Date a live - spirit child

Ch.4 New Nightmare

Downstairs again Shido was beginning to become suspicious but his thoughts are stopped by the ding of the microwave.
"Oh the soup is ready"
"Thank you Shido I'll bring this to Emi and she's probably going to ask me to spoon feed her"
"Glad I could help"
They both walk up stairs, but Shido walks towards Saori's bedroom which Kurumi pointed him to. When he got to the door he knocked on it hoping that she would talk to him.
"Hey, Saori it's me, Shin. Your mom let me in and I was just waiting for you to calm down and I'm sorry about earlier"
The door slowly opens revealing Saori holding a black stuffed kitten. She wasn't upset anymore and invited Shido into her room to talk; her room was standard looking with a TV, a bed, a work table, and some stuffed animals. Shido sits in a chair next to her work table while she sits on her bed with an apologetic look on her face.
"I'm sorry Shin I didn't want anyone to see it"
"Hey it's okay, so how did that happen?
"....."
"If you don't want to say then you don't have to"
Saori just looked down at the ground so Shido knew she didn't want to say anything yet. So he decided to leave it alone for now
"Like I said you don't have to say"
"Thanks, Shin. Can I just have some more time to myself?"
"Sure"
Shido walks out of the room and begins making his way to the stairs when he passes by Emi's room again where Kurumi was about to leave with the dishes since Emi was done eating. As he passed by the door he looks inside and sees Kurumi hugging Emi and thinks to himself.
"I wonder how the Kurumi I know would feel seeing this"
Kurumi exits the bedroom and downstairs Shido decides to ask her one question before he leaves.
"Kurumi I know it's really my business by why haven't told anyone about number seven?"
Kurumi walks over to the cabinet and pulls out a small yellow box and opens it.
"This is why"
Kurumi reaches inside and pulls out a few small objects like a ticket, a pressed flower, and a receipt which she hid behind her back with a blush. But what she wanted to show Shido was one of her most cherished possessions.
"This is why"
She showed Shido an old pregnancy test which read positive.
"I want to surprise my husband with the news just like on our first anniversary when he saw this and I'll never forget his smile when he saw this"
"I see so you want to remind him of that feeling"
Shido said goodbye to Kurumi since he didn't want to involve Saori in whatever was going on and decided to find the other three of her children before it got too dark since the sky was orange. In Saori's room, she watches Shido leave the house and someone else is in the room with her saying.
"Reiji's in place sister"
"Good job sister"
Back where Akane and Akihiko were they had found out whom the shooter was from the person who had approached them. But they needed to get to Shido fast since he was in danger and decided to split up. Akane was more afraid since she had a better idea of what they were dealing with, but didn't fully know what kind of person they were. Shido had left the house to look around the city to find Asami and Miki the other two daughters Kurumi had with his future self since he thought Reiji would be difficult to find. He walked around the high school which was closed due to the students and staff being told to stay home until the killings have stopped. He looked upwards and saw someone in one of the windows and they looked like Saori but slightly different.
Shido decided to check it out since it could be Asami or Reiji. Shido made his way to the roof of the school, but oddly enough none of the doors was locked and the gate was open like someone expected him to walk by. Once on the roof Shido sees a young man wearing the school uniform and he heavily resembles Saori only his hair was shorter and disheveled. He was smiling and holding what appeared to be midnight black single-edged sword in his right hand. The odd thing was his first words to Shido
"Hey Shido"
Shido was shocked that he knew his name.
"How do you..."
The young man had a smug look on his face.
"I heard from a reliable source like how you're my dad's younger self. Oh, speaking of which if you didn't already know my name is Reiji and..."
Reiji points over to the door which flies open and two more people come through two girls. One of them was Saori and she was being pushed to the ground by the other girl who looked like Reiji and Saori only her hair was longer and tied in a tail which kept in the front of her body. She was holding an identical sword only it was slightly smaller. Shido was afraid since Saori was covered with red marks likely caused from being hit and now he thinks that they gave Saori her black eye.
"Saori! Why are the two of you doing this? isn't she your sister!?"
The second girl Asami merely laughed at his words and didn't speak as she walked over to him with Reiji approaching as well. Saori lay on the ground crying and helpless as Shido held his ground as they approached when Akihiko jumps up from the street below and was surprised by his feat.
"Wow didn't know I could do that"
The two siblings look at him with slight fear. Reiji seemed enraged at Akihiko's appearance.
"Who the hell are you!?"
Akihiko had a smile on his face and he summoned his sword and for some reason her was wearing a mantle resembling his cape on his left shoulder.
"I'm Akihiko Itsuka at this guy you're messing with is my buddy"
Shido was happy to see Akihiko.
"Good time Akihiko glad you're here"
"Please Shido were buddies so call me Aki"
"Okay Aki I need your help just don't hurt them too much"
Aki assumes his stance and he manages to knock both of the siblings out with just one swing of his sword and didn't even need to cut them.
"Uh, that was easy..."
Aki was feeling uneasy since he shouldn't have beaten them this easily they looked too well equipped to lose this easily. But his worries were at ease when Saori stood up and hugged Shido with tears in her eyes.
"Shin they told me to help them...they wanted to know where you were and I didn't know so they..."
Shido patted Saori on the head.
"It's okay you're safe now"
Akane noticed Akihiko's jump from a distance and made her way to the rooftop. She was a little surprised that there was no action.
"Well I guess I'm not needed"
She looked at the ground and saw Asami on the ground.
"So this is the shooter huh...where's her gun?"
Both Shido and Aki were a little confused since Shido had forgotten.
"Her gun but she isn't the shooter"
Akane looked at Shido nervously.
"Shido this isn't funny I heard it from someone the shooter is Saori Itsuka and where's her gun!?"
"Akane that's...Asami..Saori is..."
Saori's crying turned to a slight laugh as she was still in Shido's arms. She lifted her head and looked at him with an uneasy smile. Shido freaked out a little and let go of her to pull back a little.
"So you've found me out huh"
"Saori it was you who was behind this?"
Saori warps to her sibling's unconscious bodies and takes their swords and puts on a creepier smile.
"Yes I was and these two weaklings were my puppets... in a way you were too"
Shido, Aki, and Akane were all feeling uneasy by Saori who wiped away her red marks which were just makeup and another gust of wind blows through her hair revealing instead of a black eye her eye was a gold clock. Akane was even more afraid now as she said.
"You've got to be kidding me"
Saori looked at all three of the others as she spoke.
"A lonely hurt girl approaches an honest young man and is need of help. Feeling so generous he assists her and listens to her worries like a gentleman. It was so easy to get close to you then again I guess it would be... daddy"
Saori lets out a maddened laugh as shadows erupt from below her feet engulfing her completely. When the shadows clear she is now wearing an altered version of Kurumi's astral dress it was the same length but it lacked the headpiece and was light green instead of red, the skirt was torn in half at the front, and wore form-fitting black outfit underneath.
"Ah I feel so much better"
But something didn't feel right still since she didn't have a gun anywhere and Akane was sure she wasn't showing everything.
"If you really are the shooter then where are your guns?"
"Hmm I don't need them to handle the two of you"
Shido was still shocked beyond belief since he thought Saori was a sweet innocent girl.
"Saori you..killed those people? Didn't say some of the victims were your friends? so does that mean you killed your own friends and...you used your own brother and sister!?"
Saori turned to face Shido with her clock eye now in plain sight.
"Friends...hahaha haha hahaha"
"What's so funny?"
"Those things weren't my friends they lied to me, they cheated me, and then they tried to blackmail me and laughed while they did it to me..I was so destroyed and that's when my powers awakened"
Shido was feeling a little sympathetic until Saori said next.
"They thought it was funny so showed them what I thought was funny. I kidnaped them and told them whoever killed the other got to leave so I sat and watched them kill each other it was priceless. Then when the winner came to me I said what I didn't say you would leave alive. Then I laughed as I tortured her to death."
Aki was angered by her words.
"If your friends cheated you then they deserved to get punished but you didn't have to kill them! And didn't you kill several others as well!?"
Saori shrugged it off.
"Yeah like my pig-headed teacher. Mom said men usually want one thing, he didn't get from me and started taking it out on my grades, so I gave him a private lecture in homicide 101 which he fantastically failed"
Both Aki and Akane were outraged by her words and Shido was upset as well so he told her off.
"Saori why didn't ask for help!? Asami, Reiji, your mom, or even your dad they could have helped you and you know it!"
Saori laughed again at his words.
"Oh really do you know what they were blackmailing me with Shido, do you?"
Shido backed down a little to hear what Saori had to say since she had a depressed look.
"They said they'd tell everyone that I was in a relationship with our teacher and even photoshopped some photos of us...together. Then they called me powerless to help it..powerless to do anything... how could I explain that to my mom and dad"
"Saori..."
Saori's look then quickly turned into a sadistic smile.
"But it doesn't matter now because I am strong and I can do anything I want. I even told Reiji and Asami that if they didn't help me I'd kill Emi just to see their faces hahaha hahaha hahaha."
Everyone was disturbed by Saori's behavior especially Shido since she was his daughter. Aki and Akane attack Saori since they were sick of hearing her psychotic episode. Saori, however, didn't move as her shadow erupted from the ground and whipped around her body with the speed of a bullet. Aki and Akane blocked with their swords making no progress until Akane decided to try something. She gathered a small portion of her mana into her feet and after a few second she dashes past Saori with more intense speed leaving a streak of erupting flames behind her.
"BURNING PHOENIX!"
The flames strike up at Saori, she jumps to try to avoid it, but the flames rise up with her.
"No choice..Protect me Throne!"
A sigil appears below Saori's feet and blocks the flames. As it does a red light emerges in the form of a ball appears and floats behind Saori. It then begins to take shape as it wraps around Saori's neck and after a minute it fully takes shape as a black-haired girl in a red robe-like dress embracing Saori from behind. She had an irritated face as she proclaimed.
"How dare you challenge me!"
Akane was baffled by the black haired girl.
"Who's that!?"
Saori then looked a little confused herself.
"This...(smiles)oh, that's so cute. You can't summon your guardian yet can you?"
Both Aki and Akane were confused.
"Guardian?"
"Yes guardian...look at her closely"
Shido is the first to notice that the girl looked exactly like the adult Kurumi and then remembers something that the other Origami said.
"Like her parents were protecting her with their own arms"
Shido then understood a little bit. The girl was embracing Saori like a mother embracing her child as the girl had a warm smile while holding onto her.
"It's Kurumi's power isn't it?"
Saori made a bell sound indicating he was correct.
"Very good Shido, this is Throne. Spirit children can manifest their mother's power in the form of a guardian with its own unique powers, but those powers are a se-cret"
She knew what a spirit child was and this only further added suspicion to who Saori actually was. Before anyone else could move a new voice entered the scene.
"My my my so this is the shooter that's been using my powers I'm very unhappy about this"
Everyone turns over to the door and slowly walking through the door already in her astral dress with her guns was Kurumi only it was the younger one that Shido was more familiar with and he was shocked yet happy to see her but Saori wasn't.
"You?"
"Me"
Kurumi waved at Saori and one of her past selves sneaks behind Shido and moves him over to where the real one was to keep him safe she also moved Asami and Reji into a room on a lower floor while she has five others fight Saori. When he got to her he immediately started patting her shoulders in disbelief.
"Kurumi? Are you the one I know"
Kurumi her face next to his neck.
"Does this answer your question?"
She then licks his neck making him slightly uncomfortable yet happy. He was so happy to see someone from his own time again but was confused as to how she got here.
"Kurumi...how?"
"I'll explain later"
Kurumi steps forward to get in on the challenge and Saori puts her smile back on after killing the other Kurumi's whose dead bodies were on the ground still. She looked over at Shido as she said.
"You want to know where my guns are. Well, the truth is I don't have any....however"
Throne lets go of Saori and opens her hands. From each of her fingers, a black thread-like light emerges thin as wire and five sinks into the ground while the others attach to the dead Kurumi's.
"This is probably the most disturbing power I possess"
From the shadows, five Kurumi's' emerge each holding their own guns and they all looked dead because each one had damage to its body. Then the dead Kurumi's stand up with their guns still working and even the real Kurumi is disturbed by this sight.
"What the?"
"Hehehe beautiful isn't it? Even dead they want to protect me, these marionettes my mother so generously accumulated for me. This is the identity of the shooter or shooters if you want to get technical"
Saori assumes a stance with her swords as the reanimated Kurumi's ready their guns. Akane and Aki turn into their spirit forms and join Kurumi. They begin cutting down the reanimated Kurumi's as and try to make their way to Saori and manage to get close a few times but can't make it past her shadow which keeps slashing at them. Aki, however, begins feeling a power grow inside his sword as the battle continues and thinks about a guardian of his own since he missed his mother and just wanted to see anything that looked like her. He was so distracted that the shadow knocked his sword out of his hands and was about to stab him through the heart. Everything began to slow down. Then an image of his mother appears again but only her smiling face telling him how much she loved him and a glyph appears below his feet.
A purple haired girl appears holding a sheathed sword which blocks the shadow. This girl was wearing the same dress as throne but purple and she assumed the embrace after handing Akihiko the sheathed sword which he unsheathed. The sword was like his other one, but the blade was smooth, slimmer, and smaller, but it felt powerful. Aki then begins gathering his mana into the blade and Saori is too busy gloating at Kurumi and Akane to notice. After a second of charging Akihiko raises his sword to the sky releasing the energy he stored in the form of a sigil that appears over the entire roof. He shouts for everyone to move out of the way. Kurumi, Akane, and Shido were close to the exit, but Saori wasn't so fortunate. Akihiko shouted at the top of his lungs.
"ANNIHILATION....RENDING SABER!"
He then drives his sword into the ground releasing a massive wave of energy that shoots into the sky as Saori screams from the pain she feels from it. When the energy subsides Aki feels exhausted and his armor disappears. A thick cloud of smoke covers the roof and the only sound is Aki's panting from exhaustion. But after it disappears Saori is seen still standing covered with injuries and everyone was shocked that she was still alive. She looked at Aki with rage in her eyes.
"Damn you...damn you to hell!"
Saori then materializes a gun in her hand and then shocks everyone with her next move.
"Come Zafkiel!"
Zafkiel appears behind Saori only the twelve and the eight were missing from its body. Saori points the gun at the fourth and uses Dalet to undo her injuries and laughs about it. Everyone was shocked with their mouths held open.
"Normally a spirit child couldn't use an angel but I've stolen mana from brothers and sisters so I've got all their powers plus mom's. But I've decided to a call it a day so farewell I know I'll see you again."
The use of the bullet costs her some time so decides to flee for now and jumps into a portal of darkness which gave the same feeling as the smoke and she laughed the entire time. With everything calm, Shido felt sad seeing his own daughter act like that. After everyone calmed down they gathered around Kurumi who explained how she got here.
"Some woman wearing bandages gave this to me"
Kurumi showed everyone a metal bracelet with a weird insignia on it that slightly looked like the Ratatoskr symbol.
"She said you needed my help so I agreed she also said that she'd send one more ally and that we also need to go to some other timelines to find the others. She told me everything.
Shido was wondering who this bandaged woman was and why she was helping them. But he also realized something.
"Aki..Akane you can go home now..Kurumi can they?"
"Yeah she said I can get them home anytime"
Aki and Akane both shook their heads. Aki made his feelings known first.
"No, I miss my mom but I ain't leaving my buddy when he needs help and besides I can leave at any time now"
Then Akane joined in.
"I'm with him my dad's a good man and I'll help any version of him in any way that I can"
Shido was heart warmed by their words and decided to let them join him. Kurumi had no problems and used her new bracelet which created a portal like the one Saori used only it was white. As they went through it Akane made one last comment.
"I sure hope the next one your kids we meet can kick a lot of ass"