Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Date a Live.
Mio's POV:
I cannot believe that I let Wescott succeed without me knowing about it.
Managing to take Miku's power, potentially killing her in the process... I should've checked on the girls after I gave them their powers.
I quickly went to where I remember Miku's mansion being, but when I got there, it was completely abandoned. It's as if no one was living there anymore.
Flying around hoping to find any trace of Miku, I look down to see a... really depressing individual. Her hair looks messy and unkempt, to the point where it could cover her eyes had those thick glasses not done the job well enough. She's wearing the Raizen High School uniform, but it looks like it's a size too big for her. She has her head down, like she's trying to avoid attention. Honestly, I cannot help but pity this girl.
Looking at her a bit more, her hair color does match Miku, but that's probably just a coincidence.
I then notice three girls wearing the same uniform but from a different school, Rindouji from the looks of it, walk up to the gloomy girl and surround her. The girl sees them and backs up fearfully, her back hitting the building behind her.
Not wanting to waste time watching this, I continue my search for Miku. But, I suppose I'll keep that girl in mind.
Shido's POV:
Walking down to the store to get some groceries, I think about what happened during our battle with DEM back at Arubi Island.
Those guys actually managed to take a Spirit's powers, and they used it to almost take Tohka and Origami. Yoshino told me about it after everything settled down. The Angel Gabriel has the power to influence others through the user's voice, kind of like mind control. It can even control Spirits that have been sealed, making it a dangerous power, especially now that's it's in DEM's hands.
According to Yoshino, there are three ways to resist it:
The first is to wear anything that blocks out noise. Since Gabriel's power only works if you can hear it, wearing things like earphones makes you immune to the mind control.
The second is to have more Reiryoku or Maryoku than the user. The stronger you are, the less likely you are to be controlled. The problem is that the one with Gabriel's power, Project: Siren, was apparently created to give even Yoshino a tough fight, which means she's pretty powerful.
The final option is one that's admittedly exclusive to myself, Yoshino and Rinne. While the three of us did feel the effects of Gabriel's power, our Pure Reiryoku actually protected our minds and allowed us to resist it, unlike Tohka and Origami.
This advantage means that Yoshino, Rinne and I are the only ones that can fight Project: Siren without worrying about her mind control, but that still leaves the rest of DEM to worry about. Yoshino said that if it comes down to it, she may have to kill Siren and take back the stolen power.
While I'm still not fond of killing people, I can't just let them take Tohka and the others!
The sound of someone getting slapped interrupts my train of thought. Quickly turning in the direction I heard it, I see a group of girls wearing the same school uniform, but not the Raizen High School uniform. Looking between the legs of the middle girl (Not like that!), I notice another girl on the ground. Are those girls bullying her?!
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" I shout angrily, running up and getting between the three bullies and the girl on the ground.
"Huh? And who are you supposed to be?" The middle girl with blonde asks, arms crossed in a stuck-up manner.
"Hey, look at the clothes that boy is wearing!" The girl to the left with pink hair points out my clothes. I'm in my school uniform right now.
"No way! Does he seriously go to the same school as that floozy?" The girl to the right with brown hair asks, holding a hand in front of her mouth like it's a big deal.
"Floozy?" I ask, wondering who they're calling a floozy.
"That pitiful girl right behind you." The blonde girl points behind me, and I turn to look down at the girl I'm helping. She... admittedly does look rather pitiful at first glance. Her light indigo hair looks so messy and unkempt, like she hasn't tended to it for months, and her uniform, which I recognize as the female Raizen High uniform, is a size too big for her.
"Are you ok?" I ask softly, kneeling down to her level. I could barely see her eyes because of how messy her hair is, but she looks so... afraid.
"I wouldn't bother with her if I were you." I hear the blonde girl say, turning back to look at her. "That girl's a loose woman, unless you're into that sort of thing."
"Yeah. That slut will open her legs for just about anyone." The pink-haired girl follows up.
"She's a total whore." The brown-girl adds. Their insults at the girl make me glare angrily at them. What right do they have to call someone that?!
"We feel sorry for you to have to go to the same school as her." The blonde girl says with a mocking smirk. "We'll leave you to play with her. But I promise you, you'll get tired of her before you know it." The trio of girls laugh mockingly as they leave.
Glaring angrily as I watch them leave, I decide to ignore them and turn to the girl on the ground, my gaze softening. "Hey, are you alright?" I ask again, but she doesn't answer, instead just looking at with fearful eyes. "It's okay. I promise I'm not gonna hurt you." I gently hold my hand out, and she flinches back. "Here. Let me help you up."
The scared girl looks down at my hand, then at me. I give her a kind smile, silently telling her it's okay, and she looks back down at my hand. She cautiously reaches her hand out to mine, flinching back halfway, before slowly taking my hand, letting me gently bring her up to her feet.
"Th-thank you..." She stutters a thank you. Her voice... it sounds so scratchy, like she hasn't spoken in a long time. She quickly runs off like she's in a hurry, and I watch her leave.
That girl... She looks like she's suffered so much. I just wish there was something I could do to help her.
Yoshino's POV:
The Tenou Festival is approaching. While that would normally be something to be excited about, it leaves me with a worried frown as it reminds me of a certain Spirit.
Miku Izayoi, the Voice Spirit, appeared during the time of the Tenou Festival for her arc. In the anime, she was a hardcore lesbian who hated men with a passion because of her backstory. She treasured her 'voice' so much, that it basically corrupted her, turning her into basically a tyrant, taking whatever she wants by force. The biggest example of this was after Shido (as Shiori) beat her in the Tenou Festival. Instead of honoring her deal, she forcefully took over the entire city, which also lead to Tohka being captured, and eventually, the first instance of Inversion. She became much better after Shido proved that he's not like what she thinks of men, but her actions still left a sour taste in my mouth and I had to prepare for it.
Except... things are gonna be much different this time around. DEM has somehow managed to find Miku beforehand and take her powers, using it to complete an experiment of theirs called "Project: Siren", who apparently is meant to be strong enough to fight an Inverse, or at least, a Spirit as strong as myself. This leaves Miku's current status unknown. Is she dead? Is she still alive somehow? It worries me so much that I almost couldn't sleep yesterday.
What's worse, Reine has yet to tell me that Mio's found her, making the first scenario seem more likely.
"Hey, Yoshino." Kotori's voice reaches my ears, breaking me from my thoughts as I look at her. "You're worried about DEM having [Diva]'s power, aren't you?"
"Yes." I answer honestly. After Kotori returned, she was immediately told about everything that happened on the island. She was shocked to learn that DEM has already taken the powers of a Spirit.
"We're already planning to make noise cancellers for the other Spirits to help block out the mind control." My fellow commander reports. "As for taking back the stolen power... we'll leave that to you." I give a serious nod. DEM having Gabriel is not good for anyone. If it comes down to it, I may have to kill Siren.
Yet, for some reason, the thought of killing her makes my heart ache. Why?
*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
My thoughts are interrupted by the Spacequake alarm blaring.
"We've got a Spirit." Kotori says, going commander mode. "Get my brother up here."
The crew teleports Shido up to Fraxinus, and we're given a visual of the incoming Spacequake. When it happens, though, it's... surprisingly quite small, gouging out not even half the width of the average road in Tengu City. However, what catches my attention is the color.
"Indigo..." I mutter. The Spirit's Spacequakes are color-coded in this timeline to match the Spirit's Sephira Crystal, and crystal holding Gabriel is indigo. Which means...
"According to our readings, this one is [Diva]." Kannazuki reports, confirming my thoughts.
"[Diva]?" Shido repeats. "Isn't that the Spirit that DEM stole power from?"
"That's right." I nod with a relieved smile. "If she caused this Spacequake, then that means two things: she survived her encounter with DEM, and they haven't completely taken her power, only a sizable portion of it."
"Thank goodness." Shido sighs with shared relief.
"Don't be relieved just yet." Kotori says firmly. "Even if she survived having her power stolen, this also means that she's currently weakened, making her easy pickings for the AST." That, unfortunately, is also very true. "Looks like she's relocated to a small performance venue a few blocks down. We're sending you down there, Shido. Go save her."
Shido's POV:
The main stage of the performance venue is kinda plan, but I don't have much experience with this kinda thing, so I can't really judge. Moreover, I need to focus on my meeting with [Diva].
I look to the center stage and see a girl around my age with light indigo hair, dressed in a white and yellow dress that looks like one an idol would wear. I guess it makes sense why she's called [Diva]. Although, I feel like I've seen her before somewhere...
The spotlight shines down on [Diva] creating the image that she's the only girl in the world. Her hand rested on her... quite gifted chest as she takes several deep breaths, seemingly to calm herself.
Then, [Diva] opens her silver eyes that seemed to glisten in the limelight, and she starts to sing.
As I slowly and quitely make my way to the stage from the right, I take the time to listen to the song. Her voice sounds... strained. It's as if she hasn't used her vocal cords for a long time due to injury. The tempo of the lyrics seem to fit a pop song... but the lyrics themselves feel like they belong in a dirge, making it into a sad song.
But, her voice sounds kinda familiar to me. Have I met her before?
The song suddenly breaks when [Diva] begins to cough.
"Ooh, that did not sound good." Yoshinon comments. I can't help but agree. That cough sounded rough, scratchy, and full of pain. I honestly can't help but feel sorry for her.
I carefully step up on the stage, but I notice [Diva] flinch and look in my direction. She must've heard my footsteps.
"[Diva] has noticed you." Kotori reports the obvious. "Displaying options!"
As usual, I'm given the choice of three different options for my next move. This time, they are the following:
1: Approach slowly with hands raised, and say 'I mean you no harm'.
2: Approach at a normal speed and compliment her singing.
3: Spring up to her and hug her, saying you're her biggest fan.
In my opinion, given how afraid [Diva] looks, I'd like to go with Option 1. However, the decision is ultimately up to the crew, and this is what they chose:
1 - 42%
2 - 42%
3 - 16%
A tie between the first two options. Well, Option 2 isn't that bad either.
"It's a tie between 1 and 2." Kotori notes. "What do you think, Yoshino?"
"Given that [Diva] is showing high levels of fear, Option 3 is out of the question." I couldn't agree more. "I say go for a mixture of the first two options. Compliment her singing, but approach her in a way that she won't feel threatened."
"Sounds reasonable. Go for it, Shido." I'm really glad that Yoshino's involved in the decision-making.
"I'm sorry for startling you." I say in apology as I slowly step into the light. "I heard you're singing from outside. You have a lovely voice." A small silence follows as I wait for a reaction, and eventually I get one.
"You're... that boy." She says.
"Eh?" I blink in confusion. Does [Diva] recognize me?
"Ooh~ Sounds like you and [Diva] have met before." Yoshinon comments teasingly.
"Shido, this is the second time now." Kotori says, sounding annoyed. "Can you at least tell us if you've already met a Spirit?"
"I don't know. I don't recognize her." I reply honestly, before refocusing on [Diva]. "Um, I'm sorry. Have we... met before by chance?"
"Yesterday..." She answer. "You protected me... from those girls." Yesterday? Protected her from other girls? Now that I think about it, there was that gloomy girl I helped yesterday who was-
My eyes widen as I take a careful look at [Diva]. That light indigo hair... those silver eyes that look so afraid... It's actually her! "You're... You're that gloomy girl from yesterday! The one that goes to my school!"
Yoshino's POV:
"Eh?" I voice my surprise. Reine told me that Mio has seen a particular depressing girl during her search for Miku, but it turns out, that girl actually was her? I look over at the Analysis Officer, and she looks just as surprised as I was.
"[Diva] goes to Onii-chan's school?" Kotori is also surprised, but more so about the fact that Miku goes to the same school as Shido, which, to be honest, is a surprise to me as well. "Reine, we'll need you to take a look at that after this."
"Understood." Reine nods. She was probably thinking of doing that anyway.
Shido's POV:
[Diva] silently nods, making me look at her with surprise. "Wow. Uh... nice to see you again, I guess?" I greet her awkwardly.
An equally awkward silence follows, which breaks when [Diva] speaks. "Why... did you help me yesterday?"
I blink at her question. "Why wouldn't I? You were being bullied by those girls."
"But... didn't you hear what... they called me?"
"Why should I care about that?" She's surprised by my response. "Those girls are the type of people that like to bully others to make themselves feel better. Besides, you don't look like a loose woman, and I don't believe for a second that you are one." I say with honest truth. My words have an effect on [Diva] as her eyes widen.
"Ooh, that one really made her happy!" Yoshinon reports.
"You're doing great, Shido. See if you can get her name now." Kotori tells me.
Before I could even do so, though, the walls shake and break apart, and we both look to see multiple people flying in.
"The AST is here!" Kotori warns me. "And they've got some help as well!"
"Those ten newcomers are DEM's Adeptus 3-12." Yoshino informs. "They're some of their best Wizards, but none of them are anywhere near as strong as Mana or Ellen, or even Project: Siren." Well, that's a relief to hear.
The Wizards all focus at [Diva], making her step back fearfully, but then they all snap their heads in my direction the second that red-haired woman at the front looks at me.
"Shido, their sights are on you!" Yoshino warns me, and no sooner does she warn me that all the Adeptus aim at me and open fire.
I quickly jump out of the way of their projectiles and summon Soul Steel, blocking the projectiles with well-timed slashes. "Metatron!" I then call Origami's Angel, summoning six cannons and firing them at the Wizards. They block with their Territories, but I wasn't done as I sheathe my blade and take a stance. "Dual Soul Surge: Zadkiel + Raphael!" I infuse my blade with the power of two Angels instead of one - a new trick I learned while training to use Raphael for flight, the orb glowing a mixture of blue and orange lights. "Howling Blizzard!" I draw my blade and slash forward, sending a raging blizzard at the Wizards. I added a bit of Pure Reiryoku into the attack to increase its power, resulting in some of it piercing through and knocking them away.
I quickly remember that [Diva] is still here and turn to her, seeing her look at me with wide eyes. However, I also see a Wizard aiming her rifle at her. "Look out!" I shout at the Spirit, quickly using Metatron to teleport in front of her and create a barrier to block the shots. "Are you okay?!" I ask, turning my head to look at [Diva]. She looks shaken, but she nods her head, telling me she's fine.
"All of you, stand down! [Samurai] is mine!" The red-haired woman orders. [Samurai]? Is she talking about me?
I don't get much time to think about it as she dashes at me, forcing me to raise my blade to defend myself and [Diva]. I grunt as I feel the weight of her slash. She's attacking from above, giving her the advantage of gravity, plus she has her Territory supporting her.
"Give up, kid! This promotion is mine!" She smiles sadistically, putting in even more power, but her expression quickly turns into one of shock.
Thanks to her close range, my Pure Reiryoku was directly interfering with her Territory, enough for it to dissipate and mess with her attack. "Soul Surge: Sandalphon!" I quickly capitalize on the opportunity by changing my blade's enhancement to Sandalphon, increasing my overall power and pushing her back. "Power Slash!" With a shout, I slash at the red-haired woman while she was still defenseless, sending her flying into the wall.
The rest of the Wizards move to check on her, and I use this chance to quickly grab Miku and teleport us both out of here.
The two of us make it out the entrance of the building, hiding in an alleyway. "Phew, that was close." I breath a sigh of relief. I look over to [Diva], who is visibly shaking, and quickly let go of her hand. "Sorry about suddenly grabbing you. Are you alright?"
She takes a moment to calm down before answering. "I'm... okay." She says. "Thank you for... saving me."
I smile. "Of course. I wasn't gonna let them hurt you." I say as I sheathe my blade.
She looks down at Soul Steel. "Are you... a Spirit as well?"
"Well, not really. Let's just say I'm a very special human that can use spirit powers." She seems to accept that. "Speaking of, I know some Spirits who also go to our school. If it's alright with you, I can introduce you to them tomorrow."
[Diva] looks surprised to hear that I'm friends with other Spirits. She looks down in contemplation, before looking at me with a nod. "I guess... that's okay."
"Great!" I reply with a smile, before remembering that we've yet to introduce each other. "Oh, before I forget, my name's Shido Itsuka."
"...Miku Izayoi." She timidly introduces herself.
"That's a lovely name." I compliment her, making her blush a little and look away from me. "Well then, I'll see you a school tomorrow, Miku." She nods and disappears from my view.
"There she goes." Kotori says. "Great work out there, Shido. You've made excellent progress with Miku, and you handled yourself quite well against DEM's Adeptus." I chuckle and scratch the back of my head, feeling embarrassed by the genuine compliment from my little sister.
"Let's get you back up here, then we can plan our next move." Yoshino says, and then I feel myself beamed up to Fraxinus.
Be honest with me. How many of you thought that I killed off Miku?
Don't worry. She's still alive, but her earlier encounter with DEM has drastically changed her, leaving her quite the scaredy cat. Thankfully, Shido's earlier encounter with her allowed him to build up trust with her.
Next chapter, we learn just how badly DEM stealing some of Miku's power affected her.