Date A Live

"… So, is there anything you want to explain, s.h.i.+dou?"

It was night. After coming out from Miku"s home, s.h.i.+dou was transferred into the commander"s room by Fraxinus transportation device. What stood before him was his unusually imperious sister.

"I"m… sorry…"

s.h.i.+dou, in cold sweat, knelt and said.

s.h.i.+dou was at the center of the room, surrounded by Kotori and the other crews. …It was like an accused person being judged in court.

"What were those "I hate you" and "I don"t approve of you" lines of yours? You were about to make it. Seriously, you tend to tell unnecessary things that you feel like telling huh?"

"B-but… she was so wrong. How could she treat people"s life as nothing? No… That "voice" of hers makes people fall in love with her so no one was able to tell her things that are wrong or cannot be done. In that case, I would just…"

"Even so, you don"t really have to tell that out loud, at least not during that time."

"Gu…"

Interrupted by Kotori"s words, s.h.i.+dou could no longer reply anything.

"Well it is true that Miku Izayoi may be twisted. And she has to be properly counseled once her power is sealed. Though, isn"t that exactly the reason why her power has to be sealed as early as possible? Why did you have to ruin everything you cross-dressing freak?"

"…Wait, wasn"t it you guys who dressed me like this!?"

Offended by Kotori"s unreasonable words, s.h.i.+dou defended himself. However, it didn"t seem like Kotori was actually listening. Ignoring that, s.h.i.+dou continued talking.

"But anyway, how was Miku"s affection level? I didn"t hear anything about it from the earphone."

"Well, Miku"s affection level didn"t really drop for much. After getting anxious for being criticized by you, she still managed to calm herself down later. "

"See! There"s no prob-"

"Yeah, there"s no problem- so long you can beat her on stage."

"……"

As s.h.i.+dou was about to raise his head, he dropped it down back instead.

Looking at s.h.i.+dou, Kotori sighed heavily and put her legs together.

"-Anyway, it can"t be helped since you have accepted her challenge. Just join the performance and leave the rest to us."

"Y-you would help me?"

"Of course. Think about it, what was founded for? Since the situation has come to this, we"ll just have to try winning. Are you people listening?"

"Yes, Madam!"

Kotori said as she placed her arms together on her chest, and the crews responded to her.

"That being said, Miku is an idol. It won"t be easy to win. So s.h.i.+dou, what will you be performing on the first day?"

"Eh? It is…"

As s.h.i.+dou spoke, he had a flashback. He remembered Ai, Mai and Mii wanting to partic.i.p.ate in the concert.

"I think… it is a music band performance."

"A music performance? Haha, isn"t that nice? It is your expertise after all.

"Eh?"

Not understanding what Kotori said, s.h.i.+dou showed uncertainty. Then, Kotori pressed the controller on her left side and turned on a video on the screen in the room.

"Yike…!?"

Looking at the screen, s.h.i.+dou panicked.

The screen was showing s.h.i.+dou sitting on bed in his room. He was a middle school student, playing an old guitar. He might not be very skilled, but he was much better compared to the other students of his age.

Though, the funny thing happened afterward. He was too indulged in his own world, playing his guitar and singing his own lyrics at the same time.

Yes, it was during his middle school age. Perhaps due to adolescence, he was acting like a cool guy, showing a somewhat "this guitar is the only thing that understands me" aura.

Well of course, he then sealed this very memory of his later before he entered high school due to embarra.s.sment.

"What a hard-trained skill you have got there huh… Pu~ At last it has become of use eh… kukuku…"

Kotori shook her shoulders, said as she tried to hold her laughter. As s.h.i.+dou looked around, all the other crew members were holding off their laughter as well.

"Hey- W-why is this video…!"

"Well, we recorded it because it would become of use some day-… pu-puu!"

Just then, s.h.i.+dou in the video reached the climax. He suddenly jumped off from his bed, pulling his guitar"s strings exaggeratedly. Kotori could no longer hold her laughter.

"N-nooo! Please stop iiiiit!"

As s.h.i.+dou shouted, the music in the video stopped.

Thinking that he was finally rid of embarra.s.sment, he looked at the screen again. In the video, s.h.i.+dou was shown sitting on the bed again, talking to the air, as if he was being interviewed.

「Yes, yes, since I lack good communication skills… I could only express my thought through playing guitar. So I don"t really feel like playing but instead, "communicating" with it. 」

"Hey!!! Please stop the video already!!!"

As s.h.i.+dou, with gooseb.u.mps all over his body and tears all over his face, begged, the video was finally stopped.

Seconds later, as Kotori finally calmed herself down, she snapped her finger.

"Well, at least you"re better than an inexperienced kid. Well of course, I"ll get you the best trainers. From now on, I"ll have you trained so hard that you can even play guitar while sleeping. Mikimoto!"

As she spoke, the Mikimoto operated his controller.

"Yes, Madam. I"ll get the best facilities."

Kotori nodded her head, and looked at s.h.i.+dou once again.

"So, what"s the song t.i.tle?"

Kotori asked nonchalantly. s.h.i.+dou worked on his mind, and said.

"…I"m not sure. …But I guess it"s a remake."

"Well it won"t be so interesting then.-Minowa!"

This time, it was the Minowa who operated her controller.

"Now, go and ask professional singers for help, and then choose the best song for the performance."

Nodded as Minowa spoke, Kotori continued asking.

"So, what do you guys know about Miku"s performance?"

"That… I can"t possibly know that, can I?"

"Then… s.h.i.+zaki!"

Just like Mikimoto and Minowa, the s.h.i.+zaki started operating her controller.

"Send some spies into Rindouji All-Girls Private School and find out the performance list on that day. Is there a need to interrupt them?"

As Kotori heard of s.h.i.+zaki"s malicious suggestion, she had a deep thought. Not long after, she swung her head.

"This might be able to help us, but it would sever Miku"s emotion. It"ll be best if we can still manage to win even when she tries her best. Winning might be our priority, but it"ll be better if we can make her admit losing."

As commands were given, s.h.i.+dou blankly stared at how Ratatoskr members were doing their work.

"Wow… you guys look amazing."

"As I said, we have to go all-out since our target this time is an idol. It"s all thanks to that ‘someone" who rashly accepted the challenge."

"Gu… I"m really sorry for that…"

"Hmph, never mind. It"s not like we had any better choice that time. Besides…"

Kotori took out her lollipop from mouth and turned her head to the side.

"Well… it felt kinda good to see s.h.i.+dou getting angry at Miku that time…"

"Eh…?"

Kotori shook her hands, and put the lollipop back to her mouth.

"…Are you guys serious?"

Ryouko spoke softly, staring at the people before her.

There were about 20 members crowded in the command room of j.a.pan Ground Self-Defense Force.

The ones who were sitting beside her were the original AST members and those who were standing before her were supplementary members sent by the DEM Industries.

Jessica, one of the supplementary members, spoke.

"Of course. Since you don"t believe it, would you want me to show you the order file signed by the top executives?

"Then let me rephrase it. –Are you people crazy?"

Even as Ryouko questioned rudely, Jessica let out a smile on her face.

Ryouko, stunned, took a look at the file again.

What was written on it was something unbelievable.

-Spirit Capture Operation.

The girl who was studying in Raizen High School? Tohka Yatogami had to be captured since she had been identified as a spirit.

Though, this was still a little acceptable. It was sure that Tohka Yatogami did look like the spirit , and since there were symptoms of spiritual waves found within her, her existence could no longer be ignored.

"Well, we can"t possibly ignore a spirit doing dangerous thing like going to school, can we?"

Ryouko said as she read the order file.

"But, well, what about this one?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Don"t play dumb. Why is there a normal person in the target list?"

Yes. Other than Tohka who was suspected to be a spirit, there was yet another target.

s.h.i.+dou Itsuka. Details––confidential.

"So does that mean that even this kid is a spirit…?"

"It"s top secret. Though, he"s one of our most important targets."

"But this is…"

"Well, let"s take it this way. You are not obligated to understand the situation."

"Tsk…"

Ryouko, as she looked at Jessica, gritted her teeth and continued reading the order.

"Wait, what is this… -Operation date, September 23, Sat.u.r.day. Location, Tenguu City, Tenou Festival venue…?! What the heck are you guys thinking?! Isn"t our equipment supposed to be a secret?! Yet you are asking us to carry out the operation in front of so many people… No, the real thing is-- how are we supposed to fight a spirit at such a crowded place? Do you people even know what you are planning?!"

Ryouko was so anxious that she was about to scream. The targets were not the only problem they were going to face.

Perhaps, the Tenou Festival venue would be the most crowded place in Tenguu City on that day. Yet, AST members were asked to help capture both Tohka and s.h.i.+dou right within the crowd of citizens.

On top of that, the ones who would be directly carrying out the operation were the members sent by the DEM industry where as Ryouko and her other AST members were only in charge of surveillance and information gathering. As they would not be on the scene, Ryouko would never manage to stop them from doing things recklessly.

"I don"t understand why you people have to do this! What exactly is the reason for all this…?"

Contrary to Ryouko"s reaction, Jessica let out a cool breath.

"It"s a ceremony. It"s to give our enemies a greeting. –So, no matter how risky it is, we have to make it a great one."

"Huh…? Enemies? Greeting? What are you talking about…?"

Ignoring what Ryouko said, Jessica stood up as she smiled sinisterly.

"It"s okay if you cannot agree with the operation. Just complain about it to the top executives if you have an objection. We would cease our operation if you can do that."

"W-Wait!"

Jessica ceased her steps. Though, it wasn"t because Ryouko tried to stop her. She turned her head to Ryouko, as if she thought of something else.

"-Oh yes, I forgot to tell you something. Please, do not reveal this operation to Tob.i.+.c.hi Origami."

"Origami? Why? She is one of our best AST members, there"s no reason she-"

"Just for this time. There"s a high possibility that she would interfere with our operation. Besides, it"s not like she is needed that much since you old seniors won"t directly partic.i.p.ate in the operation, is it?"

"I don"t recall you having the authorization to meddle with our team management here."

"I"m sorry but that is also one of the orders by the top executives. Well, good luck."

As the conversation ended, Jessica left the room along with the other DEM members.

"Gu...! Why, why is this happening...?"

Ryouko, angered, pounded the table with her fist.

Books and other doc.u.ments on the table moved for a little and a few pieces of papers fell onto the floor.

-At that moment.

"...Huh?"

Ryouko noticed a doc.u.ment with "s.h.i.+dou Itsuka" name on it. She frowned.

"...Now that I think about it, "s.h.i.+dou" sounds so familiar. Where have I heard of that name..."

As she spoke to herself, she recalled what Jessica said.

"Origami... restricted to partic.i.p.ate... -Oh yes."

Ryouko was shocked as she turned her eyes big and round.

s.h.i.+dou Itsuka. The name of the "lover" Origami told her about.

"Hey s.h.i.+dou, ya know. Love... is such a great thing."

It was September 13th, a day after the promise with Miku.

As Tonomachi spoke in a similar facial expression as Tohka"s when she was put into trance using "onii-chan" honorific, s.h.i.+dou sighed.

"...What happened?"

Tonomachi, dissatisfied by s.h.i.+dou"s annoying response, continued speaking.

"I... think I met my destined one."

"Uh huh. So you found another cute girl somewhere again huh?"

"Yes, yes. It was yesterday. I met such a perfect girl."

"Oh is that so."

"In the guy"s washroom."

"P-pu...!?"

s.h.i.+dou coughed as he heard what Tonomachi said. Though, it seemed like Tonomachi comprehended s.h.i.+dou"s response wrongly as he held his arms together, nodding his head hard.

"I can understand your response, s.h.i.+dou. She actually hid in the toilet just to wait for me."

"No way."

"It must be it. You know, this girl even knew my name."

"No... that"s because..."

s.h.i.+dou scratched his hair. Ignoring that, Tonomachi, with full of excitement, continued speaking.

"This must be a twist of fate. She hid there just to stay alone with me. I should have asked her for her name..."

"...Oh, really..."

"Hey... What"s wrong with you? You think I was lying? I wasn"t, it"s true. She"s about your height, and she has body size similar to yours... And the greatest thing was that I felt like I have known her for a long time. Yes, yes, she was just like you."

For an instance, s.h.i.+dou thought that Tonomachi would have mentioned that the girl was actually s.h.i.+dou himself. Though, it couldn"t be possible seeing how Tonomachi was acting.

s.h.i.+dou, thinking that he shouldn"t get himself involved in this slapstick any further, stood up.

"Huh? Where are you going?"

"Thanks to your recommendation that I have to be in charge of the implementation, you jerk!"

As s.h.i.+dou said, Tonomachi let out a smile.

"Haha, really sorry about that. Well since everyone"s working so hard, you can actually look forward to being the one to take the award on the stage if we won."

"Uh huh, then I"ll be looking forward to it."

s.h.i.+dou said as he walked out from the cla.s.sroom, with a bag that contains costumes he just took from a cabinet. Then, he had to switch into s.h.i.+ori and to join the students who were preparing for the performance during the festival.

"...So,where should I change my dressing?"

"Won"t it be fine if you just do it in the guy"s washroom like yesterday?"

As s.h.i.+dou mumbled to himself quietly, Kotori answered.

"No, it would be bad if mistakes like yesterday repeated again..."

"Then won"t it be fine if you just change in the girl"s washroom to begin with?"

"Won"t there be more troubles doing so...?"

"What are you worried about? Are you worried if there"s any girls in the washroom after you finish changing? It would be just fine if you paid more attention when entering."

"No, this is not the problem..."

"Anyway just hurry. Or I"m not letting you wear anything under your skirt."

"...Alright."

After struggling so much, this would be the final answer he obtained, if he rejected it, there simply wasn"t any other way anymore. Thus, s.h.i.+dou reluctantly entered the girl"s washroom.

"Guess no one... is inside"

s.h.i.+dou took a peek into the girl"s washroom, at the inner region of the school. After confirming there was no sound in the washroom, he entered into it.

At a very sudden moment, three of the rooms were opened.

"Ah-, got saved at last- "

"I thought there was no need for a toilet at such a place, guess it is still quite handy sometimes eh."

"Yeah, we almost became subjects for the perverts."

Ai, Mai and Mii, in relief, came out of the rooms in the washroom. Then, they let out "Huh? Huh? Huh?" sound and stared at s.h.i.+dou, who just stepped into a forbidden territory.

As s.h.i.+dou ran away from the washroom, he heard some loud voices from his back.

"Wuahhhhhhh!?"

"A p-pervert!"

"A molester!"

"Why did that happen right when I just wanted to enter..."

s.h.i.+dou ran in the hallway, with a barely crying face.

...Eventually, he ended up changing in .

He regretted not going with such a simple way to change his clothes. He slapped his face as he told himself not to regret it anymore.

s.h.i.+dou who just switched into s.h.i.+ori, in the hope of partic.i.p.ating in the performance, reached the music room situated in the fourth floor of the school. He heard that Ai, Mai and Mii seemed to be practicing there as well.

Well, they should have practiced for a lot before this. The chance of s.h.i.+dou joining them would be really slim at time like this.

As s.h.i.+dou thought to himself, someone grabbed his shoulder from his back.

"Finally found you, s.h.i.+dou. Where have you been?"

"I won"t let you go from now on."

"Tohka... and Origami? W-Why are you two in this place...."

s.h.i.+dou asked, with both his eyes turned round. The hands who were on his shoulder belong to Tohka and Origami, who were supposed to be in the cla.s.sroom.

"Uhn. I was looking for you after you were lost suddenly. I was worried that you were kidnapped by Origami."

"I was thinking if Tohka Yatogami caught you. I"m glad you"re still fine."

The two glared at each other as they spoke. Much to their annoyance, they turned their heads to the side.

As s.h.i.+dou helplessly smiled at them... "huh", s.h.i.+dou let out a voice and turn his head.

He was right in front of the music room. Pa.s.s the door, he could hear two kinds of noise, one that sounded like musical instruments being played badly with another one that sounded like quarreling.

"What is happening inside...?"

As he gently put Tohka"s and Origami"s hands down, s.h.i.+dou moved closer to the room in curiosity.

Right at this time, the door was opened violently and s.h.i.+dou was knocked in his nose.

"Ouch... ...!?"

"Hmph, just do whatever you people want!"

"Yeah right! We have nothing to do with this anymore!"

Not noticing s.h.i.+dou, two unfamiliar girls, completely furious, went down the stair.

"S-s.h.i.+dou, are you okay!?"

Seconds after that, Tohka, worried, moved closer to s.h.i.+dou. Although the pain was so excruciating that tears were about to come out from his eyes, s.h.i.+dou answered "I"m okay..." and shook his hand.

Then, some people seemed to be talking in the music room.

"What a bunch of fools, I won"t mind people like them quitting."

"Well, Ai... What should we do? There are only three of us left."

"Let"s not care about music, we have to find a vocalist for now. Huh?"

Mii noticed s.h.i.+dou, Tohka and Origami standing in front of the music room and raised her eyebrows.

In the next instance, she told Ai and Mai about them-

"Capture them!"

Then, they rushed at the three.

"Oh, so that"s how it is... Things happened before we realized it."

Ai said as she tilted her head.

Truth be told, Ai didn"t do that intentionally, nor did she do that as she treated s.h.i.+dou and the other two as idiots. It was, simply, because she got knocked in the neck by Origami when she rushed at her just now.

Now, there were six people in the music room. Ai, Mai and Mii, s.h.i.+dou, Tohka and Origami.

s.h.i.+dou told them that he wanted to join them in the performance on the stage during festival as well as explaining to them that it was Miku Izayoi who asked him to do so, without, of course, letting them know his secret mission.

"Hmm, sure, join us. Let"s work together for s.h.i.+ori to keep her promise!"

Ai said as she hit her chest. Perhaps due to overdoing it, she groaned.

"Hey, it"s us who should feel bad since we"re the ones who are desperately looking for new members."

"Aww, it no longer matters. Look, we have 3 more members joining us! At last we"re saved."

"Eh?"

As he heard what Mii just said, s.h.i.+dou was distressed.

"Ah, actually, Tohka... and Origami were just accompanying me..."

"Oh really? But they..."

Mai said as she pointed her finger to s.h.i.+dou"s back. Origami and Tohka were playing the instruments.

"Hey... you two..."

s.h.i.+dou smiled wryly as the two girls replied.

"I don"t really know what all this is about, but I can"t have you lose the compet.i.tion."

"Yup, leave this to me!"

The two girls glared at each other and tilted their head.

"Uhm hey girls, don"t you think we should get along with each other-"

"Yeah. Let"s beat Izayoi!"

"Let"s do this for s.h.i.+ori-"

As Ai, Mai and Mii said, the two unwillingly agreed. As he saw this, s.h.i.+dou could finally take a breath.

Aside from that Tohka and Origami fighting again when he wasn"t around, s.h.i.+dou thought that it would also be less stressful to have the two join the band as he didn"t know how well they could do.

"Hmm, wouldn"t it be bad for all probationary student council members to practice in a band?"

Mai said as she held her chin with her finger. s.h.i.+dou answered calmly.

"Oh, no worries about it. I had asked someone to help with that."

Although s.h.i.+dou did answer that calmly, he thought that it would still be good to stop talking about details any further. It would be bad if he revealed things like to those girls subconsciously.

"Well then... I"d like to start the practice immediately but... s.h.i.+ori, which instruments can you girls play?"

Ai looked at s.h.i.+dou as she asked.

"I"m the ba.s.sist, Mai"s the keyboardist and Mii"s the drummer."

"Uh-huh... Well... I think I could be the guitarist."

Of course, s.h.i.+dou no longer saw the guitar as "the partner" anymore, though, when the word "guitar" was told, he could feel calories were burnt inside his body. A book would sell for much if this way of losing weight was written in it.

"Oh, not bad, not bad, a guitarist girl!"

"Yeah cool! Come, play a song for us!"

"So, what about the other two?"

When Mii asked Tohka and Origami, both of them thoughtlessly answered.

"Guitar, just like s.h.i.+dou."

"Oh, so Tob.i.+.c.hi, are you experienced?"

Origami shook her head.

"Just give me a day, and I can play it well."

"O-Oh..."

Although Origami"s words sounded reckless, they sounded convincing as well. Ai scratched her face.

Then, Tohka stared at Ai, Mai and Mii with her eyes s.h.i.+ning, and asked.

"So, which instrument shall I play?!"

"Hmm, have you played any instruments before?"

"No!"

"So... which instrument do you like then?"

"No, either!"

"Uhm... then..."

"No!"

Tohka, without waiting for questions to be fully told, answered cheerfully.

The three girls had a discussion among themselves. A while later, they took out a box from the depth of the music room.

Then, they talked to Tohka in a rather heavy tone.

"Tohka... we shall leave this to you."

"This is the legendary instrument that no one could master."

"But, if it"s you, it might be possible to master. Could you do it...?"

As they told her in a mysterious tone, Tohka gulped.

"Uh... un!"

As Tohka nodded her head, the three girls opened the box and took out a s.h.i.+ny object.

"This is it..."

Ai pa.s.sed the instrument to Tohka. It was round-shaped, and there were pieces of metals around it, it looked like.... Well, it was just a tambourine.

"T-This is the legendary instrument..."

However, Tohka trembled. She slowly swung the tambourine in her hand. "Shaa shaa", a pleasant melody was made.

"Oh, ohhh...!"

Just when Tohka was enjoying it, Ai, Mai and Mii were shocked.

"W-Wow, you could play it the moment it was in your hands...!"

"Just as expected of Tohka! You can definitely master it!"

"Oh, the door of heaven has opened! The Saint of Music has descended upon us!"

Satisfied, Tohka continued playing the tambourine joyfully.

Relieved, Ai, Mai and Mii turned and looked at s.h.i.+dou.

"Well, I guess the roles have been settled."

"You didn"t bring your guitar, right? Think you can only start practicing tomorrow then..."

"But before that, there"s something that must be settled."

"What would that be?"

As s.h.i.+dou asked, the three girls scratched their faces.

"Uhm- it"s the vocalist."

"In fact, we can"t really sing well..."

"If we are to sing against Miku Izayoi, we are screwed."

"Haaaa...", they sighed. Then, Mii continued speaking.

"Normally, it"s either the guitarist or the ba.s.sist to sing, isn"t it? So Ai, you should be in charge of the vocals! Just show those people your striped panties on the stage!"

"Huh?! Why must it be me? Even a keyboardist could sing as well! Mai, you would be the vocalist! Okay, it"s decided!"

"Wait, won"t a drummer be fine too? If Mii could play drums wearing gla.s.ses, she should be able to sing as well, right? Won"t it be more cool to have her sing?"

The three girls started quarreling.

"H-Hey, calm down, you girls..."

As s.h.i.+dou was trying to bring down the fight, he thought of something.

"Oh yes... talk about vocalist."

s.h.i.+dou searched his pocket and took out a CD Kotori gave him in the morning.

He then played it on a radio in the room.

Not long after, a rather loud song was played. Ai, Mai and Mii stopped quarreling.

"This song... who composed this song? Although there"s no lyric, it sounds cool."

"Uh... actually, one of my relatives is an expert in music. He composed the song for us..."

s.h.i.+dou lied. Not bothering details, Ai, Mai and Mii continued asking questions excitedly.

"R-Really?! This is awesome."

"So, does that mean we could use this song?!"

"s.h.i.+ori, are you going to sing it?"

"Eh?! Well..."

Before s.h.i.+dou could respond, a stage had been prepared for him. Tohka and Origami swiftly sat before s.h.i.+dou.

"Well then, let"s begin!"

"Eh, w-wait!"

Mai began the music before s.h.i.+dou could stop her. Panicked, s.h.i.+dou drew out some cards with lyrics from his pocket.

-Then, after 5 minutes...

"OOhhhh-!"

"......"

Tohka clapped her hands cheerfully where as Origami nodded silently, with her hand holding a recorder.

Contrary to the two, Ai, Mai and Mii didn"t look satisfied.

"Hmm..."

"Not too bad... I think..."

"Still... it didn"t seem to be good as well..."

After listening to their comments, s.h.i.+dou could give nothing but a wry smile.

Truth be told, the same response had been displayed when s.h.i.+dou performed before Kotori.

And because of that, Kotori suggested him "that".

"Hmm... I have a copy of a professional singer"s singing. Perhaps we should play that copy during the performance that day."

"So... you"re planning to lip-sync?"

"Ahaha... I guess it won"t be good huh..."

s.h.i.+dou frowned his eyebrows while scratching his face. Yes, it was Kotori who suggested it if he really wanted to beat Miku. Though, it didn"t seem to be a good idea. No, it was not good, certainly. Ai, Mai and Mii who had trained so hard for the performance won"t possible be satisfied with that, either.

"I"m surprised you would go that far, honestly."

"Ya. And how are we going to do that during the performance?"

"We would be in trouble if somebody found it out, too."

Ai, Mai and Mii were annoyed. It seemed like there would be some more problems other than those they mentioned.

That being said, it was true that they would have to resort to that. It was the best that could do. However, it won"t be enough to have Miku admit losing.

Just when everyone was in deep thought, Origami stood up.

"s.h.i.+ori, play the song again."

"Huh?"

"I can"t afford to have you lose the compet.i.tion."

Before s.h.i.+dou could react to her request, Origami strode all the way to the top of the stage and grabbed a mic. It seemed like she was going to sing.

Knowing what Origami was trying to do, s.h.i.+dou played the song again just as what she wanted. Right before he was about to start the music, s.h.i.+dou was reminded that he forgot to give Origami those lyric cards.

"Oh, uh, Origami... here."

"These aren"t necessary. I already memorized the lyric."

"O-Oh..."

s.h.i.+dou scratched his face again and played the music.

-After the prelude, Origami started singing.

"Eh...?!"

Amazed, someone screamed behind s.h.i.+dou.

s.h.i.+dou was surprised too. Despite singing with her usual expression, Origami"s singing could still match with that of a professional singer.

"Ha-...."

Just when Origami finished singing, Ai, Mai and Mii applauded.

"Wow! It"s amazing!"

"Origami, you could sing so well!"

"I guess this would be perfect."

The three girls cheered excitedly. s.h.i.+dou could understand them. Indeed, it was surprising that Origami, despite her usual behavior, could sing much better than a normal person. She could sing in such a fantastic tone and with such an adequately loud voice, just like that in the CD they listened to.

s.h.i.+dou gulped and walked closer to Origami.

"Origami, can I leave the vocalist position to you...?"

"Yes, if it"s for the sake of your victory, s.h.i.+ori."

Origami answered without any hesitation nor consideration. Ai, Mai and Mii cheered once again.

Then, someone poked s.h.i.+dou at his back. s.h.i.+dou turned his head and noticed that Tohka was standing close behind him with an eager look.

"I want to sing, too! Can I sing please?!"

"Oh? Sure, of course."

Then, s.h.i.+dou gave her the cards. Knowing that she couldn"t memorize the lyric just like Origami, Tohka had to take the cards.

Tohka, with a hand holding the mike and another holding the cards and the tambourine, stood on the stage.

s.h.i.+dou reminded that he had never seen Tohka singing. He did see her humming before that but he was sure that Tohka had never sung in a band with music.

Since Tohka was also spirit, he thought that she could also sing well, but maybe not as well as Miku.

"Ermm... eh?"

Surprised, Tohka frowned and waved her hands at s.h.i.+dou.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"Uhm... how do I read this... kanji?"

Annoyed, Tohka pa.s.sed the cards back to s.h.i.+dou.

"Eh-..."

Everyone thought that it would be good to have Origami as the vocalist... for now.

"Alright, we don"t have much time, let"s start the practice!"

"Ohhhh!"

Everyone, including Tohka, shouted as they raised their hands.

Meanwhile, in Rindouji All-Girls Private School.

"Listen, girls. I"ve decided to perform on the first day."

After Miku announced that, the meeting room turned chaotic.

"O-Onee-sama, is it true...?!"

"But you were afraid of standing before a crowd of people..."

"If that"s so, then we would definitely win on the first day, since onee-sama is going to perform anyway."

The girls sitting in two lines cheered joyfully, some even screamed happily. Miku smiled as she looked at them happily.

"Well then, I shall leave the preparation to you girls. And, please get some new clothes too. I would also like some better instruments. Oh, and yes, we have to settle the students" application for dancers as well."

As Miku was giving order, all the girls were hugging their chests, imagining how the performance that day was going to be. -But,

"W-Wait a minute!"

A four-eyed girl who sat at the left stood up.

"Huh-? Is there anything wrong?"

When Miku looked at her, the girl was frightened. Though, she calmed and continued speaking, grabbing her knuckle.

"Excuse me but... how are we going to deal with the bra.s.s band club that previously registered for the performance that day?"

"Hmm- ...Well sadly, we would need to have them forfeit their performance. Well, won"t that be good? If I"m performing, our school would definitely win."

"N-No, this is not right!"

The four-eyed girl said angrily.

"Everyone was practicing so hard for the performance. Won"t you feel bad for them?!"

As she protested, everyone idled. Everyone wanted to see Miku perform, but they couldn"t ignore what the four-eyed girl told as well.

Then, a girl who was sitting right the opposite of the four-eyed girl raised her hand and spoke.

"U-uhm, Onee-sama, if you"re going to take over the performance, how are other clubs going to..."

"The school won last year too, right? It won"t be a problem if we just did what we did last year."

Right after Miku spoke, the girl who sat next to the opposite of the four-eyed girl spoke.

"I"m really sorry but... There won"t be enough budget to get new clothes and instruments for Onee-sama already..."

As the three girls protested, the meeting room became noisy.

Miku sighed. She then squinted her eyes and spoke.

"Anyway, just do what I ordered."

-Soon after that, the noisy room turned into silence.

"So, shall I leave this to you girls? Hmm, never mind, I think I would solve all the problems myself-"

As Miku prolonged her sentence, the girls answered "Yes, Onee-sama." together.

September 22th. Origami Tob.i.+.c.hi, in order to carry out maintenance on her unit, came to the station.

Although the Tenou festival would be held next day, as a member of AST, she couldn"t slack. After the maintenance, she changed into uniform, and then took a check-up on her CR-UNIT that she just put into the hanger while taking a look at her duty list.

"......"

While she was doing her duty, Origami had a strange feeling and furrowed her eyes slightly.

There were other AST members in the hanger, too. However, they weren"t behaving like usual. The atmosphere in the hanger was so tense.

"......"

She thought to herself deeply. ...However, she couldn"t recall being a.s.signed any orders recently. Even after she checked again, she couldn"t find any new orders, either.

Just when Origami was busy confirming if there was any new orders, she could hear footsteps from her left.

She turned her head to her left and saw a golden-haired girl with gla.s.ses scurried while holding onto some doc.u.ments. -AST Readiness Officer, Mildred F. Fujimura, nicknamed "Mily".

Immediately, Origami grabbed Mily"s neck just in the time she pa.s.sed through her.

"Woah!?"

Mily moaned with a cat-like sound as her b.o.o.bs that were bigger than Origami"s shook.

"W-What are you doing-?! What if my backbones were damaged-?!"

"Mildred, I have something to ask you."

Mily noticed that criminal the higher-up mentioned was Origami. "Puu", she had an inner laugh as she drooped her eyelids.

"I"m not quite satisfied with what Origami is doing to me! I demand improvement!"

"Understood."

As Origami let her off, Mily sighed.

"...So, what business do you have with Mily? Mily is very busy, you know."

"Is there any special operation recently?"

Mily turned her eyes big, pretending to be surprised.

"What are you saying, Origami? Of course, we"re preparing for the operation tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

Origami was surprised. Mily nodded her head.

"But why wasn"t I notified of it? Just what operation will be carried out tomorrow?"

"Eh? Really? Ah- seriously. That Ryouko always loved to criticize people but now when there"s crisis, she just ran away huh-"

"Tell me what operation is it tomorrow."

"Alright, alright. Tomorrow-"

Mily stopped. -It was Jessica who suddenly appeared and covered her mouth, preventing her to tell Origami the secret operation.

"Cease your words, Miss Readiness Officer. What you were going to tell is a secret."

"Eh? W-What do you mean-?"

Mily, seemingly surprised, asked. Then, Jessica whispered something to her ear.

"...Uh, sorry, Origami. It seems like this is something that you can"t be let known."

"Just what do you mean?"

Origami squinted her eyes as Jessica shrugged her shoulders.

"Hehe, it means what you just heard there. Come on, don"t put on such an angry look. If you want to, you can appeal to your boss."

After that, Jessica walked away. Mily, with a look of apology, left Origami as she held onto some doc.u.ments.

Just what kind of operation would there be? Origami thought to herself as she looked at the other AST members.

However, everyone was just doing their duties and wouldn"t look at Origami eye-to-eye.

"......"

Annoyed, Origami finished her duty quickly and left the hangar.

Origami thought to herself that since she wasn"t allowed to know the operation, it couldn"t be helped no matter how much doubt she had.

Rather than thinking about that, it would be better to practice at home for the performance on the next day.

Just when Origami was alone in the changing room, someone opened the door.

Origami glanced at the door and saw Ryouko entering the room.

"Lieutenant Kusakabe."

"......"

Not responding to Origami"s greeting, Ryouko walked to the center of the room. Facing away from Origami, she sat on the bench, drinking a can of coffee. After she took a sip, she let out a sigh of tiredness.

"......"

It seemed like she still didn"t want to talk to Origami.

Knowing that, Origami continued changing, quietly.

However, just when she was about to take her clothes from the hanger, Ryouko spoke.

"Ah-, it"s so frustrating to deal with those annoying foreigners. Since there aren"t too many people in the room right now, I guess I shall grumble to myself a little then."

"...?"

Origami frowned slightly and turned to her back.

Origami thought that instead of "grumbling", Ryouko might be trying to explain about the operation to her. Besides, it would be preposterous if Ryouko really forgot about Origami being in the room due to tiredness since she was not expected to as she was the one who lead the AST members.

Though, Ryouko, pretending as if she never noticed Origami, continued speaking, to the wall.

"-Tomorrow, September 23rd, 1500 hrs, the third combat unit would plunge into the Tenguu Plaza. The target to be captured would be Tohka Yatogami, the girl who was suspected to be the spirit ."

"...What-"

Listening to what Ryouko said with her lower lip attaching the can, Origami was so surprised that she couldn"t resist letting out some voice.

The third combat unit, as in the unit that consisted of only DEM members, would be capturing Tohka Yatogami tomorrow. And what was more was that, they were going to do it right when the festival was going on.

Origami was so astonished at the information Ryouko leaked to her. Having yet to put on her sleeves completely, she turned to the direction where Ryouko was sitting.

However, Ryouko had yet to finish.

"-And a Second-year student of Raizen High School, s.h.i.+dou Itsuka?"

"...?!"

With that name being spoken from Ryouko"s mouth, Origami gasped.

Before she knew it, Origami grabbed Ryouko"s shoulders.

"What is the meaning of this? If it"s just Tohka Yatogami, I could understand, but why s.h.i.+dou too-"

"......"

Although Origami shook her shoulders violently, Ryouko didn"t say anything, as if she was overcome by a ghost.

Remaining silent, Ryouko let out a sigh, again. She took some sips from the can of coffee in her hand as she walked to the door of the room.

"Ahh, the operation tomorrow would be very tiring, so tiring that I might have forgotten to lock the door of the second hangar. Well, it doesn"t matter. There won"t be any accident, I guess."

Then, she added.

"-Origami, it"s up to you now."

Ryouko, after finis.h.i.+ng her last sentence, left the room.

"......"

Alone in the room, Origami stared at the door blankly.

"Tch..."

Not being able to calm down, she held her knuckle firmly.