Date A Re:Live
S2 Chapter 33: Yamai Clash, Part 2
By : Tohka_Yatogami
...
Summary
Even a similar story can take it's own path. Shido and Mana are amnesiac siblings living with their friend Kotori, however the past catches up to Shido when he nearly runs into a space quake, and his world changes as one girl asks... "Are you here to kill me?" (Stronger Ratatoskr, weaker DEM, games & movie are canon to story) [Shido/Tohka/Harem]
Alright, before we get to anything, I have something to tell everyone. Today, or June 1st to anyone who reads this chapter after the day passes... IS MY BIRTHDAY! *blows a noise maker* I'm excited! First thing I say, no one ask me how old I am, you never ask a girl her age. All I'll say is I'm my early teen years, or is it early-mid teen years now? Meh, details. It's my birthday and that's what I'm excited about!
Dang it, I did it again! I forgot to say the emotion of the arc, at this rate I'm going to say it every second arc chapter for this season and possibly every third in the next season! DX *breathes* OK, let me fix that now, the emotion is Desire. Like with Natsumi's arc it is kinda obvious, and the only real difference I can really say about is that while the Yamai twins still had a desire in canon and still do here, it's how that desire exists that's different.
Alright, with that cleared out, usual author talk in the start notes is a go! It may be my personal opinion, but I think I actually amplified that argument between the Yamai sisters compared to canon, maybe it's because I have firsthand experience in that area? *shrugs* Well, that was round one, now rounds two and three are about to pop off and Tohka like in the previous arc starts taking center stage to deal with the problem that'll result from this.
Now things will be similar to canon at first, but... that makes the sudden twist all the more exciting when I drop the bomb! Wait... should I have said drop the mic to be more dramatic? Eh, who cares, I already said it anyways. One thing I can say that's changed from canon is the Yamai twins bonded to three Spirits each, not just Tohka and Origami. Joining Kaguya there's Natsumi and Kotori, and with Yuzuru its Yoshino and Kurumi.
So now that we've got all that said, time to begin round two of this clash! *hits the gong* Yamai Clash part 2, begin!
Everyone on the Fraxinus was doing something on their seats out of boredom, with Maria both playing a game of Tetris and trying to find the DEM's source of their jamming to re-establish contact with everyone on the surface. Kannazuki was even rubbing against Reine's chair like a cat.
"It's such a chore to work up any enthusiasm when there's nothing to do. Right now, I'd even willingly get a scolding form the Commander just to have something, but here we are without her... not to mention with the worries down on the surface, we still don't have a clue." Kannazuki sighed.
"And as expected... he's useless right now." Kawagoe stated, sweat dropping a bit.
"Hey Maria, any luck yet?" Minowa asked, almost begging. "We'd all like to be able to not listen to that."
Maria gives a thumb's down.
"Maybe we should try contacting Commander Murasame later?" Shiizaki wondered.
Everyone gave a collective sigh.
Soon back inside the reserved housing the class rented for the trip, everyone was doing their own things for the night. In Yoshino and Natsumi's room, the two were both watching one of Yoshino's usual Soap Operas. The scene they were seeing currently got a little... bold to speak.
"Oh my..." Yoshino breathed, her hands covering her eyes and yet not covering them.
"This is steamy, way steamy!" Natsumi gulped, taking a handful of snacks and some juice as they kept watching it.
Meanwhile in another room, Tohka and Origami were both asleep, though Origami suddenly woke up as she heard Tohka tossing and turning too loudly for her. She got up and formed a light with her powers.
"Tohka?" Origami asked, soon getting close enough to see Tohka's face all restless and sweating. "Wait, are you having a nightmare?"
Origami got closer, trying to get a better look.
Tohka found herself in some dark realm with dark purple energy everywhere, looking around lost and confused, she soon realized she was somewhat familiar with the realm she was in... it was the gate between the destroyed Spirit Dimension and Earth she had gone to when she disappeared from the world.
"No way, but why am I here again? I shouldn't be able to come here anymore." Tohka asked herself, confused to why she was here.
"They must pay!"
Tohka gasped and turned as she heard a voice somewhere, but she couldn't find it no matter where she looked. After a while, she suddenly saw a dark flash behind her as she saw the sight of Inverse Tohka form, slowly walking towards her.
"M-my Inverse Form... but how?" Tohka gasped in fear, soon falling on her butt as she slowly crawled back as her dark half neared her.
"They must pay, Humanity... they must pay!" Inverse Tohka screamed, in a voice that sound like Tohka's but somehow clearly told everyone who heard it that it wasn't Tohka's voice at the same time. "All of them must pay for destroying our world, for destroying us!"
Tohka tried to back up more, but suddenly felt herself bump into an invisible wall.
"W-what are you talking about?" Tohka asked, confused by what her dark half was even talking about.
"Why... why do you help them? They don't deserve mercy, they made us pity them... and then killed us all! They must all die!" Inverse Tohka screamed, soon swinging down Nahemah at her.
Tohka narrowly managed to dodge, and soon tried running in some other direction, but her dark half soon appeared before her with glowing us.
"There is no escape, you will do it... you will be the messenger of our rage!" Inverse Tohka screamed, soon slashing Nahemah again... and this time Tohka couldn't get away, making her scream as the slash wave struck her.
Tohka suddenly screams as she wakes up, suddenly slamming her head against Origami's and causing only the latter to hold her head in pain from the sudden wake up, Tohka panted as she felt her body and realized she wasn't cut or slashed anywhere.
"Yeah... that hurt... a lot." Origami replied, soon collapsing on the floor before crawling back up. "I'm guessing you had a nightmare?"
"I think that's what it was, yet it felt so real." Tohka replied, putting a hand on her head. 'That dream... it had to have been related to that one moment after I destroyed the satellite, but what's it about? Who was talking through my Inverse Form? Worse...'
Tohka looked at the hand on her hand.
'What if... what if that wasn't just a dream, but a vision? Could I lose myself to my powers? Or even worse, am I just the first one who'll go through it?' Tohka thought, soon shaking heavily.
"Tohka?" Origami asked.
"I'm fine, the nightmare's just got me a bit shaken, I'll just go back to sleep." Tohka stated, soon falling back and falling asleep instantly to Origami's shock.
"...Lucky!" Origami stated, walking back to her bed and attempting to go to sleep again.
In the hallways, Kotori and Kurumi were walking through to their room when the talkative trio opened the door and poked their heads out alongside Saya.
"Hey Kotori, Kurumi! Get in here!" Saya smiled, motioning a hand in. "Come on, we need two more people anyways."
The two looked at each other and shrugged before walking in, and Chinami moved out from her spot, having talked the Flame and Shadow Spirit for a while beforehand and getting closer while tapping her headset.
"This is Adeptus 3, [Nightmare] and [Efreet] have entered their room. Have three Einherjar units ready outside the room just in case, and-" Chinami began, only to be cut off as she was struck by a pillow. 'Oh no, did they see me!?'
"Hey look, it's the camera lady." Kotori noted, and suddenly she and Saya smirked as they grabbed another pair of pillows.
Chinami got up and paled at the sight of the current and former Efreet having their eyes shine red as they prepared to toss their pillows, she went blue in the face as a flaming demon figure manifested in only her view. The pillows were tossed at her before the current Adeptus 3 was hit by them and KOd.
Meanwhile on the Arbitel, Ellen blinked as Chinami went silent.
"Adeptus 3? Adeptus 3!?" Ellen called out, soon only hearing static before groaning. "...Crap."
"Guess the new blood's facing the unfortunately threat of high school students, isn't she mother?" Marina smirked, swiping at the AI's hologram before she moved over to a different teleporter. "Missed me."
James sighed and put a hand to his head.
"Belay the Einherjar deployment, clearly nothing's going to happen tonight." James stated, a crew member nodded and doing just that. 'Even at the level of mere humans they can be dangerous in a group.'
'Clearly, I'll need to go down when the time is right, there's one particular Spirit who I owe some payback to.' Ellen thought, panting after Marina outran her. Soon taking a look at Tohka's image on the screen. 'I will have my revenge for the defeat you and that Shido Takamiya boy gave me, just wait... [Princess]'
Shido was about to go to sleep in his room, when suddenly the lights go on and Kaguya tries to get in bed with him.
"What the!? Kaguya, what are you doing?" Shido panicked, holding his hand out to hold her back and wishing he had remembered that Spirits can teleport which made locking a door useless with them.
"I'm joining you tonight, you adore sharing a bed with woman according to my kinswomen." Kaguya answered, trying to push against Shido's hand.
"You're... what now?" Shido asked, and soon shivered as Yuzuru bit his ear. "Y-Yuzuru, what are you doing!?"
"Implementation. According to my masters, you are easily surprised, which is advantageous to my efforts." Yuzuru answered, soon getting off the bed as she suddenly undid her outfit, leaving her in only her light blue bra and panties to her and Kaguya's surprise. "Bashful. Allow me to warm you with skin to skin contact."
Yuzuru soon get sunder the covers and both stare before Shido feels something off from where he touched.
"Hey! You said that seducing wasn't allowed here!" Kaguya complained.
"Deception. All is far in a love based war, I simply outsmarted you." Yuzuru commented, still under the bed.
"Oh no you didn't, because I have a secret weapon!" Kaguya declared, soon removing her one clothes and leaving herself in only a red bra and panties... and then she removes her bra to Shido's shock, making him go red in the face as only the blanket hid Kaguya's large bust from the world.
"Isn't this much warmer than what she was doing? After all, Yuzuru's got a colder body temperature than me." Kaguya smirked, and unfortunately for Yuzuru... she couldn't counter that because it was true.
'Pride. I shall not let your advantage overcome me, bring it sister.' Yuzuru thought, soon both grabbed part of his outfit and their shadowed eyes flashed like stars.
"No, don't you dare-" Shido began, but soon the belt flew into the air as Shido screamed loudly. "HELP ME!"
Unfortunately, while Rinne had been nearby, she didn't hear her son's cries due to listening to a song on some headphones Ashley lent her.
"This rock music's awesome." Rinne smiled, still oblivious to Shido's plight.
Shido was panting while on a private beach area, still all shaken after the previous night with the Yamai twins. Soon he heard his headset react and tapped it.
"Are you doing... mostly alright after last night?" Reine asked.
"...If I said yes I'd be lying." Shido shivered, making Reine sight.
"My apologies, I gave them a big scolding so they hopefully won't pull that on you again. For now, I've decided to tell them about our dating sim method, so now they'll be following my instructions." Reine answered, making Shido sigh in relief.
"They're changing right now, so you should see them soon enough. The others will come a while after, so the rest will be up to you. Just don't let them be aware you know what they may be doing, I won't be telling you directly but I've set your headset to receive a message after I tell them something so you know what it'll be."
Shido nods.
"OK, I got it. I just wish we had a way to help them both instead of only one." Shido sighed.
"I know, but if they didn't have another option to use then we likely don't either. Even your mother and Rio don't understand the irregularities that can form in the Sephira Crystals." Reine answered, soon noticing the twins were done. "I'm gonna cut the line now, good luck."
Shido sighs as he hears Reine's voice vanish.
"What happens to the personality that loses?" Tohka's voice echoed.
"It will die." Kaguya and Yuzuru's voices echo.
Shido stared at the ocean sadly.
"It's not fair one dies for the other to live, why isn't there another way?" Shido wondered, and then...
"Hey, Shido!"
"Joy. I am glad to have finally found you Shido."
Shido turns to see the Yamai twins appear from the stairs to the private beach, both wearing black and white polka dot bikinis. Kaguya's was black with white polka dots, while Yuzuru's was white with black polka dots.
"Oh, hey there ladies, how are you doing?" Shido asked, the two running up to him. "Those swimsuits look incredible, you both look very pretty."
Kaguya and Yuzuru both blush at that.
"U-uh... yeah, you better believe it, I mean... uh... well..." Kaguya stuttered, unable to think coherently.
"...Bashful. Thank you." Yuzuru replied, just as tongue tied as her twin.
The two both turned as Reine began giving them advice, and Shido saw {Apply sunblock to them} appear via his headset, making him go red briefly. The two turn back and somehow each had a bottle of sunblock in their hands.
"Shido, I demand your mortal form to coat my divine body with protection from the miasma of light!" Kaguya declared proudly.
"Request. Will you please put sun block on me?" Yuzuru asked.
"Um... sure!" Shido replied, sweating a little. Soon the two were laid out on a blanket, their bikini tops undone as Shido gulped as squirted out some of the sunblock subconsciously. "Alright, no pressure Shido. It's just putting sunblock on two girls. It's no different than... washing Mana's back as a kid..."
Shido breathed as lathered his hands in it.
"Shido, I've turned my back to you will full trust." Kaguya stated.
"Confidence. I trust you Shido, please don't let me down." Kaguya replied.
Shido breathed and soon touched their backs.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The two were not prepared for the cold feeling of the sunblock and screamed loudly from it, and Shido's unknowing skill with his fingers applying it. Tohka and the others were preparing to swim over, but right as Kotori was about to jump the screams threw her off and she belly flopped. Everyone winced at that.
"Um... are you two alright?" Shido asked worriedly, the two panting after he had finished.
"Surprise. He... doesn't know how good he is." Yuzuru said softly.
"Such... god like fingers, their strength... could likely fell a whole pack of wolves with a single touch!" Kaguya stuttered, twitching a bit.
"Pack of wolves, huh?" Shido thought aloud to Kaguya's comment.
Soon after getting Kotori past the belly flop damage, Kurumi and Natsumi dived in the water with the others and they all began heading over to Shido and the Yamai sisters' location, unaware of Chinami watching them.
"Arbitel, can you follow the targets?" Chinami asked, tapping her headset.
"She seems to be heading to a private beach around 0.8 kilometers Northwest of your position." James answered.
"Alright, I'm heading that way now." Chinami replied, getting up and running after them. "Please have the Einherjar-WAH!"
Suddenly Chinami fell into some kind of pitfall.
"What the hell!?" Chinami claimed, only for some hidden wire to pour sand into said hole and bury her up to her head in sand. "Who did this!?"
Soon the talkative trio came into view.
"Oh my god, we so got you Chinami!" Ai giggled.
"Why would you do that!?" Chinami demanded.
"Because... it's hilarious!" Mai laughed, making Chinami's face scowl a bit in anger, a vein forming.
"Oh wait, I think we can add to this." Mii snickered, the three gained the same glows in their eyes as Kotori and Saya did, making Chinami panic.
Next thing Chinami knew... they shaped the sand around her to look like a caterpillar's body. She just stared and groaned as she attempted to force herself out of the sand with limited success.
"At this point, I'm thinking high school teenagers are more dangerous than Spirits." Chinami said, a bird landing on her hand.
Soon the other Spirits finished swimming over to Shido and the Yamai twins' location, Tohka shook her head dry and looked at them.
"Hey guys, what a coincidence we found you all here by your lonesome." Tohka smiled.
"Nice, that's my kinswomen Tohka, Kotori, Natsumi. Hastening to their leaders' side, very nicely done!" Kaguya smirked.
"Wondrous. I didn't think Masters Origami, Yoshino and Kurumi would ever come to a place like this." Yuzuru replied, making Shido blink as he recalled them saying those same words last night. So, the masters and kinswomen were...
"Wait, someone tell me how this whole kinswomen and master thing began?" Shido asked, clearly confused.
The Yamai twins turned to Shido.
"These three seemed to have a bright future, so I performed a baptism of darkness with them yesterday and exchanged our bonds." Kaguya replied, though the scene of a simply party drinking fizzy cola between her, Tohka, Natsumi and Kotori was seen.
"Explanation. I was moved by my masters' wisdom, and so I asked them to make me their disciples." Yuzuru explained, showing Yuzuru on a pillow as she listened to Origami, Kurumi and Yoshino all talk.
"Uh... right." Shido chuckled, rubbing his head oddly. Soon getting a message from Reine on his headset saying {Coming over now, mention you're waiting for me to bring you a volleyball}, and he quickly clears his throat. "Say, we were about to play some volley ball. Reine should be bringing the ball any second now."
Reine appears at that moment.
"I'm here, did you wait too long?" Reine asked, her hair down as she wore her lab coat over her swimsuit. She held out a cup. "Everyone draw one, we'll decide teams by which historical figure you pull out. Yoshino, Natsumi, I'd like you both to help me referee."
Aside from Shido and the Yamai twins, everyone knew the pictures were too similar and that this was made to force the former three onto the same team. Once they drew them out...
"Gregor, Jackson, Spencer and Caesar will be team one. While Alexander, Abraham, Anthony and Leonardo will be the other team." Reine answered, confusing Shido and the Yamai twins.
"Yes! I got Origami, Kurumi and Mana on my team!" Kotori declared, looking at Shido, Tohka and the Yamai twins. "Game on, the energetic are where Volleyball is dominant!"
Origami blinked at that, knowing that wasn't her at all.
"You sure Kaguya and Yuzuru will work well together? No offense, but this seems too one-sided." Shido whispered.
"Not to worry, I've got that covered. I told the two of them if your team loses, they'll have an embarrassing secret about them revealed." Reine answered, making Shido go wide eyed at the fact she just stated she blackmailed them. "We're not exactly at the liberty to play nice, we still can't contact the Fraxinus after all."
"Right..." Shido replied, sweating slightly.
Soon the game began, and Mana served a spike that barely missed Shido.
"And I drew first blood!" Mana shouted, raising her hand victoriously as she did a jumping dance across the sand. "Big brother, prepare to get demolished!"
'She's totally doing this because she's channeling her breast angst at us.' Shido thought, sweating nervously.
As the game continued, Shido's side was doing badly as only Shido and Tohka were able to score any points, the Yamai twins causing them to miss a lot of shots or block them off. Shido and Tohka stared as the two growled at each other.
"Anger. Get out of my way Kaguya, you're sabotaging my efforts." Yuzuru stated.
"What did you say to me!?" Kaguya roared, a vein forming on her head. "You're in my way, get out my territory you peon!"
Everyone stared at the sight, Rinne having since come by with Mayuri and Rio, the latter eating an ice cream cone.
"This is painful to watch, those two aren't gonna get anywhere like that." Mayuri sighed, and suddenly the twins stopped fighting and stood up. "Huh?"
"Well Yuzuru... shall we?" Kaguya asked, her left eye glinting briefly as she looked towards Yuzuru.
"Affirmative." Yuzuru replied, her right eye making the same glint as she looked at Kaguya. "Let's do it."
Kotori went to spike the volleyball, and Tohka barely managed to hit it, launching it a bit too high into the air.
"Oh crud!" Tohka shouted, realizing how far it went.
"Response. Kaguya, set up now." Yuzuru stated, moving to the ground.
"Understood!" Kaguya replied, rushing over to her as Yuzuru's hands reached the ground before she threw Kaguya into the air, surprising everyone. "Take this!"
Kaguya smashes the ball with her fists, shooting the ball into the opposing court to the surprise of everyone as it spun in place from the hole it formed in the sand. Kaguya landed, and soon cheered.
"Alright, did you see that!?"
"Delight! Yahoo!" Yuzuru replied, her and Kaguya running in circles with their hands raised up. The two soon clapping their hands together before they spun around in circles, clasping and releasing their hands repeatedly as they did.
"Did you see that? That was just perfect Yuzuru, it went whiz, whiz!" Kaguya exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's my Kaguya!" Yuzuru exclaimed, the two stopping as they held hands. For a brief moment Tohka noticed their usual speech dropped and their fierce and half opened eye expressions had vanished.
"No, that's my Yuzuru." Kaguya corrected, and after about a few seconds... both of them realized everyone was still watching. They broke off, changing back to their usual expressions. "I... uh... don't get too excited peon! You should be grateful I allowed my almighty feet to step on your form!"
"Nasty. My hands smell, they stink. In fact, they smell like fermented fish." Yuzuru replied, making Kaguya blink and smell her feet to see if they did, which they didn't. Tohka kept looking at the two while everyone else just looked at each other confused.
Soon Tohka was behind the bathroom stalls on said private beach, waiting for Kaguya and Yuzuru to show up, having asked to talk to each of them alone. While she was waiting, Reine began speaking to her via the headset.
"Tohka, what are you doing?" Reine asked annoyed.
"I'm just trusting my gut, don't tell me that the way they acted back there wasn't suddenly different than what we've come to know them as." Tohka replied.
"They share a Sephira Crystal for their powers, they might just know how to work together when needed." Reine replied.
"...Sorry, but I can't believe that. Not after the faces I saw them make." Tohka replied, right as Reine was about to say again... "Hey, just try to trust me here. Everyone says I have a sixth sense for this kind of stuff, right? Remember what would have happened if I didn't run off after Natsumi made us all toddlers?"
Reine went silent, and sighed as she realized Tohka was right. If it hadn't been for trusting her instincts when she had, Natsumi wouldn't be alive right now, she hated to admit it... but the Yamai twins kept making it too hard for Shido to pick a winner among the two.
"Alright, if you think this might help then go for it. Just know if things go wrong you're gonna be cleaning the halls of the base for the next week once we get back home." Reine replied, making Tohka's mouth go flat and stretch out worriedly before Reine hung up.
"...She can be brutal sometimes." Tohka said, sweating a bit as she shifted her mouth back to normal. Soon she noticed Kaguya show up. "Oh, hey Kaguya!"
Kaguya looked away for a bit.
"You... wanted to talk to me about something?" Kaguya asked, and Tohka nodded. "Alright, well I guess that I can-"
"Wait a second... Kaguya, why aren't you talking all chuuni?" Tohka asked, making Kaguya's face widen as she exposed herself.
"Hah! So you were taken in by my little farce, were you not?" Kaguya asked, soon giving a haughty looking post and laughed a bit. "You realize how ridiculous you looked, dancing in the palm of my hands? I-"
Kaguya notices Tohka stare at her with a normal smile, making her sweat drop.
"...I'm not fooling you, am I?" Kaguya asked.
"Nope, just like your tag team with Yuzuru." Tohka replied, making Kaguya flinch before hanging her head down. "I knew it, you've been hiding something, haven't you? Come on, we're friends aren't we?"
Kaguya looked away and sweated a bit.
"...I doubt you'd understand it, you're just a Human." Kaguya stated, and Tohka sweat dropped.
"You really didn't notice all this time? Kaguya, I'm a Spirit too." Tohka said, catching the fiery Storm Spirit by surprise. "Not just me either. Everyone else you saw when we first met was too, well... Shido and Mana are technically Half-Spirit but that still counts. I mean look, we have the same eyes."
"No way, all this time? Well... alright, I guess maybe you could understand, sorta." Kaguya sighed, looking at Tohka. "You know how me and Yuzuru said we were once a single Spirit long ago?"
Tohka nods.
"...Well we're not, and we never were. That was just a lie we made together." Kaguya revealed, making Tohka gasp.
"Truth is back then, Rio in that weird invisible...uh, Phantom form of hers was offering the crystal to Yuzuru. I didn't trust what she was doing, so I dived forward to stop my sister right as it happened. Instead, we ended up touching the crystal at the same time. It was probably only because we're twins that it bonded to both of us."
"But... why lie then? In fact, why say one of you will disappear if you were never one? Why act like you tow hated each other?" Tohka asked.
Kaguya hung her head down, her eyes shadowed by her hair as she went silent.
"...Because if one of us doesn't sacrifice herself, then we'll both die." Kaguya admitted, making Tohka's eyes widen. "That... irregular whatever you mentioned, it's not that we split apart. It's that the power of the crystal eventually doubled between us, and it keeps growing... and becoming a ticking time bomb."
"A time bomb, want... do you mean?" Tohka gasped.
Kaguya looked up at Tohka, a sad and serious expression on her face.
"Our deaths will cause a Spacequake, we can't do a thing about it. In the past, our many duels were to waste our power and prevent this. I just wanted to be with my sister forever, but soon our powers kept recovering faster than we could deplete them." Kaguya stated, Tohka looking at her sadly.
"Worse of all, at this point... we only have a single day left before that explosion will happen. By this time tomorrow its goodbye for us both, unless one of us disappears. I don't want to disappear, but... if I had the right to make the choice I'd pick Yuzuru to live over me!"
Tohka gasped.
"Come on, you should understand this. Why would I give up my life for Yuzuru? It's not just because she's my sister. I mean yeah, she's super cute, right? She's not overly friendly at times but she always means well, and she's clearly a genius to my idiot brawn. She's like a living Moe character! The biggest reason is this... I want Yuzuru to get to live."
Tohka gasped, those words... they fit the same category of words that Shido had said to all of the Spirits he had saved, including herself.
"I decided on a battle of charm because that's the kind of choice the result represents, the one who wins is the one who gets to live with the one she won the heart of. I already accepted I might not make it, and Yuzuru and I have already delayed things as long as we can. So Tohka, tell Shido this because if he doesn't... the whole island pays for our selfishness."
With that Kaguya walked off leaving Tohka to stare at one side of the revelations she had heard, and she had a strong feeling she purposely left Yuzuru with her own set of words to be told.
"They weren't fighting to die... they were fighting to live." Tohka breathed.
Tohka sat and waited for a while, and soon heard a knock on the wall as Yuzuru came into view with her eyes like they were the brief moment she and Kaguya had purposely gotten along.
"Tohka, you asked to see-" Yuzuru began, catching her mistake sooner and clearing her throat and getting her eyes into position. "Confirmation. Did you wish to-"
"Yuzuru, I already learned Kaguya fakes her usual speech and expression. I know you're faking it." Tohka replied, making Yuzuru sigh as she decided to let it go as well now that it was clear they had been exposed.
"It makes sense you would have noticed that, you were the first to stop us. Then again, you're a Spirit yourself, are you not?" Yuzuru replied, surprising Tohka. "I don't wish to insult Kaguya, but she's always been more oblivious than me. I realized fairly quickly you and the others weren't normal humans."
Tohka chuckles a bit.
"Yeah, I'm a Spirit." Tohka confirmed, scratching her head. "Though why have the both of you been talking like you have with such faces?"
"...I guess calling them a defense mechanism would be accurate, a reminder of what's at stake. I'm already sure of what Kaguya's told you, so it's only right I fill the remaining half and the gaps." Yuzuru answered, soon looking at Tohka.
"It was my fault we ended up down this path, I've always loved my sister, but I always felt inferior to her. She's always acts like she's extremely strong, even though one touch will break her due to how brittle her physique has always been. The truth is, to be able to stand tall despite that is true bravery. When I was offered Raphael's Crystal... I felt I could break past that inferior shell, perhaps deep down I had been jealous... no, I wanted to be therefore her like she had always been for me."
Tohka listened, surprised by how similar the twins seemed like her and Shido in their relationship, always trying to be there for each other and trying to defend each other from anything that came their way.
"I can kinda relate, for a while I've felt I've done little for Shido." Tohka admitted, Yuzuru silently gasped before continuing.
"As a result, I didn't think, or even hesitate about accepting it. Yet when Kaguya say it... I hadn't ever seen her so terrified. She rushed over to help me, and we both gained the burden of bearing these powers." Yuzuru continued, looking a bit somber before giving a light smile.
"Though as a result, I fully got to understand my sister in ways I hadn't before and the same with her understanding me, and perhaps maybe that's how our powers kept growing stronger. We let them grow more powerful with our own feelings. Then we started to feel our power... consume us, or burn through us."
Tohka gulped.
"The Spacequakes you'd cause by both of your deaths if you don't choose?" Tohka asked, making Yuzuru nod.
"We believed fighting even if not to the death, hiding how we felt, making ourselves so... different in a sense would save us. In the end, it was a mere dream, we only slowed down the count that had already begun ticking. Now we only have one more day together." Yuzuru said, her eyes tearing up.
"We tried to find a way, but it couldn't be found. Either one of us would go, or we'd both die. The problem was we cared too much for the other, there was no way one of us would let the other die of their choice, so we had to begin our competitions. We could only hold back though."
Yuzuru turns and looks at the ocean.
"Now for wanting an impossible wish, we're risking the lives of many more people. That's why I accepted the battle of charm. What I want more than anything is for Kaguya to get to live, to see and experience more of this world. She's the reason I learned to smile, if I had the choice I'd give myself up in a heartbeat so she'd get to do that. Someone so full of life is the one who should see it to their own path, not a set ending."
Tohka stared in wonder, Kaguya and Yuzuru... they were so stable and happy compared to the Spirits before them, what made them sad at all was the grim prospect before them... one of them had to die, so not just the other but thousands more wouldn't be killed by their powers imploding.
"You can't just give up, you still have a day left, don't you?" Tohka asked.
"Tohka... I appreciate your concern, but me and Kaguya have already accepted your fate. Don't have Shido risk the lives of many just for our sakes. No matter your choice, neither of us will hold anything against who comes out of this alive." Yuzuru answered, soon walking off.
Tohka soon stared at where she had been, her hands trembling.
"They've both given up... yet they don't want to, but how can they believe when they can't find the answer they need?" Tohka whispered to herself, looking towards the horizon as the ocean waters swayed. "Come on Tohka, think. How can we save them both?"
Unaware to her, Nia had been watching nearby with Raziel in hand.
"Hmm... that's a good question? Is there a way to save them both?" Nia wondered, opening Raziel to see an answer form.
Tohka stared out a window as the night had finally come, thinking hard about what she had heard from each of the Yamai Sisters. She had told Reine, but the answer she had gotten after she had done so was...
"I'm sorry Tohka, but if they couldn't find an answer then I doubt we could either." Reine's voice echoed.
Tohka's face got sadder, and soon the twins' own words played in her head again.
"I want Yuzuru/ Kaguya to get to live."
Tohka's mouth quivered a bit, wishing that there was something that could be down to save both Kaguya and Yuzuru.
"-ka, Tohka!" Shido called out, getting Tohka's attention. "Finally, I was calling out to you for a while but you didn't hear me. I noticed you looked really sad, is something wrong?"
"...Hey Shido, do you mind if we go visit the beach together?" Tohka asked, making Shido blink.
"Sure, I guess there's nothing wrong with some personal time." Shido answered.
Meanwhile within the forest area, Kaguya was seen panting by a tree, her face all flushed as she felt herself heating up.
"N-No... not yet, can't lose control her." Kaguya gasped, her eyes starting to glow brighter as she tried to suppress her powers from going unstable. Meanwhile in a different area of the forest, Yuzuru was shown in a similar state.
"I need to... h-hold on, just a bit longer." Yuzuru gasped, the same glow entering her eyes. Unfortunately for both of them, their wishes... they wouldn't be heeded. Both of them shouted as their eyes glowed an entire dark purple.
After a while of searching, Maria suddenly gets a reading.
"YES!" Maria exclaimed, waking everyone else up. "Oh, sorry! I think I just found the interference that's been jamming us! Got anything on this guys?"
"Wait a minute, I recognize some of this." Kannazuki replied, looking closer at it and widening his eyes. "I knew it, there are some changes but it's clearly the Arbitel. That ship's been flying under our noses, but we have too. How about we give them a wakeup call?"
Everyone nods.
"Alright, Fraxinus crew... prepare to engage the DEM airship Arbitel now!" Maria responded, and the ship shifted as it prepared its battle form.
On the ground, Chinami saw Tohka and Shido leave the hotel on their own and tapped her headset.
"This is Adeptus 3, do you read Arbitel Neo?" Chinami replied.
"This is Marina speaking, and we read you. Just got the notice on our cameras. In fact, mother's already gone down to get some sweet revenge against [Princes] herself, and we've deployed some Einherjars." Marina answered, and Chinami suddenly heard yelling from Ellen while Marina giggled.
"Chinami, you can deal with the others. I believe they're about to go outside themselves, I'm sure you can claim one before the Einherjars take all of them for themselves. Give the Lancelot a good first use workout."
Chinami nods.
"Understood, I'm moving out now." Chinami replied, soon forming a navy and gray CR-Unit similar to the destroyed Pendragon and Jessica's Mordred. Soon gripping her sword as she readied to draw it out.
Soon the Fraxinus began flying and undid its invisible, and Marina suddenly got readings.
"Wait a minute, this signal!" Marina said, suddenly enraged.
"What, what is it Marina?" James asked, surprised by the AI's sudden rage. Though it was answered when everyone saw the sight of a certain airship reveal itself. "That ship... it's the Fraxinus!"
Marina growled.
"Maria... that AI dares to fly in the same space as us? Everyone, focus all the Arbitel Neo's systems and efforts on annihilating that flying junk heap! I'm going to destroy everything the Ratatoskr organization holds dear through eliminating that ship!" Marina replied, the venom in her voice clearly noticeable as she began to glow.
"You heard her, this is a date with destiny! It's time we finish what we started 12 years ago and destroy that blasted ship for good!" James agreed, making the crew all look and nod before they prepared themselves. "They may not be what we intended, but activate the Ashcroft Gamma devices!"
The orbs on the Arbitel's frame shifted and glowed in a few enough, Mikimoto noticed the Arbitel had detected them.
"The Arbitel has spotted us, chances of engaging the enemy are now guaranteed!" Mikimoto confirmed, making Maria gain a serious face as she looked at the ship.
"OK, then no turning back now. Get ready Marina!" Maria declared, soon glowing.
"ASTRAL DRESS EQUIP!" Maria and Marina shouted in unison.
Both of them had their Astral Dress' equip, the former had her dress based on the Fraxinus form where Marina's had her dress based on her malicious personality manifest on her before both gave their own expressions of serious and crazed respectively.
"Ex-Celsior Sephira!" Maria shouted.
"Arbitel-Machina Qlipha!" Marina yelled.
As both ships neared each other, the Fraxinus shifted to its battle form... only for the Arbitel to reveal it now had its own battle form as the latter fired a beam to initiate the fight between the two rival ships.
As Shido and Tohka walked across the beach, Tohka turned her head towards Shido a bit.
"Sorry Shido..." Tohka suddenly said.
"Huh? What for?" Shido asked.
"When I said I wanted to visit the beach for some personal time, it was kinda a lie. Truth is I needed a private talk, just the two of us." Tohka answered, and considering her expression... Shido knew this was about something serious.
"This is about what's been worrying you lately, isn't it?" Shido asked, and Tohka nodded. "I'm all ears, what is it?"
Tohka soon whispered everything about Kaguya and Yuzuru into Shido's ear, and his eyes widened heard it. Tohka eventually finished and he stared at her.
"Seriously? Kaguya and Yuzuru... all this time?" Shido asked, in disbelief of their real reasons.
"Yeah, I both talked with them separately after that one moment their illusion broke. To think all along it was just to decide who the survivor would be when neither will make it otherwise. They've accepted it, but I can tell they don't want to lose each other." Tohka confirmed as her eyes gained a sadder look.
"And they're really tried, they tried to find another way. They never found it. By tomorrow, one of them has to be chosen, and if they don't... it's not a happy ending. Either many day or one dies, but someone still disappears."
Shido sighed at that, he was just as troubled over this.
"Oh man, what do we do? How do I choose who to seal under that? Either way, I'm taking a life regardless of it I want to or not." Shido said, and suddenly... something clicked in Tohka as she gasped. "What is it?"
"Shido... remember how eventually Yoshinon disappeared because you sealed Yoshino's powers, and then before that when Origami's powers threatened to overload and destroy Tenguu City? In a sense, you stabilized their powers." Tohka stated, making Shido nod. "So, maybe if you kissed them both at the same time..."
Shido's eyes widen.
"Of course! If I seal both, then it'd be like sealing a single Spirit and neither's worry would happen. We need to find them Tohka, cause I think you just found the way to save them both!" Shido exclaimed, Tohka smiling at that... before a sudden wind blew past them. "What the?"
Suddenly they saw Kaguya walking closer to them with her eyes intensely glowing and the tips of her hair locks and braid now darkened, her spirit power leaking out... but in a dark orange color. At the same time, Yuzuru came from the other direction, with the same dark spirit power, but her hair had whitened in the same places instead.
"Wait a second, their spirit power... it's gone dark." Tohka whispered, soon gasping. "No way, did that power overload they're facing cause them to..."
"They've been Inverted, the stress of the reality must have finally been too much." Shido answered, holding Tohka closer. "Worse? They both look mad, and... mad at each other."
The two finally get close enough and then...
"WHAT THE HELL!?" Both screamed.
Suddenly the hurricane winds beginning to form exploded out, Shido and Tohka screamed before the latter saw the former being swept away by the wind across the island.
"Shido!" Tohka screamed, soon noticing the dark orange light right before her.
The twins instantly assuming their Inverse Astral Dresses, compared to their original outfits, they now wore what looked to be Dominatrix like outfits that turned their shoes into high heels, Yuzuru's turning dark blue and Kaguya's becoming so dark that it seemed more purple than pink-red.
Each of them had chains around their bodies, with Kaguya's mostly being on the right side, and Yuzuru's on the left. Kaguya had a lock spot below her bosom where Yuzuru's was around the middle area to above it. Kaguya still had her half skirt and Yuzuru her cape.
"Sathariel!" Kaguya shouted, forming a twisted drill like version of her lance, but twice as large.
"Ghagiel!" Yuzuru shouted, forming a spiked version of her chain.
Tohka covered her face as the wind blew at her, its intensity growing as the twins summoned their weapons empowered by the Demon King that she and the others would later know as Andramelech.
Meanwhile as Origami went to take a look at the fireflies outside, she noticed the winds that were blowing.
"Huh? What the, oh no... are they fighting again? I need to warn the-" Origami said, before suddenly sensing something and dodging a laser blast fired at her. "Who did that!?"
"I did." Chinami answered.
Origami turned to see Chinami walk into view wearing the Lancelot CR-Unit and holding her sword as she drew it, the Arondight.
"No... you're with the DEM!?" Origami gasped.
"I'm Chinami Mikazuchi, otherwise known as DEM's new Adeptus 3. Prepare yourself for Death... [Angel]!" Chinami scowled, rushing at Origami as she assumed her Astral Dress and defended against her sword strike. "So, you are the real deal."
Origami sweated a bit, Metatron readying itself.
"This isn't gonna be an easy fight, I can feel it..." Origami mumbled to herself.
Tohka soon regained her vision a bit as she saw Kaguya and Yuzuru stare each other down, clearly not themselves.
"So what the hell was all that about? Asking her to tell Shido to pick me!?" Kaguya growled.
"And what about you, what's your intention!?" Yuzuru asked angrily. "It's no use, all along we knew the real method this conflict would have to end. It was too much to ask one to end a duel we started."
Both readied their weapons.
"Very well, then the dueling method is..." Kaguya stated, before both gave focused glares at one another.
"A fight to the death!"
Soon the twin Inverted Spirits begin to clash, causing the winds across the island to worsen until a powerful hurricane had overtaken it entirely, and Tohka barely held onto the ground she was standing at.
"KAGUYA! YUZURU! PLEASE... STOP THIS!" Tohka screamed, but soon the wind blew her away like it did Shido, but not as far or in the same direction. Once she landed she weakly got up. "I... I have to find Shido. If we want to stop this and save them both, he needs to seal them."
Suddenly her eyes widen and she rolled as an energy slash barely missed her.
"Well, it looks like you saved me the trouble of finding you... [Princess], how long has it been since our last battle?"
Tohka gasped as she saw a familiar wizard wearing gold and white armor, even if the CR-Unit was different... the untied light blonde hair and purple eyes and a somewhat bloodthirsty aura emitting from her body? There was only one being Tohka knew had this.
"...Ellen." Tohka gasped.
"Time for me to get the revenge I've been waiting a long time to cash in, it's put up or shut up time!" Ellen declared, closing her hand in a challenging manner. Tohka stared at the situation before her and how bad it was.
The Yamai twins were inverted and fighting in a crazed manner from the influence, Shido had been sent flying somewhere, and worse of all is how she had to fight against none other than Ellen, DEM's Adeptus 1 and their strongest wizard. The worst part...
...This time, she had to fight her alone.
How sad, the whole time the Yamai twins knew the truth, and their whole unique expressions and extravagant speech was their way of shielding themselves from the unfortunate truth that they had to choose one of them to live or both of them would go... and they can't find another way to save them both. Good news for them is that Tohka did, but now? That power build up has stressed them into an Inversion, yikes!
And now to make things worse, Chinami's intercepted Origami for a fight, the new Einherjar units while yet to be seen are likely cornering the others, and Ellen has run into Tohka... all while Shido's now lost in the forest! Oh, to make the Ellen thing sound worse? Remember that Tohka last fought her Inverted, and she technically lost, true there was the Arbitel aiding Ellen, but Tohka was Inverted at the time... the odds aren't in her favor.
So what's going to happen now? Will Origami survive Chinami's attack on her, will the others handle the Einherjar OK? Will the Fraxinus crew be able to survive the Arbitel and Marina's fury towards Maria? Will Tohka find Shido? Can Shido seal the Yamai twins in time? And most of all... is Tohka even going to be able to handle Ellen? I hate to say it, but this might be the darkest hour that Tohka's ever had to deal with.
Well, guess the answers will reveal themselves next time when the Yamai arc finally reaches its stunning conclusion!
-Kaguya Yamai & Yuzuru Yamai, Code Name: [Pandemonium]-
Angel: Andramelech - Raphael's Demon King counterpart, the angel wing traits on the bow's frame are replaced by demon wing traits and covered in spikes. Like its Angel counterpart, Andramelech has split into two due to there being two individuals instead of just one. They have secondary effects depending on if the bow is Kaguya or Yuzuru's, and the arrows are more serrated which cuts through defenses and cause explosive bursts upon contact. Like Raphael, they also aren't able to attack one another due to an alternate form.
- Alternate Form: Sathariel - The alternate form of Kaguya's Andramelech and the inverse counterpart of El Re'em, the lance has now become twice the size it was as El Re'em and has spiraled and twisted itself in shape to become more drill like, even being able to be thrust like a drill that can set itself aflame. She tends to call its main attack the "Zhaten Lanza" for some unknown reason.
- Alternate Form: Simurgh - Sathariel opens up and reveals a hidden cannon within, able to blast focused heated air that can shoot through things like cutting metal with a laser. The downside to this form is Kaguya is forced to be stationary while using it, and will need around 5 seconds after stopping before the recoil fades and she regains mobility.
- Alternate Form: Ghagiel - The alternate form of Yuzuru's Andramelech and the inverse counterpart of El Na'ash, the pendulum and its chain form are now spiked and doubled in length, and Yuzuru can now manipulate the chain with her thoughts which increases its accuracy and speed . If whipped strongly enough, the chain can create chilling gale.
- Alternate Form: Ammut - Ghagiel coils itself multiple times until it transforms into a chakram, its blades formed from condensed cold air that takes a semi-visible form. While not as open ranged and less focused, when Ammut cuts into something, it not only slices through, but the cold air leaves some ice stuck to the stricken target.
- Alternate Form: Thaumiel - By combining both their Andramelech's in their original forms, Kaguya and Yuzuru create a nine-pronged bow that manifests their combined power together, as well as the secondary abilities they've gained from their Inverse Forms. The force of all nine strings being pulled together for a single strike has the potential of causing such a destructive arrow shot that it can rip through the sky and part miles of clouds away, even shattering the largest of tornadoes or hurricanes, the problem is Inverse Kaguya and Yuzuru are unlikely to cooperate and actually use this form.
- Powers: The Yamai twins' powers amplify to a dangerous degree in this form, with where using a large amount of their powers would cause a hurricane before... simply being in their Inverse Forms will cause an even more powerful hurricane to form. Kaguya's winds gain intense heat, giving her indirect fire abilities in her winds, while Yuzuru winds start becoming frosty and chilling which leads to her possessing indirect ice abilities in her winds. Luckily their Inverse form can be easily dispelled due to a fatal weakness that lies in the automatically generated hurricanes. Should something manage to disrupt the hurricanes and make them disappear, Kaguya and Yuzuru will revert to normal, even if only temporarily.
Risk Factors: SS
Spacequake: AAA
Spirit's Astral Dress: B
Demon King Rank: AA
-Kaguya's Stats-
Strength: 235
Consistency: 180
Spiritual Power: 205
Agility: 260
Intelligence: 57
-Yuzuru's Stats-
Strength: 180
Consistency: 235
Spiritual Power: 205
Agility: 260
Intelligence: 132
-Spirit Bond Levels-
Tohka - 86%
Origami - 83%
Yoshino - 78%
Kotori - 80%
Kurumi - 76%
Natsumi - 47%