Date a Live:Date Under The Moon

Woooooo——!!!

Just as the mood was getting better and better, a sharp and piercing alarm rang out at the worst possible time.

"What is this?"

This was Mikoto's first time hearing such a frightening sound. It was as if the entire city was about to be attacked.

"A spacequake alarm? How?"

Shido knew what this meant. It was the sign that a spacequake was coming.

"Yakumo-senpai... I..."

"Mm, I know."

The arrival of a spacequake meant the appearance of a Spirit. And for Shido, who had made it his duty to save Spirits, that meant he had to immediately rush to another "battlefield."

"Ahh, Shido, who was making me happy just a moment ago, is now going off to capture another girl in the blink of an eye. Boys these days really are heartless."

"Ya... Yakumo-senpai..."

When she thought about Shido about to run off to another girl, Mikoto spoke as if she were angry.

"Make sure you come back alive, Shido."

But deep in her heart, Mikoto understood. The only one who could save Spirits was Shido, and she had no right to keep all of the happiness he had given her for herself.

Even so, she was still worried. Not every Spirit could be a pacifist. Trying to date them had to be risky.

"Yeah, I know. Yakumo-senpai, you should go to the nearest shelter too."

"Mm."

She had considered going with Shido to the place where the spacequake was happening. But after thinking carefully, bringing one girl along to date another girl... well, if there was an EASY difficulty, it was better not to choose HARD on purpose.

After saying goodbye to Shido, Mikoto walked toward the nearest shelter.

Beep, beep, beep!

At that moment, a mail notification rang from inside her handbag.

She took out her phone and saw a message from Tamako obaa-chan. It said—

[I twisted my ankle. Come help me!]

"Oh no!"

Mikoto did not know how long it would be before the spacequake arrived, so she ran toward the shrine.

Because she was a Spirit, she would not get tired even if she ran at full speed. But she could not fly. According to Shido, AST would surely deploy when a spacequake happened. If they found her while she was flying, it would only make things even more troublesome.

[Please spare me from having a whole swarm of missiles and mecha girls chasing after my butt.]

While Mikoto was thinking such things, the shrine's torii gate had already entered her view.

"Tamako obaa-chan!"

"Tamako obaa-chan!"

"Tamako obaa-chan!"

She shouted, trying to confirm where the old woman was. Even if they could not reach a shelter in time, it did not matter. Mikoto was fully confident that she could block the damage from a spacequake.

But there was no sign of the old woman in the empty shrine.

[Could she be in the bedroom?]

She rushed into the living room, then opened the door to the inner room.

In that instant, hot and dazzling light filled her entire vision.

——————

"Kotori! Did another Spirit appear?"

On the other side, Shido was running down the road while taking out his phone and calling Kotori.

[Hah? What are you talking about?]

Because Mikoto had refused monitoring, Fraxinus was currently in a half-break state.

"The spacequake alarm! Doesn't that mean a Spirit appeared?"

[A spacequake? Wait...Everyone, return to your stations! Reine, have we observed any sign of a Spirit manifestation?]

A bad feeling rose in Kotori's heart.

"No. All data is within normal range."

"As I thought..."

Kotori clicked her tongue. The purpose of the alarm was to clear out the crowd. Which meant...

[Shido, the spacequake alarm is fake. AST probably found Yakumo Mikoto. Get to her side quickly! Also, put on your earpiece. Fraxinus will guide you to a safe route!]

"Kotori, can you find Yakumo-senpai's location?"

[...The shrine! She is on her way to the shrine!]

"I got it!!!"

Shido hurriedly put on the earpiece he had thought he would not need, then sprinted toward the shrine.

"Yakumo-senpai..."

Boom——!!!

"Uwaa!!!"

Just as he passed through the torii gate, Shido was caught in a violent explosion.

[Shido! Are you all right, Shido!?]

Kotori's anxious voice came through the earpiece. Although she knew Shido had self-healing Spirit power, that was a bomb meant for Spirits. Even Shido would be in serious danger if he was caught in the center of the blast.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Luckily, I was far from the explosion. It's just scratches."

Shido sat on the ground in a terrible state. Pieces of debris blown out by the blast had torn holes through his stockings, skirt, and clothes. Even his wig had a faint burnt smell. Fortunately, his wounds were healing quickly under a wave of hot flames.

"Yakumo-senpai!"

He stood up and rushed into the center of the smoke.

"Cough, cough... Yakumo-senpai... Yakumo-senpai!"

The dust lifted by the blast made Shido keep coughing, and the smoke blocked his view. Shido searched for Mikoto in a miserable state.

At last, at the center of the explosion, in a patch of scorched earth too terrible to look at, he saw Mikoto.

"Yakumo... senpai..."

Shido walked forward in excitement. But after seeing what Mikoto was holding in her hand, he could no longer speak.

"Shido... Obaa-chan... Obaa-chan, she..."

It was a torn sleeve. The white cuff was tied with a red cord. Because of the explosion, most of it had already been burned black. Only a small piece remained, held carefully in Mikoto's palms.

"Calm down, Yakumo-senpai! It's only a small piece of cloth. Maybe Tamako obaa-chan changed clothes and went out. Besides, there isn't only one shrine maiden outfit at the shrine."

"I am calm, Shido. That's exactly why... Obaa-chan... Obaa-chan, she..."

Tears slowly slid down Mikoto's face.

Tamako obaa-chan could not have gone out. Her favorite drama was airing this morning, so she would not have asked Mikoto to buy medicine unless she planned to stay home. And the cloth in Mikoto's hand did not come from a spare outfit either. On the cuff, one could see a soy sauce stain. It was from breakfast.

"Shido, in the end... I really can't live happily after all."

Looking back, the time she spent dating Shido felt like a dream. But dreams always had to end. When she raised her head, the rope that had hung down from heaven had already vanished. When she looked around, the flames of hell had never stopped burning her body.

[Ah, so happiness really isn't something I'm supposed to have.]

She had killed Obaa-chan. Even if the old woman only had a few days left to live, she should not have been forced to sleep forever in ruins like this. But Mikoto understood. It was because she had longed for warmth that she had brought this disaster to the old woman.

"That's not true!!! That's not true at all!!! Yakumo-senpai has the right to be happy!!! I—"

Shido shouted, trying to persuade Mikoto.

But the missiles that came howling through the air brutally cut off their conversation.

This could not continue. If she stayed here, Shido would be dragged into the battle too.

"—Amaterasu!"

Golden light wrapped around her body, turning into solemn divine clothes. The sun wheel behind her stirred with spiritual light, opening a barrier that shielded the two of them from the storm of missiles.

"Farewell, Shido."

Mikoto cried as she smiled. Her smile was full of despair and helplessness. With a painful voice, she said goodbye to Shido.

Then she flew into the sky.