In-tro-duc-ing: to present [someone] by name to another in order to establish an acquaintance
"Welcome to Sukui!" Akane bowed to us like we were customers. I don't think she honestly noticed it was us. She straightened herself out and then saw us. "Oh! Sorry guys. I didn't notice it was you."
"It's cool, Aka." She looked over to me.
"You look nice, Ari." I smiled.
"Thanks. I'm glad you think so." Akane looked over to Tadashi.
"Doesn't she look nice, Tadashi?" His eyes widened as he blushed. He was completely flustered.
"Why are you asking me?" She made her hands into a heart.
"Cuz I ship it." And then both Tadashi and myself were blushing.
"Boys are icky, Ari. Ignore her, for she knows not of what she speaks."
"Fight me, Walker."
"Which one of us? There are technically two of us now."
"The purple one, obviously." Iris got into a pretend fight position. She kinda looked like she was in Street Fighter.
"Bring it on, Himura." Meanwhile, Nolan came up behind Akane and hit her on the head with his order notepad.
"Ow!"
"You still owe me and Eri for bailing on us the other day. Get moving." Akane frowned and rubbed the back of her head.
"Geez, that really hurt... You didn't have to use that to get my attention."
"It worked, didn't it?" She sighed.
"I'll talk to you guys later..." She looked over at me. "Have fun, okay?" I nodded and smiled.
"Okay." She smiled as she went off to help customers. Nolan looked at us once he was sure she was actually working.
"I assume you guys can handle yourselves."
"I don't know if Iris can, but Ari and I are fine."
"Hey..." Nolan laughed.
"I'll take that as a yes." He looked over to me. "I'll introduce you to some of my friends, later."
"Cool. Thank you." He nodded as he turned and began walking away.
"No problem." Once he was gone I turned to Iris and Tadashi.
"Where to first?"
"Take a minute to look around. You're the one that has to answer that." I deadpanned.
"You guys are so helpful."
"He's right, Sis. Choose what you can handle. This is all about you." I sighed. 'There is literally no turning back after this...' I took a deep breath before turning. 'Here I go...'
Once I turned, I was thankful that I hadn't been greeted by familiar faces. I looked to my left, however, and my vision froze in that direction.
"And it has begun. Take your time to look around before making a decision, though." I nodded. 'Fire Emblem Fates, confirmed... Interesting...' I took another minute to look at the group before turning my head to the right. I smiled at the sight.
"Dude..." I saw the next group, which happened to include my OTP. I looked at Iris. "Are they together...?" She ruffled my hair.
"Not yet. I think it's possible, though." I looked back. "Your inner fujoshi must be going crazy."
"Inner fujoshi? Pfft, I admit I'm into yaoi."
"True." To clarify what was going on, I had seen my OTP. My OTP is actually a yaoi ship, for your information. And even though the ship isn't canon, I still love it.
Who are the two people who make up my OTP? Takuma Ichijo and Senri Shiki from Vampire Knight. They are perfection with one another.
Rima, the one Senri is actually supposed to end up with in the show, was there as well. I didn't particularly care for her, considering she was in the way of pure amazingness. Not to mention, in my opinion, she isn't exactly an interesting character. She was really kind of dull. Really. No offense.
"Looks like they're the only two groups here right now." Iris did a sweep of the room. "Yep. I was right."
"You've got to options then, Ari." I looked between the two. 'If I choose Fire Emblem, I'll meet more people... Not to mention the majority is more sociable than my OTP's group...' I sighed.
"OTP'll have to wait. I've made my decision."
"Neutral characters it is." Iris smiled at me. "Okay, Sis: deep breath." I took a deep breath in and let it out. "*Yosh! Let's go!" Iris ran ahead, leaving me and Tadashi behind.
"Umm... Did she just...?"
"Hai..." He shook his head. "I don't know how many times we said this night is pointless without you... Some things just don't get through to her brain..."
"That seems about right." I smiled. "You've got to admire her spirit, though. She shines so brightly... I hope that light never burns out. It's rare in this world... In any world, for that matter..."
"It makes me think of you when you were young." I looked over at him. "You're a rare light. You were born different, and I'm not talking about here in Mezame."
"Yeah, and that's proved to be hell for me."
"Despite that, it's something we all need. Thank you." I smiled.
"Thank you too, Tadashi." He smiled.
"Hai, hai. Let's get going. I think they're waiting for us." I looked over.
"Huh?" They all seemed to be looking at us. Iris was grinning and waving at us. I instantly felt my face warm in embarrassment. "Dammit, Iris..." He sighed.
"Come on... I'll be sure to scold her later."
"Arigatou..." We began our awkward journey across the room. Once we were there, Iris put her hands on my shoulders and shoved me in front of her.
"Okay, guys. This is my twin, Ari. She's a newbie here in town, so I'm introducing her to everyone." Corrin smiled at me, which caused a slight blush to form on my face.
"Welcome to Midorijima, Ari. I'm Corrin."
"Corrin... Cool name."
"Thank you. Yours is a lovely name as well." I felt my face grow even warmer. 'I wonder if he'd be saying the same thing about my real name...'
"Aren't the rest of you going to introduce yourselves?"
"Our apologies. I am Kaze."
"I-I'm Mozu."
"My name is Silas."
"I'm Felicia." Jakob remained silent. Corrin nudged him, causing him to sigh.
"I am Jakob." Azura was quietly sitting in the back. She looked over, finally, and spoke.
"I am Azura." She turned back. I could tell she was lost in thought (and *all alone, too :P).
"It must be a bit much to take in." Iris threw her arm around my shoulder.
"Don't worry. Ari here is great with names. Besides, she still has a lot more names to learn tonight. That is, if everyone comes tonight."
"When don't they? It isn't like they really have anywhere else to hang out." Corrin nodded in agreement to Tadashi's statement.
"It is true. A lot of us aren't able to see one another. It's the only time we get to see people from our homes.'
"That must be tough."
"Do you have anyone from your home here?" I shook my head.
"No... I'm the only one... I might be the only one left, to be honest..."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm from Traverse Town." The group fell silent. Azura even looked up.
"I'm sorry." I shook my head.
"It's fine... I don't remember much about home, anyway. I must have conked my head or something in the struggle and earned myself amnesia."
"I hope your memory returns." I nodded.
"Yeah... Me too..."
"Okay, you guys. Ari has met them, so it's time to move on. I've got customers to feed and money to earn." We looked over at Akane who was shooing us away. "Come on. I owe the boys a lot. I don't like being in debt."
"You sound really shady saying that, Aka."
"I know. Now move it!" I laughed a little as we began to get pushed away.
"It was nice meeting you guys."
"It was nice meeting you as well, Ari. Enjoy yourself while you're here." I smiled.
"Thanks." Once we were far enough away from them for Akane's tastes, she walked back to the table. "Is that going to happen the whole time we're here?"
"It's a possibility." I laughed.
"Seems legit." Iris smiled at me.
"So, how do you feel?" I let out a breath.
"It was nerve-racking and exciting all at once. I'm amazed I did it."
"See? You did great."
"And that was a lower anxiety fandom..." I sighed. "We'll see how the other ones go."
"You'll be fine."
"That's what everyone says to me, and then I get sick."
"You are just an optimistic ball of sunshine, aren't you?"
"More just a realist who overexaggerates her limits in her mind... and out loud..."
"It's good to be a realist, but you can't make yourself fail because of it."
"I know... Tell my brain that, though..." Iris grabbed my head with both hands.
"Hey, you big meanie! Leave my sister alone. Stop thinking so much."
"Iris, I didn't mean to literally tell my brain." She grinned as she let go of my head.
"I know. I just wanted to do that." I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Right..."
"So, Ari, what would you like to do now?" I scanned the room.
"No one else has gotten here yet, from what I can see..." I looked at Iris. "O. T. P." She smiled.
"Okay. Rule for this group is no squealing, fangirling, or giggling. Also, avoid bringing up the fact that you are shipping them together."
"I shall resist."
"Good. Now come on." She grabbed my hand and ran while pulling me along.
"Iris! Watch out!" Right as we were running past the door, someone was walking inside. Iris let go of me in hopes of us both dodging. Of course, I wasn't known for my grace and flexibility... She easily jumped out of the way, and I went crashing into the person coming in.
"Oof!" I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. I didn't want to look up at whoever I had fallen on. Of course, I'm polite, though, so I jumped up.
"Oh my Aries, are you okay?!" And then, I saw who I had fallen on, causing my face to turn into a tomato.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I reached out my hand helped him to his feet. "What about you? Your face is a bit red."
"O-Oh, I-I'm fine." The rest of his group walked in, and I was close to either fangirling or dying. Probably the latter. Iris came back over, grinning.
"Sorry, dude. Didn't see who it was." A box of something came flying across the room and hit Iris in the head.
"That's why you don't run in here!" I looked over at Akane, who was yelling at Iris. 'So that's who threw it...' Iris stood up, rubbing her head.
"Mean..." Iris easily ignored the fact that she just had something thrown at her head and turned back to the group. "Anyways, it's great we ran into you guys."
"Ba-Dum, tss."
"Thank you, Ari." She slapped me on the back, knocking the air out of me. "This is my twin, Ari. I'm introducing her to everyone."
"More like your twin who is currently having trouble breathing..."
"Wimp."
"That makes more sense. I knew I'd never see you before." He smiled. "I'm Noctis." Prompto wrapped his arm around Noctis's neck and pointed to himself with his thumb.
"I'm his best bud, Prompto Argentum."
"I'm Noctis's... friend and cook, Ignis Scientia."
"And I'm Gladiolus Amicitia."
"So, you don't have a last name now, Noct?" He scratched the back of his head.
"Well..." Iris sighed.
"Boys are hopeless..." She jabbed her thumb in his direction. "Noctis's full name is Noctis Lucis Caelum."
"Cool name." He blinked.
"Doesn't ring a bell?" I realized now he was trying to be incognito. He wasn't doing a very good job at it...
"Kinda... I guess. Should I know it?" 'Man, being oblivious to everything is hard.'
"He's a prince, Sis." I blinked.
"Seriously?" Noctis sighed.
"You're extremely reliable, Iris..." She didn't say anything and just grinned at him. He turned to me. "And to answer your question, yes. I am a prince. My kingdom is on Nova Chrysalia."
"Nova Chrysalia?"
"You don't know the main continent?"
"I don't know much of anything about the world anymore. A hit to the head will do that to you."
"Whoa, what happened?" I looked at Prompto.
"I'm originally from Traverse Town... I assume you can guess the rest." Ignis sighed.
"It seems like everywhere in the world nowadays is going to hell. There are few places people can take refuge." Gladiolus crossed his arms.
"They should have closed off Gran Pulse sooner. There would have been fewer monsters."
"Gran Pulse?"
"It's a continent connected to Nova Chrysalia in the northeast. It was one of the original areas in the world, and it holds the oldest civilizations. Saisei was founded there, Sis. The continent used to be a place traveled to during pilgrimages, but it was closed off after a lot of different bad events that took place." Iris crossed her arms and frowned. "Many believe daemons came from there since so many people died."
"That's scary to think of..." I furrowed my eyebrows. "How do you seal off a continent, though?"
"Magic. The Saisei head priests closed it off. It's a lot easier to open, though, then it was to close. Any person with the potential of being a Saisei head priest can open it... Closing it, though, cost a lot of lives... It drains a lot of your life force to do it... Not that opening it doesn't have its own energy requirements. It still takes a lot out of you." I nodded.
"Man, I need a history lesson sooner than later." Iris smiled.
"I'm more of a "teach along the way" girl. You'll learn when you need to." I shook my head.
"I should have known..." Akane finally walked over.
"Am I going to have to follow you guys around all night so we don't lose money?"
"Probably." She gestured for us to leave.
"Shoo. They are customers first, friends second." She turned to the boys. "No offense, dudes."
"It's cool, Akane." I looked at the boys.
"I really am sorry about earlier, Noctis." He waved it off.
"It's fine, really. I understand how Iris is."
"Hey..."
"And my friends call me Noct, by the way." I nodded.
"Okay, Noct." He smiled as the group began walking away. Once they sat down, Iris came to stand by me (*cries*). She had a devious smile on her face. "Do not SpongeBob me, Iris."
"You like Krabby Patties, Squidward. Noctis, too." I crossed my arms and blushed.
"Mean. Just mean. Besides, Prompto has his own cute qualities, too..." Iris shook me.
"You're adorable." I pushed her off me.
"And you're a pest."
"I know." Tadashi finally came over and joined us. I looked at him.
"Where have you been, dude?"
"Well, first I was trying not to get caught up in that pile-up earlier. Then, while I was waiting, I got a cup of coffee from the back." And then I noticed the cup in his hand.
"Hey! You should have gotten me one, too!" I looked at Iris.
"I don't want to imagine you on caffeine, Iris." Tadashi smiled.
"You'd be surprised, Ari. Caffeine is good for Iris." I gave him a bewildered look.
"In what way?"
"You'll have to see it for yourself. You won't believe me, otherwise."
"I am extremely skeptic right now."
"It's fine. People usually are." I looked over to Iris to see her pouting.
"You okay, Iris?"
"No. I wanted coffee..."
"It'll stunt your growth."
"I don't care! I want coffee!" I laughed and for once Tadashi did, too. He seemed to be in an overall good mood for once.
~Cherish this night. Times like these are fleeting...~ I looked around. 'Who...?' I looked at Iris. 'It wasn't her... She doesn't sound like that... Not to mention she is preoccupied with coffee right now...'
"Sis, come on. I'm getting coffee."
"You're going to be short."
"Craps I give, Ari." She grabbed my hand and began pulling me along. "We'll get you water or orange juice or something." I laughed.
"Fine." I turned my head. "Come on and keep up, Tadashi."
"I'm coming."
We sat in the back for a little while, talking amongst ourselves and with Sonia and Selene. Iris was happy now that she had her coffee. She seemed to have calmed down a lot, too. I guess that was the good thing Tadashi was talking about.
"Now that we've had something to drink, I feel much better."
"Yeah. Ari is ready to conquer Mezame." I sweatdropped.
"Yeah, I don't think I feel that great. I'm not sure I'd ever feel that great." Iris pouted.
"No fun..." She took a sip of her coffee. "Anyway, who are you gonna talk to next? There's bound to be more people by now."
"Other than my OTP, I don't even know who's supposed to be here."
"Oh yeah... Kinda forgot that... Welp, we'll see when we get out there." Iris looked past me. "Yo, Sonia! Can I get a cup to go?" She looked at Iris.
"You payin' for it?"
"No..."
"Then there is your answer."
"Aww, come on!"
"We can't waste product on family, Iris."
"But I work here!"
"You used to work here. You're on guardian duty now. You start working again and we'll talk."
"Boo."
"How old are you, Iris?"
"I'm 16. How old are you, Sonia?"
"I'm older than you." Tadashi leaned over to me.
"She's 34."
"Oi, Murakami!" Sonia walked over and whacked him with an inventory clipboard.
"Ow!" He rubbed his head.
"Don't go around telling people's ages to others." I looked at Sonia.
"You don't honestly look 34, Sonia."
"Thank you, Ari. Although, I'm pretty sure you're just being a kiss ass right now." I shrugged.
"I don't even know, to be honest." She laughed.
"Well, at least you're honest. I guess that counts for something." She put the clipboard back. I'm going to get back to work. You should head back out soon."
"We will." She nodded.
"Enjoy yourself, Ari." I nodded.
"I will." Sonia walked out of the room, leaving the three of us with Selene who was busy cooking.
"Okay, Sis. You ready?" I sighed.
"I suppose." Iris stood up.
"Aw, come on! You need to be more excited than that." I frowned.
"Back home excitement wasn't something that I considered to be a good thing."
"Well you aren't back home. You're in Midorijima now."
"You're crazy." I sighed and stood up. "I am your twin, though. I guess I'm just as crazy." She smiled.
"I guess it's genetics." Tadashi glanced over to Selene, causing my vision to shift to her as well. She looked... Sad. There was no better way to explain her expression. She was staring thoughtfully at the counter, obviously lost somewhere in her head.
"Selene?" She blinked out of her thoughts and looked at me. "You okay?" She smiled and nodded.
"Yeah... I'm fine... Just a bit... nostalgic..." She started getting back to work, turning away from the three of us. "You three should hurry up before you miss all the fun..." I frowned.
"Alrighty... We'll see you later." She nodded. We exited the room into the back hall. "Is she... actually alright? She seemed... sad. That's a big contrast from how she usually is."
"There's no way to be certain... She has moods sometimes where she just needs to be left alone... Sonia is concerned for her, but she knows Selene needs her space. Sonia has spoken to me about it before."
"Don't worry about it right now. If there is something wrong, she'd probably tell us... I would hope, at least..." I sighed.
"I'm sorry I brought it up... I was just a bit worried." I shook my head. "Let's go. I think I've finally convinced myself it'll be okay. I need to go while I'm still in my clueless state." Iris grabbed my hand.
"Let us survey the dining room, First Mate Ari!"
"First mate? Why am I the first mate? I should be the captain."
"You can't be the captain."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm the captain. You're just a noob, anyway."
"So, shouldn't I be a deckhand?"
"Nah. That's Tadashi."
"Geez. I feel the love." He gestured toward the door. "Are we going?"
"You're a deckhand, Tadashi." Iris hit him on the head. "You no speak. Only the captain and first mate can speak."
"I'll be nice and say let's go for you, Tadashi."
"Thank you." He got hit again.
"NO TALKING." I started walking towards the door.
"Nope. Not getting into this." I quickly made it to the door. "My guardians are fighting. I'm running away from home."
"Nooo." Iris ran up to me and hugged me. "You can't run away from home! There are bears and other things that would try to eat you."
"It's too late. I've been eaten by a really hungry beaver."
"Nooo! Damn you beavers (Realizes she made an unintentional pun)!"
"I don't think a beaver would eat a human, Iris."
"*¡Callate! Can't you see I'm in mourning?!"
"Now my spirit must pass on to the other side... of this door." I pushed the door open and walked through it backwards. "Goodbye my idiots."
"You're dramatic."
"I'd be great in *drama."
"You? On stage? I'm trying to imagine that. You'd probably die."
"Normally, I'd be offended, but it's true. I probably would die... especially considering..." Iris gave me a worried look.
"Sorry, Sis... I didn't-"
"It's fine. I've moved on. If I let myself get held back, I'll bring about my own demise." I turned and began to scan the room. It was now significantly busier than it was earlier. I felt myself get nervous, causing me to turn back to Iris and Tadashi. "Okay... Tell me my options."
"Come on, Ari. You've gotta see for yourself."
"If I faint and/or puke, it's all on you... Maybe literally..." Iris cringed.
"Ew... Thanks for that image." She turned me around. "Now look." I sighed before forcing myself to search the room. 'Okay... Nothing new to the far left...' I started to turn my head to the right. 'Let's see...'
"Jack..." My vision had stopped on a table with a single person sitting at it. He looked much more normal than he had... Much more human, and much less anime-video game.
"Do you want to start with the terrier?" I felt my face warm a little.
"I..." I thought about it.
"Come on, Ari.~ He's lonely.~"
"Why is he alone?"
"Well, Jack is with the Theater Vancoor guild at this point. Jarvis is most likely at 7th Heaven getting himself boozed up, and Daniel really doesn't come here."
"So, he just comes here by himself?"
"He hangs out with some of the other groups that come. He also occasionally comes with some other guild members, but for the most part he's alone."
"What about Ridley and Radiata and all that?"
"Ridley is under watch here in the city in the upper-end area of the city. Natalie and Leonard watch over her, and Cross occasionally visits her. Radiata still stands and still contains a lot of people. Some just chose to come here for safety reasons. Not to mention Midorijima is a good hub for groups to be sent out on missions."
"So much info... It all sounds crazy."
"That's just the world we live in. We do what we have to in order to survive this craziness." Tadashi shook his head. "Things just keep getting worse, though."
"Is that why I'm here, then? To make things more livable?"
"Maybe... We can't be sure, though." I nodded.
"Alright. I've made up my mind. We'll start with Jack."
"6 year old you is going to fangirl so hard." I laughed.
"Pretty much. Jack is one of *the main three."
"It'll be one down and two to go." I smiled.
"Yeah..." My eyes widened. "Wait... Does that mean the other two are real?!" Iris facepalmed.
"Dammit... I wanted it to be a surprise."
"I'm pretty sure I'm going to die now. Or cry... Basically either could happen."
"No, don't die. Dying is bad, Ari."
"Says you. If you die, you can be a ghost or soul reaper or something." Tadashi made a face that was quick to fade. I couldn't tell what he was feeling or what he had reacted to. I simply ignored it and sighed. "Welp... Here we go." Iris smiled and began to push me across the room. That was the only way I was going to move.
"Yo, Jack Russell terrier!" Jack looked towards us.
"Oh, hey Iris." She stopped when we were next to his table.
"I want to introduce this noob, here."
"Gee, thanks..."
"You're quite welcome." She patted my head. "This is Ari Walker."
"You two are related?"
"Twins, actually." He gave me a funny look. "I know. It's a bit hard to tell."
"Hey! It isn't that hard, Sis!"
"Dude... You have purple hair and yellow eyes. That is a big contrast from me having brown eyes and brown hair."
"Nature vs. Nurture?"
"I don't think it works that way with appearance..."
"Stop using logic, Ari! Geez, you are such a science nerd."
"Not really."
"How come I haven't seen you before if you two are twins?"
"I grew up... elsewhere." I really did not feel like talking about Traverse Town, considering the situation... I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, so I figured it would be safer to just not bring it up.
"Yeah... We got separated when our parents died... Hasu tried to keep us together, but it was out of her hands. Ari just kinda vanished from Midorijima, and I went to the Saisei temple... Neither of us grew up with our actual family."
"That must have sucked... Even after my parents died, I always had Adele with me... There wasn't anywhere else in Radiata, though, that I could have gone. *Solieu is really small."
"When you think about it, *Tottaus in general is kinda small."
"Yeah. It doesn't even come close to the Great Continents. Nova Chrysalia alone is huge. It would eat Tottaus."
"Probably literally and figuratively. Considering the whole *Adamantoise legend."
"Luckily the big guy is supposed to be asleep right now, so the people in Lucis have nothing to worry about for now."
"Geez, Jack. That's real sexist. For all you know the adamantoise could be a girl."
"You know what I meant, Iris."
"Did I, Jack? Did I?" I put my hands on Iris's shoulders.
"And on that note, I will get my loony sister away from you before she annoys both you and me." He laughed.
"Thanks, Ari." I nodded and smiled back.
"Don't mention it." I dragged Iris and myself out of his range, and she turned and smiled at me.
"You survived!"
"Barely." I put my hand to my chest. "My heart is pounding."
"I bet. He is someone really important to you." I smiled as I remembered playing Radiata Stories when I was little.
"Yeah... He is... Him, Sora, and Fayt... All three of them are so precious to me..." Iris hugged me.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry I couldn't actually be there to help you through those tough times... You had to close yourself off to protect yourself... I'm so sorry..."
"Iris, neither of us had control over that. What has happened has happened. We can't change that... I turned out okay, though... Right?" She looked up at me with teary eyes. She gave a firm but sad smile and nodded.
"Yeah... You're strong." She grinned and poked my arms. "Maybe not physically, but definitely mentally." I smiled and pushed her hands away.
"Thanks for reminding me that I need to work out more."
"Anytime, Sis." I looked around.
"Where'd Tadashi go now?" Iris sighed.
"I swear to Aries... Is he really having a pissy fit right now...?"
"About what?"
"Give me a quick sec, Sis." She closed her eyes and looked like she was thinking deeply. Her expression changed to an annoyed one, and I was wondering what she was doing.
After another minute or so, she opened her eyes and smiled at me. It was kinda creepy how fast she could change emotions...
"Sorry about that, Sis. Let's just keep going with the night. Tadashi'll show up eventually." I frowned.
"Right... Okay..." Iris looked around and grinned.
"Number 3 is officially here." I looked where she was looking.
"Ew... Why does Sophia have to be here?"
"They are friends, Ari." I glared at the brunette girl sitting across the room.
"She pisses me off... She dresses like she wants attention, and she complains a lot. Like, seriously, you can't zip and button-up your fricking pants...? You're 17, chick. Figure it out." Iris laughed. "What?"
"You. You are hilarious when you start ranting."
"I'm sorry that Ridley is the only love interest of the main three girls that I don't despise. The other two... They are such horrible examples of females..."
"Reasons to get the *Albel ending." I laughed.
"The best ending of all Star Ocean endings." We both laughed and fist-bumped.
"Come on, Fujoshi. We can't waste our time."
"True, true." We began to walk over, and I took a deep breath. I didn't feel as nervous this time, luckily.
Once we were near the table, Sophia and Fayt both looked towards us. I looked at Fayt, and I smiled a little to myself. He still had the same blue hair and green eyes I remembered so well.
"Hey, Iris."
"Wassup, Leingod?" I looked at Iris. She did not do the "wassup" thing well. At least Akane was funny when she said her version of it.
"Is this your sister, Iris?" Iris looked at Sophia with wide eyes.
"Yeah. How'd you know?" Sophia laughed.
"We could kinda hear you talking to Jack from across the room."
"You aren't the quietest person, Iris." She sighed.
"Taking my fun away..."
"You find it fun introducing me five hundred times?" She nodded.
"Yeah. I'm enthusiastic to show everyone that you're finally here. We've been separated for almost 17 years. It would have been 17 next year."
"Mom and Dad have been dead that long...?"
"Yeah."
"Oh..."
"So, what's your name?" I looked up at Fayt.
"Didn't catch that part earlier?" He laughed.
"That was one of the parts I missed."
"Well, I'm Ari." He smiled.
"I'm Fayt Leingod." He gestured to Sophia. "This is my friend, Sophia Esteed."
"Friend? Seriously? We grow up together and I'm a friend?" I swear a vein was about to pop from my head like it did in anime. She irritated me SO MUCH.
"What? You still are a friend. What did you want me to say?" She huffed.
"Never mind..." She looked at me. "I'm sorry about him. For a college student, sometimes he can be clueless."
"I was in honors at school back home, and even I had my dumb moments." I looked over at Iris. "Speaking of school... Why aren't we going?"
"There isn't really a school in Midorijima. It's even harder now with all the immigrants in the area. If you want an education, you've gotta be homeschooled."
"I guess that helps explain those thugs from the other day, then. They didn't seem like they were the brightest bulbs in the bunch."
"Not all Rib groups act like idiots. Sonia can vouch for that. Still, they all aren't the best groups to hang around. Especially since some have been disappearing lately..."
"Are you talking about the people who were *spirited away?" I looked over to Fayt.
"Spirited away?" He nodded.
"Yeah. A new group called Morphine has supposedly been brainwashing Rib groups and making them disappear."
"Making them disappear...? That's... That sounds crazy..." Iris frowned.
"And they haven't stopped at the Rib groups. Immigrants have slowly been disappearing too. Not too many have been taken, but it is something to worry about." I nodded.
"Makes sense... more or less..." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a blond at a nearby booth shift. It was a male, and he seemed a bit buff. I glanced over and saw it was Mirage and Cliff. I figured they were watching Fayt, so I averted my attention from them.
"Anyways, Sis and I should be moving on to the next group."
"It was nice meeting you, Ari." I smiled, even though I was annoyed with Sophia inside.
"It was nice meeting you, too." We began to walk away when I bumped into someone. "Oh! I'm sorry!"
"Oh, it's okay." I looked at who I had bumped into, and I saw it was Vanille. She smiled at me and Iris.
"Hey, Vanille!" Iris and her hugged.
"Hi." She looked at me. "This must be your sister."
"You heard her from across the room, too?" Vanille laughed.
"No. I've heard stories about her long lost sister before. Iris and I are close friends." I nodded.
"That makes more sense. I was really concerned that she was loud enough for everyone to hear."
"Only bits and pieces."
"Hey..." Vanille smiled.
"I'm just messing, Iris." She gestured towards the right of the restaurant. "You should come meet the others, Ari. I'm sure you'll get along with them just fine." I smiled and nodded.
"Alright." She and Iris grinned, and I soon found myself getting dragged by both of them. I sighed inwardly. 'How did the Gods think that this friendship was a good idea...? They probably thought it would be funny... Gods are just kind like that...'
We were soon standing in front of a few tables, all of which was Vanille's group, as well as other Final Fantasy characters. I took a minute to look at everyone. I couldn't believe so many amazing characters were now people sitting right in front of me.
I took a minute to take in everything around me. While I was, it felt like the world was moving in slow motion. I was feeling so many things at once. I'm amazed I kept ahold of my emotions.
I looked around at all the tables, filled with a wide variety of people. Some I knew, and some I didn't. I didn't really care. I just knew that I finally felt that I was in the right place. Like, I'd finally found the place where I was supposed to be all along.
"Ari?" I blinked out of my thoughts and looked back to the group in front of me. All eyes were on me, making me want to hide behind Iris or to just run and hide in the back or outside.
"Y-Yeah?"
"You okay? You zoned out for a minute."
"Oh... Yeah... I'm fine. Just... thinking." Iris sighed.
"Always lost in that head of yours... That place is probably a labyrinth." I smiled.
"Basically. I know how to traverse it more or less, though."
"Glad I'm not in there, then. I hate mazes."
"It's probably safer that no one goes there..." I thought for a moment. 'It would probably even be safer for me to not be in my own mind...' I shook my head. "Okay, we got off track. Let's introduce me." Iris smiled and nodded.
"Alright." She pushed me out in front of her and put her hand on my head. "Okay, people. I want to introduce my twin sister, Ari. And, Ari, these are most of the people that came here from Nova Chrysalia." I nodded.
"It's nice to meet you all."
"Okay, everyone, you're gonna introduce yourselves now." Iris pointed at a table to the left. " Selphie's table will start, and we'll work that way." She pointed to the right. "Okay, Selph. You're up." Selphie stood and grinned.
"I'm Selphie Tilmitt. The guy next to me is Irvine Kinneas." He did a two-finger salute.
"Howdy." I laughed a little in my head. He turned to look at Selphie. "And guy, Selphie? No love for your future boyfriend?" She flicked him.
"Now is not the time." He signed.
"Fine... It's nice to meet you, Ari."
"Likewise." Zell pointed his finger at himself.
"Zell Dincht is the name." Quistis rolled her eyes at his introduction.
"Always so formal..." She looked over to me. "I'm Quistis Trepe." She looked at her group. "This is our group except for two. The other two are at 7th Heaven since they have some friends there as well." I nodded. Quistis turned back. "Our group is from various Gardens. Zell and I originate from Balamb Garden near Balamb Town. Selphia is from Trabia Garden in Trabia, and Irvine is from Galbadia Garden in Galbadia."
"Wait, we were supposed to say where we're from?!" Quistis sighed.
"We weren't required to say that, Zell. Please calm yourself." He sighed.
"Geez, I was just makin' sure..." Iris put her hands on her hips.
"Okay! Next group!" I looked to the next group, and I felt much more excited than before. 'XIII.' "You've already met Vanille." She waved. "So we'll start with..." Iris looked around. "Hope!" I looked at the familiar silver haired and green eyed boy. I couldn't tell what age he was at. It looked somewhere between XIII and XIII-2. 'He's probably in his late teens...'
"Well... I'm Hope Estheim." Noel laughed.
"You sound so sure of yourself." Hope frowned and looked over to the other boy.
"I'd like to see you do better." Noel rolled his eyes playfully.
"Just watch and learn." Noel looked over to me. "I'm Noel Kreiss."
"That was your version of better?!" Noel shrugged.
"At least I was sure of myself." I laughed a little at their antics. It reminded me of a roleplay I had done with my friend awhile back. It honestly felt like a long time since we had written it... I was still sad we didn't finish, but our lives really didn't allow for it to continue.
"Okay, you two: get a room." I tried to hold back my laughter. I decided a big smile was enough.
"Iris, we aren't gay."
"Aren't you?"
"We aren't."
"AREN'T YOU?!"
"We aren't!" Noel looked at me.
"What do you think, Ari?" I blushed a little.
"H-Huh? Oh... Uh..." I shook my head. "I don't think you guys are gay. If guys were gay because they joked with their friends, then most guys would be gay." Iris smirked.
"Fu-jo-sh-" I slapped my hand over her mouth.
"¡Callate!" She laughed and put her hands up in defeat. I lowered my hand and saw her grinning. I leaned over and whispered, "IF you tell them I'm a fujoshi, you're dead."
"They might not even know what that means. It is old tongue."
"So do people use it in modern language?"
"Sometimes."
"Then you aren't saying it. Ever." She sighed.
"Fine." She turned back. "Yo, NORA, you guys are up." Snow nodded.
"Alright. I'm Snow Villiers, leader of NORA."
"NORA?" Hope sighed.
"No Obligations, Rules, or Authority. They acted as a resistance group back when Sanctum was in charge of Cocoon."
"It doesn't really stand for what it used to, though. Not since Sanctum, along with Cocoon, fell. We helped people get situated in different areas in Nova Chrysalia... Then later here in Midorijima."
"So you guys are kinda like shepherds now, huh?"
"Heroes is more what I think we are."
"Besides, the shepherd title is already kinda taken." I looked over and my blush worsened when I saw it was Chrom who had spoken. 'I'm going to explode by the end of the night.'
"Geez, you guys are here later than normal." Iris shrugged. "Oh well. You're just in time for introductions and such, so go find a table."
"Introductions?"
"Yes, introductions. Now go find a seat!"
"Okay, okay." He and some of the other shepherds went to find a seat. As he walked past me, he smiled at me. I was going to die. It was official.
"Anyways, moving on." We turned back.
"I'm Maqui. I'm NORA's official mechanic/tech nerd." I smiled.
"Nice." He grinned.
"Glad you think so."
"I'm Yuj." He examined me, and then squinted. I felt a little uncomfortable.
"Umm... You okay?" He looked up at me and smiled.
"I approve of your outfit." I frowned.
"Approve of my outfit?"
"Yuj here is a fashion freak. He's the odd one out here in NORA."
"On many different levels. I'm not bothered by that fact, though."
"Individuality is key."
"Exactly." Yuj turned to Lebreau. "You're up." She looked at me and smiled.
"I'm Lebreau." She turned and pointed next to her. "This big guy here is Gadot. I'm NORA's cook and fundraiser while Gadot is kinda our leading man when it comes to fighting." Snow smiled.
"I don't fall too behind, though." Gadot smiled.
"I dunno. You could probably use some more work." The two laughed. It was truly apparent the two were close friends.
"Now, we of course can't forget my lovely fianceé." She laughed.
"You waited quite awhile." She turned to me. "I'm Serah Farron. I'm not really a part of NORA, but I of course help how I can. I work as a teacher to some of the kids from Nova Chrysalia that were displaced when we come here." I smiled.
"A noble cause." I shook my head. "I don't think I'd be able to do what you guys do. You must have a lot of work to handle." Snow nodded.
"Doesn't matter, though. We do what we have to to make sure everyone gets taken care of." Iris folded her arms behind her head.
"We could use some of that, here... Midorijima has been falling apart for quite some time."
"Well that guy that is in charge of Platinum Jail isn't doing much to help. He's tearing up a lot of space on the island, and that's including the Old Resident's District."
"And he doesn't seem too interested in making it better, either... He's certainly been no help with the immigrants." Iris shook her head. "We are busting at the seams in people."
"Who are we talking about?"
"Tatsuo Toue that owns Toue Inc. He basically owns the island, now." I nodded. 'Oh yeah... Toue Konzern... Dmmd... I forgot... I'm ashamed... I have failed as a weeb.'
"Oh... That dude." I crossed my arms. "Damn rich people just sit there while others get hurt... and sometimes they aid bad people." I shook my head. "I just don't get it."
"You're Artemis Alexandra's kid... Wouldn't that mean you're rich as well?"
"I just came here a few days ago. I was raised elsewhere with no knowledge of who I actually was." I shook my head. "Not only that... but I don't remember what my life was like before the other day... My past is a mystery to me."
"Sorry... I didn't know."
"It's fine... I'm just piecing together a new Ari from everything that's happened this week. It doesn't really bother me. Maybe the old me was worth forgetting..." Iris gave me a sad look. I looked over to her and sighed. "We should probably move on now." She nodded.
"Alright." I turned back to the group and gave a small smile.
"It was really nice meeting you all. I hope we get to talk some more some other time."
"Us too. And hopefully you'll get to meet the whole group another time." I smiled.
"I look forward to it." I gave a small nod before we moved on to the next table. I should probably say "tables" since the next group couldn't fit at one table.
"Okay, Sis. This group is Class Zero from Rubrum. They train at Akademeia. Well, trained. They're the most elite class there."
"Train...?" Ace nodded.
"For battles and such." I frowned.
"It seems like everyone has to fight..." Iris nodded.
"More or less, yeah..." She turned to the class. "That's a discussion for another time, though. You guys can go ahead and introduce yourselves."
"We'll make this quick so you can continue on with your evening. I'm Ace."
"I'm Deuce."
"I am Trey."
"Cater."
"I'm Cinque."
"Sice..."
"I'm Seven."
"Eight."
"I'm Nine!"
"My name is Jack."
"I am Queen."
"King."
"I'm Machina Kunagiri."
"And I'm Rem Tokimiya." If I hadn't already known their names, my head would've been spinning due to their speed.
"You guys are like a deck of cards."
"I believe that's what Mother had in mind when we were named." I looked at Machina and Rem.
"What about you guys?"
"We haven't been in Class Zero long, so we haven't really had a chance to be renamed." I nodded.
"I see..."
"Do you have their names down, Sis?" I looked at Iris and nodded.
"Yep. Ace," I pointed to each of them as I named them, "Deuce, Trey, Cater, Cinque, Sice, Seven, Eight, Nine, Jack, Queen, King, Machina, and Rem." They looked at me a little amazed, causing me to laugh. "I'm good with names. I have slight *eidetic tonal memory."
"Wow. That's impressive."
"Thanks... I'm just shocked that despite that I can' t remember anything... It's like everything basic about me is still there, but my memories of events in my life were wiped from my head." They looked at bit saddened.
"We have a similar situation, then."
"How so...?" Deuce looked at me.
"When people die... We forget them." I frowned.
"How is that possible?"
"Magic put in place at Akademeia. All students and staff have that condition. It's supposed to relieve us of the burden of grief..."
"But..." I shook my head. "I disagree with that. I would never give up my memories. Not willingly, at least... I didn't really have a choice."
"And neither do we, really... I can't... I can't even remember my own brother... All I have left is something with his name on it... Izana Kunagiri."
"Machina..." Rem held onto Machina's arm. I felt bad that I had brought this conversation up. It felt even worse that I could remember Izana when he couldn't. I defied their rules, as well as those of the world in general. I was an anomaly in Mezame. Maybe that's why the original Ari couldn't be found. Maybe she was the same.
Maybe I was just destined to be a permanent oddity. Maybe that's why she wasn't here, either. Maybe we just didn't belong in any world, Mezame especially.
"Hey, Ari and I are gonna visit some other tables. We'll see you guys later." I looked up to see them group nod.
"It was a pleasure meeting you, Ari."
"It was cool meeting you guys, too." I gave a curt nod. "I guess we'll see each other later."
"Alright." I waved as we walked away.
"I must say, Sis," Iris and I stopped when we were out of hearing range, "I'm impressed. You've done so well tonight. You're a totally different person." I nodded.
"To be honest, I thought I'd be having an anxiety attack or be out-of control fangirling, but... I don't know. I feel comfortable around them..."
"They acted as your safe place for so long. Their stories along with the stories in your head have protected you from so much pain." I nodded.
"You know... I haven't had to escape into my mind once the whole time I've been here..."
"Well, you haven't really been given the time to do so. You've been pretty busy lately."
"Basically less thinking, more fighting."
"Exactly. That's the way I live my life." I sweatdropped.
"That explains a lot about you..."
"Hey!" I laughed as she shook me. "Nooo, Ari! Don't be like Tada-chan!"
"It's too late. I've caught whatever he has." I put my arm up to my head dramtically. "Woe is me."
" When you walk away, you don't hear me say -" I laughed as I heard the music that was playing.
"Is this another *Simple and Clean remix?" Iris nodded.
"Yep. Simple and Clean Ray of Hope Mix."
"I know what's going on my iPod next." Iris laughed.
"You have a problem."
"Damn right I do. And I love every second of it."
" You smiled at me, and said -" I sang along as I listened. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw the door open and heard the jingle of the bell above it. " When you walk away, you don't hear me say Please, oh baby, don't go -" I looked towards the door and tried to see who had come in. I froze after examining the group. My eyes were stuck on one person alone.
"Oh my Aries..." Iris looked over at me.
"You okay?"
"He... H-He's actually..." I felt tears beginning to fall from my eyes involuntarily. "He's here... He's actually right there." Iris looked at Sora, and then back to me. She gave me a worried look.
"Seriously, are you alright?" I couldn't control my crying, and I began to shake a little. I covered my eyes with my arm.
"I just need a minute." I uncovered my face and I ran into the back.
"Ari-!" The door closed behind me and I felt my tears falling steadily. I wiped them away, but more just kept flowing from my eyes.
"I can't do this." I began walking down the hall. "I just want out..." I looked for an exit, a bathroom, or basically anywhere I could hide and cry my eyes out. I finally found an exit in the back and I went out the door.
The door led to the back alley, and I happily breathed in the cool night air. My hair blew a little with the breeze, and I began to calm down. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes and just tried to focus on my breathing and the cool air blowing on me. I had gotten myself into an anxiety attack for the first time since I'd gotten to Mezame.
"Aries, I'm pathetic... I thought I'd be overjoyed to finally meet him... but..." I sighed. "It's the *Mignogna-Lobby Incident all over again..." I shook my head. "I can't handle anything... I'll probably end up screwing everything up by the end of all of this..."
I sat in silence, mentally beating myself up as I did so. I tried taking my mind off of it, but I just couldn't. I opened my eyes and sighed.
"Guess I should head to the back or something... Or I could ask Iris if we can just head home... I don't feel like being social anymore..."
"Hey, brat." I turned and I saw something flying down at me. I didn't move fast enough and it collided with my head. I fell to the ground and began to lose consciousness. "Sleep tight." I fought to open my eyes, but I passed out soon after. 'Help... me...'