Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Date a Live.

Shido's POV:

"Shido, are you alright?" Tohka asks me as we walk away from Yoshino killing Minerva.

I stop walking, believing I've moved far enough away. "Tohka, back when we first met, I said that I would never kill anyone." I tell Tohka without looking. "And yet, just now, I actively contributed to another person's death, and she's a Spirit on top of that." I clench my fist. "I can't help but feel like...I just went back on my own word."

I saw Minerva's beaten form. I saw the X-shaped wound on her chest. I helped make that with Tohka. Some of her blood is on my hands, and that thought is...unsettling.

"Shido..." Tohka calls my name, and I look at her. "When you fought Minerva, what drove you to fight?"

What drove me to fight...

"Minerva... She wanted to kill Kotori." I respond. "Not just her, but also you, Yoshino, Origami, Miyoi... She was threatening to kill the people who were precious to me." I grit my teeth in anger. "And even then, she didn't plan on stopping from the sound of it. She was gonna keep causing destruction, kill more innocent lives, if we didn't put her down. I didn't want her to kill innocent people, and more importantly, I didn't want her to kill any of you."

Tohka blushes after I finish. "You joined the fight because you wanted to protect the people precious to you." She says after a moment of silence. "Well, you were right about Minerva, that she was too dangerous to let live. Yoshino even told me that she stole her powers from the Spirit of Origin." So, Minerva stole Metatron, huh? I didn't have much time to think about it as Tohka walks up to me with a kind smile. "Shido, until now, you've never fought before, but you did so for the sake of those precious to you. That's perfectly fine. In fact, that's just like you."

"Tohka..." I say Tohka's name softly, and then the next moment, she kisses me on the lips with closed eyes. I was surprised that Tohka would suddenly kiss me like that, but I feel myself relax into the kiss and return it. After a moment, the two of us part, and we're both clearly blushing.

"Don't lose your reason to fight, Shido." Tohka tells me. "Let it help you grow stronger."

Tohka's words helped drive away my uneasiness. "Yeah. Thanks, Tohka." I thank her with a smile.

We then hear footsteps as Yoshino, Origami and Miyoi walk up to us. "Hope we aren't interrupting a touching moment." Miyoi says with a teasing grin.

"From the looks of it, they just finished." Yoshinon says, also teasingly, making me and Tohka blush.

"Are you feeling better, Itsuka-kun?" Origami asks, worried about me.

"Yeah, I'm fine now." I assure her, before looking at Yoshino. "I guess we're done here."

"Yes." Yoshino says, showing me a white crystal. "Minerva is dead, and Metatron's been retrieved. But, more importantly, Kotori has been re-sealed." She gives a proud smile. "Overall, the operation is an astounding success!"

That's right. I saved my sister. I protected the people precious to me. That's what matters most.

Yoshino's POV:

"Now, there are three points that need to be addressed." Reine begins the conversation once we're back on Fraxinus. "First is about the date itself. While it was success, there were a few problems. The first problem was that we blew it out of proportion instead of letting it be. We should've trusted your intuition as her older brother."

"It's fine. She's also your Commander. You just wanted to make sure the date worked out." Shido, being the understanding person that he is, brushes it off.

"The second problem was the sudden appearance of Minerva Riddell, but she's been taken care of." Reine continues. "But the third and most important problem...was that the date was wholly unnecessary."

"Huh?" Shido blinks with confusion. "What do you mean 'unnecessary'? Don't I need to date Spirits in order to seal them?"

"Normally, yes." I reply and then motion for Reine to bring up Kotori's affection status.

"What is this?"

"It's a summary of Kotori's affection gauges since two days ago." I answer. "As you can see, her affection for you is already maxed out. That's why Reine said there was no change."

"Kotori said it herself, didn't she? She loves her Onii-chan~" Yoshinon chimes in.

"That's right. The best course of action would've been for you to seal Kotori's powers after Yoshino calmed her down, but Kotori was looking forward to the date so much."

"What?" Shido is surprised by this.

...and then Kotori comes and kicks him to the ground from behind.

"That's either an error or some bug in the system!" Kotori denies.

"That's not the case." Reine insists. "The numbers are correct."

Kotori points at Reine. "Ten Rapsel Limited Milk Cream Puffs!"

"...Sorry, Shin. It must be a calculation error." Wow, Reine. Just, wow.

Kotori looks at me, and I give her a deadpan stare. "Don't think you can bribe me as easily as Reine." The Flame Spirit grumbles in response.

"I mean, would it really have mattered?" Yoshinon asks. "Whether Kotori was sealed after the fight or not, Origami was planning to invite all of us to Ocean Park either way. Sure, it feels like we took a couple extra steps, but for Kotori's sake, maybe it was best that she was sealed later rather than sooner."

"...I guess you're right about that." I reluctantly agree with Yoshinon. "Regardless of the circumstances, the events would've remained mostly unchanged." I turn to Shido as he got up. "Which leads to our second point, Shido. You have now realized that not only do you have the power to seal Spirits, but you can also use the powers of the Spirits you seal."

"I happened to see everything." Kotori speaks up. "Not bad for your first time fighting. I was particularly impressed by how you used Camael for an improvised flight trick, but you were fighting solely on instinct."

"Yeah." Shido nods. "I'll admit I was never much of a fighter. I thought that fighting meant having to kill. But, thanks to my talk with Tohka, I realized that that doesn't have to be the case. That it's alright as long as I'm fighting to protect the people precious to me." He shows a look of determination. "That's why... I want to train to be a better fighter! I want to get stronger, so that I can protect all of you, the people who are precious to me!"

I am surprised by the determination in Shido's voice, and at the same time, I blush at Shido calling me one of his "precious people". I look at Kotori and see that she's also blushing.

Reine, meanwhile, has a small smile on her face. "Well, it seems we have our work cut out for us."

"Yeah." I agree with a smile. "Alright, Shido. If that's what you want, I'll train you to use to use my powers."

"Me too!" Tohka chimes in as she enters the room. "We'll get stronger together, Shido!"

"Don't forget me." Kotori smirks. "He has my powers too. He needs to learn to not rely on Camael's regeneration as a crutch."

Shido smiles "Thank you. I promise I'll do my best!"

I nod. "But before that, there's one last point to mention." I take out Metatron's crystal.

Kotori looks at the crystal. "That's the Sephira Crystal you got from Minerva, right? What do you plan to do with it?" She asks.

"Well, I can't exactly keep it. Either the Spirit of Origin will come take it back and give it to another host, or Westcott will have DEM attack us so he can take it for himself."

"That's right. Westcott wants the Spirits' powers." Shido says, remembering Westcott's insane goals. "So, do we lock it somewhere safe?" That won't work either, because Reine will easily break whatever safe we keep it in and give it back to Mio, who'll find a way to give it to Origami.

"Um..." Origami speaks up, getting everyone's attention. "If it's alright with everyone... I actually want to be Metatron's host!"

We all look at her with surprise, not expecting her to volunteer to be the new Spirit of Kether. "Really!?" Shido voices our surprise.

"Origami, I hope you know what you're doing." Kotori says seriously. "By choosing to become a Spirit, you're throwing away your humanity."

"Not only that, but you were nearly killed by Metatron's power." Tohka points out.

Origami closes her eyes. "Yes, that is true. However, that is not something that I blame Metatron for." She responds. "The Angels are weapons, only answering to the will of their Master. Metatron didn't choose to cause destruction. It didn't choose to attempt to kill me, Shido and Kotori. That was all because of Minerva." She opens her eyes and looks at Metatron's crystal. "Her bloodlust used its power to destroy, but I believe that it can also be used to protect."

"That is true." I agree, looking at Metatron's Sephira Crystal. It was planned that Origami is to become the true [Angel], so I suppose this works out. "However, are you really sure you want to become a Spirit? It means you could be hunted like the rest of us."

"I know the risks, and I'll gladly accept them if it means being able to fight alongside you all." Origami answers firmly. "Besides, I feel like there is more to my Realizer's potential. It's as if it was built with both Reiryoku and Maryoku in mind." So, she's aware that she can do more with Brunhild.

Seeing her resolve, I hand her the Sephira Crystal. "Just a warning. It's gonna hurt the first couple seconds."

"I can vouch to that." Kotori groans. "I remember it hurting a lot when I bonded with my crystal. That might be part of why I started that fire."

Origami nods, grabbing the Sephira Crystal and holding it to her chest. She screams in pain as the conversion begins, and she becomes enveloped in a bright light.

"Origami!" Shido shouts with great worry, but Tohka places a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Shido. She'll be fine." The Energy Spirit assures him.

After thirty seconds, the light dies down, and Origami is revealed wearing Ehyeh. She opens her eyes, which are now a brighter blue and have the pupils of a Spirit.

"How do you feel, Origami?" I ask.

"It feels like I've been given a second heart, honestly." Origami answers, holding a hand to her chest.

"You don't feel power hungry?" Yoshinon asks.

"O-Of course not!" Origami immediately replies, shaking her head in denial.

Yoshinon chuckles. "Just making sure. Welcome to the Spirit Club, Origami!"

"You look pretty good in your Astral Dress, Origami." Tohka compliments Origami's new appearence.

"O-Oh, thank you, Tohka-san." Origami says with a shy blush, before looking at Shido. "Wh-What do you think, Itsuka-kun?"

"Like a beautiful bride-to-be." He answers mindlessly.

That really made Origami blush as red as a tomato. "I-Itsuka-kun..."

"Ooh, you sly dog~" Yoshinon teases. "Already making moves on the new Spirit?" Shido soon realizes what he said and starts blushing.

"How was that?" Kotori asks Reine, already asking about Origami's affection status.

"Origami's happiness skyrocketed from the compliment." Reine reports, looking at Origami's affection chart. "It might be possible to seal her now."

Origami blushes again. "Oh, right. I'm a Spirit now." She says softly at the reminder. "Um, I'm okay with that, but..."

She's struggling to get the words out, but Shido smiles, as if understanding what she wants. "I understand, Origami." He says, holding out his hand. "Let's go on a date. For real, this time."

"...Y-Yes." Origami answers after a moment, taking Shido's hand with a smile. "I'd love to go on a date with you, Itsuka-kun."

"Why don't you all rest up for tomorrow?" Kotori suggests. "Let your Commanders handle everything."

Wait, what?

"Commanders?" I repeat with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know you were meant to be a substitute until I was re-sealed." Kotori grins. "But your guidance was pretty key to the operation, and we'd appreciate having you around for future operations." Kotori hands me one of her chupa chups. "What do you say?"

I look at the lollipop with surprise. I thought it was only a temporary thing, but Reine is actually giving me a position where could help out more.

Smiling, I accept the lollipop. "Looks like I'm in it for the long haul." I say as I unwrap the lollipop and eat it.

Kotori smiles back. "Glad to have you aboard."

Shido's POV:

After the chaos of yesterday, it was nice to have a date with less stakes on the line. I head to the agreed-upon meeting spot for the date, and soon as I arrive, the girl I'm dating arrives as well.

Origami Tobiichi, a girl who I had originally asked out only because I had to for my training, now a good friend and, as of yesterday, the new Spirit of Kether.

"Ah, sorry if I made you wait." She apologizes.

"Oh, don't worry. I just got here as well." I assure her with a smile. "So, you ready to get going?"

Origami blushes. "Y-Yeah. Let's go."

The usual multiple choice options come up, and the date begins.

Thankfully, the date this time around was more sensible, probably thanks to Yoshino also being Commander. It was more of a casual date, with the whole dinner and a movie. Nothing too fancy. By the end of the date, we were at the park, overlooking the city as the sun goes down.

"Itsuka-kun." Origami calls to me, and I look at her. "Sometimes, I wonder what would've happened... if things were different that day."

"You mean during the Tengu Fire?" I ask, knowing what day she was talking about.

Origami nods. "Yeah. I can't help but wonder what could've happened, and what different path I would've taken. Like, what if my parents actually died that day, and I end up becoming a renegade seeking blind vengeance, only to realize I was the cause?"

"That really does sound terrible." I admit. "Thankfully, that isn't what ended up happening."

Origami smiles. "Yeah. It's all thanks to Yoshino. She saved my life, and not just me, but also you, Kotori, and even Tohka."

I smile back. "We were all saved by Yoshino in one way or another. We wouldn't be together like this if it wasn't for her."

Origami hums in agreement, and then she steps back from the railing and takes a breath to calm her nerves before looking at me.

Nodding in understanding, I step forward and kiss her on the lips. Being more aware of my powers, I could now feel Metatron's power entering me. Parting from the kiss, I look at Origami, who blushing from the kiss, though I'm surprised to see she's still fully clothed.

"These aren't actually clothes made by Reiryoku. "I picked them out from my closet." She explains. "But I felt the seal happen, so I can confirm that it worked."

"She's right, Onii-chan. You did actually seal her." Kotori also confirms.

With a nod, I smile at Origami. "Well, how about we head home, then?"

Origami smiles back. "Yeah."

With our date having reached its end, the two of us head home.

Yoshino's POV:

"You know, they do have a point." Kotori says to me with a grin. "You've made quite the impact on our lives, Yoshino. We wouldn't be here if not for you."

"I agree completely!" Kannazuki speaks happily. "I would've never had the joy of meeting Commander Itsuka if not your heroism, Commander Yoshino~"

"Nobody asked you!" Kotori punches Kannazuki hard in the stomach, much to his masochistic pleasure.

Yoshinon laughs at the scene, while I look on with a smile. Even though I've mostly been alone since reincarnating save for Yoshinon, I now have Shido, Tohka, Origami, Kotori, Miyoi, the Fraxinus crew, and even Reine, despite her manipulations, and, to an extent, Kurumi. I have friends that I know I can rely on.

I love my new life. And I'll do anything to protect it and our happiness.

And with this, that's officially the end of Season 1!

Origami has become a Spirit MUCH earlier than in canon, which means Shido already has access to Metatron.

Also, Shido and Tohka have their kiss scene uninterrupted this time. Good for them.

Now, next WOULD be the Yamai arc to start Season 2, but, there's a certain [Ruler] that needs to be addressed.

With that said, see you guys in Rinne Utopia!