Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Date a Live.
Shido's POV:
So... apparently the girls decided to cook something for me.
According to Yoshino, they made it using each of their favorite foods as the ingredients, even asking her what her favorite food is. Rinne did her best to mix them all into the meal, but...
"Sorry, Shido." Rinne chuckles nervously. "I tried to make it visually appealing, but... it's kinda hard given the ingredients I had to work with."
Yeah... According to Yoshino, they made it using each of their favorite foods as the ingredients, even asking her what her favorite food is. Rinne did her best to mix them all into the meal, but... visually, it looks a little dangerous to eat.
"W-Well... here I go." I say nervously, taking a spoonful and blowing on it. "Itadakimasu..." Closing my eyes, I eat the spoonful of the dish... and my eyes widen at how surprisingly good it tastes. "Whoa! This is actually really good!"
The girls smile at my praise. "Thank goodness." Rinne speaks her relief. "I was kinda worried after seeing how it turned out."
"Of course it was gonna taste good!" Tohka says confidently. "This dish was made by all of us, and we had a secret ingredient!"
"Love!" Rio announces cheerfully, making me smile.
"We're so happy you like it, Darling." Miku says with a smile. "We did our best to make this for you. Perhaps you could give us a reward~" Miku's suggestion makes most of the other girls blush slightly, but also look at me like they're expecting something.
With a chuckle, I go along with Miku's wish, getting up from my seat and kissing the girls one by one. My relationship with them has progressed enough that I'm comfortable doing this with all of them. For Rio, though, since she's my daughter, I give her a hug and a kiss on the forehead, which she's perfectly fine with.
*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
Right after that, though the Spacequake alarms suddenly start blaring.
"Sounds like the next Spirit is coming." Origami says, all of us used to the telltale sign of an approaching Spirit.
I part from Rio's hug and stand upright "Looks like it's time for me to head to work." I say, looking at Yoshino.
The Water Spirit nods. "Let's go."
"Creepy." Kotori comments after I'm teleported down to where the Spirit is.
Honestly, I can't deny her comment. This amusement park was completely abandoned ever since the Spacequake that made Tengu City. Yet instead of a crumbling and desolate place, I'm greeted with the sight of odd structures that look like they came straight out of a cartoon.
"Guess this Spirit decided to make herself at home." Yoshinon comments.
"Shido, see if you can sense her." Yoshino tells me.
Following Yoshino's instructions, I close my eyes to sense any traces of Reiryoku... though, that proved a bit difficult, since I'm also picking up traces of green Reiryoku coming from the cartoon-y structures. However, I am able to pick up one that's clearly stronger and more concentrated.
Opening my eyes, I look up in the direction of the aura and see the Spirit standing on top of a castle, a woman who looks to be in her 20s with jade-colored hair, donning an outfit that resembles a witch.
"Oh~? What a rare sight..." The woman says, looking down at me with interest. "Usually when I'm pulled here, I always run into the AST, so this is a pleasant surprise."
"She's the Spirit of Neztech, Nastumi Kyouno." Yoshino tells me her name.
Natsumi jumps down and lands on front of me with a smile. "There's nothing to be afraid of. It's not like I'm going to eat you or anything." She leans close to me and touches my cheek. "You know, you're actually kind of cute. What are you doing in a place like this?"
"I got lost during the evacuation to the bunkers." I lie, thinking it to be a good excuse. "My name's Shido Itsuka."
"That's a really cute name~" The woman teases me, though being someone with multiple girlfriends, I've kinda gotten used to it. "You can call me Natusmi. Although, I guess you folks prefer to call me [Witch], form what I understand."
"Pleasure to meet you, Natsumi." I greet her, while also hiding my confusion on why she omitted her last name.
"Uh, any reason why she didn't give her last name?" Kotori asks Yoshino, wondering the same thing.
"Bad memories from her human past." Yoshino replies bluntly. "Simple as that."
"... How would you compare it you, say, yours and Miku's?"
"Easily worse." I don't like the sound of that.
"By the way, Shido, I want to ask you something special." Natsumi's request breaks me away from the conversation.
"Go ahead." I give her permission.
"Am I'm pretty?" I blink. That's... an interesting question.
"So she's imitating the Kuchisake-onna, huh?" Yoshinon jokes. "Careful, Shido. Saying the wrong answer will put you in serious trouble."
"Doesn't the Kuchisake-onna kill you regardless of your answer?!" Shiizaki asks. Way to raise a red flag!
"Y-Yeah, you look very pretty." I nervously reply.
"Yes! I knew it!" Thankfully, she seems happy about my answer, even doing a little dance. "Tell me, what specifically do you find pretty about me?"
I analyze her appearance to see what to compliment. "You're sparkling eyes... your cool feminine style..."
"Yes, keep going."
"And your hair is so silky smooth..."
"Yes! Right on the money!" She cheers, hugging me tightly into her chest. "... I was right... I knew this me... was beautiful..." I barely hear her say those words. What did she mean by "this me"? "Oh, there they are."
I manage to part from the hug and look up with Natsumi to see the AST coming our way.
"AST..." I mutter, and Natsumi gives me a sharp look.
"Oh? You know the AST?"
"I've had my own run-ins with them."
She raises an eyebrow at my response. "Oh? Does that mean you're a Spirit yourself?"
I shrug. "At this point, I may as well be considered one."
She smirks. "Interesting~ Never thought there'd be a male Spirit until now."
"Should we really be talking about me? They're about to attack." I point out, ready to summon Soul Steel.
"Oh, don't worry. I got this." She says confidently as she forms a long stick of energy, which she spins behind her before it returns to her hand. "Let's get to work, Haniel!" She calls upon her Angel, which takes the form of a witch's broom. Fitting for a Spirit codenamed [Witch].
Using Haniel's power, Natsumi... transforms the missiles into carrots that comically explode. She then forms a rainbow with stars that travel to the AST and turn their CR-Units into animal costumes, making them fall to the ground unconscious.
"Huh" is all I can say as I'm not sure what to make of this. Is Natsumi's power transforming things into other things?
"That should do it." Natsumi smirks. "Now, why don't we get out of here?" I'm about to agree with Natsumi when I look up and see a carrot missile explodes near us. My eyes are closed because of the dust from the relatively harmless explosion, but I do hear Natsumi sneezing because of it.
"Shido! Natsumi's mood suddenly tanked!" Kotori warns me, and I open my eyes to see the Spirit of Neztech suddenly glaring at me.
"... You saw, didn't you?" She asks with clear anger.
"Saw what?" I ask, not sure what she means.
"Don't play dumb!" She snaps back. "I know you saw it... Unforgivable... You won't get away with this!" She gets on her broom and hovers into the air, looking at me with clear hatred. "Heed my words, Shido Itsuka! Your life is about to be over!" She flies away with that threatening declaration, leaving me confused as to why I earned her ire.
The next day, I didn't immediately go to school with the girls because Kotori called me for a meeting on how to deal with Natsumi. "Yoshino isn't here yet." Kotori says. "We'll begin once she gets here." A few seconds after she says that, Yoshino shows up.
"Sorry if I held you up." She apologizes. "I had to take care of something first."
"It's fine." Kotori brushes it off. "Now, our current problem is how to deal with Natsumi next time she shows up."
"I just don't know where I went wrong." I say. "Natsumi said that I saw 'it', and that's why she's angry, but I don't know what 'it' is."
"To explain the problem, I'll have to explain Natsumi's power first." Yoshino says.
"The floor's yours, then." Kotori says as we prepare to listen.
"As the Spirit of Neztech, Natsumi's Angel is Haniel." Yoshino starts explaining Natsumi's power. "It's main power is transformation, being able to transform itself and others into whatever Natsumi wants, as you saw with how she dealt with the AST. This includes others Angels as well, albeit at a reduced performance." So that was transformation.
"Transformation... Is there any sort of limit her transformations?" Kotori asks.
"I'd say the obvious limit is that she can't copy Ascended Angels." Yeah, that makes sense. "Other than that, it's never really been confirmed, but theoretically, she could transform something into a hydrogen bomb."
"... Yeah, that's certainly not terrifying." Kotori says with obvious sarcasm.
... Hold on.
"You said Haniel could transform whatever Natusmi wants. Does that include herself as well?" I ask.
Yoshino nods in confirmation. "That's correct. Natsumi could transform herself into someone or something else entirely, allowing her to hide in plain sight."
"Then... does that mean the form I saw Natsumi in... wasn't really her true form?"
Yoshino nods again. "More than likely. That's why she left angrily at the end. She believes that you saw her true appearance."
"But my eyes were closed because of the explosion from that carrot missile!" I say to defend myself. "Next thing I knew, Natsumi was suddenly glaring at me."
"So she's threatening your life over a misunderstanding." Kotori summarizes with a groan. "Talk about being overly self-conscious."
I look at Yoshino nervously. "So, I'm not about to get nuked by a hydrogen bomb, am I?"
"I doubt Natsumi would go that far." Yoshino says to assure me. "The worst she could do is incredible amounts of harassment and kidnapping. She could, say... transform into you and play pranks on people while wearing your face, ruining whatever reputation you may have." That sounds awfully specific... which makes me believe it's going to happen.
I hear my phone ring at that moment and look to see who it is. It's Origami. I tap to answer and hold the phone up to my ear. "Yeah, what's up, Origami?"
"Hey, Shido-kun. Just to confirm something... are you at school right now?" Origami asks.
I raise an eyebrow. "No, why?"
"Because someone came into our class saying that they're you."
I blink and look at Yoshino, who's giving me a knowing smirk. Guess that's future knowledge for ya. "That's not me. I didn't wake at my usual time because Kotori forgot to give me her usual wake-up call. I just finished breakfast, so I'm on my way now." I make up an excuse as to why I'm not at school at the moment, while also giving Kotori an apologetic glance.
"Really? That's odd for Kotori-chan to forget this time." Hold on, that was Tonomachi that replied.
"... Origami, did you put me on speaker?"
"I did. The whole class can hear you right now, including the impostor."
"... Clever. Well, I'll see you and the girls at school."
"Okay! Bye!"
Origami ends the call, and I look at Yoshino. "Thank you. I dread to think about what Natsumi would've done acting as me, especially since I'm starting to get on the Trio's good graces."
"Let's not relax yet." Kotori says seriously. "Yoshino may have foiled Natsumi's first attempt, but she'll no doubt try again."
"She's right, Shido." Yoshino says in agreement. "We're not out of the woods yet." I give a firm nod, mentally preparing myself for Natsumi's next attack.
Natsumi's POV:
Damn it! That couldn't have gone worse even if I tried!
The plan was so simple: I go into the school disguised as Shido and act like a complete jerk, making people see him in a bad light. Then, while he's busy dealing with the backlash, I deal with him and replace him.
Except that Tohka girl immediately outed me as an impostor the moment I walk into the room! That Rinne girl backed her up, saying that Shido was busy and was supposed to come to school late! Then Tohka added to that, saying that they were told that if he appears any earlier, then they're an impostor and they should beat him up! I tried to make up and excuse and convince them I was the real Shido...
Only for that Origami girl to hammer in the final nail by calling the real Shido and putting him on speaker for everyone to hear! I had to hightail out of there to avoid getting beat up by that crazy Tohka girl. I only managed to lose her once I made it to the rooftop and flew away!
Damn those girls! And damn whoever warned them about me!
However, there's one thing I managed to get from I managed to get from that disaster. Those girls... they're quite attached to Shido, aren't they?
I wonder how he would feel... if they were to all disappear.
Yoshino's POV:
As I wake up, I knew that today was the day Natsumi would start her game of 'Find Me'. As such, there's something I need to check first.
"Yoshinon." I call my other half.
"What's up, Partner?" Yoshino asks as she appears in front of me.
Looking at Yoshinon, I close my eyes and focus my Reiryoku between the two of us. I can still feel it... the special bond the two of us share. This means it's still her and not Natsumi.
Nodding. "Alright. That confirms that."
"Confirms what?" Yoshinon asks, sounding confused.
I open my eyes. "Sorry, Yoshinon. You see, right about now, Natsumi going to start a game where she disguises herself and Shido has to find her before she takes away everyone he cares about." I explain. "In the anime, she disguised herself as you, so I wanted to check to see if that was true this time around."
"Oh, okay. That makes sense." Yoshinon nods in understanding. "So, if not me, who is she disguise herself as? Maybe Junior? Ya think she'll include your mom this time around?"
"That is a possibility." I say in thought. There are more people involved with Shido, so Natsumi will no doubt include them as targets, but one thing that will remain the same is that Natsumi will only say that she's among the pictures she sends, not that she's any of the people within them.
My thought are interrupted when I receive a call from Kotori. "Yoshino, come to our house. Things are getting serious." And so it begins.
After breakfast, I enter Shido's house, and the first thing I take notice of is the pile of pictures on the table. Just as I thought, there are a few more added to the pile, and they include Rinne, Miyoi, my mom... and even Rio. I feel a bit angry that Natsumi would include Rio in this sick game as well.
There's even the note that came with the pictures giving Natsumi's riddle: "Among the 16 pictures, I am here. Can you find me, before they all disappear?"
"Got any thoughts?" Kotori asks.
I take a breath to calm myself and give my piece of advice. "There is one piece of advice I can give: The biggest clue to a riddle is how it is worded."
"How the riddle is worded..." Shido mutters, reading over Natsumi's riddle again.
"Well, in the meantime, we'll have to arrange dates with everyone in these pictures." Kotori says. "If we can spot any oddities about anyone, that means they're most likely Natsumi."
"Alright." Shido nods. "Let's do this. I won't let you all disappear!"
You'll figure it out, Shido. Even if I to give you the opening you need myself.
And so we reach the Natsumi Arc.
Yeah, so, I'm personally not a fan of Natsumi's Arc either, mainly because most of it would've been avoided if Natsumi actually listened and understood that Shido didn't actually see her loli form.
The school debacle, at the very least, was avoided thanks to Yoshino warning the other Spirits about Natsumi's scheme beforehand. However, there's still her game to worry about. And there's a lot more at stake for Shido this time.
Of course, Yoshino's still going to make sure Shido wins.
So, what do you think Natsumi disguised herself as this time around? You have until the next chapter is posted to give your answer!