Chapter Summary: Asa graduates from junior high.
In another world, things could have gone differently for Asa. Maybe she would have left an injured cat behind, it surely dying during the Typhoon Devil's attack. She and her mother would have both survived—with many of their belongings gone, sure, but alive. This wasn't that world, Asa reminded herself, as she picked at a strand of Crambon's hair caught in the threads of her uniform. But, she was happy today.
Today's graduation ceremony, in Asa's mind, was a tiny bit less than special; she wished her mother could've been here, prayed that, where she is now, she's looking down at her with a smile. The young woman had kept her head down during the walk up to the stage; perhaps it looked like a down-trodden teenager still reeling from her losses, graduating from a school where she barely knew anyone, but Asa, in these crucial moments, wanted to make sure her feet were steady, not wanting to trip when she grabbed ahold of her diploma. How, despite the alien feeling of her peers looking in her direction, she was able to return a smile as she was congratulated, as she returned a firm handshake of her own.
So, of course, while feeling a wide smile grow on her face as everyone applauded her, she fell face-first walking off of the stage. Good job, Asa.
The rest of the event was spent pressing a wad of napkins to her bloody nose, as her classmates occasionally glanced over with pitiful looks. One moment of glory, followed by however long of being teased over this, especially when many of her peers would be moving on to Fourth East High once the next school year started. Eventually, the final formalities were done with, and everyone dispersed, going into small groups of friends and family.
Asa moved to the sidelines, dabbing under her nose for the final drips of blood before dumping the napkins into a nearby trash can. She tried to practice her smile, feeling her lips move, yet her cheeks felt stiff. She glanced down at the diploma in her hand, the urge to toss or crush it overwhelming, before calming herself with a sigh. At least Yoru and Reze didn't have to see her trip, being busy at the orphanage at this time. Not wanting to remain in the noisy auditorium, she began to step towards one of the exits, when—
"Excuse me? Hey, are you okay?" a youthful voice asked, energy filling her every word. "I wanted to check on you, that looked like a bad fall earlier!"
Asa's fingers tightened around her diploma, feeling her frustration bubble up once again. If she turned around to find one of the popular kids, she was going to throw a punch into their own nose. So, when she turned around to find a spectacled face looking at her with genuine worried, she immediately snapped her hand to her side.
"U-um…" Asa's voice died in her throat, as she tried to put a name to the face in front of her. "You're… Sorry, I don't know you."
"That's alright!" she returned, as she adjusted one of the arms of her partially-frameless glasses. "I was the girl sitting in the front of our classes. I'm Yuko!" Asa cringed as she realized she didn't know who Yuko was, which the other girl caught onto. "Oh, it's fine, Mitaka! You were a transfer student showing up in the middle of the school year, I totally get it."
"R-right…" She glanced around, watching their peers absorbed in their own conversations, probably talking about celebratory dinners that night. "Um, I'm sure you have family waiting for you, Yuko. I don't wanna keep you."
The immediate shaking of her blonde hair surprised Asa. "No parents here… Y'know, I thought I wasn't gonna be torn up about it, but I almost cried on stage."
Asa stared back, trying to comprehend the sheer candidness of the girl in front of her. How freely she spoke of her parents not being able to watch her graduate today. "Y-you were?"
"Yup! Gosh, I thought I was already over it after the funeral," Yuko said as she scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Guessing it's the same with you?"
"Yeah… I, um, lost my mom to the Typhoon Devil," she said, as she picked at her sleeve. "I mean, it's not like I would've—"
"I lost my parents to a devil attack, too!" Yuko interjected, a massive smile on her face as she realized she had something in common with Asa, a connection between the two teenagers. She could already imagine sorting out one another's experiences, how their respective devil attacks were like, and how much they wanted to k— "Wait, were you saying something?"
The sudden burst of energy from the already-peppy girl in front of her had caught Asa by surprise. "N-no, it was nothing important!" she cried, holding her hands up in front of her guardedly. "I was just gonna say that, well, I have other people who could've come to watch, but…"
Yuko leaned to the side with a coy smile. "Busy?" Asa nodded. "Work?"
"They work at an orphanage," she said, feeling awkward tinges running down her back as she stared down at her hands, not seeing how the smart look on Yuko's face evaporated.
"Man, I was gonna go and say something awful about them not making time for you," Yuko said with a pout.
The two girls remained standing where they were, letting the surrounding conversations fill the silence. Even still, it made Asa uncomfortable; despite having nothing to say, she never enjoyed awkward silences. "So—"
"Are you doing anything after—" Yuko's mouth clamped shut, then she burst out with bright laughter, which Asa returned. "Oh, we gotta stop doing that!"
"Y-yeah," she said, as she tried to rein in her giggles. "Sorry, you were going to ask about…" She rolled her hand towards the other girl, urging her to continue.
"Right! Yeah, you had any post-graduation plans today?"
"Probably just dinner at home, if my mom—my caretaker remembers."
"Wow… Lucky!" If Yuko was jealous, she didn't show it. "Most I'll get is maybe an extra jar of pickles from my neighbor, or some candy."
"That's…" Asa stifled a snicker, before breaking out into more giggling, finding the image of celebratory pickles and some foil bags of candy to be humorous for a momentous occasion. "Sorry…"
"It's fine, not many people can say they get pickles as a graduation gift," she joked, dusting off her shoulder to show she didn't find Asa's laughter offensive. "Water off a duck's back, as the saying goes."
"That's good. I never was good at making friends, always answering in the wrongest ways," Asa said, feeling reassured when Yuko gave a sympathetic nod.
"Yeah, I getcha…"
Another long moment of silence, and Asa opened her mouth—just as Yuko opened hers. "You go," the blonde said, pulling back with a smile.
"Thank you… Um, would you like to have dinner with my family?" Asa asked, as she rubbed her fingertips along her diploma's tube. "I mean, your pickle gift sounds nice, but it also sounds kinda lonely…"
"You make it sound like I'm eating just the pickles tonight," Yuko whined, giving the other girl a dejected look. "Besides, we really only met today, and I wouldn't wanna put your family on the spot just to accommodate me." Her lips pursed, and, not wanting to completely shut down Asa's suggestion, she threw out her own idea. "Though, um, we could probably hang out at your place, and I can just leave when you guys eat."
"You still want to come over…?"
"I mean, since you're already asking," the blonde posited, planting her hands on her hips.
The walk to the apartment felt better than previous days, already improving Asa's mood from the graduation ceremony as she and Yuko chatted. Despite only getting to know her classmate after graduating, it felt like the two had been friends for years, as she became comfortable letting the other girl call her by her given name; it only felt right as she said Yuko's name over and over again. It made the half-hour walk home feel much shorter, just talking about nothing in particular.
Her worries of Yuko's reactions towards Yoru's basic housing choices dissipated as the other girl beelined towards the television.
"Wow, you have a VCR?!" Yuko said, crouched down in front of the TV. "Man, I don't even have a TV at my place!"
"Y-yeah, my roommate brought it over the other day," Asa said, as she gathered a few snacks from the cupboard. "The city recently gave the orphanage a DVD-VHS player, so we can watch a movie, if you like."
"Awesome! Yeah, let's do it!" Despite her enthusiasm, she was left with a scant selection, either being children's movies, a few educational shows, but also a few blockbusters from the last decade. "What the heck is 'The Red Spectacles'?"
Asa placed a bowl onto the coffee table before moving closer to Yuko, peering over her shoulder at the sketchy-looking sleeve. "I have no idea where mom could've got this," she murmured, as she plucked it out of the other girl's hands, who cried out in complaint. "She has the weirdest stuff, I swear."
"Maybe she's a woman of taste," Yuko said, continuing to look through the small box of VHS tapes. "Or, she's a fan of illegal movies, I dunno."
"You think this is illegal?" Asa asked, as she continued to look over the worn VHS sleeve, not finding any copyrights or dates, but finding an unprofessional-sounding summary along with low-quality screenshots on the back. "Okay, this might actually be a pirated movie."
"Right?! I mean, I've never heard of 'The Red Spectacles'. Might be one of those artsy-fartsy films that never took off."
"So, we're not watching this?" Asa said, moving to place it back in the box before Yuko snatched it out of her hands.
"Hell yes, we are!" she answered, immediately slipping it out of the sleeve and popping it into the VCR with ease.
"I thought you didn't have a TV…"
"Our teacher made me put the VHS tapes in for him all the time."
Bunmei watched as an attendant secured the once-alive Koichi's briefcase, their nervous hands resting on worn leather as they cracked it open. A quick glance within, followed by furrowed brows as they tried to comprehend what they were seeing.
Then, they pulled it apart further, letting the hotel's lights illuminate the briefcase's contents, only creating more confusion for the attendant, causing them to throw it open completely, much to Bunmei's barely-contained fury as he took in its contents.
Among the black, white, and greys in-between, there were the spectacles, then the shawl, and finally the taxi's taillights, all shining red as the movie faded to black.
Asa and Yuko leaned back into the couch, having been so absorbed by the sights of the film. The surreal visuals, the delivery of the lines, the seemingly-nonsensical story that left their minds racing, so much so that they had forgot to touch the snacks still sitting on the coffee table.
A meow from between the two girls pulled them from their trance-like state, as Crambon leapt down from the couch and padded his way towards his food bowl.
"R-right, Crambon," Asa mumbled, as she stood up on shaky legs to feed the cat.
"We're just not gonna talk about it…?" Yuko asked, as she watched Asa grab a half-empty can of cat food from the fridge, mixing it with some kibble as Crambon watched expectantly.
Asa paused, not yet setting down the bowl as she glanced over at Yuko. "I mean, do you?" With the bowl placed back down, Crambon all but pounced for it, hungrily eating at the lumpy mess.
Before Yuko could answer, the door's locks rattled and clicked, opening as a dark-haired girl swept up Asa into a tight hug. "Congratulations!" she cried, picking up the younger girl off of her feet.
"R-Reze!" Asa choked out, surprised by how much strength the Russian's deceptively lithe frame could muster. "Thank you, but you're crushing my ribs—!"
"Whoops! Sorry!" Reze released Asa, helping her stand on her own feet. "Just so excited! Yoru and I grabbed food on the way home!"
"Well, guess this is when I leave," Yuko said, as she moved towards the door, reaching for her shoes. "Sorry for intruding—"
A boot stomped into her vision, right by her shoes. "Leaving so soon?" a cold voice rang out, followed by the crinkle of a plastic bag.
"Oh, don't scare her, mom~," Reze said, dragging out the last word as Yoru gave her a dismissive mumble. "Please, have dinner with us! We've got plenty to go around."
"If it's okay with you guys," Yuko said, giving the older women a bow. "Thank you. I'm Yuko."
"Friendly already? I like this one, Asa," Reze said, as she gave a polite nod of her own. "I'm Reze, it's nice to meet one of Asa's friends. Don't mind Yoru, she's just being a sourpuss."
"I could've just made dinner tonight," she growled, as she turned towards Yuko. "I'm Yoru, Asa's caretaker. Make sure to wash up before we eat." Without a further beat, she moved towards Reze, as the two began to take off their shoes.
Asa pulled Yuko aside so that the other two women, particularly Yoru, couldn't overhear her. "Sorry about them… They can be a bit much," she said apologetically, her expression matching as well.
"It's fine, Asa," she returned cheerily, easing the other girl's nerves. "Your roommate's nice."
"Y-yeah, she is… It's just Yoru I'm worried about. She tends to be a scary person up front."
"I dunno, your mom's kinda pretty," she said unflinchingly, causing Asa to blurt out an immediate "huh?". "I mean, you said 'caretaker' and I pictured some greying old lady…"
"Y-you can't just call her 'pretty'—"
"Why not? She is!" Yuko said, more to capitalize on Asa's bewilderment. "Honestly, she really could be your mom! You and her kinda look alike, honestly!"
"I'm not hearing this~!" Asa sang out, clamping her hands over her ears as she tried to run from Yuko. "Stop talking about this~!"
Yuko followed Asa towards the bathroom, only to be shut out, much to her humor—and, also, her own detriment. She turned towards Yoru, who stared back irritatedly. "Um, you wouldn't have another bathroom, right? I gotta, you know…" All the while, she jigged, her legs shaky as her own excitement caught up to her.
The older woman let out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Use the one in my room," she grumbled.
Author's Notes: The title is based off of the acronym FIGJAM (Fuck I'm Great Just Ask Me). A deviation from the military-esque chapter names.
An Asa-focused chapter this time, after two Yoru-focused ones. Plus, Yuko!
Yuko and Asa meet earlier than they do in canon, because I had Asa go to a middle school in Tokyo in this story. I also turned around the devil conversation from Chapter 101; it is cute that it's Asa who originally goes "ooh me too!", but the way things turned out they ended up switched here.
The Red Spectacles is a movie I recommend, but it definitely needs to be rewatched to get it; I only recommend rewatching it after doing the next two movies in the trilogy. I tried not to spoil it too much despite describing a huge part of the ending.
Also, I couldn't find any details on a home release pre-2000s, and Asa never struck me as much a film buff herself, so they're probably never going to see the sequels.
Having Yuko remark on Yoru's appearance probably opened an inconsequential plot hole, so to address what Yoru looks like: people who know her or only see how she dresses think she's old; people who only see her face think she's (kinda) young; and devils can smell she's old. Just imagine a more tired-looking Asa.
Also, I'm really happy after this week's chapter—Primal Fear devils are soooo cool! Plenty to look at take in with both Pochita's and Yoru's actions, too. Cementing how they each feel about their respective hosts.
