A/N: Salutations! Let's fulfill my monthly offerings to you readers, ok?

Here is chapter 13, "Interluding Date, Part III" for all of you!

For the umpteenth time this morning, Miku shifted in her bed.

"..."

The diva had lost count of the number of sheeps she had counted since the moment she tried to sleep. Miku didn't even know how many hours had passed since she took a bath and changed into her nightgown near the midnight.

She had to get some rest. While as an idol Miku was quite used to physically straining schedule, she had been stalking two people throughout a mall for hours, all while carrying her not-so-small amount of purchased items and clothes, which was not exactly a walk in the park.

Worse, the ones she stalked were Spirits willing to kill her- and Miku would be lying if she said that she wasn't afraid. In fact, she was terrified so much that she felt like running away. The stress had weighed on her, and she was very tired, in body and in mind.

But-

"Shido-san…"

The diva couldn't even stop thinking about the man who lapsed into a coma before her very eyes.

Was he alright? Kotori had ordered for her and the others to rest, but how could Miku do that? Shido could be dying for all she knew, how could she sleep peacefully like nothing happened?

"Is it because of me?"

The reason Shido was even there that night was because of her request. Miku knew how determined Shido was about saving Spirits, and he had failed only once, with Tokisaki Kurumi.

Although the diva was skeptical that any Spirit could reject her darling forever, his failure honestly didn't annoy her, as crazy as that sounded. When Shido was unable to do something by himself, that was when Miku and the others could help him.

Miku also had a score to settle with Kurumi. The Nightmare Spirit had helped Shido to save her from herself. As much as Miku disliked that fact, it was the truth. So the diva promised herself, she would return the favor.

"But what have I done…?"

Far from helping Shido, Miku brought him pain instead.

Kotori and the Ratatoskr couldn't identify the cause of his coma, but for some reason, Miku felt it wouldn't have happened if she didn't ask Shido to come with her.

What had she done to Shido? What had she done to the others, by hurting him?

The guilt felt like a knife stabbing her heart.

"I…"

Miku whispered, to no one in particular.

All of a sudden, Miku felt a vibration under her soft, large pillow.

"Eh?"

Her mind was tired but she was wide awake, and she knew from the short vibration, it was a message to her phone.

"Who could it be?"

She brushed her negative thoughts aside as her hand reached for her phone.

Pressing a button to turn on the display screen, it displayed herself and Shido as its background picture, a single unread message, and that it was 7.37 A.M.

"So it's already morning, huh…"

Deciding that trying to sleep was pretty much pointless at this time, Miku rose into a sitting position while rubbing her eyes. After a moment, she opened the message.

It was from Tobiichi Origami.

'A Spacequake alert has been triggered, please come out from your mansion. We are waiting for you in a car. After you join us, we will leave to hide from DEM.' The message read.

The diva squinted her eyes.

"A Spacequake?"

Miku was awake all night, and yet she didn't hear anything.

"Perhaps that meant the Spacequake didn't appear within this city block?"

However, it was no use thinking about it. Miku had to be quick, considering that she lived separately from the other Spirits, everyone should have been picked up already.

"I should not trouble the others more than I already did…"

With that in mind, Miku threw away her blanket to the side and quickly went to her wardrobe.

In a few minutes, Miku was already in her casuals. Since they were going to the Ratatoskr's secret base, she figured she didn't need to bring much, so she just carried a purse with her for her phone and her wallet.

As she walked of her house, Miku could already see a car parked outside of her fence. The window of its driver seat was open, allowing her to see who sat in the front row.

Takamiya Mana was the driver, while Origami sat next to her. They seemed to have noticed her, as the white haired girl gestured her head to come.

Miku took a deep breath. Her fence was electronic and remotely controlled from inside the house, and she had already timed it to close in a minute. If she wasn't quick, she would waste more time.

"Set… go!"

Much to Miku's own surprise, despite feeling tired, her body felt light. She was able to run through her fence and reached the car long before the fence closed.

"Probably because my Spirit power is returning…" Miku noted. Her mood was very, very bad after all.

She kept her mouth from frowning, and greeted her driver.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"No problem. Get in, Izayoi-san!" Mana replied.

Miku nodded. As she opened the car's door, she noticed that almost everyone were inside the car already… although, in a surprising condition.

In the middle row, the Yamai sisters were still clad in their pajamas, their eyes barely awake, and their hairs weren't even tied in their usual braids yet. Even with their differently colored clothes -pink and light blue- Miku still found it difficult to tell which one was which.

Miku's guilt grew in the back of her mind. Did they get a rest at all last night?

"Yo, Diva."

"Greeting. Good morning, Miku."

Contrary to what their looks suggested though, they sounded as fine as usual. Miku smiled a little at that while taking her seat behind Mana, next to Yuzuru.

Mentally noting that the one clad in pink was Kaguya and in light blue was Yuzuru, Miku greeted.

"Good morning, Kaguya-chan, Yuzuru-chan."

After greeting, she heard soft snores from behind her seat. Curious, Miku turned around to see the back row seat.

Tohka, Yoshino, and Natsumi were all sleeping and clad in their nightgowns, as well. The bigger girl were behind Kaguya, holding a large pillow, while the smaller girls were leaning on each other. Natsumi was behind Yuzuru, while Yoshino was behind Miku.

The diva noticed the dark bags unders their eyes, and in Natsumi's, there were tears flowing down her cheek, falling down into her and Yoshino's clothes.

Miku immediately looked away. She couldn't stand seeing her friends cry, even in their sleep. More so when she felt responsible for it.

"I'm sorry…"

The diva tried her hardest not to cry. She took a deep breath, and cast her gaze downward at her feet.

"Izayoi Miku."

She almost jumped at the monotone call of her name, courtesy of Origami.

Turning her gaze into the white haired Spirit, Miku noticed that Origami were staring at her, probably the whole time since she entered the car.

"Origami-san…?"

"If you are blaming yourself for what's happening, I advise you to stop."

The diva's mouth gaped in surprise. Did she just read her mind? Was Origami an ESP?

"No, that's not it." Her rationale quickly kicked in. Anyone would be able to tell, just by looking at her. And Origami was not a mere 'anyone'

Miku sighed. The former AST soldier was very perceptive, so she might as well be honest with her.

"It is my fault, Origami-san."

The Spirit of Sounds was surprised with the amount of self-loath she felt from her own voice, and even the half-awake Yuzuru next to her flinched at her tone.

Origami however, didn't even change her blank expression.

"Shido will disagree with you, so I won't let you think like that."

At the mention of his name, Miku's attention, as well as the Yamai sisters' next to her, were immediately focused at the white haired Spirit.

Origami was not wrong- Shido would never blame Miku for any of this, even if she was the indirect cause of his coma.

However, Origami shouldn't say that. She was not Shido, she didn't have any right to say that. They didn't even know whether Shido was alright or not-

A realization struck Miku as her mind connected the dots.

"Coult it be… Shido-san has recovered?"

"What are you trying to imply, Origami-san?"

Miku tried to suppress how hopeful she sounded. However, Origami merely smiled, as if she detected the emotion behind her question.

Probably because she knew, her next sentence would break Miku's composure.

"Your 'Darling'… he is awake, and as healthy as ever."

Silence ruled over the city.

Because of the Spacequake alarm that went off nearly an hour ago around Raizen High, this part of Tenguu City was immediately emptied as its citizens hid within the shelters.

Using this to their advantage. 'Kurumi' led Shido to the other end of the city block, the Tenguu Square, where the original Kurumi and Rinne were waiting. It was also where Kotori would send Ratatoskr's equivalent of reinforcements.

Kotori was skeptical over their choice of rendezvous location, since that part of the town was an open space with not much buildings around -meaning AST and DEM were at an advantage- but 'Kurumi' assured them that it would not be a problem.

Shido had a vague idea as of why did 'Kurumi' choose that place, though. It held a special meaning for her. After all, it was where they last celebrated Tanabata together, and also where they parted their ways.

Although it seemed 'Kurumi of that day' returned because the original Kurumi recreated her on purpose this time, judging by how she carried herself during the deal a few minutes ago, it was disturbingly like the real Nightmare Spirit. Shido was slightly upset by that fact, but he didn't show it.

As the Square was empty, it was a far cry from the last time he was there. However, the feelings of nostalgia made Shido feel goosebumps. Standing in the middle of the Square, he couldn't help but voice his thoughts.

"This place… it's been awhile."

"Do you miss this place too, Shido-san?"

'Kurumi', who stood to his right, tilted her head to meet his gaze.

"Yeah. It's not as lively as before, but I don't dislike it."

"Really? So Shido-san likes it when he is isolated, alone together, and free to do anything with his girl?"

He processed that for a moment.

Then, after realizing just how wrong that sounded and that he was in that kind of situation with 'Kurumi' right now, Shido's cheeks became redder against his will.

Struggling to maintain his composure, he made a fake cough before he answered.

"N-no. I mean, we used to celebrate Tanabata here before, right? It was a good memory to me… and to be here with you again feels pleasant."

The goth girl smiled at his words, prompting Shido to smile in return. However, just as 'Kurumi' was about to speak-

"What! You celebrated Tanabata with this woman before!? When?!"

From the communicator in his ears, Kotori yelled loud enough for Shido to visibly wince in pain, causing Kurumi to pause.

"Ara?"

"Ouch, Kotori! You don't need to be so loud!"

The Itsuka brother replied in an irritated tone, prompting the sister to huff in annoyance, clearly waiting for his explanation. It was not nice of her, but he really couldn't blame his sister.

Shido had not told anyone about what happened in last year's Tanabata, about her meeting with 'Kurumi', and how she was murdered by her original a second time.

He didn't even tell Kotori about the contents of the Tanzaku he risked himself to hang at the top of the tree, since his sister had dismissed it as a childish tendency.

"Note to self: I would have to explain things to Kotori and Reine, later."

"Sorry I didn't tell you before, Kotori. I went with Kurumi for a date last year, during the Tanabata Festival."

He heard Kotori clicked her tongue, before she continued.

"And why didn't I know about this before? Do you have any reason to hide it?"

A rush of guilt hurt his conscience, but Shido continued to speak.

"The circumstances were complicated…"

"Really now." Kotori sounded skeptical. "Well, that can wait. By the way, ask that clone over there, where is her original and her partner?"

Shido frowned slightly at the way Kotori referred to 'Kurumi' as a mere clone, but he decided it was not worth it and turned to the girl in question.

"Kurumi, where are they?"

"Hum…"

The goth girl turned to look around. Shido followed suit.

As empty as the streets might look, the AST or DEM could be hiding around. The possibility of their location being found this quick was low due to Shido and 'Kurumi' demolishing every DEM mechs they encountered, but the chance was still there.

They didn't see anyone beside themselves, however.

"Strange… Rinne should be able to convince her by now…" 'Kurumi' said under her breath.

"Eh?" Shido raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

He didn't receive an answer, as a voice interjected.

"She already did, [Me]."

Shido widened his eyes as he recognized the distant voice.

Turning his back, Shido saw a familiar figure walking at his direction, with the exact same appearance as the girl next to him, the [Elohim] Astral Dress.

"Kurumi…" Shido muttered.

Instinctively, Shido moved in front of the 'Kurumi' next to him. The Spirit mana around his body became restless, as if alerted by a threat's presence.

Gazing into his eyes as if she could read his mind, Kurumi smirked.

"Your power… it's amazing. Protective of my past self, aren't you Shido-san?"

The real Nightmare Spirit spoke with a condescending tone, clearly directed at her duplicate behind him.

"I have no intention to let you murder her again, Kurumi."

Shido narrowed his eyes and declared his intention.

He pretended not to hear the happy squeal that 'Kurumi' let out behind him and the questioning 'hmm?' Kotori uttered from his communicator. Shido couldn't get his guard down, not when the Spirit of Time was before him.

However, contrary to what Shido expected, Kurumi sighed with a helpless expression.

"Nor do I have any intention of murdering her, Shido-san, I am just playing around. Rinne will be mad at me if I did that, anyway."

"Huh?"

The Itsuka siblings' confusion were muttered simultaneously, although Kurumi only heard Shido's.

The Nightmare sighed once more in response and pointed a thumb to behind herself, as if she was pointing at something.

Confused at Kurumi's gesture, Shido raised a brow.

"What are you…"

He paused himself as a very small flicker of light suddenly appeared right behind Kurumi's head. Before Shido could get a comprehension of what it was though, it disappeared.

"What was that?" Shido thought.

In the next moment, his question was immediately answered.

"Ah, Kurumi. You are spoiling the surprise…"

Shido nearly gasped in surprise as he heard another voice, this time he couldn't recognize.

All of a sudden, Shido could see that color was literally drained of the space behind Kurumi, before numerous masses of light dissolved away into nothingness, revealing a familiar figure.

She was clad in a purple dress and headdress, as well as having braids that approached her legs. Even though Shido didn't saw her face, he immediately recognized who was it.

"Rinne…?"

"Mama?"

Much to the surprise of Shido and Rio -who had been listening silently within his mind since earlier- the Ruler Spirit appeared behind Nightmare, tilting her head slightly to send them a crimson gaze that pierced even the veil on her face.

"Good morning, Itsuka Shido."

Rinne greeted him with a calm, almost formal tone. Shido however, tensed at her mere presence, for reasons he couldn't tell.

"W-where did you come from?" Shido nearly stuttered.

"Ah, you mean the trick I did just now?" Rinne asked back.

The crimson light coming from beyond Rinne's veil seemed to glow brighter, much to Shido's horror. He had to consciously stop himself from gasping.

"It's a secret."

Rinne crossed her arms playfully. Under the veil, Shido assumed she was probably chuckling. The gesture was supposed to be adorable, but it really didn't help Shido to calm down at all.

"Come on, pull youself together…" Shido thought to himself.

His rational thought told him he shouldn't be afraid of Rinne. However, the fact that she had the same appearance as the person who killed him in his vision last night was not a pleasant thought, at the very least.

And with her presence, Shido felt like his nervousness had been triggered due to his fear. His breaths became faster, and the thought of running away suddenly crossed his mind.

However-

"Papa."

"Eh?"

In the midst of his panic, Rio mentally called Shido with a very soft tone. It felt very vivid, as if someone whispered to his ears.

"Don't be afraid. Mama is a very kind person, she won't do that."

All of a sudden, Shido could feel something -or perhaps, someone- was holding his right hand tightly.

"Papa shouldn't be afraid of Mama!"

The invisible hand that clasped his within it seemed to lift his spirits. Shido was sure no one was touching him- and yet the comforting feeling he had could only be described as that.

His fear didn't disappear, but he had calmed down.

"...Thank you, Rio."

"Rio is always here for Papa."

Shido could almost feel the mental smile Rio gave him in return. If his 'daughter' was giving him this much, then he couldn't disappoint her.

Steeling his resolve, Shido whispered to the communicator in his ears to contact his sister.

"Kotori, may I call Rio right now?"

"Hah? For what purpose?"

The commander asked back with a surprised, questioning tone. Shido was honestly not expecting that, didn't she already know why?

"You know that she wants to talk with her 'mother,' right?"

"Oh… right."

Kotori seemed to sink into a deeper thought for a moment. Knowing her, Shido knew she was weighing the risk and the benefit of letting Rio met Rinne.

Shido just hoped his sister would allow it. Although he had no idea what that could cause them in the long run, it just felt right to allow a 'daughter' to meet her 'mother'

After a few moments, she finally gave the answer he wanted.

"It may be dangerous to inform them about Rio… but we are too deep in danger now anyway. I will permit it."

"Understood. Thank you, Kotori."

And with that, Shido closed his eyes as the enormous amount of Spirit mana that flowed around his body slowly accumulated into a shape he could comprehend, a human figure.

His eyes were mesmerized, as slowly but surely the incorporeal energy materialize and became corporeal.

In a few moments, a little girl clad in her red-golden dress and robe manifested mid-air to his right. She shook her head around to prevent her long, plum-colored hair from covering her face and vision.

"A-re?"

"Ara?"

The two Spirits before him were caught off-guard at the sight of the [Irregular] Spirit materializing before their very eyes, just like Shido was before. Rinne in particular took a few steps closer, as if she wanted to get a better look at Rio.

Rio's Astral Dress were overflowing with power, completely different with how she manifested before. The Spirit mana filled the atmosphere between them, and even Shido could almost feel it with his skin.

As Rio landed on her feet, Shido half-expected his 'daughter' to forget all sense of personal space and approached Rinne, but it seemed that he was mistaken.

The little Spirit stayed by his side, and held Shido's hand with hers, while smiling to the two people ahead of them.

"Good morning, Mama, Kurumin!"

To their credit, Rinne and Kurumi kept their surprise limited to their expressions, and in the Ruler's case Shido couldn't even tell whether she was actually surprised.

Their voices however, suggested otherwise.

"Ma, Mama? Why am I…?"

"Kurumin?"

Rinne sounded very perplexed at the fact that she was called 'Mama' while Kurumi seemed slightly offended at being called 'Kurumin'. However, before any of them could recover from the shock, the 'other Kurumi' behind Shido spoke.

"Shido-san, who is this?"

Not forgetting that 'Kurumi' was there, Shido turned his head to answer her. "Uh… it's very complicated-"

He was cut off by a cheerful squeal.

"Rio is Papa's and Mama's daughter, nice to meet you, Kurumin!"

The little Spirit let his hand go and twirled her body around and smiled at 'Kurumi' as Rio gave her usual explanation. Shido wanted to sigh, but he found himself smiling instead.

For her part, 'Kurumi' didn't seem to be convinced by Rio's words, however.

"Daughter?" She raised a brow. "You don't mean that in the literal sense, aren't you?"

"Rio means it!" Rio shook her head. "Papa gave birth to me with Mama, so Rio is their daughter!"

Shido supposed that this 'Kurumi' seemed to struggle making sense of that, judging from the contemplative frown on her face. He chuckled at how his 'daughter' managed to confuse her, before turning to Ruler and Nightmare.

"Let me introduce her. Her name is Rio, and she is… uh, a Spirit born from me?"

Shido wanted to explain more than that, but his head was still wrapping around the concept that he could actually create a Spirit out of his powers.

Kurumi seemed to be able to understand his words however, as a wicked grin formed itself on her face.

"I see. So this little Spirit is the one regulating your powers… right, Shido-san?"

"A-ah, yeah."

For some reason, Shido's instincts were alarmed at the tone Kurumi was using.

"Um… why does she call me Mama? Why am I her mother?"

Rinne still sounded amazed, which was rather uncharacteristic of her as far as Shido knew. Although he could hardly blame her for that.

"Uhh, as for that… I don't know, either."

Shido rubbed his head, because he really didn't know. He had wanted to ask Rio, but she had been so hyperactive since the morning that he couldn't ask about the topic.

"Ehee hee…"

The Irregular Spirit let out a cute, yet enigmatic giggle. Shido took a glance next to him at Rio as she turned again to face her 'mother'.

"Mama is Rio's Mama because Papa misses her so much!"

As Rio answered cheerfully, it took a moment for all the audience to process what she said.

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

Both Shido and Rinne uttered at the same time in surprise. Meanwhile, the Kurumis, if they were surprised, didn't seem to show it.

"I… miss her?"

The statement sounded ridiculous to Shido. He had just met Rinne yesterday, Shido couldn't possibly miss anyone whom he didn't even know before.

However, Shido wasn't exactly confident in his rational thoughts recently, especially not with Rinne, and definitely not with Rio. For all he knew, he might…

"I… might have met Rinne before…"

As he was deep in thought, however, Rinne seemed to voice her thoughts.

"W-what do you mean by that?"

Her expression was hidden behind her veil, but for some reason Shido was able to tell that Rinne was… embarrassed?

"Um? Rio means it. Papa misses Mama so much, Papa created Rio!"

Rio's powers seemed to react to those words, and the Spirit mana that saturated the atmosphere seemed to shift as if agreeing with her.

If Shido could feel it, he was sure the other people present -Rinne, and the two Kurumis- were able to tell it.

"I… see…"

Shido felt that Rinne wasn't convinced, but before she could say anything, Rio spoke once more.

"Nee, Mama. Rio wants to ask Mama about something."

"Me? What do you want to ask?"

"Rio is curious about-"

The little Spirit stopped herself as all of a sudden Rio's Spirit mana shifted sharply, startling all the people present.

Their density seemed to suddenly rise, and Shido felt it was harder to move his body through the thick mana saturation.

"R-Rio…?" Shido became concerned.

As Shido took a glance to Rio next to him, he saw that Rio silently turned her gaze upwards into the sky, as if something attracted her attention.

"What is that?" Rio asked with a curious tone.

"That? Where?" Shido followed Rio's gaze.

In a few moments, roughly 6 stories above the ground, a large aircraft -a helicopter- slowly appeared out of thin air, much to Shido's surprise.

"No, not that…"

Shido corrected himself. It didn't appear out of thin air, the helicopter was revealing itself, probably disabling its invisible wall made of Realizers.

The helicopter was larger than any helicopter Shido had ever seen. It was probably nearly 20 meters wide and more than 40 meters long, as well as equipped with both main and tail rotor blades. Despite the speed at which the rotors spun, there was no noise at all- definitely the effects of the translucent [Territory] surrounding it.

"Ara? A transport helicopter?"

"Shido, does it belong to the Ratatoskr?"

The Nightmare and Ruler immediately asked him for confirmation, which prompted Shido whispered to the communicator in his ears.

"Kotori, is it the reinforcements you are sending us?"

"Yeah, it is. Prepare yourself! Kannazuki is about to open the door."

As if responding to Kotori's commands, the automatic door at the left side of the aircraft slowly opened itself, revealing a tall, blonde man clad a white suit and trousers, who were in a military salute posture.

Shido knew who he was. Kannazuki Kyouhei, Kotori's vice-commander in Fraxinus.

"I apologize for the lateness of my arrival." He shouted, and yet the tone and the way he carried himself was calm and professional.

Kurumi -the original one- smirked. "So the Ratatoskr has a stealth transport besides their mothership? It seems I underestimated them."

"You look down on others much too often." Rinne let out a chuckle. "It's impressive, how come they didn't use this before?"

The vice-commander replied. "Although I would like to answer that, it's unrefined to chat outside. Shall we get in?"

"You got that." Shido replied.

Shido turned to Rio, who pouted slightly. It seemed that she really wanted to talk to Rinne, and Kannazuki's interruption were definitely not appreciated.

He wanted to pet his 'daughter's' head and tell her that it was fine, but the little Spirit suddenly shook her head and smiled, before turning to the Ruler Spirit.

"Mama, let's talk later. There are many things Rio wants to talk with Mama!"

Despite the cheerful tone Rio used, Shido could tell there was a hint of… irritation underneath it. Rinne seemed to realize it as well, seeing as she hesitated to reply.

"Wait. When did I become so thoughtful?"

Although he disliked it, Shido had to admit that Kotori was not exactly wrong to call him a 'blockhead' since even he knew that he didn't tend to pay attention to details, especially subtle ones.

The fact that he could tell Rio was irritated from her voice alone was quite unusual. Could there be… some sort of bond between them?

"Does the Spirit pathway between us regulate more than just our Spirit mana?"

Shido noted that he had to ask Reine that later.

"Ah… if Rio-chan says so."

As Rinne reluctantly complied, Rio nodded her head with a smile before taking Shido's hand once more.

Immediately, Shido could feel Rio's mana flowed into him, and suddenly he felt his body becoming very light. Gravity once again didn't affect him.

And with that, all the people on the ground flew their ways into the helicopter, and the door closed.

Inside the chopper, it was surprisingly spacious. The walls were painted similarly to the walls of Fraxinus rooms, and there was a large, circular table in the middle of the room. With the thirteen chairs surrounding it, it gave the impression of the Round Table.

There was a door with a large window, likely leading to the cockpit of the aircraft. There was another, windowless door at the opposite end of the room, which gave the impression of a dead end, despite being a door.

"Welcome, to Ratatoskr's stealth infiltration aircraft unit, [Hrasvelgr]."

Kannazuki made a bow as he greeted the five guests, Shido, Rio, Rinne, and the two Kurumis. The first two appeared fascinated, while the other three appeared more wary than impressed.

"Although Shido-kun is aware of my identity, I believe I haven't met the four of you in person. It's a pleasure to meet you Spirits, I am Kannazuki Kyouhei, vice-commander of the Fraxinus."

At this, the real Nightmare Spirit smirked at the blonde, her intentions clear.

"Ara, aren't you the polite one. Unlike your commander."

Shido could hear an offended gasp from the communicator in his ears. Fortunately, the Ruler Spirit decided to interject.

"Kurumi, that's enough already. Thank you for accepting our offer and providing us with your assistance, Ratatoskr."

"That being said… [Cassiel]."

Invoking her Angel's name, a small portal made of darkness appeared before the Ruler, and she inserted her hand into it.

Rinne then drew out a purple lyre, and as soon as it was pulled out completely, its ten strings reached out and became much longer, surrounding her, and the two Kurumis next to her.

It was familiar for Shido, who saw it before when he first saw Rinne yesterday on the school rooftop.

"Please forgive me for being on-guard. My Angel will tear any Territory trying to entrap us, so don't bother trying."

The Ruler's tone was even, but the threat behind it was clear. Shido could feel chills ran down his spine, and even Rio next to him looked worried.

Kannazuki however, didn't even change his expression and kept his smile.

"We won't do such a thing. Now, would you please take a seat?"

The vice-commander gestured to the seat. Rinne took a seat first, which prompted 'Kurumi' to sit to her left. The real Kurumi stood behind them both, similar to a bodyguard.

After a moment, Shido decided to take a seat in Rinne's opposition, while Rio sat to his right. After everyone took their respective seats, Kannazuki took a seat next to Shido.

"Now then."

Kannazuki leaned his arms on the table, and clasped his hands under his chin. His calm, brown eyes looked as if they were staring down the three Spirits across the table, which was unusual of him.

Shido could not recall seeing the blonde masochist this serious before, which impressed him.

"Let's begin." The blonde said evenly.

There you go! Please drop whatever is in your thoughts about this chapter in the reviews!

Hraesvelgr is named after the eagle residing on the top of Ygg-Drasill, from Norse mythology. I picked it as a name since the Ratatoskr is named after... sort of the squirrel that climbs up and down the World Tree, delivering the message between the eagle and the serpent that chews down the roots of the World Tree, Niohoggr.

On that note, sorry for delivering this chapter so late, this chapter was quite difficult to write with my college schedule. Still, I managed it: tell me if ANYTHING feels wrong, I am fixing it as soon as I can.

I didn't get any review for the last chapter… Have I started losing readers, after all? I'm sorry for my hiatuses, but I know that's not what you want. All I can do is write to the best of my abilities.

Still… thank you for following the development of "Alternate Reincarnation" so far!