Date A Re:Live
S3 Chapter 51: Shido Countdown, Part 1
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]
Before we start everyone, I have some great news for anyone who hasn't heard yet, but... the other day, Volume 17 and Date A Bullet's second volume just got announced for an August 19th release! Oh, and even better? Dragon Magazine's publishing timing means we'll likely see the cover in July rather than early August! No one knows the volume's name yet, or who will be on the cover, but high chances for the fan awaited Inverse Kurumi and slight changes for Reine or Mio.
We'll see soon enough, but WOW did that excite me for writing this chapter! Only reason I didn't make one yesterday was because at the time I was making the next chapter for A Dragon's Heavenly Bonds, so I had to finish that first. Also, since the announcement came, time for me to throw in my own surprise announcement :3 *giggles* When I finally finish with this story, the Date A Re:Live II project that I mentioned a while back? (It's been a while, I won't be surprised if no one remembers)
I've decided to do it, but it isn't gonna replace this story's canon, if anything it's like another version that has a major difference. This story was made before Vol 16' released, so the reveals aside from anything in Kurumi's backstory were excluded? This version on the other hand will apply everything up to Volume 17, so that means a few changes will apply depending on what we learn. Not just that, but once the last DAL volume finishes I'll even consider trying my hands at a Date A Re:Live that applies everything in canon into one story.
That's a long ways ahead so... not so important right now. So, what does that mean in regards to a potential remastering of this fanfic? I'll probably still do that to clean up and improve on some things, but I'll probably be giving it a different name. For now, the ideas are set, but naming schemes and such might be subject to change. Like I said, the Vol 16 announcement has got me all excited so I might be a bit hyper and not fully thinking on future/potential ideas as much as I should just yet ^^;
Anyways, for the actual story related info, the first Season 3 arc isn't Nia's second round just yet, oh no... we're adapting Volume 12! So, say hello to the Shido Countdown, and this arc's emotion? This time it's "Anxiety", and you'll be surprised how it applies here, much less how Shido's gonna go enter his overheated state when he's half-Spirit and can handle it. *shivers excitedly* Oh boy, this is the season where Nia and Mukuro are finally gonna be sealed, I can't wait to get to their arcs! *squees*
With all of that out of the way, and most of my adrenaline used up, let us begin ^^
The scene began over 50 years ago, the sight of a boy with short blue hair and brown eyes, with a beauty mark under the right eye wearing a ragged cyan T-Shirt, black shorts and brown shoes was staring at a group of bullies while a girl with light silver hair and blue eyes wearing a pink dress with black shoes was standing behind him, crying as he stood against a group of four bullies.
"Who do you think you are? You think you can talk back to us just cause you're trying to look tough!" A scruffy hair boy stated.
"We're bigger than you! Since you're small, we're the ones who get to tell you what to do!" A boy with glasses and a bowl cut hairstyle nodded.
The blue haired boy just kept staring with his expression unyielding.
"Are you listening?" A wearing a hat in the back growled, soon grabbing the blue haired boy's shirt.
"Because you're tall? More like because your brats, but you made the mistake of picking on my little sister!" The boy said as he glared at them, revealing himself as Seigo.
"Stop Seigo, please don't do this! I don't want you go get hurt!" Reine cried, shivering behind her big brother.
The tallest of the boys walked forward, soon taking a drink bottle out.
"Oh, then here's my treat-" The boy smirked.
Seigo grabbed his arm before he could do anything, soon throwing him at the others.
"See, where does being tall get you now you big bullies!?" Seigo exclaimed.
The boys growled angrily, and soon a fight broke out, but in the end, Seigo walked out of it with only a few scrapes.
Soon, Seigo took Reine's hand as they began walking back home.
"Reine, you can stop crying now. Those scary guys won't bother us now." Seigo said softly.
"B-but big brother, you... you got-" Reine cried.
Seigo smiled at her, showing a toothy smile, which ended up a bit funny because he recently lost a baby tooth.
"What? I'm fine, see?" Seigo smiled.
Reine stared before her cries devolved into sniffles, she wiped her eyes before she nodded slightly, even though she knew her brother was fibbing a bit to make her feel better and not worry about him.
[My brother, Seigo Takamiya... he was the best big brother anyone could have. He would always stand up for those who couldn't defend themselves, even if it got him hurt or in trouble, and in the end... he'd always smile just like that. A smile that always made you believe everything would be fine. I wanted to be like him, someone to inspire others and to view as their hero. That's probably why the day he went on his one adventure, I cried more than ever.]
Ten years later, Reine was seen crying outside of a gym as her side ponytail slowly undid itself, holding her phone and showing her recent call had come from her parents... a call where they told her they learned from Seigo's boss that he had gone missing with a trace on his latest exploration.
The sky was gray and it was raining, almost as a reflection of her tears and sorrows at that very moment, and after a bit of time passed , the sight of a boy with blonde hair and pink-purple eyes walked up to her. He lightly tapped his umbrella, making her look up as she saw him, the man known as Seigo's best friend and also the boy who had been the object of her affections since High School.
"Reine, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Isamu asked.
"Isamu, I... I..." Reine cried, soon jumping up and hugging him.
Isamu who was still confused to the source of her tears simply held the umbrella over them as he hugged her back, letting her cry.
[And yet, that's probably how I ended up marrying the love of my life, Isamu Murasame. Thinking we had lost Seigo... it brought us closer together, and the feelings we had for each other just came out as we comforted each other. We were happy, even though I could never have a child, and then... a miracle came as we learned Seigo was alive and a way could bring him back home. But...]
Reine stood before two tombstones, wearing her wedding ring on a necklace as she placed a bouquet by a pair of tombstones that said {Seigo Takamiya - A Loving Husband and Wonderful Father}, and {Isamu Murasame - A Loving Husband and a Brave Soul}, she looked at them before taking out a picture showing herself and Seigo during their wedding day... and soon she cried loudly as she broke down, revealing the dark spots her constant tears had left.
Reine began walking through the area that became Tenguu City after the Spacequakes, soon time accelerated around her as she began wearing a lab coat that held the stitched-up teddy bear belonging to Mana, and having the sight of a base built around her as she eventually took a seat on the Fraxinus.
[I made mistakes that caused them to die, and left my niece and nephew without someone who should have been there to take care of them. Now however... I may have a chance to bring them back, and at the very least stop the man who made the mistakes that lead to the suffering in my life. I began on my own, but now... I'm not longer alone on this journey. We will fight, and we... will... win!]
Reine soon got up, and turned to see Shido, Mana and the Spirits smiling at her. The Ratatoskr staff giving her looks to show their confidence and positive beliefs, and most of all... she looked at Mayuri, the Spirit who looked like the child she and Seigo could never have.
She soon walked up to Rinne, the wife in all by legal records of her older brother, and gave her a smile before Rinne returned it. They both stared forward, waiting the challenges that would come ahead, challenges that took the form of two silhouettes that represented two familiar figures.
*Date A Live: Mayuri Judgment - Invisible Date plays*
(*soft piano key playing*) The scene shows Tohka watching the sunrise from the viewpoint from behind, the screen then turning to show her from the front as she held a hand to hair as it blew from the wind, smiling brightly.
[30 years ago, the world of beings known as Spirits and all its people died from a single man's twist world views, scarring the Earth forever as a single survivor carried over the treasures of her world to name 10 worthy successors and make them Spirits, soon having five more join them in their cause. As of today, only two more Spirits roam out there waiting to be saved and sealed before Humanity can finally counterattack their near destroyed, but in the midst of it all, he has begun forming his own plan that only the unity of all the Spirits and their allies can silence before it brings ruin to all. This story is the story known as...]
Tohka's backside is shown as a single foot steps into view, making Tohka slowly turn to smile at him.
[...Date A Live!]
(*repeated loud brass instrument blows and orchestra*) The sight of Shido entering her view, with Mana and every Spirit including Nia and Mukuro being seen alongside him as the wind blows through their hair as the words "デート・ア・ライブ - DATE A RE:LIVE" appear on a blackened screen, a brief pause came up before the colors invert showing a white screen with the now blackened text. Shortly after, two silver lines form horizontally by the last E's top and bottom, followed by three gold vertical lines forming between, changing the title to "デート・ア・ライブ - DATE A RE:LIVE Ⅲ" as a result.
(The affection, friendship and desire that we formed together! It has merged together into a balance that has been harmonized forever!) Shido and a now 15-year old Mana were seen both holding a plate of flapjacks as [Shido/Shiori Takamiya] & [Mana Takamiya] appeared besides them in cyan text. The Spirits waited excitedly at the table as they brought them over, with Shido also making sure to slide over various syrups, toppings and butter to top them.
(And without even realizing it, we had established unspoken rules like birds of a feather!) As they began eating, text showing [Tohka Yatogami - Spirit No. 10], [Origami Tobiichi - Spirit No. 1], [Yoshino Mizui - Spirit No. 4], [Kotori Itsuka - Spirit No. 5], [Kurumi Tokisaki - Spirit No. 3], [Natsumi Itsuwari - Spirit No. 7], [Kaguya & Yuzuru Yamai - Spirit No. 8-A and 8-B], [Miku Izayoi - Spirit No. 9], [Maria Arusu - Spirit No. 13], [Marina Arusu - Spirit No. 12], [Mayuri Seraphina - Spirit No. 14], [Rio Sonogami - Spirit No. 11], and [Rinne Sonogami - Spirit No. 0] in their respective colors as they enjoyed the meal made by the Takamiya siblings.
(I don't know why, but I can't put it into words. Why are these feelings so elusive?) Nia was seen outside reading Raziel as silver-gray text reading [Nia Honjou - Spirit No. 2] appeared beside her, smiling forward as she did. Meanwhile in space, Mukuro was seen floating around as usual, and golden-yellow text saying [Mukuro Honjou - Spirit No. 6] formed by her as her eyes opened and gave her usual emotionless stare. Behind each of them, silhouettes of their Inverse Forms appeared.
(So I began to wonder, what exactly this unseen perception was. Could there be such a thing as an invisible date?) An upgraded Fraxinus Ex-Celsior zips through the sky, now with advanced defensive features and true offensive features as the sight of a cloaked Arbitel Neo, also having been upgraded but also becoming darker and more mutated in appearance, appeared as it dropped its Invisible and fired at the new Fraxinus before the ship returned fire.
(Whatever the answer is, all I know is... I just want you to grasp the hand I've reached out to you!) Shido stood in the winter snow, alone, soon turning as he gave a fierce stare and his Spirit aura flared out. The others all staring worriedly as a beam from outer space was fired at him, causing the silhouette of a cursed sword within the beam as if to represent the nature of the beam.
(*slow and simple guitar playing*) Each of the Spirits quickly summons their Limited Astral Dress and Angel, soon standing together in a group before a flash goes off and their Limited Astral Dresses transform into each of their full Astral Dresses.
(This is... what I want, and... what I truly desire!) The sight of the Spirit Void holding a DEM base and lights showing Westcott's new Automaton forces, his allies' new CR-Units, the upgraded Arbitel Neo... all while his hand emits a dark aura. These forces all rush through the skies of space, focused towards Mukuro who summoned her Angel, creating a large golden flash explosions went off and a storm of debris fell to Earth like a weak meteor shower.
(So come along and join the story of-) In a repetitive flash of black and white, the silhouettes of the faces for Reine, Kannazuki, Elliot, Karen, Artemisia, Ellen, Jessica, Chinami, James all flash by before Westcott's appears with a dark smirk, only to be shattered apart like glass as Seigo and Isamu replace it, each giving a friendly smile to the side before looking at the screen together.
DATE A LIVE!
(*three short medium tone guitar strums*) Every Ratatoskr and DEM force all rushed off, as did Nia and Mukuro, as a large-scale conflict between the three opposing forces began. Shido giving a strong look in his Over-Limit Spirit Ascension as Mana in an upgraded Murakumo stood by his side giving the same.
(When I'm standing by you, there's this feeling I can't put into words!) Yoshino, Natsumi, the Yamai twins, Miku, Maria and Marina all face off against Nia who dodged their attacks and formed her Kirigami army. Soon she spun and changed into her Inverse Form, activating her Demon King to create a world of stories that transformed and trapped everyone was the characters inside. Tohka, Origami, Kurumi, Kotori, Rio, Rinne and Mayuri all fight against Mukuro who simply warped and locked their attacks, soon releasing her full power and spinning to change into her Inverse Form. She slams her Demon King down, causing the Earth to shake a sits rotation began slow down, threatening to stop.
(Does this mean I'm satisfied with where I am now, or do I want something more with you!?) A dark flash goes off before Shido and Mana both stand defensively and look up in the sky, the sight of familiar faces in their Inverse Forms were all scene, Inverse Tohka in front as she stared before raising Nahemah prepared to attack. Meanwhile inside Tohka's mind, she stares at her Inverse Form, reaching out to it before it slowly does the same and grasps her hand.
(This mystery in my heart, it burns like a volcano and has gone out of control! However, the passion and desire burning in my heart... I will... let it grow... into a new hope! Because this light in my heart is-) The dark flash is replaced as Ethereal Tohka takes her Inversion's place, rushing ahead and preparing Shekhinah for a major attack as a swarm of attacks launched by the DEM fly out her. She flew forward, followed by Shido, Mana and everyone as their Spirit mana swirls into a single rainbow strike. After it ends, Rinne in her Astral Dress slowly opens her eyes and holds out her hands before stretching them to the sides.
DATE A LIVE!
(*repeated loud brass instrument blows and orchestra, but at a higher pitch before giving a strong focused yet slow echoing finish*) Every character introduced up to now and in the current opening in their most recent appearances, those with Ratatoskr smiling, those of DEM frowning, Nia and Mukuro both showing indifference and giving neither. After which, a small brief slide of images showing Tohka fighting Ellen, Origami fighting Chinami, and Mana fighting Jessica pass by.
Finally, it all came to an end as a bright flash replaces the prior images with the sight of Shido standing alone at the viewpoint, quickly having every Spirit join him as they slowly walk into view, leading to them giving him a combined group hug with all of them flashing a smile, their spirit powers all glowing brightly as a rainbow forms in the sky above them and the "デート・ア・ライブ - DATE A RE:LIVE Ⅲ" title appeared at the corner of the screen, flashing every Spirit's color before everything faded to white.
The date was December 4th of 2051, and currently the entirety of Tenguu City was blanketed by gentle white snow, children were seen playing outside while others began early preparations for the holiday of Christmas, the Takamiya household was no exception as the Nibellcole clones were seen getting things ready outside, while indoors the others were putting some Yuletide cheer into their home. Luckily, unlike with Thanksgiving preparations, they were taking their time.
"Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, jingle all the way!" Kurumi hummed as she started placed some red, green and white tinsel around.
"Meow, meow!" Macaron meowed, jingle the bells Kurumi added to his collar.
Kurumi giggled as she picked him up.
"You are just too adorable sometimes my little Macaron!" Kurumi squeed.
Natsumi soon walked into the room, carrying a miniaturized version of the Christmas Tree in her hands, and once she reached the corner she placed it down, using her powers to revert it back to its original size.
"There we go, the easiest way to transport a Christmas Tree." Natsumi smiled.
"Efficient as always, aren't we Natsumi?" Miku giggled, hugging the green haired Spirit from behind.
Natsumi blushed a bit.
"M-Miku!" Natsumi complained.
Marina soon came into the room with a snow globe, and revealing she had her hair tied with a white ribbon close to its bottom area. Taking a look at the Christmas decor, she decided to ask a question she probably should have a while back.
"Say... what is this Christmas holiday all about exactly?" Marina asked.
"Huh, you don't know? I thought being a former AI meant you had tons of info." Kotori asked surprised.
"I did... but I was also formerly an evil AI created by a mad man who wants to become the Devil as he defined it, so while I knew about a lot of things I never had the care to do any personal reading. I know the holiday's name, but that's all I know. While I am still connected to Ratatoskr's mainframe like an AI, I still haven't gotten use to how different it is from the DEM's mainframe just yet." Marina answered.
"True... alright, shouldn't be too hard. It began as a celebration of the religious figure in Christianity, Jesus Christ, and over time it's become a celebration of family and giving gifts to our loved ones. In some countries, there's a figure called Santa Claus that people use to convince their children to be good when he brings presents, Japan isn't one of them though. Did that help?" Kotori explained.
Marina thought on that for a bit.
"Yeah, I think I got the general idea. It's about family, spending time, and showing you appreciation to love ones by giving them presents. Did I get that right?" Marina asked.
"Yep, speaking of which, might wanna get Maria a gift." Natsumi replied.
"No worries, Rinne helped me out with that yesterday, though now I get what it was for." Marina said embarrassingly.
The others all giggle at that while Macaron just meows.
"I'm still surprised by how much you guys don't seem to worry about upcoming dangers. I mean... I told you about what happened with Boycott and you don't seem on edge in the slightest." Marina replied.
"Boycott, that insult will never got old." Natsumi chuckled.
"I guess we're too used to danger at this point." Kurumi shrugged as she wrapped some tinsel around the tree.
Marina looked at everyone before looking up, recalling when she told everyone.
Marina sat down in Ratatoskr, taking a large gulp of warm black tea, sighing happily from the refreshing taste that filled her mouth.
"This consuming thing isn't half bad." Marina said in an elated tone.
"So, I'm guessing you guys all want to know what happened after Choronzon's black hole ate me and the other DEM elites around three months ago?" Marina asked, placing the cup down as she gave a serious look.
"Yes, the fact you made it means you all had to have survived it, not to mention Westcott's hologram appeared in our systems when you entered the virtual realm." Reine nodded, seated closest to Marina.
Marina breathed out a bit, soon clasping her hands as she used them to support her chin.
"Well, truth be told, our survival hinged on a mere gamble that I had made. You all remember when I was aiding you during the Choronzon assault, but... I had a hidden motive then, and what I didn't tell you is I hit each of you except Miku, but including Nia and the current [Zodiac] included, with an energy dart. These darts allowed me to gain samples from your Inversions. I had already taken some of Miku's, and by the time Tohka had her..." Maria explained, trailing off for someone to fill in the blank.
"Tohka named it an Ethereal Shift, and her form the Ethereal Form." Rinne answered.
"Thank you. By that time, I got everyone except Nia and [Zodiac]'s since neither of them have had an Inversion yet. After you somehow managed to destroy Choronzon's Qlipha Crystal, which I'll admit now was impressive, and the black hole sucked us inside... the only thing left was to jam all the Dark Spirit Power into the Arbitel Neo's systems and hope we survived due to it. We did, and that's when the most shocking thing happened, we ended up... in the Spiritual Void, or more accurately... the remains of the Spirit Dimension." Marina continued explaining.
Rinne's eyes widened at that.
"No way, that's... that can't be possible, Spacequakes that happen unwillingly are caused by the gate ejecting a Spirit back at high speeds if they get near the void! How did you get through it!?" Rinne asked.
"Honestly, I don't know how. If I had to guess, considering what Maria told me about what you learned of the Inversion's taint, maybe the problem was the lack of dark spirit power. The reason Tohka and Origami never made it there was likely because they just didn't have the right amount. Either way, we were there, and the dark spirit power samples I had got larger. Boycott-" Maria answered as she continued.
Natsumi suddenly started laughing, causing everyone to look at her while Marina blinked at her giggle fit.
After a bit, Natsumi managed to stop.
"I'm sorry, but... insulting Westcott by calling him Boycott? It's too funny!" Natsumi chuckled.
"...Right. Anyways, Boycott decided to make a new DEM HQ there, but we needed a way to get back and recover the few loyalists to our cause. Luckily, I had a spare body sealed in a chamber from a protect chunk of land on Europe's remains. That let me get back here, and I was gaining data to help make that gate, and I hate to say it... but I succeeded. He'll be back, I can assure you of that." Marina finished as she sighed.
Maria, who had her hair now tied like her sister's, but split into two with black ribbons tying the two different bunches of hair.
"I see, thank you for sharing this Marina. I have to say Westcott made the mistake of throwing you away. Now we're aware of what he's planning and what we should try to be ready for. Admittedly it'll be tough, fighting forces powered by the dark spirit power of inversions, but if we can seal Nia and [Zodiac] before he gets back, we should be able to take him. Not to mention, if we can everyone to access an Ethereal Form..." Reine replied.
"Yeah, we're still got a chance... even though I still haven't learned how to pull an Ethereal Shift again." Tohka replied, chuckling embarrassingly as she said the last part of her sentence. Shido pet her head in response.
Marina was surprised, she expected them to be terrified, but they weren't. Not in the slightest.
That included her younger sister.
'They're not afraid? Why? Where does that confidence come from, is this why they've always manage to find a way under the worst of odds?' Marina thought.
Marina soon looked forward at them again, Natsumi spitting slightly as Macaron licked her mouth, making Kurumi try and fail to stifle her laughter at the sight of her kitten's adorable yet hilarious little act. Natsumi pouted a bit at her laughter.
'Well... I guess I'll start experience their confidence soon enough.' Marina thought, heading to the kitchen to get a cup of black tea. It took a few minutes to finally realize she had seen Macaron once before.
"Hey wait, isn't that the cat from the time you still had the Cassiopeia attached to you?" Marina asked.
"Yep, Shido gave him to me as a moving in present." Kurumi smiled, snuggling Macaron close.
Marina chuckles a bit, giving a sweat drop at the sight.
'She really does love cats.' Marina thought.
Meanwhile at the Ratatoskr classroom, everyone not at the house was helping out the school a bit for Winter errands, and soon enough Shido saw his youngest sister Rio rush up to him with an excited face.
"Alright, what's the good news?" Shido asked with a smile.
"Look, now that I'm finally old enough, I got a cell phone!" Rio exclaimed, her eyes closed as she held it out like she was holding a badge.
Rio spun happily.
"Isn't it super neat!?" Rio asked.
"Super neat." Shido repeated.
"Do you mind if I call you first!?" Rio asked, her eyes sparkling like stars.
"Sure, go ahead-wait, where are you going!?" Shido replied for noticing Rio run off.
"Far away to properly call you!" Rio shouted from afar.
Shido chuckled a bit, soon turning around, only to be surprised by Marina as she stood in front of him.
"Oh dear god, I gotta be more careful there." Shido breathed.
"Shido, it'll be Mana's birthday tomorrow and your mom's trying to plan a surprise party for her. Think you can distract your sister and keep her out of the house until 7pm?" Maria asked.
"Yeah, I can... wait, why 7pm? Shouldn't I keep her out of the house period?" Shido wondered.
"Don't tell her, but I used my powers to grow plants for a remedy that'll make her fall asleep by then. She'll stay asleep and wake up first thing, that'll make a real surprise party. You can't really expect to wake up to one after all." Maria answered.
Shido blinked in shock at that.
"Wow, you thought of all that?" Shido replied in shock.
"No, Origami did. That super genius title can really come in handy sometimes." Maria explained.
"Oh, that makes sense." Shido chuckled.
"Good luck Shido, Rinne really wants this to work so don't let Mana know a thing." Maria said before walking off to find the said Spirit.
As Shido sighed, he was unaware of a certain younger sister rushing behind him.
"Shido! I forgot I don't know how to make a call, what do I do!?" Rio shouted sadly... but accidentally stopped with the phone held out, whacking him in the back of his noggin with it as a result.
"Ah, whoops!" Rio panicked, sweating as she went to get snow as a makeshift ice pack.
Shido groaned as a swell bump was seen steaming on his head.
Soon enough, Mana was with Shido, the two in their winter clothing. For Shido, he had a black coat similar to his school uniform over a brown scarf, and had an added layer of padding that was able to attach to his pants through zipping. Mana on the other hand wore a duffel coat, had a plaid muffler wrapped around her neck, and mittens on her hands. Incidentally, she was wearing mitten type gloves, and I think the shoe she was wearing was somewhat thick. Her outfit definitely works in the winter.
Luckily, Shido was able to easily convince Mana to follow him by saying they should get their Christmas shopping done now, they did have about a dozen people to buy gifts for and a cat out of courtesy to Macaron. As they came out, Mana noticed some light snow fall.
"Look Shido, it's snowing." Mana smiled.
"Even after all these years you never get tired of it." Shido smiled.
"Of course, this my birth month, I'm a part of winter as much as you're part of Spring." Mana giggled happily.
Shido chuckled a bit, he couldn't argue much there since he fell in love with Tohka long before the other Spirits, and she had a Spring birthday as well. Heck her name was inspired by her birth date. It was as ironic as the fact his birth date, the 5th of March, ended up being part of Kotori's last name.
As they walked, they saw a familiar silver-gray haired manga artist in her disguised form while holding a hot chocolate and sighing happily from the taste. It was none other than Nia Honjou, currently using her disguise as Souji Hasegawa for the sake of privacy. Even though Spirits had become public knowledge after the Choronzon incident, Nia preferred people didn't realize she was Silver Bullet's author so she could have some privacy.
"Hey Nia!" Mana waved.
"Ah, if it isn't the boy and his sister? Also, its Souji while I'm using this form in public." Nia replied.
"S-Sorry..." Mana apologized, toning down her fan girl side.
"So why are you out here, are you finally giving me a chance to seal you yet?" Shido asked, remembering how she claimed he wasn't ready last time he tried.
"Nice try boy, but I ain't near considering that yet." Nia chuckled.
Truth is she actually was near considering it, but Nia was a bigger tease than Natsumi was, Shido was still unaware Nia had interrupted a kiss he had with Tohka a few months back and she had no plans to let Shido discover that any time soon if ever.
And speaking of teasing, Nia got in the unfortunate teaser mood.
"So, what brings you out here and keeping you from puckering with your harem boy?" Nia asked playfully.
"N-Nia! That isn't funny, we're just doing some Christmas shopping in advanced!" Shido replied, blushing heavily from Nia's teasing.
"And tomorrow's my birthday!" Mana cheered.
"Oh, well then happy b-day in advance girl. So you'll be 15, right? Wait, don't answer, I can just ask Raziel about that." Nia replied, making the Takamiya's sweat drop.
"...Say Nia, before we go, I have a question to ask." Shido wondered.
"Go ahead, I may not answer or only give you half of one." Nia replied.
"If I do ever seal you, will you finally tell us who the last Spirit is? I ask because... a friend of ours thinks she may be her little sister who ran away 5 years ago." Shido asked.
That surprised Nia a bit, she never thought Mukuro might have a family... then again, Mukuro locked away her emotions so knowing if she was longing for anyone wasn't gonna happen. Considering Mukuro was the most powerful Spirit...
"...Tell you what, I'll think about it. Maybe that might motivate you to actually give you the chance to try sealing me?" Nia replied half joking, half serious.
"Thank you, see you later." Shido smiled in gratitude.
Right after that, Shido and Mana both headed towards the mall. Nia quickly took out Raziel at that moment.
[I know that look, what do you have planned?]
"I can't really tell them Mukuro's identity cause of our promise, but she never said I couldn't mention where she's hiding. I think it's time I force a little situation that'll be something to see how strongly and seriously they want to help that friend of theirs." Nia smiled.
She opened up her Angel.
"Alright, when does girl's birthday celebration end?" Nia asked.
[At around 2pm, I believe your request will initiate after that time?]
"Yeah, it will." Nia smirked, soon forming the pen that was part of her Astral Dress as she prepared to write the reminder for the plans she had tomorrow.
After their shopping trip, and having the Fraxinus pick them up after Maria's sleeping remedy put Mana into slumber land, everyone went to sleep and the rest of the day quickly flew by until it became a certain bluenette's birthday. Mana soon shifted in her sleep, and yawned as she woke up and stretched, soon scratching herself in a few itchy spots she got while in her sleep.
"Good morning me, happy birthday." Mana said, still half asleep.
As she kept scratching, her hand moved to her chest... however she felt a squish as her hand hit something soft, and reached her chest sooner than she expected-
"Huh?" Mana blinked, soon realizing her last two thoughts and physical feeling.
Mana pushed her hand forward a bit just to double check, and soon felt the squishy feeling the next three times she moved it. She quickly had her eyes shift downwards, realizing the only possible explanation, and she gaped. Instead of her flat 78cm chest she had been complaining about since Kotori had her sudden growth spurt... she had two 91cm sized breasts in their place.
Mana's mouth mutter near silent gibberish for a moment, and once she could finally find her voice...Mana screamed loudly in joy, this caused everyone briefly wake up, recognizing that was Mana's voice.
Being the worrisome mother that she was, Rinne quickly grabbed a robe and rushed over to her middle child's room, slamming it open with a panicked look as she expected the possible dangers that didn't actually exist.
"Mana, what happened!?" Rinne exclaimed worriedly.
"Mom... it finally happened, it finally freaking happened!?" Mana cried happily.
Rinne blinked before turning the lights on, and soon realizing what Mana's hands were holding, and her eyes widening a bit as she saw it.
"It... it finally... was the problem you just needed your birthday after fully awakening your powers?" Rinne wondered confused.
"Mom, what happened?" Shido called from his room.
"Uh... best way to say it, Mana's not flat anymore!" Rinne replied.
"WHAT!?" Everyone exclaimed at once.
"Meow?" Macaron meowed in confusion.
Rinne chuckled nervously at that, a sweat drop going down her face.
"Uh... just go meet us in the living room in advance, alright? We'll be right there!" Rinne called out.
"OK!" Shido replied.
Rinne giggled a bit, and soon hoisted Mana onto her feet.
"Mana, let's get some breakfast now." Rinne smiled.
"Yeah, sure thing." Mana said, still a bit distracted by her happy tears.
Rinne chuckled at that.
Soon enough, Rinne and Mana soon reached the living room which had the lights off, and right as they did... the lights turned on as Mana covered herself from what ended up being confetti cannons firing.
"Surprise! Happy birthday Mana!" Everyone exclaimed.
"W-what... when did you all? Wait, all this while I was asleep?" Mana gasped.
"Sorry about that, I had you take a drink to knock you out early enough." Maria apologized, Origami chuckling embarrassingly in reply.
"It's fine, I've never had such a big surprise party, thank you! It's already like one big gift." Mana sniffled happily.
Everyone smiled in their own ways, though Rio had to elbow Marina before she forced one out.
"Come on, let's get this party started!" Rio cheered.
"You're speaking my language!" Kotori cheered in agreement.
"Mine too!" Kaguya cheered in response.
After everyone changed out of their pajamas, and Yuzuru lending Mana a shirt because she had outgrown them all due to her little growth spurt, the party got started as everyone enjoyed the cake, played a few games and had some random laughs and giggles over everything.
'I don't think I'll understand this anytime soon.' Marina thought, realizing how disconnected from everyday life she was.
"How come there aren't any presents? I mean, it is your birthday after all." Kaguya asked.
"Since Mana's birthday and Christmas are 20 days apart, and she doesn't want the excitement to fade because of that, whenever her birthday comes, we keep them with her Christmas presents so she can open them all in one go until next year restarts the cycle." Kotori explained.
"Makes sense, Christmas is always on the same day unlike Easter, I wouldn't be surprised if most December birthdays are that way." Origami claimed.
Mana giggled a bit, soon burping loudly before covering her mouth and blushing.
"Sorry, I think the cake did that." Mana chuckled in embarrassment.
"The cake of your two new chest mounds shaking you like a soda?" Marina stated, making Mana blush a bit.
"Well, at least we don't have to worry about having a chest insecurity anymore." Natsumi chuckled.
"Was that your birthday wish Mana?" Yoshino asked.
"Well... maybe a little bit?" Mana admitted, twiddling her fingers a bit.
Shido chuckled a little at that, followed by everyone including Mana, even Marina despite she didn't get the joke.
"Well, that was a fun party, so what do we do for the rest of the day?" Kurumi asked, petting Macaron.
"Guess we continue decorating. Though since this is the first time with more than me, Mana and Kotori, I guess I need to buy us all signature ornaments for the tree." Shido suggested as he stood up.
"Signature ornaments?" Yoshino asked.
"Darling likely means a special ornament that represents him." Miku smiled.
"Yeah, it's like that." Shido replied, soon going through the ornament box to find them.
He showed a small phoenix ornament that was Kotori's, a robot ornament that was Mana's, and a ten-pointed star ornament that was his own.
"They fit you three quite well." Yuzuru replied.
"I agree, so we can get some too?" Mayuri asked.
"Of course, how about you guys right a list and I'll head out to buy them? I need to get some groceries anyways so I'll kill two birds with one stone." Shido reasoned.
"OK!" Everyone cheered, raising a hand.
Shido chuckled at their enthusiasm, soon taking the small note of paper after everyone had written something down.
He soon grabbed his coat and scarf before he headed out, as he did, he was unaware of Nia who was looking from afar in his true form as her glasses were off. She soon looked at Raziel glow to alert her what time it was.
"Hope you don't mind Shido, but as I said the day before, I need to see your resolve." Nia replied, soon writing down what she had Raziel constantly remind her until now.
What she wrote was {Disrupt Shido's powers shortly after this is written, and do so in a manner the sealed and allied Spirits will all need to unite to save him.}, and soon enough... the words faded as the future event was set...
...And things were about to get crazy for the Takamiya household.
Oh Nia, you sneak... you're the one who did it, or I guess is doing it since it hasn't actually happened yet. Looks like the countdown to chaos has begun and Nia started up the clock, though as she said it wasn't out of malice, but because she wants to see how serious they are, all because Shido mentioned that Mukuro might be the sister of their friend Mildred.
Nia's still got her canon self's inability to fully trust right now, so she wants to see if they're truly doing to his help her, or if it's just because of convenience, if the other Spirits prove that it's their latter in their efforts to help Shido's powers regulate then she's got the answer she's looking for. Also, this is why I said the running gag with Mana's chest insecurities ended with the Rio Reincarnation movie, she finally got what she wanted. Sorry I made you wait so long Mana ^^;
See you all next time when everyone learns what's happened to Shido and they pull out all the stops to save him. Until then, stay awesome everyone! ^^
-Spirit Bond Levels & Passive Abilities-
Tohka - 100%, MAX (Form a mana barrier automatically)
Origami - 99% (Teleport Dodging)
Yoshino - 99% (Dampen enemy territories)
Kotori - 99% (Healing from fatal wounds minus losing his head, doesn't work on wounds caused by blunt force)
Kurumi - 99% (Hide in his shadow, and only his)
Rinne - (Summon a weakened copy of Uriel)
Natsumi - 98% (Transform into Shiori)
Kaguya - 96% (Flight)
Yuzuru - 96% (Weight Manipulation)
Miku - 90% (Pain Reliever)
Maria - (Restore dying/withered/dead vegetation and plant life)
Marina - (Remove toxins or other harmful substances, either from a living creature or an object)
Rio - (Creates a soothing aura of spirit power to reduce a sealed Spirit's anger)