Kamen Rider Date A Live

"..."

"Hey!"

"Coo-choo!"

He placed his hand on Kotori's head, forcing her to change direction. A strange sound came from her throat. Then, after finding what he expected at the corner of Kotori's mouth, Shido murmured, "Just as I thought."

Even though she hadn't eaten breakfast, Kotori had her favorite "Double Fat" lollipop in her mouth. This was a bad habit that Shido had told her off countless times, but Kotori just couldn't break it.

"Hey! Did I say no snacks before meals?"

"Mmm~! Mmm~!"

Shido grabbed the stick, intending to confiscate the candy, but Kotori's mouth remained tightly shut as she resisted fiercely. Her face was twisted in the direction Shido was exerting force, distorting her originally cute features, and at the same time, tears seemed to well up in her large, watery eyes.

"...Seriously, you'd better eat your food properly later~"

In the end, Shido gave in. He patted Kotori's head helplessly, then went back to the kitchen to continue preparing the bacon and eggs he hadn't finished earlier.

"Oh! I love you the most, Onii-chan!"

Kotori took the stick out of her mouth and, blushing, happily called out to Shido, who was busy making breakfast. Shido could only remain silent and continue making breakfast.

—This is the dividing line for breakfast completion—

"...Speaking of which, shouldn't the junior high school opening ceremony also be today?"

Breakfast was simple: two pieces of bacon and some scrambled eggs, along with a few fresh vegetable leaves for garnish. The two plates of breakfast were placed on either side of the table, and Shido and Kotori sat down on either side.

Yes~

"Well then, you should be back by noon... Kotori, what would you like for lunch?"

Kotori made an "Mmm!" sound, excitedly jumping up from her chair and giving a cheering gesture.

"Super Deluxe Kids Meal!"

"...That's a family-style restaurant menu! We can't prepare this dish for you."

"Eeeee!! -- No, no! Please, Onii-chan! Onii-chan~~"

Seeing Kotori sitting opposite him, shamelessly clasping her hands together and peeking out with her big, watery eyes, trying to look cute, Shido's face instantly turned into Kyon's. He picked up a piece of cheese with jam on it and started eating it with a bewildered expression.

"Okay, then go ahead." After finishing the cheese with a bewildered expression, Shido slowly uttered these words.

"Yay! I love you the most, Onii-chan!!"

Looking at the cheering Kotori, Shido smiled slightly and looked out the window at the sky.

The sky was crystal clear, a rare treat for the weather.

The trajectory began to change with the Fourth Agreement (The End)

The trajectory began to change with the Fourth Agreement (The End)

Itsuka Shido noticed something.

For some unknown reason, the person he was just talking to, Tobiichi Origami, was sitting right next to him—the top student in the entire grade.

Before finishing the preparatory stamping, Origami Tobiichi closed the book and put it away on the table. Then, she stared straight ahead, striking a perfect pose as if measured by a ruler and compass.

"..."

Shido felt the atmosphere was a bit awkward, so he reacted the same way as Origami—turning his gaze toward the blackboard.

As if pre-arranged, the classroom door clicked open at that exact moment. A short woman wearing thin-rimmed glasses appeared and walked to the lectern.

As the teacher entered, Hongren stood up from his seat with a surprised expression.

"Oh! It's Xiaozhu!"

"Good morning! I am Tamae Okayamine, who will be your mentor for the next year!"

This teacher has an exceptionally sweet voice and a childlike demeanor, looking no more than 18 years old, but she is actually 29 years old.

Shido clapped along with the students around him, but then he suddenly noticed that Origami Tobiichi, sitting to his right, was staring at him with undisguised gaze, making Shido feel uneasy.

"Origami Tobiichi... Why does she know me? Why is she looking at me? What? What is all this about!?"

Shido muttered in a low voice, barely audible to others, sweat dripping down his cheeks.

—Three hours later—

"Wuhe, we've got nothing else to do anyway, want to go eat together?"

After the opening ceremony, students packed their things and left the classroom one after another, preparing to go home. Tonomachi, with his schoolbag slung over his back, asked this question.

Aside from exam periods, students rarely have the opportunity to leave school before noon, so small groups of friends can be seen everywhere discussing where to have lunch together.

Shido almost nodded in agreement for a moment, but then exclaimed "Ah!" and changed his mind.

"Sorry, I already have an appointment."

"What? The other person is a girl?"

"Ah... um... you could say that."

"What did you say!"

Tonomachi made a V-sign with his hands, raised one leg high, and tilted his body slightly, mimicking the reaction of the Glico runner.

"Tell me what exactly happened during spring break! Besides having an intimate conversation with that Tobiichi, you even had lunch with a girl! Didn't we swear to become magicians together?"

"No, I don't remember agreeing to anything like that... Besides, the girl I was referring to was Kotori."

Hearing Shido say that, Tonomachi finally breathed a sigh of relief, repeatedly patting his heart with his right hand, looking as if he had been quite frightened.

"You should have said so earlier! Don't scare me!"

"You're just making a fuss over nothing."

"But, if it's Kotori, it should be fine, right? Can I come along?"

"Huh? Ah... um, it should be alright, right..."

Before Shido could finish speaking, Tonomachi suddenly rested his elbow on Shido's desk and whispered:

"Hey, hey, Kotori's in the second year of junior high, right? Does she have a boyfriend?"

"what?"

"No, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just wondering if Kotori is interested in boys who are three years older than her?"

"...Application rejected. You are not allowed to come along."

Shido narrowed his eyes, forcefully shoving Tonomachi's face, which kept leaning towards him, away in disgust. "Are you kidding me? Even a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow! How dare you lay a hand on my sister?!"

"How could you do this, brother!"

"Don't you dare call me 'Brother'! It's disgusting!"

Shido frowned, while Tonomachi chuckled a few times, stood up, and shrugged.

"Haha! I wouldn't be so tactless as to disturb your siblings' reunion. As long as you don't violate the city's regulations, enjoy your love and affection to the fullest."

"That last sentence was completely unnecessary."

As Shido said this, his cheek twitched slightly, and Tonomachi, seeing his expression, was about to say something when...

Waaaaaaahh ...

"…………!"

The classroom windows rattled and swayed, and a piercing alarm blared down the street.

"What...what happened?"

Tonomachi opened the window to check the situation outside—several crows, startled by the alarm, were circling overhead.

The students left in the classroom also stopped talking, and everyone stared wide-eyed.

Then, immediately following the alarm, a voice was played through the machine. To ensure everyone could hear clearly, the speaker deliberately broke long sentences into shorter ones:

"A precursor to a spacequake has just been observed in this area. This is not a training exercise! Please proceed to the nearest shelter immediately!! To reiterate, this area just..."

In an instant, in the absolute silence, the students gasped in unison.

Spacequake Alert!!

"Hello, hello... Is it true?" Tonomachi's forehead began to sweat, and he said in a hoarse voice.

However, although the students in the classroom, including Shido and Tonomachi, were filled with tension and unease, their reactions were relatively calm.

At least, no students panicked.

Because this street suffered severe damage from a spacequake thirty years ago, Shido and his friends have been undergoing one evacuation drill after another since kindergarten, almost to the point of being tiresome.

Moreover, this is a high school, and it has an underground shelter large enough to accommodate all the teachers and students.

"The shelter is nearby! As long as you calmly get there and take refuge, there won't be any problems."

"Oh...oh! You're right."

Tonomachi nodded, deeply agreeing with Shido's statement. Then, the two of them jogged quickly out of the classroom. By this time, many students had already gathered in the corridor, lining up one by one to walk towards the shelter.

Then, Shido frowned because he noticed that in the crowd, a female student was walking in the opposite direction of the line—that is, towards the exit.

"Yuan Yi?"

That's right, the person running down the corridor with her skirt billowing in the wind is none other than Origami Tobiichi!

"Hey! What are you doing! The shelter isn't there..."

"No problem." Origami stopped abruptly, then ran forward again after saying that.

"What's okay...?" Shido turned to look at Origami in surprise as he followed Tonomachi and the others into the student line.

He was very concerned about Origami's unusual behavior—but perhaps she had just forgotten something.

In fact, even if an alert is issued, it doesn't mean a spacequake will occur immediately. So if you can get back in time, you should still have enough time.

"Please...please everyone stay calm! It's...it's okay, please move forward slowly! Remember to follow the rules! No pushing, no running, no poking...ouch!"

Ms. Kozuma, who was directing everyone to take refuge underground, looked extremely tense, gesturing frantically in all directions, while the students around her chuckled softly. At that moment, Tonomachi, who was passing by, noticed her nervousness and said something with a blank expression.

"Teachers should really calm down."

"Well, you're right."