Work Text:
Note: This is a Date A Live x Corpse Party crossover only.
Song: 【Yumi Hara】 Hotarubi 【Corpse Party Tortured Souls】 【Eng Lyrics】
POV: Shidou Itsuka.
...A bloody red nightmare.
That's what he felt was happening. No, this had happened, over and over again. Can one be able to tell how many times he's died?
...I don't know anymore. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop.
Darkness. Death. Two worlds collide and all he sees are roaming spirits of the dead that can no longer find any semblance of peace. There is no escape. There is nowhere to hide.
We're...We're all trapped in an endless hell.
Did he cry? If so, he forgot how to cry? His heart was broken. He could no longer recall the pain he feels anymore. He feels it, but he also does not feel it. Only a bloody DEAD END. He wanted to die, but he could not. Death was no longer a comfort. It was rather...a terrible nightmarish reoccurrence.
Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop.
Then...
"...AAaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
He screams as the last few moments of his life are being devoured by living corpses, and the last thing he ever saw was the slasher smile of a pale grey teenager, who spoke only...
"...Aren't we having fun? Onii-chan?"
...And then.
"-dou! Shidou!"
"-pa! Papa!"
"AAHHHHHHHHH! AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He woke up in a frenzy, still feeling the pain of getting eaten, but there was no longer any blood stain on his shirt. Ayumi?! Where was she?! The last time he saw her was her own DEAD END. Make it stop. But amidst his painful screams, he could slightly hear the ones calling out to him. Who were they? Why did they sound familiar? His eyes blazed back and forth, like he was seeing misty tears, until...
"Shidou, hang in there! Shidou!"
At that moment, he noticed the tears, born out of worry for him, that were falling on his cheeks. Pink, soft hair, with a crowning braid that made one look like a princess. And there was that gentle touch, that made Shidou feel like his mind was going static. It hurts. It didn't help with the pain at all as he screamed. Her beautiful face, that filled him with a sense of warmth and nostalgia, of a woman that he had lost time and again. That same face bore worries for him. That gentle face.
...His "childhood friend". The woman he loved the most.
"...Rin...Rinne..."
Shidou forced himself to mutter, as he felt his throat becoming dry, after screaming for so long.
"Hmm," She spoke with a gentle, yet worried smile. "That's right. I'm your Sonogami Rinne. And this here is our daughter, Rio."
"Papa," A young girl with plum-pinkish hair would speak with a concerned tone.
"...Shidou," His eyes would glance to find a very troubled Kotori, who had black hair ties instead of white ones.
"...N-No!" Shidou would try to get up. "Damn it! No! It can't be! This is a trick! You...You can't be here!" He pushed Rinne away, making her yelp as she fell back down. He didn't turn back as he forced and sprinted himself from the room. He could hear his name being called out by the women he left behind. It couldn't be, he thought. This was a trick. He was still back in Heavenly Host. This was all still a nightmare. He can't get out. No matter how hard he tried. He can't escape her.
"Damn you, Sachiko! Damn you!" He cursed as his breath labored. He was trying to find something. By instinct, he ended up running downstairs and heading towards the kitchen and... there was a temptingly sharp kitchen knife that he could spot. He could use it. To end his life. No, he wanted something to fight back. But he really wanted to die. But no. But yes. But no.
"Shidou!"
"STAY BACK!"
He heard the voice of his so-called little sister, but he brandished the knife and aimed it towards...her, another woman, and the young girl, who all looked at him in shock.
"Shidou, what the hell-!" Kotori tried to speak, but was harshly cut off.
"I SAID STAY BACK!"
POV: Rinne Sonogami.
Confusion. Horror.
That was the summary of Rinne Sonogami's feelings right now. She did not know what was happening with Shidou. In fact, she did not know how she and Rio came back here. All she could truthfully tell was the screams - echoes of pain and suffering that Rinne could not help but feel.
She did not know what was happening except that something was deeply troubling Shidou. When she looked into the man's eyes, all she saw was "Death" and "Despair". What had happened to him? She didn't know what to do. She tried calling out for his name. She succeeded, at least by the...fiftieth time? She lost count. But she got through. But it wasn't the end of it.
He pushed her back and ran for the door, and headed somewhere in the kitchen. Now, with a knife in his hand, his eyes widening with an intent to...kill?! And with belabored breath, he shouted.
"I SAID STAY BACK!"
A grueling silence reigned for a moment, before he resumed speaking, with gritted teeth.
"...Papa," Rio had snuggled close to her, the latter putting her hands into the former's shaking figure, crying. "...Why? What's wrong? Please, papa, tell me what's wrong..."
"PAPA!" Rio's heart broke when she saw how harshly the man was treating her right now. His eyes were scaring her. "Do you really think I don't know what you're doing, Sachiko?! Using my daughter's form to torment me!"
"Sachiko?" Rio asked, troubled and not understanding.
"Wha...What nonsense are you-" Kotori tried to speak, but she was cut off, for she was just as terrified of Shidou's vulnerable and erratic state.
"You're trying to use my loved ones?! It's not gonna work this time! I'm not falling for it, DAMN YOU!"
Rinne had to act fast. She needed to placate the man in front of her, the man who was clearly suffering from something. She just didn't know the full context.
"...Shidou," Rinne softly muttered.
"STAY BACK!" He aimed his knife at her, but...was trembling and crying. It hurts her to see him like this. "...You...You aren't here. You can't...I...I...I...Ahaha...Ahahaha...I...I'm dying...That's right...I'm still dying...I can still feel it...I'm still..." He couldn't continue, as he felt sick from finishing the words.
"Shidou," Rinne spoke kindly, making a gentle smile. "It is truly me. I am Sonogami Rinne, the Ruler of Eden, the one that became your "childhood friend", and...and the mother of your child. Please, recognize me."
A silence reigned for a few moments, before Shidou clicked under his teeth, with a glare that came from a madman. But as the grueling moments passed by, he became more hesitant, especially when he saw the crying, imploring look of Rio. He sighed a little before speaking, but still kept his guard and held on to his knife. He didn't know what could happen.
"Prove it then!" He muttered, growling. "Tell me something...that only Rinne actually knows."
That was her chance!
"...Then, can I come forward?" She asked.
"...Just you," Shidou muttered, slowly lowering the knife, but still keeping his guard.
"...Rio," Rinne looks down to her daughter. "Go to your Kotori-onee-chan, okay? I will handle papa from here."
"Hm-Hmm," Even when she was shaking like a leaf, Rio bravely went towards Kotori and, to the latter's surprise, embraced her. But Kotori was also focused on Rinne, who was slowly walking towards a distraught Shidou.
At just about any time, Shidou can strike her with that knife. But Rinne trusted Shidou, even if he was in that state. After a few steps, drawing near to him, who would have the urge to move back, hitting the sink that was located to his back, he would watch those hands of hers slowly, yet with care, place itself on his chest. Slowly, his breath was calming down. Nothing seemed to be happening as his head was beginning to clear away, feeling a little tired.
She raised her race towards his left ear and whispered something.
Whatever she whispered made him widen his eyes as he could see her face, speaking as if everything was alright.
His tears took on a whole new meaning, as he dropped the knife to the floor and started to burst out, crying. Rinne didn't hesitate to embrace him as disturbing thoughts came to her mind.
What...What is this...?
She felt a terrible miasma that engulfed and enchained her Shidou's soul. It felt unholy, impure, a darkening. What was this? And...
...A flash. A memory. It was only brief.
"...Aren't we having fun? Onii-chan?"
A young woman. Pale skin. With a disturbed, yet simple smile. With a bloody pair of scissors. And a terrible laughter that sent shivers down her spine, but mostly for Shidou's sake, because she didn't like what this implied. This memory flashes by as she turns to the man she loves.
...Shidou, what happened to you?
Rinne embraced the boy - the old man who cried, letting loose the tears of sorrow and despair that he had been keeping for who knows how long. And Rio followed suit, embracing Shidou. Kotori didn't know what to do. For what felt like the first time, she didn't know how to handle a sudden mental breakdown that came from her brother.
Who was...Who was that girl?
Rinne was trying to rack her brain. Its presence felt like a Spirit. No, it was a Spirit. But there was something very wrong with her. It wasn't like any of the other Spirits. She had many questions, but for now, she needed to comfort Shidou. Something told her that it had been a long time from his perspective since he last saw her and Rio. She had wondered how long, but his current state seemed to tell her everything she needed to know from that answer. It was a very long time.
And...she noticed something odd. The date felt off. She could feel it. She was in the past, a past before Shidou had met any of the Spirits, including her. How did she end up here along with Rio?
Don't worry, Shidou. I'm here now.
She thought, embracing him as he let out howls and tears.
One thing is certain. Whoever did this to him would answer for this. She promised it, with her own heart and soul. For the man she knew, Shidou Itsuka, to be brought into this state, she will find those answers.
Whatever it takes.
POV: ?
Darkness. That is what awaits the future, no matter what decisions that have to be made. Of nine individuals who had made a certain ritual, which kickstarted the cycle of misfortune that never truthfully ended. And how a meddling interloper from another world had become involved in something that he shouldn't, after his battles had been over.
All he sees is the end of the world. His failure. And his DEAD END.
Now, he ended up somewhere in his past. The past where everything began. The cycle begins anew.
But this time, he will not be alone in this fight.
His Spirits, those who cared for him the most, will be with him once more.
He is not alone.
OP Song: 【ARTERY VEIN】Confutatis no Inori (Short Version)【CP Blood Covered】【Eng Lyrics】