#something else and therefore understand why sora feels like he can do whatever he pleases

[grey-eyed-menace]

Like A Dame (Snapshots)

Mammon: *trying his best at being casual* ...so, uh, why're you and Flower-Girl in suits?

Sora: *looking down at her watch in vague interest, frowning at the time* Diavolo provided our outfits for the evening, I complied, Mio guilt tripped Lucifer and Satan into providing a mishmash of their clothes.

Mammon: *visibly disappointed* Don't ya still have a bunch of leftover dresses from the other times?

Sora: And deal with Asmo's appraising glare? No thanks, I get enough flack from him as is about my lack of taste in fashion. I mean, fuck the rest of the Devildom, but I live with Asmodeus. I have to deal with that shit, I'm not Mio, I can't just zone out.

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[Pan behind the refreshments where Leviathan, Mio, and Beel have decided to hide out for the night. The latter two of which are currently splitting what looks like to be an entire raspberry cheesecake, and the former seems to be playing a Gacha game on Mio's phone.]

(Luke stumbles upon them, wearing a rather pretty sailor dress, with his hair done up in pigtails. He puts his hands on hips, frowns cutely, and looks down on them in disappointment.)

Luke: Is this really how you spend every event? No variation?

Mio: *casually fork wrestling Beel away from her three claimed slices of cheesecake* Not every event, no. Sometimes, Belphie or Satan join us, other times Levi and I shack up in the coat room, or Beel decides too safeguard the entire refreshment table. There's plenty of variation.

Luke: That's not what I meant and you know it.

Mio: And you're hiding from Phenex, aren't you?

[In the distance, a rather high pitched call of 'Luke!' can be heard as an incredibly pretty female looking aqua haired demon traverses the dance floor.]

Luke: ...*sighs* Can you slide over?

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Sora: So that was Marchosias?

Satan: Yes, unfortunately, it seems she's not incredibly fond of you.

Sora: *blinks stupidly* Not fond? She's my lab partner. If anything, she loves me. It's just... Well, I'm hanging out with the guys she kind of... You know, followed into hell? It's awkward dude. Like... I think I've seen her vault out a six story building just to avoid Beel.

Satan: Truly?

Sora: *shrugs* Hey, a large majority of people avoid their family like the plague, others try to stay connected, and some, like Phenex, decide that they're gonna be said families problem. Whether they like it or not.

Satan: And you? What's your category?

Sora: *without so much as pausing to think* Reluctant orphan adoptee with five siblings, three cousins, and a really fucking weird extended family.

------------------------------------

Solomon: Ah, Diana!

[Solomon rushes over to his old student with a bright smile, clad in a black form fitting dress with white accents, paired with a gold sash, and silver heels. He also, rather inexplicably, has a rather modest set of breasts.]

(Diana, by comparison, is dressed in a rather oversized midnight blue tux with a grey bowtie, and a white sash around her hips, a large spade sewn over her heart.)

Diana: *blinks tiredly, presses a hand to her face, and sighs, preparing herself for an oncoming clusterfuck* Yes Solomon?

Solomon: *grin persisting* I'm calling in a favor, I need you to help me with something.

Diana: *closes eyes, breaths in, and then exhales* ...next time, next time, I'm taking Bridget and Eirny up on that fourth honey moon.

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Spade: Has anyone ever told you that you're infuriating?

Phenex: *humming as they drag him around the dance floor* Constantly, you?

Spade: Only my children.

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[As the party begins to wind down, Mio has decided to briefly venture out from behind the refreshments table, only to come upon a staring contest between Phenex and Simeon.]

(Simeon looks incredibly uncomfortable. Phenex is simply Smiling, it's not a pretty smile, no, it's the smile that got Diavolo to back down from including them and Luke in the butler fiasco.)

Mio: ...do I want to know?

Simeon: *still uneasily meeting Phenex's gaze* No.

Phenex: *still Smiling* It's just drama between siblings, you understand don't you Mio-chan?

(Mio raises an eyebrow at Simeon, then turns to Phenex, and back to Simeon, before casting her gaze to where Luke and the others were at before sighing.)

Mio: Right, uh, well, I'll be leaving then, see you guys at R.A.D. tomorrow, I suppose.

(Mio proceeds to speed walk back to where Beel, Levi, and Luke are without a second thought.)

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[By way of an escaped Lucifer, the Ubuyashiki-Shibata cousins are currently dancing with one another.]

(Mio is leaning against Sora's shoulder, as the latter leads her through the steps of a butchered slow waltz.)

Mio: How's day been so far? Well, I know mine hasn't been the best, Levi stole the last cupcake.

Sora: *sighing* I see you've been dreadfully bored.

Mio: Bored doesn't begin to cover it, I miss the more... Nerve wracking events!

Sora: Mio, we nearly die everytime those events happen.

Mio: Not always! Sometimes I get lucky! I got to hold Mammon's hand during that room by room puzzle!

Sora: ...Lord above *pointedly ignoring the scandalized gasps from passing demons* you two are pathetic.

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[After what seems to be an eternity, Diana and Spade join together on the dance floor.]

(Sora and Asmo watch from by the refreshments opposite to the one Beel, Levi, and Mio are hiding behind, Diana and Spade gliding right by them, completely ignorant of their presence, only focused on one another.)

Sora: *eyes following them* Please tell me you feel like your intruding, please, I don't want to feel alone.

Asmo: *humming, already going about fixing Sora's bun* I don't know why you're hoping to find solidarity with me Sora, I mean, it's cute, but honestly? This just excites me. To see something so intimate and gentle... Ah, it makes me ache for simpler times.

Sora: *whimpers*

Asmo: *pats her shoulder reassuringly*

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[It's the last dance of the night, and the Ubuyashiki-Shibata cousins are each dancing with their own prospective partners completely stone-faced.]

(Sora, dressed in a silver suit and black tie, with her hair up in a braided bun reminiscent of Arturia Pendragon, is dancing with Mammon.

Mio, by comparison, dancing with Belphie, and therefore helping support him, is dressed in an odd mishmash of Lucifer, Asmo, and Satan's clothes. A pair of navy blue slacks, a black dress shirt, dark pink tie and white blazer. Her hair is gathered into a short ponytail at the base of her skull, tied off with a red ribbon. Asmo is distinctly glaring at her from where he's dancing with Diana.)

Mammon: What's got you pissed off Girlie?

Sora: *still completely stone-faced* Fate, the world, Phenex's continued existence, an array of things. Most glaringly, perhaps it's the fact that you couldn't ask my cousin to dance so you stole me away from Beel and Belphie?

Mammon: *clears throat, as Sora leads him into an awkward dip* ...right, got me there Girlie.

(Across the floor, Belphie stirs enough to ask a question.)

Belphie: Why're you so stiff? Actually, why aren't you Sora, and where is Beel?

Mio: *pointedly smiling at Asmo as he passes by with Diana before answering* Mammon's a coward, and Lady Rose is genuinely convinced I'm a man.

Belphie: *already drifting off again* Got it...

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[After the ball ends, the brothers and the Ubuyashiki-Shibata cousins proceed with the trek home.]

(Beel has taken to supporting Belphie with his left arm, while Sora, on his right, proceeds to routinely supply him with snacks.

Mio has taken to trying to convince Levi to give her phone back before they arrive at the House of Lamentation, while riding on Mammon's back piggy back style, grin plastered on her face, with Levi arguing hotly about being in the middle of raid on a mobile dungeon game of some sort.

Asmo is on Mammon's left side, mumbling obscenities about Mio's fashion choices.

Meanwhile, Satan and Lucifer are at the back of the pack quietly bickering about something or other.

Phenex, as usual, is stocking the poor 'family' of nine from the shadows.)

Sora: It was a good night, you know.

Beel: *chewing around a candy bar of some sort, and shifting Belphie's weight slightly* Yeah, it kinda was, wish there was more food at the refreshments table though, it was good.

Sora: Meh, I'll take your word for it, all I had was some of that Blood Punch, which... Yeah, not really for me, I think Solomon spiked it with something for the lesser demons.

Beel: Is that why Diana looked like she wanted to drop dead every time Diavolo came by for a drink?

Sora: Mmh, that and I think it was because she was forced to dance with Phenex for most of the night, she and Mister Spade only danced once, even if lasted the rest of the night.

(They silent the rest of the way to the House of Lamentation. At which, they all separate, undress, and promptly pass out, well, except for Levi, who remains with Mio's phone held hostage well until early morning.)

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[The next morning, the household is rather groggy as they make their way down to breakfast.]

Mammon: Last night must 'ave been something else, my feet freakin' hurt.

Beel: You're one to talk, I feel like my ankles are planning a mutiny.

Mio: I woke up in a binder, guys, a binder. What the hell? I thought I wasn't going to be the Dame!

Sora: At least you didn't feel like you were suffocating the entire night, my chest still feels like it's about to cave in, fucking hell...

Levi: *shrugs* I'm actually fine with whatever happened.

Belphie: *head thunks against the table*

(Several moments later, there's an array of notifications from Asmo's phone. Loud shrill beeps are all that make up the next two or so minutes.)

Lucifer: *sighs* ...It seems I forgot about the social media ban, lovely.

[askthenewhopespeak]

"All I See is Purple Sky For Forever..."

 //Set the day aftert the current crisis.

Sora set in the library, reading the books. Those that had all the information in them, the things she really wanted to know. Those that she looked for to find proof her dad did good things as well as the bad ones.

Irene got to the library, she needed to return a book from there and study for her classes. She noticed Sora and after grabbing the books she required, she sat down with her. “Morning Sora.”

“Hi Irena.” She smiles above the book she studied. It was some idiot’s attempt in analyzing the tragedy. Right? It was some idiot that said that Killer KIller must’ve been a vicious psychopath. Right? (Because she recognized some names. Her dad told her these when she asked if he remembered. It wasn’t Fujigawa that book spoke about.)

She noticed the cover of the book and it kinda worried her. “Dwelling in your parents’ past?” She put her book aside and tried to give Sora a comfortable look.

“I guess you could say that.” She agrees. “But I always do that. One of my favorite subjects in history.”

She chuckles. “I see.” She glanced at the book again. “Does it make you feel better to know what happened though, to clear those doubts? Or is it just to… Be careful in the future?”

“I didn’t start for me.” She admits. “Some of the teachers in school… We were seven years old, and they used our… Well, mainly the twins’, parents as weapons.” She closes her eyes. “Telling Kaede her father won’t like her hitting a boy that pulled my hair, though he and Kyoko made them take self-defense all their life, pretty much. Telling Shuuichi that they expected him to be… better. At puzzles. At everything.” Her smile is sower. “To say I got my violantic nature from my dad. To laugh at Mitsi if he forgot something about biology.” She closes her eyes. “So I did my research. I found all the faults for the weight of being perfect to fall from their shoulders.”

“I’m sure you know how I am with this. I think you should be seen as yourself alone, not a mirror of your parents. That’s not taking in your own worth and honestly? I despise people who think like that…” She folded her arms and lowered her gaze while frowning.

“I sometimes feel like I don’t really know any of them. The real them and the them of the books are different people, and I’m not sure I know which one is real.”

“There’s how people perceived how they were, then there’s your perception of them. Which one would you trust better? The opinion of some unknown people or yours, that you can see how they are everyday?”

“People use masks.”

“Do you think they’d lie to you? Your family, I mean.”

“If that was the truth…” She turns her book, pointing on the paragraph she read. “Wouldn’t you? Lie to your kid, I mean?”

“If I had kids…” She put her hands over the table, leaning forward. “Boy, would I try to make them know everything as slowly as possible. That starts with lies.”

“You can’t be that blunt to a kid, can you?”

“I’m 13. They should have told me. He told me everything else. Then why not this? Am I a bad kid for questioning this decision, even if it was made to not hurt me?”

“No, Sora. You’re not. And sometimes people just don’t like talking about their pasts… It’s painful.”

“I don’t blame them. I just don’t know if I believe these are the real them.”

“Trust your judgement, Sora. Trust them. They don’t have any reasons to hurt you so, why not ask your father about it then? If you did already… Uh well, let me think about it.”

“And what if I won’t like the answer? And it’s not like I can go to him and ask now” She asked.

“Sora…” She sighed. “What history books say is mere description of what happened, they don’t describe how those people felt during the events. Just remember that.”

“What would the history books say on you, Irena?”

“Good question.” She gets a hand on her chin, thinking about it.

She taps on the table, reading another paragraph.

“Guess I’ll have to wait and see.” She shrugs. “I know my truth, my actions. Whatever people say about me, it’s their deal if they get all wrong. I don’t really care.”

“You won’t mind people looking at you and seeing someone else, Jirami?” She asks. “Not at all?”

“I know who I am, I can’t change people’s point of view at all.”

“So they can look at you and see a monster? And you won’t care? How can you not care?”

She sighed. “Tell me how they describe Hijirihara-kun in that book.”

“According to the top Psychologist, Killer Killer must be a vicious Psychopath. One that kills for pure enjoyment.” [Insert psychological blabla here] “But that’s… Actually not really why I asked.”

“Help me understand you, then. First off, with what you said, do you see your father as a vicious psychopath? I would bet not. In that regard, I don’t care if people see me as a monster because of things I did in the past. Yes, that was part of me, but it’s not entirely true. People learn to live with that stuff, it just… Goes away, it doesn’t hit you, it doesn’t matter anymore. You learn to live with what you did.”

“Do you?” She asks. “H-how long does it take? If they call you a monster before you did something… Wouldn’t you turn out a monster yourself?”

She tilted her head at the last question.

“They tell you you are the monster again and again, and… wouldn’t it be easier just to be the monster they think you are? To try and hold some mask so they’d at least be happy when they tease you, that you would know they aren’t lying.”

“Why make them happy when you can be so being yourself?” She smiled. “Look Sora, it takes time to not let it matter anymore but it’s not impossible.”

“Because…. Because it’s hard.” She whines a bit. “It’s easier to give up and be the monster.”

“Do you want to be that hypothetical monster though? I’m sure I wouldn’t like it, because in any way, I don’t know how to be the person they describe in a book. I only know how I am myself, I don’t like lying to myself in that regard nor others, for instance.”

“Sometimes I think the monster is the real one. That Sora Rei Kizakura Hijirhara is no more than a mask.”

“Do you trust other people to say what you are better than yourself? Only you can know what’s in your head, Sora. Not them. Not even I know what you think or feel right now.”

“Well, neither do I.”

“Remind me how old are you again. 13 if I’m not mistaken, right? You have time enough to find out, Sora. It’s weird because maybe in your dimension I’m way older but right now, I’m 17 and I understand how you feel… Kinda and I want to help you understand that you just gotta be yourself, for yourself and not for anyone else.”

She lays her head on the book. “I’m just… tired, I guess.”

She sighed looking worried then looks to the archive’s door. “How long have you been searching these things?”

“Today, or overall? Because the answer to the second question would be since I was seven. And for the first… I don’t know. What time is it? I think I came here after I finished talking to everyone. I think… I think I tried to not think about Kaede.”

“Overall… Jeez that’s- Wow. It’s…” She pulled out her phone. “Almost 1pm,” then raised her eyebrow at Kaede’s mention.

“It stops me from thinking about her.” She explains. “About most things. And I’m here for four hours, then. Came right after breakfast.”

“Mmm…” She started to think for a while before speaking again. “Do you wanna practice with me in the gym? Or look for a game in the rec room?”

“Practice.” She stands up. “Please.”

She gives a little smile. “Alright, let’s go.”

They head to the gym

It’s empty, much for Irene’s surprise. “Oh, all for ourselves.” She walks up, getting rid of her sweater and putting it on a bench at a side.

Sora takes out her knife, spinning around until she is in a position she likes. “Ready! Wait, are we using real weapons?”

“I won’t,” she says, taking her fight stance. She didn’t take any daggers out but rolled up her sleeves, showing her braces. “You can use your knife though. You don’t have to worry, I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so.” Sora smiles, starting to spin around closer to Irena, her skirt spinning around her.“

She tilted her head, confused at Sora’s technique to approach as she walked backwards and thought a movement to stop her.

“You poor unfortunate soul…” She starts singing, matching her moves to the music. Create patterns, and the break them unexpectedly. It worked on most people.

She stood still, analyzing her, then she made her fall with a circling kick at her feet but Irene was fast enough to catch her and not letting her hit the ground. “You had me for a second there. Nice one!” She took her distance again.

“Thanks!” She smiles, trying to kick again.

She defends herself with her arm, the hit going into the brace but she doesn’t counter.

She throws her knife forward, aiming to Irena, while trying to kick again

“You Poor unfortunate… Soul!” She finishes her song

She barely dodges it, a new scratch could be seen in her shirt.

“Sorry!” She calls, continuing to step away.

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” She looked for Sora’s knife and gave it to her.

“You shouldn’t do it in a fight.”

“Whatever.” She smiled. “Let’s go.”

“Going!” She attacks again.

She ducks and takes her into her shoulders letting her fall behind her. She turns and walks away grimacing. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” She agreed, running and jumping on Irena’s back.

She chuckles at her move, her arms on her neck. “Nice one!” She barely could say but it didn’t stop her from dropping herself on the floor, therefore dropping on Sora.

Ouch. That hurt. Irena was four years older and weighted a bit more than Sora. She let’s go. “I think I won.”

“Pfff… Sparring with a lot of different fighters is nice for someone like me.” She said lying still on the ground.

“Maybe, but get off me!” She laughs, but that’s really getting uncomfortable.

“Oh sorry! Sorry.” She quickly sits giving her enough space to get up. She didn’t want to stand up yet though.

Sora stretches, moving herself to sitting position. “You are heavy!” She complains.

She puffs her cheeks. “No need to remind me…”

“Sorry?” She suggests.

“It’s okay,” she says, standing up and turns around to see her. “I’ve learnt to use this for my advantage in fights anyway!” She grins.

“Yeah, by crashing poor souls like me.” Sora whined. “But now I’m hungry. How does lunch sound?

"Sounds good, I guess.” She looked for her sweater and headed out with Sora to the cafeteria.

The two walk for the cafeteria, grabbing plates.

She decided to go for something new for her tastes and looked if there was curry around.

She grabs herself light lunch. She isn’t really hungry. Drained would be a better word, but food will still help.

When they’re ready with their choices on the plates, they sit on a nearby table.

She collapses to the chair. “That was fun. But also tiring.”

“Mhm. When did you start practicing with these spars? You seem to have quite the experience already.”

“How long I was training with a knife? I was… Three, give or take few months. I’m still not sure how we weren’t caught for months.”

Her eyes widened at her answer. Did Naomi-san really let this happen…?

“I was having nightmares. Dad thought learning a way to keep the monsters away would be effective. By the time mom found out, I was too attached to the knife and started having freak outs when it was too far. Is it wired?”

“No, not at all… But really unexpected.” She averts her gaze.

“When was the last time my family was normal?”

“We are all… Special in our ways.”

“You can say freaks. It won’t hurt me. Surprisingly enough, that word never really bothered me.”

“Yeah… We’re all freaks in our ways, I guess…”

“Yep.” She agreed. “I’m just… bad with dealing with things, I guess. I think that’s why I keep overreacting.”

She analyzed her expressions silently while eating.

“Do you think I’m okay, aunt Irena?”

“Why wouldn’t you be?” She smiled.

“Because I’m… well, me.” She answers. “And I never know if I’m doing the right things.”

“Well… One always tries to do the right thing, and of course you’re okay by being you.” She finished her curry and left it aside and continued talking with Sora.

She gets up, wrapping her hands around Irena from behind.

“Mm?”

“Thank you, aunt Irena. For trying, anyway. Or is it Jirami now? I don’t remember.”

“I don’t have any issues with you calling me that… I’m not Japanese after all.” She smiled sheepishly.

She lays her chin on Irena’s shoulder. “What am I going to do? With Kaede and all?”

“Mm… You’ll know what to do when the time comes, Sora. Right now, you’re still dealing with that issue of yours. Pretty sure you’ve heard this from me in your dimension but… One knows what they gotta do in the end.”

“If you say so.” She agrees.

“Well…” She stands up and takes her empty plate to the kitchen.

Sora falls back. It’s not high, so she isn’t hurt, but she was holding Irena when she stood.

“Sorry, you okay?” She reached out her hand to help her stand.

“Would you be surprised to hear it’s not even the first time?” She asks, catching Irena’s hand and pulling herself up

Her eyes widened at that. “Oh… Really?”

“I hug people from the back a lot, and I don’t weight that much. They sometimes forget that I’m holding and stand up.”

“Ah okay… I used to have little cousins on my back before the tragedy… I miss those days.”

“Well… You’ll have us soon enough, I guess.” She smiles. “And all of the others.”

“I guess…” She let a silence overcome them until curiosity gets the best of her. “How am I in that timeline of yours?”

“Spoilers!” She smiles. “How do you think you will be in twenty years?”

“To be honest, I don’t really know. I thought that after graduating from Hope’s Peak and solving the trouble with Storm, I’d be gone. Back at my diplomatic business.”

“Do you really want to leave?”

“Well… I admit one of my flaws is getting attached to people quickly as I am already now. I don’t know if I could stay at Future Foundation to have an excuse to come here from time to time.”

“Or you could become a teacher.” She suggests innocently.

“Oh?” She smiles. “Am I a teacher here, then?”

“Did I say it? I didn’t say it.”

“By the way you said it though…” She folds her arms, grinning. “But I’m no good at teaching anyways…”

“I’m sure you’d great, even if what you hypnotically would teach is not a subject I like.”

She raised an eyebrow at that.

“Besides English, I don’t have the patience for foreign languages.” She explains. “And even English is because I need info.”

“Heh, really sounds like a subject I’d teach!”

“Makes sense.” She smiles, spinning around a bit.

“I’d like to be Sonia’s assistant if anything.” She chuckled.

“I’m sure she’d appreciate it.” She smiled. “A lot.”

“I respect Sonia, greatly… 30 languages. 30!”

“It was her job, you know.”

“Still… Well, it’s my job too, it’s my passion. I love this.”

“But she had no choice… Or much of another things to do.”

She shrugged.

Sora just smiled. “Who knows?” She asked. “Let’s go and do something.”

“Yeah… Your turn to say what should we do.”

“Is it? I thought fighting was my idea?”

“I suggested it, you just chose… But eh, doesn’t matter. Whatcha wanna do?”

“I don’t know. Wanna go climb trees or something?”

“Uh… I could try, I guess.”

“You don’t have too, I guess.”

“Nah, it’ll be fun.”

“Yay!” She calls, catching Irene’s hand. “Let’s do it!”

They go outside, find some trees and Irene looks a little bit distressed at how she would end up after trying. “Alrighty…”

“It’s not that hard.” Sora smiled, pulling herself to the first branch.

She still looks unsure of what to do but tries to imitate Sora.

She climbs to the next branch, trying to help Irena raise to the first

“Miss Irena? Is something wrong? Would you prefer if I got down?”

“Uh! Nonono, I’m fine… Don’t worry…” She kept climbing at her own pace.

“Okay!” Sora keeps climbing a bit until she settles down.

She slips on the second branch, but hopefully her good grip allows her to hang on it. She took a deep breath. Mm… I could… She started lifting herself up and down on it.

“Do you need help?” She asks. “I think that if I managed to get Hideaki to climb this tree, I probably can get everyone.”

“Heh, I found another place to do these!” She grins, looking up. Then she gets up and keeps trying to climb and reach Sora.

Sora sits at her place, calling cheers.

When she reaches Sora, she’s exhausted this required more agility than strength it seemed. “Pffff…”

“I knew you could do it.” She smiles, moving a bit aside so Irena could sit on the branch.

“Man… I need to practice more on my- pffff…” She said between pants but laughed in the end,. “When did you start climbing trees? You have quite the knowledge by what I saw.”

“A while. When you have bunch of hyperactive kids who are too young for classes in a boarding school, you try to find ways to amuse them. One of the adults… I’m not even sure who, came with tree climbing. Those are the trees I grow up on, I remind you.”

“Well…” They sat there for a while, enjoying the wind through the leaves. After a while, she spoke again. “Now I don’t know if I have the energy to get down…”

“We can just stay here, then. Forever and ever.”

“We will have to get down sooner or later…” Letting herself hang on the branch and lift again.

“There are ways that are easier… but more dangerous than others.”

She heads down two branches and jumps to the grass. That’s… Not the highest she did without getting hurt, but she barely got scratches from that.

She looked amazed by Sora’s jump but as careful as she is… She took the long route.

“Welcome back to the ground.” She smiles. “I know you could do it.”

“Thanks… I think I found quite the unusual practice spot.” She whispered that last part as she looked up to the tree.

“If you say so.” Sora agreed. “Just watch out that your branches don’t break. It would suck.”

“Yeah. If anything, I’d call you to climb again.” She smiled.

“I… I hope I will be able to go away soon.” She admits. “But Hi… Maybe you’ll be able to teach mini me how to climb.”

“Huh… Never would’ve thought about it that way. I’ll keep that in mind!”

“I’m worried for her.” She admits, catching Irene’s hand.“ If those things are true… ”

She puts her arm around her shoulders and pats trying to comfort. “It’ll be okay in the end, don’t worry. That’s what I’m here for anyways… Though all of it doesn’t depend only on me.”

“Do you promise?” She asked.

“I…” I don’t make promises that don’t depend on me… “I promise.” But I’ll do my best, little Hijirihara.

She storms on the older teen, hugging her tight. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to say so…” She hugged back.

“You promised it will be okay. That even though Kaede is Junko, and we still can’t get home…. It’d Still be okay in the end.”

“Yeah! That’s the spirit~”

“Are you sure? You won’t break a promise, right?”

“I won’t.” I’ll do my best…

She tightens her hug.

“Do you believe in destiny, aunt Irena?”

“Everything happens for a reason… Yeah, kinda. Why do you ask?”

“Something Ikusaba said. She said she thought we couldn’t figure our way home yet for a reason.”

“Maybe something needs to be done or found before going home, perhaps?”

“Maybe. But… What can we do? We are just kids. Just scared kids who want their parents.”

She pondered on her comment for a while before speaking again. “I mean… I’m not used to this dimension-time travelling thing but… I guess you will just have to wait for Hayase to help you. In the meantime, just hope you don’t get in trouble.”

“Hi, don’t go and ask for the impossible.” Sora smiled.

“Can’t I have a little faith in you and hope that doesn’t happen?” She chuckled.

“We can get in trouble walking in the street. We did get in trouble walking in the street. It was a wired day.”

“Haha! What happened?”

“Shuuichi fell on a trap door. In the floor. We are still not sure how or what. That one wasn’t our fault, though. We weren’t looking for this!”

“May- may I ask who was the one who was ‘playing with time machines’?”

“Oh… That was me.” She looked down. “I didn’t know what it was, I swear! We were in Uncle Kyoji and aunt Mikan’s room, because the twins had chores and we were bored and Kaede is usually the one with ideas, so we went to check if there’s something interesting there!”

She sighed and folded her arms. “We?”

“Mitsi and I. You… didn’t think I went to his parents’ room without him, right?”

“I’m not doubting why you went to his parents’ room, I’m wondering why of all things you could’ve done, you chose to go there.”

“Because uncle Kyoji has cool stuff on his shelves that we are not supposed to touch?”

“Some things come and happen because we were curious, don'tcha think? I’m not saying you deserved this, but…”

“I know, I know. Curiosity killed the cat. I can’t help it!”

“Maybe curiosity will take you back…”

“Doesn’t seem like it’s the answer yet… But I don’t know. Maybe.”

“I’d like to think that the Umeko from your time is looking for a way to take you back…”

“I hope so. mom must be freaking ou… Shit.”

She didn’t say anything to that and just sighed quietly.

“Mom gets… anxious, I guess, when she is not sure where people are and haven’t saw them in a while. Especially if it happened without warning. I didn’t mean to get here. I didn’t mean that the twins will follow us, or Akio, and I’m afraid we screwed up this timeline.”

“I mean… Things were fucked up anyways.” She shrugged. “Wow what a positive mind, huh?”

“But you all were alive. And now… Miss Kanon is dead-we used to bribe her with candies, you know. That she won’t tell our parents when she caught us doing things in places we shouldn’t have. And Aunt-Ryoko, which I guess is actually my sister removed twice or something, she had both eyes. And I’m sure I’d have known if Massaru lost his leg.”

“As I said… This might be another’s dimension timeline, different from yours. You all are not to blame.”

“Am I being selfish for wishing it is?” She asked. “For wishing I’d have this excuse to keep this away from being my responsibility?”

She looked down and didn’t respond.

“I am, amn’t I?” She turned away. “Selfish, I mean. Other ways you’d have denied it.”

“No, you aren’t. It’s… Another thing, it’s not about you though.” She took a thinking pose.

Please don’t lie to me. I prefer to be heart broken by the truth, then hide behind the lie. “What is it, then?”

“It doesn’t make sense to me, all events go wrong because something unexpected happened? Because you guys came back to the ‘past’? We all decide our fates, we chose the paths that we walk in… This doesn’t have anything to do with you…”

“There is this… thing. I can’t remember its name. The mand-thingy? And I think it’s supposed to explain it.”

“I’ll have to investigate on that matter then. But as I understand how life works, it shouldn’t be your fault at all, it all changes.”

“I… I wish you are right.”

“Again, you aren’t selfish. Sometimes we see life as… Scary, for a lack of a better word. It’s normal how you feel, Sora. Don’t worry.”

“I-Ill trust you on that one. After all… You know everything, don’t you? Always did…. Always will do.”

“I don’t know everything though.” She smiled sheepishly. “If I did, I would take you back home in no time.”

“Almost everything, then.” She smiled, hiding a yawn.

She stretched her arms up and looked up to the sky. “I- We gotta get ready for tomorrow, don’t you think?”

“W-what’s happening tomorrow, again? I think my brain died.” She yawns again, louder this time.

“Just another opportunity!” She put her arm around her shoulders and smiled.

“In what?” She closed her eyes and put her weight on Irene.

“For a new day… Everything really.”

“Well… Maybe, I guess.” she says, clearly sleepy. “Can we go inside and find somewhere I can fall asleep in?”

“Sure, let’s go.”

She starts walking inside, looking for an empty space to lay in. Her room was too far.

She waits for her to fall asleep so she can carry her to her room.

She finds herself an empty space, cuddling into herself. A minute or two later, she already sleeps.

I hope she’s a heavy sleeper… She takes her arms below her shoulders and knees then carries her. Fairly light haha! She smiles for herself and walks through the hallways, looking for Sora’s room.

She shuffles a bit, eyes opening for a moment to confirm who carries her before she falls asleep anyway.

Her dream is bloody and terrible, as they often are, and she enjoys every moment of it, smiling in her sleep and moving a bit.

“Buenas noches, pequeña Hijirihara.” She whispered as she got out of Sora’s room.