Date A Prince

Part 3: Girl's charm

The explosive projectiles were fired by these men covered in almost full-body metal armor, were a special combat unit unlike anything seen before by Shiori, and were not as ostentatious as those seen in a science fiction film either.

The dark-haired boy, however, did not seem to be deterred, in fact, he was annoyed that he had been interrupted, so with his sword in hand, he destroyed all the projectiles before they reached him.

Shiori could not keep his mouth shut for a full minute as the boy in armor could not be stopped by anyone; they came at him to attack with lightsabers, but the difference in strength was substantial so that they were easily defeated with slight cuts or kicks.

The girl could not understand anything that was happening in front of her Amber eyes, this was worthy of an action movie, but clearly there were no cameras and her classmate, Tobiichi Origami, was there, skillfully facing this lonely boy she had found.

The combat was taking place some eight meters away from her, both of whom were so fast that he could not see most of their attacks, as well as how useless the projectiles and laser shots were against the boy, even if he was a bit smaller than Origami, this only made his omnipotence more apparent as he received all that with only one hand.

As the smoke cleared, Origami was stunned and angry that his enemy was still standing as if nothing had happened, but this time his gaze was one of annoyance.

"I was having a good time... Why do they want to kill me? I don't understand them!" He pointed with his sword and frowned.

"It's because you're a spirit, you and your whole race deserve an endless stay in hell!"

"Spirit? What are you talking about, Origami? Rather, what does Origami do?!"

Origami left its thrusters behind to take a high jump and come down at full speed, thus increasing the force of its attack.

"I don't know that place and I don't want to go there either!"

Both attacks collided with great force, causing an earthquake that shook Shiori's legs, and a powerful air wave expanded in all directions, shooting the girl out at high speed, and causing destruction all over the place.

After a severe headache from the impact of her skull against the wall, blood came out of her head, staining her blue hair and clothing, and she lost consciousness.

Once she awoke, she found herself with the pale, finished face of a young man with tired blue eyes and long, grayish hair up to his shoulders and scrambled, without care. He also had a pair of glasses on and a white robe, underneath formal clothes of brown and black colours.

"Ahh!" Shiori quickly stood up and walked away from the man. "Who are you?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but there's no need to be alarmed, I was just confirming that you were all right," replied the man in a tired, slightly low voice, and he put his hands inside the bags of his robe. "I am Murasame Rinne, you are aboard the Fraxinus, in the medical room."

"Oh..." She looked around then and it really looked like a hospital room, although the metal walls looked different. "Are you a doctor?"

"No, I'm the analytical officer of this place, I just gave you a basic treatment, maybe you want an aspirin, you hit your head hard, can you remember what happened?" he asked as he stared at her, she went to tempt her head, but found nothing but dried blood.

"I... I was in the middle of a fight, there was an explosion and then everything went dark... Wait... Iori!" she said desperately remembering why she ended up in the fight in the first place, so she left the bed immediately. "He's my little brother, I have to find him! He was in front of the family restaurant, I need to go there!"

"It's okay, he's fine. I know you have a lot of questions, but I'm bad at these things, we'd better go see the commander."

"Commander? W-What? And where's my little brother?"

"That's why we have to go see the commander, come on, follow me or you might get lost."

With some mistrust, Shiori followed the analyst to meet with the commander. The corridors of the Fraxinus were all gray and metallic, giving the impression that he was inside a very advanced facility or in a ship, which was a reality.

When they reached the exact place, the doors opened by themselves, where a woman with straight, shoulder-length blond hair greeted them with a friendly smile, her eyes were a dark ochre tone, her skin was white and her uniform looked somewhat military, even with white gloves, her breasts were all those of a grown woman and she was really pretty.

"Welcome, I am the vice-commander of this ship, Kannazuki Mei, I hope we get along," she said in a somewhat serious but friendly voice.

"Oh... likewise, Mei-san, my name is Shiori Itsuka."

"Commander, they've finally arrived," the woman said as she turned to her right and stood her ground, and that's when the girl saw her little brother there.

"Iori!"

"Hmp, I welcome you to Ratatoskr" he said with a confident voice and a smile, while he had her paddle in his mouth, but all that fell apart when his sister caught him in her arms. "Huh?"

"Iori! I was so worried about you! Stupid! If something were to happen to you, I... I! Iori!"

His sister hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek several times, causing the boy's body to change color to red, just as he was about to lose all control.

"Don't ever do that again, you fool, or I swear I'll lock you in your room, you'll never get out again!"

At the sight of his subordinates the little commander pulled himself together again and pushed his sister away quickly with a gentle shove and tucked in her clothes.

"Damn it, calm down, Shiori, you're dirtying my vest," he said slightly annoyed, but his blushing was still present.

"Huh? Shiori?" she asked in a broken voice, he never called her that. "But I'm your big sister..."

"And I'm the commander of this ship, Shiori, so you'd better have some respect for me, then you can rub my shoulders to make me forget this fault."

"Ah! Can I do it, commander?" Mei asked in a more excited and even childish voice, but received a cool look from her superior.

"No, you are just a nuisance."

"Ah, commander!" The woman grabbed her cheeks with a blush, and Shiori was startled. "How intense..."

"Anyway, you've met a spirit," he said as he sat in his chair and operated the screen in front of him to show the boy in purple armor from a few moments ago. "That's what we call these beings that appear and cause space earthquakes. And I see that you also met with the AST, they only want to kill the spirits, and in the middle of that fight to the death, there was you... I really didn't think you were that stupid, Shiori, the good thing is that we managed to rescue you."

"Stupid? I only did it because I wanted to save you!" she shouted annoyed because she was even being offended. "On my cell phone I looked for your location and you were right in front of the family restaurant, do you know how worried I was?! And what you're causing me?!"

"Yes, I can clearly see that being in your day makes you even more clumsy and desperate." Shiori blushed with shame. "This is only because I'm here on the Fraxinus and we happen to be flying right over Dennys."

Shiori clenched her fists, she found it hard to believe she was standing in front of her little brother, clearly his clothes belonged to someone important, even if he was so small, even more so than her second in command, which is that he was wearing those black cloth bracelets on his wrists, different from the usual white ones.

"Iori, is this all for real?" she asked a bit overwhelmed, really not feeling good about screaming so much while having her period, plus so much stress in just a few hours.

"Yes, I've kept it from you for a long time, but now that you've seen everything, even though you don't understand anything, I don't see the need for it, plus your participation has been approved by Ratatoskr and of course I'll make it work," he said firmly and stared at his sister with determination.

"Iori…"

"You know a spirit, I think you might have talked to him, don't you?"

"Yes... It was a strange thing, but he seemed so sad" she said with some nostalgia, although she didn't understand why.

"On the other hand, the AST, the anti-spirit team, is in charge of killing the spirits every time they appear." Shiori remembered Origami at that moment and her eyes opened a little more. "But that's not the only way to stop the spirits from destroying things anymore, there's been a lot of research and thanks to some tests, there's an effective method that can work, and without hurting anyone."

"Really?"

"Yes, that's why we need you, Shiori. You'll have to pass rigorous training for this."

"What?"

"Don't interrupt me," he said with a slightly scowling frown, Shiori closing his mouth bitterly. "Only you can do this, plus you know the spirit, it may want to come back to speak, but until then you need to be ready and use your charms well."

"My what?"

"Don't interrupt me!"

"Excuse me..." she replied reluctantly.

"That's right, Shiori, isn't the world better when it finds its destined person? Don't you start loving your life and your place in this world by being in love? Of course I do, we will make sure that the spirit does not destroy this world because the most special person lives here... You!" Iori pointed at her with his lollipop, Shiori opened her eyes more. "The second way to deal with spirits and stop the chaos they cause, without anyone getting hurt, is to make them fall in love with you, Shiori!"

"Well... This is too much, it's gone too far..." she replied with a mixture of negative feelings. "Is that what you're asking? My heart is not a toy, Iori, this is enough! I'm going home."

"Huh?" Iori let his surprise slip away as Shiori ran out of the command area with sadness and discomfort.

"Wait, Shiori-san!" shouted Mei without even being able to stop her.

"What do we do?" Rinne asked in a tired voice, he had paid attention, though his face showed otherwise.

"Nothing". The boy sat back in his chair and stared at the image of the spirit, he had to admit that he was quite handsome for his big sister, but that even so, this meant nothing to a girl like her, although he thought for a moment that it would be a good excuse. "She'll be back, she doesn't even know how to get out of here, they have nothing to worry about."

Perhaps once upon a time, under different circumstances, Shiori might have fallen in love with that boy just by seeing him, what girl would not if he was so good-looking and strong?

"How do you know that?" Rinne asked a bit curiously.

"My sister is adopted, I can't imagine because of all the pain and loneliness she has had to go through, it's also obvious that she wasn't the girl they met today, she was very different... A grey person, with no motivation, no desire to live" he explained with a certain nostalgia and bitterness that he excellently disguised. "One would think that such a person has many resentments against anyone who is not the same as her, but Shiori was never like that. Even with such a past, she is sensitive, very kind and it is true, her heart is not something to be toyed with, but that is only because she is so noble and humble."

He leaned back in his chair as the blonde woman lowered her head slightly, whispered: poor little Shiori-san.

"No, Kannazuki. Underestimating Shiori and seeing her with pity is something I can never do, and neither should you, it does not seem so, but the more you get to know her the more you will realize... She is strong, very strong. " He smiled proudly and a certain flush appeared on his face. "Between the AST and the spirit, I know she will choose him. I know she'll do the right thing, because she's my sister."

As Rinne and Mei listened to their commander's speech, Shiori found herself in an empty room, where she had locked herself in and was hugging her legs tightly in the fetal position, holding back the urge to scream in pain as the moisture rose in her crotch.

She wasn't going to scream so that her idiot and insensitive little brother would discover her location, she didn't want to talk to anyone, she didn't care if the spirit needed to fall in love to love this world, he looked really strong, he didn't need help from a weak girl like her.

All this had just been an accident and he didn't want it to last any longer, what he wanted most was for this pain to end!

Nothing really mattered, she had to keep thinking like that, until it was all over and she could go home. However, if she was trapped here, it did not matter, did not have to carry this, her life simply went out of hand and now someone else decided that it was suitable to fall in love with these beings who do not know or care.

By what right? She was not a tool or a slave. She wanted to fall in love, of course she did, but by free choice, not like this, this was not love.

"I can't believe you decided this, Iori." Shiori began to shed tears and threw herself on the ground, grabbing her belly, burying her nails in part, because the pain was unbearable, in addition to her sadness and anger.

She held back the pain and wiped away her tears, after all, this pain was really nothing compared to being alone all the time, and no one cared. Even though her little brother was supposed to care, she was needed and loved, but today she had treated him with the toe.

"All this time you hid it... I guess nobody cares."

She lay on the cold floor, her hands on her belly, her clothes were still wrinkled and stained, her panties were sure to be full of blood, she doubted that the wipes had absorbed all that, but she had no idea where the toilets were in this stupid ship.

"It's okay... You can't understand, you're not a girl... No matter how angry I am with you, I always look for a way to understand you and free you from all this."

Looking at the metal ceiling for hours and blinking every few moments, his pain ceased completely and she dedicated herself to think about everything that had happened, she remembered her encounter with the spirit, but this time she left behind his strength, his appearance, the misunderstandings, she left everything behind to focus only on his possible feelings, but when she tried, she realized that she had no idea.

There was something in common, however.

"Who are you?"

"I don't know..."

"You're lonely too, aren't you?" She thought with a bitter feeling in her throat and her heart ached, closed her eyes and moved her hands away from her belly to touch the cold floor.

An image formed in her mind, she imagined herself wrapped in that purple armor, holding that sword, surrounded by darkness, destruction and a city she did not understand, without a soul.

Then, suddenly, people of the opposite sex who she had never seen before, but who looked like herself in certain respects, would appear to attack her, throwing explosive projectiles at her, perhaps without saying anything or making any threat.

Disrupting her loneliness, planting a seed within her, something known as resentment that can only be fuelled by hate.

She hated this feeling.

Shiori opened her eyes then and without any expression on her face, she stood up and ran to the command area, remembering where it was because she could not really go far with the colics piercing her belly.

When the door was opened again, the commander smiled with some arrogance and turned his chair toward her.

"I thought it would take longer, Shiori, but I think you've already realized that we're 15,000 meters above the city and you can't get out of the Fraxinus." But when he saw her look full of determination, he opened his eyes wider and was a bit frightened, as she also seemed upset. "Shiori?"

The girl grabbed the lollipop from his mouth and after hitting him in the chest, he let go of the lollipop to scream in pain.

"What's wrong with you?!"

The candy was smashed because his sister stepped on the lollipop with her foot and looked at him with a scowl.

"Apologize to me, Itsuka."

"Ah... Well, yes, I guess I went too far... Sorry..." whispered the last one, but that was enough for the girl, who relaxed and hugged her brother again, he left, but looked away with a little blush of shame.

"So? Don't you have something else to say to your big sister?" she asked in his ear as she continued to hug him. "Hmm?"

"Gee... You're ruining my vest... Well... Will you help me with the spirits, sister?" he asked with some difficulty.

"Aren't you missing something in that sentence?"

"Please..." he whispered the quietest thing so that only she could hear him, Shiori smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I will, Iori, I will not leave you alone in this."

"The commander was right, Shiori-san is amazing!" Mei thought impressed, but pleased with the situation, Rinne also smiled slightly.

"Thank you, it's about time you cooperated!" he said fully recovered and once she released him. "And now it's time to eat, Shiori. So I hope you haven't forgotten our promise, however, this time I want a home-cooked meal, Dennys was destroyed after all. Tomorrow your training will begin, I have hope for you, so I hope you'll make an effort!"

"I will try, and I speak for both."

"What?"

"Hahaha. Just kidding, I'm hungry too, so I'll make something delicious."

"By the way, here." He threw a box of pills at her that she recognized right away. "For your hormonal problems..."

"This will kill the pain!" He hugged his little brother again, making him blush. "I love you!"

"You're ruining my vest!"