A/N: Ikutsuki is far from being the god of the new world.

Minato: Aigis, play Low of Solipsism.

Aigis: *Started chanting in Latin*

"Good morning."

Minato opened his eyes to see Aigis on top of him. He was used to this by now. Aigis crawled of his bed and he sat up. "As usual?"

Aigis nodded. "Five minutes before six."

"Birds are still chirping." Minato looked out the window. "You always have to wake me up when they are chirping."

"Is it not good?" Aigis tilted her head. "Birds chirping is a sign of a brand new day."

"The birds either want to show off, or they want to get intimate."

Aigis paused and looked at him. "... That is true."

Minato almost forgot the android could search the internet. About last night, Aigis said that she should be fine. Ikutsuki only made her stronger and connected her mind to the remote control. If it was destroyed, everything should be okay. It would be like disconnecting to wifi.

Aigis opened his closet and picked his school uniform. She walked to his window and picked up his bathrobe and towel. She handed them to him.

"You don't have to do this," Minato said.

"It is an apology," Aigis said. "Yesterday, for hurting you."

"If anything, you helped us." She didn't do more than knocking them out. An efficient blow to the head. Minato took his clothes from her hand. "Thanks anyway."

Aigis observed him walking out of his room. He went up the stairs and she was still following him.

"You should be worried about Mitsuru and not me," Minato said as he stepped onto the fourth floor.

"I am afraid my presence will worsen their mood, unlike you."

In other words, she had nowhere to go. "I'm sure SEES don't blame you. I forgive you."

Aigis silently followed him.

Minato stopped in front of the male bathroom and turned around. "You know, you don't have to follow me any further."

Aigis blinked. She looked down. "There is something about what Ikutsuki-san said that bothered me. He attempted to shoot you. I…" She glanced at him. "I have attempted to shoot you in the past as well. If what he said is true, I suspect you might be in danger."

Minato wasn't sure what she meant. "I doubt people out there will shoot me."

Aigis didn't answer. She turned around and stood there. Minato decided to pretend she was his bodyguard and entered the shower.

Aigis asked to not be at school today. A lot of students talked about the death of Takeharu. Mitsuru was not at school. Akihiko texted them to meet in the command room when they were back at the dorm.

"Am I a murderer?" Aigis asked him as he entered the lounge.

"Huh?" Minato looked around. The lounge was empty. Others were probably waiting in the command room.

"Am I a murderer?" Aigis repeated.

Minato didn't expect an android to ask something like that, but she was more than a machine. "What do you think?"

"I shot him and he died," the android said as she walked to the dorm door and locked it from the inside with a click. "So I am a murderer."

Though Minato was sure she had done many illegal things already, he went along. "If you kill someone when they're not a threat anymore, it's murder… I think Ikutsuki was far from 'not being a threat'."

"Are you saying it is self-defense?"

"You could say that."

"It is still a homicide."

Was it the fall that guaranteed his dead, or the gunshots? It happened in the Dark Hour. Laws couldn't do anything, but he admitted there was morality. "If you're worried, I think it is more about the intention and not the action."

"My intention?"

"You did what you have to. You shot Ikutsuki to protect us, right?"

"To protect?" Aigis tilted her head.

"We're alive because of you."

"But Ikutsuki-san is dead," Aigis said. "... I wish he wasn't."

Aigis really cared about her creator a lot.

"And now I do not know if he died because of me or not." Aigis thought for a moment. "I may have gone overboard last night. I should have shot his legs instead."

"Ah come on. I'm sure everyone's happy."

"Why would they be?"

"... Nevermind." This was awkward. How could he explain to her that everyone here wanted him dead while Aigis was the only one being sentimental? "He stepped back himself, and he fell off the building. It's suicide no matter how you look at it."

"What if I didn't shoot?" Aigis asked.

"Well, Aigis, I'm sure he would just kill himself anyway. A lunatic prince like him would die to reach for the moon. It's no one's fault that he's insane."

Minato wondered if it was too harsh. It can't be helped. SEES now hated him. They all felt that except the android.

"Aigis, just… stop blaming yourself, if you can."

SEES gathered in the command room. Mitsuru wasn't here.

"Sudden Death of Kirijo Group's CEO," Ken said. "They blame it on illness, though."

"Yeah. It's never the truth." Akihiko cleaned his gloves.

Mitsuru was busy with the funeral and the family business. After everything, she still had to do work. It was like going to school right after October fourth. On top of that, neither Tartarus nor the Dark Hour disappeared, and their reason for fighting was gone.

"There're so many unanswered questions…" Fuuka said.

"There is one thing we know." Akihiko put on his gloves. "Tartarus is still around, and there's a bunch of Shadows inside it. We should train, so we're ready for whatever it is we might have to face."

At least everyone agreed on that.

Minato was about to sleep when someone knocked on his door.

"It's me, Yukari."

Minato opened the door for her.

"Can we talk a bit?" Yukari asked.

Minato let her entered his room. His room had always been neat and empty. He pushed his desk chair to her. "Have a seat."

"Oh, thanks." Yukari sat on his chair.

Minato sat on his bed and waited for her.

"Umm how should I begin this?" Yukari played with the DVD in her hand. "This… this is the original video before Ikutsuki edited it. Fuuka hacked his computer and restored this file."

Yukari wanted him to know this too? It was about her father, not his parents. Even if his parents were partly responsible, just like how her father was partly responsible...

"Dad tried to stop the experiment," Yukari said.

Minato looked up. "Huh?"

"Our parents, they were doing the right thing!" Yukari leaned forward. "It was all Ikutsuki's lie we became confused. They tried to fix those scientists' mistake!"

Minato blinked.

"Oh, you haven't watched this." Yukari handed the DVD to him. "If you want to watch it..."

"It's okay. It was your father in the vid," Minato said. Yukari should be the only one to watch. "I don't need to watch it. I trust you."

They sat in his room in silence, taking in the good news.

"It took a while, but I finally got his message." Yukari smiled. "I was right to believe in him. My dad has always been my dad…"

Minato nodded. Good for her.

"And, Minato-kun?" Yukari said. "Thanks for telling me to keep believing in him. It really helps… Thanks again."

A few days had passed. Apathy Syndrome kept spreading. Mitsuru wasn't back yet. Junpei seemed sad and Minato shoved him back into the hospital anyway.

Even if Junpei was angry at Ikutsuki, Chidori came first. That was admirable.

"Ikutsuki completely hid his true nature from us," Akihiko said. "We've known him for two years and I never noticed anything. How dare he hurt Mitsuru…"

"He was SEES's adviser, and we can't even rely on him. Now it's just us," Ken said. "Adults aren't reliable these days."

"And we never suspected a thing from that guy," Yukari said. "Ugh, it makes me feel sick."

"He faked being the nice guy all along?" Fuuka asked. "He was pretending. Do you think he really enjoyed the times we all spent together?"

"No one can answer that now..." Aigis murmured as if talking to herself.

It was Sunday. Minato thought of Akinari. After Maiko left, Minato started talking to him. It had been around two months.

Minato went to Naganaki Shrine. Akinari was writing the story.

"... Oh right, the pink alligator and the bird become friends, right?" Akinari opened his notebook and continued the story.

His book just had to be so depressing. A character hurting his own friend, and he had nothing else.

"… That's as far as I've written. I haven't decided on an ending."

Minato hadn't said anything but it must have shown on his face.

"Is it really that dark?" Akinari asked. "I dunno. For me, it's hard to tell. The words I use come out from my life, you know?"

A life of knowing when you'll die.

"So, they may seem depressing to you, but to me… that's just life."

Minato went back to the dorm and got to bed.

He thought about how weird it was for someone to know that death was waiting for them. Even if it was true for everyone, it felt far away. You wouldn't have your own body to remind yourself of death.

He thought of Shinjiro. That guy coughed sometimes. He complained that it was cold. Was that his body warning him of death?

Death was subtle for most people. It wouldn't walk to you one day and tell you you're going to die, right?