Date a Live: Redo

Humpty Dumpty

Shido sighed, and calmly explained.

"Natsumi, that waiter wasn't saying anything about your weight....
It's just standard to ask for side dishes. Look at the menu."

He tapped the menu, which clearly showed the possible side dishes for the mixed grill.

"O-Oh...." Natsumi fell silent, her voice trailing away. "G-Got it..."

...

"Welcome back. How did it go?"

Reine welcomed the pair as Shido let Natsumi back into her room on the Fraxinus.

"You know exactly how it went.."

"True."

Natsumi simply entered her room and was bid farewell by the blue-haired boy.
She laid down on the bed and immediately grinned, holding out a hand.

"Haniel."

Reiryoku converged in her hand to form a weakly glowing broom.

"It's a little weakened, but it'll do."

Natsumi dived under the covers, making it look like she was sleeping.
From there, she transformed one of her pillows into an exact likeness of her. The organisation behind Shido Itsuka would definitely figure out that it wasn't the real Spirit once they compared the vital signs with the actual fake, but it would suffice for a few hours, at least.

She tunnelled under the floor of the room, sneakily getting out in a place out of view of the cameras setup outside. She had to confirm her suspicions. They were definitely not giving her this room, letting her live a comfortable life, trying to make her happy without an ulterior motive. The kindness they showed on the exterior was undoubtedly a facade, hiding their ridicule and laughter behind a mask of warmth.

She was going to figure out their true intentions and get the hell out of here.

"Haniel."

Natsumi- no, Kotori smiled.
She dusted off her clothes as she stood up and began to walk out of the hallway, pretending that she knew exactly what she was doing.

That was the key to fitting in - be confident. If she appeared like she knew what she was doing, people would fail to question her actions. 

First up was finding out what this organisation was.                                                                      Natsumi opened a random door, almost bumping into another person.

She had short and wavy brown hair and had a somewhat concerning atmosphere around her. Like one of those Yanderes in fiction.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Commander! I didn't see you there..."

Natsumi assumed a very tired face. Hopefully that would help explain any mistakes she made...

"It's fine... I haven't been sleeping much lately... who are you again?"

The woman let out a nervous chuckle.

"Commander? You feeling alright? It's me, Kozue Minowa.... you know, Deep Love?"

"Oh, right, yes, uh... How's the relationship going?"

Natsumi silently prayed for her guess to be correct. There was no other reason she could be named Deep Love, right?
Suddenly, she felt like she had made a mistake.

Minowa's face brightened considerably upon hearing her question, letting a fanatical light enter her eyes.

"Oooh yes, I managed to follow him for a whole 12 hours yesterday!"