This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to events or persons living or dead in your world is purely coincidental.
5/9 Thursday
After School
This was a new feeling. She wasn't quite sure how to define it.
Oh, she'd had tests in middle school, naturally. And they'd been tricky, requiring her to block out everything else and just focus on what was in front of her.
But not tests that were stretched out over four days. Not tests that covered every subject at once, and demanded multiple essay questions on a tight time limit.
In short, despite all her preparations, it had been something of a wake-up call, and she understood better the way so many of the returning students had been facing this week with various states of mind ranging from grim resolve to sheer panic to unshakable dread. Fighting Shadows for her life had actually been less stressful somehow, possibly because she'd had Pelagio and now Mirambela helping her do that.
Working part-time at the Starlight diner after school had seemed like a relief by comparison, though that might have been because Mr. Otegi was giving her a lot of slack as a new recruit no matter what Boss told them. In truth, she rather liked it so far, getting to walk around and see new people in the city while surrounded by good smells and good, fresh seafood. It helped take her mind off the more worrying things in her life.
No wonder Mira-chan was so determined to study for weeks after she came back. I hope she did well. She deserves to.
At some point, Aiko realized that she'd been leaning up against her locker for several minutes, letting the bottled up stress slowly bleed out of her into the cool metal after the exam was over. This wasn't as uncommon a reaction as she initially feared- for once, the endless background noise of rumor had ebbed to a mere trickle, enough that she could peer through the crowd to see the familiar shining specs of Principal Yumika.
"Miss Tsuruga", he said courteously once he'd gotten closer. "Would you please accompany me to my office?"
A flood of stifling heat filled her, the contrast to the wintry chill of exam fear or dull locker metal. What now? Wasn't the police enough?
"I have... something to do, Yumika-sensei."
He was smiling gently, but it was a smile that wouldn't be easily argued with, and not by her. "This will only take a few minutes, I promise."
Of course, the background noise picked back up after so many people saw her being led away by the school's own principal. She involuntarily heard a whisper of 'Aiko the Psycho getting taken away to the nuthouse' at least once before they were at the office door on the first floor.
She would not allow that inconvenience to darken her opinion of their principal. For that, she had many other things she'd seen personally in Koashimizu academy. A clean, well-organized office and fancy oak desk did nothing to improve that appraisal.
"Since the issue was no longer urgent", he began, taking a seat behind his desk and pushing another out for her. "I decided not to inquire this of you until after midterm exams were over. I know full well how stressful they can be, particularly for a first-year student."
"I... appreciate it", she answered in complete honesty. "I was pretty nervous, really. Mira-chan told me, but I wish I'd spent a bit more time preparing... erm, I mean, Mirambela Sorano. Sorano-san, sir."
He didn't show any sign of annoyance with her lack of formality. Pulling open a small desk drawer, he withdrew a wrapped caramel candy bowl, offering her a round piece even as he took one for himself, downing it in a single gulp. "My guilty pleasure, of sorts", he noted distantly. "Even in this day and age, I believe that food is one thing that can unite people of all nations and types... and I must also confess to a sweet tooth unbecoming of an adult."
"Thank you, Yumi- sir", she took it, inwardly annoyed by sounding too formal now. She'd already worked out how formal was proper for teachers and students, but no matter what he thought about him privately, Principal Yumika was far beyond teachers in the hierarchy. This friendly, almost casual behavior from him was contradicting her previous perception of school principals, who were normally all fat, frumpy, grumpy old men like Mr. Noriyama. Something about those reflective specs on his nose was unnerving. Like a pair of tiny cameras were watching her, fed into some distant observatory of human behavior to be archived.
"Mr. Takao spoke highly of you", Yumika said, adjusting his glasses. "I doubt you have too much to fear, and even if you do, there is ample opportunity to do better at a later time." Having done his best to put her at ease, he touched his elbows gingerly to the desk and folded his hands, giving her the impression of a much younger, more handsome, more human Igor.
"You must have been equally distressed by the disappearance of your roommate, even if it was only temporary."
So that's what this is about. A new person I have to lie to.
"Oh. Oh, yes. I was so scared for her, especially after the way she left the campus."
One hand rose, putting a finger up to the bridge of his nose to adjust his glasses. "I will say that I have spoken with Mrs. Mattora at length about that unfortunate situation. Sadly, this city has been witness to several instances of teen suicide over the years, and I was grateful to learn that this wasn't such a case."
And that's why you installed those nets at the cliff. Great, but it didn't help Furusato-san or Mirambela.
"Our students are in a stage of their lives where they experience severe emotional turmoil, due to exposure to many difficult aspects of modern life before they may have the acumen to deal with it", Yumika explained softly, no longer looking at her but out the window at the cliff. "Sometimes, the pressure is simply too much. They are too scared to seek help, to admit to others that they have a problem, and it breaks them. This is not an epidemic unique to this school alone."
Lovely. You're saying that it's something that is so common it can't be prevented? Like Mira running out into the water trying to drown herself is like a common thing? Like Ayano's situation couldn't be avoided?!
He seemed to sense her thoughts to a degree and brought his hand back down. "Though miss Furusato was not attending school at the time of her disappearance and subsequent death, it would be remiss of us not to investigate the cause's origin, and address it if it was something related to this academy."
For the first time in a while, she rose from her angry thoughts, wanting to give this man a chance to prove he wasn't like the police officers who had questioned her before. "I'm afraid I don't know much about Furusato-san. She disappeared before I arrived."
"I am aware", Yumika said evenly, placing his hand on a sheaf of paper. "That was my first concern, actually. I have read your background, miss Tsuruga. You are one of the only student transfers to come to us from all the way over in Tokyo, despite there being many high schools there who would have gladly accepted you as a student."
The barb was too good not to take. "Well, I was interested in this place after I saw on the brochure that it was really multicultural, taking in most of the exchange students. And that it had a pool."
A dark eyebrow rose above his glasses. "Sarcasm does not become you, miss Tsuruga. I am well aware of the flaws present in this academy, and worked to correct them. That is not the subject of this discussion. I am more concerned for the true motivation behind your coming here. Your mother, Kogaya Tsuruga... Was going to an academy far away from her a part of your unusual choice?"
Then she understood. Nodded respectfully, this time. "You think that I was trying to escape from her by coming here. You think that I'm unstable, like I'll be the next girl to break, and run away and disappear."
"I am merely expressing my concerns about your health", Mr. Yumika said sternly. "No other students in this school have a record of physical confrontation within two days of their arrival. As you know, violence is not tolerated here at Koashimizu."
Really? Try telling that to Kujou.
"Additionally, you have been credited as the one most responsible for reviving a flagging interest in Mr. Umaeda's fencing club- a violent extracurricular activity which many schools have discarded for being too brutal. Several teachers here have expressed their dislike of it."
Yeah, I can just imagine Mattora complaining to you about it, saying that girls shouldn't be taught such things like fencing or soccer or Shogi.
"Furthermore, I have reports that you spend a great deal of time on the southern coast, outside of school property where the fishing boats gather. The very same shore where miss Sorano is said to have disappeared, and where... where poor miss Furusato's body turned up."
Aiko stood, briefly admiring the way the outdoor light shone off the man's glasses to leave them completely opaque, creating the illusion that she was speaking to a pair of microscopically small moons. "With all due respect, I don't believe that's any of your concern, Mr. Yumika. But I appreciate that you're trying to stop this... whatever it is, before it takes someone else away. So, I promise you now... that I won't disappear. I feel fine. I'll be staying here, no matter what happens."
That seemed to satisfy the principal's worries even as he glowered back at her. "I could give you another few days of detention for speaking to your principal in that way. However, I do appreciate your blunt honesty, miss Tsuruga. Someone who tries to maintain discipline won't always be liked. I learned that truth even before I became a teacher."
"Before you became a teacher", Aiko repeated, remembering something that Reiha had told her. "Back in Tokyo? You're from there too, right?"
"Yes, I am. Many of our staff are, actually", Yumika said more amicably. "It feels like there are more of us here when you visit the Tenjincho mall or Higashisukumo station, but in truth, Tosashimizu city's population is a 'mere' 37,000 people. That's a drop in the bucket compared to Tokyo's millions, of course. Naturally, only a handful of those people would develop talents in the field of education, or elect to stay in their hometowns in lieu of visiting the big city that everyone always talks about."
Staring out the window at several passing students idly playing around with a soccer ball, he gave an amused little grin at her. "To be honest, miss Tsuruga, I much prefer it out here in this coastal 'backwater' of Japan. I have reasons to believe that Tokyo's mental and physical congestion has a detrimental effect on people's relationships and morals. It exacerbates people with fear of crowds into becoming full shut-ins, for example."
Aiko fell silent. She had never looked at it that way before. It was true that she found the practically unlimited crowds and noise of Akihabara overwhelming at times, and it was regarded by many as the 'Otaku capital' of the entire city. By comparison, Tosashimizu was regarded like a nowhere country town despite having the architecture and population to count as a small city almost anywhere else.
Of course, decades ago it actually was a nowhere country town, just another small piece of the Kochi prefecture. That's how we discussed urban demographics in Mrs. Uchimada's class. As the population grows, more and more people move out of Tokyo to get away from the congestion and fill up the other cities and towns, making them grow bigger still. Tiny little towns like Yaso-Inaba are rare nowadays. Everyone wants to be in the big cities where there's work and big malls.
"Shibuya?"
Yumika hesitated. "Pardon me?"
"I'm just guessing. Trying to figure which part of Tokyo you're from. That's the area with the most people in it, right? Where the diet building is? Shibuya?"
The man clucked his tongue politely. "Ha. You were close, but not quite. But we've wandered off topic, miss Tsuruga. As a precaution against further incidents, I would like for you to visit with Mr. Ishinagi in his office after class on each following Wednesday. I believe that you're familiar with him already."
Her face fell. She did know and like Mr. Ishinagi despite his giving her detention, but extra sessions with him was the last thing she needed when so many other things were demanding her attention. Of course, their principal expected that reaction- it would have been the same on any student.
"...How many days do I have to go for?"
Back in full disciplinarian mode now, the principal shook his shaggy head. "As many as Mr. Ishinagi deems necessary to ensure your mental well-being. It's our duty as teachers to address any serious concerns that our students may have."
Bullshit. If you meant that, you'd shut the SDC down and fire Mattora and finish the pool and...
"I am merely concerned, miss Tsuruga. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't make a concentrated effort to reduce chances of another Ayano Furusato incident, another Mirambela Sorano. Other students beside you who have had previous issues on record will be receiving a similar request to have sessions with a qualified guidance counselor, so please don't feel as though you're being singled out. These sessions will be entirely confidential."
She had no choice. No matter what she might have thought, no matter how much the spirit of defiance made her want to argue, a principal wasn't someone who could be easily debated by a mere first year student. Most of them weren't even on speaking terms with students outside of assemblies. This one in particular seemed like he was capable of doing much more than just pulling the 'I'm an adult so I know best' card.
She always hated that card. But despite everything, she felt like she was on the precipice of actually liking their principal.
5/10 Friday
Lunch
Koashimizu's students called it 'national skip day'. The day immediately after exams and immediately before the Saturday when the marks would be posted. Classes would continue as usual, but they would be unable to head into any new material until after the marks got posted. Normally the gap would be longer, but the advent of computerized marking systems sped the process up a lot.
Of course, computerized marking systems were what had gotten Mirambela Sorano into her situation to begin with.
Looking back, it had only been a period of around one week, but it felt so much longer to her. A second life even, overlaid atop the first that had started with the violent (for her) rejection of this one. A life spent as a technological genius and professional dancer, beloved by all who lived there and served and protected by her own wondrous creations.
A life that was a complete falsehood, a living dream created for her by the other world. Summoned by everything she had been thinking on that awful day. Thoughts which had manifested as her Shadow.
It was shameful in retrospect really, how she'd behaved then. Reports appeared on the news about teen suicides all the time. But this was often explained as being caused by a massive, world-ending trauma rocking the victim's entire world into ruin. Something like drug overdose or a psychological disorder or parental abuse. Not something as trivial as grades.
It hadn't been that, of course. That had merely been the catalyst that allowed her overactive imagination to fill in the unknown blanks of her future with the darkest possible scenario. Another year of torment, and all for nothing since she would be forced to repeat it again after. An eternity spent as a first-year, her tormentors graduating and moving on to make way for new ones. Benihime Kujou's daughter laughing as she kicked a defeated old woman around the courtyard, an old woman whose family had long ago abandoned her as a lost cause who was too stupid to ever achieve anything.
But that wasn't what had happened. That nightmare hadn't come true, and now it never would. Someone had come to her, and helped her through it all, even risking her own life. Someone who liked and respected her, and always tried to make good on her words. It was like being back in the comforting presence of Elinah, her eldest sister of 26, but unmarred by the gulf that had opened between them ever since she had taken on work and a separate life in the city.
Mirambela only hoped that she could prove herself to be worthy of having such a good roommate.
Maybe that time to prove herself wasn't so far off. Though 'national skip day' had reduced the density of the hallway crowds to a noticeable degree, the convenience of being able to walk from a dorm to school in a handful of minutes meant that many had shown up.
Including two girls who had decided that national skip day was the perfect time to write yet another unflattering message on Aiko Tsuruga's locker.
Mirambela made sure to keep stay facing the other wall as soon as she noticed them coming. In a sense, she was almost grateful; her plan to watch over the locker during times that seemed likely for it to be vandalized once again.
Aiko wouldn't let it bother her. Whether through long-time exposure or something else she couldn't guess it, she had developed a strong resistance to such taunts and pressure.
But that wasn't the point. The point was that she shouldn't have to put up with such messages creeping into her life every day, as Mira had put up with for much of the previous year.
The two were subtle about it, sidling on over to that bank of small lockers as though it was only a natural part of their path to wherever they were heading, both exchanging a steady flow of innocent gossip. It was only after they actually had the marker out and the message halfway written that Mira sucked in her breath and turned.
"Hello there, Sonoka-san", she called out in a louder than normal voice, though still pleasant, grateful that she had recognized one of the perpetrators from the SDC. "What's that you're writing?"
Their reaction alone was almost worth the trouble. Neither of them had expected to have a witness who cared, and Mira had never spoken to them without being spoken to first. The unknown girl with the freckles looked especially alarmed, but Sonoka recovered quickly, fear shifting into irritation.
"This doesn't concern you, Stup-rano. Get lost."
Rehearsing this in her head had definitely been a good idea. She knew exactly how to respond, without a trace of her prior stuttering or weakness. "Well. I think it does concern me, if you're writing something on Ai-chan's locker."
"Go away", Sonoka repeated, teeth grinding together now that they were beginning to draw attention from other students too. "Or you'll pay for it the rest of the year."
That was less expected, but she didn't falter for too long. "Insulting Ai-chan again? Don't you do that enough online?"
Sonoka's partner finally snapped then, putting a slender hand up to the unfinished part of the message. "Uh, you see... it's.. uh, an important message for Tsuruga-san."
"Yes. I can see that. She'll be forced to read it as soon as she comes back to her locker. Then, the janitor will clean it off tomorrow. Again. What message would be so important?"
Ignoring Sonoka's glare of murder, she walked closer to the defaced locker, leaning over and squinting at the hastily-written characters; only black marker would show up properly on the locker's metal. "Let's see here. It says 'you are a who...'."
Freckles paled further, looking like she was about to run. Sonoka lowered the marker.
Mira felt her lips turning up into an actual smile. "Go ahead, Sonoka-san. Finish your important message. I'll assume that you wanted to write 'you are a whonderful friend'."
Sonoka's arms trembled, but she did end up finishing the message the way Mira had suggested. "Kujou-senpai will hear about this, Stup-rano. A gaiijin interfering with student disciplinary matters."
"Disciplinary matters." Mira gave a light, amused wheeze. "Do it then. Bring her this message- 'You will not hurt Ai-chan any more. Or else.'."
"Or else?" Sonoka tried to sound defiant.
Mira simply pointed across the hall to the other bank of lockers. As the two followed her finger, she noticed for the first time how all the nearby chatter had suddenly stopped. She had the floor now.
It felt absolutely incredible. Nerve-wracking, but also incredible. Incredibly nerve-wracking.
Almost as good was seeing Sonoka's face when she saw the cell phone set up on the bank of lockers on the other side, its screen directly pointed at them and set to record.
"Wave hi if you like", Mira offered, retrieving her phone before anyone could jump up and grab it. "And don't worry. I know that Kujou-senpai probably won't listen to your message, so I'll give the same one directly to you." Her eyes narrowed into what he hoped was an intimidating glare. "Don't you do anything like this to Ai-chan ever again. Or I'll show this recording to Takao-sensei and Ishinagi-sensei."
Freckles could take no more and darted off. Sonoka took longer, glaring back the whole way, clearly wanting to exact revenge for their humiliation but unwilling to risk being punished for it.
A wide range of expressions faced her as she departed as well. Irritation, confusion, amusement... there was no one there who would applaud what she'd done. For them, it was a moment's amusing diversion and nothing more.
For her, it was a moment like she hadn't felt since first arriving in her 'Land', and she could only smile.
It was very difficult for her not to turn around and wait to see Aiko's reaction to the new message before it was erased like the rest.
I wonder what the janitor will make of it?
It didn't matter, she decided, hurrying out of the building and into the fading sunlight.
What mattered was that she wasn't scared of technology any more. Or of Sonoka. And that was quite enough of an achievement for one day,
5/11 Saturday
After Class
They had to wait several minutes before the crowd around the big board would let them in. Mirambela would have waited hours, or even days. She wasn't going back to the dorm until she had confirmation of the cautious confidence she had been feeling for the entire week.
"You'd think they would put it up on a big screen", Aiko joked beside her. "I thought this was supposed to be a cutting-edge technology kind of place."
"Oh, sure", a familiar voice replied, heralding the emergence of Yuuichi Tenrii through a gathering of students who more willingly parted after seeing his leg brace. "And how long do you think it would be before someone smashed it so they didn't have to see?"
"About three minutes", Mira guessed absently. "Not that I would ever do that. Imagine the trouble you'd get into."
"Yeah, but everyone else would call you a hero", he joked back. "Fair trade, I'd say."
Ignoring their suppositions, the board was a stark white as always, displaying hundreds of student names and their midterm grades. Mira had no idea when this tradition had started- her middle school back home had never put students on display in such a way- but it seemed to be a common practice in every high school in Japan.
"Competition", Aiko answered when asked. "At least, that's what I figure. The people with the highest scores are praised and people want to hang out with them. The people with the lowest scores..."
"Get ridiculed", Mira finished bitterly, remembering her previous year all too well. Her arms rose of their own accord to cover her eyes. "Oh, I can't look... please check for me!"
Neither of them responded at first, Yuuichi and Aiko carefully looking over the board for either their own grades or Mira's. The first response was an annoyed grunt from Aiko. "Hm. Top 100. Not as good as I'd hoped, considering the number of nights I studied with you."
"Me too", Yuuichi noted in a more reserved tone. "Wait a sec... is your last name Sorano?"
Not knowing him well, she couldn't tell if those words were inviting or foreboding. "Y-yes...?"
"Open your eyes. Check up near the top."
She did. The name and numbers were there, and she couldn't recall the last time it had taken her mind so long to process such a simple bit of information.
...
4th. 4th out of the top 10. Hanako Ganzeki, Shukiji Niyoga, Junryusei Tanaka, and Mirambela Sorano are the top 4 highest students.
...
Mirambela Sorano.
Me.
Aiko and Yuuichi's lips were moving rapidly, sending her words of encouragement and praise that she did not hear. There was the tingling sense of euphoria filling her up, and by the time her senses came back to her, she caught herself in the middle of a joyous improvised dance number. She could not feel her own limbs in that time, only knowing they were moving by the way her vision was suddenly jerking around. She might have made a certain amount of joyful noise as well.
Many of the students were visibly repulsed by this sight and moved clear muttering dark things under their breath, but Yuuichi and Aiko clapped for a bit after she was done. "I knew you could do it, Mira-chan", she said proudly, looking like she wasn't quite sure if it was okay to put a hand over her friend's shoulder. "I've seen the kinds of things that came out of your head. That stuff couldn't come out of someone stupid!"
That confused Yuuichi. "Huh? Came out of her head? What do you mean?"
Blushing, Aiko removed her hand and moved it to her mouth. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Just a little in-joke between roommates."
Her focus returned to the board then, trying to find another name, eyes stopping on the name 'Jiachi Rosea'. "Phew. He's in the top 200 at least. Above the average, if just barely. He kept his promise... this time."
"You seem awfully concerned about this guy", Yuuichi remarked beside her. "Is he your boyfriend or something?"
Reflexively glaring back at him, she paused. "Kind of, I guess. Sort of. We've only gotten together once. It wasn't a date date."
"And then he lied to you", he remarked, his voice carefully neutral. "About getting onto the soccer team."
"Yeah", her shoulders slumped. "He did." Somehow, saying it out loud made it sound like a far worse sin that it really was. She scanned the crowd, wondering if they would see Julian there. Nearly every student had to have shown up here at some point to determine their midterm results, but it was entirely possible that he'd already checked and left for the dorms.
Or maybe he never came in today to begin with. He's not answering my texts.
"I'll talk to him", she declared both for herself and for Yuuichi. "I'll ask him what's really going on."
5/12 Sunday
Morning
"FREEDOM!", Aiko whooped to no one in particular, raising her arms in triumph similar to what Mirambela had shown when she saw her grade. "Freedom! No more feeling guilty for every single second of our entire lives that we don't spend poring over dusty old books!"
Luckily, the only ones to hear her were Mira and Pelagio, who had come in through the window with the morning breeze. "I am most glad to see you have forged through your trial, my lady. I must confess, I worried for you."
"I worried for me too, Pelagio", she smiled back stretching her arms out as if shaking off a week's worth of frayed nerves. "Mira-chan was the real hero here though. 4th place out of hundreds of students! That's incredible."
The greatest part of her enthusiasm already vented, Mira simply shrugged and smiled back. "Hey. Thanks. I couldn't have done it without you, Ai-chan. You did very well, too. Good job."
"I guess", she said more despondently. "I could've been better. Guess I have to wait until we get the actual tests returned before I can say exactly what I did wrong. Probably the essay questions. It's always the essay questions. Bleugh."
"You were both quite brave to face it without my aid", Pelagio told them, his beaked face offering no hint as to whether he was being ironic or not. "Hmph. Since that trial is now over with, do you plan to continue your exploration of Faraway Lands today?"
Aiko didn't need to look to know that Mirambela wouldn't be fond of that idea. Her single exposure to the other world as a Persona-user instead of a Land's ruler had only increased her concerns about the dangers involved. She just has to experience it a bit more, get some more confidence in her abilities, just like in our world. That Persona of hers can zap Shadows before they can even get near her daggers, and Pela-chan and I will be with her the whole time.
"Tempting, but not now." Instead, she turned to Mira. "Actually, I was going to ask you today... would you teach me to dance?"
Mira looked amused by the offer, but in a good way. They couldn't help but be a bit obnoxiously happy after surviving both Faraway Lands and midterms, and this was one subject in which she greatly excelled. "Of couse. Anything for you, Ai-chan. Only, this room is a bit too small for that."
"Got it covered", she replied before reaching to grab something from beneath her bed, revealing a full-size brown futon. "I brought this from home. No point in using it to sleep on when we have proper beds, but now we can use it as a dancing mat on the beach. Or the cave, if you don't want anyone to see us. I'd understand."
"The beach will do", Mira sounded impressed at her planning. "Dance is something that should be shared with others. Besides, I don't trust that cave. I know Pelagio said it was harmless, but something in there gives me a bad feeling."
"That's just 'cause it's damp in there and you can't see too far in. He said there were some shellfish in a pool there if you're interested."
"Not unless you want to try cooking them."
"Eww! No."
Mira grimaced, and Aiko knew her reaction had been an unthinking one. Sea food was the staple of Tosashimizu's diet, but this was completely different from waiting for a cook to prepare the meat for consumption. "I mean, there might be diseases..."
"It doesn't matter. We'll just do it on the beach. Only... didn't you say that you were going to find Julian-kun and ask him stuff about soccer?"
"Eventually", she amended. "There's lots of things I want to do today, now that we're finally free from exams."
Their first practise session went fairly close to the way she'd expected. She did consider herself fortunate enough to have a teacher kind enough not to hammer home every mistake, or make the slightest reaction either way whenever she tripped over her own feet and tumbled down into the sand. Or show off too much.
"We'll keep trying", Mira offered peaceably once she'd run out of steam. They had the occasional friendly passerby, but beyond that the Yume bay was remarkably peaceful for a basin of water that served as a gate to a hostile alternate dimension. "That just means there's lots of room to improve. My older sister, Elinah, taught me."
"It's strange", she remarked towards the sea as a big cargo ship honked its way past them. "I feel like I'm lighter in the other dimension somehow."
"Me too", Aiko noted between breaths without needing to ask which 'there' she meant. "I was jumping between platforms back in there like I was a freakin' ninja. Pela-chan said it was a 'cognitive world', right? So it makes sense that we're a bit more agile over there, if we think that we should be."
Mira raised an eyebrow. "Sure, why not? It makes about as much sense as anything else you see over there."
"Doubting the logic of your own cognitive world, Mirambela?", Pelagio's voice filtered down to them, the falcon taking a perch near the cave. "Hmph. It seems not even humans fully comprehend themselves."
"Understatement of the century", Aiko had to agree. "Especially if that whole crazy place really was formed by all our thoughts."
"It's so hard to understand another person completely", Mira said evenly. "But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to anyway." Nodding respectfully to Pelagio, she faced their appointed 'leader'. "Ai-chan. If you don't want to answer this, that's fine. I respect your right to privacy. I just have to ask you: why do you treat your mother so coldly all the time? I've heard you two talking over the phone sometimes. You're normally so nice to everyone around you- well, almost everyone, Kujou doesn't count- but her..."
Struck a nerve was the exact matching phrase for the sensation that rippled through Aiko's small body then, and no one there could deny it.
"It wasn't that long ago", she said quietly after a lengthy pause, "that I wouldn't even answer her calls at all. It took a brush with death for me to try. Mira-chan... why do you think it is that I'm a transfer student? Why do you think it is that chose to go to a school so far away from my home in Akihabara? I didn't have any real problems in middle school. Like Yumika-sensei said, Tokyo has dozens of high schools who would have accepted me, no problem."
Naturally, the answer eluded her roommate. They were close, but it had gradually begun to dawn on her that even though Aiko had learned a great deal about Mirambela's past over the last month, the reverse was not true. "You wanted to make friends with foreign exchange students?"
Aiko barked a laugh that echoed through the damp cavern. "No, no, nothing like that. I only applied to Koashimizu academy because I wanted to get as far away from Kogaya as I could, so that she could never visit me and could only bother me over the phone, and only if I chose to answer it."
"Why? Why don't you like her? She's your mother."
The breeze of the sea suddenly felt cold on her skin, and she stared down into sullenly clenched hands. "I suppose it must seem strange to you, Mira-chan. I met your dad. He's awesome. Your mom too, if your cognition of her is any sign. They both love you a lot, I can tell just by talking to them and hearing you talk about them."
"Growing up with my mom... I know it sounds weird. I always felt like something was... missing. Not just my father not being there at all, but in her. Every time Kogaya looked at me, I felt like she was looking at something she didn't want to acknowledge. Like I was something she would prefer to forget existed."
Mira began to speak, but Aiko held up a hand. "Whenever she looked at me, or spoke to me, I knew that... I knew something was wrong. It was like she was looking at a scar, a wound that she would have preferred to forget about. She never neglected me, or forgot to give me food, or anything that bad. It was just... the moment I was old enough to really know how to read people's emotions, I knew that something was wrong. Other parents didn't look at their kids that way. Other parents didn't deny the existence of the man they married. At least, I hope they did..."
Her friend looked troubled by those words. Having grown up in a large, loving family, she would have no idea what Aiko was really talking about. Her father and mother showed affection mixed with admittedly high expectations for the smartest of their children.
"I know what this sounds like. Like it sounds like I'm whining", Aiko continued, faster now so she could get it all out. "Like I'm being a super melodramatic princess because I didn't get enough candy as a kid or something. And fair's fair- maybe I am. But she knew I was right. She just didn't seem to care, until I was gone. I guess the money she sent me and the phone calls is her way to try and make up for it." She gave a worn smile. "It doesn't. Not really. But I appreciate the effort. I take her phone calls now, we try and have a friendly conversations about what I did at school. Honestly, I am kind of worried about her. She works from home all the time, and... to be honest, she doesn't take very good care of herself."
Mira was wrestling with an invisible something, a thought she was afraid to give words to until her friend's gaze gave her courage. "You are far from a spoiled princess, Tsuruga. Do think it's because you were... illegitimate?" She spoke the last word like it was contaminated.
Aiko nodded back. She had actually considered that possibility more than once. Illegitimate childbirths were disgustingly common, and the children who resulted from them had hard, bitter lives waiting ahead of them. While penny-ante orphanages were prepared for them, far too often it felt like it was merely a way of keeping them out of the public eye until they came of age, at which point they were left to the 'mercy' of the streets. Illegitimate children weren't wanted by society. They were merely 'tolerated', and only rarely would the mother agree to raise such a child alone.
Without knowing her father it would be impossible to know the real truth, but a few years ago she had reached the conclusion that it didn't matter one way or the other. If she was truly an illegitimate child, then she was part of that rare, lucky subset who had a mother willing to look after them, even if something was missing there. It was still a far better fate than most of that breed were faced with, she knew.
"...Possible. But even if I knew for sure, I sure as hell wouldn't spread that fact around. You think just being a 'gaijin' is bad? Illegitimate kids get treated like they've got the plague. There was this skinny blond girl I saw in middle school, and she..." Trailing off, she buried her face in her hands. "I wish I could have helped her, reached out to her. Been her friend. But I was too cowardly to do any of that for her, back then."
Feeling like their roles had become reversed from earlier, Mira put an arm nearly worn out from writing around her shoulder. "You are not cowardly now, Ai-chan. No coward could have helped me the way you did. No one else even tried. Did anyone else try to help that girl in middle school?"
She rose away from her hands, only a hint of tears visible. "No. No one. No students. No teachers. She always did everything alone. Back then, I was too afraid of what the other kids would say about me if I talked to her. After middle school, I never saw her again."
Mira set her lips into a firm line. "Then she did help you, Ai-chan, even if you didn't help her. She helped you become the wonderful person you are today. Someone who knows that no one deserves to be all alone in this world."
She gave a weak chuckle, sniffing as a waterborne fish trawler honked off in the distance. "I don't know. If I was so great, I think I would have been able to stop you from freaking out and running into that portal."
"And Furusato-san?", Mira asked almost disdainfully, emphasizing how ridiculous her friend's wishes, her demands on herself, truly were. "You're not a miracle worker. You can't possibly be expected to save other people from themselves. All you can do is give us hope, and a shoulder to cry on."
"Yeah", she whispered, taking her hand as they walked out of the cavern. "Yeah, I know. So... Thanks for being my shoulder this time."
Mira's gaze lightened. "So that's why. Why you came here when you could have attended school from Akihabara."
"Uh-huh. Not that I hate her or anything. Well... not any more. You heard us talking. When I first got here, I wouldn't even pick up her calls. Heh. I guess absence really does the trick. Bet your family can't wait to see you again."
"No doubt", Mira acknowledged with a nod. "They'll all be waiting to hear stories from me about what Japan is like."
"Uh oh. Don't make us sound too bad now", Aiko teased her. "Otherwise, they might not let you come back here next year. I'll be waiting."
Mira giggled. "There was never any danger of that. And your earlier proposal still stands. You're welcome to come with me for the summer if you wish."
Aiko nodded. "I'd like that. Ooh, Pela-tori can come too. Although, getting him onto a plane might be tricky..."
"I must admit, it could be most intriguing to visit Miss Sorano's homeland", the falcon piped up, having maintained a silent vigil over the cavern entrance while they talked, though she had no doubt that he had picked up every word. "However, that remains a matter for another day. Were you able to arrange a time to talk with the Rosea boy?"
That sudden call back to the present was unwelcome at first, but she knew why he'd done it. "Not yet. He's been avoiding me. Most of the time, he goes straight to his dorm after class."
"Most of the time?"
"Yeah. His parents actually live in the city, so he visits them on Sunday. As for where that is..."
Pelagio's head rose up. "I could follow him, and learn the location."
But their leader merely shook her head. "No, it's fine. I already talked to someone who said they would get that information for me today; one address for another."
Mira gave a disdainful snort. "Niyoga-san, right? He wouldn't care that you're intruding on Julian's privacy."
Aiko wasn't angry at the accusation. She merely stared back. "Something is seriously wrong with him, Mira. Everyone's so focused on Noel-kun and midterms right now, I felt like I was the only one who noticed."
Mira stood up from their improvised mat. "If that ever was true, it's not any more. Let's go meet with Niyoga-san."
Freedom, huh? But it seems like we've still got plenty of things to do.
But then she remembered their earlier words, and nodded. Maybe Julian just needs a shoulder of his own.
5/12 Sunday
Afternoon
The door opened almost before Mira was done knocking, revealing the pale shadow of a thinly-bearded man, dark brown hair cropped close all the way down to his neck. "Who are you?"
"Mr. Rosea?" Aiko stepped forward. "We're friends of Julian. Is he home?"
His eyes seemed dull and unfocused, but still managed to convey a strong, even angry denial. "His name is Jiachi, young lady. Please don't encourage him by calling him by an improper name. In any case, he isn't home right now."
She felt Mira relenting beside her, but everything about the man made Aiko think something else was going on. "Do you know where he might be, Mr. Rosea? We wanted to talk him about something from school."
His eyes seemed clouded over. "He didn't tell us where he was going. He just ran out."
"Dear? Who is that?" A curly-haired woman who Aiko assumed to be Julian's mother joined them at the door. She looked comparatively young, but affected by much the same malaise as her husband, her gray eyes carrying heavy bags and her puffy lips permanently downcast.
"These are Jiachi's friends", Mr. Rosea explained. "Or so they say. I haven't ever heard him speak of you before."
"Don't be so suspicious, dear", Mrs. Rosea scolded him, sending some kind of invisible signal for him to leave the doorway and her to take over. "I know there's something wrong", she admitted to them after a moment. "He's been distant with us for the last few years, but just recently... I don't know what to do."
Aiko considered it for a moment. The house looked fairly upbeat, at least. A well-kept blue-beige exterior with several paneled windows. They had the bad luck to be almost directly beneath a major telephone pole, but with the black accents on the roof it almost felt like they were incorporating the ugly wires into the design.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Rosea shivered in the light rain. "A cold day for May. You should come in, then. Do either of you girls take tea?"
"I'd love some", Mira offered, glad to see a positive response from their efforts at last. "Thank you, Mrs. Rosea."
The interior was much the same as the exterior, making full use of limited space to create a combination of kitchen and living quarters. Mr. Rosea had been watching something on the TV in there, but the moment he sensed company he switched it off, leaving only uncomfortable silence. "You trust them?", he asked at last.
Mrs. Rosea did not hesitate in bringing out several mugs and pouring her large kettle while answering. "They said they were Jiachi's friends, and I believe them." Once the cups were full and prepared, she regarded Mira more closely. "If there's anything they can tell us about Jiachi, I'd gladly welcome them in."
The longing in her voice made Aiko instantly regret that they had little to offer her. "Actually, we were hoping to get some information from you. Ju- I mean, Jiachi-kun's been acting strange lately, and we were wanting to talk to him privately."
Mrs. Rosea waited until they had both taken their trial sip of the tea before considering what would be beneficial to share with them. "Perhaps the soccer games haven't been going well for him? He's a very dedicated athlete."
Mira and Aiko shared a worried glance before returning to their steaming hot cups. "I guess he is. But there's no game today, no practice. And..."
And he's been lying to us about being on the team from the very beginning, and to you as well from the sound of it.
The words sounded much harsher now that she'd arranged them into proper context. No, Aiko decided before sensing a similar feeling from Mira next to her. He deserves to tell them that himself. Telling them now would just upset them more, or even make them think we're the ones lying.
"...And, did he give any hint about where he might have gone to?"
If Mrs. Rosea noticed the awkward phrasing of this question, she gave no sign, merely studying her two guests and pretending to focus on the tea whenever they tried looking into her slate eyes in turn. She had the look of someone who worked for a fashion-related industry, able to use styles of clothing expertly in order to maintain some attractive looks even as old age began to set into her.
While her husband looked to have held up even better in that regard, his beard looked messy and improvised, something he'd grown only recently. "He never said anything", the man remarked a bit crossly. "We bring him home for dinner each weekend because we're within driving distance of the campus, but this week he said he had some things at school to take care of. Are you saying that he's not there now?"
She shrugged helplessly. "We haven't seen him, and he's not responding to text messages or phone calls."
Still seeming skeptical, Mr. Rosea fumbled and grabbed hold of his own phone, dialing a familiar contact number in the space of a breath. Several seconds after, he heaved an uneasy sigh.
"Jiachi, this is your father. If you're there, pick up. There's something I want to talk to you about."
Finishing the recording, he looked back as if to ask if his 'witnesses' were satisfied with his efforts. But Mrs. Rosea clearly wasn't.
She stepped around the counter, passionate eyes boring into his. "Dear, I think we both know what must have happened. You saw his reaction when he heard. He's obviously not taking it well."
For a moment, it looked like Mr. Rosea might crush his phone. Instead, he merely brought a hand down on the counter to shake the tea mugs. "I never gave him the location. I knew what he would do. If he's gone there anyway, after everything I warned him about..."
"Where?", Aiko cut in before the sense that they were intruding on private matters could grow any stronger. "Where would he have gone?"
Too late. Mr. Rosea regarded her with a look bordering on hostility. "That's none of your concern. If he's chosen to disregard everything I said, everything I've tried to teach him for all these years... I'll find him. I'll talk to him myself. Don't you worry."
Disgust bubbled into her gut. Not at Mr. Rosea, but at herself for letting fear silence her after having fought Shadows for her life dozens of times. Somehow, this average height adult man had her more scared than those monsters.
She was about to step down, about to give up, apologize and thank them for the wonderful tea when Mrs. Rosea put her own metaphorical foot down, speaking clearly and coldly.
"Dear, please. You just said it yourself that he doesn't listen to you right now. If not you, then maybe his friends can convince him."
"I'm his father", he replied simply, bearing no wrath for the woman he loved, merely for those who might witness this exchange and think less of them for it. "We're the ones who raised him. Family above all else, even friends. Failure brings shame to the family for not raising them properly. Isn't that the way?"
"It is", she conceded. "It's what we're taught. Haven't I always stood by you? I follow that code. But it's a code. Not the code that he chooses to follow."
"And that's his mistake", Mr. Rosea proclaimed, snapping his phone shut and barging past them towards the exit. "I'll handle it. Don't you worry. I'll make him understand just how much of an embarrassment this is for us."
"Embarrassment?"
Then Mira's mind caught up with her and she realized she had spoken the accusing word, and now Aiko and the Roseas were all looking at her like she'd burped loudly.
No choice but to see it through now. She gulped, trying to refocused the anger that had triggered the outburst.
"Juli- Jiachi-kun is missing. He might be in serious trouble, and all that you can think about is how embarrassing it is for you?!"
The man's eyes widened momentarily, not used to being talked back to by children. "You wouldn't understand, child. Your family isn't like ours. Unlike your kind, we have an image to maintain."
Mira felt rather than heard her friend's muscles tensing up at those words. She wasn't quite angry enough to throw down with someone in their own house, but she was certainly getting there.
Instead of waiting for it to get that far, she held up an arm in front of Aiko's suddenly taut face before she could boil over. "Enough. We didn't come here to argue. I'm sure that Mr. Rosea is just as concerned about Jiachi-kun as we are. He just shows it differently."
"He is", Mrs. Rosea agreed gratefully, just as capable of sensing tensions ramping up as Mira was. "We are. It's just that we thought we had taught him better than this."
"Where did he go?", Aiko asked her, ignoring the father's angry attempts to protest. "Where would he have gone that he was forbidden to go?"
Mr. Rosea's phone did what his voice couldn't then, cutting into the conversation and leaving them to watch him take the incoming call in bewildered silence.
It wasn't a long call. But when it was over, the man's face became too drained even for his tan to compensate for, his movements suddenly sluggish, no longer powered by the indignant rage from before.
"Dear...? What is it? Is it Jiachi?"
When he spoke, it was like the air was being forced through a choke point, barely enough to generate audible sound. The look on his face said more than him, but listening carefully told the entire story.
"No. Not Jiachi. That... that was Serizawa. Gentaro, I mean... my father... he just passed away."
The names were unfamiliar to the girls, but it was easy to sense just how much they meant by Mrs. Rosea's reaction to it which, if anything, felt more pronounced than her husband's. She walked over and embraced him, her kind eyes focused on his face to the exclusion of everything else. "I'll always remember how I felt when my father went. Just remember that I'm here for you now, dear. And always. You can cry if you want to."
Mr. Rosea looked like he would very much like to do that for a while, but a stubborn refusal to show weakness in front of strangers was holding back his floodgates.
That, and something else he hadn't mentioned yet. "It's alright... we knew his heart was giving out. It was never a question of 'if, but 'when'. But... Jiachi. Jiachi was there when it happened, according to Serizawa. And when it did, he got upset, and ran..."
Ran. The last word triggered danger senses in Aiko and she stood up from her chair. She nodded courteously to the Roseas, all previous tensions forgotten now, and sprinted out the door to catch a breath of fresh air. Ran. Ran where? Where would he go?
Mirambela at her side, she looked up into the sunlit sky where clouds had begun to gather atop the heart of the city.
She could have sworn that the sky itself was speaking to someone. Someone who wasn't her.
5/12 Sunday
Afternoon
How far will you go?
How much more will you willingly endure, until you can't handle the cruel reality that you're forced to submit to?
Vow to me.
Vow to me, and I'll deliver you from your troubles, and create a world you'll never want to leave.
The noise was barely perceptible, but still enough to bring Pelagio out of a lethargy that he considered to be shameful for the one whom his leader had assigned to watch over the Yume Bay.
Especially at this critical time, the time when the great burning globe which humans called 'the sun' appeared to set directly into the sea. He had since learned that this was merely a dramatic optical illusion, brought about by the planet's orbit causing its star to pass out of Japan's sight until the next day began, but there was no denying the moment of its power, its ability to stir the hearts and imaginations of humans the world over.
If it wasn't capable of doing that, then there would have been no need to worry. There would have been no special portal to Faraway Lands appearing in a rectangle of light that defied description of its color at some times and reverted to a brilliant phantasmal green at others. He would not have been there, and would never have met Aiko, or Mira, or any other human.
Given the harm this gate had caused so far, he wasn't sure if he considered that a fair trade.
But the noise was what he was sure of, unmistakable to his enhanced senses, and it was growing louder now. Just one young human alone, slightly heavier than his friends tromping through the sand beneath unused storm clouds with a vacant, defeated pace.
"Julian Rosea", Pelagio recognized the cinnamon brown haired human, though no one else would understand his words as speech, merely the incoherent noises of a normal bird. It's just as my lady feared. I must keep him away from the gate at all costs!
Continuing his limp march towards the light, Julian did not seem to acknowledge the presence of Pelagio until the guardian's talons were nearly upon him. While past experience with Benihime Kujou and Tongwa Byzael had showed him how to avoid cutting too deeply into flesh, he also wanted to make his message absolutely clear. No one was to enter the gate. If he had to shed a bit of the boy's blood to get that statement across, then so be it.
The small injury finally got a reaction out of him, albeit subdued. "Damn", Julian remarked in a voice suffused with sadness. "Even mother nature hates me now, huh? Can't blame her. What was that story called? Ah, whatever."
Then, he started walking again. With a wordless screech of fury, Pelagio wheeled around for another power dive... only to hastily break it off as he saw the flash of a new device in the boy's hand. A device he'd seen more often on TV than reality, but a device to be feared nonetheless. An oval barrel and brown-plated handle, the thin curve of the trigger mechanism connecting the two.
"A gun?!", he exclaimed while trying to find another angle of attack that wouldn't guarantee his own death. "But you are an adolescent human! How could you have possibly attained one of those weapons?"
Julian, of course, didn't respond to this meaningless noise from a bird. He was typing something into his cell phone with his other hand. A brief private message, after which he discarded that device into the sand, leaving only the gun. With his eyes, Pelagio could read it just before the phone sent it:
'I'm so sorry, Tsuruga-chan. I can't be the man you deserve. I have to be free. I'm going now.'
"Won't be needing that any more", Julian noted in the same defeated voice. "Can't keep that if I want to be free."
"Idiotic human!", Pelagio screeched into the wind's deafening song, no longer caring if Julian couldn't understand a word he said. "There is no freedom for you lying beyond that gate! Only illusions and death!"
For a moment, ever so slowly, Julian held the gun further up, exactly as if he was about to press it against his own temple to fire... and then, as he lowered it back down at the same rate and began swaying drunkenly towards the gate's light once more, Pelagio realized that he'd been wrong.
That cylinder that the boy had used to threaten him off hadn't been metal. It shone in the light like plastic. A model gun! Foolishness!
Pelagio swooped with renewed strength, knowing this to be his last chance.
I will not fail! My lady assigned me to protect humans from the powers of this gate! I will not allow this! I must stop him! I will not-
The boy had lowered his plastic toy. That was what he couldn't understand. He wasn't even looking at Pelagio when the gunshot rang out from everywhere and nowhere, the pain and sudden blasting sensation striking him before the sound did, cutting off the torrent of frantic thoughts and replacing them with raw animal pain overload until nothing else in the world existed.
He couldn't act. He couldn't think. He could only hurt.
He came awake flat on the shore a moment later, still able to see the gate's flickering light... but not the boy he had been assigned to save. No! I can't...
The boy was gone, but there was a sound issuing from the gate's emerald light, faint enough that normal humans would mistake it for the breeze.
It was Jiachi's own voice, stripped of its prior depression and then some, beginning with a dry chuckle before speaking to him with a smugness that he ached to address personally. If only he could stand...
"Heheh. See ya, little birdie... Checkmate!"
No... no! By the time he was back up, the gate's light had followed the sun's lead and dwindled down to a mere spark. As he swooped through it, that disappeared too. The waves on the coast began to lap at his body with a renewed energy.
He'd failed. That was the last thought going through his head until everything was gone.
Save me from that bloody destiny...
A/N: I hope that qualifies as enough of a 'wham episode' to catch more people's interest going forward.
LeTranger: Thanks for the rev, glad to see you're enjoying it so far. I actually did consider that to be appropriate background music for this, and not just because Byzael's ship has an Irish name. For a while I actually tried writing a battle and intro theme as seafaring or Irish punk songs, but couldn't quite work out any good lyrics.
I'd say just use what you like for the background, but some of the better violin stuff in Fairy Tail was another influence. You could also use the song names I've been using as chapter titles.
And yes, I adore Crimson, it was one of my main inspirations for this story and it manages to update way more often than I do.