Welp that was quicker than expected! Mostly because I had to split the chapter. So it's a shorter, more low-key set-up kind of chapter.

Thanks as always for oddvector and Darkblaw for joining in as I write, and for being confused so the readers don't have to be.

Scale 9: Quench Your Thirst

And he waited on a hill with spiraling currents around it, he waited and waited and waited, even as the currents spiraled out to sea, even as the water spiraled out of him and into that hungry draining water. He waited and waited and waited. He waited and waited but there were only ants, marching out of the swirling seas, drenched, swelling in size. Tattered clothes hanging off their serrated jaws. Marching up the hill, gnawing on his back, while he waited and waited and—

Fret woke with a start, heart pounding. He rolled onto his stomach, buried his face in his pillow, and let out an irritable groan.

"Fret? Something wrong?"

Rindo?

Oh, right, he was with Rindo now. In this strange place. Until the singing finally hit its peak and…

It was too early to be thinking about this kind of thing.

"...Mornings, am I right?" Fret grumbled, scratching his back. Maybe it was because Fret fell asleep while doing…that Soul spiral thing or whatever, but Fret didn't feel well rested. Oh well, not like that was terribly new. Not with his insomnia and nightmares. Even here.

Or maybe it was because there was something squirming in his back.

He shuddered in disgust. Fret flipped over trying to get it to stop, but the something, or rather two small somethings, still wriggled between his muscles and his skin. "Rindude..." he almost whined.

"Fret? What's wrong?" Aww, Rindo sounded so worried.

"There's something sliding around in my shoulders and it feels gross."

"Oh, that's probably your wings!" said Rindo, with a note of excitement as well as surprise.

"How do you make them not squirm so much?" asked Fret.

"Uh, mine didn't move around a lot?" said Rindo. "Sometimes they would, like, twitch, or push up against my skin if your hand was on my back or something, but they didn't really do much besides that?"

"Well mine won't freaking stop!" Fret kicked his legs in frustration. It hadn't even been a minute yet and already he was tempted to claw the wings out himself. Though, would that make him jump straight to the final fight? Hmm, maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

"Maybe because you're so squirmy? Seriously, you toss and turn so much when you're asleep. Makes it hard to hold you, y'know."

Fret chuckled a little. "Whoops. Yeah, I've always been a pretty restless sleeper. And I'm, uh. Not exactly used to sharing a bed." His brain was still having trouble believing that sharing a bed with Rindo was an actual thing, even though he was doing it right now. "Which is really, really nice, by the way. But I guess that still doesn't stop me from tossing and turning, hehe…"

Rindo smiled. "That galaxy brain of yours firing on all cylinders even while you sleep, huh?"

Yeah, his galaxy brain was so wired that it filled his sleep with nightmares. "Something like that…"

"Anyway, let me see your back. Maybe I can, like, massage them or something?"

"Ooo, a massage?" Fret rolled onto his belly. "How scandalous!"

"Uh huh, sure." Rindo sat up. "As if we haven't literally slept together last night. And did…whatever we did."

"Oh yeah." That joke had worked better in Fret's head.

Rindo carefully searched Fret's back until he ran across one of the twitching lumps. "Oh yeah, definitely wings." His fingers concentrated on the wing spots, and Fret could feel himself melt into the mattress as a toasty happiness bubbled up in his chest.

"This help?"

"Mmhm..."

Rindo's hands shifted a little, and suddenly that comfy feeling gave way to a cold weight in his heart. Fret's eyes burned with the threat of tears. What the hell? "W-Wait, stop."

The warm pressure on Fret's back suddenly stopped. "W-What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

The unpleasant crushing sadness lifted from Fret's heart. "No, but I started feeling…really bad all of a sudden for some reason?"

"Huh," said Rindo. "Now that I think of it, I also felt really weird when you tried to massage my wings the other day? Not bad exactly, but…Hmm, there's supposed to be a spa area here, right? Maybe we should leave the massages to the professionals."

"Yeah, you've probably got a point," said Fret. His wings were still a little twitchy, but he could deal with that for now.

"You wanna do that first?" asked Rindo.

"Actually, I wanna go check out the shops," said Fret. "I've been wearing the same outfit for four days, and that makes my skin crawl even more than the wings do." He swore his wings started writhing more just to spite him.

"Honestly, yeah," said Rindo. "But let's eat breakfast first."

"Ooo, you gonna cook us something, Rindude?"

"Yeah. You can have anything you want! As long as it's rice with sprinkled potato chips. Because that's, uh, all I know how to make."

So rice with sprinkled potato chips it was! It was even breakfast in bed, granted that they had raised the head up to make it one big cozy recliner chair. And the rice was pretty good, if a bit plain and salty. Fret added some veggies and cheetos to his meal to spice it up a little.

Though it took forever for either of them to eat anything, since Rindo kept snuggling into Fret's side almost impatiently, making eager trilling noises. Awww. How could Fret not cuddle back?

Then Rindo started leaning into the sync. And Fret almost let himself fall into the connection too, except—

Fret leaned away—from the sync and physically. "H-Hey! I said to ask if you were gonna do the drain thing!"

"I wasn't gonna drain you." Rindo sounded annoyed. "I was gonna…Look, how did you do the…whatever you did last night? I wanna do that."

"Oh! Uh, the…" Man, what should Fret call it? "...The Soul spiral thing?" He grinned mischievously. "Guess you could call it…a wicked twister, eh?"

Rindo emitted something between a sigh and a groan.

"Anyway, it really is sorta like a twister, since I was kinda twirling our Souls together, I think? Kinda like those fractal things you told me about once?"

"Mmm…" Rindo pressed up against Fret's side, again. "I've heard enough math metaphors from Mr. Minami to last me a lifetime."

Fret laughed. "Fair enough. Okay, so it's like…I think of myself like a twister? Whirling around and around, and the more I whirl around, the bigger and more spread out I get in your Soul. Until we're like, twisting between each other! Kinda like a seashell? Yeah, a seashell! You're my li'l hermit crab and I'm making a spiral seashell for you to nestle up in!"

"That's the weirdest pick-up line ever." But Rindo was smiling.

"That's how you know it's a Fretster original!" Fret paused. "Though I guess it's kinda weird to call you a hermit crab when you're totally some kinda bird. So you're…my Rinbirb? And I'll be your…uh…"

And Fret already felt his Soul being stirred like a soup.

"Uh…"

"Like this?"

Fret nodded, gripping his chest. All that extra emotion and warmth spinning in his Soul…He felt his mind and muscles turning to soup too. The affection coiling around him, bleeding into him, distorting…His Rindo. Overwhelming, crushing even. Painfully relaxed. Laughter escaping like bubbles squeezed out underwater. Tangled…Sinking…Dissolving…

That tight, twisting embrace finally released him, and Fret surfaced back to reality with a gasp. He found himself curled up in Rindo's lap, staring at the familiar orange hoodie over Rindo's stomach.

"You good, buddy?" asked Rindo, petting his hair. Though he sounded more amused than worried.

"I…I think so?" Fret's hand rested over his heart again, which burned more than ever. "Just, uh, gimme a sec. That…had a little more kick than I expected, not gonna lie. Was it that intense for you too, when I did it last night?"

"It was pretty strong, yeah," said Rindo. "I liked it though. Uh, did you?"

"Yeah." Now that his Soul had settled down, Fret almost missed that squeezing spiral of emotion. But he definitely wasn't ready for another one either, even though he could sense Rindo leaning into the sync again already. And man, if Rindo started draining Fret when he was in that stupored state… "Uh, b-buddy…"

The sync went back to its weakened state, but not before Fret got a whiff of Rindo's disappointment, irritation, and…hurt feelings even? "Fret, do you…not trust me?"

"I…"

Rindo sighed. "No, I'm singing. You shouldn't trust me. Fret, if you're ever not comfortable with what I'm doing, tell me, okay?"

"Sure thing!" said Fret. Though he'd try to accommodate Rindo as best he could. He didn't want to hurt Rindo's feelings or the Soul that the other versions of himself had been working so hard to fix...after he screwed it up. "By the way, I love you."

"Love you so much. That's why I wanna make sure you're happy too, y'know."

"N'awww, Rindude." Fret pulled him into a quick hug. "Well, now that we've had some good Soul cuddles, how about we hit those clothes stores?"

"Oh yeah, we were gonna do that." Rindo hesitated. "You sure you don't need to talk—"

"What I wanna do is go get some new threads, my Rindude!" Fret threw an arm out in a direction, any direction, pointing them to anywhere but here. "Now let's mosey!"

The clothes store floor was right above the food court, so it didn't take long to get there. All these top brands, crammed into tiny stores lined up next to each other like books on a shelf...There was something a little funny about that. A couple of these brands Fret that he had never even heard of. Maiden Innocence? Mithril Scale? Oh look at that, there was even a store for unbranded clothing, called Zodiac. Though why go for the cheap stuff when all the clothes were just as free as the food on the floor below?

Though a lot of the branded stuff was behind the times, up to two years behind in fact. Some of the staff even had their old brand names on them, including the signs above the stores themselves. Fret got the impression that the Reapers had collected the leftover clothes from each season to outfit these tiny stores, probably to save money. Especially considering that so few people apparently stayed at this place at a time. It was weird rooting through all these stores and seeing no one else besides the Reaper staff, playing some game on his phone.

Though neither Fret or Rindo intended to take that much stuff with them today. Just a few changes of clothes for the hotel stay. Rindo meanwhile kept gravitating to literally every shiny object in sight, and Fret had to constantly remind him that they were here for clothes, not pins or even random pieces of garbage. Fret supposed that was just the bird Noise in Rindo acting up. His cute little Rinbirb.

Well, it wasn't like Fret was 100% focused on their mission either. He enjoyed trying some stuff on just for fun. Even took some pictures, some by himself, some with Rindo. Snazzy suits, punk-rock ensembles with spiked accessories, some RyuGu kimono that looked way too traditional to be worn to anything except a burial. For the future outfit ideas, for the laughs, for the...memories.

Not so different from their usual shopping together really. Or their shopping trips not together, for those times when Rindo hadn't been able to make it. Those times when Fret would send Rindo tons of pics of his clothing adventures, partly to show off, partly to make sure Rindo had been okay. After all, if Rindo had replied to his torrent of texts and pics, that meant that he had been doing good. Maybe Fret should have done that for a certain other friend too...

Fret stood there studying his current Natural Puppy clothes in the mirror. He might actually take these with him today.

He...Rindo was gonna look different soon. He didn't know how different different meant, but he assumed that it would be like a blend of both of them? Made it kinda hard to imagine what future Rindo might look good in if Fret didn't even know what kind of build or bone structure he would inherit. Or even what kind of hair, or eye color. Guess there was a reason the Reapers had recommended coming here later.

Fret hoped future them would still enjoy shopping for new clothes, and not feel too...

Man, the monotonous synthwave funneled in over the speakers here was making his mind wander to all kinds of unfun places. The way the synthesizer sounds just wandered aimlessly through a desolate droning backdrop, it made Fret feel almost…sad? Which is exactly why it had been an awful sleep aid when he tried listening to it during one of many sleepless nights.

But all this repetitive, dreamy so-called music was putting Rindo right to sleep, apparently. Fret noticed Rindo nodding off on the bench, his wings slowly drooping inward.

Rindo looked so cute. Then again he was always cute, big gangly wings and all.

He loved Rindo. One of the many, many reasons that he loved Rindo was how his love of Rindo filled his head with many fluffy happy thoughts that he could get fixated on instead of...less pleasant musings.

Yes, he loved Rindo. He loved Rindo so much.

Fret loved Rindo so much that he carefully slipped under his wing so he could snuggle up to his side. "How you doing, my Rindude?"

Rindo let a drowsy peep as he startled out of his doze. "Oh, hey Fret." His wing gingerly pulled Fret closer. "Sorry I'm so tired, I..." He closed his eyes for a while, either lost in thought or lost in sleep. "...Hey."

"Hi again," said Fret. "Wanna go back and snooze some more?" While he wasn't as tired as Rindo, he wouldn't have minded another nap. Even though he hadn't been up that long yet…

"I...We're not even halfway done yet..." Another long pause from Rindo. "Fret, can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I...get a little extra energy from you?" asked Rindo.

"...Oh." Was...Was Rindo asking what Fret thought he was asking?

"I'm not gonna take all of your Soul, just a little bit," said Rindo. "Enough so I can keep going. I don't...I don't wanna spend the rest of our time together just sleeping. B-But if you don't want to—"

"N-No, it's okay!" Fret assured him. "You can have some!"

"You sure?"

"Y-Yeah," said Fret. "I wanna spend time with the awake Rindo too. Just, uh, just leave me enough so I can be awake too, y-y'know?"

"Of course," said Rindo. Fret could already feel Rindo leaning into the sync. "It'd kinda defeat the purpose of hanging out together if...J-Just let me know if I start taking too much, okay?"

"O-Okay..." said Fret, also letting himself fall deeper into the connection.

Rindo didn't straight-up drain Fret right away, instead starting with a serene cycle of feelings between them. Probably to make sure Fret was calm for when Rindo started siphoning Soul from him.

Fret let his anxiety ebb away. It would be fine, probably. And this felt so nice, like nothing bad mattered anymore, as long as he could be bonded to Rindo...Especially with the way Rindo gently petted Fret's hair. Yes, more pets, please...

"I love you." Rindo murmured gently.

A tiny, stinging pinprick in his chest. Ah, there it was: Fret's Soul trickling away. "L-Love you too." One hand clung to Rindo's coat sleeve. The other clung to his own chest. It was okay: Rindo was only going to take a little bit, it was okay: the growing heat in Fret's Soul would make up for any energy he lost. It was okay: his Rindude loved him and wouldn't…The wings in Fret's back thrashed like they were trying to fly away, with or without Fret.

Oh, it stopped. Fret returned to reality as he felt the sync drop back down to its barely-present levels. His wings had calmed, at least slightly.

"You alright?" asked Rindo. Already he looked and sounded much more alert. Huh. He really had meant it when he said he only needed a little bit of Soul.

"Yeah," said Fret, grinning. "So you ready to go?"

"Uh huh," said Rindo, standing up. "Let's see what other outdated stuff is here."

They coasted through the rest of the stores without any further drowsiness. Fret felt a little more tired than before, sure, but nothing that kept him from functioning. And if it gave Rindo that much more energy, then it was probably worth it. Yeah, it was definitely worth it. Besides, they finally had some extra clothes to change into.

"So what do you wanna do once we drop off the rest of the clothes in our room?" asked Rindo.

Fret's stomach answered for him. Oh yeah, he actually hadn't eaten much since their breakfast had gotten derailed by the Soul twister. "Why don't we get something to eat, actually?"

"Let's see…" Rindo scrolled through the AAA. "Oh yeah, why don't we try out the Noise café? We can grab a bite to eat there."

"A bite of Noise? Or are there like, Noise pets there or something?"

"Dunno. Let's find out."

The Noise café almost looked like an idyllic farm painting. A tiny cottage cloistered in a flower garden, with lots of green expanse for all the Noise to play in.

And there were a lot of Noise here too, specifically raised for this very restaurant. They were playful and had some especially striking color palettes and tattoos, many of which didn't look practical for battle, or even everyday function. There were everything from frogs to wolves to ravens to freaking t-rexes, which Fret and Rindo had never even seen before. Riding around on a rex's back was tons of fun, and they patiently puttered ahead when Fret wanted to chase after them instead. He wanted to chase after everything, sometimes switching his target mid-pursuit because there was so much stuff. Not because he wanted to hurt anything, but because he wanted to play.

Rindo meanwhile flew around with all the bird Noise, because of course his Rindude did. His Rinbirb. His cufurreal Rinbirb.

"So uh, we don't have to worry about this Noise attacking us, right?" asked Rindo, while Fret played tug-of-war with a tiny pomerhythm nicknamed Hip-Hop. Which soon resulted in the small dog Noise tugging Fret all around the yard with the rope toy.

"Nah, these are Pale Noise," said one of the Reapers, scratching under the chin of a rockatiel Noise perched on his shoulder. The bright-orange crest on its head was bigger than the bird itself. "They don't attack people unless they absolutely have to, like they're cornered or starving or something. And these ones are well fed, and are bred to be especially passive, since we don't want them attacking anyone at all. Rocky here is actually really difficult to feed because almost all the Noise appetite has been bred out of him."

"But what if someone attacks them?" asked Rindo.

"That's why they're bred to be especially sturdy too, in case a singing Reaper loses control for a second. But we're always here to make sure nobody attacks anyone."

"Aww, why would anybody wanna hurt cute Noise like these?" asked Fret, dusting off his shirt before picking up Hip-Hop. Its tiny little tail went about a million miles a minute as it licked his face. "H-Hey!"

"That's what you'd think, but even Players hunt down stuff like the pig Noise all the time, and they aren't bothering anybody." The Reaper scowled.

"Oh, uh, guess you got a point," said Rindo. Probably because both him and Fret had tracked down and erased a couple pig Noise themselves. "They drop good pins though? Well, except for that one that only gave us a 1 yen pin...So are the pigs a type of Pale Noise too?"

"Not technically, but they have a lot in common. They're both non-aggressive Noise with unusual drops. Well, unusual drop rates in the case of Pale Noise, since they don't drop anything rare, just more stuff than usual. But they're similar enough that we often feed them pig Noise to keep them more tranquil and produce more tranquil Noise in turn. Luckily a lot of pig Noise are naturally drawn to this area, so that makes finding them easy."

More dog Noise of all different types swarmed around Fret with happy whines, like they were greeting an old friend. And...Fret kinda felt that way too? Even though he had never met these Noise before? So many old-new friends to play with! Where should he even start?

The Reaper noticed Fret and his newfound pack with an amused smile. "Your partner...Hmm..." He fished something out of his backpack and then threw it overhead.

Fret and the dog Noises' attention all snapped to the object flying overhead. Oh wow it was a frisbee! They all chased after it.

Why was Rindo laughing?

Sadly there was no way Fret stood a chance of outrunning a blueshound Noise or even Hip-Hop, so no frisbee for Fret. Especially not with the way multiple dog Noise latched onto it and turned it into a multi-way tug-of-war, playfully growling. Sharp happy tails lashed everywhere and made it hazardous to even get close.

Fret let out an annoyed whine. He wanted to join.

"Hey Fret!"

Rindude! He scampered back over to his side, hugging him.

Rindo chuckled, ruffling his hair a little. "Why don't we get something to eat now? That's why we came here, right?"

"Oh yeah, right."

The inside of the little restaurant cottage was surprisingly delicate, colored in calming pastels and with shelves full of little knickknacks, albeit behind protective glass. Paintings all over the walls too, mostly landscapes and still-life pictures of flowers and fruit. It really felt like Fret had accidentally stumbled back fifty years into the past or something. Well, besides the glass wall beside them, where they could watch the Pale Noise play.

And on their dainty little menus at their dainty little table, there were things like...roasted raven. And wolf steak. "Uh...Are these Noise meals? How does that even work? Noise just disappear when they're erased. And, um..." Fret glanced outside to all the happy creatures frolicking. "This isn't like...picking out your own lobster at a restaurant, is it?"

"Oh no, those are pet Noise. The Noise used for meals are different," explained the Reaper waiter.

Fret let out a sigh of relief.

"As for how you make a Noise meal, it's really just regular food with a Noise possessing it and sealed inside," said the waiter.

"Oh, so then the chef erases while it's...still in the food?" asked Fret.

"Oh no, it's still alive in there."

"Wait it is?" Fret exclaimed.

"Yup, and it won't be erased until most of the food is eaten," said the waiter. "You can't have extra Noise flavor if it's erased since, like you said, Noise disappear once they die."

"But what about the pins they drop?" asked Rindo "Do we have to look out for pins in our food then?"

"They're bred to be pinless."

"That's a thing?"

"Oh, so it's like seedless oranges or whatever," said Fret. "Huh, never realized there were so many different types of Noise." He looked over the menu, frowning. Still, the idea of eating something, even a Noise, alive, bite by bite... "Is there a Noiseless option? Like, could I just get a meal without any Noise at all?"

"Of course. Every meal has a 'quiet' option without Noise," said the Reaper waiter. "Though Noise-flavored food is quite a delicacy. You sure you don't want to try it?"

"Uh, maybe later," said Fret with a slightly nervous grin. "What about you Rindude?"

"Honestly, I'd like to try some Noise food or whatever," said Rindo.

"Really?" asked Fret. "Look at that! My Rindude's trying something new for once!"

"And you having normie tastes for once," added Rindo with a slight smirk. "But I dunno. I just...feel like I want something with a little more kick to it?" His smile was almost sweet, though something about his eyes...But Rindo's expression soon went back to normal. "It might, uh, give me a little more energy too? So maybe I won't have to..."

"Oh, uh, y'know what, maybe that's worth a try then?" Because while Fret was willing to let Rindo leech off whatever Soul he needed to keep going, even Fret wasn't an infinite source of energy. So if he could get a bit from elsewhere, then that meant that both of them could last longer...before...

"Though which one should I get? Man, there's so much to choose from..."

To be fair, Fret took forever to decide what he wanted, too, especially since half the dishes were named in another language. But eventually Rindo got a whole roasted 'wolf'-chicken, while Fret got some T-bone steak.

"How is it?" asked Fret, when Rindo took a bite out of his meal.

"Oh, it's pretty good, but you'd hate it," said Rindo. "It doesn't really taste that different, but it's got this strong fizzy feeling like soda."

Fret wrinkled his nose at the description. "Yeah, no thanks. I'll stick to my 'quiet' meal."

Still, Fret's 'quiet' meal didn't feel that energizing, or even that filling, even though it did taste good. Meanwhile Rindo tore into his dinner with his teeth, kinda like a bird of prey...right, Rindo's Noise was a bird. Something in Fret shuddered. Probably his own Noise, whatever that was.

"Do you want anything else?" asked the waiter, as Fret nibbled on a big bone in his leftovers.

"Um...I think I'll have more of this, actually." Rindo pointed to the remains of his meal.

"Uh..." said Fret. "I think I'm good with this? Maybe?"

The waiter thoughtfully watched Fret's gnawing. "Would you like a flavored bone?"

"Uh, maybe?" Though Fret wasn't sure if he wanted to stare at Rindo ripping another hapless Noise apart for the next twenty minutes. "Y'know what, yeah, I'll try one."

"Certainly. What flavor? Beef, chicken, or pork?"

"Beef sounds good."

"Very well. It'll be coming right up."

Rindo snorted with laughter as the waiter left.

"Kweh?" asked Fret, head tilting slightly to the side. "What?"

"Dude, you're totally a Dog," said Rindo, grinning. "Well, maybe a Wolf...No, definitely a Dog."

"Really? Because I wanna chew on bones?" asked Fret.

"Because of everything about you," said Rindo. "You're a freaking bouncing ball of sunshine who chases everything in sight, and who misses me when I'm gone for five minutes. And you like to chew on bones. How can you not be a Dog?"

"...Huh." So that was what Rindo thought of him? Great, that was just how Fret wanted to come across! "Heh, guess you got a point." He had never really thought about himself like that before, but...Yeah, actually, Dog sounded about right! "What is your Noise form anyway? Do you know? All I know is that it's some kind of bird."

"Oh, I'm a Raven," said Rindo.

"Really? Aren't ravens black though?"

"Normal ravens are, yeah, but the Noise ravens are different colors, right?"

"Oh yeah," said Fret. "Hey, my Rindude, how do you know you're a raven Noise and not a crow Noise?"

"Uh...I dunno. It just feels that way?"

"Guess you could say the difference between a raven and a crow is a matter of a pinion!"

"Ha ha, very funny."

Soon their second courses came around, and Fret contently teethed on his beef-flavored bone while Rindo pulled apart another whole chicken. Fret growled a little bit when he saw some other dog Noise staring at his meal through the window. He turned himself and his meal away from their sight. His bone!

Rindo chuckled.

Fret was still chewing on the bone when Rindo finished up. Thankfully Fret could take the bone with him so he could gnaw on it as much as he wanted.

"That was pretty good stuff. We should come back here again," said Rindo.

"Yeah! I'd love to play with Hip-Hop and the gang again!"

"So what do you wanna do next, Fret?"

Next was...What should they do next? Fret wasn't really feeling any of the natural environment stuff right now. The spa section sounded amazing but would probably have put both Fret and Rindo right to sleep eight hours too early. Neither he or Rindo were really artsy enough to enjoy an art studio…Oh! There was an arcade with karaoke! That should be fun!

Finally, some pumping music that wasn't some sleepy, droning thing straight outta the 80s! The arcade was dark, with no one else in sight, but the lights of the cabinets and screens danced everywhere like delirious rainbows. There were tons of arcade cabinets, but there were also a line of consoles and their respective TVs all lined up in a row. For those more familiar with console games, Fret supposed, or for more variety.

They started by playing some Smash Bros. Ultimate, sort of. Neither of them had ever played it, and they took forever just choosing their characters and skins. Fret took forever because he was trying to find the best-looking outfit, and Rindo took forever because he was Rindo. Fret still loved him though.

Eventually Fret went with Wolf, so Rindo decided to go with Falco. These were supposed to be some of the strongest Smash characters, right? Then they had a few matches where they destroyed themselves more than they KOed each other, before deciding to play something else. Turned out that watching pro Smash videos online was not enough to tell a noob how to play Smash.

They tried some other fighting games, because there were a lot of those for some reason. But Fret wasn't about to memorize a 13-button combo and neither was Rindo, so they quickly lost interest.

Honestly, Fret didn't really want to be fighting against Rindo anyway, not even in a videogame. He even felt bad about winning most of the games, even though it didn't matter who won or lost here. Still, maybe Fret should have held back a little when Rindo was this bad at most videogames.

Actually, was there any co-op stuff here? Well, there were those scrolling beat 'em ups that they were both garbage at. Seriously what was with these cheap AI and even cheaper hitboxes?

Well, they could take turns watching each other play stuff like Pac-Man, like a Let's Play but in real life! Rindo did a little better with these, probably because the controls were pretty simple and there weren't fifty options to consider before playing. Fret wasn't good at these arcade classics exactly, but boy did it not take long for him to get sucked into playing Space Invaders for almost an hour.

They tried some arcade shooters and wow, Rindo was really bad at those. He seemed to have trouble aiming, and even seeing some of the smaller targets?

Was...was Rindo bad at a lot of videogames because he had trouble seeing them? Fret thought about how Rindo held his phone so close to his face and still needed to squint.

His poor Rindude. If singing would fix Rindo's faulty Reaper code, then maybe it would fix his faulty eyesight too? Maybe if the new Rindo had Fret's eyes instead…Yeah, if all those other Frets were working so hard on repairing Rindo's Soul, then surely they could repair his eyes too, right?

And that not-horrible sight of his spotted something shifting in the corner of his eye.. There, in the light of the hallway outside, stood a figure. A girl? Her glasses danced with the light of the arcade machines.

Why was she just standing there? There were plenty of games for everyone.

Rindo let out an enraged screech as he died in Zelda II again, an enemy projectile knocking him into a pit. His wings flared out and nearly whacking Fret in the face.

Fret glanced toward the hallway. She was gone. Probably spooked by Rindo's outburst. Or maybe she had been looking for her partner and, seeing them not here, had simply moved on.

Oh well. He only really cared about his Rindude anyway.

Then Fret and Rindo tried rhythm games and Rindo destroyed Fret, even though neither of them had played rhythm games before. Rindo had an ear for rhythm and a knack for timing.

Then they tried out some DDR, which Fret was actually good at. It seemed to be a popular machine, since the dance pads were scuffed and worn. And it turned out he and Rindo were evenly matched: Fret's energy and experience versus Rindo's apparent innate talent for rhythm games. But it was also fun, just seeing how coordinated they could get playing side by side, even if it was technically a player vs player setup.

Not so different from a Noise battle actually. Both of them working together and reading each other's movements intuitively through the sync. Yes, if Fret just focused on the music, focused on the sync, focused on Rindo, then eventually he would be so much like Rindo that their body language would be identical, perfect coordination, perfect existence, except that they were still somehow in separate bodies, which wasn't perfect at all, because they needed to be…

Why was their coordination getting worse? Why did Rindo look tired? Did Fret need to bring Rindo even closer to him? Take all his Soul from that failing vessel and—

Take?

Was Fret draining Rindo?

Fret stopped dancing and shook his head, trying to thrash out the gluttonous thoughts. And while it only sorta worked, it was enough to break his focus on the sync and let it go back to normal. "Shit, I didn't mean to do that! Rindo, buddy, you okay?"

Rindo smiled, even as he leaned against the machine to catch his breath. "So you need me too, huh?"

Of course Fret did. What kind of stupid question was that? Those words made Fret want to melt into the sync all over again and encapsulate Rindo while telling him how much he loved and needed him and…

Man, he needed to pull himself together! Something to distract him. Something like…the karaoke booth over there!

Honestly it didn't look like much inside. Just a dark room with a large flatscreen TV perched on the wall, and a cushy loveseat. Where were the controls? Oh, right, probably on the AAA. Yup, there it was, under Entertainment. The music blared from unseen speakers and the text appeared, red on black.

Okay. Okay, if he could just force himself to sing along to lyrics on a screen, maybe he would stave off the singing in his Soul with a few rounds of actual singing.

Well, okay, maybe actual singing was a stretch. Boy could Rindo not sing, his voice wavering all over the place. But he was still his Rindo, even if he was too shy to even stand up from the couch while he stammered through the lyrics. And it wasn't like Fret was a much better singer, especially when he had to hit the high notes.

Even though Fret felt like his heart was perpetually hitting an unbearably high note whenever he looked at Rindo. And whenever he wasn't looking at Rindo, Fret's Inner Noise clamped down on his Soul and made it hurt.

After scrolling through the list of songs, Fret picked Revelation because he really needed an emotional song to wail to, something that would take all his passion and concentration to perform. "You don't have to promise every morning, through the mirror. I can see the sadness in your smile, behind the broken frame…"

That pressure on his heart easing, but never vanishing entirely, whenever his Rindo…His Rindo…His Rindo…

Perform! Put on a good show for his Rindo. Take the stage in front of the screen and wail his heart out.

"Let the shine reveal endless lies!" Fret hollered to the ceiling. "Come down, let the truth be shared!"

Focus on the singing, not the singing, focus on the singing, not the…

His wings…His wings wouldn't stop writhing…

"Silent—"

He felt Rindo embrace him from behind right before Fret had even finished crooning his heart out. And that toasty torso against his sore squirming back…Fret felt himself reclining back against Rindo.

"How can you…deny…" Fret mumbled, all that defiant energy suddenly gone, especially as Rindo's wings closed around him too. Out of sync with the song, now in sync with the song, his heart slotted back into that scorching groove like it was always meant to be there. And now that scorching groove was carving its way into the rest of his chest too…

"Does that help? With the wings I mean?" asked Rindo.

"Mmm-hmm," said Fret. Finally he could feel his wings calming, content to bask in Rindo's warmth. The heat trapped in his heart was so relaxing, so exhausting. "So, whatcha wanna sing next, my Rindo?" He smirked. "The song that goes 'gimme gimme chance'?"

Rindo didn't laugh or groan or even really reply at all. Instead, Rindo rested his head on Fret's shoulder. His eyes drooped drowsily. Was it just Fret, or was Rindo leaning against Fret a little heavily?

"You doing okay, buddy?" Fret's grin faded as the silence went on. "Or...?"

"Love you," mumbled Rindo. "Don't wanna...Can I...?"

Fret nodded. Of course Rindo needed to drain him, after Fret had accidentally drained Rindo himself. "Yeah. Lemme just put it on shuffle and then we'll sit down. I dunno about you draining me while I'm standing up. In case I fall or something."

"Okay…"

After Fret randomized the karaoke machine—which landed on the Kingdom remix of Someday, nice—Fret sat down in Rindo's lap…which actually wasn't that comfortable, since Fret was quite a bit taller than Rindo. So instead, Rindo stretched out on the loveseat, propping himself up against the armrest, and then Fret lay down back-first, his squirmy wings warmed up by Rindo's chest and belly. Fret's feet stuck over the edge of the loveseat some, but that was a small price to pay for being more comfortable overall.

Rindo tucked his arms and wings around Fret's chest. "This good?"

"Yeah, this works," said Fret. He swallowed. "So uh…Go ahead."

"Okay."

Fret felt Rindo leaning into the sync. And Fret's heart lurched, not out of fear, but in anticipation. He felt himself lean into the sync hard, with a desperation that shocked even him. He needed every bit of that warmth and emotion or else those hot teeth crushing his heart would keep pressing down and—

"Fret?" Rindo squeezed the hand over Fret's heart with his own. Fret hadn't even been aware that his hand had been gripping his chest. "Fret, maybe…Do you need more Soul instead?"

"Kweh?" Rindo was offering Soul to him? That actually sounded…"W-What're talking about, Rindude? You're the one who's all sleepy, and I'm—" Ow it hurt it hurt. But he kept the smile on his face and the strain out of his voice. "W-We should sync for a little while first anyway, right? Let's…Let's do that a little longer this time. If we doze off, we doze off. More ZZZs now means the less ZZZs we need later, right?"

"Hmm…" Rindo didn't look or feel convinced. Uh oh. His loving concern soaked into Fret's Soul like a warm bath. "Yeah, we can do that. But if you do need Soul, then I'm right here."

The sync, the shared Soul between them, eased the fangs in Fret's heart, but only a little. "I mean, I just drained you a little while ago during the DDR stuff, Rindude. So I…I should be…" But he couldn't free the reassuring words from his tongue any more than he could free his heart from those teeth. Not…Not on his own…

"Fret…Fret, I love you."

Fret sensed his Soul starting to swirl. Yes, his Rindo was right here, and Fret's aching heart was eager for any kind of blending, any kind of extra Soul. So maybe, before Fret's mind got spun into soup again…Maybe Fret could take just a little for—

The karaoke machine let out a bombastic wail, making both boys jolt and lose their concentration. "I woke up this mornin' babe!"

Oh man. Junk Garage. "What a song to get Soul-cuddled to, huh?" Granted, Fret did like the song, but...

"You know, I just don't...get this song?" said Rindo.

"Kweh? What's not to get?" asked Fret. "A guy wakes up and is super happy to see his 'babe'. And then they make out. Well, probably. That's what most of these kinds of songs are about. See, easy!"

"Yeah, I get that, but what's up with the part of 'I think I'm fat 'cause I like it like that' or whatever?" asked Rindo. "What does being fat have to do with any of that?"

"I dunno. I guess he's a big person and proud of it?" guessed Fret. "And honestly, good for him! Don't worry about what other people think and just be you. And he's even found somebody who loves him for him, so even better!"

"I love you for you too," said Rindo, pulling Fret closer to his chest.

Man, Fret could feel that hug straight to his Soul. He could barely keep himself from dissolving into a fit of giggles. His back wiggled almost gleefully as he felt his Soul start to swirl again, albeit more slowly. Because Rindo was distracted by Junk Garage of all things.

"...But like, then why does he think he's fat then?" Rindo rambled on. "I mean, either you're fat or you're not, right?"

"I mean, there's people with anorexia and stuff like that, where you kinda have trouble telling if you're actually fat or not?" Fret mumbled, the languid yet growing twister of feelings in his chest stealing most of his focus. "Because your brain keeps telling you you're fat even when you're skin and bones."

"Yeah, but this guy is proud of being fat, right?" said Rindo. "Is there like, something that's the opposite of being anorexic, that isn't just, uh, being fat. Like, you keep thinking you need to get fatter or something?"

"I'unno." Frankly Fret's galaxy brain had drifted somewhere outside of the solar system. Nestled up against Rindo's body, nestled up against Rindo's Soul, so peaceful and warm and happy and loved..."Who cares what it all means? S'all about how a song makes you feel, y'know?"

"I guess?" said Rindo, before his hand twitched over Fret's. "How are you doing, by the way?"

"Mmm…" Fret could feel all his muscles turning to dead weight. The only reason his hand was staying over his chest was because Rindo was holding onto it. "Better. This…twister thing or whatever…It's…nicer when it's slower, I think…"

"Really? Oh okay." Rindo's words faded in and out. "You want…keep doing this then? Or…wanna go and…"

The old wound in Fret's heart stung, even though it was too deep for even the teeth to reach. "…Stay…Stay here…Please…"

Soft kisses on his brow and cheeks. A tightening embrace around his Soul or his body, maybe both. Sweet, gentle words that Fret couldn't quite follow or answer. A sluggish plunge into overbearing serenity, a whirlpool lovingly unweaving him.

Fret couldn't remember anything else after that.

It's always an interesting challenge to describe something that doesn't involve the usual five senses. Hopefully all the Soul-cuddling stuff makes sense, hehe.

The rice with potato chips is an actual canon thing from the NEO manga.