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

"Shido! Lingmeng!"

Shido and Lingmeng instantly understood what Tohka wanted.

"Tohka!" they said together.

When they said her name, Tohka smiled with satisfaction.

Shido's heart skipped a beat. It seemed this was the first time he had seen Tohka smile.

Lingmeng froze for a moment too.

My heart just skipped a beat! Lingmeng cried inwardly.

Then a violent explosion shook the entire school building.

Shido and Lingmeng instinctively grabbed the blackboard and a desk to steady themselves.

"W-what happened?" Shido asked in a panic.

Is the AST here? Unlike Shido, Lingmeng looked perfectly calm.

"Shido! Get down with that girl Lingmeng!" Kotori's voice sounded in his right ear.

"Huh?"

"No time to explain. Get down if you don't want to die!"

Shido had no idea what was going on, but he obeyed.

"Lingmeng, get down!" he warned her, then dropped to the floor as Kotori had instructed.

"Huh? Crawl? What did you say? I couldn't hear you!" The noise drowned out Shido's words.

A deafening rat-tat-tat-tat erupted the next instant. Every window in the classroom shattered at once, and countless bullet holes peppered the walls like the aftermath of a gang shootout.

"Lingmeng, look out!" Shido shouted as a bullet flew straight toward her.

A bullet? I can just dodge it.

Lingmeng smiled faintly. She was about to show off her astonishing footwork when Shido lunged and tackled her to the floor.

"..." Lingmeng had mixed feelings. All she'd wanted was to look cool. Was that so much to ask?

"Phew. That was close." Seeing that his tackle had saved Lingmeng from the bullet, Shido wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke with relief.

"Hey, held me long enough? Get off me already!" Lingmeng shoved Shido aside.

"Ow!" Shido cried out. "That's a little heartless, Lingmeng! I was trying to save you!"

"Sorry, Lord Shido. I couldn't help myself."

"..." Shido fell silent for a moment, then touched his earpiece. "Kotori, what's going on?"

"Well, it seems the AST outside is trying to force the Spirit out, or destroy the school so she loses her shelter."

"What? How can they do something so reckless?" Shido grew agitated at Kotori's explanation.

"The Wizard Disaster Reconstruction Unit is standing by outside. They can restore the school right away, so destroying a school or two is no great loss. Still, I didn't expect them to launch a direct assault."

Shido looked up and saw an expression on Tohka's face utterly unlike the one she had worn while talking with him and Lingmeng. Her eyes were fixed on the shattered windows.

Of course, just as when they had first met, neither bullets nor even shards of glass had touched Tohka.

Yet that pained, twisted expression had returned to her face.

Isn't the AST being a little rash? They started attacking without even checking whether anyone was still in the school.

Lingmeng watched the bullets filling the air outside as she thought this.

"Tohka!" Shido called her name without thinking.

"...!" Tohka snapped back to herself and turned toward Shido and Lingmeng. "You two need to run! If you stay with me, my companions will kill you sooner or later!"

Gunfire still raged, but the AST had, at least for the moment, stopped attacking their classroom.

"Shido, you have two choices now: run or stay," Kotori said in his ear.

Shido silently swallowed. "I really do want to go home right now. But—we've come this far. How can I run away?"

He spoke in a low voice.

"You really are an idiot," Kotori teased through his earpiece.

"...Say what you like," Shido replied.

"That was a compliment. Here's some advice: if you don't want to die, stay as close to the Spirit as you can."

"...Is that so?" Shido murmured. It made sense when he thought about it. Most of the fire was aimed at Tohka, but with her protecting him, he was unlikely to get hurt.

Shido bit his lip and plopped down beside Tohka's feet.

"Shido, are you planning to stay?" Lingmeng asked at once.

"Yeah... Sorry, Lingmeng. If you don't want to stay with me, you should leave first."

Shido pressed his palms together, his eyes full of apology. As far as he knew, Lingmeng had nothing to do with any of this. He was the one who had dragged her into it.

"What are you talking about? I, Qian Lingmeng, don't run scared to save my own skin. Besides, didn't I say from the start that I'd protect you? What kind of bodyguard abandons the person she's protecting and runs away?"

Lingmeng thumped her chest and spoke with righteous conviction. Then she sat down beside Shido.

"Thank you, Lingmeng. Thank you for staying with us..."

Shido thought Lingmeng's promise to protect him was a little unrealistic. As far as he knew, she was only a girl who could handle herself in a fight; she would be no match for the AST. Even so, he was touched.

"No problem. It's nothing. I'm not afraid of those mecha girls outside. Shido Itsuka, I've got your back today."

Lingmeng grinned and pointed her thumb at herself, speaking with swagger.

Seeing that Shido and Lingmeng were still there, Tohka hurriedly scolded them.

"What are you two still doing here? It's dangerous! Hurry and—"

"I don't care about that! The three of us are supposed to be talking right now, aren't we? So forget those little things. You wanted to learn about this world, right? Then Lingmeng and I will tell you!"

Shido met Tohka's eyes with unwavering resolve.

"Lingmeng, you too...?" Tohka turned to her.

"Yeah, my answer's the same as Shido's. I'm staying too. I couldn't leave a girl behind and run away on my own."

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Lingmeng rocked back and forth as she answered with a smile.

"...All right..." Looking surprised, Tohka sat down across from Shido and Lingmeng.

Sitting face-to-face with a girl and talking in the middle of a hail of bullets was a first for both Shido and Lingmeng.

Tohka's barrier of spiritual power protected them, giving Shido and Lingmeng a chance to talk with her.

Even so, bullets Shido had never encountered in everyday life were now flying past him like rain. He felt that the slightest movement might get him shot, so his entire body stayed rigid as he spoke with Tohka.

Lingmeng, who dealt with the AST often, was far more relaxed. She chatted and laughed with Tohka, as comfortable in the bullet-riddled classroom as if she were at home.

Shido stole occasional glances at Lingmeng, astonished that she did not seem afraid at all.

They talked about trivial things. Tohka asked questions she had never had the chance to ask, and Shido and Lingmeng answered patiently. Though their answers were simple, a contented smile appeared on Tohka's face.

"Her readings are stabilizing. Shido, if you get the chance, try asking her some questions. We want to learn more about the Spirit."

Shido thought over Kotori's words for a moment, then spoke.

"Um... Tohka."

"What?"

"What exactly are you?"

Tohka frowned at Shido's question. Lingmeng looked over with curiosity too.

Lingmeng was a Spirit herself, but she knew little about Spirits. Shido's question made her curious to hear how Tohka, a Spirit native to this world, would answer.

"I don't know."

"You... don't know...?"

Shido and Lingmeng both looked baffled by Tohka's answer.

Huh? Seriously? Even a Spirit from this world doesn't know what she is? That's absurd.

Lingmeng stared at Tohka in surprise, grumbling inwardly.

"Why are you looking at me like that? It's true! I was suddenly born who knows how long ago. All my memories are distorted and hazy. Even I don't know what I am."

"I-is that so?" Shido said awkwardly, scratching his cheek.

Aw, and I got my hopes up. I thought Tohka might be able to tell me something.

Tohka's answer killed Lingmeng's interest at once.

Tohka sighed and folded her arms.

"That's how it is. Whenever I come to this world, that army of robots is already flying in the sky."

"An... army of robots?" Shido asked, puzzled.

She probably means the AST, Lingmeng realized at once.

"The humans who were attacking me just now."

"Oh, you mean the AST." Shido gave a wry smile.

Suddenly, the tune that played when someone solved a puzzle sounded through Shido's earpiece, its cheerful electronic notes filling his right ear.

"Here's your chance, Shido!"

"Huh...? What?"

"According to the computer, the Spirit's affection for you has passed seventy! If you want to take things further, now's the time."

Kotori spoke excitedly as she watched the affection meter on the big screen. Incidentally, Tohka's affection for Lingmeng was a little lower than her affection for Shido, but not by much.

"Take things further... What should I do?"

"Hmm... Well, try asking her on a date?"

"What?!" Shido cried out before he could stop himself.

"Damn it, Shido! Are you possessed or something? Why'd you suddenly shout like that?"

Lingmeng clutched her chest. Shido had clearly startled her.

"Uh... Sorry!" Shido said apologetically.

"What's with you? I haven't seen you in a week, and it's like you've become a different person."

Lingmeng gave Shido a disdainful look.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Shido?"

"Nothing. Please don't worry about it!" Despite his attempt to brush it off, Tohka kept staring at him in surprise.

"Shido, you wimp, ask her out already! Keep up the momentum and get closer to her. Hurry!"

"Even if you say that, the AST will attack Tohka as soon as she goes outside, won't they?" Shido asked uneasily.

"That's exactly why you need to do it. Ask her to hide in a large building the next time she appears in this world. An aquarium, a department store, a movie theater—anything will do. An underground facility would be even better. That way, the AST can't just charge straight in."

"...Right." Shido nodded.

"What have you been muttering to yourself about? You really are plotting to kill me, aren't you?"

A dangerous glint entered Tohka's eyes as she spoke, and a ball of light formed at her fingertip...

Shido's Invitation (Part Two)

"N-no, no! You've got it wrong!" Shido blurted out in panic when he saw Tohka preparing to attack him.

"Tohka, calm down. Shido and I would never hurt you."