Warning: This contains spoilers for Persona 3 and To The Moon. Also headcanons.

A.N.- Well... Here's the biggest chapter. I have been working on this for what feels like more than a month. I have been constantly writing this on my off time and finished it yesterday at 11:30pm. It took a long time.

Anyways, because of this it is its own chapter and I'll try to get the next chapter out by the end of the week (I haven't even looked at them yet).

This chapter's word "lighthouse" made me think of the game "To The Moon". I sort-of took one of the plot points, so think of it as an au.

StormOfTheNorth- Thank you for the review! I got the idea (as to have the Investigation team be a biker gang) from reading a persona 4 story over on Archive of Our Own, I believe it was "Thug Life" by Souyoosk. I was thinking that Naoto would be the mole and the mechanic while Rise would monitor the town for the rival gang (akin to her persona).

So without further ado, please enjoy, leave a review, and May Fortune Smile Upon You! -CrookedMouse

I do not own Persona 3 or 4 nor do I own To The Moon. Atlus and Freebird Games made the excellent games, support them.

P.S.- There are so many timeskips so I will use the line-breaks instead of my usual ones.

Lighthouse

The crickets' chirping and rustling wind muted out the sounds of the busy Inaba festival. A girl stared in awe at the bright lights in the sky. She wondered why her parents told her to be careful here; the secluded spot on the hill lead to a beautiful view of the stars and she spotted no trouble. A knocked over log was perfect for a bench.

She sat on the log and put down her bag. She stared into the sky for a long time and thought about many things. How her parents were always busy, how weird her brother was, and how most of the other kids treated her... She didn't think that those thoughts were helping much, so she decided to focus on the stars.

However, the sound of someone climbing up the hill made her jump out of her attempts to find constellations.

Another girl was walking towards where the log was only to spot the other girl sitting there.

"Oh! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hog this place!"

"Did you come here to look at the stars?"

"Did you?" The standing girl went silent. The girl moved over a bit on the log, trying to make some room. "Would you like to join me?"

The girl nodded and sat down on the log. Her gaze moved to the night sky.

The first girl tried to find something to talk about; at least to try and seem not as awkward as she usually was.

"H-have you ever seen so many lights all at once?"

"Yes," came the soft reply.

"O-oh," the first girl searched a bit for something to say. "In the big city, I never got to see this many lights." The second girl turned her head towards her. "I-I really do like it though. I hope I can see this all the time." The second girl looked back to the sky.

"…" "…"

"What's your name?" The second girl's question startled the first.

"…Er… I don't really want to tell you…"

"Why not?"

"Everyone says it's a boy's name."

"… What's wrong with that? It makes it unique."

"But it's not what I am… I mean, everyone says I act like a guy but I am not one and then they say I can't be a guy! I want to be like my mom and dad but, why can't I just be me too?"

"… You're lucky."

"Huh?"

"You know who you are and what you want to be, I wish I knew… For me, it's like the lights in the sky. There are so many of them, so many paths to choose, but all of them, even when they're together, are all pretty."

"O-oh…"

"What do you think the stars are?"

"Huh? Well… My grandfather says they're giant balls of burning gasses. Though, I'm not sure if he's right."

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"Because he once tried to tell me about a rabbit who leaves eggs, but that's impossible."

"… Have you even seen an animal in the stars?"

"A constellation? Well, there are plenty of animal ones… I don't know if I could find them tonight…"

"How about making one? Would you like to try?"

"… Sure, but which animal?"

"How about… a bear."

"A bear? Alright." The two sat there for a while, looking at the stars and trying to find a bear.

"I see one!" The second girl announced.

"Where?" The second girl pointed up to the night sky.

"There's his head, those are his feet, and that's his belly," the second girl finished by pointing at the moon.

"H-hey! I see it too! His… his belly is quite big…" The second girl giggled at this. They sat in silence before the first girl spoke up, "You never told me what you think they are… the stars, I mean."

"Huh? Oh… Well, I always thought that they were lighthouses… Billions of lighthouses stuck at the far end of the sky… They want to talk to all the other lighthouses, but all they can do is flash their lights as they're too far apart to hear each other. One day… I would like to hear what they say…" The second girl got a far-off look on her face while the other girl stared at her in awe.

"Wow…" All she could do was mumble out that. The second girl looked back at her before noticing the bag resting against the log.

"What's in the bag?"

"That? It's a prize I won from the shooter stall."

"What'd you win?"

"I got a… thing." The girl pulled out a plush, it was white and had a blue collar, hat, and shoes. It had a huge smile that showed two fangs.

"I think that's a Jack Frost doll! May I see it?" The girl nodded and handed it to her. "It's really cute; I wish I could win one."

"Where are you sis?!" A voice called from the bottom of the hill. The first girl jumped.

"Oh! That's my brother!" The first girl jumped off the log.

"Here," the other girl tried to hand over the doll.

"Huh? Oh, it's fine, you can keep it."

"SIS! Come on, we need to get up early tomorrow!" The girl jumped and turned back to the other girl.

"I got to go," she started to head back down the hill.

"Wait! Will you be here next year?" The stopped walking and turned around.

"Yes! You want to meet back here?" The other girl nodded. "Alright, it's a promise. I'll see you later!" The girl waved to her.

The girl hugged the Jack Frost doll tighter as she saw her retreat back towards the town.

"Yeah… A promise."

The white walls of the hospital held no comfort to the elder man waiting for the results of the wreck.

He felt his eyes water as he thought about the past. His son's family seemed so happy the last time they visited, but now… He forced down his tears as one of the doctors approached him.

"We're so sorry sir. Your son and his wife… we could not revive them." He started to sink further into the uncomfortable chair before hearing the other words, "Minato and Naoto are still unconscious." The old man's back protested when he stood up suddenly but he did not care.

"Please, may I see them?" The doctor seemed to think about it but saw his expression and quickly led him to the right rooms.

The sight of the two being covered in wires tugged even more at his broken heart. He wanted to hold them and make sure that they were still there, but he knew that would most likely cause more pain for their bruised and beaten bodies.

While he was visiting Naoto (he tried to spend a good amount of time with his grandson, but the doctors needed to check on something, forcing him out) the doctor from before had to approach him.

"Sir, we checked and…" His words trailed of as he tried to say this in the best way possible, "Your granddaughter, she has a problem recalling what happened."

"What?" His voice carried his anguish and sadness as life toke more from him.

"It's nothing life threatening but, she may have some memory problems…"

"Memory problems?"

"She… may have repressed the memories concerning her parents; seeing what was left of them in the crash must have been too much."

"How much?"

"We're not sure, we can't tell until we can properly examine her psychologically." There was silence as the doctor looked onto the man who just had his world diminished. "If… there's anything else we can do-"

"Just… keep them alive…please." Such sorrow-filled words seemed to echo throughout the room, but there was only a response given by the machines hooked up to his granddaughter.

The door to my room squeaks. During the otherwise quiet night, it drew my attention away from sleep. Normally Grandfather would leave me to my thoughts so who could be coming in?

"…Mina…" Ah, that's who. Looking towards the doorway revealed my younger sister standing there.

Seeing her here made something in my chest stir. She took their parents' death harder than I had, to the point where she forced herself to forget a lot of what she knew about them to ease her pain. When the doctor's noticed it, it was too late and certain medicines they were using caused her condition to worsen.

"Naoto shouldn't you be rest-" As she stepped into the moonlight, I could see her better. Her expression seemed panicked. I'd seen this before…

She was getting very strong. She would try to help grandfather with cases and me with my homework. She could climb the biggest trees and make any toy into something greater. But when she would remember…

I moved over on the bed and held my arms out, if it was the same as before, most words would be meaningless. She ran over to my bed and practically jumped into my arms.

"B-brother, I saw them again…" Again… it seems that this side of her remembers. "It's so loud Mina… I d-don't… I… C-can't… Brother…"

"I am here…" I am. Not them. I am the final thing she has from that night. "I'm with you, sister."

"I-it hurts…"

"…I know…"

The two siblings hold each other, having the other be their life-line. This act reassures that they are indeed not alone.

She will not remember this interaction until she is much older, when her life-line was no longer there.

The family's loyal butler came back down the stairs, looking downtrodden as the residence could feel at a time like this. Yakushiji resisted the need to sigh as he saw the elder Shirogane look toward him for any indication that his granddaughter was better.

"Yakushiji have you had any luck?" The butler wanted to say that he had to cheer him up, even if that were to lie.

"No sir, she showed no signs," it was common to see a sibling grieve for the other's death, but with Naoto's repression of her parents' deaths, anything like this could be the very thing that destroys the girl.

"All we can do is wait… again," the old man sighs as Yakushiji places a hand on his shoulder.

"Naoto-sama has become stronger over the years. This may not be about her condition, but about mourning her brother."

"I do hope you're right..."

As the class ended, Rise knew she had to try to talk to the "new" transfer. Although the detective seemed to antagonize them for the case, there was something she needed to talk to him about.

"Excuse me, Naoto-kun?" Naoto showed some emotion before his face went to its usual stoic form.

"May I help you, Kujikawa-san?" The idol seemed more nervous to talk than the last time they met.

"Do you have a sister?" Naoto raised an eyebrow at this.

"No, I am an only child."

"Oh, sorry. You looked like someone I once knew," Rise apologized. She could have sworn that…

"Very well; if you need nothing else, I will be on my way." With that, Naoto picked up his bag and left the classroom, leaving Rise standing there.

"Wait! Will you be here next year?" The voice is distant but familiar.

"Yes! You want to meet back here?" The other person nods. "Alright, it's a promise. I'll see you later!"

Naoto wakes up abruptly with the statement echoing in his mind. 'A promise…'

He sighs. 'What did I promise and who was I talking to?'

His head pounds with the beginnings of a headache. Looking towards his clock, Naoto decides that it is not too early and proceeds to get ready for the day to come.

It looks away from the monitors for a moment to look at the detective waking up.

"Finally you're awake!" the voice startles Naoto and he tries to reach for his gun to find that it is gone.

"Who? What? How?" Naoto rambles a bit; his headache combined with the absurdity he is viewing makes it difficult for him to speak.

"Hmph, just like you, too many thoughts and cannot speak." Its tone mocks Naoto's pride.

"Who are you? Where is this place? How did I get here?" He tries to make his voice more commanding but the fog seems to choke him.

"The second question's answer is simple: This is your place. A center for brilliance and loneliness and walls made to prevent others from hurting you." It spins around, excitingly waving its hands towards all the technology. "Brilliant thoughts and ideas; most can harm you." It points to the steel table underneath the various equipment. "Such ideas will help you become who you wish or need to be; just lay down on this table and I will take care of the rest."

His face contorts for a minute, trying to figure this out like a puzzle, only to return to his demanding state.

"Who are you and why do you look like me?!"

"Look like you?" It gets angrier, "This is no façade! There is no fake! I am you!"

"What?" The shock on his face makes it chuckle.

"I am you. You are me. I know what you need and want and I will make it happen." It tries to get closer to Naoto only for him to back away.

"I-I do not understand." It laughs.

"Of course you do. Or well, you should." Its voice wavers as it starts becoming childish again.

He knows, at least some of it. The wanting to be needed, not being accepted. So it would make it so that they weren't alone again.

But… the other problem was that they needed to remember.

To remember who comforted them, the ones they lost, the ones they loved.

And… It was sure that they were forgetting something else. Something involving…

This is why they needed to remember; the thought of losing something precious, something that made them feel loved and needed, made it start to cry.

The door opens and the group they were investigating comes through. One of them calls out their name. Naoto shifts his head towards them.

"Ah, it's about time you arrived. Dealing with this child has been quite a pain." He starts to walk over to them.

No, no, no, no! It can't let him leave! It can't be alone again! THEY SHOULDN'T BE ALONE!

It starts to wail, "No! No, no, don't go!"

It was already dark and the Shirogane mansion was quiet. Naoto had told them that her grandfather was on a case elsewhere, along with their butler. The tone in her voice made it clear that while she was perfectly capable of being alone, she really wished she wasn't. When Yukiko had tried to clear her feelings up, she dodged the question, obviously not comfortable saying it.

She knew eventually she had to.

After helping Naoto to her bed, Yukiko went downstairs to check if the mansion had enough food for the girl.

Girl… Rise's head was still not used to that fact. While she was fine with that, it still made her search a little more difficult. Was Naoto that girl? If so, did she forget?

Rise had so many questions, but her thoughts were cut off when Naoto started to move.

"Please…Mina…no…don't…" The sick girl started to shiver and curled up. Rise stroked her hair, trying to comfort Naoto.

No matter if she was that girl or not, Naoto was still Naoto and Rise would try to become her friend.

This was weird, Rise decided.

Standing outside of the bathroom, in a bikini, trying to comfort her friend/maybe-crush into wearing another bikini so that they can participate in a contest they didn't sign up for, while the older girls were busy trying not to kill the other competitors.

Typical things for Rise since she joined the Inaba Investigation team.

"Come on Naoto, it's not like we have to go on stage naked."

…She could've sworn Naoto muttered something about it feeling like they were.

Rise sighed, but didn't try to say anything more. No matter what she would say, she knew it wouldn't help Naoto be more comfortable.

It has already been a month since the team had rescued Naoto and Rise still was not sure about her feelings towards her.

She managed to spend some time with the detective (to the point where it did not make Naoto startled when she said that they were friends) and even talked with her about some personal stuff.

She never asked Naoto about "her", just in case she was assuming too much. But just the presence of that thought in her mind made her really sad.

Did she want to get close to Naoto, or was she just doing this to know if she was the girl?

She sighed and wished that her own mind wasn't so complicated. All these years and she still had problems with her own faces.

Rise then realized that Naoto was taking a really long time dressing. She stopped leaning on the door and opened it.

"Hey, do you need any help with-" The sudden sound after her long silence made Naoto nearly loose grip on the window ledge she was grabbing.

Rise blinked as Naoto's face flushed deep red. She was hanging on to the open window whilst lowering herself to a tree branch below. It made it rather difficult to come up with an excuse.

"U-um, I-I was just!" Rise suddenly smiled and waved her hand to cut her off.

"Do you need some help?" Rise swore that if Naoto got any redder, steam would be popping up. "Getting down, I mean."

Naoto stared at Rise for a moment before letting out a small sign of agreement. Walking over to the window, Rise helped support Naoto to descend onto the branch.

She only had a short fall before landing…with a painful-sounding yelp.

"You okay?" Rise called down to her without trying to alert anyone nearby.

"I-I'll be fine…" Naoto groaned out and looked back up at the idol. Rise giggled at the sight of leaves in her hair.

"I need to get going; don't worry, I'll cover for you." Naoto smiled nervously at her before responding.

"Thank you."

Rise waved to her and shut the window. She quickly gathered the discarded bikini and ran out to her sempai.

"Naoto escaped!"

Naoto seemed even more nervous than before, a huge sense of foreboding washing over her as Yu inserted the final key-card to open the huge iron doors.

Naturally, Rise easily picked up that something was causing her friend/secret girlfriend (by Naoto's choice) distress.

Rise gently placed her hand on her stiff shoulders, making them relax a bit. Naoto looked over to her, and smiled before sighing at Rise's curious glance.

"It… it was something I wish to forget." Rise's curiosity was increased with that statement. Naoto had occasionally talked with her about what her shadow said and about feeling like she had forgotten something. Maybe she did finally remember that? But, what was it to cause such sadness upon the detective?

Before Rise could ask, the doors opened.

As they all stepped inside, they all felt the room go colder and noticed something that wasn't there before.

A huge shadow made of nothing but dark blue or black cloth. It's "face" was more like a hood, completely white. It seemed to be wielding a sword, despite having no body. The sword itself was only a sharp blade and had no other characteristics.

When the team prepared for battle, they all could hear something that seemed like a roar and a whisper.

"You cannot escape me."

Right before it lunged for them, Rise was sure Naoto had whispered back.

"…I'm know…"

Naoto was still being dragged along by Rise, who swore the detective's frown was audible.

"That is not possible," Naoto pointed out once Rise let go. They were nearing Aiya's, anyway.

"C'mon, what are you thinking about? I can't be that bad to hang out with, can I?" Naoto was thinking about something, but it was how weirdly Rise was acting… Granted, she was an idol and must be used to acting, but did she ever act this nervous before?

"…I am just still puzzled on whether or not you made a Phoenix Wright reference when you started to drag me…" Rise looked shocked for a moment but started to laugh.

"Yeah, I guess I did! How do you know about it, Naoto-kun?"

"Someone once recommended it to me. Although the logic in that game was…strange, it was still entertaining."

"I get what you mean. I actually met the people who worked on it once. I believe it was at a convention… They seemed so nice, I tried the game out!"

The two talked about the game and other things whilst waiting for their food. Time flew by and they did not notice until they were served. They ate in a comfortable silence (at least for Naoto) until they were both finished.

"Did you wish to do anything else?" Naoto questioned, ridding the silence for then.

"Oh yeah! Let's go by the flood plain!" Before she could say anything else, Naoto was dragged off again by the idol.

When they reached the river, not many people were around it. Naoto tried to search for the reason Rise wanted to come by here, only to be startled out of her thoughts by her again.

"I'm sorry, Naoto-kun… There…There was a reason I was so late…" Naoto was curious, but felt that it would be better if she did not say anything. Rise still had her back to her, so it was rather hard to figure her out. "What I was trying to do was…was… Oh, darn it Naoto!"

Naoto flinched at the sudden exclamation and by Rise's sudden turn towards her. Her face was bright red and it looked like she was going to cry.

"I like you, okay! I like you a whole lot! So I…" Rise sniffed. "I wanted to try and ask you out and it took me forever to work up the courage but I couldn't and you are so dense!" Rise continued on while Naoto just stood there, her own face bright red.

After Rise let out all of her frustration, she was left there out of breath and crying. She must've attracted a crowd but neither of them cared. Naoto still was at a loss for words.

"U-uh…W-w...I-I jus…Uh…" Rise looked sorrowfully down at her shoes.

"It's okay if you don't like me back… You just have to say it…"

"NO!" Both of them jumped at Naoto's real voice. She coughed once or twice to adjust it and fidgeted. "N-No, I mean, I would l-like to...um…" She trailed off, blushing brighter than ever before.

"Y-you mean?" Rise looked so hopeful; it made Naoto's heart pound even faster.

"Er…Yes, I w-would like to…um…" Naoto stammered even more and Rise practically tackled her with a huge hug.

They both had huge smiles on their faces.

"Welcome back!" Two voices echoed throughout the house and reached the doorway where Naoto and Rise walked in. As the two removed their shoes, Yakushiji was preparing to leave.

"Hi, Yakushiji-san!" The butler chuckled at the familiar idol.

"Hello Kujikawa-san, how are you today?" Rise frowned at the formality.

"I told you, "Rise" is fine! And I'm doing great, how about you? Where are you off to?"

"I'm just going to grab a few things and head back. Don't cause too much trouble."

"We'll try!" Naoto looked at her, trying to figure out if Rise did cause trouble last time. "What?"

"Oh nothing." Yakushiji laughed and headed out.

The two went into the living room to find Naoto's grandfather sitting in a chair.

"Ah, so you must be this "Rise" I keep hearing about?" Naoto blushed while Rise smiled.

"Yes sir! Nice to meet you!" While he did seem really nice, she did not want this to end up with her getting chased by him wielding a shotgun. Or a detective's pistol, for that matter.

" Yes, Yes, it is very nice to meet you! Oh, I'm terribly sorry Nao-chan, but do you mind going up into my room and grabbing a file for me? It should have this on the tab. I meant to ask Yakushiji but it seems he already went out" He handed her a piece of paper, to which she nodded.

"I will be right back," and she headed off to the stairs.

As the sounds left the two who were still there, the elder Shirogane gave a hard look toward the idol. "Please, sit down." He gestured to the couch that lay across from his chair.

She sat very nervously down as the elder Shirogane peered at her.

"You seem to be very serious about dating my granddaughter."

"Y-yes, I am s-sir." Rise couldn't help but stutter as the older Shirogane seemed to commend that respect just by sitting there. Maybe that was just in Rise's head because soon after she said that, he chuckled.

"Now, there's no need to be. She is very happy with you and because of that, I thank you," he smiled at the idol.

"N-no need to thank me," she was going to continue but the man held up his hand to stop her.

"I know that she has always been a little problematic with certain aspects of socializing, so it really warms my heart that she has finally found someone to trust again." His eyes clouded over with what Rise could only describe as 'pain'. "This brings me to the reason I wished to talk to you about," she was wondering if that had been on purpose. "This is about Naoto, but she cannot tell you about it now, so I thought I should tell you. If you are serious about my granddaughter, then you should know." He took a deep breath and Rise remained silent, fixed on what he could say next.

"When she was little, there was an accident. She and her brother managed to survive, but…she suffered a great damage." The old Shirogane paused to think of the right words.

"She saw terrible things that night, and repressed them. With help she should have been able to remedy this but…those doctors gave her the wrong medicine, and it affected her mind for the worse.

She cannot remember her parents or her brother due to this… She forced herself not to and because of that damned pills, it physically hurts her to." Tears made their way across the man's face and Rise found it hard to stop her own. "But, she is very smart. She wants to remember and because of it, there are nights which… she does. It always badly hurts and… no matter how hard she tries, she will never remember after. Her brother," he stops to wipe away the tears.

"She always went to her brother those nights. He was always able to help her with that pain. She was actually getting better until… her brother passed away… That pain came back and she couldn't remember him either…" Rise struggled to keep in her hiccups of sadness as the Shirogane wrapped it up.

"I saw how she reacts around you and she seems happier than ever before. Please understand how much it means to me to see her smile again." Rise wiped her tears on her sleeve, but it did very little.

"I-I promise," the statement was muffled by her attempts to stop crying. "I won't ever let her be alone again. I-I'll make her happy the best I can!" The old man smiled, walked over to her, and hugged Rise.

"Thank you. You've already done so much."

The door upstairs creaked open and footsteps made their way down to them.

"I managed to find that file so wh-" Naoto looked shocked at the two before quickly rushing to Rise. "Wh-what's the matter, what happened?! Grandfather wha-" Before she could interrogate the two, Rise spoke up.

"I-It's okay Naoto, he just spoiled me on my favorite show!" The older Shirogane let out a hearty laugh.

"I just had to tell you the ending; it was too good to pass up!"

Naoto sighed, "You really need to learn to avoid spoiling people grandfather…" The old man turned to her and gave a mischievous grin.

"Is that so… Hey, did you know that Sherlock d-" "I am not listening."

"Naoto!" The detective prince was nearly tackled when she walked outside of her classroom. Even though all she could see was a brightly colored blur, it was rather obvious to her who it was.

Rise had now been more adamant than ever to stick to her side, mainly due to her asking Naoto out. Such a proclamation at the time still made the detective blush a bit more and her heart seemed louder. Luckily, when they reached near the end of their sophomore year, Naoto had finally been able to show affection in public- still with a blush, but she was improving!

"Hello Rise," Naoto managed to say while being squeezed by the idol.

"C'mon!" Rise grabbed her hand again while Naoto was still trying to keep her pace. "The exams are coming up, and we need to study!" This could be quickly translated to: You'll try and help me; I'll give up and spend rest of the time trying to make out with you.

Naoto chuckled, thinking about Rise's playful childishness made a warm feeling go off in her chest.

"Wha'cha thinking about?" Called out of her thoughts, she shook off Rise's curiosity and smiled wider.

"I was just thinking of happy things." Rise looked shocked for a moment and her face lit up (actually, everyone did). After a long silence Rise finally broke it by glomping her poor girlfriend.

"KYAAAH! Oh please make that face more often! You are so cuuuuuute!" Rise practically nuzzled into Naoto's shoulder while squeezing her.

"Wah!"

The two spent a long while with Rise trying to calm down and Naoto trying to breathe.

After the fangirling wore off Rise eased up on the pressure she was hugging Naoto at (without actually letting go). Naoto sighed, but eased into the hug. She swore that Rise's childishness really needed to be reined in sometimes.

Her peaceful thoughts were cut off again by Rise grabbing her hat and running.

"R-RISE!" The two began to case each other throughout the school, always with Rise in the lead.

"Make that cute face again and I'll give it back, Naoto~"

"Graah!" The detective ran after Rise, ignoring the stares that they got.

Even if the idol's attitude gave Naoto some problems, it still allowed her to like her even more.

Through the dark of night, the only source of light Rise received was the moonlight that was not blocked by the curtains. Looking up at the unfamiliar ceiling with sleep still blurring her vision, Rise wondered what had woke her and where she was. She tried to rub her eyes, only to feel a bit of weight on them.

Rise finally remembered where she was and realized that she fell asleep on Naoto's bed. She had almost panicked until she realized that they both were still dressed and they appeared to have fallen asleep while cuddling.

With that, she began to wonder what woke her up again, and turned to Naoto to see if she woke up too.

She was facing away from her, but shivering. Rise reached over with her other hand to try to get up without waking her up.

"…No…" Rise realized then that she wasn't just shivering, she was crying.

"Naoto? What's the matter? Are you okay?" The idol began to panic and tried to get Naoto to face her.

She looked so filled with pain and sadness, Rise was incredibly shocked until she remembered.

The elder Shirogane had warned her.

Rise shifted and hugged Naoto.

"It's going to be okay. You can make it through this. You are strong. I promise."

"I don't know. I don't know what to do. I want remember him; I swear I do but, I feel so guilty for forgetting. It hurts and I can't do anything!" Naoto tried desperately to stop her own tears, but was shaking so terribly.

"I want to remember and yet everything hurts and I won't, I won't, my head is so messed up I can't!" Rise was crying too but still offered comfort to her. "I won't even remember this, but I want to, I really, really do, but I can't because it hurts it hurts and I couldn't even say goodbye!"

"Naoto," Rise held tightly to the shivering girl and shed her own tears. "I'm here." The smaller girl clutched tighter onto the idol. "I'm here and I will never let go."

"..." Naoto tried to speak again but it was too soft for Rise to hear.

"What is it?" Naoto, despite hurting so badly, lifted her head to look at her girlfriend.

"…What if I forget you again?" Rise sighed and gathered all of her thoughts.

"Once we talked…about lighthouses. There are billions of them in the sky. If you ever get lost, they'll lead us to each other. We can meet on the bear's belly." Naoto's sobs quieted, letting Rise know that she had calmed down a bit. "I still haven't thanked you…for what you did back then. Your gift from me is in my room and I always took good care of it…" Naoto chuckled, remembering the weird doll she gave away. She then flinched in pain.

"…Do you…Do you remember our promise?" Naoto's grip tightened.

"Of course I do." Rise kissed her forehead. "We did meet up, so it's fine!" Naoto chuckled as Rise continued on.

"You kept your promise, Naoto. So let me return the favor." She kissed her again but on the lips. "I promise I will stay by your side no matter what. If you forget, I'll find you and support you all the way." Naoto smiled with tears in her eyes.

"I love you."

"I love you, forever and always."