Itsuka Shidou. Come spring, a second-year at Raizen High. Slightly shaggy hair falling over his eyes, vision worsening, making him look a tad menacing—his minor woes. Otherwise, unremarkable, a perfectly average high schooler with secret magazines stashed under his bed. Wholly typical.
Naturally, he's never had a girlfriend.
"Ughhh…"
He writhes, rolling incessantly on his familiar bed. If his sister saw, she'd raise hell over this bizarre spectacle.
"'Morning-evening-hello'?! What was that?! I'm such an idiot!!"
His shouts, nearly a neighborhood nuisance, stem from genuine anguish.
Tokisaki Kurumi. The girl he met—not quite befriended—days ago, drives him to this maddening torment. In his limited vocabulary, she was beautiful. No, that's not enough. Silken hair, skin so delicate it might break at a touch, and those eyes—ruby red, captivating, but the fleeting glimpse of golden beneath the breeze enthralled him. Obsession, perhaps.
"No way this is… Calm down, Shidou. It's not time to panic."
He bolts upright, shaking his head as if to excuse himself to no one. A 16-year-old, girlfriend-less, but not uninterested in romance—his heart races at a girl's gesture, a healthy teen. Yet, this pounding, this flush at her mere memory, is unlike anything before.
"…Damn it!"
He dives into his pillow again. What is this feeling? A girl he met once, laughed at his embarrassment, sparked this torrent of emotion. Ten out of ten would call it obvious, but Shidou resists admitting it.
(No way I feel this for someone I just met. No way.)
Teen pride, nothing more. But writhing in denial solves nothing. Shidou, though ordinary, is forward-thinking and action-driven.
"If I don't get it… I'll find her and figure it out."
"Easier said than done…"
Under a dazzling sky, Shidou mutters, gazing upward. He's scoured the cherry-blossom path where he met Kurumi, wandered everywhere, but naturally, no trace of her. Finding a girl he met once, without contact info, in this vast city? A job for a detective—or a stalker.
(Wait, what am I doing—)
He shakes his head, resetting his thoughts. At Tenguu Station, curious glances catch his odd behavior, but he brushes it off. It's just searching. Still safe.
"…Hic… ugh…"
"Hm?"
A sobbing girl, barely ten, by a fountain catches his eye as he shakes his head. Despite the crowd, no one spares her a glance.
A pang shoots through Shidou's head, a fleeting, noisy image—a crying girl, overlapping with this one. That alone is enough to spur him.
"You okay? What's wrong?"
"Are you alright? What's the matter?"
"Eh?"
"Oh?"
Their voices overlap perfectly, turning to face each other in sync.
"E-Ehh?!"
"Hehe, we meet again, Itsuka Shidou."
Unmistakable. His quarry—Tokisaki Kurumi.
"Thanks… uh, Tokisaki-san."
"No, I'm new to this city and hardly know it. If anyone should thank, it's me."
The girl's issue resolved quickly. Shidou's loud voice overwhelmed her, but calming her revealed a simple lost child. Kurumi's quick thinking—her parents must be searching too—led Shidou to alert a station worker. An announcement later, the matter was settled.
"No, really, I wouldn't have thought of that so fast. You saved the day, Tokisaki-san."
"Hehe, let's call it even. But, Shidou-san, you're quite kind."
Shidou half-smiles, puzzled by "even," when Kurumi's sudden remark catches him off guard.
"That came outta nowhere…"
"Didn't you rush to help her when no one else cared?"
"You did too—"
"Call me Kurumi."
Shidou freezes, but her radiant smile disarms him. "No need for formalities. Just talk naturally. In return… may I call you Shidou-san?"
"…Uh, yeah, sure…"
What is this? Shidou, 16, perpetually single, struggles to process. His mind races, tires screeching. A stunning girl, met twice, asking to use first names?
His conclusion: This is a dream.
"Shidou-san, what are you doing?"
"N-Nothin', just thought it was a dream—"
Not a dream. He's just pinching his cheeks, looking absurd.
"Pfft, haha, you're so amusing, Shidou-san."
"Glad you think so."
Her laughter, adorable (to him), complicates his feelings. Not meant to be funny, but her charm makes it a win. His thoughts, however, are dangerously unhinged.
"By the way, Shidou-san, what brought you here today?"
"Uh… nice weather, thought I'd stroll. Haha…"
Terrible delivery. He can't admit he was searching for her. Kurumi tilts her head at his awful acting but claps her hands.
"Perfect. I'm still unfamiliar with Tenguu City. Would you… show me around?"
"Me?"
"Yes. Unless it's a bother."
"No, no, no! I'm on it!"
"Wonderful!"
Kurumi beams as Shidou, puffing his chest, agrees. He pinches his other cheek, hoping it's not a dream. It's not—just red, swollen cheeks.
Guiding someone in Tenguu City is tricky. Vast, modern, all new—shops, restaurants, theme parks, malls, cinemas, aquariums. No old buildings.
"Everything's so new," Kurumi remarks.
"Yeah… spatial quakes, y'know."
Shidou's tone sours. Kurumi nods, her expression dimming.
Spatial quakes. Literal space tremors, dubbed natural disasters. Cause unknown, timing erratic, damage unpredictable—explosions, vibrations, vanishings. Thirty years ago, a chunk of Eurasia disappeared overnight. No metaphor—gone. Casualties: roughly 150 million. Humanity's worst catastrophe.
"After that, another quake hit here, so Tenguu was rebuilt."
"You're quite knowledgeable, Shidou-san."
"Nah, just local trivia."
He scratches his cheek, embarrassed. School drilled the quake's history, and living here makes it common knowledge. Self-defense forces' rapid rebuilding, near-magical, adds to the city's newness. Details are classified, but it feels like a grand trick.
"Let's not dwell on gloom. More to show!"
"Please, lead on, Shidou-san."
Her smile and name-calling make his heart race, face reddening. His heart dances.
"What a lovely spot."
"My little favorite place."
Evening. After a day of guiding—and Shidou's flustered mishaps—they reach a hilltop park, his secret spot. Leaning on the railing, Kurumi's reaction to the city view satisfies him. Her curious glance at his earlier, conflicted expressions? Irrelevant.
"It's wonderful. To know such a place—"
"Stop! No more praising, it's too much!"
Shidou cuts off her theatrical compliments. She's been praising him all day, from small acts to this spot. Initially flattered, he now senses excess.
"It's not my place. The praise is overkill."
"Hehe, it is wonderful… and you seem more at ease now, Shidou-san."
"Huh?"
Was she praising him to ease his nerves? Guiding her, yet she's the one caring for him. His cheeks flush anew, for different reasons.
"Making a girl worry… pathetic."
"Not at all. I'm… rather confident in my appearance."
Her grand, certain declaration stuns him. Twirling her black skirt, she gazes up with an enchanting smile. Every gesture—hands behind her back, her look—overwhelms him.
"…Yeah, you're the most beautiful I've ever seen."
"?!"
Feverish honesty. Shidou, no Casanova, spills his raw truth. A heartfelt compliment.
It shakes Kurumi. For the first time, she falters.
"You're… quite the charmer, Shidou-san. I'm a bit embarrassed."
"N-No, I didn't mean—well, it's true, but it slipped out!"
"I see…"
Kurumi averts her gaze, hand to her mouth, cheeks red—not just from the sunset. A misstep, she thinks, caught off guard by his sincerity. His frantic gestures confirm it's no act. Regaining her playful smile, she teases.
"No man has ever praised me so directly…"
"Guh! Uh, why Tenguu City? With all the quakes…"
A clumsy pivot, desperate to dodge her teasing.
"…Indeed."
The air shifts. Kurumi's aura darkens, unlike her earlier warmth or embarrassment. Something heavy, unfitting her delicate frame.
"I have… something I must accomplish."
"Something…?"
"Yes. A treasure I need lies in Tenguu City. I'll do anything—trample anything, fall to hell's depths—to claim it."
Shidou's overwhelmed. Her words, laden with raw emotion, flood him. A dark, tangled despair, a resolute rejection. He steps back, as if on sand. Kurumi offers a fleeting, lonely smile.
"…I'm sorry, Shidou-san. This isn't for you."
She turns, walking away.
(No…)
Her rejection echoes. If she leaves, their paths may never cross again.
(No way!)
Not for affection. Shidou can't ignore despair. Rejected or not, he reaches out.
"Kurumi!!"
He's that kind of reckless, bleeding-heart fool.
"Shidou-san?"
"I'll help with anything I can! No matter how small! Rely on me!!"
Panting from his outburst, he locks eyes with her. Kurumi, stunned, stares back. What does she feel, hearing this naive boy's vow?
Only she knows. But his cry brings a smile.
"You're too kind, Shidou-san. You might regret this."
"Never. Not for you."
"You'll be a lady-killer someday."
"Huh?"
Her murmur doesn't reach him. Shaking her head, she steps closer.
"Then I'll rely on you when I'm in trouble. Ready, Shidou-san?"
"No takebacks. Count on me, Kurumi."
Her whim, his resolve—they shift their fates.
April 10, Tenguu City.
The red-and-black-dressed girl and the white-robed figure stand atop rubble, not solid ground.
"Quite the entrance. The rumored Princess seems rather cross," Kurumi says, her asymmetrical twin-tails swaying, her golden clock-eye gleaming as she surveys the wreckage.
"Her mood doesn't matter for manifestation… but cross? Probably," the robed girl replies, unfazed.
Their gazes fix on a crater, as if a meteor struck, erasing everything. At its center, a girl. On a throne-like chair, clad in purple armored dress, one leg on the armrest, her black hair sways. Her expression—irritated or melancholic—radiates beauty rivaling Kurumi's.
"That's Princess? The other spirit in Tenguu, besides Hermit?"
"Indeed…" Kurumi tilts her head.
Despite the distance, they see her clearly. Princess doesn't notice, her gaze elsewhere. No AST yet, but something draws her attention. Kurumi follows her line of sight—
She gasps. Impossible. It's him. The one who shouldn't be here.
"…Shidou-san?"
"You know Itsuka Shidou?" the robed girl asks.
"Huh?"
"I didn't expect you'd met him already."
Surprised, Kurumi glances at her. The robed girl, unshaken, continues. She knows Shidou. Because—
"He's the only human who can seal spirits."
He's the key to Kurumi's wish.
"…Ki-hi, hi-hi-hi-hi!! So amusing!! I'll fall to a hell even hell finds tame!!"
She laughs, crazed. How could she not? Tokisaki Kurumi, a sinner, will plummet beyond hell's depths. To think this foolish, kind boy vowed to help her.
"Your choice, Kurumi. I follow it."
"It's decided."
Playful, mad, evading something, Kurumi dances. Fate is cruel, utterly wretched.
"I'll devour Shidou-san."
Thus begins the tale of Itsuka Shidou and Tokisaki Kurumi.
Let the long, long war date commence.