Re:Chapter 4 - Date A Dream

...

After a long time, Kurumi eventually broke the hug. "Why...? Why are you even trying to help me...?" She asks, confused but glad.

"I told ya, I've got knowledge of the timeline." I raise my right hand and cup Kurumi's cheek. "I don't know every little thing that's happened to you, but I've seen enough to know you've been through too much. You've been doin' this on your own for too long, with no one to be there for you, so I'll be that person."

Her eyes widen once more at my declaration.

"You ARE a good person, Kurumi." I say, serious as I let go of her cheek. My eyes glance at the clock. "Well, it seems that took longer than I thought."

The time Spirit follows my eyes and looks at the clock as well. "My, you're right... It's quite late."

"Well. I suppose I'm gonna brush my teeth and head to bed." I say.

"Do you even have a toothbrush?" She asks.

"I can just make one, remember?" I say with a chuckle. "Night, Kurumi."

"Good night, Issei-kun." She says with a smile as I walk toward the bathroom.

Well, this whole evening certainly has been full of surprises.

To think Issei-kun would know about my plans and not despise me.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around his thought process and actions.

First, he 'hacks' into Zafkiel to fix a 'mistake' on Mio's part, though I truly doubt it was a 'mistake'. Then, he tells me that I'm a good person...?!

How can I be a good person after all of this? Why offer someone like me a second chance? How can I deserve such a thing?

...No, I shouldn't say that. Issei-kun has ended up in this world somehow, being given Spirit abilities and a new body. He's been given a second chance for no apparent reason.

I sit back down on the couch, hearing the water running in the bathroom.

How much does Issei-kun really know? If he's trying to get me to trust him, it's certainly working. It doesn't hurt that he's quite attractive, and he's certainly made his interest in me clear.

Hmm... Perhaps a bit of teasing is in order.

I quickly finished brushing my teeth in one of the bathrooms. I was surprised to find her apartment had two of them.

Spitting out some mouthwash, I take a second to better look at my new face.

Good lord, this is still freaking me out a bit. Ending up in Date A Live, with a new body and bunking with Kurumi. It all seems so damn surreal!

I rinse my face with some water and dry with a towel to calm my raging thoughts.

How in the hell did I end up here? No way Mio would've brought me here, she probably would think of me as a threat due to me foreknowledge of the series. This world has a connection to the Neighboring World, which was created due to Wescott summoning Mio 30 years ago, it shouldn't be connected to mine.

I then begin to return to my room, idly noticing Kurumi's room devoid of the Spirit herself. Her room's pretty basic, nothing noteworthy. Shaking my head, I continue to my room, closing the door behind me and start getting undressed, and putting on some freshly made clothes.

I swear, this angel, whichever one it is, is incredibly useful.

I create a new lamp, placing it on the nightstand, and turn off the lights, allowing the lamp to be the only source of light in the room.

laying down on the bed, wearing just some light pants made of some cotton material, I get a better look at my body. I was never a muscular person, always very thin, but now I'm built like a swimmer. Lots of muscle, hidden under a thin frame. A new body, yet another curiosity.

"Issei-kun? May I come in?"

My thoughts are broken by Kurumi's voice from outside my door. What could she want?

"Yeah, sure." I say, hesitantly and questioningly.

The door opens and- HOLY SHIT!

I very nearly choke on my own spit at the sight before me.

Kurumi is clad in a short, black nightgown, held on her shoulders with spaghetti straps, similarly to her Astral Dress. The gown ends in a skirt that comes to her mid-thigh. If I didn't think that she was beautiful as sin already, this would've fucking changed my mind.

"Ara ara~ you're staring quite hard at me. A girl might get the wrong idea." Flirting again, huh? Well two can play at that game.

"Maybe I want you to have the wrong idea, Kurumin~" I purr with a grin.

A blush appears on her face as I say this. She really is weak to that nickname, huh? After a moment, her shock fades away and is replaced by a proud smile. "Smooth, Issei-kun, smooth."

"Anyways, whaddya need? I thought you were going to bed?" I ask.

"Well, I needed some way to thank you for earlier and I figured you might like it if I slept next to you."

Wha? Sleep next to me? How forward is this girl?

"Kurumi, why... would you seriously be comfortable sleeping next to a guy you just met?" I ask slowly, trying to understand her thoughts here.

"Well I'd say we're quite close after you connected our hearts earlier~" She teases.

"I connected to your Sephira Crystal, not your heart." I say, deadpan. "Besides, you don't need to thank me, you deserved to be saved from that shit."

Kurumi only had one way to kill Mio, and that was kill people by taking their time. Anyone would've helped her find a way to not kill people after learning of her situation. Though, most people would rather dissuade her from killing Mio as well, but I suppose it IS justified. Dammit, I really need to find a way to change her mind about that. Her going back in time and killing Mio might make a worse timeline than this one.

Kurumi's sly grin seems to grown ten-fold. "...So you wouldn't like it?"

"Wha? H-Hang on, I didn't-!" I stutter, scrambling to try and defend myself from the sudden tease.

"No, no, it's fine. I just didn't know you swung that way, Issei-kun~" She says.

Okay, know I KNOW she's fucking with me.

Sighing, I relent to the teasing Spirit's whims. "Fine, if you want to sleep next to me, then go ahead."

Kurumi and I stare at each other in silence for a moment before she giggles.

"Ufufufu~ Alright then. I will take up your offer." She says.

Letting out a soft chuckle at her antics, I scooch over to give her room on the bed. Kurumi begins to lay down and- my thoughts are overwhelmed by immeasurable softness.

"...Kurumi?" I ask, slowly.

"Yes, Issei-kun?" She purrs with a teasing voice.

"When you said you wanted to sleep next to me, I figured you meant you'd sleep NEXT to me, not use me like a damn body pillow!" I say, referring to the fact that she's glomped me while laying down. Her arms have wrapped around my torso as her chest presses against my side. Her legs tangle around mine, like a snake unwilling to let their prey go.

"Hmph. I can't help it." She tightens her arm's grip around me. "I need something to hold onto when I sleep~"

This girl... There's no winning this is there?

"Fuck it, fine." I say, relenting to may fate.

"Thanks, Issei-kun." She says with her beautiful smile.

With that said, I turn off the lamp, allowing darkness to enshroud the room as we stop speaking.

"Hey, Kurumi?" I say breaking the silence of the room.

"Yes?"

"Sweet dreams."

Her body stiffens around me. That's right, she's been alone for years. When was the last time someone told her that? When was the last time she had any kind of positive human interaction?

"Fufu~ sweet dreams, Issei." Say says, removing the honorific.

I quickly and peacefully fall into the realm of Morpheus soon after.

Opening my eyes, I'm treated to the sight of a strange place. I'm standing on a large, round platform. The floor is grey, like concrete. Around is an endless light blue void. It's reminiscent of the Hunter's Dream from Bloodborne, only without the trees. In the center is a golden yellow crystal, floating above a pedestal. It glimmers and gives off an equally good light.

"Where the hell...?" I mutter, confused.

"Welcome, my Host."

A monotone, feminine voice comes from the crystal and surprises me.

"Uh, hey. Who, or what are you?" I ask, cautiously.

"I am the angel contained within the Sephira Crystal contained within your body. My name is Helel."

Helel? Don't remember this in the light novel.

"Helel? Well, it's nice to meet you." I say, honestly.

"Ah, that's right, I wasn't shown in Date A Live."

"Huh!?" I gasp. How did she-?

"When we bonded, I viewed your memories. I apologize if this upsets you, Host."

"Er, no, it's fine. This saves me a lot of explaining." Still, Helel, the first angel of God? Wonder if that has anything to do with her?

"As for why you have never heard of me, I was discarded by my Creator."

"Mio? Why would she do that?" I ask, not liking this already.

"I was considered 'defective' and unsuitable for her plans regarding Takamiya Shinji, thus I was discarded."

"...Shinji really never taught that woman empathy, did he?" I ask, feeling pity for that woman, already knowing the answer.

"Most likely not. I was originally powerless, so my Creator gave me a weaker version of the power of her strongest angel, Ain."

"Makes sense, Ain turns her into a God that can do or make anything wherever it's light shines. Though, could you do something that extreme?" I ask, my curiosity rising.

"No, while my Reiryoku is stronger than Inverse Reiryoku, it is nowhere near as powerful as my Creator's Pure Reiryoku."

"Pure Reiryoku? The hell's that?" Mio's special power source? It makes sense, she is a True Spirit.

"Let me explain. Let us compare regular Reiryoku to water, in terms of its density. Inverse Reiryoku would be comparable to maple syrup, and therefore much stronger due to being compressed. The Reiryoku I use is far denser than Inversed, and therefore allows a much higher power output. In exchange, my power cannot Inverse. Pure Reiryoku would be comparable to the densest liquid possible. If poured it would move at a single Planck Length per hour."

"One Planck Length per hour!? Fuck, that's slow." I say, shocked at that info. Mio's much farther out of the other Spirit's leagues than I thought. Then again, Date A Live said all of her stats were 999.

"Indeed, while it's not a strong as my Creator's, my 'Semi-Pure' Reiryoku is still stronger than Inversed Reiryoku."

"Huh. Okay so this makes me super strong an all that... B-But, how did you even get to me in the first place?" I ask. "I've been trying to wrap my head around that all day."

"Ah well, that's a long story. After granting me a weaker version of Ain's power, my Creator discovered I was incapable of bonding with any human. Or rather, it was possible, only the chances were so low, it would be nigh impossible. One she realized this, she discarded me into the void between worlds."

My eyes widen as I let out a gasp in shock. "The same place she chucked Ren."

"Yes, though I was in a completely different area, nowhere near Ren. Some time later, I found a tear in the void. I figured it would lead to either this world of the Neighboring one, but instead, it lead to yours. Unfortunately, the void pulled me back before I could do much. Upon entering a second time, I made it much farther, but was ultimately sucked back in. Before that, I sensed a human I was comparable with, if only briefly."

"Me." I conclude.

"Yes. I entered your world again and again and again. Eventually, I made it to you, but was sucked back once more. Then, upon returning, I managed to bond with you. Your body, however, could not handle the strain of my Semi-Pure Reiryoku turning you into a Spirit, so I had to strengthen your body. After that we were sucked back into the void. Ren might have been able to find you, as a Spirit, and the Neighboring World would be dangerous for you, as a new Spirit. After looking through your memories, I decided it would be best to send you to this one."

"That still doesn't explain why you wanted to bond with a host in the first place." I ask, curious about my new tenant.

"It was... a selfish desire of mine. My Creator intended to place us in humans for her plans, but I was merely discarded."

"You wanted to make her proud." I observe.

"Something like that... In my desire to bond, I neglected to acknowledge your feelings on the matter. For that, I apologize, my Host."

"Well, this certainly fills up a lot of gaps, but... You've got nothing to apologize for." I say.

"But-"

I cut her off before she can finish. "No. Me coming her was sudden, yes, but I'm not upset. I was always a pretty weak guy, now look at me!" I flex my arm muscles of emphasis. "It's a new me in a new world! It's like I've been given a second chance at life! You don't need to apologize. Rather, I should be thanking for giving me a second chance. So thank you, Helel." I say, sincerely.

"...!"

Helel gasps in surprise.

"Thank you, my Host."

"No problem. Though this begs the question, can the other angels talk like you?" I ask my angel pal.

"No. I am the only one of my siblings to have this advanced level of consciousness. The others can do basic things, but nothing more."

"Ah. So you can talk due to getting Mio's power, albeit a weaker version." I theorize.

"Most likely. My Creator gave me a weaker version of her power, as opposed to my siblings, who were 'born' with their power."

Of course Mio's power would do something like this. It works completely differently from regular angels. Still, at least one more question appears in my mind.

"Will... will we be able to talk like this often?" I ask, slowly.

"Only in your dreams."

"Not when I'm awake?" I ask, surprised.

"No. I have to force the connection. When you are awake, your mind is too guarded for me and I cannot force the connection. When you are asleep, your mind is unguarded, and can be overpowered easily."

"That's a bit concerning..." I let out.

"Not to worry, my Host. I'm able to do this due to our connection. I provide a passive protection to your mind to guard from outside forces. I wouldn't want to lose my Host so easily."

Well, that's one worry gone. Wouldn't want to get nabbed by DEM and have them fuck with my mind.

"Hmm.. Maybe I can force the connecting using your power when I'm awake..." I think out loud.

Unfortunately, I'm interrupted by a wave of vertigo hitting me out of nowhere.

"Ah, it appears you are waking up."

"Already?" I ask, surprised.

"Time moves differently here, I suppose. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, my Host. If you have anymore questions for me, you can ask them tonight."

"...Thanks Helel." I say with a smile.

"Anytime, my Host."

The void, along with the platform and Helel's crystal vanish from sight as all fades to black.

AN

Thus Chapter 4 is done!

This chapter mostly remains the same, save for the thoughts of Kurumi at the start.

No major changes will occur with the re-writes until Chapter 9/10.

Also, I've been finishing these re-writes pretty quick, but don't expect more than 1 chapter a day.

Edit: January 12, 2023: Changed some dialogue based on a suggestion from Bakuganman.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next!