Never Say Never.

「♞」 “Just what importance does Valentines have for people? It would seem everyone is anticipating it..or dreading it”

“Well, it’s a holiday built around the idea of love. Romance, chocolates, buying gifts for whoever you’re dating--stuff like that. I guess the dread comes from not having someone to celebrate it with?”

“There was a school,”  She begins, frowning at nothing in particular,  “an academy of high status and prestige. Kibougamine. I remember the gate, and passing through the front doors… and then I woke up,”  she motions to the space around them.    “Here. In this… Oh, that’s right.”  there’s a bite in Kirigiri’s voice.  “Where are we, exactly?”

“We’re in a place called Hive City,” he begins, slow. “I know it sounds impossible, but it’s this strange, enclosed space that operates as a social experiment. It takes people from all these different worlds and watches how we interact...and we’ve been here for two years already! The problem with your memories, all the things that don’t seem to fit right with you? It’s because you’re affected by one of the experiments going on. You’ve seen the way time isn’t working correctly around here, right? Th-The backwards people, the looping cars...all of it is part of the procedure.”

“Who are you?”

“Would it be all right to ask what the last thing you remember is? And if you have any more questions for me, well, I’ll answer them the best I can!”

“I see.”  Her voice is cold and too flat – the syllables are clipped, condensed into something like patience.  “Sector five, yes? I’m—”  she looks around and realizes she does not know where she is, or even how she got there.  “I’m close by. Where can we meet?”

“Let’s meet at the highest point in the Sector--that’d make sense if we want to survey the area, right? I think that’d be...the road that leads to those high-rise restaurants near the Fourth. I’ll be outside that old Chinese place with the red gate we went to once! Oh, and, be careful, okay, Kirigiri-san? It’d be safer for us to investigate together!”

“Well as said I don’t need to drink anything….but if you would like to, I don’t mind accompanying you Naegi-kun. A walk sounds nice.”

“At least the city seems peaceful today...about as much as it can be, anyway. It seems like everybody’s spirits have been pretty high lately...!”

Be part of a more hopeful future, today. 

(wake me up inside)

“Well…yes, more or less.” To be fair, she wasn’t really aware of what day it even was at the current moment. “And I feel perfectly fine. I am just an AI after all… Too much sleep isn’t that bad…” Probably? Probably.

“Do...you...maybe...well, I don’t know, we could grab some coffee or go on a walk or something if you still need help waking up...?”

She smiled, full of reverence.  “I’m glad. To be honest, I don’t think I could bear to see a change in that aspect of your personality. If we were strangers, I’m certain I would be of a harsher mindset…”  beneath the table, Kirigiri nudged his foot with the toe of her boot, lining up their legs so that their knees were pressed together.  “But you’re my partner, and I’ve become a fair deal more morally impartial as a result. Terrifying, isn’t it?”

“Well,” he starts, lacing his fingers together in nervous defiance of the way his heart starts hammering in his chest. What is she doing now? “I don’t know if it’s ‘terrifying’, but... I guess it’s good that some of my optimism rubbed off on you? But you make it sound like you’ve not been kind from the start, Kirigiri-san!”

“But I’m sure everyone who w-wanted to dance would probably be gone by now… rrr-right?”

“Well, you never know...I’d be really pleased, actually, if I could share a dance with you at the ball, Fukawa-san.”

“Goodness, a year certainly has passed by for us hasn’t it? Hmm… Maybe! I honestly think it’s only been two for me. You and I must of gotten in around the same time!” 

“,,,It’s probably not a good sign if we’re losing track.” Naegi’s tone is bone dry. “It seems almost unbelievable, doesn’t it? Some people come and go from here within a week, yet it’s like you said, this’ll be our second full year here in just a few days...it makes me wonder.”

“Oh my… I’ve been so busy that I didn’t realize my birthday is in  two weeks. Not to mention my anniversary of being here…”

“Oh, that’s right, I remember you saying something just like this last year! If you’ve been here longer than me...is this your third anniversary, Schu-san?”

“That’s right,”  she nodded, considering him with softer eyes.  “I wasn’t aware you’d been keeping track.”  Kirigiri paused then, choosing her next words carefully so as not to create any further awkwardness.  “Establishing a life here… settling down, getting comfortable… Naegi-kun, what do you make of that? I’d like to hear your thoughts before I voice my own opinions on the matter.”

“Sure. I think it’s...surprising that we’re still here,” he admitted. “But it’s not surprising that we’ve basically become accustomed to living here? It’s been almost two years. I know we’ll get out of here someday, but at the moment, it...it doesn’t seem right to have the goal just to ‘escape’. There’s too many people here who I wouldn’t want to abandon even if I had the option. Way too many unanswered questions too...”

“Ah–Naegi-kun! It has been quite some time…yes, I did. And well……it looks like I’ve been sleeping for a month or so…? It was not as I intended.”

“...A month?!” There’s a bit of a pause, then-- “A MONTH?! Nanami-san, are you feeling all right? Th-That’s not...is that normal?” He doesn’t...think so...

“Ah…..it looks like I overslept for a while..”

“Ah, Nanami-san! It’s been a while!...Did you just wake up?” (Isn’t it like the middle of the day?) “Oversleeping’s not that bad unless you had something planned...”