This was during the first time Melusine trained Tobiichi Origami in combat—a brief exchange that took place after their session.
"Why are you doing this?"
Having just completed a round of training, Origami stared intently at Melusine, voicing the question that had long lingered in her heart.
Fatigue gnawed at her limbs, and every movement tugged at sore muscles and scrapes. Yet the unmistakable feeling of progress—her swordsmanship, her control over magical energy—was addictive. The difference from before was plain to see.
Melusine had even promised to teach her practical magic for real combat. Though whether she could master it would depend on her own effort.
When she heard the question, Melusine looked back at her. Every time Origami met those gilded eyes, her heart seized painfully in her chest.
There was something similar about them—not in their hair color or faces, but in how neither showed emotion easily. To strangers, both seemed cold and unapproachable.
Yet while Origami had shut off her emotions, Melusine was different.
Hers was a detachment that came from looking down from a lofty place—like a being watching over a world far beneath her, aloof not from apathy, but from distance.
"Because I've determined that strengthening Shidou and those around him is necessary. We need to prevent another DEM incident from happening. At the very least, you all need to be strong enough to hold out until I arrive and end the threat. I believe I've explained this before."
Melusine frowned slightly, but then, noticing the darkness in Origami's eyes, she added slowly,
"…But you're not satisfied with that explanation. That's not the answer you want."
"I want to kill the Spirits."
Hatred burned in Origami's eyes.
On that day, she had entrusted nearly all her emotions to Itsuka Shidou—everything but this one: vengeance.
"The strength you've given me—I'll use it someday to kill every Spirit in this world. That same power will become the blade that pierces your heart."
Faced with Origami, who spoke more like a revenant than a girl, Melusine remained calm.
"…And yet, you haven't done it."
Origami faltered for a moment as Melusine continued,
"You haven't attacked me. One could argue that's because you know you wouldn't win. But even when you were face to face with Spirits like Tohka and Yoshino, after they lost their powers… you didn't act."
"That's because…"
Because Shidou stopped her… But was that really the only reason?
She was always bickering with Tohka, always clashing with her, yet somewhere along the way… Origami had come to accept her. To accept that Tohka was just another girl—naive, emotional, human.
And Yoshino. Kaguya. Yuzuru.
After their Spirit powers were sealed, they weren't much different from ordinary girls.
They cried. Laughed. Got angry. Worried.
She had always told herself, Shidou wouldn't want me to do that—but deep down, she knew the truth.
She had grown used to this life.
If she stood before Tohka again, sword in hand… could she really swing it as easily as she once imagined?
"Whatever the reason… that's a good thing."
Melusine's voice broke her from thought.
"It means you haven't been consumed by hatred. You're not just some wrathful specter lashing out at the world. Even a spirit of vengeance can tell the difference between an enemy and a benefactor. Someone who burns everything indiscriminately isn't a martyr—they're a fool blinded by rage."
As she finished, Melusine almost felt like she was channeling the Count's praise and Jeanne Alter's scorn at the same time.
"…Don't talk to me like you know anything."
Origami snapped back, a sudden anger bubbling in her chest. She rose to her feet and glared at Melusine.
"You have no idea what I've been through."
"I don't," Melusine agreed. "But I once knew a man who was framed by a traitor and imprisoned. While he was in jail, his father died, and the woman he was going to marry was taken by the very man who betrayed him. He spent fourteen years behind bars, then decades tracking down and destroying those responsible—one by one."
She met Origami's gaze.
"Even after all that, he never forgot those who had helped him. And he never dragged the innocent into his revenge."
Origami went silent, her expression hardening.
"…If it means achieving vengeance, I'll give up anything."
"Even Shidou?"
"!!!"
Her whole body tensed like a panther ready to pounce.
But Melusine remained unfazed.
"'I'll give up anything' weighs more than you think. And clearly—you're not ready. If you can't even kill Shidou, you're not ready to kill everyone."
"…So now, tell me."
Melusine lowered her voice.
"Why do you hate Spirits?"
Origami stared at her, startled.
"I need to know. If you ever use what I teach you to harm Tohka or the others, I'll be… very disappointed. So before that happens, I want to understand."
"…I won't give up my revenge."
Her voice was steady. Her eyes burned with conviction.
"Whether you do or don't—that's something I'll decide after hearing everything."
Origami fell silent. Inside her, a storm raged.
Finally—whether out of trust, desperation, or something else—she began to speak.
She told the story of the Great Fire in Tengu City, five years ago. The blazing light from the sky that swallowed her parents. The figure shrouded in divine radiance—unseeable, unknowable.
It all aligned with what Melusine knew from the canon story. No discrepancies.
Origami's obsession with Shidou also made sense. In the wake of losing everything, it was he—young, kind, steady—who had comforted her. Who became her reason to move forward.
But Melusine knew something else.
That "young Shidou" was actually Shidou from the future, who had time-traveled to save the reversed Origami.
But if Shidou had gone back in time…
Why didn't Origami remember Melusine?
Why had she still reversed, even though Melusine had arrived in this world?
She recalled a fanfic she once read. In it, the protagonist—an isekai outsider—had gone back in time and formed bonds with Origami, Kotori, and even a genderswapped Shidou. Because of that, the future changed.
When Melusine first arrived and realized this was the Date A Live world, she had wondered if she'd be treated the same way.
…She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little disappointed.
"I understand now," Melusine said calmly. "Losing your parents like that—of course you'd carry that hatred."
Arms crossed, she nodded slowly.
"So, you get it now?"
Origami's face twisted with pain. "That's why I must—"
"But Tohka and the others are innocent."
Melusine cut her off, voice sharp.
"Don't tell me all Spirits are the same. You know they're not. The one who killed your parents and the girls you're with now—completely different."
Origami had no rebuttal.
Because deep down, she agreed. She just didn't want to admit it.
Melusine tapped her chin, thinking.
How to deal with this…?
The air hung still. Dense.
"…Fine."
She broke the silence.
"I can help you grow stronger. But only if you promise not to turn that hatred on Tohka and the others. Your revenge should be against the one who started all this—five years ago."
Origami took a moment. Then she muttered,
"…But I don't know who that Spirit was. I never saw her face…"
And so, everyone became a suspect. All Spirits became her targets.
"Well, in that case…"
Melusine furrowed her brow, then said it.
"Let's go back five years. And find her."
"…What?"
Her eyes lost focus.
Her breathing caught.
Her heart seemed to stop.
Had she misheard?
But Melusine repeated it clearly.
"Go back five years. To find the one who killed your parents."
She exhaled slowly, then added,
"Tokisaki Kurumi—also known as Nightmare. Her Angel lets her manipulate time. If you ask her, she can send you back."
Hands grabbed Melusine's shoulders, clutching hard enough to turn the knuckles white.
Origami's usually flat, empty eyes swirled with emotion: doubt, hope, fear, madness, desperation.
Like someone falling into hell who had just spotted a single thread of salvation. Even knowing the thread was thin—she couldn't let go.
"Back… to the past…?"
Her voice came out hoarse, like metal scraping glass.
"Yes."
Melusine nodded.
"Then…"
Biting her lip until it bled, Origami whispered,
"Can… people who are already dead… be saved?"
"…In theory. Yes."
It wasn't a guarantee. But it was enough.
Even one sliver of hope—she would cling to it with her life.
Her bloodshot eyes locked onto Melusine.
"Can you… really convince Nightmare to do it?"
"I can."
Melusine was confident. Kurumi had long desired to go back thirty years to kill Mio Takamiya. But she'd never successfully changed the past.
If someone else tried it for her? She'd probably jump at the chance.
"Then—!"
"Not yet."
Of course Origami wanted to go immediately.
"Why not—?!"
She looked like a demon crawling out of the abyss, eyes crazed, body trembling.
"Anything! I'll give you anything! My body, my soul—everything I am—just let me go back! Give me that chance!"
Melusine looked at her and—for a moment—felt pity.
But she still shook her head.
"What would you even do right now? You can't fight a Spirit—not one strong enough to destroy a city. Even if you went back, you'd be powerless."
"…"
A single droplet hit the floor.
Blood, staining the pristine white tile.
Origami had bitten through her lip. Her tears mixed with blood, falling in silence.
"…Besides."
Melusine's voice softened slightly.
"Using that power drains massive amounts of time and Spirit energy. Kurumi's interest in Shidou is because he holds multiple Spirits' power and time."
"This…"
Origami's eyes filled with torment.
"…I can't let Shidou be harmed."
"Then you'll need to wait. Let Kurumi gather what she needs. In the meantime, you get stronger."
Melusine could see it—Origami was listening.
"…If I train with you, will I become strong enough to kill a Spirit?"
Her voice was low, dangerous.
Most people would've found that look in her eyes terrifying—like staring into the depths of a demon's soul.
But Melusine met it head-on, unflinching.
"If you don't, you have no chance."
They held eye contact for a long moment.
Then Origami closed her eyes.
"…That's enough."