Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Date a Live.
Yoshino's POV:
"Still hard to believe that the Tengu Cow is actually a real thing." Kotori says, the two of us on Fraxinus as we look over the katana the samurai gifted us. "And there I went fainting over a crocodile of all things..."
"Believe me, Kotori. You're not the only one." I say in reply. "Still, this is no ordinary weapon. I can feel some power emanating from it."
"From what our scans can tell us, this sword's power seems to be coming from that clear orb on the handle." Kannazuki reports. "
"A blessing, huh?" I hum in interest. Grabbing the katana by its handle, I remove it from the sheath, revealing its stainless steel blade. The moment I unsheathe it, though, the clear orb starts glowing, and I let out a small gasp as I suddenly feel something connect to my soul. Regaining my bearings, I look at the katana again. The originally clear orb is now blue, and the blade itself is covered in a misty blue aura.
"Look at that!" Yoshinon exclaims in surprise. The others also look at the blade with surprise, except Reine, who hums in interest.
"It seems like Yoshino managed to imbue the katana with her power." Reine summarizes.
"I don't think it was my doing personally." I say, deep in thought. "When I unsheathed it, it felt like something was connecting to my soul." After a moment, I sheath the katana, and at that moment, the connection to my soul fades, and the orb returns to a clear blue. Getting an idea, I hand the katana to Kotori. "Kotori, you wield it this time."
"Okay?" She says, wondering what I'm thinking. Taking the katana, she unsheathes the blade. Just like before, the clear orb starts glowing and she lets out a small gasp. This time, I could actively see the orb turning red, and the blade becomes imbued in a fiery red aura.
"The sword is glowing differently now!" Yoshinon notices. "I think you may be on to something, partner!"
I nod and look at Kotori, who has regained her bearings and is now looking at the blade. "Kotori, did it feel like something was connecting to your soul when you unsheathed the katana?" I ask.
"Yeah. It did feel like that." She confirms.
"It must be the katana itself, more specifically, the orb on the handle. It seems to have the ability to connect to its wielder's soul and bring out its power."
"So, this aura is the power of my soul?" Kotori asks, looking at the aura on the blade. "It's different from when you wielded it."
"Perhaps it's due to your affinities." Reine theorizes. "Each soul is born with an affinity to a certain element, or in rare cases, multiple elements. That orb's power must be to bring out the highest elemental affinity within a person's soul and channel it through the blade."
"Oh, I see." Yoshinon hums in understanding. "So if you have a mastery over multiple elements..."
"Then in that case, the wielder would be able to choose which element to enchant the katana with." Reine finishes.
"So it's basically a Pseudo-Angel." Kotori summarizes. She's right. This katana actually could actually be considered an Unsigned Angel, at the very least. She gives it a few test swings, with trails of fire following each slash, making her smirk. "Not bad. This definitely feels like something my brother can use."
"With his power, he will effectively have control over multiple elements." I say in agreement. "A flexible weapon like this would be perfect for him."
"Alright. We'll give it to him once we're done investigating the barrier." The Commander of Ratatoskr decides as she sheathes the katana, the orb returning to normal as she hands it to Reine. "Reine, keep this in the storage for now."
"Understood." Reine nods as she takes the katana, looking at it with clear interest. She's probably gonna do something to it to bind it to Shido. "Speaking of Shin, however, I noticed during the fight that Tohka and Origami were in their full Astral Dresses." She brings up the point of Shido's lost power.
"Now that you mention it, I did feel that Tohka and Origami were both back at full power." I say with a frown, before using a bit of my power to create a shard of ice. "I myself feel like I'm back at full power as well."
"Same here." Kotori adds. "Does this mean Shido's lost his power somehow?"
"Probably so. If I'm to guess, it was when he got hit with Tohka's Reiryoku when she went berserk."
Kotori clicks her tongue in annoyance. "Which means he's pretty much defenseless right now. Our problems just seem to keep adding up. We need to speed up our search."
I nod in agreement. "I'll take a look at things on the ground." I volunteer for a ground search. "After the Tengu Cow, I feel I should check for any more oddities."
"Right. You're the best at sensing energy signatures out of all of us." Kotori says. "We'll leave you to it."
Shido's POV:
After Sport's Day finished, I look for Rinne to take her on another date, as per Yoshino's plan. I was pretty sure she just walked out of the classroom. Did I lose her already?
I soon find her over at the landing, but she looks troubled by something. Maybe taking her on a date will ease her mind off of whatever's troubling her. "Hey, Rinne!" I call to her.
Rinne looks surprised to see me and stands up. "Oh, Shido..."
"Um, well... you see-"
"Could it be... an invitation to a date?" She beats me to the punch, surprising me.
"T-That's right."
She gives a small smile. "...Today too? But you should invite the other girls rather than me..."
"B-But-"
"Oh, speaking of which... Tobiichi-san!" Rinne suddenly calls over Origami, who was close by.
"Huh? What is it, Rinne-chan?" Origami asks, confused.
"Shido's looking for someone to go on a date with." Rinne tells her.
"Huh? A-A date?" Origami repeats with a light blush. "B-But, why are you calling me, then? Didn't Itsuka-kun approach you first?"
Rinne chuckles. "Yes, but... I think it would be better for him to date you than someone like me."
"Don't say that!" Origami suddenly shouts, surprising both of us. "You're cute as well, Rinne! Not only that, but you're Itsuka-kun childhood friend! It makes sense for him to want to date you!"
Rinne blushes. "I-I guess that's true, but..." Why is Rinne trying to push me onto other girls?
"I was wondering what the ruckus was." A voice says as Hanakai-sensei walks up to us. "I've heard of two girls fighting over a boy they both like, but this is the first I've seen two girls trying to convince each other to date said boy." She looks at me with a teasing smirk. "Having girl trouble, Casanova?"
"K-Kinda..." I reply with a nervous chuckle.
"Oh, hello, Hanakai-sensei." Rinne greets.
"Hey, Rinne. Interesting to see you and Origami trying to convince each other to date Shido." She looks at the three of us. "That being said, do either of you have any ideas for the date?"
"Um, not really." Origami admits.
"I expected Shido to have already planned our date." Rinne says, looking at me.
I flinch. "I-I... hadn't actually thought about it..." I'm so used to Ratatoskr guiding me along.
Rinne looks disappointed. "Good grief, Shido. That's a bad habit, you know?"
"S-Sorry..." I quickly apologize.
"Well, if neither of you have any plans where to go, how about a study session together?" Hanakai-sensei suggests. "There's a test coming close."
"That's a good idea, Miss Hanakai." Origami agrees. "Shido, Rinne, you can come to our place and study with us."
"U-Um, okay." Rinne nervously replies.
"Sure." I nod, inwardly glad that I managed to get another moment with Rinne.
Yoshino's POV:
If I remember correctly, there are three shrines that need to be destroyed in order to enter Neo Tengu Tower. I figure it would be best to take care of those quickly.
Making it to the town square, I stand near Neo Tengu Tower, looking at it up close. "Seriously, it looks like a fricking root tower." Yoshinon comments. "How do people love this kind of stuff?"
"Remember, the barrier set by Eden is making everyone inside it believe that this is normal." I remind her. "However, either because Mio knocked me out or because of the Pure Reiryoku she gifted me, you and I remained unaffected."
"And thanks to you, I am aware of what is happening." A familiar voice speaks and I turn to see Kurumi walking up to me. "Good day, Yoshino-san and Yoshinon-san."
"Hey Kurumi." I greet back. "I take it your here for the shrine?"
"Indeed, and it seems like you have the same idea of dealing with them quickly." She looks over to the suspicious orb statue. "I believe that's our target. It's odd because I can't sense anything off about it."
"It's energy is well hidden if you can't recognize it, but I can sense it with my Pure Reiryoku." I tell her. "Be ready. Once we step close, it'll summon one of Rinne's Guardian Angels to stop us." Kurumi nods at my warning, already preparing to change into her Astral Dress.
We take a step closer, and almost instantly, as if sensing our intent, the orb starts glowing. Time stops completely for everything expect me, Kurumi and the orb statue, and then the Guardian Angel I mentioned earlier appears, standing in our way.
Kurumi and I already summon our Astras Dresses, already expecting a fight. Yoshinon transforms into her scythe form, and I immediately imbue it with Pure Reiryoku. "Let's make this quick." I say to Kurumi, who nods with a smirk.
The Guardian Angel fires an energy shot at us, but I easily cancel it with a slash of Pure Reiryoku.
"My turn." Kurumi states. "Shooting Gallery!" She moves at very high speed, shooting the angel at multiple directions before summoning Zafkiel, both of its hands pointing at 'XII' before releasing a shockwave.
I immediately follow up with a slash wave of Pure Reiryoku. Since the Guardian Angel is a mana construct, it easily cleaves right through and destroys it. I angled my attack so that it would continue towards the orb statue, destroying it too.
With our target destroyed, Kurumi and I quickly flee the scene using mist and shadow as time begins to resume for the rest of the world.
Rinne's POV:
I didn't expect to be invited to a study session with Shido and Origami. Still, this seems rather fun...
...
...
...Huh?
Wait... Why does it feel like I was hurt? My body... I place my hands to my chest as if I had a heart attack.
"Rinne, are you alright?" Shido asks out of concern, with Origami and Hanakai-sensei also looking at me.
"Oh, umm... I'm fine, just... my neck is starting to itch a little." I come up with ean excuse.
"Are you sure?" Origami asks, looking worried. "It looked like you were about to have a heart attack."
"That's not good." Hanakai-sensei says with a frown. "You must've pushed yourself too hard during the sports festival. I recommend taking a day to rest. I can vouch for your absense tomorrow."
"Thank you, Hanakai-sensei, but I'll be fine." I assure them. "It'll take more than that to put me down."
"If you say so." They still look unsure, but thankfully, they bought it in the end.
With that out of the way, I sigh in relief. But still... something or someone has destroyed my shrine. I click my tongue. Whoever it was that destroyed the shrine, they must be skilled.
I wonder who it could be.
Yoshino's POV:
"Achoo!" I sneeze out of nowhere.
"Wow! Someone must be talking about you, partner!" Yoshinon comments.
"It's obviously Rinne. I may have caught her attention by destroying one of her shrines." I say knowingly. I then hear ringing in my ear, meaning Kotori is calling me. I turn on my ear piece to answer the call.
"Yoshino, do you read me?" Kotori asks.
"I read you, Kotori. Did something come up?"
"Yes. We were investigating the barrier when we noticed it suddenly begin fluctuating, as if something is disturbing it." She reports.
"Ah, that must've been my doing." I admit. "I was in the town square looking at the tower when I felt a weird energy signature nearby. I was able to pinpoint it to one of the monuments in the square, and found that it had the same energy as the barrier surrounding the city."
"You must've found one of the barrier's power sources. Were you able to get anything else from it."
"Not really. When I tried to get closer, it started glowing, and then a weird angel suddenly appeared and attacked me. And to clarify, this isn't the 'Angels' that you and I use, but one with a human body and wings."
"...First the Tengu Cow, now actual angels?" Kotori groans.
"It wasn't actually real. I was able to determine that it was a mana construct." I tell her. "I was easily able to defeat it with my Pure Reiryoku, but... I kinda went overboard and ended up destroying the monument, too."
"So the reason for the barrier's current instability is because you destroyed one of its power sources?" Kotori summarizes.
"Yeah."
"This might actually work in our favor." Reine speaks up. "If we can pinpoint the barrier's power sources and destroy them, then we might be able to force the Spirit that made the barrier to reveal herself."
"And at that point, it's just a matter of have Shido make her fall in love with him." Kotori finishes the plan Reine has in mind. "That could work, but we still need to be careful. Any Spirit that could make a barrier this wide-reaching is bound to be very powerful. If it comes to a fight, Yoshino might be the only one who can face her."
"There's also the fact that if the barrier collapses, it'll effect the entirety of Tengu City." I also point out.
"That's right. If things take a bad turn and the Spirit's power becomes too unstable, we could be looking at a disaster at least on par with the Eurasian Sky Disaster. One that is capable of blowing up Japan."
"Way to put on the pressure." Yoshinon comments.
"She's serious, Yoshinon." I say seriously. "We must proceed with caution."
"Agreed. We should lay low for now. Tomorrow, we'll work towards finding the remaining power sources."
"Okay. In that case, I'll head back now." I end the call there. Interesting that Reine would get the rest of Fraxinus to follow along with my plan, but that actually makes things easier.
"Yoshino!" I hear Shido call out to me and see him run up to me.
"Hey, Shido." I greet him. "How's your progress with Rinne?"
"It's... going well enough." He says, looking unsure. "To be honest, both times she's tried to push me into dating the other girls instead, but Tohka and Origami managed to convince her to join the dates. Though, in Origami's case, it was more of a study session."
"I see." I nod. That lines up with her behavior in the VN.
"Actually, that's another thing." Shido speaks up. "During my date with Tohka, we originally went to watch a movie-"
"But Tohka declined, saying she had already seen it with you before." Yoshinon finishes, already knowing what he was talking about.
"Y-Yeah, and for some reason, I can't help but feel she's right." He says, confused. "Then, during the study session, I felt like I had studied with Origami before. I thought it was my mind playing tricks, but Origami said that she had that same feeling of deja-vu, and she even pointed out that my answers were 'the same as last time'."
I hum as I take in the information. I myself have been confused by this ever since his date with Tohka and Rinne. Why are he and the others having these bouts of deja-vu when we're skipping straight to the Rinne Route? Could it be that he had already experienced the other routes before I woke up?
Does this mean that Mio knocked me out for three whole routes? But then, how does this explain the Tengu Cow actually being real this time?
I shake my head. Too many questions are circling my mind with no clear answers. "We'll worry about that later, but let me know if you have anymore cases of deja-vu."
"Alright, Fuyu."
...!
I freeze the moment he says that name, eyes wide with shock and disbelief. He... He called me Fuyu. He called me by my old name!
"What... did you call me...?" I barely get out.
Shido sees the look on my face and immediately flinches like he'd fucked up. "Ah! S-Sorry, Yoshino! I-I don't know why I called you that! That name just... popped up in my head all of a sudden!"
It just "popped up"? That can't be... But if this is related to his bouts of deja-vu, then...
Did I... tell him my real name? At some point during those other routes, did I tell him the truth about myself?
"Hey, uh, partner? You look like you're about to freak out." Yoshinon's worried tone snaps me out of my shock.
Right. Calm down, Yoshino. There's no use panicking about it right now.
I place my right hand over my heart, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down. Once I'm sure I have my emotions back under control, I give Shido a very serious look. "We'll talk about this after we return to the real world." He nods quickly, and I relax my gaze. "Anyway, how is Rinne now?"
"I-I was actually looking for her now. I'm a bit worried about her since she looked like she was gonna have a heart attack during the study session."
That means she felt me destroy one of her shrines. That... is slightly worrying, as it might encourage to act and kill Shido sooner.
The two of us decide to look for Rinne and find her at the playground park, panting as if she just ran a whole lap around a track field in less than a minute.
"Rinne, what's wrong?"? Shido quickly notices and asks worryingly.
Rinne looks startled to see him. "Ah, Shido?! And Yoshino?"
"Hey there, Rinne?" Yoshinon greets her.
"Ah, hello, Yoshinon."
"Wait, didn't you... have some sudden business? And are you alright?" Shido asks.
"Ah, yeah. That's... fine now. And I'm alright. Just thought that I had forgotten something important." Rinne clarifies with her health.
"I see."
"So, what are you doing at a place like this?" Yoshinon asks. "Do you have any business at the playground?"
"W-Well... I was just thinking, I guess?" Rinne acts clueless. "What about you two, um... three? Are you on a date by any chance?"
Her question makes me blush and look at Shido, who glances back with a blush of his own. "W-We just happened to run into each other." I answer. "We're not on a date right now, but maybe sometime later."
"I see."
A loud growl, like a rumbling stomach, suddenly interrupts the conversion. Surprisingly, it actually came from Shido.
The three of us look at Shido, who looks down in embarrassment, making Rinne giggle. "Oh Shido, you're such a glutton. Careful, though, you might even rival Tohka. I wonder if that happens when you spend enough time with someone?"
"That is true." I speak in agreement. "If you spend a lot of time with someone, you tend to pick up some of their habits."
"But that's what I like about you, you know?" Rinne whispers that last part, but Shido and I both still heard it.
"Eh?! What'd you just say?!" Shido exclaims in a flustered manner.
Rinne also becomes flustered as she waves her hands in denial. "Nothing! I didn't say anything!"
I watch the exchange with a smile. This means the plan is working. At this point, Rinne will feel more inclined to date Shido, if only to try and stabilize her own powers. As long as we keep up this momentum, we'll be able to escape Eden.
Rinne is an amazing cook. I have to admit that. Shido's an expert himself, but Rinne can definitely push him to better his culinary skills.
After having dinner with her, Shido, Tohka and Kotori, I return to Miyoi's apartment and turn in for the day.
...
...
...
It really is inconvenient... to have a nuisance ruining your plan.
This voice... Rinne? Why is she appearing in my dream?
You may have destroyed a mere part of Eden, but that could be recovered...
Looks like she is aware that I destroyed one of her shrines.
Just what is your goal?! My world is not wrong by any means! It is to serve its purpose!
If my power doesn't stabilize, what will I do...?
That's right... The answer's right under my nose... Just like the Spirits, I can...
I see... How did I not think of this before...? It appears in my haste, I failed to consider it...
I'm sure that... with this...
I could keep this world... from collapsing...
YOU...! Yoshino Himekawa! Try not to interfere with Eden ever again... A warning to remind you of the consequences for disobeying...
I see. So, she's trying to threaten me to stop.
Well, sorry to break it to you, but I don't plan to stop anytime soon.
I'm going to return everyone back to the real world... and you're coming with us!
Shrine 1 of 3 destroyed!
Things are a bit different. Yoshino has already destroyed one of the shrines, and has also got the rest of Fraxinus in on the plan thanks to Reine, but overall, this means the path is set to the Rinne Route!
But what's this?! Shido called Yoshino by her old name! What could this mean?
Also, yes. I do indeed have plans for the Samurai's sword. It's going to play a very key role in the late game.