Rui was the first to light his, and as he handed the lighter around, one by one everyone was lighting theirs too, someone even lit 3 at once to create what they called a 'super-sparkler'. The heat from the ignited rod would warm the metal they were holding as they watched these small fireworks in their hands. Kotori seemed a bit down, she was worried for her fellow club members,
"I'm sure they'll be fine, here", he handed Kotori yet another sparkler as her current one went out.
"We're all here to have fun, wouldn't do to be gloomy now", he reassured. As they idly burned away a few more between all of them, Shizuka and Matthew emerged up the steps from the beach. So it looks like they were just taking a walk along the shoreline. Regardless they were back just in time.
"Welcome back you two, here there's still plenty of these left", he said, handing them a bunch of the sparklers. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, for some they probably haven't lit these kinds of small novelty fireworks since they were a child, it was more or less something people didn't do around their age anymore. Still, even if they were childish, there was nothing wrong with enjoying oneself.
The rest of the night was spent in rest, from dozing off in the train home to getting home to sleep, to get ready for another day of the Summer Break... There was a lot to do... Both in and out of the Mirror World... Discovering this new facet, Seto, was an alarming discovery, and according to Ayano, whose scanning reaches far and wide, there was a lot to get through. So far it seems they were in the plains, according to the map she had drawn up, next up was the valleys.
On the train ride home, Mako, obviously, sat next to Sato. Half-asleep, he laced his fingers with Sato's, holding on tightly. He tried to ignore the fact that his heart was still thudding in his chest as he pondered what Sato had asked earlier. He hadn't really had a chance to answer, given that he'd been interrupted, but damn if he hadn't had plenty of time to think about it. What was he planning on doing when he graduated? Granted, he'd have time to decide, but his concern was that Sato would graduate before him. Was he planning on leaving straight away? Did he want to stay in town until Mako was ready to leave? What--
Sato's hand shifted in his, sending the butterflies in his stomach into a flurry. He pondered this, then finally calmed himself down. What did it matter? Whatever his future entailed, he knew for sure that Sato would figure into that. He'd come too far to get this to just give up on their relationship now. He turned to his boyfriend with a small smile, and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"I have an answer for you. To your question from earlier," he said quietly. "I don't quite know what my future holds right now. Except for one thing: you. After everything that happened to get us here, I don't want to give it up. No matter what else might still be coming." He looked Sato straight in the eyes. "I have the grades to do pretty much whatever I want after I graduate, if I work for it. So... if you're fine with waiting for me, when you go to University... I can follow you. I will follow you, if that's what you want. Because I love you. And I want this," he said, squeezing Sato's hand for emphasis, "for as long as you'll let me have it."
Having said his piece, Mako leaned in and kissed Sato- not the quick peck they'd shared at the beach. This one... was lasting. The kind of kiss that sent his brain short-circuiting and that he could feel all the way down to his toes. Reluctantly, after what must have been days and nights, he slowly broke away from the kiss, smiling at the upperclassman.
"I love you. And whatever happens, whatever we decide to do... we'll figure it out. Together."
They arrived back to Seto, the strange underwater quality of the area still not failing to give a strange impression on the nature of this place, though this time they entered a torii gate that acted as a portal to the last checkpoint, which happened to be this village. Unlike the ones they were running into though, this one was very well setup, halfway to a town so it would seem. Like the other villages, there were glass shards floating in a pillar towards the end of it... If they defeat it as per normal, then they should clear to the next area.
There was one thing unsettling about this place however, and it was the phantoms walking around, but the longer you looked at it, the more you realized that these phantoms were emulating married couples and happy families, and that they all looked the same, but more importantly like a fading memory, they blinked in and out between actions, and sometimes disappearing completely, before new ones would appear. An echoing of laughter and murmurs was present here, much more strongly than when they had unlocked this area.
The party’s focus had been cleared as soon as the shrill cry of a hawk brought them back to their senses. Zeke was stirring around the sky waiting to do his thing it seems... Kami seemed more perturbed by these phantoms than others.
“Right then, Kami I’ll take a group to face the Mirror Shadow, while you standby to back us up”, he requested. It was agreed, he then turned to Kazuki, who seemed to be looking around.
“I will be exploring this little village then, have Zeke call if you need some support”, he stated. It seems there was something he thought was worth looking around for.
“Very well. Okay then, Ryan, Sato, Kotori, you three with me. The rest of you are under Kami, be ready to give us backup”, he ordered, and with that he walked forward with the chosen party and stood in front of the pillar of floating shards, as it began to form into a shape, it was somewhat familiar, except it was completely black. A Black Shiki-ouji. Though as that began, shadows began to form from the numerous phantoms as they began to surround the party in back. Though it was all or nothing, they can’t just leave the Mirror Shadow alone now.
“We’ll let them take care of everyone back there, if we take this down then the rest should retreat too”, he ordered, and with that they entered battle.
ENEMY - Black Shiki-ouji, Servant of Denial
Ryan stepped up to the plate first, cracking his neck with a brash smile on his face as his Persona card materialised in front of him. He snatched it out of the air, crushing it in his hand to summon Geraint as it unfurled it’s mighty wing. “You guys ready? Because I’m starting this battle with a bang!” Ryan called out to his friends and comrades as Geraint pointed it’s sword at the Black Shiki-ouji, a blinding white light glowing at the tip of the rapier as Ryan called out his move. “Geraint, fire your Beam of Justice!” A minor blush rose to his cheeks as he said this, he had spent all day coming up with a name for this super attack and this one felt the most right. Even if it was something straight out of Phoenix Ranger Featherman R. As the beam hit the Shiki-ouji it would explode into a mighty pillar of light, reaching far into the sky above.
---
The Mirror Realm never failed to unnerve Kotori, no matter how she tried to tell herself she was getting used to it. Whilst she didn't spend quite as long looking around nervously to see if there were any shadows skulking about anymore, that didn't mean she didn't feel ill at ease as she followed the others further in. Though they'd been to this place many times already, no one had come to any real understanding of just what it was - and for all she might love a good mystery in a book, being faced with vaguely threatening uncertainty at every step turned out to not suit Kotori's tastes at all.
But even so, she continued on, stepping through the torii and blinking in surprise behind her glasses as she found herself in a village - and not a small one at that. She never quite knew what to expect - but around every corner she came across, the Mirror Realm seemed intent on not being it. As the group cautiously moved forward, she became aware of the strange shades occupying the place. Tensing up momentarily, it would take a while before she realised that they were no threat and she'd relax - or at least try to.
In fact, the phantoms didn't pay them any heed whatsoever - instead quite preoccupied with each other. Hard though their features be to make out, Kotori believed she could see the faint outline of smiles on their faces as they moved silently about. Some were holding hands, others were seated together - in fact, wherever she looked, Kotori couldn't help but see flickering images of happy couples and families. Were they not seemingly fading from existence, she might have taken some joy in such a sight - but as it stood, it only added to her unease as the group approached the pillar floating fractured glass at the end of the village.
A cry from above pierced Kotori's fretting thoughts then and her eyes shot up to see Zeke circling above them. It was all the reminder she needed that they weren't here to just marvel at the mystery - instead, she locked her eyes on the pillar up ahead as Rui began to lay out the plan going forward. As he called upon her to assist him, together with Ryan and Sato, in taking on whatever might be lurking within the strange glass, Kotori blinked in surprise - with everyone else present, she'd assumed he'd want someone with some more fighting ability than herself. However, she was quick to nod and slow to clear her mind of doubt. Thankfully, circumstances conspired to speed that up too.
As if it sensed Rui stepping up to the challenge, the slow back and forth movement of the floating shards of glass ceased - and then began to coalesce with a constant crackling sound; ending in a strangely distorted crack as a figure manifested out of the mass of glass. The strange light within began to fade - and increasingly fast, as it instead turned to black. And from this, the Shadow finally took shape. The Shiki-Ouji was not alone however - all around the village, the phantom villagers too began to darken and twist into shadows that bore down upon the group. Were it not for the fact that Kaminari's group was ready to take them on, Kotori would most certainly be feeling even less confident than she was right then and there.
Rui calmly told them to pay no heed to the smaller shadows and instead focus solely on the Shiki-Ouji. To this, Kotori nodded before taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself - an attempt that wasn't met with all that much success - before raising a hand. A faint blue light began to emanate above her palm as it took the shape of a card in the image of the Second Arcana, The Priestess. And just as soon as it appeared, it was shattered as a single word crossed Kotori's lips:"Kikuri-Hime."
With the flowery shrine maiden that was her persona forming behind her, Kotori felt the lingering doubts make way for the comforting calm as she focused her attention upon the black figure before her - even as it was suddenly engulfed in a blinding column of light as Ryan made the first move. With the Shadow not having had an opportunity to attack yet, she too was free to go on the offensive and hoped that her limited capabilities in that regard might at least be able to do some good in following up on the opening Geraint's attack had hopefully created.
For with another word, the fading pillar of light was replaced by a far briefer flash as a bolt of lightning crashed down upon the Black Shiki-Ouji: "Zionga."
BLACK SHIKI-OUJI
The gigantic pillar of light and then followed by a blast of lightning with a blade of wind expelled from Rui’s Persona following Ryan and Kotori’s attacks seemed to find their mark… But as soon as the smoke cleared, the Shiki-Ouji was completely undamaged. This seemed… To be quite a problem. In a retaliatory manner the Shiki-Ouji swung it’s arm, firing off blades of paper at Sato, dealing a fair bit of damage to him, but it didn’t seem to be anything major… Yet.
“No damage…? Ayano, what are the results?”, as per usual, Ayano was always scanning at the beginning of battles automatically, a perk of deepened understanding between all of the party members. It seems Matthew and Shizuka weren’t the only ones with a special moment down at the beach, Kami and Ayano were busy off-screen.
“It… It keeps changing, but…”, the coverage was huge even if it was changing, it seems it only had one weakness at any one time. That time just now was Ice.
“It has only one weakness at any one time, and it changes with each turn”, she informed them. Rui took a look at the Shiki-Ouji… So far what elemental coverage did they have, Wind and Curse on him, Bless on Ryan, Lightning from Kotori, and more Wind from Sato, not to mention Pierce and Slash, and then Nuclear from Zeke up above. It appears they had at least around half of the coverage… So it was a near 50/50 chance they’d get something they can deal with. Once they caught the weakpoint, then they can dish out an All-Out Attack, or if they had Almighty on them they can just spam that.
“Alright then, so what’ll it be soon? It looks like it’s changing”
“It won’t last for long but… It’ll be one of the cardinal elements”, this meant fire, ice, lightning, and wind. Well that made his and Kotori’s next action simple.
“Kotori on my mark”, he ordered, grasping in the air in front of him as a card appeared, only to be crushed as his Persona took form once more, it’s sword wreathed in a green wind as he took a stance at the ready.
-------------------------------------
Sato had withheld from attacking immediately, seeing as his allies seemed to be much more eager to start dishing out damage than him, and instead drew his bow carefully as he watched Ryan and Kotori blast the Shiki-Ouji. For a second, the explosion of lightning and holy laserbeam was aweing, and Sato felt a twinge of confidence, but when the shadow steadied itself again, it seemed to have barely been scratched. In a bit of a panic, Sato drew back his bow and notched an arrow to fire, but before he could summon his persona, the Shiki-Ouji launched a flurry of razor-sharp papers at him. The blades cut up his body, painting the floor behind him with thin lines of blood, but Sato managed to fight through the pain and stay standing. It wasn’t too bad of an injury, but it was definitely a bad start and something more major would really do him in next time.
He took a moment to regain his breath, and as he took a battle stance again, Ayano explained what she could about their opponent. Apparently it was switched its elemental weaknesses over and over while blocking everything else. Seeing as Rui was already moving in to hit it with a wind-embued blade, Sato took a step back and summoned Chronos behind him. If they had to keep guessing which element the Shiki-Ouji was weak to, it’d be best to get as much leeway as possible, so Chronos spun its scythe and cast Marakukaja. With that, an ethereal shield surrounded each of them. It wouldn’t stop an explosion or anything, but it would keep the Shiki-Ouji’s retaliations from wearing them down.
---
Kotori strained to see what the result of the opening barrage had been after Rui followed up with a sweeping wind slash - only to go wide-eyed when it turned out that theyir combined attacks had done exactly nothing. Furthermore, the Shiki-Ouji took their momentary confusion for an opportunity to attack - and managed to catch Sato, who'd stood back to assess the situation before diving in, off guard before he could summon any real defence. Kotori winced as dozens of razor-sharp paper blades were hurled at the upperclassman who could do precious little to avoid the worst of the barrage. Kotori's confidence quickly sank at the sight - but thankfully, he remained standing; if looking a little worse for wear.
Kotori's first instinct was to call upon Kikuri-Hime to heal his wounds - but before she could do so, cooler heads prevailed as Rui, upon convening with Ayano, announced that she should instead target the Shiki-Ouji once more. Kotori's eyes flitted between Sato and the Shadow in a moment of hesitation - but finally, she swallowed hard and nodded. "R-right," she said, even as she mentally added a concerned 'please stay safe' toward Sato as she fixed the Shiki-Ouji with her bespectacled gaze; trusting that Rui's assessment would carry them through as she nervously held another lightning blast at the ready of his mark.
--- Ryan frowned as the Shadow took absolutely no damage, brushing off one of his strongest attacks as if he had thrown a wad of wet paper at it. Which is exactly what it proceeded to do, albeit it's paper wasn't wet. But it was very sharp. Sato took a deep cut, prompting Ryan to summon Geraint for medical support. All he knew was Mediarama unfortunately so he was going to be wasting a bit more energy than necessary doing this, but it was better than nothing.
“Geraint, Mediarama!” He shouted as a gentle light emanated from the king, showering the party in a healing aura. Ayano soon revealed the kicker, this Shadow only had one weakness at a time. It's next weakness was going to be either Fire, Wind, Ice, or Lightning, so he was playing support this round. “Let's make this next hit count!” Ryan shouted as he cast Heat Riser on Rui.
-------------
BLACK SHIKI-OUJI Combat
The lightning and wind erupted around the black shikigami, and as it cleared it’s body was contorted, slightly shredded and folded in various ways as if it was scrunched up, twitching, struggling to reform itself. It seems it worked, by the looks of it, it was Wind that made it through.
“It’s down!”, without delay, Rui made an order.
“Now go! Before it recovers!”, he yelled, leading the charge.
The Black Shiki-Ouji was attacked from all sides as it struggled to recover, and soon it was visibly quite damaged. A combination of physical attacks by the group of Persona users and their Persona’s added attacks did a number on it, but Rui had no intention of letting it properly recover. He raised his hand, and formed a fist, following this was the shrill cry of Zeke as the Mirror Shadow erupted in an azure-white explosion, which was then overtaken by a vermillion hue as the shadow was completely engulfed.
As the dust cleared, the Black Shiki-Ouji was visibly quite torn, and bending on one knee, struggling to stand. This wasn’t going to take much more. In a desperate attempt to fight back, the black paper shadow blasted everyone with blades of paper, dealing a somewhat noticeable amount of damage to everyone.
“Alright then, Ryan, you and me this time”, he ordered. So next was dark and light… And it can only be one of those two. Next turn will be it’s last.
----------------------------------------------
With her attention fixed squarely on the Shiki-Ouji and waiting on Rui's signal, Kotori was momentarily confused when an oddly familiar golden glow began to envelope her - before she could feel her breathing grow easier as Ryan's healing spell manifested itself among the whole group. Sparing a glance over to Sato, she saw that he was in a better shape thanks to it, much to her relief - but there was little time to enjoy that fact when Ryan proceeded to empower Rui for the upcoming attack.
This was all the preparation Rui needed as he gave the word. Immediately, Kotori let Kikuri-Hime unleash a lightning bolt upon the Shiki-Ouji; hopeful for a moment that it would be enough to break its strange resistance - but her heart sank when she realised that the thunderclap was more impressive than the damage inflicted as the magical lightning arced all around the Shadow before harmlessly dissipating.
Thankfully, Rui's attack faced no such problems - and strengthened as he was by Ryan's Heat Riser, his own wind attack struck true. The Shiki-Ouji reeled under the blast, folding in on itself and barely remaining standing - and entirely unable to maintain its impressive shielding. This was all the heads-up the group needed as Rui called for an immediate all out attack. Kotori quickly nodded as she proved that lightning did not strike the same place twice - instead, this was the third bolt to be sent down onto the struggling Shadow; a mere first strike among the many that followed courtesy of the other three.
Unfortunately, however, the Shiki-Ouji was deceptively tough for its paper looks - and managed to stave off the final blows that were to follow Zeke's air strike by reforming its protective shield; forcing the group to fall back and wait for another opportunity to strike. The Shadow was not done yet, however - as everyone disengaged, it used the brief moment to get in an attack of its own; swinging its crumpled arms in a wide arc that sent razor-sharp pieces of itself to slash everyone.
Though Kotori already stood at the rear of the group, she had no time to avoid the attack and instead instinctively threw up her arms to protect herself - an instinct that carried over to Kikuri-Hime who materialised in the path of the paper projectiles. Though this did stop them from reaching Kotori herself, the damage was sustained through their shared link; forcing a pained gasp from her lips. Though unused to the pain, Kotori took but a moment to shake it off as she knew that she wasn't the only one hurting.
As Rui called upon Ryan's aid to pierce the Shiki-Ouji's shield, Kotori was already taking a deep breath as she mustered her own energy to call to Kikuri-Hime once more. This time, however, it was not a lightning bolt that she sought - but a more restorative spell: "Salvation." And with that single word, Kikuri-Hime raised the thorned rose in her hands high - before bringing it down with what should have been a crash.
However, the only thing emanating from the impact was a golden radiance that momentarily lit up the entire village. Golden tendrils of light streamed outward and coiled themselves around the four fighting the Shiki-Ouji. Yet despite glowing with an intensity that should have been both burning and blinding, the only thing that they would feel was a soothing warmth and healing calm as any pain faded into the light; their wounds coming undone as if they had never been inflicted. It was over in a mere few moments - but following the healing spell, all four were back at the peak of their physical strength; even if Kotori's breathing was a bit quicker from the mental fatigue that calling upon many spells in quick succession was wont to cause.
With both dark and light hitting the shadow, it didn’t matter which was the actual weakness, it was going to be one of them, and sure enough it buckled back into itself, collapsing beneath the weight of the attacks.
Ryan wasted no time as his Persona took the charge, the long laser blade piercing the heart of the black Shiki-Ouji as it was down, before the blade pulsed in a pillar of light, enveloping both of them. As the light cleared, like ashes to the wind, the Mirror Shadow was scattered and torn in the air, but Ryan’s Persona Geraint was missing.
At this moment everyone would notice the bright light emanating from above, and it was as many would expect, Geraint himself, laser blade raised high in the air, before diving down, becoming a blade of light, enveloping and eradicating whatever was left, and landing with wings spread, breaking the fall. Brutal and righteous as it was elegant, and with that the battle was concluded.
The shadows surrounding the support group were beginning to retreat as Kami looked forward, spotting Ryan’s finishing blow on the Shiki-Ouji. It was a sight to behold, ultimate forms of Personas possess such raw power. Well regardless, with the battle concluded they regrouped before the floating mirror shards. Kazuki had returned from his exploration, he seemed somewhat satisfied by the look on his face, but they can inquire about that later.
As though they were hearing it in their head… It began with some laughing and murmurs like before, until it became more legible,
“I vow to always be with you, even till death do us part”
“I too…”, two voices seemed to be taking their vows, at a wedding it seems, but soon the sappy moment was broken up by shattering glass.
“No… No no no no….”, the man’s voice was manic, and soon became unintelligible before silence… And then… The glass shards reflected an image of a man. In his research, Kami would recognize it as the cult leader, though, younger… Gathered from this, it appears this was a memory, of sorts, referring to the death of his wife. This matches up with what’s on the files Kami had been searching through.
“I will… See her again, I can see her again, with this… It’s… Possible”, and with that, the glass shards disappeared into a fine glowing mist, and then clearing up entirely. The large doors at the end of the village swung wide open, showing them to a foresty valley.
“I suppose we should get used to that… For now it seems best to go home and rest. We’ll explore the area up ahead another day”, suggested Rui. So it seems that the cult leader’s presence in this world was while faint, very clearly here. But what relation did he have with this place? Well for now, it was best everyone just head home and rest up.
Though this excursion ended on a note of success, there was a gnawing feeling about what the truth about all this was... There suggested something tragic, yet bewilderingly confusing, was Seto just another dungeon like everyone else's? Or something more? Regardless, they can mull over it later.
Kotori Shirohane - Seto: Village by the Valley | Friday, July 8 2015
Kotori had barely a moment to catch her breath as the next assault began. Rui and Ryan led this one, making full use of Ayano's predictions and striking the Shiki-Ouji with a twinned barrage of both light and dark attacks. And once more, the Shadow struggled - but ultimately, its wards failed and one of the attacks send it crumbling to the ground. This was not to be the end, however. Even as Kotori gathered her strength to use the Shiki-Ouji's momentary weakness for another bolt of lightning, Ryan was already leaping into action as Geraint went for a heartstrike.
But neither was that the end of his attack, for in the next moment, Kotori had to bring up a hand to shield her eyes from the sudden intense beam of light that erupted from the piercing laser blade of Ryan's persona. Blinking behind her glasses and between her fingers as the light faded, Kotori could see neither of the two figures standing; a swirling mass of torn paper instead remaining where Geraint had before struck his deadly blow.
Yet even tearing the Shiki-Ouji to shreds would not suffice as a light, faint at first but rapidly growing into a shining beacon, began to emanate from the blade of Geraint, who had taken to the skies in the momentary blindness that had afflicted all onlookers. And just as the intensity of the glare threatened to become painful, the persona swung its weapon downward - and immediately followed through with a mighty flap of its wings; accelerating at a pace too fast for any eyes to comprehend. He seemed to transform into a beam of light that mercilessly bore down on the tattered remnants of what had once been the Shiki-Ouji - and upon impact completely vaporised every last scrap in a radiant explosion of light and grand display of power.
With their foe so thoroughly annihilated, Kotori quickly made sure that everyone was unhurt before turning her attention to the second group who'd kept their backs clear of the swarms of smaller Shadows that the strange mirror people had transformed into - but as it turned out, they seemed to share the fate of their larger companion and began to scatter back into the shadows. Whilst everyone remained on guard for a few moments more, Kotori could soon breathe a sigh of relief as no more shadows surged forth to attack; using the welcome break to actually catch her breath as everyone gathered around.
Before long though, Kotori perked up again when she began hearing sounds - and not those of conversation between her fellow Mirror World explorers. It was a different voice - stranger, as if coming from far away and... long ago? She blinked in confusion at the thought, but it seemed the most apt way to describe the sheer otherness of the experience before she managed to recognise the words as those of a marriage vow. Despite the strangeness of the situation, a brief smile lit up on Kotori's face - only to vanish as quickly as the voices did with the sound of shattering glass.
Almost immediately, the only remaining voice took on a tone of desperation that left Kotori frozen - for she had the misfortune of having heard it before, if in a different voice. She barely even realised that the cracking glass had been very real as shards were slowly floating all around them, at times giving off brief reflections of a man unknown to her. One such reflection might show him in anger, another huddled down whilst at other times he pored over something - as his voice returned once more, speaking words stranger yet.
Kotori's thoughts were racing. Was that... the leader of the Junsei Sekai Tensei cult? Was this the reason for it? Trying to somehow bring back his wife from the dead? But that was impossible - it had to be. And what did she - or for that matter, everyone gathered around - have to do with all of this? But... resurrection? What made him think that it could be done?
Unmoving and utterly lost in thought, Kotori didn't even notice that, upon Rui's suggestion, the group began heading back to the entrace - only snapping out of things with a bewildered look upon her face when a hand was placed on her shoulders. "Huh? Wha-ah! S-sorry, ye-yes, right," she managed to say when asked if she was coming back too, hurriedly following in the footsteps of the others - but not without the occasional searching glace back at the village they were leaving behind. She was even more quiet than usual and merely gave a weak wave in goodbye when, upon returning to the warehouse that had become their base of operations, the group began splitting up as that had been more than enough Mirror World exploration for one day for everyone involved.
It was a long and uneasy time before Kotori would manage to fall asleep that night.
Over the last week, everyone had taken it upon themselves to simply enjoy themselves, Rui led an impressively progressive run through Seto Valley, as in they were incredibly close to the end of it already. While it worked everyone to the bone, it basically meant they didn't need to do any repeat visits until later.
It was the noon of the Summer Festival in Warakuma, which being an outer suburb of Tokyo to the western side, shared dates with Tokyo's Mitama festival, albeit with slight differences. In Tokyo, it is the Yasukuni Shrine that gets lit up for a few days with lanterns, when Rui still lived in Tokyo he remembered that briefly, a shrine named after one of Japan's three regalia, the Yasukuni Magatama.
Warakuma's Summer Festival though was more or less a celebration, simple as that, but most of the original residents came from Tokyo way back in the day, and so the shrine's main path is decorated in a similar fashion, along with aisles full of festival food and the like.
Though it being noon, it was not as populated, and some stores were being fairly lax.
Over the weekend everyone had agreed to attend the summer festival together, if they wanted to go alone, they could on other days, since Warakuma's Summer Festival went for 4 days, and the 5th day until early evening. They had plenty of time for their own nights. Rui for today was wandering around the shrine, making routine visits to particular stores and places, which seem trivial when he was asked about it, but all he told them was "to boost my stats".
"Kotori?" Tsubame called out, peeking her head out from the storeroom in the back of the shop. "Yes?" the girl spoken to looked back from the door that the most recent customer had just left through. "When did you say you were meeting up with your friends?" For a moment, Kotori's expression became puzzled before she shifted her gaze to the clock mounted on the wall - and paled. "Ah! I forgot!" With the summer festival now in full swing, there had been an unusually high number of customers in recent days - and with how Kotori was as nervous as ever when dealing with them, she had completely lost track of the time.
She almost immediately felt guilty when she realised that she'd have to just up and leave her mother to tend the store alone if she wanted to make it in time. But even as Kotori's eyes darted to the door from behind her glasses whilst she deliberated on what to do, she felt the green apron loosen and then get pulled up over her head. Turning around, she was greeted with her mother's wide smile - evidently more than a little bemused by her daughter's antics. "Hop along now. Don't want to keep them waiting, do you?" She said, making a shooing motion with the apron she now held to speed her along. "Ah, r-right, sorry. I mean, thank you," Kotori said as she headed up to her room to grab her things. As she did so, she failed to hear the chuckle of a knowing mother reaching to shift a clock back a few minutes.
Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Central Shrine | Wednesday, July 13 2015
More than a little out of breath, Kotori managed to make it to the meeting place in time - in fact, she was even a little early, strangely enough. Still, that did at least give her a few moments to catch her breath. Thankfully, at least she didn't have to keep an eye out for shadow creeping around like the last time when Rui had led the latest expedition into the Mirror Realm. Less thankfully, that single stray thought sent Kotori's mind into thoughts of that strange place - and its mysteries that were stranger yet. Absent-mindedly, Kotori shifted her handbag that she had slung over the shoulder of her pale yellow blouse into a more comfortable position.
'Did the places mean something? Were they perhaps one of those strange dungeons that had appeared without fail whenever any of the investigation team had been abandoned to the Mirror Realm? No, there was always someone at the center of them, that couldn't be...' Kotori's lips made the barest of movement as if to silently articulate her thoughts. Left unchecked, her nervous habit of picking at her skirt - a careful eye might be able to pick out her favourite clothes just by the small marks she'd left at hand height - resurfaced once again. Left alone to her thought that never led anywhere, Kotori was only aware of her surrounding in passing and, as such, only noticed the others arriving when they willingly made themselves known - much to her bewilderment at being snapped out of her musings.
As Rui wandered around the festival grounds around the shrine, seeing many stores already setting up or just about ready, he circled back around to the meeting site. It was almost time, a little early, but it seemed Kotori was the only one here.
"Oh Kotori, you're quite early. Are you that eager for the festival?", he asked as he walked up to her. The sun was beginning to set upon the town, and the heated air of Japanese summer began to settle. In not too long, the street lights should come on to replace the sunlight, but well before that, the streets were well lit with festival lanterns. There were already a fair amount of people from town coming in and enjoying the festivities.
"Well, anyways, I'd noticed you're in thought quite often since we cleared the village. If it's about the things we saw and heard, don't think about it for at least until the festival is over. We'll find out more and have our questions answered when we delve deeper anyways, so just enjoy yourself", he advised, giving her a reassuring smile.
Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Central Shrine | Wednesday, July 13 2015
Deep in her thoughts as she was and with her gaze fixed on an indeterminate spot somewhere just before her feet, Kotori failed to notice Rui's approach until he spoke up. She almost jumped when his familiar voice spoke up and interrupted her thoughts by speaking her name. Kotori's eyes shot up from the ground and fixed themselves on the unexpected owner of said voice; confusion quite evident upon her face - only to slowly fade into embarassment when she realised that, once again, she'd been too preoccupied to even notice her own surroundings. Her gaze wandered right back down to the ground at that - necessitating a quick adjustment of her glasses due to the sudden head movements slightly displacing them.
Having been thusly caught not paying attention, she managed to miss his next word at first, causing her to glance up when she realised that he had in fact just asked her a question. "Eh?" was her first response, evidently still a bit flustered when she blinked in slight confusion. "Ah, n-no, I-I mean, yes, err..." she tried and, evidently, failed to somehow enunciate that she was only so early on accident but still looked forward to the festival itself. Biting her lip in embarassment, she was just about to go on yet another mental tirade toward her proclivity for miscommunication when Rui spoke up once more.
Evidently, he was far less bothered by all this than her. Kotori blinked slowly in surprise when he said he'd noticed her being lost in her thoughts more often recently - surprise not only because she hadn't noticed that she'd been doing it more often recently, but also that it had apparently been rather evident when she was doing so. In fact, she seemed to have been so unsubtle about it that he'd even noticed exactly what she was thinking about when he mentioned the things that had transpired in the Mirror Realm. Embarassment was mixed with an almost guilty look at being read so easily.
However, her face soon showed surprise, mixed in with brief confusion, when Rui instead suggested she hold off on those thoughts until at least after the festival. Of course, he was entirely right - for all the thinking she'd done, she had not gotten anywhere whatsoever. Yet at the same time, Kotori knew herself well enough that even if she resolved to follow his advice, she'd sooner or later be dwelling on it once more.
Still, hearing him say as much was at least a little reassuring in knowing that a similar voice of reason in her mind, though oft-ignored for the far more pressing concerns of thinking through unsolvable problems or mulling over past mistakes, was not completely alone. In fact, listening to said voice did tell her that there really was no point in losing sleep over the strange Mirror Realm - and that she really should listen to it more often. Realising that repeating a task with no change in outcome was really just a waste of time, Kotori couldn't help but think how silly she was for doing so - even though she knew that, sooner or later, she'd probably be right back at it again.
Either way though, putting her mind in order would at least last for a little while - which would be enough to, as Rui suggested, enjoy the festival. As such, his reassuring smile was met with a smaller, less confident one on Kotori's lips as she almost apologetically nodded her belated agreement. "Uhm, r-right," she said, though she immediately doubted whether it sounded convincing when she hadn't truly convinced herself of it.
Nonetheless, she fully intended to follow through on her words - which, after all, was the very reason for this meeting in the first place. A quick look around, however, did not reveal the immediate arrival of the others just yet - a glance to her watch, in turn, confirming that she had definitely arrived a bit earlier than anticipated. As such, that would mean that she'd be waiting here for the other to arrive together with Rui - which could quickly turn into awkward silence if she didn't come up with anything else to say.
A thoughtful look crossed her face - though not to the same degree as just shortly before - until Kotori finally came up with something. "Uhm," she began; almost immediately losing the brief confidence she had in her idea. "S-so... why are, uhm, y-you here? Ah, I-I mean, this early, not, uhm..." she said, her voice trailing off in equal measure to her eyes shifting downward as she combined the returning of his initial words with the satisfaction of her curiosity but stumbling over the phrasing half-way through.
Kotori inwardly gave a mental sigh - for all she thought she may have improved over the last few months, it seemed she was still quite terrible at handling spontaneous situations for which she hadn't been able to think of things to say in beforehand.
Kotori seemed to often have pause between her words, more or less not because of her ability to speak was at question, but because she was quite timid. Rui gave her the time she needed to respond as he stood by. Based on how her body language was it seemed she was reassured to some extent. She spoke up not long after, asking why he was here early. Well, about that... There wasn't much to do at home today so he decided to go out for the day, and since he was already out he felt he should just come here and wait and take a look around before the festival begins.
"I was just out of the house already awhile ago so I figured I may as well just come here right away instead", he responded. As usual for the festival though, he was seeing a lot of girls in yukatas, it was summer after all and so yukatas were in season.
"That being said, we're the only ones here so far", he noted. Even Kazuki and Megumi were late. Well, it was almost time, but you'd think a few more people would already be here too.
Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Central Shrine | Wednesday, July 13 2015
Despite the low volume of her voice as it trailed off towards the end of her words, it still seemed to carry far enough over the general hustle and bustle of the festival, as Rui explained that he'd simply been about already and had just headed here rather than hang around elsewhere. "Ah, I... I see..." Kotori quickly said after glancing over to him; quickly shifting her eyes back to some unspecified point between the ground right in front of her feet and the occasional festival-goer that happened to walk close by.
In doing so, she did recognise the occasional face. The familiy from across the street went walking past, the attention of the parents obviously far too preoccupied with their two elementary school-aged kids to notice her. She saw a few boys and girls of her own age, too - even a classmate or two - who were already gathering in groups of varying sizes. Several girls - and even some of the boys, too - were wearing yukatas of various styles and colours. Some seemed quite comfortable and fit right in with the festival atmosphere - whilst with a small, sympathetic smile, she also noticed the occasional slightly discomforted looking individual who was clearly more used to lighter garments. Still, they did undoubtedly manage to pull off the look a lot better than she would have been able to in their shoes - or sandals, more likely.
Either way though, after stealing a glance at her watch, Kotori did notice an absence of any of the faces she would have expected - namely, just about anyone involved with the whole Mirror Realm expeditions. She wondered if perhaps she'd misread the message about the time or place of meeting - but quickly put that thought to rest when she saw Rui too giving the occasional seeking look; expressing the sentiment in words just moments later when he noted the lack of any arrivals. Peering around fully for once, Kotori couldn't help but agree: "Uhm, yeah..." she said, not quite managing to hide the quizzical and ever so slightly worried tone in her voice.
Fishing out her phone from her handbag, she made sure to check both the time and whether she'd missed any incoming messages - but on both accounts, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe they'd missed a bus? Or perhaps met some other friends on the way here? Or maybe some poor fellow had come down with a cold and had to stay home? Or maybe they just wanted to visit the festival in some livelier company? At that thought, Kotori glanced back over to Rui, who seemed ever as unflappable as ever - considering how he'd arrived so early, he was probably looking forward to the festival but was now stuck here waiting with her.
After mulling over the situation for another few moments, Kotori finally spoke up. "Uhm... Sh-Shinichi-san?" she said, her bespectacled eyes once more fixated on the ground before her. "If y-you want, uhm..." she continued after a brief pause, only to go into a slightly longer one as she briefly glanced over at Rui.
"...I could, ah, wait for the others if, uhm, y-you would like to go around the festival?" she finally suggested - and quite reasonably, considering that she knew that she probably wasn't exactly the most thrilling of company to have around on her lonesome.
The wait for everyone else was unexpectedly long... Perhaps everyone was tired? Hmmm, no that can't be. He knew Kazuki and Megumi had said they were going to be late, so they're out of the picture. He knew the others had their own relationships to tend to, so perhaps that was why. There were three days in this festival, so perhaps there was simply no rush. Kotori likewise seemed a little nervous as she usually was, it was comforting knowing despite her timidness, she was dependable in battle. She often was in the background when it came to the group though which wasn't surprising, but on closer inspection she was quite the beauty, or rather, the orange lighting of the festival brought more attention to her features. He was staring for a little bit before she spoke up to which his eyes just moved away for a moment, barely moving his head. She was mustering up all the courage she could so it felt with how she spoke. She was asking if he'd like to go around the festival.
Hmmmm... While he would feel a little bad about the group if he left, it was certainly unnerving just standing her and waiting, especially since everyone was late, and he didn't get any messages in regards to anyone being delayed. He's just going to assume it's Summer Break Fever and everyone's half an hour later than usual. Though they're always on time for the Mirror World surprisingly.
"Hmmm... I guess it can't hurt to go around the festival a bit... How about you come with me? We won't go too far, just take a look at a few things, maybe buy something small to eat", he suggested to her, instead of just leaving her here. If he did that, he'd feel worse than if he wasn't here when everyone else arrived.
Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Central Shrine | Wednesday, July 13 2015
Having finally spoken, Kotori glanced up at Rui, who was still standing beside her with his gaze focused off in the distance. He seemed to muse over her words for a moment - which gave Kotori just enough time to wonder just how the others, such as Leiko or Chiaki, managed to effortlessly keep a conversation going when she was already all out of ideas what to talk about. Hence, her aforementioned suggestion - which doubtlessly would be a preferable outcome to the inevitable awkward silence that would otherwise follow.
As such, Kotori wasn't surprised when Rui agreed to her words. At least, not before he spoke on. As he casually suggested she accompany him, Kotori blinked in surprise. She repeated the words in her mind - but no, she wasn't somehow misunderstanding. "Eh?" was the most eloquent response she could manage at such a short notice as she looked back at Rui. She had expected him to either agree with her and perhaps ask her to let him know when the others arrived. Or perhaps refuse to go alone, without the company of the others; even if it meant standing around at the designated meeting place longer yet.
Thusly unprepared, Kotori quickly glanced about in the vain hope that perhaps someone else would happen to arrive just in time - but alas, it was not to be. "Uhm..." she said, her eyes finding an apparently most interesting spot on the ground before her feet. Her mind was rapidly going through the options - they were already at the meeting point, yet it was already past the time. Shouldn't she stay here? After all, if she were late, she'd probably appreciate it if the others waited for her. Yet at the same time, she'd probably feel even worse if they had to wait around doing nothing because of her. Still, that wouldn't bother her too much, seeing as it was a pleasant evening and even just the atmosphere was quite enjoyable.
Realising that she wasn't coming to any kind of conclusion very quickly - and that she was leaving Rui waiting for an answer for what felt like ages, despite just being a scant few moments in reality - Kotori finally just made a quick decision. "I-if that is fine with, uhm, y-you, then..." she practically mumbled from the start, leaving any others word to be drowned out by the surrounding summer festival noises. Realising as much when she, if only for the briefest of moments, glanced back at Rui before returning her bespectacled gaze back to the ground, she added an empathetic nod - or at least, her attempt at one, given that all that could be seen of it was the barest of movements.
Kotori's mind, meanwhile, was rather jumbled mess as she somehow simultaneously tried to think of how to keep an eye on the meeting place and her phone for when the others showed up, what stands she might want to look at - she'd tried to memorise the festival layout the day before, but it was sort of hard to recall the details - and how to keep a conversation going so as to avoid long stretches of uncomfortable silence.
With her eyes darting about and her fingers idly picking at the cloth of her skirt, now that she wasn't actively keeping her nervous habit in check, Kotori finally managed to come up with a brilliant solution - or at least, it seemed to be one in her mind at that moment: "Is... is there anything y-you, uhm, would like to look at, Shi-shinchi-san...?" Kotori asked, her voice fading about as quickly as her confidence in the supposed brilliance of just asking Rui about the very topic on her mind.
Even as she briefly glanced back at him, Kotori mentally berated herself for the rather apparent lack of confidence she must be exuding; having been thrown for a loop by even just a small unexpectedness such as another's slightly belated arrival.
Rui waited for Kotori to respond, he had to lean in just a little bit more since her voice was trailing off, almost looked like she was going to break down or run off as she tried her best to speak. He tried his best to hear her as the festival noise began to become louder, the crowds were beginning to thicken as the lights of the festival looked brighter as the sky darkened, until the only light was from the lanterns around them. She posed the question as to whether there was anything he'd like to see. To be perfectly honest, he wasn't sure, it was his first time to this particular festival, most festivals he went around eating and visiting the shrine... But then he looked back to Kotori,
"Well... I guess you in a yukata for a start", he suggested. Whatever her reaction, it was going to be amusing. Regardless, after letting that sink in and breaking some of the tense atmosphere, he posed the real suggestion, though it was not amiss that it would be nice if Kotori wore one.
"But... I suppose we go take a look at the shrine and then come back here", it was a reasonable plan. It was a straight walk to the shrine after a small flight of stairs, a few minute walk to, and then few minutes back. The stalls were mainly setup along that path, as well as branching paths leading to other parts of the shrine, so more or less a walk through the main street was his suggestion.
Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Central Shrine | Wednesday, July 13 2015
Having spoken, Kotori took the brief pause as Rui thought on his answer to calm herself. If she thought about it rationally, there really was no need to be so nervous. Sure, it had been a bit unexpected that the others hadn't shown up yet, but it was still a normal group outing. They'd gone to the beach before and that had been even more embarrassing to her - but even still, she had enjoyed it. So really, she just needed to take a deep breath and remind herself that this was quite the normal festival and-"Well... I guess you in a yukata for a start."
Despite the orange shading of the festival lamps in the dusk, the rapid flushing of Kotori's cheeks was undeniable as she stared at Rui wide-eyed for a full second or two; an incredulous blinking behind her glasses being the only motion to be seen. It wasn't hard to see that whatever train of thought she may have been on before, it was completely and utterly derailed beyond all hope of rescue. "I-I, ah, m-eh? Tha-, uhm..." Once she managed to recover, her thoughts were going a lot faster than her mouth could keep up with and little more than an unintelligible mess could be made out - which only added to the heat she could feel all across her reddened face, leading her to instead bite her lip rather than dig herself even deeper.
Kotori's mind, meanwhile, was racing with a dozen different thoughts. Had she maybe just misunderstood him? Or was Rui addressing someone else? No, a quick glance around confirmed that he was very much indeed speaking to her. Did that mean he actually would have wanted to have seen how she might look in a yukata? That did seem the most obvious, given that it was exactly what he'd just said - but did that mean... he wanted to actually see her? Oddly quickly, Kotori explored the other options in her mind. Perhaps he simply liked the traditional atmosphere of the festival and felt like a yukata would perfectly fit - or maybe he was quite simply just joking. Without reaching a definitive conclusion, Kotori decided to leave it at that - particularly after her cheeks briefly deepened in their shade for a moment there - before finally glancing back at Rui.
It seemed that he had been waiting for just that - as in the very next moment, he spoke up once more; not missing a beat after his previous and most outrageous statement to instead suggest a visit to the shrine itself before heading back to the meeting spot. At his words, Kotori looked over to the shrine. There was already a crowd lazily moving to and fro with much the same idea in mind; various people stopping at the food stalls or amusements along this main path that the festival took.
"Uhm..." Kotori started, almost hesitantly after the previous mess she'd made when she'd opened her mouth, before redoubling her volume - which is to say, almost reaching a normal speaking voice. "That, uhm, I... I'd li-, ah, I-I mean, that sounds nice," she said, trying her best to put her embarrassment behind her with a smile - though it ended as a slightly awkward half-smile. As such, Kotori was only too eager to quickly turn to face the way they'd decided to head - particularly when she also felt a brief resurgence of warmth across her face as they began their walk.
Rui was gladdened that Kotori seemed to brighten up a bit more after that, the awkward air around her whenever she was feeling a bit overwhelmed was cut through as they went up towards the shrine, going along the lantern-lit road. A good portion of it was basically walls of lanterns before they passed through the food stalls, all of which were setup by now and happy festival-goers were already lining up to get something. Rui personally was relieved, festivals in the city were crowded to the point where enjoying things like this were... Difficult, and you would spend more time navigating crowds than actually enjoying the festival.
Soon they made it to the shrine, the surrounding area of it lit up as one would expect, and others were throwing their lots in and their prayers too. Not long it was free and they both stepped up to the shrine. He began pulling some money out to throw in before praying, but he turned to Kotori,
"So, what are you going to pray for?", he asked her.
Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Central Shrine | Wednesday, July 13 2015
Once they were under way, Kotori soon found herself easily distracted from her thoughts by the various sights and sounds of the festival. Lanterns hung all around, warding off the encroaching night with their warm orange glow. The crowds gave off a persistent, indistinct murmur - always lively, often joyful yet never quite too loud. Once they reached the stands, Kotori occasionally briefly paused to look them over. Even if she had no immediate intention of buying anything just now, it was still interesting to look nonetheless. Occasionally, she was even stopped or waved over when one of the stall owners or fellow visitors happened to recognise her - unsurprisingly, these turned out to mostly be neighbours, given that she lived in the shopping square.
After each of the many regards she was to give to her mother or wishes for her to enjoy the festival, Kotori apologised to Rui for the brief holdup - even though he didn't seem to particularly mind. Without further incident, they managed to reach the shrine itself. It was quite a popular spot - several festival-goers too had taken the opportunity to give their thanks or prayers. However, few stayed for too long and as such they didn't have to wait too long before they too could step forward toward the shrine. As she did so, Kotori paused to think on what she should pray for.
Success with studies? Should she really pester a deity with such simple matters? Perhaps assistance in the mysteries of the Mirror Realm? But with no clear idea in mind, she wouldn't feel particularly comfortable with that either. Maybe she should just try for good fortune in the future - at which point a thought crossed Kotori's mind that caused her to briefly pause in the last last step toward the shrine itself. She managed to stop herself from instinctively raising her hand toward her chest - though the same could not be said for her bespectacled gaze that turned downward, if only for a heartbeat.
With all excitement that had been going on recently, she had almost managed to put it out of her mind - but only almost. Perhaps this might be something that she could ask of the gods - and almost as if he'd been waiting for it, Rui chose that particular moment to speak up, asking her what she would be praying for. "Eh?" was Kotori's immediate response, given her surprise at the particular timing before quickly recovering - and then realising that this wasn't exactly something she could or even wanted to just say out loud.
"Oh, uhm... good fortune, uhm, i-in the future... maybe...?" It wasn't hard to see that this wasn't really what she wanted to say. Between the unconvincing tone, the way she averted her eyes and how her fingers were nervously playing with the strap of her handbag before she reached inside to pull out some money as well, it wasn't hard to see that there was something else on her mind - but this time, it didn't seem to be the usual attempt at wrapping her head around the strangeness that was the Mirror Realm. Instead, Kotori's mood seemed heavier than that - but lasted only for a brief moment longer before she took a deep breath.
With a half-hearted attempt at a smile restored, Kotori would make her prayer in silence; her eyes closed all the while she stood there with her hands together. She even gave a small bow toward the shrine before she would vacate the spot together with Rui for the next in line - and though they hadn't taken any longer than those before them, Kotori still felt apologetic for holding them up. Still, they had only gone a few steps when Kotori glanced over at Rui - this happened a few times before she finally managed to speak up: "Uhm... what did y-you pray for, Shinichi-san?" Whilst the question was posed mostly in an attempt to avoid an awkward silence, there was a certain amount of honest curiosity in Kotori's voice.
Rui in the warm air of the Japanese summer standing in front of the shrine, figuring out what to wish for... Kotori had bounded the question back at him as he was figuring out a wish, though based on her response, she equally was unsure. What indeed... He looked at her as she asked, and she seemed to be quite earnest in her question based on that look even if she seemed to force out the question, now he didn't want to give her a disappointing answer. So then what should he say instead...
"Hmmmm... Good health I suppose? For you", he said. That's right, she still had that surgery to do. In actuality he wished for good health for everyone, but of everyone, Kotori had more need of it, she was afterall the only one who visited the hospital frequently, so perhaps it should be more dedicated to her.
"I worry sometimes since I see you at the hospital, but you always seem to do well", he expressed.
Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Central Shrine | Wednesday, July 13 2015
Kotori glanced over at Rui when he took a thoughtful moment before answering her question; the subtle motion being betrayed by her need to slightly turn her head to actually be able to see his face through her glasses. When he did answer, however, she quickly averted her gaze again with what almost looked like a small smile. The odd twist that he would wish for precisely that which she had too strange for her not to find it weirdly funny - even if he had done so unknowingly.
At least, that's what she thought until he added another two words. These caused Kotori to briefly pause mid-step, blinking in surprise and look at Rui; the surprise written as clearly on her face as it was heard in her voice as she perfectly enunciated her thoughts on the matter: "Eh?" Barely catching herself from staring, Kotori hurriedly returned to the previous walking pace with her eyes most definitely fixed on some non-descript point on the ground before her. But before she could rack her brain over just what he meant with that, Rui spoke up once more.
As he did, Kotori seemed to shrink under his words as she bit her lip. This... had been exactly what she had always wished to avoid. She'd never wanted to burden anyone else with worries about herself - she'd have much preferred to silently let the events come to pass, however that may transpire. Yet here Rui stood, stating that in keeping so silent, she had in fact only managed to achieve the opposite. That he believed her to be well was only a small consolation as she almost reflexively opened her mouth to say: "Uhm, s-sorry..."
But as she did, her steps once more slowed and the inner conflict that was so evident upon her face seemed to come to an equally slow and confused halt. As she'd apologised for being such a burden, Kotori had found herself remembering the aftermath of her kidnapping in May. Then, too, she had apologised for having endangered those that had come to save her of - unbidden and of their own volition. But she also remembered the words that Rui had said after the fight - how sad it was to hide away. And she remembered how she'd resolved to stop doing that; to face the world with courage in her heart - no matter what that may incur.
Yet here she was, back to her old ways of trying to hide herself away. And with that realisation, Kotori took a deep breath before she raised her eyes up from the floor once more. For months she had known that the surgery was soon going to come to pass - and for months, she'd kept her own worries and fears about it to herself. She'd hadn't told anyone else about it- though obviously, it was impossible to hide from the whole Investigation Team after she'd announced it for all to hear back then. She'd tried to keep things under wraps - but even as she tried to be as rational about things as she could, Kotori had still felt a deep-seated fear over what might happen if things went wrong. The fear of causing the very same sadness that her father had three years ago.
But she'd kept all this inside - not even to her mother had she spoken about things, much to her own increasing worries about her daughter. She'd thought that if she just kept up appearances, then things would go smoothly - or if they didn't, then at least she wouldn't have caused any additional worries beforehand. But in doing so, she'd really only achieved the opposite - and, she was starting to realise, keeping her thoughts and feelings on the matter bottled up was only making things worse.
It was with this realisation that Kotori finally spoke up - and, for once, fixed her bespectacled gaze directly on Rui's eyes. "Actually, that... is something I would like to talk about." Equally unusually, the usual quiver or uncertainty was lost in her voice - though still quiet, she spoke steadfastly. "I... truth be told, I don't think I've been doing all that well recently." She realised a moment later how that must sound without any context and thus hastily said: "Ah, not physically or anything, everything's fine. Well, mostly. As can be, really. But... it's just..."
Kotori's voice trailed off - but this time, not because she'd lost her confidence mid-sentence, but rather because she simply didn't know how to put her own thoughts into words. Nonetheless, she tried but a moment later: "I'm... afraid. Scared. Whenever I think about it, I... I can't help but think... what if? If I... if something... I mean, what then? I mean, I know, everything should go fine. I know that, but... what about my mother? And... and all of you, and... but... really, I... at the end, I... I'm just..."
Once she'd started talking, it all just came flooding out - and once it had, Kotori finally managed to arrive at that which lay at the very centre of it all. Because underneath all her worries for others and all her attempts at keeping them safe from any consequences, there was one very simple truth: "Shinichi-san, I... I'm afraid of dying." And having spoken those words aloud, Kotori fell silent. At some point, much like her mind, her eyes had begun to wander; ending up at an all too familiar patch of ground as she contemplated her own realisations in her own little world.
As he walked with Kotori back towards the meeting place, passing by as the night sky grew darker, causing the lanterns around them to seem brighter as the crowds began to thicken, he kept his eyes on Kotori as she spoke, their walking slowed as they did talk, until eventually she began to stop walking as the words coming out began to overwhelm her, unable to form proper sentences until she came to the crux of it.
It was a surprise to him that Kotori would share this much with him, but a pleasant one nonetheless. As she said she had gone timid again after their recent forays into the Mirror World. He was wondering what was wrong, and it seems it was the burden of her condition that was the root cause. Though it seems he was right, there always seemed to be something on her mind, though the very last sentence struck a chord as he became more aware of how she was feeling, that line alone was enough. Death was a scary thing, especially as they were so young,
"Listen", he began, he placed his hands on her shoulders, amidst the crowd of the festival. Thankfully it was not so crowded that such a thing was impossible, though noticeable a scene, neither of them raised their voice to attract unwanted attention.
"I'll be here for you, you don't have to carry those burdens alone. If you're afraid, I'll be right here if you need me, you don't have to carry this alone", he continued. No one should carry such a worry on their own really.
"So, don't feel so down, I believe you'll get through this no problem, if you have anything on your mind you can tell me about it too", the intensity of his words began to die down as he finished that sentence, throughout which his intense gaze did not falter. In essence, outside of the mirror worlds, he didn't do much compared to Kazuki who was constantly with Megumi and monitoring the Mirror World, while Kami was investigating the cult itself. Sometimes it made him feel a little bad, so he always followed up with them to make sure he didn't miss anything. Regardless, he felt it best he reassure her for now.
Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Central Shrine | Wednesday, July 13 2015
Kotori could not have said how long she was standing there, adrift in her own thoughts as she tried to navigate them - but before she could come to any kind of conclusion, she was brought back from her reverie by a sudden touch upon her shoulders. Blinking in surprise at being brought back to reality so unexpectedly - and even more so in an unexpected manner, Kotori looked momentarily confused before she realised that it was Rui who was now standing right before her. At that point, she noticed a couple of things - for one, they were still standing amidst the crowd, which was slowly moving around them. Second, his hands felt warm to the touch, even though the evening had not grown very chilly yet.
Furthermore, he had fixed his eyes right on hers, which was strangely uncomfortable - yet also not, all at the same time. Still, it did make it hard for her to look away when Rui started speaking - even if she did find herself wanting to, the further he went. Her first instinct would have been to apologise - for causing a scene in public, for putting this on him and without any forewarning no less. But between the relief she felt at having finally spoken up about what had been preoccupying her mind for the longest time and the fact that Rui did not waver for even a moment as he spoke his reassurance that she need not keep going it alone, she couldn't help but feel that it just wouldn't be the right thing to do.
Neither averted their gaze as silence fell at the close of his words - but this lasted only for a brief moment before Kotori remembered where they were and what the warmth on her shoulders was due to. "Uhm," was the first thing that came out of her mouth, unsurprisingly. Returning ever more from the depths of her own mind, her usual mannerisms seemed to be returning - for instance, her fingers were rather restlessly playing over her skirt whilst her eyes were darting about. But then, with a deep breath, at least a small change could perhaps be seen when her eyes found Rui's once again from behind her glasses and, finally, she said: "Thank you."
And for a brief moment, her words were accompanied by a small smile that somehow found its way onto her face - and not the usual half-hearted attempt, but rather one stemming from genuine relief and gratitude as she continued: "I... I think I need... a little time first. But... thank you. It means a lot to me." Having spoken, there was brief moment of silence - which was just enough time for Kotori to slowly realise that they were, in fact, still standing in the middle of an ever-moving crowd. And that she could still feel the warmth of Rui's hands upon her shoulders. And that these realisations were rapidly making her cheeks feel at least as warm if not more so.
"Ah, for the moment, shall w-we, uhm, continue on o-our way?" Kotori finally suggested; the belated embarrassement all to obvious in her voice and upon her face - both in the far redder shade than her usual pale self and her futile attempt at finding anywhere to look which somehow didn't including either Rui or anyone in the crowd.
