A/N: Salutations! My thanks for people who decided to read this second chapter!
Nothing much to say though, except for the fact that this chapter is also an updated version of the original Chapter 2, "Reunion Between Time and Fate".
"What's wrong, Shido? You look like a treasure hunter."
"Concern. What are you looking for, Shido?"
Kaguya and Yuzuru said, respectively. Tohka and Origami too, appeared concerned.
The blue-haired boy didn't reply. He was deep in thought, concentrating to the music playing on the background.
"They can't hear it, but I can. That means... it must be a Spirit's doing!"
Shido was convinced of it. His experience with the Angel of Sound, [Army-Breaking Songstress (Gabriel)], led him to that conclusion.
Gabriel's music was intense, trying to erode into the very core of his mind. This on the other hand was calm, and made his heart warm.
This music had a different feeling into it, but they were similar. He could feel it affecting him, even if it had no effect because of his Spirit powers.
That meant it was supernatural in nature, and likely caused by a Spirit.
"But Kotori didn't inform me anything..."
It was in these kinds of times he wanted to kick himself for not bringing the communicator with him.
Thinking of an alternative, Shido then pulled out his phone, trying to contact his sister.
"...Huh? It's not working?"
Shido glanced again at his phone's screen. Kotori couldn't be contacted.
He tried again with Murasame Reine's number, but the result was the same.
"Could it be that [Ratatoskr] is under some sort of maintenance today?"
It made sense, considering the BSOD their television had this morning.
Just as he was about to continue looking around however, all of a sudden an uncomfortable feeling assaulted his whole body.
"Ugh!"
He felt the air around him thickened, and the surroundings were darkened for no reason at all.
It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening.
"Th-this is...!"
Shido's eyes widened as he understood what happened.
There was only one thing he knew that could cause this.
Worried, Shido glanced at the girls behind him for confirmation.
"Ah...!" Kaguya moaned.
"Discomfort. Yuzuru feels... weak..." Yuzuru said weakly.
Tohka and Origami were no better, but even still, the two obeyed Shido's orders and didn't make a sound.
There was no mistaking it.
"Kurumi's... [City of Devouring Time]!"
"Are you an idiot?"
Kurumi said as she raised a hand, commanding her City of Devouring Time to envelope everything in her sight with darkness.
She didn't intend to sound so harsh, Kurumi was more than a bit annoyed at this point.
Contrary to her negative mood though, the girl in front of her only let out a chuckle as she took off her veil.
Revealing a beautiful face befitting Spirits, the guest's pair of crimson eyes met Kurumi's own mismatched ones.
Soon after, the girl named 'Rinne' smiled.
"Hmm... in comparison to you, yes I am."
The Spirit's lyre dissolved into Spirit mana as she said that.
Catching the hidden meaning of those words, Kurumi narrowed her eyes.
"You didn't warn me of your arrival, and you didn't attempt to hide your presence here. Do you think flattery will get you anywhere?"
"Why do I need to worry about those? I know you will find me and mask my Spirit wavelength with your bounded-field."
Rinne only shrugged and answered dismissively at Kurumi's concerns.
The Nightmare Spirit let out a long sigh. She already knew where this was going.
"...You can't always count on me to have your back."
Kurumi made sure to sound a little bit serious with that line.
However, once again Rinne only giggled, much to her chagrin.
"I know, Kurumi, don't be so stiff. We haven't seen each other for a while, so a little surprise never hurts, right?"
Rinne only asked her back with a cheerful tone.
Knowing that it wouldn't get anywhere, Kurumi decided to drop the subject with a sigh.
However, her senses stayed sharp, scanning their surroundings. It would be preferable if no one saw them there.
Luckily for them, there was no one. Although Kurumi suspected it was because of Rinne's doing rather than luck.
Kurumi smiled lightly and turned to Rinne.
"Fufu, I apologize for my rude welcome. Would you want somewhere more pleasant to chat? I shall be your guide for this tour."
With a respectful tone, the girl clad in goth bowed and gave a curtsy to her guest.
"I accept your apology, and do please guide me. I'm in your hands."
Kurumi looked up to see Rinne smiling in acceptance.
Keeping her smile, Kurumi snapped her fingers, thus triggering the time-stealing barrier around them to gradually disappeare.
As the shadow disappeared, so were the two figures that were there.
The landscape around them now was completely different.
Rinne was beside her, and they were back inside Kurumi's personal hideout.
Finding herself comfortable within the broken dance room she had come to like personally, she was relieved that Phantom was no longer around anymore.
"Is this your hideout?"
Voicing her curiosity, Rinne asked as she was looking around the room.
"Ara, of course."
Kurumi turned to her guest.
"It may not be to your liking, but-"
"No, this is fine enough. I'm already used to being homeless, after all."
Rinne shook her head and cut Kurumi off.
Kurumi smiled at Rinne's acceptance, although coming from her, it really didn't mean much.
Considering her personality, Rinne would accept basically anything Kurumi offered.
Therefore, Kurumi decided to mess with her.
"Ara, are you implying that living in this building, one that I personally secured, is no different than living in the streets?"
Kurumi made sure to frown while trying to sound displeased. She had to sound like she was really offended.
Much to Kurumi's internal joy, Rinne' twitched. Her crimson eyes widened in horror.
"Eh, no! I'm not implying that at all! Err, well, maybe I did... but that's unintentional! I'm sorry!"
Seeing how Rinne frantically tried to apologize, Kurumi couldn't stifle her laughter.
"Fufufu... it seems that one year didn't do much to change you, Rinne."
Kurumi nodded smugly, in a way that seemed to convey 'that's you alright'
Realizing that she had been tricked, Rinne huffed at her.
"You are mean."
"I certainly am."
Kurumi replied cheerfully, prompting Rinne to look away with a pout on her face.
"...She really hasn't changed. But what about me?"
The Nightmare Spirit twirled on her heel, turning to gaze to the broken mirror wall behind her.
Much to her surprise, Kurumi was smiling.
Not her usual smirk or even a grin, but it was a genuine, sincere smile.
"So I am still capable of this, eh?"
For Kurumi, a lighthearted smile was something she almost lost. An expression of innocence, an expression of purity.
She thought it had disappeared along with her humanity since she received her Zafkiel.
"But then, this girl appeared..."
Kurumi glanced at Rinne, reflected on the mirror wall.
Sonogami Rinne. Her fellow Spirit partner, as well as her friend.
Their first encounter was nothing more than coincidence.
Kurumi dismissed her as another human, at the time.
The thought that Rinne would become a Spirit didn't cross her then.
The thought that Rinne was someone willing to help achieve her goal, was beyond her imagination even now.
"Ah right, speaking of goals..."
Kurumi closed her eyes and pulled a deep breath, before deciding to change the subject.
She twirled once more to face her partner, this time with a serious expression.
"Rinne, as much as I am trying to be polite, I still need to know what brings you here."
The Nightmare Spirit spoke with a more professional tone, as if they were attending a meeting.
Rinne might be her partner, but that didn't mean they had to be together all the time.
More specifically, Kurumi had told Rinne to operate separately with her to avoid the DEM.
For her to just appear here was... troubling, to say the least.
"Oh, right."
At that, Rinne crossed her arms, and her eyes lost their expressions. Not long after, she began to speak in a tone that was not unlike [Phantom]'s.
"Two reasons... first of all, information."
Rinne listed by raising two of her left fingers.
"Informing me? You can always inform the [Mes] following you."
Kurumi didn't want to assume Rinne had forgotten that, but she stated it regardless.
"There's a problem with that. This is important and I have to tell you as soon as possible. Isaac Westcott is planning something big."
"Something big?"
At the ominous tone Rinne was using, Kurumi raised an eyebrow.
"The man has been moving every elite Wizards in his disposal and all the Spirits he had captured to this country."
"...Ara? All of them?"
Kurumi was surprised. Now that was certainly important.
Moving Wizards here was sensible, considering that Spirits appeared mostly around Japan. But Kurumi couldn't fathom any purpose for moving captured Spirits here.
"Are they planning to release them, like they did with the Second Spirit?"
Whatever the reasons, Rinne was right. This was something they couldn't take lightly.
"Isn't he overdoing it?"
"Not only that. I heard they were preparing to launch military fleets to space."
Kurumi was even more surprised.
"Sending fleets to outer space? They have no reason to do so unless they are planning for some orbital attacks, or..."
"A Spirit was found there."
The Nightmare Spirit became fascinated.
A Spirit, isolating herself in outer space? That was certainly new. She had never encountered a Spirit like that in her life.
Kurumi's interest was piqued, but there were more pressing issues right now.
"Is that it for the first reason?"
"Not exactly, I still have-"
Kurumi raised her hand, prompting Rinne to stop.
"Let me guess. The second reason is about Shido-san."
Kurumi frowned slightly with accusation, but Rinne only smiled wide.
"Hump. You know me very well."
Rinne let out a chuckle, while Kurumi merely rolled her eyes, as if saying 'I knew it'.
"It's just easy to guess. Otherwise you wouldn't have played [that lyre] to call me."
"Hee hee, so you did notice how I cleared the people around our meeting."
Kurumi resisted the urge to groan seeing Rinne merely confirmed her worries with a casual tone.
The lack of people around the area they met wasn't natural. It was caused by her partner.
"She had already started the plan... is she really an idiot? Did she forget the schedule?"
It was then Kurumi's turn to cross her arms, glaring at her partner.
Kurumi was not going to let Rinne hear the end of this.
"I thought we went over this last year. Your plan's schedule is already set."
"I know we did, but I'm getting impatient."
"Impatience? Is that your reason for rushing here like an idiot?"
"This is for the best. Who knows what will DEM do while we are wasting our time? They have omniscience now, Kurumi!"
Rinne raised her tone slightly, emphasizing the last point. Slightly surprised, Kurumi stopped to think.
It was true, Kurumi supposed. With that Angel -no, that Demon King- Isaac Westcott could know everything about their intentions and locations.
That meant, DEM could easily wreck whatever plan they had.
Although fortunately, anything related to Phantom couldn't be read by [Rasiel].
Because the entity was deeply connected with both Kurumi and Rinne in the past, their backgrounds were effectively sealed from being read by [Beelzebub].
With that in mind, Kurumi voiced her opinion.
"Then what do you expect us to do? There's no way to interfere with their omniscience. We simply have to overcome them with brute force."
"No, there is a way. Honjou-san can help."
Once again, Kurumi was surprised at the mention of the Second Spirit's name.
"Ara? What about her? She survived, what can she achieve with her sorry state?"
"I think you should know about this better than I do. Rasiel and Beelzebub shouldn't exist simultaneously, should they?"
Kurumi thought about it for a moment, before coming to a realization.
"Wait, paradox? Is that what you are saying?"
"Bingo. According to my observation on their states, both Rasiel and Beelzebub are currently restricting the omniscience of each other because of it."
Kurumi widened her eyes in surprise.
"Seriously? Why don't you inform me of that sooner?"
"Well... I was about to, until you stopped me."
Poking her own chin with her finger, Kurumi thought about the new information for a moment.
"Ara, I see. If we involve ourselves with Shido-san, the current owner of Rasiel, the resulting paradox would interfere with information about us, right?"
"Which you already did. All that's left is for me to involve myself with you, which is precisely what I'm doing right now."
Suddenly, everything made full circle. Kurumi could make sense of everything Rinne had been doing.
"...So it's for that reason you came here."
"But of course! And since I'm already here, it won't hurt to execute my [War] much earlier than schedule, right?"
Rinne let out a victorious smirk, knowing that she won this argument.
Kurumi sighed - this was probably one of those days.
"As you wish, then."
As if waiting for that response, Rinne grinned with an all-too-wide, excited smile.
Not expecting that, Kurumi's mood brightened a bit.
"Ara ara, don't be so excited. You are not going to start right away, aren't you?"
"Of course not. I don't want to interrupt his studies, after all."
Hearing that, Kurumi grinned, and widened her arms playfully.
"Well, it's been a year since we last met. We have to wait for him, so why don't we have fun like last time?"
Rinne's eyes widened, as if that was unexpected.
"That's fine by me. But, Kurumi?"
All of a sudden, Rinne's eyes seemed to be saddened.
Kurumi was caught off-guard by those eyes.
Then an emotion - something Kurumi never expected would affect her this much - overcome her.
Concern. Worry.
Kurumu didn't even think before she opened her mouth.
"What's wrong?"
"You still remember... what to do while I'm here, right?"
It only took Kurumi half a second to understand what Rinne meant.
"Yeah... I promised her that."
For Kurumi, no matter how many times she saw it, that look stabbed her in the heart.
Kurumi knew better than anyone that trying to get closer to her, of all Spirits, was not the easiest thing to do.
No one wanted to be friends with a killer, especially if it was a psychotic little girl that killed people with very vague motivations.
But Rinne didn't give up.
Just like a certain someone, she never wanted to leave her alone in the dark.
Unlike that certain someone however, Rinne understood that she couldn't be saved. At least, not yet.
And so, until the time came for her to be saved, Rinne would be Kurumi's partner. That's why she became her friend. Her only friend, in fact.
However, that didn't mean Rinne agreed with Kurumi's methods. Therefore, whenever they worked together, the two of them had agreed on one thing.
That the Nightmare Spirit would have to feed on her Spirit energy, and no one else's.
"Come to think about it, the true reason I pushed her away to work separately from her was... to avoid doing that, wasn't it?"
In the school, Shido found it hard to concentrate studying.
Not when he knew that Kurumi might be lurking around.
Even after the school had ended, while he, Tohka, Origami, Kaguya and Yuzuru were walking home, Shido didn't let his guard down.
Turned out he was right. Ratatoskr was having a maintenance. But they did manage to boot up their system in time to catch Kurumi's signature.
However, she was only detected for the few minutes the City of Devouring Time was active. As it faded away, so did Kurumi's signature.
"Just what she is up to, this time around?"
Kurumi had always been the unpredictable type, but to activate and deactivate her life sucking barrier in rapid succession felt abnormal, even for her.
"And what about the other one?"
Shido recalled the music he heard. It was definitely a Spirit's doing.
But when he asked his sister about it, she said Ratatoskr didn't pick up any Spirit wavelength besides Kurumi's.
"Then what did I hear?"
Shido could still feel it. The calming, warm, and most of all... nostalgic feeling the music gave.
"...Eh?"
He felt something tugging his left arm.
Turning his head, Shido was surprised to see Origami tugging his sleeve rapidly, without even changing her expression.
"O, Origami?"
Judging from the speed Origami was tugging, it seemed she had been pulling his sleeves since a few moments ago.
"Wha... have I been spacing out?"
Origami was holding a piece of paper. On it was written, 'May we talk?'.
"Hmm? Oh, sorry sorry! Yeah, you guys may talk until we reach home."
Shido tried to hide his worries, but it seemed the white-haired girl couldn't be fooled.
"Are you worried about Tokisaki Kurumi?"
That was very blunt.
Shido couldn't help but think about that.
"...Yeah."
Knowing that it was pointless to hide it, Shido answered after sighing.
"Advice. You shouldn't think about it too much."
From behind Origami, Yuzuru popped her head and said that.
Shido was almost annoyed by that. But Yuzuru didn't know about Kurumi, so he had to be patient.
"You may say that, but-"
Before Shido could argue, he was cut off.
"Don't worry, Shido. We heard it from your redheaded baby sister that this Kurumi girl is dangerous. But no worries, there isn't a single Spirit that you couldn't conquer and no danger ahead could get past us to harm you!"
Kaguya said lightly while crossing her hands behind her head ahead of Shido, without even glancing at him.
"You..."
Shido was speechless. He knew Kaguya's choice of words was exaggerating, but she was serious.
"Shido, you didn't fail with her. Your success was just delayed."
Suddenly, Shido could feel something warm from behind him.
To be exact, Origami lightly hugged Shido from behind and whispered to his ears.
"Tobiichi Origami is right. Shido, Tokisaki Kurumi isn't beyond saving. Not if you, are the savior."
In front of him, Tohka turned to him and said that, all while she was smiling.
Shido was beyond speechless.
"Everyone..."
His heart felt warm.
They didn't want him to feel alone in this.
He could tell how much these girls cared for him.
"...I couldn't be spacing out if you guys are giving this much, could I?"
"Okay!"
Shido decided something.
"Huh?"
"Everyone, silence."
The instant Shido said that, the four Spirits closed their mouths and surrounded Shido like obedient servants.
"Now is the moment where the competition is truly on."
Shido crossed his arms.
"I'll call Miku to our house tonight so all of you will be able to compete. Remember. I'll only accept one for the date tomorrow. Are you girls ready?"
Emulating the doujin version of him, Shido smirked to the girls around him.
As he expected, the sudden change in Shido's behavior almost caught all the girls off-guard.
But, they managed to nod firmly, knowing the battle that was upon them.
Just as they refocused their attention forward however, Shido noticed something across the street.
Two girls were walking to the direction of Raizen High School. One girl had long, black hair tied into twin-tails, and clad in a black dress. While the other had short, light pink hair, and wore a pink see-through blouse with a blue skirt.
Both of them were really beautiful, but for Shido, their faces were more than familiar.
"Ku, Kurumi... Phantom..."
Unconsciously, he mumbled their names.
Shido remembered that, back in his time travel trip, Phantom's form was the same with the girl that was now standing beside Kurumi.
Her clothes were different, but Shido couldn't mistake her for anyone else since her face was oddly familiar to him.
Hearing Shido's words, the four girls behind him audibly tensed up.
Meanwhile, on the other side, both girls noticed them as well.
"Ara, Shido-san."
Kurumi greeted by slightly bowing her head, while the other girl looked their way, but kept silent.
"I wanted to see you in your school, but you found me instead. Such a gentleman."
Kurumi held her own cheeks with a light blush.
Shido almost blushed at that, but he knew Kurumi was just trying to tease him.
"What are you doing here, Kurumi? And you..."
Shido wanted to say something, but words failed to form.
He really didn't know what to say to 'Phantom' after their last meeting.
However, all of a sudden-
The two girls across the street immediately separated.
"Huh!?"
The 'Phantom' was running towards the school, while Kurumi ran towards the opposite direction.
"Crap, they separated! Now I can only chase one of them..."
Shido cursed himself for lowering his guard.
But then he remembered that he had four Spirits behind him. He could have them following either.
The problem was which one he would personally follow.
"Everyone, follow whoever I'm not chasing!"
As Shido ordered that, he bit his lip, forcing himself to think.
"Kurumi? Or Phantom?"
He had to decide quickly. He had no time, or else both of them would get away.
But, at that moment.
"...Eh?"
His vision suddenly flickered, like a camera that had an error.
Several times, each time only for an instant, his vision was replaced with something else.
An infinite void.
Somewhere he was alone.
A voice that called him.
The dream that he had this morning.
"Don't forget about me."
And at that moment, anger instantly clouded his mind.
"Damn it! Not now!"
Shido's pleads were heard by none, however.
"Promise me, Itsuka Shido."
As soon as those words were heard in his mind, he was overcome with rage.
"...AAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
He ran towards the school with all the strength he had.
There you go! How was it? State whatever opinions you have in the reviews!
Note: You may notice that here, Rinne is a human-turned Spirit instead of sentient Spirit energy. It will be explained much later unfortunately, be patient until that chapter comes.
Thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!