Chapter 26: Sig & Yoko: To Forge A New Bond by warelander

Sig was never one to be especially thrilled or captivated by class, but even for him, it felt even more like the time until break took forever and a half.

It felt like the equivalent of chasing the exit of an endlessly stretching hallway. Even the clock seemed to taunt him or at least that's how unnaturally slow it ticked for Sig.

On a normal day, this would just be tiring and dull, but today was even worse thanks to that persistent feeling of anxiety that he couldn't shake off. It wasn't even like Sig had any doubt left, he knew that he wanted to do this.

He just wished he could finally get to it.

At (way too) long last, the bell rang to inform him and everyone else that they were free to go on break.

Sig swiftly told Lagnus and Marvett that there was something he needed to do. Lagnus clearly knew what he meant, whether he clued Marvett in meanwhile was uncertain. Sig would later inform her of everything regardless.

Now the question was where to find Yoko? Sig didn't have many ideas of where she liked to hang out during break. That said, he had a pretty darn good idea of where she would ideally be and figured to go by that and hope for the best.

He made it to the outside area of the school, being swiftly greeted by the sound of chatting and basketballs smacking onto the court.

At every corner he could make out friends hanging out or students enjoying their free time in solitude. He was certain to have seen Arle and Ally's sisters in their own, cozy little corner, at one point.

He kept looking and looking until at last, he could finally spot the familiar combo of wings and pink hair.

Yoko stood by herself, seeming like she was waiting for someone. Did make sense, neither Ally, Jaan, nor her little elf friend were anywhere to be seen.

As mean as it felt to think that, this was as ideal as it could have been. Being alone with her may make the whole thing easier.

Sig took a few deep breaths, allowing himself a few seconds to prepare and collect his thoughts. He slowly approached the girl, trying to not startle her.

"Yo." He greeted, trying to come off as casual as he could.

She still got startled.

It was pretty clear that she was too lost in her own thoughts to notice him approaching. Yoko's first instinct was to hide behind her wings. She did calm down a bit, recognizing who was talking to her and recalled how Jaan always talked about him. It didn't stop her from feeling the tension anyway, but it was something.

"It's Yoko." She attempted to correct, leaving Sig puzzled for a bit.

"I didn't mean Yo as in- uhm, nevermind." Sig stopped himself, this kind of discussion was pointless and wouldn't get them anywhere.

Several awkward, silent moments passed between the two, with neither being sure what to say.

"Wanna talk?" Sig finally broke the silence.

The angel still looked no less defensive, though if nothing else, a glimmer of curiosity was starting to show.

"Why?" Was all she could bring herself to say. Sig shrugged, trying to keep the casual front up.

"Getting to know each other better. Would be nice."

Yoko was a little intrigued. Getting to know her? Nobody had approached her for that ever since she returned to school.

But then, her heart sank again, when she began to recall their last interaction.

"Jaan sent you, didn't she? You don't have t-"

"She doesn't even know. I want to know you better." Sig interrupted. He didn't mean to, but this whole situation felt like pulling teeth.

Luckily for him, saying that helped to break the ice a bit. Yoko was friends with Jaan, so she would find out quickly if Sig was lying to her.

"Okay, let's talk." Yoko finally opened up, clearly nervous, but receptive to a conversation.

Sig innerly cheered, he was actually getting somewhere.

"Uhm….how has school been treating you?"

"Everyone stopped giving me looks."

"That's good to hear."

"They probably still hate me though…" Yoko, still not exactly optimistic, figured.

"Haven't heard anyone talk bad about… you...recently." Sig tried to be reassuring.

"But they did at first."

"Yeah...but everyone is moving on." Much to Sig's confusion, Yoko gave him an odd, confused look, with an eyebrow raised.

"That's not true. Nobody moved, everyone is still here at school."

"..." Sig wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"I meant they are leaving it in the past."

"Oh." Yoko was conflicted on what to think. She hadn't felt any direct animosity from anyone for a while now, but could the worst really be over?

"Have you moved on?' Yoko just had to know with absolute certainty.

"Sure did. I mean...I'm here." The resident bug lover replied, not as eloquent as he would have liked, but he was never good at that to begin with.

Compared to when they started, Yoko seemed more relaxed, even looking at him directly more often. He seemed to have done something right. Suddenly, he could even witness her grinning a bit like she just thought of something.

"You were nice to me even back then, I remember when you rescued me from that locker." All of the sudden her face fell again. Sig did not like the look of that.

"Sorry for the singing after that and sorry for singing to you and Arle and sorry for-"

"It's okay." Sig tried to defuse the situation before the angel could get any more distressed.

He did have to repress the urge to cringe. Those were not pleasant memories for sure, but none of that mattered now.

"I'm sorry that the singing thing didn't work out for you." It wasn't a lie. Thinking about it, Yoko's whole situation was really sad.

She was visibly caught off-guard by that declaration. She was expecting celebrations over her dropping her greatest passion but never once did she expect someone to express pity.

"You..feel sorry for me?" The ex-musician could still barely believe her ears.

"Yep. Can tell you cared about it a lot."

"It was my everything. 'Notty said that we can look for something I'm better at, but I wouldn't know what."

"At least you're trying." Sig let slip, not even sure if he was saying it to Yoko or himself.

Yoko stared at Sig, signaling to him that she wanted to hear more.

"You're trying to find something new...meanwhile I can't let go…" Sig's tone and posture became more melancholic than usual for him.

Thoughts of Arle crossed his mind. It made him look back at how often he had to go to his friends for comfort. He had it easier than Yoko and yet was far more stuck in his funk.

"Um… Sig?" Yoko called out to the spaced-out Sig in concern. For the first time this whole conversation, she was the one to approach him.

It was only when she put a hand on his shoulder that he snapped back to reality.

At first, he worried that he had messed everything up with that, but then he saw Yoko looking at him, with an expression that made even her eyes seem like they were pleading for him to be okay.

Sig felt a soft smile form on his face. The two had only just had their first substantial talk and here she was already caring so much. Underneath the horrible singing was a good girl that didn't deserve to be shunned.

"It's fine. And Yoko…" Sig paused, taking the time to place a hand over the one Yoko used to hold his shoulder.

That gesture really surprised the angel. There was no sense of force in his touch. it was comforting, gentle, and warm in a way she rarely experienced from anyone besides Panotty.

"I'd gladly be your friend." He finished and Yoko's expression told him that she was not expecting this in the least. She was too stunned to even talk.

"I like you and wanna help. So wha-" Sig couldn't even finish his sentence before being tackled into a hug by the girl.

She didn't say anything, clearly still too overwhelmed, she kept hugging and he hugged right back.

Sig noticed some students giving them fleeting looks, but he didn't care. Yoko needed this and he was happy to-

"Uh...hey, Yoko." A new voice suddenly entered the scene, making both teens look. It was Panotty, who was curious about what he had missed.

"Oh, 'Notty! Sig is my friend now too! For real~" The angel picked her younger friend up, refreshed and cheerful.

"That's good to hear." He did really mean it, but not without giving Sig a slight glare, to signal that he would have his eyes on him, which Sig noted.

What also caught the elf's eyes were the cheerleaders in the distance, who seemed to have been watching since he had arrived.

He couldn't make out what the dragon girl or the one with the Puyo hat were thinking, but Ally and Jaan were very happy with what they saw.

Meanwhile, the green-haired Tetra only gave a bratty pout, which her pink-haired friend(?) found very amusing.

He had no clue what he was witnessing there and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out.

A little later, classes were about to begin again and Sig, much like everyone else, prepared himself for the incoming lessons.

He didn't run into Lagnus or Marvett along the way, but that was okay, he'd meet them in class at the latest anyways.

While making his way through the halls of the school, he found himself stopped by a familiar puff of smoke appearing in front of him.

"Hey, Jaan." He greeted the djinn girl who stepped out of the smoke.

She was practically beaming at him, clearly very happy with what he did. Sig was relieved before she even said anything.

"Thank you so much, Sig! Yoko needed that."

"S' nothing. I owe it to her after what I said…" Sig rubbed his arm, feeling suddenly reminded of his dismissive comment from not that long ago

He didn't have long to dwell on that though. Jaan approached him, wrapped one arm around his shoulder, and far more surprisingly, snuck in a quick kiss on his cheek. Brief, but Sig felt it.

"You're the best." Sig could hear Jaan whisper into his ear, before she broke contact and ran off to her own class, giving him a silent goodbye wave.

Sig waved back, still surprised, but very happy.

That talk went better than he could have dared to hope and he got to make two girls happy.

Today was a good day indeed.

Authors' Notes:

WARE: I was looking forward to this chapter. The two mascots of the AU are friends now and thus many opportunities for stories have opened up.