Satoko runs as fast as she can down the clinic stairs, never once stopping to take a rest. Her feet hurt. Her muscles are sore. It feels like she hasn’t breathed at all since that moment. After all, she’d ran all the way here.

( satoko-chan... your brother... )

Irie’s words echo in her head, over and over. She shouldn’t know where the basement is, shouldn’t know how to get in, but she swiped the card off Irie, and here she is - forcing her way down there anyway. She runs... and runs... her heart pounding in her chest... and finally opens the door. And there on the bed is Satoshi. Awake.

This... in a hundred years, this has never happened. Satoko watched Rika’s fragments for a hundred years, and Satoshi never once woke up. She’d grieved for him. Mourned him. And finally... after many, many years... slowly came to terms with the fact that she’d never see him again.

But it still hurt. It hurt so much. The moment she realized that Satoshi was never waking up, it was like someone had dug a hole out of her heart. She’d fallen into a despair so deep that she thought she’d never get out.

That was a long, long time ago, now.

How long has it been since she’s seen him? What is she supposed to do? This... this can’t be real. It can’t be.

As Satoshi notices her... Satoko simply stands there, stunned. The silence in the room is suffocating, but that doesn’t matter. Nothing else matters but this.

“...Nii-nii...?”

It’s been a whole year since the fight against the Mountain Hounds... it’s hard to believe that time has passed so quickly, but here she is. This is day that should be a day of celebration, but... it’s always been hard for Satoko. With each year that’s passed, it’s only become harder.

But it’s okay. She’s prepared for this day. She said she’s be strong for Satoshi, and she’s got Rika and all her friends by her side, so... she’s fine. Really.

She’s found happiness, or something like it. Satoko’s happy. And she’d always thought that one day, if she was strong, her Nii-nii would return to her.

Yes... she always believed. Yet the moment she sees him... she can’t believe it. It’s like she’s still dreaming. Stuck in a wonderful, wonderful dream.

Her eyes widen, and her lips tremble. Satoko stares at her brother like she’s seeing a ghost.

“N... Nii-nii...?”

     travelling was everything that steven had expected it to be, along with so much more --- there was more to see than he had ever dreamed possible, and he had visited a lot of different places for gem missions as a child. somehow, touring things as a ‘regular ol’ human’ just hit a little differently, and he was glad for the change of pace. it was comfortable.. easy. 

    moving by a field of wildflowers as he went for a walk to stretch his legs, steven stopped for a moment and took a second to appreciate the sight, his smile stretching wide across his face. it was beautiful.. he loved moments like this. 

     he spotted a small patch of flowers hidden in the shade which seemed to be wilting, and he crouched down beside them, taking them in for a moment. after taking a second to consider, he pressed a kiss to his finger, before touching the soil in which the plants were planted, watching with a smile as they bloomed again, even lovelier than before.

@shokogun​’s SATOSHI used the HALF-LIFE ALYX meme to say:

    —“ AH, I DID JINX US, DIDN’T I? ”

kel doesn’t believe in superstition too much, and he’s not exactly sure if satoshi is the type to take jokes like this, but hey - he didn’t think about that before giving a lighthearted, “ a little bit, ” in response.

he’d been trying his hand at the gachapon station right outside the shopping center. a whole bag of quarters to waste on one machine, and for what? well, it was supposed to be a charm for sally, but the specific one he wanted proved to be really tough.