Yukari took Yuki and Elizabeth out to dinner at an expensive restaurant that night, and from the moment after telling her manager she would be taking an extended vacation to deal with a 'sudden family emergency', she began talking to Yuki and Elizabeth, telling them stories from her last year at Gekkoukan High, what her days at college had been like, all the new friends she made and the professors who had been more fun than the others, meeting her manager after doing small modeling jobs and finally what the world of being a T.V. star was like. While Yukari happily talked to her old S.E.E.S. friends about her life regularly, she found it a little strange how she was reciting so much of her past all at once, probably because it was the first time she'd done so for anybody. But it didn't matter, because after years of praying for a miracle, of waking up every morning with the thought of hearing good news instead of 'what could have been' in her mind, of all the regret and pain fading as she slowly recovered as time moved on, she was finally reunited with Yuki. And in her own opinion, the timing couldn't have been better: a few years earlier and she might've been too emotional to connect with him right away, and a few years later and she might have changed too much to connect with him at all… in fact, Yuki had already asked a few questions regarding some of her stories that she realized made sense to her but not to him.
By the time they arrived at Yuki's hotel, Yukari's voice was scratchy, she was short of breath, and she was about ready to go back to her own hotel and get some rest, but there was still one last thing she had to ask. "Hey Elizabeth, can you give me and Yuki a moment?" The ex-elevator attendant nodded and went on ahead, heading into the hotel while Yuki and Yukari stayed outside. Yuki turned to Yukari and saw that she was giving him a knowing smirk, with both hands on her hips. "I saw you two holding hands all night; wanna tell me what the deal is?" She leaned forward and her smirk widened as Yuki scratched his cheek, a blush forming that was just barely visible in the light of the nearby streetlamps.
Yuki cleared his throat and shrugged. "Well, there's not much to tell, honestly: we're a couple. We spent a lot of time together before I died, and we both developed feelings for each other during that time… so when I came back and she confessed to me, I accepted and we're together now." He finished with a smile and another shrug.
Yukari crossed her arms over her chest and raised her brow. "Spent time together? I was under the impression she had to stay in the Velvet Room with that old guy. Did the three of you have lunch together everytime you wanted to fuse a Persona or something?"
"No, no- I took her out and showed her around Port Island." Yuki looked up at the sky, where the crescent moon shone overhead. His eye followed a plane that was visible against the darkness of space and said a little more quietly, "To tell you the truth, I was a little embarrassed at first. She had no idea how to act in public, and misunderstood a lot of basic stuff that we learned as kids. But afterwards, I thought it was endearing how she ran from shop to shop and asked questions about fashion or knick knacks or whatever else she wanted to know more about. Then I realized after I took her back to the Velvet Room that she spent so much time stuck in there with nothing to do, and I figured I'd be the exact same way if the situation was reversed, so when she asked me to take her out again, I was actually looking forward to it just as much as she was. It even got to the point where I wanted to go to the Velvet Room just to see her, because she was always excited to see me." He exhaled through his nose and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "It was a lot of fun showing her around, because she was a lot of fun to talk to." He looked back down to see Yukari smiling gently at him. "What?"
"I'm glad you two are happy." Yukari answered softly with a small, honest smile. "I don't know her that well, and I don't know if that relationship dynamic would work for me, but you two seem happy together, so that's all that matters." Yukari laced her fingers together at the small of her back and tapped at the ground with a toe while she thought, "I don't think I've seen him talk about anybody like that before…"
"Thanks. I'm glad I have your approval." Yuki replied with a small chuckle.
Yukari called a taxi and while she waited for it to arrive, told Yuki that she would be buying tickets to Junpei's town and that she'd call him in the morning. When her cab arrived, she gave Yuki one last hug and then walked to her ride, then stopped as she opened the door and turned back to Yuki as she realized something. "You and Elizabeth are in different rooms, right?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...I'm 27, Yukari, I don't need permission to share a hotel room with a girl."
He turned around, barely in time to hide his poorly concealed laughter as he hurried up the stairs. For a moment, he thought Yukari might have given chase, but he only heard her give a shocked yell before he was in the hotel lobby. He cleared his throat when he saw the woman behind the front desk giving him a disapproving look, then calmly made his way upstairs back to his room. When he walked in, Elizabeth had changed into a navy blue nightgown and was leaning against the headboard. "Did you have a pleasant chat?" She asked as Yuki started changing into his own night clothes.
"She just wanted to ask what kind of relationship we had since she saw us holding hands." He said, climbing in next to Elizabeth and pulling the covers up.
"And… what did you tell her?"
Elizabeth sounded nervous, and Yuki was quick to respond. "That we were together- a romantic couple." Elizabeth's shoulders slowly fell as she nodded once. "I know it's not exactly a normal relationship, but I am happy with you." He continued, placing both hands on her shoulders. "As long as you want to be with me, I'll always be here for you."
Elizabeth smiled, and she raised a hand to gently cup Yuki's cheek. It was such a small thing, foregoing gloves, but it came with a great reward; there was one less layer between her and her love. Yuki leaned forward to kiss Elizabeth, who couldn't hold back a soft moan at the action- barring the hand holding and waking up to Yuki's arm around her waist, there wasn't as much physical contact as Elizabeth was craving after waiting ten years to reunite with Yuki. But she was determined to hold back, wait until Yuki was comfortable with his return to the land of the living before she tried to initiate anything like they had done in his dorm room so long ago. So when he pulled back, Elizabeth didn't try to follow him or pull him back in. She did rest her head on his chest after he turned the lights out and lay down, however, but Yuki didn't seem to mind.
As Elizabeth raised her hand to rest over his heart, he let his drift shut and let the silence settle over them as he started to fall asleep.
He blinked when he felt Elizabeth's warmth vanish, and his stomach dropped when he took in his surroundings.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room. It has been quite some time, hasn't it?"
Yuki was once again sitting across from Igor, only this time there were three other people with him as well. Yellow eyes, white hair, blue uniforms; he could deduce pretty easily who these new people were.
"Allow me to make proper introductions." Igor extended one hand to the tallest of the trio, a woman who looked young yet quite mature, and was giving him a cold, unsympathetic stare. "This is my assistant, Margaret." He motioned to the young man, who gave him a polite nod and small bow. "This is my assistant, Theodore." He motioned to the young girl, who had both hands on her hips and was glowering at him, although it came across more pouty than anything else. "And this is my assistant, Lavenza. As you might have guessed, they are all residents of this Velvet Room." Igor put his hands together and rested his chin on top of them. "However, one of our residents has been missing for far too long, and now refuses to return."
Yuki stiffened, and after a moment of carefully choosing his words said, "She's not ready to return yet."
Margaret stepped forward and closed about half the distance between, looking down at Yuki where he was sitting. "It's not about whether she's ready to return or not. Elizabeth is not human, and so she cannot ever truly be a part of humanity, no matter how much time she spends on your side. Eventually, humankind will become aware that something unnatural is among them and they will hunt Elizabeth down to either kill her or study her. And you're familiar with what happened the last time humanity attempted to interact with an entity so far removed from it."
Images of the Dark Hour flashed through his mind, and Yuki shook his head. "Nyx and Elizabeth are two totally different kinds of entities, and Elizabeth is far less of a threat than Nyx is. And she's not a threat to anyone in the first place! The only reason someone would get hurt because of her is if they threatened her first." Yuki stood up, and Margaret narrowed her gaze at him. "Look, I know Elizabeth can stand out, but I knew that when I invited her to come with me after we first reunited. And even if I have to spend my entire life trying to help her fit in, if she doesn't want to come back here then she doesn't have to. She might not be human, but she has a right to make her own choices in life."
"Didn't you hear what Margaret just said?" Lavenza raised her voice and rushed forward. "Elizabeth doesn't have a choice! Standing out is dangerous for her! She's been attending her duty for millenia, and she doesn't get to just quit whenever she develops feelings for a guest! This is why such things are forbidden in the first place, because of how much trouble it causes!"
Before Yuki could respond, Theodore stepped forward as well, a sympathetic look on his face in contrast to both of his sisters. "Mr. Makoto, we're merely looking out for Elizabeth's best interests. We aren't supposed to spend decades at a time in your world, and we aren't supposed to interfere in the natural order of life and death, either." He raised a hand to cut off Yuki's protest. "Even though she was not responsible for your return, she left in search of that goal all the same, and that was after only a single year with you. Imagine what will happen if she spends decades at your side, never aging or changing- how will she react when you've lived out the normal human lifespan and cannot go on any longer? You chose your fate of your own free will, but Elizabeth would not accept that- but no one can escape death forever, and no matter how long she has to come to terms with it, our sister may not ever accept the inevitability of mortalkind."
Yuki paused, taking a moment to collect his thoughts- and to digest what Theodore was telling him. While Margaret and Lavenza both focused on Elizabeth's rebellion, Theodore had managed to hit much closer to home with the image of an unchanged Elizabeth sitting being forced to take care of him as an old man as his strength failed him and he had to rely on others more and more. He glanced between the four residents and sighed. "Even though Elizabeth and I will be forced to part one day-" He took a breath and steeled himself, clenching his fists as he looked Igor in the eye- "I won't let you take Elizabeth until she's ready to return on her own. I want to have her at my side for as long as possible."
Silence settled between the occupants of the room. The owner of the Velvet Room didn't blink, sigh, or react in any notable way, his expression unchanging as always. Even though Yuki could feel the other assistants staring at him, he kept his gaze on Igor, unwilling to show any signs of weakness or uncertainty. After an eternally long moment of stillness, Igor's hands came down to rest on the table, the elderly man letting out a quiet sigh as he did so. "If this is the path you two intend to take, then you two will have to accept the consequences of it as well. The longer Elizabeth's rebellion goes on, the more severe those consequences will become as a result. Do not say you were not warned." Igor raised his hand. "That is all." With a flick of his wrist, darkness swept of Yuki.
For a terrifying moment, he wasn't sure what would happen next, but his eyes opened and he saw the ceiling of his hotel room, the morning sunlight filtering in slightly from behind the closed curtain. He felt hand playing with his own, a light touch dragging across his knuckles and idly tracing the lines on his palm. He turned and Elizabeth gave him a cheerful smile. "Good morning!" She stood up from the bed and placed her hands on her hips. "Shall we get a head start on our day?"
Yuki groaned as he sat up. His head seemed fuzzy, the all too familiar effect of sleep deprivation making itself known as he recalled the many mornings after exploring Tartarus. He rubbed at his eyes, the memory of his dream still crystal clear in his mind as he stood up and stretched. "Have you been up all night?" He asked as he meandered around the room, grabbing everything he needed to take into the shower with him.
"More or less. I don't actually need to sleep, so I tend to avoid doing so whenever possible in case of an emergency." She answered. "But I did close my eyes for a little while while I waited for sunrise." At Yuki's stillness and silence, she tilted her head. "Are you alright? Perhaps you ate too much before bed and had a nightmare."
"I don't think it had anything to with dinner last night…" He sighed. "I'll tell you about it later. I still need to finish waking up." He stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. "If Yukari calls, let her know I'm in here!"
~Later~
"I see." Elizabeth had just finished listening to Yuki's experience in the Velvet Room, and the two were currently in the restaurant on the ground floor in the hotel. "I truly regret that you had the misfortune to meet my younger brother. Please, do not hesitate to bully him in the future if you should be pulled into the Velvet Room once again."
"I'm not sure that was the important takeaway from all of that…"
Elizabeth giggled. "Fret not, I was merely giving a small modicum of advice. As for what my master- former master said…" She hummed and drummed her fingers on the table for a moment before continuing. "I knew that that there would be repercussions for this selfish journey when I started it. Taking mankind's saviour for myself and leaving a greater burden of responsibility on my siblings- I know that one day I will be forced to take responsibility for my actions. And no matter what punishment my ma-former master comes up with, I assure you, I can handle it. I am a lot stronger than I appear." She started tapping the ends of her index fingers together and mumbled, "But I consider myself blessed by the powers higher than myself for every extra day I get to spend with you. Even though there is a great difference in our lifespans, I can bear the burden of solitude once you've truly passed on if we've lived our lives to the fullest- together." She reached across the table and took his hands, giving them a light squeeze.
Yuki felt the heat rise to his face and ducked his head to hide his smile. Elizabeth was always honest and genuine when she spoke, even when she was being naive and misunderstanding something that she was encountering for the first time, and it was in direct contrast to Yuki, who'd spent his life closed off from everyone around him as he bounced between relatives, schools, and cities all over Japan. He tried to find the right words to say back but nothing came out, so he kept his gaze on the tabletop, returning Elizabeth's gesture with a small squeeze of his own.
"Awww, that was adorable."
The pair looked up to see Yukari standing a few feet away.
"Seriously, what an adorable speech." Yukari snickered and covered her mouth with one hand. "I can live with the consequences, as long as we're together! What, are you on a daytime television drama or something?" She sighed and shrugged. "I had no idea you were into that kind of thing, Yuki."
The young man frowned and pulled back from Elizabeth. "Didn't you just say last night that you were happy for us?"
"I am, but that doesn't mean I can't give you a hard time about it." She grinned. "Come on you two, go check out if you haven't already and let's get going."
~A Few Hours Later~
Junpei took a deep breath, tapping his foot in impatience and nervousness as he took a small sip from the teacup in front of him. Tea was far from his thing, but the bottled water from the cafe where Yukari had asked to meet him at was too expensive, and he was cutting sodas out of his diet little by little to try and stay in shape. He exhaled slowly, trying to calm his nerves as he looked at the entrance to the cafe for the twentieth time in five minutes. It was strange for anyone from the shadow operatives that wasn't Mitsuru to contact him, much less with a 'surprise that he would love' in Yukari's own words, and definitely not with a cafe date for just the two of them. He took another sip of his tea and rested his chin on top of his hands, his gaze shadowed by the cap on his head. "I'm over thinking this… There's no way she's asking for what I think she's asking for. She just wants to hang out and catch up with an old friend without a life threatening situation hanging over our head like normal… I'm just reading way too much into this."
"Okay, but consider the following-" Another voice in his head piped up. "Your childhood friend and you go on an adventure to save the world in your youth, then as the years go by, you slowly drift apart. You live the honest life, teaching kids how to play baseball in a small town. She goes on to become a model and famous actress in the big city, and the two of you only get in contact when people are in danger, and never for very long. You live a fulfilling life, but you know you're missing something. She stops being dazzled by the cameras and the audience and wants to reconnect with someone real. Then one day, completely out of the blue, you get a call from her, asking to meet an out-of-the-way cafe. What do you make of that?"
"I already have Chidori. Yukari's not my type." He clutched at the gothic necklace that hung from his neck, the only thing that stood out against his otherwise casual appearance.
"Chidori's not going anywhere. She'll be with you always, a bright memory to stand out against the darkness you faced back then. But she's not going to come back just because you remember her fondly, either. Do you really want to turn around as an old man and go, 'I could have had a wife, children, and grandchildren, but I chose to stay stuck in the past forever instead of looking towards the present'? There's no shame in moving on with your life while remembering the good times you once had."
"That's true, but… Yuka-tan? Of all people?"
"Doesn't it make sense because it makes the least amount of sense?"
"...Holy crap, she asked me out on a date!" Junpei stood up so suddenly that he shook the booth and his tea spilled over the top, but most of it was caught by the saucer. He could feel everyone staring at him, and he cleared his throat awkwardly. "S-Sorry…" He mumbled and sat down. Pulling out his phone and checking the time, Junpei started bouncing his leg. He'd arrived a few minutes early since it was the weekend and he didn't have anywhere to be, but he'd been sitting here for almost twenty minutes and he was starting to wonder if maybe he'd been pranked.
Of course, just when he decided he was going to leave, the door opened and Yukari walked through, immediately striding over to Junpei and giving him a brief hug. "Long time no see, Junpei! What's it been, three years?"
Junpei cleared his throat awkwardly. "Y-yeah, give or take." For a moment he was unsure what to say, but he sat down, motioned for Yukari to do the same, reminded himself to sit up straight and asked, "So- uh… What have you been up to lately?"
"Same old, same old. But my life just got a lot more interesting, which you'll find out about in a little while." She answered, sitting down and ordering a unsweet tea off the menu when the waitress came and got her.
The two swapped stories as they continually ordered drinks and refills, spending nearly two hours asking questions, teasing, offering advice, and telling jokes about themselves and one another until Yukari cleared her throat, a solemn look on her face making Junpei pause. "Uh… what's up with the attitude shift all of a sudden?"
"Junpei…" She took a deep breath and leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper as she spoke. "What if I told you that an old friend had come back to see us?"
"Is Aigis here?" He asked. "Is this something to do with the shadow operatives?"
Yukari shook her head. "Okay, take a deep breath, because what I'm about to say isn't going to make sense but… Yuki's back. He's come back to life somehow."
Junpei scoffed immediately and rolled his eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked, leaning back in his seat. "We both know he's gone for good. We buried his ashes and his soul is still up there holding back Nyx." He lifted a finger and pointed at the sky.
"I'm not lying!" Yukari cried out. She quickly pulled up her phone to show the picture that she'd sent Mitsuru. "I don't know how he's back or why, maybe it has something to do with his girlfriend, but he's really back."
"New girlfriend?"
"Yeah." She shrugged and sighed. "I was late because she was running all over the airport because she's never been to one before."
"...I'm lost, what's that got to do with Yuki?"
"Not much. I'll let him introduce you to her but-" She stood up and Junpei followed suit, and she leaned in close to whisper, "I don't trust her completely yet. She's nice enough, but until we can actually figure out how Yuki's back and if Nyx is still a threat, then we need to keep an eye on her as much as possible."
Junpei frowned. "I still don't believe he's back."
"Then let's go see him. You'll start believing pretty quick after that." Yukari quickly payed for everything and after a short trip by cab, arrived at the hotel where Yuki and Elizabeth were staying. They were staying in the room next to her, and when she approached their door she could hear the T.V. that was turned on on the other side of the door. It had been her idea to meet Junpei first and bring him back, because she knew that if Junpei saw Yuki out in public he was liable to break down like she had and as much as she might like to tease Junpei, that was taking things too far, even for them. "He's in here." She gestured to the door.
Junpei looked at her, then frowned at the door. He exhaled and gave three loud knocks on the door, squaring his shoulders as he heard movement on the other side. Slowly the door opened, and his jaw clenched when a young man with an all too familiar shade of blue hair was revealed. "So you paid some high school kid to put on a wig." He muttered back to Yukari. "It's not him. And you've got no idea who you're dressed up as, do you?" He said with an accusatory jab at Yuki. Maybe anger wasn't the right response, but Yukari suddenly showing up out of nowhere with a dearly departed friend returned from the grave didn't leave him with a lot of emotional options, and he wasn't known for his cool head.
"Myself?"
Even ten years later, Junpei would recognize that voice anywhere. The sarcastic response broke through everything else, and Junpei's eyes widened. "There's no way… Is it really you?" He grabbed Yuki by the shoulder, and the other young man just nodded and tried to come up with something more original to say than 'hey'. Junpei was still completely in shock, and reached forward to pinch Yuki on the arm without really realizing it.
"Ow! What was that for?" Yuki asked.
Junpei tried to answer, but he just opened and closed his mouth over and over again. What in the world was he supposed to say to someone he thought he'd never see again?
"Perhaps the gorilla has his tongue. No, that's not it. The Tarantula? Alligator?"
"None of those were close." Yukari muttered.
"Well, let me take this moment to introduce you to Elizabeth." Yuki stood aside and let Junpei and Yukari into his room.
Elizabeth stood up from the desk in the room and strode over to Junpei. "My name is Elizabeth, but feel free to call me Elle-p. I am Yuki's girlfriend." She blushed when she said that, and Yuki just chuckled when Junpei turned to him. "I suppose now is the time to answer questions before we go out to celebrate, correct?"
Junpei plopped down onto the bed, letting out a long sigh as he shook his head. "Yeah, because I've got a lot."
~Later~
"So, you're free from the seal because Erebus is gone for good, huh?" Junpei crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "And you and Elizabeth were 'seeing each other' way back when, she's not human and went on a journey to save you, and now you're here."
"That sums it up." Yuki replied with a nod.
"So like, what are you gonna do now?"
Yukari looked at Junpei and Yuki blinked. "Now?"
"I mean like, in the future and all that. I'm glad you're here, don't get me wrong-" He waved his hands quickly, "But are you going to… to go to college or something like that?"
Yuki snorted, and Yukari tried to hide her laughter. "What kind of question is that?" Yuki asked. "I guess that will depend on how long I'm here. I never spent too much time thinking about college, and as everything got more and more serious I was just focused on ending the Dark Hour, then when I knew I was going to die, I just didn't worry about it and focused on making it to graduation." He explained. "I guess I was kind of hoping Mitsuru might have a job opening that I could apply to while I try to figure out the legal ramifications of coming back from the dead."
"Well, Mitsuru can probably help you on both of those fronts." Yukari stepped in. "She works with law enforcement to stop shadows just as much as she's the head of the Kirijo corporation, so I'm sure she can pull a few strings to help make your resurrection seem a little less strange. And I doubt she'd leave you out to dry after you saved the world from Nyx."
"All of you saved the world from Nyx." Elizabeth interrupted. "Yuki would have had no reason to save the world if he had taken the journey alone."
"Anyways-" Yukari continued, "The sooner we get everyone together the sooner we can figure out how best to help Yuki, and Elizabeth. It might not be easy to bring someone back from the dead when they were human to begin with, but for Elizabeth…" She hesitated, looking at the ground before looking between Yuki and Elizabeth. "We might not be able to do anything particularly helpful."
"Not to worry. I'm no distressing dandelion, and I do not require many of the same needs as a normal human. Anything I would need help with, I could ask for help, either from Yuki or one of you."
"Damsel, not dandelion." Junpei corrected her. "And you can count on me!" He gave Elizabeth a thumbs up, and received a 'V for Victory" pose in return.
"I wouldn't count on him, Elle-p. Yuki's still more of an adult than Stupei is."
"Hey!"
