#the siscon thing is also pretty much played for laughs

[helyanwetar]

Well kind of, but also not really. Mash calls him a siscon, and Lance also calls himself a siscon, but tbh I think Lance is just the overprotective big brother trope cranked up to eleven. Yes, he is extremely obsessed with his little sister Anna, who is suffering from a disease that eats her magic, and would absolutely lose his mind if she started dating anyone because he thinks that nobody could ever be good enough for her, but he would never want to date her. While his obsession for her is extreme (bro literally hands out merch with his sister‘s face on it and can’t comprehend the fact that not everybody thinks that she’s the greatest thing in the entire universe) I think it‘s only on a platonic level.

…but it is pretty weird that Lance proudly corrected Mash when he called him a lolicon, because being a siscon is apparently better.

guys. I know nothing about mashle: magic and muscles. I'm going to watch it this weekend. but before I do.

why the absolute fuck do these two look like renga. as in reki and langa from skate the infinity.

as in the extraordinarily gay skateboarders. please tell me I'm not the only one that sees this.

[emlan]

Finished expansion!

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail done, here's some MSQ spoiler thoughts:

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I've had XIV on ice for a while so I was going into it as a casual and not a diehard fangirl but still I am shocked and disappointed by how bored I was during the whole thing… And annoyed, which is a bigger crime. Constantly wondering why characters act like they do or why they aren't asking about X.

Alphinaud and Alisae did nothing and they were both an eyesore with their old outfits, dressing them in local threads would've been so easy and a cute way to buff the immersion of visiting a new continent. (To be fair I guess they HAVE to tag along even if the writer doesn't want them there due to Trusts? I'd argue Krile and Erenville were just pieces of furniture until the very last stretch too but they were at least interested in the same goal as Wuk Lamat so they didn't feel out of place.)

My fav stuff is interacting and bonding with characters new and old but it doesn't feel like we got much of that? Trying to picture what people will even draw fanart of for DT of and all my mind's eye can see is Wuk Lamat lovers drawing WoLship art or just her looking cute and/or hot. (Also Erenville looking cute and/or hot.)

Doing a "sweet girl turns into massive threat" right after a "sweet girl turns into massive threat" expansion is rather brazen but it is a Classic so whatever. Would've been neat if she was an adult woman instead.

I could probably rant about several particular moments but I can feel myself slowly starting to morph into a WORST expansion EVER red-arrow-and-circle YouTube thumbnail which would be rather unsexy of me so I'll go ahead and choose happiness by listing the things I enjoyed instead;

Starting with the incredible lvl 93 weapons!!!! They all look like bland NPC pieces which is something super rare in this game, such a breath of fresh air. The NIN daggers especially is pure 10/10 and I was even considering changing my never-glamming-it-away ARR longbow into the new BRD one. The new sets are good too, I'm not much for scifi-y gear but the ones you get before Solution 9 are very nice and the aiming top gave my lizard a very lovely waist. I was really lucky to get the golden bangle hand drop that all Tuliyollal NPCs wear so I could fit in proper :3 Tweaking my main glam slightly to blend into each new areas better was a big source of fun.

Zoraal Ja bringing back an SSR Alpaca made me chuckle.

The moblin pot contract stuff is very endearing, basically they are keeping a crafter as a personal pet to love and pamper so they can do their best work? Such a cute Human Cattle aligned setup even though it's a mutual agreement and not actual ownership.

I liked the little merchant/seller skit we do with Koana even if my main glee was just seeing him wear something that didn't clash with his teal hair.

I perked up during the cooking contest introduction since it seemed like the chance for shenanigans was high, but they didn't really play around with it. At least we got Alisae musing to herself about Zuraal Ja and Baka Ja Ja in matching aprons 👌 Is the Fu awakening in you, my girl…?

Bakool Ja Ja doing his best to help out and getting a little flustered when receiving thanks after having been a stupid miserable bully that pretty much set off a nuke willy-nilly was nice, but only bcs I tend to clap like a seal no matter what when this trope appears. Since I am choosing happiness I'm not gonna comment more on his character.

The play was delightful as was the FF9 town wink in general (I also laughed for the wrong reasons at poor Otis doing a voice gag in an unvoiced cutscene, at least it still got the gist across well.)

lvl 100 dungeon nice presentation.

And…

Of course…….

Koana turning out to be an all-in siscon 🙏

Blessed be. It was rather predictable him and Wuk Lamat would end up as a duo ruler pair to cover each other's weaknesses, but her energetic public marriage proposal and stone carving to truly show off their union ran with the premise more than what I had braced for!

Love him feeling super jealous and obviously having been crying in the shower over WoL getting asked about a place in his sister's court [before he knew he had a place too] and then later him also clearly feeling threatened when she states that she views the WoL as one of her beloved siblings too. So pathetic clearly wanting to be the only Brother™ in her life ❤

I was kinda eyes emoji at Zoraal Ja too when he was staring at his sister with icy contempt, emboldened by my incest win when it came to the catboy I dared to dream that the oldest brother also harbored some obsessive feelings towards her that he didn't know how to handle, but that's not quite what happened… It's a shame we didn't get flashbacks of all those siblings together in various stages of life, I kept forgetting they were actually family so Wuk Lamat angsting over her evil brother made me go Oh Right every time I got reminded.

Lastly it wasn't quite part of the MSQ but the chuuni villain roundtable intro for the Role Quests was very silly (positive) and probably the most entertained I was during these past 4 days. Well, besides the actual trial fights being fun but I don't count those for story.

Ignoring the "human" faces and only going by the world the graphics/lighting update is very nice! My guy made it out OK but it stings a bit every time I see his mouth having had its charm nerfed. Very impressed by the not-Vanu Vanu, Horthgals and Mamool Jas facial expressions. However, hairstyles all look worse than before, so soft and "washed out"? I'm exaggerating for effect rn but Koana looks like he has a soft teal cloud as hair basically? And the twins' white hair is now too uniformly white without the darker hair strand lines…

The inn room is probably the nicest looking one we've gotten so far, both luxurious and cozy vibes. Always crack up seeing my Au Ra in bed nothing says relaxation like a super stiff coffin pose.

Quite bummed I couldn't find as much excitement as in previous expacks and I probably won't bother renewing sub for a while, but at least I already have other fandoms to keep me occupied.

[lore-a-lie]

Chapter 2, Act 3: A Sonata by Moonlight

Daily Life

Kaede made her way through the gates of greed and lust, only to find Ryoma waiting at the top of the spiral staircase on the other side, candy cig in hand looking out at the two buildings before them as he looked over his shoulder to give her a nod.

“So, things getting any easier on you yet there boss?”

“With what, Angie? Not a chance, there’d be no point in trying to reason with her right now. And please don’t call me that, it’s weird.” Kaede replied, scratching her cheek a bit in embarrassment.

“Whatever you say. Time to get move on I take it?”

“Yeah, I’m not really sure what to be expecting though.”

“My best guess? Literal blackjack, minus the hookers." Ryoma began with a roll of his eyes and a shrug. "But barring that I know there are slots, a fishing game, some car racing, and color crusher type game. Pretty standard arcade stuff more than a genuine casino, they even use tokens instead of chips. They barely even look different from the monocoins.”

“Are casinos really so different? I only kinda know about them from western movies.”

“Yeah, I’d been to a few when I’d have competitions that’d take me overseas, so while this place definitely has the look of a casino down, and the slot machines do help, the lack of actual dealers makes it feel a lot different than how’d they work in America. Kinda weird how legal it was over there.”

“Sooo, you been to America often?” (Now’s my chance to find out more about his previous lady friend~)

“You know you’ve got a ways to go before you’ll be any good at being subtle. It’s kinda refreshing, with how guys like Kokichi can be, but your thoughts are an open book. Even your hair gives you away.” (Drat. But what does he mean my hair?... It’s the cowlick isn’t it? Stupid hair. I can never get it to behave right.)

His words rang true as Ryoma began to chuckle at the sight of Kaede’s not-so-inner dilemma. The wry smile didn’t leave his face as he slowed his pace at the fork in the road between the Kumasutra and their destination, causing her to match him until both came to a stop as he gave her a knowing look.

“Though before we head in, if a certain pink pianist has anything to do with a black and white bat-winged toy going missing in front of the fountain room, she might want to take a quick look near the entrance of the Love Hotel. Might find a similar prize wandering around in the bushes if she catches my drift.”

“W-what, why would I be picking up weird little Monokuma dolls? It’s not like there aren’t enough toys in the Monomachine, r-right?” (Damn, he’s onto me! But that’s a place I never thought to check before…)

“Right, of course there are. Must have been my imagination it just happened to disappear after you showed up... Or maybe someone else has been collecting them?” Ryoma’s words didn’t match the smug look on his face though, and it didn’t take long for Kaede’s attempt at indifference fell apart.

He paused for her to catch up as he watched her scamper down the right-hand path in search of another doll to join the two on her back and his chuckle broke into a full deep laugh. It didn’t take long for her to find it either, now that she had a proper hint.

AND HE’S SO CUUUTE! Lookit him with his little bellhop hat as he struts around, like he’s got himself a widdle job! … Ahem. I’ll… just put him in my bag with the others for now. And go thank Ryoma for this. Who is my new favorite person. Sorry, Kaito.

Kaede couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off her face as she made her way back, rambling her thank yous and giving half-hearted requests for him to keep from sharing her odd little hobby with the others. But all he could do was chuckle and nod as they made their way to where Kaito and the others were.

Kiyo was already in the exchange area, looking at the different bottles in the bar and upon noticing the two of them indicated everyone else were downstairs in the game room. Ryoma went on ahead to make sure Kaito wasn’t getting into too much trouble but Kaede took the time to look at the prizes she could try to save up for first.

Hmm, well the Crystal Bangle is nice but a lot of these look expensive, I wonder how hard it is to earn these medals. The Ladybug brooch is also pretty cute, Gonta might even like one as a gift sometime. A Travel Journal might be fun to look through and I could also probably find someone who’d like it when I’m done with it, like Kiyo sounds like he’s been to a bunch of places...

Tennis Balls are easy to have fun with when you’re bored but I could probably just borrow some from Ryoma’s lab rather than buy my own set. Don’t need any more Teddy Bears, even though it is pretty cute.  

The Factory game could also be a fun little time killer, and the console’s design is nice. I think it’d be good to have something to take care of daily so the Banyan Tree could be a good investment, but what would I call them? Plants gotta have names-

Holy shit look at those Headphones! Oooh, those would be great to use with my lab’s CDs, they even look like they dampen sound if I just need some quiet time. But it’s a bit pricey... The Space Egg is pretty but I’d rather use that money for the headphones. Oh wow, look at that key!

Ugh, that’s even more expensive though! What does it mean “something good might happen if you keep it”? Gah, I wanna know~

“See something in particular that catches your interest?” Kaede jumped a bit as Kiyo’s voice interrupted her thoughts. (Ryoma really wasn’t kidding when he said I was like an open book huh? Maybe I should work on that.  At least a certain someone’s bothering to “read” my feelings this time! Still mad at you.)

“Y-yeah, kinda. But the good stuff looks like it will take a lot of playing to save up for. Like those headphones. Or that mysterious “Key of Love”. Is that the only way to investigate the hotel area?”

“I highly suspect so but it doesn’t sound like you can really use if for “investigating”. Even with the key, you can’t unlock the doors before their “opening hours” and Monokuma indicated their use is rather limited in practice.” Kiyo said very matter of factly, despite this being the first Kaede ever heard of this.

“Huh? When did he ever talk about them before? You see him here earlier or something?”

“No, not at all, I already bought one the day before you see. Apparently, when you have one in your possession he sees fit to wake you at some unholy hour of the night to see if you might be interested in participating in an unusual scenario. How it was explained doesn’t particularly appeal to me though, so if you’d like it I’d be more than happy to give it to you.” (What?! But it’s so expensive! Why give it away?)

“A-are you really sure? I mean you must have spent a lot of time to buy it didn’t you? How bad is the “scenario” he offered you exactly?”

Despite her concerns, Kiyo had no issue with taking the decorated key out of his pocket, so Kaede gladly accepted the trinket dropped into her waiting hands. Seeing how confused she still was he explained.

“It’s hardly like any of our currency matters in this place, and it isn’t “bad” as much as it simply doesn’t interest me, intriguing as his offer was. You have no control who here may join you on your “visit” to the hotel, and whoever does will see the keyholder as some sort of “ideal” partner for their preferred sexual or romantic fantasy while the keyholder must act in accordance to this forced roleplay lest the other party feel terribly dejected. I’m not particularly fussy in regards to gender in cases like this so I don’t find the random element too distasteful, but it’s the lack of control the keyholder has that bothers me.”

“I see. And any purely romantic scenes might be kinda awkward the day after right? You said you took this sort of stuff rather seriously before, when you and Ryoma were talking about your past girlfriends.”

While her question was innocent enough Kiyo looked rather panicked by the mention of his previous partner. It took a moment to settle his wide-eyed staring, and lose the bit of hostility in the air, before he calmed down enough to respond. (Jeez, it’s like that time when I just asked him about if people had thought he had a siscon thing before. It’s pretty hard to not get nervous when he has freakouts like this.)

“Right. I… It has been awhile since Her passing but I’m not at all comfortable with that sort of intimacy. Particularly one that is forced for the sake of someone that should the scene play out right won’t keep many memories regarding the night previous. I’m unsure how that is meant to work, drugging perhaps? I wouldn’t put it past Monokuma or his kin.” (Yikes, why is that not the bigger deal breaker for you?!)

“M-maybe it’s more like a weird shared dream? That can happen right?” (And be maybe be less rape-y? Please?!)

“Perhaps, but then how would the partner be selected I wonder. Or the “dream” controlled. A most peculiar means to bear witness to a friend’s hidden desires. I can’t help but wonder what my own scene could contain. Nothing in regards to Her I’m sure, as that ideal would be too intricate to match to my satisfaction; I know Her too well to be fooled by a fake.” (It must still be hard to for him to accept she’s gone if he’s still using present tense for her like this. Though I wonder what mine would be like too.)

“So was she like a childhood friend of yours?”

“I… suppose you could say something like that. I do hope you enjoy whatever beauty your nighttime visit may reveal to you. You would let know if I was your visitor, wouldn’t you? Simply for curiosity’s sake of course.” It was clear he wanted to drop the subject as he teased her, which still got Kaede flustered at the implications.

Luckily for her, she wouldn’t need to respond to this as Kokichi came up the stairs with a childish pout.

“What are you two still doing up here? Come on you’re missing the good stuff! No more of your dilly-dallying, the prizes don’t even matter right now! This is supposed to be a good time together. Isn’t this what you wanted Kaede? Or does that only count for if it’s something Tenko invited you to?” Kokichi pointed at her accusingly as he complained. (Okay, yup he knew. At least he’s not actually mad about it.)

It was fairly obvious any annoyance he was feeling was fake, he even stereotypically crossed his arms as he humphed for emphasis, but his adamance that she come down certainly wasn’t. Seemed rather odd to her considering she should be the more optional person for his gambling crew than Kiyo was, seeing how Kokichi claimed this was meant to be a guy focused event and Kiyo was the one who invited her.

Rather than respond she rolled her eyes with a giggle as he took her by the hand tugging her down the stairs and half-heartedly encouraged Kiyo to follow them so they could see “just how much Kaito sucks at gambling” as he put it. The transition from the warm golds of the Casino’s main hall to the neon-lit blues of the game room down the stairs was odd as ever but she was beginning to see what he meant.

Maki was clearly trying, and failing by the looks of things, to encourage Kaito to stop playing the slots to at least try something less random as he must have been on some sort of losing streak. Regardless of his own luck she still managed to have a fairly large pile of tokens beside her, which was probably part of how Kaito could continue playing at all, while Ryoma was messing around with some of the other games. It looked more like he was investigating than playing though, and Kokichi caught that too.

Upon reaching the bottom he suggested that Kaito and Maki switch machines so the six of them could sort out what games would be played by who had the most “luck” at slots first. Everyone would get to pick a game in the order from who won the most to the least, and he even had a bunch of card games on him to give them a few more options “in case the arcade games here suck ass”. (Which probably means his choice really will be Blackjack just to be cute. Not that I know how to actually play Blackjack.)

Kaede wasn’t entirely sure how this “competition” was really working, as all she knew to do with these was pull the lever and leave everything to chance. If anyone asked her what any of the combinations on these machines meant she wouldn’t be able to tell them, but since she was getting more medals than she put in (and she put in as many as she could each time) she figured she wasn’t doing too badly.

That was more than Kaito could say as he quickly burned through the last allowance Maki gave him putting him dead last. Ryoma proved to be nearly the opposite not long afterward, as his machine started to practically sing as it spat out medals for him at a ridiculous looking rate. Kokichi wasn’t quite that good, but he also did fairly well.

According to his huffy attitude, Kiyo managed to do better though, and Maki gave up at some point to take jabs at Kaito so she was considered second to last while Kaede was considered third last. (Oh well, I never was all that lucky anyway. Not really unlucky either, but still this was fun.)

Kokichi was obviously very impressed by Ryoma’s skills and luck to do as well as he did which just earned some sore losers griping from Kaito much to Kaede’s amusement. She did try to muffle her giggles best she could, but that quickly became an impossible effort. Even Maki couldn’t wipe the sly smile off her face as a thought crossed her mind.

“It’s hardly either of their faults you happen to be the idiot who doesn’t know how to quit even if he does manage to get ahead.”

“Come on Maki Roll, stop calling me an idiot! It hurts my feelings ya know...”

“Then stop acting like one. There’s hardly anything smart about gambling in the first place. There’s a reason it’s illegal and I’m not going to bail you out if you get addicted to it.” Maki chastised him, and with her aura, Kaede could almost believe her false talent of child-caregiver wasn’t wholly misplaced.

“Hey now, you’re talking to Kaito, Luminary of Stars! No way I’d do something as uncool as get hooked, I can stop whenever I want! My instincts were just off today is all.”

“That’s not the best argument for your case my friend, and there’s more this than instincts and luck,” Ryoma said, as he stared at his coin pile at a loss for how he would actually carry any of his winnings.

“Luck’s just a superstition, it doesn’t really matter if you try hard enough!” Kaito exclaimed, though Kiyo only shook his head at that as he began his own ramblings.

“And how exactly do you believe you can “try” hard enough with slots of all things? Surely you must see that the other options here have some level of skill about them yes? And besides that, it’s hardly as much a superstition as you may believe-”

“How is it that after we got stuck in a school without any teachers we still managed to end up with a guy who’d end up giving us all lectures anyway? I didn’t wanna learn today…” Kokichi groaned.

“Kehehe, then why invite me of all people? My inclination towards education is hardly an unknown fact here. But back on topic, it’s odd someone who puts so much faith in the power of personal belief to try to denounce the power of superstitions. If you truly don’t believe in the supposed superstition their effects should hardly affect you, much like many practices in religions like Voodoo.” Kiyo continued after Kokichi’s interruption, though upon the mention of “Voodoo” Kaito looked rather ill again.

“The reason they last in the cultural consciousness as long as they do is but a testament to how many of its people still believe in them, rather than proof of any grains of truth to be found. This can get to the point idioms can exist in common usage for long after the meaning of their words have been lost to the people that use them in favor of the concept they are thought to represent. Humanity often puts a lot of faith in the power of words and the hopes that by using them to influence the hearts or minds of others that they can sway the powers of fate in any manner of ways. Luck is more often based on observation and personal perspectives, as what counts as “lucky” or “unlucky” is incredibly subjective and fickle.”

“Basically. Though confidence can change how something’s going to go too." Ryoma agreed. "You can’t expect to win a match if you go in thinking you’re going to lose. The mind’s a powerful thing, that’s why things like placebos can work at all. That’s why in sports it can get easy to develop personal patterns or pre-game rituals, you get to thinking if it worked well before it will again.”

“But luck isn’t a superstition because it’s only there if you want to see it and superstitions are more complicated than that? Ugh, this stuff is confusing! Let’s just have some fun with the games! It’s Ryoma’s pick, right? So shoot.” Kaede suggested in hopes of finding something to lighten Kaito’s mood.

As Ryoma also saw the problem he offered to play the 1-on-1 mode in Outlaw Run against him, while at Kiyo’s request Kokichi finally got his game of blackjack. Implicitly under the threat that Maki would throttle him if he tried using the joke that started all this again. Maki turned out to be pretty good at it while Kiyo didn’t fare as well. As Kokichi was willing to share the rules to it as they went along Kaede at least got the hang of it before they moved onto the other arcade options.

It was a nice night overall as they fell into idle chattering, seeing how much they could win. Kaede quit after she earned enough for her headphones though, but she stayed with the others after trading for her desired spoils just to enjoy this atmosphere for a little longer.

When Kaito called it a night Ryoma left with him, with some light-hearted bantering with Kokichi as the latter tried to give him a “Death Flag” under the pretense of it being like a Jolly Rodger dissolving into a brief debate about space pirates.

As Maki left some time afterward, apparently having gotten herself the Space Egg Kaede noticed before, Kaede went with her so neither girl would be wandering around on their own at night. (What can I say, some instincts are hard to break. And it’s not like they’re really out of line in this place now are they?)

The walk back was fairly quiet, as Kaede didn’t really know what to say and Maki wasn’t often one for conversation, but it was a pleasant silence between the unlikely pair. A far cry from how tense things could be around the revealed assassin before, which in itself was a hopeful sign of progress.

But not one that was able to last, as Kaede began to hear arguing coming from behind the doors to their dorms. Kaito’s voice first as his was louder and deeper, and given how things have been going the second was likely Angie’s.

Kaede sent a nervous look to Maki, to see if she should go first to make sure things wouldn’t be too hostile to her friend, but Maki paid no heed to it and opened the doors herself. Kaito and Ryoma still hadn’t gone to their rooms yet and Angie, Tenko, and Tsumugi were standing near the opposite wall.

“So what if we were out a bit late? There ain’t any official curfews and we’re more likely to wake someone up by talkin’ here than we would have if you let us be. You’re all overreacting, back off.” Kaito complained.

“Official curfews? Maybe, maybe not, but there will be one for us all starting today." Angie said. "Atua thinks the next murder would most likely happen at night, like Himiko’s did before, and as such the student council will be responsible for making sure everyone else is safe in their rooms when nighttime comes from now on.”

“And let me guess, for you guys to “enforce” it this rule won’t be actually applying to any of you does it? So this would only be keeping half of everyone here inside. Not sure how that would prevent anything.” Ryoma said, being one of the few keeping his volume lower than normal for the sake of those sleeping.

“Of course it would when that half doesn’t include anyone we know has a penchant for violence!” Tenko barked, placing herself between Kaito and Angie.

“Seriously, this again?! And that’s bullshit, you’re the one here most prone to throwing us guys around! Not to mention Kirumi’s outburst. Ryoma and Maki haven’t threatened anyone, not even when she had her video freak her out back then… Well okay, she says scary stuff sometimes, but she doesn’t mean it!”

Kaito was clearly making the effort to keep his voice down, but with his personality, it was hard to keep his enthusiasm from causing his voice to raise. But at least no doors opened to see what the ruckus was.

“I don’t need anyone defending me here, Kaito, so stop it. But I agree with Ryoma. Even if your Atua isn’t a lie with so many people still being allowed out during this danger period the odds haven’t really changed. You’ve just limited the potential murderers and victims to put your own people at the greatest risk.”

“Fine, fine~" Angie sighed. "Then I’ll ask Monophanie if she and Monodam will do the rounds for us with their Exisals tomorrow night, okay? Since she’s sleeping like Atua is right now and I don’t know where he would be.”

“What the fuck?! You’ve got to be kidding, you can’t seriously be trusting these clowns! Basic wilderness survival tip: Never. Trust. A. Bear. With absolutely anything! EVER.” (Exactly! And that reminds me-)

“So, should I ask Monodam to reopen the manhole cover while we’re taking the risk of asking them for favors? I saw what you guys did earlier, this isn’t something you should be deciding for everyone alone.”

“THEY DID WHAT-” Kaito stopped himself mid-yell as he remembered himself and tried again. “You guys did what? That’s going way too far-”

“Come on, let’s all just go to bed okay? It’ll just plain bother everyone if we wake them up like this. Why don’t we talk about things tomorrow after we’ve all had some rest and time to think?” Tsumugi offered to try and settle things down, as she began nervously looking at the rooms around them.

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea too. This needs to be discussed with everyone, we won’t accomplish anything here otherwise.” Kaito gave Kaede a worried look but backed down at her request. They didn’t say anything of where the other council members were or when Kokichi and Kiyo would be coming back.

Kaede thinks she heard their footsteps signaling their return a short time later as she was trying to sleep, as neither set sounded as heavy as Gonta or Kibo (despite the latter’s small stature) and both lacked the gentle clicks of Kirumi’s heels so she assumed the other members had already gone to bed.

But that wasn’t her only interruption as she heard a squeaky set of knocking at her door. She ignored the first few sets of rapping, but after the fifth set of three squeaks she gave in and found Monodam on the other side wearing a sleeping cap and a blankie. (What the actual hell, didn’t I see enough of you today?)

“Err… Hello. I’m-Sorry-If-I-Woke-You-Up-But-I-Heard-You-Have-An-Item-You-Could-Use. I-Thought-This-Would-Be-A-More-"Polite”-Way-To-Ask-You-About-It. May-I-Come-In?” (... Is this about the Love Key?)

He took her moving to the side as permission and puttered his way in like a sleepy toddler, giving Kaede’s collection of dolls an odd glance as he took a seat on the couch, patting at the seat beside him. With a sigh she humored him, and he began to explain while swinging his feet from side to side.

“This-Is-My-First-Time-Doing-This, Normally-Father-Didn’t-Let-Us-Help-Since-It’s-Past-Our-Bedtimes. But-Monosuke-Didn’t-Want-To-And-Monophanie’s-In-Angie’s-Room-So-It’s-My-Job-Now. So… Do-You- Have-Any-Ideas-On-How-This-Works? We-Know-You-Didn’t-Buy-It, Only-Kibo-And-Kiyo-Have-Bought- Them-So-Far-And-Only-Kibo-Used-His.” (Woah, what? KIBO??? Not like… Miu or Angie or something?)

“I, Uh… Kiyo gave me the general idea of it sure. If I go I’ll meet up with one of my friends at random and play out some sort of “scene” with them. That’ll… Probably be suggestive. But they won’t remember anything about what happens in there if I go.”

“Correct! Except-It’s-Not-Actually-Random, We-Choose-Who-Goes-With-You. We-Try-To-Make-It-With- Someone-We-Think-Makes-A-Good-“Ship”-With-You. Monophanie-Got-Really-Into-That-Part, She-Has- Charts-For-You-All-And-Everything-Now! We-Think-Father-Went-According-To-Popular-Demand-Too. Do-You-Want-To-Use-It-Tonight?” (“Popular demand”? According to what? Or who? What even is this?!)

“... That depends, can I just tell you who I’d like to meet? Or ask who you have in mind?”

“It’s-Not-Fair-For-You-To-Pick! Even-If-Kibo-Would-Have-Picked-Miu-On-His-Own, Father-Still-Didn’t-Let- Him-Choose. But-According-To-Monophanie’s-Charts… I-Think-Kaito-Had-More-“Ship-Tease”-With-You-Today-Than-Kokichi-Or-Kiyo. But-Which-Of-Those-Three-Is-Still-Up-To-Me.”

NOOOPE. NOT HAPPENING. Either Maki kills me or I’ll wish she did. No matter how nice Kaito is I’m not doing that to her. And heaven forbid I get either of those other two, definitely not interested. I don’t want to think about that stuff with Miu, but if Kibo didn’t forget… That might explain some things. But it’s just too sad to consider right now.

“Yeeeah I think I’ll pass.” (Potential for embarrassment and self-preservation beats curiosity this time.)

“Oh. That’s-A-Shame, We-Don’t-Really-Know-How-This-Works-Yet. Sorry-Shuichi-And-Rantaro-Aren’t- Here, They-Were-Monophanie’s-First-Picks-For-You. And-Kokichi’s-Too, Which-Was-Kinda-Weird-To-Me. Maybe-Things-Will-Be-Different-Tomorrow-Night.” (I… I’ll just forget I heard that. For multiple reasons.)

“Do… Do you even understand what a “love hotel” is ?”

“Of-Course! It-Is-A-Place-Where-Things-Like-Father’s-Videos-Happen. The-Ones-With-The-Delivery-Men- And-Women-Who-Keep-Ordering-Things-Without-A-Means-To-Pay-For-Them. I-Don’t-Understand-Why- They-Keep-Doing-It-Though, And-Monokid-Would-Always-Kick-Me-Out-Before-The-Payment-Issue-Was- Resolved-So-I-Don’t… Miss-Kaede-Why-Are-You-Holding-Your-Face-Like-That? Did-Your-Eyes-Fall-Out?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m not sure what I should have expected here really.”

“Okay. It’s-Fine-If-They-Did-Though, It-Happens-To-The-Best-Of-Us! But-With-That-Question-Answered- I-Have-Another-Thing-To-Ask…” Monodam got a bit nervous so Kaede nodded for him to continue. “Is- It-Okay-For-Me-To-Stay-Here-Tonight? Monosuke-Says-He’ll-Do-The-Announcements-By-Himself-Now- When-He-Kicked-Me-And-Monophanie-Out-And-Angie-Said-It-Was-Okay-For-Her-To-Stay-With-Her. So- I-Thought-I’d-Ask-Is-All...” (Good grief, seriously? Why me? I can’t go kicking a kid out this late, even if he’s a cub. That’d just be fucked up. So is a bunch of childish robotic-teddy-bears kidnapping us, but still.)

“Fine, You can stay. Just for tonight, I’d rather you not get in the habit of this. Hopefully, you can work things out with your family tomorrow or something.”

He wasn’t really listening as he just gave her side an awkward hug. But any moment had was quickly lost.

“Thank-You. I-Also-Hope-This-Will-Just-Be-For-The-Night. Your-Collection-Of-Tiny-Not-Fathers-Is-Rather- Disturbing-To-Me. Shuichi’s-Room-Has-Shelves-For-Those-If-You’d-Like? So-You-Can-Get-Them-Off-The- Bed-So-You-Can-Sleep-Better-”

“But they’re teddy bears, why shouldn’t they be on my bed with me? Who keeps plushies on a shelf?!”

“... Miss-Kaede-You’re-Worrying-Me. Why-Do-You- Like -The-Not-Fathers? How-Do-You-Fit-In-That-Mess- Anyway? Are-You-Okay? Is-This-A-Cry-For-Help-”

“Do you want me to kick you out? And why did I become a “miss” instead of a “bastard” if you’re going to keep being rude about how I keep my own room?”

“No-Miss-Kaede, I-Will-Stop-Questioning-Your-Creepy-Not-Father-Pile. Monophanie-Said-Angie-Told- Her-That-If-We-Want-To-Be-Friends-Calling-You-Bastards-“Bastards”-Is-Bad. Am-I-Doing-Okay?” (NO.)

“Well, uhh, that’s good progress for you? “Miss” is much more respectful. So just… Keep working on it.”

“... Is-It-Complaining-If-I-Ask-To-Use-A-Different-Bed? Like-This-Chair? It-Is-Comfy-And-I-Fit-Well.” It was pretty clear he just wanted to be as far away from her Mini-kumas as possible, further helped by the chair facing away from it. Being a rather bouncy seat for him was just another plus he was enjoying.

“Sure, just give me a minute.” Kaede went through some of the Monomachine prizes she had to find something to help make a better bed. (A rude uninvited guest is no excuse to be a poor hostess, right?)

As she came back and gestured for him to get down so she could make his bed she realized the blank stare he kept giving the toys on her bed was probably his best attempt at a glare. With a chuckle, she laid down a wearable blanket as a little nest and added her Helping Yachi for some company, which he appreciated as he snuggled into place with another set of “thank yous”. It was almost cute, all things considered. (Ignoring how he’s a murderous little brat only here ‘cause no one else can stand him.)

Nothing else came up as she tried to go to sleep again at least. Not even her previously racing thoughts about the current motive’s potential dangers or unpleasant memories of the days previous, as she chose to focus on her unwanted roommate’s odd sounding snoring to help ease her into slumber at long last.

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[ac-jarl-vahlia]

Hale

Hello everyone! This is my first time writing a fic, please bear with me OTZ To anyone who’ll give it a try, I’d like to apologize and thank you beforehand... Comments and suggestions are welcome :)

This is an AU in p3p where Miki is alive, Aki is a big baby, and Shinji is the mother goose who could foresee the future -- heads up for a lot of cursing, OOCitis, and MinakoxShinjiro.

Oh, and P3P is owned by Atlus

Anyway, here goes! :D

Bright red flame.  That was now all he could see on the place that they once called a home.  He couldn’t quite process what exactly happened, but he knew that it was really terrible.  All he could do was stare dumbly at the burning orphanage, as the scene is now shrouded by the hysterical cries of everyone around him.  The most deafening was Aki’s, who was now kneeling beside a body which he recognized to be Miki, and that was when Shinji started bawling himself.

Shinjiro tried to wipe his tears though he couldn’t stop them from coming, and the moment he opened his eyes again, the vision of the growing fire disappeared. He was then by himself, standing on a blank plane with nothing but blinding light.

“Don’t cry, Shinji,” a gentle voice called out to him.

He turned toward its direction.  Standing behind him was a girl with crimson eyes, auburn hair, and a calming, new, yet seemingly familiar face.

Wiping the tears on his cheeks, she leaned down and repeated herself, “Please don’t cry, Shinji.”

“B-but… Miki and Aki, they-“

“Don’t worry, Shinji.  It will be alright.”

“Really?  Are you sure?”

“I’ll make sure everything will be right this time.  I’ll protect them, I swear.  I’ll protect you.”

Her gentle smile slowly reassured Shinjiro, and when she patted his head, he was finally lulled.

The moment he woke up, Shinjiro remembered the nightmare.  He tried to look for the girl who even swore that she’ll protect them, but all he saw were the other kids at the orphanage, still soundly sleeping.

It was a good thing that the siblings, Aki and Miki, heard him suddenly bawling like a baby and got up to go by his side. They tried to comfort Shinjiro, but he couldn’t help himself from crying even more after seeing Miki.  His panting and sobbing then continued, but not until Akihiko laughed at him, saying that ten year olds don’t wet their beds.

The dream kept him terrified the whole day and Shinjiro knew there’s something he had to do to keep that from happening.  No, he knew what he must do, so when they were on an escapade and Miki reminded that it was already time for them to go back to the orphanage, Shinjiro insisted to stay and continue playing. As he expected, Miki refused, so Shinjiro went on to execute his foolproof plan.  He began crying and rolling on the ground, begging to not return yet, and then the deal was sealed.

After playing way past their curfew and arriving at the farthest train station that Shinjiro swore he knew in the area (or second nearest, in actuality), they have finally agreed to go back as Akihiko complained for the tenth time of how hungry he is and looked about ready to punch or bite Shinjiro, whichever comes first.

Moments later, Shinjiro found himself in the same situation that he had in the dream.

The orphanage was burning down, and Aki was crying hysterically.  Mouth agape, he fell to his knees, knowing everything was almost like the scene in his nightmare.  The only difference this time is that Miki is standing beside her brother, weeping with him.

It has been a month since Shinjiro started having those dreams that ended up as reality the following day.  At first, he got so excited and even blurted out that he could see the future.  Aki and Miki were also amused, but later didn’t mind and shrugged it off as a kid’s random story, while the others never took him seriously.

Shinjiro has long known that those dreams were precognitions, but since that day when he managed to save Miki, he knew that it was an incredible gift meant for great things, like playing tricks on Aki, and yeah, other great things.

Though, as expected from a kid, it became hard for Shinji to take matters on his own hand, let alone answer the questions that he had in mind. First, he couldn’t figure out the identity of the girl who would always appear at the end of his dreams.  As he was thinking carefully about it, Shinjiro was tall compared to the other kids of age ten in the orphanage, but the red-haired girl was still a lot taller than him.  Who knows how many years older she is than him?

…Wait, she’s very pretty, and she was really nice to me, so if she’s an old hag, then she could be a goddess!

Another thing that Shinji didn’t anticipate since the incident was the fact that in his continuous dreams, Miki was still dead. The first time he realized this, he didn’t know what to do.  It was like a different world, much darker than where he is now.  Every time he had the chance, he always asked the goddess about it, but all she ever did was smile and say, “I told you, we’ll make it right this time.”

It took too long for Shinji, about a year of mishaps between him and Aki, to piece it all together on his own and somehow conclude that he had actually created an alternate reality from the one in his visions.

On his first week in middle school, Shinjiro had been fully aware that he has altered a lot from the occurrences in his dreams.  They were all still together; Miki was alive, and Akihiko didn’t have a reason to be obsessed over getting stronger.  Heck, the other world’s Aki was doomed as fuck, far from the naïve, cheerful kid who’s always beside him, but even after Shinjiro had learned of his dreams as mere fragments of a reality parallel from theirs, he couldn’t help but overthink and get paranoid.

Everything was a lot more peaceful than in his so-called precognitions, which made him more nervous and confused.

The visions are basically useless now, what the heck am I supposed to do? Should I really relax, now that everything isn’t the way they’re supposed to be?  Besides, she’s not even answering my questions… so much for a guardian goddess.

Taking his usual route to school, his train of thought was then broken by a hand that hardly patted his back.

“Hey, I told you to wait for me this time.”

Shinjiro sighed in exasperation, “Then you shouldn’t have eaten all those rice bowls, Aki.”

“I’m a growing man, I need calories.”

“Whatever.”

“Come on, Shinji, what are you acting all tough for?” A grin then sprawled on the gray haired guy’s face, “are you hoping for a middle school debut or something?”

“I’m a delinquent, you won’t get it,” Shinjiro immediately blurted out, which caused a laugh from the other boy.

“That being said by the guy who used to pee on his bed. A lot.”

“Shut up, Aki.” Feeling uneasy, and knowing that the vision-Shinjiro’s personality is finally rubbing off on him, he tried to divert the other guy’s attention. “Hey, have you joined any club yet?”

…I know I’ve altered a lot, and I don’t know why I’m hoping this, but please be in the boxing club.

His hope was broken by Akihiko’s response, “I’m in the soccer team.”

“…well, never would’ve pegged you for one who plays soccer.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

“What? …wait, do you even know how to play?”

“Nope, not a clue.”

“…You’re an idiot.”

“Shut up. What about you? What club are you in this time?”

Shinjiro’s smirked slipped as the answer escaped his lips, “Home economics.”

Weeks later, Shinjiro learned through his visions that Akihiko being in the soccer team and not in the boxing club was an extreme wrong turn.  When Shinjiro told her about this, the goddess even teased him, or threatened, he wasn’t sure, she was always just smiling, “you have led us halfway to our doom,” then proceeded on flashing her ever glorious laugh as Shinjiro panicked over what he should do next.

In order to get back on familiar grounds, or prepare them for everything, Shinjiro spent the following months fretting over making Akihiko stronger and pushing him to join the boxing club instead, but as expected, the guy adamantly refused, which made Shinjiro frustrated and once again try to get matters on his own hand, thus training Aki on his own.

What’s a better way to get back the guy’s damn speed and reflex other than throwing things at him randomly? Smashing stuff at him also worked, and was also so damn fulfilling.  By the start of the second semester, Akihiko was finally able to foresee, dodge, and even counter all of his attacks.  This made Shinjiro proud of the kid, but not enough to make him stop entirely.

The following year, however, when Miki entered as freshman on the same middle school and decided to join the boxing club, Akihiko followed suit.  In the end, Shinjiro thought, he shouldn’t have fussed over the brat. Whoever the hell knew that the siscon will solve it himself?

“I’m moving out.”

Akihiko’s statement that one evening on their third year in junior high didn’t surprise Shinjiro at all, contrary to how Miki initially reacted to her brother’s sudden declaration.

A few more minutes of trying to calm her down, Miki finally replied, “Well, I’m not mad, Aki-nii, but why is it so sudden?”

“Relax, Miki.  Maybe your brother just got hitched or somethin’,” Shinjiro teasingly interjected.

Miki nudged him and pouted, “Not funny, Shinji-nii.”

“Well, not immediately, but,” Akihiko sighed in defeat and sat down beside Miki, “I’ll be graduating this year, I mean, I have to prepare ahead for high school, so I’ll move in to the dorms and—“

“Man, don’t try bullshitting your way outta this,” Shinjiro laughed.

“Dammit, Shinji.”

This time, Miki was the one who heaved a sigh on both of them, “It’s fine, Aki-nii. Just… take care of yourself, okay?”

“Yeah, of course I will,” her brother finally smiled, relief evident on his face.

“And if matters turn to worse, remember that Mama Shinji will save the day, okay?” she said, winking at Shinji.

“What? How is he my problem still?  Anyway, I ain’t gonna stop you or anything.” I pretty much already know where you’re going and why. Heck, the other world’s Shinjiro was guilty of only joining SEES because that Aki did. “All I gotta say is—“  How the hell did you even get a persona this time? To be recruited to the team, that was the major requirement. So. How? “…crap, nevermind.”

“Aaaaww… Are you embarrassed, Shinji-nii? Come on, say it.”

“Don’t worry, Shinji. I’ll miss you too.”

“Fuck you, Aki.”

Dark sky, green moon – the Dark Hour.  They were sent out on another mission to defeat a rampant shadow and secure the area.  In this case, there were two bystanders, a woman and a child, and Mitsuru has once again reminded them that their safety is the top priority of the group.  As such, she immediately instructed the civilians to hide on the alley behind them and reminded both him and Aki to keep an eye on the two.

Of course, things went smoothly as Mitsuru has planned. They have figured out that the shadow’s attack and defense were pretty low, and though it can control minds in close proximity and summon lesser shadows which proved to be problematic ticking time bombs triggered through physical attacks, they have learned that its endurance and ability to do so is limited.

Since Caesar and Castor both depended on brute force, Mitsuru was the one who handled the summoned shadows while the two guys focused on using their personas to inflict damage on the summoner.

As the explosions became weaker, Mitsuru assured them that the shadow’s endurance is near its limit and after another Spirit Drain, she instructed them to execute an all-out attack.

At the corner of his eye, Shinjiro even saw Aki smirked at him, and he knew full well what that meant.  They were about to wing this. What they didn’t anticipate was the instant that Castor missed to land a blow on the shadow, which in turn was able to gain momentum on the little time that it had and once again use its tricks.  That was when everything went downshit.

A couple of bad decisions and Akihiko attempting to use his persona to shield everything led them to this state minutes later, wherein Shinjiro was cursing under his breath and everything Mitsuru was saying at the moment sounded like self-righteous nags to him as he struggled to once again get back to the shadow.

“Shinjiro, you have to be careful!  Need I remind you that this shadow can manipulate minds?  Close combat is not advisable for—“ Mitsuru was reminding him from the sidelines, but Shinjiro tuned her out.

“I got this!” he shouted back, still trying to close the distance between him and the shadow, that was desperately trying to move around on a fast pace.

We almost did it. One last hit and it’s over.

“Use your Persona!”

“Dammit, Mitsuru!  Aki used his, look what that got him!”

Akihiko, pinned on the ground, visibly winced at what he said.  Mitsuru, on the other hand, was looking after him while trying to exterminate the lesser shadows summoned earlier.

‘trustmewecandothissummonme’

A static voice rang in his head, but Shinjiro ignored it.  Bet the guy’s just itchin’ to hit something again.

‘listencanfeelittrustme’

Shut up, Castor!  You missed earlier already! Don’t mess up now!

Shinjiro kept on following the shadow no matter where it went, not letting it escape from his sight and reach.

“Shinji, don’t let it buy time!”

I know, dammit!

Finally cornering the shadow on an alley, Shinjiro couldn’t hide his smirk as he lifted his axe, preparing to give the last blow, until he felt a pang on his back. As he peered behind him, the last image he saw was a woman with dead eyes, holding up a shard at him, and then his vision went blank.

The searing pain on his back was now replaced by the screeching in his head. Anguish, desperation, fear – several emotions rushed through Shinji, which was severely amplified by the panicked buzzing in his head.  Shouting, calling his teammates and asking for help, probably rolling on the ground – he tried everything, but not even clawing his head or trying to rip it off from his body was able to stop the pain that he was feeling.  The torture seemed to drag on for far too long that even Shinjiro wished for the shadow to just slash him dead already.

After what felt like hours before the pain dissipated and his breathing returned to normal, Shinjiro’s sight finally returned, but the destruction he saw made him wish it never did.

His teammates—his friends, were now lying on the ground, beaten and defenseless, all the while looking at him with desperate concern on their eyes. Shinjiro ran to them as fast as he could, but stopped on his tracks the moment he spotted on the corner of his eyes what he dreaded the most.

The vision that night ended just like how it all began.

Another lifeless body was right in front of him, but this time, it was all Shinji’s fault.

…

This time, as he was dragged back to the blank room, he was again crying nonstop in front of the goddess, just like how he did years ago.

“You saw how it all happened, Shinji. Trust yourself, and trust in Castor.  I know you can do it, you just needed someone who’ll believe in you,” reaching out her hand to touch his cheeks, she looked at him in the eye, which made Shinji return in kind.

Why is it that whenever Shinjiro has a dream-induced breakdown, those striking eyes would always get to him? Damn, the goddess really had him whipped.

Shinjiro continued crying like a baby, until she hugged him in her arms saying, “It’s fine, I know you’ll be able to make it right this time.”

“Not gonna say ‘I’ now, would you?”

He felt her chuckle, which somehow lightened him up as well, “How about ‘we’?”

“Fair enough,” Shinjiro buried his face on her shoulder and placed an arm around her, which made the goddess hug him even tighter.

The moment he woke up, Shinjiro was filled with determination.  Maybe, just maybe, he’ll find a way through this. He went out of his room and ran straight to the lounge that morning, where he saw Mitsuru sitting on the couch. Shinjiro cleared his throat, running through his resolve a couple more times in his head before voicing it to their leader.

He approached her, and Mitsuru then looked up at him with questioning eyes.

“My left hand hurts. I’m gonna ditch the mission tonight, ‘kay?”

“…Shinjiro, you know that I am the student council president, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“And you’re aware that the use of illegal drugs is prohibited in our school?”

“Wha—no! The hell? I just can’t go, okay?”

“Just what are you saying?”

“Oh… nothing.”

“That is highly suspicious, but I won’t ask you any further. I’ll… pretend this conversation never happened.”

Shinjiro thought of proceeding to plan B, but as he saw Miki snickering at the front desk, who obviously witnessed the exchange between the two, he decided to jump to plan C.

“Are you sure you want to spar with me?” wrapping his hand before putting on his boxing gloves, Akihiko asked him one last time.

It was already after school, and club activities have started. There was no reason for Shinjiro to back out of this.

“Dammit, told’ya that already.” Besides, that was the plan. Break a hand, hopefully the left one, and instantly have an excuse from tonight’s mission.

“Don’t you have club activities today, Shinji? Those pancakes ain’t gonna cook themselves, you know?”

“What, are you mocking me and my club?!”

“No, I just wanna eat something. Pancake sounds nice.”

Shinjiro tried to punch him, but since he was not yet wearing gloves at the moment, and Aki just swatted his hand with one, Shinji finally got what he asked for.

After all the trouble that he went to, Shinjiro still had to drag his ass to that night’s mission. Aki, Miki and Mitsuru were with him, and upon analyzing their surroundings and the shadow at hand, Mitsuru and Miki started strategizing.

Earlier that evening, when the alarm went off on the dorm and Ikutsuki-san has oriented them of the situation, Shinjiro was sure that he could stay out of it, but Mitsuru insisted that they needed more manpower and Shinjiro’s “injury” wasn’t enough to consider him as a liability to the team. Regrettably, Shinjiro could also swear that his actions earlier that morning made Mitsuru wary of him, as she evidently eyed him suspiciously the moment they all heard the alarm.

Focusing back to their mission, Shinjiro recalled the dream that he had and compared it to the situation at hand, noting what he must do to avoid the outcome. One, don’t be a dick. Two, Miki’s here, so they got higher odds of winning. Three, trust in Castor.

Easier said than done. Shinjiro became too conscious of his actions that he was only on defense the entire time.  His plan also backfired, as he couldn’t shift the weight of his axe from one hand to another like he normally do. And he knows he had to trust Castor, but would he really gamble it now? I mean, it all started when the guy missed a hit.

As Shinjiro was preoccupied, what got his attention back to reality was a scream that came from the sidelines. The horror flashed on his face as he remembered the woman whose death he had foreseen.  Turning to where it came from and seeing that what he heard earlier came from someone else entirely, however, didn’t cause him relief either.

The one who was struck this time was Miki, which finally snapped him to his senses. Enough is enough.

Shinjiro finally called out to Castor, and never before had he heard his persona clearer than this. The connection he sensed as he finally reached out to Castor was indescribable, as he felt replenished and the weight dragging him down disappeared.  This time, Shinjiro realized that he was not just commanding Castor to fight, he knew that they were protecting each other.

“You did it,” the goddess smiled brilliantly at him that Shinjiro couldn’t help but wonder, how could she possibly shine even more than she already does?

Smiling back, Shinjiro impulsively hugged her this time.

The shadow was defeated, Miki was fine, and so were the bystanders that they later found out to be mother and child. After all that happened, Shinji deeply wanted to thank the woman in front of him, his goddess, for guiding him and staying by his side.

The moment she hugged him back, Shinjiro admitted to himself that he was filled with contentment and bliss, and wished to stay that way with her. The urge to say so crossed his mind, but as he was about to open his lips, she spoke up.

“That was the last trigger. You can relax now.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve saved them, and you’re safe as well, as promised,” she chuckled.

“Heh, then nothing bad’s gonna happen now, right? We can relax now, yeah?”

Cupping his cheeks, she laid her forehead on his, “Yes, I assure you, everything will be fine. We’ve done everything we could, so if anything worse happens, it could be beyond our control, but please don’t give up, Shinji.”

All he did was nod.

“You’re the strongest, bravest person I ever met, I’m sure you can do that.”

Laughing, he replied, ”Don’t patronize me, and besides, you’re always there for me, right?”

There was a long pause before she said anything, which made Shinji lean back and look her in the eyes.

“Shinji,” sighing, she finally replied, “it was really great to be with you again.”

Shinjiro was surprised from what the goddess said, but he got startled even more when she suddenly kissed him on the forehead.  Dumbstruck, it took moments for Shinji to make up his mind and tried to reach out to kiss her, but before he did, he finally woke up.

Anxiety was all he felt the whole day, and if he could, Shinjiro was ready to pass out even in class, as he desperately wanted to see her again. So the second he stepped into the dorm, he went straight to his room and tried his best to catch his sleep.

As he started to dream, the precognitions continued, but the visions of her stopped.

Two years have passed, but he never saw her again, not even the place where he assumed she dwelled on and he had grown to call the blank room, though blank plane seemed more appropriate. Shinjiro knew that there was no way her memories would slip from his mind, but he figured, he just had to live with it, because life goes on, and the very core of what she imparted on him was to never give up.

Needless to say, Shinjiro focused on the Home Economics club, to the extent that he even encourages everyone to join cooking contests and initiate tours to further develop their knowledge in different cuisine.

Aki and Miki more or less figured out back then that he might have been heartbroken, and though he denies it, Miki insists on helping him find someone and dragged her sibling to tag along with it.

Miki kept on setting him up on dates, but later didn’t bother when Shinjiro insisted on his specifics and turned down every girl he had talked to. Shinji thought Miki finally gave up, but it turns out she just passed the baton to her brother in finding the woman suitable for Shinjiro. Thankfully, the only time he ever bothered Shinji was when he was on a one-week tour in another city and Aki suddenly called him out of the blue, only to talk about a promising new member.

What Shinjiro didn’t expect was that as he was still on the tour, one night, he finally saw her again, not on the blank plane, but on the dream that was supposed to happen the following day.

Akihiko called him out to the hospital, said he got injured from the last shadow operation. He was about ready to leave, when more visitors came in to Aki’s room, and the goddess, real and alive, was one of them.

The next day, Shinjiro rode the first train back to Tatsumi Port Island. On the ride home, he texted Miki.

‘is aki on a hospital right now?’

‘(O-o) no… y?’

‘please push him off the stairs for me, am on a train home’

Unfortunately, Miki didn’t follow suit.

Arriving back later that evening, Shinji was preparing to ask a favor from Aki, but as he opened the door to the dorm, he dropped all of his stuff, seeing the new SEES member at the lounge, staring back at him.

All she did was smile, and his step turned into a full-on run.

1I really have no idea how this thing works... This has been sitting on my laptop for months and I never really intended to post it, being the lurker that I am, buuuuut going 37 hrs without sleep and a dead-end thesis made this sound like a good idea. Welp.