Date A Mysterious Being

Chapter 37 - The Great Fall

Not long after Natsumi went missing, Lucas returned to the surface, running around and jumping from building to building. Naturally, in his suit to hide his identity from the public. His mission was to look for Natsumi. His senses are more precise than Ratatoskr's measurement devices, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't sense a trace of Natsumi. But he had hope. He wasn't alone on this mission. Kurumi, using hundreds of her clones, is searching around all of Tenguu City for Natsumi as well.

"Kotori. Have found anything yet?" Lucas said into his earpiece. Not too long after, a high pitched voice came through the speaker.

"Not really. Honestly, just where did she run to..?"

"Dunno. I have a place where she might be though." Lucas jumped off the rooftop with a gentle hop, flying to the south coast of Japan.

"Huh? Where are you heading, Lucas? I don't think Natsumi would be that far off to the outskirts of Tenguu City."

Yes. Lucas was heading to a place far in Tenguu, far away from where they are now. This place was-

"Shizuoko. Her home." Shizuoko, a place on the south coast of Japan. To be exact, to the small playground high up the hill. That place was the last time Lucas saw Natsumi as a human being. Before...everything crashed apart.

The playground was empty, as expected. No one would be up here, especially not at this time of the day.

"Natsumi! If you're here, please answer!" Lucas shouted, loud enough to be heard around the entire place.

..A few moments have passed without any answer.

"...Doesn't seem like she's there, huh?" Kotori said, frustrated. Without any words, Lucas' body lifted itself slowly from the ground, and he flew back the way he came. This was the last hope he had of finding Natsumi. They searched every corner of Tenguu, but haven't found anything. It was also likely she had transformed herself into an object or a person, but given that she is injured, her transformation shouldn't last that long.

Suddenly, a loud siren suddenly set off.

Vwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnmmmmm

"-?! Spacequake? Now?!"

"No, that's not it. We're not registering any spacequake fluctuations in the area."When Kotori told him, Lucas paused for a brief moment to stabilize his focus. There really was no sign of a spacequake around.

"This is either a malfunction with the most miraculous timing, or the work of someone who wants to pin the ensuing damage from the falling satellite on a spacequake." Right. He remembered Kotori mentioning a satellite is falling onto Tenguu.

"Pinning it all on a spacequake?" Lucas gasped. "But who would-?!"

"DEM probably," Kotori said through what sounded like clenched teeth.

But Lucas frowned. "Hang on a second. DEM? It couldn't be them, could it?"

"I very much doubt there's another organization out there that could do this or are in the condition of having enough screws loose to actually carry it out."

"Kotori, Lucas. Can you hear me?" A male, familiar voice interrupted their chat. It was Shidou. "Just now, Ellen-" Shidou went on to explain to Kotori and Lucas what had just happened to him. How Ellen had been here when Shidou got home. And how she had run out of the house in a panic.

"Ellen Mathers? That is odd. If this was a plan to take out the Spirits in one go, then there's no way she wouldn't have known about it. And before that even..." Kotori groaned to herself. But then she no doubt realized that this was not the time for sitting in contemplation. She pulled herself together and continued. "Anyway! It's definitely dangerous for you guys to stay where you are. Fraxinus will pick you up. Shidou, go outside."