Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You think you know Date A Live…

(canon Date A Live characters pop up for a few seconds, with some creepy music)

You think you know Westcott…

(Westcott himself pops up for a few seconds, creepy music increases slightly)

But you don't know…

(creepy music intensifies…)

His son.

(creepy music abruptly stops.)

Aii: (in middle of a hand raise) I have a question for him. (Lowers hand) If your American, how come your not morbidly overweight from all that processed food?

Mai: Yeah, and how have you not pulled out your phone to complain on Twitter every 5 seconds?

Mii: That's so lame.

Michael: Well; nothing to teach this class.

Now available on AO3!

Michael: You've got literal bags for eyes, ma'am.

Reine: I haven't slept in over 30 years.

Michael: (hesitates with his response, trying to be nice) … Need a new mattr- (Kotori slaps him) OW! WHAT?!

Starts a brand-new Date to remember!

Hiroto: You act like your life's the worst thing in the world, Mike. You have incredible Dragonball-like superpowers, fly over the city in a spaceship, and you live with 10 dream girls that don't wanna be around anybody else but you.

Michael: (slowly looks at him as if he just said the most stupidest thing on the planet. His voice cracks on his response) … EXACTLY!

Staring Westcotts mysterious son, Michael Pelham!

BONK!

Freya: oooooooh. Hate this section of the lab, always dim-lit… (realizes she flew into and landed on top of Michael) GAH! I'M-SO-SORRY!-SO-SORRY! I was just looking around, I heard some noises, and… (really takes a look down at Michael and leans in closer to him, Michael couldn't help but slightly blush, and she responds with the most nonchalant expression on her face) Wow, your really cute.

(Some of the Spirits immediately react to her statement. Tohka especially with her fists balled up and cutely growling.)

Critics call it the number #1 fanfiction, on the platform!

Miku: Last one! Promise!

(either completely ignoring him or just blowing him off, and reaching over to get another dress, this one yellow and it did look pretty… Then she looked down at it… and back at Michael… that look on her face… he could swear he saw horns grow out of each side of her head, with evil 'mwahahaha' laughter echoing in the now underworld-fiery background…)

Michelle (Michael): … no… No… Miku, no! Stay back!

(Miku blatantly ignored him and darted into the fitting room without his consent before shutting the curtains behind them. Good thing too, for now the shop assistant could not see the carnage being committed behind it, though she still stared at it in shock. Whatever was going on back there caused the curtain to keep flapping and the fitting room booth to rock back-and-forth as if they were in some kind of cartoon, which also caught the attention of other customers.)

Featuring New Locations…

Michael: Tohka. This is not Hawaii. We're in the Key West.

Tohka: Then where are all the keys?

(Michael facepalms)

Kurumi: Ya know, It's hard to imagine we're here other than for you to see us in some swimsuits… (Michael is shown slowly removing his hand from his face, looking at Kurumi, the water, back to Kurumi. Then slowly smiles at her, causing Kurumi to loose her own slightly quicker. The camera now faces the water so we can't see the group anymore) No. Michael! MICHAEL STOP! DON'T YOU DA-WAAAAAAH!

SPLASH!

New Enemies…

Kaguya/Yuzuru: Raphael! El Kanaph! (After combining their powers, they prepared to unleash they're most powerful attack)

Beelphegor: Me-OOOOW! You call THAT a bow and arrow?! (With energy gathering in her hands, she forms a purple metal bow and arrow, but not at as large as Kaguya's and Yuzuru's fused Angel. It was still similar in shape. She then loaded it with an arrow from the quiver on her back, which glowed with energy when it was loaded, firing at the same time the Yamais' did.)

BOOM!

And a whole new mystery to unravel.

Michael: I know it sounds crazy, and again, please don't take this wrong; but when I go near her, I (mental image of Reine forms looking back at him)… I feel this pain. It's like… sorrow… regret… shame… all rolled into one… I can't really explain it; but it feels like these emotions… aren't even mine…

(Kerubiel's Eyes open for an attack before launching them.)

Michael: I don't know who you think I am, okay?! I'm just a guy! A guy who can absorb Girl Power through a smooch!

Mayuri: (her voice speaks over the other Spirits fighting Kerubiel) There must always be a Vessel, Michael… Your the Inheritor… (her voice now speaks over the other Spirits fighting Rinne's Tree's roots) the one who will restore and maintain the balance between our worlds…

With some steamy scenes, of course ;)

Michael: (feels a sudden new sensation on his back. While it was soft, it felt a little too soft to be a washcloth…) Y-Yuzuru… d-did Origami put you up t- oooooh! (Michael had to force his mouth shut. Not only did Yuzuru start "cleaning" him again, but she was also gasping right into his ear while doing so… was this really happening?!)

Yuzuru: Ah... Ah… Q-Question: … You feel stiff all of a sudden. Do you not like it?Origami said you'd like something like this.

Michael: (speaks with clenched teeth) I'm gonna fold her into one…

Dating never stops in…

Aii: So… all those things. Tohka fighting against that ball-kanju-thing. All of (takes a few seconds to look around the room and then pointed all over, mentioning both the Natsumi thing and everything else before that) … This. Was because of Aliens?

Kotori (child): We're NOT aliens! We're Spir-!

Michael: (playfully slaps a hand over her mouth to shut Kotori up) Yes. Exactly.

(The trio and Hiroto look absolutely shocked, though Mai broke the silence)

Mai: … How'd you deal with all of that?!

Michael: I'm lame like that, I guess.

Date A Live: Son of Westcott!

Origami (child): (raises hand) Daddy. I have to go potty.

Michael: (decides to ignore the fact that Origami called him daddy again, despite how many times he requested her not to) You do not have to go potty.

Origami (child): I might go right here.

Michael: (controls his rising temper) You will not go right here.

Origami (child): You'll have to help me change my pantie-…

Michael: GOOOOOOOOO! Go in the bathroom! (Origami gets the messages and goes go off on her own, but whether or not it was to actually go potty was unclear) … *sigh*… (looks up at the ceiling as if talking to somebody) When does Empty Nest start?

Enjoy the show.

Chapter Text

As you can see, the fic has been wiped clean from its original conceptual state. The real story is going to be posted here from now on. However as I hovered my finger over the delete button, I couldn't bring myself to remove that history, so it has been reuploaded into a separate story in case you want to relive the original version.

It's time, guys. Time for the Son of Westcott fanfic to truly begin.

Prologue: The Son born from Evil

In a room of an unnamed building, a tall man was watching an experiment take place before him by other men in the room in lab coats and others in military grade equipment in case something went wrong. He was wearing a formal jet black suit, his hair was ash blond, and he has a pair of sharp eyes as if a knife cut slits in his face. The color of his eyes also appeared cold and lifeless despite still breathing, which was enhanced by his dull blue eyes and very pale skin.

As for the experiment he was watching, while we couldn't see much of it, he was clearly watching a tube or capsule of some sort, and you could hear roars of pain and resistance. Instead of feeling guilt or remorse, the tall man just continued looking, relishing in what was taking place before him. A machine beeped near this tube as we zoom in towards it, which appeared very vending machine like.

"BATTLELOG, COMPLETE." The machine said, depositing what appeared to be a thumb drive of some sort. One of the lab coat men removed it, but we don't see what becomes of it for we switch back to the tall man, who was clearly the leader of this operation.

"It's all going smoothly..." he said, having a raspy voice to match his appearance. "This time I won't be blindsided by her..." he is shown overlooking not just one, but THOUSANDS of those tubes while he was watching from a platform. He had an armies worth of them, each being monitored by other workers, and even a few robots patrolling around.

"Dad?" Asked a small voice, which did surprise the tall man a bit, but he regained his composure and turned to see a male child behind him, looking to be just about 10 years old but could be younger. This child's appearance compared to his dad was much more innocent and not as unsettling: he still had his fathers hairstyle, but was raven colored instead and a bit longer. The child also had somewhat more tanned skin compared to his father. And finally, the boys eyes were soft innocent hazel, completely different from the dads dark eyes.

You can tell the father was more interested in the scene behind him rather than the child, but he put on a smile before kneeling down towards him. "Michael? Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Not really." The child, named Michael, said. There was a bit of snark in his voice, which was either the kids personality or just he was cranky from a nap or something. "I was on the video phone with mom again. Spoke to Kotori, then your henchmen came in and said they had to run more tests on me. Again." He said a little annoyed when saying that. "Why do they always interrupt me with mom? Why are they so far away? Why are they always doing those dumbass tests? Why..?"

SMACK!

The moment the tall man registered "dumbass" coming out of his child's mouth, he gave him a hard slap. A bit harder than necessary sure, making his head whip to the side, but still...

"... sorry... It's just stressful." Michael apologized.

"I understand," the dad said, which you can tell was unserious due to his tone, but not to the mind of a child. "But they have to make sure your heathy. Remember the story about how you were born?"

Michael then nodded. "Ye-Yeah... you weren't sure if I would be successful..." Which to the mind of the child, meant he was barely able to be born.

The dad gently touched the boys shoulder. "Exactly. Your mother and I are just worried about you." Both boys then smiled at each other. "Isn't your concert or something today?" Dad then asked.

The boy got really excited then. "Yeah! Tsukino Yoimachi is coming here to America! I did all my chores and all my homework, and I've studied really hard!"

"Then go get ready. Once daddy's done here, I'll find you." Said the tall man, and with an energetic nod, the younger boy ran off. The 'daddy' didn't even give the kid a sign of affection like a hair ruffle or even a pat, only watched the boy run off.

"Sir Westcott." Said one of the lad coated men, coming towards the still kneeling dad as he then stood up upon being called. "Results on Michael came back." He handed Westcott some paper with unreadable data, which unless you knew how to decode it, you were fucked.

The longer Westcott looked at the paper, the bigger his frown got. "... still nothing? Nothing at all?" He asked from looking up from the paper back to the lab tech, rather annoyed himself now like his son was moments ago. "It's one thing to not have the spark for magic, but with the other brat now burned to a crisp, he should have became the next Inheritor! You know how much time and money went into this project?!"

Despite his bosses clear aggravation, the lab tech remained very calm and professional. "Sir, we've tried everything. We even ran simulations if he did kiss a Spirit or one of our Mimics." said the tech. "Whether it's because he's not biological matured enough or his body isn't compatible with their energy; we can't find anything. From what our instruments can tell, there's absolutely nothing special about your boy."

Westcott didn't even sigh, just continued to look annoyed... then he crumpled up the paper before tossing it somewhere. "Pity. And here I thought I could create my own..." He then walked past the lab tech to overlook the operation again.

"Sir?" Asked the lab tech.

"I'll deal with him later. Let him enjoy his stupid show..." Westcott said.

XXX

We time-skip ahead a couple of years in front of an orphanage in a city. Coming out of the orphanage was the same little kid that was also Westcott's son, but he wasn't exactly a kid anymore. He was a young adult, now looking to be in the High School stage of his life. He had the same appearance and features as before, just older-looking.

He was just living out his life now after being left here. His dad said it was only a babysitting thing, and he'd return shortly after he came back from a business trip to Japan in a few days.

Those days turned to weeks... they turned to months... you get the point.

Michael Pelham kinda figured he was abandoned pretty early on around week 3 of his dad never returning, but he was in denial for awhile. But as time went on, he leaned to accept the harsh reality. Didn't make things easy, but at least he still had access to money from the company his dad owned that was put in a separate account for him so maybe his father wasn't entirely heartless, just didn't want to deal with his son anymore.

It was called DEM, but it was an American company from what he understood.

Was it something he said or did?... He still didn't know to this very day, and no one in the company he still had contact with would tell him anything whenever he'd bring it up when he was younger or ask to speak to his dad. He eventually accepted that reality too.

He was walking down the streets of the city of New York to his job, as even though he was loaded, he learned on his own that money had to be replenished and could be cut off should the company decide to stop, so he got a job. He also did go to school and whatnot, but mostly kept to himself. The fear of being outcast again was always in the back of his mind.

As he walked down the sidewalk, 2 cars were shown to have had crashed into each other further on ahead. However instead of calling the proper authorities, the 2 male owners of those cars were in a heated argument. If it continued, there was going to be swinging. On a stoop nearby were 2 older men looking to be in their early or late 50's were watching this play out from their home building behind them, sitting on the stairs while each had a beer in a glass bottle.

Both men were caucasian and wore somewhat raggedy jeans and T-shirts. One man had dark sunglasses, while the other wore a worn baseball cap; which was so worn, most of the letters had fallen/faded off.

"I got the Mercedes." Said the man with the glasses.

"Eh, my moneys on the Tesla." Said the baseball cap man, both men obviously making a bet. A few seconds after making the wager, Michael walked forward a bit faster, seemingly familiar with the older men and leaned on the stoops railings.

"We got another one?" He asked the men.

"Yup. Mercedes man an' a Tesla boy." Said the baseball cap man and taking a sip of his beer after, neither of them looking at Michael but knowing it was him by his voice.

"So who's betting who? Kyle's got the Tesla or Kenny on the Mercedes?" Asked Michael, using their names in his question to figure out who was betting who. This was a little game the old men played, as crashes happened here pretty often, they liked to bet who would lose the current argument of a crash before or if the authorities would arrive.

"Nah, I got the Tesla." Kyle, the one in the glasses, corrected.

"I don't know, looks like it'll be a draw to me." Michael said, taking the middle ground.

"You kidding me, boy?" Asked Kenny. "Dat Tesla boys a lean little shrimp. He ain't gonna last 4 seconds!"

"I'm telling ya, the big ol' Mercedes jock going down. I see his limp from here!" Said Kyle.

As the car owners argued, the one by the Tesla made the first punch on his Mercedes opponent. This also got some attention from other bystanders who began watching out of shock, or got their phones out and held them sideways. However pretty soon after (though not totally surprisingly), the Mercedes driver returned the favor. However before the fight could escalate further, the cops showed up and began to de-escalate the situation before either person could get seriously hurt.

While Kyle and Kenny frowned at his, Michael slowly held out his hand towards both of them with a smile, and both older men pulled out two 10 bills before handing them over to the clear victor of the bet, said winner slowly putting his prize away in his pocket.

"Pleasure's all mine, Gentlemen." Michael said to them without losing his smile. He then began to continue on his way to his original destination.

"Hey! Will we see ya tonight for the game?" Asked Kyle.

"I'll drop in if I got time!" Michael said while still walking.

"And maybe bring a woman with ya this time!" Asked Kenny, his tone clearly joking.

"Bite me!" Michael yelled back, his tone matching the joking nature of the men. Aside from some locals he was friendly with, those 2 were a few of the only people Mike spoke too regularly. Could be because they were older and old enough to be his parent, so maybe he did this because subconsciously he longed for a family like he once had?... maybe.

While he was walking along his way, his cell phone did ring. The caller ID showed it was his cousin, Mana Takamiya, though she lived in Japan. He may have lost contact with his stepsister and mother from all of this, but he did still have his cousin Mana thankfully. In fact she was the only person who would both call and visit him sometimes, but she was always busy with her Nightmare job as she put it.

"Death row. Next in line speaking." Michael answered his phone.

"God forbid!" Giggled Mana on the other end of the line. "Whatcha been up too? I've been meaning to call you for a while, just... ya know."

"Space Quakes still happening there? I'm always hearing on the news about them, having never slowed down unlike other parts of the world." Michael asked.

"Eh... they come and go. I'd much rather deal with snowstorms down by you at this point." Mana said. "Anything interesting for you?"

"Not much. Same old shit. I get up; look around the walls of my room; brush, shower, shave; go to work and maybe paint the town once in a while." Michael said.

"PHFFT! Your no artist. You haven't drawn since you grew out of that crush on that singer." Mana said, teasingly.

"Heh. It's better than wondering about why I was dealt this hand on the poker table." Michael said.

"... Still think about it?" Asked Mana, already sensing what was wrong with him.

"All the time." He admitted. "... I don't know, did I piss him off? Was my own mother okay with this? What about my stepsister? Ya, she was younger than me and maybe forgot about me, but... I got no closure, ya know?"

"I mean, if your that curious cuz, why not just come up here?" Mana said in a silly tone of voice. What surprised her is that Michael didn't respond back right away, but if she was with him right now, she'd see his eyes go slightly wide upon the suggestion. "... cuz?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm still here. Just, er... crazy traffic, ya know?" Michael played off. "Listen, I'm almost at work, and these street be harder than any speed-runner on YouTube. I'll call you back." This wasn't a full lie, as the busy streets of New York were in fact dangerous. Night or day, the city never sleeps.

"Okay. I love ya, cuz." Mana said, then he and her both hung up.

XXX

Mana's words never left his head, even as he went through the day and finally returned home for the night. It may have been a silly joke, but the more her words echoed in his head, the more he thought about it; and the more he thought about it, the more appealing it became to him. Was such a thing even possible? And if it was, could he really leave behind everything too...

The fuck was he talking about? What did even HAVE here?! He was born into riches, but left in the dust by his own father who promised he would return! Now he was working odd jobs with barely any social life in a depressing life in an orphanage! He was practically all alone, his only source of companionship being TV, movies and anime, which he was always loved. Sure Dubs might be shitty and censored, at least in his early years, but it was a part of his life that always made him happy, even if just for a few minutes.

"If your that curious cuz, why not just come here?..." Mana's words echoed one final time in his head before making his decision, starting by pulling up airline tickets on his phone...

Bakuganman proudly presents...

...

A fanfiction that will intrigue fans and trigger others...

...

A different take on the world of the only harem anime (at this time anyway) to have 5 seasons...

...

DATE A LIVE: SON OF WESTCOTT

Chapter Text

Oh-kaaaaaaaay... how long has it been since an update? Over 3 months?… Anyone even reading this anymore? lol. I am so sorry, guys. I really am. Long story short, I was in the process of moving. It took a long time, but I made it work. Also, it would appear I updated this just in time, the 5th and possibly final season of Date A Live had/has started airing. It'll be one wild ride, but I'm gonna make a prediction here... I don't think there will be another season after this. Maybe an OVA to tie it up in a big little bow, but with only the Beast Arc (which wasn't that great in my opinion to be honest), I can't see them stretching this out any further. The most I'll say is the Tenka-Spirit Battle Royale Arc, but I'm not holding my breath.

Once again, super sorry for the super long wait. Give me a few months to settle in, and I'll be back here. My DM's and discord are always open in the meantime. Not expecting any reviews for this chapter as not much happens, but they are welcome. We'll be getting into the Date A Live stuff in part 2.

Chapter 1: Let's Begin our Date! - Part 1

The rays of a new morning shined through some of the blinds of a young boys bedroom window, whom was lying in bed being awoken by those rays hitting his eyes. He groaned at this, and turned away from those invading rays of sunshine.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

SLAM!

The boy slammed a fist on his alarm clocks snooze button, which would have broke the clock into 1 million pieces if he hit it any harder… he was in no mood this morning, groaning again. He was emotionally drained from last week, having broken up with his girlfriend. She was a cute girl with short white hair, and a little shorter than himself while having a slender yet also athletic figure. Both those things were required considering her job.

Her name was Origami Tobiichi, a member of a government task force known as the AST.

-FLASHBACK-

In his high school while walking down a hall, the boy was really struggling to get a grip in this country, having moved her from the west for… reasons. Maybe it was a bad idea to come here? He barely spoke Japanese, only knowing basic words, but couldn't write in it for shit! How was he supposed to figure out what happened if he couldn't read or write anything to communicate with people?!

There was his "stepsister" Kotori, but she could be… feisty. That's the nicest term he could use about her. She had lost her brother 5 years ago and was living with his mom ever since, his mom adopting her after this huge fire. Of course, he was safe and sound in America at the time, and a few years later he moved here. They were not related at all. Not by blood, body, or even nationality. They were more like bickering roommates than anything else.

He didn't plan on meeting her. They literally bumped into each other at a grocery store, and she was giving him mouth about watching where he was going. He was a little distracted that particular day, it was a very eventful first impression of Japan. Something called a Space Quake literally triggered the very second he got off the plane, things got crazy, this little boy was caught in it...

-FLASHBACK PAUSE-

Michael in the present shook his head, getting rid of those incoming thoughts. He probably shouldn't blame himself for what happened, but he couldn't help but do so. In any case; he met Kotori, he recognized her from the video calls (although certain "attributes" of her had definitely changed since then), he asked her full name which did get her to pause and put her guard up, but he then gave his own.

He was Michael. Michael Pelham.

He was a 16-year-old Caucasian American teen with slightly tanned skin and raven-colored hair, which matching soft hazel eyes. Many people used to call him a tanned Ash Ketchum because of his hair, but he'd always laugh it off. He even threw in an "I choose you!" and an imaginary ball throw every once in a while for good measure.

As for Kotori, she too was a really cute girl with red eyes and hair, hair so long it required to be tied in twin tails with black ribbons. Her body was also on the slender side just like Origami, only Kotori was younger than either of them, being 13. She would be 14 in a few months though.

Surprisingly, she never took his family name even after being adopted, her last name being Itsuka. His mother mentioned when they went to do the paperwork, Kotori began to cry at the mere prospect of having her last name changed so they decided to just let her have it… must have really meant something to her.

If Michael was being honest, while Kotori was not the curviest girl, she did have nice legs.

Going back to Origami, she had big blue eyes that had little expression in them, giving her the vibes of a doll to go along with her cute face and short stature. Honestly that's one of the reasons Michael dated her… even if she said some pretty outlandish shit, but he could as well which was another thing they had in common.

The biggest thing however, was being parentless. Its one of the first things that drew them to each other, her loved ones dying in the same fire Kotori was found in by Michael's mom. Though they obviously died the same day, Origami only shared information she was comfortable with. She kept what exactly happened to her parents to herself. Out of respect for his girlfriend although he was curious, Michael never pried. He still remembered his very first day of school at Radizen Academy...

-FLASHBACK-

Michael walked down the hall to where he was instructed to go... class 2-4. It's been a few months, but he was finally ready (least he hoped) for school, even if he wasn't the biggest fan of it... still... it would give him something else to focus on instead of his main objective in his quest log. This was more of a side quest while he gathered XP from it.

"Also, we have a new American student! So please give him a warm welcome!" Said a feminine, youthful, cheerful voice on the other side of the door; most likely the teacher... damn, that was fast. Michael sighed... he hoped keep at least have a few minutes alone in the hallway first.

Eh. No point in stalling. May as well get it over with...

He sort of expected this when he walked into the classroom, but he didn't think the students will look at him as if he was some kind of mythological animal. The stares he got... he felt like a circus clown with no makeup. After writing his name on the board, in perfect kanji with no screw ups (he could still feel the stares on his back with how his actions shocked them), he turned back around to face the class.

"I know you all must be really excited!" The teacher, Tamae Okamine, said in a still very cheerful tone. "So go ahead, tell us about yourself!" She asked Michael, however, before he could even attempt to answer...

"I have a question for him!" Said a girl who was in the middle of a hand raise. She has spiky blonde hair that spikes at her bangs, and matching golden yellow eyes. She wore the Raizen High School uniform, but left the blazer and shirt collar unbuttoned. This was Ai. "If your American, how come your not morbidly overweight from all that processed food?" She asked when lowering her hand.

"Yeah, and how have you not pulled out your phone to complain on Twitter every 5 seconds? Or shoot a livestream at the expense of others for 2 days of insignificant internet fame?" This was said by another girl, Mai. She has brown eyes and short brunette hair. Nothing really else about her stood out.

"That's so lame." Said this one girl in glasses. She was Mii, who has long purple hair that reaches beyond her shoulders. Likewise like the 2 before her, her eyes match the color of her hair. These 3 were obviously friends.

He mentally groaned... no, he couldn't blame them for thinking that, but it was still embarrassing and annoying to be lumped in with those idiots. He blamed the most infamous one, this one vlogger filming some guy in a tree just "hanging around".

"Well; nothing to teach this class." Michael very dryly said, which to be fair he did get a few chuckles and giggles from. Still... those 3 girls... they were gonna get along juuuuuuuuuust fiiiiiine...

Michael had met Origami at school like most high school couples do. Many guys talked about how cute she was and imagine what cosplay she would wear if they ever got into a bedroom with them. With her expressionless face, he could see why people would want that.

She was in his homeroom, but it wasn't until they ended up bumping into each other in a hallway (déjà vu), and helped her pick up the stuff he caused them both to drop. She was carrying kitchen supplies… guess she takes cooking class too, but at a different time than he did.

"S-Sorry." He apologized, then saw who it was, the poor girl having landed on her small rump. He was silent, not believing his luck, nor how much of a trope this was. Its almost like his life in Japan was a simulation, meeting Kotori the exact same way.

Origami did not answer, but went to pick up the stuff that had fallen. Considering his first day back in class and the questions lobbed at him, along with how he answered them, she figured he'd be just like how most Westerns were portrayed via stereotypes and various media, if a bit self-aware.

She was surprised he stayed behind to help him and not just continue on his way.

At one point, they had cooking class at the same time, and the teacher even paired them up (you could only imagine the jealous glances they had received). He was a team player, if a little harsh. One example being he insisted you should use olive oil for the particular dish they were making instead of what was said on the assignmen, which was vegetable oil.

When she said they should follow the recipe 100%, his response was to jokingly say "its not like origami where it has to be picture perfect", using her name as a pun. He wasn't trying to be mean, but it could come across that way.

She eventually gave in, not wanting to cause a scene; though sure enough, the teacher literally had a food-gasm the moment their dish hit his taste buds. Not following directions normally resulted in losing points, but the teacher made an exception this time.

When the teacher asked who taught him that, his mom or dad? He responded after a clear emotional hesitation: "I was fostered…" His answer caused a metaphorical shockwave throughout the classroom. "Daddy-o left me for dead, mom was unable or unwilling to get me… had to learn myself, ya know?" He tried making lite of his own backstory, but it was obvious it still effected him.

This made everyone feel sorry for him, including Origami… he was just like her…

-FLASHBACK END-

That day lead to them hanging out a whole lot more, to the point Origami really started opening up to Michael, and they even started dating. Of course due to her popularity, he was put on many kinds of lists but ignored it.

He learned so much about Origami in his time with her; how she liked gratin (though stopped eating it for years until he made it for her again, which was the first time he saw surprise written all over her face), she preferred dry flowers, and actually liked ecchi anime though the ones targeted at girls.

He saw sides to Origami she let no one else see… especially her little secret…

-FLASHBACK-

The couple came back to Origami's home from another date. They were originally going to go back to his, but Michael had noted how many times Kotori and her would glare at each other, as if both girls were sizing each other up. So to avoid problems this time, they went home to Origami's instead.

"I mean, the movie was good; but you expected more out of it…" Michael commented as he walked up to the door, but when he went to turn to knob, Origami grabbed his arm, making him look back at her. "Something wrong, Oreo?" He asked, using a nickname he came up with for her.

She said nothing. Even around him, while they sometimes would show, she tried keeping her emotions to herself. But today, he could see she looked very conflicted. She then pulled him backward, not communicating at all what she wants.

"Gaaaaaah!" Was all Michael could say as he was pulled away from the premises, and Origami dragged him somewhere. Once they got to the city, she began going into what Michael called 'stealth mode', where she'd find ways to maneuver around people without them knowing. All the while kept a firm on his arm and not once letting go.

She could get in trouble for this… but she was thinking about telling him the truth for a long time. Today was probably her one and only chance.

"Ori? What are we…?" Michael whispered to her, but she shot a hard glance at him which told him to be quiet. And be quiet he shall be. She lead him into the AST building. Why? Michael had no idea, but he was starting to get a little nervous. "Ori! This is government property!" He said through his teeth, but his girlfriend just kept dragging him around, then used an ID to get in the do-…

Wait a second… how did his girlfriend have clearance to get inside?

Before he could even ask, she yanked him inside again, sometimes covering Michael's mouth with her free hand to keep him quiet as they hid behind corners of walls in case Origami saw other staff members. Eventually that got to a certain room, where Origami finally let Michael go.

"Okay! What's the hells going in here?!" He asked quietly (though at a high pitch) out of shock and nerves.

That's when Origami equipped an AST combat suit. More specifically, her suit. No longer was she wearing the hair clips anymore. Instead, some type of sensors were attached to her hair, and the armor covered her shoulders down to her hands. This armor also covered her body and legs, but the middle part of the suit was transparent allowing her belly to be seen. The lack of leg armor also emphasized her nice pair of thighs.

He just stood there, looking at his girlfriends startling transformation, which honestly gave her a more fierce (yet oddly sexy) appearance. "Your a… AST?" He asked, again mainly out of shock. He probably should've figured this out the moment she got in via an ID, but now the reality finally kicked him in the face.

Origami nodded. "I…" she began. She honestly haven't thought this far ahead, just reacted. So she paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. "I've wanted to tell you, but…" Then, for the first time he's ever seen… she started to cry. Tears welled in her eyes though she tried holding them in.

Michael himself reacted and, while he was still in very much shock, gave the short solider a hug, rubbing her back as well. "Hey. Its okay. I get it." He said, assuming the reason she never told him at first was because of her government agent status. "Guess this is why you disappear during Space Quakes" he added a stupid joke, having always assumed she just went to a different shelter.

Origami still cried a little, but returned the hug slowly, putting her head in his chest. "I didn't… want you to leave me… like my parents…" she said, as losing her mother and father was clearly a huge trauma for her. "You gave me warmth again… helped me feel again… feel happy again…" Origami confessed. For the longest time before meeting Michael, she had very few people to talk to or personally connect with. But learning he lost his parents, albeit n a different way, she felt like she found someone she could relate too.

And she didn't want to lose it… not again…

Michael kissed the top of her forehead, which did make Origami flinch slightly because she wasn't prepared for it, but then looked back up at the boy she fell in love with. Not only that, that was the first time she ever got kissed.

Michael did feel a little embarrassed, you can see in his eyes, having kissed her out of instinct… but he looked deep into her doll-like eyes. Normally emotionless, they were chalk full of it now. She was really beautiful, and he wasn't gonna lie, the AST uniform made her look really hot.

He pushed a long bang of her hair out of her face, eye contact not having been broken. "I'm not going anywhere… I promise." He said, now communicating using just their eyes. Upon saying this, Michael's heart was beating a bit faster… and thats when they slowly leaned in and slowly closed their eyes to share a lip-lock, giving the couple their first REAL kiss.

It wasn't a make-out session or anything, but it still got the job and desired effect done. Origami's tears were flowing down her face, but for a more positive reason. There was more… so much more she wanted to tell him, including the truth why Space Quakes really occur, and what comes out of them… but the sudden passionate kiss was a good distraction.

Origami couldn't help but moan a little into the kiss, and also couldn't stop her hands from resting on his chest now…

KNOCK, KNOCK

Both teens immediately broke contact and whipped their heads around, their moment having been interrupted and Michael having an 'oh shit!' face. Leaning against a wall (which is where the knocking sound came from), was a much taller woman with her arms folded but also had a decent level of beauty to her. She was quite young too, probably the same age range as their homeroom teacher.

"C-Captain Ryouko…!" Origami stuttered, with her guard down and her emotions flaring. This was CaptainRyouko Kusakabe, the Captain of the AST, and of course her boss. Of all the people to catch her doing this… how long was she watching them by the way? That's not even mentioning how many protocols Origami was breaking.

"Care to explain why there's a civilian here, Tobiichi?" Ryouko asked with a bit of sarcasm. Origami herself was tongue-tied. She had no idea what to say. Michael however thought of something quickly.

"Reporting for duty, sir!" He turned around while getting out of Origami's space, and saluted the older woman, though he did it quite stiffly with a serious look that was almost comical. She gave him an eyebrow raise. "… yeah, that's all I got." He slumped over in defeat.

"Step forward." Ryouko ordered, not addressing either teen, so Origami just assumed she was being directed. "Not you, Tobiichi." Ryouko clarified when Origami made a move. "Him."

She was obviously talking about Michael. She sounded like she was a strict boss, and not wanting to piss her off any further than she probably was, Michael complied. She eyed the young man in her base of operations, looking up and down. He was clearly nor from around here, but that was beside the point.

"Michael Pelham?" Michael did twitch at that, the woman somehow knowing his name, then again this was the government so he probably shouldn't be too surprised. He simply nodded. Origami was also getting concerned. What was Ryouko gonna do?

…

"Your her boyfriend, aren't you?" Wow. This woman was spot on, it was almost scary. Again, Michael only nodded. "… So your the reason she's been… distracted, the past couple of weeks." She added… was that humor?

-END FLASHBACK-

After that, Ryouko let them off the hook, being their little secret. She mentioned perhaps it was a good thing Origami had a boyfriend now, since according to her, Origami was one of the most, if not the most talented solider of her entire squad. So much so, she was one to charge headfirst into battle like she usually does, and having someone know about her job might be beneficial for her as she might start thinking with her head calmly.

This reveal also made Origami glance away and blush, mainly due to the fresh emotions she was still feeling from Michael at the time. Even though she put up a tough front, she was still just a girl.

The ordeal did make their bond stronger, to the point Origami almost kissed him in front of others once. Its not that Mike was embarrassed to be with her, its just he learned anime was someone accurate on how young men would react. Thankfully he was able to change it to a hug, which did get them glares still (a few boys even cried. Literally were gushing tears), but not nearly as bad as a kiss would've gotten them.

Eventually he decided "fuck all" and allowed public display of affection, provided it wasn't a make out. There have been times Origami clearly wanted to go further than just lip-locking, and to an extent Michael did as well, but he saved most of that for privacy. No, it was never intimate in the 'insert yours into mine' deal. It was sometimes running his hands over her body and vice-versa; before or during kisses… and maybe he accidentally cupped her butt once or twice, but mistakes happen.

It never went any farther than that however. One, because he didn't want to be a teen dad (though Origami did invite to bathe with her… several times. He always responsibly turned her down no matter how hot she made it sound, much to his hormones chagrin); and two, while he did love her, he wasn't ready for such a huge step. At least not for a long time.

Then of course, last week happened…

-FLASHBACK-

"Michael, what's wrong?" Origami asked her boyfriend as they sat together on her couch, her holding one of his cheeks to guide his eyes into hers. She had noticed he was very distracted all day, even on the date they just got back from. She still had a good time, but probably would have had a better one if he wasn't out of it. "What's bothering you? Tell me." She requested.

Michael sighed. Well, he put it off as long as possible, but it looked like Origami caught him redhanded. She might have social issues, but she certainly wasn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination. "Origami…" he finally said softly, and something about his tone scared her. She didn't know what it was, but knew it was bad. "I think… I think…" he tried to say, but the words struggled to come out.

"What?… You think what?" Origami asked, starting to show emotion which she rarely did outside when they were together.

Michael hesitated. This was no way to sugarcoat what he was about to say. Regardless of how he said it, it would still hurt. Hurt them both. "Listen… it's not you, it's me…"

Origami froze and slowly removed her hand, having heard that phrase in movies and tv shown when couples… no. Not them… This isn't happening. This was not. Freaking! Happening! She must be having a nightmare!

Michael felt a pang… no. A stab of guilt in his heart. He should have expected such a reaction to be honest. What he was doing wasn't an easy decision, and it's not like he wanted this to happen either. "Origami… I think we should… ya know, call this off."

While he did censor the two most powerful words across all languages, being "Break Up", it still got the same result.

The AST agent just sat there, no words came out of her lips. It was like her mind just stopped functioning or she had a bullet pierce through her heart and up into her brain before exiting again. "… Is this another one of your jokes?" Asked Origami, as both of them would say some pretty crazy stuff understand different circumstances. Not only that, her voice cracked slightly.

Michael only glanced away, but his expression told all… he wasn't kidding. He actually meant it. What the actual hell? "D-Did I come on too strongly?" Origami asked, which she has done quite a few 'tricks' to get Michael to go further with her. Can you blame her? For the longest time she was alone, and thanks to Michael, she found love again. It didn't replace her families love sure, but it was a welcomed substitute. "If that's the case, I…"

"No. It's not that." Michael assured her, as he had to admit, seeing her try her best to get them to take another step never got boring. Whether it be her in a cute cosplay of his favorite anime characters (although she lacked the bust size for most of them), or showing off her body by cuddling closer than necessary when they laid down and watched a movie or just cuddled for the hell of it; Michael never disliked it. He was honestly flattered he was worth trying to seduce.

"Just think about it for a second. You're a government agent, I'm a civilian," Michael continued, bringing up of the reason for his decision. "What if something happens, say like; a Space Quake? I can't make it to the shelter in time and the doors close?"

"I'd fetch you." Was Origami's immediate response.

"Okay," Michael thought of something else, kind of expecting that answer. "How about a terrorist organization? What if one pops out their hole and decides to strike?"

"I'll protect you." She answered again.

"You don't know that." Michael said, a little harshly, which took Origami back a little bit.

"Stop it." Origami ordered him, really not wanting to have or continue this Conversation. Preferably just pretend it never happened. "I'd give my life for you, Michael. If this is about your safety…"

"This isn't about me, its about you!" Michael blurted out, taking Origami by surprise. He was thinking about her when he brought this up? "What if that same terrorist organization takes a whole building hostage?… What if I'm one of them, gods forbid, and use me as bait or a bargaining chip? Then what?"

Origami never thought of that honestly, it showed on her surprised face. But for the sake of her happiness with Michael, she was going to try and argue a point again, but he continued on before she could. "What'll you do? Charge in blindly, and risk them pulling the trigger?… I know you, Ori. You'll have that on your conscience for the rest of your life… And even if you do save me, what about if your hit in your blind spot? Or even worse, what if a threat to national security uses me to get to you specifically?… How do you think I'm gonna feel?"

Origami hated to admit it, but Mike was right. She most likely would have that weight on her conscience of it ever happened. She was strong, but she was not invincible. There was one threat in particular, codenamed: Princess, that could very easily kill her if she was not careful.

"Please… don't do this too me…" Origami begged, understanding where her boyfriend was coming from, but selfishly wanted to continue the relationship despite it. "You saved me, Michael… you gave something I thought I lost…" Again although rare, she cried again, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "Michael, I… I love you…"

Michael of course, felt like total shit. Even if he was trying to do the right thing, he was still making his girlfriend cry. All he could do was reach over to her face, which she did not retract from, and wipe the tears even though more would probably soon follow.

"I love you too, Oreo… that's why…" he said, even he could not hide the emotions in the back of his throat, to the point he could not finish that sentence. "I want you too… want to make you happy…" his confession of his own love for her made Origami's eyes even more heavy with emotion than they already were. "But I can't be the reason you get hurt… you know I'm right." He said, which was ironic as he kind of was hurting her now, but better him than someone else.

That's why he had to let her go, on his own terms.

Origami could argue the point… but she knew he was right. Especially those monsters she had to fight… and if one got their evil hands on him…

She scooted closer to him, which made his hands remove themselves from her face, and she just rested her head on him. "Can we… stay like this…?" She asked, and Mike already figured out the rest of the question. If this was they're final day together, she wanted this as a way of closure.

Mike wrapped his arms around her frame, and leaned back into the couch so their bodies were on top of the other. They spent the rest of the day, the few hours they had of it, in silence.

-END FLASHBACK-

It was awkward running into each other at school after that, but they eventually got back to their regular routines. Now Origami and Michael did still spend time together, though not nearly as much as before. He began wondering if it was the right thing to do… maybe they could have worked it out somehow?

SLAM

"Are you up yet, 'Darling Big Brother of Mine'?" Mike's thoughts were interrupted by the intrusion of his younger stepsister Kotori opening the door too his room, talking in a low tone towards him while wearing her black hair ribbons as usual… does she EVER take them off?

Now to be fair, those actually are not the only ribbons that she has... she had another pair of white ones, but for some strange reason, she would never wear them. He only seen those white ribbons one time and completely by accident, in her room stuffed in a drawer along with pictures of her when she was younger and with some guy with blue hair that wasn't him. And in those pictures, she was wearing these white ribbons instead of the black ones... she looked really happy.

Regardless, she's always been like this. Ever since he came to live with her, she acted like her heart was always closed off. They had gotten closer in the months they've been living together, and while she was a little friendlier towards him recently, she was still somewhat distant.

She's even been living on her own, which surprised Michael, and she mentioned she was also left behind. Unlike Michael whom was left at an orphanage, their mother just didn't come home one day. No one, not even the police could find her, so either she dipped just like Mister Pelham or she was swallowed by a Space Quake.

Either way, all they had was each other. If it wasn't for her, Mike would be stuck when it came to communication…

-FLASHBACK-

Michael was sitting down at a the kitchen table, looking down at some markings and symbols of the Japanese language from one book. On a piece of paper, he was writing sentences… or at least attempting to.

"Stop." Kotori said behind him, watching over him. She then pointed to a sentence. "What's this?" She asked in a dry tone.

"That's a word in a sentence." Michael said.

"That's not a word sentence, that's the sound THIS word is supposed to make in THIS sentence." Kotori said, pointing to another sentence. "You need to put those kanji here!" She pointed to another spot, correcting the mistake Michael obviously made.

He was silent before slowly turning his head up to face her. "Why do you people write sounds at the end of a sentence?! Why not in the sentence like apostrophes?" Kotori slapped his back when he gave her backtalk, and rather hard. "ARGH!"

"Start it over. Try again." She ordered. Michael was then showing doing just that, starting over with a grumble.

-END FLASHBACK-

"What are you staring at?" Kotori's voice interrupted the flashback, making Mike realize he was in fact staring at her because of it.

"Nothing, just... rough night, ya know." He excused while pinching his nose. He had a bit of a headache from all those flashbacks and memories being brought up in one sitting. He felt like he was speaking in exposition to a reader of a book about important plot points the author may or may not be too lazy to write down... that's why he liked manga. There's no excuses with them... visual novels can go jump off a bridge though. Especially the ones with MILF garbage. BLECH! Every saggy, wrinkling, pasty...

"Boo hoo. Cry me a river." She said, then began to exit the room. "Now come on, you got school. Don't say I don't do anything for you..." Kotori added, obviously referring to coming into his bedroom to get him up when his alarm went off... that, or she was just hungry.

Sighing again, Michael stretched a little, then slowly got out of bed to brush his teeth and get dressed. Just another boring day of the exact same routine: get up, school and/or work, do some investigating about Westcott's company, bed; rinse and repeat for the last couple of years.

Will anything different happen?... Or was this all a waste of time, and his money, he'll never get back?

Chapter Text

Alright, it's been a bit, I'm sorry. But now we can get into the "Live" part of "Date A Live". Now for my old fans that followed me here, and to my new fans from this site that just so happened to stumble into this corner of the Internet... remember the old conceptual version of this story? When in them, I said Seasons 1 and 2 were fully written…

I say "were" now, because I lost the original files lol, but that's okay. I have bullet points for the plot as a backup, not to mention the concepts I saved, so I can just write it over again, and it's probably gonna end up being better. S3 is safe, and S4 also has bullet points and is nearly done, still in pieces but not fully written. I have NOT done the newly released S5 though, and the s1 "movie", Rinne dystopia, was also lost in pieces. The ending is fine, but the first half I have to rewrite… again, not a big deal. I've been at this writing thing for a long time.

Guess it was a good thing I saved the OG concepts, so I have something to refer back too. Regardless, with that rant out of the way, let's jump back into it.

Chapter 2: Let's Begin Our Date! - Part 2

Michael walked down the street to school... no, he and Kotori don't walk together; and even if they didn't go to different schools, they still wouldn't. They are rarely even seen together. You think they just put up a cutesy bro-sis shtick when they're in public, are you insane? They had images to uphold: one who refused to open up aside from simple "hi, how are ya" or "good night, see you tomorrow"; and the other who did try (in the beginning at least) but was ultimately going nowhere with how closed off the formers heart was. They basically had an unspoken agreement: we live together, but keep each other at arm's length... no closer.

"There goes Michael Pelham... rumors say he shattered Tobiichi's heart a while ago... Think because he has a sister complex or something?"

"Doubt it. He and Itsuka are barely seen together... though I heard his friend Tonomachi swings both ways. He even offers huge donations to every single Twitch Streamer he clicks on like Pokimane, even though she literally has a boyfriend."

"That is so lame."

That was Ai, Mai and Mii in that exact order, having also using the same path to walk down to school... this is something Michael deals with daily. Everything time they show up, those 3 had to make some kind of comment. He didn't let it affect him, but it was still tiring hearing the same peanut gallery over and over again... he only had homeroom with them anyway, so it's not like he dealt when them for too long. Just a quick few seconds here, then maybe an hour at school, give or take another hour if they showed up at lunch. Either way, only approximately 2 hours or less out of a 6 in a half hour school day... not a bad trade off.

Speaking of them, looks like news of his breakup with Origami hit them...

*Let them think what they want to think... wasn't easy for me either...* He thought to himself. It was true, Origami was really saddened that day of the breakup, and she was probably one of the first real girlfriends he's ever had with how seriously she took it. And yeah, while she had her moments, it was ultimately a good relationship all things considered. And yes, they still had homeroom together and sat next to each other still, and while it was a tad bit awkward in the beginning, they remained professional about it, acting like 2 students that just did their own thing while sometimes needing to interact from time to time... didn't stop people from being nosy, but that couldn't be helped.

Of course, now that he had time to cool off and think about the whole breakup, while it didn't affect their relationship as students... was there another way?... Could they have still kept the relationship going, even with the potential danger? Just have him put under very special protective custody or a security program or something? Maybe Origami's boss could have put in a word for him if either were the case?...

He shook it off, his head shaking twice. *It's already done and dusted... can't go back now...* He added mentally, deciding to forget it.

Was it a mistake? It was still hard to say, but he felt he did the right thing. Even if such a protection program existed, he was still a lability around Origami, a weak point of her's to exploit. And if she lost him in the line of duty, even if she wasn't directly involved, he knew it would utterly destroy her... she'd be flung all the way back to square one, back to the old Origami before finding him, only in worse shape than previously... He refused to put her under that kind of stress. It would be like her losing her parents all over again... and it would be his fault, knowing that.

Besides, he had his own personal reasons for being here in Japan anyway... it was probably for the best.

He ran into his friend Tonomachi during his walk to school and joined him in class for another day. They got there early, so they had a few minutes to kill before the teacher walked in.

"You ready for another semester, Mike? Cuz I sure am. And what are the odds of us having homeroom again? Some would say it's fate, us 2 smooth dudes in the same class." Tonomachi said.

"I'd call it a curse..." Michael said dryly right to his face.

Now don't get Michael twisted, he did like Tonomachi. They had the same interests in anime and other genres like video games, bonded over music, etc. And while Michael dating Origami made Tonomachi think he was now one of the popular kids just for being the friend of an Ex-Boyfriend of one such girl, which went WAY too deep into Tonomachi's head if Mikey was being honest, he was a decent guy to talk too. Plus, Tonomachi liked Michael's very dry and honest personality, which was a welcome change of pace from Japan's "everything is sugoi and you'd better say it is" mentality, like Japanese TV regurgitating the same over-the-top-and-obviously-lying talking points. It made Michael stand out, even to other people that were or weren't in his circle.

Tonomachi's phone then buzzed and chimed at that moment, a notification going off. It was pretty generic, which was odd, as Michael was sure Tonomachi was the 'Ara Ara' notification type of guy. "Oh, hold up. My girl needs me." Tonomachi added.

THAT. Actually made Michael's demeanor change... no, he wasn't impressed. More surprised if anything. "You?... And a girl?" He asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Like I said, is it too surprising for us smooth dudes?" Tonomachi said, not looking up from his phone just yet.

Before answering in his usual dry tone, Michael held one of his temples with 2 fingers while resting his elbow on the desk to hold up his head. "Machi, for as long as I've known you, your about as smooth with girls as water is with olive oil..."

"Hey, don't be mad when I get a girl, you broke up yours." Tonomachi said, where in about 2 seconds after that, Michael swiped his phone rather effectively with his free hand. "Wh- HEY!'

When Michael went to look at the contact info of Tonomachi's 'girlfriend'; he just looked at the phone screen for 3 more seconds with no expression, before slowly turning it around with a really? look on his face, revealing it was a Dating Sim game... and even more disturbing, the girl in question had a very similar look and body type to Kotori. Friend or not, that was still his stepsister, and Mike had half a mind to sock him in the face... but his was Tonomachi. Even though he had him going for a moment there, he honestly expected an outcome like this.

"What? She's still my girlfriend." Tonomachi said.

"... at least mine had X's and Y's, not ones and zeros." Michael said, not having the energy to fully deal with Tonomachi's antics right now. It was too early for this.

Speaking of girlfriends, it was also at this exact moment Origami just walked in, looking towards her seat, and meeting Michael's eyes for a bit... but after that, they both just looked away as she took her seat and pulled out a book to read just before class started. It was more awkward for the class that captured that moment rather than the ex-lovers, since Origami's expression was completely unreadable to everyone else. It honestly looked like she was either upset or indifferent to the whole thing. Like mentioned before, Michael and her just remained professional about it... simpler that way.

"... Doesn't get any easier, does it?" Tonomachi asked in a lower tone.

"..." Michael ignored that, then he tossed the phone half-heartedly back to its owner after that. Tonomachi did start minor flailing of his hands and then finally catching his phone, then taking his own seat when the bell rang for classes to start.

XXX

*Grrrrrooooooowwwwwll...*

That was Michael's stomach... no, he wasn't hungry. At least not anymore. He was on the toilet. Today at lunch time he decided to go to the nearby diner for lunch... he knew the squid tasted funny, but like an idiot he stayed and ate some more. He didn't think it would bullet train through his system as quick as it did.

"Uuuuuugh... yeah... sugoi alright..." Michael groaned, starting to clean himself as he finally finished 'his business meeting'. "Can this day get any worse?"

~WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!~

Michael perked up upon hearing that sound... a Space Quake alarm... what perfect timing...

"Ugggggh... this stinks..." he dryly said, punning the situation and speeding up to finish up and get out quickly. Of course, when he's on the bowl, it was around this time when a Space Quake alarm went off, warning of a detected Space Quake about to trigger. Seriously, did anyone know why these things kept happening? Now only that, they seemed to be happening more than usual than in recent memory. So much so, that the warning alarms have been reported to be delayed sometimes. This was actually one of those times, so all the people at lunch were most likely panicking to get to the nearest one.

When he finally got out of the bathroom, everyone was already off the streets, so they've all evacuated to the nearest shelters. At least he can make a mad dash to one without shoving people this time.

As he was running... he froze... he saw it, just like before... a Space Quake. Memories of his first encounter with one came flooding back into his brain, and you would think that would cause his fight or flight response to activate, but it instead made his legs feel like cinderblocks... they were locked in place. As the Quake erupted, he was pushed back from its immense power, and the spot it spawned in tore everything up where it stood. He survived it thankfully, for he was out of its range by the time it dispelled... ya know how or when you see a good train wreck and can't look away?... That's kinda how Michael felt right now, this scale of destruction was unlike what you see in movies or TV. This section of town... gone. Vanished. Never existed. It felt like a meteor crashed here. Although... the purplish flares were new... and what was that thing in the center? Did a piece of building somehow survive that?

It was a girl... a girl wrapped in a strange light. The dress she was wearing was very eye-catching, made of what appeared to be armor. Her dark purple hair was very long, tied with a ribbon that had a butterfly-like shape. Back to her armor, it has a pinkish color scheme and a set of purple plated armor that adorned her shoulders and waist. The dress also had a dual-layered, knee-length skirt that has a pink-and-white gradient. She also wore a pair of gauntlets and a pair of armored boots... in all honesty, she was quite pretty. He wanted to call out to her, maybe she was lost or something and needed help to find her own way to a Space Quake shelter... but something about her beauty was also violent... it kept him silent, like an internal instinct to avoid a natural predator... and what was with the random throne she was resting her foot on?

She moved at that point, her eyes noticing him... she would grab the very top part of this throne, and out she pulled a large sword. It was like that throne was her scabbard.

'A sword?...' Michael questioned, but that's when the thought abruptly ended, for that's the exact moment she swung the sword, at him.

BOOOOOM!

He didn't even get the chance to move. Either the girls aim was off, or he just happened to be in the right spot to avoid the slash, but regardless of which it was; her horizontal swing caused the building behind him to explode after a literal wave of energy wizzed past him... he craned his neck slowly to see the damage... the building behind him was blown to smithereens... he wasn't gonna lie, he was now kinda scared.

His neck slowly craned back around to face the girl. "... uh... parking garage is that..." he was gonna make a joke to try and cope with what his mind was still struggling the process, but that's when he immediately shut up when the girl pointed her sword at him now.

"... you too...?" She suddenly asked in a low tone. "Your also here to kill me...?"

Michael would blink in confusion of her question if he wasn't so confused. He had so many questions himself. Who was this girl? How did she do what she just did without a camera crew? Kill her (why the fuck)? How did she survive the Space Quake?... his mind was going a mile a second, his brain really trying to fully process what he just saw and how it was even possible.

"... Exxxxxxcuse me?" Was all Michael could say.

"Don't try and deny it... then I'll have to deal with you before the others arrive..." the girl said, her tone unchanged.

"Wait-Wait-Wait-Wait! Y-You got this all wrong! I'm not here to kill you!" Michael said, panicking a bit... the girl didn't say anything, though her eyes did react with surprise in them upon his words.

They couldn't really talk much else because the sound of engines filled the air... more specifically, the jet pack engines of the AST squad that was sent here. Unbeknownst to Michael, his Ex-girlfriend was a part of this very squad closing on this mysterious girl, and even began firing missiles at them (not realizing a civilian was still nearby). Michael didn't scream, again his body was frozen up, but it was also because at the exact same time, this mysterious girl held out her hand and summoned a barrier (the same color as her armor and flares from before) to completely nullify the attacks, with the missiles exploding soon after. Probably wasn't to protect him, most likely herself.

"Why do they always insist on resorting to these futile attacks...?" The girl said, and it didn't escape Michael's notice this girl wasn't speaking in a high and mighty tone... it was rather sad, which matched her the look in her eyes... regardless, the mysterious girl resorted to defending herself by slashing more energy waves, or just cutting a more missiles in half before they can make contact with her to begin with.

Michael didn't know about you, but this clearly was not just any random chick...

Origami, anger in her eyes, tried blast the girl at point-blank range with her AST Unit's cannon. However, when she attempted, her target in question simply grabbed the barrel of her cannon and crushed it, causing it to malfunction and blow up in Origami's face. This didn't take her down, and when the mystery girl tried slashing her more, Origami evaded and dismissed the wings of her Unit and was gonna try ground combat when Michael's presence finally caught the corner of her eye.

"Michael?"

"Ori?"

Obviously, neither of them expected to bump into each other, because one of them was supposed to be in a Space Quake shelter, and the other one was a government agent.

"Why aren't you inside?" Origami added. Ex or not, she still cared for a civilian's safety.

"Why aren't you?!" Michael returned. "What is going on?! And who is she?!" Don't think him stupid, he kind of had a general idea with the presence of his ex-girlfriend who was a government official. Obviously, this mysterious girl was an issue for the government if they dispatched the AST, and his ex no less. The main reason was his brain trying to rationalize all this, having even more questions; though one answer he had now was with how focused Origami was on the girl, this was obviously not her first rodeo, and something she neglected to mention during their dating days.

The mystery girl wasn't done with Origami and slashed her sword to send a wave of energy at her. Thankfully Michael was lucky enough to be out of its range again though he was still pushed back but it's force, and Origami did a flip in mid-air before putting out a sword of her own powered by her suit. She and this girl went at it, slashing over and over at an insane speed, where one mistake could lead to an opponent's head being cut off.

They're fighting eventually caused an explosion, blinding Michael's vision.

XXX

Michael's vision would return as his eyes opened... he closed them? Er, anyway; he would then wake up in an unknown, yet highly advanced-looking, medical room. In this room was Kotori sitting on another bed next to his own, but she was dressed a bit differently. This time she was wearing a red coat over a white uniform, a black tie with red sidelines, a red skirt, and a pair of black boots that reach halfway up to her thighs. She still had her trademark black ribbons in her head of course.

She wasn't alone, as checking over Micheal was a woman he has never seen once in his life: A woman with pale skin. That looked to be in her prime still, 20's maximum maybe. She has long, unkempt, pale blue hair which is tied into a right-side ponytail and blue eyes which had black sacks under them... lack of sleep perhaps. Also, for some reason, she had a small blue teddy bear that fit perfectly in her breast pocket, poking out of it like a baby kangaroo in its mom's pouch.

"Good. Your awake." Was Kotori's only response... it was hard to tell for Michael if she was concerned or annoyed.

"Uuuugh... nice to see you too, sis..." Michael said, gathering some of his strength to sit up. This is of course when he finally noticed he was being looked over but the other woman in the room. "... you've got literal bags for eyes, ma'am." He said calmly, honestly rather shocked at how dark those circles were under her eyes. He has never seen someone clearly so exhausted, which sure was a common thing in Japan given its work condition reputation, but not to this extent.

"Appreciate the compliment," said the woman with dryness very equal and on par with Michael's. She didn't appear offended by his comment at all, which showed she either had thick skin or was just too tired to care or come up with another response. "My name is Reine Murasame. I'm the head analyst here, with a background in the medical field. And if you must know, it's because I haven't slept in over 30 years."

Michael hesitated with his response... she said that so nonchalantly too. "... need a new mattr-..." He was trying to be nice about it, but Kotori, who at around this point had gotten up, slapped him. "OW! WHAT?!"

"Do you have any idea on how badly you just screwed up our operation..." said Kotori, being calm.

"Well so-rry I woke up from my nap." Michael said, thinking she was referring to him waking up from his unconscious state. "Where is this anyway? This can't be that cheap hospital around the corner from home."

"You're in Fraxinus' Sick Bay. When we found you unconscious during Princesses attack, Kotori decided this was the best course of action." Reine said.

"The Medical Company in the UK?" Michael asked, now even more confused. So after being found unconscious in Japan's streets, he was transported overseas for medical treatment? How long was he even out for if that was the case! "And what Princess? The girl?" He added, thinking back to the second girl he met... well, she did appear with a throne...

"... I assume you want some kind of explanation for all of this? Unfortunately, that's not my call," Reine said, then looked over to Kotori. "Commander?"

"Commander?" Michael repeated, looking over to Kotori with a quick snap of his neck, who looked away from him with a turn of her own neck and her arms folded across her chest. She was obviously conflicted and thinking hard about something. Still though... Commander?... Wasn't she a bit young to get a job like that? He and her weren't even military age yet!

"... Tori... what on God's green earth is going on?" He asked in a much softer tone this time, hoping that would get her to budge. After a few more moments of silence, glancing at him with her eyes for a few seconds then away again, obviously thinking hard about something else, she finally answered in a calm and professional tone and turning her head back to him when she finally did.

"... come with me. No point in hiding it now..."

Chapter Text

Season 5 is done and you have people literally crying over it for it's slight alternative ending to the books. I kinda said this before, but the DAL fanbase really has this unhealthy obsession of dooming and glooming, be it this story or the official one. I saw this one comment on Reddit that I agree with on how don't get your hopes up.

Though if I have to be honest, with how quickly season five was announced and came out in record time, it would seem this was always planned to be the final season. But if we take into consideration that High School DxD had the same problem, as season three was supposed to be its final season before it's fourth HERO retcon happened, then there is a possible future that a DAL Season 6 (or at least a movie) is theoretically possible.

Oh, and going back to how the author was saying to read the books instead… every author does that. Buy my merch, give me the money. Its a very neutral statement, neither confirming nor denying a new animation. Additionally, more anime figures of the other DAL Girls have been releasing instead of just Kurumi, which does show brand interest is still there.

I also haven't seen the last half of the season just yet, so no spoilers. But then again, anime adaptations usually have original or slightly altered endings. Did anime fans gain dementia, cuz this is super common. I can count 5 on my fingers that went through this and still ended up getting fully animated. Or if this IS the end like I've mentioned before it might as well be, either support the author by getting the last three novels and finish the story for yourself that way, or move onto a new franchise with similar themes.

Chapter 3: The Beginning, The Tutorial Stage

Following Kotori and Reine, Michael was lead into another room down a long corridor to a metal door. In this room was a few "desks" what the very least workstations for other people with some at these desks. One person was near the door with his back turned: a male who was very tall with long blonde hair and light brown eyes, wearing a white suit with a black shirt underneath and a silver-white tie with a black belt that can be seen around his waist. He looked pretty young too, early 20's was Michael's best guess.

"Good. Your awake. It's nice to meet you." Said the man in highly respectful manner after turning around upon hearing the door open. "My name is Kyouhei, and I'm the Vice Commander of Fraxinus."

Michael eyed him for a bit, then looked back at Kotori. "... your older, yet she's the head honcho?" He asked, still not, believing his stepsister was a commander.

"She was chosen for a reason. Commander Kotori is known for her swift and clean operations." Kyouhei said.

"... she can't even swiftly clean her own roo- FFFUUUUUUPPFFFFFFFFT!" Michael revealed as he's usually the one to clean it, which caused Kotori to stomp in his foot. Because he was not expecting it, it honestly really hurt.

"Let's get on with it..." Kotori said after removing her foot from Michael's and moved to sit in what Mike could only describe as a Star Trek inspired captains chair. After typing in a password, she would then pull up a camera file of todays date and a screen towards the very front of the room showed earlier footage from today. More specifically, when that strange girl they called 'Princess' first spawned in and before she acknowledged Michael's presence.

"Is this live?!" Michael asked.

"It was a few hours ago. We rewound it back." Kotori simply. "This is Princess. She's a terrifying monster called a Spirit, and not like a Youkai... she's the real deal. Basically, she doesn't belong in our planet, and just arriving here causes everything to blow up... that's where the Space Quakes really come from." She was explaining but much to her surprise when she eyed Michael, his eyes were glued to Princess, though it was clear he was still paying attention to what she was telling him... he's probably just taking this all in, so she continued.

"And this is the AST, but you probably already knew that..." Kotori continued while indirectly mentioning his 'past experience' with one of them, fast-forwarding the footage expertly until it landed on the moment the AST arrived. "They're real job, is to track down Spirits, and deal with them. Pretty sure even you can figure out the rest."

While Michael didn't answer her again, the part about 'taking care of them' immediately reminded him of what the strange girl said, the words echoing in his head:

"... you too...? Your also here to kill me...? Don't try and deny it... then I'll have to deal with you before the others arrive..."

Seeing that Michael was still processing everything, Kotori continued on. "Of course, there is another way to deal with Spirits without resorting to force... we spend time with them one-on-one instead. That's where we, Fraxinus and Rattoskr come in. We've actually registered and recruited many candidates for the job... but many got a Game Over or tried so many times to no avail. Now I'm sure you must have tons of questions... anything you wanna say?"

Michael was still pretty much silent, looking at Princess and the AST on the main screen... it was allot to take in, hearing a single girl was the cause of the Space Quakes. And judging by the way Kotori spoke, Princess was not the only one, nor the first. He still didn't say anything for a good 10 seconds before he finally spoke up...

"... So you, Spock and Bags here just Wrap 10 around the block to met aliens?" Michael said, pointing to Kyouhei and Reine respectively.

"They're not aliens. They're Spirits." Kotori said, correcting Michael and remaining calm despite his jab.

"You just said they don't belong on our planet, what else could they be?"

"They arrive here from a dimensional distortion that borders our dimension."

"Then they're crossing that border without due process, same diff."

Kotori didn't feel like arguing with him, and his back-and-forth with her was starting to annoy her. It was bad enough that he accidentally stumbled upon the real truth behind the Space Quakes... seriously. Of ALL the civilians in Tenju City to survive a Space Quake explosion then accidentally find out what's really going on behind them, it HAD to be him.

"So if I'm reading this right; armored aliens pop out every so often, your company is the non-PETA ying to the AST's yang, so you want me to take Nariko on a pity date before her sword devours her soul?" Michael then continued after taking all this in, coming to a sarcastic yet genuine conclusion. Considering Kotori went as far as the reveal all this information when she could have easily dropped it and left it as him regaining consciousness, she basically was trying to hire him as a hired gun.

Ignoring he got Spirits' terminology wrong again and his stupid references, Kotori responded calmly. "Your not leaving me much choice, so yes. We just lost our last recruit an-..."

"Not interested." Michael cut her off. "I moved here to escape the priests eyeing me like meat. Not flirt with an extraterrestrial." He added, sarcastically.

"Well your here now, and your personal opinion doesn't matter. Your only option is yes." Kotori said, her patience wearing thin but remaining calm even with Michael pushing her buttons.

"Like hell it is! Who said your the boss of me!"

"I could have easily left you down there to die, you should have been in the shelters anyway!"

"Wow. Nice to know you care, 'darling little sister of mine'."

"Your not exactly making this easy for me either! Civilians shouldn't be involved in this, but you've learned too much already!"

Michael and Kotori then started to argue back and forth, the brother and step sister bickering much like the stereotype. One side's pride refusing to give in, while the other one continued to order the first to listen to the second. As this was going on, Kyouhei and Reine's eyes followed whomever was speaking back and forth (though Mike and Kotori sometimes talked over the other), while the other people at the desks couldn't help but turn back and look. None of them had seen this side of their commander before.

When Michael did leave and Kotori was looking very fed up, Reine took the risk to approach her, holding up a piece of paper. "... I found this..."

SWIPE!

Kotori immediately grabbed the piece of paper and read its contents, not really caring at first... but that's when her expression started to change... her anger dissolved into shock... this can't be real. This, this was a joke, right?... Right?... As she turned around and looked at Reine this time to ask her to confirm this, Reine answered before Kotori could ask.

"I reran the results over and over while he was unconscious, and even an extra time during your conversation... even in the margin of error, the results are 100% conclusive each and every time." Reine allowed that to sink in for Kotori for a moment before continuing. "Even I don't understand it, but if what the tests showed are true... he could be the missing piece we need."

XXX

A darkened room... one with a single chamber in the center... illuminated by a light from within, blue hair floating around the body... she wanted out... wanted freedom... he really thought of everything this time, and took away her trump card... she needed an alternative... another way to achieve her own goal...

A little boy wandered in, his form blurry from within the glass...

"What the... ma'am... are you one of dads staff?... How'd you get in there? Are those tubes helping you breathe?... are you cleaning it?" The boy would innocently ask, completely unaware of what she truly was... as he would step closer to the glass, his form was more readable. Having some similarities to the awful man who trapped her here, but obviously not as corrupted of a being as him.

She didn't have time to think... she was desperate... this could be her only chance... will all her strength, she held up her hand...

SHATTER!

A large flash... glass and liquid everywhere... the child crying out of fear as she did what she did... she was left with little choice. The little boys vision was foggy... his ears were ringing... blurry images of moving shapes and human-like figures trying to subdue another one... he did manage to fully see his father, holding him and calling his name, also saying "stop her"... although it was mostly echos... the little boys eyes would flutter shut as he was suddenly exhausted, feeling drained and dazed...

XXX

Michael stirred awake and he held his head... what an odd dream, and that wasn't the first time he had it. He would imagine that scenario sometimes, every few weeks or months give or take... at least when he was much younger and lived with Westcott, but that dream stopped when he became an orphan... odd time for him to start relapsing with it.

He sat up in bed... oh, right. He arrived at home last night and went to his room after learning his step sister was a member of the Galactic Alliance. He didn't even make Kotori dinner this time, telling her to command someone else to make it for her before he left Fraxinus. Speaking of which, Who the hell did that little kiwi think she was? So was she was the commander of a starship? She was not his keeper, so what made her think she had the right to make him a cat-fisher? Even if it was true she did save him and did help him learn the culture, that's no excuse to talk down to him when he did just as much for her.

Now when he got up, Kotori wasn't home... probably either had gone to school early or boarded the Death Star early, and probably wanting to stay away from him after standing his ground. Eh, it was probably for the best, the two of them needing a break from each other. He decided to skip breakfast and eat at school... the new semester was starting today, so he may as well go there early.

XXX

"I hope everyone enjoys the new semester, because today we have a new assistant homeroom teacher!" Said Miss Tamae in her usual cheerful voice. Said teacher then introduced herself...

"I'm Reine Murasame... I'm excited to be here..."

CRASH!

Then almost immediately fell to the ground after possibly passing out due to her 30-year lack of sleep, shocking everyone else with the exception of Origami, who had her usual emotionless doll-like expression, and Micheal, who stared at the scene with an annoyed glare. There was no way she showed up by mere coincidence, and this was confirmed when Michael was requested by her to follow her to another room. This room was dimmed and had many cameras set up, but this wasn't the actual security room, more like a makeshift one that was set up on the fly. Kotori was also here as well in her own school uniform, sucking a lollipop this time.

"What part of 'no', did you people not understand?!" Michael asked both girls.

"It's more convenient to keep an eye on you if I'm your teacher. It was actually my suggestion and Kotori approved it." Reine said.

"And besides, as I said before, you already know too much. Powers that be will also be after you so like it or not, your part of the process. Better to pick a side now than be forced into one later." Kotori said.

"Then I should have said 'no' in Spanish?" Michael dryly asked back, deciding to completely ignore Kotori's hypocrisy on being forced into it, as that was exactly what she was doing as far as he was concerned.

"You should have figured this much out on your own. And since your part of Ratatoskr now, try not to be or do anything stupid." Kotori added. Michael just put a hand on his hip and stared at her, continuing to challenge her authority.

"First of all, commander; I didn't sign the draft paper and second of all, shouldn't you be in kindergarten?" He said, being more sarcastic and continuing to fight on this. Kotori was gonna argue with him again, you could see it in her face with her gritting her teeth... but then her mood took a slow nosedive, which made Michael question her though she spoke before he could or assuming he would ask anything.

"... Michael... we're always doing this..." based on her tone, she wasn't talking about their sibling bickering, but rather her job. "It's the same thing, the same pattern over and over again, with little to no successful results for either side... a Space Quake erupts, a Spirit appears, the AST try to kill them, we try to reason with them... yet the cycle continues on... And as you saw, nothing has been working..." Call Michael crazy, but for the first time, he was actually hearing genuine emotion from his usually walled-off sister... something she actually cares about. "If dealing with Spirits even IS possible... your our best bet... I truly believe that... I just want to know... so after this one mission, just this one... if you still wanna back out... then I won't stop you..."

Michael could tell that was hard for Kotori to do, as it was obvious to him she was leaving stuff out, but he filled in the blanks. From how serious Kotori was about this, it sounded like she's been dealing with this for a long time, possibly even juggling it with her personal life with teaching him Japanese and such. But going back to her, she most likely decided to drop the mask for just a moment to be fully honest with him... after losing her brother, this was probably the only thing she had left to fight for... that's also why she was recruiting him, not just because she believed in him, at least so she claims, but despite all her connections and her position of power as a captain of a spaceship... it sounded like she was beginning to lose hope...

Michael sighed, closing his eyes, thinking very hard about this... but at the end of it all, they were still family...

'... what am I doing...?' He asked himself mentally before finally giving his answer. "... fine..." He reluctantly gave in. "Just this once... then I'm out."

Kotori went back to her regular demeanor upon Michael's confirmation. "Alright. Turn your attention to the screen, and we can start your training. Hit it, Reine!"

The training simulator that was brought up looked oddly familiar, having similarities to that dating app Hiroto used... and the same similar character model as Kotori...

"... a dating sim?!... THIS is my training?!" Michael shouted.

"Well, gotta start somewhere." Kotori said simply.

"You cannot be serious! THIS is how you train potential recruits to your company?!" Michael shouted more, rather annoyed.

"Train and recruit. We use this to pull in the best potential candidates all the time."

"And where are they now? Sliced in half by a Princess?"

"Trust me. Your gonna need this... especially since your: 'out of practice'."

Grumbling from her using his last break up as an excuse against him, he decided to swallow his pride and get over to the computer and play the gam- *ahem*. Play the training software...

"Just the one time, just the one time..." he kept reminding himself this is only one time he was allowing Kotori to do this to him, then he's done with this.

XXX

Much to Kotori's surprise, he finished the 'training' in mere hours, not getting all the right answers the first time, as no one really could, but he speed-ran it pretty quickly through process of elimination. As since Reine was a teacher now, it gave him the perfect excuse to skip the day and play video games essentially.

"Well, look at you go, stud. Guess your prior experience paid off." Kotori said, of course not giving him the satisfaction, only a backhanded compliment.

"Please. Most of the answers were bullshit. SEGA pulls this all the time, insane difficulty spike for the sake of 'challenge'... seriously, there was never any indication one of the girls was a masochist and into bondage. No foreshadowing to that at all." Michael said, insulting the training seminar's lack of common sense. That was one of the only reasons he didn't fly through it.

"It was totally there. Men just don't understand women." Kotori responded.

"Because you all hate each other..." Michael muttered, but Kotori happened to hear him and lightly smacked the back of his head.

Even so, with Michael's first training completed, he was ready for the next phase and see how good he was on the field. Reine had asked Michael to come to... he had to admit, her baggy eyes and somewhat messy hair had some charm to it, but not enough to make his heart jump. What she did was put an earpiece in his ear that immediately cloaked itself so it wasn't obvious it was there. What was he now, James Bond? But even he wasn't prepared for what the loli MI6 was about to put him through...

Tamae: Good afternoon, Michael... everyone's already gone home, do you need something?

Even though the homeroom teacher kindly asked what Michael wanted from her, Michael stopped responding after being told to find her by his new boss.

"What are you doing, talk to her and make her fall in love with you!" Kotori's voice filled his ear via the earpiece. She and Reine were watching him from the cameras and while he did seek out Tamae as he was told, he stopped the moment he found her.

"Is this really necessary...?" Michael halfheartedly muttered back. From what he was told, this earpiece came with a very sensitive mic that could easily pick up on even the lowest volumes of the wearers voice, so he wouldn't have to talk so loud and it would look like he was talking to himself.

"You saw how cold a Spirit can be. If you can't get a human to fall for you, how do you expect Princess too?" Kotori asked.

"Because most Princesses her age are married by now..." Michael grumbled about the older woman in front of him.

"Your wasting time. Just throw her a few compliments, and if it goes well, the quicker your through with it." Kotori said.

Michael held in the urge to sigh as that would look rude in from of Tamae, who was not the target of his frustrations right now. Kotori was right though, the sooner he finishes up this "Trial Run", the sooner they can actually get back to the main reason he decided to go along with this and move on... it's just, he wasn't a MILF guy. Like, at all. Even if Miss Tamae did dress nice, again like with Reine, that one little bit of charm wasn't enough to woo him.

However, he took a second too long, and Miss Tamae, like any good teacher, worried about her student. "Michael, are you okay? If something's wrong, you can tell me."

Michael thought quickly. "No, I'm fine... your outfit is cute..." he said, then screamed in his head: 'I sound like I'm looking for cupcakes! Fuck me!'

"Oh, is it? That's so sweet..." well, his dumb little compliment did seem to work, as Tamae did blush a little. Alright... it was working so far, and as weird as this was to him, he wanted to continue on for the sake of this 'Trial Run', but couldn't. It was way too weird for him that he froze up again. "... look, I'm sorry, I..."

"Don't you dare!" Kotori ordered which make him stop, already seeing he was trying to back out, plus the volume she used made him grab his ear.

"Michael, are you not feeling well?" Tamae asked upon seeing him reach for his head.

"Nothing, I gotta go!" Ignoring Kotori, the weirdness overwhelmed Michael and he had to back out, leaving the teacher alone and watching him go until he turned a corner. Ignoring her yells in his ear, he then calmly spoke back. "Ugh, listen. Maybe lower the difficulty setting a tad. Furthermore, we're dealing with a supernatural alien in my age demographic... can we find someone easier?"

Kotori was gonna argue again, but Reine chimed in. "Commander, with all due respect, he does have a point." Kotori looked at Reine with interest as she continued. "Princess by human metrics is very close in age to Michael... perhaps we gotten too overzealous and overplayed our hand."

"... good point... plus the enthusiasm of single women in their twenties could be problematic if she gets too involved..." Kotori thought out loud. "Alright, Michael, we'll do it your way. There's someone down the hall on the left. Should be an easier target." She added, granting Michael this one favor only because Reine pointed out sound logic in Michael's defense.

The target was...

Origami: Did you need something?

Now Michael was a mix of annoyed and uneasy. So much so that he had to turn away for a moment to talk to the earpiece like it was a cell phone. This was Kotori's idea of easy?! Doesn't she know how awkward of a situation this was?!... Unless that was the actual point, but this was something Michael couldn't deal with it.

"THIS is easier to you?!" He asked in a harsh whisper.

"You wanted to lower the difficulty, and she's your age demographic; plus you have prior experience with her, so it's more natural." Kotori said, using his own words against him, and which weren't exactly untrue as Origami did fit the bill nicely. On paper, she was definitely an easier target... it's what was written between the lines that was the issue for him.

"Didn't you say the AST opposes your organization or something, isn't that harder?" Michael said still in that whisper, making an excuse up on the fly.

"She's your EX! Your playing on Recruit!"

"That is super unfair! There's more nuance!"

"How lower do you want?! Little Bitch Mode?!"

"It's Kid Mode! There's a difference!"

"What are you mumbling about?" Origami asked plainly, seeing Michael in her point of view talk to himself. Canceling the gritting of his teeth from his last line to Kotori, he looked at Origami.

"Uh, nothing. Just got uh, bug buzzing my ear..." Mike excused. "That's uh... nice uniform, where'd you get it?" He added awkwardly.

"The same place you did." Origami emotionlessly responded, her expression giving nothing away of how she took it. She could feel indifferent to it, maybe felt the question was incredibly stupid, but her lack of reaction left it up in the air. Of course, knowing Origami personally, Michael was sure she felt both ways.

"Oh, come on! Your not even trying!" Kotori said.

"No, I really am..." Michael muttered back to Kotori sounding mentally drained, which in his defense was true. He really was trying. But being near Origami in this context of basically trying to flirt with her after they literally just broke up not too long ago was putting his emotions out of whack, bringing up stuff that he wasn't ready to deal with. This was even more awkward than with Tamae, for at least with her he was able to give her a logical compliment.

"Well try again, with more feeling!" Kotori said.

"I don't think you understand how awkward this is for me..." Michael muttered back, sounding near defeated.

"Michael... follow me lead..." Reine said, giving some words to say. Not having the mental capacity to argue about it anymore, he repeated after her. But if he had to admit one thing, at least Reine wasn't constantly reprimanding him and offered help.

"So we... have the same homeroom this semester..."

"I'm aware."

"To be honest, I still think of you."

"Yes. Likewise."

"I also can't help but watch you as you study."

"Same here."

"Sometimes I..." He hesitates what he was told next but does end up saying it. "Watch you when you enter the bathroom..."

"Me too."

"Ah, wasn't expecting that." The was actually the first thing Reine didn't actually tell him to say.

"You didn't?" She questioned, as if he should have known... the only emotion she showed throughout this entire conversation, being doubt.

"No, I lied. So maybe you wanna go out with me again sometime?" He dryly said, also confirming he actually did kinda expect that from her, then actually repeated a line feed to him by Reine. Origami did not answer, looking unaffected by anything that just transpired. "... seriously?! Are you trying to help me or play out some weird fetish?!" Michael snapped at Reine quietly, not just because the conversation ended with a very weird statement, but also because some of the things said may or may not be a little too close to home.

"I don't mind... I'm okay with going out with you." Origami said, but again with no emotion on her face, it was hard to gauge how she took it exactly. Did she take it as Michael wanting to restart the relationship or from scratch, or maybe simply just figured he wanted to spend time with her and have no romantic intentions?

~WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!~

Before the conversation could continue, the Space Quake alarm went off, signaling to the public to get to shelter right away, and both students of a Spirit being summoned. This is where another sight of emotion hit Origami's face, as it was time to get back to her own job.

"I have to go." Origami said as she began to run and leave, as she didn't feel the need to explain as Michael already knew her AST background. But before she did leave, she turned and spoke to him... was that small concern on her face? "And stay in this time." With that, she fully left. Of course, Michael did in fact leave upon Fraxinus teleporting him already upon Kotori's order, with her and Reine obviously also being transported as well as the Quake was happening in the exact spot Micheal was standing.

The readings indicated... Princess...

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: The Princess and the Pelham - Part 1

After a few minutes, the Space Quake containing Princess went off with part of the school being vaporized as a result. The AST were currently preparing to move in, grouping up near the collapsed school building but from behind it, though because of this Ratatoskr got a head start.

"CR Units are deadly, but weren't designed for indoor combat." Kotori explained to Michael as he approached the site of Princesses spawning area, which was inside one of the school buildings hence the reason for the head start Michael had received. The AST was still nearby, so the clock was still ticking until they made their move.

"Yeah, because walls are gonna stop bullets designed to pierce alien armor…" Michael muttered dryly back to Kotori.

"For the last time, they're Spirits you ass-fart!" Kotori yelled at him. While it was acceptable before as Mike didn't know what these things were, it was starting to annoy the Commander now since he knew the proper term but kept calling them otherwise.

"Well, SHE; is a humanoid creature that pops outta black holes, so same diff." Michael responded. Honestly, if him feeling asking his teacher and his Ex-girlfriend Origami out as a 'Free Trial' was an awkward waste of time, this seemed even worse. Not that either woman was particularly bad looking by any stretch of the imagination, but asking people out willy-nilly was gonna give other people the VERY wrong idea if it continued on.

Again, he didn't want this job. And he wasn't looking to be a Harem King…

"I mean, seriously; you're acting like your one of them," Michael said, mainly as just backtalk; but unbeknownst to him, that made Kotori flinch and widen her eyes a bit. Back to Michael, 'But still, if Princess is some kind of monster… why the long face?' He thought, flashing back to said Spirit's expression he happened to see before she left to battle Origami. If she was a destructive being, which she certainly appeared to be… why did she look so sad instead of angry or crazed?

It was a sad look that reminded him if his own… when he was abandoned by his father… the feeling of being alone…

"Tori..." Michael hesitated, thinking back to how she said she believed he was the key to finally making some progress... did she really mean it, or did she just bring it up to try and manipulate him into doing this. "... did you mean what you said... about me?"

Now it was Kotori's turn to hesitate, not expecting Michael to ask her that. She looked at Reine who looked at her, silently thinking about the report she showed her about Michael; then when Reine nodded, Kotori looked back at the screen with Michael on it, taking an extra moment before answering.

"... for sure."

The High schooler then gathered his resolve... this was it. Just this one girl, calm her down, talk to her... then he can move on. Basically, the older sibling taking the controller for a moment so you can your younger sibling past Level One since don't know how to play video games properly.

"Alright… time to swoon an alien…" Michael said, walking into the barely-standing building.

"Ratatoskr's got your back, Michael!" Said Kotori (either ignoring or didn't hear her brother misname a Spirit again), then proceeded to introduce the rest of the crew, showing them on the screen as she said each name.

"The Love Master, with 5 divorces and 5 wives… Bad Marriage: Kyoji Kawagoe!"

"The incubus who speaks so fluently in Filipina under the moonlight that all girls want him… CEO: Masaomi Mikimoto!"

"The one who brings suffering to anyone who crosses paths with her man… Nail Knocker: Hinako Shiizaki!"

"The one you'll probably relate to the closest, the man with over 100 different Waifus… The Dimension Breaker: Munechika Nakatsugawa!"

"And finally, A woman whose love is so strong not even a restraining order can keep her away! Presenting Deep Love: Kozue Minowa!"

"So I'm getting dating advice from my Single Darling Sister," Michael started dryly, and continued using this dry sarcasm as he continued to speak while walking up some stairs. "A Player, Mark Zuckerburg, a serial killer, the 30-year-old Virgin, an Arkham Asylum patient AND, Snow Whites missing dwarf… that's greaaaaaaaaat." He finished.

"Everyone here's good at what they do." Said Reine's voice through the Bluetooth.

"That's my concern." Michael responded as he got to the next floor, where Princess was waiting.

"Don't worry. Even if you screw up, you can start a new game." Kotori said.

"Before or after the kill cam?" Michael said.

"Chin up, solider! Have some faith in your Darling Little Sister, and stay positive!" Kotori added. "Now flirt her dead!"

Michael sighed lowly as he finally approached the hole where a door used to be, and then thought to himself: 'I'm posi-TIVELY going to die…' He walked into the room Princess was taking shelter in, and once she noticed him come in, her hand glowed.

WHIP!

And sent a wave of energy directly at him! Mike's eyes widened as the energy was thrown at him, but his legs wouldn't respond to run!

BOOM!

A cloud of dust came out of the side of the building…

…

"… I'm dead… I'm dead-I'm dead-I'm dead-I'm dead-I'm dead, I died, I did…" As the dust cleared, Michael was shown in a brace position with his hands crossed over his head with his head turned away and his eyes shut tightly. Of course, once he realized he wasn't dead (miraculously), he slowly got out of his braced formation.

WHIP! BOOM!

Again, the Spirit/Alien sent another wave of energy at him. She didn't look sad this time, more on the 'on-guard, no BS-ing around' side.

"*cough, cough, cough*!" Michael as the dust settled again. The girl either had bad aim or was giving him warning shots. This is also when he took close note of her expression, although having a cute face, she was staring hard at him. "… Uh… guess that's how aliens say hello, huh?"

WHIP! BOOM!

That got him a third 'Hello' with the same result as the other two, dust and all.

"Quit cracking jokes, you idiot!" Kotori's voice came through the earpiece.

"That was a genuine question…" Michael muttered back, as wasn't that the point of this Dating Sim bullshit? As he got recovered, Princess raised her hand again but before she could make it glow, "Wait! Don't shoot!" Michael desperately requested with his hands up. While Princess did not lower her hand, she did not use it to attack him again either. "… I, come in peace?" Michael added, hoping that would help. It worked in movies…

The girl began slowly lowering her hand a bit but still kept it up, but she took a closer look at Michael upon narrowing her eyes. "… I recognize you… we've met once before…" She said in a strong voice, then lifted her hand up some more. It started glowing again, but she did not use another energy wave. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" She asked, then after a two second pause added: "And why are you following me?"

Michael did NOT wanna piss this girl off. Again, she was cute, but could snap him like a twig easily. "I…"

"Hang on, Michael!" Kotori's voice stopped him. "We're generating choices!"

"An aliens about to blast me, so you generate choices?!" Michael muttered in a snappy tone. He was ignored however as 3 dialogue options were presented to the Fraxinus crew.

1) Name's Michael Pelham. And I've here to save you.

2) I forgot something in my desk! Please don't kill me!

3) Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before asking someone else?

"Alright, everyone! Make your choices!" Kotori ordered as everyone on the bridge pressed one of three buttons on their screen to chose one dialogue option. The most popular one was 3. "Huh. No surprise. Most of you went with the same one I did." She added, implying she chose 3.

"First one is a classic, but in this situation, it doesn't seem appropriate." Said 'CEO' Masaomi.

"Good point. And option two is an escape type of choice, so that's useless." said Kyouhei.

"So mouthing off to her is our best option?" Michael asked them dryly. He decided to ignore the fact they treated this as a game... he already gotten this far, did the stupid training and everything, so he may as well either see it out to the end or lose a life... the things he does for family...

"You have a mouth anyway. What's the difference?" Kotori pointed out as Michael did have a snarky side to him.

"I try to refrain myself out of respect for aliens who can slice me in half with a giant fucking sword!" Mike snapped back in a low tone, gritting his teeth on the last three letters of his sentence.

"Why are you muttering? Answer me!" Princess ordered him, and judging by the sound of her voice, she was in no mood for games.

"Just stand your ground, and once she sees that, she'll let you live, and you can talk to her. Trust me. You're working with professionals." Kotori added after Princess demanded Michael to start talking. "Just repeat after me…"

With a heavy sigh, Michael gave in, and in almost perfect unison he and Kotori said: "Shouldn't you introduce yourself first before asking someone else?"

BOOM!

For the fourth time, Princess said 'Hello'. In fact, this 'Hello' was much stronger than the others' due to Michael not only getting thrown back, but also the sheer amount of dust that erupted, and the amount of windows that were not broken by the Space Quake being broken now. Michael was thrown into a wall, but thankfully not through it… still hurt his back though.

"Wow. Feisty one, isn't she?" Kotori stated in surprise yet still used her normal tone, omitting the fact Michael could have been killed.

"You THINK?!" Mike yelled into his earpiece, not caring if the Spirit/Alien heard him or not. About 2 seconds later, Princess was above him, her hand outstretched and it having a ball of energy locked and loaded at him.

"No more games. If you're not going to answer me, I can assume you're going to kill me." Princess said.

"Look, if I wanted to kill you, don't you think I would have tried already?" Michael blurted out of nervousness. This got Princess to shift her expression slightly, though she was still holding an energy ball on him. Michael slowly began to rise, going extra slowly as to show he didn't mean her any harm. "My names Michael… Michael Pelham…" he said with his hands raised. "… I promise, I'm not gonna hurt you… and even if I wanted to, does it look like I can?" He added.

It was here the Spirit dispelled her energy ball, also lowering her hand, but she still looked like she had her guard fully on. "When we met before, you said the same thing… that you didn't come to kill me…" Princess said.

WHOOSH! GRAB!

However, in a quick burst of speed impossible for the human eye to follow, Princess pinned Michael against the wall he was just on with only one hand. Even though he grunted upon impact with the wall, he didn't attempt to try and break free either. Just feeling her grip told him it would be pointless, plus merely trying might undo whatever progress he might have made with her.

"Then why else would you be here? If you're not here to kill me, what other possible reason could you have for coming here?" She asked him, leaning in a bit.

"I… go to school here," Michael answered honestly. He was surprised no 'choices' were generated for him beforehand, so either it wasn't necessary or Kotori and her crew left it up to him.

"School?" Princess asked, which gave Mike confusion.

"You don't… know what school is?" He asked.

"No. I don't." She answered.

'Holy shit, she IS an alien.' Mike thought to himself. "School is…" he began, but thought about what words he should use very carefully. If she didn't know what school was, she probably didn't know any other terms for society that were considered normal. "A place where humans learn. We come here every day. And I myself just transferred to Japan from America." He explained in much detail as he thought was necessary.

Princess cocked an eyebrow. "Japan? … America...?"

Michael would facepalm if the situation wasn't so serious. Of course she wouldn't know the geography of this planet, she's probably from another one!

"Japan… and America, are 2 different countries… or I guess regions could also be an acceptable term." He explained again. Thankfully this didn't trigger another question from the Spirit. "But back to you, why are you so sad?"

In response to that, she held him into the wall a bit tighter. "Isn't that obvious? Every human has been trying to kill me, they all want me dead even though I've done nothing to them!"

"Well, I'm not." Michael said.

"Liar!" Princess protested.

"Just look at the situation we're in!" Michael blurted out again, which did capture the Spirits attention. "You have me right where you want me, pinned right against a wall! If you wanted too, you could take out that oversized light saber you have, cut my head off, and I'd have no way of fighting back!" The Spirit only continued to look into his eyes, as if searching for deceit. "I swear… on my mother's grave… I don't have nor ever had a reason to kill you…" He added in a softer voice.

While she had no idea what a light saber was, the 'saber' part made Princess assume he was talking about her Angel, her sword. With his words telling her the clear optics, she continued staring at him some more. Michael then felt the Spirit loosen her grip after a few seconds, but she still kept him pinned. "You claim to have no intentions on killing me… but if that's true, then why did you follow me here?" She asked, and this is where dialogue options came up for Kotori and her crew.

1) To meet you.

2) No particular reason.

3) Was just passing through.

"Seeing as her first reaction wasn't the best, let's go with 1 this time. The safe route." Kotori said. If Michael was being honest, he reeeeeeeeally didn't want to listen to another crazy dialogue option from Kotori, but it sounded like a safe one once she read it back to him.

Michael: I wanted to meet you.

"Meet me?" The Spirit questioned, looking very much confused. She began backing off, removing her hand from Michael's person. "… why the heck would you want to do that?"

1) I'm interested in you.

2) I want to ask you something.

3) So we could fuck.

"Hmm… I'm interested in you, I want to ask you something, or so we could…" Kotori coughed the last one off. Must be a bug in the system or something. "… Have any ideas?" Kotori asked her crew. This was a tough choice, as Princess now appeared willing to talk but was still cautious. This could decide whether Princess opens her heart or closes it off again.

"I recommend something straightforward, so 3 is out." Suggested Bad Marriage.

"Exactly. This girl's way too serious for anything else." Agreed 100 Waifus.

Michael gritted his teeth as the ship's crew discussed a plan in his ear. For "professionals", they certainly weren't getting it. This girl was suffering. He could see it. She had been attacked in this country over and over again for God knows how long, and it appears the only time she lashes out was in self-defense. Everyone around her looked at her funny, treated her as if she was some monster and while she might be, she appeared willing to listen if spoken too.

She must have felt alone... trapped… abandoned… just like him…

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" Michael suddenly said, getting off the wall quickly. His sudden moves caught Princess by surprise. She would have attacked him for this, but he spoke before just when she began raising her arm. "Listen, ma'am! I get what you're going through. Believe me, I do!" Michael began to speak… speaking from his heart.

Princess didn't know why… but something about his tone made her freeze.

"Numbskull, what are you doing?!" Kotori asked in a surprised and annoyed voice, but Michael just ignored her.

"I can see it in your eyes… all that pain… all that sadness… your upset, not just because you're being shot at every time you pop in… it's because you're all alone! Alone in a world you must know very little about!" Michael spoke in a tone that began to get more emotional, mainly because he felt the same way when he first moved here.

"Michael! Stop it!" Kotori ordered him, fearing him talking without guidance would cause something to go wrong. Again, she was ignored.

"Well I am too! I traveled halfway across this damn planet, to a country and culture that I am NOT a hundred percent familiar with myself!" The Princess Spirit kept her eyes locked on him… but the more he spoke, the more her expression changed and the lower her arm went. "Trust me, there are still things I'm learning here… things that I never knew, or shit I originally took for granted back home!" Michael continued.

"Knock it off! Wait for our signal befo-" Kotori yelled at him, but her voice was then cut off.

The reason, Michael had reached for his ear quickly, and he took off the earpiece and threw it off to the side, where it banged against a wall and hit the ground due to gravity, also damaging its cloaking properties as a result and was now visible. Princess would have attacked him for this normally, but something deep inside her told her that this boy was nothing to be afraid of; plus the thing he threw did not explode so it wasn't a bomb or missile, as that would be stupid to set one off with himself still in the vicinity if it was.

That's nothing to say of the reaction of the Fraxinus crew, who all just stared at what Michael just did. In fact, while Kotori looked absolutely shocked, one of her lower eyelids was twitching.

With the voices in his ear silenced, Michael continued his rant. "Sometimes, I wonder if it was a mistake to come here… maybe I was just wasting my time… but then I saw you; in the same boat as me!" While Princess had no idea what a boat was, Michael still had not stopped talking, nor did she have the words to stop him. "You and me… we're both out of place! Me being 1000's of miles from home, and you 1000's of light years away from wherever you came from!"

While the Armored Spirit still looked at him, still on her guard if he tried something funny, she could feel the emotion coming out in his words. Most humans just shot at her first, and didn't bother asking questions at all… but him…

"Just know this: even if you're not human like me, even if you're from a completely different solar system, that doesn't matter to me! I understand what your feeling! Because I know what it's like being alone and feeling like your trapped!" Michael finally finished his very long monologue.

THAT… is when Princesses expression COMPLETELY changed. She was no longer stone-faced… her face now screamed total shock, her eyes widened, and her mouth having dropped open once the American finished his tirade. It had gotten so quiet, you could hear a pin drop and hit the floor in the next galaxy over.

Kotori herself was stunned herself. This Spirit looked like something was gonna snap. She hated to ask this, but she had to know. "… how bad is it? … her Happiness Meter?"

"Actually Commander…" Hinako said, getting Kotori's attention.

"… look." Kozue said, noticing the same thing her cohort did. The entire crew saw it. Princesses Meter, which had only risen to about 20% with all their questions to her… had slowly but surely increased by a decent spike to nearly 50%, and continued to steadily increase.

Back in the school, Princess turned away so her back was facing Michael. 'Wait… did I fuck it up?' He thought. There was a bit more silence until Princess spoke back to him.

"Hey… Michael, right?" Princess began to say, seemingly gathering her thoughts. "When you said, you knew what I was feeling… were you being serious?" She asked him, her hard tone from before having also changed a slight bit to something more friendlier. Both Kotori, and even Michael himself, could not believe it. He actually gotten through to her, even if he only pierced her armor slightly.

"I was." Michael said.

"But like, really serious?" Princess asked again to confirm, her tone almost sounding hopeful.

"Really serious." Michael repeated.

"Like, you swear?"

"I swear."

"Like, swear on your life?"

"I do."

"Like really, really serious?"

"Really, really serious."

"Really, really, seriously, really serious?"

Interally, while he thought the first three were cute, Michael was starting to get a bit annoyed by the back and forth repeating, but he didn't let it show. "Seriously, really, really, seriously, really."

"Seriously, really, really, seriously serious for real, 100% really serious, for seriously really?!" Princess repeated again.

'If she seriously pulls another Eddie Murphy for real…' Michael thought… then it hit him what he's been doing. 'Great… now I'm doing it!' He swallowed his pride before answering the Spirit for hopefully the final time. "Seriously really that's really serious. We're talking over 1000% serious… really."

Thankfully Princess did not repeat herself anymore, but she had turned around again while making cute grumbling noises and ruffling her own head/hair with her hands after turning her back to Mike again. When she turned back around to answer him, she had folded her arms across her chest.

"You think pretty words are gonna fool me? Who would honestly fall for such an amateur trick? Baka! Baka!"

Michael grew a forehead vein that pulsed a few times while his face twisted into annoyed anger. 'Did this alien just call me a dummy?' He asked himself. Now hearing "Baka" being lodged at characters in anime was cute, don't get him wrong… but directly at him…

He went to open his mouth, probably to go on an angry rant, but Princess continued before he could speak again.

"Then again, you are the first human to try talking to me, and the only one I've had a normal conversation with…" She said as she turned away for a moment. "I'm still not entirely sure of your intentions, but you do seem different from the other humans…" she continued. "Yes… perhaps I can learn more from you about this strange world and why humans are so violent." She added, though appeared to be talking more to herself that time.

'Yup… definitely from another solar system.' Michael thought. For a girl who had intense strength and can fire energy, she had a very much different curious side to her personality which didn't seem to fit her codename. "Okay." He said, clapping his hands together once. "So why not tell me your name now instead of me calling you 'You'?" He suggested, gesturing his closed hands her as if they were his fingers.

Princess turned back to him. "My name?"

"Yeah. Don't you want to talk some more? Feels weird if I can't call you something." Michael asked her.

The Spirit was quiet for a moment before answering him again. "I don't… have a name…"

Michael blinked… was she serious? She didn't have a name? … Why? … Isn't that how it works? Mommy and Daddy Alien/Spirit love each other very much, then a new one bursts out of the chest of the victim they laid their eggs in?

"Y… you don't?" He asked.

"No. I never had one of those. My birth was so sudden and…" Princess let her guard down, but then stopped herself from speaking any further by cutting herself off mid-sentence. She couldn't believe she dropped her defenses and almost spilled personal information like that. "… in any case, why don't you think up a name for me?"

"Well; Princess' putting us to work now, isn't she?" Kotori said. To be honest, they never had a situation like this before... heck, there was nothing in the books for this kind of outcome, but it all seemed to be going well. They just had to be a little more patient and play along with what Princess wants.

"Alright, team! We need a cute name for a cute girl on the double!" Upon giving her new command, the crew's monitors, including Kotori's, changed to the type of screen you'd electronically sign your name after using a credit card or something similar.

"Just us might not be enough options… should I call in the troops?" Asked Reine, and by troops, she meant lonely old (and young) men who played dating sims, which included Hiroto who happened to be in his phone now.

"One step ahead of you." Said Kotori, having already thought of that. Sure enough, 100's of different names began popping up, with the crew's names coming in first.

"Seriously, Kyoji?! We are NOT naming Princess after one of your Ex-wives!" Kotori yelled at Bad Marriage, who sulked at being called out, then another crew members name came up. "And what the hells that garbage?! How do you even pronounce that?!" She yelled at the name-giver, this time Masaomi.

"It's Clarabelle!" Masaomi said.

"What are we naming, a Spirit or a Cow?! Can't ANYONE here think of a decent name?!" Kotori said, skimming through the list of names quickly herself, then pointed to one. "That one! Try Tomei!"

"Uh, Commander?" Asked Hinako, getting a 'hmm?' from Kotori in response. "How do we tell Michael?"

Kotori humorously flinched at that, realized that without the earpiece he tossed off, he couldn't hear them anymore. Michael was on his own.

Back with Michael and the Nameless Spirit, he looked at her while trying to come up with something. Naming wasn't an issue for a baby as they had little choice in the matter until they got older and maybe wanted to legally change it. This was a Spirit, who looked to be around the same age demographic as Michael, making it a bit harder. That's excluding the fact she could blast him to smithereens…

Michael: Uh… Princess?

Her Happiness, which had risen to 60% from their conversing, quickly dipped to 50…

SWIPE! … Cr-CRASH!

She also swiped with her arm again, only to cut the wall behind Michael cleanly, where the place she swiped made the wall slide off itself like a knife through butter. The boy eeped at this.

"The Mecha-Mechas call me that all the time. I can tell when I'm being mocked." Princess said, misinterpreting Michael's suggestion.

"Ooooo-kaaay; you don't like it, that's fine…" Michael nervously chuckled. He honestly shouldn't be surprised, humans having attacked her who knows how many times so it only made sense she would hear her codename at least once, and of course NOT want to be associated with it. "How's about… Yuma?"

Princess' Happiness dropped to 40 as she began to frown and held up a finger and summoned a tiny ball of light. Of course, this made Mikey even more nervous with a nervous smile.

Michael: Uuuuuuh… Akane?

Happiness = 30. Ball grew a bit bigger.

Michael: … (squeaks) clarabelle?

Happiness = 15. Ball was now the same size as the first she dispelled before. One more wrong answer, he's toast… literally.

'Okay, Mikey! Stop screwing around! You need a good name… NOW!' Michael panicked. 'Think, Mikey, THINK! There HAS to be a name for her… a perfect name she'll like, and not Blip you into the next universe over!' He looked around the room with his eyes, scanning for something that could help him. Not like he'd find much in a devastated classroom due to a Space Quake and a Spirit tossing energy waves at him, but he did so out of anxiety.

That's when he saw it… a calendar… on a wall near the chalkboard, which was somehow not destroyed completely. The bottom portion of it had been vaporized (either by the Quake or Princesses attacks), but the month "April" was still visible, or at least still somewhat readable as a clean cut went horizontally across it.

He REALLY wished he hadn't thrown off his earpiece. He could probably use Kotori's help right about now…

Then it hit him… would such a name even work? Or will he finally get a Game Over? With nothing else to really lose, aside from maybe an arm, Michael's new answer was: "T-Tohka!" He said quickly, then immediately shut his eyes, mentally bracing for an incoming attack.

…

…

No attack came. In fact, Princesses energy ball began to shrink until it disappeared. Her Happiness didn't drop [though it didn't increase] either. That's when Michael slowly opened an eye, then looked back to the Spirit.

"… Toh-ka… Tohka… Ka… Toh. Ka." She repeated the name a few times, as if testing the words on her tongue and seeing how they felt. It sort of reminded Michael of this one shape-shifting deer thingy he read in a book once, how and when it finally morphed to a human form, it had the habit of using its new human tongue to drag out (AKA: try out) different words and sounds…

"Yeah. Tohka works, I guess. Better than that other gibberish you suggested."

Thankfully Princess, now willing to call herself Tohka for now, was okay with the name chosen. Michael walked over to the chalkboard, and while normally 'Tohka' would have questioned or take a defensive stance such a move, she let him continue. A few humans that wanted her dead had done this, either flying or jumping back before trying to strike her.

"What are you doing?" 'Tohka' asked him as he got a piece of chalk (how it wasn't destroyed he wasn't gonna question) from the tray and began writing on it.

"I'm writing your new name out." Michael said while focusing on writing the name and not turning back to face her. Admittedly, writing in Kanji was not the easiest thing for him, having taken years of practice; but he read and spoke Japanese pretty well from said practice. Sure, they butted heads allot, but Kotori was one hell of a teacher…

"Write… ting?" Tohka asked, making Michael stop mid-writing and look back at her in silence for a moment.

"You really don't know anything, do you?" He asked. His response was another frown and a tiny pebble-sized ball on Tohka's finger. At this point, while it was a bit nerve-racking, it was also getting old. "You wanna spell your name or not?" He offered dryly, also holding up the chalk he used.

Tohka denied the chalk and just walked over and used the same pebble-sized ball to burn her new name into the board. She did spell it correctly, though it was a little clumsy. She hasn't written anything up until this point. "Here. Try again." Michael said, then tried to erase it with the provided eraser (again, wasn't gonna question how it was not destroyed) … Then of course, realized the stupidity of this action as it didn't come off.

"… right." He then chucked the eraser behind him, it flying off with a whistling sound, ending somewhere in the room. He then patted a spot next to the clumsily written 'Tohka' word. "Here."

The newly named Tohka tried again, looking allot more focused, and referred back to Michael's written 'Tohka' more than the first time as a reference, making sure she got it right. When she finished her second attempt, it was definitely better than the first, though she messed up on the curvy part of the "香" character. It didn't actually matter, but she grumbled and scooted over to try a third time, wanting to make it perfect.

Just as she went to begin writing again, Michael's hand grabbed her own quickly and gently just before her outstretched finger got close enough to make more burn marks in the chalkboard. He wrapped his fingers around her hand for what she could only assume was control, using his index finger and thumb to keep her own index finger stabilized. He was also against her back somewhat, his head over one of her shoulders.

When this first happened, she gave a low gasp, but now her strong side kicked in. "What are you…?!"

"Just!" Michael cut her off before she could finish, catching her off-guard, then took a breath through his nose to calm himself, and added more calmly: "Just relax." Michael then proceeded to guide Tohka's hand… oh, now she got it. He was trying to help her.

As they worked together to write Tohka's new name, she could feel how warm Michael's hand was, feeling blood pulsing throughout his hand, matching the rhythm of her own. His grip, although gentle, was also quite strong even though she could very easily tear his arm out of his socket right now if she wanted too. She also happened to glance at his face with her eyes… they were pretty close to each other, and he looked both determined and focused as he continued guiding her hand.

Fascinating. Aside from the hair and certain features on her own body, it appeared a human being was no different from herself. She also didn't understand why… but her chest was starting to feel funny… how odd. Unless she was out of breath, her chest would never feel this strange, but it wasn't in her lungs otherwise she'd be gasping for breath. It felt more towards the center of her chest for some reason… weird.

Deciding to ignore it, she looked back toward her almost-done name, continuing to work with Michael to spell it. They finally did finish it, and it was a perfect match to how Michael wrote his. The only difference was it being a burn mark so if this building ever gets repaired or used again, it'll take a while to clean them up.

"Ta-daaaa." Michael joked, letting go of her hand, though Tohka didn't laugh for either not finding it funny or not understanding the context. All she did do was slowly place the same hand she wrote it with against it, slowly dragging it down the characters.

"Tohka… that's... my name…" she said, then looked back to Michael. "Michael… thank you." She showed gratitude and for the first time, she smiled, her Happiness going back up significantly. To be honest, Michael felt his heart skip a beat. Despite her Spirit Armor giving her the appearance of 'don't even think of fucking with me, or else'; she was still a very pretty girl…

"Well, they're getting along really well." Kotori said back in Fraxinus. She had to give Mike some credit. While he made a few mistakes, he recovered pretty well, though one could make the argument he just got insanely lucky. Tohka's Happiness Meter was back to where it originally was when Michael said he understood her pain, now back to 50.

Alarms suddenly started blaring, of course making the crew a little nervous. Tohka's Happiness wasn't dipping… was there another Space Quake on the way? … no… it was something worse, but they couldn't warn Michael for already established reasons.

PEW, PEW, PEW, PEW, PEW!

Shoots suddenly fired on Tohka and forcing Michael to back away, killing the mood, but a barrier of her power protected her from any harm. It was the AST, flying above while shooting at Tohka as she was now visible to them due to a hole in the side of the building. They had no idea Micheal was in there with her as a wall blocked the view of him.

"Captain, is this approved?" Asked one of the AST to the captain, Ryouko.

"We haven't gotten clearance to engage in the target, but we have permission to smoke her out." Ryouko answered, as she and some others were reloading their guns. They stopped firing, most likely to wait for Tohka's response and see if she was lured out by this.

'Great. Right when we were just having a moment.' Michael though dryly.

"You should go," Tohka said. "I'd like to talk more, but I don't want to you get hurt by your own kind either." She added out of concern for Michael. Even if it was for only a few minutes, she felt like she had one ally in this strange world.

Part of Michael kind of did want to leave, not wanting to get shot or get caught in the crossfire again… he probably should too, as that was it. He did his job, he talked to her, so he can leave... but another part…

"… Now YOUR the Baka if you think I'm going anywhere…" he said to her, then he stubbornly sat down on the floor. "I'm not leaving you alone. Not yet.

Tohka stared at him, more shocked... he wanted to stay? What the heck would he want to do that "Michael…" Tohka said, but Mike cut her off.

"I'm. Not. Leaving." He repeated, one word at a time to emphasize his determination. Sure Tohka was scarily powerful, but once you got past that barrier, Tohka seemed like a kind person yet clueless about the world around her. "Don't you want to learn more about this rock we live on? Then have a seat."

Tohka could only look down at Michael… again, she felt that same weird feeling in her chest a second time now… it really confused her. She was thinking it was maybe her guard as someone was touching her, but now it triggered again when someone sat 3 feet from her? … So strange.

She looked back up at the AST, having stopped attacking and just flew in the sky in formation. Yes, she wanted to continue talking, it was honestly a nice change of pace. But just being near her put him in danger.

"Just tune them out. Like they're not even there." Michael said.

"… Tune them…?" Tohka started.

"Its human talk for: ignore them." Michael cut her off again, having already predicted her question. "Come on. Sit." He told her, and in silence, Tohka did so. Not even a second after that, the AST opened fire again, obviously to try and lure her out and not even seeing Michael was there. "Oh… and can you get that?" Mike then pointed to the earpiece he threw before, which was still near the chalkboard, and somehow had NOT gotten shot once.

It was either luck, or bad aim.

Under normal circumstances, Tohka would have questioned why someone would want an item back, but she felt she could trust him. She used her hand to channel power to form a bubble of energy around the earpiece, which then floated over to Michael upon incasing the item in question, then the bubble vanished dropping the earpiece into Michael's lap. He then put it on, figuring he might need it.

"What exactly is that?" Tohka felt the need to ask.

"It's sentimental. Like your sword." Was Michael's answer.

Then they talked… and talked… and talked some more. Even as the AST kept reloading a seemingly limitless supply of magazines, they continued their conversation as if they were not even there.

They talked for about an hour, even as the gunfire rained around them. Tohka had so many questions, but Michael answered all of them. What was a boat that he mentioned earlier, what were some of the buildings were called, what those metal boxes on four wheels were, etc. Some of his answers lead to more questions such as why humans go into buildings was brought up; that lead to "what is a house?", "what is a bed?", "what is a kitchen?"… even "what is a toaster?" Seriously, she was asking so many general knowledge questions, you'd honestly think she was an alien. Even still, the AST continued to fire, with Michael shooting up a glance at them.

"... They don't stop buzzing, do they?" He asked, dryly.

"No... they don't." Said Tohka, and while she didn't quite understand his dry humor, she did appreciate it as it sounded like he was annoyed with their constant barrage of bullets. She would feel the same way, having to deal with it every time she spawned into his world.

"So... what's it like being a Spirit?" Michael asked, now asking a question of his own after an hour of answering her's. Much to his surprise, she cocked her head slightly.

"Spirit?" She asked.

Michael blinked. "Um... you."

"Me?"

Tohka obviously wasn't getting it, so it didn't take Michael to be a genius to figure out that's not what she referred to herself as. So instead, he tried another question. "Well, if you're not human like me or them, what are you exactly?"

"I don't know what I am..." Tohka admitted. "All I know is that my birth just seemed to happen, and how to defend myself with my Angel.

"Your Angel?" Michael asked, unfamiliar with the term. The only Angel he knew of where those humanoids with bird wings when they die, but Tohka said it as if it's something she has on her.

"My blade... or my 'light saber', as you called it." Tohka explained, using the term Michael used to describe her weapon. "When I awoke the first time, the Mecha-Mecha squad just attacked me... and I have no idea why. I just had to defend myself."

Michael would have asked what the Mecha-Mecha was, but it was obvious to him it was the AST as they had machines, or mechs in this case, to deal with problems, which he now knew were Spirits.

"I see..." Michael said, then ringing rang in his ear from earpiece.

"Not bad, big bro. Her Happiness is over 70%! Now just like your training, now's your chance to ask her on a date." Kotori said, impressed that despite the AST's presence, everything was going so well. Princess, or now known as Tohka, was nice and calm, and clearly had gained a level of trust for Michael.

"That was just a game, real people aren't determined by gauges." Michael muttered, which upon hearing his mother in, although she had no idea what he said, Tohka spoke to him again.

"Are you okay? You're muttering again." She asked in a calm and kind tone.

"Uh, yeah I'm fine. Just muttering about how persistent the Mecha-Mecha's have been this whole time." Michael quickly white-lied and it was a convincing one. Tohka saw no reason to think he was lying... but part of her, probably her uncertainty from her previous interactions with humans, was suspicious.

"If your hiding something from me, I don't appreciate it." Tohka said, her tone going back to its harder one.

"I'm not! I swear!" Michael insisted.

Her Happiness dropped to exactly 70, still in the 'dating' range, but a little annoyed he wasn't telling her exactly what he was saying. "Then if you have nothing to hide, say it. What were you muttering about?" She asked, summoning a ball of energy like before.

"OKAY, OKAY! PUT IT AWAY, PUT IT AWAY!" With his quick response, Tohka did as asked and dispelled the energy ball. Michael then mentally prepared to ask her out on a date, thinking of how to say it as to not come across too strong or extremely desperate. Taking a breath in, he then finally asked. "Alright... I know it hasn't been long... but it is kinda late, so... you wanna pick this up later, and go on a date with me sometime?"

Back in the air with the AST, we actually focused on Origami who was with this squad, changing her aim and positioning slightly... she had the same thought as everyone else on her squad: why wasn't the Spirit coming out yet? She was standing a moment ago, then she just sat down and stayed there... it's like her attention is focused on something, that or she just refused to acknowledge them and was indirectly mocking them.

"Any movement on your end, Origami?" Ryouko asked flying a bit closer to Origami and was in the middle of reloading.

"Negative. She's staying put." Origami said.

"An hour of us shooting her and she's still there?" Ryouko asked, finishing her reload.

Seriously, after all this, Princess still wasn't coming out to defend herself?...  Sure they didn't use missiles this time, but they'd rather wait till she was out in the open. Less to repair that way before the alarm gave the all-clear for civilians to return to normal life... what was the Spirit so focused on? What had her attention? The answer was revealed when, after an hour of enduring a constant barrage of bullets (and probably some of Tohka's own attacks while conversing with Michael), the wall finally gave away and caused some dust... they finally saw there was another humanoid outline near the Spirit, literally sitting across from her.

"What the...?" Ryouko asked while squinting at the sight, and while she couldn't tell it was Michael just yet, she could see that there was someone else down there. "Weapons down! Hold your fire!" She ordered and immediately the squad did so. Sure enough, the dust settled enough to show it was another human, Micheal to be exact.

"A boy?" Asked one of the girls of the squad, a girl with blonde hair. This was Mildred, one of Origami's friends.

"Wait... isn't that Origami's...?" Asked another, this girl with tiny pigtails. This was Mikie, another close friend of Origami, and she was the first to recognize and almost point out that it was Michael down there...

She was unable to fully say this was Mike because once Origami herself realized it, be it as a sense of duty, her hate of Spirits or her ex-lover being involved; she gritted her teeth and drew an energy blade, diving down to the school without a second thought despite the fact they were ordered to keep their distance.

"Tobiichi! What are you doing?! GET BACK HERE!" Ryouko ordered her, but Origami had already made up her mind or was being reckless. Sure she wanted to protect any civilian as well, especially the boyfriend of her best agent, but she did not have a conflict of interest due to the very emotions that involved such relationships, which allowed her to think more clearly. Approaching recklessly could put Michael's safety on the line... but there was no stopping Origami now...

"Pick what up? And what's a date?" Tohka asked, not understanding either term Michael had used.

However, before Michael could even answer that question and even before Kotori could warn him Origami was about to attack Tohka, she was already upon the duo and shouted a battle cry as she was attacking, clashing her energy blade into Tohka's barrier. Obviously, this didn't work at all, and Origami flipped sideways to get in front of Micheal protectively... and it didn't escape his notice the doll-like girls hands were shaking as she gripped her blade, her stare burning into Tohka's head. Whatever hatred she had for Spirits before was heightened now for whatever reason.

"So it's not enough to destroy everything, you have to take a hostage?!" Origami spat at Tohka with as much venom as she could.

"You again... how rude. I did nothing of the sort." Tohka said, her kind tone replaced permanently with Origami's presence, recognizing her as well.

"Monster... he's not your shield..." Origami continued, her tone still venom written. Your probably thinking Michael should say something or wanted to do so... even if he did, what was he supposed to say? That he wanted to ask an alien on a date? Even after Origami told him to stay in the shelter this time yet here he was?... He knew if he said anything, it would only make things escalate faster.

"Hey Scottyyyyy... Wanna beam me uuuuup?" He muttered into the earpiece, wanting to get out of here while Origami's attention was on Tohka.

"We're already working in it, give it us a minute!" Kotori's voice said, her team working as fast as possible to lock onto him and get him to safety.

"Origami! Listen to me! We don't have orders to engage!" It was now Ryouko's turn to play Commander and talk to her own soldier. "I understand you want to protect him, but you're not thinking straight! You're putting him in even more danger... whether this is a hostage situation or not, just get out of there! THAT'S AN ORDER!" Ryouko tried the softer approach though still ordered Origami to stand down.

Although she was ordered directly, Origami just gritted her teeth more and stood her ground without fear or falter, her grip on her blade even tighter... she was not gonna let any harm come to Michael, ex or regular citizen or otherwise. She didn't care if she would get in trouble or be harmed in any way, what was on her mind now was Tohka apparently "kidnapping" him to use as a human shield...

"Sandalphon!"

Even as Tohka summoned her large throne and the sword within, Origami would not be moved. Her body refused to show weakness. Now as Tohka was going to swing her sword, lifting it above her head... she hesitated for a moment, her eye drifting to the boy behind Origami. If she swung now, he could be seriously hurt by how close proximity Origami was to him. Her target was the Mecha-Mecha (or as Michael called "AST" in their conversation) before her, not him; especially after he went out of his way to actually LISTEN to her side of the story and not judge or view her as a monster, as well as according to himself, he too was lost in this world to a varying degree, but like her all the same.

The thought of accidentally hurting him because of all that made her chest tighten for a second, the feeling foreign to her, which made her feel strange...

That all changed when Michael... how exactly did he teleport away like that?... Ah well. He wasn't there anymore, meaning there was no threat to him; so narrowing her eyes and having no reason to hold back now, she finally did swing her sword, an energy wave hitting Origami which her CR suit protected her from, but it caused an explosion to still happen.

The mission was over thanks to Origami's decision to swoop in, as Tohka would disappear as well, leaving Origami's team to fetch her out of the rubble.

XXX

The next day when school let out, Michael walked through the halls to his next destination. School actually ended early today, as part of the school still needed repairs from Tohka's Space Quake. As he was leaving however, he felt something yank him by his arm.

"A-HEY! WHAT'S YOUR..." Michael was yelling at the person, but then saw who it was. "... Origami?" Indeed it was, the short-haired doll was the one who grabbed him, but where had she been since? She wasn't in school all day... still recovering from Tohka's attack? Maybe.

"Come." Was the only word she said in a stern tone, and pulled him along to a secluded area, which happened to be the entrance to the school's roof. "I told you to stay." She immediately got to the point, mentioning Michael's appearance outside the shelters a second time.

"I had a stomachache again." He attempted to lie, though Origami's expression did not change. She just eyed him.

...

...

"... so your part of them now?" Origami's simple question had an extra layer that Michael automatically picked up on. Firstly, she was obviously mentioning Ratatoskr. They were opposing organizations after all. Secondly and most tellingly, this was the second time Michael was found with the exact same Spirit, so obviously he had a way of tracking which one caused what Space Quake. Origami was a little weird behind closed doors, but she wasn't stupid. She was smart enough to figure it out on her own.

Considering she also opened up to him about how Spirits killed her mom and dad... that's probably another reason for her sternness... it felt like betrayal, the boy she once loved turned to the other side.

"... And if I am?" Michael said, not denying he was working with Kotori's group, but his loyalty to said organization was up in the air. He was only doing Kotori this one favor. Origami did not answer however, but her stern expression got even more stern, bordering on contempt. Micheal kept eyeing her as well. As far as their organizations were concerned on a corporate level, they were on opposing sides.

At school, they were students... but on the field, they were now enemies...

Chapter Text

Alright boys and girls, we're finally back with more Son of Westcott. Sorry it took so long. My IRL life has been mad, plus its now the holiday season with thanksgiving, Christmas and New years in a row. I'm gonna try to not have you wait as long again, but the next chapter might not be ready until 2025. So as an an extra apology, at the very end of the chapter, there will be another concept chapter like how this story originally started out. Figured it would be better to put it here than in a now strictly archived work.

I will warn you, its not too long. I'm only just starting some S5 work, and its subject to change... but if i can be honest, i did binge the entirety of Season 5 in one sitting, and it didn't sit right with me. No, not the fact its pretty much over, its the quality of the product released. The constant flip-floping to 2D and 3D models, the stiff animation in those 3D models, the balant reuse of assets and not even in the tasteful way... it was a hot mess. Even the pacing was kinda bad in my personal opinion. S4 had the excuse for the 2022 pandemic... what's this ones excuse?

I mentioned it before, but they probably wanted to wrap it up in a nice bow; but dear God, they messed up the tying of that knot. This is not me saying it was all bad, i had fun with half of it, but the other half was so balantly rushed, that it honestly stinks.

Yes, im aware Geek Toys merged, which is probably another reason why this season turned out the way it did. And If a season 6 DOES end up happening, which is theoretically possible as lots of merch had been sold from what I understand and this season wasn't purely funded off a mobile game, they should NOT do that again.

Also, on an unrelated note; apparently American women dont wanna have sex, kids, date or get married any men anymore until Trump leaves office in America?... While us adults in the room are gonna just accept this and move on, as we still gotta pay taxes and bills regardless of who won, I only have 3 responses for that:

1) Good luck.

2) Anakin Skywalker: "LIAR!"

3) Senor Chang: "Ha... GAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

Chapter 5: The Princess and the Pelham - Part 2

Before Michael actually left school, he stopped by the destroyed section of it... a third of it was still completely gone, hence the early dismissal. Gave him more important things to do in his time... like Apex. Fuck Fortnite. Too kiddy for his taste... they did offer based events however, even if was only cross promotion for other franchises. Back to the point, he still couldn't believe how much he learned in a short time. About Origami's and Kotori's secert allinments, the real turth about Space Quakes, the aliens that apparently come out of them... it was allot.

"Michael..." a voice said to him, but he was thinking too deeply to himself about everything he's experienced in the span of a few days. "Hey, Michael!" Upon calling him (and soundly only slightly annoyed from being ignored) the second time, his brain actually registered it this time, then began looking around for the source. When he found the source of the sound, he honestly couldn't speak for a few seconds and all he said was...

Michael: Tohka?

Indeed it was, standing on top of some rubble which was either from their conversation or Origami's intrusion (he couldn't tell).

"You only now just noticed me? Baka." Tohka answered with a small smile...

'I'm sorry, was she teasing me?' He asked himself. It was cute don't get him wrong, but it felt like a fast 180 compared to her previous cautionary attitude. "But... but you... the alarm... Origa-"

He stopped himself before saying Origami's name. It probably wasn't a good idea to say he knew her attacker name. Names mean you are familiar with someone, and considering how long Origami's division seemed to have been after Tohka specifically, that was most likely decrease Tohka's trust in him. For now, he figured he'd keep that to himself. At least until Tohka trusts him more.

They just met officially yesterday. He couldn't risk destroying the opening he made with her. When she stared at him because of his rambling, he cleared his throat.

"Ahem... How did you get here? The Space Quake alarm never went off." Michael said.

"Why would it? I never even left." Tohka said as she jumped down from the rubble. "You were saying something about a Date, right? Right before we were interrupted by the Mecha Mechas." She added. "Well guess what? I don't feel like waiting any longer, so let's go! Dateo! Dateo! Dateo! Dateo!" She added, the word 'Dateo' getting progressively louder.

"ALRIGHT!Calm down, we'll have the date." Michael shouted over her last 'Dateo'. He didn't expect to have to go on a date with her so soon, but it would at least mean this one time favor for Kotori would be over with quicker. Then again, Tohka wasn't exactly bad-looking, so it’s not like he couldn't enjoy himself being seen with a cute girl.

That also reminded him... her outfit... Astral Dress or something the training mentioned? He was kinda over the whole thing to be honest.

"Actually, you should get out of that... you'll draw too much attention..." He said, thinking nothing of how he said it.

Tohka did look away with a very faint blush. "You want me to remove my Astral Dress out here?"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I...!" Michael stopped his shouting, and breathed through his nose after pinching it between his closed eyes... no, he wasn't mad at her, more at himself. He probably could have worded that better now that he really thought about it. Plus he had to remind himself, although Tohka looked human, she was an Alien (or Spirit or whatever; which considering even Tohka had no idea what she herself was, that meant he or Kotori could have been right). She had no idea about Earths culture and attire, so he had to be a little more patient with her.

He suddenly heard voices. Slightly panicking, he pulled Tohka behind the rubble, which she blushed a bit more when he grabbed her hand like that, mainly because she didn't understand why. Did it hurt? No. It was just out of the blue for her. Some student girls walked by and chitchated as Michael peeked out... that was it. Tohka could wear that to blend in... sounded like a werid fetish to him, but its not like they could just walk into a clothes store with the way she was dressed either. They had to work with what they got.

"We'll get you one of those in the school lost and found or something. You'll blend in better." Michael said.

"Those clothes those girls are wearing? Those are more acceptable?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"... why do human girls show off so much skin?"

That's a conversation he wasn't in the mood for. "Quit asking questions. We need to get you clothes." Michael then tried to pull her, but she let go and sighed.

"There's no need..." Tohka said as a matter-of-factoy and before Michael could ask what that meant, her body and Astral Dress glowed with light. He even saw some skin, but he was more mesmerized by her transformation. When the light died down, she was wearing the exact same outfit those girls wore down to a perfect 'T'. Black, long-sleeved top, red ribbons, blue skirt, and a pair of long, black stockings that reach up to half of her thighs... Michael could not help but stare for just second... it was particularly made for her.

"So, how does it look?" Tohka's question snapped him out of his thoughts. He did not expect for Tohka to rock the uniform so... perfectly. She had a smile on her face while asking... maybe she actually liked it?

"Um... perfect..." He didn't mean to stay that out loud, but its the only word he could use to describe what he witnessed. Tohka didn't even blush though, probably because she didn't catch onto his reaction and only wanted to be sure she was 'blended in' enough.

"Then lets go! Time to find that date!" Tohka said as she began to walk off... then it only just hit him what she said, cocking an eyebrow at her statement.

"... just get through it, just get through it..." he muttered as he put his hands in his pockets and walked after Tohka.

XXX

When they got into town, the first thing that caught Tohka's attention was a bakery they ended up passing by, her face all over the window.

"What is that in there?! Is it a date?! Its smells delicious! TELL MEEEEEEEE!" Tohka said while her face still against the glass like a child. Figuring if he bought her one and it might get her to stop, he went inside to purchase one if the baked treats, the bell dinging as he entered.

D-D-DING!

"Good morning!" Said girl over behind the counter in a cheerful voice.

"Morning. One Kinako bread please." Michael asked, taking out the money right as he approached the counter. The girl got to the order right away, and bagged it up quickly and effectively.

"There you are! Have a..." She was gonna bid him farewell, but she leaned sideways while having her eyes focused on certain girl whose was making fog in the window, which this also caught the attention of some more of the staff and Tohka getting a few stares from them as well. Some of the staff even glanced between Tohka and Michael, and a few putting two and two together.

Michael just slowly turned his body a bit to look at Tohka (who was too focused on the display of bread to notice), not paying any attention before he turned back to the girl over the counter with the same speed. "... I don't know her."

D-D-DING!

When he did finally leave, he unwrapped the bread and offered it to Tohka. When its aroma hit her nose, she continued to stare and it, resisting the obvious urge to gobble it up like a 5-year-old to a cookie... she really was like a child.

"There's not poison in it, is there? If this is some kind of test, have I failed?" She said while still trying and failing to maintain her tough exterior despite also having dreamly eyes on the baked item. It was hard for Michael to take her seriously with that waterfall of drool.

"If it is, maybe I should take a bite first." Michael said as he lifted up the bread to go for a bite, which immediately Tohka's mood dropped and looked like she was gonna cry. He ripped off only a small piece and ate it without flinching, showing that it was in fact safe too eat.

"See? Its fine, now take a bite." He said, offering it back to her. Her nose kept wiggling as she smelled the bread more and more before finally diving for a bite herself. Then her eyes shot open.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" One bite was all it took for her to yell to the moutaintops and grab it before starting to much away, downing the bread in mere seconds. "Mhis is man mamazing! Who'vf fhought datefs fere so yummy?!" Tohka said with a full mouth.

"Its called, Kinako bread..." Michael said with a sweatdrop.

Tohka licked her fingers to get the last bit of flavor from the Kinako bread. "Really...? So its not a date? I don't understand how something so tasty can't be classified as a date."

"I don't make the rules, I just follow them."

"... fascinating. Even though was delicious, it's nowhere near as delicious as a date would be..." Tohka said, still not getting it, then another aroma hit her nose, this time hot dogs on sticks. He was pretty hungry himself, having not had lunch due to early dismissal, so Michael bought himself one, along with 6 (with 2 being shoved in her mouth at a time) that Tohka grabbed.

"Fhere fid all deez peofle come from?!" She asked with another full mouth, for it was around this time the street was getting a bit more crowded with more people, where Tohka admittedly got a tad bit uneasy. Michael didn't think much of this... until she summoned a tiny ball of energy...

"MMMFFFFHHHHHH!" He shallowed his own food quickly before pulling her hand down. Thankfully every single persons’ back was turned so no one actually saw him be a bit forceful with a girl, not that he meant anything by it, he just wanted to prevent a repeat of what happened at school. "What are you doing?!" He asked with a mix of nervousness and sterness; the nervous part being because he was the only one capable of, and the thing currently holding down, a hand that could blow up a building.

Surprisingly, Tohka didn't jerk her hand back at all, probably due to trusting him more than other humans, but she still was confused. "I'm trying to protect us from all-..."

"There's nothing to protect us from! Put it away!" He didn't even let her finish, his nervousness slighty gone and now that lost nervousness was replaced with an authoritative tone.

"But the huma-..."

"No, put it-..."

"In case the Mecha Mec-..."

"Put it awa-..."

"What if th-...?"

Both of them kept trying to cut off the other person, trying to explain they're reasoning for how they were acting. And after a few more back and forths for another couple of seconds, Michael pulled her arm down which also pulled their faces a bit closer so closer eye contact was made, and put his foot down in a gentle yet also firm tone.

"Put. It. A-Waaaaaaaaaaaay..." Michael said, dragging out the command in a dry tone.

Reluctantly with a pouty face, yet trusting him, Tohka dispelled whatever magical orb on her finger. Michael sighed in relief having avoided that problem. Now it was nice of Tohka to want to protect both of them, he did manage to hear that part of her reasoning, but the last thing he needed was more attention drawn to them than necessary.

"Look... I get you didn't have the best impression of humans, but as long as you don't draw attention to us, you'll be fine... I promise," Michael said. While Tohka still had her pouty face, she ultimately decided to put 2 more hot dogs into her mouth and drop the subject.

*clack!*

The 2 teens looked over at the noise of a young boy, most likely under 10, throw away some trash in the appropriate bin. Then his mother patted him on the head then took his hand and walked off... for some reason, Tohka literally copied this, then did a Naruto run back to Michael's side with her head down. It only took him a few seconds to realize what she wanted.

'... She can-NOT be serious...' He thought to himself, staring at the top of her head... she was not moving from her spot, still awaiting for him to reward her the same way the mom did to the kid only moments ago.

"There is another way to deal with Spirits without resorting to force... we spend time with them one-on-one instead..."

Kotori's words echoed in his head, reminding him why he was doing his... this was certainly better than stressing over a space quake if he was honest, not having run into a shelter and wait however many hours until the cause was "cleaned up". So swallowing his pride, reminding himself this was only a one and done deal, he gave her head the same type of head pat. Even though it was half-heartedly, Tohka didn't seem to notice and even enjoyed it... it was nice to see her smile again though.

Tohka: How about this? Is this a date?

Michael: I mean... it can be part of one, but not necessarily.

Tohka: Dates sure are compilcated...

A new smell then hit Tohka's wiggling nose.

"AH! That smells yummy too!" And she was off again.

"Can you at least drink some water!" Michael asked as he ran after her. As he did; Ai, Mai and Mii also happened to be around here, watching Tohka and Michael together. They did recognize Tohka was wearing their school's uniform, but didn't know who she was... she was pretty, they couldn't lie.

Ai: Do any of you recognize that girl Pelham's with? I don't think I've ever seen her at school.

Mai: No, but I know one girl saw him with Origami yesterday. If they got back together, think he's cheating on her?

Mii: That's so lame.

They weren't the only ones watching the new couple. Origami was shown peeking from behind a corner while harshly crunching down on chips, having been keeping an eye on Michael more closely ever since they both learned they were on opposite sides. So it really was true... her ex had gone the other side... even though he was vague the other day, this straight up confirmed it, one of her fists balling up. Not just because she hated Spirits, but because she has a visual component to go along with the betrayal she felt. How could he... after she and him...

She shook it off... it was all in the past now. Origami then pulled out her phone to make a call...

"Sergeant Tobichii, reporting..."

While she made her call, she failed to notice a black blob above her, also peeking at Michael and Tohka, before strinking and disappearing...

XXX

Where the hell did she put all this food, Michael had no idea. It didn't matter what she ate, Tohka just scarfed it down. Currently she was holding ice cream in her hand, and also bought what he assumed were pot stickers (just because he's been living in Japan for a long time, doesn't mean he knew all the food names) to hold for her while she used chopsticks to eat said stickers, which he only had to show her only a single time how to use. Compared to her, it took him around 20 tries to get the technique down. Eh, skill issue.

They did smell good though, maybe he'll take one for himself...

"SCRUMPTIOUS!" Tohka cheered after biting both food items at the same time. "Humans eat so many delicious things!"

"Eh, I prefer my own cooking..." Michael said as he tried what he thought was a pot sticker. It was really good, humming at the flavor.

Tohka's eyes immediately lit up, the prospect of more food making stars in her eyes. "No waaaaay! YOU CAN MAKE ALL THESE THINGS TOO?!"

"Heh... maybe not all of them. And not to toot my own own horn, but I'm the only one between me and my sister who knows how to cook properly." Michael said.

Tohka looked confused. "Toot your horn... but humans don't have horns." She observed, which technically she wasn't wrong, but obviously didn't understand the figure of speech. "And even if you did, horns are bone. How can they make any noise at all?"

"Its what humans call a figure of speech..." Michael said. "Anyway, I wanted to ask," he added, Tohka's attention focusing on him. "You said something about not leaving before... so where did you go after yesterday?"

"Well I just swing my sword around, stuff explodes, I fight off the Mecha Mechas before I disappear... least that's what usually happens..." Tohka said, taking a bite of ice cream.

"Usually?" Michael repeated. "So you disappear back to your planet?"

"I don't know where I go, or why I even get summoned here..." Tohka addmited. "But if 'planet' means a dark space, then yes. Once I go back, I just fall asleep. Then sometimes when I wake up, I appear here, then I fight the Mecha Mecha's again and again until I feel myself being pulled back." She explained her side of the story, taking one pot sticker as she did so.

"Really..." the wheels in Michaels head began to turn, thinking very deeply into what Tohka said... so... from what he was understanding from Tohka's side of this situation, she really didn't have any idea what was happening to her as much as most humans didn't understand space quakes or why they occur.

'So... she's not doing it on purpose...' He thought, of course still having lots more questions, but malicious intent on Tohka's part was now completely ruled out. Unless he was trying to manipulate him, which he honestly couldn't see her doing, Tohka was innocent and had no control over what happens when she enters this realm from what she just described as "a dark space"...

Though what was that "being pulled back" bit supposed to mean?

'And being pulled back... was she brought here by force?... If so, then who would...?' He realized his train of thought and shook it away while also shaking his head once... he was getting WAY too deep into this. This was supposed to be a job, a one time favor for his "Darling Little Sister"... did he feel bad for Tohka? Of course he did; but he couldn't let himself get too attached to her, for what could he possibly do? He was only human in comparison to her. And Origami...

*slap, slap.*

'Pull yourself together, Mikey!' He lightly slapped his cheek to force himself back to reality. Where did thoughts of Origami come from?... Probably since she was now his enemy on the battlefield... that was most likey it, he kept telling himself.

"Michael?" Tohka asked him, sounding and looking at him very confused, eye cocked and head tilted. "Why are you attacking yourself?"

"I... had a fly buzzing..." He lied, and before she could ask what a fly was, he asked another question. "So, what made today different? From usually anyway?"

"How should I know?" Tohka asked with a pout and frown. He didn't know if this was true, but maybe her happiness dropped by a few points from that. Although she did trust him, she probably wasn't ready for such a conversation regarding herself. She also started shoving the rest of the food in her mouth, one piece after another, also refusing to look at him now.

"Look, I'm just trying to figure this all out..." Michael said, but Tohka stood up immediately after finishing, ready not wanting to have this conversationz

"The only thing I need to figure out is where more food is." Tohka walked away at that point.

"Tohka! Just gimme me a..." Michael said as he checked his wallet to get ready to pay for her nexf snack...

*poof*

All that came out of the cash pocket was a puff of smoke... he could have sworn he saw a mini Jon Travolta popping up and looking around confused. Frowning, he instead took out a credit card slowly and begrudgingly.

"Great... 5% service charge..." He grumbled annoyingly as he walked after Tohka. Just because he had money in his accoint to keep a roof over his and Kotori's head thanks to being the son of a company CEO, didn't mean it didn't all add up quickly, and now in comes a service charge now that the bills he had on hand had all dried up.

This one date, with one alien girl, already cost him over 20000 yen... 

XXX

After being dragged around a bit more by Tohka, they ended up by an expensive restaurant. Now this actually wasn't a problem (even though the service charge was gonna be pricier), its the fact they were seated by...

"Right this way..." an oddly familiar tired voiced asked the couple.

Michael: R-Rei-...!

*smack!*

Reine, dressed like one of the many employees, smacked him in the face on purpose with a menu to shut him up. It wasn't too hard thankfully, and Tohka just blinked at this. Before she could get defensive on Michael's behalf, Reine pulled away.

"My apologies... meant to hand it to you." Reine apologized in her usual sleepy tone, which also calmed Tohka down. "We have a table over here..." She lead them to a window seat that overlooked outside the restaurant.

"What are you doing here?" Michael had to ask, leaning forward and keeping his voice as low as possible so Tohka could not hear him.

"Standard procedure. We need to make sure Princess is stable." Reine explained, which Michael filling in the blanks himself. They needed to keep Tohka calm so she doesn't go on a rampage or accidentally cause another space quake. He also noted some of the crew was either blending in at other tables or as other employees like Reine currently was, though he didn't see Kotori. She was probably on the ship watching and also probably ordered/arranged this somehow.

That's probably also why she shut him up before he could say her name. He was the only human Tohka trusted, and hearing he was familiar with other humans by name may provoke the wrong reaction in Tohka. It was smart. Seeing as he was stuck here for a bit, he may as well get something decent, so he opened the menu with Tohka copying him.

"Good Afternoon, kittens. We ready to order?" Asked a cheery voice.

"Kittens? This a cat cafe t...?" Michael was saying, then he looked and saw who it was. Now Kotori had revealed herself in a waitress outfit, her tone of voice completely throwing him off when he realized the owner. He's NEVER heard her sound cheerful... also, he couldn't lie, her outfit went really well with her black ribbons and red hair with twin tails. It really brought out the color. Figuring she also wanted to lay low, he played along with it. "*ahem*... We'll Start with 2 waters."

"You got it." Kotori said.

"Mmmmm..." Tohka looked over the entire menu, but was clearly having trouble making a decision. "That looks good... but so does that one..."

"Well if you can't decide, may I suggest the Overkill Course?" Kotori suggested kindly, still in character.

"Overkill?" Both Michael and Tohka asked, though even before they put the order in, it was already brought out to them. Spaghetti, chicken, shrimp, pork chops, beef, cake, veggies... fuck, there were even more dishes underneath those dishes. Michael didn't think he could name all the food on that one tray, expertly stacked and arranged he had to admit, and again payment wasn't a problem, but while it at least it came with 2 Pineapple drinks to wash it down, there was no way either one of them could...

SLURP!

Tohka, wasting no time, started digging in, twirling the entire serving of pasta in the fork before shoving the whole in her mouth, her cheeks full of food even as she chewed. The boy was rendered speechless... how could this girl eat all this food?... and she was now on the pork chops and shrimp! Where the hell does she put it all?!

"Should've codenamed her 'Chipmunk'..." Michael muttered to Kotori.

"Your welcome for increasing the odds of her falling for you." Kotori said, also in a whisper and maintaining her cheerful demeanor. "Now after you leave here, head south of the train station, you'll find what you need to seal the deal."

Michael cocked an eyebrow at her. "... that's just a residential area, what's so speci-..."

SLAM!

Kotori smacked him with a round serving tray, indenting his face on it... and no, it wasn't only to shut him up.

"I'll put in my discount, cuz I'm awesome..." She then walked away, Tohka being too busy eating to care (having just devoured the entire rotisserie chicken except the bones), with Michael rubbing his face and he groaned.

XXX

Leading Tohka where he was told too, he was surprised to see the residential area had been transformed into some kind of fair. How the hell did Kotori pull this off, he had no idea, but there was even more food and snacks for Tohka to try. Luckily, he and Tohka were the "Grand 100,000th Guests", so they got a pair of tickets that made everything free.

Honestly, Michael was having a pretty good time. In fact while the continued their date, they subconsciously began to hold hands as they walked all through the fairgrounds. Tohka even admitted she was too, getting worried on his behalf when Michael wasn't speaking much anymore, but thats because he had allot on his mind. This date wasn't only to keep a supernatural creature's happiness high so she doesn't blow anything up, it also really reminded him how much he missed having a girlfriend, even if this was a job. Plus he related to her in many ways... they were both outcasts to an extent, both struggled with their origins, and both of them were lonely and felt excluded to varying degrees.

As for Tohka, she just felt closer to him. He didn't have any intentions to harm her or lead her to some kind of trap, she was now fully convinced of that. With her armor inactive, he could have done damage to her if he wanted too, but he instead just guided her around and got her so many tasty things on this little journey. It made her feel safe and cared for, something she never experienced since she first started spawning in this world. She even got a little anxious whenever he had to leave her side into what he called a "bathroom". She didn't understand why when she kindly requested to join him, his face changed color and he adamantly refused, but she assumed it was a human thing...

After "winning" tickets to a Love Hotel called Dream Park...

Tohka: Michael? Could I learn what a date is inside those doors?

'She's STILL on that?' Michael asked himself in an annoyed tone while pinching the bridge of his nose as they both stood in front if the building in question, but still gave her a verbal (yet still annoyed) response. "It's certainly a variation..."

Michael then immediately dragged her off and away from it despite her protests. She didn't dawn or use her true power to force him because she didn't want to hurt him, though she did complain the entire time... he was gonna kill Kotori if that was an intentional part of her plan...

XXX

Michael went into another the bathroom, but it was just for washing his hands and splashing his face to calm himself down, while he and Tohka were being watched on 2 different screens in Fraxinus by Reine, Kotori (both of whom returned to to the ship and back to their standard attire), Kyouhei and the other 4 crew members; all of them making sure the date was going smoothly. Right as Michael was wiping his face, the screen watching him went black... or rather, it looked like darkness covered.

"What the hell?! What's up with the camera?!" Kotori asked.

"Checking now... it doesn't read as something's wrong with it..." Said Hinako.

"Well clearly not! Get it fixed! Hurry u-!" Kotori ordered, but then Michael came out of the bathroom around that time on Tohka's screen. At least they can still keep an eye on him until the second camera was... nevermind, it just came back online showing a now-empty bathroom. Guess it was just a glitch of some kind. They got worried over nothing.

XXX

The evening finally came and Michael took her on a train to an overlook that overlooked the entire city with a park nearby. She was also holding a stuffed Kinako Bread they both won from an arcade at the fair a little after the Dream Park refusal.

"Another Question: How do those... "trains" keep transforming? And why do you humans need so many?" Tohka asked something else to Michael.

"Humans are both busy and lazy... if that makes sense..." Michael said. "And no, they don't transform."

"Really?! So they use Fusion?!"

Michael was about to say no, but then again Tohka wasn't exactly wrong her assumption either. "... actually, that's not a bad way of looking at it."

"WOW! I've learned so much today!" Tohka said. "Though we went the whole day without finding a date."

Michael rolled his eyes but did smile. "Tohka, you had one the whole time, right when we left school." Tohka was confused at this, and touched her skirt with her free hand, thinking it was her new clothes.

"NO!" He grabbed her arm to stop her, then took a breath and let her go. "... its the day... The whole day we spent together... when 2 people spend time together, just the 2 of them..." He could definitely see the wheels in Tohka's hear turn by the look in her eyes.

"... oooooooooooooh... then we had an amazing date!" She said, finally understanding what a date is.

Michael covered his face with his hand. "You still got allot to learn..."

"I know... but I’m glad you were here to teach me. I really had such a wonderful time... i had... fun..." Tohka's tone began to lower, starting to feel guilty.

"Who've thunk it? A Spirit appearing without causing a Space Quake, now connecting with your Ex..." said Ryouko, watching Tohka and Michael with a pair of binoculars. She and Origami have been following them all day ever since Origami called it in.

"I have a clear shot. Permission to shoot?" Despite the attempt at conversation from her boss, Origami remained focused looking down her scope of he sniper rifle hidden at a higher elevation in the mountains behind the park.

"Negative. We're observing, not eliminating." Ryouko said, then her communicator dinged. "Point Alpha, talk to me..." she asked the person the other end. "... what?... Take the shot?! But his son is right..!"

As shocked as Ryouko was to be given such an order, all Origami had to her was "take the shot" for her to zoom in her scope closer to her target: the back of Princesses head.

"... Michael... I finally understand why the Mecha Mecha Squad is always hunting me... this world is kind, fun, so warm... and so beautiful... but everytime I appear, I end up destroying that beauty, ruining peoples lives by simply existing..." Tohka's tone got softer and softer, making Michael's fist tighten a bit... he could feel the pain in her voice, dreading what was about to come out of her mouth; which is why he felt like he got shot in the heart when she finished with:

"So when I go back to my world... and fall asleep again... I'll force myself to stay there... so you, and no one else needs to g-..."

"No." Michael immediately cut her off in his own low tone, shocking Tohka to a degree. "... Hell no. Why the fuck would you do that to yourself?!"

"Well... because every time I appear..."

"Bullshit!" He cut her off again with even more emotion in his voice this time. He couldn't bear the thought of her blaming herself for something she had no control over. "It's not your fault! You said it yourself! Its only an accident! Its not like your blowing shit up on purpose!"

Tohka's grip tightened on her stuffed toy. "Maybe... but the next time I appear..."

Michael: There won't BE a next time!

There. Right there, is where Tohka's eyes widened again just like when that day in the school. The conviction in his voice, the blunt yet true emotions she could see on his face and hear from his lips... he wasn't seriously suggesting what she thought he was suggesting, was he? But don't think this wasn't affecting Michael either... the pure innocence of this true side of Tohka, how it was really down to her feeling isolated in a world she wasn't familiar with before, how he related to that so much when he too first came to Japan. He wanted to help her... give her the attention she so desperately needs when he was denied it.

Yes, after saying all of this, he knew exactly how he sounded... He said he wasn't interested... he said he didn't want to do it... he told Kotori to find someone else, and that this was only a one time thing... but if the universe would allow him to be a hypocrite, just this once...

"Stay... stay with me. Lord knows I got the space and money." Michael added. "I'll feed you, drive you around, show you even more this world has to offer. Anything you need, I'll get it for you!"

Tohka was very close to tearing up, but she tried to stay strong. "Your the first human to say any of those things... even if their are humans like the Mecha Mec-"

"I DON'T CARE!" Michael said. "The people, the staff at the park, the AST; I don't give a royal fuck what anyone or anything thinks of you! I don't care if they'll keep hunting you down! Even if the rest of Japn still rejects you, I'll protect you from all of it, Tohka! So what your not from here, niether am I! So as far as a I'm concerned, we're both in this together!"

As Michael spoke to Tohka like she was a person, she herself could no longer hold back the water welling in her eyes. At the same time, Origami's fingers gripped her gun even tighter so it was shaking, the scope showing her aim was beign thrown off only slightly but still having a clear headshot once she pulled the trigger. Still... the way he was talking to that girl...

When Michael offered his hand to Tohka... Origami had seen enough... and squeezed...

XXX

Michael's vision came back... at least it was still very hazyily... what the hell happened? The last thing he remembered was going to wash his hands and face, then he just blacked out... where'd those trees come from? Wasn't he in town?

"This can't be right..." a girls voice echoed... female... definitely female. He looked over in the direction of the noise, but with his vision still so blurry, he couldn't make out who it belonged too. All he saw was red... various dots of red as a matter of fact.

"It's the truth, Me! He was frolicking around with another Spirit. I thought it would be important!"

The same voice. .. Me though? Or was it a shortened Mimi?... it sounded like they were multiple voices, and were still echoing from the buzzing of his head... but why did they all sound the same?

"I mean, he's definitely not from around here. That much is obvious... has a bit of a mouth too. Typical Westerner, can't remove that cultural difference no matter how long he's lived here."

Even as he tried to focus his vision, his eyes would not allow it... what did he get hit by, a truck? His head was pounding... he did happen to so what looked like twintails... Kotori?... nah, she had a brattier voice. They also looked uneven, though that could just be due to the angle of him on the ground.

"None of that matters now," said another one if the voices that sounded identical, though sounded like it had more authority, if that made any sense. "The fact he's his son could prove useful to Us... give us leverage to finding Mio first..."

BANG!

A loud popping sound echoed throughout the air... was that a gunshot?

"Ara Ara, looks like our decoy of him took a bullet for Us..."

"I was watching his Ex-Girlfriend follow him throught the entire date. Poor girl was shaking with anger when she took the shot."

"Well... we can't leave her to go Inverse... that'll make our job harder..."

Decoy? Ex-Girlfriend? Took the shot?... Were they taking about Origami? And Tohka? What's that talk about a decoy then? He attempted to start moving, but it wasn't much.

"Me. He's waking up."

"Huh... he wasn't out too long. How hard did You hit him?"

"I figured the blunt side of My musket was enough..."

"Its fine... we can deal with him later..."

The next thing Michael saw through his still blurry vision was more red before seeing a humanoid head closer to him. While he couldn't make out any facial features, he did see 2 different colored dots where eyes would be. He also felt something cold on his temple.

"I suppose you should a least retain some of the memories of your date... he was still you after all... Zafkiel - Yud."

All Michael could really out was a black aura... where was it flowing into...?

"See you soon, Michael..."

BANG!

XXX

Michael was dead... she couldn't believe it... multiple shes' actually, each one playing off the other. Origami couldn't believe she missed, her body paralyzed and rackked with guilt, all her shaking from before screwing up her aim. Kotori was in shock, scrambling to figure out what was going on and having witnessed a murder... as for Tohka, even though she was calm at first, the one person in this world who attempted to give her happiness was taken away from her; and now she was slashing at the person responsible for it, crying in sadness and rage. Her energy also had a darker aura this time around, and her voice was also a bit deeper as if she was another person entirely.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

SLASH!

With one last slash from a even stronger looking verison of Sandalphon, Tohka finally broke past Origami's defensive Territory. But even as she did, the AST solider didn't even try to fight back even after moaning in pain, the shock and horror of her being the cause of a civilian's death made her drive to fight and defend herself completely freeze up.

In her rage while Michael was absent, Tohka called Origami a killer... a monster... and yet, Origami couldn't argue with that...

"You must pay... Michael... I'll avenge you..." Tohka raised her sword for one final strike...

A black shadowy portal opened up a few hundred miles above where Tohka was, "Hmmmm... uhhhhh...?" Where an unconscious Michael began to fall. Feeling the wind in his face finally stirred him enough to see the earth coming up at a rapid pace. "Wha-? WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUU-HA-HA-HAAAAAAAAACCK!" He adding flailing of his arms and legs, even though it didn't do anything.

"What?... He's alive?!" Tohka dropped all her rage the literal second she heard his cries, then turned to fly at him. This also snapped Origami out of of her own shock along with Kotori.

Origami: *gasps, then watches Tohka fly off after Michael* ... alive...?

Kotori: HE'S ALIVE?!

Whating to confirm this, Kotori had the cameras go back to where Michael's body originally was. Sure enough, the only thing left was the red pool, but his body was missing, now in the middle of being caught by Tohka... the commanders lolipop slowly fell from her agape mouth... how the hell did he pull that off?!

"Michael... is it really you...?" Tohka asked him, while Michael just looked at her in slight confusion, but also understood with the emotions written on her face that she was really upset and only now calming down. What happened while he was washing his face?

"Uh... yeeeeah?..." He said.

She then hugged him tighter, nuzzling into his neck. "THANK YOU! I THOUGHT YOU LEFT ME FOREVER!"

Michael gave her a small chuckle. "Heh... I was only washing my..." he then heard a small sparking sound next to his ear, and only now just noticed Tohka was holding a bigger and much deadlier-looking blade. "Tohka?... What's up with Sandalphon?..." He asked.

"It's Halvanhelev... I wasn't thinking straight when I saw you died..." Tohka said, she then began to tighten her grip on this new blade while her body tensed up as if holding herself back... wait? DIE?! Michael flinched upon hearing that. What the fuck happened? "Nrrrrrrrgh... I have... I have to find somewhere to release it..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa; slow down! That's not a great plan..." He said, both because he was trying to process all this new information, and because he could literally feel the heat of the crackling energy that Tohka was concerned about.

"I have too... nrgh... its at a critical state!" Tohka said, gripping the blade and clenching her teeth a bit more. It was clear to Michael that his new friend was in pain trying to hold this dark energy back.

He wanted to help her... somehow...

"Michael! Can you hear me?" Kotori voice filled his earpiece with urgency. "There's only one way to save her now: Princess needs a kiss from her Prince." Michael expression literally turned into the surprised Pikachu meme for a split second. He then was about to retort, but Kotori beat him too it, now back to her usual assertive self now that the shock of his 'death' wore off.

"YES. It WAS a video game, but this shit is REAL. So unless you both wanna blow up right where your floating and die again, PUCKER UP AND TAKE FIRST BASE!" She already knew what he was gonna say, so she did both sides of the argument to save time. Besides, they'll get a full medical and physical report AFTER he seals her... least she hoped Reine's scan of him wasn't a fluke.

If it was... all hope was lost.

Michael had to mentally prepare himself... kissing an cute alien girl... that's what his life amounted to right now. It was completely ridiculous! How the fuck was a kiss gonna solve anything? Tohka needed to release tension in her body, not make more! That's assuming she'd even want a kiss from him to begin with!... She wasn't bad on the eyes though...

He swallowed once... the fuck was he doing...?

"Tohka... do you trust me?" Michael asked her.

"Of course! I trust you completely! Your the only one who's been there for me!" Tohka answered.

Michael took a pause before asking the most stupidist request in this particular situation. "Alright, well... you have to kiss me."

"What?"

"Yeah, I know, that's not exactly appropriate right no-..."

"Michael, what is a kiss? If it'll help us, I'll do it!"

... honestly, he was only half-surprised she didn't know what a kiss was. Some aliens in media he consumed over the years either wrapped their tails around each other or touching a glowing finger. Tohka obviously did none of this things (though could probably do the latter). Even so, the fact she was so ready to share one with him even if she had no idea how or what it was made him hesitate. Kissing after the first date was generally not a good idea, and quite rare.

"Oh-kaaay, well... we first put ours lips toget-"

SMOOCH!

Tohka, desperate for the pain to stop, with no fear or hesitation, didn't even let Michael finish his explanation on kissing. As both their pairs of soft lips continued to stay connected, the sparks from Halvanhelev died down until they vanished, and with a shattering sound, the blade vanished in particles of light... which was then copied by her Astral Dress. It too vainshed by seemingly dissolving from he body and leaving her completely exposed to the open air.

To Michael's credit, even after they descended to the ground, he did NOT look down... he dared not too... he just kept his eyes on Tohka's eyes.

"Tohka... don't freak out... I..." he tried to explain, but Tohka just hugged him tighter... for obvious reasons, that did nothing to help. It made it worse... and harder...

"Don't let me go... I'm not ready for you too see me..." Tohka was saying. She wasn't freaking out, and the kiss didn't hurt her or anything, but why was her heart beating even faster now? And her body feeling warmer despite losing her clothes?

"Neither am I..." Michael's voice squeaked as he cut her off. This wasn't really happening, right? He kisses a girl, and her clothes disappear?... 'I really did die, didn't I?...' He asked himself, sarcastically.

"... Michael...? Will you take me on another date?" Tohka asked softly.

"... Sure... fine by me..." Michael said, but noted the situation. "... Let's... go home..."

Bonus Content: S5 Rough Draft - Chapter 3

He didn't expect Kurumi to be behind him like that, much less anywhere near him with that usual look in her eye, especially after their fight. But there she was, her chin in his hand... even after an argument, she still retained her playfulness.

...

...

"... well if you were a clone, you'd be on the front lines..." Michael said, sensing this was in fact the real Kurumi.

"Hmm... so you can still tell..." Kurumi said in her usual tone. She didn't sound mad, but he knew she was probably still upset. The pissing match they had a few days ago really brought out things he or she shouldn't have said to each other, least not in such a heated moment.

"Kurumi, I..."

She didn't let him finish. She just backed off and pulled out her guns.

BANG!

While it looked like she was aiming for Michael, she actually stopped a Nibelcole from attacking him.

"Try not to get too distracted. You need to live, don't you?" Yeah, Kurumi was still mad. Even in her calm tone, he could tell she was, she just pushed it aside and went with the business mindset approach. That, and the fact she gave very simple responses, not even trying to drag them out or tease/flirt with him even a little bit.

She then went back to shooting the Nibelcole, while Michael blew kisses as them... yeah. It was still ridiculous, regardless of how effective it was.

"Kurumi. I know I said some things I probably shouldn't have said..." Michael went to apologize.

"That doesn't matter right now." That was a lie, it actually did, but Kurumi was again, sticking to the issue at hand while shooting enemies down. "We made our beds, now we sleep in them. The only thing that matters is you need to stay alive, for your goals and mine..." she stopping firing momentarily to look in his direction, and for that brief moment her playful tone returned. "Unless you want to kindly donate all that Reiryoku you've been saving up?"

"Not happening!" Michael said as he fired an ice beam and fire ball from 2 different hands.

"Then there's nothing more to discuss." Kurumi's tone went back to being serious. "I aready told you, our goals can't coexist. Maybe your right that going to the past to kill Mio would simply fix itself... It's all the more reason to kill her in the present so no one else has to suffer all the pain she's caused regardless how many 'Inheritors' she creates!"

"Yeah, but now we know why she's doing it!" Michael said after shooting a tornado at a group of eneimes. "And even with all that power, she was the one who originally created it! She probably has a perfect counter to all our moves, Transcended or not!" He continued, then added something he didn't say last time. "I can't knowingly give you all this power knowing I would then be indirectly responsible if you lost your life! You think i'll be happy?"

"Sounds to me like your underestimating me and my abilities." Kurumi said, using one of her Special Moves to become a shadowy tornado of flying bullets shooting out in all directions. "Abilities mind you that you helped me Transcend too. And aren't I still the only one who can take more than 50% of my power from you, whereas the rest of those girls needed an extra smooch?"

"Fair enough. Skill Issues exist..." Michael said as he summoned musical notes that proceeded to blow up on contact with their targets.

"Exactly my point. You don't even need to be out here." Kurumi's next move was coating one of her legs in her shadowy aura before using it as an uppercut kick on a robot this time which also sliced the weapon open. She also shot it away for good measure. "So why don't you return to the ship, take a load off, then when the battle is won, you can greet me with tears of joy as you either give me that Spirit Power or we continue our pointless contest."

"... So your really okay with me dying if its only by your hand? That's romantic." Michael said with obvious sarcasm.

"Didn't I explain this to you already? Once I'm through with Mio, I'll then go to the past to retrieve everyone she's ever used, including you, and restore them back into the timeline. They'll all be in a new world, alive and happy, and given the chance at life she stole from them." Kurumi said, shooting more robots this time.

"You really think that's all gonna work out? No Paradoxes af all?" Michael asked while opening a portal as some enemy robots fired at him to redirect the attack back on them from above.

"You should know! You changed the past once already, then went back again to fix your mistake and wound up successful!" Kurumi argued back.

"I...! Er... fine. 2 points." Michael grumbled.

"Good. Now that established our previous argument was aimless, remind me exactly where the problem lies?" Kurumi asked.

"The problem isn't what will happen, its what doesn't happen!" Michael said. "When I went back to save Origami's parents, all that ended up doing was making it so me and her never met. So when she Inversed again, even if I did seal her power in that timeline, I realized it wasn't the same woman I fell in love with! None of them were! So if you do the same, all that history between us will go away!"

It was at that point Kurumi's face flushed only a little bit even though her back was turned to him, also making her miss an attack, although immediately correcting it with a followup shot.

"I do love you, Kurumi. I don't want any version of you, I want THE you! The personality, the flaws, the pros, everything!" Michael added.

Kurumi's arm began shaking, but she pushed it aside... at least she tried too, lowly growling as she did so. Some of her deepest insecurities began to leak out that she's been holding in for quite a while.

"You say that as your kissing another woman! And she's just a piece of paper!" Kurumi said, when Michael was in fact kissing another Nibelcole.

In his defense, this particular Nibelcole left him little choice as she and 2 others of her attempted to hold him down, then after magically turning the closest one trying to stab him into a doll, he turned and kissed one of the ones holding him so he could break free and lock up the third with Mukuro's key.

"Scratch that! You've been kissing 11 other women! Including your sister, rebounding back to your Ex, 2 children, your cousin, AND your own daughter who Judged you! And you have the gall to say you love me?! Shall I get started on the Mimics as well?!" Kurumi said all of this as her tone raised its volume while she warpped around, using another Trascended Move before a transparent Zafkiel phased into existence and created a shockwave of energy which defeated any robots and Nibelcoles near her.

"Hey! I never even wanted this job! I could have stopped whenever I wanted too!" Michael yelled back when turned back to face her, punching a robot in the face when it attempted to sneak attack behind him while he wasn't looking without turning around.

"Then why didn't you before performing bedspring symphonies with all of us?! YOU ARE UTTERLY DEPLORABLE! A COMPLETE PIG OF A MAN!" Kurumi yelled a bit louder, her attacks getting even more emotionally driven.

Chapter Text

Okay so, before we start: Yes, I'm fully aware (and have been for 3 months) that someone copy-pasted this work to Webnovel and pretty much stole 37k views (and still increasing) 4 months ago... such as life, huh? Those that have no talent that bitch, whine and complain at you are the same type of people that pass off other peoples work as their own.

Am I upset? Nah, I've learned those type of people are lower than me. Dirt on the bottom of my shoe. They'll never amount to anything, so while they mooch off other people's success, I'll just point and laugh. Take every single Mr Beast clone for example.

However, the thief only posted 18 chapters of the original conceptal version, and hasn't updated in 4 months; meaning they either got called out, or when I deleted the original conceptional version of this story, they couldn't find it anymore so they had no choice but to stop as its now buried in the algorithm.

But this also proves a point: my work is so good, its WORTH stealing. Worth 37k plus views... Let that sink in, its standing right outside your door.

Enough of that though. We're back to Son of Westcott with the first chapter of 2025, which will be picking up were we left off. Did you all have a good new years? Will the Chief's win the Super Bowl? Who knows!

Chapter 6: Do you Yoshino that kid? - Part 1

"This is my report..." Ryouko handed her report to another woman, which was a decently sized packet with a staple in the coner. The woman she reported too was a young-looking one with light blonde hair, purple eyes, pale skin, and a slender body covered by a black business suit. The leggings were a nice touch.

"Glad your okay." the lady said very simply, taking the report and began to sim over it, not looking too interested.

"OKAY?! I risked my ass for one of my best girls and you think I'm okay?!" Ryouko shouted. "I had to just sit back and watch Princess slash the shit out if the mountaintops even as Tobichii took it, and only got the chance to get her out of there when the Spirit was distracted by him falling down from heaven after getting shot!... Never was much of a Christan, but after seeing that..."

The lady she handed it too didn't pay her much mind as she continued to sim over the document, going page by page. She didn't look to interested... until she read a certain name on the form caught her eye, making her eyes narrow a bit.

"... your certain this name belongs to that civilian?" The lady asked Ryouko while looking back up at her.

"I told them his son was standing right there." Ryouko said in a bit of a dry tone. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. I happened to see him falling from heaven after I grabbed Tobichii as quickly as I could, even after he got shot right in the head! There was blood everywhere! Never would have thought Origami's Ex would be an angel reincarnate."

The other lady just kept staring at the name... this had to some kind of joke, right? The kid was completely useless, hence why Westcott saw no need to keep him around any longer, yet of all places he ends up in Japan? Not only that, has 3 reported encounters with the exact same Spirit, AND took a bullet?

Could it really be possible...? Were the scientists wrong..?

The businesswoman gathered her things and began to walk away. No more words. Ryouko however, still had some things to say.

"Hang on, Ellen. I'm not finished here." Ryouko said. "The order the shoot had to come either from you or him. Why would he risk his own Son's life?"

The businesswoman, now known to be Ellen, didn't even turn around but she did stop. "... you said it yourself. She is one of our best." She excused. "He probably had faith in miss Tobichii." She then continued walking away before leaving Ryouko alone. The AST captain did look like she had a lot more things to say to Ellen, but if she went any further, it could put her job in jeopardy.

When Ellen was alone, she pulled out her phone and went to a contact named "Ike". When it finished ringing a few times, a male voice answered her.

"Ellen, my dear?" The voice answered in a creepy tone.

"Ike... we may have a problem." Ellen said, her tone more serious than it was dry a few moments ago.

"Everything's going according to plan swimmingly." Said this Ike person, who was sitting at a desk while on this call. "The new Mimics are coming along nicely, and with no one to seal their power, they'll be easy pickings." He added, though it sounded like he was talking about two separate things. "This time... it's foolproof. Nothing could get in the way."

"Even him?" Ellen make sure to put emphasis on the word him so Ike could understand what was concerning to her. This did make Ike sit up a bit in his seat.

"... What about him?" He asked.

"I'll do some more digging, but if what I have in my hand is true..." Ellen said, opening the report to where she saw the certain name. "It may be a problem..."

Her eyes focused on 2 words between a sentence in a paragraph... Michael Pelham.

XXX

"HOW DOES ONE NOT REMEMBER GETTING A HOLE SHOT IN THEIR FACE?!"

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I HAVE A HOLE IN MY FACE?!"

Kotori and Michael were arguing in the bridge of Fraxinus, with both of them having big heads that only got bigger when one tried yelling over the other. The crew also looked back at forth as whom was yelling at the time while the argument persisted. The 2 stepsiblings growled while their big cartoonish heads butted, then they both calmed down while breathing through their noses which also got those cartoony heads to shrink down to normal size.

"Okay... why not run it by my again..?" Michael asked while rubbing one of his temples with 2 fingers and closed eyes, figuring a shouting match with Kotori wasn't gonna go anywhere fast or productive. "... slooooowly...?"

Kotori took an extra breath and sighed so she calmed down. "... right... from the top..." She said. "We took Tohka to a nice restaurant..."

"Uh huh..."

"After that, we brought her to a fair..."

"Yes..."

"Tried to set the mood..." she referenced the hotel room.

"Which was really dumb..."

"Then you washed up and took her to the arcade..."

POKE!

Michael poked his stepsister on the nose to stop her as if pressing the pause button, her eyes crossing to focus on his finger.

"Pause." He said, then retracted his finger. "What I remember next, was God tossing me out of Heaven." He added, calmly exaggerating what happened next in his memory.

"... you mean to tell me you really don't remember anything between the washing of your mug and Tohka catching you?" Kotori asked.

Michael thought about this extra carefully, closing his eyes and going back to exactly what he remembered. Restaurant? Check. Fairgrounds? Check. Hotel?... he'd rather not remember that, but check.

That's where things got weird... did he remember the arcade? Yes... but it felt more like if your turning the page in a story book and two of the pages are accidentally stuck together... ya kinda felt there was some missing context or a random incomplete sentence which didn't make sense with the previous information you were given.

"I mean... I remember it, but; I don't remember doing it." Michael said, the crew looking at him while confused.

"Wanna try that again?" Kotori asked, giving him a chance to clarify.

"I mean, it sounded good in my head..." Michael said in a dry tone. "But I'm dead serious. I remember that stuff, just don't remember physically doing it. The only thing that's not clicking for me is the 100 points Origami got for her headshot." He added... he didn't doubt she could make such a shot, just didn't recall it.

"... Reine? Check his vitals again." Kotori said. Reine did come forward with a clipbaord in her hand, most likely the medical examination of Michael.

"I did several times... including the 10 additional times you requested." She said simply while looking over the report again in case she missed something, but hearing Kotori ordered Reine check him 10 more times still did surprise him to an extent. Two or 3 times was normal, but 10?... wasn't that a bit much?

Also, did Kotori's face very lightly redden from that statement? Sure they couldn't stand each other most of the time...

"Aside from elevated stress, he's perfectly normal." Reine added.

"Ya don't say..." Michael grumbled loud enough so Kotori could hear him.

Reine then chimed in again to give her take in the situation. "If I had to theorize, prehaps the gunshot caused a lapse in his memory."

Michael slowly looked over at her. "... then how is the patient standing up on 2 feet, doctor?" He asked in a very sarcastic voice, considering what was supposedly hit.

"I said a theory. Not a fact." Reine said.

Kotori thought about this for a minute, then decided to drop the subject entirely. "Whatever, just forget it. Your alive, and... "Tohka"... has been successfully sealed." She then sat back in her captains chair. "That's all that matters."

"Sealed?..." Michael questioned. "But she still walking around... and why was she living with us again?"

"She's living with us because one, we can more easily monitor her. And two, she's emotionally invested in you." Kotori explained. "As for her sealing... Reine can explain it better than I can."

"If you wanted a sister, ya could've just asked..." Michael dryly said.

"Not if she has any of your genes." Kotori lowly responded with an eye roll with what he implied, then Michael (again, figuring arguments would be pointless) walked over to Reine, who was sitting at her station, leaning behind her shoulder.

"Right. So about sealing..." Reine started, then pulled up all the data she had on her monitor. "Think if is as a toll booth, with an invisible road." The monitor showed both Michael and Tohka... or at least, a male and female diagram, but it was obviously meaning him and Tohka. "When you kissed her, her power was absorbed into your body, making an path between the 2 of you."

"... so I'm a Venus Girltrap..." Michael sarcastically asked.

"Whatever your headcanon is..." Reine responded with equal sarcasm but was softer about it. "The numbers indicate Tohka is emotionally stable when your around her, allowing her energy to stabilize."

"Real quick... how did you all know I had this power?" Michael asked, putting two and two together quickly. When he was alone with Tohka when her sword was about to explode, Kotori ordered him to kiss her. And while such a thing sounded completely ridiculous, it ended up working.

Either his life turned into one of those animes, or they knew something he didn't.

"Reine's medical examination after you found Tohka." Kotori answered.

"... so much for doctor/patient confidentiality..." Michael said as he focused back on Reine and the male and female diagrams. He could ask how he had this power, but to be quite honest, he didn't really care. They had a deal, he did his part, so their business is concluded. The only reason he was still here was for his 'recovery' after being 'shot'.

For all he knew, it could be a reverse Tamaranean thing...

The female diagram then looked around, and it showed itself getting cartoonishly mad for no apparent reason, gesturing and flailing all over, which made the male one slightly back off with his hands up in defense... the female one also grew in size. As they had no facial features such as eyes or mouth, Michael (and you) had to fill in the blanks with the mannerisms the diagrams gave.

"However, if at any point she goes emotional or mental distress, there is a high probability that same power will slowly start to trickle back to her sephira crytsal." Reine added, which the female diagram then summoned a doddle of Tohka's sword and started swinging it around, also stomping around cracking the white space around her.

"And sadly, you can't just spit her out." Kotori commented. Michael ignored this, though did twitch his eye on it.

The sephira crystal though? What was that? However, before he could even ask and get more educated on it, an alarm went off at that point; and the main monitor showed a Space Quake going off, though this one was smaller in scale than the one Tohka had done.

"Another space quake! Lock on it!" Kotori ordered and the cameras did in fact fous on the black hole. What spawned out of it, was another girl, but a completely different one than Tohka was like.

This new girl for starters was much shorter than Tohka, being between 3 and 4 feet tall, and while she also had ling hair, it was blue instead with matching blue eyes. As for what she wore... it wasn't what he expected an alien warrior to be wearing: an oversized green raincoat with green boots that had bunny ears on top and even a poofy tail on the back of it... and was what the puppet for? Her weapon?

"Huh... Hermit's back already?" Kotori said, sounding like they have encountered her a few times before. "Alright team, lets work before the AST show up! Shiizaki, keep an eye out for them! Reine, check the vitials of Hermit! Michael, y-!"

"Nope." He simply turned away and began to walk to the exit of the bridge.

"NOPE?!" Kotori repeated, then looked back at the leaving Michael while still in her chair. "What do you mean nope?!"

Michael did stop halfway when Kotori called out to him and slowly turned back around. "Tori... we had a deal. I help you with one alien girl, you never ask me again." He added, repeating part of the agreement they had.

"But we need you to seal her power!"

"The only thing getting sealed in that situation would be me in a detention center... I get enough of those..."

"So your saying your leaving a kid to die?"

"... a kid that can blow shit up and fly?"

Kotori wanted to say a comeback, but after being reminded that yes they in fact DID have a deal, and Michael wasn't exactly wrong in his statement, she had nothing more to say. All she could was look at him with a hard stare and clenching teeth, hoping that would get him to come around. Sadly, once Michael made up his mind, there was barely any way to change it.

"... okay, devils adocate here..." he put both hands up. "I've seeen everything you go through, sis; and while I'm sure its allot, I know you can handle it." Michael added, being kinder to her and fully honest, but still keeping his foot down. "Besides; I got a science project due in 12 hours, I'm the only one between 3 people who knows how to cook," after listing off those points, he then pointed directly at Hermit, who was now flying away and evading explosives and gunfire on the screen. "And that right there is a charge, that I don't want on my record or grocery bill."

With his point made and Kotori having no way to keep him here, he went back to leaving the bridge. However before leaving as the door automatically opened, he did say one more thing.

"Just find someone else that has my genes. Can't be the only one." He was obviously poking fun at Kotori's words from eariler, but also saying that he couldn't be the only person with this 'sealing' ability... that was still allot to take in for the kid, even as he finally left.

He walked down to corridors to find the room they held Tohka in so she could relax and unwind from everything that happened a few hours ago... this was still so much he had to let sink in. So much that halfway to Tohka's room, he put his hand on a wall to hold himself up as his mind processed and went back over everything he learned in under 3 days. The truth about space quakes and why they happen (and by whom), his roomate being a captain straight out of Battlestar Galactica, him apparently dying and somehow surviving a gunshot to the face (THAT still scared him), and finally this supposedly power he had to absorb the energy of girls... reminded him if that Ben10 villain that left sparkly trail while he flied... hated that guy, even before he was revealed to be a villain.

He pulled a hand down his face... he wanted to go back... go back to normal... back to that day on the toilet and stop himself from accidentally finding Tohka... how was one supposed to "go back to normal" after experiencing all this?! His life will never be the same again! All he wanted to do was find his mom and dad, now he gets dragged into a top secret war between alien women and the government!

Maybe it was a mistake to come here...

He flashbacked to the Hermit girl he saw on screen... no, no, no. He shook that right off. To be fair, while yes it did hit Michael because Hermit did look like a kid, he also nearly died from a simple date with Tohka. Twice... He couldn't get involved. He's been through enough drama in his own personal life.

Right as got up to the room Tohka was in, he had one more flashback... that blurry black and red being, the red and yellow eyes (at least he assumed thats what he saw)... was that an hallucination, or was that part of the afterlife that those people on TV and YouTube that claimed to see the afterlife conveniently forgot to mention in their "spiritual journey"? As you can guess, Michael never believed in that. Interesting food for thought, but he was the "I'll believe it when I see it" type of person.

Kotori and Reine both said he was shot though... and he did hear a gunshot as he began to fall down from the sky... maybe that was his brain protecting him from the trauma? But then why could he also see himself on the date with Tohka at that arcade and such, when he knew for a fact he was only just about to exit the toilet?... Why was crazy shit happening to him on the toilet?!

He shook it all off again, this was way too much way too fast... he needed a few days. A few days of normalcy to have time to process everything...

"See you soon, Michael..."

That voice echoed in his head... it's something he clearly remembered, and won't ever be able to easily forget. It sounded calming yet calculating, if that made sense. He didn't recognize its owner, having never heard it before, be he definitely would if he ever heard it again... should he have told them about it?

He dropped the subject and went into the room. It was over and done with, so no point in bringing it up... he'll probably listen to some of his old Tsukino Yoimachi songs when he gets home. Help him calm down.

When he went into the room, he noticed Tohka was sitting on the bed, dresses in only a hospital gown and looking upset for some reason... did they do tests on her? Regardless, she did look up at Michael, and now that he could see her eyes, you can add the emotion of sorrow to the description.

Fuck him, just the sight of Tohka's eyes with that emotion immediately prickled his heart.

"Look, I don't know what they did with you; but your coming home with me." Michael said firmly as he walked towards and sat next to her. "You'll be safe there. No Mecha-Mecha. No caffeinated doctors. Just us." He felt it was okay to wrap an arm around her as a sign of comfort, which she didn't wiggle away from. In fact she sorta leaned into it.

Besides; they already kissed, didn't they?

"... I'm sorry..." Tohka said very lowly, so low that Michael barely even heard her.

"Hmm?" He looked down at her with his eyes. "Hey, if this about blowing up the overlook thing..."

"No." Tohka corrected him, her voice still low. "... its me... I knew I should have tried to go back... already, I've caused you so much trouble. I got you shot... you have memory damage... you were yelling at that other girl, and now you have to take care of me too..."

Michael immediately started putting two and two together as Tohka repeated some of the talking points between him and Kotori while he and her were... "dicussing" things. A flashback showed that Tohka was standing behind the door to the bridge, probably having wandered off to look for him (as Reine said, she was pretty much attatched emotionally to him), and she ended up overhearing the conversation. Then she must've returned here sometime before Michael exited the bridge door.

Michael held Tohka a little tighter, which while the initial action did surprise her, it didn't feel threatening either. Her hand subconsciously went on his torso, in between his stomach and his upper chest. She had no idea why she did this, but it fet comforting.

"It's not like that, I promise." Michael said and making sure his tone was gentler yet still holding its firmness, attempting to talk her down. "That girl is my stepsister. Me and her... get a little heated sometimes. Like when you went beserk over Ori-*ahem*. That soilder who shot me." He also explained what he meant by his figure of speech, predicting she wouldn't understand it so he used an example of herself. "Its just allot for me to take in all at once... but I mean it. Your staying with me, not up here to be some lab rat."

While Tohka didn't understand what lab rat meant, she fet comforted by Michael's words. It was so strange. She had to protect herself for so long, but now she was starting to feel like she was the one being protected... she couldn't help but subconsciously grip at his shirt lightly... she felt safe and calm next to him; like even if something tries to hurt her, and even if it does, he'll make it go away.

"I see... and whats a stepsister?" She asked, needing to learn what the other vocabulary word meant.

"It means she's a sister from another mother that lives in the same house as someone."

"... how can a girl from another mother be your sister? You humans have a weird structure of the family unit."

"Your not wrong..." Michael could not disagree with her literal assessment. He was kinda glad he met her here and not in America. The amount of mental gymnastics he had to go through to explain that beast...

...

...

"... Michael?"

"Yeah?"

"... so if I live with you... are we family?" Tohka asked, sounding both hopeful yet vulnerable at the same time.

"Why wouldn't we be?" He said almost immediately, and with just that statement alone, Tohka's eyes widened for a moment, then her hand subconsciously clenched his shirt even more, snuggling closer to him as well. What he said made her chest feel... kinda the same way when they kissed... warm. It wasn't something she was used too, but she kinda liked it.

Ignoring the feeling of her assets as the gown didn't do much with them, Michael began to stand slowly so she could follow, her body automatically doing so once she realized he was moving.

"Alright... let's bounce." He said as he stood up while Tohka still held him, with her also cocking an eyebrow. Then Tohka let him go... what it something he said?

She then started to jump up and down... the hell?

"What are you doing?" Michael asked, his own eyebrow cocking.

"You said we should bounce." Tohka said, then did another bounce. "Are we going home after that?"

Michael couldn't hold it in, and he actually laughed lightly with a smile. Tohka still had allot to learn, but it admittedly was kinda cute. He walked over and took her hand, leading her along just like on their date.

"Let's get you some clothes first. There's gotta be some around here."

"I see... 'bounce' must be slang for 'get dressed'."

"I'll... explain when your older."

XXX

Clothes were flung out of the closet at a rapid pace with Michael being shown halfway in it, with Tohka sitting on his bed watching him. When they failed to find anything for her to wear (for Michael assumed she couldn't copy and create an outfit as her power was inside him now), Michael took her to the teleportation room on the ship so he could beam them back home.

They actually did find something for her to wear, but it was all uniforms, suits, medical gowns, etc; and Michael refused to let her walk around in that. Last thing he needed were creeps staring at her for reasons other than her prettiness.

"Too plain... too proper... too small..." He then pulled out a shirt on a hanger with the word 'Thrasher' on it that had flames surrounding the word. "Hey, I been looking for you." He then put it back, not intending for Tohka to wear it, then resumed his rummaging. He then pulled out a blue jacket with an angel wing inside an emblem that he didn't wear anymore and held it up while turning to look at Tohka, doing that thing when you hold up a shirt or suit to your body to see how it looks, only doing it to Tohka from a distance.

"Hmm... could work. Mind trying this on?" Michael asked her.

Tohka nodded and stood up from the bed to take the jacket from him. Then after he left to allow her to change and did so slowly, then looked at herself in his bedroom's mirror... he was definitely keeping his end of the bargain. First he took her home, now he was sharing his clothes... even if this one was a bit big on her due to their difference in height. In fact the opening where the collar was for the head to go through was also a bit large for her, and it showed some of her shoulders as a result... she still appreciated this though.

She also slipped on the matching blue shorts which belonged to Kotori and it was the only thing that actually fit her from the only other female member of the household... Kotori's clothes were just a little too tight in the chest area.

Tohka wondered what her life would be like here... couldn't be any worse than falling asleep in a void, right?

XXX

The very next day, Tohka and Michael just started to exit the house with Michael locking the door and stuffing the housekey in his pocket, both of them being in their school uniforms.

"Got everything?" Michael asked.

"I do... are you sure this is a good idea?" Tohka asked, a little nervous admittedly. She was gonna join Michael at school, having been approved and enrolled already. It was thanks to Reine mainly and the doctored documents and exchange papers she had made for Tohka. And she even picked out a last name for her: Yatogami. It really rolled off the tongue so well if Michael was completely honest.

"Tohka, it'll be fine." Michael assured her. "Reine and Kotori even pulled some strings to get into most of my classes... you'll have a good time, and be perfectly safe. I promise." He added while adding a consolating touch to her shoulder. While he was against Tohka being in school at first, it would help Tohka not only better understand human society, but also let her blend in better. Besides, her being near him will keep her stable, so that also helped with the convincing.

Tohka was still unsure, but saw no reason to doubt him. This was just brand new territory for her, something she hasn't experienced yet.

"... you really promise?" Tohka asked softly.

"Really promise."

"Truly promise?"

"Truly."

"1000% truly promise?"

'Are we truly doing this again?' Michael thought dryly, then cleared his throat to speak to her. "I really promise that over 10 thousand percent, that you'll be perfectly safe and have a good time... truly." He said. "Think of this as... an extended date."

That one comparison alone made Tohka give a small smile, now willing to try school if it meant spending time with him like their first date. Plus if that was the case, it would be the perfect opportunity to make it up to him, give him a date with less violence... she nearly lost him once...

As Michael lead the way, she had to ask: "By the way... how many strings did Kotori and Reine have to pull?"

Knowing his figure of speech was taken literal again, he answered in the only way possible: "Allot."

XXX

Getting to school, was not the problem. It went as normal as one could expect, Michael had to escort Tohka to the administrative offices to let them reveiw her "government issued" paperwork, then when they gave her the green light, he lead her to his homeroom.

The students, were not the problem either. Even though Tohka was a bit nervous being around so many new people, allot of them commented on how pretty she was. A few were even jealous of Micheal being her escort, but thankfully not that she lived with him as that wasn't public knowledge. Such knowledge would only make it worse.

Miss Tamae, and hopefully any teachers in general as the day went by, were also not the problem... it was Miss Tamae. Self explanatory.

The problem... was one person.

Tohka: What is she doing here?

Origami: I go to school here. What are you doing here?

Even as Tohka demanded to know why her enemy was here and Origami was calmer about it but still also wanted to know the reason, Michael pinched his nose harder than necessary. This. Is why he was originally against the idea, knowing this would be a conflict of interest between these two.

Tohka: All my power was taken by Michael. I'm not a threat to him anymore.

Origami: Doesn't mean you won't pop off when we least expect it.

And to make matters worse...

Ai: Isn't that the same girl Pelham was with yesterday? So she's a new student?

Mai: And all her power was taken?... So they are dating, but he's taken all her individualism away as a woman?

Mii: That's so lame.

Michael had a forhead vein pop up while gritting his teeth. Now some students began to think he was recreating a relationship from the handmaid's tale. This is not how it was supposed to go...

"Girls, please calm down." Miss Tamae tried to de-escalate the situation, speaking both kindly yet firmly. "Miss Tobiichi, take your seat. And Miss Yatogami, you'll be sitting..."

"I already chose my seat! It's right there next to Michael!" Tohka said, pointing to an empty seat that was near his assigned seat.

"I've already explained that seat is already assigned to another student!"

"But she's not even here!"

"Just because she's absent doesn't mean its your seat!"

Michael, with his brain pulsing with aggravation, was literally about to explode and tell both girls 'okay, enough!', when a calmer voice entered the room.

"If I may, Miss Tamae..." Reine said, entering the room and looking as tired as usual. She handed Tamae a sheet of paper. "This will clear everything up..."

Miss Tamae took the paper, looked it over... then lowered it, showing a look of understanding and empathy. "... my apologies, miss Yatogami... I had no idea you suffered from S.A.D... this wasn't in your record originally...

"Sad?... But I'm not sa- MFPH!" Michael slapped his hand over Tohka's mouth before she could ruin it...

'Well played, Sleepy... well played...' Michael mentally approved with a nod. That was a stroke of genius... Separation Anxiety Disorder, or S.A.D... true or close enough, it was the perfect excuse.

"It was my fault. I had some forms mixed up." Reine said... honestly, Michael didn't know if Reine was streching the truth or being completely honest that timw. But either way, her timely arrival prevented any unwanted disasters. At least Tohka would shut up now, being allowed to sit next to him... even if she still glared at Origami and vice-versa from time to time.

This was gonna be a long school year...

XXX

2 Days Later...

"Michael! Hey, Michael!"

A girl voice calling his name, was accompanied by the sound of charging feet stomping on the ground as it got closer and closer to Michael's classroom. Then the door quickly slid open to reveal Tohka in her school uniform, but also in an apron. She ran to Michael's desk immediately with something in her hands, which she slammed down on his desk out of excitement. A literal cloud of dust from the door to his desk signified this more clearly.

But hey... he was happy she was more comfortable here at least.

"So the last 2 days, I made some new friends in cooking class! They showed how to make these baked things called cookies in something called an oven!" Tohka said, which got the attention of everyone else currently in the room. "I put some in a bag before, but they must've got misplaced, so I made afresh batch just for you!"

"Huh? Oh, thanks." Michael was actually in the middle schoolwork, not because he wanted to, but rather because he was trying to get back to the feeling of normal.

He went to grab one of the many cookies Tohka made, seeing they were a variety of different shapes and sizes and even shades (they didn't look burnt, just some were probably in the oven longer than most), but some of them had faces decorated on them... and a few clumsily drawn. She was still learning obviously, and was doing so fast for only a few days, but it was still a nice gesture though. They definitely had that fresh smell too.

"Who taught ya?" He asked as he picked up a cookie.

"Those three nice girls that are in our homeroom class!" Tohka kindly said, and even point in the three girls out who were in a small group. When Mike turned around to see who she was pointing out, and also personally thank them himself...

Ai, Mai and Mii... of course they did.

He went back to trying the cookie for Tohka, but stopped before he could put it in his mouth, feeling the need to ask: "They didn't have you add Prestone, did they?"

A question mark popped over Tohka's head as she looked confused at Michael's choice of words. "... why would I bake stones into cookies?"

"Eh, nevermind." He raised his over hand, her confusion and lack of knowing what Prestone was being more than enough of an answer. He went back to trying to cookie in his hand when Origami then walked in, also in an apron, and approached the duo. "Origami?"

"What do you want now? If you harm one hair on...!" Tohka tried to run defense, but she stopped when Origami bowed. From what she learned so far, this was a sign of submission or apology.

"I'm sorry for the other day... I know words are hardly enough to atone for what happened... but its the truth. I never meant for you to get hurt." Origami calmly apologized, obviously for shooting him the other day. He survived sure, and was glad he did. Even if they were adversaries, that didn't mean she wanted him dead. That would be pushing thigs too far.

She let the bow linger for longer than nessassary, making it a little awkward.

"Sooo... their not together, but then what's she apologizing for? What are we missing?" Ai asked in the background.

"Maybe he's got some kind of dirt on her. You know how Americans operate." Mai said.

"So lame." Mii finished.

"Origami, its fine. Its over and done with... you can stand up now." Michael said, choosing to ignore the sidebar banter from Tohka's new friends... that was the only reason he didn't go off on them right now.

"Okay, fine. You apologized, now get your Mecha-Mecha clutches away from him!" Tohka said, wiggling her fingers on the 'clutches' part as if Origami was a supervillain.

Origami stood back up, and then turned her head and frowned at Tohka. "Why exactly are you still here anyway? There's nothing for you here."

"That's none of your business! I don't need to explain myself to you!" Tohka exclaimed. "Come on, Michael. ignore the murderer and eat my cookies" she added in a small yet cute grumble while pushing her box of cookies closer to Michael, also not having fully forgived Origami for shooting him, which sure, fair enough.

SLAM

"And mine. As part of my apology." Origami slammed her own box of honestly more professional-looking cookies on his desk right next to Tohka's, and doing so in ironically the same way as the Princess did. Not only were these cookies perfectly fit in their box, but they also were decorated with perfect checkerboard patterns. Clearly she put allot of work into making them, not to say Tohka was any less.

"MMMMMHRRRRRRRRMMMMMM!" Tohka was now really getting annoyed. "Stop copying me!"

"Actually, I made mine earlier this morning, so your copying me." Origami said undeterred.

"Did not!" Tohka agrued back. "Besides... look at how dumb they look. I bet they suck." She then popped one in her mouth... and proceeded to look like she took a literal bite of heaven.

"That bad, huh?" Michael sarcastically said with folded arms.

"... ah! Er, Yeah; their not that great." She lied after realizing what she was doing. "Now try mine. Eat some real food!"

"No. Try mine first." Origami said.

"We're really doing this now?" Michael said, his posture and tone having not changed.

"Eat!" Both girls said, one being calmer than the other, but both being firm in their desire for Michael to eat they're set first.

Sighing and exhaling through his nose, he unfolded his arms and took a cookie from each set, tossing them both in his mouth at the exact same time before chewing.

"Fhere... rappy?" He asked while chewing, then swallowing the contents after chewing enough. "Both of your cookies are tasty, we in the clear now?"

Tohka: See how quickly he swallowed mine?

Origami: Incorrect. He swallowed mine 0.2 seconds faster.

Before Michael could tell them to knock it off, the bell for lunch then rang. Good. This should give them the excuse for them to stop.

"Now if you're done arguing, can I go eat in peace?" He asked as he took out his lunch from his desk, planning to go eat outside.

RUMBLE!

Craning his neck to the window, Michael noticed it started to rain all the sudden. "The fuck? It's not even May yet..." He asked himself aloud, as not only was there no rain ever forecasted today or let alone the week, but also the the rainy season didn't start till next month. With nothing he could really do about it, he decided to eat in the classroom instead.

BANG!

Tohka slid over a desk to make a seat next to him...

BANG!

And so did Origami.

"And what are you doing?" Tohka asked in a sassy tone with a hand on her hip.

"Having lunch with Michael." Was Origami's simple response.

"I don't remember Michael inviting you."

"I could say the same..."

Before another argument could start, Michael immediately shot up with his hands on the desk. He looked like he was about to yell something, but he called himself down. Instead, he pointed to both girls with his two index fingers, then pointed down to both seats.

"Siiiiit." He ordered, and both girls did so.

Now some people from the outside looking in would probably assume Origami was fighting back for her man, but Michael wouldn't go that far to say that was the case. If he had to guess why, one reason was probably because Origami hated Spirits. The second one was probably not entirely because of him, but rather his involvement now. Because Origami's job was to deal with Sprits a 'certain way' and there was one still amist while at the same time she was supposed to be playing the part of a normal high schooler, it put her in a really awkward situation that her AST training most likely never covered. And like it or not, he was still a civilian, whether it was a conflict of interest or not due to their prior relationship.

Origami then began to stare at them with another frown... more accurately, Michael's bento.

"Stare all you want. I'm not sharing." Tohka said with a semi-full mouth, misinterpreting the situation.

"Michael, what is that?" Origami asked.

Michael's eyes went left, then right, confused. "... uh... lunch?"

"That's not what I meant." Origami said, gently, grabbing a top of the bento off of Michael's desk. "You bought this bento 146 days ago, for less then 100 yen from the grocery store across the street, then have continued to reuse it ever since."

"And just how and why, do you know this down to the last minuet details?" Michael asked in an increasingly-annoyed tone, even doing the hand motion/gesture that this meme dialogue was based on.

"Don't change the subject, mister." Origami said. "The point is, that's not exactly sanitary."

"Well excuse me for finding shortcuts to feed my face when I now have two more to feed. And one of them decided to start a fire this morning." Michael answered in the same tone, just now adding sarcasm to it, along with his forehead getting a bigger vein little by little.

"First of all, don't leave me out of the conversation. Thats rude." Tohka said. "Second of all, I only put the Pop Tart in the toaster and watched it like you told me too."

"Hey, Michael? My girlfriend wants to go shopping, do you think shrine maiden or nurse is sexier?" Hiroto butted in from the background, then he held up a small bag. "Also, I found this bag of cookies eariler. Think she'll like th-..?"

SMACK!

Michael's first response was snatching the bento top from Origami and tossing it into Hiroto’s face like a baseball after his forehead vein popped, the other boy grabbing his head in pain and rubbing it.

"NO! WATCH HER FIGURE!" He shouted at him, then turned back around, and plopped his head and arms in his desk face-down.

XXX

The went by pretty much as normal, but it still had not stopped raining. Even after school was dismissed, the rain continued nonstop... like, not at all. You know how sometimes you have like a few minutes during a storm when it's just dry because the other in clouds are no longer over that particular area? Yeah, that didn't seem to happen at all. It's like there was a perpetual raincloud over the town. And sadly, Michael had to step out of his home for a minute to grab some thing from the store, so he got caught in it.

"How the hell are the angels still fixing their plumbing?" He remarked as he took shelter in a nearby shrine, closing up his umbrella under the front of the building. No one else was here, either they were all inside or safely at home. "Even apps get it wrong too..." He added, taking out his phone to check for any other updates.

SPLASH!

He looked up upon hearing that splash, as that sounded way too loud to be a simple raindrop. All he saw was a kid in large green raincoat skipping around, then that same kid fell over and landed in the dirt. His parental instincts kicking in, he went over, not bothering to open his umbrella. Besides, getting a kid up would only take a second.

"Shit... hey, kid! You okay?" When he finally approached fully and kneeled down, starting to help the kid up, he got a better look at the raincoat... a girl with blue hair... bunny ears and tail... a white puppet she dropped a few feet away...

"Ah...!" The kid immediately scooted away on her feet and hands, obviously scared of a complete stranger. However, Michael slowly recognized her... it was that Spirit that spawned in the other day while he was cutting ties to Fraxinus... Herman or whatever?

"Please... don't hurt me..."

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Do you Yoshino that kid? - Part 2

The kid and Michael kept eye contact even as he started to approach her.

"Look, uh..." Michael said, but then thought he should begin to purposefully play dumb.

Again, he recognized this girl as another alien (seriously, what was her codename again? Hermione?), so maybe if she didn't know that he already knew what she was yet didn't attack her, she would keep calm and not attack either. That's what happened with Tohka... even though this girl seemed completely harmless and unlike Tohka, was just scared of humans rather than hating them for attacking her first.

Then again, the fact she landed by a shrine held so many ironies...

"I won't hurt you. Why would I? Where are your...?" He said, about to ask where her parents were as a way to make conversation but even as he took a step toward her, she recoiled her body and twisted it as if trying to repel him even while she was still on the ground. She was also looking towards something with her eyes but still kept her face on him to not lose sight if him for too long.

Damn... the AST must've been chasing her as long as they have Tohka. She really didn't wanna get anywhere near him, yet couldn't take her eyes off him for that lack of trust.

Looking over to what she was looking at... the puppet. Well, kids can get attached to things like that which make them happy. That was his way in to open her up. He then began to walk over to it.

"Please... no..." The Spirit said, while still sounding nervous, she did also have a very small demanding tone in her super innocent voice. Michael however, still approached the puppet and picked it up, examining it.

...

...

What an ugly puppet. It looked like a rabbit, pirate, clown... thing. Did she make this herself?

"... Least it matches..." Though a mutter, that was the only positive Michael saw in this thing, gor at least this thrown-together imaginary friend actually matched with the colors of her green raincoat. He then walked back over and the girl was recoiling more, like a turtle into its shell.

"Here. Come on... stand up." He said while holding out a free hand. Unsurprisingly, she didn't move, just focused on the puppet in his other hand. Before she said anything (or if she was going to wasn't clear to him), he spoke again. "I'm not taking it... here." He also offered the puppet halfway, almost like you do to a child or a pet to entice them to go along with you.

Luckily for him, the blue-haired girl did decide to play along, reaching for her puppet. He made sure to go extremely slowly as to not scare her off. Though it was around this moment he also felt just how soaked the puppet had gotten in such a short time.

"Actually, lets get you both dried off." He said, making a humorous remark to keep the kid calm. He then lead the little girl beneath some cover under the shrine after extra gently taking her hand, knocking on the door to it. A shrine maiden in the typical gowns' they wear opened it after a few seconds, the woman looking back and forth between the kids, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Got any spare towels?" Michael asked the maiden. The maiden in question didn't say anything, but did nod and went back inside, gesturing them to come in. Michael was about to walk in, but the kid rooted herself in place and slightly pulled back like how a kid would do in a grocery store when they wanted candy, but their parent/accompanying adult said no. This caused him to look down at her and see the anxiety written all over on her face.

Was this because the Spirit (Heather...?) trusted him all of a sudden and/or wanted his protection? No, obviously not. She wouldn't be so nervous if that was the case, plus that wasn't realistic. That dumb stuff only happens in fanfics. What the kid wanted was her doll or whatever back and to stay as far away from other humans as possible. That included going into a place where she could be cornered. Stranger danger. Even though that wouldn't happen in this situation, the kid wasn't stupid.

"On second thought," Michael began. "Leave them out here for us?" The maiden looked at him as if he was crazy. He was gonna dry her off in the wet, cold, damp air? In the middle of the rain? "... just do it. Please?" He added kindly, enough though he could see on the maidens face how stupid he sounded. Why would anybody deny shelter is probably what was going through her mind, that's what he figured.

The maiden, although she looked at him confused, still acknowledged his very odd request. She went in, got the towels, and then left them with them as he requested, going back inside after with a soft closing sound of the door.

Michael wrapped up the girl's puppet in a towel and gently squeezed to get the water out... at least, as much as could be anyway. This of course would have been much easier with a hairdryer, as that was the second part of the plan if they would've gone inside the shrine; but with this alien girl not wanting to go inside, he had to improvise.

"So what's your name kid?" Michael asked the girl while he continued to work, but all she did was watch him clean her puppet, still wanting it back obviously. Although she did look at him when spoken too, although not responding, this confirmed like Tohka, she could fully understand him. It's just that her main attention was still on her property.

Her innocent blue eyes with her matching blue hair did make her look cute, not romantically, just appearance-wise. Even if he was still working for Kotori, this little girl was a lawsuit waiting to happen. He could already hear the FBI banging on his door screaming for him to open up...

Still... it reminded him of how Tohka looked... how lonely she was...

"Don't got one either, huh?" That was half-dry, half-silly.

"... hmmm?" The kid didn't just look at him strangely, she tilted her head and he could have sworn he heard and saw a question mark pop over her head. She even acted like a bunny! Looking closer at him to try and understand what the hell he was saying!

"... never mind..." Michael said, looking back down and finishing up the drying of the puppet. With what he had to work with, it was all he could really do. As he began go unfurl the puppet, the girl watched intensely. "Here. Its not much, but hope it helps. Hope he doesn't catch a cold." He added, also adding the kind wish for the puppet to be as friendly as possible while giving the puppet back.

Once her hand was in range, Michael used his other hand to help assist in slipping the puppet back on. It was still damp but again, he used what he had to work with. Still, this appeared to have a positive effect, as the girl didn't flinch or recoil this time while he was assisting in putting her puppet back where it rightly belonged, not to mention he didn't have to do any of what he did, but did so anyway. She just looked back and forth between her puppet back on her hand then back to Michael, probably still trying figure him out... again, like a bunny.

"If it helps, I'm Michael." He said, telling the girl his name with a smile.

WHOOSH!

Even after he had to lower his hand back down from that, the girl disappeared in a whiff of... he wasn't gonna say smoke as it wasn't really as thick. Vapor? Fog maybe? Regardless of which was the more accurate wording, the girl was still gone.

"... well, that was cold." He punned. Seeing as he had no way of pursuing her or figuring out more about her, Michael knocked again on the shrine so he could head inside to wait out the rain. Conveniently, the exact same maiden opened it, and looked even more confused as the little girl was now gone.

"Her parents came to get her." Michael thought quickly. "May I?" He added, asking for shelter. Thankfully despite the questioning stare, the shrine maiden let him in.

XXX

That was actually not the last time Michael saw that little girl, for a day later he went to a game store to pick up a certain game he had been waiting weeks to officially release. He just hoped it wasn't riddled with bugs like some modern tend to be nowadays. He always thought it was weird: developers can make vast open maps, but can't have basic npcs or game mechanics work properly until they patch 30 updates just to make the game function?

And sure, these particular developers tried to scam people with NFTs but that's all in the past, right?

*ding ding*

He managed to get in and close his umbrella. He could not believe it was still raining... like it's been nonstop for a full 24 hours. You'd think the sun would poke out and say hello, or the clouds would get tired of crying at the very least. No such luck though. It's like a permanent storm hung over the entire city.

"Good afternoon, sir." Said the clerk as Michael shook the extra water off the umbrella outside the door before fully closing it.

"Hey. I was the one that just called a bit ago, you held it behind the counter for me?" Michael asked as he approached the counter.

"Right here." The clerk said with a smile and pulled up the game. "One Poppy Playtime: Triple Pack ready to pop in."

"Yeah, don't quit your day job." Michael said, joking back with the clerk (even though the joke was horrible). He then pulled out his wallet and took out the cash necessary to pay for the game in question. "This rain is insane by the way. It's not even close to the rainy season."

"Heard they may cancel Miku's concert if it doesn't." The clerk said.

"Yeah, poor girl gonna short-circuit if she tries singing outside her studio in this weather..." Michael said in a half-joke, thinking this guy was talking about Hatsune Miku.

"Actually, I was taking about this new upcoming idol, Miku Izayoi." Said the clerk.

Michael looked up at him, curious. "... should I know her?" He asked with a raising eyebrow, the name not familiar to him. He mentally walked it back though, as this guy did say 'new upcoming' idol, so of course he never heard of her before.

"Probably not, but you may soon," the clerk said. "Word is her voice got her a standing ovation before she even finished her song... a few lyrics in and she completely captivated her first audience."

"Really?" Michael said as he finished giving the money to the clerk, then gently taking the game. "Sounds insanely talented."

"And has beauty to boot." Said the clerk. "I just got back from one. Her and her performance were so beautiful, it's like I lost my will to leave until the show was over."

"Interesting... though I've already gotten an autograph from a famous one, so I've already lived that dream." Michael said.

"You gotta see her! Here, I'll pull her up on my phone..." the clerk did so, then showed Michael the pop idol in all her glory, dressed in a mostly yellow dress.

Now Michael's original plan: grab the game and go. But he could just give the picture a quick glance to be nice and he had the time anyway. What he didn't realize was one glance was all it took... no, he wasn't captivated although this girl was very pretty, just seeing her picture even for a spilt second...

"Hey, can I see her again?" He asked as the clerk was putting his phone away, his hand slightly outstretched to take the phone, to which he was more than happy to allow Michael to actually hold the phone now. With the phone in hand, he looked at the screen.

Again, this girl definitely was attractive and could get any man (or woman) with a bod like that, it's just... the eyes... and hair... as a transparent face of an Idol he was familiar with from his own childhood overlayed over this one, it was either a random resemblance, or he could swear he...

"HEY! You gotta pay for that!" Another voice (another employee most likely) suddenly shouted, interrupting Michael's thoughts. The clerk that was with Michael also immediately turned around to see what was going on, forgetting Michael had his phone still.

What both men saw next was another employee yelling at a little girl in a green raincoat with an ugly puppet on her hand, and a new mini bunny stuffed animal in her other hand. The little girl was cornered by the employee... okay, not exactly. She could still have made a break for the exit, but she probably felt cornered as she didn't move or respond in any way. Michael of course recognized her as the same girl he saw the other day, then the day after that at that shrine... she must really like bunnies.

Seeing the fear on her face and knowing she was a Spirit but not knowing how she would react, and because she could probably blow stuff up and get him or other people hurt, Michael immediately went over. He also thought quickly of a cover story.

"Whoa, bro. It's okay." Michael said, getting the employees and the little girls attention, whom the latter also recognized him. "She's with me." Michael went between the little girl and the employee. He then kneeled to the little girl and whispered to her under his breath so only she could hear: "play along."

He patted her raincoats bunny ears. He did this to make it look like he knew the girl personally, and not some older man looking for cupcakes. "So you decided to go out in the rain as Yoyo today? You usually wear the Bluey one."

The little girl tilted her head, either not understanding why Michael was doing this or somehow not knowing who Bluey was... wasn't the new Scooby-Doo or Blue's Clues of this generation or something?

"You know this girl?" Asked the employee that was reprimanding her a second ago.

Michael stood back up and turned to face the employee. "Yeah. We visit that shrine in this district sometimes around the corner." He said, which wasn't a total lie, so it was another easy cover story.

"Well your too young to be a dad... allegedly..." the clerk that Michael was conversing with before said, making a small joke but also trying to figure out what's going on as well. "So she's your sister or something?"

Michael wasn't gonna say yes to that for 2 reasons: one, because that was the most obvious bait in the book. And two, he already had a stepsister, so if he was seen with Kotori then that cover was blown. It didn't help he was a regular customer as well.

"Nah, you guys know my only sister. I'm her babysitter." Michael said, thinking quickly again and saying it calmly as to not arouse suspicion (he was a regular for this store anyway).

"Oh, really? That's cool." Said the clerk, believing Michael. "What's her name?"

... Fuck. That gave Michael pause... he hoped that question wouldn't come up, least not as soon as it did. He couldn't call her by her codename, which didn't help as he couldn't remember it fully anyway (Haley or something?). But if he didn't say anything soon, the obvious would be revaled and he'll get reported to the proper authorities; then deported. He couldn't allow either one, so he had to think of something fast.

However, it wasn't him that answered the clerk's question...

"IIIIIIf you greasy gamers must know," a squeaky voice said, to which the 3 men looked down at the little girl as thats where the voice came from. "My name's Yoshinon! And me and my bestie wanted a new friend to cuddle with at night, is that so wrong?" Said... actually, it wasn't the little girl. At least not through her mouth anyway. Her mouth didn't even move, but the puppet she was holding did all sorts of gestures and movements.

All 3 boys were kinda shocked. Not because this little girl did ventriloquism, but rather how good she was.

"... damn, that's insane." Said the clerk.

"You're telling me..." Michael muttered so the other 2 boys didn't hear him. Last thing they needed to see or hear was how just as surprised as they were about... okay, side rant; he's gonna assume 'Yoshinon' was the puppets name, but until he learned more about this new Spirit, he'll just have to refer to her as that while making it seem, he was talking to the puppet and her at the same time.

"By the way, we'll we are on the subject, I forgot to thank you the other day for drying me off from the rain. I could've gotten a nasty cold. Achoo! Like that." The Yoshinon puppet said, also pretending to sneeze to make its point.

"Ha! Aw. She's adorable." Said the clerk.

"Adorable or not, that stuffed toy costs money. She can't just take..." the other employee was saying, but Michael stuffed a few bills into his hand from the side to shut him up.

"Keep the change." He said, then patted the little girls back to get her to move along with him. "Let's get you home now..." he led her out of the store, and didn't fight or resist him at all. Perhaps she felt comfortable around him now? Or at the very least figured he wasn't gonna hurt her? Either way, he left the establishment and entered the rain, though he of course got his umbrella out.

Michael then sighed. "... You good?"

The was the puppet who responded. "I'm fantastic, Mister Michael! And thanks for buying us a new friend! Of course, I would have been able to woo my way out of that situation with my cuteness, but it was much appreciated!"

Michael rolled his eyes. "Just stay out of trouble, okay kid? And try not to draw the attention of the AST again." As he expected, the little girl, and even her puppet, looked surprised at what Michael said. So there was no confusion, he told her straight.

"Yeah... I already know. I just hope you find peace and a way to exist here without causing destruction... and i know its not on purpose." He added, immediately thinking of Tohka as he said that. With that said, he began to leave. The little girl and her puppet didn't say anything as he left. If he had to make an educated guess as to why, they were probably still stunned he knew what she was (assuming she knew what she was as even Tohka didn't), or more confused he wasn't afraid of her and attacked her on sight.

He genuinely hoped someone would help her, or at least Kotori would find someone who... he couldn't get involved.

XXX

"So it, wasn't all you can eat?" Tohka asked as she and Michael were kindly kicked out of a restaurant in the mall by the manager.

"Well; it was..." Michael dryly groaned with a hand on his face. He figured he'd take her on another date at a mall, then they came to the food court... you can use your imagination to figure out what happened. "It's fine... we'll skip to the window-shopping part..." he continued, gently taking Tohka's hand and guiding her to their next destination on the mall date.

"I'm really sorry..." Tohka apologized again, sounding genuinely regretful.

"Its okay!" Michael said at a slightly higher volume but still being kind about it, though his tone had obvious aggravation in it still. "Honest mistake... We'll deal with it..."

Yeah. Tell that to his wallet...

XXX

"The little Hermits got balls, I'll giver her that. Coming out when people are around and about, and not triggering the alarm." Said Ryouko, who was around the perimeter of the mall with Origami and standing on a roof in the rain, the same mall Michael and Tohka were dating at.

"Sure she's not nearly as dangerous as Princess, but at least Princess never stood behind before that chance meeting with Michael." She added, mentioning the day Tohka and Origami fought right in front of the boy. Seriously, of all times for that boy to be stuck in the toliet... that report was too stupid to make up.

"I still can't get over it. She not only transferred to your school, has virtually no power anymore, and had the audacity to date your boyfriend right in front of you. Makes my brain hurt." She added, wrapping her head around that part in particular. She was more surprised Michael went along with it as Origami was dating him... she figured he was the faithful type despite his own demons, and figured such a relationship would help Origami with her own, hence why she never reprimanded her about it.

While Origami gave no verbal response, she continued to stare at the mall building as if trying to burn 2 holes with her eyes, and even clenched her gun a bit. It took Ryouko 3 seconds to realize that and when she did, she went to apologize.

"I'm sorry, that was stupid of m-"

"No." Origami immediately cut her off, and even calmed herself down rather quickly. "... its okay. Me and him already made peace with it a while ago. Long before they met and discovered the truth for himself." She continued, then her tone lowered a bit while looking down at her feet. "We went our separate ways... he's made his choice... and I made mine..." her grip on her gun tightened even more upon finishing, to the point of it starting to shake ever so slightly.

Ryouko put two and two together. They weren't together anymore? When did that happen? How long ago? She honestly had no idea. "Tobichii, you..."

"With all due respect Captain," Origami interrupted her captain a second time, also looking back up at her. "We're on a mission right now. To protect the people from monsters that can destroy the world." She then looked back to the mall. "My love life should be the last thing on our minds..."

It was there the conversation ended, leaving a slightly awkward feelings behind. Ryouko also went back to watching the building herself, her and one of her favorite sqaud members standing in silence.

...

...

"... thanks..." Origami said.

"... don't mention it..." Ryouko responded.

XXX

Back with Michael and Tohka, they strolled past a few stores like antiques, beauty, brand stores, gaming shops, food shoppes (he yanked her away from those) and even some jewelry stores. They actually looked in the window of one such jewelry store with Tohka staring at some that were in various shapes and sizes... he prayed she wasn't gonna ask.

One thing that was odd that he noticed, was the AST was already out and about. Why? He didn't know. It couldn't be, at least he hoped, because of Tohka. She was currently drained of her original power. Tohka was of course nervous at first, seeing them fly around like little nats over the mall, but they didn't seem to be after her and she had Michael to hold her hand, so she felt safe enough. The only other reason could be...

"These are... so beautiful..." Tohka said, running her finger along the glass as if trying to feel the jewelry behind it. Which interrupted the thoughts of our hero.

"Glad you think so." Said a softer more feminine voice before Michael could speak. They both turned to see Reine. "Fancy seeing you both here. I was about to head in myself."

Now Michael's first reaction was to question why Reine was even here as she was a member of Ratatoskr and made it clear he wanted nothing more to do with him, but he took a step back. If the AST was here, and while they do patrol the city even when a space quake doesn't go off, shouldn't Reine be up in the spaceship anyway? Maybe it was her day off?

Regardless, he didn't want to make a scene and jump to conclusions.

"Would you both care to join me? I can use second anf third opinions?" Reine asked.

"Sure. I guess a quick glance won't hurt." Michael agreed to it. Besides, it was still freaking raining, so any additional time in the mall was an appreciated distraction. As the three literally stepped in the door, not all the way in the store but rather the door itself.

"Oh, shoot... I must've forgotten my phone in the food court." Reine said after patting her pocket and not feeling the item in question. "Michael? Do you mind?"

"Not really. Just keep the Princess calm while I'm gone." He said, not thinking too deeply about her request.

"Of course, Prince. Your Princess will be taken care of thoroughly." Reine said, though even in her soft exhausted tone, Michael could tell she was being sarcastic.

"That's not a thing." He said as he walked off. He didn't remember seeing Reine at all, but Tohka could be a bit distracting so that was possible. However he didn't even get the chance to head all the way to the food court, as he had to pass through a play place for kids. Ya know, those sections deep in the malls that have an indoor playground with various structures for them to run around while one parent stays and the other parent tries to finish shopping because Michael may have whined a bit too m...

*clearing throat sound intensifies*

Anyway. He didn't get to fully pass by because he heard a small argument between 2 little kids. At first he didn't think anything of it and was gonna mind his business...

"Come on! Lemme see your bunny doll!"

And upon looking in the direction just for general curiosity, 2 little girls were together in the play area near some monkey bars. One girl was in a blue dress with white ruffles with matching blue eyes and had curly red hair in pigtails with white porcelain-like skin (if her name was like the doll of the same game, Michael would lose his shit), the other had blue hair and a green raincoat...

After his mouth closed after the initial shock wore off, "... just walk away Michael... walk a-way..." Was all Michael could mentally groan, telling himself over and over to not get involved.

"Lemme see! I just wanna borrow it!" He didn't have turn around to know Yoshinon's owner obviously wasn't giving up her puppet. You'd think the other girls parents would get involved and told their daughter to stop harassing the mini puppeteer, so the curiosity got the better of him and he looked to the groups of parents nearby. None of them reacted either because this kid didn't belong to them, or she was the child of one of the few who had their faces in their phones (he was betting either TikTok or Reels, both not good looks... Instagram was where it was at).

He forced himself to turn away again. Before he got too far, he then heard the sound of kids whining... ya know, the type of whining you hear when 2 or more kids fight over a single toy because sharing isn't in their dictionary yet or even if it was, they had their moments of distress. When he looked back with a grumble, he saw the redhead tug at the blunette's puppet, both fighting for it. And since no parent was getting involved...

'... This can-NOT be happening to me!' He mentally complained, but went back to the play area anyway. He didn't need this on his conscience. Right as it looked like either girl would have won the tug of water, Michael stepped over and took the puppet from both of them.

"Let's play somewhere else..." He said, taking the bluenette's hand without thinking too much of it, and lead her away to the other side of the play area. Whether or not that other girl ran to her mommy or daddy or simply went off to do something else wasn't his concern, as he kneeled to the Spirits eye level and put the Yoshinon puppet back on its owners hand. Like at the game store, she made no moves to get away.

"We gotta stop meeting like this, Alice..." Michael sighed as he finished. It was only a dry quip, so he wasn't expecting to hear:

"... Yosh... ino..." He looked at her eyes now, still innocent and possibly scared from the ordeal of nearly losing her puppet, but she actually spoke to him for the first time without her puppet. "... M... My n-name is... Yoshino..."

Okay... he got it now. Yoshino. Yoshinon. Was easier for her. Like a girl naming her dolls with similar names to people she knew, or even herself. This also told Michael this little girl, Yoshino, trusted him a bit more... that or childish naïve.

While this was happening, an invisible camera flew around to Michael's ear, then a small little arm (also invisible) shoved an all-too familiar earpiece rather roughly into his ear...

"Argh! What the fuc...?" He was about to curse despite being in front of a kid, but a voice stopped him.

"And don't you dare pull it out this time." The voice said in a commanding tone.

"TORI?!" Michael blurted out. "I already told you, I'm not..." he then realized he was talking rather loudly, and also Yohsino looked at him confused for his sudden change in tone. He cleared his throat. "Sorry, just; give me a second please..." he took out his own phone and put it over the earpiece to make it look like he was taking on the phone. "I'm not doing this again, I thought I was clear about..." he whispered, but was cut off again, except this time by voice he didn't expect to hear.

"Your the only one who can solve this current problem." Said Reine, making Michael's jaw open a bit... how did she get on this call? Did she leave Tohka unattended? Nah, that was completely stupid. Reine wasn't dumb. "Don't you find it strange its been pouring nonstop for days straight? Hermit is the cloud, your the ray of sunshine, get it?" She added, now shown to be in the store with Tohka in the background looking at jewelry, but Reine had her phone on her.

It took Michael less than 5 seconds to figure it out. The AST out in the open (rare but did happen occasionally), Reine's convenient yet perfect timing and "lost phone", Yoshino suddenly appearing in the exact same mall all of them were in...

"YOU SENT HER ON PURPOSE!" Michael yelled specifically at Kotori, where we have swapped prospectives again to show the loli commander on her chair in Fraxinus watching them all on cameras... clever girl. With Tohka now occupied by Reine and away from him, Kotori caught Michael alone and technically having no reason to say no.

"It's too late for that now." Kotori said, being very calm as she technically held the cards again. At least most of them for now. "Hermit's happiness had been rising ever since she's interacted with you. As far as she's concerned, you're the only person she can trust."

With the implication Kotori's been watching him the whole time, it made him angrier. They had a deal, but here Kotori was trying to force Michael to submit and get her way. "I'm retired!" He snapped back. "My only concern is Tohka! Yoshino is your...!"

"Yoshino?" Kotori questioned, but quickly put the new name to the owner, glancing at Hermit in the cameras before talking back to Michael. "So your on speaking terms then?"

The American had to bite his tongue. Him and his big mouth. It looked like Kotori wasn't aware of him knowing Yoshino's name, but now that she did, he knew that in her mind this was all the more reason to get him to cooperate more as that was a sign of trust when a child gives a stranger their name. Basically, he was giving Kotori the shovel to bury him deeper.

"It doesn't matter! I want no part of your alien dating simulator! Anything the ice bunny does is on you!" Michael said.

"Your right. It is on me." Kotori said, softer this time and surprisingly agreeing with him. But as she continued on, it was revealed for a different reason as her tone hardened a bit with more resolve. "I have a city to protect Michael... and I'll protect it by any means necessary. It's my job... This. Is the perfect opportunity to seal Hermit, and I'm not putting it to waste! Whether you like it or not, you are a part of this now. There is no going back so this is what's gonna happen: your gonna stick by Hermit, aka Yoshino; bring her happiness up, and then seal her when she's ready."

"No, no, no. Here's what's gonna happen, Strawberry Shortcake..." Michael said, who admittedly understood where Kotori was coming from, and figured Yoshino was innocent enough from the interactions he had with her, but was adamant on having no part of this. Tohka being the one exception. "I'm getting Tohka home and away from you reddit mods, take this thing out of my ear, then throwing her in a daycare!"

"If I can interject for a moment..." Reine spoke up. "There is the problem with Yoshino's rain causing a flood..." she said, which admittedly was a fair point with all the rain caused by her powers.

"Yet space quake damage is repaired overnight. Sometimes mere hours." Michael said dryly. "I'm a private citizen. Aside from One, girls who cause explosions or rainy days aren't my problem."

"... okay..." Kotori said, then tried a different approach. "Say you don't seal her... fair enough. But what's gonna happen after that? Yoshino will be hunted down, backed into a corner, as many times as Tohka was. Then, when her stress turns the rain into a downpour or she causes an explosion of her own... saaaaay in a game store, or some other private owned area of business, could even be a park or a shrine... can you live with that? Knowing that you could have very well prevented any suffering that may have occurred during this, let's be honest, hypothetical but not entirely too far from being realistic situation. Wouldn't that be on you too?"

Ignoring the fact she mentioned a game store specifically, which was her indirectly admitting how long she was spying on him since adamantly quitting, Michael paused for a second upon hearing Kotori's words... and he hated she was right, and knowing exactly what buttons to push to get to his conscience buried under his brashness.

"... that's blackmail."

"Good to have your abored again big bro." Kotori knew she won, a victorious smile on her face. Michael growled a bit, then that same growl turned into a groan.

"... one more. We're done. Got it?" He said, allowing Kotori this one extra time just this once. Its not like she would leave him alone about it so it was pointless to argue further, plus if Yoshino did trust him enough already, then this'll probably be quicker than Tohka at the very least, so he basically got a headstart.

That still brought up the concern to him when it came to the method of how "sealing" is done... he'll do the cheek. No way is he going the lip route. Plus doing the cheek would be more publicly acceptable.

"Perfect. Now just focus on Yoshino. Your Princess will be fine." Kotori said.

Michael decided to also ignore her continuation of Reine's 'Prince' joke, along with her not answering him, but he then put his phone away to make it look like his call was over. Its fine though, he supposed. Just seal Yoshino before anyone (especially Tohka) notices, and Kotori had eyes everywhere it seemed. What could go wrong?

XXX

While Tohka was enjoying the new things she was seeing with Reine, her thoughts drifted to Michael. He's been gone for a while, and the food court from what she recalled wasn't that far away. Did something happen? She tried pushing these thoughts down, but they kept bugging her and she was getting worried. Unable to contain herself any longer, she made for the exit in a brisk walk.

Reine noticed Tohka was leaving and went to stop her. "Tohka, wh...?" Before she could reach Tohka, a store clerk jumped in front of her out of nowhere.

"Here, ma'am. I noticed you were looking at the silver necklaces. Would you like to try on this!" The clerk said with a creepy and over exaggerated 'salesman smile', holding up one of the silver necklaces that Reine was in fact looking at before. He must be trying to hit his quota...

"That's not necessary, but thank you." She said, getting away from the clerk, but that's unfortunately all the time Tohka needed to have left the store already.

"Princess is on the run!" Kotori said, and immediately sent for some of the crew to stop her in the one way they knew how. "Get down there on the double!"

Back with Tohka, she walked down the mall hallway until she walking past a booth that she swore wasn't there before, and the clerk staged her darted out to Tohka, showing off the product she was selling. It was actually Hinako in disguise, but Tohka seemed either unaware it was her, or because she didn't really know the crew as intimately as Reine and Michael.

"Excuse me! We have a sale on specialized adorable dolls! Would you like one?" Hinako asked, holding out a creepy doll. Obviously Tohka flinched and reeled back.

"Uh... n-no thank you, ma'am..." Tohka said. "There's someone I gotta see." She added, fully determined to find Michael before anything else, walking off. That wasn't the only roadblock, as a second booth was also up ahead. Again, she was sure this one wasn't originally there.

"Step right up and Dunk the Chump!" Mikimoto said, also in dusguise as a carnival-like employee like when Tohka and Michael had that fair portion of their date, and Nakatsugawa (in casual clothes as his disguise) was sitting over a pool of water with a target connected to it. "3 balls per customer! But 3 on the house for the lovely lady!" He immediately shoved 3 balls into Tohka's hands.

While it sounded fun, Tohka politely handed the balls back. "That's very kind of you, sir. Maybe next time." She then walked off, leaving the 2 men alone.

"... I told you we should've done Whack-A-Mole!" Nakatsugawa pointed at Mikimoto, to which Mikimoto responded by tossing one ball at the target. "WAH!" He cried as he splashed into the pool, bubbles coming up when he dropped in, his glasses also rising to the surface as the camera cut away before he did.

Tohka turned a corner to see yet another booth (seriously, did she and Michael miss all of these?), this time with the final 2 members of the Fraxnius crew.

"Good afternoon, Miss! Free samples? We got a little of everything!" This was said by Kawagoe, him and Kozue both dressed in chiefs uniforms. He wasn't lying either. Grilled and fried meats, rows and rows of snack items, sweets, baked goods ranging from cookies to pastries, seafood and salads... it was the biggest smorgasbord Tohka had ever seen so far!

You can tell by the look on Tohka's face she REALLY wanted to try so many delicious looking foods, and she was even staring with dreamy eyes at the section, but then she wildly shook her head back-and-forth that snap herself out of her daze.

"Um... n-n-no t-thank you. IIIII'm not hungry!" Tohka said, having to resist the pull of the food presented to her, and increasing the pace of her walking to force herself onward to look for Michael.

Kotori watched this and was honestly a little surprised... She had that food table be put out last purposefully. "Wow. I thought that would get her..." She said. Tohka really was smitten with him.

XXX

Yoshino was climbing up on the monkey bars of the play area, probably feeling safer with someone she knows nearby. Michael on the other hand was standing and watching, back in the "babysitter" role.

"Is that one yours? She's adorable in her little raincoat!" Said a mother looking at Michael and engaging a small conversation. While he wasn't into older women, she still looked young enough.

"Yes and no. I'm her Nanny." Michael joked, which the girl laughed at.

"What's the holdup! Do it already!" Kotori's voice commanded in his ear. This was because 3 choices were generated beforehand, the crew decided upon one, and Michael was supposed to say the line of dialogue.

"There's no rule saying I can't save the dialogue for later..." he muttered, knowing this would annoy Kotori, and he wasn't wrong. When he did her training simulator thingy, it never mentioned anything about him having to say whatever option right away.

"Hahah! See? Am I cool or am I cool?!" Said Yoshino's puppet, Yoshinon. When Micheal looked up where Yoshino was, she was standing on top of the monkey bars with only her feet and not using her hands to support herself.

Based on Yoshinon's line of dialogue, Michael could only assume another kid dared Yoshino to do it.

"... Nannies gotta get back to work." Michael said to the mother, walking towards the monkey bars. However right as he got halfway, Yoshino slipped as was falling off the bars! Now Michael subconsciously knew she was a Spirit and could probably fly to safely, but his immediate thought was to help her so she and someone else doesn't get hurt. Even as he started running as was decently close, he saw that he would be just shy short of catching her so unless helped by some sort of miracle, he wouldn't make it in time...

The world around him went dark and slow motion for a moment so we can see an invisible aura form around him, a similar color to Tohka's energy when she was a full-fledged Spirit. When his foot hit the ground again, Michael felt an insane rush as he soft haze eyes slowly bleed to purple...

SPLAT!

To his credit, he did catch her on top of his own body, but whether it was the sudden momentum increase or the height of Yoshino's fall or prehaps both, Michael ended up flat on his back with Yoshino on top of him. The small crowd of people saw this and did voice general concern for them, like oh's and ah's and such. When he made impact with her, his eyes had already flashed back to normal, so no one was ever the wiser. Not even him.

Additionally when Yoshino fell on him, she accidentally made lip contact with him... yeah somehow that happened, but it was literally for less than a second. Michael remained completely professional, not drawing attention to it.

"You okay, kid?" Michael asked Yoshino as the littler one began to sit up on his lap, then nodded after a pause before she stood up completely and brushed herself off.

"You'll have to excuse us! Yoshino here wasn't paying enough attention. Such a cute little airhead she is!" Yoshinon said.

"Michael! You better come up with something right now! This is bad!" Kotori's voice blurted out loudly in the earpiece, making Michael wince from the sudden volume.

"What? She's fine," Michael muttered back to the earpiece, sounding confused. Yoshino/Yoshinon wasn't getting angry and she was just playing with the other kids. "She knows it was an accident."

"Not her! The other one!"

"Other who? There's no one el-..." Michael stopped. Not just because he realized whom Kotori was talking about, but because he felt a darkened presence behind him. When he turned his head, the person in question was standing only a few feet behind him, with an angry aura about her and her fists balled up tight.

"... Michael... what was that just now...?" Tohka asked in a strained tone of voice. He was about to ask what exactly was pissing Tohka off, but due to the timing of Kotori's warning and the accidental kiss he and Yoshino had (the image flashing in his head), he had a pretty good idea...

Tohka continued on, still straining to remain calm. "You were gone... so long... I was worried... half to death... and I find you, with another girl..."

"Okay, Tohka; if you let me explain..."

"Please do..." Tohka growled. "Tell me... what's going on!" Her voice raised a bit, unable to contain her anger and she also took a step towards him. That's not all, for when she did, the immediate area began to shake the second her foot stepped on the ground. The only people that didn't react to this were the 3 teens, everyone else thinking a 2 second earthquake just occurred.

At least this got most of the crowd to clear. Most, but not all; so some people were still around, which made this even more awkward than it needed to be.

"Yeah. Your looking at a slightly unstable Tohka..." Kotori said to Michael, which he couldn't help but feel a tad bit nervous about.

"I had no idea." Michael sarcastically muttered back. But damn, if this was Tohka quote 'slightly' unstable...

Reine was actually watching this play out and while she expected to transpire with Tohka's power slowly returning to her as she theorized... something was wrong. That wasn't anywhere near the amount she expected for Tohka to reabsorb based on the data, among other things. And Tohka was pretty angry mind you. She should have regained enough power to shatter the ground a lot more than the small shockwave she caused just now... that's what happened the first time with him. Of course, with 2 Spirits now meeting in one place, she better request Kotori to teleport her back up to the ship.

But still... this new turn of events bothered her to an extent. Why didn't more of Tohka's power return to her?

Back with Michael, he was attempting to calm Tohka down. "I swear, I was on my way to the food court to find Reine's phone," he started, needing to push down the part of him that wanted to tell her Reine actually lied, but seeing how Tohka's temper was as this point in time, blame-shifting (although totally justified in his case) would only make her worse. "Then the kid was in a bit if a bind..."

"So... you ended up... kissing her...?" Tohka asked, her tone filled with hurt and a sense of betrayal.

"Second of all, that doesn't even count! I was trying to catch her as she fell! It was a complete accident!" Michael said, trying to move this conversation to its end result rather quickly as Tohka and him arguing was getting some people's attention. "Tohka, come on! Remember what I said? You know I wouldn't do that to you!" He added, stepping closer to her. She did allow this, and even mentally started calming down at his reminder of the promises he made.

"Tohka, huh? That's an interesting name." Yoshinon said out nowhere, somewhat resetting the ire of Tohka as she glared at the supposed new rival, but still remained calm because of Michael... at least, up until the puppet spoke again. "Based on what you've both already said, it sounds like Michael left you on purpose to spend time with me!~"

Tohka's eyes widened in shock and horror, and even Michael was taken aback by such an bold yet completely outlandish claim. Was Yoshino using the puppet to describe how she feels about the situation, or just being a mischievous little kid for a quick laugh at the expense of her older counterparts? Either way, this was spelling disaster very quickly.

"Yeah, your real funny, kid. A real Jeff Dunham." Michael said. Tohka however, continued to stare at Yoshinon, looking upset.

"Why thanks mister 'Babysitter'," Yoshinon said. "I am pretty adorable, not that there's anything wrong with Tohka. But you probably needed a break from her so you came to watch me, not that anyone would blame you. She seems like a handful, someone you can only tolerate in short doses."

The more the puppet spoke, the more Tohka's hair obscured her eyes and her fingers squeezed so tight that they shook, getting whiter from the lack of circulation. And what was that "babysitter" thing about?

Micheal groaned. This was way too much of a headache. Why the hell did he get involved again? Taking Tohka's hand, he started to lead her away. Whether or not Yoshino thought this was some kind of joke or was just a mischievous child underneath, this was not his problem.

"We're leaving." Michael said.

"Hey! You can't leave!" Kotori said in his ear.

"Yes. I. Can." Michael muttered back through his teeth, then looked at Tohka. "I'll explain back home. Promise." He promised Tohka in a more normal tone, as she deserved an explanation for this. He could also see Tohka's expression, and didn't need either Spirit to cause a scene.

Although Tohka was still a little upset, she ultimately pushed it all the way down so she could follow Michael. "Mmmmm... ok..." she said, then following him. "You did find her phone?"

"Yeah. She did..." He grumbled, not bringing it up right now. Again, he'll explain this later.

"Even if he was looking for a phone, it was probably the perfect excuse he could use to ditch you." Yoshinon went on, making Tohka stop immediately.

"Tohka, ignore it," Michael said and gently pulled, but Tohka would not budge. "Tohka...? Tohka!"

"See? Even she's starting to see the harsh truth. Eventually everybody will leave somebody." Yoshinon said. "Go ahead, Michael. Its okay to admit to her she's not wanted anym-..."

GRAB!

The puppet was unable to complete its sentence as Tohka, immediately rushed at Yoshino and snatched Yoshinon away, holding the puppet by its throat in a fit of rage and sadness. However oddly, she spoke to the puppet and not the puppeteer (or maybe she just didn't get it. She was still learning).

"I've heard enough of your insults and lies! I am SO wanted!" Tohka adamantly denied the puppets words. "You have no idea... Michael said it was okay for me to stay... to live with him... that we're family! He said so!" She continued in a more emotional tone, a few tears on the sides of her eyes, not wanting to believe a single thing Yoshinon said as it contradicted the reality she knew. This of course got even more attention from the other mallgoers.

Yoshino by this point was staring up at Tohka, the little kids expression turning grim. She then timidly walked over to the older girl before tugging at her shirt to get her attention.

"What do you want?" Tohka snapped at the kid, her anger still somewhat directed at her.

"... back..." Yoshino began to try and hop up to get her puppet back. Of course, due to their difference in size, the bunnies hops weren't high enough the height of Princess. "... give it back... please..."

"Okay, they both need to calm down, pronto! Especially Hermit. Her emotions are bouncing all over the place!" Kotori said, seeing the incoming data at her captain's chair. While Tohka was pretty heated, thankfully she was still calm enough, probably because she was near Michael still. Yoshino on the other hand did a complete 180, as she was relatively calm the entire time until Tohka got involved.

Micheal hear this from Kotori and went back to being nervous again. With 2 Spirits whose mental states were in jeopardy and would probably lead to someone getting hurt, Michael was now left with a choice: Ignore Yoshino, or get Tohka to drop the puppet as he could see that was the clear reason why Yoshino was starting to flip. Of course, both came with their own cons, the biggest one being that regardless of which one he chose, the other was gonna be negativity affected and would completely snap.

He went with assisting Yoshino... yes, he already knew that would be a dumb idea, but at least if Tohka snaps first, he knows how to deal with her. Despite Yoshino seeming young and innocent, he didn't know what she was truly capable of. This was the least risky option, at least on paper.

"Okay Tohka, give it back to the kid and we can go..." Michael said, making himself as unenthused as possible so Tohka hopefully doesn't take his statement the wrong way. Unfortunately, she still did.

"No way... the rabbit was right..." Tohka said, looking hurt and depressed.

He hated to ignore Tohka, but Michael knew Yoshino was a ticking bomb, which was further evidenced by her hopping more frantically and reaching as far as her tiny hands would allow. He needed to give her back the puppet. Fast.

"Tohka, we've really got to give it back." Michael said, touching the puppet to take it, which did get Yoshino to stop hopping as she saw Michael was helping her even though her gaze was still fixated on Yoshinon.

Tohka yanked Yoshinon back. "No! Why should I?!"

"Tohka please, we can discuss this later..." Michael said, and from this point whenever one of them spoke, Yoshinon would be pulled in that direction.

"No, she should apologize!"

"And she will. Just give it back..."

"Not until she says sorry!"

Michael was running out of time, so he changed his calm tone to something more firmer. "... Gimme the doll."

"No."

"Give it to me!"

"No!"

"Tohka, let go!"

"Noooo!"

As both Tohka and Michael fought over the rabbit puppet, creating more of a scene than Michael wanted, Yoshino's eyes showed terror as her precious puppet was pulled back and forth roughly between the 2 older teens. At which point, she could stand it no longer and screamed.

"ZADKIIIIIIIIEL!"

The moment Yoshino shouted, that same cold aura came off of her like when Michael found her at that shrine... only it didn't go away. Except that wasn't the worst part. Another small shaking happened like when Tohka stomped her foot eariler...

CRUNCH!

From below the floor behind Yoshino, something erupted out of it! It was a giant rabit, only twice Yoshino's size and it towered over everyone, an ominous shadow blanketing Tohka and Michael as they slowly looked up at the monstrosity in horror. What made it extra terrifying was it looked striking similar to Yohsion, except with deadly large jaws and a large red eye as it's other eye also had an eyepatch. It even exhaled a creepy, icy breath between its growling jaws...

As you can imagine, this caused an immediate panic and the other people in the area, either walking around or still in this play area with their kids, to start running away.

"Shit, she's unleashing her Angel!" Kotori shouted.

"THAT'S an Angel?!" Michael said back to her, as he expected the Angels of Spirits to be weapons like thosee gears from his favorite anime about vampires overrunning the world. "I though they were weapons!"

"That IS a weapon! GET OUTTA THERE!" Kotori ordered. Right as she said this, Yoshino began to mount the monstrous Yoshinon like a horse, her hands slipping into holes that magically opened for her as she literally hopped aboard. The Angel then roared upon its master climbing on.

*pew-pew-pew-pew-pew!*

Gunfire suddenly hit the massive beast as it gave a roar of discomfort, Yoshino also nearly falling off.

"Hermit Identified! Engaging!" An AST member said, having appeared with a small squad and as she said, began to engage the threat. This didn't appear to stop Yoshino, but it made her ride growl deeper.

CRASH! SHATTER!

The storm outside then got stronger, probably due to Yoshino's mental state, and the windows shatterd after being frozen to the point of breaking instantly. Even worse, the rain coming in began to quickly turn into large razor-sharp icicle shards. Thankfully the civilians had already fled by this point, so the AST members simply put up Territories to defend from the frozen assault. A few shards begain to rain closer and closer to Tohka...

"Tohka! MOVE!" Immediately Michael made a run for Tohka and surprising himself, he got to her by the skin of his teeth, but one shard did cut his arm decently. He wasn't focused on that right now, just keeping Tohka safe as he held her behind cover, his eyes hueing purple again for a moment before bleeding back to normal a second time...

It was then Yoshino made a run for it, crashing through the wall of the mall before trying to escape, only to be bombarded by more gunfire from more AST soldiers outside waiting, including Ryouko and Origami. It ultimately didn't matter as with another growl, Zadkiel erupted in a sea of snow, and when it cleared... it was gone. Just like that.

"... Nothing in radar... she's gone." One AST said.

"Figures... all units return to base." Ryouko sighed, but with the target gone, there's nothing else they could realistically do aside from start the clean up.

Back inside the mall, after the aderanline wore off, Michael calmed down. "You alright?" He asked Tohka.

Now Tohka's first response would have been to normaly confirm with him, but she just stood up on her own. "I'm fine. I'm a Spirit too ya know..." she pushed him away, which agrivated his wound.

"Nrgh!" He grabbed his arm, still bleeding from Yoshino's icicle storm, and Tohka did show remorse... but then her face puffed up and turned away. Michael didn't even need to look at her to know what was going on now.

Kotori: That's perfect. The Prince has trouble in pardise with his Princess...

Chapter Text

First off, I want to apologize for how long this chapter took to come out. Got lots of stuff irl going on. A new house, sick mom (not life-threatening don't worry), and was studying for an important test for my job. I had lots on me plate. I can't eat as much as Tohka. But with the additions to the events of the DAL story with Michael in a drivers seat, its been worth the wait.

A chapter that was planned to be 5 - 7 thousand words has been expanded to be over 13 thousand. So much work was put into this, and I'm proud of what I cooked up. Enjoy! And Happy belated 4th of July for my American viewers!

Chapter 8: Do you Yoshino that kid? - Part 3

The rain kept pouring down. Some streets were semi-flooded, not like too deep to walk, but like as cars passed by a at certain speed, bystanders and/or the sidewalks would receive a wave of water. Everyone had an umbrella, and those that didn't kindly received a escort if one can be provided. This wouldn't last forever, as due to the nonstop raining and "hailstorms" (that's what officials were told to call it due to that incident with Yoshino), an emergency order to stay indoors was given by the government. Sure you can go outside your home, but its like living on a beach in hurricane season in a weather emergency like this, emergency personnel can't, and won't, get to you.

If you go out: your on your own.

"Hey, come on! Get inside!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Just dropped my keys!"

That was said by 2 workers on the Ogouchi Dam, one of the many water reservoirs in Japan. Surprisingly it was never destroyed by the Space Quakes, nor had any Spirit spawned near it despite the multiple villages of people and shrines. It was just outside of Tenju City, maybe a 15 minute drive... 10 if you beat the city lights, then its a straight shot across the countryside.

As the worker who dropped his keys made his way inside, a small beeping sound was heard from the dams control panel. The 2 men went to investigate it, and read what the computers were telling them. The spillways and outlets towers were at maximum capacity... the water was close to a danger zone... and it was at risk of overtopping...

XXX

Both Michael and Kotori left the office labeled "Prime Minister" in Japanese. Both looked annoyed for their own reasons: the taller of the two because his concerns were disregarded entirely, and the shorter one was because he wouldn't stop annoying her about coming here.

"... well... I told you it was pointless..." Kotori said.

"... I hate politics..." Michael groaned. "Left or Right, Up or Down, Minister or President, Orange or Vegetable... they're all the same..."

"We all pay the same taxes..." Kotori said, when Fraxinus teleported them back up to the ship's teleportation room.

"He didn't even listen to me... Just nodded like a bobble head!" Michael said, getting more frustrated. "And those assholes basically went 'eh, we'll call it a severe hailstorm instead'... I get more conversation from an anime figure!

"If it makes you feel better, my boss tried." Kotori said. "It's all distraction and midterms with these people. As long as the AST and Ratatoskr keep things as quiet as possible, they don't care."

"Oh yeah, letting Alice loose on her bunny. Totally quiet." Michael said, sarcastically.

"They'll just say it was climate or something... again..." Kotori said, also possibly implying this either happened before, or the some politicians will just revert to the teleprompter. "It's fine. Once we seal Yoshino, it-..."

Michael grabbed Kotori's shoulder gently at that point, startling her at first, but then calmed down once he realized it was Michael. "Unless your talking about nature taking its course, what 'We' are you referring too?"

Kotori groaned, not in the mood for this. "The 'We' I'm referring to is the crew, including you," she said, slowly moving his hand off her shoulder.

Michael sighed this time, bordering on a groan of his own. "Tori... I say this with the highest respect possible..." he said, then added in a firm tone: "For! Get it!"

Kotori's eyes widened a bit, then looked offended for only a brief second before she forced herself to remain calm. "I already told you, this is no longer up for discussion. You're part of this and now, whether you like it or not."

"This is not the whole Illusion of Choice thing, alright." Michael said, becoming increasingly more firm. "I'm making my choice."

"You have none. Your the only one." Kotori said, also getting firmer. "Your valuable. There will be people after you. You have too..."

"I don't care!" Michael snapped. "Do you have any idea how fucked up this all is?! I was about die twice, you're asking me to risk my life for more; one of them now hates me, thinks I'm into Lollipops and it's all your fault!"

Kotori took a mental step back, her head backing up a bit as she processed what Michael said to her, immediately becoming defensive once she realized it. "Wh- MY fault?! If you had just done what you were told in the first place, Tohka never would've seen you, and Yoshino would've been sealed by now!"

"NO! It. Was. YOU!" Michael said, pointing at her once he said 'you' to her. "Your the one who dragged me this Xenoblade bullshit when all I wanted to do was get home for a semblance of normal life!"

"You didn't exactly make it easy for me either! If you would've taken your shit in the shelter like literally everyone else, I wouldn't have been put in that awkward position!"

"Don't talk to me about awkward positions! Because of you, Tohka's pissed and won't talk to me, and I'm in a competition to Catch'em All against my girlfriend!"

"You didn't have to check out that crater!"

"You didn't have to tell me anything about the crater!"

They kept arguing back and forth like a space ranger and cowboy, both getting progressively more annoyed and louder while also cutting each other off a few times, both of them snapping back at each other when a point was made only for the other person to rebuke it, even if it sounded completely illogical.

"The Spirits are people too! If you just help them...!"

"I DON'T WANT TO HELP ANYMORE DESTRUCTIVE ALIEN CHICKS THAT DO NOTHING BUT FLY AROUND AND BLOW SHIT UP! OKAY?!"

Kotori froze up from Michael's statement, her eyes widening more than the first time, shock written all over her face... although Michael didn't understand why she gave him such a look other than she really must've loved her job... was that also betrayal in her eyes, or did she really care? Like, did she have this big heart for Spirits deep down?

"... look. You did allot for me, alright? You let me live in your house after my mom disappeared, taught me the social norms that yeah i still sometimes struggle with, you showed me how to read and write in what I thought was chicken scratch... but I'm not a soldier... just an Ex of one." Michael said, calming down and saying as kindly as possible that this was above his pay grade. Kotori just continued to look at him with the same expression.

"Tori... I'm always gonna be here for you." Michael continued, then gestured back and forth between himself and her with one hand. "This... This is always gonna be a thing... But everything else?" He used both arms this time, gesturing wide with his arms on the last point, referring to the ship and everything happening involving it. "... I'm done."

That was the last thing he said while momentarily walking backwards back into the teleporter in a soft yet firm voice and with a single head shake with a matching gesture with both arms, ending the entire discussion and making it crystal clear that he wanted nothing more to do with anymore Spirits. He then entered his home address, went inside, and he disappeared in swirling lights. Surprisingly, Kotori maintained a calm demeanor, even as she left the room and returned to the bridge of the ship. However, as she was in the hallway to the bridge, that's when her fists got tighter. Even as she entered, she stood in the doorway, eyes obscured by her hair.

Those words kept repeating in her head... her fault... blow shit up... destructive...

"Um, Commander?" Hinako asked.

Kotori then radiated a fiery aura, her breathing increasing and her teeth clenching as tightly as her fists were before, both tighter now. The rest of the crew recoiled back, a little scared for some reason. It's almost like felt the heat erupt from her person despite this appearing to only be a visual effect. The only one who looked completely indifferent to the whole thing was Reine, looking as stoic as ever, even going as far as to approach Kotori from behind when she was in this state.

"While I understand your frustration, you know what'll happen if you give into that anger again." Was all Reine calmly said, and after a bit more growling, she slowly calmed down, the fires of her frustration dimming but still kinda there, only now at a manageable level.

Kotori looked at Reine, looking sad and angry, then after a moment she took her seat slowly back on her captain's chair. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself fully. Before giving her next order, getting back to business. "... begin tracking Hermit. We still have a city to protect... with... or without him..." with a heavy heart, she then said: "Authorizing Ratatoskr's 'Breach' policy."

Everyone in the bridge was stunned... she wasn't serious was she? That policy was only meant as a last resort!

"Commander... your not saying too-?" Kyouhei asked, his eyes a little wide and sounding shocked as Kotori never invoked that policy before.

"We have no choice." Kotori cut him off. "We can't seal Hermit now, but we can't let her destroy the city either... we don't have time to find another one..." she added, obviously referring to Michael somewhere in that statement; and with regret in her tone but having no other option: "We either capture Hermit... or eliminate her..."

Reine eyed Kotori in silence... no... this wasn't gonna work...

XXX

*knock, knock*

"Tohka...? Tohka? Ready to talk now?"

"..."

Again, for at least the 9th or 10th time even after coming back every half hour or so to give her plenty of time to chill, she did not even speak to him. Tohka was only silent on the other side of that door, hugging a pillow in her bed in the dim light of her room with a sad face, the only light coming peeking in from the sides of the windows closed curtains. Even then it was very little, as it STILL didn't stop raining.

"Tohka, come on. It's a screwy situation, I get it. We can we talk about it." Michael said, not wanting Tohka angry with him but he understood why. Yoshino for whatever reason said really stupid stuff via her puppet, but at this point Michael didn't care about that. All he cared about was Tohka, the only exception to the 'no more Spirits' rule.

In fairness, maybe his tone could have been a little softer, and he was the first 3 to 4 times... but when your asking your "girlfriend" (if he could even call her that) several times if she's ok and doesn't respond to you after the 7th or 8th time...

He went to the bathroom, deciding to leave her alone and maybe try one more time later. When we went in, he held up his arm in the mirror... he hoped that cut wouldn't scar, but it was for the sake of her safety so perhaps it could be considered a badge of honor, but also a constant reminder of what he avoided if he continues working for Ratatoskr.

*ding, dong*

He heard his doorbell... who could that be? Seeing as he couldn't get through to Tohka, he may as well see who it was. He exited the bathroom, went downstairs, got to the front door, and checked the peephole... being greeted by the sight of Reine. He slowly lowered his head away and walked backward... maybe if he was quiet, she'd go away...

*DING-DONG, DING-DONG, DING-DONG, DING-DONG!*

He didn't make it too far away from that door, only a few steps. As if knowing he was there and reading his mind, she immediately poked the shit out of his doorbell, aggravating Michael. Was this on purpose? Yes, obviously; even if she didn't know he was home. Annoyed and groaning, he quickly walked back to the door and pulled it open just as quickly, which also made Reine stop.

"Your 30 years old! Is that really necessary?!" Michael snapped.

"Good afternoon to you too, Michael." Riene said, completely unfazed.

Michael's face went like this: -.-

He then tried shutting the door, not in the mood for her or wanting to deal with her, but something stopped him. Looking down, he noticed Reine did the classic 'foot in the door' trick, preventing the door from completely closing. He then looked back up at the older woman.

"... Get your shoe out of my house." Michael said dryly, but this still was an actual order.

"Your not gonna leave a woman out in the cold rain, are you?" Reine said, matching his energy.

"Unless you have a rose, go away baggy-eyes." Michael said, using his own foot to push out Reine's, which did work and he tried to shut the door on her face, but she grabbed the door to keep it open, then put her shoe back in the door again. "... I could report you for trespassing."

"I could report you for futokō."

"..." Not wanting to deal with that, he opened the door all the way, and stepped back to let her in with an over dramatic yet not genuine 'welcome, come in' gesture, still very much annoyed having to deal with her. Once she was in, he slammed the door behind them.

"How's your arm?" Reine asked, honestly concerned for him.

"What do you want?" He asked low and straight to the point (though he did appreciate her concern). Right as Reine's mouth opened in an 'O' shape, Michael continued. "If this has anything to do with Fraxy or Kotori, forget it. I already told her, I'm no soldier... I'm just a guy... I can't do it anymore." He was a little calmer towards the last sentence, but still adamant of not working with Fraxinus anymore.

Reine understood his frustration and remained calm. "I'm not here on behalf of Kotori... I'm here because of Yoshino."

Michael looked genuinely surprised, his annoyed demeanor having immediately changed to confusion with a hint of intrigue. "... huuuuh?" He would ask with his head tilted.

Reine then presented a file folder. "You may want to take a seat for this..."

POV - Tohka:

At the same time back upstairs with Tohka, she still sat in her darkened room. Yeah, she heard the doorbell just now, but that just made her grip her pillow even harder. She saw Yoshino answering the door in her head...

"Grrrrrrrrr!" She then threw the pillow across the room into the door, the pillow dropping to the floor. Tohka grabbed her head, shaking it with her neck muscles to make these stupid mental images go away. She didn't like this, she just wanted it to go away.

*knock, knock, knock*

Knocking again. Was that Michael? Because of the way Tohka was still feeling at him, she didn't get up.

*knock, knock, knock!*

The knocking was a little faster this time, and why didn't Michael call out to her like before? However, it seemed he got finally got fed up with waiting for her and slowly opened the door... only it wasn't a boy that opened it. Tohka gasped at whom it was.

Tohka: Miss Reine?

Indeed it was, Tohka was honestly a little surprised to see her. So was that whom was downstairs and knocked? But why wasn't Michael with her? Maybe she told him to wait downstairs or something?

Reine: Tohka... we should clear a few things up.

POV - Normal:

Reine sat with Michael at the dinner table, putting the file folder on it as they both sat between it. While Michael didn't want to deal with other Spirits anymore, this still peaked his curiosity to a degree. He didn't say anything else, he just sat with Reine and let her tell him what was so important about this file folder... then he'll tell her to leave after the fact. This was still his property after all.

"... open it." That's all Reine had to say, which made Michael's face scrunch with even more confusion.

"What do I gotta open it for? You brought it!" Michael said.

"Just open it. Tell me what you see." Reine said, keeping it vague.

Annoyed and groaning, Michael complied. He took the file from the middle of the table and opened it as requested. Inside was a few documents that included a picture of and about a girl with blue hair that looked to be in her 20's or 30's, which included stuff like her name Nagisa Himekawa, was married but tragically became a widow, was a single mother with a very ill child who was also sick due to a weakened immune system, and her death certificate that was dated in the 80's.

Did Michael feel sympathy for this individual? Absolutely. Did he understand what the hell this had to do with anything? Not a chance. Even after rereading it a few times.

"Okay, so a decently cute 26 year old widow had a sick kid and passed away at work during the era of big hair. Why am I looki- ACK!" While Michael was asking what exactly the point if this was, Reine grabbed the top of his head and pushed it down back to the file.

"Look closer." Reine said.

While Michael did struggle a little, he did ease off which got Reine to also ease off. His eyes really started to focus on the picture of this Nagisa character. Squinting his eyes a bit, dragging the picture to himself with a finger across the table before him( his vision fully focused on the girl. He really took note of her hair, eyes and face.

"..." He was silent. Then as his brain pieced the womans appearance more, a transparent image of Yoshino overlayed it. While the proportions of this womans face were bigger, Yoshino matched this woman almost perfectly. He slowly looked up back to Reine, having 2 ideas on what Reine was trying to tell him. Either this woman was, or was related too, Yoshino.

"... was this her Big sister or something?" Michael guessed,

"Mother." Reine said, but he made a good guess from the little knowledge he was given. Reine had to admit, while he was rough around the edges when it came to his mouth, he wasn't stupid.

"Your looking at Nagisa Himekawa... a young and bubbly, yet mischievous and sheepish woman, raising her daughter by herself after her husband left the picture. While we don't have confirmation if it was divorce or death, we do know she literally worked herself to exhaustion numerous times... all for her..." Reine added, as she pushed a new picture out that was in the file with her finger and before Michael.. a younger girl in a hospital gown and bed, hooked up to IV's and a heart monitor, but having Nagisa's hair. Both pictures were side by side. The resemblance was undeniable.

"Fuck... that's Hermit the Rabbit?" Michael picked up the picture of Yoshino to get a better... this was her? She didn't even smile in the picture. While her face had no emotion on it and she just looked at the camera for the pictures taker, Michael interpreted she must've felt horrible...

"... Wait. I thought Spirits were from another world. That was in my orientation!" Michael then quickly said, immediately realizing the implication this brought up. "She opened a quake! I saw on the monitor!"

"We don't know." Reine calmly said. "But over the years of our investigations and peaceful resolution of the Spirits, we've encountered a Spirit who was turned into a Spirit."

"So... what? Tohka really is gonna lay eggs in people?" Michael said with some sarcasm, but it was also a genuinely serious question. Then he switched gears and was more adamant on learning more. "Actually, scratch that! There's a patient zero out there? Who?!"

Reine didn't let it show, but that was something she couldn't share... that wasn't up to her. It was up to her. "You don't work for us anymore. I'm already breaking many protocols just being here with this." She excused while gesturing to the table with the now spread-out file... it was also a convenient scapegoat.

"Of course... convenient..." Michael groaned. So why bother then? If she wasn't supposed to share this, why bring this to his attention anyway? He really didn't understand these people sometimes. He then eyed the pics of Yoshino and Nagisa again. She had a lost mother too...

"... look, not that I care, but..." that was kinda a lie but he continued his question, which Reine was paying attention too. "... how'd she die?"

"She worked for one of Japan's biggest manufacturers, so she was always working; even before Yoshino was born. Still, she would always make time to see her daughter even though she was practically raised in hospital after hospital. Yoshino never went to school, never interacted with any kids her age... all she knew were the doctors and nurses." Reine explained, which included a bit more about Yoshino by default. Then, she pulled out a familiar-looking puppet in the shape of a rabbit.

"The hell?! When did you get that?!" Michael nearly shouted. He was so sure Yoshino's puppet Yoshinon was lost in the scuffle at the mall. Reine just set it on the table and continued the backstory, not outright ignoring him, but just not getting to it yet.

"This puppet; or Yoshinon as she called it, was handcrafted by Nagisa with whatever she could scrap together, gifting it to Yoshino so when she feels alone, when mom was at work, or even when she needed more medicine... its like she never left her. Nagisa would always be by her side." Reine said. "It was one of the last times Yoshino saw her, as from the combined stress, overworking, the thousands she spent to keep Yoshino in good health and a roof over her own head... she unfortunately was handling heavy machinery while completely exhausted the night prior..."

"... oh... fuck..." Michael softly said, honestly feeling not just bad, but deeply sorry for how much Yoshino seemed to have been through. In fact with this new context, one of the things Yoshinon said before everything went south replayed in his head in a small flashback:

"See? Even she's starting to see the harsh truth. Eventually everybody will leave somebody."

... He looked down at the table in deep thought. So that's how it was, huh? This was the reason. It was a way for Yoshino to cope. Then when Tohka snapped and snatched away the puppet, that's when Yoshino also began to stress out... it was more than a puppet to her. Did that make what she said right, well no... but she was just a kid, a kid that lost her mother... just like him...

"My job's not to tell you what you should or shouldn't do..." Reine said, then cleaned up the papers back in the file. She only left the puppet behind. "I just analyze the facts... goodbye Michael." That's when Reine began to leave, taking all her things except for the puppet.

After she left, he and the puppet looked at each other.

Michael: ...

Yoshinon: ...

"... Don't! Look at me like that!" Michael said, pointing at Yoshinon first, then turning away in his chair while refusing to make eye contact with the doll.

"Even I wanted too, I have no idea where she is! She's probably talking to a cat somewhere, and then running around in the flowers looking for a queen!" Michael added seemingly randomly, then shook his head. "Great. Now I'm talking to you..." He got up and sat on the couch, got the remote, and flipped the TV on. Maybe he can catch the last few minutes of a game...

The literal second he did:

"And as you see um behind me, all these trees have been um, encased in ice. But we also have these um unexplained tracks, um could be an exotic animal, we don't know. Here with me is Takeshi Sato, one of the many workers at Ogouchi Dam. Can you share to our viewers who are concerned about the dam from all this rain?"

This was said by a news girl interviewing someone... typical journalist behavior, explaining the obvious to the viewers. Michael didn't care about that; but what he reallt noticed and got his attention was the marks on the ground the lady was talking about, and rewound the footage back to the frozen trees which was in perfect shot courtesy of the cameraman... were those oversized rabbit tracks? Thats not even mentioning before the man could answer, a loud roar was heard. Michael clicked off the TV... glancing around as his heads gears were turning...

The next second, the point of view changed to a now opening garage door, which also showed the still pouring rain. Michael was sitting in his car in the driver seat of his black Toyota Corolla, looking out into the downpour, with his windshield wipers already on in anticipation...

*thud*

BEEEEEEEEEE-!

He lifted his head back up after a few more seconds, once again looking out.

"... what am I even doing...?" He asked himself in a low tone and single head shake. He didn't get an answer of course, but he then snapped his head toward the passenger seat. "Ah, who asked you?!" He yelled at Yoshinon, shown to be in the passenger seat; then Michael started the engine, revved it a few times until he pulled out and drove off.

POV - Tohka:

We go back upstairs to Tohka back to the same time Reine was in her room, now sitting on the bed next to the teen Spirit.

"... did Michael send you?" Tohka asked in a low grumble, not making eye with the medical professional.

"No. I came here on my own. You've been rather irritated... under the weather, we'll say." Reine said in her usual stoic demeanor. Tohka didn't react to her pun, either because she didn't understand it or was still to irritated. "But if I had to make an educated guess, it may be about Mich-..."

"No! Your wrong!" Tohka looked up due to the accusation, immediately denying that was the case before Reine even finished. "It has nothing to do with him!"

"Oh...? Sorry, I just assumed Michael was a possible explanation." Reine wasn't convinced, but her tone didn't tell you that. Besides, she was a young girl once too... she knew the signs, not even mentioning Tohka picked up on his name and cut her off, proving part it was true. "Though I suppose that Spirit is more likely... Yoshino, was it?"

As Reine continued, Tohka whined, whimpered and rubbed he hair while also pulling on it a little. She was almost like a little kid when they were themselves back from throwing a tantrum because they knew it was wrong. Reine couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Tohka.

"I don't know what's wrong, but when I saw him catch and kiss her... in front of all those people... I felt this... knot in my stomach, even though I wasn't hungry..." Tohka admitted, claiming she didn't understand what she was feeling. Reine thought this was interesting and let her continue.

"Then Michael assured me it meant nothing, wanting to leave with me and not that other girl... but when her rabbit said what it said, about him leaving me... That knot came back. Then as Michael tried to give it back to her, the knot got even tighter... then it really began to hurt..." Tohka fists balled on her knees, gripping the fabric of her shorts.

"Reine? Is something wrong with me?" She then innocently asked. "I want to talk to Michael, I do. But just thinking about it... it makes the knot spread in my chest... then I felt alone... like before..."

Reine didn't say anything, but took note of this Tohka's words. She was trying to understand her feelings, that checked out, but she kinda already did. Not only that, she was already aware Michael's kiss with Yoshino was completely accidental by her own admission... this hasn't happened before.

"Well, Tohka. There is nothing wrong with you. What your feeling is completely normal." Reine explained.

"It is?" Tohka asked. "Then... why?... why do I feel this way?"

"Let me ask you a better question. When you thought of Michael, before this new girl, what did you feel?" Reine strategically asked.

"What I did feel?" Tohka repeated, then thought about it for a bit, looking back down at her feet. Immediately, she thought of the new Yoshino girl, but as Reine requested, she pushed her out of her thoughts with a few shakes of her head at this time to think specifically about Michael only.

Michael... and how she felt about him...

"... ... ... At first, I didn't know what to think... he could have been like the Mecha-Mechas... wanting to kill me..." Tohka began, thinking all the way back to the beginning. It wasn't that long ago, granted; but it felt like so much has passed since thay fateful day they accidentally crossed paths.

"But... when we met again in the school... and he talked to me instead of attacking me... even as I had him against the wall... he listened to me. Answered all my questions. Then, he took me on that date, giving me a place to stay..." she continued. "... it makes me... happy... and the thought of losing him..."

"You won't lose him, Tohka. Besides, he doesn't care about Yoshino more than you. Quite the opposite. Trust me. I've personally seen it." Reine calmly assured her as Tohka looked back up at her.

Tohka wanted to believe it, and she did... but just thinking that another girl got his attention... "Yeah, but... he also tried to give the rabbit back..."

"And even if he did, he picked up on the danger. He tried to protect you by preventing it." Reine brought up, which made Tohka think back to that moment. So it was her fault then? Picking up on this, Reine elaborated on her point. "While your not at fault either, if he didn't care even the slightest, why did he save you from Yoshino's ice attack when he could have saved himself like all those other people?"

"Tohka! MOVE!"

His voice echoed in Tohka's head as she flashed back to that moment, right when she was about to be skewered by those ice shards. He didn't even hesitate. And even during the gunfire and raining ice, he didn't let her go either as he held her behind some cover... then when she accidentally pushed on his wound when she pushed him away. He didn't have too... but he stayed by her side... and still took her back home...

She looked back down at the floor again, needing to process everything.

It was here that Reine stood up from the bed. "I need to get back to work. You take care of yourself, Tohka." She began to leave but just as she was about to close the door, she looked back to Tohka. "And each other."

With a creak of her bedroom door, Reine was gone, leaving Tohka to ponder. Honestly, she felt kinda stupid. Of course he wasn't gonna abandon her, and while it still hurt that Michael took Yoshino's side it was like Reine said: he perceived the danger, and he had to make a hard decision in the moment. Thinking back to it more, she realized he didn't force her to comply, but instead tried to talk her down because again, he wanted to avoid a problem.

It was then Tohka stood up from her bed. Michael didn't do anything wrong, and didn't deserve the attitude she gave him... she had to apologize. Make it right... or make amens or something, as the humans said it? She pushed open her door quickly and ran downstairs to the living room.

"Michael! There's something I hav...!" When Tohka entered the living space via the door however, there was no one there. That was odd, she was so sure he was still home. Maybe he went to his own bedroom?

BEEEEEEEEEE-!

Tohka flinched. What was that loud honking noise just then? It came from the garage. Was someone trying to steal Michael's car... unless that was Michael? And if so, why would he be taking a drive in this weather. Sadly by the time she got in the garage, it was already closing as the car left. Tohka ran out via the front door instead as she watched down the street the car drive down.

POV - Normal:

SPLASH!

Michael drove down a nearly flooded street... this rain was not letting up, nor was it making the drive any easier. Should he have told Tohka before going on such a trek?... Even if he did, she was probably still mad. Besides, he got what Reine was implying: Yoshino was a child in both mind and body, so if he gave her back her favorite toy that she formed a bond with, then she'll effectively stop crying and calm down. Maybe even the rain will stop as it seemed to start only after she appeared. Did he know all this for a fact? No... but that wouldn't stop him from trying.

Even though he was getting involved, this was the LAST time. She too lost a parent, one that fought tooth and nail for her... he couldn't let anyone else go through that. Not in good conscience.

"You owe me, furball. You just better make her stop crying." Michael said to Yoshinon, whom of course didn't respond back. By that point, Michael finally got out of the city, and just needed an uninterrupted straight drive to the dam... he just hoped he wasn't too late...

XXX

PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW!

ROOOOOOOOOAR!

Yoshino and the AST were fighting in the meantime, barrages of bullets were flying in an attempt to subdue the large rabbit, but all that did was piss it off as it roared and fired more ice beams. Also, despite Zadkiel being quite large; like a rabbit, it was quite nimble despite its size. Add on the fact it could fly, well...

"This isn't working!" Mikie said.

"Why not blow her up instead?" Mildred suggested, bringing up a rocket launcher.

"Negative. We're too close to the reservoir. One misfire, and the rain will be the least of the towns worries." Ryouko said, thinking several steps ahead.

While yes, rockets and missiles were an option, that was usually because the fights were condensed to the city. The repair teams were always on standby for all sorts of destruction to repair IN the city, they usually left the countryside alone because why bother putting all those resources to things the public won't notice? Unless the damage done was catastrophic or undeniably noticeable, the AST directors didn't see a reason. So for now, bullets were the more practical, and safer option.

That's not to say their bullets couldn't do damage to the dam, but one stray rocket equals a guaranteed waterslide... something that the same repair team, even their combined Territory tech on hand, was just not equipped to handle.

Yoshinon then fled a barrage of bullets when the AST circled around, Origami shown to be one of the main attackers. In response to this, Yoshino's Angel fired an ice beam and while Origami evaded the attack, a few other members instead used Territory... they were frozen inside ice balls that fell down to the ground, still alive of course as the shield did protect them, they just needed to be thawed out when it was safe.

A car started driving up the road up the mountainous part towards the Ogouchi Dam, where the driver Michael was focusing on the road and up ahead the dam itself. It was around here he saw that ice beam and knew exactly who it belonged too. Knowing he was running out of time; he slowed the car down gently despite his own emotions about this whole situation, grabbed the puppet and shoved it in his jacket, then got out of the car as quickly as possible. He did almost trip and half cursed about it, but thankfully the car door was still open to give him something to hang on too. He then closed it before approaching the guard rails.

Yoshino began to flee the AST again so...

"Yoshino!"

She froze when his voice called her name, which made her look around until she saw a figure on one of the mountains railings near a car that protected drivers from falling off the side of the road, waving her down with both hands to get her attention. That black hair... those hazel eyes...

"It... its you..." Yoshino said, slightly calming down and it showed by the low grumbling of her Angel instead of the roaring it did before.

"Hey, kid. I got someth-..."

WHIP!

Michael was literally just about to pull out Yoshinon to show Yoshino, but the AST used this distraction to trap Yoshino and her Angel in some high-tech energy netting of some kind. As expected, Yoshino's Angel began roaring and began trying to break free, but her struggles appeared in vain as the netting didn't budge at all. While the AST were focused on their job, Ryouko saw Michael and hovered down above him.

"Michael? The hell are you doing here?" She asked him.

"..." Michael was silent, thinking of a response because he didn't expect this. "... hiking?" He said with a smile.

"In the rain?" Ryouko dryly asked, not believing him.

Michael: ... ... there'll be a cold front tomorrow.

"..." Ryouko was having none of it. Her face was the 'I'm done with peoples shit' face. "... Tobichii, get him out of here." She then ordered. With no words, Origami approached Michael.

"Ori, can we...?"

"Don't." Origami cut Michael off, not wanting to hear anything from him, nor one of her nicknames. She did at least grab his arm gently. "Do not resist."

While Michael did not do anything to remove her hand, he did recoil a little. "Seriously? Your arresting me?"

"Relocating." Origami clarified... didn't matter how she defined it, that didn't make it sound any better.

Time seemed to stop for Michael... he really was doing this again, wasn't he? He was risking his safety for a girl he barely knew at first, and it conflicted with his Ex. You couldn't write this stuff, it was crazy. Sure he did want to leave this be originally, but after learning Yoshino's past, he couldn't afford to let Yoshino be taken away or disposed of.

ROOOOOOAR! RRRRAAAAWWWWWRR!

Those roars her Angel was still doing wasn't just physical pain. It was mental trauma... and in his ears only, he could hear the Angel whimpering in its roars...

His fists clenched... this was a stupid idea... really stupid, but...

He held Origami's hand. "Can I just sa-... ARGH!" She moved so quick so he couldn't tell how, but Origami was behind him using a Full Nelson before he could even finish his sentence.

"Touching an official is a federal offense." Origami said.

"Not during that one night it wasn't- ARGH! OWWWW!" Michael said in a dry tone at first, then into a pained yelp.

While Michael was 'discussing' with Origami, Yoshino kept struggling. She did eventually slow down, to which the AST read as her finally surrendering, but this was a misread. What was actually going on in Yoshio's head was seeing Michael, the one person who helped her a few times and even tried giving her puppet back once before, was now being attacked in her eyes, her eyes dilated and it made her cry out, her Angel finding the strength to completely snap free of the netting whilst roaring even louder. It also blasted another beam of ice which froze whatever it came into contact with, its head dragging the icy beam along the ground and the trees. It thankfully didn't hit anyone, and it jumped before flying off again. She just felt she had to get away.

"UUUGGGGGGGH! And she's off again!" Ryouko complained, taking flight as other members of her squad followed her. This girl was more trouble than she thought. Before she left, she repeated her previous order to Origami. "Make sure he gets back home!"

Origami obediently nodded and forced Michael up, then without another word she flew off in the direction to the city. Michael did struggle to free himself from her grasp while grunting but whether she was too strong or her gear made her physically stronger, her grip was too tight.

"Origami! You have to put me back!"

"I'll make sure your car is reimbursed."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

SLASH!

Origami sensed the incoming attack and evaded the wave of purple energy, which she and Michael both recognized. It was by this point Tohka, who had followed Michael the whole way here, appeared in the air and was in a partial Astral Dress, the ribbon and skirt was fused with her clothes and she was also carrying her sword.

"Put him down!" Tohka ordered Origami.

"You..." Origami said with hatred in her voice. So Tohka was back in her Spirit form, huh? Good. A perfect excuse for her to unleash her anger on a Spirit while her squad fought Yoshino, though she'll need to set Michael down first.

With this unexpected (yet not unappreciated) distraction, Michael made his move. He had a pocketknife on his person so with Origami's grip loosened, he reached into his pocket and with a single quick movement before she could react...

STAB!

No, he didn't stab her, but a more bulky part of her CR Unit around her back where her wings connected. Granted he was kinda going in blind, but having an Ex-Girlfriend of the government allowed him to understand the technology a bit better than most people. The suits alarms went off, tiny sparks coming out of the spot he struck, shocking Origami and looking what damage was caused and her anger towards Tohka forgotten, looking down at Michael who craned his neck to see her. He had a knowing smile on his face.

In simple terms, he cut off the units power to the wings which provided the thrust. And even though Realizers used brainpower to operate this thing... without thrust...

"You ba-kaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Origami was calm before her Unit began to drop out of the sky. Tohka didn't even think and grabbed them before they hit the ground, landing in the road thankfully and not the mountain. Origami was a but shocked for a second by Tohka's help.

"I wasn't saving you, I was saving Michael, now let him go!" Tohka said, making herself clear on her position. Origami did let him go as requested...

SLASH!

And tried to take a swipe at Tohka with her own energy sword, but to which Tohka easily dodged. Origami took a defensive stance, but knew this was gonna be allot harder thanks to Michael messing with her Unit. She had to be extra careful.

"So why come back? To save your fellow demon?" Origami said, unable to resist at least giving out one good insult towards Tohka.

"I have no idea who this 'De-Man' is, but I'm only here for Michael. This doesn't concern you or him." Tohka said, obviously not getting it. "We'll be on our way right after you step away."

"Hell would need to freeze over before I even think to consider that." Origami said, still protective enough of Michael to not allow Tohka to harm him, which she told herself was due to him being a private citizen and that was her job. Even with her damaged equipment, she'll fight to the bitter end. "Your not laying a finger on him."

Now if this was the old Tohka, the one who never got compassion from another human, she would have just tried to attack Origami due to their history and move on. However this new Tohka's friend Michael was involved and she refused to allow him to get hurt either, so she held back on her first instinct.

"I'm really trying to be polite. I don't want to hurt you... much."

"How nice of you, but he's still not your shield."

"He never was a shield, Michael is my friend."

"Interesting. Do most friends blow up a school together?"

"That's not what that was about!"

While both girls argued, if Michael was honest, he didn't want to hear it either, but preferred that to blowing shit up. He brushed himself off, stretched, even straightened out his clothes a bit before taking breath, telling both mid-argument: "Shut, Up!" They both looked at him, thankfully stopping. Before he lost their attention, he continued on. "You can play Mortal Kombat later, we don't have time!" Michael then approached Origami first, his voice calmer now. "Listen, I need a favor."

"A favor?!" Origami asked. "You damage company property, betrayed me working for them, and you expect...!" She was rightfully annoyed, but Michael cut her off. Again, there was no time for this.

"Then arrest me later! I don't care!" Michael yelled. "I can stop Hermit! I know how to calm her down, but I need you to contact Ryouko for me again!"

"There's no reason to calm that monster down! She's been freezing and making it rain for so long..." Origami said, then Michael grabbed her shoulders except this time, she didn't make any attempt to headlock him again.

"SHE LOST A MOTHER TOO!" Michael shouted at her, which did make Origami pause for a second. Was that true? She lost a parent too... like her and Michael did? Of course her hurt and hatred was still in her eyes, so Michael continued. This was risky giving this information away but if he was to get close enough to Yoshino... everyone had to participate. "Origami... like Tohka, if Hermit isn't registered as a Spirit... will you leave her alone?"

It took a few seconds to answer, Yoshino then making a massive snowstorm while fighting the other AST members, but Origami finally responded. "... our policy is to hunt Spirits... not people."

"Good." Michael quickly said, then admitted the truth to her. "I can turn her into one... she'd be harmless. She won't even register as a Spirit anymore, just like Tohka."

Origami's mouth was a perfect "o"... that was crazy. Completely insane! Michael had an ability to turn Spirits into humans? Origami at first thought he lost his mind, then glanced at Tohka who only had part of her original Spirit form... her instruments only read she didn't have much Spirit Power in her body, yet she still had her sword, but before then when she was posing as a student, Tohka's levels were so low they were barely detectable.

"I know! I know how crazy it sounds, but it's true! And I can do it again!" Michael said. "She's not a bad person, I promise! She's just in pain. Lonely. I can get her to stop, I just have to get close to her!... And I'm going too need the AST."

Tohka's eyes widened when Michael asked that. He was actually requesting the Mecha Mechas to help him? Why?! Still, she could hear the motivation and true desire to help in his voice... the same exact tone he used on her that faithful day in that school building. Origami's eyes also widened a bit, but for a much different reason. Even after leaving her side and joining the opposition, he was requesting to help? Even if she wanted too, how could she convince her squad?

When she didn't answer, Michael lowered his tone again, trying to reach the one part of her that may still hold respect for him. Some would call this manipulation, and it was to a degree, but with the news report about the damn and the constant rain and risk of flooding, he had no choice.

"Ori... please... if I had one more favor to ask you, just one more... this would be the last time. I saw the news report, trying to assure the general public everything is fine, but you and I both know with basic common sense with all this rain, even all the explosions both sides are causing, that thing up there will be one massive waterfall." He said, letting go of one of her shoulders to point up to the massive dam, then put it back on her shoulder. "Or if anything else, don't think you're doing this for me... you're doing it for the people..."

Origami looked in his eyes... she knew that look all too well, there was no changing his mind. He was also right, her job was to help protect people that can't protect themselves, and if she allowed that dam to break...

XXX

PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW!

Back up the mountain, bullets fired at the snowstorm, but nothing was working. Even though they pierced the winds of the blizzard, they probably got frozen inside before any damage to Yoshino could be done. That was the theory, as the blizzard wasn't stopping.

"This isn't working either!" Said Mikie.

"Should we now try blowing it u-?" Mildred said, but was cut off when she brought out the rocket launcher again.

"WE'RE NOT BLOWING IT UP!" Ryouko reminded them, then took a breath as she assessed the situation. "This blizzard is made from Hermits Angel to cocoon herself, blocking any physical and projectile attacks. But if we try breaking through ourselves, we'll be frozen in place like the others, then our Territories won't protect us as we're bombarded by millions of tiny ice shards." She also had to admit, Hermit was clever. Doing this left both parties at a standoff.

"Captain." Origami's voice came through Ryouko's gear, to which she answered.

"Origami? Where are you? Is Michael safe?" Ryouko asked. "We're going to need you as soon as your done."

Michael: Sounds like your getting cold feet.

Ryouko nearly flinched hearing Michael's voice. "Michael?!... The hell is the meaning of this?! This is a secure channel!"

"Look, whatever law I'm breaking, you can arrest me later." Michael said, as he was shown holding Origami's communicator against his ear. "I know how to calm Yoshino down, then we can all go home. I just need to get close to her."

As he spoke, he didn't see the invisible flying camera of Fraxinus watching this entire scene (and yes, the one prior) unfold. Kotori's only grumbling response was: "What the hell is he doing?"

"Mystletainn is fully charged, Commander. Aren't we going to fire?" Kozue asked as that was the plan originally. Fraxinus' main cannon could very easily cut through Yoshino's little snowstorm while at the same time completely avoiding damaging the dam or the AST. Of course, now that Michael randomly showed up, Tohka having followed him, and surprising now Origami giving into his request... Kotori said nothing else. She just had to watch and listen.

However, that wasn't the only camera watching. In a large building in the city, a computer monitor on a desk also saw this entire scene take place via a satellite camera. A single man watched this play out, his hands folded under his head which held it up. A black suit, dark ash blond hair, dark eyes, pale white skin... he just watched intently. The look on his face seemed to calmy. ask: "Is it true?"

"Yoshino? Who the hell is...?" Ryouko paused, then looked to the snowstorm before her. "... one's not enough for you?"

Michael held back the insult he was gonna throw at her, you could see his mouth forcing itself to stay closed, not even wanting to entertain the idea as he grumbled with a closed mouth. As said multiple times already, there was no time for this. "My preferences aren't important right now." He said, forcing himself to stay calm and not pop. "I can get her stop, I just need you to work with Tohka... yes, I know what they are, and I know how to stop them. But I'm going to need your entire squad's help."

"First of all, your a private citizen. You don't-..." Ryouko tried to argue, but Michael cut her off.

"And whose tax dollars fund your lifestyle again?" Michael snapped back, which Ryouko had to bite her own tongue to not snap back at him. Typical American behavior, no respect for authority. Why did Origami date him again? "We don't have time to argue. I saw the news report, then used common sense to understand in God knows how long, Tenju City's gonna become the world's second Chimelong swimming pool!"

And as he said this, the water from the dam began to hit the danger zone, looking like an overfilled pool ready to spill over. It wasn't a lot, only a few streams leaked over the top; but even with the employees inside, scrambling to use the drainage to try and control it which was only working so much due to the volume of the rain, if it was left unchecked...

"Ryouko, please. Not as Origami's boyfriend... as a citizen... help me. Help me save the people..." Michael added a bit softer, hoping this would get through to her.

Ryouko thought about this very carefully. Credit where credit was due, he wasn't using his position as Origami's boyfriend (Ex now, but details) to try and get his way. However, this went entirely against several protocols. Even if she did agree to this, her superiors will probably send airships soon as a last resort should Hermit, or "Yoshino" as Michael called her, become otherwise unstable. This blizzard before them was one such sign, meaning the order was probably going to be given soon for her team to pull out. She was honestly surprised there was no order given yet, but can imagine it would come eventually.

"Captain?" One of her squad asked, even as Ryouko thought more about it. After a short yet agonizing silence, she made her decision:

Ryouko: Fall back! We'll regroup and try a new strategy!

Michael heaved a sigh of relief, but Ryouko wasn't done with him. "This is for her. Not you."

"Fair enough." Michael said. "So Territory can be used offensively, right?"

"Yes, but we tried that already." Ryouko said, assuming her gathered this information from Origami when they were together. "We can't stop the flow of the blizzard."

"I don't want to stop it." Michael said. "I want to cut it open." Ryouko eyes did wide a bit. "Just get someone to get me Origami and get me as close as possible... and don't attack Tohka, we need her."

"Fine. None of my squad will attack Princess as long as her highness behaves. Whatever this crazy plan of yours is, it better work. Or your on thin ice." Ryouko said. "And why not just have Origami carry you?"

"Daaaauuuuuuuuuuummm..." He glanced at Origami before making an excuse. "... she's having technical difficulties with her gear."

"... whatever." Ryouko said, not having patience for it. "Mikie, Mildred, grab Origami and Michael. Her CR Unit malfunctioning. The rest of you, prepare to use as much Territory as you can."

"YES MA'AM!" The squad said in unison, carrying out their orders given. It was here Michael ended the call and gave the communicator back to Origami.

Tohka saw a chance here to finally tell Michael what she wanted to tell him, seeing they were about to go into battle, she might not get the chance to apologize properly and too his face. "Michael, before we start," she began, walking closer to him. She also flushed a bit. "I wanted to apologize... about before. I got mad at you for stuff I didn't fully understand. I was mostly confused and..."

"That doesn't matter." Michael said, making Tohka pause. His tone was still calm so he wasn't mad at her. "You were leaning... remember what I told you?" She thought back to the moment he was obviously talking about, back on the overlook just before he was shot (and thankfully didn't die from it). Before she could repeat it, he did for her, then taking her hand quickly, making up for that time they were interrupted on the overlook. "Even if the rest of Japan still rejects you, I'll protect you from all of it... we're both in this together. I never go back on my promises."

Tohka felt that same feeling in her chest, only it was warmer this time. While she still was a little jealous he was also trying to help Yoshino, that faded away by this point from the dedication in his voice... its not that Yoshinon was more important. He was trying to do the right thing. And that was the same reason why he tried to keep both of them calm back at the mall. Michael, although his mouth could be loud, his heart was in the right place.

While Origami watched this, she couldn't help but stare at Michael's and Tohka's joined hand for a bit... she looked away a moment later.

XXX

Ryouko couldn't believe she was doing this, even after hearing Michael's idea. Was it possible? Technically yes, they could use Territory this way, but would this be enough to protect him? That she wasn't entirely sure of, but... if it would stop Yoshino without risking firing a giant laser at her near a dam holding back several tons of water...

"Are you sure this'll work? You do realize how many lives this'll cost if it doesn't?" Ryouko asked Michael once more, as she was currently on the ground with the rest of her group including him and Tohka.

"Ya wanna try blowing her up?" Michael asked sarcastically, either aware or unaware of Mildred's previous obsession with that.

"... no." Ryouko grumbled, holding back the annoyance.

"So to review: Tohka's gonna slash into it, your Splatoon holds the gap open, I run in and grab Hermit. What could go wrong?" Michael said, repeating the plan once more in case it wasn't clear. He then looked at Tohka who was next to himself. "You ready?"

"I am..." Tohka was. She never expected to work together with the AST, but was more concerned they'll turn on her the moment this was over. Not that she couldn't handle them of course, but the worry was still there. And its not like she could just leave Michael and run either. Still... she trusted him. She took careful aim at the blizzard before them, the AST readied themselves to use their Units to use Territory, then she slashed with all she had when she was ready.

SLASH!

As Michael thought, the winds of the blizzard parted but they had less than a second.

"NOW!" Ryouko ordered and each member of her squad generated Territories on both sides of the cut Tohka made... it was pitch black inside, but it was indeed open. "HOLD STEADY!" She ordered, then talked to Michael. "Whatever it is your gonna do, do it!"

Michael didn't say anything, just nodded. There was very little time, both from the overfilling dam and however long the combined Territory could hold this blizzard open. He ran towards it, climbing whatever rocks in his way to approach it. When he was about 10 feet from it, the snowflakes and cold air fluttering his clothes...

POKE!

"ARGH! The fu..?" Michael stopped and held his ear.

Kotori: Michael, hold on!

Kotori? How did... ah. The poking pain in his ear. She must've sent an invisible camera to shove an earpiece in his ear again. "Don't go in there, okay? Just give us a moment, we'll send you Territory for protection!"

"Huh, that's weird... did I just detect the foggiest hint of concern?" Michael asked.

"This isn't a joke, Michael!" Kotori voice said, not denying the concern and her voice showing even more. "Surviving a gunshot is one thing, but Zadkiel's storm will freeze you solid in seconds! Even if it doesn't, there's swirling ice shards inside! It'll be like trying to dodge raindrops! It's impossible!"

Would extra Territory help out? Yes. But that would take time... time Micheal wasn't sure he could waste. Any second now from this rain, and that dams floodgates were gonna be forced open.

"... then I better hop too it." Was the last pun Michael said before continuing onward.

"Michael! Stop, please! Don't go in there! WAIT!" Kotori tried, but she was completely ignored. The signal was cut off the moment he disappeared inside. At first, this was going okay. He felt like Moses walking between the waves...

While holding the barrier, one of the AST members felt herself getting weaker. She was running out of strength to keep the barrier up, the snowstorm wasn't helping either. When her concentration finally broke, one-by-one the girls couldn't hold the barrier... and it began to fail.

"Shit! HOLD STRONG!" Ryouko said, her and any remaining girls continuing to focus until it was only her and Origami, both of them struggling. Inside, Michael saw this in real time... there was no more time. He had to move! He booked it as fast as his legs could move.

"Michael!" Tohka panicked herself and flew towards the snowstorm, but the moment she got to the opening...

SHATTER! WHOOSH!

"AH!" The snowstorm regained its current, and it blew Tohka backward. She recovered in midair and tried slashing again... sadly, she didn't have enough power this time, and her attack fizzled. "MICHAEL!"

The moment the barrier fell, Michael immediately felt what Kotori warned about. He grumbled and grunted, feeling tiny ice pellets hit his body every so often. His torso, belly, legs, arms, neck... nothing was safe, his clothes tearing from the strikes. He felt his body also turn cold near instantly. He couldn't keep his eyes open... the pain was getting to him... he fell on his knees and used his hands to hold himself, snow starting to cover him. So this is how it was gonna end huh? He survived a gunshot to the head allegedly, but this takes him down? The irony of it all, is he going cold turkey with this Spirit thing, yet now its gonna kill him...

He felt Yoshinon against his body in his shirt as that was the only place it would fit... imagining Yoshino crying...

...

...

...

"... uuuuuug... uuuuurrrrrhhhhhhhhaaaa..." He forced himself to stand, still feeling the pelting all over his body, the blizzard clouding his vision... he took one step... then another... "ffffffuuurrrrrrraa... grrrrrrruuuaa..." he held a hand ahead as if to stop the pellets hitting his face, forcing himself to step forward... one extremely slow and freezing step at a time...

XXX

It's been nearly 3 minutes... and the blizzard still hadn't stopped, not even a little. The entire AST squad looked on, and Tohka, and the entire Fraxinus crew... there was no signs of any change.

"... Captain?"

"... Commander?"

Both of these were said at slightly different times to Ryouko and Kotori respectively. But neither leader gave an answer. Micheal had serious balls, they'll give him that...

XXX

Yoshino cried while still atop her Angel... she was so alone. And that boy came to help her... but she just ran away. She wasn't strong enough, too scared to even try to help him... she left him, just like her mom...

"I... I'm s-sorry..." Yoshino whimpered to no one in particular. "... I just... need Yoshinon... I need her..."

"Turn that frown... upside down..."

Yoshino perked up... who was that terrible impression of Yoshinon's voice? Looking in the direction of the sound, she saw Yoshinon poke out of the darkness... then an all-to familiar boy who wore her on his hand. He had ice and snow all over his body, and his clothes were shredded so much, his skin underneath was clearly visible under all those cuts... some of those cuts were a little red too...

*thud*

The boy fell... completely and utterly exhausted, his body stinging like it was pricked by thousands of knives.

"Michael!" Yoshino said, recognizing the boy and dismounting her rabbit mount before hurrying over to him. He came again... even through all that...

"*cough*... hey, kid..." Michael said in a weak voice. "Got someone for ya..." He held up Yoshinon for Yoshino. The little girl's emotions ran high, then she started to cry again, only this time not out of sorrow. "Hey, c'mon... nrgh... no more crying Yoshi... ok?" Michael added, feeling himself recover enough to start slowly sitting up. Thankfully this was the eye of the storm, meaning he wasn't in any danger anymore, plus it wasn't as bone-chillingly cold either.

"I'm... *sniff* I'm not crying, I'm just... really happy." Yoshino said through a snuffle. "You came back for me... and you *sniff*... got Yoshinon for me too, your... *hiccup* so kind..." After wiping her face with her oversized shelves, she tried speaking more. "It means so much to me... I don't know what I'd do if I lost her..."

Michael couldn't help but swallow. Not gulp, swallow... the way she was saying it had a double meaning, and it really tugged at his heart. Yoshino really was just a scared little girl who needed someone to relate too.

"I'd do it all over again. You and me have allot in common." Michael said.

"We... we do?" Yoshino asked.

"Yeah, I... also know what its like to lose someone close to you. Its not fun." Michael said.

"No... no its not... thanks again for saving her, Michael." Yoshino thanked him once again.

"Of course..." Michael said, then here came the awkward part. He had to kiss her, but he didn't want to come across as a pervert. "Now, uh... I want to save you too..."

"Hmm?" Yoshino tilted her head, not understanding.

"... okay, not gonna sugarcoat it. I need to kiss you. You don't mind?" Michael said, asking for permission. Yoshino did blush at this request, but also gave a nod. "Don't worry. It'll be quick..." He added, pecking her cheek.

...

...

...

Wait... why didn't anything happen? Aside from Yoshino blushing a bit more, nothing appeared to change. "... is... something supposed to happen?" She asked. The kiss felt nice but aside from that, she felt the same.

Michael's gut clenched... seriously? It HAD to be the lips to work? Unless her heart didn't open up to him, which he was willing to bet that hers more than well did, there was no other explanation. He twisted his neck grumbling... this went against most of the culture he was from.

'I'm getting Chris Hasan called on me...' Michael mentally grumbled, trying to force himself to do this but calling it awkward was an EXTREME understatement. "Ugh, just forget about it. I mean, as long as you stop the rain, it'll be fi-mph." He wasn't able to finish... she kissed him.

"How was that?" Yoshino innocently asked after she pulled away. Michael didn't even get the chance to answer as just with Tohka, Yoshino's clothes started disappearing which also included the Angel behind her... "Huh? Michael?"

XXX

A moment earlier the storm was still not stopping. There was no choice at that point, and both Kotori and Ryouko were going take respective actions to subdue the threat when just then... the snowstorm began to dissipate... the rain slowed to a stop... and the clouds began to part, allowing sunshine to return. And to add the now calming weather, was a long beautiful rainbow...

"The rain..." one AST member said.

This sentiment was shared by everyone, especially Ryouko and Kotori, who both said the same thing: "He actually did it..."

Down where Michael and Yoshino were, Michael had quickly taken off his coat and covered her with it for 2 reasons: 1, so she doesn't catch a cold or something. And 2, the last thing he needed was a kid being seen naked in front if him. Yoshino was cute, not sexy. There was a difference.

*rumble, rumble!*

This moment was short lived, as the Ogouchi Dam was unable to hold back all that water anymore, starting a massive flood. Everyone stared at it in shock, over 180 million tons of was rushing down the mountain in an instant.

"Evasive maneuvers! Now!" Ryouko ordered her squad, with Mikie and Mildred getting Origami. With the water coming as fast as it was, the AST didn't have enough time to swoop over and grab them either. And even if they did, they already used so much Territory to execute Michael's plan, so there was no way to protect them or themselves from the rushing water.

"Damnit! Kyouhei!" Kotori gave the order for Kyouhei to take action.

"Right on it! I'll Bound Wrap it!" He took some head gear and was about to do... something. But even he knew it would take some time to trigger this defensive maneuver... this might not save Michael, but it would definitely save the city.

Tohka didn't even think twice. She flew for Michael... even if she would drown, she'd try to save him. She owed him that much. As for Yohsino and Michael, they both froze on horror of the incoming wave. Michael himself didn't even think... he held onto Yoshino tightly and protectly (although he was aware that was pointless), shutting his eyes as the water rushed toward them, already feeling the water but he didn't care. If he was gonna be washed, then he may as well make sure Yoshino wasn't swept away. He felt his body turn cold... fear maybe?

Whatever it was, he braced himself for the eventual flood...

FREEZE!

Everyone was stunned, where did all that ice just come from? That's also what got Tohka to back off, not wanting to he frozen solid.

...

...

...

He realized nothing had happened... he felt as dry as a bone, but he didn't dare let Yoshino go, though when he turned around, his mouth opened in shock and awe, as well as Yoshino's... all the water was completely frozen, mere inches from making contact with him and Yoshino. It seemed the literal second the water was only a foot away, ice surrounded him and Yoshino a bit before it spread outward, freezing all the water in its current form, all the way up the mountain to the dam itself.

Sure when it all melts, it'll be a problem... but they survived.

"Phew... thanks kid. Your a regular energizer bunny." Michael said.

"I..." Yoshino looked back up at him, wanting to explain she didn't do that. She didn't feel ANY of her power anymore, but his eyes... the bled back to normal hazel after being blue for a moment. "... your welcome." She didn't understand either, but decided not to question it right now. Not just because that was allot to process, but this was where she finally noticed the rainbow, commenting on it. "Oh, wow... its so beautiful..."

"Yup... just as He promised..." Michael said, agreeing with her. Tohka joined around this time, hugging both Michael and Yoshino, just happy they were okay.

Ryouko just watched. "... move out."

"But Captain? Shouldn't we apprehen-..." One AST soilder said, but she didn't get to finish.

"I said. Move out." Ryouko repeated her order, then added with a heavy sign. "I'll be taking PTO tomorrow..." With that, she flew away, the rest of her squad obediently following.

While Origami was carried away, she still looked down at Michael and the 2 Spirits... her fist subconsciously clenched a bit...

XXX

The man at the computer saw the entire thing unfold. He didn't react at first...

"... heh... heheheheh..." he began in a low chuckle. "Hehehehe... hehehehhehe-MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!" And ended in hysterical laughter, his arms outstretched in each direction. "Ha-aaaah... Brilliant! Most simply brilliant!"

"You seem happy Ike." A woman said to the man who was actually in this same room the entire time, just was quiet. It was the same woman who brought Michael to this man's attention: Ellen.

"Of course, my dear Ellen... what father wouldn't be happy?" Said Ike, but his full name was actually Issac Westcott. "They all said he didn't have it... didn't have the spark... but today, he proved them all wrong... proved ME wrong! He had exactly what I had worked so hard to produce the entire time! It just needed time manifest itself!" He looked back at the computer before continuing, where this was the point the AST were leaving, and Fraxinus was teleporting the 3 kids up to do... whatever it was they did, he didn't care. All he cared is it was a success... all his hard work, all those test subjects, all that aggravation and being a 'father figure'... it had finally paid off!

"And all it seemed to take was giving him a little... push to the other side of the world, maybe a little puberty in between, now look at him..." He humored, using rewind on the monitors camera to go back to the moment he unleashed Yoshino's power... then replayed again. And again. Then 3 more times after that! It was just so satisfying to finally see! "He's perfect! Just as... no, BETTER than I designed him to be, right from the day he was born!" He looked deeply into the monitor like a kid looking too close to a screen while watching their favorite show. "He's magnificent... A Spirit Sealer... of my own creation! A testament of the greatest scientific and magical experiment ever constructed!"

Ellen watched Westcotts excitement over this... so that's why he ordered the military superiors of the AST to back off and not send in the airships for support... he wanted to see this for himself... see his son in action. "Reports came in he is a member of Fraxinus... or at least was for a time being. If she gets her hands on him, it could be trouble."

"I wouldn't worry about it... its just a little bump in the road." Westcott was calm. "Besides, even if she does, there's no way she'll let him out of her sight! Its all going according to plan... a 5 year delay admittedly, but with the original one gone, she has no choice. And she's none the wiser!" He stepped away from his desk momentarily to look out into the city, the rain having stopped. "She already manipulated him AND Princess into going after Hermit. Like it or not, she needs him too! I made sure of it..."

"She's not stupid, Ike. She's a fast leaner." Ellen said. "The moment she realizes what we've been working on, she'll work overtime to keep him close. She might even try to resverse it."

Again, Westcott didn't sound concerned in the slightest. He just sat back at his desk. "That's exactly what I'm counting on..." He couldn't help but play the footage back one more time, then paused it when he got a good shot of Michael.

"Oh Michael, my son... you truly are a testament to my grand genius. So many attempts to become like her, then going back and forth with her... she had her trump card... now I have mine..." He zoomed into Michael's face, watching it for a moment. "You are the key, my boy... the key to an ultimate power, that even she could never hope to reach... and with you now Awakened, its just a matter of waiting..."

Chapter Text

THIS IS (Possibly) GOODBYE

So if your seeing this on a story I have not updated in so long, I’m posting this to all my fics so everyone sees, I’m gonna get to the point: the internet has truly died. Or at least it’s about to in a week. If you somehow don’t know, governments around the world are forcing ID verification because they want to use AI to determine your age. You can have whatever opinion you want on it, but it shows me the internet I grew up on that was free and, let’s be honest much, better than the current slop era we are living in, is dead.

I'm gonn be honest... I'm afraid. I don't want random companies having my ID because lets also be honest, if there is a data breach, millions and millions of people will have their lives ruined. Like i'm sure you saw the Spotify verification... so I need to be over 18 to listen to music; but i can still drive, vote, do things to my body under that age?

I fear if this passes, every single site will start doing this, including here and AO3 and even the fan page for my Sonic DxD story.

So... if this happens... im quitting. Every single story i have will just be left to rot. As much i love writing, my mental health and my personal data is more important to me. It was fun while it lasted. Im honestly crying as i write this, for at least back in my day, the illusion of choice kept me happy.

I love you all. I love the interactions, i loved reading the comments, i loved providing something for you guys to read to take a break from the real world for a few minutes, i'm even gonna miss the haters and trolls i have dealt with over my online career. But this... there is no word in any language that can describe how crazy this had all gotten. The smokescreen has vanished... the mirrors have shatteted... the magic has dried up.

So thank you... thank you for all the love and support for my active years online. But since the governments are here to help, lets just enjoy the last illusion of freedom we have left. Or hey, this might age poorly and i'll look dumb saying all this... but as of now: Goodbye.

It's been a blast.

- Bakuganman.

Chapter Text

Okay, so... its been a while since the last chapter. Allot happened since my last announcement as well, so I'll keep this as brief as possible: we won... for now.

In case you're not aware, Google got sued for millions over the ID verification bit YouTube was pulling. It was for "collecting data on kids", which is insanely ironic as that's what YouTube claimed to be trying to do in order to protect them, and the funniest part: they are insistent they did nothing wrong... yet made a settlement anyway to avoid a COPPA lawsuit. You can't make this stuff up. This doesn't mean we avoided it entirely, we still have that other document to worry about, but at least YouTube's version of it has been slowed down.

Not saying the U.S won't do its own form of censorship, just saying it's once again been slowed down to not be so obvious to those not paying attention.

Also, not to bring politics in here but from what I understand (if you're from America reading this), the White House sanctioned this ID thing due to 4chan. Apparently 4chan said "no" to the bill, the UK's version anyway, and as 4chan is American owned and operated, another country has no authority to censor them. Additionally, the US version of the bill has been pushed aside for now due to Suntan 47. Doesn't mean it's gone of course; it'll probably rear its ugly head out of its hole in some other way.

What this all means is, love the orange man or hate him, the Trump administration pretty much politely said "fuck off" to this AI Identification as it violated US privacy laws, as well as threatened tariffs on those supporting it. Like it or not, It's an objective W for them and for the Internet... again, for now. The war will never truly be over. Freedom isn't free, ya gotta keep fighting for it... though the timing of them promising that list then this happening immediately after... idk, call me a crazy conspiracy theorist if ya want, but the timing was WAY too close.

Like I said, I'll be continuing my writing as long as I can use the internet without needing to flash my government ID. Ever hear of the Solar Winds attack, or the US treasury hack in January of this year alone (its 2025 to any future readers)?... The gall of these people, I swear...

Now to the actual reason your here. This chapter, along with next few, are gonna be special. Not only because it'll introduce Kurumi officially and not just that one cameo, but because as you read, you'll recognize that this chapter was the original first chapters of the conceptual version of this story. We have come so far since then, from starting off as a one-off, only to bloom into an actual storyline. I bring this up because you will notice a number of changes here from the original. That's because when that chapter(s) was written, there was no plan. It was again, just a concept. Now that I have a plot set up, allot of things need to be changed and/or moved around to better format where exactly I'm going with this.

I'm sure that was obvious to some of you, but i felt the need to just speak it first. Give you a heads up. Professional opinion though, it's certainly an improvement over the conceptual chapters these were based on; but if you do prefer the old ones, they are still available to go back on in the archived version. Lemme me hear your opinion about this in the comments, we can discuss it.

Chapter 9: A Kurumi Killer New Student - Part 1

"Alright. Please introduce yourself again." Said Ryouko, in a good mood for once. Her squad of the AST just got done with a training session with a new member, one with blue hair and a birthmark on the side of her face. Also unlike the standard issue combat units her and her squad wore, this new girl's suit was blue and white.

"Mana Takamiya, 2nd lieutenant of the AST. It'll be a pleasure to fight alongside all of you." Said the girl, introducing herself as Mana. She sounded very cheerful, which was a stark contrast to how she fought against the entire team... and won. Several of the members here commented amongst themselves how she was the best the organization got, or so they heard. In fact Mana was one of the few to actually kill a Spirit according to records, whereas everyone else usually heavily injured them or forced the Spirit in question to flee.

While she was watching a video about the fight with Hermit before she fled to the dam, the feed ended up showing a certain boy protecting another girl (Mana had to admit this girl was very attractive), to which Mana immediately reacted, her eyes showing surprise and shock, unable to believe it at first. But he was then shown again several times: near his car, braving the ice storm, then the dam broke and came the rushing water yet it was then all frozen solid (which she assumed was Hermit); she stood up from her seat as if trying to better see the footage... there was no mistaking it. It was him. Her own cousin.

She kept it to herself, sitting back down and allowed the video to keep playing, not daring to say anything. The only person who noticed her reaction was Origami, whom was sitting next to her at the time. After the presentation was over and everyone left sometime after, Origami approached Mana again, a little suspicious and wanted to find out what was with her reaction to the video.

"Care to explain?" Asked Origami in a firm tone, firmer than necessary.

"Uh... explain what?" Mana said, trying (and failing) to appear dumb with a cute embarrassed smile. Even if Origami didn't see her reaction earlier, she had a lousy poker face.

"It was written all over your face like a bad novel." Origami said. "How do you know Michael?"

Now normally Mana was very open to conversation, but... she got a little defensive. It was her cousin after all. "He just... looked like someone I knew for a second. That's all. And even if I did, why does that matter?"

Origami didn't buy it. "You didn't deny it, so there's that." She said, to which Mana gritted her teeth. Dammit, this girl was smart. "He never mentioned you. So, I'll ask again: Who are you to him? And how do you know him?"

While there was no point in trying to deny it, Mana still remained defensive. "So what if I know him! It's our job to keep civilians safe, right? And what does my relationship with him have to do with this? You his girlfriend or something?"

Yeah, this girl Mana was a terrible liar, but Origami felt her body tense up upon the world 'girlfriend'. Mana said it in a derogatory manner, but even if she didn't, the word alone made her stomach clench. Mana noticed her reaction... then really got a good look at her. During the training match, they just focused on trying to damage each other; but now that Mana could focus on Origami's face, she realized something.

"... wait..." Mana said, then gasped and her defensiveness did a complete 180. "Wait! Hang on!" For some reason, she pulled out her cell phone and began to quickly scroll through it. She stopped on something on her screen, looking back up at Origami then back to the phone, doing this a few times. "... your Origami Tobiichi, aren't you?"

Origami was now just confused by Mana's complete switch up, but not only that, the fact she knew her name. In fact, Mana's tone sounded like she was very familiar with Origami. Why? She didn't know how (a fan or something?), but before the white-haired soldier could ask, Mana continued on.

"You are his girlfriend! He talks about you all the time! See!" This is where Mana flipped her phone and showed Origami what she was scrolling through. It was a long text message thread with tons of messages... damn, Michael never texted her that much. She even saw the word "love" a few times, but Mana happened to stop on a picture of Origami and Michael arm in arm... that feeling in her chest further tightened.

"I am so sorry, I had no idea! Now its all making sense! And don't worry, I'm his cousin, so there's no competition between us... romantically anyway." Mana said, now attempting friendly humor. "Heh, that makes us sisters I guess. I should have figured it out right away, but seeing him in that video caught me off guard. He mentioned he had a girlfriend at the AST, so I should thank..."

"No..." Origami cut Mana off in the middle of her thanking her for keeping Michael safe, that was obviously where Mana was going with this. Mana was gonna ask, but noticed one of Origami's fists were clenching. "We're not together anymore..."

Mana looked beyond bewildered. They broke up? Why the hell did that happen? Michael would constantly talk about Origami to her over the phone or via text, and while yes he mentioned Origami had "certain eccentricities" in the beginning of their relationship, the boy was deeply in love. He even told Mana when Origami came clean about her AST ties and they kissed over it... it was romantic honesty, which is why it was such a shock to learn the whole had ended. She immediately wondered why they ended things, and knew right away cheating was off the table. Michael wouldn't be caught dead cheating on anyone, plus he had an obscene amount of patience that most people couldn't fathom.

The big question: who ended it? Again, she couldn't see Michael ending such a love story considering his fucked up life, but didn't want to think ill of his girl- *ahem*. EX. Girlfriend now; either.

"I can see it in your eyes... it was a mutual decision." Origami could already see the wheels spinning in Mana's head, so she decided to answer the lingering question. Mana couldn't tell if Origami was annoyed at this for bringing up old memories, or this was something Origami was pushing aside and didn't have the proper time to deal with, or perhaps both. "He was a great boyfriend, we just... it was best for both of us."

Mana wasn't going to pry, at least not to her. She'll just ask Michael... AFTER, she asks why the hell was he involved with Spirits.

XXX

"YAAAAAAAWN!" Michael yawned, looking completely exhausted as he held his head up by his hand on his elbow on his desk.

"How are you so tired?" Origami felt the need to ask.

"You. Know. Why." Michael controlled his cranky temper. The reason was because, while he got his Toyota Corolla back after it was finally dug out from the ice 2 days ago, which Ryouko and her squad did it for him as a final act of goodwill, literally the day after was when both they and him wanted to go to the hot springs for a day off from the craziness.

Of course, it went as badly as you could imagine: balancing a third girl in Michael's household (which sometimes caused more accidents), more explosions, more crying, losing Yoshinon a second time which he prayed wasn't gonna become a running gag, and the other 5 crew members were left to their own devices on the ship because Kyouhei was "punished"; which ultimately led to a huge fire fight with a bunch of food, plants, slime (for some reason), liquids, grenades, bullets and missiles... somehow. Michael wasn't entirely aware of all the schematics behind it, just those involved. And when asked to be briefed on specifically why, he declined, saying he was retired now, which was true, as Yoshino was the last Spirit he was willing to seal. After that, he hasn't heard from Fraxinus ever since.

"Your not still mad about me stomping a hole in the car, right?" Tohka sweetly asked.

"It's fine, Tohka." Michael said through his teeth, not wanting to talk about it anymore. It was too early for this, nor did he get sleep last night because of it... they were taking Reine's van next time...

"Good morning, everyone!" Said the cheery voice of Miss Tamae. "I have a special surprise for you all! We have another transfer student joining us today! Isn't that exciting!"

"Another one?" Asked one girl student.

"We had 2 already!" Said a boy student.

"Three's a crowd..." Michael slouched forward in his seat, which not only was a pun on his own living situation, but he was just too tired to deal with this. He also muttered this too himself, and his hand covered his mouth to muffle it so no one else really heard him.

"Then be sure to welcome her with open arms." Said Tamae, then turned to the closed door of the class. "Alright, you can come in."

The moment that door opened was a moment many would never forget, with absolute silence filling the room, and not just out of respect. A young girl, like many of the students here, entered. And despite being a warm day, she wore the winter uniform, which was because maybe she came from a cold place on the globe and hadn't adjusted to the heat, or she preferred it to the standard uniform. It went extremely well with her long, pitch-black hair though, tied in long twin tails that were in front of her body instead of on the sides or behind, and also unevenly cut for some reason yet it didn't take away from her appearance or make her look sloppy. Additionally, a bunch of bangs of her hair covered her right eye, adding to her perplexity.

Elegance. Mysterious. Astonishing. Mesmerizing. Stylish... those were a few terms that could immediately describe this person, but a big one... Gorgeous. This was not an average girl. The way she seemed to slowly glide in this room was like a shadow on a wall acting in accordance to the sunset... smooth and precise... perfect even.

"Go ahead. Introduce yourself." Tamae said, to which this new girl immediately complied by picking up the chalk and spelling out her name with graceful moments without missing a beat. The name she wrote down without any sloppiness: 'Kurumi Tokisaki'.

"Hello. I'm Kurumi Tokisaki."

Like clockwork the moment she finished saying her name, her voice matching her appearance perfectly, a little over half the male population in this room stood up with some even cheering or whistling... even from a few girls. Even those that remained seated joined in, and even those that just sat in shock and awe couldn't look away. This was almost like what happened with Tohka when she first started.

"You should also be aware, I'm a Spirit as well." She then said.

That seemed random to many people in the room who didn't know the significance of that term, probably thinking she was one of those hot yet crazy chicks that have weird fetishes... but to three of them: Origami, Tohka and Michael... it was a little uneasy. Now focusing on Michael's reaction, his exhaustion now leaving him immediately, it wasn't just her aura that got his attention, although it certainly helped. And it wasn't her appearance either... but again, it helped; nor was her confession of being a Spirit, assuming it was true.

What got Michael's full interest... was her voice. It had the same qualities as her appearance did as described further above, but... the tone... he could swear he heard it somewhere before...

"Well, uh... that was certainly a unique introduction..." Tamae said, chuckling sheepishly at Kurumi's claim. "Anyway, let's finish attendance so take a seat wherever one's open, and..."

"Before I get comfortable, I have a small request, Miss Tamae." Kurumi added suddenly.

"Oh? What is it?"

"A small favor really. Because I'm still new here, I'm not entirely familiar with the school. So if someone would be sweet enough to show me around? After school would be fine as well, as I know your all so busy, but I'd appreciate your time." Kurumi asked in the kindest, yet still in an elegantly mysterious voice.

Again, like clockwork, every guy (and some girls) immediately raised their hands to get Kurumi's attention, all offering to take her for a tour. Kurumi respectfully declined each and every one... her eye was already set on one boy in the back between 2 girls, and made her way to him... Michael.

"You. Would you mind helping me?"

Michael didn't respond right away, mainly because he was still caught off guard by Kurumi calling herself a Spirit. She could just be crazy, but the overall vibe he got from this girl... she wasn't lying. Was either brutal honesty or blissful ignorance, maybe even overconfidence. But in his gut, he felt she was being truthful. There was just something about her...

XXX

Kotori was on her captains chair when she got a call... from Michael? The caller ID made her double check before answering, but it was him. Why was he calling anyway? He said he wanted nothing to do with this anymore, and he knew for a fact she was working. Regardless, she answered it.

"Sorry, bro. I'm not gonna be home in time dinner tonight." Kotori said, slightly sarcastic when she said this.

"There's a Spirit in my school." Michael said right away, wanting to get this over with before Kurumi meets him. Did he want to do this? No... kinda. Again, Kurumi's voice is what got him. He hasn't seen this girl before in his life, but he swore he heard her before.

"We know. We're still keeping tabs on Tohka." Kotori said.

"A-nother Spirit." Michael rephrased.

"WHAT?! When? How do you know?! Someone get me readings on the school!" Kotori said, obviously not aware of this and giving orders while also asking Michael how he was sure, but still gave an order on the chance it was true.

"How are you Commander again?" Michael asked, but this question never got answered, either because Kotori ignored him or wasn't paying attention. Still, he encountered 3 Spirits now without any warning from Ratatoskr. First Tohka (though that could be argued as wrong place at the right time), then Yoshino thrice, now this Kurumi girl just popped outta left field.

"And you!" Now she was talking back to Michael. "You track a Spirit without telling me?! I thought you were retired!" She added, then began to use a deeper voice to mock, and also exaggerate on, some of Michael's words: "I don't wanna help alien chicks anymore cuz I'm not a solider. All they do is blow shit up and I want to make my own choice!"

Steam came out of Michael's ears, but he then breathed in to suck the steam back up. Why did he bother calling her? Why did he try to be the good boy yet the girl was still going to bitch and moan? He thought he left those women back in the States...

"She got me on the spot, okay?! Now I gotta show her around campus upon her request. For all I know, she could be one of those yandere chicks that think holding a knife a certain way is cute, or thinks Spirit is another gender. I just thought it would be nice for you to know since you're soooo good at your job!" Michael said.

Kotori of course, wasn't going to take that one lying down. "YA KNOW WHA-!

"Readings are in." Reine calm voice cut of the arguing between Kotori and Michael. "She's a Spirit all right, but she's not in our records."

Kotori and Michael calmed down for slightly different reasons. For both of them, it was because it was now confirmed Kurumi WAS a Spirit, like and actual one. But hearing they had no records was concerning.

"Wait... you never encountered this one before? Like at all?" Michael asked, which honestly surprised him. He assumed Kotori and her crew must've had some kind of long list of every single Spirit. "No one told me I had to seal them all for complete data!"

"Interesting. But, this could work in our favor. The AST might not have data on her either." Kotori asked, then sighed and her tone changed. "You're probably gonna hate me, b-."

"Fine." Michael already knew what she was going to ask, dryly answering with a affirmative answer.

The crew and Kotori were extremely surprised at his affirmation... happy, but surprised. "Wait, that's it? You'll do it?" Kotori asked, sounding a little bit hopeful.

"Let me make this perfectly clear." Michael said with a firm tone in his voice. "The only reason I'm doing any of this right now is because I got pulled into this intergalactic war... again! Kurumi found me. Now I got to drain her power before my ex girlfriend blows her up, OR she summons whatever Cursed Gear she got holed up inside her, and risks getting me or people hurt... THEN. It'll be on my conscience, and I won't sleep for 2 weeks... I'm behind on my grades enough as it is." He laid down exactly what he thought, not caring if Kotori agrees with him or not, or even ends up hating him. This was how he felt.

"Tori, I love you; but I'm not doing this for you, got it? Not for you, not for your crew... not even for the city itself." Michael asked, then he happened to look out the window, along with many students leaving the building for their lunch or some other reason. He then added with a more somber tone: "... But... I'm the only one that can."

Kotori just looked at the screen he was on (yes, she just managed to get eyes on him now), and saw the look on his face. Basically, he was saying he's only deciding to lend a hand because it involves him directly. However, despite how he feels, he also understands he's the only person that can do something about it, be it for himself or not. Until Kotori could find someone else to take his place, he wasn't a full-time employee... more like the "on call" variety, except he decides when and if to punch in or not.

Even though they disagreed... she respected that. "... Then let's make it quick. Make her fall in love with you before that happens."

Michael sighed in relief, hearing the agreement her tone of voice. Even if he wasn't a part of her organization anymore, he knew he couldn't do the other half of the work required to deal with these aliens. He's got the charm, sure; but not the technology. They couldn't seal Spirits without him, and he couldn't possibly deal with one alone of one went berserk. If this was how it was gonna be, then they'll need to lean on each other for a while... compromise given the circumstances for now.

He randomly held his hand outward, as if waiting for something to drop into it. "I know you're watching, give it." He finished before hanging up his phone and shoving it away into his pocket. A few seconds after that, one of the many cameras on him floated closer and dropped the iconic earpiece he needed, because he obviously couldn't stay in his phone for his trial with Kurumi. Speaking of whom as he adjusted the piece into his ear, that's when the new Spirit in question showed up.

"Thanks again for agreeing to show me around school. You going to show me a good time?" Asked the Mysterious self-proclaimed Spirit, which of course was later confirmed by Kotori.

"I could, but I don't think you can handle it… not yet, anyway." Michael said as he smirked in-between the sentence break, slightly flirting with Kurumi, which she didn't seem to mind... what? He was supposed to hang around an attractive girl anyway, right? No one said he couldn't flirt a bit. In fact, she appeared to like it due to her smile getting a little bigger and her giving a giggle in a low tone, so it was working. This WAS the job... the whole point of the 'dating' part of this operation, wasn't it?

"SLOW DOWN, CASANOVA!" Kotori's voice yelled into Michael's earpiece rather loudly. "Your supposed to show her around the school, not flirt with her in the classroom! We don't even know her personality traits yet!"

"You can just say your jealous, ya know that?" Michael responded back in a calm voice. While he couldn't see his little sister, he could feel her seething with rage. "I can take care of this my way, why not trust my judgement for once?"

"Your judgement?" Kotori repeated, offended her authority was being questioned. "And why would a professional like me even entertain that idea?"

"Because every time you professionals butt in; I get hurt, or something blows up." Michael sassed back.

Kotori was of course burning with annoyance upon her authority being questioned, but was prevented when Reine spoke up. "He has a point," she began. "There have been times where our assistance has lead to rather unfavorable consequences. First there was the issue with Tohka's name, then Yoshino's rampage toward the dam…"

"I'm gonna stop ya right there, Sleepy." Michael butted in. There was no time for this, and he didn't need Kurumi getting suspicious so he decided to wrap it up. "Simply put: I don't need the Munchkin Gallery giving me dating advice every 5 seconds that may or may not even work. So instead of risking making the wrong call and risk more lives, let me handle it unless I ask!" Michael added, which did give Kotori some pause. "You need me to seal Spirits before the Mecha-Mecha squad guns them down, right? So if we're gonna be working together, the least we can do is start trusting each other!" Michael went on.

"Are you okay? Your muttering to yourself." Kurumi asked, sounding genuinely concerned although that mysterious smile never left her face. Michael quickly came up with an excuse.

"Oh, just nerves. Gotta make a good first impression." He said.

Kurumi giggled. "Don't worry… I won't bite" she said.

"Why don't I believe you?" Michael asked, jokingly. Kotori deadpanned. It didn't help that Kurumi's Happiness Meter went a few points above Normal, which proved Michael's point... even if she was the commander of this whole operation, considering he had the ability they need, maybe she could trust him a bit... she trusted her as her big brother/roommate after all.

Kurumi and Michael then left the classroom together. As they did, Kotori felt and heard her phone ding. Taking it out, she noticed she had gotten a new text from Michael, which said: I'll signal if need you. The camera cuts back to show Michael putting his phone away as he and Kurumi walked side-by-side down the hall. However, Tohka peeked out from the classroom door, watching them go.

"So where's our first romantic getaway going to be?" Kurumi asked.

"Slow down, Juliet," Michael said, cooly. "Gotta take our time with these things…" he continued, then added after a pause and looking at her with a smile: "I'll show you the Nurse's Office if your a good girl."

"*giggle* What happened to slowing down?" Kurumi 'asked'.

"There's no slowing down in the medical field… lives are on the line." Michael said, both students openly flirting with each other again.

"Hmmmmm… promise to take good care of me, doctor?" Kurumi batted her eyes once, though only one eye could be seen due to her hair.

"I'll give you a lollipop to suck on." Michael continued to flirt, which Kurumi only continued to smile at.

"Someone kill me…" Kotori groaned. She didn't know how to feel about this. On one hand, it looked like her brother knew what he was doing. But on the other, that was also the problem, as Kurumi's Happiness continued a steady climb upwards, essentially proving Michael's point.

"Let's just start with the Cafeteria for now… keep things clean." Michael suggested.

"Fair enough." Said Kurumi in a kind voice and smile, agreeing with the taller teen.

"What is Michael doing with that new girl?" Tohka asked aloud, starting to feel the same emotions during the Yoshino incident. No stomping the ground in anger or causing a hole in the car then street this time, but just minor levels of jealousy. She of course knew what was going on, as Kurumi openly ask for help (which Tohka did not approve of), but she couldn't help it.

"Whatever she's trying to pull, she'll have to go through me…" Origami said, appearing above Tohka, which made the Bottomless Pit make a pouty-face and look up at the Human Mecha-Mecha while growing a forehead vein.

XXX

"Don't ask me why, but Yakisoba Bread is very popular… not much of a fan to be honest." Michael said as he was showing Kurumi the lunch menu. This was a free period for them anyway, and lunch was in a few hours. Maybe if Michael was lucky, he could even have lunch with her too, which wasn't so unappealing now that he thought about it. Plus, it would also serve to fill up that Happiness Meter even more.

"Hmm… interesting…" Kurumi said.

"Personally, the Egg Sandwich is probably the best thing on here, though Durian and Croquette are close seconds." Michael suggested… though he didn't get an answer this time, which was odd. "Kurumi? Are you liste…?" He asked, but then stopped when he turned toward her, only to be inches from her face! "OOOOOOH-KAY!" He quickly backed off, taken by surprise Kurumi had put her face so close to his. No she wasn't bad to look at, but it caught him off guard all the same.

Kurumi giggled a bit before speaking. "Sorry. Did I startle you?" She asked.

"Yeah. Kinda." He admitted, for it would be pointless to deny it.

"My apologies. Its a little difficult for a girl to focus with such a strong, handsome man standing 2 feet in front of her." Kurumi said, either being honest and/or flirty again. Michael wasn't gonna lie, her compliment did get him for a second.

"Sealing doesn't work if only you fall for her, brother." Came Kotori's voice through the earpiece.

"Be quiet. I'm not that hard up." Michael muttered dryly.

"Kurumi is quite different from other Spirits we've faced so far." Reine said.

"Hopefully big bro can keep his pants on." Kotori said.

"I will stomp on this Bluetooth…" Michael muttered dryly.

"LIKE HELL YOU WILL!" Kotori yelled at him... these earpieces weren't cheap mind you.

Clearing his throat, Micheal focused back on Kurumi, awaiting his response. "Your gonna have to try a little harder to get me. I'm not as easy as the ones in homeroom" said Michael, mentioning he was the only one not to have the same over-the-top reaction to Kurumi's looks upon entering their classroom as their classmates did. That's not to say he didn't find her attractive in any way…

"I see…" Kurumi looked like she was zoning out again like when she stared at Micheal just moments ago.

"... I go great with ketchup." Michael joked.

"I prefer Szechuan sauce..."

"Oooh... a spicy girl."

Kotori wanted to repeat her 'kill me' line again, but it wouldn't have made a difference... Michael would respond and get her more annoyed, giving him a metaphorical win. She just stuck with groaning. The duo of Kurumi and Michael continued down the hall to the next destination. Little did they know up ahead by the stairs, Tohka and Origami were searching for them.

"Where'd they go?" Tohka asked.

"They couldn't have gone far. The speed of their walking would have put them here 43 seconds ago." Origami said, being weirdly specific again, then added: "Unless Kurumi Tokisaki stopped and pushed him against a wall… then began biting his earlobe… followed by probably putting a hand down his…"

"NOOOOOOO!" Tokha cried and interrupting her human rival, her arms waving up and down rapidly... course she didn't understand half the things Origami just said, but she didn't like the sound of them either. "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UUUUP! Michael would NEVER let someone do that to him! He'd NEVER do that to MEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Guess I'll have to try harder to wile you…"

"You've got a loooooong way to go…"

Both Origami and Tohka froze up, recognizing the voices of Kurumi and Michael respectively, and they were heading this way! Panicking, they looked around for a place to hide and when they saw it, the camera cuts to Michael and Kurumi walking to the staircase Origami and Tohka were at and just as they arrived, a door quickly slammed shut.

"So what school did you come from before here?" Michael asked Kurumi as they approached the stairs, neither him or Kurumi not even registering the sound the door made and didn't notice it. Not even the cameras of Fraxinus picked it up.

"OW! Stop pushing me!" Whispered Tohka from inside the door, which we then zoom into to see both her and Origami in a small supply closet, their ears pushed up against its door trying to listen to the conversation outside.

"Be quiet. They'll hear us." Origami warned in whisper, slightly opening the door just a crack for visibility.

"I already told you, I'm a Spirit." Kurumi said.

"Yeah, I got that, its just... uh…" Michael then looked at the camera with his eyes for a quick second, also raising his eyebrows quickly once, which was one of the invisible cameras from the battleship that kept eyes on him at all times. He normally never looked at one directly before so…

That was it! That was the signal! "He's on the spot! Choices!" Kotori ordered and sure enough, 3 questions spawned on screen:

1) What do you mean by, Spirit?

2) Did you hear something before we got here?

3) Kurumi, what kind of panties are you wearing?

"I say we go for option 3… just to see her panties." Said Kyouhei, being the usual pervert he was. With a snap of Kotori's fingers, he was then dragged away by some security staff. "Wait! Commander! Have mercy! HAVE MERCCCCCCYYYYYY-YY-YY-YYYYYY!" Kotori then sighed as Kyouhei added in the distance: "You can't tell me no one else thinks of these things! It's for the mission!" But she just tuned him out.

"… what kind of panties are you wearing?" Kotori repeated one of the answers while leaning forward. "How did that pervy choice slip in there?"

"I'm asking what about her panties?" Michael asked, the shock of what he heard from Kotori making him mutter a little louder... which Kurumi heard.

"Panties? What about my panties?" Kurumi repeated. Kotori was shocked. Why the hell did he make that choice for?! She didn't tell him to say anything, so why did…?

...

She slowly looked down to confirm her fears, for her elbow was on top of the mics 'On' button. "YOU IDIOT! THAT WASN'T WHAT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SAY! I WAS READING THE CHOICES TO MYSELF!"

"Then why'd you have the fucking microphone on?!" Michael turned his body as he asked this in an annoyed whisper, covering his ear and mouth with his hand so Kurumi couldn't read his lips or see his expression. Seriously, this was exactly what he was talking about…

"Just change the subject! QUICKLY!" Kotori shouted back.

"Some Captain you are!" Michael whisper-shouted back to Kotori.

"You want to take a peek?" Kurumi asked, her tone of voice not having changed.

Michael then turned back to Kurumi, and bowed in apology. "Sorry, that was out of nowhere. I should take you…" he was gonna say take you out to dinner first before asking such a generous request to joke around a bit more, but that's when Kurumi's words actually registered in his brain. "… hah?" He looked back up, questioning what he just heard.

"I don't mind… as long as its you." Kurumi said, not appearing the least bit phased by the perverted question. Her Meter didn't go up or down either, just stayed stagnant, proving it didn't bother her in the slightest. Kotori even gaped on her end.

'... She did not just say that. Girls don't actually say that unless its a harem mag or hentai anime!' Michael added to himself.

Kurumi then climbed up a few steps of the stairs to get a little above Michael's height, then clasped the bottom of her skirt. She began to lift it up, though slowly and one side at a time in a teasing fashion. Michael couldn't take his eyes off the sight due to the boldness of this girl. Even the crew of Fraxinus were completely taken by surprise, especially Tohka and Origami, who were peeking out of the door so you can see one eye from each of them. Kurumi's smirk got a little bigger, and had almost lifted up her skirt to show what kind of underwear was hidden underneath, but just as she was about to reveal them…

"Alright!" Michael put a hand up, blocking view for him and anyone behind the fourth wall. "That's enough fanservice for now." He said, then turned away. Geez. He didn't actually think he'd ever be involved in some anime trope, and it literally made his heart race. While he was a Man of Culture and was proud of that fact, this was real life, and he couldn't bring himself to continue; least until he had an actual girlfriend again.

"Hehe... Your so cute when you get all flustered and shy." Kurumi said, dropping her skirt so it returned to its normal position. The Fraxinus crew along with Tohka and Origami exhaled some air, them all having held it from Kurumi's VERY open nature.

"Its not shyness that stopping me…" Michael claimed, calming himself down. "Anyway… what did you mean by your a Spirit? Like, you some kind of Youkai or something?" He added, acting like he had no idea what this girl was talking about.

Kurumi gave her signature giggle before answering him. "You don't have to play dumb with me. I think you know exactly what I mean…" She said, then added with a narrowed eye: "Haven't you sealed 2 of them already?"

The Spirit's comment caught Kotori by surprise, but in a suspicious way. So this Spirit was well aware of Michael's abilities and what he has done? Kurumi wasn't done just yet and walked down a few steps so she could hold onto Michael's shoulders and lean into his back, which did get him to react but he didn't do anything to stop it. "Tohka's cutting up a forest… Yoshino's forecast of rain…" She then leaned in closer to speak into his ear. "Yes. You know allll about them… inside and out… don't you, Michael?"

The reveal she even knew about Tohka and Yoshino gave Michael pause (not to mention a chill down his spine with a cute girl whispering into his ear). How did she know all this? Was she present when it all happened, she just never triggered a Space Quake like Tohka did for their first date? Or has she been on Earth for a while and just never bothered revealing herself until now? Neither of these mattered because there it was... the way she said his name...

"... choosing me as an escort wasn't an accident, was it?" Michael theorized while turning his head to face her leaning on his shoulder, not caring this time her face was even closer than it was earlier. "... I remember... it was you... back at the fair..."

When he said this, a flashback played of him and Tohka getting away from the love hotel... and Kurumi was shown this time lurking in the shadows between buildings. Then Michael went to the bathroom, being knocked out by Kurumi as well... and not only that... the final flashback was him looking up a blurry feminine face, that hauntingly sweet voice saying she'll see him soon... it was her too.

"So that was it? You've been stalking me since day one, only to transfer to my school out of the blue?" This wasn't exactly an accusation, more like a 'I figured you out now why did you do it' question. He was thankful, for it did save his life whether Kurumi knew or not, but he still had to know.

Kurumi still smiled. He was smart, she'll give him that. "Hmm, I guess that's one way to put it," the Spirit finally backed off Michael's back as she answered him, not denying the accusation either. "Though the truth is, ever since I first saw you, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I've been hoping you'd notice me, but your attention was always somewhere else." Kurumi admitted as she stepped down one stair at a time, eventually getting off them and standing directly in front of Michael, also gently grabbing and caressing one of his hands with both of her own. This did get another reaction from our hero as he felt how soft her hands were.

"Guess what? I think I've developed a little crush on you, and I'm so happy we've finally got the chance to be alone… now I have a tiny favor to ask, if you think you can handle it." Kurumi finished, keeping eye contact with Michael's eyes the entire time.

Michael could only guess what was going on back on his sisters end. Either this was some kind of act, or this girls Happiness Meter must have gone through the roof. She sounded genuine enough, and the mysterious aura around her gave her a charm Michael could not ignore even if he tried. Whatever the case was, he went along with it, as this could be his chance to either ask her out right now, or unless that was the favor she was gonna ask anyway. Nevertheless, he squeezed her hands back with the one she was holding, which she did get her only visible eye to slightly widen before recovering upon realizing what he was doing, both participants aware of what the other was doing and having no objections to it whatsoever.

"Well... I guess I do owe you for saving my life. Direct or indirect... I think I can handle anything my mysterious new friend can throw at me." Michael said, returning her smile, his tone being flirtatious again.

"Oh good. We're on the same page then... although, this is coming from the guy who can't handle a simple panty-shot." Kurumi fired back, keeping her smile while also matching the obvious flirty teasing.

"Its not that I couldn't handle it, I'm just more of a… sophisticated kind of guy."

"Really now? A sophisticated guy… How sophisticated are we talking about?"

"Why don't you try to find out?"

They both stood there in silence for a bit without uttering a single word after their back and forth, both Spirit and Sealer seemingly mesmerized by the other individual from the constant exchanges, nor letting go of they're joined hands. Tohka and Origami also pushed the door a little more for more visibility, but that was ultimately too far and…

TRIP!

Tohka: AHHHHHHH!

SPLAT!

The sudden sound broke Kurumi and Michael out of their trace and glanced over to the source of the sound, pretty much ruining the mood and the moment. They ended up seeing Tohka on top of Origami from behind, both on the floor, and in front of a supply closet with a single broom on one side of them. Both were groaning upon falling to the ground.

"Why am I not surprised…" Michael asked himself out loud.

"Ara Ara. How awkward. Were you both peeking in on us on our romantic rendezvous?" Kurumi asked the new girls.

"N-No! I just looking for Michael! That's all!" Tohka declared, wiping the dust off herself.

"In the broom closet?" Michael questioned, obviously not believing her.

"Students are not allowed to hold hands on school grounds. Let him go." Origami demanded Kurumi to do.

"Says one of the two girls coming out of the closet…" Michael said. Plus he was unaware of any such rule that Origami obviously just made it up. The amount of times she grabbed his hand on campus when they used to go out...

What Kurumi ended up doing was returning the squeezing Michael did to her hands. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that," she said, correctly assuming one or both of these new girls also had a crush on him, and felt the urge to exploit it. "I have a dire case of anemia and Michael was generous enough to offer his hands and body, so should I faint…" Kurumi then leaned a little closer to Michael… DIRECTLY. Into Michael. "I'd safely fall into his strong, waiting arms."

The very second Kurumi said that, Origami slowly fell to her knees with a pale face. "Uhhhh… my anemia…"

Michael didn't bother to move or help as that was an obvious lie. 'Seriously? Can she come up anything less original?' He thought.

"Ha! You two look so pathetic right now." Tohka said with a confident smile and folded arms, but then frowned before also copying Origami's facial expression... except she began shaking her body back and forth for some reason. "Wait… my anemones affecting me too…"

Again, Michael did not move, only stare. Tohka really mixed up the words anemia and anemone… the things he puts up with for the girls in his life. He didn't even bother correcting her this time, he just slowly looked at Kurumi. "... Can I have this back?" He asked while tugging his arm, as Kurumi still had hold over it. Once she let go and backed off of his body as the joke was pretty much over, "Thanks." He thanked, then immediately and audibly facepalmed himself with that same hand.

"Wow. Their really fighting over him?" Asked the all-too familiar voice of Aii, which meant the other 2 members of her trio weren't far behind.

'Oh, great…' Micheal thought to himself as he pulled down the hand in his face, not happy they were around.

"Is he trying to hook up with the transfer student already? It hasn't even been a day yet!" Said Mai.

Before Mii could recite the only 3 words in her vocabulary, Michael turned and blurted out to the trio: "DON'T YOU THREE HAVE SOMEWHERE LAME TO BE?!"

XXX

"Transferring to a school legitimately?... I'll give her credit for being creative." Ryouko said, as she and the AST were tracking Kurumi as well, well aware now she was in Michael's school but just not aware of her intentions.

"She's not a typical Spirit..." Mana said out of the blue. "She's deadlier than she looks... over 10 thousand people died by her hand." She added, oddly calmly as a matter of fact, as if she was able to stomach that easily.

"10... thousand...?" Ryouko asked.

"That's excluding any Space Quake deaths..." Mana added again.

"Holy shit..."

XXX

A bit later during lunch, Michael got himself an Egg Sandwich as he usually did, and took a seat in the cafeteria. Tohka and Origami weren't around… least not yet. Those 2 rarely left him alone, which was sweet so they did care about him (not to mention the latter probably felt awful for shooting him in the head), its just he needed time to himself at times. So much had happened in his short time here. Now he had to date said Spirits to get them to calm down and for some reason, kissing them on the lips sealed their powers. He tried the cheek with Yoshino, but no dice. Why did he have this ability? Was he the only one or did that just normally happen? He might never know. What he DID know, its been a crazy life ever since, now he was living with 3 girls and 2 of them needed to remain emotionally stable or something blows up... what a life. He heard Japan wasn't easy to live in, but geez.

"Is this seat taken?" Said a sweet voice, interrupting Michael's thoughts. He looked behind him to see…

"Speak of the Devil," he said while looking at the person with a smile. "Or in this case: Spirit." He added as the camera cut to none other than Kurumi standing behind him, also panning upwards on herself. Of course, she was wearing that mysterious smile again. "Always room for one more…" he offered her a seat at the table he was using, and he was the only one at this table before she showed up.

As you'd probably expect, Kurumi took the seat directly next to him. She didn't have any lunch at all. Not even a single snack or something, which confused Michael. Tohka loved to eat, hence the reason he called her The Bottomless Pit; and though Yoshino would eat smaller portions that were normal for her age, she liked eating as well. Just thinking about it made the former Westerner chuckle to himself, as the little blue-haired bunny girl could honestly be cute at times.

"Not hungry?" He had to ask.

"Oh, I had a little snack earlier," Kurumi said, then gave one of her soft giggles again. "Handsome, strong, and sweet… not many boys with that combination…" she began flirting with him.

"More like: none with an actual personality" Michael said, then took a bite of his sandwich. Kurumi gave another small giggle, then stared at Michael, apparently zoning out again. Michael did notice this and glanced at her. "… Losing focus again?" He asked, quoting her from earlier.

"Sorry. I just can't help it." She admitted while smiling.

"I already told ya, if your gonna eat me, I go best with ketchup." Michael said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. As he did this, Kurumi once again stared, but also smiled a bit wider, thinking of another way to mess with him.

"Actually, I changed my mind. Maybe I will get something to eat" She said, making eye contact with him. Though as Michael looked back, she was glancing at something else, which was his precious sandwich.

"No! Get your own!" He played along, hugging his Egg Sandwich close to his body while turning his body away as if to protect it.

"Can't handle an indirect kiss either?" Kurumi teased him, leaning a bit closer to him.

"I'm sophisticated!" Michael proclaimed. "Besides… this is my baby!" He then used one finger to point to the object in question. "I eat her every day!" He added another joke while stroking the top-most bun, fully aware of the double meaning his wording caused.

"Just a bite." Kurumi got even closer, this time also reaching for the food item.

"No! She's taken!" Michael said, leaning backward and also using his arms to keep 'his baby' out of the Spirits reach.

"Maybe she'll like girl on girl ti-…."

"No!"

"One mome-…"

"Back off!"

"It'll only take a-…"

"Never!"

Both teens kept arguing about the sandwich like 2 idiots back and forth, with Kurumi getting closer and Michael getting farther, as well as holding his lunch out of Kurumi's arms reach. As this kept going on with Michael probably gonna fall back at any second, the both of them then became aware of how close they both had gotten. Kurumi was pretty much on top of him at this point, and the distance between their faces was almost non-existent.

Either Kurumi knew what she was doing and this was her plan, or this went farther than she originally planned for she looked just as surprised as he did. A few seconds upon holding the position, they both fell off the seats. Both groaned a bit with closed eyes, and Michael was shown on his back and opening his eyes to see his beloved sandwich was on the floor, its layers all over.

"… she was so young…" He said in a low, almost crying tone (which was probably half a joke in itself), reaching to his fallen love. Dropping the act, he looked at the girl who had fallen on him, whose head was in his chest. "You okay?" He asked Kurumi.

"Yes… I'm fine…" was the first thing Kurumi said, but then lifted her head to look directly at him with a look that could only be described as highly seductive and flirtatious. "My anemone must've kicked in again…" She answered, making fun of Tohka's mistake from earlier.

Also… where was that jazz music coming from?

"Its a good thing such a strong boy was there to catch me…" Kurumi continued, leaning in a bit closer, which did get Michael's face to redden a bit.

"L-Like you said… strong and sweet." Michael said. "Listen… can we not do this now?"

"Why? What's stopping us?" Kurumi asked, keeping the same energy.

"Oh, COME ON!"

"First Origami and Tokha, now the transfer?!"

"That's so lame."

That was said by 2 random males, then a certain female of a certain trio. Looking in the direction of the voices, both Kurumi and Michael noticed they had attracted a bit of attention from some other students due to the commotion the two of them generated. Some were in sitting positions or standing (some with or without food), but they all had the same reaction: Surprise and/or annoyance/jealously.

"Them." Michael added at a hushed, yet dry volume. The jazz stopped playing by this point. "You mind?" He asked Kurumi, and she got the message, so she got off him, another joke over. She sat on top of him before officially getting off the boy, which there was probably no reason for other than balance. He followed suit and sat up before standing up and getting back to the table he originally sat at… only to see Tohka with a tray piled high with food staring at them with her mouth open. She wasn't in a bad mood… yet. She was mostly in shock as the others were.

"…" Michael was silent for a bit before answering, pointing at Kurumi with his thumb. "She was hungry."

XXX

At the end of the day as evening fell, Michael began leaving school finally, but was followed by Tokha who refused to let go of his arm. Thankfully she wasn't mad about the trip he took with Kurumi during lunch, but didn't let him or her out of her sight for the rest of that day (logical explanation or not). Kurumi also followed Michael out, much to Tohka'a chagrin, but decided to keep quiet about it.

"Thank you so much for showing me around today. It was very sweet of you." Kurumi said kindly, bowing to the young man in front of her.

"Sure thing. At least today wasn't boring." Michael said.

"It was really fun with you around, Michael. I hope we can spend more time together soon." Kurumi said, then took a few steps forward. This did cause Tohka tighten her grip of Michael, but not to the point of being painful. Just noticeable. Once Kurumi got close again, she leaned up to Michael's ear. "And maybe next time, we'll try the Nurse's Office..." She whispered VERY softly into his ear before backing off. In fact, it was the same ear that had the earpiece, so did she know the whole time or was that just a coincidence she happened to pick that ear?… Michael wouldn't put it past her.

Kurumi held her position in front of him and Tohka for a few seconds before giggling and giving a cute head cock with closed eyes. "I'll see you both tomorrow!" With that, she finally turned away and took off down the path off school grounds, to the point of almost skipping. Tohka continued to watch her leave, concern on her face.

"That girl will be the death of me…" Michael sighed after waiting till Kurumi was out of earshot.

"The death of you?! What did she do?! Did she hurt you?! I knew there was something weird about her!" Tohka immediately panicked, gripping his arm even tighter and while this did kind of hurt, he ignored it. He rolled his eyes at the Spirits response as she continued to speak about it.

"Tohka. Tohka!" Calling her twice seemed to snap her out of it. "Relax. It's just a metaphor." He explained to calm her down.

"Metaphor?…" Tohka repeated, then for some reason looked around. Did she sense something? "... I don't see any Metal Fours around here. Does she have one?"

Michael deadpanned and kept that face for a full 6 seconds. He then gently pulled away from the airhead, getting his arm free and began walking home. "Michael? What's wrong?" Tohka began following him as the camera panned upwards toward the setting sun.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." He said, dryly.

Tohka: No. Your annoyed again. Did I stay something wrong?

Michael: It's fine, Tohka; just drop it.

Tohka: I'm sorry! What did I do wrong?

Michael: (starts losing some patience but remains calm by speaking through his teeth) Nothing.

Tohka: Was it about the anemone? Or the Metal 4?… Michael! Just tell m…

Michael: (yells) It's a figure of SPEECH!

XXX

Some distance away, Kurumi was still on her way home or considering she was a Spirit, maybe she was passing the time by strolling around town for a bit before she left the human world. As she continued on her journey, her walking became full skipping, and her smile was the brightest it had ever been. "~Mikey, Mikey. Handsome Mikey. Sweet, munchy, tasty Mik…~ Oh!" Kurumi was singing to herself out loud, but stopped herself once she realized what she was doing, also blushing at her antics. "Don't get yourself overexcited, girl," she told herself, again out loud, also stopping her skipping and walked normally. "Pretty soon, it'll be…

BUMP!

While her mind drifted elsewhere, she walked right into a punk, making him drop his canned drink. "Ara. I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention." She said kindly, but that wasn't gonna fly for this guy, or his two friends that appeared from the alley they were huddled in. They normally would have gotten physical, but seeing as this was an attractive girl, they opted for a different kind of physical.

"Your gonna have do something more a simple sorry, babe." Said one punk.

"She's looking real fine."

"How much you wanna bet she's the high school slut?"

Once they said those things to her, Kurumi went into flirty-mode, only it wasn't like the one with Michael. It was… very different. "Oh, pardon me. So sorry about the bump… perhaps I can make it up to you three with a... different kind of bump…"

"Hot damn! See, I told you!" Said the third punk, thinking he was right about Kurumi being the school slut.

"You guys stand back, I'm going first. " Said the second punk.

Kurumi did one of her signature giggles before answering. "Don't be greedy. There's plenty to snack on." Kurumi then walked in-between the trio and down the alley. They of course, followed her while fueled with lust… which didn't last long as when they got out of camera-shot, one of them screamed before it was cut off. This followed with another scream as a truck went down the road they were just on, flattening the canned drink and making what was left in it explode out. Finally, one of the punks, fear written all over his face, tried running away… but some white arms extended from the darkness of the alley and grabbed both his legs, making him fall hard on the street before being pulled back into said darkness as his eyes showed genuine horror. He begged and screamed for mercy/help/etc., even as he tried fighting off the arms in vain… but his voice also cut mid-sentence just like his friends after about two seconds of returning down that alleyway.

The only thing left in this alley was blood all over the place… with Kurumi in dead center of it. "Thanks for the quick bite, boys," she said to no one in particular as she licked her lips. "Soon… it'll be time for the main course…" she continued, as a mental image of Michael flashed in her mind.

Then, a flash of light appeared before Kurumi, but she wasn't even surprised. "Oh, you showed up... late for dinner as usual, I see."

The person she was talking to was revealed to be Mana, except the vibe she gave off wasn't like the cutesy energetic one from before. "... You really need to clean up after you eat, or learn to eat cleaner... Nightmare..."