reborn from ashes

“Un.” Ren nodded, pulling the door open and waiting for Shiho to leave first before exiting himself. He did have his house key with him so he locked up after them. He made sure Shiho was following him as they walked, leaving the apartments behind them and coming to a road. “Ann spoke about you all the time.” he said after a while, in response to what she’d said before they got dressed. “She worried a lot about you back then.” 

He wondered how Shiho had dealt with the aftermath and what she was up to these days, but he knew Shiho was strong. She had a fighter’s spirit. They were wandering down a road now and passing neighborhoods. The weather was perfect – not too hot or too cold. There were so many trees and other greenery. It all seemed so vibrant and full of life. 

While the scenery was nice to take in it seemed.. a little too much to take in. Would they just wander about aimlessly all day? “Hm.. Do you think there’s trains or busses around here..?” He felt around his back pockets and felt the familiar bump of his wallet. “Looks like I still have money.” It would be an interesting experiment to see if his funds were applicable here but he also didn’t want them to be crawling back to the apartment later.

She followed him out the door, lacing her hands behind her back as she walked. It was a nice day, in all honesty. Sunny days like this helped her feel at peace, as if her own gray clouds were being physically pushed away by the sunlight. Or maybe it was just because she was being active. But at the very least, she’d made progress and she could walk without help now. 

“Ah..? Did she?” Shiho blinked, eyes widening slightly. Something about that made her nervous. Just what sort of things had Ann told him? About how they’d met? That was a little embarrassing to think about. “All good things, I hope,” she laughed sheepishly. Well, Ann was her best friend. She knew she’d never say anything to make her look bad. That was just how she was. 

“She spoke about you too, when she came to visit, and on the phone sometimes,” she continued, feeling it was only right for her to mention that. “It seems like you really helped her out a lot. Thank you for that, being there for her when I couldn’t.” Shiho smiled softly, dropping her gaze to her feet for a brief moment as she walked along with him, letting her hands swing freely at her sides. “Ah, she also told me you became good friends with Ryuji too. That’s good. Things got kind of rough for him when we got to Shujin..so I’m glad he was able to make a good friend.” 

Ren carefully took the letter from Shiho and slowly read over the contents, scanning it a few more times in case there was some code in there. “It’s better to accept things as they come.” he stated, handing her back the letter then stuffing his hands into his sweats once she’d taken it. “The quicker you do, the better you can adapt.” It did sound like he was speaking from experience and of course he was. Not just because of the persona business but also because of the whole being sued for assault and all that.

“Don’t worry about it.” The male offered her a small yet kind smile. It was just like Shiho to worry more about others than herself. It was the impression he’d gotten of her the first time they met. Despite what she was going through she could still advise him not to let it get to him. Considering all that she’d been through she was still kind.

“For now why don’t we take a look around?” Considering that someone had kidnapped them, pulled them to another world, and taken the trouble to set them up in an apartment, he couldn’t seem to factor in that they’d go through all that and then harm them. Ren paused, looking down at his bare feet then looked back up at Shiho. “Let me get dressed first.” He sure hoped their kidnappers had brought over their clothes.

He disappeared back into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him for some privacy and dug through his closet and dresser. Everything was just how he had it back at home. That was reassuring. Were their kidnappers trying to give them a false sense of security by supplying them with some normalcy? When Ren emerged from his room, he was wearing a black t-shirt, a light black cardigan and jeans. His unruly hair was a little bit more managed but he was outside ready now.

“Shall we?” he once more gave the girl a reassuring smile and moved to the door, opening it. Remembering the words in the letter, he turned to look at Shiho. “Don’t forget your key.”

“That’s true,” she mused in agreement, glancing at him. It was the first chance she’d really had to observe him in place that wasn’t Shujin and at a time when she wasn’t stressed out of her mind. “Were you always this wise?” she asked, feeling a faint smile twitch at the corner of her lips. She could kind of see why he’d managed to befriend Ann and Ryuji so easily--but she was glad for that. Ann needed someone reliable and she...hadn’t exactly been able to do that. 

A short laugh managed to escape her at his words and she tilted her head slightly. “Something tells me that if Ann told you anything about me, you already know that I’ll still worry even if I’m told not to.” Come to think of it, did Ann even tell him anything about her? Ann was always keeping her up to date with the news around Shujin when she’d been in recovery, but she had no idea if the reverse was true. 

His plan was sound though. Maybe there was a chance they could pinpoint just where exactly they were supposed to be. Well, that was of course assuming this was just an elaborate prank and this so-called Maris didn’t actually exist. Wasn’t there some sort of television show about pranking unsuspecting people? 

But...well, if it really was another world...she didn’t think she’d mind starting over. Things had been rough, even if they’d made her into the person she was now. But at the very least.. 

“Sure, that sounds good,” she nodded. “I should change too..” After all, she’d been exercising. The t-shirt and shorts she was wearing weren’t exactly an outfit she’d want to go out in after all. As he disappeared into his room, she returned to hers, digging out a simple, white button up blouse and a black knee-length skirt. It was strange that even their clothes were here, but it was almost like their entire room had just been uplifted and dropped into..wherever this was. She changed quickly, not wanting to keep him waiting too long, and tucked her blouse into the skirt as she grabbed a pair of sandals. 

Shiho | @anemonecrowns​

Pink hues snapped open wide and were greeted by the harsh sunlight and a white ceiling. Iroha squinted and rose up, rubbing the tears from her eyes then scanned the room. It was her room back at the boarding house but something felt amiss – something she couldn’t explain. “Yachiyo would know..” she thought to herself as she planted her feet to the floor and walked over to the door. Her hand gave pause, hovering just over the handle as something caught her gaze from the corner of her eye.

Settled upon Iroha’s desk was a white paper. “Huh?” She prided herself in being meticulous about organizing her things. Even in her sleepy haze she still would have had time to stuff one paper into her drawer before bed. Iroha picked up the paper, pink hues dancing back and forth, top to bottom. “What is this…?” She questioned, setting the paper back down when she noticed that her hands were blank. The ring adorning her finger as well as the marking on her nail were gone. 

Shocked, the girl checked both hands and touched her face. That’s right! The last thing she remembered was being dragged down with Tomoe! How had she ended up here? And why were her powers missing? 

Had she died…?

It kept her mind busy, and plus, it didn’t hurt to keep up with the practice. There were still aches and pains, things that probably wouldn’t ever go away completely, but the exercises helped. 

When she’d finished her exercises, she moved to the kitchen, planning on getting a glass of water and rest, only to be startled by the loud bang. Shiho whirled around, her eyes wide as she braced herself against the counter. Every muscle in her body jumped to fight or flight until she belatedly remembered there had been another name in the letter.

The brunette let out a heavy exhale, forcing herself to take several slow, deep breaths to quell the rising panic. At least she wasn’t quite as jumpy these days. Still, she could sympathize with the other--this was a bizarre situation with no real answer to why they were here. Just...suddenly dropped in. 

“Hello,” she greeted, once she was able to calm herself down. “I guess you just got here?” Well, that was probably a dumb question, considering the other girl’s panicked shout. 

“Letter..?” He hadn’t even thought to check for anything. The first thing he did was walk out here. At Shiho’s first question, Ren pinched his arm. “Ow..” He could feel pain. He didn’t think this was a dream to begin with. While he was perplexed he certainly wasn’t alarmed. After all, this wasn’t his first rodeo.

“None taken.” he responded, pushing his glasses further up his nose since he hadn’t adjusted them too well before putting them on. “Why do you think it’s a dream?” He guessed it was normal to want to come to that conclusion, but it was just wishful thinking. The sooner she accepted the situation for what it was the better. 

“Can I see your letter?” Saying what he was thinking would be too harsh. It may even put her into more panic. For now he’d try to remain calm and assess the situation before coming to a conclusion.

Why did she think it was a dream? Being asked that point blank actually made her stop and think for a moment. She couldn’t really know if he was always that way, but she did sort of remember it from the one conversation they’d really had. 

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly, furrowing her brows. “I guess it’s just because the situation seems so...odd.” These sorts of things didn’t happen to her. But if it wasn’t a dream, then what in the world was going on? The letter didn’t really explain things at all. 

Wordlessly, she moved closer, holding the letter out for him to take. “I read it but...I can’t seem to make sense of it,” she sighed. “It all sounds like some sort of light novel plot.” Probably the sort of thing Ryuji might have been into in middle school. The thought almost made her snort, but she was quick to suppress it. It’d be weird if she suddenly laughed at something, right? 

“Were we really pulled into another world..?” she wondered aloud, glancing around. It really just seemed like a normal apartment. Wouldn’t there be something more...magical about this? Or was that just childish wishful thinking on her part?

“I’d like to go up on that roof one more time. To sort out my feelings.”

Ren knew something was amiss before he even opened his eyes. It’s not like he had extraordinary intuition or some power that enabled him to feel that way. It was just…

He was definitely no stranger to waking up in a different bed.

… He could appreciate the thought that ran through his head at how that would’ve sounded to anyone else. Jokes aside though, it was made to look like his room back home. Maybe his past had just made him paranoid and he’d open the door and find himself greeting his parents as usual. Perhaps all the studying he’d been doing lately was getting to him. He was still in his pajamas, hair tussled and glasses still sitting on the nightstand where he left them. But it’s not like he expected anything to be different so he simply exited the room.

This was… definitely not the decor his mom would have chose. It was kind of plain, like no thought had been put into it. And then he heard a voice and turned his head in the direction.

“……..”

Ren stared at her for a long while before walking back into his room. He wasn’t even gone for a minute then returned with his glasses now on, once more studying the girl in front of him. Nope, he hadn’t been seeing things. That was definitely Suzui standing there.

“…. Hey.” He greeted her casually as if he wasn’t even going to bother freaking out or question what was going on. Well, it was on his mind. Had he been called into the metaverse again? He certainly didn’t feel like his powers had returned…

She fell silent as he watched him leave the room as soon as he saw her. Ah. She supposed that was probably a normal reaction to seeing a classmate--er, former classmate. Not that they’d actually been in the same class. Well, she was just spinning in circles here, wasn’t she? 

He reemerged rather quickly, now sporting the glasses she remembered seeing him in. That only confirmed it was him. It didn’t seem like he had changed much since the last time she had seen him. He still seemed to be a pretty quiet guy, but he had made friends with Ann and Ryuji, so she knew at the very least, he was someone she could trust.

But that begged the question of why he was here. “Did you get that letter too?” she found herself asking, holding up the offending paper. It sounded way too farfetched, if she was being honest. But if this was a dream, why was Amamiya here? Was it some sort of lingering regret she’d had? That she hadn’t done more to help him...? That was ridiculous and she knew it. She’d had her own things going on then.

She sucked in a breath, pushing down those memories before they could resurface. That wouldn’t do her any good to have an attack here, in front of him. Though she supposed she had...done worse before. Slowly, when she was sure she was a little calmer, she exhaled.