, and just in time as at that very moment?
*"SHATTER!"*
A familiar wave of darkness suddenly shot through the crack, which shattered and disappeared, in a vertical position. Shinji and Mana's eyes widened as they froze in place, witnessing what now stood before them.
[Date A Live: Seirei]
It was the silhouetted girl from last night.
She had long, dark purple... no, night-colored hair that reached to her kneecaps, with eyes of a matching color... no, a crystalline color. Eyes that somehow had glowing white pupils. However, it was the outfit she wore, rather than the unique colors that belonged to her hair and eyes, which caught Shinji and Mana's attention more than anything else.
It was some kind of knight armor, with a design that was heavily reminiscent of a princess gown, and a black, cream, and pink color scheme to it, and had a set of purple and cream plated armor adorned her shoulders and waist.
The Dress was open at the back, made up into a black corset which exposed some of her cleavage and a two-layered, knee-length skirt made of what looked to be solidified light, which had a pink-to-white gradient, as well as a pair of armored boots. She also wore a pair of gauntlets which have petal-like cuffs, and a butterfly-shaped hair ribbon that tied her hair into a ponytail that only was made with some of the lush waterfall that was her hair, both of which shared the same color scheme as her mysterious attire.
"Is... is that really a girl?" Shinji questioned.
"And what's with that outfit?" Mana wondered.
The girl slowly turned her head as she saw the two. In mere seconds, her eyes sharpened as she held her arm out towards a nearby building.
"Sandalphon!"
Her missing sword suddenly shot towards her from the shadows, and she grabbed it.
"What... what's she planning to-" Mana asked, feeling sweat cascade down her cheeks.
Her sentence stopped in its tracks as she and Shinji saw the girl jump into the air with the mysterious object she held before she swung her hands down, causing a wave of dark energy to shoot across the area and pass right between the two siblings, completely razing the area it passed through and only stopping after it demolished a building.
Neither could do anything but close their eyes, and hug onto Mana in her case, though when they opened them again? The girl stood before them, now pointing her sword inches away from Shinji's face.
Both of them got a good look at the blade, seeing it was small and had a golden handle with a light blue orb embedded onto each side of the hilt that was attached to a white blade that looked like something from the far future. Said blade had a few glowing lines of a light blue color and its edge...
It was completely crystalline, possibly being made of diamond based on its color, and had a glow resembling refracted light.
"I see..." She quietly said.
Both of them tensed up upon finally hearing her talk.
"So, you can do this too." She said as if expecting it.
"Huh?" Mana blinked.
"But it won't let you kill me." The girl answered, her expression as unchanging as before.
Shinji and Mana fell on their butts as they heard her say that as if it was a normal thing.
The girl rose her sword, readying another swing.
"Though there may only be two of you right now, I must deal with you before the others-" She continued.
"Wait!" Shinji shouted.
"What?" The girl said.
"Hold on, what are you even talking about!? Who are you, or... what are you, exactly? Why did you come out of a crack over the Spacequake crater!?" Shinji questioned.
Looking at the two, she noticed how terrified they looked. They weren't even preparing any weapons or long-ranged attack, just looking at her, confused to what she was.
'Are they really...' She thought in shock.
The two people standing before her... they could speak like she could, looked the same as she did, and even showed the same fear she showed around those dark streams.
'Is this a trick to make me drop my guard, or... do they really have no idea about me? Are these forms similar to my own what they actually look like?' The girl questioned.
She tightened the grip on her sword.
As the girl tried to decide on how to deal with Shinji and Mana, nine streaks of suddenly shot through the air, all of which landed behind her and released a strong wind.
[Insert Song End]
Their arrival caught the attention of Shinji, Mana, and the girl as they saw each streak rise from where it landed and reveal themselves as some kind of living aura flames, burning brightly to reveal what looked to be humanoid shapes inside.
Shapes they couldn't make out due to some kind of visual interference that made the area around them look melted.
"This power... it doesn't feel like them, it feels more like..." The girl said, staring at the aura flames with slight surprise.
Each of the aura flames flared out at that moment.
It caused a reaction with the mysterious girl, whose own aura flared out, revealing it was a purple/violet color. The other auras reacted by losing the effect that caused the area around them to look melted and gaining color.
Shinji and Mana watched as the nine flaming auras became white, gray, black, blue, red, yellow, green, orange, and indigo respectively. With the colors the ten flaming auras around them had taken, it was like watching a deadly rainbow that foretold disaster.
"S-Shinji?" Mana stuttered, not turning away from the ten figures as her face paled.
"Y-Yeah?" He asked.
"I just went past scared, and now I'm petrified!" She screamed, hugging him tightly.
Shinji said nothing and just quietly tightened his grip on her, feeling just as terrified.
And then... the figure in the white aura.
The girl held out her hand as it unleashed beams of white light, causing her barrier of darkness to form and completely stop the beams.
"So, you really are the same as me, and yet even you reject my existence." She spoke with a tearful tone, even though she wasn't crying.
After hearing those words, Shinji felt a faint pain in his heart.
'That girl... for all the power she has, why?' Shinji questioned.
For a brief moment, the girl turned around to look at him and Mana, though he couldn't tell why she chose to do so.
Regardless of why she did so... it let Shinji see the sad expression on her ace. The shaking eyes and a confused frown.
'Why does she look so sad?' He continued.
At that moment, the figure in the white aura moved back, preparing a stronger attack as golden pillars spun around it. The beings in the other eight did the same, either readying some kind of weapon or attack, if not both. The mysterious girl realized what they were planning to do, and held her sword in both hands as it gathered power.
Before either Shinji or Mana could register what was happening, the girl and the nine beings released their respective attacks, which collided with one another in such a way that it created an iridescent flash.
"Please wait, just a little while longer. I promise you... this time, everything will be OK, and that I'll never let go. I won't ever make that mistake again."
Those words echoed through Shinji's head before he lost consciousness.
And with that, the story has begun.
Like I said above, any worries about being spoiled by the original story wouldn't matter, because the main twist for this version is that all of the Sephira Spirits are already living in Tenguu City from the very start. Having them all here means they can suddenly throw a curve ball for any arc they weren't in during canon, or the original story.
This idea came from how in one of my old DAL fanfics, Spiritual Successor, the Spirits were never sealed due to how I set everything up, only spun under how I've never seen a story where everyone was present for V1's events. Speaking of Spiritual Successor, a few ideas from that story will be transplanted into this one, as it was a sort of pseudo-Date A Re:Live remastering because it had a similar start up and had ideas that I'd like to try using a second time.
We already have a few mysteries lurking around as well. Ellen has taken Reine's place as the aid for Shinji's class, with whose side she's on still unknown. Shinji and Mana's birth parents have a link to the Spacequakes, and as Origami implied, DEM Industries.
Then we have whatever was chasing Tohka, a group of strange creatures that are somehow entering the world through the Spacequakes themselves. You might be surprised when I start giving more answers to what they are, and I'm sure they won't disappoint. For now, just know they're not as strong as a Spirit is, but their numbers make up for it.
Now, for Shinji himself taking the place of Shido? I'd like to clear up ahead of time this isn't meant to be a surprise or twist of any kind. I had go by his real name in the original story, back when well still thought he was "Shido Takamiya" and not "Shinji Takamiya" as we learned not long after. As such, the main reason for this story's Shido still being Shinji is that neither his first or last name were changed, and every other reason that's still hidden among the many mysteries this story will eventually unveil.
Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^