Chapter 3

Is This A Date?

Shiori cannot believe what she is seeing. What is this about Spirits? Aren't they supposed to be invisible to everyone?

"You will never understand my motives," the gothic girl says. "I'm afraid I will have to obliterate you for interfering~"

"Not gonna happen!" The violet haired girl jumps in the air after literally dodging the bullet

The violet haired girl raises her broad sword high and is about to strike her down. The pig-tailed girl quickly evades and rolls toward the ground, in front of Shiori. The violet haired girl hops toward the gothic girl. They face off and charge at each other. The gothic girl slides down and shoots her bullets, but the violet haired girl blocks them and swings her broad sword. The gothic girl blocks three attacks, jumps to her feet and raises her arm. Red liquid appears on the ground again. But the violet haired girl turns around and slashes downward, having purple arches appear and shoot at her. The gothic girl flips over the arches and then lands in front of Shiori. The violet haired girl turns around and clutches the handle.

"This ends now!" The violet haired girl says.

"Gladly~" the pig-tailed girl smirks as she pulls out two guns. "One shot is all I nee-GAH!"

A sudden laser shoots from behind, burning the gothic girl's arm. Another shot fires and the gothic girl drops to her knees.

"What the!?" Shiori turns around to notice another girl in metal armor. She has short silver hair and blue eyes. She has a laser gun strapped to her arm.

"Get back!" The silver haired girl says as she steps closer and closer to the two powerful girls.

Shiori scoots away, letting the armored girl prepare to fire.

"Another…one of those despicable ingrates?" The gothic girl groans as she gets to her feet.

"I'll take her down!" The violet haired girl jumps in front of the pig-tailed girl.

The silver haired girl narrows her eyes and adjusts the gun to full power. She fires a larger laser, sending BOTH girls hurling into a wall, creating a crater. The gothic girl grits her teeth as she struggles to her feet, still holding her gun. But the silver haired girl keeps firing. Then another. And another. Until the gun overheats.

"Guh…!" The silver haired girl grunts.

It gives Shiori the opportunity to rush in front of the silver haired girl, guarding the two severely injured Spirits.

"Please! Stop this!" The bluenette begs. "They've had enough!"

"They must die!" The silver haired girl says. "These Spirits don't deserve to live as long as I'm here! They cause nothing but destruction!"

"Hurting them doesn't do any good!" Shiori shouts. "You'll just provoke them even more!"

"Do you understand what I'm trying to say to you?" The silver haired girl says.

However, the gothic girl regains her strength and fires a powerful bullet, breaking the rifle that the silver haired girl is holding. The gothic girl has a hole on her chest, but she is still functioning.

"This has gone far enough…" the pig-tailed girl says. "You freaks may have interfered once. But you will never be able to do it again once I'm here." She disappears under a red mist. "Until the next time…"

With that, the gothic girl disappears. The silver haired girl grits her teeth.

"She's escaped…!" She says under her breath. Then, she looks up and sees Shiori take the violet haired girl. "Wait! Stop! She's dangerous!"

Shiori doesn't listen and continues to take the violet haired girl along until they are at a very safe place. A little playground. It's very quiet and there are no people around.

"Good," Shiori sighs in relief. "We're safe." She turns to the violet haired girl. "Are you alright?"

"Just a little banged up," the girl says. "But…I want to thank you for saving my life."

"It's no problem," Shiori says. Then she thinks back on when she risked her life to save Kurumi. She was lucky this time. "So…are you…really a Spirit?"

"I am," The violet haired girl says. "My name is Tohka…and I'm a Princess."

"Princess…" Shiori repeats. "Ah…Your Royal Highness…" She takes a knee.

"No need for that," Tohka says. "You may talk to me like a normal person."

"S-sure," Shiori stands up and takes a good look at the violet haired girl. She is very beautiful, probably as beautiful as Kurumi. "Um…so uhhhhh….do you have anywhere to go or…?"

"Not really," Tohka says as she looks around. "I just got here. I seem to be in a strange world."

"Understandable since you ARE a Spirit," Shiori says. "How about you hang at my place and we can get situated?"

"Really!?" Tohka says excitedly. "You're taking me to your lovely home!? Your chambers?"

"I'm just very ordinary," Shiori says. "You don't have to treat me like I'm royalty or anything."

"But I need to repay you somehow!" Tohka says.

"No need for that," Shiori says with a smile. "I'll get you a change of clothes so you can spend the night here."

"Goodie! Thanks so much!" The violet haired girl hugs Shiori happily.

Shiori's House*

"Onee-chan! How can you bring in a stray here!?" Kotori shouts.

"She's not a stray," Shiori says. "She's just a little lost one with nowhere to go. So I'm letting her stay."

"Mmmmm…fine," Kotori says. "She better not mess with anything."

"She won't," Shiori says and then leads Tohka to her bedroom.

While in the room, Tohka twirls around, wearing only a long white buttoned shirt.

"Woooow! It's so light~!" She says excitedly. "Probably better than those night gowns I always wear~"

"Do you have a very large bed in your world?" Shiori asks.

"Very~" Tohka says. "I am a Princess…or used to be. But now that I'm here, I want to learn anything and everything about this world. So why not, right~?"

Shiori smiles and pets the beautiful girl. "I'll do what I can to teach you. Though, it may take some time to prepare most of the stuff. But I am willing to be with you as much as possible. Just count on me."

Tohka smiles with a soft giggle. The two climb in bed and snuggle in together. However, just as Tohka is out like a light immediately, Shiori turns to the locket sitting on her nightstand. Kurumi hasn't shown up today since the discharge but she must find her to return the item. Hopefully, she will see her tomorrow.

Next Day*

"Alright, class!" The female teacher says. "We have another transfer student to join our class! Come in, Yatogami-san!"

Tohka walks in, wearing her school uniform with black thigh high socks. Her hair sways gracefully with each movement until she stops and turns toward the class. She smiles the best she can as she glances at Shiori.

"H-hello!" Tohka says. "My name is Tohka Yatogami! Pleasure to meet you all!"

The class whisper amongst themselves at the beauty of this new girl.

"Another hot girl? How lucky are we~?"

"Damn, I wanna date her! But I cannot reject Kurumi!"

"Dude, look at that hair! I wanna feel its silky tresses~!"

Tohka happily walks over toward the desk next to Shiori's. As she plops down, the violet haired girl giggles and waves. Shiori has done most of the paperwork for her transfer almost very early in the morning. But it was worth it since Tohka will be living with Shiori.

In between periods, Tohka is surrounded by her classmates, popping up questions and compliments left and right. Shiori just sits there, smiling as her trio of classmates approach her.

"Whoa, girl," Ai says. "Is she your new girlfriend?"

"Not quite," Shiori says. "She's just a transfer I happened to run into."

"Well, she looks promising~" Mai says. "She seems way better than that Kurumi girl."

"That is so lame~!" Mii cheers.

"Kurumi may be a bit mysterious, but I still consider her a good friend," Shiori says. "Besides…" She looks down at the locket. "I still have to give this back to her. I haven't seen her since I got discharged."

Ai takes a look at the lovely locket. "Oh. That definitely looks very important to her."

"She dropped it before I got into that accident," Shiori explains. "I saved her life. And I still haven't returned it. So hopefully she will be here for me to give it to her."

Ai winks as she puts her hand on her classmate's shoulder. "Best of luck, girl. We didn't realize how important Kurumi was to you until you showed that locket."

Mai winks as well. "We have your back! Guarantee it!"

"That is so lame!" Mii cheers.

Shiori smiles. "Thanks, girls."

Later*

When lunch arrives, Shiori and Tohka are walking together toward the cafeteria when Shiori catches eyes on Kurumi, who is walking down the stairs. The bluenette's eyes widen in surprise and waves to her.

"Kurumi!" She calls.

The dark haired beauty notices Shiori waving and then comes all the way down. "Is…is that you…?"

"It's me, trust me," Shiori gestures toward herself. "My body got modified to help me recover quicker."

Tohka looks at Shiori in question. "Modified? What do you mean?"

"Oh…you didn't know?" Shiori says. "This may sound strange to you but I used to be a guy named Shidou. But when I saved this girl's life, I was near death. I was saved by some fabulous technology. So here I am…as a girl."

"Oh…" Tohka then eyes Kurumi. "You saved…her life?"

"Indeed," Kurumi says as she approaches Shiori. "This person was a life saver. And I wanted to apologize for my stupidity. If this hasn't all happened then…"

"Don't worry," Shiori says with a smile. "I'm fine now. Sure I am a different person, but that doesn't change the fact that I am still interested in you, Kurumi." She holds out the locket. "In fact, here. I meant to give this back to you."

Kurumi gasps softly as she looks at the locket. It's still in one piece. "You kept this…? All this time…?"

Shiori smiles. "I have been wanting to return this since you dropped it the other day. So please….don't be sad anymore."

Kurumi takes the locket and clutches it to her chest. "Thank you…very much….Shidou-san…."

"Please, call me Shiori," The bluenette smiles.

"Then…Shiori-san," Kurumi nods and then turns to leave. "I'll be seeing you…"

Shiori waves and turns to Tohka who is smiling. The bluenette then thinks about the gothic girl she encountered the other day. She looks the same but…could that be the Kurumi she saw? No…it couldn't be. This Kurumi is the same as she has always been since she first met her.

"Say, Shiori?" Tohka asks. "What did you and that girl…do before the accident…?"

Shiori sweat drops and rubs the back of her head. "Wait until after school and I'll tell you."

After School*

"Ohhhhh~!" Tohka brightens as Shiori buys her a nice loaf of bread. "Wait a minute! Is this some sort of test? Is this a date~?"

"Nope, just bread," Shiori replies.

Tohka munches on it like her life depends on it. She eats it within a minute. Licking the crumbs off of her finger, she says, "So…is this what you call a date?"

"Ehhhh, not so much," Shiori deadpans.

After school, Shiori explained to Tohka, embarrassing as it was, that she went on a date with Kurumi before the accident. Tohka was super curious to see what it was like, so she insisted on trying it out for herself.

"The mystery continues…" Tohka rubs her chin in thought and then she smells something very delicious. Some corndogs freshly cooked. "Ohhhh! Over there! Is this one!?"

"Not quite!" Shiori calls as Tohka grabs a few.

She eats one within seconds, as if sucking it whole. "Mmm….MMMMM~! I cannot believe something like this tastes so good! This MUST be a date~!"

Shiori laughs nervously. "You're getting there. You're getting there."

Tohka sees a little boy throw away his empty food in the garbage. "Look Mama! I threw it away by myself!"

"Oh my! What a good boy you are~" the mother pets her child as a reward.

Tohka feels the need to try that too. To be praised like that. She eats the rest of the corndogs and then throws them away in the trash. As quick as a flash, she dashes back toward Shiori and bows her head. Shiori can see her ribbon flapping excitedly. The bluenette smiles nervously as she pets Tohka, making the purplenette giggle.

"So…this time…this moment…" Tohka says. "Is this what you call a date?"

"You're getting close," Shiori says.

So far, all the two have ever been to is nothing but food stands and food shops. Tohka is eating like there's no tomorrow, from fried rice, to a big bowl of ramen, to sushi, to lots of meat, and a big plate of spaghetti. Shiori is afraid if they went to any more food shops, her wallet will be out of luck. She needs the money to feed Kotori as well.

"Shiori…?" Tohka says.

"Hm? What's wrong?" The bluenette asks.

"Are you…not enjoying it…?" Tohka's voice seems soft and sad. "I'm having fun, but I'm afraid I'm the only one. I may have done something to upset you."

Shiori puts her hands up. "N-no! It's not like that. To be honest…I just have…a lot of things on my mind right now."

"Then…please…" Tohka gently takes her hand. "Show me the way. Tell me what a real date is like."

Shiori gives a gentle smile and squeezes her hand. "I'll take you wherever you wish, and give you whatever you want. Just name it. But be warned I only have very little money left."

Unbeknownst to the two girls, the silver haired girl, dressed in the same school uniform as these two is on the intercom with her comrades.

"Origami, do you read me?" The girl asks.

"Loud and clear," Origami says. "I got her in my sights. She's not in her Spirit Armor, so she's defenseless."

"You cannot be so reckless," the comrade says. "Look around you. Attack when the time is right."

"Roger," Origami says. "I'll keep an eye on her in the meantime."

Later*

"Whoa! Where did you take me!?" Tohka exclaims as she finds herself at an arcade. "Is this a base of the Mecha Mecha Squad!?"

"The what now?" Shiori raises an eyebrow.

"The Mecha Mecha Squad! You know, the one that almost killed me and that girl earlier?" Tohka says.

"Ohhh, them," Shiori says, finally recalling the armored women with dangerous weapons. "To answer your question: no. It's not it. Just an arcade. Here, I will take you to something simple."

They arrive at a crane game where there are lots of stuffed toys and plushies. Tohka's eyes sparkle and presses her face against the glass, looking at each and every one of them until she spots a large stuffed dog that can be fit as a pillow. She borrows a coin from Shiori and attempts to get. But it slips off the crane before it even lifts off. Tohka sighs in frustration.

"This thing is annoying already!" She says. "Come on! Get it together! I command you to give me that puppy!"

"Raising your voice isn't gonna help," Shiori says with a nervous smile. "You need some type of strategy."

"Alright. Then how!?" Tohka says.

Shiori rubs her chin for a moment. And then, she gets an idea. "Alright, Tohka. Listen closely. I'll control the button on the left while you do the right. I'll give you the signal when the time is right."

"Got it!" Tohka nods with a face full of determination.

She inserts another coin and Shiori is the first to control the crane. She moves it to the side toward where the large stuffed puppy is. Once she lets go of the button, Tohka presses the other one for the crane to move a bit closer.

"Now, Tohka!" Shiori cries.

"On it!" Tohka leans forward, pressing another button for the crane to go down. The grabbers take hold of the puppy. "Puppy!"

"Not yet," Shiori says. "It still hasn't dropped."

The crane slowly makes its way toward the hole. It drops the stuffed puppy into the whole and the door opens. Tohka and Shiori glance at each other and brighten.

"WE DID IT~!" They exclaim in unison.

Sunset*

"What's that one there?" Tohka says. "Is that some Transformers thing?"

"It's a train," Shiori says. "You get on it and travel to far away places."

"Ohhhh! I wanna go there some time!" Tohka says. She cuddles the puppy in her arms. "That was a lot of fun today, Shiori. But…I didn't find out what a date actually is…"

"Usually it's when a boy and a girl spend time together as a couple," Shiori explains.

"Makes sense to me," Tohka says. "So all of this…we can call it a date, even though we are both girls. But wait, you were once a guy, so does that count?"

"Depends on who you ask," Shiori says.

"Shiori," Tohka says softly as she hugs the stuffed puppy. "You are one of the few humans who have been this kind to me. The Mecha Mecha Squad who are after me are not. They consider me so dangerous, so that's why I cannot allow myself to show my true form very often."

"Is that why they were compelled to kill you?" Shiori asks. "To me, I do not think you are dangerous."

"You don't…?" Tohka eyes the bluenette. "But…what if I lose control of my powers? What can you do? Maybe I shouldn't have existed in the first place…"

"I will do whatever it takes to save you," Shiori gestures toward herself. "Please believe me. I have experienced near death. Anyone who knows me or sees me as an acquaintance wants me to live, so they will do whatever it takes to save me. I shall do the same for anyone else who is going through the same pain."

"Shiori…." Tohka blushes.

"Take my hand, Tohka," Shiori outstretches her hand. "I promise that no matter what happens, we will go through the good and bad times…together!"

Unbeknownst to the two, Origami has a sniper rifle while at a very far distance. She looks into her scope, eyeing her target, which is Tohka. "Permission to fire, Commander?"

There is a pause. Origami's finger is on the trigger.

"Permission granted…"