Today… today is a very important day. I have suffered through the entirety of this week, with yesterday being especially painful, just for this. One. Day.

Today… I get to hang out with the undoubtedly best girl in the entirety of Dead by Daylight. All of my tears, screams and cringey moments led to these next few hours. I woke up bright and early, much to the shock of both Julie and Elias, the latter of which sounded particularly worried when he asked me if I was okay. The former almost fainted to the spot, fucking drama queen…

Anyway… I got my ass out of bed at like… seven in the morning. Even if the appointment is at eleven. I'm just way too excited, which is honestly a first for me. I'm never excited to meet and interact with people… the complete opposite, more like.

I suppose there's always an exception to the rule…

By the time the clock strikes eight, I'm basically ready and officially out of ways to pass the time until I have to go. So I'm sitting down on the sofa in the living room, vibrating on the spot and checking my phone every 30 seconds. I must look absolutely ridiculous, judging from Elias barely held back chuckles and Julie's irritated stare.

"Ok, you know what? I can't even stand to look at you right now. Get the fuck out of this house and don't come back until you're normal again!"

"Ohi, what the fuck do you mea… WOW!"

Did… DID THIS CRAZY BITCH JUST THREW A BOOK AT ME?!

"Julie! Are you nuts?!"

"Me?! Have you looked in a mirror recently?! You look like a fucking toddler who got promised a trip to Disneyland! Out! OUT!"

Elias is rolling on the floor laughing like a madman, while the most responsible sister in the world unceremoniously throws her younger brother into the streets, screeching like a banshee.

What in the actual hell is wrong with this family?!

… great, I'm three hours away from my "date" with Yui and got nothing to fill them with.

Bruh.

I… I suppose I just… take a walk? Maybe some sort of random event flag will trigger and meet someone to keep me company for a bit?

Wouldn't that be awfully convenient…

"Jason? It is you! What a coincidence, just the guy I wanted to talk to!"

… I swear, it's like fucking clockwork.

This time is… Thalita, was her name, wasn't it? The girl that I'm supposed to know but not really?

She has similar clothes as last time I saw her, but with the addition of a nice, snuggly jacket. Which doesn't seem to be working too well, considering how much she's shivering.

"Jeez, so cold! I'm actually starting to wonder why we even bothered moving out of Brazil…"

Ooooohh, she's Brazilian! That… actually explains a lot. From her skin color all the way to the shirt with weed on it.

… I still can't get over that damn thing.

"... so, I'm not supposed to tell you that it's only gonna get colder in the next few months?"

"No. No, you weren't supposed to. Stupid Canada with its stupid snow and ice… do you have any idea how many times I slipped and fell on my butt just this week?!"

Oof. I suppose for someone like her, getting used to lower temperatures would be quite the ordeal, wouldn't it?

"You'll get used to it. So… you said you wanted to talk? Is it about Kate again?"

Thalita snaps out of her inner tirade against everything related to winter, finally.

"Oh, no, nothing about her this time around. I just… wanted to get to know you a bit more. Katey made me… curious, you could say. About what is so special about you to convince her to open up the way she did. I don't think I need to tell you that you are literally the only one that she allowed to sleep on her thighs. Figured that I would… you know, see for myself what's up and all that".

Fair. I would be extremely curious as well. Not to the point of actually seeking the person in question, but you catch my drift.

… wait, has she been actively looking for me? At this hour instead of waiting for monday and catch me at school?

I… I honestly don't know if she has balls of steel or if she's a complete dumbass. I wisely decide to not voice this particular train of thought. Extroverts are scary sometimes…

I cough and dismiss that very dangerous statement from my mind. She could be a witch like Mikaela, as far as I'm concerned.

"Well, you found me. And I have a couple of hours free, sooooo… lucky us?"

She grins.

"Lucky us indeed! Let's walk around for a bit, yeah? I have like… a million questions to ask you".

And I have maybe a quarter of the answers. This is the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, maybe ever!

The Entity must have taken pity on my damned soul at this point, because her questions turned out to be… fairly simple ones.

Favorite color, food, shows, band (she absolutely malded when I told her that I had a Starset shirt) and more generic conversations.

Then, of course, fate had to sit down on my head and take a big, fat, smelly dump right on top of it. Because we just can't have nice things.

"How are things going with your sister?"

I almost stumble from sheer surprise.

"How did you…?"

"Kate told me. Or… more like I grilled her incessantly until she let slip that it was a 'family' issue that you were having. Couple of bribes to our mutual Chinese queen bee friend and… here we are!"

… Is it normal that I'm slightly terrified right about now? She can just… come and bribe Feng like that? How much power do you possess, woman?!

I do glare at her though. I'm fairly sure that counts as a breach in privacy.

"Don't look at me like that! You genuinely looked like shit the other day in the music club room, you can't blame a girl for getting worried! And I knew you weren't just gonna tell me…"

I sigh, not really feeling like being angry. Sure, why the hell not? It's not like Feng doesn't already stick her nose in all of my business, even if it is to my benefit… allegedly. I wouldn't be surprised if that gremlin will one day corner me to criticize my taste in porn or something like that.

What's wrong with one more at this point?

"I'm planning on fixing things tomorrow. Hopefully, by monday, both Julie and I will be more relaxed…"

She nods, smiling.

"Good, very good! Siblings argue all the time, but in the end, there's never any malice behind it or bad feelings".

She sounds like she knows a thing or two about it…

"You have siblings too?"

"Yup! My younger brother, Renato. Or… technically twin, but I was born first, so he's the baby between us".

Sheesh. I don't even know the guy and I already feel sorry for him, with a sister like this. Kindred souls really do exist all around the world… and dimensions.

"I should introduce you two! He could always use some friends. Or… even just one would be a start…"

"You do know that you can't force it, do you?"

"Of course I do! But it's not like he doesn't want friends! It's just… hard for him to make some. I don't want him to be robbed of the simple pleasures of youth, like these…"

"You really are a girl scout, uh?"

She giggles.

"Sure am! Making connections is all that I want, after all! A community all of my own, like back home…"

She smiles nostalgically for a moment, before shaking her head and going back to normal.

"But that's a subject for another day. I might even tell you the entire story one day! Somehow… I know that you wouldn't judge either him or me".

I raise my eyebrow.

"And how would you know?"

"I'm… not sure. I just… I don't know, you feel like… an old friend. I met you only two days ago, but it feels like I've known you for my entire life…"

That's… really fucking weird. But she's also not the only one, isn't she?

I frown, staring at the ground, grinding my gears to find a logical solution. But nothing comes up. Nothing concrete at least. And definitely NOT something I can share with her. Or anyone else, really.

Maybe being dumped in this alternate Ormond had more of an impact than I thought…

"Ah well, it doesn't matter! It just means that there's a very high chance that YOU, mister, get to spend some more time with a cute girl, down the line! Lucky you, huh?"

Somebody end me. Please.

Thalita's phone suddenly goes off. She looks at it and sighs.

"Damn it, I gotta go… talking about Renato, here he is. Welp, this is goodbye for today, but I'll talk to you next time I see you, kay? Don't run away on me! Bye!"

Aaaaaand she's gone. Just like the weed on her shirt, this conversation felt like an acid trip. I'm not sure that I'll manage to survive another one…

But that's not today or tomorrow. As of right now, it's almost eleven. You know that means…

It's best waifu time!

I check my phone one last time before arriving at the park. I'm a good ten minutes early, just to be 100% sure that I'm not going to miss anything. That time spent with Thalita was… unforeseen, far from unwelcome of course, but she wasn't the reason I woke up so early today.

No, the reason was right there, idly sitting on a bench with her legs crossed. Heavy pants, heavy jacket and a cute beanie on her head. That's like, the most clothes I've ever seen on her, but even a badass like her probably felt the chill.

Yui Kimura in the flesh. Finally, this week is starting to feel like it was worth suffering through.

She sees me and waves me over, smirking.

"Just the guy I was waiting for! You're here early!"

I smirk right back.

"What's that? Is the pot calling the kettle black? For how long did you stay here looking homeless?"

I bit my tongue when the words tumbled out of my mouth. Fuck, too much in character, dude!

She looks at me weird for a moment, but ended up snorting.

"You caught me. I'm just restless, I can't wait to get my hands back on my baby after all…"

I sit by her side, at a respectable distance of course, something she'll probably appreciate.

"That bike is very important to you, isn't it?"

She nods.

"She sure is. That girl has been with me in all of my darkest moments. It's not just a vehicle, but my entire livelihood… and a good friend, back when I had none. It might sound stupid to you, but I really don't know what I would do without her…"

Don't I know? As if I could ever make fun of her on something like this.

"It's not stupid. If she's so important to you, then I'm glad that I managed to help you when I did".

Her stunning purple eyes shine just a bit more brightly.

"And you have no idea how grateful I am for what you did. Even if you probably didn't know either…"

Her tone is teasing. Turnabout is fair play, I guess.

"I know now. My dad told me the story a couple of days ago".

"Your dad, uh? He must be quite the man, judging from what the mechanic told me…"

I nod.

"Yeah. He's… a very good person, all around. My sister and I are lucky to have him around…"

Yui's face darkens.

"You really are… I wish I could've had that as well…"

… Shit, I forgot about her father disowning her and all that jazz. Look at me, sticking my foot in my mouth again…

"You don't have to talk about it, you know that right?"

She nods, looking relieved.

"I know. Thank you…"

I'm about to respond, when my stomach growls aggressively. I… totally forgot to have breakfast this morning. Stupid Julie for kicking me out…

Yui quirks her lips, her bad mood evaporating for good.

"Someone skipped the most important meal of the day this fine morning, didn't he?"

I flush, feeling my ears burning.

"My sister's fault, like usual…"

The woman laughs and gets up from the bench.

"Let's go eat something then. We still have a couple of hours to burn before I get reunited with my bike".

Ah, right, Max did say two in the afternoon, didn't he?

… why the hell did we meet up so early then? I'm not complaining, obviously, but the question comes almost naturally. Not that I'm ever gonna actually ask.

Yui and I decide to get a late brunch at a close by cafe, where we decide to share a stack of pancakes.

"Hm… not bad. But mine are better".

She tilts her head.

"You make pancakes?"

I tap my fist against my chest.

"That and more. Julie can't even cook an egg without burning down either the house or herself, so I had to take over kitchen duties when dad isn't home. Not that I mind, I enjoy cooking quite a lot".

"Interesting… are you any good?"

"Everyone says that I am. One of my best friends especially is a massive fan of my pancakes. Last time I made them she inhaled like, almost half of them all by herself".

We laugh quietly.

"Well, you made me curious now! I haven't had some decent home cooking in… quite a while, actually…"

"Of course! I would be happy to put my skills at your service whenever you want".

Am I a simp? Maybe. Do I care? Not even a little bit.

The two of us keep on idly chatting even long after our shared meal was over. We carefully avoided touching upon the topic of family any further, so as to not make things awkward, until the conversation lands on the friendship side of things and the part I was most curious about: The Sakura 7.

"A women only biker gang you say? That… sounds pretty damn cool, not gonna lie".

We are currently walking towards Max's mechanic shop, to retrieve her faithful steed.

"It is! We used to be seven members, hence the name, but in time, more and more started joining. We are a team… a family even, the only one that many of us have…"

I smile gently, somehow managing to be impressed even when I already know how the story goes.

"I think that it's amazing. What you managed to build and accomplish must have been incredibly difficult…"

She snorts.

"Yeah. It took time, effort and a lot of sweat. Especially because I'm a woman, many old fashioned people would look down on me for any reason that they could find. Not just the men either, which is the part that stung the most… we are fighting for them as well, for all women all around the world, and many of them are happy to sneer at us, even sabotage whenever they can…"

Don't I know it? Bad people are everywhere, after all. One of the things that I learned on my own skin when I was a teen was…

"Evil knows no gender, race, sexuality or religion. There are no bad types of people, or a group upon whom you can dump all your problems on. Only bad people in general".

That… came out without my consent. AGAIN!

Yui stares at me. Like, full on, all her attention on just me and me alone. Once more, my ears started burning.

"S-Sorry, that came out wrong…"

She is shaken out of her trance.

"No! Not at all! You are completely right! I was just… mulling over some things. Just like last time, you always end up giving me questions to think about. But it's not a bad thing, far from it!"

That makes two of us…

We made the rest of the trek in silence, just like last time. Only that, in this occurrence, the silence is… comfortable. Neither of us feels the need to fill it.

The "date" ended shortly after, since Yui had to go shortly after getting her "precious baby" back. I can't help but feel like… she was seeing me differently than when we met today. I can't put my finger on how, though…

Having nothing else to do, I decide to head back home and faceplant on my bed again, intent on recuperating some lost hours of sleep, when my phone vibrated in my pocket.

It's Mikaela.

.

Mikaela: Jason? I'm not dristubing you, arem't I?

You: No

You: Not at all

You: What's up?

Mikaela: I think I discofered sumthin importamt

Mikaela: Can you meet mi at this adres? 15 minutes?

You: Sure

You: I got time to spare

You: See you then!

.

I cringe lightly, reading the messages. Poor girl even struggles with writing on her phone. It makes me wonder just how much time it took for her to write her book…

Regardless of that… if it really is important, then I suppose that sleep can wait.

I follow the address that Mikaela sent me, while another thousand questions start filling my mind…

Hello?! Is this thing on?! It is?! Noice.

Welcome, dudes and gentleladies, to another episode of AIOS, the show where interactions with the best girl are something to be treasured.

Yeah, Yui is my favorite survivor in the game. Who would have thunked, uh?

And yes, I know, the chapter is late, and I apologize. These last few days I had one killer headache that just didn't allow me to sit down and write. I finally managed to finish it though, I promise that it won't happen again… if I can help it, of course. But, now that September is here, we are back on the grind.

Review responses!

WhyareUsernamesTakenAlready: Do not worry my friend, everything regarding dear Skull Merchant is already planned and ready to go… when it will be the right moment. Which could be soon or later, depending on what happens. What do I mean? No spoilers :)

Gilgamesh: Ask and ye shall receive. A big, throbbing, hard update, hope you enjoy!

That's all folks! Ta-ta for now!