A date with a Spirit... and her puppet. Seven days to thaw a frozen heart.
Shidou Itsuka has sealed the powers of Spirits before—but never one quite like Yoshino Himekawa. Shy to the point of silence, the gentle Spirit speaks only through Yoshinon, the irreverent rabbit puppet on her left hand. And Yoshinon? She's not impressed.
With a localized rain cloud parked stubbornly over Tengu City and the forecast calling for seven straight days of downpour, Shidou has one week to win over both the gi
Date A Live IF: A Do-Over Date With Yoshino - The Ice Labyrinth and the Unprovable Promise
The morning in Tengu City was wrapped in silence.
No—"silence" wasn't the right word. Centered on the shopping arcade in front of the station, one corner of the city had been frozen solid. The pillars supporting the arcade's roof were coated in thick films of ice, and countless icicles hung from the signs. The ground had become a smooth sheet of ice, like a mirror, giving off a pale, dull blue-white glow in the morning sun.
Itsuka Shidou stood at the entrance to that frozen labyrinth.
His black, curly hair was plastered to his forehead by the cold rain that had been falling since last night. His droopy brown eyes stared at the shopping district, now transformed into something alien. The small piercing in his left ear trembled faintly. On the back of his hand, the kiss marks from the Spirits he had sealed so far rose faintly white in the freezing air.
(Yoshino...)
The scene from last night was seared into the back of his eyelids.
Stimulated by Tohka's Spirit mana, Yoshino's emotions had gone out of control. The shopping district had been frozen over in an instant, and people had screamed and fled. Shidou had shouted desperately. I won't hurt you. I won't run away.
But Yoshino's consciousness hadn't returned.
Only Yoshinon's cold smile had looked down at Shidou from the center of the ice barrier.
"...I have no choice but to go."
Shidou clenched his trembling fist.
Just then, his phone buzzed. It was Ratatoskr's dedicated line.
"Shidou. The situation is the worst."
Kotori's voice was in Commander mode. The face of his little step-sister—red twin-tails swaying, black ribbon tied in her hair—floated into Shidou's mind. Right now, she had to be watching him from the command room of the Ratatoskr Tengu Base, fifty meters underground, through the monitors.
"Yeah. The shopping district is completely frozen. I can't see Yoshino. What about the Spirit mana readings?"
"Yoshino's mana is being observed at the center of the ice barrier. Fortunately, the evacuation of nearby residents is complete. Ratatoskr's observation network reports that the barrier's expansion has stopped. But there's no telling when it might start moving again."
Shidou scanned the frozen shopping district.
"...I'm going in alone. I'm the only one who can open Yoshino's heart."
"Yes. Your judgment is correct. However—"
Kotori's voice dropped a notch lower.
"DEM is making a move. We don't have time."
Shidou's expression tightened.
DEM. The international corporation that sought to eliminate Spirits by force. The organization that researched Spirits as resources and schemed to weaponize them—Ratatoskr's greatest enemy. Their observation satellite had caught last night's rampage.
"...I know. I will protect Yoshino, no matter what."
"I believe in you. Big Brother."
The call ended.
Shidou slipped his phone into his pocket.
And then he took a step forward.
Into the frozen labyrinth.
Every time his soles pressed against the ice, a creaking sound echoed. The shopping arcade was dead silent, as if its former bustle had been a lie. The sign of the taiyaki shop, Tenguya, was locked in ice; the display window of the used bookstore, Kiryudo, was clouded white. The door of the café Hekiru wouldn't open under the weight of the ice.
(Yoshino, where are you?)
Shidou broke into a run toward the center of the barrier.
The cold air burned his lungs. His breath froze white. Frost clung to his eyelashes. The sensation in his fingertips grew duller, bit by bit.
Even so, Shidou ran.
He had to protect Yoshino. That small, timid Spirit.
—That was when it happened.
*Gogogogogogo...*
The air shuddered heavily.
Shidou stopped in his tracks.
The sky he looked up at was covered in thick rain clouds. From a gap in those clouds, a black shadow descended slowly.
"...You've gotta be kidding me."
It was an armed helicopter.
A military helicopter, heavily armed. The DEM emblem was painted on its fuselage. The rotor's wind pressure kicked up shards of ice. The roar echoed across the frozen shopping district.
From the helicopter, soldiers in black combat uniforms descended one after another on ropes.
A Spirit capture unit.
"Hermit's Spirit crystal reaction confirmed. Fifty meters to the target point. Requesting permission to use special warheads."
One of the soldiers reported over the radio.
Shidou gritted his teeth.
"You've got to be kidding me...!"
Shidou stood in the soldiers' path.
"Get out of the way. Don't interfere."
The man who appeared to be the unit commander spoke in a cold voice. A black visor covered half his face. In his hands, he gripped a uniquely shaped firearm.
"Like hell I'll move. I won't let you lay a single finger on Yoshino."
Shidou spread both arms wide.
"An amateur. You think a civilian like you can protect a Spirit?"
The commander spoke as if sneering.
"It's not about whether I can. I will."
Shidou didn't back down a single step.
Then—
*BOOOOM!!!*
An explosion burst out behind Shidou.
He spun around.
The center of the ice barrier. A special warhead had been fired into the place where Yoshino should be. White smoke rose, and shards of ice scattered.
"Yoshino!!"
Shidou shouted.
The DEM soldiers slipped past Shidou and ran toward the center of the barrier.
"Damn it... wait!!"
Shidou chased after the DEM soldiers.
His feet slipped on the ice, and he struck his knee. Pain shot through him. But he couldn't afford to stop.
Yoshino was there, at the center of the barrier.
Her light-blue hair was covered in ice crystals. Her yellow raincoat was frozen in places. Her sapphire eyes were open but vacant. In her left hand, she held a rabbit puppet wearing an eyepatch—Yoshinon.
Around her, countless pillars of ice jutted up at random. The special warhead had apparently exploded in front of Yoshino, blocked by a wall of ice.
"So you really did come."
Yoshinon spoke, moving the puppet's mouth.
"Yoshino! Are you okay!?"
Shidou tried to run to her.
"Don't come. Don't come any closer."
Yoshinon's voice coldly pushed Shidou away.
"What are you saying! I came to save you!"
"Save her? You? How? Aren't you just going to hurt Yoshino, same as those people?"
Yoshinon pointed at the DEM soldiers.
The DEM soldiers had surrounded Yoshino and were aiming their special warheads.
"See, just as I thought. There's nothing around her but things that hurt her."
Yoshinon whispered into Yoshino's ear.
Yoshino's body gave a small shudder.
"Yoshino! I'm different! I would never hurt you!"
Shidou shouted.
But Yoshino's vacant eyes weren't looking at Shidou.
"Now, let's put an end to this. This child won't trust humans. I'm the only one who can protect her."
Yoshinon declared coldly.
At that moment, the DEM commander raised his gun.
"Target confirmed. Beginning Spirit crystal retrieval. Eliminate any obstacles."
The soldiers all aimed their muzzles at Shidou.
"Like I'll let you...!"
Shidou kicked off the ground.
He slid across the ice and rammed into one of the DEM soldiers. The soldier staggered. Shidou tried to wrest the gun away.
"Uwoooooooh!!"
Shidou thrashed.
Even as he was punched, kicked, and slammed onto the ice, Shidou got back up. The taste of blood spread through his mouth. His vision swam. Even so, he stood in front of Yoshino.
"Don't... come near Yoshino...!!"
Shidou spread both arms to shield her.
In that instant, Yoshino's body moved faintly.
"...Shi... dou... san?"
A thin, trembling voice.
Shidou turned around.
Yoshino's sapphire eyes were looking at Shidou, just a little.
"Yoshino...!"
Shidou embraced Yoshino's small body.
Cold. Cold as ice. And yet, Yoshino's life was unmistakably there.
"I won't run. I'll accept all of you."
Shidou spoke clearly into Yoshino's ear.
"Then prove it to me."
Yoshinon declared coldly.
"What can you do? How will you prove you can protect this child?"
Yoshinon's voice was sharp as an ice crystal.
Shidou was at a loss for words.
Prove it—how was he supposed to do that?
Then—
Shidou's fingertips began to freeze.
Yoshino's mana flowed into Shidou's body. The cold crept slowly upward, from his fingertips to his wrists, from his wrists to his arms.
"Kuh...!"
Shidou's face twisted in pain.
Even so, he didn't let go of Yoshino.
"See, just as I thought. You'll be hurt by this child too. Run away. There's still time."
Yoshinon whispered.
"Like I'd run...! I will never run...!"
Shidou shouted.
Just then, Shidou's phone rang shrilly.
"Shidou! DEM's second wave is approaching! And on top of that—"
Kotori's voice came through, mixed with static.
"...The signal is... being jammed... Shidou, can you hear me!? ...Big... Bro..."
A click.
The transmission cut out.
"Kotori!? Kotori!!"
Shidou shouted into the phone.
No answer.
Alone, with no reinforcements.
DEM's second wave was closing in. His fingers had begun to freeze. His connection with Kotori was gone.
It was a hopeless situation.
Even so, Shidou kept holding Yoshino.
(What should I do? How can I protect Yoshino?)
No answer came.
It felt as though Shidou's heart was being encased in cold ice.
—Then, a memory from his childhood surfaced in Shidou's mind.
The crowded station. A sea of people. A warm hand leading his small hand.
(Mom...)
That hand suddenly let go.
He turned around. His mother's back disappeared into the crowd.
(Wait... Mom...!)
He chased after her desperately. But his small legs couldn't catch up.
He was swept along by the crowd and fell.
By the time he stood up, his mother was nowhere to be seen.
—Abandoned.
That memory gouged deep, deep into Shidou's heart.
(I'm afraid of being abandoned. Having someone let go of my hand is what I fear more than anything.)
Shidou was aware of it.
That was exactly why Shidou gripped someone's hand more strongly than anyone.
"...I've been abandoned too."
Shidou spoke in a trembling voice.
"When I was little, my mother let go of my hand. I was left behind in the crowd. I still remember the terror of that moment. That feeling of my heart freezing over."
Shidou's voice was swallowed by the frozen labyrinth.
"That's why I understand. How terrified you are. How painful it is to be abandoned by someone. I understand it like it's my own pain."
Shidou gripped Yoshino's hand tightly.
Through his freezing fingertips, the sensation of Yoshino's cold hand reached him, almost painfully.
"So—I won't abandon you. I will never, ever abandon you."
Did those words reach Yoshino's heart?
Yoshino's fingers moved faintly.
"...Shi... dou... san."
A faint, truly faint voice.
But Yoshino's consciousness still hadn't returned.
Yoshinon fell silent.
The ice barrier grew thicker still.
*Crack, crack, crack...*
Pillars of ice rose up, as if to surround Shidou and Yoshino.
"...Even so, it's useless."
Yoshinon murmured.
"Your words won't reach this child. She won't trust anyone anymore. I'm the only one who can protect her."
Yoshinon's voice was sorrowful, and yet filled with resolve.
"...Maybe so."
Shidou said quietly.
"But I'll keep believing. That someday, Yoshino will believe in me. Even if it takes years. Even if it takes decades. I'll be right here."
Shidou dropped to his knees on the frozen ground.
Frostbite was stealing the feeling from his legs. His vision began to blur white.
Even so, Shidou kept holding Yoshino's hand.
"Why would you go that far?"
Yoshinon asked.
"You're scared too, aren't you? Even though I—even though Yoshino—might hurt you."
Shidou answered in a trembling voice.
"Of course I'm scared. ...Of course I am."
Shidou's voice was wet with tears.
"But more than that—I don't want to leave you two alone."
That was the moment.
Yoshino's eyelids trembled faintly.
Her long lashes lifted slowly, as if shedding frost.
"...Ah."
Yoshino's sapphire eyes looked at Shidou.
Those eyes were still vacant. But they were unmistakably reflecting Shidou.
"Yoshino...!"
Shidou shouted.
Yoshinon's voice wavered for the first time.
"...Yoshino?"
Yoshinon's voice was tre
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