Date A Live: Starting as Acheron

This chapter is non-canon. But if it were canon, it would have happened between Chapters 34 and 35.

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"Kyo! Wake up!" Nia's frantic voice rang through the air. Kyo jolted awake, ripping [Naught] off his necklace and sliding into a sword stance.

"What? Where? Enemy?!" Kyo rapidly blinked his eyes in his best attempt to rid them of lingering sleepiness, cautiously glancing around the room. Can't see anything out of the ordinary… is this the work of an enemy Stand?

"Eh? Enemy? Why would there be an enemy?" Nia placed a hand on his forehead, her own wrinkling with concern. "Are you feeling alright?"

"...you should sound less frantic when you try to wake me up next time," he groaned, reattaching [Naught] and massaging his temples. "What's the problem, anyway?"

"Oh, right. Ahem. A murder! A murder at the Itsuka's!"

"WHAT?!"

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"Hic- Yoshinon!" Yoshino's sobbing voice cried from the corner. Reine slowly patted her on the back, offering small words of comfort.

"This… this is too cruel…" Tohka whispered, tears in her eyes. Shidou nodded grimly, patting her on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, is there some sort of script I didn't receive?" Kyo asked, baffled.

"Whatever do you mean, Kyo? Even for you, that kind of reaction is just too cruel…" Nia wiped a tear from her eye.

"There's no time to fight amongst ourselves. We have to get to the bottom of this before the murderer's trail runs cold," Kotori announced through gritted teeth. "I'll explain everything we know so far."

"Please do," Kyo grumbled. I really woke up at 8 am for this? 

"Ahem. Sometime between yesterday at 21:00 hours and today at 07:00 hours, Yoshinon was kidnapped from Yoshino's bedside. At approximately 07:10 hours, Yoshinon's head was discovered on the dinner table…" Kotori's voice began to weaken, and she buried her own head in her hands before erupting into sobs.

"I'll take it from here," Reine announced, returning from the corner and giving Kotori a pat on the head. "After ten more minutes of searching, her body was discovered on the floor of Shidou's room. So far, there is no primary suspect."

"However, the murderer has to be someone who could easily enter this house. Meaning!" Nia pointed to the sky dramatically. "Everyone in this house is a suspect!"

"There are so many holes in that logic that it could reasonably be mistaken for swiss cheese," Kyo deadpanned. "Especially because you and I were both asleep in our apartment yesterday."

"Eh? But can you prove that?" Nia narrowed her eyes. 

"...you were literally there with me." 

"Eh? I was?"

"Oh, for the love of-"

"Nia's right," Kotori interrupted. "Unless you have a verifiable alibi, you're one of our biggest suspects."

"Verifiable alib- what, do you want me to magic some video footage out of nowhere? You're also guilty of mass-murder, what's your point?!"

"But Kurumi's never hurt a bunny before!" Tohka chimed in. Kyo went silent, covering his face with his hands.

"It's true. There's at least three recorded cases of Miss Kurumi rescuing animals in the line of fire, even as she fought off attacking Wizards," Reine confirmed, pushing up her glasses..

"See!" Tohka pointed fiercely at Kyo, who looked back with an unimpressed expression. "Compared to your previous crime of bunny-napping, Kurumi's basically a saint!"

"You-"

"Alright already!" Kotori, who had seemingly recovered from the trauma of puppet homicide, stepped in front of the two. "Since no one can seem to prove themselves innocent-"

"But Nia and I can literally confirm each other's alibi-"

"AHEM. LIKE I SAID, since NO ONE can prove themselves innocent, it seems we must invoke the ancient magic of Hal'Wean and speak to the ghost of Yoshinon herself!" Her voice raised in volume dramatically at the end, followed by an awkward pause, as though she were waiting for some sort of reaction.

"Uh… you realize the holiday of Halloween isn't copyrighted, right?"

"Please stop speaking nonsense, Kyo. Now then." Kotori turned to address them all with a grim expression. "Since this ritual can only be done tonight at precisely 11 pm, we'll have to split up the preparations."

"I'll prepare the pumpkin!" Tohka quickly raised her hand, glancing around as if afraid someone would challenge her for the position.

"Very well. I'll get the candies. That leaves you three-" Kotori pointed at Nia, Kyo and Shidou, "-to find the three Patron Spirits of Hal'Wean and borrow their power. After all, we couldn't possibly ask Yoshino to help out, and, uh, Reine… needs to do Reine things,"

"I do need to do Reine things," the woman in question added, holding up a sparkler.

"This is stupi-"

"Yes, ma'am!" Nia quickly covered Kyo's mouth and replied with a military salute before dragging Kyo out of the house. Shidou chuckled nervously and followed suit.

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"-and upon the conclusion of the ceremony, the Patron Spirit will appear and grant the summoner a portion of their power for a single night," Nia concluded. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, when did you come up with all that?" Nia shot him an unamused look. "Fine, fine. I'll play along. Just gotta find the shrine, do a sidequest, get the blessing, then rinse and repeat two more times, right?"

"Eh, close enough." Nia shrugged, then pointed ahead at a strange statue holding a red orb. "The first shrine is this statue here in front of us. Since you're being such a bore, I'll take on the first trial."

"Suit yourself." It's not as though this world has real ghosts, anyway. 

"Nines strings! Polarization! Raven's promise! Between top and bottom!" Kyo watched with mild interest as Nia chanted and performed a series of elaborate hand signs. Something seems familiar about those words… 

Suddenly, a blinding light emanated from the orb in the statue's hands. When Kyo regained his vision, a pair of orange-haired girls floated before them, bound together by chains and wearing long white robes.

"Hahaha! The arrogation of mortals never ceases to amaze me! Very well, since all proper tributes have been paid, I will honor the contract. What is it that you wish from me, the Great Spirit of Christmas Past?" The girl on the left posed dramatically.

"Exasperation: For the last time, we are not the Spirit of Christmas Past." Despite her words, the girl on the right mimicked the pose of her counterpart.

"...what are you two doing? Kaguya? Yuzuru?" Kyo looked at them with a mixture of confusion and concern. 

"H-hey! Stop giving me that look that says 'This girl's gone totally nuts, hasn't she,' ok?!"

"Answer: We are the first Patron Spirit of Hal'Wean."

"Are there not two of you?!" Kyo pointed a finger at each of the sisters in turn. "One, two!"

"Explanation: We are two halves of the original Patron Spirit Yamai, and thus together constitute one whole."

"Hey, Kyo? We can't keep wasting time. Since Nia summoned the Spirit, let's give them some space for a moment." Shidou gestured for Kyo to come with him a few meters to the side. Kyo followed, shaking his head.

"Ah… right. Now, oh Patron Spirit of Hal'Wean, I request to borrow the power to commune with the dead!" Nia cupped her hands and bowed deeply.

"Hoho! Well met, Spiritseeker. Unlike your companion over there, I see great affinity for my power within you. However, you must first undertake two trials before we may grant you this boon!"

"Explanation: There are two trials because we are two halves of the original Patron Spirit, and thus require two trials," Yuzuru added.

"The math isn't mathing over there!" Kyo called.

"That's fine with me! Bring it on!" Nia ignored him, pumping her fists in the air. 

"Kukuku! Very well then. I shall go first!" Kaguya struck another pose, covering one of her eyes and leaning backwards. "To pass my trial, you must answer the riddle that has plagued the world for all eternity! Tell me: what is the unit most commonly used to measure electricity?"

"A… watt?"

"So this answer evades you, too…" Kaguya tossed her hair and sighed dramatically. "Fear not, for I am a benevolent Spirit. Even though you have not passed my trial, I will allow you to continue. After all, even my own other half does not know."

"Wait, hold on-"

"Vexed: don't bother trying to explain. She won't get it," Yuzuru cut Nia off with a hint of disappointment in her voice before returning to a stoic expression. "Anticipation: It is now my turn to present a trial. Query: Why is a firework (花火) like a writing desk (書き物机)?"

"Er…" Nia stretched her head. "This one… I actually don't know."

"Approval: Neither I nor she knows. You have passed."

"..." 

Kyo, Shidou, and Nia all collectively shared a moment of silence. 

After a few more moments, Nia turned to Kyo and gave a weak thumbs up. "I guess I did it?"

"I… guess you did," he replied, still utterly baffled.

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"Second stop, the shrine at the lake. Here we are!" Nia snapped [Raziel] shut and pointed up to the top of the white lighthouse the trio had just arrived at.

Kyo leaned against the wall. "Ok… so are we supposed to enter the tower? Is the orb at the top? Or was the orb just something cosmetic, and we can just pray to the tower itself?" 

"Well, there's no time like the present to find out." Shidou rubbed his hands together and began reciting his chant. "Wyvern scales! Repulsive force! Sister asteroids!"

…I remember where these chants are from now. Kyo facepalmed as the entire lighthouse was suddenly enveloped in a blinding white light. When he could see what was happening again, a twin-tailed girl in a red and black gothic lolita dress was in front of them. A girl who was pointing a flintlock pistol pointed against Shidou's forehead.

"I ask of you-" She curtsied, maintaining a polite smile despite her position. "-are you the Master?"

Not you too, Kurumi… Kyo groaned internally.

Shidou gulped. "Ma… ster…? Er, before that, could you put the gu-"

"Are. You. The. Master?" Kurumi's smile widened, though the tone of her voice suggested anything but good intentions.

"Eep! Yes, er, no, I mean- I'm the one who summoned you!" Shidou stammered out, sweat flowing freely from his neck. Kurumi seemed to consider his answer for a second, then put down her weapon.

"Well then, greetings, fair Spiritseeker. I am Kurumi, a Patron Spirit of Hal'Wean. I presume you're here for my power?" She flashed a crafty smile at the trio.

"Y-yeah… my name is Itsuka Shidou, and I'm the one undertaking the trial." Shidou cleared his throat and stepped forwards.

"How wonderful. Now, let's see. For someone like you… why don't we play a little game of tag?" Kurumi licked her lips.

"Tag? Like, the kid's game?" Shidou smiled. "That, I can do."

"I'm glad you're so eager to get started. The goal is to avoid being tagged for five minutes in a row. Oh, and if you get tagged more than twice… well, it's been quite a while since I've had a snack. And you look like quite the tasty morsel."

"Metaphorically, right…" Shidou squeaked. Kurumi's smile widened.

"No. Your time starts now." At her words, Shidou immediately turned tail and fled.

"We… don't need to help him, right?" Nia asked unsurely.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Kyo replied. "Anyway, I saw an ice cream parlor on the way here." Nia's eyes brightened. 

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"Huff, huff, hauck- cough-" Shidou coughed violently as he desperately tried to catch his breath. "So- cough- so many hands…"

"Well, you did it, right? Good job, better than I ever expected to be honest. I hope you like vanilla." Kyo casually handed him a waffle cone with, unsurprisingly, a single scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

"Oh… thanks." Shidou licked it right out of Kyo's hand, causing him to recoil in disgust. The ice cream dropped to the floor, melting away like any sense of kinship between the two men.

"..."

"..."

Just then, Kurumi walked over. "You've done well, Spiritseeke- am I interrupting something?" 

"Just give him your power so we can get out of here," Kyo grumbled. Why did I even try to do something nice for this guy?

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"Here we are! The last shrine!" Shidou cheered.

"Thank everything that is holy," Kyo sighed. "This day has been nothing but weird."

"Well, it's never too late to get weirder. Time for you to summon the third Patron Spirit of Hal'Wean!" Nia cheered.

"Ugh, fine. What's the chant again?"

"Um, it was something like 'With this treasure I summon-'"

"I'm not saying that." Kyo detached [Naught] from his necklace and grew it to full size before pointing it at the tree. "Hey, Spirit. Come out before I refund my donation to Team Trees."

"Now that isn't very nice, is it?" A sultry voice spoke from behind him. Kyo turned to find a jade-haired woman in translucent tights and witch hat sitting in a seductive position on a nearby bench. Y'know what? I can't even be mad at this one. At least the theme is appropriate.

"It figures, I suppose, that the Spirit named [Witch] would make an appearance today," Kyo said breezily.

"[Witch] is such an unflattering name. Call me Natsumi." The woman stood up and walked closer to Kyo, shooting a quick wink at Shidou on the way. The highschooler blushed and averted his gaze to the side.

"Wasn't planning on calling you anything else. Now, what's your sidequest? C'mon, let's get this over with." Kyo made a beckoning gesture with one hand, the other still tightly clutching [Naught]. 

"Well, there really is a limit to how rude you can be. How about this: my trial is simply for you to bow your head and apologize." Natsumi smiled warmly.

"Really?" Damn, if you're only asking for that much, I'd actually make my apology genuine! Kyo quickly bent down to a full 90 degree angle. "I sincerely apologize for facing you with such a bad attitude. You truly are an understanding person."

"Haha, very good!" Natsumi clapped her hands together with delight. "Now, hold still while I grant you my blessing. And don't resist now, or you'll have to do the real trial if it fails."

"Sure, sure." Kyo relaxed, stowing [Naught] away again. "Go ahead."

"Alright! [Haniel]!" A broomstick manifested in Natsumi's hands, the bristles morphing into a mirrored surface before shining a blinding beam of light at Kyo. 

Moments passed in silence. Uh, what's happening? He opened his eyes again to see Natsumi doubled over on the ground, Nia and Shidou standing stupefied behind her. "Uh, what is i-"

Something's wrong with my voice. Kyo clutched at this throat, feeling for any irregularities. The good news was that his neck felt fine. The bad news was that his chest didn't.

"BWAHAAA! Serves you right! Later, you stuck-up grouch!" 

As Natsumi disappeared in another flash of light, Nia broke out of her shock and let out a bemoaning whine. "Now that's just cruel. How come even yours are bigger than mine?"

"...NATSUMIIIIII!!!" An angry voice screamed to the heavens. A voice that, although once unmistakably male, was now indisputably female.

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"Shidou, you're back! And Nia, and…" Tohka paused. "Who are you?"

"She's your long-lost big sister! Say hi!" Nia urged with a giggle.

Tohka's eyes shone with excitement. "My… my big sister?! I have a big sister?!" 

"Oi. Who the fudge do you think you're calling 'big sister,' you airheaded glutton? You think just because we both have purple hair, such an outrageous thing could have even the smallest chance of being true?!" Kyo, tossing her newfound long hair, quickly turned to Nia. "And what the fork are you doing encouraging her?!"

"I think it's a pretty good look." Reine popped out of nowhere, making a comment while blatantly staring at a certain part of Kyo's body. Mio I swear if you make one more comment I'm gonna-

"Shidou! You're behind schedule! What happened to-" Kotori froze when she saw Kyo, then quickly grabbed Shidou by the collar of his shirt and dragged him elsewhere into the house.

"...I think I'm just going to pretend I don't think I know what they're planning," he mumbled. "Reine, are all of Tohka and Kotori's preparations done yet?"

"Big sister! Why didn't you just ask me?" Tohka cried out in a hurt tone. Kyo ignored her.

"Yes, but we still need Shidou for his Patron Spirit's blessing." At that moment, Shidou walked back in, a look of slight discomfort on his face.

"Alright Shidou, chop chop. Let's get this damn thing over with so I can go and method-act a medieval witch hunt," Kyo said through gritted teeth.

"Ahem… not unless you promise to go out on a d- whoa whoa whoa, ok, I'll do it!" Shidou quickly changed his tune upon seeing the genderbent Spirit reach for [Naught].

"Know your damn place, Shidou." Kyo smiled eerily with lightless eyes. "Don't think I won't hesitate to relieve you of your own manhood permanently."

Shidou gulped.

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As Kyo, Nia, and Shidou stood in a triangular formation around Yoshinon's body, Tohka hugged Yoshino and watched from the side. Kotori began to chant.

"We gather here to praise THEM for their benevolence." Nia's body began to glow brightly.

"THEY have never given us up, let us down, ran around or deserted us." Shidou's body began glowing as well.

"THEY will never make us cry, say goodbye, or tell us a li-"

"Hold it," Kyo interrupted unceremoniously. Immediately, the glow on both Nia and Shidou disappeared.

"What's the big idea? Now we need to redo this entire ritual all over again!" Kotori complained, walking over to Kyo and staring up in her best attempt at being imposing. "You've been acting overly critical of everything all day! What's wrong this time? Can't you just-"

"-find some Elation in all of this, perhaps?" Kyo sighed, unclasping [Naught] from her necklace for the third time today.

"Eh?" He ignored Kotori's bewildered expression, turning to glance around the room. Aside from the so-called Patron Spirits, the only one missing right now, probably busy preparing the next "scene," is…

"Reine." Kyo called the name calmly, yet severely. "Get in here."

"Reine's over on the Fraxinus dealing with important Reine stuff! You can't just-" Kotori's words caught in her throat as Reine silently opened the door and stepped in. "Reine? Why are you here?"

Kyo's eyes narrowed. "Well that's the catch, isn't it? Like you said, Reine isn't here. Am I right? Masked Fool?"

Reine's eyebrow raised a notch. "Oh? What does that mean?"

"Just give up, please. You gave it away the second you replaced an actual chant for praise of your Aeon."

"...I guess you're right. Well, I guess that's what happens when you're working with a script as terrible as mine. But, since the cat's already out of the bag… I guess there's no need to KEEP THE BAG ANYMORE!" Reine swung her arms up in a grand flourish, an uncharacteristic grin on her face, as the house around them exploded.

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"Where… is this?" Tohka rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Yoshinon… Yoshinon!" Yoshino held up her right arm, where a certain rabbit puppet sat as per usual, without a hint of damage.

"Ouuugh, what happened? It feels like I took the longest nap ever!" The puppet spoke blearily.

"Ow, ow." Shidou croaked as Kotori continuously stomped on his stomach. "I'm up!"

"This place…" Kyo looked around the new world around them: an amusement park, filled with giant ride attractions, the perpetual sound of bells and whistles, and a sea of constantly flashing lights. "This place hurts my eyes."

"Oh, you're back to normal," Nia noted from behind him.

"You don't have to sound so happy for me."

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it."

"I didn't-"

"UGH! Complaining, complaining, complaining! Is that all you do?" An unfamiliar voice sounded from above. Kyo narrowed his eyes as a long-haired masked figure jumped down from the top of a ferris wheel, landing lightly in front of them. "Just have a little fun for once, can you not?"

"What I can't understand is why you're so fixated on Halloween when yesterday was the first fudging day of June!"

"You- ugh, there's really no helping you, is there?" The masked figure collapsed onto her back, splaying out their limbs as though playing dead. "I had to strike a deal with THEM to bring you a little Hal'Wean spirit, had to suffer through that absolute mess of a script, had to impersonate five people I've never met, had to gather five more people into my dream, and you're still complaining! Jeez!"

"It's almost as if everything you did was meaningless, wasn't it?" Kyo said sardonically as he slowly drew [Naught] from its sheath."

"Exact- oh, you wouldn't." For the first time, the masked figure's voice trembled.

"[Naught], with the power of Nihility, severs all. From dreams to the Paths to fate itself, there is nothing that can escape." Kyo's hair slowly bleached itself white, and a monochrome domain seemed to expand and envelop the entire world.

"Y-you can't! You're already tainted by Nihility! You'll die if you use that blade!" The masked figure pleaded.

"You're right, if we were in the real world. But you said it yourself, right? This dream is yours. So the one bearing the brunt of the Nihility right now…"

Blood-red tears streamed from his eyes. The world went silent. Time slowed to a stop. Then, he swung.

And thus the world shattered before him.

—————I am the dividing line between dream and reality—————

"Ugh…" Nia moaned as she sipped her cup of coffee. "I feel like I just had the most ridiculous dream, but I can't seem to remember it…"

"That's probably for the better," Kyo comforted. Although, I feel like I'm forgetting something too. Nia leaned back on her chair and closed her eyes. Moments later, she opened them and stared at Kyo scrutinizingly.

"What is it?"

"...for some reason, I kinda want to see you in a skirt."

"..."