Disclaimer: I do not own-

Mio: Troy does not own anything related to Date A Live.

What the heck!? Mio, what are you doing here!? HOW are you even here!?

Mio: Teehee~ *disappears*

... Does having godly powers also translate to being able to ignore the fourth wall?

"Yoshino" Speaking normally

"Yoshinon" Speaking mentally

"Zadkiel" Summoning Astral Dress/Angel or using special skill/ability

Yoshino's POV

"Oh? I didn't expect you to come back, Kurumi. And I see Yoshino is here, too."

Mio greets us with a calm look as if she wasn't jsut caught red-handed.

"What... is... this!" I hear Kurumi gasping next to me. One look was all it took to know she was having a panic attack. "Why... why is Sawa here? Why is she..." She starts laughing weakly as if she heard a joke. "Come on, Sawa. You're just sleeping, right? You're just resting. You'll be okay. You... you aren't really dead. I know it-"

"HEY! EARTH TO KURUMI!" Yoshinon shouts at Kurumi, snapping out of her delusions.

"Oh, this is Sawa?" Mio asks in an innocent tone as she looks at the corpse. "I remember you telling me about her, but I didn't realize this girl was her." She shrugged. "Well, it was already too late when I gave her the Sephira Crystal. At that point, she was destined to die, so you killing her can be seen as a mercy." Her blatant disregard over the fact that she made Kurumi kill her best friend honestly angers me. I get that she's a yandere for Shinji, but this is just cruel!

"No...! NO!"

A chill runs down my spine as I feel a rising surge of Dark Reiryoku right next to me and look to see a dark purple aura surrounding Kurumi. She was starting to Inverse! But if remember correctly...

Right as I think it, Kurumi raises her pistol to her head and shoots herself, causing the Dark Reiryoku to fade away, leaving her gasping for breath in an attempt to calm herself. She just used Dalet to stop her own Inversion!

"My, impressive." I hear Mio hum in amusement. "I didn't think it was possible for a Spirit to stop their own Inversion, though I suppose that is possible with Zafkiel's time abilities."

"You..." Kurumi snarls, and I don't need to look at her to know that she's pissed. "Why did you make me kill Sawa!?"

"Because I needed your help to refine the Sephira Crystals." Mio answers, showing the red crystal. "You see, these Sephira Crystals are what make humans into Spirits, but their power happens to be very toxic to humans, and that toxicity leads to them going berserk and becoming the monsters I had you kill, just like what happened to her. In order to remedy this, I have to repeatedly insert them into humans and extract them, using their souls to purify the toxic power, before ultimately giving them to their ideal wielders. You see, Kurumi, I enlisted your help and gave you Zafkiel because you were perfectly compatible with its powers. Likewise, when I saw Yoshino, I found that she was the perfect host for Zadkiel. Had that not been the case, I would've simply left her to die, just like those doctors did."

... Excuse me? So you're telling you only consider saving Yoshino as pure COINCIDENCE!? Hearing this just makes me all the more angry!

"So, this whole thing about being an 'ally of justice' was a lie!" Kurumi snarls. "Who are you really!? What do you aim for by doing all this!?"

"I am Mio Takamiya, the First Spirit, and the one who created the other Spirits. I suppose you may call me... The Spirit of Origin." Mio introduces herself to us, but she purposefully does not answer Kurumi's second question. I, however, already know the answer. "Farewell, Kurumi. I truly thank you for your assistance." With those words, she suddenly teleports in front of Kurumi and taps her on the forehead, and in the next moment, the Time Spirit fell unconscious, before suddenly disappearing.

I freeze when she then turns her gaze to me. "And now for you."

Even though I am definitely angry at Mio, I know for a fact that I'm no match for her, and seeing her easily dispatch Kurumi is proof of that.

"Um, partner, we might be in trouble." Yeah, no shit, Yoshinon.

Fear keeps me anchored in place as Mio floats up to me, eyeing me with interest. "Your current behavior is a far cry from when I first gave you your Sephira Crystal. And the way you fought Kurumi minutes ago demonstrates great experience. Such significant growth is impossible for anyone to achieve within a week. What happened to you, I wonder?"

She raises two fingers and taps my forehead, and my eyes dilate as I feel the sensation of someone looking into my mind. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck! She's reading my memories! She's gonna know everything!

Eventually, the sensation fades away as she removes her fingers from me. I could only stare up at her in horror as she returns it with a smile that knew everything. "Well now, this is certainly interesting, Fuyu Hana." She called me by my old name. That confirms it. "I never expected that 'Yoshino Himekawa' would be replaced by a reincarnated, one that knew so much about this world... and what will happen in the future."

Ah... I'm sorry, everyone. We're all gonna die, and it's my fault.

I collapse to my knees as a feeling of hopelessness consumes me. I could faintly hear Yoshinon try to snap me out of it, but I didn't care. Nothing matters anymore.

I feel Mio place her hand my chin and pull my head up to look at her. She then uses her other hand to wipe something off my face. Huh. I didn't realize I was crying.

"What's wrong? You're not gonna fall apart so soon, are you?" She asks me with a look of concern. Not like she actually is.

"What else can I do, now that you know everything that will happen?" I ask, my voice without emotion.

"While that is true, there is something you don't realize."

"Huh?"

"Yes, I do now know of the future, but until the point Shido is about to use Vav, that doesn't mean anything to me. It just tells me that everything will as planned. I could just sit back and let everything play out." She explains. "You, however, gain far more worth out of this knowledge. You can use it to grow stronger, and change things for the better. You can use it to bring about the Happy Ending that you desire."

Mio's words snap me out of my funk, making me realize that things aren't as hopeless as I believe. She's right. Until the events of Volume 19, she'll just stay her hand, because she knows that everything will turn out fine. And with the current timeframe, I still have ample time to prepare. But, the way she's wording it...

I narrow my eyes at the Spirit of Origin. "Are you challenging me?"

My question makes her smile. "You catch on quick. Yes, Fuyu Hana. I am challenging you. Let us see whose will will bring the desired Happy Ending. Mine... or yours."

So, she wants me to try and stop her with an exposed hand. But if I play my cards in a way she doesn't expect...

Yeah. I can still do this!

Taking a deep breath, I give Mio a looks that shows my reignited willpower. "Fine. If that's what you want, then I will not back down! I will take your challenge, and bring a Happy Ending to everyone!"

Mio smiles at my response, almost like a mother proud of her daughter for standing up to a daunting challenge. "Then it's settled. Keep developing your powers and becoming stronger. I look forward to seeing your progress when the story truly begins." With that, she disappears, leaving me with only Sawa's corpse nearby.

"Damn, that woman is CRAZY!" Yoshinon shouts, reminding me that she's still on the floor.

"Ah, sorry, Yoshinon." I apologize and lift my left arm up so she can face me. "But yeah, she's a good example of why yanderes and godly powers should never mix."

"Yoshinon can see that. But, forget about her. Are you feeling okay, partner?" She asks, her voice showing clear worry.

I give her a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine now. Sorry to make you worry." I stand back up, firmly planting my feet onto the ground. "I honestly thought it was over when Mio saw my past memories, but I've realized that it's too soon to give up. The future is not set. We can still do this!"

"That's the spirit, partner!" Yoshinon cheers. "We're gonna that Mio lady just what we're made of!"

With renewed spirits, we disappear that to the Spirit World.

Mio's POV

Fufufu. This has certainly become interesting.

Truthfully, the challenge was simply meant to reinvigorate her. Regardless of her identity, she's still needed for my plans after all.

And now that I know exactly what the future holds, I won't let anyone stop me, no matter who does what.

Still, Fuyu Hana...

You wish to bring a Happy Ending to everyone.

... Does that include me, too?

It looks like Mio has decided to play a game with our reincarnated heroine.

However, we all know about the Butterfly Effect, and how one small change can have big effects. Neither side knows it, but the timeline has already changed since Fuyu became Yoshino. And one of those changes will appear 5 years before canon.

Which also means there's gonna be a time skip between this chapter and the next, because aside from Yoshino working on her skills, nothing noteworthy that isn't already know will be happening.

So, see you all next chapter!