Silky, black hair, tied in uneven twintails. A ribbon atop the head. A black choker around the neck. A red and black dress held up by spaghetti straps. Black boots with stupidly tall soles. Frilly things on the arms, which I have no idea what they're called. Flawless, pale skin. A smug grin on her lips. A beautiful face adorned with a singular red eye, and one that resembles an old clock.
A girl of near-impossible beauty. She could only be Tokisaki Kurumi.
My number one waifu, and the best girl in Date A Live.
Fuck, I wasn't expecting to run into her so soon. Okay, you've got this. Keep cool. Stay calm. Don't embarrass yourself in front of your waifu.
"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting a male spirit to exist. Though it's hard to tell with that armor. How lucky for me to run into you~"
Holy hell! Her voice is like smooth, creamy butter! I'm not gonna last in this conversation am I? Okay just, say something to her!
"Well I'd say that I'm the lucky one, running into you, miss."
"Miss? Well, aren't you nice?" her voice turns to a more teasing tone.
"Well my mom always told me to be nice to girls, especially the pretty ones~"
"Goodness!" She cups a hand on her cheek and smiles sweetly. "You really know how to make a girl like you, huh?"
"Eh, I've always been kind of a loner, so I wouldn't really know." It's true, I've been a loner for years, haven't had any friends since I moved a few years back. Found anime not long after that.
"Though, I'm curious. Do you know what you are?" Huh? She must be asking if I remember being human.
"A... Spirit? At least, that's what those flying girls called me."
"Ah, them. Do you remember anything before?"
"Yes? Not sure how I could forget going to bed and waking up in a crater wearing this armor."
She appears slightly surprised at this. Spirits forgetting stuff is normal, after all.
"Well then, would you mind telling me about yourself, Spirit-kun?" There's that teasing tone again.
"I uh, sure? But we should probably sit down somewhere else. This alley probably ain't the best place to be."
"Hmmm. Very well." She walks up to me and holds out her hand. "Grab my hand and close your eyes."
"Okay." I grab her small, smooth hand and-
...okay I need to stop simping so hard right now. Though, acknowledging and accepting that I'm a simp is a good thing. Er, probably.
As I grab her hand, a dark and reddish void appears under our feet. Right, she has shadow powers. We begin to sink down and I quickly shut my eyes.
——————
"Okay, you can open them."
Hearing that, I open my eyes to see... an apartment? It's never really shown where Kurumi stays.
The apartment is small. The living room and dining room are just one big room, there's a couch and a loveseat facing one another with a coffee table in the middle. There's a small table in front of what appears to be a small kitchen. There's also a hallway that leads to more rooms, and behind me is what I can only assume is the front door.
"It's not much, but it's nice isn't it?" She asks next behind me.
"Nah, it reminds me of the one me and my parents stayed in when I was young." I turn around to see her hair down and wearing a different dress.
"Fuckin' hell" she's way more beautiful like this.
"Ufufu~ taken by my real appearance are you?"
"Of course." Her eyes, er- eye widens when I say this.
"You're quite honest, aren't you? Though, you should get rid of that armor and sit down." Right, the armor. How do I get rid of it?
C'mon, go away and- oh, the armor began the fade away. That was easy.
"My, you're much more handsome that I though you would be~" Handsome? Me? No way in hell-
I turn a bit and see a mirror on the wall. My face it's... completely different. I do look handsome now. Must be a side-effect of being a Spirit. Oh well, at least I'm not a bishounen. Looking down, I notice my arms are much more muscular than ever. My outfit is just a t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes.
"Ara ara, what's with that look on your face?"
Fuck it, I'll tell her. "I seem to be in a different body."
"Ara?"
"I was never the most handsome guy, certainly not this handsome. I wasn't ever this muscular, either." A explain as I sit down on the loveseat and face her, sitting on the couch.
"Anyways, I'm just some guy from America that likes video games and anime. Not sure how I ended up in Japan. Not sure how I became a Spirit. Not sure how I ended up in a different body. And I'm definitely not sure how I ended up in one of my favorite anime."
"Anime?" She titles her head cutely. I might as well explain it all. I didn't much liked isekai fanfics where the protag told no one about being isekai'd and/or their knowledge of the world. I just hope she takes it well.
"One of the first animes I watched was called 'Date A Live'. It started out as a pretty generic harem anime that becomes really fucking dark near the end. The protag, Shido finds out about superpowered girls called Spirits and can seal them by kissing them."
"S-Spirits?!" Her visible eye widens, she's clearly shook from my declaration.
" *sigh* Yes, Spirits. Ever hear of the multiverse theory?" I ask rhetoricaly. "It states that there are an infinite number of universes out there. However, there's also another theory that states and books, movies, video games, etc. are all events of other universes.
You were the fan-favorite character of the series, by a fucking mile and then some, but you being here means I've somehow ended up in the universe where Date A Live took place."
Kurumi still seems shaken by this revelation. "So you're saying I'm... just an anime character?"
"No!" I shout, knowing where this is going. I continue speaking while looking her dead in the eyes. "You aren't an anime character, you're real. From my perspective you were an anime character, but this isn't my world, where someone made up the story of Date A Live, no. This is the world where those events actually took place, naturally. Not made up by anyone. Not fake, completely real. You're just as real as me or anyone else, so don't go down that road, please.
"..."
"..."
Silence permeates the air, not a sound from anyone or anything. I don't want to cause her distress, but it's something to be expected when being told 'you're an anime character.'
She closes her eye for a moment and calms herself. "Are you okay, Kurumi?"
"Yes. Forgive me for showing you something like that."
"No, it's fine, I understand completely." I say, reassuring her. "Still, I doubt ol' Mio pulled me here and made me a spirit."
This definitely shocked her. "You know about her?"
"Yup."
"Do you know where she is?" Ah, right. Her plan.
"No idea. It's never explained where she is and only really shows up at the end of the story."
"Well, that's unfortunate."
Awkward silence ensues, until Kurumi breaks it. "Well... you know my name, but what is yours?"
...should I? Hmm... No. I've got a better idea.
"I'm in a different world, in a different body, so I'd say this is a second chance at life. Why use my old name? From now on I'll be... Issei."
"Issei... not a bad name."
"Thanks." Sorry, Harem King, but I'm stealing your name.
"Well, it's nice to truly meet you, Issei-kun."
"And it's nice to meet you as well, Kurumin~" her eye shoots open and a blush appears on her cheeks.
"K-Kurumin?"
"Yeah, do you not like it?"
"No it's, nice."
Well, this is nice and all, but I just realized. I'm in a different world. Where the hell am I gonna stay!?
"...anyways, do you have any extra rooms here?"
"Ah? Yes, why do you ask?"
"I'm a guy in a different country, in a different world, jobless and homeless. I also don't know anyone except you. So I was wondering if I could bunk here, if you have any extra rooms that is."
She thinks this over a moment. "Sure."
"Wha- really!?
"Yes. You're a nice person so I wouldn't mind. The fact you're quite cute helps too~"
Damn tease.
"Thanks, Kurumi."
She smiles a beautiful smile. "You're welcome, Issei-kun." She stands up and moves toward the hall. "Come, I'll show you your room."
Well, shit. Guess I'm living with my waifu now!
——————
AN
Well, here's chapter 2!
I must say, writing a story has been pretty fun so far. Expect some fluff between Issei and Kurumi next time.
Also, yes, I named him Issei. I read a lot of DxD fanfics. Probably more than any other series. The fact that all mythologies exist makes it really susceptible to crossovers.
Edit: June 30, 2022: Changed a bit of Issei telling Kurumi about Date A Live.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and look forward to the next!