Date A Live Encore - Volume 4 - Chapter 2

Yoshino Highschool
Yoshino was hiding inside a small, narrow space with only a little light shining in from the opening as she waited for the voices talking outside to pass. After those voices had disappeared, Yoshinon lightly said to her that they were gone.

 
She pushed the door open, looking left and right to confirm that nobody was still around and left the locker she was in. Quietly, she closed the door quietly and looked around. Yoshino found herself inside a facility with a long, large hallway spread to her left and right with windows all along the way. She was creeped out by the organization of the facility, as if it were a mad scientist’s laboratory.

 
'Phew... that was close. We almost got caught.'

 
"Yes... that was close..."

 
'I'm glad there’s a place to hide nearby. Let's hurry!'

 
"O... Okay!"

 
Yoshino nodded to Yoshinon and held the bag on her right hand tight. She was in the middle of a very important mission from <Fraxinus>: a mission to sneak into this facility.

 
A few minutes ago on <Fraxinus>, on the bridge with a tense atmosphere, Commander Itsuka Kotori—a girl with a black ribbon tied up in her hair and a red jacket, whose age didn’t seem far off from Yoshino’s—said to Yoshino in a serious tone.

 
"This is a very important mission. We have to send an agent into the facility, make contact with the targets and come back after delivering the classified package. It may sound simple, but this mission will be very difficult. The time limit is 3 hours from now. If the mission ends up as a failure, at worst, everything around the facility might be burned to the ground. —Can I ask you to take on this mission, Yoshino?"

 
"Y... yes... I will do it... please. Let me do it..."

 
"Even though I’m the one asking you for this, are you sure you’ll be okay?" "Uu..." Yoshino hangs her head.

 
'It’s okay, Yoshino! Yoshinon is with you!'

 
"U... un! Please... let me do it... I want... to be useful... to everyone..."

 
Hearing that, Kotori told Kannazuki to retrieve the bag and hand it over to Yoshino. Kotori warned Yoshino that she must be extremely careful with the package, as if it is a sleeping baby, and she must never open it before she gets in contact with the targets. Yoshino nodded to Kotori with an understanding that the package must be treated with extreme care.

 
After seeing Yoshino's nod, Kotori ordered Kannazuki to hand Yoshino similar-looking clothing and a waist pouch. Yoshino asked Kotori what they were, to which Kotori explained that the clothing was for sneaking in, while the waist pouch had 3 secret weapons in case of emergency.

 
"Good. Yoshino, you have 5 minutes to change your clothes. We don't have much time.

 
—Everyone prepare the teleporter. We will start the mission as soon as Yoshino’s finished." "Understood."

 
"Moving to the target airspace."

 
Kotori nodded to the crew and gave Yoshino a thumbs up.

 
"—I'm leaving this to you, Yoshino, Yoshinon. The peace of Tenguu City is in your hands."

 
"Y... yes...!"

 
'Roger!'

 
Yoshino looked around while walking down the hallway. Despite there being nobody nearby, an unrecognizable voice and noise could be heard from the surroundings. Yoshino couldn’t help but feel scared at the possibility of being watched.

 
"Yoshinon... this place... is strange..."

 
'I agree. It certainly is mysterious, as if they’re doing some suspicious research, like the show you watched with Shidou-kun earlier on. Remember? That mad scientist who endlessly continued his human experiment and ended up creating a monster... '

 
"S-stop it, Yoshinon..."

 
'Ahahaha, that was a joke.'

 
After chatting, Yoshinon asked Yoshino about their destination. She said that they had to head to the third floor, and that Kotori suggested they go upstairs first. Just then, Yoshino looked into the hallway as she heard a voice coming her way. Yoshino looked around but couldn’t find any place to hide. Yoshinon suggested she run back the way they came from. Just as Yoshino nodded to Yoshinon's suggestion, however, footsteps could be heard right behind her. Her eyes spun in confusion.

 
‘We should use one of Kotori’s secret weapons.’

 
Nodding at Yoshinon's suggestion, Yoshino placed the bag on the floor and took a pack of cloth from her waist porch. Yoshino turned her back to the wall and spread the cloth together with Yoshinon, covering their bodies to hide themselves, as if they were ninjas. She held her breath. Then, Yoshino heard the sound of footsteps coming from both sides. The sound of footsteps stopped in front of her. Yoshino's heart started beating fast. Scared that she might be discovered, she began shivering.

 
"...What is this?"

 
"No idea..."

 
"Should we do something about it?"

 
"No... I don’t think so. Just some strange hobby I guess..."

 
Following that interaction Yoshino could hear footsteps walking away. She felt relieved and put down the cloth that was covering her. Yoshinon expressed amazement at Kotori's secret weapon; nobody could even notice Yoshino was there. She wasn’t quite so sure about that, but perhaps it was just her imagination.

 
Yoshino folded the cloth and put it back into her waist pouch, picked the bag up off the floor and resumed walking to her destination again. While walking upstairs, Yoshino bumped into a woman going down. She wore glasses and had a gentle look. For the introverted Yoshino on a mission, she couldn’t help but feel the woman was a demon.

 
"That uniform... are you a student of ours? No... from those looks, you seem to be a middle school student or an elementary school student... why are you here…?"

 
The glasses-wearing woman then walked up to Yoshino.

 
'She’s attacking! Let's run, Yoshino!'

 
Yoshino immediately attempted to run away, but she tripped and fell down.

 
"A-are you okay?!"

 
The woman ran to Yoshino with a worried look and reached out her hands. Yoshino stepped back trying to escape from her. The next moment, Yoshinon bit the woman's hand before it could reach Yoshino and told her to run away. Yoshino stood up, grabbed the bag and ran away. Even then, the woman did not give up.

 
"Ah... you! Please wa~it! Why are you running away~!?"

 
'Crap! She’s chasing us! Let's escape somewhere!'

 
"Even if you say somewhere..."

 
'Yoshino! Inside that room!'

 
"U... un!"

 
Yoshino then escaped into the room nearby as per Yoshinon's suggestion. Although nobody else was in the room, Yoshino feels unnerved by the plaster figures and pictures lying by the wall. Since that woman is chasing them, they can't stay here for long. Yoshinon then came up with an idea.

 
'Yoshino! Let's use the second weapon Kotori-chan gave us!'

 
"N-no.2...?"

 
'Yes! That Deadly Powder Bomb!'

 
'U-un...!'

 
Yoshino took the Deadly Powder Bomb from her waist pouch and hid herself inside the room, waiting for her pursuer. Yoshino's plan was to throw the powder bomb when the pursuer gets into the middle of the room, and make an escape while the pursuer's vision is blocked. However, since Yoshino was in a hurry, she dropped the powder bomb. A white powder scattered around her, blocking her vision for a moment. Yoshinon asked her if she was okay. She answered, despairingly, that she was okay.

 
While Yoshino was panicking, the sound of footsteps could be heard getting closer. Seeing that, Yoshinon then pointed its finger inside the room. Toward the many plaster figures placed near the wall.

 
"Eh...? That...?"

 
'No time to talk, quickly go over there!'

 
"Eh? U-un..." Yoshino followed Yoshinon's instruction and stood next to the plaster figure.

 
'Take a pose! Anything is fine!'

 
"L-like this...?"

 
'Okay, stop!'

 
Yoshino stopped at Yoshinon's shout. She then realized Yoshinon was getting her to mimic the plaster figures with her looks—especially with her being covered with white powder—and wait for the pursuer to pass by. Yoshino admired Yoshinon's quick judgement as it turned a failed plan into a successful one.

 
The door opened the next moment. The woman walked immediately to Yoshino and asked what she was doing. Yoshino, surprised at how she was found out so fast, fell from the shelf she was on. The woman once again asked Yoshino if she was okay, but Yoshino could only cower in fear. Yoshinon was surprised and suggested that this woman was not just some normal person. It shouted and told her to open the waist pouch to get the final secret weapon. Yoshino, who still didn’t know what to do, followed Yoshinon's instruction.

 
Yoshinon shoved itself into the pouch then jumped at the woman, closing her mouth. The woman struggled for a moment then fell down to the floor. Yoshino touched her face and realized that she had completely lost consciousness. Yoshino got scared and looked at Yoshinon.

 
"Y-Yoshinon... what was that...?"

 
'The final weapon Kotori-chan gave us! The name is chlor... *ahem* the Charming Super Pheromone!'

 
Yoshino, puzzled by this, put her face near Yoshinon, noticing a smell from near its stomach. Yoshino realized it must’ve been some kind of medicine. Yoshinon then urged Yoshino to continue with her escape from here. She then grabbed the bag and left the room.

 
Yoshino took a deep breath to try and calm down. Yoshinon wondered what that woman would have done to Yoshino if she had caught her, especially with how persistent she was on catching her. Yoshino frowned her eyebrows. She didn't ask Kotori what would have happened if she was caught. While Yoshino felt uneasy at the situation, Yoshinon was laughing instead.

 
'Ahahaha, sorry, sorry. Looks like I scared you a bit too much. It's okay, Kotori-chan wouldn't send Yoshino to such a dangerous place.'

 
"T-that's right..."

 
'Right, right. At most maybe we will get scolded, but there’s no way we would get tortured or have our stomachs ripped open while we’re still alive.'

 
Yoshino felt better upon hearing Yoshinon's words and continued walking through the hallway.

 
After a short while, Yoshino reached a room with a large door and a "Biology Room" label on it. Listening closely, Yoshino could hear a voice from the other side of the wall. Yoshinon told her to be careful. When Yoshino walked through the door, "Gyaa!" a screaming voice could be heard from the room. Yoshino choked, but Yoshinon said that they still hadn't been found. Although they had to hurry, Yoshino was curious about the screaming voice and peeked into the room.

 
There were dozens of people inside the room. Everyone was listening carefully to their leader who was wearing a white coat. Yoshino choked up when she noticed the leader's hand. In it, there was a frog with its stomach ripped open. While the leader was saying something, he picked at the frog with a small blade in his hand and instantly the frog's leg moved as if it was reacting to him.

 
'Ew... how cruel.'

 
"W-what are they doing... these people..."

 
'Hmm... I wonder. Doesn't look like they're cooking.'

 
"D-don't tell me... Frog-san sneaked in here like us and got caught...?" Yoshino asked with her eyes wide.

 
'No way, no way. There's no way that could be.'

 
"T-that's right..."

 
'Ah—'

 
"What is it, Yoshinon...?"

 
'Yoshino! Don't look!'

 
Though Yoshinon had tried to stop Yoshino, it was already too late. When Yoshino looked inside the room again, she saw something and fell down. At the tip of her eyesight, there was a human with half of his skin peeled off, internal organs visible, and a noticeable skeleton. Both were locked in a standing posture, as if they were being displayed.

 
"T-that is... the one who got caught...? W-what should we do, Yoshinon...?"

 
Yoshino said while shivering in fear. She thought her fear was right, anyone who sneaked in without permission would have their skin peeled off and put on display as an example. Yoshinon tried to calm her down, but Yoshino asked it back what else this could be. Yoshinon couldn't answer. Yoshino’s mind fixated on quickly accomplishing her mission and escaping. The next moment, a "Ding-Dong" alarm could be heard all over the building. Yoshino looked to her left and right. Not too long after, she heard the sound of chairs moving.

 
At that moment, all doors along the hallway opened. People from inside rushed into the hallway. Yoshino cowered, her mind searching up an explanation—that the alarm might be when they caught an intruder, similar to the alarm sounds she once heard inside <Fraxinus>. Those humans must be agents sent to catch Yoshino.

 
Realizing that, Yoshino quickly bolted away. However, there is no way she could completely escape from the sheer amount of people. Everyone who noticed Yoshino stared at her.

 
"Who is that?"

 
"Why is there a kid in a high school? Sensei's daughter?"

 
"Ah, that puppet on her left hand, how cute!"

 
Although Yoshino couldn't hear what they said, it's no doubt that they were yelling at each other "It's her!" or "Catch her!" or "Peel her skin!". Yoshino ran away through the hallway.

 
However—

 
"Aww! Mai, Mii! Look at that!"

 
"Gyaa! What is that cute being?!"

 
"Catch her! Formation Delta!"

 
Three girls jumped in front of Yoshino. Just then Yoshino quickly stopped, and those three girls fell down on their faces.

 
"Too soon!"

 
"In front of cute things!"

 
"We don't feel any pain!"

 
The three girls stood up and surrounded Yoshino. While Yoshino and Yoshinon were panicking, the three held their hands and started circling around them.

 
"Gyaaaaaaaaaa! She talked!"

 
"Wow, your ventriloquism is amazing!"

 
"Can you do any other tricks?!"

 
The three girls then started to put their hands on Yoshino. They started combing her hair with their hands, patting Yoshinon, and touching her face.

 
"Aww! Your hair is so silky!"

 
"The puppet is so fluffy!"

 
"Your face is so soft!"

 
The three girls played around with Yoshino and Yoshinon, enraptured by them. Yoshinon tried to use that chlor-something with them like what she did to the woman, but her body was completely locked down.

 
'Gyaa! Where are you touching?!'

 
"A... ah... ah..."

 
Yoshino shook off their hands and ran away from the three.

 
"Ah! She escaped!"

 
"Let me fluff you more!"

 
"So soft!"

 
Yoshino ran away with all her might even though she could hear shouting from behind her. When Yoshino glanced back, she bumped into another girl. Even though Yoshino didn’t fall, she choked up, her eyes wide in despair when she saw the girl's face.

 
"—<Hermit>? Why are you here?"

 
Yoshino remembered the face. Tobiichi Origami, the AST member whose objective is to kill spirits—like Yoshino. Yoshino's mind flashed memories from before her power was sealed by Shidou. Large amounts of bullets poured down on her. The killing intent. Humans in machine armor.

 
That moment, Yoshino's fear reached its peak. Yoshinon spoke, but Yoshino couldn't hear it. She felt something warm pouring into her. In the next moment, the temperature dropped as if the whole school had been put into a refrigerator.

 
"This is...!"

 
Origami said with a panicked voice. Water began pouring down from pipes along the wall and sprinklers on the ceiling. In that next moment—

 
"What... Yoshino?!"

 
A familiar voice could be heard behind her. When Yoshino looked over, she saw her "target" and smiled with relief. However, just then, part of the ceiling that collapsed due to bursting water pipes fell down on top of her.

 
The target shouted, "Yoshinoooo!" She cowered and closed her eyes. However, the next thing that came to her was not the impact from the ceiling, but rather a feeling that she was being hugged by someone. Yoshino then felt a dull impact on her back as if she had been pushed down.

 
When she opened her eyes, she found the "target's" face in front of her.

 
"Shi-Shidou... san..."

 
"Ou! Aw... that hurts... are you okay, Yoshino?"

 
"Y-yes... thank you very much... b-but... um..."

 
Yoshino said with an embarrassing voice. When Shidou protected Yoshino, Yoshino's skirt had rolled up and Shidou's hand had been thrusted inside it.

"I'm sorry!"

 
"U... um, that's okay." Yoshino fixed her skirt while blushing red.

 
"So, why is Yoshino here?"

 
Shidou scratched his cheek and said with a puzzled voice. The next moment, a voice of the other "target," Tohka, could be heard behind them.

 
"Na...! Tobiichi Origami! What did you do to Yoshino!"

 
"I didn't do anything. <Hermit> bumped into me."

 
Origami answered with a calm voice. Tohka looked at her suspiciously. Shidou looked at the two and then turned his eyes back to Yoshino and asked her.

 
"So, what are you doing here?"

 
"U-um... I-I came here to deliver this, ...!"

 
Yoshino answered while sniffling. As she answered, she looked down into her hands. Even though the bag was still in her right hand, it might have been soaked with water from the trouble earlier. However, as she noticed, Yoshinon had protected the bag from the downpour.

 
'Phew, I made it in time.'

 
"Yoshinon...!"

 
'Ya- the bag might be soaked a little bit, but the contents should be safe.' "T-thank you..."

 
Yoshino rubbed Yoshinon's cheek (although she smelled a stimulated smell from Yoshinon) and handed over the bag to Shidou.

 
"Um... Shidou-san... this..."

 
"Eh? This is...?"

 
Shidou then opened the bag and was surprised

 
"Tohka's and my lunch? ... Eh? Did I forget to bring it with me...?" Shidou then realized that he hadn’t and thanked Yoshino for it.

 
She expressed happiness at Shidou's gentleness and suddenly became ashamed of herself. She then turned her face downward and started crying.

 
"Y-Yoshino?! Why are you crying?!"

 
"I'm... sorry... I'm... always useless... and... wanted to... be... useful to... Shidou-san... just once... so... I asked them to... bring me... to the school... but... in the end... I caused... everyone...

 
trouble..."

 
"Yoshino. You are not useless. Thank you, you really did help me."

 
"Eh...?"

 
"We would have had to skip lunch if you didn't come here. And what would’ve happened to Tohka... You see?"

 
Shidou looked at Tohka, and she nodded in agreement hurriedly.

 
"Mu... Umu. That's right. If Yoshino weren't here, then we'd be in big trouble."

 
"See?"

 
"Eh... um..."

 
"So don't say you're useless again. Really, thank you."

 
Shidou then patted Yoshino’s head. Her eyes widened as she sniffled her nose and nodded with a smile on her face.

 
"Okay..."

 
Although Shidou and Tohka were able to have their lunch for that day—Shidou started to accumulate suspicion of being a lolicon.