From Guest:
Can you please do the lemon with the twins please.
Bakuganman: I was thinking of posting them before if you remember those old polls, as I have one for each and not a threesome between them. While this movie will technically conclude this concept fic, maybe I will post one or both of the twins turns afterward as a special.
From thrasherop:
kaguya, I have received these updates. I don't actually ever comment. But this story is sooooo good. thanks for the hardwork!
Bakuganman: Good too know. Your welcome for the hard work.
From Twilightiger1602:
"Mana is planned to have a bigger role... and Mikey is going to Hell lol."
Oh, you sweet summer child... he's already in hell; Harem-Hell that is! XD
Alright, that aside, this chapter I feel is more like set-up, not just for the events of this arc, but also several yet to come, so I'll try to keep this short and quick and give you the cliffnotes:
1. Phone-Call with Ori: Really sweet to see Mikey keeping in contact with this Ex, even if he is keeping her out of the loop... something that will bite him in the ass later as she may already be thinking of joining DEM. Assuming she does considering who his father is.
2. Mystery Spirit is Phantom: Was definitely caught flat-footed with this one. Considering that most people know who Phantom truly is and what her motives are, having her directly confront the party in DEM's American branch raises so many questions... Damn it Reine, what are you doing!?
3. Ratatoskr's Date-plan: Nice mix of comedy and heart-warming fun as we see more proof of how much Michael means to the Spirits and vice versa as they decide how Mikey's data-a-thon will plan out. Having Kurumi attempt to throw a wrench in the plan just to get a rise out of everyone is a good touch and completely in character for her.
4. Keeping Kerubiel on the down-low: Pains me to say, but for once I'm gonna have to agree with Kotori on that one. As much as I appreciate Michael actually being honest with his girls, communication is key with any relationship after all, telling them that the giant ball in the sky is partially their fault might end up doing more harm than good, not to mention putting a damper on the dates themselves. You guys are suppose to be enjoy your time together, not feel guilty about it.
5. Obligatory Mayuri Cameo: And we're walking, we're walking~
6. Kurumi's Investigation: Looks like Kurumi is already underway with trying to find Nia. Always a treat to see Kurumi act out an episode of "Me, Myself and I" with her clones, especially with her reaction to Kerubiel. Seriously, she even trolls herself sometimes XD.
Bakuganman: I'm ngl, this review came in the literal second I was about to post this new chapter, so you made it just in time… ironic considering its Kaguya and the movie implied she ran a bit late and had to book it. Let's answer real quick:
1) Phone Call - Yeah, its a nice thing for him to do; and looking back at the Origami concept chapter when she turned into a Spirit, you can see there is a bit of build-up too that.
2) Mystery Spirit/Phantom - She's up to something, yes.
3) Date Plan - Had to throw in a humorous touch with the Ladder Lottery, felt appropriate. And of course with Kurumi added to the Party, it only makes sense she'd screw around with everyone. I've come to realize Kurumi Tokiskai (and you can all quote me on this) is the biggest troll to ever grace the Waifus. So big, as you mentioned at 6, she even trolls herself.
4 and 5) Mayuri/Kerubiel - Same. And Reine did bring up a good argument about it.
6) Kurumi Investigation - Sealed or not, Kurumi doesn't seem like the type of girl to give up despite that. I even had to give her a reaction to Kerubiel, for I feel that while yes she seemed to know about it in the movie, it felt like a missed opportunity for her to react to it. We don't even hear Nightmare speak until around the 40 minute mark of the movie.
Mayuri Judgement - Part 4, Kaguya Cuisine:
Michael groaned in his sleep, so he rolled over. His date with Kaguya was in about 7 hours give or take. No he was not awake, but he did find it hard to fall asleep at first, still feeling guilty about not telling the truth.
*creak…*
His door creaked open very slowly, but he did not react to it. A darkened head slowly poked in but from the back, making it hard to tell who it was.
"Psst… Michael…" Called the person in a low whisper. It was unknown if he heard or not, as he merely rolled over again. "Michael!" The voice called again, still in a whisper but at a slightly higher volume. Still, Michael did not respond to any of the chatter, but the camera swapped perspectives to now look add him directly at his front, the boy sound sleep.
…
…
…
POUNCE!
"GAH-HAAAAAA!" Michael felt sudden weight upon him, not heavy weight but enough to startle his system awake. His eyes were still closed, and he only opened them when he turned his head to his alarm clock. "Ugh, Tori, it's not even…" He was gonna complain to Kotori it wasn't breakfast time yet, assuming it was her. Tohka was also another good guess, but she had never been one to invade his personal space unless given permission.
Only then he saw… it was not Kotori, orTohka.
"K-Kaguya?" Michael asked in surprise, seeing and not expecting Kaguya was to be the one to pounce on him and was almost in a straddling position (though she probably intended not to). Not only that, she was dressed in blue PJ's. It was cute on her. He'll admit that much.
"SHHHHHHH!" Kaguya immediately shushed him. "Keep your voice down! If Kotori finds out I snuck into your house, she'll throw a fit!" She added in a hushed voice.
"Yeah, that's the reason…" Michael dryly lamented why Kotori would get mad… these girls could be more oblivious than Tohka sometimes. That's not even counting the position they were in… "Do you even know what time it is?"
"This couldn't wait! It was important!" Kaguya said. "It's about our date! I figured it out!"
While normally that wording was not a cause for concern, Michael began getting a bit nervous. Figured it out? As in, figured out why they were having Mike go on 6 dates in a row? "Uh… f-figured what?" He asked. Though if Kaguya really DID figure this all out in her own, she was smarter than he gave either of the twins credit for.
Kaguya leaned in a bit closer… dear God, the light of the moon shining on her pretty face and eyes was NOT helping! If she held this position any longer… "Heheh…" Kaguya did her actress-like laugh. "Don't tell me you've taken me for a fool this whole time…" She then sat up on him…
"I figured out how to knock your socks off! You won't even look in any of the other girls' direction once you've experienced the Ultimate, Perfect, Paramount Date with the Hurricane Child: Kaguya Yamai!" She said this with a fist pumped in the air while looking at the ceiling.
If Michael wasn't so tired, he would be sweatdropping right now. She held that position for a while before bashfully leaning back down to look at the boy underneath her. "So, um… can you skip breakfast tomorrow?" Michael cocked and eyebrow at this. Wasn't that his job to take care of them? "I mean, you can feed everyone else, just don't eat anything yourself." Kaguya clarified, then gave puppy-dog eyes. "Please?"
While Michael did wonder why she would ask such a weird request, he was too tired to argue about it… and that cute puppy-dog look pretty much got him. "… yeah. Sure." He said, hoping Kaguya would get off him if he agreed to her weird terms.
If she doesn't, something else was about to get up bright and early…
"YES!" She said. "I know it sounds weird, but trust me! Tomorrow you'll see exactly why! I've spent all night planning it!" She added, admitting this was all part of her grand plan. Thankfully by now, Kaguya did remove herself, also looking happy Michael agreed.
"Night, Michael!" Kaguya said. "Meet me at the square tomorrow morning at 9AM. It'll be worth it!" She added before going out the same way she came in. Once she was gone, Michael sighed before going back to sleep.
XXX
The next morning, Michael was dressed in jeans and a beige shirt with a white jacket while waiting for Kaguya at the meeting place as requested, which was at the shopping square as he watched everyone else bustling around, unaware of what he was able to see hovering above all of them. He wouldn't call it creepy, but it definitely tickled his nerves not knowing what the heck it was…
Though some good came out of this, one thing being he did not have to wear that ridiculous earpiece… Fraxinus was still watching of course, but beggars can't be choosers…
"Michael!" Called out Kaguya's voice, and Michael saw her running up to him while waving him down. She stopped some feet before him, now holding both her knees so she could catch her breath. "*huff… huff…* Sorry. Did I make you wait too long?" She asked, wondering if she was late.
"Your fine. Right on time." Michael said while walking up to her. Part of him wondered if she would've used her powers to get here faster, not that her arrival was a problem, this was merely just out of curiosity. "Though any faster, you would've have caused unexpected turbulence." He added a joke, which was good cover for Kaguya's powers, and anybody that heard it most likely assumed it was Couples Chatter; a member of a couple playfully jabbing their partner.
"Yeah…" Kaguya caught her breath a few more times. "I spend a little longer than I thought getting dressed for the occasion." She said, now standing up straight.
Michael took a good look at her. Instead of a causal outfit like he was wearing, she was dressed in something more on the elegant side. She wore a black dress with gold parts around it, and a red bow around her neck. She was also wearing a black ribbon on the left side of her head, which was the opposite direction of that mysterious girl the other night.
She was no Kurumi, that's for sure, but she had her own sense of style. It definitely benefited her.
Kaguya noted Michael looking at her, her mouth in a perfect "O" to visualize this, and began to feel a bit bashful. "… Does it look dumb?" She asked.
Michael answered quickly. "No! You look great." He said.
Kaguya's expression lighted up a bit from that. "R-Really?" She asked, her confidence slowly climbing back up.
"Very. You could give Kurumi a run for her money." Michael responded… that was 52% a lie, she was still a ways to go from Kurumi, but he gave her bonus points for really putting an effort in. Still made the Yamai Sister happy though, that was the point of these dates anyway.
Kaguya then looked around, as if something was wrong. "You good?" Michael had to ask.
"Y-Yeah…" said Kaguya. "It's just, Yuzuru would usually make a jab or snarky comment right about now…"
Mike immediately understood… it felt awkward to Kaguya. This only made sense as her and Yuzuru were always together and did everything together, but this time it was different. She was on her own this time, and this was also technically their first date alone.
"Confirm. Michael must think your very childish."
Hearing that, Kaguya first growled, then snapped her head in the direction it came from. "Shut up! I'm not…!" She stopped, noting it was Michael she was snapping at, who had a smile on his face. "… jerk." Kaguya mumbled at Michael and looked away for messing with her, which he was still able to hear.
Michael chuckled. "Well, its your time to shine, isn't it?" Kaguya looked back at him. "Whatever happens today, its all us." He then held out a hand for her, which she looked down at. "Aren't you gonna pull off the Ultimate, Paramount, Perfect Date?"
Kaguya stood still for a few more seconds. "… Right!" She then grabbed his hand, accepting the challenge and the promise. They walked down the street, hand-in-hand, their date officially beginning. "You did come on an empty stomach, right?"
"Didn't even drink." Michael said, confirming he held his end of the bargain. He wondered what Kaguya had planned. At this point, it was obvious it had something to do with eating, and to be honest Michael was getting a bit hungry but he'll hold out for Kaguya's sake.
And don't think he didn't notice 3 female on-lookers hiding behind a directory sign…
"Interesting… Kaguya chose to met Michael here…" said Tohka, writing down in a notebook she had brought.
"So, um… should we really be spying on them?" Yoshino asked.
"Remember, we couldn't interfere or influence the others dates," Yoshinon said. "We're only observing. Therefore, we aren't breaking any rules." The Puppet added, which was technically true.
Yuzuru had a handkerchief next to one of her eyes, looking inspired. "Admiration. Inspiration." She said, using two words to describe her feelings instead of just one. "Your amazing, Kaguya. I can't call you Kagu-yuck or Child anymore…"
XXX
Kaguya ended up leading him down an alleyway, claiming there was a fancy French restaurant there… odd, considering number one, there were no advertisements or signs mentioning anything about it; and two, what fancy restaurant would set up shop in such a gloomy environment or at least a brighter area? Didn't make sense from a business standpoint.
Kaguya also kept looking into her bag the entire way there for some reason…
XXX
They ended up at an old-looking ramen shop that looked very out of place. Not only that, every other shop around it on both sides of the street were closed down. Both Michael and Kaguya just stared at it in confusion, Kaguya also looking somewhat flustered.
"… never heard of French Ramen before…" Michael said.
"Wait! This can't be right, um…!" Kaguya once again referred to the inside of her bag. Mike glanced over to her, but even though he was slightly taller than she was, he could not make out what she was doing.
*grrrrroowwwwwwwwwwwwlll…*
Kaguya's empty stomach growled adorably and quite loudly. She flushed red, looking even more flustered then before, and even adding a cute moan because of it.
"If your that hungry, why not just eat here?" Michael suggested with a chuckle towards the beginning, which was also very convenient for him as he was getting very hungry himself after having skipped breakfast.
"But…" Kaguya said looking back at him.
*grrrrroowwwwwwwwwwwwlll!*
Her cute stomach growl was even more audible than before, making her flush a little bit redder.
"Two against one." Michael joked. "We can get French food some other time, sound good?" He asked, being a little more serious.
"O-Okay… as long as you don't mind." Kaguya said, feeling a little disappointed her first plan did not go as planned, but she also felt quite bad at leaving the poor boy to starve all day. they went inside the Ramen shop, and ate actually quite a decent meal.
"Ahhhhh! I'm never eating instant ramen again!" Michael said, he and his stomach more than satisfied with the meal as he and Kaguya left.
"That was the best ramen I ever had!" Kaguya said, also satisfied. "Did you know about this place all along?" She turned to Michael to ask that question.
"I was surprised as you were." Michael said. "But least we know of better ramen joint than the one by school."
"Oh." Kaguya said. "Still… I did promise you French cuisine…"
"Don't worry about it." Michael assured her. "So our first destination was a bit of a side trip. Not like it was a bad one, right?"
"I guess…" Kaguya said, seeing the logic in his statement. "And the ramen really was good…"
"How about we chalk this up to a warm-up? Before the true Ultimate, Paramount, Perfect Date?" Michael suggested.
This made Kaguya smile. "Deal!" She agreed. She then gently grabbed Michael's hand before pulling him along. "Next stop is a super sweet bar that everyone goes too! It's called Bee's Knee's."
"A bar? This early in our lives?" Michael asked, as they were technically minors… the name didn't exactly help convince him this was a good idea.
"It'll be fine!" Kaguya said. "You took Kurumi and Miku to one in America for DEM's location!"
"Exactly! For reconnaissance!" Michael argued the point in a cracked voice, but Kaguya just kept dragging him.
XXX
He was dragged to the front of an arcade, which was the more appropriate and safer choice, but Kaguya looked surprised at where they ended up. "Hah?! It's not a trendy bar anymore?!"
Despite that, she was willing to go inside. They played a few racing games (which was a tie if you kept score), one dance game (which Kaguya won), and even the common crane games you see throughout all types of anime (which Kaguya failed at each one, but Michael won her a stuffed cat doll from one of them).
Kaguya seemed happy while playing games and even more when Michael won the stuffed animal, but would occasionally sigh with melancholy. They were walking hand-in-hand at this time, so Michael was able to lead her to an empty bench to sit down and relax, but also used this as an opportunity to talk to her.
"Come. Sit here." He took initiative and sat down, which also caused Kaguya to copy him. "I'll be right back." He added, letting go of her hand and walking away. Kaguya didn't know why he did that… was it because everything was going wrong? These thoughts went away when Mike brought back a snack for her, having also gotten a drink for himself (both from a vending machine most likely).
"Oh… thank you." Kaguya appreciated the gesture, putting down her cat toy for a second so she can undo the wrapping of her snack and took a bite. It was good, not like the Ramen or even Michael's cooking, but it'll do.
"Listen, can we talk?" Michael suddenly said.
"Hmm?" She asked with a full mouth.
"Be honest, Kaga. Everything okay?" He asked her point-blank, to which she swallowed and looked away.
"… I don't get it…" she said.
"Get what?" Mike asked.
"Our date." Kaguya said. "Everything we've so far has been mixed up or substituted for something else."
"So your not having fun?" Asked Michael, not only because he wanted her to have fun, but also because if she wasn't, that might have an effect on the orb outside.
"It's not that I'm not having fun, it's just that everything's been going wrong." Kaguya said. "I mean, you and Tohka go out all the time, and you both always have perfect dates from what I've heard."
Michael immediately started having flashback images of those 'perfect dates' Kaguya spoke of:
The balls of energy on Tohka's fingertips.
The obscene amount of food Tohka eats.
The sword slashes, which included the energy waves from it on occasion.
And finally, the earthquakes and explosions… sometimes one of both triggered by a mere stomp of her foot…
"… that's the word…" was Michael's only response.
"It just doesn't make any sense. This would seem like a disaster, but…" Kaguya went on.
"So what?" Michael said, cutting her off, which part of Kaguya was about to take offense to before he continued. "Shit happens. Ya can't expect life to go exactly how your plan it." It was there Kaguya took note of the piece of advice and listened closely. "Take me for example, you think I knew my dad was up to all that bullshit, let alone someone like me making close friends?"
While yes, at first Michael's statement sounded pretty rude… but Kaguya really paid attention to the words he used. That did sound accurate, as no one could've predicted that his own father was responsible for the Spirits suffering. She didn't expect to make close friends either, in fact she assumed she would be absorbed into Yuzuru so her sister could be the new Yamai before she got the chance to. She of course had Michael to thank for that.
And him making close friends himself… he was talking about her. She felt her chest warm up a bit from that thought. Like her sister mentioned to Miku: his words, while open and very straightforward, all came from someplace genuine.
"Look, all I'm saying is, don't beat yourself up over it." Michael said. "As long as both of us are having a good time, isn't that what's most important?"
Kaguya just stared in shock at him for a few more seconds before smiling. "Right." She said, going back to her treat. Michael, seeing his pep-talk cheered her up a little bit, looked away with a smile…
!
Her again? That same blond girl, the one in the white uniform appeared out of nowhere, watching him and Kaguya from afar. Before he could say a word about it however, a passerby walked in front of her… and she disappeared.
Oddly, no one else seem to acknowledge her presence…
"Hmm? Something wrong, Michael?" Kaguya asked, noticing him looking into the distance for some strange reason.
"Uh, no! Nothing!" He said. "Just… had a glare in my eye, that's all." He lied, then took a sip of his drink.
"… ooo-kaaaay…" Kaguya said, wondering what was up with Michael, but saw no reason to doubt him.
XXX
The duo finally walked home by sunset, the day and the date almost over. "Well; the Ultimate, Paramount, Perfect Date has come to an end." Michael jabbed about Kaguya's declaration for the 3rd time, which was obvious to her that's what he was doing.
She had fun though, even though it didn't go exactly the way she had planned it at all, but Michael's words resonated with her again as the flashback of it occurred in her head:
"Shit happens. Ya can't expect life to go exactly how your plan it."
While she understood his point, she then felt guilty. She walked a bit on ahead of Michael to get ahead of him just before the apartments. "Michael?" She said, getting his attention. She looked ashamed as she reached into her bag and pulled out a magazine full of bookmarks.
It's date was also 10 years old… that explained allot.
"I'm sorry. This wasn't really my idea at all." Kaguya apologized. "The truth is, I wanted to make a plan… but I didn't know were anything was and used this guide." She said as she put the book back in her bag. "I wanted to make this a great date, but along the way, I got nervous and lost confidence."
Michael did not respond right away, taking her confession in. Things began making a little more sense now. "… Kaguya. Who's the one who put in those markers?" He asked while pointing to the book (or now the location of the book) in question.
Kaguya looked at Michael like he grew a third head. "Huh?… Well I did." She said, not understanding what he was getting at… not at first at least, which is where her eyes widened a bit upon realizing what he was saying.
"Regardless whether or not you used something else to plan this day out… you're still the one who made it." Michael said. "Like I said, shit happens… but hey, I still had a blast." He added, punning something else she said.
"So then… it was a success?" Kaguya asked, hopefully.
"Do you even have to ask?" Michael asked/answered back.
…
…
…
They both burst out laughing after a few seconds of wordlessly looking at each other.
"Guess I'll see ya later, Kaguya. Have a good night." Michael said, wishing her a good night once they recovered. Kaguya only nodded her head as they both went off in opposing directions. However once she stepped up to her door to her buildings entrance while also reaching for the nob, she stopped and slightly pulled her hand away.
Back with Michael, he was literally doing the same thing, only his hand was stopped by Kaguya suddenly calling his name. "Michael!"
Michael: (starts turning his body) Ye-?
HUG!
The very moment he turned around, Kaguya gave him a hug, also having dropped her new toy to do so. Her head rested on one of his shoulders with a smile on it and her eyes closed, tendering hugging the boy and slightly tightening it after two seconds while giving a low hum in content.
Michael was caught off guard by this, not expecting the out-of-nowhere display of affection; not that he didn't like it, he was only surprised it happened. All he did was slowly raise his arms up and hugged her back, feeling Kaguya sink into the hug he did this.
He didn't know how long they ended up standing there in their embrace, but Kaguya finally did let go after some time while still having a tender smile on her face. "… Night, Michael." She said good night to him as well before picking up her cat doll and returning to her building.
Michael couldn't help but smile himself after a bit, then returned inside as well.
XXX
"Kaguya Yami's date had ended!" Said Hinako, her and the Fraxinus crew having watched the whole date.
"Now analyzing Spirit wave source!" Said Kyouji.
"Well, moment of truth." Said Kotori. According to Reine, this invisible orb was indirectly caused by the Spirits, and perhaps the only way to remove it was dating them. With Kaguya's date over, it was now time to see if her hypothesis held up.
"We're seeing changes!" Kozue said. "Kaguya Yamai's signature has disappeared completely!"
The crew was happy this was a success, but also surprised it actually worked. It would in fact appear now that Kaguya has had a moment to herself and Michael, she had probably calmed down (which they'll scan her in a second), which in turn brought down her stress and by extension, the orbs energy.
"Interesting… looks like we're on the right track after all." Said Kotori.
Reine nodded. "Now we just rinse and repeat the process, and continue to watch and observe. If all goes well, that sphere should disappear."
XXX
Back down below in the Spirit Apartment, it appeared Kaguya (now in hangout clothes) still had lingering feelings about the date she and Michael had, to the point she had a very happy smile on her face and was rolling all over a couch with her new cat doll, hugging it and lifting it in the air multiple times. You could also interpret this as her looking quite relieved…
"She hasn't stopped since she came home." Said Yoshinon, he and the Spirits peeking on Kaguya via a cracked open door.
"Envy." Yuzuru said. "Her date plan was flop after flop; but she really appears to have enjoyed herself."
"If that's the case, I need to step up my game!" Tohka said. "I need to double-check my plan." She then took off down the hall back to her own room.
"Tohka's certainly giving it her all," Yoshinon said. "But what about you, Yuzuru?"
"Classified. That's a secret." Was all Yuzuru said on the subject before putting a finger on her lips.
TO BE CONTINUED…