Discord link: [discord . gg / 4y5QVPj]

Disclaimer: I don't own Date a Live but if I did, there will be MAJOR CHANGES.

It was around 8:15 A.M. when Shidou arrived at Raizen High School.

As a member of one of the athletic clubs here, Shidou made a few trips to the school over the break and in the process, he was already aware of the class that he was assigned to ahead of everyone else.

While most of the students were struggling to check the student list that was posted in the corridor, he proceeded to the classroom where he would be spending his next year in.

"Year 2, Class 4…… if I'm lucky enough, I can still balance club activities with academics like last year."

In the aftermath of the South Kanto Sky Disaster, the area between South Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture was redeveloped as test cities using various new techniques. Buildings were rebuilt from scratch and improved in many ways, and Raizen High School was one of those.

It was almost hard to believe that this place was only built a few years ago, because of the many facilities that it provided for its students.

Despite being built on an old disaster area, it was in almost perfect condition. It was also equipped with an underground shelter in case of a spacequake.

For these reasons, the application rate for the school was pretty high as if it was only for those students who are elite.

Shidou had to work quite hard for his place in this school. He nearly fell short in the entrance exam last year, with his results being two marks above the passing mark. To ensure his spot in Raizen would be guaranteed, he applied for an athletic scholarship which he was granted with.

For someone who only wanted to go to a school that is close to home, Shidou definitely put in a lot of effort to make sure that hell end up here instead of searching for another institution.

There's not much difference between this classroom and the last one……

With a light hum, he took a good look at the classroom upon arriving.

Even though there was still some time before homeroom, more than half of the class was already present.

There were many who were overjoyed at being in the same class. Some were left in their own little world, looking bored. There were also a few with various other reactions.

Among all of them, there were only about five faces that Shidou recognized, and they were people whom he barely interacted with last year.

Bummer.

But something like that is to be expected when you're in high school.

There's always a chance that you won't be sticking with the same group of people in the span of three years.

As Shidou turned to the blackboard to look at the chart of the different seat assignments, a monotone voice spoke up from behind him.

"—Shidou."

"Hm?"

Hearing his name being called, he turned around to see a slender girl standing there.

The girl had white hair that barely reached her shoulders and her face was very similar to that of a doll, showing no kind of emotion and remaining beautiful in spite of it.

But upon laying her eyes on him, a ghost of a smile could be seen on her face for the briefest of moments, before returning to their aloof state.

"...oh, Origami. It's just you."

"Yes, it is me. I am pleased to see that we are still classmates, Shidou."

"Same. It's always nice to have a familiar face around."

Tobiichi Origami was a peculiar girl whom he met five years ago, in perhaps the strangest of ways.

While he was playing with Kotori at the park, the white-haired girl approached him out of nowhere and hugged him from behind, before whispering stuff like "I'm glad to see you again" and "I kept my promise" as she embraced him tightly.

It was the weirdest thing, especially when he had never met the girl before.

However, being a kid who didnt think too hard about the complicated things, he ignored her words and greeted Origami like how any other normal person would. It didn't take long for him to learn her name [again, because she insisted that they met already, before introducing himself and Kotori to her.

From there, the Itsuka siblings would become acquainted with Tobiichi Origami and see her as a close friend.

It remained that way through the years, as they grew into proper teenagers.

"Oh, since it's only the opening ceremony today, would you like to join me and Kotori after class?" he asked.

Origami tilted her head.

"What will we be doing?"

"Well be eating out for lunch at Kotoris favorite restaurant. Since todays a special occasion, I thought it wouldn't hurt to let my sister have a grand meal since she was asking for it earlier. I'm sure Kotori won't mind if you were there with us, Origami. What do you say?"

Origami wasn't surprised at Shidou's offer. She was already used to visiting the Itsuka household during special occasions and whenever the siblings wanted to share a delicious meal with her.

This wasn't the first time that Shidou invited her to eat with him and Kotori, either.

"Do you even have enough funds to include my presence? If I am not mistaken, there's still a few days before you and Kotori receive your monthly expenses."

"Ah, don't worry about that. We shopped for groceries not long ago, so there's a lot of ingredients at home. We'll be fine until we get our allowance."

"Are you certain? I can pay for my own meal if need be."

"I'm sure. But hey, if you want to pay for your own food, I'm not going to stop you."

It didn't take long before Origami gave him her answer, which was obvious from the start. She simply allowed him the chance to explain everything that he wished to explain, and to show that she was listening to him the whole time.

Shidou once made a comment regarding her aloofness when it came to him, in which he said that she acts like a robot whenever she's with him.

……that was just wrong.

What's wrong with being stoic and monotone? It saves her from expending energy into making facial expressions and in her line of work, efficiency is one of the traits that's prioritized the most.

That being said, she can definitely act cute if Shidou really wanted her to……

"Very well. I will accompany you and your sister, Shidou."

"Great! See you when classes are over?"

Origami nodded, before walking over to her assigned seat. Shidou watched her with a smile, while being deep in thought about their updated arrangement.

"There's still time, right? I'll shoot Kotori a quick message and tell her Origami is joining us for lunch."

While Shidou was preoccupied with his phone, it left him vulnerable to a hard slap hitting him on the back.

Whack!*

"—GAAH!"

"I see that you're already socializing with our classmates, Itsuka."

"What the hell is your problem, Tonomachi?!"

He had immediately known who the culprit was from the voice alone, and Shidou yelled at him while stretching his back to ease the stinging pain.

Tonomachi Hiroto, who was Shidos friend and fellow clubmate, folded his arms before flashing a smug grin on his face.

"My problem? From the looks of it, youre the one with a problem, you sexual beast Itsuka."

Shidou gave him a blank stare.

"...sex…what……?"

"Sexual beast, you brute. We haven't even spent one day as classmates, and I'm already seeing you make moves on the girls! When and how did you get close to Tobiichi, huh?" Tonomachi asked, smirking while giving his friend a playful punch on the arm.

"Origami? I told you that we were classmates last year."

"You did tell me that. But you two were talking to each other like you're already familiar with each other! Come on, spill the beans. Are you two going out?"

"No, we're not going out. What even gave you that idea?"

"Just now you guys were happily talking, weren't you?"

"We were, but it doesn't mean we're dating. Can't two people talk without being accused of dating, Tonomachi?"

"C'mon, it's a safe space when you're with me. I wont tell anyone about your relationship. You can even whisper it to me if you want, Itsuka-kun. Did you two develop into something steamy last year?"

"Nothing like that. I'm going to say it again and this is the last time," Shidou rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Origami and I are not dating. We're just friends. Got that?"

"Well then, that's a bummer, Itsuka. You have a good relationship with the most untouchable girl in the classroom and you're not taking advantage of it!"

"What do you mean most untouchable? She's not sick."

"No, not like that. Just look at her and watch."

Tonomachi pointed towards the seat by the window, where Origami had sat down and was reading a book in peace.

He smiled and waved his hand in an overly familiar manner, all while Shido stared at him weirdly. What exactly is Tonomachi trying to accomplish here, really?

Noticing someone's eyes were on her, Origami glanced up from her book and turned towards the person who was staring at her.

Initially, she thought it was Shidou who was observing her, only to see that it was the person who's with him that's trying to get her attention.

……boring.

No hint of change could be seen on her face as Origami shifted her eyes back to the book in her hands.

Tonomachi turned to his friend with an 'I told you so' look.

"There, she's always like that. According to a lot of people around here, Tobiichi Origami is the most difficult student to approach, because she doesn't give anyone the time of day. How in the world did you get her to open up to you? Or better yet, how in the hell did you manage to be friends with her?"

Shidou continued to give his friend a weird look, wondering why Tonomachi was even asking this when he just said that he was classmates with—

…oh, right. He only told his friend that he was classmates with Origami last year.

Apart from that, nothing. Tonomachi had no knowledge of the relationship he and the girl had outside of the classroom.

In that case…

"I'll explain it as quickly as I can. We've been friends for a long time. Me and Origami go way back five years ago……"

After Shidou explained the brief history between him and Origami, Tonomachi held his head in his hands like he was in despair over something.

It looked like he was about to suffer from a mental breakdown and Shidou actually felt tempted to just leave and go to his seat before he could be associated with this oddity…

"If you two are so close and you have history with her, then why haven't you asked her out yet, Itsuka?!"

"Why would I do that?"

"C'mon man, it's Tobiichi, Tobiichi Origami. The super genius that our school boasts about. She's a really popular student around here. As her friend, do you even know that?"

Shidou shrugged. "I know that Origami is a really good student, but this is the first time Ive heard of her being popular."

"You don't even know the full story, Itsuka. I honestly can't even describe it. Her grades are always high and in the mock exam that we took recently, her results shot her straight to the top of the nation. Her PE scores are also top class that every sports club is practically begging her to join, even our club!"

"...I know those things about Origami, but I don't take them out of proportion. You're making an issue seem bigger than what it is, Tonomachi."

"You're not getting my point! You're letting a juicy opportunity slip from your hands, Itsuka. Are you telling me you don't find Tobiichi attractive?"

That was a question that caused Shidou to retreat deep into his thoughts.

Ever since they met, Origami became strangely attached to him to the point that he told her straight to her face how weird she is.

Unfortunately for him, it resulted in the opposite outcome where Origami took that remark in stride and even treated it as a compliment, which weirded him out even further.

Between sudden hugs, being as clingy as Kotori, plucking flowers for him, following him everywhere, and asking outlandish questions, it could be easily said that Origami is the one who's attracted to him.

He simply got used to her antics because she remained the same until now, although Shidou noticed that she had mellowed down as of late.

Despite this, Origami never made a move to ask him out.

For that reason, he did the same thing and never thought about advancing their relationship from being friends to the dating stage. He was content with their relationship as it is.

With all that being said, in the hypothetical scenario that Origami does ask him out, there's no doubt that he would say yes immediately.

Only a fool would turn down a beautiful girl like her, and he'd be the biggest fool in existence if he rejected a dear childhood friend of his.

He wasn't going to tell Tonomachi about this, though. Shidou could already picture the chaos that would ensue in his mind, especially now that he's aware of how popular Origami is.

"Of course I find Origami attractive," he finally answered after a period of silence.

"Yes, she's a beauty. In fact, in last year's 'Most Wanted Girlfriends Ranking - Best Thirteen' poll, she came in third. Did you see that poll?"

"I don't even know what that is, but I'm assuming it's a list that someone started which shows the most beautiful girls in school. Yeah, only someone like you would be interested in a list like that," Shidou sweat-dropped.

"Bingo," Tonomachi grinned, looking proud of himself. "On the other hand, the 'Most Wanted Boyfriends Ranking' counted over 358 guys."

"Wait, that many?!"

"Don't worry about your place, Itsuka. You managed to get 52nd place, which isn't a bad ranking by any means."

"Okay……?"

"The reasons for your placement apparently included: 'he doesn't seem interested in women', and 'to be frank, he seems like a homo'."

"...that's slander."

Tonomachi shrugged playfully.

"I don't know, it might be true because you're actually turning down a huge opportunity to score big with one of the most popular girls around here."

"I'm somehow the weird one for being content that I'm only friends with a girl?"

"You'd have a higher rank if you went out with Tobiichi, just saying."

Seeing that this conversation had circled back to the same argument that they were having, Shidou sighed and walked away so he could check his assigned seat from the chart on the blackboard.

He was right on time as well, because the school alarm would ring and get the attention of all the students in the room.

In this school, these alerts would come in the form of pairs; the first ring would mean that there's two minutes left before class starts or when it's about to end, while the second ring affirms it.

After observing the chart on the blackboard, Shidou placed his bag on the seat two rows from the window.

A look of content crossed his features as he sat down. This can be attributed to the fact that his neighbor to the right just happened to be the subject of his less-than-stellar discussion with Tonomachi earlier.

"Looks like we'll be seatmates this year, Origami."

"Shidou finds me attractive?" she responded while putting her book away.

………Shidou almost broke into a cold sweat after hearing that question.

"—uhhh…… you heard that…?"

It was impossible not to hear.

Feeling a bit awkward after that revelation, Shidou averted his gaze for a while to get himself together.

He should have just ignored that Tonomachi and went straight to his seat, damn it!

Now he's stuck between a rock and a hard place because Origami overheard the conversation between them.

Heck, the whole class might have heard them at this point!

What's worse is that Origami was listening the entire time, and she only made it seem like she wasn't.

"Do you, Shidou?"

"...huh?"

"Do you find me attractive?" she asked again, turning her head towards him.

Initially, panic filled Shidou's entire body like he was a criminal who got caught in the act.

His immediate thought was to try and shift the conversation to another topic before he could step on the landmine that she created.

However, it also dawned on him that choosing to ignore Origami's question might offend her more than getting a negative answer from him, so he shook his head to get him to snap himself back to reality.

"Everything I said to Tonomachi about you, they're true. There are no lies in anything that I said."

Origami was silent after that, as though she was registering those words in her mind. When she still didn't say anything after a full minute, Shidou began to feel a twinge of worry.

He made a comment that's uncalled for, didn't he? That's why Origami still won't say anything.

……yeah, he should have never said anything and he—

"Hm-hmm…!"

Origami hummed and did a fist pump, which caught Shidou off guard and left him wondering why she did that.

"...Shidou…… he finds me attractive……"

While her face showed no sign of it, Origami felt a spark of joy within her after Shidous sudden confession. As a matter of fact, she felt the urge to turn her head away and smile, but she didn't want anyone to see her expression.

For all her strengths and the praise she gets from other people about her abilities, the one criticism that Tobiichi Origami constantly gets is that she's too much like a doll.

Not like she cared about what other people thought of her, but she wouldn't disagree with any of it.

Truly, Origami would certainly be nothing more than a doll with no emotions……

If it weren't for the presence that Itsuka Shidou had in her life.

As the second bell rang, the door to the classroom opened with a rattle. From there, a short woman wearing thin-rimmed glasses appeared and walked behind the teacher's desk to a chorus of cheers.

"It's Tama-chan…!"

"Ah, it's Tama-chan!"

"Tama-chan is our sensei? Hell yeah!"

All things considered, the opening day of the new school year was off to a good start.

"Good morning, everyone. For this new term, I will be everyone's homeroom teacher, my name is Okamine Tamae."

The teacher in charge of social studies, Okamine Tamae — who was given the nickname Tama-chan by the students — spoke at a slow pace and bowed. Doing this caused her glasses to nearly slip off her face, prompting her to hold them in place with both hands hastily.

Her childish face and small frame combined with her relaxed and kind personality quickly earned her the respect and admiration amongst the students.

Before long, three hours had passed.

The opening ceremony had ended, and the students began leaving the classroom in droves. Other than during test periods, it was rare for school to end in the morning. Here and there, groups of friends were discussing where to go for lunch.

Tonomachi, his bag slung over his shoulder, approached his friend with an eager look on his face.

"Itsuka~ since you have nothing else to do and we don't have club activities for the day, wanna get something to eat?"

Shidou shook his head before facing him, his bag slung over his shoulder as well. He was already prepared to leave and he was only waiting for Origami to return from the faculty room so they could depart from the school.

Being the top student in the classroom apparently gave Origami the responsibility to help out the teachers whenever they needed assistance, so she usually ends up going home later than everyone else.

"Sorry. I'm already planning to have lunch with someone."

"WHAT? Is it a girl?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"NO WAY! Did you finally ask Tobiichi out?!"

"...no."

"Huh…? Then who exactly are you—" Tonomachi then snapped his fingers as if he had made a huge scientific breakthrough. "Well damn, now it all makes sense! No wonder you won't ask her out, you're already dating someone!"

"...is he for real?"

A massive bead of sweat rolled down Shidou's face. How did Tonomachi even reach that conclusion when there's not even a single implication that shows him being in a relationship with a girl?

"That's it, Itsuka! You're gonna tell me what I want to know. What the hell happened over spring break, huh? Not only are you friends with Tobiichi, but you're dating someone now? Didn't we swear to get a girlfriend at the same time? You left me behind……"

"I don't remember ever making a promise with you,Shidou deadpanned, and anyways, it's just Kotori."

"What the hell, don't scare me like that!"

"You're the one who jumped to conclusions."

"Meh, if it's Kotori-chan then there's no problem. Can I come along?"

"Nope."

"Guh! Not even an ounce of hesitation……!"

"Because it's supposed to be a meal between siblings, obviously."

For obvious reasons, he wasn't going to mention that Origami is going to join him and Kotori for lunch, considering Tonomachi's… eagerness towards his personal relationships earlier today.

"Hey hey, Kotori-chan is in her second year at middle school, right? Are you fine with her having a boyfriend, Itsuka?" Tonomachi asked, nudging his elbow at Shidou's side to get his attention.

"What are you talking about now?"

"Hear me out, and there's no hidden meaning behind this but… what would Kotori-chan think about a guy around three grades her senior?"

"Want me to dump your head in the pool next time?" Shidou smiled eerily, which sent chills down his friend's spine.

"I'm just kidding! Just kidding, calm down. I'm not so much of a jerk that I'd disturb your happy sibling get-together. I play by the rules."

"It should be against the rules to make jokes like that," Shidou grumbled.

"But man, I envy you, Itsuka. Isn't Kotori-chan super cute? To live with her under the same roof must be the best feeling ever."

"If you had a younger sister, you'd definitely change your opinion."

"I get that a lot, but I don't think I would. I believe that having a cute and beautiful imouto is a dream come true. Just imagine going home, and you're welcomed by the sight of your little sister wearing nothing but a— GUUH!"

Tonomachi held his head in his hands as he tried to recover from the hard smack that he received out of nowhere.

"Get your head out of the clouds, idiot."

Shidou strongly asserted, while also doing his best not to let Tonomachi's words get to him.

No matter how much he tried to convince himself that Kotori was his little sister and nothing more, Shidou knew to himself that it wasn't like that.

Who was he kidding?

Maybe he used to think of her like that, but not anymore.

In a metaphysical way, at least.

Ever since the first time that he and Kotori, erghm…… did stuff, Shido convinced himself that he was only doing those things to her so she would be fine.

However, as time passed and the more that they ended up doing those indecent acts, the more he got used to it as if it was a job that he needed to do whenever the need for it arises, but that doesn't make things better!

They had never gone past second base though, and Shidou was thankful that Kotori's sensitive part was her armpits, as weird as it is.

He would have likely lost his mind if it was her chest or anything below the belt.

In the end, Shidou blamed the weird tattoo on Kotoris neck that comes and goes whenever it happens.

He had no idea what it was and why it exists, but that damned collar is the reason why his relationship with Kotori will never be the same again. He blamed it for ruining the—!

UUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu—

"...huh?"

As Shidou was snapped back into reality by the loud siren that echoed through the streets, the windows of the classroom began shaking violently.

"Wh-What's going on?"

Tonomachi opened the window and looked outside, where a countless number of crows flew up into the sky in response to the alarm.

The students who were still in the classroom were interrupted from their respective conversations and stared, wide-eyed.

Following the siren, a mechanical voice that paused after each word, probably for ease of understanding, rang out.

"—THIS IS NOT, A DRILL. THIS IS NOT, A DRILL. THE FORESHOCK, HAS BEEN OBSERVED. THE OCCURRENCE, OF A SPACEQUAKE, IS PREDICTED. ALL CITIZENS IN THE VICINITY, PLEASE MOVE TO THE SHELTER THAT IS NEAREST TO YOU, IMMEDIATELY. I REPEAT—"

The silenced room was filled with the students' gasps in no time at all, as the event that they had been dreading finally happened.

Right after the school's opening ceremony, even.

—a spacequake alert.

"Seriously? This is too much of a cruel coincidence…"

Tonomachi bore a shaky grin while sweating profusely.

Surprisingly, all of the students in the classroom were relatively calm. Or at least, none of them have fallen into a state of panic.

After this town was severely damaged by the spacequake incident three decades ago, children through the years practiced evacuation drills at a bi-monthly basis to keep everyone educated and up-to-date with how the spacequake protocol runs around here.

They've practiced those drills in this school as well, and the underground shelter here was a place that can fit all the students.

"The shelter is near the track-and-field area. As long as we make it there, then we'll all be fine."

"Itsuka's right. Let's go, everyone!"

A blonde girl with short and spiky blonde hair nodded at Shidou's words, before rallying the rest of their classmates behind her.

As fast as possible without running, Shidou left the classroom with everyone else following after.

The corridor was already flooded with students, who all formed a straight line while heading towards the underground shelter.

While he was following the straight line like everyone else, Shidou frowned when he noticed a single person moving in the opposite direction of the line.

A female student was running through the hallway with her skirt flapping in the wind, someone whom Shidou recognized quickly due to her distinct white hair.

"Origami…?"

Having returned from her endeavor of assisting Okamine-sensei, Tobiichi Origami dashed through the hallway with many students looking at her in confusion.

It seemed like she had no intention of following the rest of her schoolmates to the shelter.

Forced to react quickly, Shidou broke away from the line and stepped in front of his friend to stop her in her tracks.

"Origami, where are you going! The shelter is in the other direction—"

"I need to take care of something. You get to the shelter, Shidou. I don't want you getting hurt."

Origami stopped for a moment just to say those words, before promptly running past him.

"You can't expect me to do that without worrying about you!"

Puzzled at her behavior, Shidou initially thought about running after her, turned his head and joined the line of students with Tonomachi.

He was worried about Origami, but maybe she just forgot something and went to get it…… at least he hoped so.

The spacequake alert doesn't mean that one would happen immediately. It only signified the predicted arrival of one.

If Origami can get to the shelter quickly after dealing with whatever she needed to deal with, then she'll be fine.

"C-Calm down everyone! It's, alright so, pleeaasseee! Be careful! Don't push, don't run!"

From in front of the line echoed the voice of Okamine-sensei, who was directing the students as best she could… or she was trying to, at least.

Watching this brought a fit of giggles from the students instead of being panicked from the coming spacequake.

For Shidou, it got him to stop worrying about Origami for the moment because he was more amused with his teacher.

"...seeing someone who's more panicked than me makes things less stressful."

"Ahh, I definitely get what you mean, Itsuka."

Seeing a teacher who appeared completely unreliable and like Tama-chan, the tension and panic among the students seemed to have died down.

With this, Shidou remembered a certain matter of great importance, as he quickly brought out his cell phone.

"Hm? Something wrong, Itsuka?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just… give me a moment."

While avoiding Tonomachis question, he dialed Kotoris number.

—there was no answer.

He tried again, but the result was the same.

Shidou tried several times, and nothing changed.

"...come on, answer the phone… did you get to a shelter, Kotori?"

If his sister had not left school yet, then she's probably with her classmates in the school's designated shelter.

However, there's also the possibility that Kotori had left school and was heading towards the restaurant where they would be meeting for lunch, supposedly.

Then again, there were many shelters all around the city, so Kotori would be able to find one and remain there until the spacequake is over… but for some reason, Shidou just couldn't shake off an ominous feeling that he had.

"It's a promise!" Kotoris words from earlier this morning echoed in his mind.

"Okay, we did make a promise to meet there even if a spacequake happened, but… Kotori wouldn't be dumb to actually take that seriously…… wait, I can use that thing!"

Kotori's cell phone should have a GPS location service installed.

After bringing out his phone, he opened a map of the town which showed a red marker icon on a particular location.

—upon seeing it, Shidou very nearly cursed out loud.

His sister was currently in front of the restaurant.

"Kotoriiiii…"

Without another word, Shidou snapped his phone shut and broke free from the line of students.

"Hey, where are you going, Itsuka!"

"I have to take care of something! I'll be back soon!"

Giving Tonomachi the quickest answer possible, Shido ran towards the entrance against the flow of the line, just like how Origami did.

After changing his shoes at the entrance, he dashed outside of the school and past the gate, before running as fast as his legs could take him.

"...so this is what it's like when everyone is underground……"

A very eerie scene was what greeted Shidou upon reaching the town.

—the whole place was devoid of all signs of people.

Shidou couldn't see anyone as far as the naked eye could see, and that was the scariest thing about it… maybe even scarier than the spacequake itself.

But this was to be expected.

Because of the spacequakes that were happening recently, people have been evacuating a lot and trips to the underground shelters became frequent for the citizens of the city.

For Itsuka Shidou, things were different.

"Why is she still there…?! Damn it, get out of there already!"

When he opened his phone in the midst of his running, the red icon showing Kotoris current position was still in front of the family restaurant.

Deciding that Kotori's punishment would be a whole week of no lollipops, Shidou sprinted towards her location as fast as he could while hoping that she wasn't injured or anything like that.

Soon enough, he could feel his feet hurting and his breathing becoming erratic, but Shidou didnt stop.

Things like danger or tiredness had no place in his mind right now, because all he could think about was getting to where Kotori was.

But then—

"Huh?"

While running, Shidou noticed something peculiar in the sky.

There were three or maybe four things floating up above who all seemed to be humanoid-looking, and that was all he could infer from them because of what happened next.

The street in front of him was suddenly engulfed in a blinding light, forcing Shidou to quickly cover his eyes.

"Whaaaaa…?!"

It was followed by a deafening explosion, which was accompanied by a powerful shockwave.

Shidou reflexively wrapped his arms around his face and exerted power into his legs to keep himself where he was, but it was futile.

The wind pressure was similar to that of a large typhoon, which completely blew him off-balance and sent him flying back along with several cars and streetlights.

Shidou screamed in pain when his back slammed into the wreck of a car, but the damage done to him wasn't too severe.

At most, he only felt like the wind get knocked out of him and some aching in his back, but Shidou was seemingly fine.

"What the hell was that……?"

While rubbing his still flickering eyes, Shidou pulled himself off the ground and looked at the origin of the blinding light that came out of nowhere.

A sudden gasp escaped his lips as he observed what happened to the once-beautiful street that was supposed to be there.

—to put it simply, it wasn't there anymore.

Only a huge crater remained in its wake, with the end result looking as if a meteor had crashed to the ground in front of him.

Despite almost every part of his body telling him that it was a stupid idea, Shidou couldn't help but be curious about what's down that crater and if anything was even in it, so he took careful steps towards the area just to remain wary of anything that could happen.

"I must be out for longer than I thought."

What he saw were two things; one of them was a large floating chair made of gold that looked like a throne, with a sword's hilt sticking out from the top of it. The second thing was not an object, but rather, a person.

At the bottom of the crater, a girl wearing a strange dress stood there with her foot on the throne, a blank expression present on her face.

"Since when did that girl get there?"

From his position, Shidou got a good look at this mysterious girl's appearance, starting with her face that possessed both beauty and dignity.

Long, dark purple hair that flowed freely in the wind, indigo eyes that emitted a mysterious shine, and skin as fair as the snow that falls during winter.

All in all, she was so beautiful that it was almost ridiculous.

Her outfit, on the other hand, was very strange.

It's hard to tell from where he was, but it looked like it was made from metal…… but that would obviously weigh very heavy so it must be some kind of special cloth that gave it a metallic appearance.

Additionally, the seams, inner parts, and the skirt seemed to be composed of a mysterious film that can refract light… something that didn't even sound remotely possible.

As he did this, the girl casually scanned the area around her, where she eventually turned around to face Shidou.

"Un…?"

Shidou instinctively took a step back when he saw that the girl had noticed him, but it was a futile attempt at getting away because of her next action.

She grabbed the hilt that was on top of the throne and slowly pulled it out, revealing it to be a broadsword.

And then—

"...woah……!"

The girl faced Shidou, and with a boom, swung the weapon downwards.

The result was a trail of pure energy gunning straight towards him, which he was barely able to avoid.

Despite stepping out of the way, the shockwave that followed was strong enough to blow him away, as he crashed into the wreckage of a car once again.

"...uuughh…… I'm going to feel this in the morning…"

Shidou took a moment to allow himself to recover from the crash, which surprisingly, didnt take long.

Once he had regained his bearings, he slowly looked up and saw the same girl that was in the middle of the crater a while ago.

Now that she was right in front of him, Shidou got a better look at the girl.

She was around Shidou's age, or maybe slightly younger.

In her hand, she was holding the huge sword that was around her own height, and it was pointed dangerously towards him.

"—wait, wait, wait! Why are you trying to kill me?" he asked, raising his hands in surrender.

"So that you wouldn't get the chance to kill me instead."

"...kill you……? Why the hell would I do that?"

"Didn't you come here to eliminate me as well?"

"Huh…? No. There's no way I would do something like that."

"Prove it."

"Look, I'm not here to do anything to you. I was only here because— AAHHH…!"

Shidou tried to stand up, only to be stopped by an unbearable pain in his midsection.

Looking down, his eyes widened when he saw a metal pipe sticking out from his stomach.

His uniform was soaked in red because of his blood, and he also felt that the pipe had completely gone through him, marked by the exit wound on his back.

"...you have to be joking!"

Shidou groaned in pain as he tugged at the pipe, making it his priority to get it out of him immediately.

"If it is painful, then you should—"

"AHHH!"

With one strong pull, Shidou yanked the bloody pipe out and threw it away, though it took a lot out of him to do so.

He took several deep breaths to calm himself, but it was difficult to keep himself composed when he had a hole through his stomach…!

At this rate, hell bleed out before he can get help—

Blue-purple flames ignited around his wound and slowly closed it. Only his blood and ruined uniform remained, which were the only signs that there was even a wound in the first place.

Shidou hissed, but his eyes still widened in awe at what happened.

"What just happened…?"

Once he removed his hand, Shidou was completely surprised to see that his stomach was back to normal. His flesh was completely intact and not even a scar was visible.

……this was definitely not normal, and he had no idea what was happening.

Watching the whole thing unfold before her, the girl stared at the flames in fascination before looking at him curiously.

"—are you…… like me?"

Shidou looked up at her.

His first thought was to refute and say that he had no idea what she's like, but doing that might result in a worse outcome for him because she was ready to kill him a while ago.

"Ah— I guess I am?"

"Umu."

Looking satisfied with his answer, the girl lowered her sword as her hostility towards him dissipated slowly.

"What's… your name?"

Standing up from the ground, Shidou decided to take advantage of this opportunity, while he can still talk with her without repercussions.

Right now, the biggest question on his mind was who this mysterious girl is and where exactly did she come from.

"A name? What is a name?"

"...uh, a name is what people use to call you."

"I have no such thing."

The nameless girl bore a sad look, while Shidou stared at her in disbelief.

"She has to be joking… how could she not have a name?"

The girl noticed his expression and immediately grew confused.

"Why were you asking me that question?"

She looked at Shidou with a mixture of surprise, suspicion, and confusion.

"...because I want to know more about you."

The girl looked surprised at his answer.

It was a response that she had never heard before.

Something that no other human has told her until today.

However, the girl would ultimately narrow her eyes and look away from Shidou, shifting her gaze towards the sky.

Curious at what could have gotten her attention, Shidou also turned to look at the sky, where his eyes widened at what he saw.

"Who the—"

Several humans wearing strange suits were floating in the sky, where they proceeded to fire a barrage of homing missiles at Shidou and the girl.

"Hey, we better move!"

Shidou called out to the girl who was with him, but she didnt go anywhere. She merely raised her hand and glared at the incoming projectiles.

"-!"

The missiles that were launched towards them exploded about two meters above the girl, as if they hit an invisible force field instead.

The girl gave an exasperated sigh.

"Useless… why can't they ever learn…?"

Saying this, the girl raised her free hand higher, before squeezing it shut.

As she did this, the remaining missiles that were heading their way froze in mid-air and began to compress until they exploded.

The magnitude of those explosions was frighteningly small, as though the energy that should be scattered in all directions had been sucked inwards.

However, those people did not stop their attack.

One after another, missiles were shot at them, but the girl continued to protect the both of them effortlessly.

"—Humu…"

The girl gave another small sigh, making the same sad expression that she had earlier.

Seeing that expression, Shidou felt nothing but confusion at this strange scene.

Who this girl was, he had no idea. Who the people in the air were, he also had no idea.

However, its clear to him that the girl was stronger than those people flying in the air.

—so why is it that the expression on her face was solemn and full of sorrow?

"...Begone. Anything and everything… Just disappear already…!"

She pointed her sword towards the sky, before making one powerful swing through the air.

A second later, the wind howled.

Shidou took a step back as a fierce shockwave assaulted the area, while the sheer force emitted by the girl's sword flew towards the sky along the path of the blade.

The people flying in the air hurried to avoid it and withdrew from their position, barely managing to move out of its way.

From a different direction, a beam of light with a tremendous output was fired towards the girl.

"-Ack!"

Shidou moved away from her and immediately covered his eyes.

Like the missiles earlier, the beam of light was completely deflected by an invisible force field above the girl. Similar to a firework exploding in the night sky, it spread apart in all directions, as Shidou began to contemplate if he should even be here at this point.

And then, something landed in front of him.

Covered from top to bottom in an unfamiliar body suit was a girl.

She carried large thrusters on her back, and a weapon shaped like a golf bag in her hands.

His eyes went wide once more when he recognized who this girl was.

"Origami…?"

The girl with the overly mechanical appearance was his childhood friend, Tobiichi Origami.

Hearing her name being called, she turned around and locked eyes with him.

"Shidou…?"

Though she was surprised, her expression didn't change. Her tone carried a hint of confusion as well, and it took her a few seconds to be able to respond.

Pressing the communicator on her ear, she began to utter—

"Captain, cease fire. There is a civilian down here."

"What?! Why is a civilian out here and not in a shelter?"

"I do not know."

"Take him out of there immediately before he gets caught up in the crossfire."

"Roger."

Cutting the conversation short after that, she turned towards Shidou for the moment and approached him.

"...Wh-What's up with that suit—"

Origami cut him off when she grabbed his shoulders and did a quick inspection of his body.

"Are you hurt?"

"Huh? N-No, I'm fine."

"Then what is this blood stain on your uniform? And why is it ripped?"

"...I-I helped someone with a big wound they got earlier. Tore a piece of my uniform to help stop the bleeding."

He couldn't exactly tell Origami that he got pierced by a metal pipe and somehow healed from it, to the point that it didn't even look like he sustained a wound.

After hearing that response, Origami threw him a frown, a rare expression for an individual who was stone-faced most of the time.

"What are you doing here? I told you to remain in the shelter with everyone!"

"I couldn't! I was worried about Kotori!"

"I'm sure she's safe in an underground shelter. Get out of here already!"

"Her location was nowhere near a shelter!"

If Shidou had to be honest, he wasn't even sure if he should be worried about her anymore, because of everything that was happening—

"-oof!"

Shidou felt himself hitting the ground after being pushed by Origami all of a sudden.

He looked up at his friend, only to see her dodging an energy beam from the mysterious girl by taking off into the air.

"—Fmph."

The girl pointed her glowing sword at Origami with a cold glare on her face.

Origami didn't waste any more time, closing in on the girl with incredible speed as her weapon transformed into a blade of light.

Targeting the girl, Origami swung the blade with all her might.

"—Tch."

The girl knitted her brows slightly, stopping the blow with the sword in her hand, resulting in a violent shockwave on the same magnitude as the previous ones.

"Again…?!"

Unable to think of anything else other than his own safety, Shidou slowly got back to his feet and turned around to escape the area.

Origami was repelled after the clash, and the two separated while still having their weapons poised.

"Die."

"Get out of here, Shidou!"

"You better not die on me, Origami!"

As much as he hated leaving his friend behind, it was clear to him that Origami knew what she was doing.

He'll just have to put his faith in her and ask her for answers later, because all of this was too confusing for him!

Shidou had questions for her but before he can actually ask them, he would have to stay alive.

With sweat forming on his forehead, he climbed out of the crater and began to run away.

At that moment, the phone inside his pocket started ringing with a bright melody—

"Hrngh!"

"—!"

—which, unknowingly, became a signal.

The girl and Origami took off at the same time, clashing with their weapons in the air and creating another powerful shockwave that blew everything back, including Shidou.

"Whaaaaa…!"

For the third time today, Shidou was mercilessly blown away, and finally went unconscious after crashing against the side of a nearby building with his head hitting the wall.

MINASAN, YONDE KURETE ARIGATŌ! AISHITEMAAAAASUUUUU! *starts playing air guitar*

-Lance