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

Shido's POV:

So, I have to go on a date with Rinne, huh? I'm not sure if I'm up for it.

Yoshino said that she might be the key to us getting back to reality, and she's much better at sensing Reiryoku than the rest of us. Maybe she sensed something about Rinne that the rest of us didn't?

"Shido, is something wrong?" A voice asks from behind me.

I yelp and turn to see that it was the girl in question. "R-Rinne!? Sorry, I didn't expect to see you."

She smiles. "Aw, and here I thought you were planning to ask me out."

Even though I could tell she was joking, I look at her with surprise. "H-How did you know I wanted to take you on a date?"

Her eyes widen and she starts to blush. "Huh? I-I just said that for the heck of it. You really wanna ask me out?"

"Uh..." I didn't know what to say since I didn't expect this situation.

Rinne giggles lightheartedly. "You're really proactive, aren't you? But seriously, do you really wanna go out with someone like me?"

"O-Of course!" I quickly reply. "You're the one I want to go out with, Rinne!"

Rinne blushes again, but a bit more this time. "Y-You really...?"

"Positive." Honestly, Yoshino's whole plan was for me to date her, and I don't wanna mess this up.

"Um..." Rinne smiles, looking nervous. "Instead of someone like me, it'd be better to invite someone else..." I blink in confusion. Why is she trying to brush it off on someone else. "Oh, look! Tohka-chan!"

She suddenly calls Tohka, making the purple-haired Spirit look over to us. "Hm? What's the matter?" She asks.

"Shido wants to go on a date with you." Huh!? Why's Rinne saying that!?

"Oh! Really, Shido?" Tohka asks excitedly.

"Er, w-well you see..." I don't want to upset Tohka, but I have to date Rinne.

Tohka notices my refusal to answer and looks saddened. "Shido, do you not want to date me? Are you...still upset about what happened at lunch?"

"No, not at all. It's fine." I quickly assure her.

"Sorry, Shido." Tohka still apologizes. "I was so worried. I stayed so long in the infirmary that they threw me out. I'm glad you're alright."

I'm at a loss at what to do. If I turn Tohka down here, it'll definitely worsen her mood.

I sigh. "Alright, Tohka. Let's go on a date." Sorry, Yoshino. I'll have to put the plan on hold.

Tohka smiles cheerily. "Alright! Lets go now! All three of us!"

Both Rinne and I look at her with surprise. "Huh?" I say.

"All three of us?" Rinne repeats.

"Yeah! Aren't you coming, Rinne?" Tohka asks.

"Huh?! No, I..."

"Let's go already!" Tohka doesn't let Rinne finish and grabs her arm.

"Ah! T-Tohka-chan!?" Rinne yelps as the Spirit of Malkuth drags her out of the classroom.

I follow behind them with a smile. Looks like the plan's a go after all.

"Hm... Do you want to see a movie, Rinne?" Tohka asks as we stood in the movie theatre.

"Um... I thought it was implied a date involved a movie..." Rinne replies with a nervous smile. "W-Was I wrong?"

"No, you're right." I confirm. "When it comes to dates, going to a movie is pretty standard."

"I-I see. That sounds good to me then." She looks through the movies on display. "Oh, look!"

Tohka and I look at the movie she's pointing at. "Hm, a 3D blockbuster... Oh, that one's a romance movie, huh?" I ask.

"Tohka-chan, I think this looks like something you'd like." Rinne tells Tohka.

"I feel like she'd either one." I comment.

Tohka, however, looks disinterested. "Hrm. I don't really want to see this one."

Rinne and I were both surprised by her rejection. "What? Why not?" I ask out of curiously. I really thought she'd want to watch this.

"I've seen this movie before."

Her reply also surprised me. "What!? Y-You went to see it alone?"

Tohka looks at me. "What do you mean, Shido? We watched it together."

"Huh?" Now I'm confused.

"R-Really?! You could have told me that..." Rinne is also surprised.

I don't remember watching this movie with Tohka. Although, for some reason, it feels like we did... "When was that again?" I ask.

Tohka did not look happy by my question. "Shido, have you forgotten the day you spent with me?" She asks, sounding upset.

"S-Sorry." I quickly apologize.

"Try to remember. It was..." She trails off as she tries to remember the date. "Um...when was it exactly?"

"Are you okay, Tohka?" I ask out of concern.

Tohka pouts. "Y-You and I have definitely seen it, Shido!" She adamantly declares.

I sweatdropped. "R-Right..." Why do I feel like we really did see it?

A ringing in my ear breaks me from my thoughts. "Oh, it's Kotori. Excuse me, I'm gonna take this really quick." I excuse myself.

Tohka nods. "Alright. Hurry back, okay?"

"We'll be waiting." Rinne says.

"Right. Just a minute." I move away from them and answer the call. "Hello, Kotori?"

"As usual, you sound like something losing carbonation." She rudely greets me.

"What's with the attitude?!" I snap at the rude comment. "I know you didn't call me just to tell me that, so... what's up?"

"Do I seriously need to spell it out for you? How's the date going? Did you get any takers?"

I groan. "Well, yeah, but..."

"But you're having some trouble again?" Kotori asks like it was obvious. "How is it that you get in trouble so often?"

"T-That's none of your business! Besides, it's not like I wanna to get in these situations!"

"Whatever. So what kind of trouble is it today?"

Ugh... This is hard to talk about because here I am asking Rinne out when she's not even a Spirit... "So, I'm taking Tohka on a date, but... well... Rinne is with us too-"

"What do you mean you brought Rinne with you?!" I flinch as my little sister's angry yell interrupts me. "I swear if you-"

"Now hold on, Kotori." Yoshino suddenly chimes in. "Take a look at Tohka's mental readings."

"...Huh? You're right. She's not showing any signs of jealousy."

"Well, yeah. She's the one who suggested the three of us go together." I tell her.

"Oh." Kotori says, sounding calm now. "Well, if this is Tohka's idea, then it should be fine. Continue."

"Actually, that's where the problem comes in. Rinne suggested a movie, but Tohka's not interested, and I don't want to make her upset."

"In that case, why not go to the pool?" Yoshinon suggests, joining the conversation. "Take the chance for some eye candy, why don't ya?"

"H-Huh?!" I stutter, blushing at Yoshinon's comment.

"Yoshinon's comment aside, I do believe the pool would be best." Yoshino says in agreement.

"Yeah. Movies are fine, but going to the pool is a total summer date." Kotori says, also in agreement.

Well, since they're unanimous about it... "Alright, I'll take them to the pool."

"You'll probably need to go swimsuit shopping, though." Yoshino suggests. "Tohka already has a swimsuit in her room, but the Spirit Mansion is under renovations, and I'm not sure about Rinne."

"Now that you mention it, I don't recall Rinne-nee-chan ever coming to the pool with us..." Kotori comments.

"Got it. Swimsuit shopping first, then go to the pool."

"One last thing, Shido: watch yourself, okay?" Kotori tells me. "You're already in an unstable situation, and you don't want to say or do anything reckless."

"Right. Undertsood."

"Go get 'em, tiger!" Yoshinon cheers me on before the three sign off.

I let out a breathe of relief. Now I'm actually glad Tohka is here. I wouldn't have been able to come up with a good excuse if I was dating Rinne alone...

I quickly head back to the two as Tohka pouts at me. "You took forever, Shido."

"Sorry. That lasted longer than I thought." I apologize. "Anyways, how about we go to the pool instead?"

"Oh! The pool is fun!" Tohka excitedly agrees.

I nod. "I think so, too. What about you, Rinne?"

She gives a nervous smile. "Um... I don't have a swimsuit, so..." Looks like Yoshino was right.

"We can go to the department store in front of the train station. I'm sure they have a sale going on right now."

"But I already have a swimsuit." Tohka says, looking confused. "It's the one you picked out for me, remember?"

"Yeah, but the Spirit Mansion is currently under renovations."

"Renovations?"

"Basically, it's in the middle of repairs, so we won't be able to get to your room until it's done." I explain to Tohka.

"Oh, right!" Tohka says, getting the idea.

"Alright. Let's go then."

Yoshino's POV:

Looks like Shido's on the path to the Rinne Route. Good. As long as he doesn't screw up, we should be able to get out of Eden.

Currently, Shido, Tohka, Kotori, Origami and I are off to the shrine to make our offerings to the Tengu Cow. Just like last time, Shido heard this story from Tonomachi, which is obviously complete bogus, but we're still going just to humor him.

Rinne arrived a few seconds later, so now we're just waiting for Tonomachi himself.

"Onii-chan, I want to go home..." Kotori whimpers. She's wearing her white ribbons, so she's in her 'little sister' personality. "This place is giving me the creeps."

"What? Are you already scared?" Shido asks, looking ready to tease Kotori.

"I am not!" Kotori answers defiantly, trying to toughen up.

"You know, I still remember back when we were kids, you'd start crying whenever we told scary stories. You couldn't even use the bathroom by yourself." Wow. That was kinda much.

Kotori looks like she's ready to burst into tears. "I'm not a child anymore!" Kotori sniffs.

The look on Shido's face shows that he realizes that he crossed the line. "Shido, that's enough." I sternly tell him, making him flinch.

"Yeah, dude. You're sounding to sound like a complete asshole." Yoshinon follows up.

"S-Sorry! Don't cry Kotori! We'll head home as soon as we give our offerings. Let's just sit tight and wait for Tonomachi." Shido holds his hands, trying to apologize to Kotori.

"Shido, stop bullying Kotori-chan." Rinne comes to Kotori's defense.

"But, I... I didn't mean to." He begins to stutter.

Rinne gives Kotori a bright smile. "Hold on, Kotori-chan. I'm with you, okay?"

Rinne's smile gives Kotori a confidence boost. "I-I'll try!"

We still wait for Tonomachi to arrive. In the meantime, we all show what we brought as offerings.

I decide to go with Yoshino's idea and made a cow hand puppet. I didn't expect to be so good at making hand puppets, but I guess that's a given when you're Yoshino Himekawa.

The others gifts are also like I remember from the game. Tohka brought a kebab sandwich, Origami brought white flowers, Rinne brought a baby-sized watermelon, Shido brought a shortcake, and Kotori brought a limited edition lollipop.

Exactly thirty minutes pass since we arrived, and still no Hiroto Tonomachi in sight.

"Shido, where is Tonomachi?" Tohka asks.

"That's what I'm wondering!" Yoshinon says. "It's been half an hour and he STILL hasn't shown his face!"

"I don't know. I called him, but he hasn't picked up." Shido replies, looking at his phone with a frown.

"That's odd, since he was the one who insisted on this." Rinne frowns.

"D-Do you think it's the curse of the Tengu Cow?" Origami asks, starting to get fearful. "C-Could he have gotten taken by a phantom?"

Everyone except me felt a chill run down their spine. "D-Don't suddenly say things like that, Origami!" Shido shouts.

"Yeah! Who's to say he didn't just get lost?!" Yoshinon asks.

"B-But Tonomachi-san was the one who invited us, and now he's gone!" The Light Spirit reasons. "H-He must've been here earlier and got spirited away!"

Kotori starts whimpering in fear, which catches Shido's attention. "K-Kotori? I-If you want, we can go back home?" He suggests.

"N-No! I-I'm not scared!" Kotori shouts defiantly, despite her voice sounding shaky.

"Girl, you're body is trembling, and you look like you're about to cry." Yoshinon points out.

"Th-That's because I'm excited!"

Shido sighs. "How about this? I'll take a look around for Tonomachi. If he doesn't show up, we'll just drop off our offerings and go home."

"I agree with Shido." I nod in agreement. "We can't wait for Tonomachi forever."

"Alright, I'm off. You girls wait here." Shido walks off into the fog.

Shido's POV:

"HEY! TONOMACHI! WHERE ARE YOU!?" I shout at the top of my lungs. "IF YOU'RE HERE, SAY SOMETHING!"

I don't get any response at all. Seriously, where could he be?

Could Origami have been right that he was spirited away? No, that can't be. Besides, he made up the whole Tengu Cow thing...

I can believe stuff like Spirits, but ghosts? No way those are-

*rustle*

*rustle*

I flinch at the sound of rustling grass and quickly turn to where I heard it come from. "W-Who there!?" I call out, getting a little nervous.

"Shido!" I hear a girl's voice call out to me, and it was one I'm starting to get familiar with. It's Rinne!

"Rinne? Why did you follow me?" I ask as she comes into view.

"Yep, it's me. I went to look for you, but it looks like I ended up walking into a weird place." She giggles sheepishly.

I let out a sigh of relief as my heart calms down. "I see... That was bad for my heart..."

Yoshino's POV:

Perfect. Rinne was the one who went looking for Shido. With this, we're one step closer to returning to reality.

"I hope Itsuka-kun and Rinne-chan are okay." Origami says, worried about the two.

"They'll be fine." Yoshinon assures with confidence. "Look! There they are right now!" Sure enough, Shido and Rinne return from their search.

"There you guys are!" Kotori says with concern. "We were waiting for you! What's the point of a search party if they also get lost?!"

"Sorry about that."

"We're sorry, Kotoi-chan." The duo both apologize.

"From the looks of it, you two had no luck finding Tonomachi?" I ask.

"Yeah." Shido sighs. "Where the heck is he?"

*growl*

I hear a growl noise out of nowhere. Yoshinon's ears twitch, meaning she heard it as well. "Huh? Did anyone hear that?" She asks.

"Hear what?" Tohka asks.

I open my mouth to reply...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

...only to be interrupted by the sound of someone (Tonomachi) screaming for their life.

"What the heck!?" Shido shouted in surprise.

"That sounded like Tonomachi-san!" Origami gasps.

Sure enough, we look in the direction of the scream and see Tonomachi running for his life.

"Tonomachi, you're late! Where the hell were you?!" Shido asks furiously. Considering the fact that we waited for a whole hour and a half for Tonomachi to show up, it was right for Shido to be pissed.

"IT'S HEERREEE!" Tonomachi shrieks as he runs past us.

"What's going on?" Shido asks.

Tonomachi runs back to Shido. "It's here! It's here!" He keeps repeating.

"WHAT?! WHAT'S HERE?!" Yoshinon cuts off Shido by getting in Tonomachi's face, pulling up my arm to do so.

"I don't know, but I saw something!"

"Oh, come on. You're just trying to scare us." Shido deadpans. "We all know there's no such thing as the Tengu Cow."

"Wh-What are you talking about, Itsuka!? This is bad juju!" Tonomachi shouts, very terrified.

"What are you talking about?" Shido asks for clarification.

"I'm heading home! This has become a dangerous situation, not just for me, but you guys, too! I'm out! Screw this!" Tonomachi gives none and runs off.

I already knew the reason he ran off, but everyone else feels a chill runs down their spine. Especially Kotori, who is whimpering and sniffing, almost bursting into tears.

"Kotori, are you okay?" Shido asks, like a worried older brother.

"I-Is something there?" Origami asks fearfully.

"No way. Tonomachi could've just been acting." Shido brushes it off.

"But didn't Yoshino and Yoshinon hear something earlier?" Tohka asks, looking over to us. "Was that what you heard?"

"Nope, Tonomachi's scream was not the sound we heard." Yoshinon denies.

*Growl*

"But THAT was!" Yoshinon quickly confirms as we hear the growl again. This time, though, it was loud enough that everyone heard it.

"Onii-chan!" Kotori cries fearfully.

"I-Is it the Tengu Cow?!" Origami asks, now scared. Her question made Kotori cry in fear.

"No way! That was nothing, right Rinne?" Shido double checks with his childhood friend.

"Huh? Uh...yeah! I think?" Rinne responds with a nervous sweat. "Why don't we all just go home? After all, it's a school night!"

"Yeah, I guess. But we still need to head to the shrine and drop off our offerings."

*Growl*

The growl was heard once more, and it sounded really close. If I remember correctly...

...

Yep, I knew it.

"What?"

"Eek!" Shido and Origami shriek in surprise as the crocodile comes out.

"Oh! Is that the Tengu Cow? So intimidating!" Tohka exclaims. Of course, this is her first time seeing a crocodile, so I don't blame her.

"No. That's just a crocodile." I say plainly.

"Eh? That's all it was? What a letdown." Yoshinon whines in disappointment.

"Ah! Kotori-chan!" Rinne cries out with worry as Kotori faints and falls on her.

Then, all of a sudden, the only sound we could hear is the night crickets. The crocodile completely vanished, leaving the others surprised.

"The Tengu Cow..." Tohka says.

"...is gone." Origami finishes.

"What? How could that crocodile just disappear?" Shido asks, confused by the crocodile's disappearance.

I then sense a familiar energy in the area. It's Kurumi, who is no doubt doing her own investigation on Eden. Deciding to meet up with her, I head over to the wetland parts. "Yoshino, where are you going?" Shido calls out to me.

"I just want to check something out." I tell him. "I'll come back when I'm done." With that said, I walk over where I sense Kurumi's Reiryoku, seeing her standing next to the lake.

"Ara ara~ I figured you would notice me, Yoshino." Kurumi greets me.

"Kurumi." I nod my head to return to greeting. "I take it you're also investigating Eden."

"Indeed. I already have a good grasp on the current situation, thanks to you. However, I'm deciding not to act just yet." She smirks at me. "After all, I'm sure you're planning something."

"That's right!" Yoshinon answers for me. "Partner's brainstorming for a way to save Rinne! We'll make it so she won't disappear this time!"

"Saving [Ruler]... That's a pretty high bar. I'm intrigued to see how you'll manage to pull that off."

"I'll figure something out." I say with confidence. "Mio's powers allow me to do quite a lot. I should be able to find a way for Rinne to stick around."

"I'll leave you to it, then. Now, I suppose you should head back to the others."

"She's right, partner. Let's not make Shido worry." Yoshinon says in agreement. I nod and turn to head back...

...but then I freeze as I suddenly feel a powerful energy signature.

"Ara? Is something wrong?" Kurumi asks.

I turn back to Kurumi. "I can sense something powerful approaching." I warn her.

"Something powerful..." Kurumi frowns. "Is it [Ruler]?"

I shake my head. "No. It's not [Ruler]. This isn't a Reiryoku signature." I try to pinpoint the energy. "It feels like... it's coming from the lake?" Kurumi and I look over to the lake to investigate... and we see a blood red aura coming from the water, and a pair of glowing purple eyes shining underneath, making us gasp.

Then suddenly, a very large black arm covered in a blood red aura comes out from the water, making Kurumi and I quickly jump back as the hand slams into the ground in the middle of where we once stood. We both watch in shock as the head of a cow slowly rises up.

"There's no way..." I whisper in disbelief as a giant, muscular black cow with red spots, sharp golden horns, glaring purple eyes that glowed in the darkness of night, and to top it off, human hands, slowly emerges from the lake. "The Tengu Cow... is real?"

"IT EXISTS! HOLY SHIT!" Yoshinon swears in shock.

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The Tengu Cow roars directly at us, forcing us to brace ourselves as to not get blown away.

Reine's POV:

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

"HOLY SHIT!"

"IT'S AN ACTUAL DEMON!"

As the crew on Fraxinus panics over the appearance of the beast, I could only stare in silent shock. This... Tengu Cow was supposed to be something made up by Hiroto Tonomachi. It was never meant to exist, and yet here it is now.

This thing, in all rights, is an anomaly.

That's part 1 finished!

Didn't expect the ending, did you? I've been thinking about whether I should make the Tengu Cow real or not, and ultimately decided to go for it. I mean, Yoshino's reincarnation already changed certain events, so why not go even further and make a total anomaly?

For the next chapter, we'll see how the encounter with a fib turned real turns out, and then continue on from there!