POV - Jay/Bronya

There are a lot of things I don't remember about the story of this world...

"My name is Itsuka Shido. Nice to meet you!"

But from the few things I do, the name 'Shido' is certainly one of them. The protagonist's name...

He suddenly has a determined look on his face, like he just made up his mind about something... I just wish it wasn't aimed at me, since his objective is to date spirits... And I'm one. I look out the window at the beautiful sunset.

... I want to run away.

But I have already decided on another approach. No matter how much I want to run or send this lucky bastard flying, there is one thing more important than that.

Information.

There are so many questions I don't know the answers to, and the majority of them are critical to deciding who I can trust.

For example, are there any other organizations besides AST dedicated to spirits? If there are, what is their goal? Is Shido working for them? Why does it have to be this person who saves me? And the most crucial question of all.

What am I even being saved from?

I assumed it was to save me from the AST, but they aren't even worth mentioning because they're so weak. There is a chance that some potentially dangerous weapons were just never utilized, but given that I thoroughly beat them and they still did not use any, I can only conclude that these weapons do not exist.

In this case, the only other thing I can think of that could probably be dangerous to me is... 'Myself'. A Spirit losing control and self-destructing... This scenario is possible...

But these are all speculations; the only way to get the answers is by questioning him.

I prepare myself mentally before turning back to face him and seeing him take some photos of my cannons with his cellphone.

"...Subject Itsuka Shido, what are you doing?"

"Wah! B-Bronya, sorry! You were lost in your thoughts, and I didn't want to get in the way."

"Bronya meant the photos... Is it for the organization Shido works for?"

He freezes up and looks at me with a mix of surprise and fear. He is certainly thinking it's 'game over'. An evil laugh nearly escapes me, but I stop myself.

He stumbles with his words before calming down slightly after noticing he didn't become Swiss cheese.

"Will subject Shido answer Bronya's question?"

"...Yes."

Oh, I thought he would lie, but that makes it easier for me.

"Does subject Shido work with subject Idiotka's squad?"

"What? Idiotka?"

"From the annoying mecha group outside."

"The mecha... Aah! No! No! No!!! I'm not with the AST!!!"

All right~ He is panicking, so it will be easy to get the answers I need.

"Then, what is the objective of this mysterious group?"

"Well... I want to correct you about one thing. I'm not exactly working for them... It's more like they are working with me... Or something like that."

"...? Bronya doesn't understand."

Isn't that basically the same thing? 

"It's because their objective is... Different than mine, but by working together, we can make everyone happy... I guess."

"Why does this organization need subject Shido's help, and how will it affect Bronya?"

He looks away while blushing slightly. Disgusting... But he stops himself before actually responding. Hm? Does he... 

"Does subject Shido not know what happens after helping them?"

From the way he's acting, he knows about the 'dating' thing but doesn't know how that helps... He is an idiot.

I continue to question him. Will they imprison me? Will they force me to fight for them? What will happen to me after I put my trust in them?

Shido tried to deny it, but every question slowly made me notice how he truly was in the dark about everything... Its useless. I wanted to understand more, but this guy knows even less than I do.

"I can't trust anyone like that. Even if subject Shido is being truthful, there is no way to know when I will be betrayed. It's better for me to continue being alone."

I noticed my verbal tick dissapeared while I was talking, but the happiness of finally getting some control over it was overshadowed by the feeling of loneliness that nearly overwhelmed me...

It doesn't matter... There isn't anything to do here anymore; I should probably run aw-

"Not everyone is like that!!!"

"Whae..?" 

W-Why are you screaming at me?! I even made a weird sound...

My arm swings forward in an instant, and the cannons levitating around me begin to charge. Shido flinches, yet remains still while continuing to talk.

"I know it's hard for you to trust someone since the AST was pursuing you, but not everyone wants to cause you harm! Everyone in Ratatoskr might be a weird, somewh-no, really unreliable bunch of people, but their hearts are certainly in the right place!!!"

Shido continues to pretty much scream his thoughts out loud; at least I got the name of this secret organization. Did someone order him to fix my relationship with these... Ratata-something guys? But this thought is immediately broken by his next words.

"Even if you don't want to, that's fine! But not trusting anyone will only hurt you in the end... Not all humans want to hurt you; I can try to show you, like... hm..."

...When did all of humanity appear in this conversation? Why wou-... Ooh...

When I said, 'I can't trust any of you', did he think it was about all humans? A misunderstanding... I was about to correct him when he said something that made me stop.

"...- Like, like food, for example..?"

"...Food?"

"Huh?.. I mean, yes!.. Are you hungry, maybe?"

"Bronya didn't eat anything..."

After becoming Bronya, I never had time to think about food, so it's been a long time since I ate anything. And still, I'm not hungry... Are Spirits beings that don't need to eat? But, now that I have noticed this, I certainly do wish to eat something... Wait, did my verbal tick come back?! Dammit!

"Hm, there's nothing open right now because of the spacequake. Well, there is a machine that sells ice cream near here, but that's-"

"Soft serve strawberry ice cream?"

I asked with quite a bit of intensity. I don't know if this was an impulse from Bronya's body or my own will... Probably both. So the disappointment when he said it wasn't soft serve nearly made me depressed... 

I really want to eat some... Ah, wait a second!

"Subject Shido, explain to Bronya the method to make soft serve strawberry ice cream in detail."

"... Wha- right now?!"

If I can't get it, I just have to make it! The power of the herrscher of reason is to create things, as long as I know how to do it. So it should work with food too!

But Shido surprised me once more by actually giving me the step-by-step instructions on how to make it, even on the ice cream cone, completely by memory. I expected him to look it up on his cellphone or something along those lines... Maybe he is a good cook?

But this doesn't matter right now. Activating my powers while using my new-found knowledge as the basis, a small light appears and, in its place, one perfect strawberry ice cream!

I wanted to eat it right away, but instead I let Project Bunny pick it up and give it to the dumbfounded Shido.

"What?.. For me?"

"To test if it's safe to eat..."

"Ah... That's right, you don't trust me..."

"...Bronya is not thinking it's unsafe to eat because of subject Shido... Bronya just never made food with this power before, so it might explode."

... It's funny seeing Shido looking pretty scared of some simple ice cream. Since you probably have plot armor, you'll be fine... Probably...

Ah! It was too good to be this quiet, huh? Feeling an increase in energy output just above the school, I create a barrier just in time to protect me from a small rain of bullets that destroyed half of the classroom.

I also control Project Bunny to protect Shido, even though I was a bit unwilling.

I see Idiotka and about ten others. Normally, I would hold back by using only one type of attack, but right now... 

I. Want. Ice cream!

Controlling all the cannons I already made and creating some more that were slightly different, I aim at them. Electricity starts to fly about, and the power behind it is enough to destroy more than just this school!

With the exception of Idiotka, they try to fly farther away, but it's useless!

"Fire!"

Rays of light reach them in less than a second and bring half of them down by breaking their armor. However, the others managed to get away since they were too far away... What impressed me was Idiotka.

She managed to dodge everything, point blank. Yes, she didn't come out unscathed, but to still be able to reach me is quite something.

"I got you!"

She screams, since Bunny is not protecting me right now, this is certainly her chance... That is, if she was more careful.

*BOOOOM*

An explosion comes from behind her, destroying the rest of her armor. She falls to the ground with a face of disbelief. She looks back, only to see the rest of the team get hit one by one without being able to do anything.

"Guided... missiles..."

After managing to dodge such an intense attack, they never expected to be hit by something else in such a short amount of time, especially since I never showed I could do more.

Hmm... Now that I think about it, Idiotka was someone I recognized from the start, so she's probably part of the 'main cast'... Which means Shido should know her!

"Subject Shido, do you kn-"

... He... He's gone... Did he run away? He didn't even tell me if the ice cream was safe!.. Where can I even find someone else to...

I look at the Idiotka that is trying to move her body and failing since she's still dealing with the aftermath of using that armor...

"Subject Idiotka... Want an ice cream?"

...

*Some time later*

She did not want ice cream...

Without anything else to do, I simply ran away while hiding my energy signature. It's not like it matters since I'll just get pulled out of this world at any moment... So I waited...

...

Aaany moment now...

... I hear the sound of the city moving. I look outside and see people leaving from some places underground... Wait...

That pull... Isn't happening?

...

POV - Kotori

"Can you see why we pulled you out of there? Her energy skyrocketed! It wasn't safe."

I explain myself to my somewhat dissatisfied big brother. He certainly paled when he noticed the amount of destruction those flying cannons aimed at him could do, but he was still thinking he could have stayed there. Seriously, did someone tell him he actually has more than one life?

I tell him that he should get some rest since the spirit has already disappeared; however, he has a different idea.

"Kotori... Please tell me everything about this operation. Be it the people working here or... My real role in saving her."

... Aaah... I knew this was going to happen.

"Can you handle the truth?"

He nods to my question. Well, you asked for it. I wanted him to know more about everything after being more ready, but I can't deny his determination.

"We want to stop the spacequakes while keeping the spirits safe, but there are certainly some who are more motivated by money. And before you ask, no. We keep those guys out of decisions in order to give any spirit we save a normal life... Or at least the best life we can give. Everyone inside this ship is on your side, you dumb big brother."

His smile is seriously contagio- No! Don't go into little sister mode! Commander, I'm a commander.

"But why the... Dating thing? How does that he-"

"We need you to kiss them."

"-lp..? W-W-WHAT?!?! K-K-KI-KIS-KISS?!?!?! WHY?!?!"

I sigh and point at him in an exasperated manner.

"You kissing them will seal their powers, making them lose their ability to make spacequakes; the AST won't fight them; and they can live a normal life... We didn't tell you because you're a mega virgin and would keep staring at their lips the whole time! If you are trying to tell me you wouldn't, then should I pull some video footage of you thinking you would be popular in high school?"

Shido falls to the ground, his HP at zero. You wanted this, y'know?

I tell him once more to go back home, and this time he goes without question... Well, he did look like a zombie, but I guess that's fine. While I thought I would finally manage to get some time to enjoy my lollipop, the vice commander showed up with a serious face.

"Commander, we got the energy readings for Silver, and they are slightly weird."

Weird? Looking at the screen, I find the readings he is talking about... And, at first glance, they look normal, but looking at the way they are being used...

"...This... It's like the Reiryoku she uses is a byproduct..?"

I don't understand... Can this spirit use an energy other than Reiryoku?