Strap on your headgear and connect! It's time for Arusu Install!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Date a Live.
Shido's POV:
I feel the morning rays hit me from the window of my room. Turning my body around, my right hand grabs something... soft?
Opening my eyes drowsily, I look to my right to see Natsumi and immediately take note of three things. She's in her adult form, she's only wearing underwear, and the soft thing I'm grabbing is her left breast.
"Morning, Shido-kun~" Natsumi says with a teasing smirk.
"Natsumi?!" Her unexpected presence startles me awake as I hastily remove my hand and sit up on my bed. "?What are you doing here?!"
"I wanted to look at my onee-chan's lover as he was sleeping." She replies teasingly. "So, did you enjoy the feel of my breasts?"
I look away with a blush. "... I can't deny that they felt nice." I answer honestly.
Natsumi gives a seductive giggles, and I look back to notice her crawling towards me. "You know... we could get to know each other a lot more~" Wait, already?! Weren't you just recently sealed?!
Before things could go any further, we hear the door open and Kotori walks in wearing her black ribbons. "Shido, we need you for-" She starts to speak, but trails off when she sees Natsumi and I in a suggestive position. "... Seriously? Isn't this a really big leap? It hasn't even been that long since you were sealed?" That's what I said!
"Why should that matter?" Natsumi asks. "He had sex with Miku immediately after sealing her."
"That's different!" I quickly reply. "Miku genuinely wanted to have sex with me!"
"And what makes you think my desire isn't genuine?"
"Well, your posture, for starters." I answer, getting a surprised look from her. "While your doing a good job looking seductive, you're giving off an air that says you don't want to fully commit. It's like your heart isn't ready to make that big leap." I explain, surprising her further. "With Miku, we had been through a lot even before she was sealed. From helping her come out of her shell during the Tengu Festival, to getting back her stolen power, then taking down the bastard producer that ruined her life before she became a Spirit. We've gone through so much that our relationship quickly blossomed into us being lovers. Natsumi, not only did we have a rocky start, but you've just started accepting your true self as cute. We're not at that stage that I feel it would be right for us to have sex, and I don't want you to force yourself into doing so either." I embrace Natsumi in a hug. "Let's take the time to develop our relationship first. When you truly feel that you are ready to take that big step, then I will accept your feelings."
Silence follows after I finish speaking, and then I feel Natsumi's form shift as she turns back into her real form, now wearing pajamas instead of that risky lingerie. "Sorry about that..." She apologizes meekly, hugging into my chest. "I guess I was trying to push things a little..."
"Don't sweat it." I smile it off and pat Natsumi on the head. "Like I said, I'm ready to take that step whenever you are." She blushes and looks away with a pout. "Also, you don't have to necessarily be in your adult form. You don't have to be curvy to be sexy." That last bit really makes her blush and let out an embarrassed sound.
"'You don't have to be curvy to be sexy', huh~?" I remember that Kotori is also in the room as turn my head to see her moving her body close to mine with a smirk. "I'll make sure to remember that, O-nii-chan~" Okay, I walked myself into that one.
Clearing my throat, I decide to ask Kotori why she's here. "Anyway, Kotori, is there something you need me for?"
She backs off and goes back into Commander Mode. "Yes. We need you to come to Fraxinus after school. There's something we need you to do. The others will be there as well." She leaves immediately after saying that. What's so important that it needs to be done on Fraxinus?
I stand on the main bridge with all the Spirits I've sealed thus far plus Reine and Nagisa. As Kotori asked, we came immediately after school ended today. The usual Fraxinus crew weren't onboard right now for whatever reason. "Sorry for calling you here, Shin." Reine apologizes to me.
"It's fine." I wave off her apology.
"The fact that you've called me here must mean you've prepared an offering." Kaguya says with an excited grin.
"Request: I'm hungry, so let's hurry up and get this over with." Yuzuru remarks.
I suddenly feel someone take my right arm and press it against their breasts and look to see it was Miku. "Darling, I found a really nice Japanese restaurant. Let's go eat there after this~" She says with a sweet voice.
I chuckle before looking back at Reine. "So, what do you need me for, and why are all the girls here as well?" I ask.
Yoshino is the first to respond. "Well, you remember 'training' program you went through when you were first initiated into Ratatoskr?" She asks.
"How could I forget?" I grumble as those memories were brought up. Having to juggle between school and playing that game named after me, having to choose between cringe-worthy lines that wouldn't normally work in real life... And what did that "training" amount to? Having my line handpicked to me by a group of people who all failed at love!
"Wait, isn't that that dating sim game named after Shido-kun?" Origami asks, being the only other person besides me, Kotori, Yoshino and Reine who knows about it. "I remember seeing a screen about a supposed sequel."
"That game was still in the works back then." Reine replies. "But after tireless work, we've finally finished it. We've called you all here because this is the launch party for Ratatoskr's new game, "My Little Shido 2"." Oh joy, they finished it...
... Hold on.
"If we're just going to play a game, why does it have to be on Fraxinus?" I question them, not seeing why a dating sim game needs to be played on Fraxinus' computer.
"Well, there's a reason for that." Kotori speaks up.
"And that is?" I press.
She smirks. "This game, "My Little Shido 2", is a super-simulated reality love game." She reveals.
"Super... simulated... what?" Her words only leave me very confused.
"Basically, it's VR." Yoshino thankfully clarifies.
"Oh. So, we're going that direction."
"Yep. We're not pulling any punches." Kotori smirks. "It's a virtual reality game, and it's why we need Fraxinus' super computer to run it.
"What's virtual reality?" Tohka asks.
"Virtual reality uses special technology to generate a fake world that you can interact with as if you were inside of it." Yoshino explains.
Reine takes over the explanation. "Except this game has completely recreated Tengu City to allow you to transfer your consciousness to another world. Think of it like what Rinne and Rio can do with Eden, except without Shin needing to die to restart the world." Good, I'd rather not go through that.
"And don't worry, it's not gonna turn into a death game where you have to clear 100 floors to log out and return to the real world." Yoshinon says jokingly, though it leaves most of us confused.
"Really?" Yoshino deadpans. "You referenced SAO?"
"The opportunity was there!"
"SAO?" Kotori repeats with a frown. "Is this another one of those words based off an anime?"
Yoshino sighs. "Yes. SAO, or Sword Art Online, is basically how Yoshinon described it: a virtual reality game that turns into a death game. You die in the game, you die in real life, and the only way to escape is for any player to beat all 100 floors." Yeesh, so people were stuck in there for however long it took for someone to beat all 100 floors? Kinda glad I'm a character in this world instead. "We're getting off topic, though."
Kotori nods. "Right. Now, things like these need to actually be played for us to gain a complete understanding." She explains. "That's why we've invited you to test it."
"So, I'm basically your guinea pig..." I mutter. Honestly, I should've expected as much.
"Oh, stop complaining. It's not like anything bad is gonna happen."
"You're sending Shido into a virtual reality world that hasn't even been tested yet." Natsumi points out. "That's just asking for something bad to happen." At least Natsumi agrees with me.
Kotori, Yoshino and Reine lead us to another room inside Fraxinus, one that had twelve chairs in a semi-circle with a laser light dome above them. We also see a monitor on the wall that's currently off, and finally, a console a few feet away with multiple screens and buttons.
I'm impressed by the high-level technology here. "Man, this is some equipment..."
"Yeah. This is a room designated for My Little Shido 2, and we've expanded the facility just for that." Reine tells me, watching with a small smile as Rio runs over to the far left chair and stares at it for a moment.
"It's like a futuristic sci-fi movie. You've really put a lot of effort into this, haven't you?" Honestly, I just wish she can put just as much effort into other things...
"Well, let's start and have you sit over there, Shido." Kotori tells me to sit in the middle left chair. "Reine will configure the settings, so just relax."
"What should we do?" Tohka asks excitedly. "I want to play with Shido!"
"Sorry, Tohka, but this game is for one person. I can't have individual devices run on their own." Reine shoots down Tohka's excitement, making her whine sadly.
"Hold on, if it's single player, then what's with all the extra chairs?" I question, knowing that something isn't right. "Why bring everyone else here if I'm the only one playing?"
"I wanted to show everyone how moed up you would get playing a gal game."
"You're doing this to make a spectacle out of me!" I accuse angrily.
"That's... not true."
"You paused for a second just now! And you're avoiding eye contact with me!" Seriously, am I just a means for entertainment?!
"Hm, I do want to see my darling become moe." Miku speaks up with a giggle. "I'm sure it'll be adorable~"
"Hm... Our Shido's embarrassment is something worth ingraining into the soul!"
"Agreed: Let's burn it into our memories."
"Shido-kun being moe. That sounds like it could be interesting."
"Rio wants to see Papa when he's "moe"! It sounds exciting!"
"I'm curiously to see Shido like that myself. I haven't seen him when he's moed yet, so it's something I'd like to see."
The girls' words make my face flush. "Well, looks like the majority has spoken." Natsumi shrugs with a smirk. "Sorry, Shido, but you're gonna get clowned on for a while."
I couldn't even say anything to change their minds as Kotori speaks up. "Alright, stop flirting with our shared boyfriend and let's get started."
"Okay..." I let out a deep sigh of resignation and sit down in the middle left chair and move the VR headset to my eyes. Honestly, I still don't get what's going on, but I guess they just want me to play the game.
Well, I'll just pretend the others aren't watching me. It's not like the original "My Little Shido" wasn't ridiculous enough.
"Just stay put, I'll connect you shortly." Reine tells me.
"Shido, be careful in the game." Rinne warns me with concern. "There's no telling what could happen, even if everything seems peaceful."
I give a reassuring grin. "Don't worry. I've learnt to know when things aren't really peaceful when it seems like it."
"Have fun in there, Papa!" Rio calls out cheerfully.
"Oh, I will! You be a good girl while I'm away."
I face foward, lean back and relax. Reine mentioned earlier that my consciousness would be transferred. I wonder what that's like. I honestly can't even picture it.
Just as I finish thinking that, I feel my consciousness fly elsewhere.
Yoshino's POV:
As Shido's consciousness is transferred inside the game, and Reine is typing away at the console with a few of the screens on now, I notice one single screen flickering suddenly before going back to normal. "Hm...? What the...?" Reine says with a confused frown, also noticing it. However, in reality, we both know what that was.
"What's up, Reine?" Kotori asks.
"... Nothing." Reine says. "Right, let's begin." She presses the button to transfer Shido into the game, and the main screen lights up.
Arusu Install has begun.
And so we begin Arusu Install! The second of Date a Live's video game arcs, or in this case, the third, since Rio has already been covered.
This is just the prologue, though. We'll get into the meat of the arc next chapter, which is when Shido first meets Maria.
Now, I'm sure you've noticed the extra seats. Well, originally there were only enough seats for Shido and all the Spirits up to that point plus Origami. But this time, we have Rinne, Rio and Natsumi joining the fray, which means three extra chairs.
And yes, I could not resist the Sword Art Online references. Given the setting of Arusu Install, it kinda fits.