A/N: Hello again! It's been three weeks. Let's catch up with "Alternate Reincarnation", shall we?

Here is chapter 12, "Interluding Date, Part II" for all of you!

The snow that filled the sky minutes before had stopped falling.

"Is that… your Tanzaku?"

Shido blinked. He couldn't believe that the wish paper for Tanabata, the one he had hanged on that tree half a year ago was still around, let alone intact in the hands of the Spirit who wrote it.

More than that, that Tanzaku was probably the ultimate proof that this was 'Kurumi of that day', who was now before him. The real Kurumi would probably tore it to pieces instead of keeping it if she ever found it.

"How did this happen, though?"

Shido really didn't have a clue. Like that time, when 'Kurumi' just appeared, and asked him to go for a date with him. It really was out of the blue, and now was no different.

However, Shido didn't care at this point. All he knew was, he was glad. 'Kurumi' hadn't died that day. For him, that was a blessing in and of itself.

"Hihihi, correct." 'Kurumi' smiled, before closing her palm once more and the Tanzaku disappeared.

"Do you doubt me now, Shido-san?" She asked once more.

Shido shook his head.

"How could I? Kurumi... I'm glad I can see you again." He said earnestly.

The twin-tailed girl giggled happily at that. "Ahh, Shido-san… you really know how to make a lady wait."

Shido merely chuckled in return, and took a deep breath, trying to calm the Spirit mana around him. Without him noticing, the whitened pupil he had disappeared.

"Did I make you wait too long, Kurumi?" He asked with a smile.

"No," she shook her head gently. "you didn't."

And with that said, the girl ran toward him. Shido only closed his eyes, knowing that Kurumi was the type who didn't have a sense of personal space didn't even bother him at this point.

As soon as her hands could reach him, she cupped his face and pulled him closer. The blue-haired boy didn't resist, and let the goth girl did what she wanted.

"I really miss you, Shido-san…" She whispered as their eyes met, her breath felt on his lips.

"Kurumi…" He blushed slightly.

For a moment, the two didn't say anything. Shido didn't bother to say anything. They didn't need to. Their eyes had said more than enough.

Shido could see it. Her desire, her longing desire for him. Her fear, her fear of dying before she could meet him. Her gratitude, for being able to see her wish fulfilled. Her happiness, for being able to finally hold him again.

"I wonder what does she see in my eyes?"

Although wondering, Shido didn't bother asking. That was for her to know. For him, this was already enough.

'Kurumi' smiled, and let him go.

"Hihihi…" The goth girl chuckled.

"Eh?" Shido uttered, dumbfounded.

"Shido-san… it's too quick to expect me to reward you with such a gift, isn't it?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know… k-i-s-s." 'Kurumi' whispered to his ear.

"Ehhh!?" Shido was taken aback. "N-no! I wasn't expecting to be kissed, what are you talking about!?"

He unconsciously took a step back. The twin-tailed girl chuckled at that, before she twirled around three times to widen their distance, stopping as Kurumi faced Shido once more.

"Ara, look at what we have here…"

'Kurumi' stomped her foot, and that instant an ancient pistol appeared from her shadow. Before Shido could react, she grabbed the gun with her right hand and immediately fired it to her right without even glancing.

Shido only managed to gasp at her quick movements, before he turned to see what did she just shoot.

It was a familiar machinery sitting near the edge of the rooftop. It had a slender body made of metal, with large arms and legs facing backwards. [Bandersnatch], as Kotori called it.

It had lost its head, though, courtesy of 'Kurumi'.

"That thing…" Shido uttered.

"A lone unit… just a scout, eh? They are faster than I thought." 'Kurumi' commented.

At those words, Shido was reminded of the situation he was in. AST and DEM were coming to the location of the predicted Spacequake.

"Kurumi, why do you call me here?"

"Ara, I forgot about that. Wait a moment, Shido-san, let me stop the incoming Spacequake first."

'Kurumi' snapped her fingers, as if that was necessary to stop the Spacequake from appearing. Shido immediately contacted Reine to confirm the Spacequake's disappearance.

"Reine-san, how is it?"

"Don't worry, the signal has disappeared."

"I see." Shido turned to the goth girl in front of him. "Thank you, Kurumi."

"Hihi, don't mention it. Now then, allow me to inform you why do I need you here, Shido-san."

The girl then summoned a musket from her shadow and caught it on her right hand, before she continued.

"But before that, enlighten me, is your sister listening to our conversation now?"

"Huh? No, Kotori is probably on her way back to the Ratatoskr base. Why? Do you have some business with her?"

"What I'm about to ask you is not something you can decide for yourself." 'Kurumi' noted. "While we wait, I suggest we should leave this school before the AST and DEM arrive."

Shido became slightly curious at her intentions, but he nodded regardless. No matter what, they should avoid combat anywhere near civilian shelters. AST would avoid that, but the DEM wouldn't.

"Very well, let's go."

Channeling his Spirit powers once more, the two of them flew away from the Raizen High School grounds.

Somewhere in one of Tenguu City's tallest buildings, an assembly of darkness was held.

There were probably hundreds of girls with identical appearances- clad in blood red and shadow black dresses, tied their hair with uneven twin-tails, and all of them had a mechanical clock as their left eyes.

All of them were past selves of Tokisaki Kurumi, the Nightmare Spirit.

The rooftop was spacious, but with such a large number of people, it was quite crowded for them. Regardless, more than a few of the clones engaged in chattering about trivial things, such as what happened in their observation mission.

Looking down on the large number of [Herselves] below, the real Kurumi sat on a water tank as she waited for more to come. Some of them were late for the gathering.

"Hum… to think that some of Mes lack discipline…"

Kurumi was about to hold a meeting for the second phase of the plan. That phase would involve combat, meaning she needed to prepare a large amount of 'time'.

The purpose of this meeting was to redistribute the numbers of Herselves on the map. They were originally dispatched to observe the city, but now they would adopt new positions in order to consume as much lifeforce as possible from the citizens.

"For that purpose, they should be fairly distant from each other so that their [Cities of Devouring Time] don't overlap."

Although they would definitely attract the attention of AST and DEM, Kurumi had already calculated that, even with the annoying [Adeptus] 1 and 2 around, at least half of these clones would return to her by evening, with more than enough power boost for the second phase.

"Hmm…"The Nightmare Spirit observed the crowd of Herselves once more. About three more large groups had arrived to the rooftop, which increased their number by another three hundred.

Kurumi supposed she had waited long enough."Very well… I suppose it's time to start the-"

"…Ara?"

That moment, 'something' happened.

All of sudden, silence befell upon them. The Kurumis who were talking, suddenly stopped.

Some of them looked at each other nervously. Some frowned and turned their sights toward their environment.

After moments of contemplative silence, some of them finally spoke.

"Ara ara?"

"Is this what I am thinking it is?"

"Distortion… it's a Spacequake."

"From the direction of Raizen?"

As the Kurumis discussed the unexpected event, the real Kurumi growled in displeasure as she stood up and turned her gaze to the general direction of the school.

These clones could detect Spacequakes, but the Spirit knew her temporal selves simply didn't have enough power to identify who summoned it.

"This signature… it's one of Mes."

Knowing this, the Nightmare sighed and palmed her face.

"How could this happen? This was not part of the plan. "

Kurumi didn't order any of her duplicates to summon a Spacequake. If anything, summoning a Spacequake in Raizen High was something to be avoided, as it would simply interfere with Shido's school and Rinne's part for phase one.

And yet, one of her clones just did. She had always known that each of her past selves had independent minds but it was very, very rare for them to rebel. But, the improbable had happened, and Kurumi didn't anticipate it at all.

"To think a rogue will choose this time to ruin my… no, our day."

As if responding to her own murderous intent, her Spirit mana responded, and her single human eye glowed crimson.

Some of her clones were visibly unnerved by her, but Kurumi didn't pay them attention. Now she had to improvise the plan, and the Nightmare Spirit knew how to do just that.

"I suppose I will hunt her down."

"Hmm, you don't have to go that far, Kurumi."

The goth girl froze in surprise at that voice.

Not only because the voice had caught her off guard, but also because Kurumi recognized the voice of the girl who spoke, and that she was right behind her.

"When did she get there?"

"Rinne?"

As she turned around, Kurumi found the Ruler Spirit stood a meter behind her, already clad in her purple and gold Astral Dress and carrying her Angelic lyre [Cassiel] with her left hand, waving with her free hand with a smile.

"Hello."

Recovering from her surprise, Kurumi frowned slightly. Both of them should knew Rinne was not supposed to be here, so what was she-

"You… what are you doing here?"

Rinne kept her expression neutral as she presented her lyre toward the goth girl. Kurumi raised an eyebrow at that.

"Do you want me to explain, or just share what I have seen and heard?"

The Nightmare Spirit's expression turned serious. Rinne preferred to talk and report things with her own words rather than using her ability to share their fates with [Fate Connection].

That meant, what had happened was complicated and significant enough for her to consider using it.

What happened? Did Rinne knew about her rogue clone?

"The latter." Kurumi pointed at Cassiel. "It's rare for you to offer the experience, so I will take it when I have the chance."

"Hee hee," Rinne chuckled, "I know you will pick that one, really."

"That's true. But, would you please give me an idea as of what to expect?"

"The thing I can say is, you will be surprised. Very, very surprised."

Kurumi mentally prepared herself as she reached her hand out to touch the lyre on Rinne's hand. The Ruler Spirit's look turned serious when she did.

"Cassiel! Fate Connection!"

In that instant, their fates intertwined. Two different memories and experiences were shared to each other.

Kurumi widened her eyes at what she saw, heard, and felt.

"This is…!"

"Okay, all set."

Origami muttered to herself just as she finished changing from her pajamas to her school uniform, having finished her bath three minutes ago.

"About time to wake the others up…"

Although she was sure it was going to be difficult to wake those Spirits out of their slumber -especially considering last night- Origami prepared herself for the task. After all, she had volunteered to help Shido this way.

"After all, he did ask for my forgiveness like… that."

Origami was not an expressive girl, but she was not emotionless. And Spirit or not, no female could remain composed if the man she loved embraced and comforted her like that.

That was more than Origami could ever hope to ask, so she decided she had to answer with just as much determination.

"I suppose I'll wake Yamai first…"

Yoshino and Natsumi both didn't go to school, so it should be fine to leave them be. And between Yamai and Yatogami Tohka, it was obvious which one she would wake up first.

"After Yamai would be Izayoi Miku… I'll call her after this, in case she has difficulty to wake up on time."

Just as she walked out of her apartment room, though, she noticed a car just stopped in front of their apartment.

"Hmm?"

As she was pondering who was it, the window next to the driver's seat lowered itself to answer her question.

It was a young girl roughly 14 to 15 years old in appearace, with a familiar blue hair and brown eyes. She had a beauty mark under her left eye, which only served to make her look more adorable.

Origami widened her eyes. "Takamiya... Mana?"

Before Origami could say anything else, Mana called out to her.

"Tobiichi-san! Is that you?"

Not knowing why she was there, Origami replied to the question with a question. "Why are you here?"

"There is a Spacequake! I am sent here to pick you up so we can hide from the Spirit and DEM!" Mana shouted.

Origami narrowed her eyes at the statement. "Spacequake? Is it a new Spirit, or is it [Nightmare] or [Ruler]?"

"I don't know, Murasame-san sent me before they could get a reading. However for now, let's warn the others and leave!"

The white-haired Spirit nodded. "Acknowledged."

"Sorry, am I late?"

Panting after running for some tens of minutes, Kotori finally reached the control room of the still under-repair Fraxinus. Most of the crew were already there, including Murasame Reine, the traitor.

"Not at all." Reine answered her in her usual tone.

"You…" Kotori threw her a glare as she reached to her pocket for her chupa-chups. "we will have a long talk later, Reine."

"Understood. By the way, Shin and Kurumi have been waiting for you." The analyst gestured to the captain seat.

"Kurumi too, huh…"

"What would she want?"

The redhead immediately took her seat and cleared her throat as she observed the screen, which received footage from various hidden cameras in the city.

It appeared that Shido and Kurumi were inside an empty restaurant, hiding under some circular table.

"What…? What are they doing? Trying to avoid detection by sight?"

That was not going to work… using Realizer they could detect Spirit energy through even the most solid physical barriers.

Deciding to brush it off, she spoke.

"Hey, Shido!"

"Eh?"

As Shido's voice was heard from the Fraxinus' computer, on the screen the blue-haired boy came out from under the table and looked around.

After some effort, he finally found the hidden camera from which Kotori was looking, and waved.

"Kotori? Is that you?"

Shido asked through the communicator in his ears. It seemed he at least remembered to bring it with him this time.

"Yeah, sorry to make you wait. What's the situation? Reine said you need me."

"Ah about that, Kurumi wants to talk to you." Shido turned to the table. "Kurumi, Kotori is online!"

"Finally…"

Kurumi was close enough for her voice to reach Shido's communicator, as she too came out from under the same table Shido hid under.

Kotori narrowed her eyes at Nightmare's image on the screen, who was staring at the camera's direction in the restaurant.

Now that Rinne had told various things about her, her impression of Kurumi had worsened. If she was being honest, Kotori was more suspicious of her than ever.

"Shido, call me with your phone and give it to her. I need to talk to her directly."

"Huh? Okay."

At her command, Shido drew out his cell-phone, inputted her number, and dialed before he gave it to the Spirit beside him.

"Here, Kurumi. Kotori wants to speak to you directly."

"Ara, that's convenient."

Kurumi accepted the phone with an exaggerated pose.

Kotori reached out to her own phone and answered the call immediately

"What do you want, Tokisaki Kurumi?" Kotori tried sound as harsh as she could.

"Ara ara, straight to the chase too, I see. Like brother, like sister?" Kurumi retorted with a hint of amusement in her voice.

She knew it was intended to tease her, but she couldn't stop her cheeks from heating up. "S-shut up! What business do you have with Ratatoskr!?"

The Nightmare Spirit giggled lightly, much to her annoyance. After a moment though, she cleared her throat before responding.

"Itsuka Kotori… no, Ratatoskr's commander." Kurumi's tone and expression became serious.

"I'd like to strike a deal with you."

Kotori narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Deal, huh? You sound like [Phantom] now."

The Nightmare Spirit smiled deviously. "Am I now? I suppose I do. Putting that aside, my deal is simple."

"My original self and my partner will offer you a Spirit."

She was sure she couldn't prepare herself for that. Kotori had to consciously stop her candy from falling off her mouth.

"Offer us a Spirit? That's…"

Kotori didn't believe her. That was beyond ridiculous.

"Give us a Spirit…?" Even Shido looked visibly baffled onscreen.

Kotori agreed with his scepticism. "You… how will you do that?"

"Ara, it's simple. Right now, the original [Me] and Rinne are about to invade one of DEM's secret branch. All they need to do in order to fill our bargain is to release the Spirit imprisoned there and then offer her to you."

Kurumi stated casually while shrugging, as if achieving all of those would be easy.

Shido was the first to voice his disbelief. "Such a thing…"

"You don't believe me, Shido-san?" The Kurumi faked a hurt look.

"No, it's not like I don't want to believe in you, but…"

Kotori grunted in agreement. But the more she thought about it… the more believable it became, as crazy as that sounded.

This was an unexpected development. There was no reason to trust Kurumi's words, but at the same time there was little chance that the Nightmare was bluffing.

No matter what, offering to give a Spirit directly to Ratatoskr was a bold move, and unless she planned to go through with it, Kurumi wouldn't need to go this far to talk with her directly like this.

If Kurumi was deceitful, tricking Shido alone would be easier. As much as Kotori hated the thought, it was true.

"Then... what could she possibly want from us in return?"

The Nightmare would have her demands, for sure. This was a deal, after all. Just like with Phantom.

"And what are your demands, Nightmare?"

"Hihihi, you are not going to question the validity of my proposal?" Kurumi chuckled. Was that a challenge?

"For now, I won't ask. State your demands, now." Kotori responded curtly.

"Very well then. My partner and I wish for two favors in return."

The Nightmare Spirit raised a finger, signifying her first demand.

"First, I want your assistance for distracting the enemy forces."

Kotori figured as much. That would be easy to fulfill, and in technical sense it was not even a favor.

Ratatoskr would naturally do anything if it meant securing the Spirits from harm. Even joining forces with untrustworthy Spirits like Kurumi.

If that was her first condition, her second condition would be something significantly more costly.

Kurumi raised another finger. "Secondly…"

"My partner and I would request to meet up with every Spirit under the Ratatoskr's custody, in a time and place we will decide."

Excuse her ears, what?

"What!?" Kotori couldn't suppress her shock.

"With everyone?!" Shido was definitely just as alarmed as her.

Then, uncharacteristically, Shido glared sharply at Kurumi.

"…Kurumi, what are you planning?"

"Ara ara. I can't deny that both my partner and I have an underlying motive for proposing this."

The Nightmare Spirit smirked. Kotori wished she could wipe it off her face.

"However, I can assure you that we won't bring you any harm. And anyway, if you are all together, can anyone hurt any of you and get away with it?"

Kotori frowned hard at that last statement. The Nightmare Spirit was powerful, but for everyone together, defeating her was probably not going to be a particularly difficult task.

However, Kurumi was not alone this time around. The Ruler -Sonogami Rinne- was going to participate as well, and she was an unknown factor.

Nobody except her partner knew what kind of ability she possessed, or how much power she had. That meant Kotori couldn't afford to lower their guard.

"Wait, does it mean-"

A realization hit her.

If the Ratatoskr was to assist Kurumi and Rinne with their battle, then it would be a great chance to observe the Ruler in battle.

"I see… they must realize this, as well."

Kotori highly doubted the Nightmare and Ruler required any actual assistance, but they still went out of their way to let the Ratatoskr observe them.

It would seem that Kurumi wanted to demonstrate her partner's abilities to lower the distrust between the two parties.

By providing Ratatoskr with a chance to prepare countermeasures for them, Shido and the others would feel safer to attend the meeting with the two of them.

"Humph. Well-played, Kurumi."

Most likely, this deal was their first step in establishing future deals with Ratatoskr. That explained why Kurumi had to intervene during her talk with Rinne at that school rooftop almost an hour ago.

"So they really want to establish connections with us…"

This was not Kurumi's usual modus operandi. It seemed that Rinne had quite the influence on her partner when she was around.

However, it was too soon to be relieved. Kotori still didn't know what they were after, especially with the meeting they requested.

Kotori decided to bite the bullet. "If we refuse… what would you do with the Spirit you will release?"

The goth girl frowned slightly. "If you refuse, then you don't need to know what we will do to her."

"Kurumi! How could you say that?" Shido sounded hurt at that statement.

Kotori smiled. He would not stay still at the possibility of a Spirit getting hurt, all right.

"Don't worry, Shido-san. Your sister knows what's best for Ratatoskr, and for the Spirits they are aiming to secure."

The Nightmare Spirit grinned widely, almost as if she was mocking them. However, Kotori would not fall to that provocation.

"So, how is it, Ratatoskr? Do we have a deal? Or perhaps, our demands are too much for you to accept?"

Kotori bit her lip. This was a huge gamble.

If she accepted, Ratatoskr would be able to save a Spirit from the clutches of DEM and gain information about Ruler.

But Shido and the other Spirits would have to take a huge risk by meeting Nightmare and Ruler directly, under their desired circumstances.

But if Kotori refused- Kurumi and Rinne would probably gain another ally with completely unknown abilities, and the Ratatoskr would lose a chance to observe Ruler's powers at all.

And if Rinne decided being semi-negotiating didn't work, they would try again with more extreme methods, which would endanger Shido anyway. Between Kurumi and Rinne, they didn't have unlimited patience.

"In this kind of situation…"

"Kotori."

Hearing her name, Kotori glanced to the screen. It was Shido who spoke her name.

The first thing she noticed was his expression. His gaze were firm, and his face was stern.

It was colored by pure, unwavering determination. All directed, toward her.

"Ah…"

Kotori felt her heart was stolen from that look alone. So she closed her eyes.

…Yes, how would Shido think about this deal? She shouldn't just think for herself.

"From her brother's point of view, he would…"

There was no question about it.

"...Very well, Kurumi. We accept your deal."

Opening her eyes, Kotori steeled her voice for that declaration.

She noticed that both people on the screen smiled widely at her choice, though probably for completely different reasons.

"See? Your past self succeeded, Kurumi."

"Fufu..."

Rinne smiled at the sight of the giggling Kurumi.

She had shared her memories in the past hour, mostly about the conversation with 'Kurumi of that day', including the clone's proposed change of plans, and what Rinne thought about the whole thing.

Now, both of them were sitting next to each other on the water tank in the skyscraper rooftop, still connecting to each other by holding Cassiel on her left hand, while all the other Kurumis had either returned to their observation mission, or Kurumi's own shadow.

The two of them were not just sharing memories this time. Now, they were chatting with their thoughts, and Rinne had activated [Web of Causality] in conjunction with Fate Connection to allow Kurumi to read what the [Strings of Fate] were displaying.

Just now, they had witnessed the success of their new plans, courtesy of 'Kurumi'. It was pleasant and satisfying.

Rinne smiled lightly.

"Seriously… whichever it is, all Kurumis are very good at thinking on the fly."

Kurumi returned her smile.

"I have to admit it, I think the Me of that time is too naive. But it seemed that even the naive had their ways too."

The plan made by the original Kurumi last night was divided into three phases, which would made full use of everything they had. The changes made by 'the other Kurumi' though, mainly modified the first two.

The original first phase was the first date with Shido. While Kurumi was gathering as much Spirit mana as possible for the second phase, Rinne would work to build up trust with Shido. Although her partner insisted that she should call it 'enjoying herself'.

The second phase, would be invading DEM after the date with Shido was over. Since directly using Zafkiel's Yod or Cassiel's Fate Connection on Shido carried high risk of Inversion, then they simply need to eliminate the possibility.

One way to do so was to use Realizers that the DEM used to brainwash their officers. Using that, Kurumi could simply shut down Rinne's own mind if she started going berserk, just like how Nia's memories of horrible torture were shut down.

Rinne didn't mind having her mind manipulated: after all, she trusted Kurumi.

But, with the current plans, they were about to reverse the order. 'Kurumi' would use Ratatoskr's assistance to help both Rinne and the original Kurumi invade DEM.

This would conserve their energy and time while eliminating the need for Kurumi to risk AST's attention by draining a large number of citizens, plus relieving the tension between Rinne and Kotori somewhat.

Plus, if Ratatoskr decided to keep their end of the deal, then phase three would be pretty much secured.

"Do you agree with us now, Kurumi?"

"Yes. I don't see a reason to oppose it at this point."

Rinne let out a sigh of relief at that. She was afraid Kurumi was going to reject it.

All of sudden however, Kurumi let go of Cassiel, severing the connection between them, surprising Rinne.

"Eh?"

The Nightmare Spirit leaped off the water tank and onto the rooftop's floor. Kurumi then walked forward, widening their distance.

"Kurumi?"

No reply. Rinne's eyes followed her friend until Kurumi halted, almost 10 meters away.

From where Rinne was looking at, Kurumi looked like a gothic girl who stood by herself in the midst of an empty world.

As they both were on top of a skyscraper, the scenery of the city became the background, and Kurumi became the center.

It was a lovely, beautiful sight. But at the same time, it also made Kurumi look very lonely, for some reason.

"You know…"

Kurumi suddenly broke the silence.

"I wonder why do you want me to stop, Rinne."

It took Rinne a second to process what Kurumi meant before understanding hit her.

"Wait, could she mean about her goal...?"

Kurumi disliked talking about that topic, even to her. It was some sort of taboo between them - and Rinne could respect it. But, why now-

"…Ah, right. Our minds were shared."

Then… Kurumi was fully aware of her feelings.

When Rinne met 'Kurumi of that day' – she had expressed one of her deepest wishes.

The possibility of Kurumi giving up about her revenge for the First Spirit. The possibility that the 'other Kurumi' had embraced.

Her desire for her friend to be saved. A desire she had harbored in secret for a long time now.

Rinne was about to open her mouth, but Kurumi seemed to be aware of her discomfort.

"Oh, please be at ease. I am not about to lash out or anything. I already know that you would have preferred me to give up my wish. I know that much."

'Although I certainly didn't know you desired it so much,' was left unsaid by Kurumi.

Kurumi's tone was even, but to Rinne, it was clear as day. She was upset, and took that almost as badly as a betrayal.

It felt like a knife to Rinne's heart. She never wanted for her friend to feel like that.

"If I succeeded in preventing the birth of the First Spirit, then Spirits will no longer exist. Me, you, Shido-san, everyone- will be normal humans. Wouldn't it be a better scenario than if I were to fail?"

There were hints of accusation in those words, and traces of sadness in Kurumi's eyes.

Rinne was blind and deaf if she didn't understand that. Her friend wanted to know why she wished for the failure of the one thing Kurumi desired most.

Normally Kurumi wouldn't even question herself. She had her personal reason to hate the First Spirit, and if her goal could bring good to the world, that was just a bonus.

Kurumi also didn't care what other people thought about herself. Their judgments interested her not. Except if it was from Sonogami Rinne.

"You are not wrong, Kurumi."

A world with no disaster called the Spacequakes, and with no existences known as Spirits to cause conflicts.

A life of a normal girl, living her life the way she wants it, to enjoy her hobbies, to make use of her talents, to pursue her interests, to fall in love with someone.

Not a life where she was being hunted for existing, and concerned herself about a mysterious past or connection.

Rinne desired it. Even more so than Kurumi, perhaps. Even her desire to understand Shido was part of this wish.

Yes, the strange, familiar feeling when she met Shido made her mad and obsessed, but she also felt like a normal girl with him.

Around him, Rinne felt like she wasn't a supernatural being who could see and play with the fates of all things.

Even though he was not a normal human, even if his past and origin were surrounded by as much mystery as hers,

Shido still lived his normal life, he could still see himself as a human.

"Truly, he is a human capable of wielding Spirit powers."

Kurumi understood this desire of hers, a yearning for normal life, and had accepted it.

She didn't blame Kurumi for questioning her like this, because to the avenger...

A sincere wish for her giving up was an insult to everything her friend stood for.

But-

"I know. However, there is one thing I couldn't accept about that scenario, Kurumi."

Rinne halted for a moment. This was going to be hard. She had to keep her emotions in check.

Even though she realized it, she could not keep her voice from turning melancholic.

"It's our memories in the new world."

Kurumi widened her eyes. It was clear her friend already understood what she was about to say. But, she had to continue and pour out her feelings.

"If you prevented the First Spirit from existing, then your Zafkiel will no longer be around to protect our memories from the change of timeline. No one will remember about our previous life…"

Rinnne had to stop her voice for a breath. Why was it this hard?

Was admitting her own reasons to her friend and herself so difficult?

"Is it because it sounds so selfish… no, it is selfish."

Then, all the more reason to say it…!

"Then you and I won't know each other, Kurumi."

Kurumi looked as if she was slapped by the answer. It was an appropriate reaction. Rinne was well aware of how selfish it was.

She wanted a normal life, but at the same time she didn't want to let go of the relationship that her Spirit life had given her.

"But that's my wish… is it so wrong? You too, make me feel like I belong somewhere."

Kurumi was there to help her after she became a Spirit. Kurumi had saved her from despair when she Inversed.

Kurumi could understand how it felt to be trapped in a life you didn't want, and Rinne too, understood her.

How could Rinne forget such a person? How could Rinne allow herself to forget?

Rinne would never forgive herself if she simply let go of Kurumi.

"You… am I really that important to you?"

Kurumi was no longer simply surprised. Shock was clearly painted on her face and that audibly bled to her tone.

Yet the question made Rinne frown slightly. Shouldn't that be obvious to both of them by now?

"Yes. What are you talking about?"

"I don't understand. You yearned for a normal life, don't you? I can allow that to happen. You might not find out about your connection with Shido-san, but if history is rewritten, it wouldn't even matter. In the end, the only thing you will lose-"

"Is you."

Kurumi reflexively silenced when Rinne interjected. Probably because of the anger she failed to suppress in her voice.

Rinne didn't mean to sound so offended. But it hurt just saying those words.

"You will have your own life, we won't even remember each other."

Saying those words made Rinne wish she had bitten her lips. It was the scenario she sorely wished to avoid.

"Isn't that a necessary and acceptable consequence?"

Kurumi asked her back, a perplexed expression plastered on her face. But what she said had shocked Rinne even more.

How could Kurumi say something like that so easily?

Forgetting about each other was not the same as parting ways from one another.

Rinne would never accept the former, unless it truly meant the better for both of them.

Did her friend really think their bonds were something so insignificant? To be so easily dismissed?

That line of thought snapped something within her.

"You don't know that! What about yourself? Will you be happier forgetting me!?"

Rinne felt her throat hurt from the words she had screamed.

Kurumi took a step back. Silence descended.

…No, she had to calm down. Deep breaths.

Her friend had always felt guilty whenever she got angry. So Rinne had to calm down.

If that was the case, she should go straight to the heart of the problem.

This was something Rinne really didn't want to ask... but she had to know.

"Please… tell me. Will you be happier if you hadn't become a Spirit, and we had never met?"

Rinne had only lived right here, right now, because of Kurumi's actions, and Rinne was grateful for that.

Selfish as she was, Rinne wanted Kurumi to be happy. Her friend's happiness mattered to her more than her own.

If... if Kurumi would get her closure and reached her happiness by achieving what she wanted...

Then Rinne would accept that, even if that meant they would end up forgetting each other.

"I want you to be happy."

With that in her mind, Rinne waited for Kurumi's answer.

For some reason, Kurumi avoided her gaze.

"…My feelings don't matter."

The reply was so emotionless, Rinne almost mistook it for a different person.

"What…?"

"Even if I believe my goal is a 'compassion' for this world, it doesn't make me a 'good' person."

Her voice slowly steadied, and her usual confidence returned.

But Rinne still didn't understand. What was Kurumi talking about?

"Therefore, whether or not I am happy in the new world, it doesn't matter. Rinne, even you should not be concerned with me by then."

Kurumi answered resolutely.

That resolution shocked her. What...? Did Kurumi really mean that?

"What? What do you mean, it doesn't matter!?"

Rinne felt her teeth grind against each other.

Was this about Kurumi's refusal to be saved? Kurumi's insistence to see herself as a villain?

No... it was Kurumi's belief that the very existence of Spirits were cursed, and everything about them were a mistake.

"Even in a different world, you still don't want to be saved!?"

Rinne could see why Kurumi thought that way. She could understand it, even. But she wouldn't accept that.

Every person, every life, deserved happiness in some form. Let alone Kurumi, who was not even close to the monster she painted herself as.

But... Rinne didn't rebuke Kurumi. She couldn't, for she had no right to.

"It's selfishness too, isn't it?"

They were similar after all.

Rinne desired a normal life - the life of an ordinary human, but at the same time she did not want to not let go the bonds she forged in her life as a Spirit.

She could only choose one... but she didn't want to let go of either. Her self-centered heart had no resolve to, and even used Shido as an excuse to distract herself, to make her forget about choosing, all for her own convenience.

It made her feel disgusted at herself.

Kurumi desired to erase her regrets and exact her vengeance. But in truth, she simply didn't want to accept the consequences of her existence.

Both the bad - the lives Kurumi had claimed for her own gain; the pain and misery she caused for both others and herself; all the guilt, the anger, and the hatred she harbored for the reality which built her life.

And the good - the people whom Kurumi had helped, indirect as it might be; the people whom Kurumi grew to care and even treasure, such as Rinne herself and Shido; all the sincere gratitude and genuine joy in the life she thought was cursed.

Kurumi didn't want to live with those. Good or bad, she wanted to believe all of those were mistaken. Thus she devoted everything to undo the past.

They were different, but both of them were absurd. It was hypocritical for her to try and call Kurumi out on it.

...That's right. Rinne was already aware of this.

"Why am I this surprised..."

Had she been in denial this entire time?

"Is it because I am afraid if it is true...?"

But, even if that was the case. Even if this was being hypocritical for her.

Even so, Rinne wasn't going to let it end like this. For Kurumi.

"If that's what you think, I understand."

Steeling her mind and resolve, she unflinchingly retorted her reply and leaped off the water tank she was sitting on; she landed on her feet and stood at Kurumi's level.

Aggressively walking toward her friend, Rinne stared her down, which prompted Kurumi to instinctively take a step back in reflex and caution.

"Ara? Rinne, what are you-"

Kurumi stopped herself as Rinne grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close, their eyes mere centimetres apart.

"Don't be afraid. I am not angry, or anything."

Rinne smiled. She was echoing Kurumi's earlier statement during the beginning of the conversation on purpose.

Kurumi was visibly unnerved. That was understandable, she supposed.

Both of them knew each other well enough to know what they would agree and disagree on.

Thus, Rinne decided to voice her feelings once again.

"I just want you to know something."

"...What is it?"

"I don't care if we are different, I am still your partner."

Rinne noticed Kurumi's eyes widened a bit.

"I know that both of us are stubborn and selfish, so I want you to remember: there are people who will not give up on you."

"…!"

Kurumi's mouth gaped, she was so stunned the girl forgot to breathe.

That reaction disappointed Rinne.

"You really don't know that you matter so much for me, huh...?"

Still, Rinne held herself back. They had things to do, anything else could wait until then.

As Kurumi stood there frozen, she walked past her friend.

"Let's go, Kurumi. We have a Realizer to acquire, and a Spirit to rescue."

And… that's it!

Sorry if it's much longer than usual. Like always, if the chapter feels weird, say so. There are multiple story routes to go down from here, and rewriting this chapter's events is easy.

Oh, it's about time for Kurumi, Rinne, and Rio (through Shido) to battle after the "Interluding Date" chapters. So for that, let me get some things straight:

First, the Light Novels have stated repeatedly about Sephira Crystals, Spirit Mana/Reiryoku, and their effects. But, little explanation is given about how they work, and how they relate.

We all know that Sephira Crystals continuously produce Reiryoku for Spirits. A Spirit can only run out of mana if they overuse their powers, which causes some detrimental effects to their bodies as well (when Miku's mana ran low in Volume 7, she was unable to even speak normally, and Kurumi implies that she will die if she uses up hers).

But if this is true, there is an oddity. Why Kurumi needs to drain lifespan from others to recover her own power? Shouldn't her Crystal be able to recover it for her?

For a long time, I am under the impression that lifespan and Spirit mana are two different things, and Kurumi's time powers need the former while her shadow powers need the latter. This would explain the oddity.

However, Volume 10 proves this wrong, since Kurumi states clearly that she needs Spirit mana from Origami to send her five years prior, and that sending things to 30 years ago would take enough energy to use up a Spirit's life. This suggests that human's lifespan and a Spirit's Reiryoku are interchangable, if not actually equivalent.

So why Kurumi's Crystal doesn't seem to work for Kurumi? There are two possible answers I could come up with:

1) Kurumi's Crystal is an exception to the rule, meaning it couldn't produce its own Reiryoku, or;

2) Zafkiel's time powers need so much power that her Crystal's recovery rate can't keep up with the consumption rate, meaning Kurumi will often find herself running out of power in an extended fight.

From these two possibilities, I choose the latter for my fanfiction. This is probably not canon, but I hope it is.

Secondly, I believe that the ability to attain Reiryoku from an external source is not unique to Kurumi. I believe that other Spirits are capable of that as well, although more than likely with a different way. We have several indications for this:

1) Yoshino's power creates ice beams and blizzards by absorbing nearby water (it's not just anime visual effect, the novels confirm it too).

2) When Kurumi talked about herself consuming humans, she said "The relationship between humans and Spirits, is just like this you know." This implies that not just her, some other Spirits can probably do the same thing.

3) When Natsumi traps people inside her mirror dimension (which works similarly to Kurumi's shadow, by the way) she can dissolve people inside.

4) Finally, Origami also manipulates surrounding light particles for her beam spamming.

All of this suggests that, all Spirits can gain power from external sources. This theory will be true in my fanfiction.

Each Spirit would have a different source of 'food', which is determined by their elements. For example, Yoshino can gain Reiryoku by absorbing nearby water source. Kotori would do the same with flames, Yamai with wind and lightning, Miku with the surrounding voices and music, Origami with the surrounding light, and so forth.

Kurumi technically follows this rule, she consumes people's "time." And even for Spirits with unclear elements such as Tohka, Natsumi, Nia and Mukuro, this still holds true:

1) Tohka's Sandalphon seems to manipulate natural forces. Those things are everywhere (remember gravity?) for her to absorb, which may explain why we have never seen Tohka worrying about her reserves.

2) Natsumi can absorb people to her Haniel because they are part of her element (materials with shape and form).

3) Nia's Rasiel actually seems to be powered by imaginations and fantasy, judging from Beelzebub's ability with fiction. Again, it explains why Nia can use her Angel freely without much fuss (although, Westcott's five years of torture seem to have taken a toll on her reserves, which makes her weaker than Kurumi by the time of volume 13)

4) Mukuro can manipulate the very fabric of reality with Michael, which might explain why she is freakishly overpowered (she draws power from dimensions themselves, which is literally everywhere)

Needless to say, the two original Angels I made (for Rinne and Mayuri) shall follow this rule too. Although how it applies, will be shown later.

And that's it! Sorry to drag this on for so long. State your opinion about the chapter and my theories in the review!

Thank you for following "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!