Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Date a Live.
Yoshino's POV:
"Ugh, Yoshino may like these shows, but I was never a fan of soap operas." I groan. I figured I'd try watching one of those soap operas to pass the time, but even after becoming Yoshino, I still don't like them.
"Honestly, I see what you mean partner. This is pretty cringe." It seems Yoshinon shares my taste this time around.
I pick up the remote and change the channel to see if there was anything else worth watching..
*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
But at that moment, I hear the Spacequake alarm blaring. So, the confrontation has reached that point.
"Yoshino, do you read me?" Reine calls me through the ear piece Kotori let me keep.
"I hear you Reine." I answer. "I heard the alarm."
"Yeah, Kurumi tried to destroy the school with a Spacequake, but Kotori stopped it when it formed. She's fighting Kurumi right now, but we both know how it will turn out." Yeah, Kotori will lose control and try to kill Kurumi. "However, before she departed, she said that she held hope that you would stop her before she goes too far."
She really said that, huh? "Are you going to allow that?"
"You already intervened during Tohka's date. I'm fine with whatever changes you make as long as they stay in line with my plans." I expected as much, but overall, I have her approval.
I stand up from the couch and form my Astral Dress. What's interesting is that even though I've been sealed, my Pure Reiryoku allows me to still form my Complete Astral Dress.
Exiting the house, I use Mist Dash and quickly head for Raizen High.
Shido's POV:
Things have taken an unexpectedly bad turn.
Kurumi had created a dome that weakens everyone within its range, but Reine said I was unaffected thanks to having Tohka's and Yoshino's powers sealed inside me. Then, Kurumi told me to confront her on the roof of the school, and I managed to convince her to drop the dome, but soon after that she ended being killed... by Kurumi! And she was the real one, not another clone!
Mana then showed up and tried to fight Kurumi, but easily defeated. Yoshino wasn't kidding when she said the real one way stronger. Tohka and Origami then show up, but Kurumi summoned a bunch of clones and had us all trapped. Kurumi then treatened to destroy the school with a Spacequake (which made me realize that the Spacequakes are colored to each Spirit, as Kurumi's was black where the one when I met Tohka was purple), but it was stopped by another Spacequake, this one red. And the one who created it was my own little sister, Kotori Itsuka!
I just couldn't believe it. My own little sister, a Spirit! Not only that, but she's the Flame Spirit that Origami talked about, the one that started the fire five years ago! She said she's the Spirit that represents Geburah, the Fifth Sephira, and her Angel, Camael, is a battle axe that gives her power over flames... which apparently includes regenerative ones because Kurumi shot her in the head during the fight and she was completely fine!
But then, for some reason, Kotori lost control of herself. Her eyes started glowing, she had a crazy smirk on her face, and she TRANSFORMED CAMAEL INTO A HUGE CANNON!
The flaming beam that fired from it not only took out all the clones Kurumi summoned, but it left a hole in Zafkiel. Kurumi has been defeated... and yet Kotori is about to fire at her again!
"Kotori-chan, stop! If you keep this up, Kurumi-san will die!" Origami shouts. "Isn't Ratatoskr's goal to resolve conflict without killing the Spirits!?" But Kotori wouldn't listen, as she charges another beam.
"Kotori, you have to stop!" I shout, but she still doesn't hear me. She just smirks, as if excited that she was about to kill someone!
With no choice, I prepare to rush to protect Kurumi...
"YOSHINON MISSILE!"
When all of us hear a voice coming from above, and then something really fast rammed Kotori in the head so hard, she was sent tumbling into the fence.
I look to see what had hit Kotori, and my eyes widen at a familiar rabbit puppet. "Yoshinon scores!" She cheers.
"Yoshinon!" I shout, surprised to see her. "Wait, if you're here...!"
"Sorry that I'm late to the party." Just as I thought, Yoshino floats down next to Yoshinon in her Astral Dress.
"Yoshino, you're here!" Origami says, greatly relieved.
"Reine decided to call me for backup in case something like this happened."
"Well, I say you arrived just in time, Yoshino." Kurumi smiles, grateful for the rescue.
"Tch, a traitor, huh?" I hear Kotori say as she stands up. "Fine! I'll burn you to ashes, along with Kurumi!"
"You're not in control of yourself right now, Kotori." Yoshino says. "Remember, Ratatoskr's goal is to give Spirits like us, who were converted by the Spirit of Origin, the chance to live normal lives again."
Kotori laughs. "That's rich! You think a killer like her deserves a chance to live? Are you saying that because you and her were partners?"
"I've known her since my first days as a Spirit. I know the truth of why she walks her path. But more importantly, Shido sees the potential for good in her, even despite seeing her kill people right in front of him, and I choose to believe him."
"Yoshino..." Hearing Yoshino say that makes me happy.
The Water Spirit looks at me with a smile, before regaining her serious expression as she faces expression. "If you choose to go against this..." Yoshinon transforms into her scythe form. "Then I'll have to douse your flames!"
Kotori gains a crazy look on her face as she laughs. "IT'S A FIGHT, THEN! LET'S SEE WHAT YOU GOT, MISS STRONGEST SPIRIT!"
Kotori rushes at Yoshino, Camael blazing as she swings down at her, only for Yoshino to dodge to the side. Kotori swung at her again, but Yoshino met her flaming slashes with icy ones. "Not bad, but you know that fire melts ice, right?" Kotori taunts. "Not to mention, you're still sealed, while I'm at full power!"
"That may be, but you're forgetting that I'm ultimately a Spirit of WATER!" Yoshino responds, parrying another axe swing and then following it up with an upward slash, releasing a small small wave that washed Kotori back. The attack had put out the flames on Camael, leaving it and her steaming as she growls.
"Then I'll vaporize you until not even mist remains! CAMAEL!" Kotori reignites Camael and releases a wave of flames, which Yoshino counters with another wave of water, resulting in a cloud of steam engulfing the area. "Tch! Where are you!?" Kotori couldn't see because of the mist and neither can I. However, Yoshino is able to control mist as part of her powers. She's in her element right now!
Suddenly, I see the mist start moving. Yoshino must be manipulating it in some way. My vision is no longer obscured as I look in the direction I saw the mist move, seeing that Yoshino formed it into a tornado around Kotori. I hear a roar from Kotori, and then a fiery explosion happens, making be hold up my arms to brace myself. Once it ended, I see that the mist had forcefully dissipated, revealing my little sister covered with cuts that were healing thanks to her regenerative flames, but she now looked pissed.
"CAMAEL! MEGIDDO!" Kotori transforms Camael into it's Cannon Form again and aims it at Yoshino. Charging it up, she fires a huge flaming beam at Yoshino, but the Water Spirit dodges and counters by throwing her scythe at her like a boomerang, only for Kotori to the side. "HA! YOU MISSED!" Kotori smirks as she she begins charging another beam.
I look at Yoshino, hoping she would dodge. However, she just stands there... smirking?
Wait... does Yoshinon retain her sentience even in scythe form!?
Turning to where Yoshino threw her, I see the scythe make a U-turn back... and slice off the arm that was holding Camael, making her scream in pain as the severed arm hits the floor.
"NYAHAHA! It's been a while since I chopped someone's arm off!" Yoshinon laughs as she returns to Yoshino.
I look at Kotori with great worry. She was bleeding where her arm was severed, but her flames are working to repair the damage as she gives Yoshino a seething glare. "YOU LITTLE BITCH! YOU JUST CHOPPED MY FUCKING ARM OFF!" Okay, she's really pissed if she's starting to swear!
"Yes, I did." Yoshino fully admits it. "Thankfully, as the Spirit of Geburah, your flames can repair a severed body part as long as it's not your head." That's how it works? That's some insane healing ability.
Kotori snarls. "Even if I can still regenerate from it... IT STILL FUCKING HURT!" Her flames roar with her anger, causing her arm to regenerate almost instantly. Her severed arms burns away in the flames as Camael disappears and reappears in her new arm. "LET'S SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT!" She rushes at Yoshino, aiming to return the favor, as Yoshino stands there waiting, her scythe emitting a rainbow aura. Kotori swings her axe down as Yoshino responds with an upward slash...
And to my shock, Yoshino cuts right through Camael, making it shatter and disappear in a red light.
"...Eh?" I see the anger on Kotori's face completely replaced with shock. Even she wasn't expecting her Angel to be destroyed.
Taking advantage of her shock, Yoshino slams the pole end of her scythe into the ground, causing a water geyser to rise up, completely engulfing Kotori and taking her into the air. Yoshino swings her scythe down, and the water turns back around and slams into the ground with a splash. I close my eyes as some of it splashes onto me, before looking to see my little sister laying on the ground, defeated and completely drenched.
"Whoa... Yoshino just beat Kotori!" Tohka says in amazement, and frankly, so am I.
"Yoshino's really strong, isn't she?" Origami asks with a smile. "And this is her while she's sealed." That's right. Kotori did point out that Yoshino's power was sealed while hers wasn't. Is this the power of the Strongest Spirit?
Yoshino walks up to Kotori and kneels down. "Have you calmed down?" She asks.
"Y-Yeah..." Kotori groans as she uses her arms to lift herself up. She opens her eyes, and thankfully, they were no longer crazy as she smiles at Yoshino. "I knew I could count on you to stop me, Yoshino." Yoshino smiles back. So, Kotori was hoping this would happen.
"Well, glad to see you haven't lost your touch, Yoshino-san." Kurumi speaks as she stands up. "As for me, I've got no tricks left and am low on time, so I'll have to take my leave to recover." Oh yeah, Kurumi has to replenish her time or else she'll die, which unfortunately means killing more people. "Farewell, everyone. And don't worry, Shido-san. This won't be the last time we meet." With those parting words, she vanishes into her shadow.
"We should get moving as well." Yoshino says. "Reine, beam us up to Fraxinus."
"Understood." I hear Reine reply. Oh yeah. Yoshino has the ear piece I lost.
"What about Mana?" I ask.
"She'll be fine. The AST will pick her up and take her to a hospital." Yoshino assures me as we were teleported onto Fraxinus.
Yoshino's POV:
Once we were on Fraxnius, Kotori was sent to quarantine due to her powers going out of control. "So... Kotori was also converted into a Spirit." Shido says quietly, still trying to get over the reveal.
"Even I'm shocked that the Flame Spirit from five years ago was actually the Commander." Origami admits, before looking at me. "Did you know? You were there five years ago."
"I did. She was the Spirit I saw Shido seal." I answer.
"Then, do you know why she went berserk?" Shido asks. "She was fine during most of her fight with Kurumi, but then it looked like she lost control of herself."
I sigh. "The reason is because of her Sephira Crystal." Everyone except Reine looks at me with confusion, so I explain. "As you know, Spirits are created when a human has bonded with a Sephira Crystal. However, the truth is that our Sephira Crystals were originally toxic."
"Toxic?" Shido asks with wide eyes. "But how?"
"Because of how they were created. When the Spirit of Origin created the Sephira Crystal, she did so by also focusing her emotions into the crystals. The color of each crystal represents the emotion that was strongest during its creation. My crystal, for example, is a sorrowful blue, as it was created from her sadness."
"Sadness..." Origami repeated. "Did something happen to the Spirit of Origin that made her feel sad?" No one had an answer to that, except Reine, who was looking away. However, I can see the sadness in her eyes from being reminded of her lover's death.
"Anyway, this is important because the emotion that was used also determines the toxicity of the Sephira Crystal. The more negative the emotion, the more toxic the crystal's power. This meant that, upon their initial creation, they were incompatible with humans, and if they were to bond with one in that state, the toxic power would drive them mad and turn them into actual monsters." Everyone but Reine was horrified by that. "To remedy this, the Spirit of Origin refined the Sephira Crystals to remove the toxicity and make them compatible. Although, her method of doing so was...very morally questionable." Only Reine knew what I mean by that.
"Wait..." Shido spoke, his eyes widening as if coming to a realization. "The reason Kotori went berserk... Was it because some of her power is still toxic?"
I give a serious nod. "Kotori was the most compatible human to wield Camael's power, but at the time, the crystal itself wasn't fully refined. Because of this, some of its power is still toxic, and as you saw, that toxic power will make her go berserk if she uses her powers for too long."
"What's worse is that that toxic power is starting to take over." Reine decides to lay on the bad news. "Kotori has been able to resist it thanks to the seal, but now that she has all her powers back, I'm afraid she doesn't have much longer."
Shido was scared to hear this. "How much longer does she have?"
"I would give her 48 hours. After that, the toxic power will have fully taken over."
"And at that point, 'Kotori' will be lost, leaving only [Efreet]." I finish. I look at Shido and see the scared look in his eyes, so I walk to him and force him to kneel down to my level to look him in the eyes. "Shido, listen to me. Right now, Kotori needs you more than ever. Within 48 hours, you need to make her fall in love with you so you can re-seal her powers. Don't see her as your adorable little sister, but as a Spirit like me and Tohka - a girl that is calling for you to save her from her suffering."
Shido's eyes widen at my words, and I see the spark in his eyes ignite into a flame as he gains a look of determination. "You're right. I won't let the little sister that took me in when I was abandoned be lost to her own power." Shido stands tall, clenching his fist. "Kotori needs my help, and I'm going to save her!"
I smirk, pleased at Shido's show of determination. "Atta boy, Shido!" Yoshinon cheers.
"That was very well done, Yoshino." Reine compliments.
"Indeed." Kannazuki agrees. "The Commander was right to entrust you with this operation."
"Huh?" I say in visible confusion. "Is there something I'm missing?"
Kannazuki clears his throat before speaking. "You see, Yoshino, all of us, including the Commander and Reine, decided that would be Commander of Ratatoskr during the operation to re-seal the Commander."
"... Eh?" It took a moment to register, but the news left me surprised. Me, Commander of Ratatoskr?
"Personally, I think you're the perfect choice. The Commander is a Flame Spirit, whereas you're a Water Spirit, and with your cool and calm personality, you perfectly contrast the Commander!" Huh, I suppose that is true. Kotori and I are pretty much opposites. "The only similarity is your underdeveloped chests, but that is perfectly acceptable!" Aaand there it is.
Annoyed by his perverted comment, I use my strings to yank him over to me and axe kick him into the floor, making him cry out in masochistic pain and pleasure. "I may have a 'cool and calm' personality as you said, but that doesn't mean I won't punish you for being a pervert." I say coldly. "Especially if you aim your perverted comments at me."
"Ahhh... Thank you, Yoshino-chan..."
"...Oh yeah. She'll do perfectly." 'Deep Love' Minowa comments.
Reine clears her throat. "Kannazuki's comparison aside, you are the most knowledgeable of the Spirits. We figured your knowledge and opinions would help in future operations." Ah, so Reine wants me to put my knowledge to good use.
"I think you'll be a great Commander, Yoshino!" Origami gives her encouragement.
"Yeah! You should definitely do it, Yoshino!" Same with Tohka.
"I wouldn't mind Yoshino being Commander, either." Shido as well.
"What do you say, partner?" Yoshinon asks. "It's clear that everyone trusts you."
"Yeah." I hum with closed eyes. I never expected to be given such responsibility, but I'm not gonna let everyone down. I open my eyes to address everyone. "Alright. If you all trust me, then I'll fill in as Commander for this operation. To start, I want everyone to go in depth with the information on Kotori's condition, and we will have a meeting to discuss how to re-seal Kotori. Any questions?" Kannazuki raises his hand, but I ignore it.
"Actually, I might have an idea on where to go for the date." Origami speaks up.
"Oh, really? Let's hear it." Yoshinon encourages.
Origami takes out five tickets and shows them to me. "When you broke off from us during Shido's double date, I got caught up in a lottery and won tickets to a new waterpark that opened recently." She explains. "I ended up getting five tickets, so I was thinking about inviting you, Itsuka-kun, Tohka-san and Kotori-san, but given the current situation, it may be the best place for a date."
Ah, so Origami won the tickets this time around. Not only that, but she got one extra compared to canon, which allows her to be included as well. "A waterpark... Yeah, that could work." I nod at the suggestion.
"I agree!" Shiizaki approves. "The Commander is still a kid, so a fun date at a waterpark would be perfect!" The rest of the crew also voice their approval.
"Ah yes~ The Commander going out in the waters. Hmm~ I'll be able to witness her well under-developed middle school chest as an added bonus!" And then there's Kannazuki.
"PEDOPHILE!" Yoshinon rams him hard enough to send him to a wall.
I shake my head at his antics before returning my focus to the operation. "So, we're all in agreement?" Everyone in the room nodded. "Good, and as for your invitation Origami, I'll come along as well. It'll be nice to take a swim."
"Me neither! I wanna go, too!" Tohka chimes in excitedly.
And with that, Operation Date A Kotori is set and ready.
There's just one last problem...
Swimsuit shopping.
And here we have an actual battle between Yoshino and a berserk Kotori, showing that even while sealed, Yoshino is still a powerful fighter.
And yes, Yoshino can still form her full Astral Dress. Another benefit Pure Reiryoku gives her.
Next chapter will be the swim date, and since Origami is not seeking blind vengeance against Kotori, that means the date will go smoothly.
... Right?