Date a Live! Practice Chapter 15:
"You ready to swoon another heart?" Kotori asked.
"I'd rather be at Disney at this point…" Michael groaned, having arrived at some abandoned amusement park. The rides and structures were dirty and unkept, weeds and vines growing around them and such. It was far from up to code, he'll leave it at that.
In all fairness, the Tokyo version wasn't half bad, even better in some aspects than the American one… still a tourist trap, but not half bad.
"The fuck happened here anyway? Aren't there laws for this sort of thing?" Michael continued.
"That particular park was caught up in the first Space Quake 30 years ago. It's remained untouched to this day." Kotori explained.
"And now its haunted by the vengeful souls that were left behind…" Michael sarcastically answered back. "Just how I wanna start the Fall..." He added.
What a way to start the Autumn Season. First they had to come back from America and the DEM location there; that was dangerous in itself considering what was trapped in there, but at least they got a bit of information about the Battlelog drive Michael found at his fathers location here in Japan.
The question was still why… why would his father go that far? What and why exactly were these Battlelogs even created for? The adventure there gave some possibilities but at the end of the day, it was all currently speculation.
And the strange feeling he got in his heart after sealing Kurumi… hormones probably. Might not have been totally the same feeling as kissing his celebrity crush, but Nightmare was still a hot girl all the same.
Though even after getting sealed, she'd STILL run off on her own. Kotori suggested tracking where a spike of her energy went off since it had to come out of Michael to return to the owner, using him as a GPS basically, but thankfully he managed to talk the Commander out of it. Long argument about it, especially when said Nightmare returned, but it ended with Michael putting his foot down saying they had to trust her.
Yes it was sus she was sneaking off, but she's been on her own for a long time and just needed to sort it out in her own way. His argument was just because she allowed herself to be sealed didn't mean she was willing (or ready) to work with everyone else. She put her trust in Michael, NOT Fraxinus, so allowing Kotori her way would be nothing short of betrayal in Kurumi's eyes… least that's how he saw it.
Then of course there was Mayuri… poor girl. Her words about how important he was, how he was supposed to be some sort of hero when he believed he was just a regular guy who happened to have a superpower; kept echoing in Michael's head, but he couldn't focus on them thoughts right now. He had to flirt with yet another Spirit.
But hey. At least he got free stew…
Mike made his way through the park… he couldn't help but wonder what stories this park could have told. How many customers had gone here? How many people were so happy here, to escape the real world if only a little bit?… How many people died here during that day? Blissfully unaware of what was happening until it was too late…
The last part was the only creepy aspect of this. Made the American sector of DEM seem less freaky and less horrifying than it actually was.
He ended up at a section of the park that looked like a horror comedy film set. A ride with spinning teacups, some merry-go-round with a halloween theme (while most of the "horses" were destroyed or decayed; he could see one that was a ghost, one was a zombie, and another was for the headless horseman), and giant pumpkins. Balloons, stars and even a cat head statue was also visible. All of this was accompanied by a castle dead center in the middle of it.
"Oh, it is Disney." Michael said out loud to no one in particular. Nice to see an evil company lose some money they'll probably never get back.
"We are detecting Spirit Waves nearby." Masaomi said.
"Damnit." Michael said. No, not because a Spirit was nearby, but Disney didn't lose money after all… unless you count Phase 4. In any case, Michael walked closer to the castle…
"Well, my, my…" said a female voice. "Usually I'm only greeted by the AST whenever I pop in, so this is a pleasant surprise." Looking up, Michael saw the presumed owner of the voice, being a well-endowed woman with long green hair and had a witch hat on. She was standing on the tip of the castle, the sunset behind her giving her a basking glow.
Then she jumped off, her long cape flowing behind her akin to a vampire or at the very least a bat flying in the air. Michael was able to get an even better look at her when she landed directly in front of him.
Hot damn… that's all he can say.
This woman had an amazing face that looked too perfect to be human, green eyes matching her green hair. The same applied to her body, a slender figure with a large bust and hips that were perfectly curved. Speaking of bust, it looked to be an exact match to Miku's, maybe a few centimeters bigger but he wasn't sure. The dress she was wearing was semi-transparent which had stars glowing all over it, showing her skin but like a pair of leggings it gave a shade-like effect. You could even see her bra, which appeared to be glowing like the stars.
… Just incredible. Not a single flaw could be seen on this girl, who was most likely in her 20's so not much older than himself. He didn't say anything, he was just taken aback by how amazing the sight was. To be perfectly honest, like he said before that Kurumi's dress radiated elegance and sexiness, this one was just all-out flashy that one could not help but dart their eyes all over.
Though at least Kurumi's wasn't overpowering, but it was enough that kept you guessing.
"Commander?" Hinako said, getting Kotori's attention. "I just picked another reading of a second Spi…" She was saying and while yes Michael technically should have heard that, his mind was somewhere else. Or rather, ON someone before him.
"So who are you exactly?" Asked the Spirit. "Name's Natsumi, though some folks like the AST prefers to call me Witch." Michael did not answer, still enthralled by the appearance of this new Witch Spirit, or Natsumi as she called herself. "Your not afraid are you? I'm not gonna eat you or anything." She added in a teasing tone when Michael did not respond.
"I've heard that one before..." Michael answered, regaining some of his composure and trying to play it cool.
"Hehehehe…" Giggles then echoed throughout the park, which caught both Mike and the New Spirit off guard. "That position of his harem has already been filled…" A few dark pools opened up on the floor around them and a certain female body came out of each one, though some had arisen from within the decor around the park like the pumpkins and such.
Also… slow jazz…
Kotori, who her and her crew were watching the scene, was unamused. "Can she not be his shadow for 5 seconds…" she said while grumbling, controlling her temper. But seriously, this was starting to get ridiculous with Kurumi, not to mention quite annoying.
First, Kurumi stalked him when they all first encountered her at school. Then after she lost her chance to eat him that time, she laid low in the shadows for a while until they were under Miku's control, but at least she assisted Michael… even if only for her own interest.
Next was the whole situation with Mayuri, where she DID help at the last second, but she also followed them to the American division of DEM! Why?… She never gave a straight answer, only her stupid 'Ara Ara' followed by 'I was in the neighborhood'. She was sealed shortly after that adventure came to a conclusion, but did still run off from time-to-time, which aggravated Kotori to no end.
Kurumi was just as bad as Miku if not worse, cause while Miku loved being around "Darling" and would take every opportunity she could to be next to him, Kurumi seemed to do it mostly to piss/troll/trigger the rest of them off. Which was effective.
The new Spirit frowned a bit by the newer Spirit that just appeared, not expecting another Spirit to show up. "Mikey, I'm so hurt!" Said a Kurumi, the newest Spirit(s) to pop up. Though strangely, they were all in a full Spirit Mode rather than a partial one like the other girls were after getting sealed.
Maybe that's why Michael felt funny earlier? Cause she called back all her power?… Where did she go, and WHY would she need all that power back?… He'll have to look into it later.
"First you make a stew with everyone else…" said another Kurumi (he wasn't even going to ask how she knew as she wasn't present for that. It was kind of obvious).
"Didn't invite Me by the way. Rude." Said a third Kurumi, playfully.
"And here you are again, about to break yet another girl!" A fourth Kurumi said, adding a backwards hand on top of her forehead, being overdramatic. "Such a beast." Every Kurumi present then giggled in unison. Natsumi just looked around between them, very confused.
Michael however was deadpanned, looking just as unamused as Kotori currently was, but then did something odd. He lifted his right leg up, having to bend his knee a bit. Natsumi and the Kurumis' were also confused…
…
…
STOMP!
He then stomped the ground rather hard, but did so a bit behind himself (the jazz also abruptly stopped at this point).
"OOOOWWWWW-AAAAAAH!" Yet another Kurumi voice went, but that sound was a whine mixed with a pained yelp. She arose from the shadow of Michael himself, but arising with a hand on her head/net bow while rubbing it. "oooooooh…" Kurumi moaned, then looked at the stomper. "How dare you raise your foot to a helpless girl!" She complained, implying this was the real one.
"Yeah… helpless…" Michael repeated while rubbing an eyebrow… though 'helpless' wasn't exactly the right word. "Name's Michael. Please forgive my…" Michael was apologizing to Natsumi, but then realized who was around them. "… friends…" He said, then looked back to Kurumi. "I'm sorry, Kurumi, can you swallow them back up please? This isn't a family vacation." He told her.
Kurumi gave him the stink eye, which was only enhanced by her clock one, but did as requested and extended her shadow to allow her clones to retreat for now.
"Oh, so he's the dominant one?" Natsumi said out of the blue. Michael was going to answer, but Kurumi beat him too it.
"He certainly is…" she said while putting a hand to her cheek. "We had an especially hot night a while back… we were on the floor, pictures and CDs falling down everywhere…" She said in a mock-captivated tone.
Michael restrained himself, knowing exactly what she was doing. He also knew what she was talking about, which was the time they snuck into Miku's house together, but she put the situation in a completely out-of-context matter. This in a way was payback for the head stomp a minute ago… but she would have probably done this anyway just to troll him. Only difference was now she had a valid reason for it.
"I see…" Natsumi, feeling a little more comfortable around these people, walked up to Michael and cupped the boys chin. If he wasn't restraining himself due to Kurumi's antics, his heart would have skipped a few 10's of beats. The sunset behind Natsumi added more to her enchanting appearance. "Well, your boyfriends actually kind of cute." She added. "Of course, seeing as your dating a Spirit, that explains why you haven't taken shelter when those alarms go off when we appear."
Back at command, Kotori was pulling her twin tails in aggravation, but there wasn't exactly a passage she could read in the company handbook for this sort of situation. Leave it to Michael to seal a dangerous Spirit, only for that Spirit to sneak behind their backs, NOW interfere with a mission! Despite that, her presence was not affecting the performance in a negative light.
"But I have to ask, what exactly are you both doing out here anyway? Why not stay in the development?" Natsumi asked, not taking her eyes off of Michael's, and also leaning in a bit closer. Michael was frozen due to how much closer a pretty woman was getting to him.
What? He's a guy.
*Grab*
That is… until a long white hand from a shadow pool in-between Witch and Mike gently grabbed Witch's arm from below. There was no forceful pull or any kind of hostile action, just a grab.
"You can looky…" Kurumi said, which made to other two look back at her. "… but no touchy." She added, clearly as a warning even with her usual smile on her face and slowly recalling the arm in question. You could call this action jealously or protectiveness, Michael himself wasn't entirely sure which it was. Both maybe, though Kurumi didn't seem to mind the idea of a harem so it was odd of her to get this defensive over him (she never specified yes or no either however).
Her tone did make the listeners a tad nervous, including Fraxinus. It was almost like the killing machine version of Nightmare was beginning to surface, only being held back by the more calmer Kurumi.
Natsumi also couldn't help but stare back at her. Could she take her on in a fight? Maybe. This other Spirit definitely felt strong. "… So sorry…" She said, playing it cool while back off a bit. Then doing a pose. "Forgive me for stating a claim on your man." She put her hands behind her head while moving her body to a sideways angle, allowing a better view of her curves should anybody be looking. This could be interpreted as purposeful. "But could I ask him a very important question?" She then asked.
Michael by this point eyed Kurumi's body language. She was still her normal self, though he could tell she was bothered by something. He could only assume it was Natsumi. If he was being honest, she was a tad more curvy than Kurumi, that also included her Miku-sized bust. Her Astral Dress left even less to the imagination as well, whereas Kurumi's only revealed her back and some of her top.
Again, it could be jealously.
In Kurumi's POV, she wasn't totally jealous. Yes, this new girl was a bit more flashy than the rest of the other Spirits which included herself to a degree, not to mention looking older and more filled out; but there was more to it. The Nightmare couldn't put her finger on it, but something about Natsumi just felt… off.
She'll never admit this out loud to the others, but she was concerned for Michael, especially if him and Natsumi got too involved.
"Go ahead." Michael answered for Kurumi. Like it or not, Natsumi was a Spirit who needed sealing, or getting attacked by the AST like many other Spirits have been.
"Do you think I'm pretty?" Natsumi asked, and frankly the random question surprised him and even Kurumi to an extent.
"The straightforward type, huh?" Michael asked, though Natsumi still awaited an actual answer to her question. Now if he was alone with her, then he would have probably answered the question already… the problem was standing behind him in a crimson dress.
'This would would be easier if Kurumi wasn't here. How is she even gonna react?' He asked himself which was a fair point.
Don't misread him, he was glad to have some form of backup; its just every time he was around a new Spirit and they are sealed by him, despite Tohka knowing the context behind it, she'd still get very defensive. Origami wasn't exactly thrilled with him dating Spirits either, but seemed to eventually accept that reality. Kaguya and Yuzuru kept calling Michael 'Their Property', Kotori tried remaining professional but her true feelings did slip through the cracks every now and again, and Miku wasn't a 'Narrow-Minded Woman'.
Kurumi didn't seem to care either way, but considering her interactions with Natsumi at the present…
"… I mean, I can't lie. You are pretty." Michael ended up saying, starting out small to test the waters. He glanced back with an eye back to Kurumi, but she didn't physically react, and it was impossible to tell of her internal reaction as she kept a firm stare on Witch.
"Yes!" Natsumi's tone and mannerisms did a complete 180, now she was grabbing both of Michael's shoulders while putting her face closer to his. Her formerly seductive voice was replace by a rather excited one, almost kid-like. Even Kurumi was quite shocked at the dramatic shift in personality Natsumi just displayed. "Tell me. Specifically. What is pretty about me?" She asked Michael for details.
"Uh…" Michael initially had no idea how to respond to such an even more random question, not expecting Natsumi's sudden change in demeanor. He could make a few compliments, but he still knew very little about this new girl to gauge how she was gonna react, and the last thing he wanted was an issue. Just once, he'd like to get seal completed. No funny business or explosions.
"Let me… check my choices…" he said, putting emphasis on the word 'choices'.
"Check your choices?… What kind of answer is…" Kotori stopped, her mouth in an 'O' shape… It took her a few seconds, but she got the message, her eyes widening once she understood. "Choices! Give him choices, people!"
1) Your hair's so silky! Your eyes sparkle like diamonds! Your Dress is also amazing!
2) Believe it or not, I'm actually into older women.
3) Can I fondle your boobs?
With the choices generated and then selected, it was a tie between Options 1 and 2. "Huh… half and half. The straightforward options." Kotori said.
"It's gotta be one, right?" Asked Munechika.
"Nah, it has to be number two. She's a total Big Sister type." Said Kozue.
"I'm still kind of shocked not a single person chose 3. I figured at least Kannazuki would have picked it." Kotori said.
"Alas, while she definitely is a handsome woman, her boobs bounce too much." Kannazuki admitted with no shame. "My tastes veer more towards the butting ones rather than the inflated brand. Now if we were talking about licking her legs, I might have considered it."
FLICK! SPLAT!
Kotori took her lollipop out and flicked her candy out of her hand, which landed in Kannazuki's face… he of course enjoyed it and fell back while expressing thanks. "Big bro, we're trying Option One." She told her roommate.
When Kotori started repeating it in his ear, it certainly sounded nice as it technically was the safest route. For once, he could fully get behind this particular option. '… Clocky's never gonna let me live this down though…' He thought, already imagining that once Kurumi hears what's about to come out of his mouth, she will NOT let it go, nor stop teasing him about it when she sees an opening.
"Well… your eyes are like diamonds..." he began the option, trying not to sound too desperate… this was so embarrassing, but he prayed it would work in the end. "And I gotta say, your outfit really suits you…"
"Yes. Keep going. What else?" Natsumi said, cutting him off just before he could finish the option given and also sounding even more like a child.
Michael: Your hair especially… it looks super silk-
SMOOSH!
Michael didn't even get to finish due to Natsumi hugging him tightly. "YES! MIKEY, YOUR RIGHT ON THE MONEY!" Natsumi said, happily. So much in fact, according to reading in Fraxinus, she was 10% away from the proper sealing levels already. Was it odd? Yes, but Mayuri was kind of the same so they didn't question it. She fell for Mikey pretty quickly so if they could get this done sooner, then its better.
"… I was right… this me… is beautiful…" Natsumi muttered, unaware that Michael still heard what she said. And only Michael heard this, but it just left him even more confused. Unless Natsumi could clone herself like a certain someone else, the context of "this me" was lost on him.
"Aw, that's adorable…" Kurumi said, who after walking around Natsumi and Michael so only Michael could see her, she was making a heart shape with her hands. Michael frowned while also biting his lip, holding back any comments. He knew she was gonna start…
"Michael!" Kotori's voice went off in his ear with concern. "The AST!" She warned and sure enough, a squadron of AST members flew towards them.
"Witch has been spotted!" Said one of the AST.
"Confirmed sighting of Nightmare as well!" Said a second AST, then she noted Michael's presence. "Isn't that Origami's ex-boyfriend? Again?" She asked, as this not the first time this had occurred. This had already happened once with Princess, and ironically Nightmare on another occasion.
"Whether it is or not, we still have our orders. Once we're through with them, take him into protective custody!" Said a third member, before all of them got their guns ready.
"Oh dear… Well isn't that rude? Interrupting our bonding time?" Said Natsumi, asking a highly rhetorical question while seeing the squadron take action. She then gathered energy in her hand as a ball, as if she was gonna toss it; but surprisingly it changed shape into a stick form and all she did was wack it, sending it spinning but it magically flew in front if her while spinning as well as defying all forms of gravity and logic. She caught the stick form, where it lost its glow and took the shape of a broom.
Well, she was called 'Witch'…
"Time to get to work!" Natsumi said, and with a surge of power radiating from her body, she called out: "HANIEL!" Apparently, this was her Angel, but as for what it does, Mike and Kurumi were not sure.
POP! POP, POP, POP-POP!
"Huh?"
"What the?"
The AST (whom spoke) and Kurumi and Michael were caught very much off guard. Somehow, each of the AST's guns turned into toy versions of what they should be, the Soldiers looking over there a new weaponry questioningly. Apparently, that was Natsumi's power… again, she was called 'Witch', so Mike and Kurumi probably should not have been as surprised as they were.
At this point, the AST swapped to the only other weapons they had that were long range, being missiles.
"Take, THIIIIIIIIIIIS!" Natsumi said, acting like she was putting on a show.
POP! POP! POP!
*Wiiiiiiiiz… Boom!*
Just like the guns, the barrage was also transformed, but into various pieces of vegetables though mostly carrots. With wizzing sounds, they dropped to the ground and caused very cartoonish-like explosions when they impacted something with "bomb" text popping up as well, each a different color corresponding to the color of the vegetable they turned into. A few missiles just kept flying around aimlessly.
4 of them just so happened to be heading in the direction of Fraxinus' invisible camera drones…
*Wiiiiiiiiz… Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*
"We've lost all visual!" Said Kyoji, as all he and the rest of Fraxinus saw was static.
"We're on it!" Said Hinako, attempting to fix the problem quickly, but as of right now they were blind.
"Now the BIG finish!" Nastumi waves her broom across like a wand, summoning a swarm of stars at the AST group which appeared to be an actual attack this time. With no weapons aside from energy blades, which proved to do nothing as they changed into various sports equipment life golf clubs and baseballs upon contact, the soldiers attempted to block the attack with their arms.
POP! POP, POP! POP, POP!
And their AST Units changed into various costumes such as rabbits and bunnies. As they no longer had thrusters, they all fell comically to the ground, sometimes hitting each other on the way down. It just looked far more embarrassing than their losses to Tohka.
"That was quite the show." Said Michael in a praising tone, impressed by Natsumi's power. He even found the antics comical.
"That was fun, I suppose. But what do you say we skedaddle on out of here?" Nastsumi asked Michael. "And of course, you'll keep giving your Big Sis more complements, right?!" She added, getting excited just by the idea alone.
"Oh brother…" Kurumi rolled her eyes with a mumble and arms folded. This new girl was gorgeous, even she was woman enough to admit that, but Natsumi was a real attention-seeker. She seemed even more childish than Miku, who in the Diva's defense never got to have a childhood; but as far as Nightmare could tell, Natsumi was a little immature for her age. It was cute the first 10 seconds, but it was quickly coming across as annoying.
*Wiiiiiiiiz…*
That's when Kurumi heard wizzing above her and glanced upward in a 'hmmm?' way, seeing one of the stray carrot missiles fly over her, but then begin to lose altitude by the time it went over towards the duo before her. "Mikey!" Kurumi didn't even think. She just reacted on instinct at that point, getting our her musket via her shadow powers before taking a shot at the carrot missile.
Michael looked over in confusion at Kurumi's change in tone, but that's the exact moment she took the shot…
BANG!
*Boom!*
And the carrot did the same 'bomb' effect the others did, but directly overhead of Natsumi and Michael. It saved them from the impact, but it still made a dust cloud. Both Michael and Natsumi braced, the latter using her broom for support.
"Ah… CHOO!" Nastumi sneezed, which made her body flash for a brief second. By the time that occurred, visual was also restored to Kotori and the Fraxinus crew, meaning they saw nothing up until AFTER the impact of the last carrot missile.
That's of course, when Fraxinus' alarms went off, and Nastumi's Happiness plummeted…
"*Cough, cough, cough!*" Michael coughed into a fist as they dust finally settled.
"Michael! Are you okay?" Kurumi asked, getting over to Michael as soon as she could, unable to restrain the emotions she was feeling.
Michael nodded, but also coughed once more before answering. "… They say carrots are good for your eyes…" he made a small quip. "You okay, Big Sis?" He asked Natsumi, figuring playing along with her would help.
"Michael! What the hell happened!" Kotori said in the earpiece with concern, but before he could respond, she continued with: "Natsumi's Happiness just dropped zero!"
Zero?! Michael was very confused, not to mention nervous at what that might cause. But how did it drop so quickly? What the hell did he do?
"You saw…" Natsumi said, in a dark tone. Her body was also shaking, but it wasn't with fear. It was anger. "You both saw, didn't you…" she asked, still retaining her dark tone.
Both Kurumi and Michael blinked (one after the other, in that order), glanced at each other for a second, then looked back at Natsumi, not knowing what the heck she was talking about.
"… see what?" Kurumi asked, her and Michael very much confused.
"Don't play dumb with me!" Nastumi snapped at them while turning quickly to their direction, now for some reason very agitated. "You saw! You both saw my…!" she went to continue, but that's when her pretty emerald-green eyes, which were gentle before, now reflected nothing but intense hatred.
"Michael and Kurumi, heed my words!" Natsumi declared, pointing a shaky finger at them, showing she was under severe emotional distress. "You are going to pay for this! Your lives are about to be over!"
Kurumi and Mikey were still not understanding why Natsumi was so pissed off, but she hopped on her broom and flew off with it before they could (or if they would) ask, the Witch disappearing into the evening sky with her broom giving off lights at the end of it almost like how a thruster on a plane would propel it forward.
Both the Spirit Sealer and the Nightmare just looked up at the sky, mouths agape. Then after a few seconds, they slowly lowered their heads and slowly turned their necks so they could see both each others gobsmacked expressions, silently asking each other the same question:
What the actual hell just happened?
FLASH!
However in the next second, both Kurumi and himself were pulled into Fraxinus' teleporter bay. They were both surprised, but then figured out where they both were… especially when Kotori's voice came over a loudspeaker.
And she was not happy…
"Michael… Pelham…" You can tell Kotori was straining severely to remain calm. "Collect your bearings… reseal your Nightmare of a girlfriend… and get up here…" Kotori ordered, then added in a growl-like tone: "now…" before ending the call.
"I think your sisters upset." Kurumi said.
"Noooo…" Michael responded, lowly. "Whatever gave you thatidea?" After his sarcastic remark, he walked over to her with the intent to kiss her and reseal the power she got back. Kurumi seemed to know this and dispelled her power right as he approached. "Not the way it works." He said, now standing before her. "You have to give it back. Safer for everyone that way."
"I can't keep a little?" Kurumi asked, though by the look on her face from her single visible eye and the smile she gave him, this was mostly a joke.
"Would you rather have the AST track you down and steal you away from me?" Michael asked back, matching her energy.
"Oh… well guess there's only one choice, isn't there?" Kurumi kept her visible eye locked on his own two, it looking as seductive as it usually does. Honestly, she didn't mind kissing him even if it was for this. Michael, his own heart speeding up from the thought of kissing Kurumi (which you can't blame him for), leaned down a bit. Though once he got close, Kurumi pulled back a bit.
"Wait… what if their watching us?" She asked, feigning embarrassment. Michael stared at her with a look that asked: 'seriously?' "I'm not sure if I can do this. I mean, it was the heat of the moment we kissed the fir…"
*smooch!*
"MMMMM!" Kurumi moaned in shock, not expecting that. Michael completely ignored her 'plead' and just initiated the kiss forcefully, both to begin the resealing and to shut her up; which was effective in both ways. Like that day he successfully sealed her, there was no issue with the seal itself. Kurumi once again felt her powers leave her, being stored in the only person she trusted with them. This of course meant she wasn't nude before him, not that she would mind such a thing in private.
Michael pulled away, ending the kiss as the process didn't take long. Kurumi and him just shared eye contact for a bit which regaining some air. Even if it was a sealing technique, it was still a kiss all the same. "… that doesn't get old." Was Kurumi's answer, both a joke and her true opinion, regaining her normal smile.
All Michael could do was smile back. She'll never change, will she? They both exited the room before heading to the Fraxinus bridge to see what Kotori wants. She was probably wanting answers on what exactly happened.
A door hiss later, Kurumi and Michael arrived in side-by-side. "Heeeeeeeey, Tori. How's it goiiiiiiiiimg?" Michael played off, hoping to water down some of Kotori's temper if it was still there.
Kotori was unaffected by his attempt. "We lost visual once Natsumi put on her show." She said, remaining calm and her face was in its standard Commander Mode appearance, though she could very easily snap at any second if she hears something she doesn't like. "What exactly happened?"
"Not much honestly." Michael said. "Did what I was told, Kurumi was 'in the neighborhood' again, saved me and her from an attack by shooting it, then she flew off." He gave an abridged version of what had happened.
"I managed to get some audio from the cameras." Reine said, then played said audio files. While this of course meant nothing could be seen of what happened, the dialogue seemed to match up with Michael just told them. They even heard the shot from Kurumi's gun, followed by Natsumi's 'you saw' line just before she left. "He's telling the truth, but I can't be certain as to what set Natsumi off."
"I think its perfectly obvious…" Kotori said with her arms folded. "Natsumi and Michael were doing perfectly fine before she had a Bad Dream." She added, with a glance toward Kurumi, her being the primary target of this criticism.
Kurumi narrowed her eyes at this, feeling insulted. "Oh, so its my fault Witch flew off?" Nightmare asked Kotori directly, using a bit of sass.
"YES!" Kotori shouted. "If YOU would have just stayed his shadow for just 5 minutes, we could have gotten her sealed BEFORE the AST showed up!"
"Did you lose visual twice then?" Kurumi answered back, not necessarily snapping, but with her rising emotions of being accused of failing the mission, she would probably start of Kotori kept pushing. All she wanted was to help, even having heard Tohka did the same thing once before (which was ironically on her/her clones first date with Michael). "Those bakas attacked her first, even when Mikey was right there!"
"That doesn't matter!" Kotori argued. "She appeared to trust Michael, went so far as to protect him, and YOU shot at her! Why else would she get so angry?"
"How does 'you saw me' translate to 'you shot me?'" Kurumi countered, making a valid point in her argument. Natsumi said nothing about having the gun turned on her, in fact she didn't even make a point about at all as if that wasn't what angered her.
"Grrrrr…" Kotori tried to think up a counter, but she'd end up repeating herself if she did. Instead, she turned to Michael. "Michael. You need to keep Kurumi under control; or at least keep her on a tighter leash." Both Spirits then looked at the boy in question, awaiting on his answer in whose side he was taking.
Michael: Tori, I can't.
Kotori: Why not?!
Michael: (with a straight face) … Cats don't do leads.
Kurumi giggled with a hand over her hand at the trap Kotori walked right into, the fire Spirit deadpanning from said trap. "In all seriousness, arguing's not gonna seal Natsumi any quicker. We can play the blame game when we have more information." Michael went back to being serious. "Why not go over as much data as possible, form a new plan?" He suggested. No one argued on that.
"… fine." Kotori sighed and calmed down a bit, realizing her roommate was right. "Everyone. Strategy meeting in the conference room." Were Kotori's new orders. Her and her crew got out of their seats, heading out the bridge door.
This included Michael, though Kurumi tried sneaking off via a shadow pool…
YANK!
"AHHHHHHH!" Michael managed to nab Kurumi's arm just before she disappeared, forcing the Clock Waifu back up with a silly smile that said: where do you think you are going? "Hey! You said cats don't do leads!" She complained.
"Doesn't mean they can't be trained." Michael said with a smile. Kurumi just whined with her mouth shut.
XXX
The next day…
"YAWN!" Kurumi cutely yawned while walking side-by-side with Mike to school.
"Cover your yawns, there con… ta… YAWN… ugh… contagious." Michael said, trying to hold back his own yawn but it failed. They were late for school, as that strategy meeting went on almost all night, both teens barely getting any sleep. They arrived at school when lunch literally just started.
If one good thing came out of it from Kurumi's POV, its that she got to walk together with Michael, which was nice and one thing she hasn't done lately. Likewise for Michael, walking next to a charming girl like Kurumi had its perks.
"Serves you right, dragging me to that meeting." Kurumi said, half-complaining but only half-serious about it. "Do they always go on that long?"
"First of all, lose the tude Kit-Kat. I WILL declaw you." Michael said back. "And secondly no. Its only cause we had so little to work with."
"Then Flame Girl had Reine run tests on me." Kurumi complained a little more. It was times like these that, while she didn't regret giving up her power, she sometimes questioned how she was gonna put up with this 'team' thing. She had no issues with her and Michael working together, but everyone else... it was an adjustment.
"Probably because you showed up fully Astral Dressed." Said Michael, not having the balls to tell her that was actually done by his request. According to Kurumi at the time, she just called upon her power and it returned to her like it normally does, though did confirm that it took more effort and a higher level of concentration than usual to take it all back.
What Reine discovered via tests was the other half of that explanation. Seeing Kurumi, while she might not be the most powerful Spirit in terms of raw power, she DEFINITELY had the most experience out of any of them. It's for that reason Reine theorized she was able to take back so much without really trying.
"Would you rather have seen me half Astral Dressed?" Kurumi teased.
"Don't tempt my imagination." Michael said, aware of what she was saying in-between the lines. "If it makes you feel any better, we never finished our strategy meeting for you." Michael added, thinking back to when they were debating how to deal with Kurumi way back when only for Mana to 'cut in'.
"No. It doesn't." Kurumi said, both her and him finally making the turn to head into school. At least they could get something to eat right away. However, Michael began taking the stairs, which was weird since the cafeteria was on the bottom floor. "So, your gonna invite Tohka for our lunch date?" She asked while following behind him.
"If I don't, I won't hear the end of it." Michael said, playing along even though it was true.
Once they got into the classroom however, everyone stopped talked and stared at the duo who just walked in. Students do this anyway on instinct, but the looks in their eyes… it left both Michael and Kurumi very confused. Ai especially looked very pissed off.
"You dare show your face, Michael Pelham!" Ai walked up to Michael and got almost in his face, her anger directed a him.
"Ugh, its too early for this…" Michael muttered, which Ai probably heard due to her being so close, but she did not respond. Instead, Mai did.
"You have some nerve coming back here after all you stunts you pulled this morning!" Mai said, also directing anger at him.
"That's so lame!" Mii agreed.
"What are you talking about?" Mike asked half-heartedly, mainly due to exhaustion from both the meeting and dealing with these three so early.
"Don't play dumb! You've been making moves on me all morning!" Ai said. "You even had me up against a wall..." she added with a small blush.
"Plus you've been rushing past Mii and me, flipping up our skirts!" Mai said.
"It was so lame!" Said Mii.
"And even Tohka was a victim of your heinous crimes! You've groped her every chance you got!" Aii added.
Michael had no response to any of that, for now this sounded serious. Sure if he was being honest, Ai was a bit of his type compared to the other two, who were only cute; but he wasn't even at school this entire time.
As for the thing with Tohka... well, Princess was pretty big.
"Hold on a sec, I literally just got here!" He tried explaining, but the female trio wanted to hear nothing of it.
"Liar! You were here all morning!" Mai said, the trio getting more in his face. Michael looked around nervously, thinking of a way out of this situation.
"Eeee... Kurumi! Tell them!" Michael begged her, praying she wouldn't pull some badly timed trolls.
Now, if this were any other situation, then maybe Kurumi would have played along with the accusations thrown at Michael just to tease him. But this didn't seem like the appropriate time, especially because he WAS with her all morning and last night.
"Y-Yeah. Mikey was with me the whole day. We both didn't feel well this morning and decided to walk to school together. He's telling the truth." She defended him, giving a slightly more believable story than telling the actual one.
"Your no better, Tokisaki!" Said a girl in the classroom, getting the Spirits attention as this same girl stomped over to join the conversation... she and 3 other girls. "You've been batting your eyes at guys all day!" She got into Kurumi's personal space like Ai did with Michael, making the Nightmare back off a bit.
"Yeah! And you've been lifting your skirt in front them AND their girlfriends!" Accused another girl.
"Not to mention grabbing boys hands AND cuddling up to them!" Claimed another girl.
"You've even started going around and requesting numbers from every male you've seen!"
"Haaa?!" Kurumi asked with a bit of recoil, caught off guard by the accusations thrown at her.
Both she and Michael had their backs against the wall. Everyone seemed to believe that the duo was responsible for various antics around the school this morning. The only conclusion they could come to was if one of her clones went rogue again, but said owner of that ability would have been made aware of that if that was the case. Even then, that didn't explain Michael's apparent crimes unless he too had a rouge clone, except he hasn't used or trained in the useage of her shadow powers as of yet.
A few of those things sounded like something Kurumi would do, but Michael wasn't gonna admit that out loud.
"Michael. Kurumi." Tohka said, her hands on her hips. "What's done is done, but you shouldn't lie to cover each other for it." She scolded them both, but then blushed and glanced away. "Though at the very least, have Michael give me a heads up next time... give me a second to mentally prepare myself..."
Mikey's and Kurumi's mouth hung open at what Tohka said. Now Kurumi was aware that Tohka was a bit of an airhead, but not that totally oblivious to how her words sounded either. And judging by her reaction, the Princess also didn't seem turned off to the idea of a second run if Michael gave her a warning first...
How much did her Macho Michael have to put up with exactly?
Michael felt his shoulders grabbed and immediately panicked. "AHHHH-!... Oh, Ori..." He said, seeing whom it was and calmed down a bit; but then got nervous again. "Wait... don't tell me..."
"No." Was Origami's immediate response. "Neither of you did anything to me personally." She said, which eased both Kurumi and Michael...
Only for the AST member to gently take his hand and put it inside her shirt which she had slightly opened out of nowhere, where he immediately felt something soft and squishy...
Again, Kurumi was stunned. The short-haired girl did that with no emotion on her face, nor did she appear ashamed of starting it. Michael himself was unable to move or think clearly, and his fingers might have ended up squeezing it Tohka didn't step in.
Kurumi repeated her previous question: How much did her Macho Michael have to put up with exactly?
"W-W-W-What are you doing Origami Tobiichi?!" Tohka slapped Michael's hand out of Origami's shirt.
"..." Michael had to re-gather his thoughts for a second, everything was going by crazy fast. "... I'm hoping this is not what I'm thinking, but..." He went to predict how Origami felt. And he was very much correct based on her answer.
"Yes." She said. "I want you to do those things to me too. Push me against the wall... gently cup up my chin... stare directly into my eyes, as you slowly lift up my skirt..." Origami's words sounded romantic, and you can hear the emotion in her voice, but it was quite odd due to the lack of emotion on her straight face. It still had an effect on all women in the vicinity, them all blushing from her fantasy (aside from Kurumi and Tohka, whom were mostly shocked). It also wasn't a secret they used to be a couple, so this also seemed as adding fuel to the fire.
"Then we will share a deep, romantic kiss; where we'll be overcome by lust and tear off each others clothes. And you'll take my innocence as a woman, leaving an everlasting on me, imbued deep within my body..." Origami finished.
"I'm gonna need several Trojans for that one..." Michael said, also with a straight face, but he was caught off guard by her statement. It was the same deal when he dealt with Kurumi on the roof, making a quip as a mental defense to deal with the situation.
Tohka and even Kurumi now couldn't help but go a bit red from Origami's words. She said all that, with a straight face, and did not waver at all. Kurumi could say some stuff herself, but even she might not have gone THAT far with it unless she and Michael were alone.
How did those two wind up dating again?
"There you both are!" Came the voice of Kaguya, her and her twin Yuzuru entering the classroom themselves. She also didn't sound happy either.
"Caution. You'll both pay for what you've done." Said Yuzuru. While she still retained her poker face-like expression, she also looked and sounded a tad bit annoyed.
"Not you both too..." Michael said, becoming mentally exhausted from all the accusations.
"Listen here, Kurumi. You better give me back those panties or so help me!" Kaguya ordered the Nightmare, stomping over to the duo and getting in her face. As before with the other ones, Kurumi was shocked by this allegation.
"Response. We hold grudges..." Yuzuru said, but got into Michael's space instead. "Especially when you throw a bucket of water at me, shouting 'wet T-shirt contest'."
"Okay, first of all, why would Kurumi Steal Kazuma-style?" Michael tried to reason with Kaguya. "And secondly, didn't you do that at Miku's pool?" He said to Yuzuru that time.
"We will not stand for this! It's a crime to defy the Yamai! Meaning your both gonna pay dearly for this!" Kaguya said with energy. "... more specifically, I'll be stripping you both down to your undies."
"Addition." Yuzuru said, holding up a random spray bottle she somehow got. "I will slowly spray both of you until your naked bodies are soaking wet."
Michael was about a fingernails length away from a mental breakdown, but he held on. "Look, think about this for a second! Why would me or Kurumi do any of those things? At all?!"
"Then who did it? Do you have a twin yourself? Or did Kurumi's Sisters?" Kaguya argued, still very much mad, also using the term 'sisters' as code not only because that's what Michael calls Kurumi's Clones anyway; but because calling them what they actually are in public was probably not the best idea.
"Oh, your back..." said the voice of Miss Tamae, their teacher. "I didn't think I've have to be a bride, but after what you did before..."
All Michael did was stare in shock at the crazy teacher, considering how he felt about the 'free trial' when this madness started. But the straw that broke the camels back...
Hiroto: Hey, Mike... were you serious earlier... I mean, I'm flattered, but...
At that point, Michael finally snapped.
GRAB!
First Michael grabbed Kurumi's hand, which she didn't expect, and yelped lowly from the shock.
"WE'RE GOING TO THE NURSE'S OFFIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!" He yelled, booking it out of the classroom and down the hall, dragging the Time Spirit along for the ride as fast as his feet could carry the both of them. Kurumi's feet also moved on instinct, trying to keep up with the puller. Akin to a cartoon, everyone in the classroom chased them down the hallway.
XXX
Mike and Kurumi ended up giving them the slip, ending up in a different hallway, both of them panting up a storm as their hearts beat very fast from the exercise. Michael was holding his stomach, while Kurumi had both hands on her knees to hold herself up.
"*Pant... pant...* How did you end up dating her again?" Kurumi asked.
"I ask myself the same thing..." Michael said while trying to catch his breath, aware of whom Kurumi was referencing. "Sorry I pulled ya. I panicked and..." he then went to apologize, but noted Kurumi's gaze was hardened and no longer focused on him... or rather, not the him in front of herself...
He saw himself... a little bit down the hall, looking back at the duo slyly. This doppelgänger then began to walk off, heading to the stairs nearby. Once he got out of sight, the shock of seeing a second Michael left the Spirit Sealer and Nightmare, then they gave chase...
Only to freeze when now a Kurumi was standing before the stairwell, appearing to be waiting for them to arrive before turning around after a few seconds and headed upstairs with a very Kurumi-like giggle. Both Michael and the real Kurumi ran after her. But each time they rounded a flight of stairs and trialed behind this individual: the beings appearance appeared to change from Kurumi, to Michael, then back to Kurumi, then back to Michael; rinse and repeat with each flight of stairs.
The giggle also changed to match the laughter of said person this person pretended to be... it was honestly a bit creepy.
They both heard the slam of the roof access door before they finally got to it themselves... why was it always the roof where weird shit happened? Regardless, they got to the roof to see standing across was Kurumi, or at least the person pretending to be her.
"Found you. Faker." Michael said.
"Hey there." Greeted 'Kurumi'. "Do you like it?" She asked, referring to her perfect lookalike appearance. Then her body glowed. "Or do you prefer this instead?" The doppelgänger then changed its appearance and voice to Michael.
"Well obviously your not a Me, so who the hell are you?" Kurumi demanded. At least they can cross rouge Clone off the list.
The Faker chuckled before swapping to Kurumi. "The one whose been having so much fun with our harem." 'Kurumi' said.
"Yeah. Real cute. Who are you, and what are you after by impersonating us?" Michael demanded to know.
'Kurumi' chuckled this time before she began to full on laugh out loud, swapping to Michael as the laugh also changed to match the new impersonations tone. "Sorry, this is too funny…" 'Michael' said as he recovered from his laughter, then his voice completely changed to:
Natsumi: Especially since the cute couple can't figure it out themselves.
"Natsumi!" Kurumi said, she and Michael recognizing the voice and whom it belonged to.
"Bingo! Two points for the Dream Team." Nastumi said, retaining her normal voice but still keeping the appearance of Michael. Apparently in addition to cartoonish magic, Natsumi also had the power to copy the physical appearance of people. Pretty handy ability to be honest. "Do you now see what I meant before?" She added, mentioning when she told both Kurumi and Michael 'their lives were about to be over'.
"So that's it? You play dress up as us just to prank our friends?" Michael asked in a rude tone. He didn't find this funny at all, but aggravating now that he learned the truth.
Natsumi smirked a bit wider. "Pitiful. Minus two points."
"Look, if it's about me shooting you, I was trying to save Michael from the carrot YOU created. It was an accident." Kurumi said.
"Oof. Now your at negative two points." Natsumi said, confirming the shooting was not the reason for her actions. "Though do tell me; doesn't it sound interesting? Having 2 of you wandering around in the world?"
"Sorry. The multiverse isn't big enough for 2 of me." Michael snapped at her.
"And any Mes' that aren't with Me are as good as dead." Kurumi warned.
Natsumi only chuckled. "How about letting me take over for you both? Don't worry, I'm quite observant. I can live both your lives that no one would suspect a thing?" She said, but before the conversation could continue...
SLAM!
The roof door shot open by...
Tohka: Move over! I saw them go up here first, so I'M gonna confront them!
Origami: No. I won't let you before m-.
Both: (notices the scene on the roof) Eh?...
...
...
...
Tohka: ... Two Michaels?
That was Tohka and Origami, while also trying to shove each other aside, fighting on who would confront Michael and Kurumi first. Apparently when Michael and Kurumi chased Natsumi upstairs, Tohka and Origami happened to follow them but fought with each other the whole way up. Ironically as this also involved Kurumi, this felt like a weird sense of déjà vu...
"Unless your experimenting with Tokisaki's powers, explain yourselves." Origami said.
"Ya see why I was confused? Because this gu-…" Michael went to explain, but Natsumi cut him off.
"This asshole is an Imposter!" Witch said while changing her voice back to Michael's, and also pointing to Michael, accusing him of being the fake. "He's the one whose been posing as me and Kurumi and harassing you guys all day!"
"Really? The Blame Game? That's the oldest con in the book!" Michael said.
"Think about it. Before today, when have I ever done that shit to anyone?" Natsumi asked, continuing to play her part. Tohka and Origami could only stare at the 2 Michaels as they both continued to try and make their case.
"Don't listen to him! Me and Kurumi cornered him right after I left the classroom! How would I know that if I'm not the real Michael?" Said Michael… or was it Natsumi?
"Oh come on! Everyone down the hall saw that! It's because YOU'VE been wearing me and Kurumi's skins'!" Said Natsumi… or was that Michael?
Michael (Nastumi?): See! He even admitted it!
Natsumi (Michael?): Knock it off! I'M the real Michael!
At this point, Kurumi had all she could take of this. She could just shot Natsumi right now, but with her in disguise, it would look like she was attacking Michael for no reason. And after joining Ratatoskr very recently, it would look bad, so instead she opted for the verbal approach.
"Guys!" Kurumi shouted, the attentions of Tohka and Origami on her now. "She can only copy one person at a time. Not only that, Michael dragged me with him, remember?" She then pointed across to the Michael furthest away from herself. "That's the phony! You have to believe me, but if not for me, at least for Mikey!"
While they didn't know why Kurumi said "she", Tohka and Origami thought on this… The problem was, they didn't fully trust Kurumi as of yet, and you could see it in their eyes. Sure she made valid points and did seem concerned… or this could just be the convenient excuse she needed to devour the Spirit Sealer and the power that sleeps within him. She also doesn't stick around for too long before vanishing, sometimes not reappearing for several days.
She may be part of the group now, but Origami and Tohka, as well as the other Spirits, always felt uneasy around her. Plus her past actions were still fresh in their minds, so it's not like they had enough time to move past all of it.
Michael was ready to trust her… they were not.
"I guess… we have to decipher who is the deceiver." Tohka said, looking at Origami.
"It would appear so…" Origami said, looking at Tohka. Then both looked at the other 3 people on the roof…
…
…
"Your the Faker!" Tohka and Origami said at the same time, also pointing at the same time to the Michael they deemed to be the phony, which was the one Kurumi pointed to only 30 seconds ago. All 3 of the other teens were shocked, mainly because they made a decision so quickly, and we're very sure about it as equally quickly.
"But, But… why would you say that?! I'm the real Michael! I swear!" Panicked the accused Michael, honestly acting very accurately to how he deals with panic as if he was the real Michael.
"Swear all you want! You are most definitely not!" Tohka said, sounding adamant in her decision. "You may look like Michael. You may even sound like Michael. However, you smell like candy and sugar. Michael has a more musker scent!"
"I'll admit, if you were only here with Kurumi, and you probably would've fooled me. But standing next to Michael tells me all I need to know." Said Origami, about to give her own reasons how she deduced whom of the Michaels' were the true one. As she was about to give her answers, a 3rd transparent Michael appeared in between Michaels, though this was more of a mental thing and it wasn't actually there.
Origami: Compared to the real Michael; you blink exactly 50 milliseconds faster, your center of gravity is 0.2 degrees to the left, and finally, your breathing pattern shown when your body rises differs from his by being 5 and a half seconds slower.
"There's no doubt! YOUR the Imposter Among Us!" Said both Origami and Tohka in unison again.
Once again, Kurumi could only stare with a slightly open mouth, silent for a bit due to trying to gather the right words to use, and just the way Tohka and Origami talked when not engaged in battle. "… and they call me a Nightmare."
"…" Natsumi herself was also silent. "… Are these girls for real? What the hell is wrong is wrong with them?" She asked while directing that towards Origami and Tohka, still using Michael's voice.
Michael pointed to Natsumi angrily with his index finger and snapping his head in her direction, immediately going to defend Princess and his Ex. "Hey! There is n-…!" But then stopped himself, holding his position for 3 seconds before recovering VERY slowly. Like it or not, Natsumi wasn't wrong…
"GRRRRRR! This is… unacceptable!" Natsumi then rubbed her own hair, her voice also going back to her real one, muttering how unbelievable this was. This was the first thing to shock Origami and Tohka even though they already predicted who was the imposter. "You both ruined everything!" She said to Tohka and Origami before summoning Haniel again in the fashion as back at the park, then she removed her disguise and took on her Witch form again.
"A girl?" Asked Tohka, and it was obvious to her and Origami that they were dealing with a Spirit.
"Unforgivable! You saw through my flawless disguise like it was nothing!" Nastsumi complained. "GRRRRRRR!… This never happened! I will have my revenge on you both! You mark my words!" She said to Kurumi and Michael, then turned to Origami and Tohka. "And don't think you two won't feel my wrath either!" With that, she flew off in the same fashion as at the park.
"Michael… who was that girl?" Tohka asked.
"And why is she so focused on the two of you?" Origami asked. When Michael and Kurumi looked back at them, Tohka had a hand on one of her hips, while Origami also stared at them, awaiting an explanation. All the Nightmare and Spirit Sealer could do was smile nervously.
Kurumi: hehe… about that…
Michael: Er, funny story…