Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ow. My head’s killing me, I…..wait who even am I? The blood oozing out of my own head and onto my face, is really clouding my vision and thoughts.

Let me piece this together. I got hit by a semi-truck, now i’m lying on the side of the road, bleeding from every place you really don’t want to be bleeding from, so yeah things aren’t exactly going great.

Guess I should’ve actually listened in grade school when they taught us to look both ways before crossing the street. It wasn’t like it was exactly rocket science or anything.

Fuck who was I again? I can’t even remember my name and it’s really beginning to bug me, it’s probably from all the blood loss, that or it could maybe be shock.

Either way, the voices around me sound like they’re underwater. All I can focus on is the sound of my beating heart, which is slowly becoming quieter and quieter.

A woman nearby pulls her son close, shielding his eyes from what I assume is my pretty horrific scene. Through the haze, I see the driver slumped over the wheel, unconscious. Airbag did its job. Someone else is on the phone, probably calling 911.

I won’t make it in time. But hey, points for trying.

So this is it? No white light. No angels. No entirety of my life flashing through my eyes? Just my blood that was once in my head beginning to fill my eyes, tainting the once white pupils.

All I can feel is my body beginning to get weaker and weaker, as if it’s giving up on itself, my heartbeat gets slower, and slower until it just….stops and now I'm dead.

My eyes are essentially flashed with a white light as a muffled voice drifts into my ears. Suddenly, I jolt awake in a warm, cozy bed one way too comfy to be a hospital one.

Before I can process where I am, something heavy slams into my chest.

“Big Brother! Big Brother, get up!”

Big Brother? I have a sister, sure, but first she’d never act like this, second I was the youngest in my family, so I never got called ‘Big Brother’.

“Come on! Get up!”

Suddenly I feel sharp pain in my chest, this girl kicked me! This little bitch actually kicked me!

What the hell?! I nearly died, and this is how I’m treated?!

I throw the covers off and stare at the girl bouncing on the bed. She’s cute, pinkish-red hair, twin tails, ribbons, like she walked straight out of an anime.

Who the hell is she?! And why is she jumping around in my new comfy bed-?!

Okay deep breaths. Losing it won’t help. I need to stay calm and start asking questions if I want answers.

I took a deep breath and asked my first question to this stranger.

“Hey! Why are you jumping on me, and kicking me?!”

“Because you need to get up! You don’t wanna be late on your first day!”

First day? I glance around the room and realize that it's a clean and tidy bedroom with a distinctly Japanese style. As I glance in the mirror, I see a Japanese teenager who looks eerily like Shido Itsuka staring back at me.

Oh my God it all makes sense now, I am now somehow the main character from the anime Date A Live talk about some bullshit isekai plot, everything now clicks into place: the girl jumping on me must be Kotori Itsuka, his, and now, I suppose, my little sister.

“So get up already!”

She attempts another kick, but my ribs are already in pain so no thank you. I try to recall how Shido dealt with her before.

Not to brag, but I’ve watched all five seasons of Date a Live and considered reading the light novels…..I never got around to it but I still have a good grasp of Date a Live knowledge.

Remembering Shido’s original actions, I put on the scariest voice I can muster and say, in my deepest tone.

“Run, Kotori… run…”

She immediately freezes mid-attack, her eyes widening with concern. Impressive. She’s a really good actor, honestly with talent like that I don’t blame Shido for being completely fooled.

“Big Brother?”

“I’ve contracted a new virus…..called the tickle virus”

“What?!”

Without warning, I scream and lunge at her. She lets out a squeal of fake terror and bolts out of the room.

Even if it was all pretend, I couldn’t stop laughing, as the youngest in my own family, I never got moments like this.

I now fully get up, stretch and go to the bathroom to take a look at myself in the mirror and staring back at me isn’t my usual face, nope it’s the face of Shido Itsuka with his blueish-blackish hair and brown-ish eyes.

“Wow talk about an anime character come to life”

Woah, even my voice sounds like his. Now that I realize it, I was speaking in Japanese which did make sense everything that Kotori had said I understood perfectly. I could still talk in English as well, it felt like I had some leeway already, eh learning Japanese would have been a pain anyway.

This does suck a bit, though, I don’t have any of Shido’s memories. How am I even supposed to get to school?

As if answering my question, a sharp pain struck my head so intensely that I genuinely felt like I might throw up.

“What the hell was that?”

I muttered aloud, and quickly realized that now all of Shido’s memories were in my head.

Thankfully, I still felt like myself, I didn’t feel like Shido Itsuka at all. It was more like I had simply acquired his memories and had them stored away in my mind.

Only downside was that I had a minor headache, but I say it was a fair trade.

I always wondered what this felt like for other isekai characters, I guess I know now.

Wait did I technically get isekai’d?

I mean, I was killed and woke up in another world with magical powers…Yeah, that definitely qualifies I say.

There was another thing that unnerved me, the way reincarnated people in iseaki’s just took over someone else’s life.

Characters like Rudeus got a pass since the original baby was stillborn, no harm done, but me? My situation’s different.

I stepped into someone’s fully formed life, Friends, Family. an entire future and I took it away, that stung a little.

Still… somewhere out there, the real Shido Itsuka is living his life in peace, this is probably just some alternate reality right?

I told myself that to comfort myself, even if I didn’t really believe it.

Either way, there’s no undoing it now, no take-back’s.

I stood up from my crouched position over the toilet, washed my face, and got dressed in the school uniform.

Honestly, I wouldn’t have even remembered the name of the school if it weren’t for Shido’s memories, I don’t think they mentioned it that often in the anime.

As I headed downstairs, I spotted Kotori crouched behind the coffee table, whispering to herself about tickling and viruses.

‘Really good actor’

I crept around behind the couch and gave her a quick scare, she jumped letting out a little yelp.

“Relax. It’s just me your nice, dependable big brother, Shido.”

“A-Are you sure?” she asked, still a little shaken.

“Yes, yes. It is I your amazing, irreplaceable big brother.”

I said with mock pride.

Kotori seemed to cheer up after that, and I couldn’t resist to reach out and gently pat her head.

Having a younger sibling was something I never got to experience being the youngest so I enjoyed the new experience.

After that I started making breakfast, only mildly surprised at how well I knew my way around the kitchen,
probably thanks to Shido’s memories, another unexpected perk.

As I cooked, I found myself thinking about this new life.

If I really wanted to, I could just settle in, live a quiet peaceful life. Go to school, keep my head down, maybe fall for a sweet girl and build something normal. Stay far, far away from anything spirit-related.

But let’s be honest, I knew better than that, Shido Itsuka didn’t just “exist.” He was created, born from Mio’s obsession with Shinji. And now, just to make things more complicated, I’ve somehow inherited Shinji’s memories too, Awesome. Emotional baggage and an identity crisis with two different personalities, great combo.

Still… maybe those memories will come in handy down the line.

But there’s something else I’ve been thinking about, and that is the classic harem route.

Yeah, I know how that sounds. But come on Shido had a whole squad of beautiful women practically throwing themselves at him, and in the end, he only picked Tohka.
Which, okay, I get it. She was the first. She understood him. She loved him without conditions. Noble choice.

But me? I’ve got a different perspective.

First of all Origami would be the easiest to reach emotionally distant sure, but that just makes progress easier to track, then Tohka. A little patience, some effort, and she’s a lock.

After that? Honestly, it’d be a domino effect. One by one, they’d fall into place.

Sure, it’ll take time but I’ve got nothing but time.
Literally. I think i’m immortal now.

And who’s to say I have to stick to canon?

Reine? Or I guess Mio? Totally an option, that white-haired Kurumi doppelgänger from the OVA? Haven’t even seen it, but based on appearances alone yeah, she looks great.

As I finished breakfast and came to a simple conclusion: I either wanted a nice, big harem… or to be happy with just one girl.

Realistically? I was aiming for the harem route obviously.

As Kotori started eating, I casually brought up lunch I gotta move the plot along, after all.

She said she wanted food from a diner, which immediately clicked. I remembered this part from the original story.
Diner. Spatial quake. Shido goes looking for Kotori. Meets Tohka. Cue the beginning of everything.

I needed that to happen, so after a little back and forth some fake resistance, a few well-placed sighs I gave in.

It was always part of the plan. I am a smart cookie, after all.

…Damn. Now I want cookies.

It was now break, and I found myself chatting with Tonomachi in my new class, nice enough guy, if you ignore the weird vibes. There’s definitely something off about him could be harmless eccentricity, could be something else, Jury’s still out on recess.

So far, everything was playing out just like in the anime, I said goodbye to Kotori in front of the diner.

Right on cue, those three background girls, whose names not even Shido remembered called me a siscon and said I was lame.

Honestly? Not the worst insult I’ve gotten.

Then I bumped into Tonomachi, and yeah, he’s weird. Not in a dangerous way, just… awkward. Possibly gay, possibly just incredibly strange. Or both. Who knows?

Origami showed up after that, lowkey stalking me like a ghost with social anxiety. She’s first on my hypothetical affection route, which now that I think about it sounds a lot creepier when I say it in my head.

Then homeroom started, and that’s when we met Miss Okamine, she wasn’t part of Shido’s original harem, but she’s definitely attractive.

…Might be worth considering.

Before I could spiral deeper into the complexity’s of the harem route, the school alarm went off, loud and urgent.

Alright, it’s go time, while everyone else rushed out of the classroom toward the emergency shelter, I slipped out a different exit.

No one noticed, not surprising though. hundreds of students running around in fear, plus it was the first day, Teachers would still be figuring out who’s who.

One missing body wouldn’t be noticed, and besides I had somewhere else I needed to be.

I sprinted down the street, heading straight for the diner, knowing Kotori wouldn’t be there.

But someone else would.

The moment I got close, the block exploded, a surge of energy blasted through the street, sending me flying backward. I hit the ground hard, ears ringing, dust in my lungs. When I managed to push myself up, the air felt different, thicker heavier. Like the world itself was holding its breath.

And there she was, standing in the middle of the chaos, sword drawn, long black hair flowing, and a faint pout on her face.

Tohka Yatogami, or rather… the nameless spirit who would become her.

Right now, she didn’t know who she was, didn’t know this world, and didn’t know me.

But I knew her, and this was the true moment the plot began.

Chapter Text

“You’ve come to kill me, haven’t you?”

Tohka Yatogami or I guess the person who would become her asked me, her voice sharp, the wind around her stirred unnaturally, flicking strands of her dark hair across her face.

Her grip tightened around the massive blade resting on her shoulder.

My entire body froze, hands instinctively rising in an attempt to make myself seem less like a threat, did I think she’d kill me?

No but that didn’t stop my fear of being so close to death again.

“N-Nope. Definitely not here to kill you.”

I replied, forcing a smile despite the pressure in the air and my own fear.

“Just… looking for my little sister, that’s all. Totally normal big brother stuff.”

Tohka narrowed her eyes. She didn’t lower her sword, but she didn’t charge either, I took a slow breath, trying to ignore the tension crackling between us.

Her spirit energy pulsed in the air, oppressive and heavy, like a thunderstorm just seconds from breaking.

She looked suspicious of me, and I could see the war behind her eyes suspicion, loneliness, fear. I wanted to say something else, something to calm her down.

But as of late fate seemed to dislike me.

A shrill mechanical whine cut through the air.

I turned just in time to see a barrage of missiles streaking toward us, the explosions were deafening. My ears rang. The impact kicked up a wall of dust and heat. I ducked behind a half-collapsed concrete barrier, coughing as debris rained down.

Tohka, on the other hand, didn’t flinch.

She stood her ground, arm outstretched, her shield flickering into existence. A translucent purple dome absorbed the missiles like they were nothing more than firecrackers. Her expression wasn’t angry, it was disappointment. “Why don’t they realize how insignificant their attacks are?” she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

Then, in the blink of an eye, she moved.

No hesitation. No wasted motion.

She shot into the air like a comet, blade raised high. The AST members barely had time to react before she was on them slicing through barriers, knocking weapons aside like they were toys. A point-blank shot from Origami hit her square in the chest.

She didn’t even stagger.

This wasn’t even a fight, it was a joke.

And I was just… standing there. Watching. Completely out of my depth.

Tohka turned mid-air, her gaze falling on me. For a second, I felt it that brief, painful flicker of sorrow in her eyes.

She didn’t want this.

She didn’t want to fight.

I looked back at her, but I had nothing. No clever words. No master plan.

Just the overwhelming feeling that I was way in over my head.

I had thought this was going to be simple and easy, how wrong I truly was.

Then I heard something.

A soft thump behind me. Barely audible, but distinct.

I turned slowly and she was standing before me, Origami Tobiichi.

Expression unreadable. Weapon drawn. Close enough to kill me in half a second if she wanted to.

I stared at her like a deer in headlights.

“Uh… hey,” I offered awkwardly. “Origami, right? Fancy seeing you here. Cool outfit. Not exactly casual but… you wear it well.”

‘What is wrong with me? I’m usually not this awkward!’

There was a long pause, a very long pause she blinked once. And just for a second her cheeks tinted pink.

Then she leapt forward, launching herself back into the battle like our conversation never happened.

The sky lit up as Tohka and Origami clashed again. Shockwaves rippled through the city ruins. Energy blasts carved deep scars into the pavement. Glass shattered in buildings already half-destroyed.

Then came the light.

A massive burst of spiritual energy detonated between them. I didn’t have time to react. No cover. No warning.

Just force.

I flew backward, slammed into something metal, and the world spun. My body hit the ground like a ragdoll. Everything burned. My thoughts scrambled.

Vision fading.

Breath shallow.

God, I really hate getting knocked out. Gives me PTSD of my own death… which, by the way, happened like five hours ago.

Then darkness overtook me.

I woke up to a flashlight beaming directly into my retinas.

“Ah Jesus!”

I flinched hard, instinctively sitting up to try and get the light out of my eyes, not the greatest idea ever.

I immediately collided with something soft, and warm, and bouncy.

It was definitely boobs but who’s exactly?

I blinked and leaned back in time to see a truly beautiful woman with glasses and a bit of a mysterious vibe stepping away, totally unfazed by what just happened.

“I’m Reine Murasame,” she said calmly, her tone as flat as her expression. “You can just call me Reine. There’s no need to freak out I assure you, first aid is hardly outside my capabilities.”

Right. Cool. Normal medical checkup. Just ignore the accidental groping.

“Shido Itsuka,” I replied, trying to keep my tone steady.

“Nice to meet you.”

I reached out for a handshake, and she took it.

Her hand was cold, like really cold. Not clammy just cold in that unbothered, distant, “I’ve seen too much” kind of way.

Actually, that kind of summed up her whole vibe—cold hands, colder eyes, emotionally unreadable.

Still, small talk never killed anyone. And if I was going to start building rapport, this was my chance.

I glanced at the stuffed bear stuffed into a pocket on her outfit and pointed toward it.

“Nice bear. Got it from someone important?”

There was a subtle flicker in her expression. Just a tiny shift in her eyes.

“Thank you. It was from… someone special.”

Her voice was soft still monotone, but with something just barely tugging at the edges.

Yeah. That hit her.

Made sense though, she just met the person who she’s loved for ages again and he instantly compliments something he got her without ‘knowing’ it.

“Anyway,” I said, breaking the silence, “would you mind taking me to the big guy in charge? Or big girl. Captain. Commander. Whatever.”

Reine looked at me for a long second. Her face didn’t move, but I could tell she was processing something.

Then, finally, she replied.

“You don’t seem very surprised to wake up in a random medical bay on an unknown vessel.”

I shrugged. “Well, this is obviously some kind of ship. No windows, uniform walls, sterile design. You don’t need to be a genius to guess we’re either in space, underwater, or floating above the city like some military airship.”

“…You’d be correct,” she said. “Please follow me.”

Boom, nailed it i’m slowly regaining my confidence after my stupor with Tohka and Origami.

I’m usually never like that I can make conversation just fine, was it because of how close to death I was?

I followed Reine through the sleek corridors of the ship, keeping my pace casual, now I had to meet with Kotori and get the run down of everything that I already knew.

This was gonna take a while.

I now laid back on my new bed ridiculously soft, unfairly comfortable. It made my old mattress feel like a slab of concrete in comparison. I could really get used to this.

Today had been… a lot.

After waking up post-blast, I’d been patched up and given a whirlwind tour of the Fraxinus, the flying battleship i’d be visiting a lot more often, I’d met the vice-captain some blonde guy whose name I instantly forgot, he was a total pervert and scared me a bit, he wasn’t dangerous. just odd.

Then came the big meeting: Commander Kotori.

My new little sister, now in full military mode.

She gave me the whole rundown Spirits, training, sealing powers. The usual “welcome to the supernatural” debrief. I did my best to look shocked, and I think I pulled it off. Not Oscar-worthy, but solid enough to fool everyone.

They told me I’d start “training” tomorrow. Spirit sealing prep, whatever that actually meant.

But lying there in bed, one thought kept spinning around in my head.

What if I didn’t wait?

What if I started training now?

That thought made me shoot up in bed and gave me a big smile, it took months for Shido to even tap into spirit powers in the original timeline.

If I got a head start now, I could be way ahead of the curve. Hell, maybe even be powerful enough to defend myself by the time Kurumi comes around.

Only problem? Shido hadn’t sealed anyone’s power yet.

But it hit me. He had!

Kotori’s powers were the first to be sealed. Technically, that meant I already had access to them.

Granted, Shido never did much with them besides basic healing. But that’s because he never really trained.

I planned to change that.

I sat up and held out my hand. Took a deep breath.
Focused.

“Okay… fire. Just a little bit of fire. Don’t melt my face.”

It was 9 p.m. currently I bet I could get this by 11 p.m.

It’s 2 a.m. and right now I wanna die, for hours literally hours I tried. I was stuck doing dramatic anime hand poses and deep breathing exercises like some bootleg firebender.

AND NOTHING WORKED!

But just as I was about to give up and call it a night, I felt it.

A tiny spark.

Not just literal heat but something in my chest. A pulse. A current, and I latched onto it.

Then whoosh!

A flicker of flame danced in my palm. Small. Shaky. But real.

I couldn’t help but grin like an idiot.

It wasn’t much, but it was mine. My first real step into this world’s power system.

And then it hit me again like a subtle wave through my head.

The name, the name of the angel was Camael.

That was the angel tied to Kotori’s power. Somehow, just tapping into it brought the name with it.

“Sweet, Camael,” I whispered, holding the fire between my fingers. “I might not be your original owner. Hell, even Kotori technically isn’t. But I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be good friends. I’ll summon you soon buddy.”

The fire fizzled out, and I finally slumped back onto the bed.

I’m going insane I just whispered to fire, my head hurts like hell and i’m mentally exhausted.

I slumped on my bed and turned off the light and finally after a long ass day drifted off to sleep.

The next day came far too fast, I now sat in the physics prep room at school

Across from me were Reine and Kotori.

One was a fake teacher/spirit god and the other was my little sister/commander/spirit.

Only in anime would you find that, both were way too good at pretending everything was normal.

I was adjusting to being “Shido” faster than I expected.
Too fast, maybe.

I was even referring to myself as him in my own head now.

That wasn’t supposed to happen, at least not that fast.

I wasn’t Shido. I wasn’t trying to be him.

Still, there was guilt. A quiet, nagging feeling in the back of my mind.

I’d taken someone’s life. Inherited their world but it was me or him.

And I chose me.

Reine, now working as some kind of sketchily-certified assistant teacher, had apparently pulled some strings or laws to get the position.

Not that I was judging, she’d also started calling me “Shin” as a nickname.

I rolled with it. It felt like a small separation from “Shido,” and honestly? I appreciated that.

At one point, I even asked if I could hold her bear, and to my surprise, she let me hesitantly though.

Kotori looked shocked at that, but I knew the truth.

I had given her that bear or rather Shinji did, which in a roundabout way means I did.

They also showed me a dating sim game which was definitely weird but i went along with it.

Anyway my first ‘training session’ was to finish some dating sim game lucky me, so far i’m really not liking this training but the pay off will be great

…..Wait don’t they just give me the answers during the date?

WHAT THE HELL IS THE POINT OF THE GAME THEM?!

I now stood across from Origami on the top on the staircases the sun was setting in the background, she had called me here to discuss yesterday’s events I assume.

‘Man Japanese schools are really different people are still out and about in the school and it’s already 5’

Origami snapped me out of my thoughts as she spoke with her usual emotionless tone

“Shido, about yesterday… I’d like you to keep that to yourself. In fact, it’d be better if you forgot about it entirely.”

“Is that so?”

I replied, tilting my head slightly.

“Listen, Tobii—can I just call you Origami? I prefer first names, if I’m being honest.”

Origami paused for a moment but then nodded.

I took that as a green light and continued.

“Origami, spirits aren’t all that bad. If you were to just give them—”

“No. Never.”

Her voice cut through mine like a blade, cold and harsh.

“Spirits are the reason my parents are dead. They burned to death because of them.”

…Well. So much for trying to change her perspective.

I hadn’t expected a miracle, but it was worth a shot.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said, and I meant it. “But you have to understand—not all spirits are like that. Some are good.”

Actually, thinking back… technically all of them were good people. Just a bit broken in their own ways. Some more than others.

Origami narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t see the logic in your argument, Shido Itsuka. But I will give you one warning.”

She stepped in. Too close. Uncomfortably close.

Her voice dropped into something low, flat, and honestly kind of terrifying.

“Don’t you ever get in my way.”

Then she turned and walked off—like a ghost fading into the wind. Every step was deliberate. Unshakable.

I stood alone at the top of the staircase, feeling a chill that wasn’t from the breeze.

‘That girl scares me a ton… but I’m sure everything will work out.’

Probably.

And with that, I walked home by myself mentally preparing to play the dumbest training game known to man kind.

A Dating Sim.