Kotone's eyes flutter open to the gentle morning rays that over time have become less of a bother and instead be a warmth. Though not as warm as the person lying beside her, of course. Maybe it was also partly to her excitement for the weekend getaway which is only around the corner now. The trip sounds like fun, but where her real interest lies is the fact that she will be spending that time with all her new friends and be able to learn about them more and bond. It still surprises her at times how she seemed to just naturally enter the lives of those around her, but it warms her heart at them accepting her as fast as they did. Through acts that were likely just basic kindness to her they managed to make this strange place feel like a home.

She slowly disentangles her arms from Shin and moves to sit up only to feel a weight holding her tight. Her eyes widened a bit at the sight before her. Shin had his arms around her which wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but it was in the way he did so that was different. Normally he just held on in a gentle grip, a stark contrast to her tighter one, but this time he held her as if she were a life raft. Even his expression conveyed a hidden worry that was all too clear for her. Pulling back some more he shifted, groans left his mouth that could have been saying something though it wasn't clear to her what. She gently rubs a hand to his head as he starts to finally sit up.

"Morning" she says with her kind smile, her eyes closing involuntarily.

He mumbles more, trying to shake the dreariness from his eyes. After a few moments he seems to take in his surroundings and his eyes meet her now open ones. He yelps and quickly releases his grip bringing a hand to his head and looking away. Despite her worry, she couldn't help the smile forming on her lips at his reaction.

"Um, morning Kotone" he says slowly, turning to meet her smiling face.

"Are you ready for the trip?" she asks, deciding to lighten the mood first.

"Oh, yeah, definitely" he says with a small smile.

"Sleep well?" she asks, tilting her head.

He says nothing, only looking down towards the floor.

She moves closer and places an arm to his shoulder, he tenses but it quickly fades away.

"Shin, is something bothering you?"

"Uh no, of course not" he says a little too quickly and seems to wince at his mistake.

She sighs, he is a terrible liar.

"Something is bothering you" she says.

He turns to her, looking right into her crimson eyes full of worry and lets out a small breath.

"There is, yes" he pauses then says "I don't want to worry you about it now, we have that trip planned and I know you have been looking forward to it. I promise I'll tell you about it later"

Kotone nods, her smile fading slightly as she slips one of her hands into his.

"You really had me worried, and still do, but I won't ask about it now"

"Thanks" he breathes out.

"That was really thoughtful of you" she says, her smile returning.

Shin goes to respond but a knock on the door quietens them both.

"Nii-Chan, Kotone, we have to go now" Jun's voice calls out.

The two stand and grab their clothes, Kotone changing in the bathroom while Shin changes in the bedroom. After they were done, they both joined Jun and had a quiet breakfast before heading off to school. The day passes by like normal, though Kotone can't help but notice how quickly Megumi seemed to leave after class, though she understands she probably just went to see her senpai. Even still, Kotone is unable to keep from worrying about her pink haired friend.

At the dorms, sits the familiar party before her. Takuro and Jun sat on one side, while she sat next to Shin with Kanaru on the farthest side. It feels almost calming, like she's been there longer. Everything feels normal to her, nothing seems strange.

"Doesn't it seem strange?" Takuro asks out of nowhere while rubbing his afro and pulling Kotone from her short-lived moment.

"Isn't it the same?" Kanaru asks.

"Yeah, I thought it always was like that" Shin adds.

"I don't see anything different..." Kotone says, tilting her head.

"What?" Takuro asks then slowly follows the three's gaze up to his head "I'm not talking about my hair! It's Megumi!"

This catches the attention of the others at the table very quickly.

"She's been really spaced out lately and keeping a distance" Takuro explains.

"I wonder if it's because you said you weren't going on the weekend trip, she did seem really excited and wanted everyone to go" Kanaru says.

"Wait, you're not going Takuro?" Shin asks quickly, looking at his afroed friend.

Just then a taller male with blonde hair passes by, the caretaker of the dorms, Inui if she remembers right, who had on a long face as he dragged his feet passing by the table.

"You all have so much time for the weekend" he said in a voice that seemed so dramatic.

"Yeah, that's probably it" Kanaru says, not noticing Inui's antics.

"Alright then, it's settled, I'm coming along too!" Takuro says with sudden determination.

"That's great! Even Jun-Kun is coming too" Kanaru says, turning to said boy with a smile.

"Y-yes" Jun says lowering his head, though he does look back up towards Kanaru for just a moment which wasn't missed by Kotone.

"Hmm... still no plans" Inui says passing by again holding a book "Nope, I seriously have nothing at all to do!" He passes by again.

Kotone suppresses a laugh at how obvious he was on his intentions. Jun, however, decided to put the poor guy out of his misery.

"We'll definitely be needing a driver" Jun says, looking back towards the not-so-subtle caretaker.

"Yeah, that works" Shin nods to his younger brother.

"Seriously guys, a driver?" Takuro groans.

"Is there anything you guys want to ask me?" Inui appears out of nowhere, hands on his hips and a not so hidden smile already stretched across his face.

"Yes, we will be having eight people so could you please get us a jeep?" Kanaru asks.

"Eh, but with everyone here and Megumi we only have 7" Inui says, unaware of the plans to come.

Shin and Kotone are upstairs grabbing their bags. Kotone with a small frown on her face.

"Is something wrong?" Shin asks.

"I was just hoping it would be a little warmer" she says holding onto her swimsuit before placing it back up.

Shin smiles "You'll have time to wear it later, it will be warm around here before you know it"

"Ok, I'm holding you to that" she says smiling back "Are you ready?"

Shin nods and the two head back downstairs.

"Hey Ju-" Shin stops midway seeing only Ryo at the table having a cup of coffee and reading the paper.

"He's already outside waiting for you" Ryo says without looking away from his paper.

"Oh, ok" Kotone says, as she follows Shin to the door.

"You two" Ryo says, catching them before they could walk out "Wherever you are going, stay safe" his gaze never once leaving the paper.

"Of course. We're leaving now" Shin says, as they walk outside to join Jun.

Not long after everyone was riding down the road, Inui was at the driver's seat, Tasaka who had been brought over as a guest as per Megumi sat in the passenger seat up front with Inui's shaggy haired dog resting in her lap. The first row consisted of Shin, Jun, and Takuro while the back was Kotone, Megumi, and Kanaru.

"You guys really didn't have to go through the extra for me" Tasaka says while gently petting the resting dog who was looking out the window.

"Don't worry about it, Tasaka-senpai, although now us guys are outnumbered" Takuro says with a small smile on his face.

"With me here it's even" Inui adds from the front.

"Even still, it kind of feels like that huh Shin?" Takuro asks.

"What?" Shin asks with a head tilt.

Takuro gapes at Shin's honest reaction and sighs.

"Group date?" Tasaka calls from the front.

"Yes, that!" Takuro says, snapping his fingers, his expression brightening back up.

"What a dummy" Megumi sighs.

The group starts exchanging introductions and greetings, though Kotone finds herself distracted. On the radio, even with it being faint, she can make out a voice that was very familiar to her, yet she hadn't heard in so long. Yumi Kawamura. She smiles, even though the song is one she hasn't heard, just hearing the voice was enough to take her back. It in a way acts as a reminder that time still goes on and has long since then. Though it seems her spacing out hadn't gone unnoticed.

"You like Yumi Kawamura too, huh?" Tasaka says, pulling Kotone from her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah" She says straightening back up and meeting the curious gazes all falling on her "I don't remember this one though"

"Mellow Dream" Megumi says with a bright face "Me and Tasaka-senpai have already made some moves to go with it!" She is practically beaming now.

Tasaka giggles "Maybe later we can show you some. I'm still waiting for your name though" she says her soft smile slowly widening at Kotone's look of realization as she returns the smile in kind.

"Kotone Shiomi" she says "I just transferred into Nagimori Gakuen this year"

Tasaka tilts her head upwards, the warm smile never fading "Really? You seem like you've been around longer"

Takuro leans back on his seat and sighs in content "Ah, things are already going pretty smoothly, huh Kanaru?" he sees leaning his head over his seat to look at said girl.

Kanaru pauses and fidgets a bit but forms a small smile and says "Yes, I think so too"

Kanaru's gaze seems to fall onto Jun's back and linger for a few moments before she looks away upon his sudden shift, Kotone only smiles looking across at her fellow red eyed friend.

The rest of the drive goes by in relative peace. The atmosphere feels very light.

Upon arrival, the group is met with a kind welcoming old lady who seemed to recognize Megumi and Tasaka from dance practices. The place itself, being an old style yet traditional home that felt inviting and familiar. The whole coziness and warmth is only accentuated by the energy and bright personality of their hostess. Kotone passes by with a warm smile of her own thanking the woman for her hospitality, though she can't help but feel like the woman reminds her of someone from before.

"Alright everyone, let's get unpacked and go check out the beach, huh" Takuro says with a smile forming on his face.

"Yeah! That sounds perfect, doesn't it senpai?" Megumi beams and turns to Tasaka who softly smiles in return.

"Yes, I want to see if anything has changed from before"

The group all split up to their rooms with Shin and Kotone both lingering in the hall, alongside Jun who simply stops in front of his door and holds his gaze on the two then smiles and goes inside without a word.

It turns out Kotone's room is a few doors down from Shin and she can't help the small frown that forms on her face, though she knows it isn't surprising. Nobody even knows about their arrangement besides the Kanzato brothers, and considering they aren't even dating it wouldn't be likely they would be set to share a room, but despite the rationality of it she still can't help but feel disappointed.

Shin seems to sense her inner conflict as he simply smiles kindly and says "It's only for the weekend, Kotone"

"Yeah, I know..." she says, her crimson gaze failing to meet his. Though she doesn't admit it aloud, she is going to miss his warmth... and Him. Mostly him.

"It will be okay. We'll see each other in a little while, so let's get unpacked, we wouldn't want to be the last ones out, right?" he says, his kind smile now turning a little more teasing.

She instantly brightens up and nods rushing to her room aiming to meet his challenge. She got unpacked faster than she ever remembers doing so, and in the end Takuro was the last out. He somehow was still putting on his shoes as he hopped out the door only to lose his balance and trip, falling face first into the only pile of snow nearby, erupting laughter from the others as they all started moving towards the beach.

The view is nice, calm waves and the distant lighthouse adding to the ambiance. The cold temperature and lack of proper beach attire suddenly didn't seem as crushing to Kotone, but it did still make her curious what the warm weather would be like in Ayanagi. The group fans out all taking in different views and finding their own things to appreciate. Though soon they all regather and take seats out on the sand.

"So, you and Tasaka really got to spend a lot of time here?" Shin asks, turning to look at Megumi with Tasaka seated right beside her.

"Yeah, we came here for a while now, it was a lot of fun dancing out here, wasn't it senpai?" Megumi says with a warm smile turning to said girl.

Tasaka returns the smile "Very fun" she looks back out towards the lighthouse "It's kind of nice that not much has changed, feels like we never left"

"Oh, Kind of makes you want to dance right now huh?" Takuro says with a bright smile looking at the duo.

"Takuro..." Megumi groans and seems to shrink down her posture.

"Hmm actually that sounds like a good idea" Tasaka says, rising to her feet and holding a hand to Megumi "Come on, it'll be fun" she lets her beaming smile shine.

Megumi seems to shrink a bit more "Um maybe you can show them one senpai, I'll watch"

Tasaka seems to tilt her head a frown taking over her features for just a moment before she then forms a teasing smile and says "You do remember the dances from before were more than just one person, so I would need a partner"

She looks at the three boys. Takuro shakes his head saying he would rather watch, Jun quietly turns away, and Shin saying he isn't much of a dancer. She turns to the girls now minus Megumi, with Kanaru also turning away with an apology insisting she's ok.

"I'll do it" Kotone says standing up, a look of determination on her features yet her usual beaming smile still being present as usual.

Tasaka smiles "Ok, let's get started"

She begins showing Kotone the moves, going slow and making sure Kotone can handle everything and seeing that she can they start moving faster doing the moves step by step. Not long after they start doing the whole dance routine moving fast with Kotone matching Tasaka's energy and getting their small crowd to be fired up. After they were done both fell flat onto the sand, giggling at each other and thanking everyone for the rounds of applause.

"Kotone, that was really good!" Megumi says, her eyes brighten up as she looks at the auburn-haired girl currently still trying to let her adrenaline rush fade.

"Yeah, did you take dance training too?" Tasaka asks, turning to meet Kotone's crimson eyes with her blue ones.

"A little, nothing formal though" Kotone admits. She is momentarily brought back to a memory with her old friends, specifically a time they all got together and danced in the moonlight.

She smiled at the thought, she could picture all of their faces, and the warm smiles. Their names nearly slip through her lips in a quiet utterance, a way of saying she hasn't forgotten.

Time passes and the group later decided to spend more time out by the water, minus Takuro who had disappeared. Shin and Megumi went out to grab drinks for everyone while Kanaru played with Inui's dog as the caretaker tried unsuccessfully to get a livelier atmosphere for his video camera. Kotone looked over to Tasaka who said she was going to look at the lighthouse and left with a small wave. Turning the other way Kotone caught sight of Jun once again staring at Kanaru, which she couldn't help smiling at especially as he jumped a bit clearly startled by the sudden call of his name.

"Jun!" Shin calls as he and Megumi walk up drinks bundled tight in their hands "The vending machine was a lot further than what you told us" he says with a slight frown on his face.

"Isn't it better than thinking it's far away at the start?" Jun asks.

"Well.. yeah.." Shin relents with a sigh.

Kotone smiled at the antics of everyone, it all felt so calming. Though not long later she excused herself to return to her room. She needed to be alone as her thoughts started to really become overwhelming as her past met with her present.

She falls onto her bed and stares at the ceiling letting out low breaths. She could feel herself beginning to fall asleep and she at first tried to fight but in the end decided to just let it happen. Her mind seemed to drift off into someplace else, someplace familiar.

She was back at the Iwatodai dormitory. Walking down the familiar street and to the steps which she took one slowly after the other until she reached the door. And she stops. She raises her hand to knock but something seizes in her heart that prevents the motion from going through. She can hear voices on the other side but can't make them out, they sound so familiar yet she feels like a stranger. Being gone so long she can't help but wonder what lies ahead, the suspense eating at her mind and making her body shake involuntarily. She wants so bad to open the door and to call out the names of those she knew, those who occupy her memories. But she can't. Not yet. She knows she has to do this to have any chance of healing, but it still feels too soon. She knows her heart will shatter like glass and the wounds that are still fresh will tear once more and leave her a mess. And she fears if that happened she may be broken beyond repair. She'll fall apart. She whispers an apology to the still closed door and turns away walking into a bright light. She hears the door open but she's already long gone.

A familiar piano tune fills her senses as she shifts uncomfortably in her cozy seat. She looks around but sees no sign of Igor. Theodore appears from a side room and approaches Kotone. His usual smile greeting her with a familiarity that is both refreshing and painful.

"You tried to remember them" he simply says, his yellow eyes full of understanding.

She nods, not trusting her voice to speak.

"It would appear you have created a mental block, but I can sense your desire to break through" he spoke, his voice like velvet and exuding nothing but patience.

"I.." she tried to speak "I want to remember" but she can't, is what she didn't say but Theodore easily caught onto that.

"From my research I have concluded that bonds are part of what defines a person and makes them who they are" he says flipping through the persona compendium "And so by losing those connections one would in turn lose parts of themselves"

Her gaze fell to the floor. The momentary silence was deafening.

"Though you start a new journey you cannot forget the one before, the bonds you made before will grant you the strength you need to stop what is to come" he closes the book and looks her in the eyes his seriousness hardly contained "Without those connections you will lose more and more of yourself" his tone takes on a somber tone "Until I fear you may lose your very connection with the velvet room"

Kotone's eyes went wide in alarm. Her eyes stung with unshed tears. She already feels like she lost everyone else, now if she lost the velvet room she would lose her only remaining friends from before. She knows that would be too much to bear.

Before she can even think about what she's doing she gets up and wraps her arms around Theo pulling him into a hug. He pauses but slowly hugs back. Her body trembles as she fights the tears. She doesn't know what to do. She doesn't know how to get past the block her mind created for her. But she knows she has to figure it out, and soon.

"It's time for you to awaken" Theo's voice spoke softly in her ears and before she knew it she was back in her bed.

She shifts in her cozy bed struggling to find any sense of comfort among the dread that has now been presented to her. She considers just staying in her room until late as she fears she won't be able to keep up her usual cheerfulness. She decides to let herself break as she's alone and feels it better to get out sooner rather than later.

A knock on the door sounds and she takes a moment to choke back her tears not trusting her voice at all.

"Kotone?" a soft voice calls from the other side she recognizes as Shin's.

She pauses and finally lets out a quiet "Come in"

The door creeps open as Shin slowly steps into her room, his face etched with concern.

"Are you ok?" he asks, giving a small tilt of his head.

She nods but already knows how unconvincing it is due to his gentle sigh and shake of his head as he closes the door, walks closer and places himself on the bed still being mindful to leave a bit of space if needed. She scoots closer to him and lays her head on his shoulder which takes him by surprise but he quickly recovers and places an arm around her holding her close.

They remain silent until she finally speaks "I've started remembering, about the past"

He stays silent but starts running small circles along her back.

"It's just really hard Shin, I had a whole life from before and now it's only memories and those memories are fading away" her body starts trembling again "I don't want to forget but it's hard to bring myself to remember a life that is long gone, it's like my mind blocks it out"

She feels Shin suddenly stiffen for an instant but it goes away fast enough she wonders if she had imagined it.

She places her head at the crook of his neck, his warmth spreading all over and she wonders when she had gotten so cold.

Slowly she lays down on the bed keeping Shin close by as he wraps his arms around her holding her as if protecting her from the world around them. Feeling safe and secure she once again lets herself break down. The cold tears bite at her skin against the warmth she huddles closer to. Shin remains silent, simply opting to let her get it all out. She was grateful for him. He was there for her when she needed him most. For so long she had to be the strong one and now here she was finally letting out the weight that has been on her heart for so long.

They sit up and she finds herself staring into his eyes, seeing not even a hint of judgement, only complete understanding as if he himself knew that it was long overdue. He smiles at her his expression conveying more warmth than she would have ever thought possible. She returns the smile and finds it's a genuine one. Her heart skips a few beats as she is the first to break eye contact, feeling a bit of warmth rise to her cheeks.

"We should probably head back to the others" Kotone said, trying to steady her breathing, not even knowing when it became so erratic.

"Yeah" Shin says, rubbing the back of his neck. His head is turned to the side but she thought she saw a light pink dusting his cheek.

They go to walk out but Kotone pauses and looks Shin in the eyes.

"Shin.." she starts, her voice soft and quiet.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you" she says, her eyes meeting his once again as she smiles.

"Anytime Kotone" he says, smiling back at her.

They walk out the door and begin searching for the others.