A E O N

Another normal day at Gekkoukan High where Akane spent time with one of her favorite friends, Rio from the volleyball team. After classes ended, she decided to enter the volleyball court with her earlier than usual. Seeing as she was getting better and better the more she practiced, she was more psyched up than ever today.

While she was busy practicing, however, one of the members pointed out that an outsider had entered the court. Turning around, the Fool went pale upon realizing who it was and she called for a time-out. She made a beeline for her, speechless for a moment as she pointed at the gallon of water.

“What in the world is that?! You’re not supposed to be here, Aigis! Besides, that much water could kill a man! Did… you come to support me?”

Once Akane had come to her, Aigis raised a hand as if to tell her that there’s nothing to be worried about, that she can handle this. She places the container of water on the ground, and opens the lid on the top, with the help of a nearby chair. She smiles at Akane with, perhaps, an innocent smile that shows that she doesn’t know what she’s doing wrong.

She doesn’t know why, huh. She’d said essentially the same thing when he’d asked her why she was following him… But Ryoji just doesn’t understand it at all. He wishes that she could give him some reason that she disliked him so much. if there was something concrete he could look to, to understand why she thought he was such a bad person, then maybe he could convince her that he was alright. …At least he’d understand the reason.

But maybe they aren’t so different after all. After all, Ryoji himself has plenty of feelings… that he doesn’t understand, either.

With that final thought, he watches her walk away until she’s disappeared from sight.

( … )

The next day seems to pass by quickly - which doesn’t surprise him. Lately, it feels like every day goes by a flash. But after school, as he catches a glimpse of Aigis heading off by herself, he finds himself suddenly heading over to her. Before she can escape him, he cuts in front of her path, wearing a smile that’s almost but not-quite apologetic.

For some reason… it’s bugging him more than normal, today. He’s always, until now, been able to laugh off Aigis’ accusations, without paying too much mind to them. He was certainly curious about what he did to anger him, and it was a little disappointing, too, but… he didn’t really spend too much time thinking about it. He’d tried to remember where he knew her from, as well, but he’d given up on that as he realized it wasn’t coming back to him.

But now, their conversation keeps coming back into his mind. Dangerous. For some reason… today, he really wants to show her that he isn’t.

So he asks.

“Is there anything I can do to prove to you that I’m not dangerous?” he starts without preamble. “I want you to understand that I’m not, but… I don’t know how to do that.”

The following day, Aigis did as she always did, and kept an eye on Minato. It didn’t seem like he wanted to spend time with Ryoji, and maybe had other things to do in mind... As of late, all she can think about is Ryoji, but not in the sense that one would think, if they knew this, but some distance between Ryoji and Minato was necessary.

The way that he cuts in front of her, however, brings a frown to her face. She didn’t expect to see him at all, today, considering he wasn’t talking to Minato. However, she doesn’t push him aside. Instead, she crosses her arms.

“You can stay away from Minato-san... I do not care about other people...” It must’ve sounded really posessive, but if she was going to lose meaningless reputation over his safety... It didn’t matter. “I just believe you’re dangerous to him... There’s no other way I would accept that you aren’t.”

Aigis genuinely doesn’t sound judgemental, but Ryoji can’t help but feel a little defensive nonetheless. More than that, though… he knows that she’s been watching him after school, but ever since they met? That’s… more than a little frightening. From the way she phrases it, he’d almost think it was out of concern for him - if it was anyone but Aigis, that is.

But while he grows more and more unnerved as Aigis keeps talking - her question about Minato takes him completely off-guard. He blinks in surprise, distracted, as he tries to think of an answer.

Why him? He supposes… that there isn’t any particular reason for it. Yes, he does seem strangely familiar. And despite the boy’s aloofness, there’s something about him that seems to draw Ryoji to him, but… he doesn’t know what that is. He’s kind, too… though Ryoji hasn’t really known him long enough to explain why he’s so sure of that. So…

“…I don’t need a reason, do I?” he asks, after a moment of thinking - and his question is sincere. “Maybe I just want to be friends with him.” Though the friendship he’s seeking with Minato isn’t quite the same as what he’s looking for with Junpei and everyone else. He only just realized it recently, but… he thinks, maybe, he…

Suddenly shaking his head, Ryoji snaps himself out of his funk - brightening the smile on his face and hoping that he appears confident.

“Just because I spend a lot of time with girls doesn’t mean that I don’t want to spend any with boys, too!”

She watches his expression change as she speaks, looking to see if there was any sort of sign that he wasn’t telling the truth, that he was hiding an ulterior motive and he was dangerous to Minato... But all she senses is genuine confusion, sincerity.

Aigis didn’t expect him to be truthful, but she also didn’t expect him to lie outright. If she could pin him to a lie detector, she would’ve, but she didn’t have the means nor a good reason to do so.

She doesn’t look convinced, even if she feels she is. “That is correct, you don’t need a reason, but I was expecting you to tell me one.” She blinks, her expression, unmoving. She recalled the different times she’s seen him with other people, unable to see if he did like spending time with Minato, or not. Still, it seems like she is letting it go for now, right?

“B-but that’s… not true…”

For some reason, he hesistates as he says it, as if he’s uncertain in himself. …But there’s no reason for him to be uncertain, is there? He has an apartment - ( he knows that, ) because goes back there every night! Aigis is just… well, she must be even stranger than he thought, to make up lies like this. Or maybe she’s somehow mistaken…

( so… why is it that he’s so anxious, all of a sudden? )

It must be because Aigis’ fierce questioning is making him nervous. The fact that she’s followed him before, to the point of watching him when he goes to sleep… that’s kind of creepy, isn’t it? Actually, he should definietly be concerned about that.

“You’ve got it all wrong!” he continues - still sounding more like he’s trying to justify himself than he does angry, in spite of his musings about being stalked. But though he tries to speak in a casual tone, he’s clearly at least a little upset. “Yeah, I spend a lot of time outside… and sometimes I end up falling asleep outside, too. I just…” he pauses. “Don’t really like going home alone, that’s all…”

She wouldn’t understand the fact that he was upset, or the reasoning behind it. Aigis just nodded at what he said. “I was just stating what I believed. Ever since I met you, you’ve been sleeping outside, by yourself.” There had to be a difference between heading home by himself, and staying outside, by himself. Regardless, the way she sees it, it’s better to be at home, right?

“My objective is not to judge your sleeping choices, but rather, to keep watch over you.” She would still continue talking about the fact that she saw him as dangerous. Even if she didn’t have a really good reason for it. “However, if my cover is revealed, I should retreat.” With a bow, she intended to leave, but she stood silent.

“You don’t have that information…?”

What a strange way to phrase it. To be honest, Ryoji doesn’t have a clue what she means. If she was following him, then surely it must’ve been for some reason or another, right…? In that case, wouldn’t she know the reason?

“You really are a weird one, aren’t you?” he jokes, with an awkward kind of smile. He’s trying to take the situation casually, and if he can, show her that he means no harm - but to be honest, as they talk, he finds he’s only becoming more nervous. Maybe he should’ve kept on walking and pretended he didn’t see her…

This isn’t the first time that Aigis has mentioned Minato-san when talking to him, either. She seems to be extremely protective of him, for some reason. Minato doesn’t seem like the kind of person who needed protecting to Ryoji - least of all from him - but he supposes he doesn’t know either of them particularly well. Maybe she’s just a very protective person…?

But then she says something that takes him by surprise.

“…Huh? What do you mean?” he asks; almost as if he didn’t quite hear her.

But she was speaking the truth. She lacked the information necessary to attack him, and what she did have, was feeling. She could feel something hurting in her chest when she saw him, when he approached Minato, her fight or flight senses skyrocketed, but her mechanisms refused to work. One could almost say it’s a natural, muscular reaction.

“You do not have a home, Ryoji-san.” She didn’t hesitate to repeat this phrase. “This isn’t the first time I’ve followed you, on the same unknown principle, and it is not until you are safely asleep, that I leave for myself.” She could probably pinpoint where he had been sleeping the past days, but preferred to save this information for herself. Should she need to find him, she would already know possible places.

“Eh? …Aigis-san?”

When Ryoji got the sense that someone was following him… he had thought at first that it had to be his imagination. And yet, low and behold - here she is.

Aigis was… well, to call her a strange girl would be an understatement. But Ryoji had no problem at all with strange, and so Aigis’ eccenricies shouldn’t have been a problem at all… if it weren’t for the fact that she seems to hate him for a reason that he doesn’t quite understand.

So he isn’t sure how to feel when he realizes that it’s her who’s been following him all this time. One the one hand, he’s a little relieved. Aigis is odd, and she certainly dislikes him, but she probably doesn’t mean any harm… at least, she hasn’t up until now, anyway. And in some ways, it’s quite flattering to have been followed around by a girl all day.

But on the other hand… Well, it is a little unsettling. He just wishes he knew what it is he did to anger her so much.

( To be honest, sometimes, Aigis does seem a little familiar to him. But he can’t place where exactly it is he knows her from. …Is it possible that he’s wronged her before, some time in the past? )

He shoud probably ask her sometime, but instead, the question he asks is-

“Were you following me? …Why?”

There’s a brief stop as he asks this, and Aigis has to run another quick analysis through her body. The question of “Why” remained inside her head for a long time, and having asked her of this, she had to obey and look for a reason... but nothing came up.

“I do not have that information yet.” Her way of speech was still the same, and there was definitely a feeling that he was dangerous, that she should take care of him, for the sake of everyone’s safety... But he was human, and she couldn’t hurt him. There wasn’t enough proof to show that he was dangerous.

“But I was, in fact, following you, Ryoji-san.” Her face remains unchanged, showing that she wasn’t embarassed, or trying to hide this. “I’m... unsure as to why, though... I want you to be as far away from Minato-san as possible... and I’m making sure of that.” She blinked.

“… I feel a disturbance in the force.”

“Somewhere a cute girl needs to be kissed!”

Aigis just passes by and blushes. She can’t be that cute girl, right? Still, she can’t resist.