Fanfic / Date A Live: Altered Timeline

A different story can follow a similar path.

"Just as a similar story is able to take its own path, a different story can follow an almost identical path. How will the original events of Date A Live go when the smallest of changes creates a different, yet nearly unchanged story?"

— The Story Summary on Fanfiction.Net

Date A Live: Altered Timeline (AO3 Link) is a Date A Live fanfic by Tohka Yatogami, with kingpariah as a co-writer.

In a world that has been ravaged by a new type of natural disaster known as Spacequakes for the past 30 years, a pair of siblings named Shinji and Mana Takamiya live fairly normal lives without their parents, who died when they were fairly young.

Upon starting the first day of his Second Year in Raizen High, a transfer student named Origami leads Shinji to discover a dark possibility behind their deaths shortly before a Spacequake alarm leads them to meeting a mysterious girl that further complicates the mystery behind their parents' fates and their unknown past. Then, just as this one girl's presence adds even more questions to the mix, another nine beings appear and challenge this girl, who seem to be one in the same.

With the world as they once knew it slowly unraveling to reveal a secret long forgotten to them, Shinji and Mana begin their journey to find answers as everything changes with the simple question of: "Are you here to kill me?"

This is a rewrite/reboot of the fanfic Date A Re:Live made with the knowledge of all 22 volumes. As such, there will be unmarked spoilers for events that happen past Volume 16 (or the fourth season) of the series.

At the start of 2022, it was revealed by Tohka that kingpariah is no longer co-writing the story as a result of real life circumstances on his side, and thus every chapter past the first four will be written by her alone.

---

Date A Live: Altered Timeline provides examples of:

• Adaptation Deviation: There have been several changes in the first chapter, from Shinji's (originally Shido in canon) reason for not entering the shelter being to search for Kotori, to him and Mana entering a trance that brought them towards the Spacequake where they first meet Tohka.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: Like in Date A Re:Live, various characters make an earlier first appearance than in canon, with the primary additions being all of the canonical Spirits.
• Ascended Extra: Like in Date A Re:Live, some of the characters who were important later on in the story have a much bigger spotlight here, like the Spirits who appeared in the latter half of the series. The best example of this is Mio, who appears as herself from the beginning.
• Adaptation Name Change: Shido Itsuka is named Shinji Takamiya, his original identity in canon. The author later confirms this is because he is Shinji Takamiya, who was Spared by the Adaptation, taking the role of Shido. invoked
• Adapted Out:
  • Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Mukuro don't speak like they do in canon, sounding more like everyone else. However, traces of their canon speech can be noticed in the way they talk.
  • Most of the events in Shido and Tohka's date are skipped over, only covering its beginning up to their talk on the bench.
  • Zafkiel doesn't grant Kurumi the power to Time Travel, removing her involvement in Origami's backstory and her goal to undo the events of the Eurasian Sky Disaster.
• All in the Manual: The side story, Asgard Electronics - Daily Observations: Confidential Data, is a collection of files written by Elsie that show information about various characters alongside scenes canon to the main story.
• Change the Uncomfortable Subject: What Phantom ends up doing when Tohka asks her why Shinji doesn't have breasts.
  Phantom: Uh... t-the reason you need to find them is because t-they're important to the Spirits, and that's all I c-can say about it for now, so... please d-don't ask any further on that subject.
  Tohka: [Thinking] She completely ignored my question!
• Combat Stilettos: Subverted, as none of the Spirit's Astral Dresses will have high heels. This is because the author claims they will be impractical during instances where they can't fly. invoked
• Darker and Edgier: Like with Date A Re:Live, the first chapter makes it clear the story has more stakes than canon, though not as much as shown in Lighter and Softer.
• Dark Secret: Origami tells Shinji, based on rumors her Aunt has told her, that she believes his parents were killed by the DEM because they knew the truth behind the Eurasian Sky Disaster.
• Defense Mechanism Superpower: According to Phantom, while their powers are not fully awakened, the Spirits' Angels will take over their bodies when they sense power strong enough to threaten them, even that of another Spirit's. This is first shown with Origami, who went into a trance after seeing Tohka during her "date" with Shinji.
• Delayed Reaction: After a shared trance makes them leave their school's respective shelters, Shinji doesn't realize he's outside until he asks Mana the same question.
  Shinji: Mana? What are you doing here? [Beat] Wait, why am I here?
• Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: During Tohka and Origami's fight, Shinji mentions to Tohka that Origami's power of light is giving her an advantage over Tohka due to the fight being during the day, and the opposite would be true if it were night.
• First-Episode Twist: Several:
  • All of the Spirits awaken their power near the end of the first arc.
  • Hiroto Tonomachi is a spy working for DEM Industries.
  • Karen is working for Westcott, and Ellen is working with Elliot.
• Foregone Conclusion: The Author has confirmed that, regardless of what happens, Mio will not die and will be the only girl that Shinji ends up with. invoked
• Glad He's On Our Side: This is Tohka's reaction to seeing Kotori's attack on the Diabolus, which involves her blasting her flames into it repeatedly, to the point that flames burst out of it.
• I Resemble That Remark!: Kaguya tells Yuzuru that she feels that she is missing something that her brain won't leave her alone. When Yuzuru comments that she usually never lets anything go, Kaguya agrees before realizing that wasn't meant as a compliment.
• Lighter and Softer: Compared to Date A Re:Live, as not only are all of the Spirits present from the start, but most of them look to be living happy lives. The first chapter also makes no mention of the Eurasian Sky Disaster being any worse than it had been in canon.
• Luminescent Blush: Phantom's mosaic ends up turning completely pink when Tohka asks why one of the two individuals (Shinji) she met earlier didn't have breasts.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Mana, Kotori, Yoshino, Natsumi, and Mukuro are friends and schoolmates at Keisei Junior High, which happens as of Volume 21 in canon.
  • The incident between Ellen and Ai, Mai, and Mii is one to the three of them being Spanner in the Works towards Ellen during the events of the school trip in the canon series.
  • Ellen becoming a deputy teacher at Raizen, a job she's given sometime after the events of Volume 20.
  • When Mio temporarily possesses Tohka, it causes her hair to turn white just like "Beast", a version of Tohka from another timeline who appears in Volumes 21 and 22.
  • Three of the DEM's automatons, the Jabberwocky, Alice, and Cheshire Cat's names and abilities are all based off the Ashcroft Series of CR-Units from Date AST Like.
  • The Spirits' transformation during the battle with the Diabolus, in response to Shinji's feelings, is based off the transformation scene from Mayuri Judgment.
  • A flashback to Shinji and Mana in Tenguu City's orphanage shows Mio visiting them under the name of Tenka.
  • The Author describes Altered Timeline as a happier take on Mio's love story, which is how Tachibana himself described Date A Live in the afterword of Volume 19.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When the Spirits successfully destroy the Diabolus, the backlash from its destruction ends up giving Isaac Westcott brain damage, which Mio tells Tohka will likely make him even more dangerous.
• Noodle Incident: When Ellen introduces herself to Shinji's class, she reminds Ai, Mai, and Mii that she remembers what they did last year, though doesn't mention what they did.
• Only One Name: Subverted. Unlike canon, where Yoshino and Natsumi's family names were only revealed at the very end of the story, their full names are used right from the start.
• Or Was It a Dream?: After Tohka's meeting with Phantom, she wakes up in the middle of an alley, believing that their meeting was just a dream. However, the nature of their talk leaves her wondering if it may have been more than that.
• Related Differently in the Adaptation: Unlike canon, where Tohka could be considered a daughter to Mio due to being created from a Sephira Crystal, she's instead Mio's younger sister.
• Seen It All: While Kaguya and Yuzuru are panicking about Kotori's behavior during the fight with the Diabolus, Mana and Yoshino just say that this is normal for her.
• Spit Take: Mana has this reaction when she sees Shinji walking past Danny's, while she and her friends are eating there, with Tohka.
• Stunned Silence: Phantom's reaction to a question that Tohka has about Shinji and Mana:
  Tohka: I want to know why the taller of the two (Shinji) didn't have these on his chest! [pushes her breasts up]
  Phantom: [Turns Completely Pink]
• That Was Not a Dream: After being enveloped by a white flash and falling unconscious, Shinji and Mana wake up in their respective school's shelters, only with everyone acting like they had been there all along. It only takes a quick phone call for them to confirm they both remember the events with Tohka, implying something greater is at work.
• This Is Unforgivable!: After seeing, and confirming, what kind of man Isaac Westcott is, Shinji declares that he will not forgive him for what he has done.
• Truer to the Text: Several aspects of the fanfic are closer to the source material than Date A Re:Live, from Tohka's hair and eyes being described as night-colored and crystalline respectively, to Isaac Westcott's hair color being ash blonde rather than brown turned white. This is occasionally subverted in some areas as well, such as the footwear of Tohka's Astral Dress being replaced with Tenka's.
• Watch Out for That Tree!: After dodging a sofa being carried by two men, Kaguya turns around and brags this fact to Yuzuru while skating backwards, leading her to crash, back first, into a light post.

---