Born Under A Bad Sign

There should be an achievement for beating the final boss in Drag-on Dragoon 3 with eyes closed. Three's DLC scenario was definitely not what I had in mind though.

Honestly this isn't what I had planned to do but the latest volume of Date A Live is quite amusing for all the wrong reasons. So here it goes. The illustration scans are here.

Origami Tobiichi

The prologue. Origami Tobiichi hadn't always been "special". She was certainly smart, and did well in academics and sports, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. At most it was just something that her parents could be proud of in parent-teacher interviews. She was good at mathematics but struggled with Japanese; she enjoyed gratin but disliked celery; and her dream was to be a cute bride (Origami please). The young Origami thought that the lovely world would go on forever. But the summer five years ago changed everything.

Well I don't think I need to reiterate the incident five years ago. Origami found her parents alive and was about to reach out to her father before something akin to bright light suddenly descended from the sky and blew her away. What remained of her parents were nothing more than small fragments. It was at that moment Origami swore that she would take revenge on the mysterious girl who killed her parents.

Origami was taken in by her aunt, who was once affiliated with AST. Through her aunt, Origami learnt about Spirits, and decided to train herself to be strong enough so that she can avenge her parents. She no longer had any weak subjects in school, and food became mere nutrients. Her dream had changed to "killing that Spirit" as well, and I don't know which one is worse. Although Origami's mind was set and she pushed herself hard to achieve her goals, there were moments that she could set her mind at ease thanks to Shidou. Her feelings for him is closer to some form of emotional dependence than love. It was through Shidou that she managed to retain a sense of herself. So even if it was because of Shidou that she ended up being hunted by AST, she did not hate him once. She joined AST to fight against Spirits, but she could not defeat them with the Realizers she had. She needed more power, so she joined DEM where she obtained cutting-edge equipment and the body for it.

The Target is Shidou

Or alternatively, and perhaps more literally, Shidou the Targeted.

A pleasant fragrance invades Shidou in his sleep. He stretches, the back of his hand meeting something warm and soft, followed by a quiet moan. Realizing that something is amiss, Shidou wakes up to find Natsumi, in her adult form, sitting next to him on his bed. Natsumi greets the startled Shidou, who has quickly backed away from her. Shidou is surprised to see Natsumi in this form, but Kotori enters the room and beats him up before he could figure out what's going on.

Kotori explains to Shidou that while Natsumi's powers have been sealed successfully, her mental strength is extremely weak and her emotions are quite unstable. As a result, her powers manifest much more easily than Tohka and the other Spirits'. Kotori tries to lecture Natsumi but they end up insulting each other about their bust sizes.

Mugino, is that you? Kotori gets caught up in the moment and remarks that even if Natsumi has a nice body after transformation, her real body is shorter and smaller than Kotori's. The remark apparently upsets Natsumi so much that she starts crying. Kotori is forced to eat her own words and admits that she is more of a shorty than Natsumi, only to realize that Natsumi has tricked her. Natsumi runs away and Kotori goes after her. As peacefulness returns to his room, Shidou decides to clean himself up.

The seemingly perpetual school life has changed, as Shidou and Tohka arrive in class to find Origami absent. Initially Shidou thinks Origami is just taking the day off, but a spiritless Tamae informs the class that Origami has transferred to another school - in the United Kingdom.

In the Spirit mansion next to the Itsuka household, Natsumi has changed back to her real form and is sulking alone. She had wanted to thank Shidou by waking him up in the morning, but she got so nervous that she transformed into her adult form. As Natsumi spirals further down in her self-loathing, Yoshino pays her a visit. What follows is little girls doing little things. By that I mean having tea and sweets together. Yoshino offers to show Natsumi around in the city, which prompts Natsumi to ask the reason why she's doing this. Yoshino says that she's happy that Natsumi is here and the two of them can talk to each other, because normally everyone else is at school around this time. Yoshino blushes and goes on to say that she and Natsumi are friends. Natsumi gets flustered too and offhandedly remarks that she'd marry Yoshino. Both of them become embarrassed but Natsumi quickly changes the topic and off to seeing the city they go.

Shidou gets to Origami's house but finds it abandoned and empty. He decides to go to the AST base in Tenguu City, but stops when he sees Origami outside. Origami tells Shidou to follow her and the two of them end up in a back alley. Before Shidou can ask anything, Origami gets behind him and covers his mouth and nose with a (I'm guessing) chloroform-soaked cloth. Just like that, Shidou passes out.

The Radiant Goetia

Kotori is still at school when she learns that Shidou is missing and that Origami has transferred school. Worried about her brother and DEM's possible involvement, Kotori tells her friends that she's leaving early today because of illness and boards the Fraxinus.

Shidou awakes to find himself tied firmly to a chair. He asks Origami just what on earth she's up to, but Origami offers him some mineral water to drink instead. She notices that Shidou is suspicious of her so she takes a sip from the bottle to prove that it's not drugged. She makes Shidou drink from the same bottle, scoring what Tachibana decribes as a "forced indirect kiss", and then licks the bottle mouth. Absolutely disgusting. Shidou says he needs to go to the bathroom in an effort to get Origami to untie him. As expected of Origami, she takes out an empty bottle and proceeds to undo Shidou's belt. The young man freaks out and stops Origami before something truly horrifying takes place.

Origami confirms that she has joined DEM in order to obtain enough power to defeat Spirits. Shidou asks Origami if she had kidnapped him on Westcott's orders, but Origami says that she's doing this on her own. She tells Shidou that she's going to fight against the Spirits and she doesn't want him to get caught in their battles. Shidou says Tohka and the others have nothing to do with the Spirit that killed Origami's parents, but Origami rebuts that Spirits are inherently dangerous. Shidou says that Tohka and the others have adapted to the modern society, and that they are in fact living like "humans". Origami replies that she understands and she's scared of how she has become used to having the Spirits hanging around. Shidou argues that the Spirits just want to live a normal life, but Origami says she won't allow that. She tells Shidou that with Tohka's life, she will regain herself. Shidou yells at Origami to wait but she heads off to her showdown against Tohka and the others.

In the suite atop the east Tenguu hotel, Ellen asks Westcott to forgive Origami for acting on her own. Westcott says he doesn't mind and tells Ellen that he wants to collect some combat data for Mordred. Ellen says she understands and will stay behind the scenes this time. Westcott jokes about how Ellen seems displeased. He tells her that as Origami takes on the Spirits, he wishes Ellen to target the Fraxinus. Ellen asks if her role were to deal with Mana, but Westcott says that is not needed because Goetia is on the way. Ellen is quite surprised but she immediately realizes Westcott's intentions - her job is to stop the battleship Fraxinus.

Tohka and the Yamai twins sense imminent danger as soon as they run into Miku outside Shidou's house. Miku wants to give everyone a hug but the other Spirits are rather weary of her. Miku says she's here to play with her darling but it seems that no one is home. Tohka and the sisters realize that Shidou must have left school early because of Origami. Just as the Spirits decide to look for Shidou together, the spacequake alarm goes off. Believing it to be caused by the appearance of a new Spirit, the Yamai twins become rather curious. However, Miku tells them to hurry to the shelter. Before they can go anywhere, Origami shows up and tells the Spirits that there is no need to evacuate because she is the one who requested the alarm - there are no new Spirits, and AST won't be deployed either. Tohka asks what is the purpose behind this, to which Origami replies that she will defeat the Spirits here.

Origami equips Mordred and opens fire on the Spirits. Tohka grabs Miku and leaps aside, at the exact moment the Yamai twins kick against the ground and jump up - the place where they were standing is blown into smithereens by Origami's cannon. Tohka notices hostility and killing intent in Origami's eyes - the same kind of eyes Origami had when she first fought against Tohka. Tohka asks Origami why she changed back to her old self. Tohka notes that Origami has actually changed in the last half year, while she certainly harboured hatred towards the Spirits, it was not the same kind of hatred she had back in the day.

With Mordred, Origami is able to take on the Spirits alone without trouble. Tohka realizes that Origami is serious about killing them. Kill or be killed, Tohka had left behind the common sense of the battlefield more than half a year ago, and even if she understands that, she cannot bring herself to kill Origami. Kaguya's scream brings Tohka back to her senses. Origami has closed the distance between her and Tohka when the latter was lost in her thoughts. With an unforgiving force, Origami cuts through Tohka's Astral Dress.

On board the Fraxinus, Reine and Kotori deduce that someone might have sounded the alarm intentionally in spite of the fact that no Spirit has been detected. They catch Origami fighting the Spirits and Kawagoe notes that Tohka and the others have no chance against Origami in their current state. Kotori gives orders to assist the Spirits but is stopped by the unexpected appearance of a large airship. Kotori knows that no one else except DEM could have built something like that. Surprisingly, the Fraxinus receives a communication link request from the DEM ship.

With the communication line established, Kotori asks Ellen what business she has with Ratatoskr. Ellen says she's here for two things. She asks anyone on board the Fraxinus to abandon the ship in three minutes if they value their lives. Kotori asks if Ellen is implying that she will shoot down the Fraxinus. Ellen says that she can't deny that possibility. Kotori thinks Ellen is underestimating the Fraxinus, but Ellen tells Kotori that they are underestimating the power of Goetia and the strength of the world's mightiest Wizard. Kotori asks what her other agenda is, Ellen says that she'd like those who run away from this battle to pass a rather chilling message to Elliot Woodman - "Elliot. Elliot. You traitor. The one who turned his back on our oath. Prepare yourself. For no matter where you hide yourself, I will find you and kill you."

Ellen says that is all and she will give the crew on board three minutes to run for their lives. However, everyone decides to stay behind and fight against DEM. Ellen says that she thought Kotori was the type who would calmly analyzes situations and make sound judgements. Ellen tells Kotori that even if she and Shidou are not related by blood, she really seems like his little sister. Kotori says that those words are the greatest compliment she can receive, and orders her crew to attack the Goetia with Mistilteinn. However, just before the light of Mistilteinn reaches the Goetia, the ship suddenly shifts to the left with incredible speed. Kannazuki deduces that the Goetia is coated in an extremely thin layer of Territory that enables it to move like how Ellen would in her CR-Unit. Closing in on the Fraxinus with that same speed and moving in a very unnatural trajectory, the Goetia opens fire on the Fraxinus. Protected by its Territory, the Fraxinus prepares to launch a counterattack, but the Goetia almost immediately fires its cannon again. The Fraxinus continues to struggle against the faster Goetia until Kannazuki manages to bend the trajectory of Mistilteinn and directs the energy beam to the rear of the Goetia, with the help of the Yggd Folium system. Kotori thinks that they have taken care of the Goetia, but it's rushing towards the Fraxinus even after a direct hit from Mistilteinn. Overflowing light is all that can be seen on the Fraxinus' main monitor as the Goetia fires its front cannon.

Angel

Back in the ruins, Shidou is still desperately trying to free himself. To his surprise, Origami suddenly comes back. Shidou knows that Origami is not the kind of person who would return without finishing what she has set out to accomplish. Fearing the worst, Shidou asks Origami why she has come back, but she remains silent. Shidou's trembling voice seems to have triggered a reaction from Origami. It's a reaction which Shidou has never seen from her before. Origami smiled. Shidou becomes unsettled and asks her why she's smiling. Origami doesn't answer him, instead, her smile gradually turns into loud laughter. Shidou is completely baffled by the situation, Yoshino entering the room does not make it much better. Shidou yells at Yoshino to run away because Origami is definitely not her normal self, but it turns out that the laughing Origami is actually Natsumi in disguise. Apparently the two of them saw Origami on the street and backtracked their way to where Shidou was imprisoned. Shidou tries to contact Kotori but his call won't go through even on the Fraxinus' special line. Thinking that something must have happened to the Fraxinus, Shidou asks Yoshino and Natsumi to guide him out of this place.

Elsewhere, Tohka has regained her consciousness after taking a hit from Origami. She hears Miku's voice and looks up to find the Diva battered and exhausted, it seems that Miku has been protecting Tohka while the latter was unconscious. With all the cuts on her Astral Dress and her heavily bruised body, it's a mystery how Miku can still stand. Tohka asks Miku if she's okay. Miku says that she's somehow managed to come this far, but she faints before she can finish her sentence. Like a death god clad in grey armour, Origami easily overwhelms the Yamai twins. Tohka knows that she can't defeat Origami like this and wishes for more power. She realizes that she had almost succumbed to the dark powers she had when Shidou was stabbed by Ellen. Tohka understands that she cannot save everyone with that power. So she swings her sword and asks Shidou to lend her strength. As she charges up Sandalphon, Tohka feels a warm sensation running through her body.

Against the fully released Tohka, Origami no longer has any advantage. To make things worse, she begins to experience terrible headaches during the fight. This is not the first time that she has experienced headaches like these - it's the same as that time when her White Lycoris had reached its operation limit. Tohka capitalizes on the split second that Origami is distracted and slashes across her body real good.

Blown away by Tohka's attack, a badly injured Origami laments how even with all the sacrifices that she has made, she still can't beat the Spirits. As Origami comes to accept the cruel reality and begins to lose consciousness, Phantom shows up and asks if Origami desired absolute power. Origami says that she does and Phantom gives her a gemstone, which effectively turns Origami into a Spirit when she touches it.

AST detects strong readings of spiritual waves from Origami and the Spirits' battle. Ryouko wants to mobilize her forces, but they are ordered to stay put just as they complete their preparations for deployment.

With Origami gone, Tohka goes to check on the other Spirits. Pretending to be unconscious, Miku tries to trick Tohka into kissing her - the same way a prince would kiss a princess to awake her from slumber. Although everyone turns out to be okay, Tohka and the others don't get to relax for very long as Origami returns. Tohka tells the Yamai sisters and Miku to get away, as she instinctively senses that the Origami before them possesses immense power. The twins wish Tohka luck and they leave with Miku.

As Origami utters the name of her angel, Angel of Extermination -Metatron-, brilliant light shines upon her and in an instant she's clad in her Astral Dress. Origami doesn't seem to be too bothered by the fact that she has become a Spirit. She tells Tohka that she is the Spirit who hunts Spirits and once every other Spirit is dead, she will kill herself. It's like Drag-on Dragoon 3 all over again. She readies her attack, Shemesh - The Sun, as her crown spins and light particles begin to spread around it. As soon as Tohka sets up a barrier to shield herself, the light particles rain down on the city. The streets, cars, houses, everything is engulfed by the rain of light.

Tohka breaks through the downpour of destruction and attacks Origami, but to Tohka's surprise, Origami disappears in a flash of light and reappears a few metres away from her original position. Tohka attacks again, but Origami teleports away using Mal'akh - Heavenly Wings. Origami, are you Anubis? Not giving Tohka a chance to catch her breath, Origami attacks the Princess with Kaddur - Sword of Light. These names are kind of getting out of hand, Tachibana. Tohka tries to defend herself against the light beam attacks but there are simply too many of them. To get out of the one-sided fight, Tohka leaps towards Origami, ignoring all the attacks the latter throws at her. Origami teleports away again just as Tohka's sword is about to reach her, but Tohka unexpectedly ditches Sandalphon to pursue Origami. With all of her strength, Tohka punches Origami in the face. As she is more badly hurt, Tohka knows that she would be at a severe disadvantage if they kept on fighting like this. Betting it all on one decisive blow, Tohka summons her Throne and readies Final Sword: Halvanhelev. Origami realizes Tohka's intentions and prepares her ultimate attack, Artelif - Gun Crown, as well. The blade wrapped in dark light and the crown covered in white light. The heavenly light in the sky and the worldly light on the earth. They would surely obliterate each other, but today is not the day that the two Spirits annihilate each other with their ultimate attacks, as Shidou's desperate scream snaps Tohka and Origami out of their battle frenzy. Not sure how to face Shidou in her Spirit form, Origami flies away.

Truth

Without battles to distract her, Origami falls into self-loathing upon identifying herself as a Spirit. She ponders about the connection between the Spirit that killed her parents and Phantom. Now that she has the power to defeat the Spirits, she can finally avenge her folks. An idea suddenly crosses her mind as she goes through the names of the Spirits that she has to kill - with the help of a certain person, Origami may be able to exact her revenge much sooner than she had expected.

Tohka and the others have relocated to their school's infirmary. Miku uses her Requiem, which has analgesic effects, to help relieve the girls' pain. They discuss a bit about Origami and the fact that she has become a Spirit herself. Shidou notes to himself that Origami has not changed, the eyes she had before she ran away were the same eyes that belonged to the Spirit-hating girl Shidou knew. Concerned that Tohka's fully released form may alert AST, Shidou figures that it'd be the best to re-seal her power as soon as possible. Tohka agrees to let Shidou kiss her, though they more or less get sidetracked when Shidou finds the other Spirits peeping at him and Tohka.

Is it just me or does this volume seem longer than the previous ones?

Origami finds Kurumi and requests to be sent to the past with the power of Kurumi's Twelfth Bullet -Yud Bet-. Kurumi jokingly asks Origami if she wanted to go back so that she can see Shidou when he was an innocent child. Origami says she wishes to go back to five years ago and kill the Spirit that murdered her parents. Essentially, she wants to change the past. After considering Origami's position, Kurumi eventually agrees to send Origami to the past. She tells Origami that she is using the former AST soldier to test out the Twelfth Bullet, and that she will be using Origami's spiritual energy to power the time travel. Origami gets uncharacteristically excited and assures Kurumi that she is ready to pay the price as long as she is sent back before the incident 5 years ago. Kurumi summons Zafkiel and shoots Origami with the Twelfth Bullet.

Back in the past, Origami is ecstatic when she spots Phantom, but her ambush on the mysterious being ends in failure. Origami's presence puzzles Phantom because the Sephira of Metatron is still in the latter's possession. Avoiding Origami's attacks, Phantom says to herself that Origami must have used the power of Zafkiel to come here, and that she's a little surprised Kurumi would actually lend someone else her power. Phantom tells Origami that she does not know about Origami's parents. Origami is angered by Phantom's remark that she has got the wrong person and begins to attack Phantom even more ferociously. Origami's relentless attacks prove little harm to Phantom, but they manage to temporarily dispel the noise that has always covered Phantom. Apparently Phantom is a young lady with long hair. Origami feels like she has heard Phantom's real voice somewhere before. However, Phantom leaves before Origami can finish her off. Origami fires a few light beams at Phantom in a desperate attempt to exact her revenge, but she is too slow and the beams travel right through the shadow of Phantom.

Origami thinks to herself that even though she has failed to kill Phantom, she has driven her parents' killer away so at the very least she's saved her family. As the time limit of Kurumi's bullet approaches, Origami gets all teary picturing meeting her parents again when she goes back to the present. Until she takes notice of what is happening on the ground.

A young girl stands in a daze in front of ruins that look like they have just suffered extensive damage from light beam attacks. Five years ago, it was light beams raining down from the sky that killed her parents. Five years ago, Origami followed the path of the light beams and saw her parents' killer. Though she did not know about Spirits, she remembers the silhouette - it was that of an angel. Origami has finally understood the situation. Five years ago, there were multiple Spirits present at the fire in Tenguu City just as Shidou had told her. However, there weren't just two Spirits. Kotori who caused the fire and Phantom who turned Kotori into a Spirit, and, Origami who had traveled back from the future to kill Phantom - there were three Spirits here on that day. It wasn't Phantom who killed Origami's parents. The person who took away their lives, was none other than Origami herself. 

The moment that Origami comes to that realization, her world is ruthlessly turned upside down.

The Devil of the Night When Darkness Falls

The time is 10:30PM. Shidou and the Spirits have been sent to a city hospital after being scolded for not evacuating during the supposed spacequake. Tohka says she's hungry, so Shidou decides to get some food from convenience stores. He sees the ship of Yoshino and Natsumi docked nearby, I mean he sees the two girls sleeping together on a pipe chair. Shidou suddenly hears Yoshino's phone vibrating and remembers that they had forgotten to switch off their phones before coming to the hospital. Since the hospital has prohibited the use of mobile phones, Shidou goes to turn it off. However, he ends up in an awkward situation when Yoshino wakes up as he is reaching for the phone inside her pocket. Natsumi then sends him flying with an uppercut.

Seeing that the call is from Kotori, Shidou immediately answers it. Kotori tells Shidou that they are currently in an underground facility owned by Ratatoskr. Kotori says that they have been soundly beaten by DEM, and though the Fraxinus is undergoing repairs, it probably won't be operational for a while. Shidou briefly explains the events on his side to Kotori, who is shocked to learn that Origami has become a Spirit. Kotori tells Shidou to prepare himself for capturing Origami's heart, though the image Shidou gets is more like Origami preying on him. Kotori says that they will talk more when they rendezvous at the hospital. Shidou looks outside the window and notices that it's suddenly getting a lot darker around him. As Shidou is about to hang up, something unexpected happens.

Westcott thanks Ellen for a job well done. Ellen says she had made misjudgements, and that the Fraxinus crew are very competent. Westcott asks if the crew are alright, Ellen replies that she is not sure - she had persuaded them to abandon the ship but was rejected. Westcott says it's a shame because he wanted the crew to live - Ellen's target this time was the airship Fraxinus, not the crew. Their topic then changes to Origami. Westcott smiles and says it's quite unexpected that she'd become a Spirit. He asks Ellen where Origami is, but Ellen tells him that the Spirit had vanished a short while ago. Westcott thinks that Origami must have concealed her spirit energy. He looks outside the window and jokes that they may be the ones who are being watched. As he smiles, something strange occurs.

Kurumi wonders if Origami could fulfill her wish. Kurumi's past selves chime in. One self says that the world is simply too unwavering for one girl and Origami's wish will without a doubt be crushed by reality. Another self says that it may be possible seeing the kind of power that Origami possesses. Kurumi herself says she hopes Origami succeeds. Her past selves giggle and tell her that it's rather uncharacteristic for Kurumi to say something like that. As she muses under the moonlight, something extraordinary takes place.

The moon suddenly cracks.

Shidou tries to make sense of what he's seeing as darkness spreads and envelops everything in sight. He notices that the moon hasn't actually cracked but a shadow before it makes it appear as if the moon's been cut. The ground begins to shake violently, but Shidou's instincts tell him that it's not an earthquake. Indeed, the tremor is caused by the impact of dark light falling from the sky. Explosions and utter destruction, in an instant the city has turned into a living hell. Kotori tells Shidou that a Spirit has appeared, but the reading shows that it's not just a Spirit, but an Inverse Spirit. Shidou gets caught in the debris but Tohka, still in her fully released form (Shidou didn't get to seal her earlier), saves him. Shidou wants to rescue the people in the hospital, but the rain of dark light makes it impossible for him to do so. Searching for the Spirit responsible for the devastation, Shidou is dumbfounded when he sees Origami, wrapped in darkness, floating in the dark sky. The Spirits too are left speechless. Tohka says she doesn't know what has happened to Origami, but the only one who can bring her back is Shidou.

As the Spirits work together to deal with Origami, Ellen makes an unexpected appearance before Shidou. Kaguya attacks Ellen to make an opening for Yuzuru, who throws Shidou towards Origami. No matter how he calls out to her or shakes her body, Origami shows no reaction to Shidou. Remembering how he saved Tohka when she went Inverse, Shidou prepares to kiss Origami. But as he lifts up her downcast face, Shidou is dumbstruck. It is certainly the same pretty face that Shidou remembers, but her soulless eyes, her tear-stained cheeks and her dry lips seem to tell Shidou that she had seen all the despair in this world. Shidou intuitively realizes that Origami is already beyond saving. He utters Origami's name one last time before gravity returns and pulls him down.

Recovering from the wounds sustained from his fall, Shidou walks back towards Origami. However, a number of Origami's wings suddenly fly towards him. Shidou thinks about how he should deal with them, but the wings attack before he can do anything. A blast from the badly damaged Fraxinus blows the wings away and saves Shidou. Kotori tries to tell Shidou what to do, but Origami's wings surround the airship and open fire on it. The already half-broken Fraxinus is hopelessly shot down. So much suffering. Shidou screams Kotori's name and staggers towards the fallen airship, but all of sudden he feels as if his strength is being drained away. Kurumi shows up and messes with Shidou for a bit. She tells Shidou that there is no salvation for Origami now. Kurumi says she does what needs to be done and summons her angel. Shidou tries to get away but Kurumi stops him using her ability and shoots him again with another gun, while doing her own version of Kotori's catchphrase - "Now then, shall we let our date (battle) begin?"

Just like the bullet that had stopped him earlier, Shidou feels no pain from the second bullet. But the moment that the bullet hits him, he feels as if his body has turned into some sort of gel that is blending in a mixer. Shidou passes out. Yet again.

Slowly, Shidou recovers and finds himself in a seemingly peaceful Tenguu City. Kurumi is nowhere to be seen. Shidou immediately realizes that something is wrong as the city should be in ruins. Furthermore, it's supposed to be November, but the scorching heat is telling Shidou otherwise. Shidou tries to find Tohka and the others, but bumps into Tamae instead. He calls her by her nickname, which surprises the teacher. She doesn't seem to know Shidou and thinks he's hitting on her. She blushes and says that she's a little embarrassed, but slips out that she's 24 years old. Shidou sweats and tells her that she can't just take 5 years off her age like that. Tamae gets angry at Shidou and asks him to give back her notebook, which he has picked up earlier. As she opens her notebook, Shidou catches sight of the date and asks Tamae if that's today's page. Tamae shows him the date on her notebook, which leaves Shidou gobsmacked.

"......Five years ago......?"

And so our little Shidou has returned to the past.

In the afterword, Tachibana talks a bit about how the story of this volume was developed during the very early stages of Date A Live, so he had a lot of fun writing it. The concept behind Origami's Astral Dress is angel plus wedding dress, but he says that there's something sinister about Origami in a wedding dress.

I'd better put my pen to the paper and charm my way out of this one somehow.