PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING 3-PARAGRAPH MESSAGE:
This is it everyone… The penultimate chapter before the final chapter of the Mayuri arc and when the fic will be starting afterward. It's been one hell of a ride, and its all thanks to number one: my genius. And number two: your support. While this fic may not be my most followed/faved and reviewed, only having 70 follows with 88 reviews, I've had a blast writing it and playing around with the Date A Live universe and hearing any feedback I've received. Expanding on the lore and official characters with an OC and such.
Now after all this is said and done… i'm gonna be honest, I need a bit of a break from this story. Updating this weekly and in a timely matter took a bit out of me, and I feel it would be fair if I'm at 100% when I post the full story. Don't worry, you'll still be getting one last weekly update before that.
That's all I wanted to say. Thanks for reading and supporting this conceptual fanfic. I know it's in bits and pieces, not to mention out of order, but it won't be that way for much longer. I'll be seeing you for the last time next week (February 24th) before taking a well-deserved rest.
From Guest:
I will say Shido x Kotori was weird, but I kinda like Michael x Kotori better. The context of them being roommates with the occasional brother-sister banter makes more sense to me, and is a bit funnier
Bakuganman: Glad you think so.
From Guest:
Mayuri… how could you… MICHAEL'S BEEN KIDNAPPED!
Bakuganman: She has her reasons.
From Reader:
My fav couple is Michael x Origami and Michael x Kurumi. They so cute together! UwU!
Bakuganman: UwU! Good choices.
From Based:
Can't really say I have a favorite girl of this fic in its current form, but my favorite moments were the lemons. I'm actually waiting on Mukuro's and Kaguya's lemon, but guess the full fic will have them.
Bakuganman: Can't say I disagree. Your also the second person to ask for a lemon for one or both of the Yamais', so maybe I'll release it as a special.
From Lildeevil:
All I've got to say is based.
I like Miku's relationship with Mike. Its steamy. Though I do love Kotori's and Tohka's too.
Bakuganman: Thanks. Also good choices.
From Twilightiger1602:
Yep, very true. Those who often complain the loudest about a certain topic are usually the ones who are the most guilty of it... to the point where they're not even trying to hide it. SMH.
As for pairings, it's kinda hard to say. With the unique additions and spins you've made into the story, along with Michael's own character in mind, you've managed to make his relationships with each of the spirits we've seen thus far a lot more balanced as a result, thus anyone in his harem would be likely for the spot of best girl. For this it'll have to come down to personal preferences on who's best with Mikey, and for me it's a tie between Miku and Kurumi oddly enough. Despite previously being enemies, what with Miku's misplaced misandry and Kurumi being Kurumi, those two seem to have quite a bit of chemistry with Michael; between the back to back flirting and occasional lovers quarrel, on top of the level of trust between them(especially with Kurumi), it really feels like our favorite Diva and Nightmare just really click with him as potential girlfriends, and considering the competition which includes his Ex and Best-Girl Tohka, that says a lot.
As for the chapter itself, for the date portion, it's definitely what you'd expect from Tohka: Food and Innocence. May not sound like much, but considering the hectic week Mikey has had so far, going on an all-you-can-eat speedrun with Tohka is kind of a breath of fresh air... only for it to get interrupted by both Mayuri's stalking and Origami butting in at the worst time (*sigh* Guess that part of her character hasn't changed).
Meanwhile, after Kurumi attempted and failed to hold off Mayuri, we seeing her have a legit argument with her other selves, which not only serves as a good call-forward to her character development in later volumes on top of the development she's had now, but really puts into perspective of her own inner turmoil. It's pretty clear to see that Michael keeping everyone in the dark about Kerubiel is tearing him up just as much as Kurumi keeping quiet about Mio to Mikey. Judging from the theme of this arc, and the fact that Mayuri throws a curveball by literally kidnapping Michael in front of everyone at the end, I get the feeling we're all going to get a good look at what exactly happens when one isn't entirely honest with their partner(s), both in the short and long term.
That said, now we're rapidly reaching the climax as we venture into uncharted territory. There's no telling what exactly Mayuri plans to do with Michael, though one thing is for sure... He definitely has some explaining to do when this is all over.
Bakuganman: AKA - Projection.
Miku and Kurumi, eh? Good choices. Kinda figured you'd go with them. And considering Origami's butting-in, some things haven't changed. For me, its funnier with the context that she and Michael used to be a couple. As for Kurumi arguing with herself(s), those clones are technically her anyway, and it makes a decent gag but not without characterization moments.
As for why Mayuri kidnapped Michael, you'll see why in a minute. Think of it as an adaption of the novel released with the movie (only in Japan however).
Mayuri Judgement - Part 10, Mayuri Around:
Tohka just kept staring at where Michael was only a moment ago, only for some girl to appear randomly and cause a light flash, then she and him both disappeared just as quickly. Even the other girls did the same thing, trying to process what had just happened.
It also took Kotori a few seconds to get back to normal and try to address the situation despite her own emotions threatening to show themselves. "What the heck just happened? What was with that light?" She asked. "And where'd Michael go?!"
The crew got to work trying to find a solution to this problem. "Scanning for Michael's Sealed energy now!" Said Munechika.
"Commander!" Mikimoto said, panicking for some reason. "Tohka's levels are dropping rapidly!" He said as yes indeed, the Spirits data showed her power dropping… only it continued into the negatives…
"Oh shit, not now!" Kotori said, realizing Tohka's emotional state was causing her to Inverse. She couldn't blame Tohka, as losing Michael like that probably triggered painful memories, but they couldn't deal with an Inverse right now… especially one in public! "Get a camera down there! NOW!"
"M… Michael…" Tohka uttered his name, unable to believe what had just happened. The most important person in her life had listened to her, taken her in, took care of her, provided for her, protected her, accepted her… and now he was swiped from her again, only this time so quick that she didn't have time to react.
He was stolen from her, by an invisible girl…
She felt pain her in head and heart, and while trying to control her breathing, she slowly lifted both her hands to her head as if the stop the buzzing sound she was hearing and feeling. There was even patches of dark aura coming off her again.
The other Spirits and Fraxinus began to panic. Kurumi even phased in from a shadow in a wall, coming to see what the light flash was about and now realized she was too late. Now here she was witnessing Tohka begin to Inverse again, something she highly doubted she could deal with right now.
The others ran to Tohka despite the dark energy rattling their senses, hopefully to get her to calm down.
"Tohka! Tohka!" Kaguya was the one to call out to her first as they approached. "Tohka, its okay. We're here!"
"Try to… stay calm." Yoshino said.
"Wha… Wh-Wh-Where's Michael?" It wasn't working, the dark patches getting thicker around Tohka by the second, ringing warning bells in the Spirits minds to get the hell away from her. At this rate, she was gonna go Darth Tohka again!
One of the many cameras' that watched the world below uncloaked itself before the girls. This is where Kotori was gonna talk into the microphone, but then hesitated… what was she supposed to say? She had to be EXTREMELY careful with her words as in Tohka's current mental state, one misspeak, she'll blow stuff up.
Wow… so this is how Michael felt when he'd say that…
"Commander!" Kawagoe spoke up. "You may want to take a look at this!" He said as nee info was shared on the monitor.
Michael's signature, or at least the Sealed energy in his body, which had vanished moments ago, had reappeared on radar a few blocks away… did he escape his captor (assuming their was one), or was that location the secret lair or a prison of sorts? Kotori wasn't sure, but thought quickly on how to use this information to her advantage.
"Tohka! Tohka, listen to me!" Kotori said via the camera's audio. "We know where Michael is! He's not far, we found him!" It took a few seconds, but Tohka's tightly gritting teeth slowly unclenched themselves, hearing the words 'Michael' and 'found him' in the same sentence was having a positive effect on her. While she was still giving off dark aura, the data in Fraxinus was showing the negative values halt.
"His Spirit Power is nearby, we can save him, Tohka." Kotori said, calming down herself seeing this was exactly what Tohka needed to hear. "I promise we'll get him back, but I need you to stay with me, take a deep breath, and calm. Down."
It took exactly 10 more seconds, but the darkness began to dissipate from Tohka's person before leaving her entirely. The other Spirits and those in Fraxinus couldn't help but mentally or vocally sigh in relief. That's at least one crisis adverted.
Tohka began to recover from her near-mental breakdown, her hands slowly letting go of her head. She was also taking taking in deep breath's as suggested, which admittedly did help a little.
"… he was… taken…" Tohka said, which caught everyone's attention. Before they could ask how, Tohka continued. "B… By a girl."
"A girl?" Kaguya asked.
"Surprise. A girl?" Yuzuru repeated.
"But I didn't see anybody else… did you?" Miku added, then directed a question to Yoshino, where her and her puppet shook her head.
"Another girl? But there was no one else there." Mana said, as she and Kotori and her staff saw the entire thing play out, but there was no other person there.
Kotori herself was extremely confused but it got her thinking. For some reason, Tohka was able to see the orb now. But this only seemed to occur after Michael reacted to something, Tohka grabbed his hand, reacted to something herself, then she seemed aware of the sky ball only for a flash to go off almost immediately after.
Coincidence?… Or connection?
This did peak Kurumi's interest as well, as this was most likely the new Spirit Tohka was talking about. But from what Michael said before, no one but him and Kurumi herself was able to see or hear her. Now Tohka could all of a sudden? The Nightmare wondered what exactly went on just before she came.
"Guess the sailors out of the boat." Kurumi said, which she only just realized she said out loud and meant to say that to herself, but it was already too late as the other girls looked in her direction.
"Kurumi?!" Miku said, the first to call out Kurumi's name. She and the others excluding Tohka immediately got defensive, and assumed the girl Tohka spoke about was Kurumi. Who else could it possibly be, right?
"So this was your plan all along!" Kaguya accused. "Help us and try to gain our trust, only to take Michael for yourself!"
They would have summoned their Angels and/or Sealed Astral Dresses if Tohka didn't quickly intervene. "Wait, no!" Tohka said, getting around and in-between them and Nightamre. "It wasn't Kurumi, it was a girl with yellow hair and a white school uniform!"
"Yellow hair?" Miku asked, her face showing question… then it changed to interest. "Is she cute? Does she have a Michelle-like body ty-?"
YANK!
"OW! Ow, ow, ow, ow!" While Miku was ranting, Yuzuru, her eyes deadpanning, pulled on Miku's ear closest ear to herself, which made the idol whine.
"Statement. Not now." Yuzuru said. Her actions did cause the Pop Idol to stop. Kurumi, feeling it was safe now, lowered herself from the wall by this point but was still connected too it…
FLASH!
Though Tohka quickly summoned her Angel before anyone could react, and went as far as to point it directly at Kurumi's face, which she not expect and did reel slightly back. "But if you know something, you'd better start talking…" Tohka said, threateningly. Not as threatening as her darker half, but you can tell she was serious. From Kurumi's previous comment, she gathered she must know something.
Kurumi was still a bit shocked at Tohka's threat. She may have been able to take her when not Sealed, but wasn't sure if she could with them both Sealed. Not that she wanted to fight right now, but she did smile her signature smile before putting a finger on the blade.
"Eaaaasy, Princess." She said as she pushed down in the blade which made the blade lower only because Tohka's grip lessened, yet the Princess still gave her a hard stare.
Kurumi then used her shadow powers to sink back into the wall before that same shadow pool moved down it and along the ground which the girls kept a close eye on, the Nightmare arising from it when she got a few feet away from the girls. Her back was too them when she arose.
"I've been running interference for you and him all day. Our new friends like a little lost puppy." Kurumi said as she turned around to look at the other Spirits.
"Wait, you see her too?" Miku asked, unsure if she could believe Kurumi's word on it, which was shared with the others.
"Question. Why can't the rest of us see this girl?" Yuzuru asked as apparently only Tohka, Kurumi and Michael could see this mysterious person for whatever reason
Kurumi smiled and gave a playful shrug. "Maybe she's shy." Each other Spirit, even Yoshino to a degree, deadpanned at her comment.
Deciding to ignore her and focus on the abrupt vanishing of her roommate, Kotori looked at the data more carefully. For whatever reason, while they could see Mike was still in the city, it was only giving them a general idea of where he was. With the new context there was now a new Spirit that apparently was invisible to sight, sound, and even radar; perhaps the presence of this Spirit next to Michael messed with the scanning equipment.
"Okay, girls. Here's the game plan:" Kotori said via the camera mic. Normally it was up to Michael to settle the mishaps regarding Spirits with Fraxinus providing support when necessary… this time they all had to work together.
XXX
Color Michael surprised when the light in his eyes died down, he was in the arcade he went to Kaguya with, more specifically the bench they sat on together when he got them a snack. It wasn't too busy either, the place nearly dead business-wise.
Taking in his surroundings quickly and realizing where he was, he then noticed the blonde girl literally right next to him, he and her in the exact same spots that he and Kaguya were in on their date.
Now, because she would always vainsh the second he usually saw her, he never got a chance to look at her. Now that he did, he could see she was just as pretty of a girl up close as she was far away.
This Mysterious Spirit had golden blond hair that wasn't as over-the-top long as Tohka's, but was still a pretty decent length going past her shoulders but not past her skirt like Tohka's would. The hair was also tied into a ponytail on her right side in a white ribbon that was the same size as Kotoris' ribbons but not the same design while the rest of her hair fell naturally.
She had fair white skin similar to Miku as well, and had gold earrings with small spheres attached to them hanging off her ears. She was wearing long black socks that went up to her knees with matching black shoes, and was carrying a pink bag with various accessories under her arm which either she had the whole time, or he just noticed just now.
Going back to her uniform for a second, a small detail he didn't notice before, was this strange symbol on her shirt just under her neck, which was what appeared to be an angel of some sort with wings and a halo on top. She had a very slender frame like most of the other girls, actually strikingly similar to Tohka, but her bust was smaller, akin more to Kaguya's. Finally her eyes were a deep beautiful pink, adding to her mysterious aura. Again, something about her eyes reminded him of Tohka.
She was a really pretty girl, very so much his type. Hell, she could probably get any guy she wanted… that is, if anyone could see her.
"… Uh…" Michael said, as now she was once again just staring at him, only this time right next to him instead of across a room or a table away. Everything happened so fast, his brain couldn't think of an immediate response. "… hi."
The girl did not answer him, at least not right away. But after a few more seconds, she finally spoke in a very soft voice. Not as soft as Yoshino's, but somewhere in-between. "I'm sorry."
Michael blinked, not expecting to hear an apology come out of her. She said it without any emotion though.
"I didn't mean to go that far, but I had little choice." She continued, further apologizing for her actions with Tohka not too long ago. "My name is…" said was getting ready to introduce herself when…
"Michael!"
Michael and even the almost-named Spirit looked in the direction if the voice, seeing Kaguya had just showed up and was standing at the end of the aisle, looking at the duo (actually Michael as she could not see the other Spirit). She also had a cloaked Fraxinus camera next to her, which was most likely Kotori's idea.
The lean Wind Twin then began to fast walk over to them, obviously concerned about his safety. If what Kurumi and Tohka were saying was true, she'd better get him to safety before this invisible girl strikes again.
"Kaguya, y-… eh?" Whatever Michael was about to say didn't matter, as the invisible girl next to him grabbed one of his hands.
FLASH!
"AHH!" Kaguya shielded her eyes with an arm from the blinding light that emanated from Michael's location out of nowhere. But when it finally died down and she looked again, the boy (and the invisible girl next to him) had vanished much to her surprise. Looks like she was too late and this new Spirit got to him again as far as she knew.
"He just disappeared again!" Said Mana, getting a bit concerned now. However Kotori was already on it.
"Scan that spot he was just in, on the double!" The Loli Commander ordered with her staff working overtime to do just that. It took a few more seconds, but it resulted in surprising results…
"Scan indicates there was a flare of Spirit Power from that exact spot!" Masaomi said.
"But it doesn't appear to match any signal of any Spirit we've encountered before, nor the ones he has sealed." Kozue added, for including the Spirits they have met that didn't get Sealed, none of the Spirit Data they had on file matched this new signature.
"That's not the point." Kotori said. "This just proves that just like the ball, there is something around Michael." She continued, reviewing the actual reason behind this plan. She had the other girls spilt up and cover as much ground as possible, sending a camera with them for observation. "But whatever it is, apparently it wants nothing to do with the others. Yet if it wanted to harm Michael in any way, it would have already done it by now. All it does is run away."
Reine, despite doing her job, was still looking very stern about the whole situation. Unless it was to look at her station to type in codes or commands, she kept a close eye on the main monitor. In fact, it was here Kotori brung this up.
"You've been awfully quiet this whole time, Reine." Kotori said. "Have any suggestions on how to approach this situation?"
Reine didn't answer right away, probably not expecting to be called out. "… just a stressful time right now, that's all." Was the sleep-deprived woman's answer. "This unknown force is much different than anything we've faced thus far. Everything's happening really fast."
Her answer sounded very logical to Kotori as yes, this was kind of a surreal situation. There had not been an incident quite like this before.
XXX
The light died down again and Michael found himself standing at the shrine Yoshino took him to during the week, the new Spirit and him on the same bench as well.
"Sorry, as I was saying," the Spirit went back to try and introduce herself. "My name is Mayuri."
"Uh, hi. I'm Michael." He introduced himself awkwardly.
"I understand Ratatoskr hasn't named me, but I guess you can call me the Spirit of Judgement." Mayuri said, being very open and talkative now compared to before where she would just stare at him.
"Judgement?" Michael asked. Mayuri opened her mouth to respond, but then apparently noticed something out of the corner of her eye and then turned her head to see it. Michael did to, seeing none other than Yoshino poking around, obviously looking for him. "Yoshi-?"
SLAP!
"MUMFH!" Mayuri quickly slapped a hand over Michael's mouth to silence him before the Ice/Rain Spirit could hear him, and his world filled with light once again before it all flashed away. Now of course here's where Yoshino noted the light and looked in its direction, but whomever was there had vanished before she could get over there.
XXX
FLASH!
Now Michael and Mayuri ended up in the same cat cafe Kurumi took him too, only difference was the cats were actually up and about this time. The cafe had customers this time too, but none had noticed a boy had flashed into existence at a table. Plus they were at a far end of the restaurant anyway, so they did not get too much notice.
"Yes, I am the Judgement Spirit." Mayuri continued from before. "When there's a large amount of Reiryoku in an area, I'm summoned to judge or help neutralize the threat should a Vessel be unable to contain it."
Michael was feeling a bit queasy from all the rapid teleportation, having not done that before, so he had to take a moment to stop all the food he ate with Tohka from coming back up. This seemed either lost on Mayuri, or she just didn't acknowledge it (which he tried not to let bother him).
Breathing in and out for a bit, he spoke to Mayuri when he felt his breakfast, lunch and all the snacks going back down his esophagus. "So… that's why you've been following me?" Michael asked. Mayuri nodded. "Then what's with the ball? And what threat?"
"Good afternoon, are you cuties ready to order?" Said the voice of the waitress to Michael and Mayuri. This stunned Michael, hearing someone else could see her, but calmed down quickly and decided to play it cool.
"Oh, just give us a- dah?!" Michael was gonna ask for a minute to order, but then saw who the waitress was…
Kurumi. In the exact same outfit as during the date, though thankfully her skirt covered up a lot more since she was out in public… he probably shouldn't have been that surprised. Of course, Mayuri also looked in Kurumi's direction, and she immediately teleported away with Michael in tow.
"You were supposed to catch him!" Kotori said to Kurumi via the camera.
"I caught something from him alright." Kurumi slyly said while turning her head to the camera with both her eyes closed and a smile on her face, which made Kotori growl at the Worst Spirits stupid joke.
XXX
FLASH!
Yet again, another location, which only made Michael even more queasy. They ended up outside the 100 Yen Store, one of Yuzuru's "twists".
"From any threat that comes to the general area, or should the Vessel or Vessels go out of control." Mayuri said, then pointed directly upwards without taking her eyes off of him. "That's what me and Kerubiel are for… see if the Vessels are suitable, if you will."
Michael looked upwards and what she was pointing to, and it so happened she was pointing to the very same invisible ball in the sky that only he and Kurumi could see under normal circumstances.
Wait… so then…?
"That's your… Angel?" He asked as he looked back at Mayuri, which she nodded in response. This greatly surprised him, as the only other Angel he seen anywhere close to that size was Rinne's Tree, but even that tree was only as tall as the Tenju Tower… did that mean this Angel was stronger?
Mayuri nodded again, but then she appeared to sense something and glanced over to the right. When Michael followed her gaze, he saw Yuzuru literally just turning the corner to head to the very same shop. What was strange was, Yuzuru looked very concerned, odd because she rarely showed her emotions. But when she noticed Michael, her demeanor immediately changed.
By the time she tried rushing over and got the closest to them like Kurumi managed to pull off, Mayuri grabbed Michael's hand and light danced around them…
"Can you-…?!" Michael snapped at Mayuri for being forcefully teleported away again, but they warped away before he could finish or Yuzuru could get to them.
XXX
Where Mayuri ended up teleporting them to next was unknown at the moment, but the camera was very focused on Mayuri's face.
"That was close." Mayuri said softly. That's when the camera finally zoomed out a second later, showing that her and Michael were practically hugging since they were in an enclosed space.
"Define close." Michael also said softly but also through gritted teeth, trying not to panic because he now knew exactly where they were. They were in the dress store that Miku tricked him into going to after tricking him into becoming 'Michelle' for over an hour, only behind one of the dressing room curtains.
They were so close in fact, he could feel some of Mayuri's curves… which were not at all bad all things considering.
"We do serve another function." Mayuri said, continuing from her last point before she was interrupted… Jesus Christ, he could feel her breath on him, which in itself was not helping the situation. "As the Original Vessel no longer exists, we are to assist The Inheritor when he shows himself."
Whatever dirty thoughts Michael was beginning to have (he's a guy, he can't lie), he shoved them away and froze upon hearing that term.
"Inheritor?" He repeated with his eyes slightly widening, having heard that once before. He quickly flashed back to the moment Rinne and the world she created was about to vanish, where in her disappearing breath, she called him that as some of her final words to him.
"Yes… that's why your here." Mayuri said. "Your the one who will bring balance back to the world."
SWISH!
Both the teens got surprised from the sudden sound and light coming into their space and looked towards the disturbance. It was shown a random girl, maybe between 17 and 21 years of age, was coming in with a dress in her hand, obviously to try it on before buying it. As you can imagine, she was shocked to see it was already occupied by 2 people.
Of course, she couldn't see one of them…
"… uuuuuh… I can explain." Michael said to try reason with her.
"HENTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAI!" The girl screamed as a shot of the store from outside was shown, the environment vibrating from how loud she screamed. Michael then of course burst out of the main doors, then his hands went to his knees as he tried catching his breath.
This new Mayuri girl wasn't even part of his "harem", yet she made him look just as bad in public as everyone else…
He then felt his arm grabbed, then softness on that same arm. He looked over to see… "Miku?" Considering the current situation, he was happy to see anyone else at the moment who wasn't invisible to everyone else.
"Don't worry, Darling. I've got your back." Miku said with a smile on her face but she was being serious. "Absolutely nothing is gonna happen to you with me around!" She continued to while leading Michael away, feeling the need to get away as soon as possible before this apparent invisible girl shows up. But while she was walking, she felt Michael hold himself back and prevent her from continuing forward. "Michael, come on! Why are you stopping?" She looked back at him to ask.
Michael didn't answer, only glanced behind him too see it was Mayuri was the one holding him back. She was quite strong, able to prevent Miku from going further by copying her actions… this of course meant Michael felt softness from both sides with varying consistencies, but he couldn't focus on that as both him and the invisible Mayuri glowed again, vanishing from Miku's grasp in an instant and shocking the Diva.
Not only that, the invisible ball in the sky pulsed a single time…
Switching to Fraxinus' point of view just for a second, they were still tracking Michael via his Sealed Power signal… that is, until there ceased to be one. This may have been a glitch however, seeing as their target was moving so fast throughout the entire city…it shouldn't have taken this long to get the signal back however…
"Well, whats going on? Where is he?" Mana asked, beating Kotori to it. The crew reset the instruments for tracking energy, again hoping this was just a glitch. The systems did their things, beeping and whirling being heard on the bridge.
Then three worst words of the crew think of were on the main screen: No Results Found.
"… He… He's gone…" Said Hinko, which was both a statement and a surprised question at the same time. Silence plagued the bridge for a bit as this sunk in.
"… g-… GONE?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S GONE?!" Kotori yelled, honestly starting to panic and trying to understand how that was possible. This had never happened before, but the very moment Mayuri vanished for the 7th time, Fraxinus somehow lost the signal on Michael.
"There's nothing! Nothing on radar, on scan… anything!" Kozue repeated as she quickly relooked from her end as did the others, but they too could not find a trace of Michael, nor the force that kidnapped him.
The only other Spirit who was able to conceal themself anywhere remotely like this like this was Phantom… was she responsible? Was this blond girl Tohka seemed to see her true form or some other disguise?
"Wait, hold on…" Nakatsugawa was saying. "The orb appears to have pulsed the second Michael disappeared again!" He said, having figured he discovered something.
"This only a guess, but perhaps the orbs properties are being used to conceal Michael's signature, much like how Michael claims to be able to see both the orb and now Tohka seeing a girl." Reine said.
"Reine, what are you saying?" Mana asked.
"Exactly how it sounds," Reine responded. "If our equipment can't find him automatically, he'll have to be found in manually."
Both Mana and Kotori were rendered silent, as that was a challenge within itself. "… You hear that, girls?" Kotori asked via the camera audio. They did of course.
"But this city is huge! Darling could be anywhere!" Miku said.
As this was going on, Tohka tuned it all out, getting worried… was this it? Was this how they lost Michael? Not by them directly or indirectly blowing stuff up or their power breaking his body, but him being kidnapped by a invisible girl? How the hell were they gonna find him? Like Miku said, the city was huge…
"There's a place I usually stop by at that I didn't get the chance to go over the last few days." Michael's voice echoed in Tohka's head, making her gasp. "Its a special place I go to where my life changed forever."
…
Tohka then took off running for seemingly no reason.
"TOHKA!" Kotori called from the camera. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Tohka didn't answer, she just kept running, breathing in and out of her mouth with every step she took, her absurdly long hair trailing behind her.
She was going by her gut… and by her heart… she just hoped she wasn't too late…
XXX
In another flash of light, once again Mayuri and Michael ended up somewhere. Michael noticed it was the bridge that overlooked the entire city, his de-stressing spot.
"Okay, okay! STOP!" Michael said, getting out of Mayuri's grasp. While it was nice to have some answers to some questions, the constant running away finally became too much for him. "Look, Maria…"
"Mayuri." The Spirit corrected him.
"Whatever!" Michael snapped at her. "I don't know who you think I am, okay?!" He continued. "I'm no hero… I'm not some guy in a mask who swings around all day or grapples from vantage point to vantage point… Hell, I shouldn't even be here!" Michael couldn't help but start ranting to her, the stress from the last 6 days really starting to take its toll and had no where else to go but out.
Despite basically yelling at her unprovoked, Mayuri just let him speak.
"I'm not some savior; and certainly not some Inheritor! My mommy and daddy loved each other really much, then I popped out, and was left to rot because of my power-crazy father wanted some Infinity Stones from a couple of cutesy aliens!… THEN! YOU spawn in-game and force me to not tell my friends that there's a giant bomb overhead that might explode because of their emotions!" Michael went on, all his feelings on the entire situation bursting out.
"I'm just a guy! A guy who can absorb Girl Power through a smooch, and those same people always end up getting hurt the longer their around me!" He blurted out emotionally and in denial of everything Mayuri told him and even Rinne's dying words. He then had a few flashbacks of the pain the girls went through ever since he got into this mess:
He thought back to how he broke up with Origami and the emotions she and him went through. While she had appeared to have gotten over it, that didn't mean he still didn't feel bad about it.
He thought back to how hurt Tohka was when learned her Inverse nearly killed him and how it actually did in one timeline when Rinne was around, as well as her and the other girls' powers destroying his body especially when he passed out after Un-Inversing her. This included when Rinne's Tree attacked all of the girls, and also the torture Tohka went through when kidnapped by Ellen and Westcott.
He thought back to when Kotori was in denial of her feelings and when she was attacked by Origami over the Tenju City fire, which wasn't entirely her fault.
He thought back to Mana's abrupt confession just a little while ago, about how she felt responsible for Michael's involvement in Spiritual affairs.
He thought back to the battle with Light Wing and the Spirit it was guarding, both individuals hurting the girls' significantly.
Finally, he thought back to when Phantom appeared before Kurumi, who also denied any feelings she had, and the all-out brawl between the other 6 Spirts and himself. She ended up leaving so there was no definitive outcome.
Those were only some if the prime examples from recent memory that Michael was able to pull off the top of his head. No matter what he did, or how he did it; one way or another, the Spirits would up end getting hurt mentally or physically every time he was around them.
And considering who his father was… the man flashing in his head during that night at DEM… he felt responsible…
"… I know what I am… a pawn… a pawn in some sick, twisted game." Michael spoke in a low tone, calming down a little bit after his emotional outburst. "… I never should've come here… I should've just stayed home, stayed in America with my life and my friends' lives not threatened every time I turn around!"
Michael could not help but feel this way. Ever since he showed up, it's been one roller coaster after another:
First was Tohka's rampage, then Yoshino's emotional snowstorm, Kurumi's and Kotori battle with both of them nearly killing each other, next was Origami's turn to rampage, Kaguya and Yuzuru almost making a hurricane that might have torn the island in half, and finally Tohka's Inverse which almost killed Miku and the others who tried stopping her which forced Michael to step up and clash with her until he got that opening to turn her back to normal. That's not even mentioning the shenanigans with Rinne and American DEM.
And of course most recently, their stress over him which summoned Mayuri and her floating marble that apparently also contained her Angel in the first place. No matter what he tried to do, the girls would always end up in trouble or trouble would find them, and Michael seemed to always be at the center of all of it ever since he showed up.
Part of him believed if he never came, maybe the girls would be happier or at the very least safer, not always in danger to him or to those around them…
Michael: (looks down at the ground) … I should've left… left when I had the chance…
…
…
"… Your wrong, Michael." Mayuri finally responded after letting Michael rant and after a moment of silence. This also made Michael look back up at her. "Think of all the good you've done for them: Giving Origami a chance to forget her past; preventing both Yamais' from destroying each other; allowing Mana and Kotori to reunite with the most important person to them; giving Yoshino someone else to lean on; letting Kurumi trust in someone again; allowing Tohka to have a peaceful life; and giving Miku the courage to pick up a mic and try again."
Michael just stared at the still emotionless and invisible-to-everybody-else girl before him, what she was saying making him really think. "If not for you, then your friends would have been hunted down, and may have eventually been caught by The Reseter." Mayuri added, which Michael didn't fully understand her last choice of words.
The Reseter?… What's with all these terms? First Inheritor, now this?
"Yes, you may have made a few mistakes along the way, but you eventually still fought through and did the right thing." By this point, Mayuri began walking up closer to him. "You saved them in more ways than one… allot more than you realize…"
Mayuri was a few feet away from him now, both of them keeping eye contact on the other. "There must always be a Vessel, Michael… And you are that Vessel…" she said in a serious tone. "Your the Inheritor… the one who will restore and maintain the balance between our worlds…"
Michael was frozen, his mind racing from everything he was just told. Both him and her were silent again, probably because she was giving him a moment to collect himself and process all of the information.
Right when he opened his mouth to give another response, Mayuri's gaze suddenly shot to the side and immediately jumped back inhumanly.
SLASH!
Michael had to reel back quite a bit from the sudden yet small wave of purple energy that was sent to him and Mayuri from the same direction Mayuri looked in, as well as around the same spot she was standing.
Wait… purple?
Michael looked over to see… "Tohka?!"
Indeed the purple haired girl had found him, her instinct being correct and having just approached the bridge from the stairs. She was breathing very heavily out of her mouth from all the running she did to get here and having her familiar sword drawn in her hand.
Tohka did not say another word, just made her way back to Michael, her primary focus right now. Part of her was very relieved, seeing her closest friend was okay, but she was also of course still high on other emotions.
What she did next was look on ahead and grab the hand of Michael while simultaneously interlocking fingers with him… sure enough, Mayuri reappeared in her POV. Though of Tohka was being honest; she didn't see, hear, or sense the Invisible Spirits presence at all, only making a guess if she was around and unleashing a minor attack as a form of precaution.
Around the same time she held hands with him, the other Spirits also appeared (minus Kotori who was still in Fraxinus) coming from the same staircase Tohka used and having followed her. Kurumi was the only one to appear via a shadow pool nearby them as well, all of them seeing the stand-off between Tohka and the Invisible Girl they couldn't see (except Kurumi).
"… … I'll ask you again… who are you?" Tohka asked Mayuri calmly, wanting an answer right now. Mayuri did not answer her. "Answer me! Who are you and what do you want!" Tohka yelled at her, her patience wearing thin and worried for Michael's safety.
Mayuri just kept looking at the Princess Spirit and her 'Prince'… until she closed her eyes and smiled at them. "You pass."
Both Michael and Tohka blinked and gained question marks over their heads upon Mayuri's statment. Even Kurumi did the same afterward, as the only other Spirit who could see and heat her.
"P… Pass?" Tohka asked, very much confused. Then snapper her head back towards Michael. "Michael, what is going on here?" She asked point-blank.
"Uuuuuuh…" Was all Michael could say, detecting the aggravation beneath Tohka's question. This is exactly what he was afraid of and wanted to avoid even when Reine brought up her counterargument.
"My observations lead me to conclude the system does not need to be activated." Mayuri continued. "You don't need me or Kerubiel's help after all. Our work is done."
"Done?… and who's Keru-?" Tohka asked, but then her face showed slight realization, and looked behind Michael and herself to see the orb in the sky. When she looked back, Mayuri just nodded once. "Then… what are you both gonna do?" Tohka had to ask.
"We will simply decompose. Cease our manifestation and return to nothing." Mayuri said. Both Mike and Tohka (even Kurumi to a degree) recoiled from that bit of information. "Don't feel bad. It's how we were designed by the Original One. Even if the System did in fact need to be triggered, we would still disappear after our function is fulfilled." The Judgement Spirit added. "We are a defense mechanism… nothing more."
Michael listened to Mayuri's words very carefully. It sounded like this was not her first rodeo, and had been through this either once before or a few times before… what was that she was saying about a Vessel? That there always must be one? Perhaps this is exactly what she meant, simply fulfilling her duty before she just disappears… over, and over again…
He couldn't help but feel bad, even though she said not to be.
Then Mayuri began to glow, her entire body glowing with a golden light as her clothes appeared to vanish, but due to the brightness you could not see anything. "I just felt the need to talk to Michael before I left…"
"Hold up, wait a se-…!" Michael still had so many questions…
FLASH!
Only for the same bright light to flash from the position Mayuri was standing in, Only this time it had enough force to blow back Michael and Tohka backward and off their feet and also make the other girls brace from the unknown gust. In addition to that, 4 wing-like pillars of light also shot out of Mayuri's back, which caused the pushing force. These wings also encased her in an orb of light, similar to the one holding her Angel but on a smaller scale and was pure gold.
When Tohka came too, she was no longer holding Michael's hand, therefore she can no longer see Mayuri. She did see Michael looking at something in the sky directly above where Mayuri stood a second ago, and assumed she was still there.
"Michael! What happened!" Tohka asked, but Michael was too busy taking in Mayuri's new appearance… her Spirit Form…
Mayuri's new look can only be described as an actual angel or a seraph. She was now covered in a short black Astral Dress with slits in her chest and stomach with a small pendant in-between her breasts. Near the left side of her neck was a wheel-like gear, and she also had black gloves on her hands and gold gauntlets on her legs resembling Lion heads on her knees, and above that on her thighs were stringy lingerie-like straps. Finally on her back were a pair of angelic wings alongside four larger transparent wings, while additionally having a smaller pair of angelic wings attached to her ears as extensions.
Michael had to admit, after calling herself the Judgment Spirit, it kind of made sense this would be what her true form looks like, her self-given codename fitting her to a "T". She truly was beautiful, very much on par with the heavy hitters of his harem. If Michael didn't think she was pretty before…
She suddenly spread her wings, beating them once to start flying into the air like an angel/seraph that she looked like. She also for the first time actually showed emotion, giving Michael a small smile while looking down at him.
"Sayonara… Michael Pelham…" she said softly to him, preparing to decompose herself before she and her Angel would once again go dormant…
SHINE!
Mayuri then gasped, looking back into the sky behind her, because as soon as she was saying her farewells; the orb in the sky suddenly began to erupt with light… visible light. Mayuri even looked shocked at this, as if she didn't know this would happen or even why it was happening.
Call it instinct or premonition, but Michael couldn't help but get a bad feeling about this…
TO BE CONCLUDED…