Date a Live:Date Under The Moon

[A child asked her mother, "Where is the rabbit's home?"]

A blade of light swept across the golden barrier, scattering bright sparks across its surface.

"Go back where you came from!!!"

It was a girl, around fifteen or sixteen years old. She wore battle armor that looked as if it had come from a sci-fi show, and held a beam sword in her hand. At a glance, she looked like someone cosplaying as a mechanical girl. But her eyes were filled with anger and hatred far beyond her age.

"You Spirits don't deserve to live in this world!"

Another slash carved a dazzling line of light across the spiritual barrier.

[Mother smiled and answered, "The moon is Mr. Rabbit's homeland."]

"..."

Facing the girl's rage, she neither spoke nor showed any reaction. She only calmly, helplessly, raised her hand and held up the spiritual barrier.

Slash after slash. Time slowly passed in this meaningless battle.

[The child asked her mother, "Why doesn't Mr. Rabbit go home?"]

Boom——!!!

In the distance, countless missiles came flying in, blooming into brilliant flames against the spiritual barrier.

Looking closely, the girls wearing mechanical armor were not just one person. There were many. Many of them.

[Mother smiled and answered, "Wandering is Mr. Rabbit's specialty."]

"How much longer... until I can leave...?"

She sighed.

Endless attacks. Endless malice. Not even a moment of rest, not until she vanished.

She did not know how many slashes she had taken. She did not know how many explosions had struck her. Finally, amid a familiar yet impossible to get used to distortion, she fell into a deep sleep.

"Target lost."

Looking at the place where she had disappeared to the neighboring world, the girls made a simple report, then left.

All that remained was a giant crater, like a scar on the earth, forever branded into that place.

————————

This was a nameless space.

It was also the only place she could return to after leaving the real world.

"Little child, little child, softly says...Ah, Mr. Rabbit, please go home soon...

Mr. Rabbit smiles and says...Ah, little child, little child, I miss home too..."

A sad melody. A song of homesickness.

It was the only decoration in this space.

"All right, stop singing already. Even if you sing that song countless times, I still won't be able to bring you back."

A voice rang out beside her.

It was a voice exactly the same as her own.

"Why?"

She asked.

She had only been a traveler who came to Japan for a trip. Her destination had been a shrine. There, she had been caught up in an explosion, and then she had lost consciousness.

Later, she was told that it had been a slightly failed ritual. The one who held that ritual was the owner of the other voice—

Tsukuyomi.

"I've already told you countless times. Crossing into another world is not something you can do with power alone. Time, ritual, sacred treasure, and power. Not one can be missing.

Right now, we have no time, and no way to prepare a ritual. Even the sacred treasure, the Yasakani no Magatama, has merged into your body."

Tsukuyomi sighed and said helplessly.

"Then at least turn me back."

She also sighed. Because she knew Tsukuyomi was not lying, she felt even more helpless.

"That's impossible. The Yasakani no Magatama is my sister Amaterasu's sacred treasure. You were caught in when I performed the crossing ritual, and then you fused with that thing.

My sister is a goddess. Her sacred treasure can't successfully fuse with a male body. So sorry, but your only choices are dead man or a living woman."

Tsukuyomi shook her head.

Speaking of it, the person in front of her really was unlucky. Not only had she been dragged into Tsukuyomi's ritual, she had also been forced to change gender.

"I don't understand. As one of the Three Noble Gods, why would you want to cross into another world?"

She looked at the girl before her.

Yes. Tsukuyomi was a girl.

She had long, black hair like the deep night, and golden eyes like moonlight. The goddess looked a little like the heroine from Tenshin Ranman, wearing a golden headpiece, divine clothing mainly blue with black as a secondary color, and a moon disk hanging behind her.(TL:it is the girl from the cover)

"Yeah, yeah. Whenever people bring up Tsukuyomi, everyone thinks the Three Noble Gods are so high above everything. Then let me ask you. Before meeting me, did you think I was male or female? Where is my shrine? What do I govern?"

"Uh..."

That string of questions left her unable to answer.

Before coming here, she had always thought Tsukuyomi was a male god. As for the shrine, it was probably that quiet, lonely Tsukuyomi Shrine she had visited. As for what Tsukuyomi governed, she had no idea at all.

"See? Not just you. Even people born and raised there don't know. The so called Tsukuyomi is nothing more than a god who is almost forgotten."

Tsukuyomi let out a deep sigh and helplessly shook her head.

"So that's why you wanted to come to another world? A world that believes in you?"

She asked.

"That's right. But things went against my wish. As you can see, I fell flat on my face. Not only is there no faith here, I can't even move freely."

Tsukuyomi sighed.

This crossing could only be described as a failure.

They had arrived in a strange world, following laws they could not understand at all. Most of the time, they drifted inside this weird space. Only occasionally could they go to the real world—a world similar to Earth.

However, every time they appeared in the real world, they arrived with a phenomenon like a bomb blast. Every place they appeared was blown clean, leaving nothing behind.

No one would welcome a walking human shaped nuclear weapon, so every time they manifested, the girls in mecha armor would greet them with passionate firepower.

"Are you not mad at me anymore?"

Tsukuyomi asked her.

"Forget it. I've been mad enough."

She looked at herself.

She had the same face as Tsukuyomi. The same voice too. Tsukuyomi had changed her own form to match hers. Gods had no physical body, so right now the two of them shared one body.

When she had first arrived here, she had been furious.

But now, she found that she no longer even had the strength to be angry.

"After people pass through that violent period, there are two possible outcomes. Either they accept reality and bravely move forward, or they give up on themselves and only want to die. So, how are you now?"

Tsukuyomi asked.

"Let me die. Please."

She lay without any grace in this strange space, her eyes completely losing all life.

The only one she could talk to was Tsukuyomi. And the result of going to the real world was only being driven away like a pest.

Honestly, what meaning was there in living like this?

"Sigh... You really don't know how lucky you are..."

Tsukuyomi looked at her like that and let out a long sigh.

——————

And so, the two of them relied on each other in this world.

They drifted together in an unknown space, or were sent to the real world to receive a rain of bullets.

She thought this life would continue forever.

But its end came very quickly.

——————

"Uwaa!"

A heavy blow sent her flying to the ground.

This time, manifesting in the real world seemed to have brought her straight into trouble.

That woman named Ellen was clearly different from the enemies before. Her overwhelming strength left no room to fight back. The spiritual shield gathered by Tsukuyomi was shattered in a single strike, and she herself fell to her knees.

"This is Ellen. Capture of Fake complete."

The woman used the communication device in her armor to contact someone.

"Fake?"

She asked.

She knew a little English, so she understood that the word carried the meaning of "not true" or "false."

"Your codename. You have neither Astral Dress nor Angel. Are you really a Spirit?"

Ellen asked.

The girl before her only wore ragged clothes gathered from power. They were nowhere near the level of an Astral Dress.

"Spirit?"

"Forget it. I don't need to explain anything to you."

The woman stepped forward and raised the beam sword in her hand.

[Tsukuyomi! Please, do something!!!]

She shouted in her heart.

Combat had basically always been handled by Tsukuyomi. But for some reason, during the past while, she had suddenly lost contact with Tsukuyomi, and no matter what she did, there had been no response.

"I understand. Hm... In that case, removing the limbs should be fine."

There was no time left.

The beam sword swung down, filled with cruelty and coldness.

[Uwaa~, you couldn't even hold on for this little bit of time? You really are useless.]

But at that moment, silver light bloomed and turned into a barrier, stopping Ellen's attack.

[Too slow!]

She complained in her heart.

Just a little more, and she really would have become a limbless stick.

[Stop complaining. I just used a bit of my power to understand this world. Anyway, listen carefully now. I won't say what comes next a second time.]

Tsukuyomi's voice was very serious.

[First, it seems we have been treated as a kind of being called a Spirit. An Astral Dress and an Angel are, respectively, a Spirit's strongest shield and strongest spear. Next, I will give you the Yasakani no Magatama inside you... Oh, right, and my own Yata no Kagami, along with all the power I have left.]

[Wha... what is that...? Why are you talking like you're giving away your inheritance?]

A strange anxiety spread through her heart.

[Because I am giving away my inheritance. Have you forgotten? I crossed worlds to gather faith. A god without faith cannot keep existing. Sadly, our bad fate together ends here. My faith is almost gone. Ehehe... I can't keep playing anymore!]

Tsukuyomi's voice sounded light, but it was filled with helplessness.

[Wait... Then... then won't I be alone?]

She said in despair inside her heart.

Although Tsukuyomi was the main culprit who made her cross worlds, during this time, it was also this goddess who helped her endure every second of despair.

[Mm. That's right. So you have to be strong... Speaking of which, you still don't have a name. Your old male name clearly can't be used anymore, right?]

[Mm... Good! I've decided! Mikoto! Your name will be Yakumo Mikoto! The "Ya" is the "eight" of the eight million gods. The "kumo" is the "cloud" of Izumo. And "Mikoto" is the "life" of life. A life blessed by the eight million gods of Izumo... Live on. Life should be strong and unyielding like that...]

Tsukuyomi's voice grew weaker and weaker, as if it might vanish at any moment.

[What is this... What is this... We always argued... I was always angry at you... So why... why are you still treating me like this—!!!]

She screamed in pain inside her heart.

[Hehe. Because gods love to spoil humans like that. Even if we are forgotten, even if we are hated, in the end, I still want to protect you, Mikoto.]

[Is there anything else... anything I can do for you? Even just a little?]

She asked while crying in her heart.

[Then sing. Sing that song that almost made my ears run away. And smile as you send me off.]

"Mm..."

She nodded while crying.

"The child asks mother, where is... Mr. Rabbit's... home?"

"Mother... smiles and answers, the moon... is Mr. Rabbit's home."

"What... what is this...?"

Ellen stopped attacking the barrier.

From just now, this Spirit had been acting strangely. First, she suddenly started crying... Was it because she was afraid of being hurt? That would make sense. But now she was crying while singing. She was forcing herself, yet trying so hard to smile.

"What exactly is wrong with this Spirit...?"

Ellen sped up her slashes, wanting to break that defense as soon as possible.

"Mr. Rabbit says, Mr. Rabbit... says...Little child... little child... go home soon..."

[Ah... I'm starting to miss home a little too. If I sleep... will I be able to go back?]

Tsukuyomi's voice slowly faded until it was almost impossible to hear.

[Live on, Mikoto. If you keep living, you will surely find happiness. Mm. Surely.]

In the end, the voice that had stayed with her for so, so long finally vanished.

"Mm. I'll live. I'll definitely live!"

She stood up, wiped away her tears, and spoke to the god who had already left.

"Of course you will live. As Ike's test subject."

Ellen noticed that the defense was starting to fade.

Now was the moment to deliver the final strike.

After wiping away her tears, she looked at the woman before her and forced out a smile that seemed strong.

"Spirit Dress of God's Divine Authority, Number One—Amaterasu!!!"

"What!!?"

Ellen widened her eyes.

She saw flames surround the girl and turn into an Astral Dress. White and red outlined a sacred form. A golden crown and a brilliant sun disk gave off light. A green magatama hung at her chest. The girl's holy figure was like the sun itself.

"Eternal night... descend...—Tsukuyomi!!!"

In an instant, night fell.

"This is..."

Ellen raised her head and saw night and a bright moon. Shrine halls and giant torii gates slowly rose from the shadows, turning this place into a world of night.

[Guh... I can't move...]

She tried to kill the Spirit first, but found that her body had been completely bound. She could not move even a little.

"Though I know this has nothing to do with you... please forgive me for taking my anger out on you..."

She looked at the bound woman and smiled in pain.

Then she shouted in rage:

"Get out————!!!!!!"

As if struck in the chest by a giant war hammer, Ellen's body flew uncontrollably into the distance. Only after she was thrown out of the world covered in night did she barely manage to stop.

"This is... an Angel..."

Ellen stopped in the air and looked at the world before her.

With the spacequake at its center, giant torii gates rose one after another, turning the area inside into a world of night. Its grand and majestic form was truly worthy of the name "a miracle with form."

"But..."

Even so, she had no plan to retreat.

As the world's strongest Wizard, she became a shooting star and rushed toward the shrine beneath the night.