EMPEROR: RANK IV
You're sleeping. At least, you think you are. In the background, there's the sound of a shower running. Shivering, you notice your body is very cold and on top of what feels like smooth tiles. With a bit of effort, you force your eyelids up. At first, all you see is fog. Then, your vision sharpens and the details of a furnished and elegant bathroom with sultry magenta walls come into clear focus. Towering before you is a large bathtub, with patterned curtains drawn. Behind the curtain, you can see the shadow of running water, the droplets splashing soundly at the bottom of the tub. You have a strange desire to pull open the curtain.
The rest of the room is taken up by the most expensive looking toilet and sink you've ever seen. You get up unsteadily and walk over to the sink. Framed above it is a tall mirror, equally as regal as the rest of the room's decor. That's when you see the reason why you're so cold.
You're completely naked, save for a towel wrapped very loosely around your waist. In the mirror's reflection, you see your clothes clumsily shrewn about behind you.
Where the hell is this…?
What the hell are you doing here...?
What the hell were you doing…?
As soon as you try to search for answers, your head pounds and an unfamiliar voice whispers in your mind.
"Embrace your desires..." it purrs to you, sending tingles down your back. It holds you tightly, its breath hot against your cheek. "It is but human nature…"
You try to resist, attempting to find reason. Why are you here? You grit your teeth and close your eyes. You are here because - because-
The voice laughs soothingly. "Because what? The reason does not matter... nothing matters, save for your desires. These are your true feelings… why should you reject them?"
Because this isn't right, you argue. But it is a weak, flimsy argument. Your rationality is fading away. The steam in the room increases, dizzying your head. You're blinded.
In the mist, the voice grows louder. "Open the door, and a world of pleasure will consume you."
A knock sounds throughout the room. Your feet move on their own towards the bathroom door, and you drowsily place a hand on the handle. You open it.
Someone is waiting on the other side. The person's entire body is wrapped in fog, obscuring any discernable features that would mark it as male or female. You aren't scared, not disgusted. Instead, you feel warm, hot, even. The feeling bursts through your whole body, and a longing for them to come closer takes over your mind.
"Boy… girl… it does not matter," the voice says, urging you to take the person's hand. "These are your true feelings…"
You find yourself thinking the voice is right. That never mattered to you. To hell with gender. You grasp tightly onto the person's hand and pull them inside, the door shutting close behind him. As you play with their fingers, you notice their hand is lined with cuts and scratches. For a second, you feel as if you've felt this person's hand before. Then, the air intoxicates your senses, and you teasingly trace your own finger along their chest. Beyond their mask of fog, the person gives you a smirk before wrapping their arms around you.
Their embrace is strong and warm; you're melting at their heated touch.
But whose touch? Names run through your mind, then disappear in a flash.
Who knows?
Who cares.
Breaking free, you nimbly lead the person toward the shower. You place a hand on the curtain, getting ready to open it.
Before you can do so, the person suddenly speaks in a deep-throated rumble. "You're such a damn flirt, you know?" They cross their arms, shaking their head. "You make me so mad… first you tease me by suggesting we shower together. Then you were with another man..." He grips your hand firmly, and you feel your consciousness surface. Shower…? Who… who did you say that to…? What other man…?
"You're mine, do you understand?" They cup your chin, bring your face closer to theirs.
Before your lips touch, the memories come flooding back in broken pieces; why you're there, what you're doing, and, most importantly, who's about to kiss you. You place two hands firmly on his chest and gasp, "Stop, Akihiko-senpai!"
The barrier on his face shatters, and Akihiko's wide eyes stare into your equally bewildered ones. "A-Arisato? What… what the hell…?" The mist begins to fade away from his body, until only boxers cover his body. Slowly, he takes in the proximity of his and your bodies and the disturbing lack of clothing. He yanks his hand away from yours, and you see he's left a bright red mark. "Did, did I do that?" He stumbles even further away, almost falling onto the cool floor. "Dammit, what did I do?"
You try to respond, but no words come out. You can typically keep your calm in tense situations, but this? Damn, you're flustered, the most embarrassed you've been in a long time. What could you possibly say in this situation?
Turns out, you don't have to say anything. There's a static crackling, and then Fuuka's distressed voice pleadingly says, "...Minato-kun? Akihiko-senpai? Please answer me if you're there!"
For a moment, there's complete silence. Akihiko is still completely shocked, not to mention as red-hot as lava. You swallow and try to speak. When words do come out, they're shaky and barely comprehensible. "Fuuka, we're… Akihiko and I… w-we're okay."
"Oh, thank goodness!" Fuuka is practically exploding with relief. "I was so worried… after you defeated the Hierophant boss, I lost connection with all of you." Right, you think. The door wouldn't budge, and then you noticed a strange mirror… "But, um, anyway," she continues, "I'm glad you two are okay. Junpei-kun and Yukari-chan are okay, too. They're on the second floor. Do you know what floor you two are on?"
"Hold on one second, Fuuka." You open the bathroom door once more and enter the main room. Heat fills your face as you look at the heart-shaped bed in the middle. If things had escalated, then you might be on that bed yourself…
You shake the thought out quickly out of your head and look for the room's number. "We're in Room 203," you answer, seeing the number inscribed on the door's plate. "But… tell Yukari and Junpei to stay outside." The last thing you need is the two of them barging in and exposing whatever the hell just happened.
"Okay. I'll let them know." Fuuka's voice fades.
It's silent once more. You really don't want to go back into that bathroom, but you have no choice. Unless you want to fight in a loosely hanging towel, you'll have man the hell up. Inside the bathroom, Akihiko is holding your clothes. He practically shoves them into your hands, refusing to meet your gaze. "Here, you can change in the bathroom." Without another word, he leaves the bathroom, shutting the door soundly behind him. You stare at the door for a minute, a nauseating amount of emotions wreaking havoc throughout your body.
You change quickly, wanting to get out as soon as possible. After slipping on your shoes, you move back to the door. You knock quietly and say, "Akihiko-senpai, can I come out now?"
"Yeah," comes his muffled reply. You cautiously open the door, and see that Akihiko is already waiting by the front of the room. His sleeves are uneven, his hair messy. Like you, he probably just hastily threw on his clothes, more focused on getting the hell out.
You slowly walk up to him, still unsure what to say.
Akihiko, though, seems to have finally found his voice. "... I'm sorry," he whispers. It surprises you; you've never heard him speak so softly. Usually, his and Junpei's voices are the loudest and most confident, brimming with energy. "I… have a vague memory of what happened. What I said to you…" He's unable to finish his thought.
You, however, think back to what he said. What that voice said. "These are your true feelings…" It wasn't wrong; ever since your outing with Theodore at Port Island Station, you realized that biological sex wasn't a factor in who you liked. It never was, but you hadn't ever truly embraced it until now.
Then… was what Akihiko said a result of his true feelings? Maybe exaggerated, but still…
"Look, we'll talk later. I'm… still trying to get my thoughts organized." Akihiko still doesn't meet your gaze, but you appreciate his willingness to discuss the issue, rather than shove it aside. Strangely enough, you feel like you understand him just a little more.
The increase in his social link catches you off guard. Your head is still dizzy from what happened earlier, and you sway slightly, groaning softly.
"Arisato-" Without thinking, he puts an arm around you, attempting to steady you. Then he flinches and backs away clumsily. "S-sorry, I thought you were going to fall over."
You thank him, say it's alright. Though you also notice the places he touched are warm and tickle your skin. He just nods, and not wanting to waste anymore time, opens the door.
"There you are!"
Even though you just went through a pretty damn uncomfortable situation, you burst out laughing.
Junpei is standing in front of you. In general, Junpei's a pretty big idiot; that's funny enough. But what provokes your sudden outburst is the huge red mark on his cheek. You can literally see the outline of a hand.
"Dude, really?" Junpei says, but he's grinning. "Yeah, yeah, before you ask what happened, this was courtesy of Yuka-tan. And don't ask me to say anymore, because she promised she would kill me." He laughs, but you can sense the hidden nervousness. If what happened to them was similar to what happened to you, you don't doubt for a second you'd be praying over Junpei's grave if he gave you the explicit details.
After your laughter dies down, Junpei's eyebrows raise. "Anyway, what happened to you two?"
Even though there's quite a bit of space between you and Akihiko, you can feel his skin prickle. Before Junpei can continue his inquiry, you say, "Your lips are sealed, and so are ours. Fair's fair, right?"
Junpei, thankfully, gives up easily and shrugs, grinning. "Touché." Akihiko sighs with relief. "Well, Yuka-tan's waiting for us by the stairs. Let's go and rip whatever caused this mess a new hole!" He runs off.
You smile and look over at Akihiko. "Let's go."
"Uh, right." He pauses. "... thanks. For not saying anything."
"I think the last thing we need is Junpei knowing what happened," you answer, giving him a sheepish chuckle. "Come on. Let's fight."
"Yeah." Akihiko nods seriously, and the two of you follow Junpei.