This is a direct sequel to my fanfic, The 30th I: Phantom of Infinity.

Disclaimer: I do not own Date a Live and it's characters.


The 30th II: Eden of Ornaments
Act 1: Snowy Days
Chapter 3 - "Stringless Puppet"


Shinji and Mio were struck with a sudden feeling of fear. Yoshino's only parent—or the only family she has—has perished in a car accident.

"Shin, what do we do?"

"I think... we can't let Yoshino find out." Shinji reluctantly suggested.

"But..."

"If she finds out, her illness will get worse. I don't think... Yoshino should know just yet. She's not ready."

"But lying to Yoshino-chan..."

"We will tell her eventually. But first..." Shinji paused and looked the other way to give it thought before continuing. "We need to get treatment for her immediately."


"I'm afraid with no one able to cover the finances, we cannot proceed with the treatment. The special equipment could only delay her symptoms."

"Is there any other way?"

"You could try paying it for yourself, but..." the doctor reluctantly said before handing over a document regarding treatment costs.

"This is..."


"Senpai, you're retiring?"

"Uh huh! Today is my last shift." Tatsumi said.

"Eh? But, why?" Shinji asked.

"Well, it might seem surprising but..." Tatsumi said before leaning in to whisper something in Shinji's ear. And when she did, the latter was left dumbfounded and could only look in surprise.

"No way, seriously?"

"You bet!"

"How many months?"

"We only found out a few weeks ago, actually. My husband's pretty excited too. So he went looking for a full-time job and insisted I retire from my part-time work..." Tatsumi explained.

"I-is that so..."

"Anyway, what are you here for, Takamiya? You're off-duty today, aren't you?" Tatsumi curiously asked.

"I actually... came to have more shifts assigned." Shinji bluntly answered.

"Eh? Why?"

"Well that's... it's an emergency."

"No way! Did you get Mio-chan pregnant?! Are you taking responsibility?!" Tatsumi half-seriously whispered so that no one else could hear, but loud enough for Shinji to hear and blush in return.

"N-nothing of that sort! Why do you always..."

"I'm just kidding~" Tatsumi teasingly said.

"You..."


"Uhm, Mio-san, why is mom not visiting anymore lately?" Yoshino curiously asked.

"Hm? O-oh, Nagisa-san said she was busy with many things, so she couldn't visit for a while..."

Mio could only frown at how she needed to lie at the innocent Yoshino. But she shared the same opinion as Shinji—telling the truth will weigh too much on her. They needed to have her treatment finished asap to lessen the risk if she ever finds out about her mother's passing.

"Really? I guess I can wait a little while..." Yoshino says as she looks at the puppet on her hand that looks very similar to the one she was wearing on her other hand, only smaller in size and a little different in design.

"Don't worry. Shin and I will still visit you regularly. And when he's busy with his job, I'll keep coming here by myself." Mio said to reassure Yoshino and to slowly divert the subject away from anything related to her mother, a situation she was too afraid to face.


"Eh? You want to take over Tobiichi's shifts?" the manager of the café Shinji worked in asked to confirm what the boy had just requested.

"Yes, please do so." Shinji politely replied. He tried to pick up from Mio's unusually polite way of talking, and managed to keep a normal air between he and the manager.

"I guess there is no problem, but..."

"Please, I really need the money. It's for something important." Shinji plead.

"If it means to you that much..."


"Sigh... senpai really worked a lot of shifts... and since I took over all of them, I'm exhausted, to the bone..." Shinji groaned as he passes out on the bed in his room.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Shinji mustered up a small amount of strength and went to answer it. Mana wasn't home due to practice, so she wasn't there to do it for him."

"Who is— oh, Mio!"

"Mm. Good evening, Shin." Mio greeted.

Shinji was confused for a moment before quickly bringing out his phone and check the time right now.

7:21pm

Much to his surprise, it has gotten very late. Shinji just had just arrived back in his own house about five minutes ago. But he didn't look at the time, and ended up realizing just how much shifts Tatsumi used to take.

"Did you have dinner yet?" Shinji asked.

Mio shook her head. "No, not yet. I plan on eating here if you don't mind." Mio offered.

"N-not at all, have a seat." Shinji offered.


"How's Yoshino?"

"She's getting better. Although it pains me to lie to her like that..." Mio said with guilt painted all over her face.

Yoshino was indeed an "angel" in Shinji's view. She was young, innocent, and a well-behaved girl. She loved her mother—the only family she had remaining—above all. If she were to find out that she was no longer there for her, who knows how it would affect her. Not only that, but she was under the mercy of an illness that tortured her since birth. They can only assume that it would only pain her even more than it should if she were to find out. Mio kept this thought in mind whenever guilt tries to capture her whole.

"Me too, but... we really have no choice. For her sake..." Shinji replied.

The atmosphere between them was cold and saddening. Mio tries to change the subject:

"So, how are you coming along, Shin?"

"I took over each and every one of senpai's shifts, but we're still nowhere near the target money. Who knows how long we have to keep this lie up until we can cover the treatment cost..."


"This is..." Mio gaped in wonder as she noticed a strange part-time job advertisement. The payment was good, but it involved a lot of work. Though none of these are ones she can't handle to a degree. The big problem was that job applicants have to be male (AN: This will be important to the plot in later chapters) for some reason.

She picked up one of the flyers and kept it for later. For now, she has to go and visit Yoshino in the hospital.

"I hope Shin is doing well." Mio said to herself.


"Here, thanks."

"How may I help you, ma'am?"

"Credit or debit?"

"Thank you, come again!"

Taking over Tatsumi's shifts, who was a hard worker, Shinji found himself way more busy than he expected. Nonetheless, his desire to save Yoshino kept him from breaking down into tears.

"Mio must be visiting Yoshino right now..." Shinji said to himself.

"I'll have this..."

"Coming right up!" he snaps out of his thoughts and gets back to work.


"Mio-san..."

"Just 'Mio' is fine." Mio interjected.

"Mm," Yoshino said with a small nod. "Mio, I miss mom..."

Mio felt a sweat drop but steeled herself so Yoshino wouldn't suspect anything.

"I'm sure your mother misses you too. Don't worry, you wouldn't want to let her see you sad, right?"

Mio wanted to say 'your mother will return to visit you no matter what' to the blue-haired child, but she knew that lying to Yoshino would hurt her more when she finds out, so she was reluctant to get her hopes up over a lie.

"Thank you, Mio. I'm lucky to have you and Shinji-san," Yoshino said with a smile.

Mio could only respond with a wry smile before opening her bag to bring out the food she had packed for the visit.


"A butler job?" Shinji questioned as he looks at the flyer Mio gave him just now. It was an advertisement for a job that involves being a part-time butler for 3 days in the Tokisaki household. And the payment was...

"This is enough to cover Yoshino's treatment!" Shinji exclaimed.

"Yes. Even if you were already occupied with Tobiichi-senpai's work, I thought you might be interested." Mio explained.

"Though this means I have to take three days off the cafe job..."

"No need to worry, I can work in your stead," Mio suggested.

"Can you even handle all of that work?" Shinji asked out of concern.

"I'm not too sure myself. But I've learned a thing or two from watching you during my visits," Mio replied.

"If that's the case, then..."


"Ara, so you're the new butler here?" a gentle female voice called out. "Shinji Takamiya, correct?"

"Y-yes! For the next 3 days, I will be working here," Shinji started. "Um, are you Kurumi Tokisaki?" Shinji asked as he looked at the beautiful figure standing before him.

"That's right. It's a pleasure to meet you, Takamiya-san."

He seems like a fine man. Kurumi thought as she took a closer look at the new butler her parents hired.

"Now then, you shall walk me to school today," Kurumi ordered politely before Shinji catches onto her staring.


When Kurumi arrived at the school gates, numerous students walking by started gossiping about the popular Kurumi Tokisaki walking to school with a boy. A rather charming one on top of that.

"Kurumi-san!" a voice called out from the distance.

Kurumi looked back as her expression changed into that of a normal high school girl whe she noticed her best friend running over to her.

"Sawa-san! You're here early," Kurumi started.

"I wanted to drop by your house and walk you to school but..."

"It seems I left earlier than you expected," Kurumi said.

"Yeah..."

Kurumi giggled and looked back to Shinji who was still standing with her school bag. He took this as a hint and gave her the bag before walking away to return to the Tokisaki household.

"Who's he?" Sawa curiously asked after Shinji disappears from view.

"Well..."

"Don't tell me... another one?"

"Seems like it. Sometimes I feel like my parents are taking this too far..." Kurumi answered as she facepalmed.


"Is Shinji-san returning today, Mio-san?" Yoshino asked as Mio sat close to her while playing a board game the latter brought.

"That's right. He also apparently did very well in his job. We should congratulate him," Mio suggested.

"Yes! Shinji-san would love that!"


"So how are things coming along in the cafe?" Shinji reluctantly asked while walking with Mio to the hospital after picking up Shinji in the train station.

"Well..."

Flashback

"Tobiichi-senpai, what do I do now?" Mio asked in a panic while holding her phone close to her ear while working. The words "Tobiichi Tatsumi" were listed on the contact display.

"Just calm down, Mio-chan! Try to do this, then this, then this too..."

Flashback end

"I wouldn't say it went very well. It seems like Tobiichi-senpai helped us a lot despite not being physically present at all." Mio said after her quick flashback of asking for Tatsumi's guidance regarding pretty much everything on the job.

"Eh?"

"N-nothing! It went fine," Mio quickly said.

"Anyway, how did yours go?" she followed, trying to change the subject from her being terrible at part-time job.

"Oh, it was a little weird. But I guess it worked out," Shinji responded.

"Weird?"

"Uh-huh. They kept asking me things like what kind of girls I prefer, or if I had a girlfriend or not. Fortunately, I didn't get to answer those because of the chores excuse."

"Is that right?"

"I'm serious..."

"Uh-huh, sure."

"A-anyway! We now have enough money for Yoshino's treatment, let's go!" Shinji said, taking Mio by the hand and walking to Yoshino's room in the hospital.


"Really? I'm gonna be okay?" Yoshino asked as several doctors enter the room.

"Mm. Two generous people ended up paying for your treatment. Consider yourself lucky, Himekawa-san."

Shortly, Shinji and Mio enter the room as Yoshino's face brightens up.

"Ooh, those are the two fellows who paid for your medical bill!"

"So it really was you two... I'm glad." Yoshino said under her breath.

"Is mom coming?" she followed.

Suddenly, the room atmosphere darkened. Guilt began to pierce the two teenagers in every spot. Not only that, but now there was a hint of anxiety haunting the two.

"Eh? You haven't heard?" one of the doctors said to Yoshino, who was clutching Yoshinon tightly.

"What is it?"

"Your mother, Nagisa Himekawa. She's—"


Next: Yoshino's Heart


AN: I'm so sorry this one took longer than usual. Some things came up and I've been getting a bit of a writer's block. I might take a break after I conclude the Yoshino arc (which is the next chapter).

For those wondering:

- This is set in the past, about 15-20 years before the canon events instead of 20-30.

- Shinji met Mio immediately after she was born instead of much later.

- All "spirit stories" are set to happen in the same year (except Kotori, Origami, and Miku for obvious reasons).

That's all for now. See you next time!