"Then, let's begin our date!"
The three options appeared on the screen, courtesy of the Fraxinus AI.
1 Shopping
2 Movie
3 Love Hotel
"Shin. Choose number 1. It's too early for a movie, and the love hotel option is simply too risky."
Reine furrowed her brows.
"I wonder why that last option appeared? It's a weird choice for a human who knows about the world..."
"Wait. I think I should go with the third option."
Reine merely frowned at his statement, eventually giving in and spoke while nodding.
"That... I'm sure you have your reasons for it. Alright, but if her emotions fluctuate too wildly, continue with option one."
"Itsuka, is something wrong?"
Origami's voice pulled him from his conversation with her leaning a little closer, worried.
"No, I was just thinking, Origami."
"Eh?!"
Her face turned red in true moe style at the mention of her first name. Shido, realizing this, tried to correct his mistake.
"Ah, sorry, I-"
"You can use it."
"Come again?"
Origami explained in a soft voice.
"Y-you can use my first name.. if you want.
"Sure, Origami. You can call me Shido, too!"
"I'll.. think about it. Uh.. if I may ask, where are we going?"
Shido grinned.
"Follow me."
...
"Eh?! What is.. this...?"
Origami stood in front of a tall building with trembling legs. The tall building was, of course, a love hotel. The closed doors on the large building spawned countless thoughts within her mind that went off in the wrong direction.
An alarm started ringing in the Fraxinus, grating on Shido's ears.
"Shido! Her emotions are fluctuating! Get her out of there!"
Shido turned away, as if he had suddenly found his bearings after being lost.
"Ah, this way, Origami."
"So this wasn't the destination..."
Origami breathed out with a relieved expression.
Shido grinned mischievously.
"Only if you want it to be."
His words drew another cute reaction from the white-haired girl.
"I-I think I'll decline.."
...
"Itsuka, I don't think I understand this shop..."
"You're right, let's g- Origami, what's that in your hand?"
They were currently in some shady shop that seemed to sell all sorts of random things, from toothbrushes to bear traps. Shido didnt really see how this was related to the Origami from the previous world, but he nevertheless picked the option out of curiosity - the Fraxinus AI had never been truly wrong before, after all.
Origami apparently had zero idea of what to do or look for in there, but the contents of her arms told an entirely different story. They were filled with all kinds of traps and trinkets for home defense, ranging from simple traps using wires to straight up tear gas canisters.
"What?! I-I don't! Why am I carrying theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeee?!"
An alarm started ringing on the Fraxinus.
"Shido! Get her the hell out of there!"
Kotori snapped, knowing that nothing would happen in reality.
"Alright Origami, let's just head to a clothing shop!"
A moment later, they were out of the shop, having bought a few trinkets (The tear gas was left behind, incidentally). Shido led Origami to the same shop that they had gone to in his memory, fervently hoping that she wouldn't get her hands on that school swimsuit again.
As they entered, Origami looked around in wonder at the stylish clothes hanging everywhere. There were a wide variety of them, from casual clothes to exceedingly formal suits and dresses. The options even included cosplay outfits.
One second later however, her expression withered after seeing the mind-boggling price tag on the smooth fabric.
"Fo-forty thousand yen?!"
[A/N] Around 300 euros/dollars ;)
Shido remained unfazed, his confidence backed up by none other than Elliot Baldwin Woodman's boundless wallet, and smacked his chest.
"Leave it to me."
"But!"
"The only payment I ask is letting me be the first to see you in those clothes."
Shido continued.
Origami hesitated. It was incredibly difficult for an average high school student to be able to afford something of such value. Should she accept it?
Eventually, she relented and ran off to try the clothes on before deciding on what to get. It was a rare chance, after all.
Shido made sure not to stray too far from her, waiting outside the changing room while she tried the clothes on. Meanwhile, he was practically praying.
Please don't accidentally wear something weird, please don't wear something weird, please don't...
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
A shrill scream split the air from within the changing room.
Goddammit.
Seeing Shido's hesitation, Kotori gave the order ruthlessly, partly to curb Reine's suspicion, but also because she just wanted to see him suffer.
"Shido, something's wrong! Get in there!"
Lord forgive me for what I'm about to do.
"Origami, are you okay?! I'm coming in!"
"Nowaitdon-"
Shido had already burst into the room, mentally prepared for her... maid uniform?
It was a proper maid uniform, not actually revealing anything. Nevertheless, Origami was curled into a ball in the corner, trying to hide her outfit as much as possible.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
...
They left the shop without further hiccups after picking up a beautiful white dress. Origami kept on thanking him for buying it for her, despite his pleas for her to not mention it. At that point, they were both feeling somewhat hungry, so their next stop was a restaurant.
Shido surpressed the urge to go to the toilet, knowing what would happen if he did. Even so, something like that could not hold back the genius of Origami Tobiichi, for better or for worse.
"Ah!?"
Origami's hand slipped, knocking over a glass of water that splashed onto Shido's shirt.
Shido tried to tell her not to worry about it, but she moved with unparalleled speed, grabbing her phone and opening the camera app. A series of rapid flashes and clicks were audible as she masterfully took pictures of Shido's wet clothes from various angles.
"I-I don't know what's happening, but my body is moving on its own!"
Origami wailed, thankfully only drawing the attention of a random waiter in the otherwise empty restaurant.
Shido shooed the waiter away, smiling awkwardly and trying to calm the anxious Origami down.
"It's okay, it's okay, I get it..."
Meanwhile, the Fraxinus crew was practically sitting back and watching the show with popcorn in hand.
"That girl is.. really unique, isn't she?" Shiizaki commented while staring with wide eyes.
"Not as unique as the command- ACK!" Kannazuki's questionable reply was interrupted by Kotori kicking him down with a pissed off expression.
"All of you, CONCENTRATE! Devil is one of the most dangerous Spirits! I'll kill you myself if you slack off again!"
"Yes, Commander!"
...
The day was coming to an end, and Shido and Origami were walking outside.
"Are you cold?"
Origami nodded, rubbing her hands together.
"I didn't think to bring my gloves..."
Shido pointed to a nearby vending machine that sold warm drinks.
"You could use that... or.."
He quickly took her hand in his own.
Origami turned a little red, but she had seemingly overcome most of her embarrasment as she didn't pay it much mind.
"Shin. Her happiness levels are almost at the required level, but they've been rising unusually slowly. Something seems to be holding her back from taking the last step."
"Then what should I do?"
"You need to break through that hesitation. Try a confession."
"....Alright."
Origami, having noticed Shido's soft muttering, tilted her head to the side.
"Itsuka, is there something wrong?"
"No, it's just... Umm.. Origami, can I tell you something?"
Realization seemed to flash in her eyes, and she raised a hand with downcast eyes.
"Uh.. Can I say something first?"
She continued on, seeing Shido's nod.
"As you know, I joined the AST because of how I didn't want more people to be hurt by Spirits.. After your brother, um, died."
She grabbed the railing next to them.
"But after a while, I thought. That.. the Spirits weren't that bad. Even though they've killed so many people, i-it feels like killing Spirits.. is wrong! Even though your brother!"
Shido moved closer to Origami.
"Don't apologize! I don't think you're wrong, either! Scratch that, even my brother definitely thought the same way! There's no reason for you to feel guilty!"
"Itsuka.." Origami's shoulders shook.
"Ding ding! Affection levels have passed the required level! Shido, now's your chance!"
At that moment, the railing gave way, causing Origami, who was leaning heavily against it, to lose her support.
"Whaa-!"
She nearly fell, but was immediately caught by Shido, who was more than ready for it. Naturally, he wasn't sloppy enough to scrape himself on anything or trigger any Angels.
"Th-thank you, Itsuka."
Origami turned red from being so close to Shido's face and tried to turn away, but Shido didn't allow that to happen, lightly pushing her closer.
"Wait, I-Itsuka, what are y-"
The last part was cut off by their lips touching.
"Yes!"
Kotori and the rest of the Fraxinus crew high-fived internally.
Immediately, the vast amount of Reiryoku present within Origami started flowing into Shido.
The power of the eighth Spirit had been sealed - almost.
"Reiryoku values have... inversed?! Shido, get out of there!"
The flow immediately reversed, returning what had been taken from Origami back to her, as if it refused to be sealed.
The so-called corrective power of Fate had struck again.
The now familiar storm of Inverse Reiryoku sprung around Origami again, covering her body in a dark Astral Dress that, admittedly, didn't cover much.
"I see. She may be a Spirit, and possess Reiryoku, but the one who was sealed was not the one in control of the Reiryoku. The reason for the Inversion was Origami's former personality coming to the surface. He'll have to seal her in this Inverse state to succeed."
Reine spoke with some urgency, but her message was still clear.
Kotori frowned.
"We'll have to bust through that Reiryoku barrier with Mistloteinn. Kannazuki, you handle evasion and defense. We'll aim it manually."
Kannazuki stepped forward and put on the headset.
"Hear that, Shido? Think you can survive for a while with Angels and a little help?"
Several Yggdrafolia appeared around him, taking their positions in a defensive formation.
...
"Hm?"
Tohka jumped up from her seat, alerting all the Spirits around her.
"Concern. Tohka, what's wrong?"
Tohka didn't reply, leaping to the balcony and staring at something in the distance.
A tiny flash of light, a miniscule surge of Reiryoku, an almost entirely inaudible sound.
It was something that the average person would completely miss. However, Tohka was a Spirit. Her senses were far better than the most perceptive of humans.
"?!"
The rest of the Spirits felt it too, the air turning serious in an instant.
"Let's go."
Tohka jumped from the balcony without hesitation, the rest of the Spirits following closely behind.
...
"Mistloteinn is charged and ready to fire! Kannazuki, let us stay still for just a second to fire!"
"I apologize, but that would be incredibly difficult about now!"
Kotori was facing all sorts of difficulties to get the situation under control. She was forced to have Kannazuki concentrate on defense and evasion, a choice that was quickly proven to be effective when he brilliantly dodged a massive blast of dark energy unexpectedly shot from the Demon King.
The attack would've dealt serious damage to Fraxinus had it connected, which forced Kotori to be extremely passive with her actions. Additionally, only two of the three Yggdrafolia fighting with Shido were still active, the missing one being nailed right in the Realizer core by a stray attack.
It's no use. Guess we can only wait for Tohka and the others to arrive.
As if on cue, the several dark feathers that were heading for the Fraxinus were deflected upward, endlessly flying off into the sky. The culprits were naturally Kaguya and Yuzuru, wielding their Angels to shield the Fraxinus.
"Heh, you can't beat the children of the sto-"
"Cringe. Kaguya, stop spouting random words."
The feathers all pointed in Shido's direction, recognizing him as another enemy and shooting forward. The Yggdrafolia shot forward to defend him, but were pierced instantly, becoming useless. Shido raised Sandalphon to defend, but it turned out to be unnecessary.
The beams were all smashed apart by Tohka, wielding her Sandalphon to protect him.
"Everyone, you're here?"
"Gabriel, March!"
Miku descended, summoning her Angel to buff everyone present.
The Spirits had apparently already figured out what to do, working together smoothly.
"Kotori! We'll defend you! Get ready to shoot that barrier!"
Nia yelled out after entering the Fraxinus, holding Rasiel in her hand.
"You heard her, Kannazuki. Switch to aiming Mistloteinn! Shido, get ready to run in there!"
Kotori agreed without hesitation, trusting Nia to not screw them all over. She might be weird and eccentric at times, but her intelligence was practically unmatched - in serious situations, anyway.
Fraxinus stood still, causing Satan to target it again. The pillars started spinning faster and faster, charging up whatever the Inverse equivalent of Artelif was. Kotori felt a drop of sweat on her forehead.
"Hey... are you sure about this?"
Nia laughed.
"Ehehehe, shouldn't be too bad."
Kotori wanted to take all of her previous thoughts about Nia back, but it was too late to change plans now. In the next instant, the attack discharged with a screeching noise.
"Haniel, Kaleidoscope!"
"Zadkiel!"
Yoshino and Natsumi dropped in front of the Fraxinus, creating a massive barrier of ice in between them and Origami, which was reinforced by the Yamai twins desperately using Raphael to counter the beam.
Tohka and Shido pitched in, too, trying to scatter the beam with Sandalphon and throwing an exploding Camael at it respectively.
The barrier shuddered s it came into contact with the Inverse Spirits ultimate attack. Origami's regular Artelif was terrifying enough, but the vastly increased offensive power of her Inverse form elevated it to a whole new level.
Thankfully, the barrier held, the combination of the powers of six sealed Spirits proving enough to barely neutralize it. Once the beam dissapeared, Natsumi and Yoshino let the barrier dissipate, opening up a hole for Fraxinus to shoot through.
"Kotori, NOW!"
Nia gave the signal, but it was hardly necessary. Kannazuki had already activated Mistolteinn, causing a beam of Maryoku to shoot out the front of the ship, crashing directly into Origami.
The pillars crossed in an attempt to form a barrier, but the beam punched straight through the Demon King, continuing on into the barrier of Reiryoku around Origami.
Shido immediately ran forward, trying to reach Origami.
...
"Where am I?"
Tobiichi Origami opened her eyes to a completely white space. The ground was white, the sky was white, the walls were - were there even any walls? She stared quietly at her blank surroundings, before her eyes landed on a figure curled up on the ground.
Short, white hair, beautiful features.
The face of that curled-up figure was the same as her own.
No. That person was her. It was Tobiichi Origami from another place - or another time.
She was wearing an dark-themed Astral Dress and practically looked like a corpse, but her occasional blinking and the slow rise and fall of her chest showed that she was still alive.
Origami - the long-haired one - suddenly clutched her head and fell to her knees. Memories started flashing through her, ones that contradicted her own, ones that filled in blanks and finally, ones that showed what was happening outside.
"No!"
She grabbed the shoulders of the other her.
"Stop doing this! Turn back!"
The short-haired girl stared back at her and opened her mouth.
"It doesn't matter anymore. My parents... I killed them."
"You didn't! That's changed now! Itsuka's brother - no, that was probably Itsuka himself, wasn't it - he saved them!"
"That doesn't change the fact that I killed them. He just tried to fix my mistake. But these memories... will stay"
The other Origami curled up, causing more memories of gruesome scenes to appear.
A small Origami, standing on a burnt road, staring at an Angel next to the scattered body parts of her parents. Tengu city burning under a darkened sky, black beams striking the Fraxinus.
Origami buckled under the pressure, nearly fainting.
I cant. If I pass out now, nobody will be able to stop the other me.
"Origami!"
A crack in the perfectly uniform colour of the place they were in appeared. A small hole, just big enough for a person to pass through. A voice came out of it, a voice that belonged to none other than Itsuka Shido.
"Origami, don't take on all your burdens alone! Remember what I told you. You aren't alone!"
The Inverse Origami twitched
"I will take on your sadness! I'll accept your anger! Just don't fall into despair!"
She looked at Shido.
"Even if you destroy this world, I'll just try again! Just come with me!"
The world dissolved.
-------------------------------------------------------
To be continued.
That concludes the Origami arc, I guess? Next up is Mukuro arc, and I'm like halfway done with planning everything to the end? Not sure if you're going to get a chapter quickly, or if I'm going to plan everything out first before touching chapter 35, but I'm leading toward the former.
Also, I might rewrite some of the earlier chapters sometime. Obviously I'm not adding anything new or changing the plot, I'm just going to touch up on the formatting and change the style of writing used slightly. You can really tell how much my writing has evolved since the start, and I don't really want my much worse writing at the start to stay....
At any rate, it would be great if anyone reading this could take the time to write a comment, I love reading what you all think! Criticism is welcomed, as well.
anyway, as always,
cya next time!