Kamen Rider Date A Live

"Huh? Tokisaki-san isn't here? Honestly, if you're going to be absent, you could at least call to let us know."

Xiao Zhu puffed out her cheeks with a "pfft" and turned the page of the attendance book.

In that very instant.

"--arrive."

A familiar voice rang out from the back of the classroom.

"Kurumi?"

Looking back, her eyes widened. Yes, the back door of the classroom was quietly open, and standing there was Kurumi, a gentle smile on her face, her hand slightly raised.

"Really, Tokisaki-san. You're late."

"I'm very sorry. I felt a little unwell while at school."

"Huh? No, are you alright? Should we go to the infirmary...?"

"No, it's alright now. I'm sorry to have worried you."

Kurumi bowed and walked lightly to her seat.

"Something's not right... Kurumi's aura is different from yesterday's, what's going on... And Origami's words just now were also a bit suspicious... I should inform Kotori and the others later..."

Shido spoke in a barely audible voice, while turning his gaze to Origami, who had just uttered those strange words.

"Why……?"

Shido frowned in surprise.

Origami's expression was one of utter despair; she no longer had that same calm demeanor that wouldn't change even if Mount Tai fell down.

At this moment, Origami covered her mouth with her hand, clearly indicating that she had almost shouted out loud. Moreover, Origami's pupils were much larger than usual, which would surprise anyone who knows Origami even slightly.

"Folding...paper?"

Shido softly called her name.

Origami's fingertips trembled incessantly. She abruptly looked away from Kurumi and lowered her head, as if she was trying her best to endure something.

"Okay, that concludes the contact details."

Soon after, Ms. Xiaozhu ended the class meeting and left the classroom.

At that very moment! The phone in my pocket rang cheerfully. Why now? Ten seconds earlier and it might have been confiscated.

Looking at the screen, it displayed Kotori Itsuka's name. But it just so happened that I also needed to talk to Kotori and the others, so this was perfect.

"Hello? Kotori?"

"...Hmm. Shidou"

"What's wrong with you guys at a time like this? I did need to talk to you guys, but you called way too early. If it had been ten seconds earlier, it would have been a disaster."

"Huh? We should keep it on silent mode at school, isn't that what my great older brother said? But Shido called us because of Kurumi Tokisaki, right?"

"I have all sorts of things to do too... But since Kotori guessed what I wanted to ask you, it means that you called so early because of Kurumi, right?"

“That’s right, Shido. Compared to that kind of thing, it’s nothing. An unpleasant situation has arisen. To be honest, it’s the worst situation ever.”

"As I sensed today, Kurumi's aura has become strange. Although her essence hasn't changed, she's different from yesterday's Kurumi, I'm certain of that. After saying all this, Kotori, what exactly happened?"

"Hmm... Is there something wrong with your aura...? This is really troublesome. I can't believe something like this could happen in reality... Wait a minute! Shido, what do you say..."

Faced with this seemingly serious statement, Shido's tension intensified. As if to lower his voice, Shido covered Assimilation's mouth with his hand and continued speaking.

But after a while, Kotori seemed to notice something was wrong and said loudly and anxiously to Shido. But before she could finish speaking, Shido was poked on the shoulder, causing him to quickly turn around and look at the person.

There was no other way, since neither Shido's current organization nor Kotori's identity could be known to ordinary people. Shido thought it was his best friend, Tonomachi, who had come to see him, but the person he saw wasn't Tonomachi, but rather the famous figure he and Kotori had been talking about.

That's right! It was none other than Kurumi. At this moment, Kurumi tilted her head with an incredulous expression because Shido turned his head so fast and put his phone away so quickly, as if he had done something wrong.

However, Kurumi didn't seem to care and continued talking to Shido with no change in expression, as if she didn't care about yesterday's events at all.

"What are you doing, Shido-kun?"

"...! Ah... I have a phone call coming in, can you wait a moment?"

After Shido finished speaking, Kurumi expressed her surprise with exaggerated movements, then bowed her head in a salute.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you."

"Ah...it's nothing. Don't mind it. By the way, Kurumi, I need to talk to you at noon or after school. It's something important."

Shido spoke to Kurumi with a serious expression, and Kurumi also put away her playful smile, slightly raising the corners of her mouth as she spoke to Shido.

"It's an honor, Shido-kun. Well then, I'll be looking forward to it."

After Kurumi finished speaking, she bowed slightly to Shido and returned to her seat. However, the expression on her face became even more unreadable…

Seeing that Kurumi had left and that no one else seemed inclined to come looking for him, Shido focused his attention on the communication port again.

"...So, Kotori? What exactly happened—"

"...Shido, who were you talking to just now?"

"who……?"

In response to Kotori's sudden serious tone, Shido asked her a question.

"So, you were talking to someone next to you just now, right? So I wanted to ask who that person was. Tohka? Origami Tobiichi? Or Hiroto Tonomachi?"

Feeling as if Kotori were questioning a criminal, Shido asked in a strange voice.

"Kurumi, Tokisaki Kurumi. What happened, Kotori? What did you find out? It was Kurumi who came to talk to me just now."

Then, Kotori suddenly fell silent.

"Kotori? What's wrong?"

Shido asked curiously.

Kotori exchanged a few words with the person on the other end of the phone before continuing.

"Shido, come to the physics preparation room during your lunch break. I have something to show you."

"The physics preparation room... what on earth happened, Kotori?"

"It's hard to explain over the phone, but you absolutely have to come. By the way, if you want to know, go ask Origami Tobiichi."

After saying that, Kotori hung up the phone without waiting for Shido's reply.

"What exactly happened... and speaking of origami..."

While Shido was puzzled, he looked at Origami, who had been secretly watching Kurumi since the beginning.

At this moment, Origami's heart was filled with turbulent waves. She looked at Kurumi, who was chatting happily with other classmates, in disbelief, and forgot to send a notification to headquarters and ask Shido about Mana's disappearance.

(Impossible! I clearly killed Kurumi Tokisaki with my own hands yesterday... using 'Muramasa'!)

The Seventy-Nine Delicious Him

Seventy-nine delicious things for him

After glancing sideways and seeing that Shido was still in the classroom, Origami slowly stood up. Although she really wanted to have lunch with Shido, there were things she had to do right now.

Without any fancy moves, Origami walked directly to the target's seat.

"There are some things I need to say."

Then, he cast a cold glance at the owner of the seat and said this.

"Hey there, isn't this Origami-kun? What can I do for you?"

"come over."

After giving a brief response, Origami walked out of the classroom.

Kurumi stood up from her seat with a mysterious smile, jogged to catch up with Origami who had already walked away, and said something that sounded insincere to Origami.

"Please wait a moment, what's wrong?"

"..."

Origami glanced back.

In my eyes, I saw the figure of a girl desperately chasing after Origami, her slender limbs flailing as if they would break at the slightest touch. Indeed, she was an adorable girl who stirred my protective instincts.

However, Origami now knows her true colors and finds it unpleasant.

Origami walked hurriedly toward the door on the roof without slowing down at all.

In the past, Shido would also bring places to places where no one would normally visit, and convenient spaces for saying things he didn't want others to hear.

As Kurumi walked, her speed increased until no one else appeared. Then, she stopped running and started walking, but even while walking, she was faster than when she was running.

Upon reaching their destination, Kurumi removed her disguise and spoke to Origami.

"Oh my, Origami-kun. What brings you here? If you're asking about yesterday, I won't answer. Or perhaps you'd like to have another fight, Origami-kun? But I'm quite interested in your weapons, Origami-kun. They easily cut through our Spirit Armor's defenses."

Kurumi said to Origami with a smile.

Origami responded to Kurumi with an expression that remained completely unchanged.

"Why are you still alive? You should have died yesterday, I should have killed you with my own hands."

Yes, Origami did see it yesterday. To be precise, it was her doing, her own hands, cleanly and efficiently, dismembering Kurumi perfectly without leaving any trace. The body had already been retrieved by headquarters, so it shouldn't have appeared in front of her. But the facts before her eyes said it all.

"..."

Kurumi raised an eyebrow.

In the next few seconds, he used his exposed golden right eye to look back and forth at Origami's face.

"Oh, Origami-kun is so unfunny. She was so blunt, it's embarrassing. Kissing... but..."

"...!"

The moment Kurumi finished speaking, Origami quickly retreated from her spot.

There was no basis for it, just a vague sense of unease in my mind, warning Origami to run away.

"Well! Well! That's a very good reaction. Excellent. Excellent. But..."

"—!"

Origami held her breath, and before she could retreat, something grabbed her ankle.