Unfortunately, this one's much shorter. However, it's a bit more focused, and if you ever read DAL:SS, you'll know that the next chapter may just be the longest I ever write. Either way, I hope you continue to enjoy Date A Live: Fractured Being!

-Ryan "Kurukaze" McGowan

-Chapter 6, Origami's resolve

Shido gulped as he felt the cold, hard barrel of a pistol pressed against his temple, and in his peripheral vision, he could see the muzzle of an assault rifle pointing at the two girls in front of him.

Those two girls were held in place by Origami's not-so-subtle sentiment.

"If either of you move, I will pull the trigger," Tobiichi spat. "I'll regret it, but I won't hesitate. Those are not the same emotions."

Sam was sure the girl was bluffing. Origami threatening to kill Shido? Surely not. Tentatively, she shuffled forwards.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK

The ground exploded at her feet as the rifle kicked back. "Don't test me, you scum. What I have to do to Shido will be nothing to what I'll gladly do to you." Her face twitched with rage at the Spirit, and the one that would dare help the Spirit.

"Let him go!" Tohka shouted, somewhere between defiance and desperation.

The muzzle swivelled towards her. "Not another word out of you," answered Origami.

Regardless, Tohka countered, "You know that doesn't do anything to me, so why bother?"

To answer the question, Origami made a show of pressing her pistol harder against Shido's head. "Maybe not, but this would."

Tohka growled, but stopped when Sam put her arm out across the Spirit's shaking body. "Don't do anything rash," she whispered; eyes locked on Origami's hand. "Even if she is bluffing, any sudden moves will spark a reflex action in her finger, pulling the trigger anyway." They both stared at Origami, and Origami stared back. Shido, caught in the middle of everyone's attention, did his best not to panic or fidget too much. He, too, hoped the girl was bluffing.

Kotori, bolt upright in her chair, called for a status report on their options.

Kawagoe was first with bad news, "We've got some interference down there – no doubt AST – and we can't retrieve him using the ship's teleporter."

Miizaki was next, "We can't use the ship's main cannon, either. We'll fry everything down there, including Shido, Sam and Tohka."

Nat shot up. "I'm going down there," he stated, before turning to leave.

Kannazuke was upon him before he even got out of the room. "No you're not, kid. If anything shows up that Origami hasn't accounted for, that gun's going off. You're staying right here."

Nat, frustrated, glared at his senior. "Someone needs to get down there and save them!"

Shaking his head, Kannazuke put Nat back in his chair. "You underestimate your partner. Just watch."

Kotori grinned. "He's right. We've got humanity's best chances for peace with the Spirits right in the thick of it. If anyone's gonna get out of this bind, it's my stupid big brother, your stupid partner and that stupid Spirit!" Despite the insults, Kotori's cry was a rallying one – one she made sure that Shido and Sam would hear.

They nodded at each other, putting their trust in the other's hands. Shido's in Sam's, and Sam's in Shido's.

By this time, the rest of the AST squad had regrouped and moved in to surround the classroom. Ryouko Kusakabe, after finally recovering from the short skirmish, landed behind Tohka and Sam. She scowled when she saw Origami. "I really hope you're about to give me a good reason for using a civilian as a hostage, Tobiichi," she demanded. Her tone was harsh; genuinely disgusted by the display she was forced to witness.

"Please forgive me for this, Ma'am. I will take full responsibility in the report. Your command status will not be threa-"

"I don't care about the report! I care about you!" Kusakabe cut in, flustered. She turned to Shido. "What's your name, sweetie?"

Shido looked over at the woman. "I-I'm Shido Itsuka, Origami's friend," he managed.

She let out a deep breath. "Okay, just stay calm, and you'll be okay. We're not gonna hurt you." She shot a look at Origami. "Right?"

Origami stayed focused on Sam and Tohka.

"We'll talk later, Tobiichi." She walked over to Tohka and looked her in the eyes. She was shocked by the depth with which those eyes looked back. It was easy to animalise the enemy as long as you stayed far away from them, but, up close, the Spirits seemed awfully human. Kusakabe shook her head and swallowed her doubts. They were the enemy, even if she didn't always agree with some of the methods involved. "I'll guess that even If I shot you point-blank like this, neither of you would so much as flinch, right?"

"Try it. Could help let off some steam," Sam joked. "Get some revenge for getting your ass kicked."

Kusakabe shook her head. "If you're looking for grudges, look elsewhere." She turned around and paced away from the pair, before pressing two fingers to her neck. "First Lieutenant Kusakabe, reporting. We've apprehended the Spirit and are ready for backup. Please send as soon as any are ready, over."

Then, without warning, Sam feinted a forward lunge.

Origami, perfectly alert, whipped the handgun downwards and fired.

BANG

Shido cried out in pain as the bullet smashed straight through his foot. What was left spilled blood down the new hole in the floor, staining the floor crimson. Kusakabe jumped out of her skin and wheeled round. Tohka gasped and choked on her breath. Sam stopped dead. The crew of the Fraxinus gaped at their screens, shocked at what just happened.

The shot's echo rang out, bouncing from wall-to-wall several times over. When it eventually stopped, all that could be heard was Shido's struggled breathing.

"Still think I'm bluffing?" Origami asked, coldly breaking the silence.

Kusakabe was speechless. All she could do now was watch as her mind tried to catch up. Tohka, similarly, was overcome with emotions that she'd never felt before. Her mind went blank

Sam, however, was overcome with only one emotion: relief. "She took the bait; hook, line, and sinker." Now, if Sam was right, they all had an out.

Shido only managed to stay upright through the pain thanks to the support Origami's body offered. Without it, he was sure he would have collapsed by now. He felt the gun pressed against his head once more and winced.

"Don't worry, Shido. I'll definitely save you." Sam gave a reassuring smile. The boy noticed and did his best to return it.

Origami scoffed. "Don't be so sure of yourself, monster."

Sam pushed the girl's retort aside and thought hard. "The average human's reaction time to visual stimuli is a quarter of a second, if they aren't distracted. I can assume Origami is significantly faster, so maybe a fifth of a second. From here, I could disarm her in about three-hundred milliseconds, but within that time she could easily pull that trigger, whether she wanted to or not." Sam studied Shido's foot. "Again, it would take me about two-hundred milliseconds to take Kusakabe out of the fight, which might snap Tohka out of her trance. From there, we could easily deal with the rest of the squad members. The only problem, then, is distracting Origami." She focused on the boy's mangled foot, waiting for what she knew was going to happen. What had to happen. Please, let it happen.

A flame.

It was purple in colour, much like Tohka's power, and burned where Shido's foot used to be, lashing out with dark hues. It danced in the wind, flickering intensely as flesh and bone reformed within it.

A Spirit's magic, no doubt, which managed to catch the attention of Origami Tobiichi.

"Now!" Sam's pupils narrowed with an intense glare.

Once more, she transformed into a streak of colour and blur of motion, blasting towards Shido and his captive. Time slowed down as sparks danced up and down her body, lighting up her eyes and singeing her hair. In a flash, she was upon Origami, already snatching the pistol out of her hand. In the same motion, and with a hard thwack, she brought the grip of the pistol down on the bridge of Origami's nose, sending her to the floor, dazed and disoriented. As the girl fell, Sam whipped round, leaving a trail of after-images in her wake. She lined up a shot under Kusakabe's arm, aiming to disable her wiring suit without hurting the operator herself. She let a round fly down the gauss cannon on her shoulder, striking and disabling the suit while only grazing the side of Ryouko's chest. Lastly, bringing her body around in one more arc, she fired another round at Tohka's feet, kicking up wood shards and dust, and hopefully startling her into moving.

Four-hundred and ten milliseconds. Sam underestimated herself.

Almost simultaneously, Origami and Kusakabe spun to the ground, incapacitated. Tohka, a heartbeat later, sprung into action and thrust herself between Shido and the still-recovering AST. It took her a moment to realise it wasn't necessary. The rest of the squad looked on, stunned into complacency.

Shido, forced unconscious by the rush of pain in his foot, collapsed into Sam's arms. Sam herself gasped from the sudden exertion; lingering sparks fell down her body and shattered against the floor. The smell of smoke spiralled into the sky.

The crew of the Fraxinus let out a collective sigh of relief as their feed updated, showing the boy in Sam's grasp. Kotori tapped her intercom, linking directly into Sam's channel. "Good work. That's what we pay you for," she said, before letting out another sigh and sinking back into her chair.

Sam rolled her neck and shook her head, letting out a slight chuckle. "No, you don't pay me enough for this." She hefted Shido into a more comfortable position and snatched up Origami's assault rifle. She pointed it at the rest of the AST. "You lot, take your wounded and get out of here. You lost your advantage, and you do not want to get in the way of a very angry Spirit, correct?"

Tohka, as to prove Sam's point, made a show of flaring up with pink energy and purple flames, letting her power cascade over her.

Begrudgingly, the squad surrendered, and laid their weapons down before collecting up their fallen comrades. Few even glanced at the two.

"Yeah, yeah. Now scram! Get outta here!" Sam hurled at the retreating AST.

"You okay?" Tohka asked, letting her show of strength subside.

Sam's cheeks flushed red. "Mmm, I'm fine. I think the power just goes to my head sometimes."

Tohka sent a light punch into Sam's arm. "Don't let it consume you. You'll go crazy." Then, with a bright flare of energy, she 'became lost', vanishing back to wherever she came from.

Sam decided to heed that advice. Tohka probably knew a Spirit's power better than anyone.

The next day, Shido picked his way over rubble and rock, inspecting the damage the AST had caused. Bad weather during the night brought down even more of the cracked building. Strong winds and heavy rain helped keep him awake for most of the night. He disregarded the yellow 'keep out' tape and moved further into the wake of magical destruction.

"I was there when everything happened," Shido uttered to himself. "Still, the massive destruction just doesn't seem real." He scooped up a chunk of blackboard; 'Tohka' had been carved into one side. "But, yesterday was real."

"Shido."

"I really did talk with Tohka, and give her a name." He traced the writing with a finger.

"Hey, Shido."

Shido took a deep breath. "Crazy…"

"Quit ignoring me!"

The voice finally fell upon open ears, and Shido pivoted on his foot to meet the voice. There, clad in her armour, was Tohka, looking down at him from atop a pile of rubble. "Tohka!"

"You just now noticed me?" the Spirit asked, before giving a wide smile. "Wow, you are so dumb!" She hopped down, landing with a metallic clink-clunk.

"How did you end up back here? The alarm never went off!"

"Why would it? You were the one who invited me back…for a date, I think? Well, guess what! It's time for that date! Let's go, let's go, let's-go-let's-go-let's-go-let's-go!"

Shido recoiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Alright, just bring it down a bit!" Shido made an exasperated face as he pointed at her ornate armour. "And you should probably get out of that, first. Do you mind changing?" he mumbled.

Embarrassed, Tohka looked away. "Right now? You want me to undress in broad daylight?"

"No, that's not it!" the boy stuttered. He produced the picture that Origami had given him. "Let me show you an example."

Tohka studied the picture, before tensing up as she recognised the girl in it. "It's that girl! I swear I'll-"

"Tohka! The outfit, please…"

With a sigh, Tohka ripped the picture in half. "Very well…" Bringing her hand up high into the sky, the girl flexed her palm out wide. A moment later, a pillar of light which streaked down from the heavens engulfed her. Shido winced and covered his eyes, shielding them from the intense glow. Not more than another moment later, Tohka reappeared, now shrouded in a uniform similar to Shido's own. It fitted neatly, and the dark tones of her black blazer and blue pleated skirt helped to compliment her shadowy hair, which was now tied-up with a red ribbon and resulted in a wavy array of tails falling down her back. Around her neck was more ribbon, knotted loosely under her shirt's collar and left to lay against her chest. Warmly, she smiled. "How does this look?"

Shido fumbled over his words. "Umm, good…"

"Glad you think so! Now, it's time for our date!" With that, Tohka bounded off, beckoning Shido to follow.