Date a Live:This is not the date I wanted! Chapter 557 557: My Honey…Pfft

—Onii-chan—onii-chan—it's ti to wake up.

A voice, unfamiliar yet familiar, seed to co from very far away and echoed beside Shido's ears.

It seed soone was trying to wake him.

(So sleepy… stop bothering …)

—Wake up already—the sun's already shining on your butt—onii-chan.

He felt soone shaking his body. But because he was still thick with sleepiness, Shido did not open his eyes. Instead, he tightened the blanket around himself, curled up, and muttered in his sleep.

"Let sleep one more hour… just one hour is fine… Mana…"

—Hm? Why did you ntion Mana's na? Well, whatever. Onii-chan really can't be helped.

(Hah… finally, I can keep sleeping.)

—Take this! Special move—Spinning Candy Little Sister Kill Kick!

"—Guhh!"

Thanks to Kotori's flying kick straight into his abdon, Itsuka Shido's consciousness fully awakened.

On the dining table in the Itsuka family living room, Kotori, wearing white ribbons, waved her finger with a regretful expression.

"Tsk, tsk—this won't do, onii-chan. You already used the 'guhh' sound effect before. Reusing the sa bit makes it lose freshness."

"I didn't scream because I was trying to make a joke. Couldn't you wake up in a gentler way?"

Shido rubbed his abdon and could not help complaining.

"I was originally just waking onii-chan normally. Who knew you'd be so stubborn about staying in bed? I had no choice but to resort to extre asures."

Kotori answered as if it were only natural. Shido could only sigh helplessly.

"Ugh… hah. I can't believe I woke up from abdominal trauma twice in a row."

"Hm? Twice? Onii-chan, what are you talking about?"

Kotori asked curiously.

"Ah… nothing."

Shido froze for a mont, then vaguely brushed it off.

"Here, sorry for the wait."

Just then, Ryougi Yutsuki walked out of the kitchen and slipped into the siblings' conversation.

"Warm milk, toast, fried eggs and bacon, and vegetable salad to finish. This should be fine for breakfast, right? Kotori-chan, Shido."

"Mm, thank you, Yutsuki-nee."

"Sorry, Yutsuki. It's because I overslept."

"It's fine. Just think of it as a shift change. If you're tired, then rest properly."

Yutsuki shook her head to show she did not mind.

"Yutsuki-nee, you haven't had breakfast yet, right? Eat with us."

"Sure. I'll put the apron back in the kitchen first. Wait for a mont."

As she spoke, Yutsuki turned and walked toward the kitchen, casually undoing the hair tie on her head along the way.

Looking at Yutsuki's back as she wore the apron, Shido found himself spacing out.

"If Yutsuki could wear an apron and cook for in the kitchen every day, I could die without regrets. Onii-chan silently thought while gazing at Yutsuki-nee's back."

"Kotori, don't fabricate your brother's inner monologue without permission."

"Oh? Is that not what you were thinking?"

Kotori looked at Shido with a cheeky grin.

"Stop teasing . And we're about to eat, so don't open that lollipop wrapper."

"Ehh~ fine…"

After breakfast, Shido put on his Raizen High uniform jacket and picked up the schoolbag by the table, preparing to head to school.

Although he was short on ti, if he ran quickly, he should just barely make it.

"Wait, onii-chan. Where are you going?"

"Where…? To school, obviously. Yutsuki, hurry and change too. Kotori, you also have to go to middle school, right?"

Hearing Shido urge them, Yutsuki and Kotori exchanged a glance, then sighed in unison.

"Wh-what's wrong? Today isn't a day off, is it?"

Seeing their reactions, Shido felt a little uncertain. After all, too much had happened these past few days, and his mory of the date and ti had beco sowhat vague.

Just in case, he even checked the screen of his phone—February 15th, Thursday. A normal school day.

"Onii-chan, are you still half-asleep?"

Kotori sighed speechlessly, then changed the ribbons on her head to black. Her way of speaking changed along with them.

"Shido, have you forgotten? DEM is currently after your life—no, if we believe Kurumi, you've already died. So why would you deliberately run out to a place with insufficient security and an easy chance of getting killed?"

"Uh…"

Faced with Kotori's overly correct argunt, Shido was at a loss for words. They were in special circumstances now, so it truly was not suitable for him to go to school like usual.

"Reine has already submitted sick leave requests to the school for everyone. Tohka and the others are currently aboard Fraxinus. Kotori and I being by your side right now was also decided after discussion. At minimum, two people will stay with you to make sure you're not alone."

Yutsuki added an explanation from the side.

"I see."

Although he understood what they were saying, Shido still had one concern about the school.

"Um… did Kurumi go to school? If she's there, I want to et and talk with her."

He had not forgotten that he was still in the middle of trying to capture Kurumi's heart. Although the main objective now was finding a way to change the history from thirty years ago, there were also things he wanted to say to Kurumi.

"Well. I understand what you're thinking. But that probably won't happen."

Yutsuki shrugged and answered.

"Half an hour ago, Tama-chan-sensei announced in your class that Tokisaki Kurumi is taking another leave of absence."

"The surveillance caras set up around the school area did not capture Tokisaki Kurumi's figure either. Looks like she won't be going to school anymore."

"Eh?"

Hearing this news, Shido widened his eyes in surprise.

"Kurumi… is she all right?"

"According to Tama-chan-sensei, it seems Kurumi personally contacted the school and handled her leave application. There should be no danger. She probably just doesn't have any reason to go there anymore."

Recalling the Reine she had seen last night, Yutsuki answered without changing expression.

"I see. That's good."

Shido sighed in slight relief.

"All right, put Kurumi's matter aside for now. Shido, there's sothing I want to confirm with you."

Kotori spoke in a sowhat serious tone.

"What is it?"

"Last night, you said that in your dream, you encountered an extrely large spacequake, then t a completely naked girl. Correct?"

"Mm."

Shido nodded.

"As expected."

Hearing Shido's answer, a smile rose at the corner of Kotori's mouth.

"Yesterday, because I was shaken, I lost my calm for a mont and nearly overlooked an important piece of information."

"Important information?"

"Ah…"

Hearing that, Shido could not help feeling confused. anwhile, Yutsuki seed to understand sothing and covered her cheek with an expression that said, "I ssed up."

"The spacequake."

Kotori took out her tablet and flipped through the data while explaining her guess.

"In the five years up until today, aside from Tokisaki Kurumi, the spiritual waves of the Spirits who caused spacequakes around the world have all matched the Spirits whose power you sealed. There are no unknown cases left. In that case, the spacequake you saw couldn't have happened within these five years. It must have been one of the spacequakes caused by the Spirit of Origin thirty years ago, including the Eurasia Great Disaster and the South Kanto Great Disaster."

Hearing this, Shido's heart jolted. He had never imagined that Kotori could investigate this far based only on such a simple sentence.

Of course, aside from that, there was one more thing that greatly surprised him.

"Wait? You an thirty years ago? But I wasn't even born then…"

Exactly. Itsuka Shido was seventeen this year. Unlike Spirits, whose aging was suppressed by spiritual power, he had no mory of his birth, but before eting the Spirits, he had indeed grown up as a child adopted by the Itsuka family from an orphanage.

Thirty years ago, the sperm and egg that created him might not even have existed inside his unknown biological parents yet. (TL: ehe~)

"Mm… honestly, I'm very confused about that as well. If it really was the Origin Spirit who disappeared thirty years ago, then Shido shouldn't have been able to et her."

Kotori sighed in puzzlent. With only such scattered pieces of information, this was already the limit of what she could investigate.

"Speaking of which, Shido, didn't you say sothing strange when you woke up? You mistook for Mana while half-asleep, and before breakfast you said sothing about 'the second ti waking up from being hit.' Did you rember sothing else from your past?"

"Well…"

Feeling Kotori's gaze, Shido could not help feeling troubled. After learning his lesson once, he did not dare casually reveal the mories from the dream.

Just then, Yutsuki spoke before him.

"Well, it could just be a coincidence. After all, dreams are vague and unstable by nature. A lot of the ti, they're just the subconscious randomly stitching together things soone has seen or thought about. Since Shido was asked about Mana yesterday, it's normal for him to dream about Mana after falling asleep while thinking about it."

"That's true… treating sothing as baseless as a dream as a clue would only make things more confusing."

Kotori seed persuaded by Yutsuki's words and nodded in understanding.

"Oh, by the way, Yutsuki-nee. You aren't hiding sothing from us together with Shido, are you?"

"Yes. But I still can't say it."

Yutsuki admitted it without the slightest hesitation.

"Yutsuki?!"

Shido was instantly shocked.

"So it really was true… I only asked casually."

The corner of Kotori's mouth twitched slightly, and for a mont, she did not know how to react.

After a brief pause, Kotori recovered and sighed with a bitter smile.

"How should I put it… when you admit it so openly, I don't even know how to get angry."

"Sorry, Kotori-chan."

"Forget it. It's not like this is the first or second ti Yutsuki-nee has acted on her own. And what you said wasn't 'I can't say it,' but 'I still can't say it.' In other words, you don't intend to hide it forever, right?"

Yutsuki nodded lightly.

"Mm. Saying it now would only put everyone in danger. Don't worry. When the ti cos, I may even need Kotori-chan's help. Until then, please don't dig into it yourself, and don't tell anyone else about this investigation."

"How long do I have to wait?"

"Well…"

Yutsuki looked at Shido for a mont before answering.

"Until Shido… finds his answer, I suppose."

"I understand. I believe in you two."

Kotori nodded, then turned her gaze toward Shido, her face covered in a malicious smile.

"Speaking of which, Shido, you actually managed to hide sothing from . You've grown quite a bit~"

"Ahahaha…"

In response, Shido could only let out an awkward laugh.

"Ara, ara. The three of you seem to be having quite the pleasant chat. If you do not mind, may this humble one join in as well?"

Suddenly, an unexpected voice sounded inside the room. Looking in the direction of the voice, the three saw a Kurumi wearing an eyepatch and a gothic lolita dress erging from the shadows. She lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed lightly to them. (TL:eyepatch Kurumi~)

"Good day. Shido-san, Kotori-san, Yutsuki-san."

"Ara~? If it isn't Tokisaki Kurumi. What business do you have illegally entering soone else's ho?"

The mont Kurumi appeared, Kotori instantly tensed up and stared at her with a guarded gaze.

"Ara, ara. Please do not look at with such a frightening expression. This humble one is very scared, you know. I might start crying."

Kurumi said with a soft laugh.

"It's all right, Kotori. You don't need to be that tense."

"But—"

"Didn't I say yesterday? Kurumi isn't a bad person."

"…Fine."

Although she was still sowhat uneasy, Kotori restrained her hostility.

"Hello. You're the Kurumi from yesterday, right?"

"Mm. Shido-san rembers . This humble one is very happy."

"Kurumi" said with great delight.

"So, what brings you here?"

Yutsuki cut straight to the point.

"Mm, as expected of Yutsuki-san. Communication really is easy."

Kurumi smiled and nodded, then continued.

"Four days from today. On February 20th, DEM will pour all its forces into a total attack in order to kill Shido-san."

"That is… quite the shocking piece of news."

Suppressing the unrest in her heart, Kotori pretended to remain calm.

"The world's top manufacturer of Realizers, the organization with the greatest number of wizard combat forces in the world, using the information-gathering ability of an omniscient Demon King—thousands upon thousands of Bandersnatch, countless pseudo-Spirits. All of that poured into killing Shido alone. Is that what you an?"

"Exactly."

"Wha…"

For a mont, Shido was also so shocked that he could not speak.

If DEM's previous actions were covert assassinations carried out while still maintaining so restraint, then this ti it was a complete all or nothing move. With the resolve to either succeed or perish, they intended to annihilate Itsuka Shido and everyone around him.

"Well, for DEM, Shido really does have that much value. Considering Westcott's personality, he really might do sothing like this."

Yutsuki was not particularly surprised by this information. After all, she and Kurumi had already stopped so many assassination attempts. It was not unexpected at all that DEM would lose patience and choose to crush them through brute force.

"Hmph… Although I am grateful that you ca all this way to provide important intelligence, could you tell what your purpose is?"

Kotori crossed her arms and questioned "Kurumi".

"Hehe. Kotori-san really is suspicious. But please rest assured, 'I' do not intend to lie. The reason I ca here to inform you is very simple."

With a sowhat wry smile, "Kurumi" answered.

"After yesterday's date with Shido-san, 'I' thought about many things as well. Since Shido-san already knows about the loops, then instead of hiding the truth out of so pointless pride and acting alone, it may be better to tell you the information. That might raise Shido-san's chances of survival."

"Very well… since you put it that way, I'll believe you for now."

"Thank you for your understanding. This humble one is most grateful."

Lifting the hem of her skirt for another bow, "Kurumi" slowly began sinking into the shadows.

"Kurumi!"

At that mont, Shido suddenly called out to her.

"Mm? Do you have an order for , Shido-san?"

Stopping her descent, "Kurumi" looked back at Shido. Since everything below her waist had already sunk into the shadow, she looked like a girl bathing by a lakeside… though the black lake water was sowhat unsettling.

Looking straight into "Kurumi's" red eyes, Shido gathered his courage and spoke.

"Thank you for telling about the loops. And please pass a ssage to Kurumi for —'Thank you'. Thanks to you, I've been able to live until now. I'm really sorry I couldn't properly thank you before. Thank you for protecting . But—"

Shido's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he declared with a firm, decisive tone.

"The match between you and still hasn't been settled. After we resolve the DEM problem, I will challenge you again. I'll save you, make you fall for , and make you surrender completely, heart and soul. I'll make you entrust your spiritual power to . So—"

Taking a deep breath, Shido showed what he believed was a cool, charming smile and shouted.

"Prepare yourself! The next ti we et, I'll definitely steal your lips, My Honey!"

Hearing Shido's words, "Kurumi" froze for a while, then revealed an extrely strange smile.

"Pff… hehe… Mm, this humble one understands. Shido-san's feelings… I will convey them to '' without holding anything back. I look forward to it, Shido-san~"

After saying that with genuine amusent, "Kurumi" disappeared into the shadows.

"…"

After the room fell into a short silence, Yutsuki stared at Shido, whose head seed to be smoking, and retorted speechlessly.

"Shido… I'm impressed you could shout such an embarrassing line out loud. In front of your little sister, no less."

"Pff—ahahahaha! I can't! I'm dying! My Honey! My Honey! That line doesn't suit you at all, Shido! And your face when you said it—pffahahaha! I can't… my stomach hurts… Are you trying to make laugh myself to death so you can inherit my airship…?"

"Stop… I want to find a hole… and bury myself…"

Original author's ps: The South Kanto Great Disaster is from Volu 1 of the original novel. It was a spacequake that occurred in Japan six months after the Eurasia Great Disaster, covering an area from southern Tokyo to northern Kanagawa.