Gin Nanashi: Ah... My brain feels dead from reading stuff for class... Speaking of which, because I'll be busy with work, Rank 10 will take some time to complete so don't panic if it's not up in a week or something... But, hopefully, it won't take more than two weeks either but knowing me and my tendency to procrastinate... *sweats*
Anyway, to our Guest ? who reviewed back in Rank 8, thank you again for taking the time to tell us your thoughts! :D And don't worry about not finding the hints, we're not gonna quiz ya or anything. xP As for what "tsuzuku" means, it's Japanese for "to be continued" (and now that I think about it, I didn't really need to add it...oh well). x3 Thanks again! C:
Lastly, ReachingOutFES has a Persona 4 one-shot, A Thousand Paper Cranes, written and up so go check it out if you're interested!
And now, without further ado, please enjoy! :D
Disclaimer: Persona 3 (c) Atlus
All Alone With You
Rank 9
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
"I'm the Appriser… The Appriser of Death…"
His words echoed in my mind, sending shivers down my spine in remembrance.
"My existence is the affirmation of the Fall."
The raw pain, grief, guilt in his voice still brought about tears to my eyes even now.
"I'm afraid you will not live to see spring…"
Death will soon be upon us…
"Nyx cannot be defeated."
He sounded so resigned but also so, so sure of himself...
"Being inside the two of you… Thanks to that… I am able to give you both a choice."
Hope became evident in his voice, in his eyes, exuded from his very being.
"Nyx's coming cannot be avoided but…it is possible to live in peace until she arrives."
His eyes had caught ours as they burned deeply with confident, unerring, perturbing subservience.
"You'll have to kill me."
And I'd felt sicksicksick of how he'd thought of himself as somehow inferior to us…
"I don't want you to have to endure such pain."
How can you expect us to kill you, Ryoji-kun…? I thought with clenched eyes, How can you tell us that you don't want us to suffer and then ask us to kill you…?
(It hurts… This pain… I'm suffocating inside…)
My heart clenched, struggled, fought against his words and I felt like it was being rippedapartfromwithin.
I don't want to lose another loved one…
(I don't want to destroy my friend with my own hands…!)
And yet there was this agitation brewing in my chest.
Scared…
(I'm so scared…)
What if they want me…want us…to do just that…?
What should I do…?
(What is the right choice…?)
What if everyone decides that forgetting would be so much…better than suffering…?
Is there…nothing else I can do…?
(Isn't there another way?!)
Tomorrow was the final day…
It was the final day I would have to think it all over.
It was the final day I would have before I, we, must make our decision.
It was the final day I would have…before we had to act.
To kill or not to kill…?
An unbidden snort left my lips as my guts twisted inside.
What a cruel twist of fate this is...
I already knew that I didn't want to kill him.
As the Fall approaches, Death became human…and lost his desire to kill.
It might've been easier on him had I…had Minato and I…not nurtured him within us for all of those years…for all of those nights of childish rendezvous…even if everything had been done unknowingly.
Perhaps I really am the harbinger of misfortune...
(Mama, Papa, I'd always caused you both so much pain.)
"Hellooooo?" Yukari's voice startled me out of my depressing thoughts, "Are you awake, Minako?"
"I'm up!" I quickly answered, shoving all of my insecurities to the back of my mind and opening the door with a smile, "Good morning, Yuka-chan~!"
"Morning!" she smiled back with extra pep, "I come bearing good news!"
Good news? I perked up at that, I could use some good news right about now…
And she continued happily, "Aigis is coming back today!"
"Really?!" Surprise jolted through me before it was abruptly washed away by an overwhelming amount of relief and I grinned genuinely for the first time that morning when she nodded. "That's great! She's fully healed, then?"
"Yup!" Yukari popped the last letter, grinning back at me before continuing on a more soberly note, "And Mitsuru-senpai wants us all to meet in the lounge tonight, okay?"
Ignoring the way her voice dropped a bit, I simply saluted and chirped, "Yes, ma'am!"
A giggle left her lips and I relaxed a bit as Yukari regained her cheerfulness.
"Alright then," she said, turning to leave with an energetic wave, "I'll see ya later, Minako!"
"See ya~!" I waved back until she descended the staircase before dropping my hand and frowning in thought.
Tonight… I breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, Tonight will tell me what everyone's thoughts are.
(Please don't make me choose between them…)
.
.
.
By the time we'd all gathered in the lounge, the sun was beginning to set, turning the once-blue sky into an array of red and orange and pink...
I would've been quite content with watching the sunset but there were more important things to busy myself with as Aigis walked in with a faint, barely discernible, hint of stiffness to her movements.
"I'm back, everyone," she intoned with her head slightly lowered, "Sorry to have worried you all."
Aigis… My heart ached at the sight of her. Are you expecting us to reject you…?
"Man, I'm glad to see you," Junpei (bless his soul) was the first to break the awkward silence with a laugh, "I was getting nervous."
"Me too," Fuuka (ever the amiable support) quickly backed him up with a smile, "I was fearing the worst…"
I smiled at her and Aigis seemed a bit surprised at the warm reception before she hesitated and shook her head a bit, stating firmly, "I…am a machine. I can always be rebuilt."
Why…do you seem to want to hurt yourself…?
"Even if I were completely destroyed," she insisted, "The programming data necessary to recreate me would still–"
"Hey," Yukari cut in sharply, clearly upset (and perhaps a tad bit hurt), "Don't talk about yourself like that."
You're not just a machine… You're…Aigis.
A beat of silence passed before Mitsuru-senpai spoke up, "They said another week would be required for a complete recovery, but I had the process expedited," she paused and crossed her arms before speaking again, "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve."
Immediately, tension filled the air as everyone shifted to attention.
"…I'm sorry for all the trouble I've cause," Aigis whispered when it was clear that no one would speak first, "Mitsuru-san visited me at the lab and told me everything…"
"If you don't kill me, you will suffer more than you could ever imagine."
She raised her eyes to look at everyone, "That must have been difficult for you all to hear."
"With no hope for salvation, you will live every day paralyzed by the fear of your impending death."
Her eyes were especially pained as she shifted her gaze to us, "Minato-san, Minako-san… Have you been well…?"
And then, abruptly abashed, she stuttered, "I mean, considering the circumstances…"
Oh, Aigis…
Pushing my worries to the back of my mind, I smiled brightly at her and chirped, "Welcome back, Ai-chan~!"
From besides me, Minato nodded in agreement and her eyes widened as she stared at us incomprehensibly for a moment.
"I've…" her voice faltered in confusion, "…come back."
Her brows furrowed as she gazed between the two of us and said, clearly baffled, "But, ten years ago, I… What I did to you both was…"
"You did the right thing," Minato spoke up, catching her gaze sternly, as I nodded and agreed, "That's right, Ai-chan."
So…don't blame yourself, okay…?
"But," she still resisted being forgiven, "If I hadn't done that, you two wouldn't be…you both wouldn't have to suffer like this…!"
But then I wouldn't have met you all… (I wouldn't have remembered Minato…)
Despite the robotic lilt that still inflected her tone, there was an unmistakable strain to her voice and I could only soften even further because it wasn't her fault.
The fault…lies with those who had tampered with all of this…
Tension hovered over all of us for a moment before Aigis spoke up again, disquietly calm, "Ryoji has presented you both with a difficult choice," a pause, "Have you made your decision?"
What I want most…
Minato was silent and I closed my eyes briefly.
Is it the same as everyone else's…?
She lifted her gaze to stare straight into mine.
"I have a favor to ask of you," she started and I could feel Minato tensing in my mind, "Tomorrow, when Ryoji comes, please…"
My stomach churned in sinking anticipation.
"Please kill him…!"
Not so distant and icy fear abruptly filled my chest and I swiftly grabbed Minato's hand, forcing him to stay seated and quiet even as he glanced sharply at me.
(The others were already rebelling silently to her wish.)
"I can't bear to see everyone hurting like this," she continued, looking like she wanted to break down, "Please choose to have your memories erased…!"
She's trembling…
Unaware of how her own body was giving her away, Aigis continued imploringly, "Even if… Even if it means forgetting everything," she forced herself to speak, "…and everyone…"
To forget again... I…
I dug my fingernails into the palm of my free hand and bit my tongue as Yukari stuttered, "A-Aigis, what're you talking about?!"
"Yeah," Junpei looked torn between frowning in disapproval and smiling to alleviate the heaviness in the air, "This isn't like you."
But Aigis remained silent as she dropped her gaze to her hands, frowning a bit and clenching them tightly when she finally noticed their shakiness.
"…What's wrong, Aigis?" Mitsuru-senpai asked softly, picking up on the feeling that she wanted (needed) to say more.
Because mechanical maiden or not, she's human enough to feel.
"Why…?" she whispered at long last, "Why did I come back here?"
Something stirred in her eyes that had never been there before–
"My mission is to protect humanity from Shadows."
–and, with a start, my heart clenched as I realized–
"But now, I know that I can't defeat them!"
–I'd seen that familiar feeling before–
"So then…why am I here?"
–dark, consuming, always clinging, never letting go–
"I'm useless!"
–a deep-seated helplessness, feeling so powerless, a weakness that just kept on growing–
"I cannot even shed a tear for you all…!"
–like a black hole, it obliterated the will to fight, the hope for a better outcome, the optimism to keep pressing on–
That emotion in her eyes right now…it's the same as what I held back then…
–it was insecurity of the highest level, beckoning immediate submission before the fight had even begun…
"Oh, Aigis…" Fuuka whispered, looking as if she just wanted to hug her tightly but remained seated and unsure, as Aigis continued shakily,
"Why fight…when you know that you can't win!?"
I closed my eyes, knowing that she didn't understand…
"What is the purpose of that?!"
…not yet anyway…
"Why are you wasting your lives?!"
…but, soon, I was sure she will.
"I don't plan to waste it," Minato abruptly spoke up with a hint of steel in his voice that even the others managed to catch.
"...Heh, that's right," Akihiko-senpai smirked, pumping a fist, "We're just planning for the future," he glanced over at the youngest, "Right, Ken?"
"Right," came his automatic answer as he smiled back confidently.
"I… I don't understand," Aigis kept shifting her gaze from one member to the next before looking away and sighing somberly, "It must be because I don't possess a 'life'…"
At this, Junpei barked a laugh, "This has nothing to do with having a life."
But Aigis simply shook her head and stated again quite firmly, "I am a machine."
Are you trying to convince us, Aigis?
"A machine that was created to protect humans from Shadows."
Or are you trying to convince yourself?
Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly as she whispered forlornly, "But, I can't fulfill that mission with the powers I was given."
(That lost look in her eyes made me want to cry for her.)
"So then, what is my purpose now?" she looked at me pleadingly, "Could someone please tell me?"
A stunned pause before–
"We don't know the answer, Aigis…"
–Junpei spoke up in that rarely used tone of his that bespoke of seriousness.
"The only one who can tell you what your purpose is, is you," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I mean, that's why we're having such hard time making our decision," an awkward smile graced his lips, "There's just no easy answer," he sighed yet remained optimistic, "But as long as we're alive, we have to do something…"
Jun-chan… You're already the reliable man you want to become.
"When we see others hurting, we want to help them," he nodded to himself as if to reaffirm his words, "So that's our purpose."
And then, like the goofy guy he was, he laughed boisterously, "Haha, I'm not too good at explaining it, but," a confident smile graced his lips, "That's what we all think."
It's in human nature to empathize with others.
Skepticism was evident on her face as Aigis asked, "Can finding one's purpose really be so simple…?"
Complexity can be overrated anyway.
"When I saw you collapse, I realized something," Fuuka finally spoke up, soft but firm, "I want to protect you," her usual gentle eyes were as fierce as a mother bear's, "I don't want to forget about you!"
"Fuuka-san," Aigis whispered, a bit stunned, "I…"
"…There are times when you lose sight of your goal," Mitsuru-senpai added in when Aigis trailed off, "And you will have to search for it," a nostalgic smile tilted her lips, "But if you can't find it again, then you must set your heart on a new goal," a soft laugh left her lips, "I'm not really one to talk…but I feel that I've come to understand something important this year," the strength in her voice projected her confidence, "To truly live, you will need to make changes sometimes."
Energy filled the atmosphere at her eloquently empowering speech.
"Do you think I can do that?"
Hope tinted her voice as Aigis looked at our redheaded senior.
"Do you think I can change?"
Yes…
"Yes," came her immediate answer before she explained, "I mean, you've changed so much already."
Mitsuru-senpai tilted her head a bit to look over Aigis.
"Haven't you noticed?" she asked almost teasingly with a glint of pride in her eyes, "In fact, you're changing even as we speak."
No matter how small or insignificant it may seem, all experience changes us in some way.
Then, as if a switch had been flipped, Aigis straightened up with new light in her eyes.
"I know what my purpose is," she said as she lifted her hands to look at her mechanical joints, "I'm a machine…a machine who is here to 'live,'" she clenched her fists, "And the one who has given me this new purpose is…me," a small but determined smile graced her lips, "This is the promise I've made to myself," blue eyes raised with burning confidence, "I don't know how I'll do it but…I guess that is a part of living too."
Life is but a journey after all.
She nodded reassuringly to herself before power rippled through the air and a faint silhouette of Palladion appeared behind her, glowing and shifting and changing into another…
"Will you allow me to join with you all?" she asked, looking around at everyone.
And I smiled, "You're already a part of us, Ai-chan!"
Delight brightened up her eyes.
"Thank you!" she said as her voice grew even more natural, "I will be with you all," it became even more human, "No matter what happens…!"
"That's the spirit!" Yukari laughed before everyone else joined in cheerfully.
This is how it should be… I thought with a small smile, With our resolve as one.
Minato tightened his grip around mine.
'Ko-chan...'
And I squeezed his hand in assent.
.
.
.
Laying in my bed, I gazed up at the green-tinted ceiling, silently counting the seconds–
…five…four…three…two…one…
–before the Dark Hour ended and the colors of the night swirled back into their rightful places.
Pushing myself up, I smoothed out my school uniform and silently made my way out of my room, taking extra care to sneak pass Mitsuru-senpai's door, and down the stairs to the second floor.
Even my Personae were quiet as I padded with nary a sound to Minato's room and placed my hand on the doorknob.
Huh, I realized as I slipped inside, This is the first time I've ever been in here.
That made my heart thump just a tad bit quicker than normal as I surveyed his room: it was the same as mine…well, except that he had blue bedsheets and a distinct lack of plushes and other feminine products.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when the door clicked close and my breath hitched a bit when I suddenly found him barely a centimeter away from me.
"Hey," he whispered with a sparkle in his eyes.
My cheeks heated up as I responded just as softly, "Hey…"
His eyes flashed and warmth bubbled in my chest before he pulled back reluctantly and looked away, blushing lightly.
Not letting his awkwardness bother me, I ghosted over to his bed and plopped down unceremoniously before kicking my feet childishly.
He huffed a laugh at my actions and I blew a raspberry at him in retaliation before we simply sat in silence, relishing in each other's comforting aura.
"…Have you made your decision?" he finally asked, resting his arms against his knees and glancing at me from the corner of his eyes.
I leaned back on my palms and looked up at the ceiling for a silent moment before returning his question, "What about you?"
He looked down in thought for a moment before nodding firmly, "I have."
And then he looked back at me and stated bluntly, "And so have you."
My lips twitched up into a smile before I teased him, "Why ask in the first place then?"
His shoulders lifted in a brief shrug before he mused, "Maybe I just wanted to hear your voice."
Snorting, I kicked at his legs but he easily dodged it with a snicker and we relaxed again before–
"…Hey, Toto-kun…?"
–I spoke up and he hummed in response–
"Do you…think it's odd…?"
–he glanced over at me as I fiddled with the bow of my uniform–
"I mean, our relationship, it's…well…"
–my brows furrowed and I struggled a bit before saying lamely,
"The more I think on it, the stranger it seems to be."
He was quiet for a moment before asking, "Do you dislike it…?"
No!
I parted my lips to say just that but stopped when his fingers brushed against my cheek.
'I know.'
A smile played on his lips as he stroked the spot beneath my eye.
"…This connection of ours," he whispered, "This bond of ours… It is a bit strange…"
From beneath my lashes, I looked up at him as he spoke,
"Just by being near you, I can feel it deepening, growing stronger and stronger, to the point where we simply know before it's even consciously thought…"
Leaning into his touch, I mused softly, "And it's always been there, hasn't it? However small it may have been in the beginning…it was always there."
From our very first meeting, we've simply gravitated towards each other even when all else seemed negligible…
"Even our parents," he smiled a bit bittersweetly, "Although we tried our best to conform to their expectations, we rarely felt it deep within our hearts…"
"But still we tried," I smiled sadly, "Even when we felt next to nothing, we forced ourselves to try our best for them… They were our parents after all… Logically, we knew we should love them and so…"
"We acted as best as we could to resemble the other children," he continued, closing his eyes in remembrance.
'Mom… Dad… Even though I feel empty inside… I'll try my best to be like them… So don't frown like that… Don't cry anymore...'
"I chose to be the quiet one," he murmured, "That way I didn't need to smile when that hole in my heart was so gaping wide… I could be cold and everyone would just label me as shy…"
"I chose to be the exact opposite," I laughed softly, "Smile no matter what… Smile even though it hurt to… Smile…so that Mama and Papa would be happy."
Always 'pretending' until 'it ended' that fateful day 'when I met you, when' we felt complete at long last...
We shared a smile.
"Say," I whispered to him what I'd been wondering for so long, "What exactly are we…? Kindred spirits?"
His hand gripped mine firmly as he rested his forehead against mine.
"I'm not sure," he replied mildly, not at all concerned, "But it's more than just being childhood friends, na…?"
Eurydice stirred in my mind, reaching out of my soul, and I could feel them responding.
Orpheus… Minato… I…
And then it happened.
Nngh…!
Clutching my head, I tried to fight off the pain–
–flashinglightscreechingtires –
–as nausea gripped my senses–
–redredredblooddripping–
–and I felt myself falling–
–deafeningroarsglintingmetal–
–succumbing to memories of that night…
"Ahahahaha~! We should do this again next year!" Papa exclaimed loudly before yelping and rubbing his head, "What was that for?!"
"Hush, dear," Mama scolded him as she set her hand back down on her lap, "Ko-chan and Minato-kun are trying to sleep."
From our place at the very back, I giggled a bit and buried my face into Toto-kun's shoulder as he snickered softly.
"How cruel," Papa sniffled and I heard a muffled clap before Toto-no-papa sighed sympathetically, "I feel for you, Inoue. I feel for you… Tsk. Women."
"Oh?" Toto-no-mama spoke up as softly as always with a hint of ice, "Is there something that you wish to tell me, loving husband of mine?"
A strange sound, like a mix of a scream and a groan, was heard before Toto-no-papa squeaked, "No, ma'am, none at all!"
Peeking up and over the seats, I saw him hunching over and cowering before the true master of the Arisato household.
Toto-no-mama saw me and smiled peacefully, causing me to cover my lips to avoid laughing aloud before I ducked down, grinning widely.
And then everything changed.
"Wha–?!"
The car jerked and flipped and–
"Ah–!"
–my side burned and I couldn't breathe–
"…o…ch…n…?"
–there was slick iron on my lips–
"K…ch…n…!"
–and a loud buzzing in my ears–
"K…ch…n…l…k…t…me...!"
–and I squinted my eyes, trying to see through red–
Cough! Cough!
–my chest ached and my head throbbed and–
"To…to…k…n…?"
–there he was, looking so, so scared and leaning over me–
"Wh…hap…n…d…?"
–tears were falling and he was shivering–
"Dun…cry…T…o…k…n…"
–and then I saw it.
Slowly creeping up on him, on us, was a mass of darkness in tattered cloth with silver chains clattering and a skull-like mask…
(It was menacing…
It was beckoning…)
I reached out, slipping my arms over Toto-kun's shoulders and towards it, and my fingers grazed against its cold head, sending shivers of heat and cold up and down my spine…
(Run away…
Step closer…)
And Toto-kun must've noticed by now because he abruptly turned and his eyes widened as fearterrorhorror swirled within, bleaching the silver of his eyes whitewhitewhite.
His hands grasped at my waist as he pulled me closer to his chest, trying to cover me up as best as he could, and all I could do was whisper,
"Who…are…you…?"
Eyeless sockets stared down at me as I trailed my hands from the top of its smooth skull to its jagged teeth to its sharp jaw and something rang through my mind.
Death…
It was like a deafening whisper and a soundless roar all at once.
Am I…going to die…?
Toto-kun was trembling against me as I heard his breath hitch unevenly before–
"Le…v…us…a…l…n…"
(Hot and cold, my heart thumped heavily, I coughed and shivered.)
"I said…"
–he hissed lowly, matching its glare with his own and staring it down–
"Leave."
–and it paused, shifting its sightless gaze from me to him, and then I heard it–
"Two vessels found."
–her voice was clear, sharp, monotonous–
"Suitability confirmed."
–a whirling sound, blue light, something surged–
"Commencing sealing sequence!"
–and the last thing I saw was Toto-kun's scaredshockeddetermined face before everything…
Everything faded to darkness...
As if breaking out of the sea, I gasped for air and struggled against my binds before catching whiff of a familiar scent and pausing.
"T-Toto-kun…?"
He shuddered and held on tighter for a moment before loosening his grip just enough for me to shift around and look up at him.
"Toto-kun..."
His eyes shined with unshed tears and I raised a hand before noticing.
I'm...trembling...?
Dumbfounded, I just stared for a moment.
I... It... Still affected...?
Minato clasped his hand over mine and I snapped out of it to look back up at him.
You're shaking...
Every muscle...every fiber...his whole being was quivering against me.
You...saw it too, didn't you, Toto-kun...?
He shivered and jerked a nod and I closed my eyes.
What a terrible memory to relive…
(What a relief it is to fully remember…)
Lacing my fingers with his, I wrapped my other arm around his waist.
I'd almost left him behind permanently back then…
And he wrapped me up tightly in his embrace, burying his face into my shoulder.
I'm sorry for making you go through that…
He shook his head furiously and breathed shakily.
'Never again… Never again.'
I could only close my eyes and nod in agreement.
Never again…
(I will never leave you behind.)
...I would've said that I dozed off for a bit but that would be a lie.
My body was too tense, tightly coiled, so wound up from that powerful flashback that even the day's accumulated exhaustion couldn't force me to sleep.
Instead, I remained, half-laying beside Minato and half-laying on him, trying to seep in his warmth as he did the same with me.
I supposed that I should've been embarrassed at just how intimate our position was but, at the moment, I could care less if someone were to walk in and get the wrong idea.
(Or perhaps the right idea.)
Nuzzling his shoulder, I sighed softly and closed my eyes, trying to focus my thoughts on something lighter…
"Those two have changed ever since they'd met each other, haven't they…?"
Mama…
"Indeed… Minato-chan had never spoken as much as he does when he with her… Even when it came to us, his parents."
Toto-no-mama…
"She sure is something…an angel in mortal flesh, perhaps?"
Toto-no-papa…
"Haha, I should be saying that about your son! I'd never seen Ko-chan smile as beautifully as she does now…"
Papa…
"Yes… Even though she tried her best to smile for us… It wasn't until she met him that she seemed truly happy…"
Mama, you always knew…?
"Sometimes I wonder… Were we simply terrible parents…? To have pushed her into faking her smiles just to make ourselves feel better…"
That's not it, Papa! It was just…us…
"Perhaps… Then again, perhaps it was something else…"
Something…else…?
"Have you noticed? Although they appear like normal children when they're together… The moment they must separate… It's as if a great deal of pain has been dealt to them and their eyes age."
It always (always) hurt whenever we must leave one another and then the loneliness encroaches on us again…
"But why…? It doesn't make sense! Why would being apart hurt them so much unless…! Unless… It…can't be… You don't think that…?"
…?
"Heh, I see that you're beginning to get the idea, Inoue."
…?
"Yeah… The only reason that it'd hurt to be separated is…if they were meant to be together. Like…like…"
…?
"Soul mates."
My eyes snapped open.
"Ko-chan…?"
Unbidden heat coursed through my body and I could feel him tense against me.
…!
Abruptly pushing myself up, I turned away and pressed my cold fingers against my cheeks, trying to cool off.
H-How embarrassing…!
The room seemed to spin as my emotions went into a frenzy.
I can't believe that I remembered that conversation out of every other one and–!
My thoughts were all over the place.
Seriously! What the heck am I– Why did I even–?!
And I soon dissolved into a puddle of panic.
Of all the– I don't even– WhatthehellshouldI–!
Chu.
…?!
Frozen, I stopped breathing–
(Simply staring blankly ahead...)
–and my cheeks burned before–
(My lips were tingling…)
–I shivered.
"Nn…"
And he pulled back a hair's breadth, grinning a bit (stupidly, cutely, ah damn it– Ican'tthinkstraightatall…).
I tried speaking but only ended up flapping my mouth like a fish and he–
(Darkness…)
–covered my eyes while I–
(A hint of spice…)
–focused on the sensation–
(Tingles running up, down, through my body...)
–gripping my heart–
(Ba-bump.)
–and there was a tug on my hair–
(It flowed down my back...)
–before my pins dropped to the floor–
(Clink, clink, clink…)
–as his fingers twisted my locks–
(Brushing against my scalp…)
–and all I could do was…
Do something already!
Gripping his shirt, I pressed against him–
Minato...
–and sighed softly before–
...you...
–biting down.
...pervert.
A muffled yelp left his lips and I pulled away, licking my lips triumphantly (nervously).
"Serves you right," I sang (croaked) before gaining hold of myself and flashing my canines in an impish smirk, "And I told ya I'd bite you (to death) one day, didn't I?"
Ah, he looks stoned.
Relaxing, I snickered at how his soul seemed to leave his spirit, which seemed to leave his body.
(And had it been in her nature to, Eurydice would've laughed her ass off.)
But then I saw him curl up into a ball to sulk at his misfortune.
He's totally trying to guilt-trip me, isn't he? I thought, crossing my arms an frowning, Yeah, well, it's not gonna work this time 'round!
Nodding to myself as reaffirmation, I ignored the melancholic aura hanging over him...
And the way he seemed to be growing mushrooms...
And the way he was slowly dissolving away–
Ah damn it...
My shoulders slumped as I bowed my head in resignation before poking him, sighing,
"Toto-kun."
Motionless, he didn't reply and I sighed a heavier sigh,
"Toto-kun..."
A third sigh before I reached out to grab him–
"Meep...!"
–only to get flipped onto my back and–
(Blinking once, twice, thrice…)
–I flushed red as my collar stung a bit–
"M-Minato…!"
–before he pulled back and smirked cheekily.
"Payback," he practically sang, "Is a bi–"
I quickly covered his mouth with a hand and scowled furiously (never mind the fact that I was still blushing).
"Finish that," I threatened, "And I'll do more than nip your lips."
And his eyes narrowed, glinting mischievously, before I realized,
"That just sounded wrong, didn't it?"
He chuckled as I groaned and covered my eyes, wanting to just crawl into a deep, dark hole somewhere and–
"Mmph!"
His lips pressed against mine for the third time that night.
'You're so cute, Ko-chan.'
(At this rate, I was going to have a permanent blush on my face.)
Shut up, Toto-no-baka.
Warm feelings bubbled in my chest as he nuzzled my cheek but I refused to open my eyes because I just knew that he was silently laughing at me.
...meanie...
After what felt like forever, he finally settled down and sighed happily against the crook of my neck.
I rolled my eyes but didn't complain about his weight before I noticed the time–3:00 AM–and deadpanned.
'Just stay with me tonight.'
...You do realize what Mitsuru-senpai would do if–
'She won't find out. Promise.'
…If she does, I'm dumping your ass and running.
'Meh. I've already survived one Execution.'
...You brave, foolish soul.
Then what does that make you if you haven't left yet?
...Touché.
He smiled against my neck and tightened his grip around my waist, whispering,
"I love you, Minako Inoue."
"We'll always be together, right, Ko-chan?"
An unbidden smile tilted my lips as I nuzzled his hair, murmuring back,
"I love you too, Minato Arisato."
"Yeah! Always and forever and ever and ever, Toto-kun!"
.
.
.
When I blinked awake, the sun was shining through the shades and I noticed that I was back in my room.
Was that…just a dream…?
But then I noticed that I was still in my school uniform (a bit wrinkled, a bit ruffled) and I smiled before remembering.
Today's the day…
Standing up, I walked over to my calendar and picked up my red marker, crossing out yesterday's date and tracing the box around today's.
Ryoji-kun…
I closed my eyes–
Sorry, but…
–before glaring in determination.
We won't go down without a fight.
Fool Social Link: XXII – Rank 9 – Complete!
...Maybe I should've put up a warning on just how corny this was? (Ahaha...haha...haa... *slumps over* ...) Oh well...
Anyway, I hope that this chapter wasn't too confusing or abrupt or bland or *insert negative adjective here* but, if it was, then...well, I don't know, tell me for future references, I guess?
Other than that, I'll reiterate what I said before: I'll be pretty busy so Rank 10 will take a while to complete.
Until next time then~!