Date A Live: Starting as Acheron

"Just five more chapters! PLEASE!" Nia clasped her hands over her head and bowed down to Kyo, who stared her down with dead fish eyes. "I can pay you ¥5- no, ¥10,000 per chapter! All you need to do is trace and fill in lines!"

"How badly must you have procrastinated that you're willing to pay that much?" Despite his snarky comment, Kyo sat back down and picked up another pen. "Just treat it as a favor. Here, pass."

"Thanks!" Nia unceremoniously heaped another pile of pages onto his desk. Kyo's eye twitched. Never did I expect to be using the precision bolstered by Acheron's countless memories of combat to ink character art. Hm, at this point, Shidou and Yoshino will have probably met. I wonder how they're doing…

——————I am the dividing line that shifts perspectives——————

"Well? MISTER?" The puppet was nearly touching Shidou's nose, causing him to have to hold back a sneeze. His mind whirled as he tried to come up with any excuse at all.

"Uhm, er… before that, can I ask for your name?" He uttered lamely. 

"Seriously? That's what you came up with?" Kotori sighed. Oh, give me a break.

"Oh? Indeed, I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Yoshinon, the cutest name there is!" [Hermit] stood up on her tiptoes as the puppet danced around in the air, announcing their name with unexpected grandeur. 

"Aha… nice to meet you, Yoshinon. By the way, my name is Shidou."

Yoshinon stopped dancing around and once again pressed up close to him, causing him to take a step back. "Shidou? Well, that's a pretty cool name. But it still doesn't compare to Yoshinon," it boasted. "Anyway, isn't it time for you to leave now?"

"Shidou, we're calculating your next course of action now. Hang on!" Kotori suddenly interjected in his ear. 

"Be quick," he muttered back as he put on an uneasy smile for Yoshinon. After a moment of silence, Kotori spoke again.

"Alright, tell her this: 'I can't just leave now; the truth is, I want to ask you out on a date.'"

"Wha-"

"Shidou!" Kotori reprimanded.

The man in question silently swallowed his words and steeled himself before addressing [Hermit] again. "I can't leave just yet. Truth is, there's a question I've been meaning to ask."

"Oh? And what would that be?" The puppet's eyes seemed to glow red. Shidou gulped.

"Will you go on a date with me?" His heart pounded through his chest as he watched both the puppet and the girl's mouths drop in unison. Please don't get mad, please don't get mad, please don't get mad…

After a few moments, the puppet posed in a thinking posture. "Hm, gutsy. I like that. And anyway, you don't look like you could hurt me even if you tried…" 

Suddenly, the puppet laughed arrogantly. "Hahaha! Alright then, mister, I accept. But remember to keep a proper distance away. I won't forgive you if you try to sneak a touch~"

"I… I see." Shidou smiled unnaturally.

————————I am the dividing line that skips time————————

"HAHAHA! You really are funny, mister." [Hermit] bounced weightlessly a few feet ahead of Shidou, each jump seemingly defying gravity. 

"Wow, she really meant it. And that last joke was terrible, even by dad joke standards," Kotori mused in Shidou's ear. "Emotion levels are looking stable. Good job, big brother. Keep this up, and we'll be in the clear by the end of this date."

"Assuming she'll let me get close enough to kiss her…" Shidou mumbled. Wait, shoot, where did she go? "Er, Yoshinon?"

"Present~" Somehow, without garnering Shidou's attention, [Hermit] had found her way onto the top of a jungle gym, standing up on one of the highest bars. "How do you like this? Cool, right?"

"Hey, get down from there. That's not safe," Shidou placated.

"Not safe? I asked if I was cool, not if it was saf-" [Hermit]'s foot slipped, causing her to fall forwards. Shidou's eyes widened, and he rushed forward to catch her.

WHOOSH-

But a sudden blast of icy wind pushed him back, numbing his body and obscuring his vision.

"Yoshinon!" Shidou ignored the lingering chill and rushed into the cold fog. What happened there? I hope she's ok... 

"Uwah, that was rough." Yoshinon's voice echoed from his left. Shidou turned to find [Hermit] on the floor, roughly patting frost off her raincoat. "Sorry about that, mister. I guess I wasn't paying enough attention."

"Are you ok?" He took another step forward, reaching out his hand. [Hermit] froze, and the puppet's eye seemed to glow red. 

"Hey there mister, what did I say about getting too close?" Yoshinon glowered at the approaching boy.

"Shidou, her emotional levels are getting unstable. Whatever you're doing, back off, quickly," Kotori reported. Shidou sweatdropped and backed away immediately.

"Good choice." [Hermit] slowly stood back up, the puppet doing a little bow in his direction. "But thanks anyway. Now, let's continue the date!"

BEEP- BEEP- BEEP-

"Shidou, it's an emergency!" Kotori yelled.

"But I backed away, didn't I?"

"Not [Hermit]. Behind you!" Shidou slowly turned around, sweat dripping down his neck. Behind the fading fog burned an ominous aura that came from the glare of a certain girl he had left back at school. Tohka stepped forward, her foot crushing the concrete floor beneath her.

"What did that girl just say?" Tohka asked a question filled with murderous intent. 

"W-what do you mean…" Oh, shoot. "Let's continue the date." Shidou swallowed nervously. "Hold on, there's a good explanation for this-"

"You leave me at school, worry me half to death, all just to then come here to have a date with this weird little girl? HOW DARE YOU!" Tohka took another step forwards, sending another wave of cracks through the ground.

"As you can see, her mental state is a little bit unstable right now," Kotori commented nervously. "Because of her distress, the Reiryoku you sealed is gradually flowing back into her." I can see that, but how do I calm her down?

"Hello there, angry miss!" Before Shidou could formulate any words, Yoshinon spoke up again. I hope they have a plan.

"It's TOHKA!" 

"Hello there, Tohka!" The puppet wore a mischievous grin as it leered at Tohka. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems mister Shidou here has gotten bored with you~"

"Huh?!" Shidou and Tohka both gasped, one with shock and the other with dread.

"Based on what you just said, Shidou left you to come hang out with me. Isn't that right?" The puppet gleefully taunted, seemingly unaware of how tightly Tohka was clenching her fists, or how she was slowly stepping closer and closer. "I think it's fairly conclusive."

"No, wait, that's not what-" 

Tohka whipped around and slapped a hand over Shidou's mouth. "Just shut your mouth." This is totally unfair! 

"I really must apologize, though. It must be hard, being second place in his heart. Oh, but it's not your fault. It's me. I'm just too charming, after all, so charming that I really can't blame Shidou for saying that he fell in love with me the moment we met!"

Tohka's eyes overflowed with tears. "No, no, no! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shuddup! This can't be true!"

The puppet's eyes gleamed with amusement, evidently completely caught up in their mockery to notice the incoming danger. "Well, even if you tell me that, I can't change the cold hard truth now, can I? Go on, Shidou, tell her how you're tired of her-"

Tohka ripped the puppet off of [Hermit's hand, causing her to freeze in place. Shidou gaped. Oh no.

"I AM TOO WANTED!" Tohka grasped the puppet by the neck and held it up to the ceiling. "You- you don't know anything! Shidou was the one who said it was ok for me to stay here! That he would never reject me! Why, why, WHY ARE YOU LYING TO ME?!" Completely oblivious to the fact that she was talking to a piece of cloth, she shook it back and forth in the air in an effort to coax out a response. "Say something! Why won't you talk? SPEAK!"

Shidou's mind spun with indecision as [Hermit] slowly approached Tohka and tugged on her shirt. She glared down at the blue-haired Spirit, still lost in her fury.

"It won't talk. Make it talk!" She demanded furiously.

"I.. I was trying… give her back, please…!" A small voice squeaked out. Shidou's eyes widened. Is that Yoshinon's real voice? And hey, is it getting colder in here?

"What is happening in there?!" Kotori screamed through the intercom. "Now [Hermit]'s mood is dropping like crazy! Tch, I knew we should've deployed a camera drone… well, for now, get them to calm down!"

You don't have to tell me twice. Coughing into his hand, Shidou addressed the purple-haired Spirit gently. "Hey, Tohka? Could you maybe give that back to her please?"

Her eyes widened with anguish. "So it's true. You really do like her more than me."

"No, no, it's not like that!" Shidou waved his arms frantically. Hey, it's starting to get really cold in here again. Don't tell me-

[Hermit] raised her arm in the air, shrieking a call to the heavens: "[ZADKIEL]!"

A biting frost covered his skin as a monstrously large rabbit puppet burst forth from the ground before her, roaring through a mouth of spiked teeth. It was [Hermit]'s absolute lance, a miracle given form: the Angel [Zadkiel].