Date a Bride (Date A Live Fanfiction)

The transporter from DEM's English branch, which had departed from northern Britain, maintained a high altitude as it steadily flew toward its destination.

Although the crew had declared an emergency after being attacked by a spirit during departure, the situation had since stabilized. If things continued this way, they would likely reach their designated location on schedule.

As the pilot, Knox, entertained this thought, a sudden transmission crackled through the communicator.

"-This is the control room. DF0806, please respond."

"Yes, this is DF0806,"

"Please adjust your flight route. Make a detour around E139."

"Change in the flight route?"

While repeating the order from the other line, Knox and his co-pilot Burton looked at each other.

"Did something happen?"

"There's a battle between executive chief Mathers and an enemy presumed to be a spirit and Ratatoskr in the initial route. This is only a safety precaution but, we can't allow any mistakes"

Knox made a dubious face after hearing the contact from the control room.

"A battle? In a place like this? Wait—a spirit? That's so sudden—"

"Yes," the voice interrupted curtly. "I'll repeat the directive: adjust your route immediately."

Knox wanted to press for more details, but the tone from the control room left no room for negotiation. The person on the other end clearly wasn't the type to entertain questions.

"Understood...DF0806 will alter the planned flight route. Proceeding to the designated location via a detour at point E139."

"Over and out," came the abrupt response before the line went dead.

Knox sighed and leaned back in his seat, glancing at Burton.

"...And there you have it. We're changing course," Knox said flatly, flipping a few switches on the console.

"Understood...but still, this seems overly cautious. A battle between a Wizard and a spirit, not to mention those Ratatoskr? There's no way it would escalate to this altitude."

He shrugged, adding with a smirk, "Guess our cargo really is something special, huh?"

Knox didn't disagree, but he quietly shook his head.

"That might be the biggest reason... but it's not the only one. You heard him—the one fighting is Mathers—Ellen Mira Mathers."

Burton's smirk faded instantly, replaced with a look of unease.

"A fight between regular Wizards trying to hant a spirit is one thing," Knox continued, "but when she gets involved? That's a whole different story. If we're not careful, we might end up skewered by a lance from below—even if we're flying at this altitude."

"N-No way man..."

-and. The moment Burton said that while sweating profusely.

The cockpit's meters suddenly displayed erratic readings, alarms blared, and the entire transporter shook violently as though something massive was tracking them.

"! What... what is this!?" Knox shouted, gripping the controls tightly.

"N-No way... is it stray shots from Executive Chief Mathers!?" Burton exclaimed, panic creeping into his voice.

"Idiot!" Knox snapped. "There's no way her attacks would reach this far! And besides..." He glanced at the readings again, his voice dropping with grim certainty. "These are Reiryoku readings."

"Wha—!? A Spirit!?" Burton's face turned ghostly pale, the blood draining from his cheeks.

It was only natural. This transporter had been attacked by a Spirit not long ago.

"Does this mean that Nightmare caught up...!?"

"No... this is a different reading than before. And this..." Knox's words trailed off as his eyes widened in shock.

He abruptly turned his head, staring over his shoulder.

There was nothing behind him but the seat he leaned against and the cockpit wall. Yet beyond that wall lay the cargo hold—where [Material B], secured under several layers of seals, was supposed to be stored in complete containment.

A chill ran through Burton as he realized something. "The vibration just now—it wasn't an impact from outside... It's coming from inside the craft!"

"Impossible—!? Th-This has to be a joke!" Burton stammered, gripping the edges of his console. "[Material B] should be in complete hibernation!"

"It should be," Knox replied, his voice tight, "but this..." He gestured toward the cockpit's meters, his face pale with alarm.

The instruments displayed strange, erratic values that Knox had never seen before. A low, almost imperceptible hum began to build in the air, sending another shudder through the craft.

"Something's happening," Knox muttered, his hands tightening around the controls. "And it's waking up."

There were two Reiryoku readings.

One came from their transporter. The other—Knox's gaze darted to the navigation display—was at the detour point they had been ordered to avoid.

And now both readings pulsed in tandem, as if resonating with one another.

Part 2:

The forest, swallowed by the darkness of night, was illuminated by the flickering light of flames.

This was no peaceful woodland near the city. It was remote, untouched—a place where no one would wander, much less expect to find fire. And this fire was no accident. It hadn't been ignited by a stray lightning strike or an abandoned bonfire.

No, tonight's blaze was different. The flames consuming the dead wood were born of leaking fuel from the crash of a massive transport aircraft.

"—Oh my, oh my."

The voice came softly, yet it seemed to twist the very darkness itself. A shadowy figure emerged, the form of a young girl rising as though crawling up from the earth.

"Originally, I was planning to ambush The transport aircraft directly...I didn't expect it actually to fall in such a place."

The girl—The Nightmare—Kurumi Tokisaki—picked up a fragment of the scattered wreckage with one hand, her eyes glinting faintly in the fire's glow.

Then, as if responding to an unspoken command, the shadows at her feet began to stir. Like liquid ink, they slithered and stretched, moving with unnatural purpose. In an instant, the darkness flew outward, shaping itself into the form of a weapon.

A shotgun burst forth from the writhing shadows, spinning through the air before Kurumi reached out and caught it effortlessly.

"Zafkiel—[Yud, Tenth Bullet]."

As Kurumi uttered the name, the swirling shadows gathered into the firearm, condensing into the form of a bullet.

The Yud, Tenth Bullet, possessed a unique power—it penetrated an object to extract and reveal its past memories, projecting them into Kurumi's consciousness.

Without hesitation, Kurumi pointed the gun at herself and pulled the trigger.

A concentrated shadow erupted from the barrel, streaking through the debris before striking her head directly.

Under normal circumstances, such a shot would have obliterated her skull, scattering fragments like the wreckage of the fallen aircraft. Instead, her mind was flooded with a vivid scene—a vision of the transport aircraft when it was still soaring through the skies.

Piercing alarm sounds echoed in her ears. The aircraft shook violently, like a fragile fetus trembling in the womb. [Material B], a Spirit, was resonating with an unknown, overwhelming wave response.

Then, a twinkling in the sky emitted a pillar of light from an unknown distance, reaching high above the aircraft.

"...I see. So, the direct cause of this is Shidou-san,"

Kurumi could not help but laugh. Although she received reports of Shidou's achievement with controlling the power of the sealed spirits in Arubi Island from her clones, she never thought he would be involved with this.

"The Abnormal Spirit-san found Shidou-san's Spirit Wave from inside the transport and sought his help... I suppose? But if Shidou-san has finally learned how to wield the sealed spirits' powers, he's grown quite a bit since the last time we met, hasn't he? How lonely he's making me feel now."

Kurumi chuckled softly but dismissed the sentiment with a wave of her hand. It felt pointless to voice such thoughts to a Spirit trapped inside a container. Whatever the circumstances, there was no sense in criticizing someone simply seeking help.

"Either way, I never expected Shidou-san to be of so much help."

With that, Kurumi dived into the shadows, her presence slipping seamlessly into the dark. Moments later, the sound of her footsteps echoed loudly as she walked toward the rear conveyor.

In preparation for the arrival of the transport aircraft, she had placed her clones at any major DEM facility where she thought the aircraft might arrive. Even if the plane hadn't crashed, she would still have the Abnormal Spirit without exception, but it would have cost her numerous clones.

She was lucky to be able to achieve this goal without that sacrifice. Her aim was not only [Material B]. It was also to get the information about the First Spirit. The more manpower she could reserve, the better.

"—Well then, Spirit-san? Please let me see your face."

Kurumi said while peeking into the container that dropped out of the transportation plane.

However—

"Huh?"

Kurumi could not help but widen her eyes.

Curled up inside the container, like a fragile child seeking refuge from a cold and unforgiving world, was the very Spirit Kurumi had gone through so much trouble to reach.

The girl clung to herself, arms wrapped tightly around her legs, as if shielding herself from an unseen storm. From the ground, vine-like tendrils coiled gently around her, as though offering warmth—silent, wordless comfort to a trembling figure.

"My, what an unexpected sight to be greeted with," Kurumi murmured, her voice laced with curiosity and amusement.

But it wasn't the Spirit's curled posture or the vines entwined protectively around her that truly caught Kurumi's attention. No, her gaze lingered on the Spirit's body itself—on the strange, unnatural marks that spread across her pale skin, glowing faintly in the dim light.

Alongside those bizarre marks, Kurumi also noticed several cuts and unnaturally bulging veins, their movements disturbingly rhythmic, as though they were mimicking the beating of the Spirit's heart.

"Oh my..." Kurumi whispered, her golden, clock-like eye narrowing slightly as she studied the peculiar patterns. "How very peculiar."

The Spirit in front of her remained motionless, her breathing shallow and uneven, as though she teetered on the fragile edge of unconsciousness.

Sensing Kurumi's presence, the vines tensed ever so slightly, tightening their hold around the girl as if in a warning.

Kurumi, however, merely smiled.

"Now, now, Spirit-san... there's no need to be so defensive. I've only come to have a little chat with you."

She leaned closer, her shadow spilling unnaturally into the container, "You truly are a fascinating little thing. What secrets are you hiding, I wonder?"

The Spirit stirred faintly at Kurumi's voice, her lips parting as if to speak, but no words came. The marks along her skin pulsed again, brighter this time—brighter, and perhaps more volatile, then...

"!"

The girl's body convulsed as her lips tore open in a scream:

"A, aaa, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!"

The scream filled the air, shrill and unrelenting, until it suddenly broke off into a series of frantic gasps. The Spirit's eyes snapped open, wild and unfocused, darting in every direction as if searching for something unseen.

"I'm awake! I swear I'm awake!" she cried, her voice cracking with desperation. "Don't shock me! Please, don't hurt me!"

The vines coiled tighter around her, responding to her distress, twitching as though they could shield her from an invisible threat.

Kurumi tilted her head slightly. Her usual smile had faded, lips pressed into a faint, unreadable line. Her crimson eyes widened ever so slightly—surprise flickering within her.

She watched quietly as the Spirit twisted in pain, scratching at her skin as if trying to tear something away. Her nails dragged over the glowing marks, leaving faint trails of red where they broke through the surface.

Kurumi crouched down slowly, her shadow pooling beneath her like an ink stain creeping toward the struggling girl.

"You poor thing... what torment you must have endured to bring you to this... such an unstable state."

The Spirit didn't seem to hear her. She kept clawing at her skin, her bloodshot eyes wide and glassy with shock, dark circles etched beneath them.

"I didn't sleep! I didn't! Please, stop it—stop hurting me! STOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!"

"!"

As if Kurumi's presence were the cause of her suffering, the vines suddenly coiled, reshaping themselves into sharp lances that hurtled toward Kurumi without warning.

"M-My... I was careless once again..."

Being so close to the Spirit, Kurumi had no time to react. The jagged vines pierced directly through her chest, their sharp tips emerging from her back in a spray of crimson.

Blood trickled from Kurumi's lips as she slowly lifted her gaze—not toward the Spirit trembling on the ground, but toward something else.

"How about continuing from here... me?"

"Yeah, that's fine with me."

A voice answered, its tone light, almost an echo of her own.

Kurumi's breath hitched. A tremor ran through her body as she drew what felt like her final inhale.

The voice continued, and in that instant, the tendrils finally sensed the new presence.

They recoiled from Kurumi's motionless form, allowing her to collapse before she sank into the ground, dissolving like liquid ink.

Almost immediately, the tendrils whipped toward the intruder, surging forward even before the figure fully emerged from the shadows.

"Zafkiel—[Zayin, Seventh Bullet]."

A gunshot echoed through the air, and in the next moment, the Tendrils were frozen mid-motion, their sharp tips suspended just inches from their target nick.

"My, how dangerous."

The new presence took a step back, her face illuminated by the flickering glow of the surrounding flames.

A smirk played on her lips as she extended a finger, casually tapping the sharp end of one frozen Tendril. A small bead of blood welled up where it nicked her skin, but she showed no sign of discomfort.

With an unsettling calm, she lifted her wounded finger to her lips, lightly pressing it against her mouth before stepping aside from the Tendril's path, casually approaching the Spirit.

Wrapped tightly in the Tendrils, the Spirit was completely immobilized, equally affected by Kurumi Seventh Bullet—a shot capable of temporarily freezing its target in time.

"Zafkiel—[Dalet, Fourth Bullet]."

...

Standing over the motionless Spirit, Kurumi caught a glimpse of its expression. Her eyebrow twitched as unpleasant memories suddenly intruded upon her mind.

Shaking her head, she raised her flintlock pistol, steadying her aim at the Spirit...

"For now, Good night, Miss Abnormal Spirit-san..."

And pulled the trigger.