I Became a Spirit in Date A Live, but I Refuse to Date

"No, it's true," Shido said, scratching his cheek.

(That's hardly anyone. What's so surprising? You've clearly never seen a subway station in China. ┐(─__─)┌)

Lingmeng watched the girl's astonished expression and thought to herself.

Still, she couldn't blame her. Whenever the girl appeared, emergency evacuation sirens sounded through the streets. The only humans she had probably seen were AST, and there wouldn't have been nearly so many of them.

Your Name Is Tohka

"Um..." Shido had meant to call the girl by name, but the words died in his throat.

"Hmm?" The girl seemed to notice something was wrong and frowned. After resting a hand against her chin and thinking for a moment, she spoke.

"...Right. If I'm going to talk to someone, I'll need one." She nodded, then asked, "Shido, Lingmeng, what are you going to call me?"

"Huh?" Shido and Lingmeng exclaimed together.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm asking you to give me a name."

"Ah, that's a tough one. I'm not very good at naming things!"

Lingmeng spread her hands helplessly and told the truth.

She really was terrible at names. In her previous life, she had used basically the same username everywhere. If it was taken, she would just tack a few numbers onto the end. She would never bother thinking up a new one.

Beside her, Shido fell silent for a moment.

(That's way too much responsibilityyyyy...)

Shido screamed inwardly.

"You really want the two of us to name you?"

"Yes. You two are the only people I'll talk to anyway, so it won't be a problem."

"Well, since she's so set on it, let's give her a name, Shido."

Lingmeng smiled at the hesitant Shido.

"...All right..." With Lingmeng on board, Shido had no choice but to go along.

"Lingmeng, why don't you go first?" The girl gave Lingmeng the first chance to name her.

"Ah, I'll have to think carefully about this." Lingmeng looked casual on the outside, but inside she was in a complete panic.

This was nothing like naming herself or a pet in her previous life. She had to name a living person. She couldn't just pick something like Little Red, Little Yellow, or Little Purple, could she?

"Uh... how about Xier Ya?" Lingmeng suggested, her voice wavering as she broke into a sweat.

She couldn't think of a good name, so she had simply borrowed one from someone she knew.

"No! It sounds like the name of someone who isn't very bright. I refuse!"

The girl pouted, folded her arms, and rejected it outright.

"That was a quick rejection." Despite being turned down, Lingmeng was delighted. She wholeheartedly agreed with anyone who called Xier Ya not very bright.

"Shido, it's your turn." The girl turned to Shido, her eyes full of expectation.

"Whoa, another tough problem." Kotori scratched her cheek in the captain's seat.

"...Yeah. What should he say?" Reine murmured from below the bridge.

Ordinarily, options would have appeared on the screen right about now. But when it came to names, a computer could generate too many possibilities to display.

"Shido, stay calm. Whatever you do, don't come up with a weird name." After warning him, Kotori stood and called out to the crew.

"Everyone, think of a name for her right now and send your suggestions to me!"

No sooner had she spoken than the crew's suggestions came flooding in.

"Let's see... Kawagoe! Isn't Misako the name of your ex-wife?"

"I'm terribly sorry! I couldn't think of anything else!"

An apologetic man's voice rose from below.

"...Honestly. What else is there... Reisho? Senbon, how do you even pronounce this one?"

"KURARABERU!"

"You're never allowed to have children!" Kotori pointed at the crewman and shouted.

"I'm terribly sorry, but my oldest child is already in elementary school!"

"Your oldest child?"

"Yes! I have three children!"

"Out of curiosity, what are their names?"

"From oldest to youngest: Misora, Furumentai, and Seirabumu!"

"Change their names within a week, and move out of their school district!"

"Do I really have to go that far?"

"Think about how your children feel, being stuck with the weird names you gave them, you goby!"

"It's fine! All names are like that these days!"

What a tasteless bunch of subordinates. Kotori shook her head helplessly.

Just then, an alarm sounded. On the screen, the girl's expectant expression had turned impatient.

"No, we need to hurry and find a name worthy of that girl's exquisite beauty! Only something classical, noble, and elegant will do!"

Shido, I've got it. Say it with me—

"Aru!"

"Aru! Your name is Aru!"

Before Shido had even finished speaking, red lights flashed through the command room and a shrill "beep—beep—" rang out. The affection gauge beneath the main screen dropped into the blue, indicating displeasure.

"Seriously, Shido? You're going with a name that dumb?" Lingmeng asked in disbelief.

"...Of course." Shido answered firmly. Kotori had come up with it, so he could only repeat it.

"Oho. Then you're finished." For some reason, Lingmeng looked at Shido as though he were a dead man walking, making him deeply uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" Shido asked.

"See for yourself." Lingmeng pointed toward the girl.

Shido turned. The girl raised her right hand, and countless tiny orbs of light appeared around her fingers. Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop! They shot toward Shido's feet like machine-gun fire.

"Aaaaaah..." Shido cried as he dodged.

"...Kotori?" Reine called when she saw Kotori frozen in place.

"Huh? That's strange. I thought it was a lovely name with a classical feel."

"I don't know why, but I feel like I'm being messed with. That name sounds even worse than Xier Ya! Are you two actually taking this seriously?"

Shido stared at the floor, now riddled with holes, and broke into a sweat.

(Sorry to all the elderly ladies named Aru, but by today's standards, it really doesn't suit a girl her age. d(OдO?))

"Wait, I've got a good way to come up with a name!" Seeing Shido on the verge of being shot full of holes, Lingmeng quickly spoke up.

"Hmm? What is it, Lingmeng?" The girl tilted her head curiously and stopped firing.

"If we're naming you, why not choose something meaningful? We met on April tenth, so we could start with that!"

Lingmeng explained with an easy smile.

"Oh, that's actually a good idea." The girl nodded in agreement.

"So, Shido, try coming up with another name based on that!" Lingmeng smiled at him.

"...Okay." Shido sank into thought again.

Then an idea struck him. "Tohka! Your name is Tohka!"

Are You Going to Run Away?

"Um... what do you think of the name?"

Shido watched the girl anxiously, afraid he might upset her again.

"..." The girl was silent for a moment. "All right. At least it's better than Aru and Xier Ya."

"As long as you like it..." Shido gave a wry smile and scratched his cheek out of habit.

"Ah, so you chose it because we met on April tenth? It does sound better than the other two, but it's a little obvious."

Lingmeng, apparently having figured out Shido's reasoning, couldn't resist a comment.

"Lingmeng, you don't have to say it out loud!" Shido whispered, sweating awkwardly.

It was true, but Tohka was the best name he could come up with in such a short time.

"Okay, okay, I get it." Lingmeng waved a hand without the slightest hint of apology and fell quiet.

"What were you two talking about?" Perhaps she was too excited about having a name, but the girl seemed not to have heard their exchange.

"N-no, nothing..." Shido waved his hands frantically. The girl looked puzzled, but didn't press him.

"So how do you write 'Tohka'?"

"Easy. Yatogami Tohka..."

In response, Lingmeng began explaining the stroke order for the characters in Tohka's name.

"...Speak plainly!" The girl frowned, unable to understand what Lingmeng was talking about.

"Ah, fine. Shido, go up and show her!"

Lingmeng shrugged helplessly and put Shido to work.

"Sure, no problem." Shido nodded, went to the blackboard, and picked up a piece of chalk. "This is how you write it."

As he spoke, he wrote the characters for "Tohka."

"Hmph." The girl gave a soft snort and copied Shido's movements with her fingertip.

"Ah, that won't work. You need chalk to write on it."

"Shido, just watch."

Shido was about to stop the girl from trying to write with her finger, but Lingmeng cut him off.

Wherever the girl's finger touched, it left a clean, neat scratch. Soon, the characters for "Tohka" appeared on the blackboard, crooked but unmistakable.

"What?"

"...No, nothing," Shido replied awkwardly.

"Really?" the girl said. She gazed at the characters she had written and nodded with satisfaction.

"Shido. Lingmeng."

"...What is it?"

"What's up?"

Shido and Lingmeng asked in confusion.

"Tohka."

"Huh?" they both said.

"Tohka. That's my name. It sounds nice, doesn't it?"

"Yeah! It sounds great!" Lingmeng gave her a thumbs-up.

"Y-yeah!" Shido scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed. After all, he had come up with the name himself. Being asked whether it sounded nice was mortifying.

The girl—no, she was Tohka now! Tohka spoke again—