Spider's Web
Because I hated Trinity Soul so much, I felt forced to write a replacement!
ONE – EPISODE GHOST
It was a drizzling Sunday morning when they committed his body to the earth. The friends he had made that altogether too short a year, the lives he had touched, stood in mourning and in gratitude. One year, and he had done nothing short of making all of their lives more meaningful, making their loads more bearable. And of the four teens, one child, one android and one dog closest to Minato Arisato... they alone knew of the full extent in which the entire world owed him.
It was a drizzling Sunday morning when they committed his body to the earth. But, in some ways, his spirit had never left them.
TOKYO, JAPAN; 12:34 AM, 2022
"Yes, we will continue the negotiations via teleconference- no, my apologies, sir, but such an arrangement is currently incompatible with her schedule. Yes, I am sure to pass your message along, sir. Have a good afternoon." The faint blue glow of electronic light in Aigis's eyes dimmed down to their normal levels. "Mitsuru-san, I'm afraid the Juno group is somewhat irate at your unannounced vacation. ...Mitsuru-san?"
Headphone clips slid off her ears. "Hm? My apologies, Aigis. What is it?"
"Oh, nothing. Just the Juno group again. Are you looking forward to seeing everybody again?"
"Mm, yes. Thank you, Aigis, for taking care of it for me."
"It was no problem, Mitsuru-san. We will be landing in a few minutes."
Pilot, secretary, bodyguard and confidant. There are benefits to leading the Kirijo Group- one of which is having Aigis on your side.
"Hey! Yuka-tan! Lookin' sharp as always!" exclaimed Junpei as he drove up in a beat-up old SUV and got out to open the door for her. "How was your flight?"
"Oh, kami-sama give me strength," she groaned. "Took two hours to get through the security checkpoint. Two hours! How are your students doing?"
"Oh, you know. Same old, same old. Caught a couple in the old equipment storage facilities, some boys sprayed graffiti across the gym walls... were we ever that restless?"
Yukari laughed loudly. "You, of all people, are asking me that?"
"Hey! I wasn't that bad! ...was I?"
It was a cloudy Saturday.
"Looks like it's about to rain," said a voice behind Fuuka. "I didn't know you were in town, Fuuka-san."
"Oh, Ken-kun. Sorry, I didn't notice you."
"I just got here," said a young man, dressed sharply in the uniform of a nearby college. "Akihiko-san met me at the hotel, said you might be here. Are you alright?"
"Mm-hmm, just reminiscing. How are you and your girlfriend doing?"
"Ah-h, Akihiko-san told you? Um, we're doing alright. I dropped Koromaru off at her place- he's getting pretty old, and I'm worried about him catching a cold."
"That was very kind of you, Ken-kun. Well, I'm done thinking. Is everybody back?"
"Mitsuru-san and Aigis-san will be here soon. May I offer you a ride?"
Fuuka smiled wistfully as she stuck a stick of incense onto the offertory. "Thank you."
Once a year, every year. During the first few, painful years it was how they held onto each other's sanity. A week of memories, bitter and sweet. A bond that time couldn't break, simply because there was absolutely nobody else in the world, nobody else throughout history, that had gone through what they have together.
The first night was always dinner at Hagakure, and no matter how loudly the others protested, Akihiko always covered the costs. "Listen, I barely used any of the money we found crawling through Tartarus," he explained one year. "And I invested it all to boot. Blame Mitsuru for teaching me something about finances when we were starting out. It's on me, and that's all there is to it. Besides, it's only ramen."
This year, Hagakure was less busy than usual- one of those rare lulls where they had the place almost totally to themselves. The decade anniversary's eve was full of laughter and brevity- and perhaps a bit of whimsy brought about by alcohol.
It was a nice change of pace, and didn't go past unnoticed by any of them.
"...it's nice, being able to laugh at this time of year," said Mitsuru after they had taken a breather from Junpei's comedy routine.
"Beats crying, hands down," affirmed Yukari as she nursed her beer. "I think he would've been happy, knowing we can get together like this after so long."
"He would not have wanted us to mourn as long as we did," said Aigis softly. "Though it was hard for me to let go, even knowing that."
A somber moment of silence and nostalgia enshrouded the ramen joint. Mitsuru finished her sake quickly, unsteadily placing the cup on the counter. "He... he was the first boy that I really went out with. We went here on our first date, actually- I was so impressed with the food, I asked the cook what bullion he used. Heh, seems just a little silly in hindsight, doesn't it?"
"Mm, I guess you were a little standoffish back in high-school, Mitsuru," said Yukari. "To be honest, I was a little scared of you at first. That was before SEES really started and everything happened, of course- Fuuka-chan? Something wrong?"
Fuuka rubbed her temples. "No, no. Sorry, I thought I felt something odd."
"Huh?" Yukari looked shocked. "But- hasn't it been years since you were able to summon Juno?"
"It- it has. No, I'm sure it's no...thing..."
They all turned, just in time to see the side profile of a young man in his teens, dark blue hair swept to a side, melancholic eyes not seeing the world as he walked by the store's window, earphones blanketing him in a haze of sound.
He disappeared as the rain began to pour.
"What... what just happened?" asked Junpei. "Did all of you see that?"
"But... that's impossible!" protested Akihiko. "That... Mitsuru!"
The rain lashed angrily against the restaurant's ceiling as they all pulled her back out of the weather. She cried his name out into an empty, abandoned street, echoes of loss dashed apart in the howling rains.
"They didn't notice me, of course. Man, Kirijo-san looked as if she saw a ghost."
"She did, in a way. Did he take any overt actions?"
"No, I don't think he was ordered to. It's still two weeks until the first full moon- and with that 'Aigis' around, I don't think they will risk losing their key component."
"You have any idea why he might've showed up, then?"
"I don't know. An act of hubris? Trying to scare them? Doesn't sound right either way, does it? And he disappeared so quickly too."
"We'll have our agents keep an eye on them for now. A pity that she didn't take our call, though- it'll be up to you to establish contact then."
"Under the cover of 'negotiations,' bro?"
"Up to your discretion, of course."
"Heh, almost sounds as if you trust me."
"Do you think I'm foolish enough to trust you, of all people?'"
"Only if you trust your own reflection, I guess."
"And therein, presumably, lies the key. Dear brother, I just ask that you don't embarrass me."
"I haven't betrayed the Juno name... yet. Have a good lunch."
"Have a good evening."