⊰ memento mori ⊱

It had been a quiet few weeks since Minato had arrived on the island, and once again the blue-haired boy had found himself wandering. Only recently had Minato been made aware that there were other former SEES members on this island, even if it was so far only Mitsuru. Were there others on the island? Was meeting Mitsuru just dumb luck? It was these thoughts that kept him preoccupied as his twin called for him.

Minato’s head turned at the sound of his name, knowing without a single doubt that he knew the voice. Of course, he wasn’t able to look before the girl threw herself at him, but that didn’t matter. It was his sister, one of the only people in this world he truly cared for. Minato’s arms reached out to catch the girl, knowing without a doubt that he would catch her. 

“You know, you could have warned me before you jumped into my arms.” He smiled, his face not matching his words at all. “But I missed you too.”

     As predicted, she catches her, her graceless sobs and all. He might not look like much, but her twin is the reliable type, even to something so unimportant as catching her (after all, this was not the first - or the last - time this would occur). “I know... but... I’m... I’m just so happy you’re here...”

Mitsuru is transfixed as she watches Minako deftly gather up skewers and marshmallows, half in a daze as her hand is grabbed and she is led to one of the fire pits. Though she’s listening to her speak she’s still a bit hesitant as she pierces the fluffy treat onto the skewer and holds it over the flames, watching the fire lick at it and roast it a light brown. “Interesting…it’s not often that I’m able to see a chemical reaction like this up close.” Of course, while she is naive when it comes to things like this, she knows well enough to remove the marshmallow from the fire before it gets burnt, and thankfully hers is a nice golden brown…that is a bit of a darker brown on the edge of black on one side, but practice would make perfect. 

Heading back to the table, she gingerly picks up a graham cracker, places her marshmallow on top of it, then does the same with a piece of chocolate and another graham cracker. That was right, wasn’t it? She looks to Minako for approval before staring at it a moment longer and taking a bite, a light gasp turning into a nervous giggle as crumbs and slightly melted chocolate and marshmallow cream all seem to burst out of the s’more at once. Covering her mouth with one hand she does her best to lick the mess away, wishing there had been napkins set out as well. Knowing that Minako isn’t going to judge her, though, she lowers her hand, a slight blush warming up her cheeks (though perhaps that was from the heat of the fire, perhaps not). “The creaminess of the chocolate blends well with the fluffiness of the marshmallow…and the crunch of the graham cracker adds some nice texture. Très bien! This is delicious. I suppose this is just another food I’ve been missing out on, hm?” A pause, and again she looks at the auburn haired girl, a genuine, sweet smile on her lips (along with a bit of chocolate). “Either way…I’m glad you were the one to show me.”

     With Minako’s own marshmallows burned to be incredibly crispy, she works alongside Mitsuru to make their s’mores. As usual, Mitsuru’s is nearly flawless, picture worthy if the brunette could say so. In her own red eyes, she feels her senpai is enjoying herself with something so simple, casual, everyday. And for just a moment, she’s lost in an idyllic daydream of being like this forever with Mitsuru, worry free with the events of their last year behind them. Snapping from her idealized world, she is back to reality. Watching her finally taste their creations, she’s overly pleased with it! The junior notes to herself that she’ll have to make these on a stove top sometimes with her, just to get a glimpse back to this shared moment.

     There’s no lying in how cute she is. Graceful even with such an informal snack, she compliments the food as if there was a grand chef behind it all. “Yeah, you’ve been missing out on it! I’m happy to show you, but... there’s something... there...” The chocolate on her lips catches her gaze, and for a moment no fear is within her, having already finished hers in just mere moments, she leans toward the other girl, eyes narrowed and intended to ‘take care of’ the mess the other girl made.

Anxiety, unfortunately, was something Gaito had always to deal with. And while normally he would have just walked faster away and avoided the whole situation, lacking even in confrontation with his head down, this person had physically touched him, causing his fight or flight response to activate in freeze mode.

He– couldn’t hear whatever they were saying, he couldn’t hear–

And then the girl practically saved his life, all in a flash.

“I’m alright… I appreciate it actually.” Heavy exhale, “They weren’t anyone I know, but – I simply froze up, is all.”

More embarrassing to admit the why, anyway. “… if there’s any way I can thank you, it’s in my destiny to return the favor, so…”

     “Well...” Thinking for a moment, she could only empathize, not exactly understand the feeling of freezing up against people. At the least, she felt she could help someone else out if they were in the need of it. “It happens to the best of us, right? I’m glad you’re okay!” To her, this is no big deal, at least since he’s talking and seems to have recovered from the shock of it all.

“You’re not being a baby,” Mitsuru immediately interjects; her voice is sharp, but not harsh, for it simply cuts through Minako’s self-doubt. Just because the heiress is better at controlling her emotions doesn’t make the other a baby by any means; she simply has more practice at doing so, and in a way she wishes she could be as expressive as Minako. 

“It’s only been a few days for me as well – perhaps we did arrive together, but were separated somewhere along the way. I actually live here, in…Cotes, I believe it’s called. I’d invite you to see my townhouse, but…my roommates are a bit eccentric.” She pauses as she looks around, following Minako’s gaze towards the school. “I don’t think the school is open yet, so there’s no need to worry.” Another pause – “Considering we disappeared before I was able to formally graduate…do you think I’ll need to repeat my third year?” Her tone is serious, but her eyes sparkle. “Just kidding.”

As Mitsuru speaks her hand idly moves to rest on the other’s shoulder, rubbing gently it in the hopes of providing her some comfort as she wipes her tears away. “Of course we’ll stick together – did you really think I would just leave you here behind, leader?” There’s that wry playfulness again; being with Minako does more than just put her in a good mood – it allows her to relax completely, almost as though she is another person. “I know just the place. Have you been to the Star Trail yet? There are foods from many different cultures there – including some of the ones you introduced me to back home.”

     Her relief is immediate. Mitsuru was not lost for long on her own, and that alone is reassuring. However, she jests about repeating a year, thus making her in the same grade as Minako, a terrifying idea. “No way! You’d test well enough for college, and... I don’t know if I could compete against you in my own class, so don’t go repeating third year!” While her tone is joking, she’s serious in the same line; surely, if Mitsuru was her classmate, not only would she have someone driving her harder, but she would be second, and it pained Minako just to imagine it.

     “Well, I must say, if whoever is keeping us here will let us, you should move in with me! I don’t really know my roommates, but they haven’t been a bother or anything, so I’m sure it’s better than what you’re working with.”

     On her own for the day, Minako takes the opportunity to explore beyond her usual horizons. The shopping center she has come across is filled with assortments of items she’s never seen before, the crowd hustling and bustling just like most of the city does in the middle of the day. Today, however, seems busier than usual, so many people around to enjoy the heat before it cools down for winter, she assumes. Nearing the entry to one of many shops, a young boy stands on his own, frozen in place; she herself doesn’t have trouble handling people, although not everyone is her. He seems to be bombarded by someone who, from the looks of it, is not acquainted with him; her only guess is that they’re a salesman of some sort, offering a deal too good to believe to him. Sales must be rough if one must pitch their pushy talk to a kid. A natural leader won’t leave anyone behind, even if she doesn’t know them personally. Approaching with familiarity, she offers a kind smile and a gentle hand to the boy, in turn declining whatever it is the stranger is selling. “No thanks, not today!” Facing back to the boy, she then says to him, “Come on, let’s go!”

     “Ugh! Seriously?” Louder than she expected, her shout at a faulting vending machine turns into an aggressive shake, unaware of a bystander watching her outburst. After her attempt to retrieve the candy bar is all but for naught, she turns around - only to be looking into the eyes of someone who saw the whole thing. Feeling a bit immature to someone who appears her own age, she can’t help but feel a bit shy over losing her temper on something that is, in the grand scheme, so minor.

@morteum

Mitsuru can’t keep a smile off of her face as she walks down the streets of Golden with Minako by her side, in her hands a fairly good sized dolphin plush – not too big, not too small, it had taken Minako a few attempts to get it for her but her tenacity had won out in the end, as usual. Though Mitsuru’s happiness appears subdued, she is overjoyed; for the first time since arriving in Spirale she finds herself completely and utterly at ease, memories of the two of them going to the summer festival back home lingering in the humid air. As they make their way towards the beach and the fire pits, she can’t help but watch people as they pass by; everyone seems to be having fun and it’s simply infectious, and she begins to wonder if ending up here isn’t too terribly bad after all.

When they arrive at the crackling flames, Mitsuru is…puzzled. There’s food sitting out on a table, sausages – hot dogs? – on one side and graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolates to the other. It’s all free for the taking, but the heiress is a bit lost; presumably you’re supposed to roast the food at the fire as some of the people already at the pits are doing, but…well, she’s never done anything like this before. New experiences make her a bit nervous, but with Minako at her side she has nothing to worry about; not only is her dear friend quite understanding about her naiveté, but she’s always willing to teach her about the things ‘normal’ people do. Though an eager student, hopefully Mitsuru won’t look too foolish…

“Well, this will certainly be a new experience. These are…s’mores, correct?”

     Minako uses whatever she can to make this the best not-date ever! While she’s not working with a large budget, after hearing of a festival she did her best to scrape together some odd-jobbed pocket dust so she could make such a thing come to fruition. Her hard work has paid off so far, however, spending a large part of the day taking Mitsuru places she ordinarily wouldn’t go herself (so she assumed), and even she herself taking a dive to ensure the redhead has something to go home with. The dolphin is just the right size, she thinks, as she finally garnered enough pearls to cash in. Not at all displeased with it, her senior holds it with care. Thank goodness, she thinks to herself, appreciating that they can smile alongside each other even in this situation.

The best things in life fall into our laps when we least expect it. At least, that’s what Mitsuru thinks when a simple trip from her home to the library is interrupted by a high pitched wailing, followed by a sudden flash of auburn and warmth running into her. Though she blinks, Mitsuru doesn’t need to think twice to know what’s going on – she would recognize that voice, that hair, that…everything anywhere. And yet, she says it aloud just to be sure, though the wind has been knocked out of her and she can barely speak: “Minako?!”

As her friend sobs into her chest, Mitsuru gently runs a hand over her head, the other holding her close; the look of complete and utter shock that had been on her face quickly melts into a warm smile and she sighs contentedly, even holding back a giggle. It’s surprisingly easy for her to settle back into the calm she had been in before she came here, the two of them sitting on the rooftop; so they both had come here together, or at least, not too far apart. Then that surely meant that they weren’t dead, were they? It was curious that Minako echoed what the girl she had met upon first arriving here had said, but she would simply have to ask about that later…

“You’re not alone…and you certainly aren’t dead. It’s alright…” She waits a few moments more, stroking Minako’s hair tenderly, until pulling back and facing her – her face and eyes are all red, and Mitsuru resists the urge to wipe those tears away. “How long have you been here?”

     The warmth of familiar hands is soothing, admittedly. For just a minute, she could expose her insecurity and pent-up feelings to her upperclassman, although she’s much more than even just a close friend. For the minute Mitsuru assures that they are, in fact, not dead or alone, her tears stop.

     “R-Really? Oh... hahaha... Sorry for being such a baby then.” Still flushed, her hands go immediately to clean up her sobbing mess, and she’s a bit embarrassed for someone she think so highly of to see her this way - even if she’s well and comfortable with it. Removing herself and giving the redhead breathing room, “It just felt like I really died, though. I guess it’s just me then! I haven’t been here very long, just a few days. I live over in uh... Archimedes? I live in some condo, it’s a little weird. How about you... senpai?” Hesitating, she doesn’t remember exactly if she agreed before whether or not she could call her by first name; best not to bring it up now, maybe another time outside their reunion would be more suitable. 

     Cotes is becoming like an old friend, at this point, as nearly every day of Minako’s is spent here; while not minding the travel back and forth, she considers if she may be able to move here or not. Today she discovers something like an internet cafe, and for being the evening, few people are here. Of the few, the young girl notices a boy clicks away at a handheld device near to her, and she can’t help but take a glance at the screen, eyes widening at the familiarity of the game’s interface and graphics: something she long anticipated prior to arriving in Spirale.