A/N: Now that I've covered the mindscape a bit, I want to talk about how the Yu boys/bracelet girls interact with each other in this story.
The boys/girls can communicate with each other without entering the mindscape, but they an only hear each other's voices and sometimes see them. They can, however, properly see each other and interact with them physically when they enter the mindscape.
A girl's red sweater rested in a small shoe box, gently folded and molded to take the box's shape. It rested on a desk by Yuzu's window, and the sun's rays poured down on the lid. Resting inside was a small, sleeping bluethroat.
Yuzu was very surprised to find the bird on her front lawn that morning. It was injured, and it let out an aria of pain. But thanks to Ruri's advice and intervention, they were able to safely wrangle up the bird and bring it inside.
It took a while for the bird to calm down. But eventually, its panicked cries softened over time. And Yuzu and Ruri stood by its side the whole time, taking turns keeping watch.
Yuzu sat on a chair and rested her hands on the desk, observing the shoebox. Her mind was filled with anxiety, but also hopeful optimism. She couldn't wait to see the little bird take to the skies again.
"Thanks for all your help, Ruri," Yuzu said quietly. "I don't think I would have known what to do without you here."
It's no problem, came Ruri's voice from within. Shun and I did this before, when we were kids. Our home had a lot of trees nearby, so we would find birds on the ground sometimes.
"It's a good thing you had experience, then," Yuzu replied. "Did any of you have pets before?"
Me and Yugo took care of a cat, Rin said. We couldn't afford to adopt and take care of it full-time, but we could give it food whenever it stopped by. Yugo loved to play with it.
Cats are great, Serena announced. Fierce, independent, wouldn't fall out of a tree and get hurt... But we weren't allowed to have pets at Academia.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Yuzu said softly. "Maybe I could convince our dad to get us a cat?"
Which dad? Rin asked. Yours, or Ruri's?
"Mine, mine," Yuzu answered. "He's all of ours, too, and..."
Yuzu paused. A heavy, bitter feeling welled in the pit of her stomach. Her thoughts immediately went to Ruri, and the could only sympathize with her being separated from her family.
Yuzu put a hand to her cheek. Hopefully, Ruri would somehow be able to feel it. A sympathetic show of support.
"Ruri," she started. "We're going to visit our family in the Xyz Dimension soon, okay?"
Ruri, I'm so sorry! Rin said. I wasn't thinking about- I mean, I didn't mean anything by it.
There was a moment of hesitation before Ruri responded, "Don't worry about me, everyone. But I appreciate it. Thank you."
Yeah, I'm not worried, either, Serena added. We're strong, we're fierce. We don't need a family to take care of us, anyway.
"Serena, you're not being sensitive to Ruri's feelings," Yuzu said with a sigh. "I know you mean well, but-"
Yeah! Talk about being rude, Rin scoffed.
I- well- I... Serena stammered. I didn't mean to be... Hey, don't blame me, you're the one who made things weird!
Don't throw this at me! I-
Please, don't fight over me! Ruri pleaded.
"Stop arguing!" Yuza snapped. "Both of you, enough!"
"HOOOONNNEEEY!" yelled a voice. It was Shuzo, calling out from downstairs.
"Yes, dad?" Yuzu called out.
"Is everything okay?" he yelled. "Are you arguing with the voices in your head again?"
"They're not voices, dad! They're three girls who live in my body after the Professor forcecd us to fuse back into his daughter."
There was a short pause. After a moment of awkard silence, Shuzo said, "... Okay, as long as you're not fighting!"
"We're not!"
"Also, Yuya called; he's going to be here in a few minutes!"
"Okay, thanks!"
"Be sure to come down! I don't want him to be alone in your room!"
Yuzu paused, then let out a fierce growl. "How could you say that?! What kind of girl do you think I am?! Of course he's not allowed in my room!"
Admist her father's stammers, Yuzu rose up from her seat. She reached down to the side of her desk, picking up a large paper fan by its hilt. Her dad needed to-
Wait, Yuya's coming over? Serena asked. Why?
"I invited him over, so he could help us with the bird," Yuzu replied. "Yuya has a lot of pets, so I figured he might be able to help."
Are you sure it's not because you want to flirt with him? Rin asked. Her voice was just dripping with bemusement.
"N-no, it's nothing like that!" Yuzu gasped. "You know how much I trust him. Whenever there's a problem, me and him are always there for each other."
If you ask me, we don't need his help, Serena said. But I trust Yuya, too. He's a bit sensitive and emotional, but he's got a kind heart.
"Uh-huh," Yuzu said with a nod.
And these really soft, feminine hands, too, for sme reason. Like, he couldn't hurt a bird even if he tried.
"Hey!"
Better him than Yugo, honestly, Rin sighed. I'm 100% sure that he can't be trusted with something small and delicate.
I'd like to meet Yuya properly, Ruri added. From what I hear, he sounds a lot like Yuto: sensitive and sweet.
A little too sensitive, but also couragous. Serena concluded. It was great fighting alongside him, Yuzu.
"I'm glad we can at least agree on Yuya," Yuzu said. A big smile started to creep up on her face. "So, he'll come over, and we'll show him the bird."
I don't know if we should bring him here, honestly.
"Why not?"
What if Yuya's not the one showing up?
You mean, what if one of the other boys is in control? Ruri asked.
What if it's Yuri?
Ugh, that creepy guy with the eyebrows, right? Rin was practically gagging as she spoke. Although Yuzu couldn't see it, Rin was covering her own mouth.
Oh my God, I would not let him even get close any animal, Ruri said nervously. I'm sure he's probably nicer, now that Yuto's with him. But no. Never. Never, ever.
Agreed, Serena, well, agreed. All in favor of pushing him down the stairs if he shows up?
Seconded.
Thirded, Rin added.
"Don't!" Yuzu snapped. "That's Yuya's body."
He's gone through war, he'll be fine, Serena chuckled. It's not like he hasn't fallen down stairs before.
I'd rather he get a little hurt, than let Yuri do whatever he wants to the poor bird, Rin said.
Before any of the girls could speak further, they were interrupted. The sound of the doorbell echoed through the house; it was the gently four-note tune. Yuya quickly dropped the fan and started walking out of her room.
"That must be Yuya, girls," Yuzu whispered to the others. "Just relax, and try not to make things weird."
The voices in her head kept silent, leaving Yuzu to run down the stairs and head towards the front door.
She rushed past her father, who was in the living room by the door. Shuzo lowered the newspaper in his hands to follow his daughter with a gaze.
Yuzu opened the door, revealing Yuya's smiling face. Yuzu quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and threw herself into a hug. Yuya's hands first remained at his sides, but after a moment of hesitation, wrapped around Yuzu's waist.
"It's good to see you again, Yuzu," he said softly.
"It's good to see you too, Yuya," Yuzu said, smiling.
"It's good to see you two keeping a respectable distance from each other!" Shuzo called out. "Hands off my daughter, son."
Yuzu blushed, and the two pushed themselves away from each other. There was a bit of an awkward pause in the air, followed by Yuzu chuckling softly.
"Let me go get the bird," Yuzu told him. "Wait here - I know you'll just love to see her."
"I can't wait," the boy responded.
And with that, Yuzu turned around and headed back up the stairs. Yuri's violet eyes followed her up. He could tell that this was going to enjoy spending time with her.
A/N: I still hate how the site's layout looks. Dialogue-heavy chapters like this just look so blegh. I want to start moving away from just talking, and start focusing on action-driven stuff. At least that looks better on the site, and it'll give me more of a chance to show how the boys and girls each have their own body language and quirks.
Anyway, I'm so glad that this fic's getting a lot of attention. Since I'm writing this story for you guys, I'd like to let you choose what the next chapter will be about. Here are three idea I had
a) A story about Yuri's Twitter wars.
b) A Yuto-centric story, where he must take Core to the vet for Yuya. But Yuri and Yugo have reasons to stop him from reaching the clinic.
c) Yugo having father-son bonding time with Yusho.
d) When Yoko gets Yuri a present, Yuri becomes obsessive over her.
The most popular idea will be written up. If there's a tie or no one answers, I'll just go with whatever I feel like.
UPDATE: Voting is done. Thanks for all the comments, everyone.