fanfic100: Cinderella (Persona 3/SEES)
Title: Cinderella
Fandom: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Characters: Aigis, Koromaru, Ryoji
Prompt: #35-sixth sense
Word Count: 3,290
Rating: PG/K
Notes: As you probably already know, I do not own Persona 3 or its characters...sadly.
Little Damn Table: Here ♥
Aigis takes Koromaru out for a walk one night, and runs into a familiar face.
It was a cold evening in Iwatodai, one that had everyone huddling under their fur coats and scarves. Aigis couldn’t feel it, but she could tell by the low temperatures she detected from Koromaru’s fur, which had dropped dramatically since they left the dorm that evening. He was shivering, she noticed, but cheerful, and he made it clear that the cold wasn’t bothering him. So they carried on, heading towards Naganaki Shrine: his favorite place to run and play.
It was the first time they’d ever been out that late in the evening, together and by themselves. Mitsuru wasn’t sure whether it was a good idea at first. After all, people might become suspicious if they got too close to Aigis; if they noticed her cold, metallic body, or her other robotic tendencies. She had been learning, to be sure, and was becoming more human with each passing day-but whether she was ready to go about completely unsupervised wasn’t certain.
She went to Gekkoukan High every day, however, without incident, so Mitsuru figured it would probably be just fine. Aigis looked lonely, sitting on the couch at their dorm, simply waiting for their leader to return each day. Though she did have Koromaru for company that evening, Mitsuru felt they could both benefit from some fresh air. She herself wanted the space as well, she had to admit, with the horrible loss she had suffered that month; she suggested the outing herself, being perhaps a little more persistent about it than usual. Aigis seemed to understand this, and Koromaru had expressed excitement at the idea as well-so the decision seemed obvious.
It would be a good way to pass the time, Mitsuru had told her, until Minato came home; a good way to get her mind off things, especially that transfer student, whose presence at school seemed to be bothering her as of late. She did warn her, however, that it would probably be best if she returned well before the Dark Hour.
And Aigis followed her word as if it was an order.
“Arf! Arf!”
Koromaru led the way, and began running circles around her when they finally arrived at the shrine. They both ascended the stairs leading up to it, and he ran ahead as they reached the top. It was a quiet night; they had the place to themselves, so at the very least, they didn’t have to worry about garnering too much attention from anyone. As Aigis understood it, dogs could sometimes have that effect, as they were quite popular among humans. Especially a particularly intelligent dog, like Koromaru.
“This was your home, before you joined the others at SEES?” she asked him. She looked around, remembering that this was where they first met, but she hadn’t had the chance to explore it much. It had been about a month or so, maybe, since Minato last brought her here: to teach her about prayer, to show her the playground. She decided it was beautiful, especially under the light of the stars. She sat down near the shrine itself, where it was easiest to see them.
Koromaru was panting, and barked a couple times as he sat next to her, presumably answering ‘yes.’ She began to pet him, stroking his fur the same way she had seen so many others do. She smiled.
“You seem to be quite happy here,” Aigis told him. “I am glad.” She removed her hand that had been resting on his head and watched him as he stood up, running off again towards the playground, playfully and invitingly. She added quickly: “But please do not stray too far, Koromaru-san!”
And since she wasn’t sure exactly how far he liked to go, she decided she had better stick close to him. She stood up too, after a moment of monitoring him, and followed him to the playground’s slide, where he had stopped, and seemed to be staring at it.
“Arf! Arf, arf!”
“You would like me to get on the slide?” she asked him; she placed a hand on the structure, looking at it as if it was totally foreign to her. Though her robotic voice was mostly emotionless, there was still a certain something about it that made it possible to tell how she was feeling, if only vaguely: in this case, confusion. “I have seen many children derive enjoyment out of this and similar contraptions, but I am unsure of what purpose it could serve me.”
“Arf!”
His tongue was still hanging out of his mouth, and his mouth was in the shape of a smile, when he tilted his head upwards, looking at the platform at the top. The platform, where one would theoretically sit, and let gravity take its course.
“Fun,” Aigis stated, as if to translate what he’d said. “I see.”
It wasn’t as if the idea was totally lost upon her; the events of Yakushima hadn’t been that long ago, after all. But it just felt weird strange, as she climbed up that ladder to the top. Like she was out of place somehow. She sat down on the platform, seeing her legs extend nearly half way down the slide. That, she supposed, was the problem: her build was much too large to be able to enjoy this strange contraption to its fullest, having only a short distance to travel along the slope, which-as far as she could tell, was the whole point. This certainly did explain why she only saw children using it before. But she slid down anyway, after seeing Koromaru wagging his tail and waiting at the bottom.
There was no law against her using it, as far as she knew. And somehow, she had a smile on her face by the end of it.
“I believe this structure was designed for children, much smaller than me,” she confessed aloud, placing a hand on his back. “But it was much more enjoyable than I expected. Perhaps you would like to try it next, Koromaru-san?”
“Aigis?” A voice suddenly called out to her, coming from the red arch that was near the entrance to the shrine area, by the stairs. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here!”
This newcomer was clearly male, and wore a distinctive yellow scarf that Aigis would recognize anywhere; he slowly began to approach them, as Koromaru instinctively put himself between the two of them, looking particularly protective over her. Though he was smiling and generally friendly looking, neither of them looked very receptive of him. This went double for Koromaru, since he seemed to not only be making Aigis uncomfortable, but also intruding on a sacred area he considered his home. Just when Aigis was beginning to get her mind off things for the night…
“Ryoji-san,” she said, looking as stern and serious as she could. She stared at him. “…you are dangerous.”
He chuckled; he had heard those very words so many times now that it simply began to roll off his back, even though he was fairly certain it was her way of saying ‘no’ to any of his advances-past, present and future. It should have been crushing, he supposed, but he simply found it cute.
“You know, you say that so much, I’m almost beginning to believe it,” he replied. He scratched his head, gently, and by the dim light of the moon, he looked almost nervous. He’d certainly hit on girls before, and suffered his fair share of rejections, but this one on one was throwing him off a little, he had to admit. There was an awkward pause where Aigis hadn’t even responded to him further, and he was forced to continue the conversation himself. “So, what are you doing here, all by yourself?”
Her expression hadn’t changed, as she replied: “I do not understand your question. I am not by myself,” she informed him, straightforwardly. “I am accompanied by Koromaru-san.”
“Woof!”
Making his presence known, he barked loudly and startled Ryoji, who actually felt compelled to take a step back because of the aggressive stance he was in; not to mention that terrifying expression his face. It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed the dog, exactly-he supposed his presence just didn’t quite… register? He didn’t really know, but he certainly was noticing him now.
“R-right,” he said. “So that is your dog…” He looked down to acknowledge him, and for a moment he considered reaching down to pet him. But he quickly decided against it. Ryoji was quite fond of his fingers, thank you very much, and Koromaru’s hostile expression hadn’t exactly changed. They stared at each other for a moment, almost as if it was a contest, but Aigis quickly distracted them.
“Why are you here?” she asked. It wasn’t a particularly demanding question, more of a suspicious curiosity, but Ryoji had certainly been tempted to take it as such.
“Who, me?” He pulled on his scarf a little; it had become a habit of his, he supposed, when he was put under pressure. “Oh, I like to come here from time to time, you know, if I’m out and about. I guess you’ve noticed by now, but it’s a pretty quiet place this time of night, and it’s a good place to clear your head and get your thoughts in order. Not to mention…”
He paused for a moment as Aigis looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. His attention was on the sky now, however; his head tilted up.
“Yes?” Aigis pressed him, before he could become any more distracted.
He answered promptly this time, with a smile: “It’s one of the best places in Iwatodai to look at the moon.”
“The moon…” she repeated softly, as he turned to look at her. It was almost as if she was hypnotized by it. She looked up, following his gaze skyward and quickly spotted the bright glow of yellow in the sea of tiny stars. “You… enjoy looking at the moon, Ryoji-san?”
He blinked a couple times at her, trying to figure out whether she was being accusatory or not. A light laugh escaped his lips: “I… didn’t realize that was a crime…”
Aigis turned to look at him, when the moon had disappeared behind a thick cloud, temporarily being obscured from her vision. That sixth sense of hers that she supposedly had was still acting up around him, there was no doubt about that. The fact that she couldn’t pinpoint the reason however, was what truly ailed her, and it was what she would frequently discuss with Koromaru. While the purpose of this outing was to clear her mind and enjoy the night air, she supposed it just wasn’t meant to be. She was still taking him very seriously, despite his playful, non-serious nature.
“According to my records, it is not against the law,” she responded, in textbook fashion. “And thus, not a crime. I did not wish to imply such a notion.”
“Oh.” He breathed a sigh of relief, with a grin that seemed to say ‘You could’ve fooled me.’ He felt like he should have said something more, since simple acknowledgement didn’t seem enough. Should he try to justify it, perhaps? Explain why he found the moon so fascinating? Since he’d gotten no further questions, though, he figured he was in the clear. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to talk more than necessary; girls never seemed to like that kind of thing, in his experience. She seemed a little preoccupied anyway, since before he could say anymore, she was looking up at the sky again.
Today she learned something new about him. Something to file away in her memory, which hopefully would prove useful in figuring out just why Ryoji bothered her so, when no one else seemed to notice anything peculiar about him: he liked to look at the moon. Was this significant somehow? Or rather, did he know the significance of the moon, and all of its phases? Its effects on Iwatodai, the Lost? Or was he just another normal, regular human, who just happened to appreciate the celestial bodies in the sky?
She had tried to convince herself of this several times. Especially with how trusting Junpei had been of him, she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe something was wrong in her programming that just made her react strangely to him for some reason. Likewise, about her feelings for Minato, their leader-why was it that she felt the irresistible urge to be by his side? She often pondered it, but yielded no answers, not even when she’d tried to bring it up with Chairman Ikutsuki.
“Well…” Ryoji finally murmured, when the silence proved too much. “I… guess I’d better get going. I’m actually planning to meet a couple friends of mine at Paulownia Mall in a few minutes. We’re going to try to get into Club Escapade.” He chuckled, though when he realized Aigis did not find the idea nearly as amusing, he quickly stopped. Disappointment colored his face as he looked at her. “I don’t suppose there’s any way I could interest you in going with me, is there?”
Koromaru sat down next to her, looking disapprovingly at him and his idea, though he made no sound to indicate this.
“I am not entirely familiar with this Club Escapade,” Aigis told him flatly. “I would have no purpose to be there, nor the desire.”
“It could be fun,” Ryoji suggested hopefully. Though he knew there was little chance she would suddenly agree because of this, he couldn’t help trying.
“I also have… obligations towards my team that I may need to attend to,” she added quickly, though she wasn’t planning on elaborating more on that point. “So I am afraid I cannot accompany you.”
“Obligations to your team?” he repeated with a raise eyebrow. “Ah, right! You’re a member of that club, aren’t you? SEES, I think it was-that group who all live in the dorms together?”
“That is correct.”
He paused for a moment, trying to think of where he’d even heard of the club. It wasn’t exactly open membership or anything, so it wasn’t well advertised, but he would’ve thought there would be more talk about it around school, with Mitsuru, one of the most charismatic, most popular students being a lead member. But he was blanking on pretty much any information, besides their acronym. He couldn’t even remember what it stood for-nor their club activities, when they met, who their sponsor was… nothing. It bothered him a little, now that he realized it, but he decided he’d better not push the issue.
“So what,” he began, jokingly, “do they have you on a curfew or something? A certain time you need to be back?”
She hesitated for a moment, before answering: “Midnight.”
“Midnight,” he repeated again in a chuckle.
“Before midnight.”
“Like in that American fairytale, Cinderella?” he continued on, unable to stifle his smile. “How appropriate.”
He could picture her now, wearing Cinderella’s beautiful white ball gown: making her way through Iwatodai, scrambling to get back to her dorm. Dancing, in those shiny, polished glass slippers. When he tried to picture Mitsuru as one of her evil, evil stepsisters however, he decided he was probably taking the comparison a bit too far. He didn’t even know how the idea had gotten into his head, other than the mention of the time midnight. But it was fun, he had to admit, to let his imagination get the better of him.
“I do not know this term, Cinderella,” Aigis said, interrupting his thoughts. “Furthermore, I fail to see why it was an appropriate term to mention. You… confuse me, Ryoji-san.”
He laughed, and half-expected her to remind him again about how dangerous a person he was. She remained quiet though, giving him a chance to speak. And possibly to confuse her further, based on how their conversation had been going thus far.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, dismissively. His cheeks began to turn red as he began to explain. “It was just sort of a strange, roundabout way to tell you that I think you’re beautiful, like Cinderella… I guess.”
He began tugging at his scarf again, feeling the heat build up under it as he waited for her reply.
“I see…”
Aigis blinked, taking a moment to process his words. She recognized what he said as a compliment, however it was made less meaningful by the fact that she had not known who or what Cinderella was. Through context, she was able to infer that it was indeed a “who” although it still did not help her without a physical appearance for reference. She felt conflicted, deciding how she should respond, but she figured simple gratitude would be easiest, based on her accumulated knowledge.
Two simple words:
“Thank… you.”
There was an awkward silence that followed, during which Ryoji really kind of wished he’d just kept his mouth shut, and left for Paulownia like he’d originally planned. There was something interesting about Aigis though, something about her that attracted him and kept him there, making him more curious about her with every moment he spent in her presence. He didn’t know what it was; she did seem awfully familiar, so he supposed it could have been a minor case of déjà vu. Someone from his past, perhaps. His memories as a young child were virtually nonexistent, after all, for reasons he still hadn’t been able to figure out.
If she had been someone from his past, however, he would’ve expected her to remember him, so it was probably something else. Something strange that made her kind of irresistible. He could tell Aigis felt something strange about him too, based on how she acted, however it was much different, it seemed. Different, yet related, like two sides of the same coin.
“Koromaru-san would like to go home,” Aigis said suddenly. He looked up at her and whimpered, presumably deciding he’d had enough of watching the two trying to converse in awkward phrases and silences.
“Oh,” Ryoji murmured, trying not to sound disappointed. “I guess you’d better take him, then, huh?” He looked at him, sitting there at her feet-loyally and patiently. “And my friends must be waiting as well. I suppose this is where we part ways.”
“I will see you at school,” Aigis informed him; almost as if she was trying to remind him that their interactions weren’t quite done yet. “I will… keep an eye on you.”
“I can’t wait.”
Koromaru had already run ahead of both of them, so Aigis was forced to follow quickly, leaving Ryoji by the shrine, by himself. She was struggling to keep up with him, as Mitsuru warned her she might, as he was quite an energetic dog. He was also considerate, however, and eventually stopped to let her catch up to him when they neared the dorm. If she had actually had lungs to speak of, she was sure she would be panting, trying to catch her breath right now.
She thought back on Ryoji, as she reached her hand for the door, ready to report the night’s events to whoever asked it of her upon stepping inside. She thought back on all of the things he had said to her, mentally summarizing the evening’s events in her head to make the storytelling process easier.
And she thought back on the compliment he had given her, on her beauty-the first compliment she had ever received, being compared to Cinderella, a person or character who did not seem to be in her data banks.
She couldn’t wait to ask Minato-san all about her.
A/N: Hahaha, SO! Yeah, somehow I wanted to make a Cinderella reference and got this idea in my head. It dragged on for a lot longer than I had intended, and Aigis was a challenge to write, but I hope I did a good or at least a respectable job. She’s sort of at a weird stage of her character development at this point in the game, somewhere between a robot and the human-esque personality she has by the end of the Journey (and definitely in the Answer)-I hope it was believable.
I always liked Aigis and Ryoji’s interactions, and this seemed like a plausible idea to write at the time, and I don’t think anyone seems horribly OOC? XD Anyway, thanks so much for reading!
Fandom: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Characters: Aigis, Koromaru, Ryoji
Prompt: #35-sixth sense
Word Count: 3,290
Rating: PG/K
Notes: As you probably already know, I do not own Persona 3 or its characters...sadly.
Little Damn Table: Here ♥
Aigis takes Koromaru out for a walk one night, and runs into a familiar face.
It was a cold evening in Iwatodai, one that had everyone huddling under their fur coats and scarves. Aigis couldn’t feel it, but she could tell by the low temperatures she detected from Koromaru’s fur, which had dropped dramatically since they left the dorm that evening. He was shivering, she noticed, but cheerful, and he made it clear that the cold wasn’t bothering him. So they carried on, heading towards Naganaki Shrine: his favorite place to run and play.
It was the first time they’d ever been out that late in the evening, together and by themselves. Mitsuru wasn’t sure whether it was a good idea at first. After all, people might become suspicious if they got too close to Aigis; if they noticed her cold, metallic body, or her other robotic tendencies. She had been learning, to be sure, and was becoming more human with each passing day-but whether she was ready to go about completely unsupervised wasn’t certain.
She went to Gekkoukan High every day, however, without incident, so Mitsuru figured it would probably be just fine. Aigis looked lonely, sitting on the couch at their dorm, simply waiting for their leader to return each day. Though she did have Koromaru for company that evening, Mitsuru felt they could both benefit from some fresh air. She herself wanted the space as well, she had to admit, with the horrible loss she had suffered that month; she suggested the outing herself, being perhaps a little more persistent about it than usual. Aigis seemed to understand this, and Koromaru had expressed excitement at the idea as well-so the decision seemed obvious.
It would be a good way to pass the time, Mitsuru had told her, until Minato came home; a good way to get her mind off things, especially that transfer student, whose presence at school seemed to be bothering her as of late. She did warn her, however, that it would probably be best if she returned well before the Dark Hour.
And Aigis followed her word as if it was an order.
“Arf! Arf!”
Koromaru led the way, and began running circles around her when they finally arrived at the shrine. They both ascended the stairs leading up to it, and he ran ahead as they reached the top. It was a quiet night; they had the place to themselves, so at the very least, they didn’t have to worry about garnering too much attention from anyone. As Aigis understood it, dogs could sometimes have that effect, as they were quite popular among humans. Especially a particularly intelligent dog, like Koromaru.
“This was your home, before you joined the others at SEES?” she asked him. She looked around, remembering that this was where they first met, but she hadn’t had the chance to explore it much. It had been about a month or so, maybe, since Minato last brought her here: to teach her about prayer, to show her the playground. She decided it was beautiful, especially under the light of the stars. She sat down near the shrine itself, where it was easiest to see them.
Koromaru was panting, and barked a couple times as he sat next to her, presumably answering ‘yes.’ She began to pet him, stroking his fur the same way she had seen so many others do. She smiled.
“You seem to be quite happy here,” Aigis told him. “I am glad.” She removed her hand that had been resting on his head and watched him as he stood up, running off again towards the playground, playfully and invitingly. She added quickly: “But please do not stray too far, Koromaru-san!”
And since she wasn’t sure exactly how far he liked to go, she decided she had better stick close to him. She stood up too, after a moment of monitoring him, and followed him to the playground’s slide, where he had stopped, and seemed to be staring at it.
“Arf! Arf, arf!”
“You would like me to get on the slide?” she asked him; she placed a hand on the structure, looking at it as if it was totally foreign to her. Though her robotic voice was mostly emotionless, there was still a certain something about it that made it possible to tell how she was feeling, if only vaguely: in this case, confusion. “I have seen many children derive enjoyment out of this and similar contraptions, but I am unsure of what purpose it could serve me.”
“Arf!”
His tongue was still hanging out of his mouth, and his mouth was in the shape of a smile, when he tilted his head upwards, looking at the platform at the top. The platform, where one would theoretically sit, and let gravity take its course.
“Fun,” Aigis stated, as if to translate what he’d said. “I see.”
It wasn’t as if the idea was totally lost upon her; the events of Yakushima hadn’t been that long ago, after all. But it just felt weird strange, as she climbed up that ladder to the top. Like she was out of place somehow. She sat down on the platform, seeing her legs extend nearly half way down the slide. That, she supposed, was the problem: her build was much too large to be able to enjoy this strange contraption to its fullest, having only a short distance to travel along the slope, which-as far as she could tell, was the whole point. This certainly did explain why she only saw children using it before. But she slid down anyway, after seeing Koromaru wagging his tail and waiting at the bottom.
There was no law against her using it, as far as she knew. And somehow, she had a smile on her face by the end of it.
“I believe this structure was designed for children, much smaller than me,” she confessed aloud, placing a hand on his back. “But it was much more enjoyable than I expected. Perhaps you would like to try it next, Koromaru-san?”
“Aigis?” A voice suddenly called out to her, coming from the red arch that was near the entrance to the shrine area, by the stairs. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here!”
This newcomer was clearly male, and wore a distinctive yellow scarf that Aigis would recognize anywhere; he slowly began to approach them, as Koromaru instinctively put himself between the two of them, looking particularly protective over her. Though he was smiling and generally friendly looking, neither of them looked very receptive of him. This went double for Koromaru, since he seemed to not only be making Aigis uncomfortable, but also intruding on a sacred area he considered his home. Just when Aigis was beginning to get her mind off things for the night…
“Ryoji-san,” she said, looking as stern and serious as she could. She stared at him. “…you are dangerous.”
He chuckled; he had heard those very words so many times now that it simply began to roll off his back, even though he was fairly certain it was her way of saying ‘no’ to any of his advances-past, present and future. It should have been crushing, he supposed, but he simply found it cute.
“You know, you say that so much, I’m almost beginning to believe it,” he replied. He scratched his head, gently, and by the dim light of the moon, he looked almost nervous. He’d certainly hit on girls before, and suffered his fair share of rejections, but this one on one was throwing him off a little, he had to admit. There was an awkward pause where Aigis hadn’t even responded to him further, and he was forced to continue the conversation himself. “So, what are you doing here, all by yourself?”
Her expression hadn’t changed, as she replied: “I do not understand your question. I am not by myself,” she informed him, straightforwardly. “I am accompanied by Koromaru-san.”
“Woof!”
Making his presence known, he barked loudly and startled Ryoji, who actually felt compelled to take a step back because of the aggressive stance he was in; not to mention that terrifying expression his face. It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed the dog, exactly-he supposed his presence just didn’t quite… register? He didn’t really know, but he certainly was noticing him now.
“R-right,” he said. “So that is your dog…” He looked down to acknowledge him, and for a moment he considered reaching down to pet him. But he quickly decided against it. Ryoji was quite fond of his fingers, thank you very much, and Koromaru’s hostile expression hadn’t exactly changed. They stared at each other for a moment, almost as if it was a contest, but Aigis quickly distracted them.
“Why are you here?” she asked. It wasn’t a particularly demanding question, more of a suspicious curiosity, but Ryoji had certainly been tempted to take it as such.
“Who, me?” He pulled on his scarf a little; it had become a habit of his, he supposed, when he was put under pressure. “Oh, I like to come here from time to time, you know, if I’m out and about. I guess you’ve noticed by now, but it’s a pretty quiet place this time of night, and it’s a good place to clear your head and get your thoughts in order. Not to mention…”
He paused for a moment as Aigis looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. His attention was on the sky now, however; his head tilted up.
“Yes?” Aigis pressed him, before he could become any more distracted.
He answered promptly this time, with a smile: “It’s one of the best places in Iwatodai to look at the moon.”
“The moon…” she repeated softly, as he turned to look at her. It was almost as if she was hypnotized by it. She looked up, following his gaze skyward and quickly spotted the bright glow of yellow in the sea of tiny stars. “You… enjoy looking at the moon, Ryoji-san?”
He blinked a couple times at her, trying to figure out whether she was being accusatory or not. A light laugh escaped his lips: “I… didn’t realize that was a crime…”
Aigis turned to look at him, when the moon had disappeared behind a thick cloud, temporarily being obscured from her vision. That sixth sense of hers that she supposedly had was still acting up around him, there was no doubt about that. The fact that she couldn’t pinpoint the reason however, was what truly ailed her, and it was what she would frequently discuss with Koromaru. While the purpose of this outing was to clear her mind and enjoy the night air, she supposed it just wasn’t meant to be. She was still taking him very seriously, despite his playful, non-serious nature.
“According to my records, it is not against the law,” she responded, in textbook fashion. “And thus, not a crime. I did not wish to imply such a notion.”
“Oh.” He breathed a sigh of relief, with a grin that seemed to say ‘You could’ve fooled me.’ He felt like he should have said something more, since simple acknowledgement didn’t seem enough. Should he try to justify it, perhaps? Explain why he found the moon so fascinating? Since he’d gotten no further questions, though, he figured he was in the clear. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to talk more than necessary; girls never seemed to like that kind of thing, in his experience. She seemed a little preoccupied anyway, since before he could say anymore, she was looking up at the sky again.
Today she learned something new about him. Something to file away in her memory, which hopefully would prove useful in figuring out just why Ryoji bothered her so, when no one else seemed to notice anything peculiar about him: he liked to look at the moon. Was this significant somehow? Or rather, did he know the significance of the moon, and all of its phases? Its effects on Iwatodai, the Lost? Or was he just another normal, regular human, who just happened to appreciate the celestial bodies in the sky?
She had tried to convince herself of this several times. Especially with how trusting Junpei had been of him, she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe something was wrong in her programming that just made her react strangely to him for some reason. Likewise, about her feelings for Minato, their leader-why was it that she felt the irresistible urge to be by his side? She often pondered it, but yielded no answers, not even when she’d tried to bring it up with Chairman Ikutsuki.
“Well…” Ryoji finally murmured, when the silence proved too much. “I… guess I’d better get going. I’m actually planning to meet a couple friends of mine at Paulownia Mall in a few minutes. We’re going to try to get into Club Escapade.” He chuckled, though when he realized Aigis did not find the idea nearly as amusing, he quickly stopped. Disappointment colored his face as he looked at her. “I don’t suppose there’s any way I could interest you in going with me, is there?”
Koromaru sat down next to her, looking disapprovingly at him and his idea, though he made no sound to indicate this.
“I am not entirely familiar with this Club Escapade,” Aigis told him flatly. “I would have no purpose to be there, nor the desire.”
“It could be fun,” Ryoji suggested hopefully. Though he knew there was little chance she would suddenly agree because of this, he couldn’t help trying.
“I also have… obligations towards my team that I may need to attend to,” she added quickly, though she wasn’t planning on elaborating more on that point. “So I am afraid I cannot accompany you.”
“Obligations to your team?” he repeated with a raise eyebrow. “Ah, right! You’re a member of that club, aren’t you? SEES, I think it was-that group who all live in the dorms together?”
“That is correct.”
He paused for a moment, trying to think of where he’d even heard of the club. It wasn’t exactly open membership or anything, so it wasn’t well advertised, but he would’ve thought there would be more talk about it around school, with Mitsuru, one of the most charismatic, most popular students being a lead member. But he was blanking on pretty much any information, besides their acronym. He couldn’t even remember what it stood for-nor their club activities, when they met, who their sponsor was… nothing. It bothered him a little, now that he realized it, but he decided he’d better not push the issue.
“So what,” he began, jokingly, “do they have you on a curfew or something? A certain time you need to be back?”
She hesitated for a moment, before answering: “Midnight.”
“Midnight,” he repeated again in a chuckle.
“Before midnight.”
“Like in that American fairytale, Cinderella?” he continued on, unable to stifle his smile. “How appropriate.”
He could picture her now, wearing Cinderella’s beautiful white ball gown: making her way through Iwatodai, scrambling to get back to her dorm. Dancing, in those shiny, polished glass slippers. When he tried to picture Mitsuru as one of her evil, evil stepsisters however, he decided he was probably taking the comparison a bit too far. He didn’t even know how the idea had gotten into his head, other than the mention of the time midnight. But it was fun, he had to admit, to let his imagination get the better of him.
“I do not know this term, Cinderella,” Aigis said, interrupting his thoughts. “Furthermore, I fail to see why it was an appropriate term to mention. You… confuse me, Ryoji-san.”
He laughed, and half-expected her to remind him again about how dangerous a person he was. She remained quiet though, giving him a chance to speak. And possibly to confuse her further, based on how their conversation had been going thus far.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, dismissively. His cheeks began to turn red as he began to explain. “It was just sort of a strange, roundabout way to tell you that I think you’re beautiful, like Cinderella… I guess.”
He began tugging at his scarf again, feeling the heat build up under it as he waited for her reply.
“I see…”
Aigis blinked, taking a moment to process his words. She recognized what he said as a compliment, however it was made less meaningful by the fact that she had not known who or what Cinderella was. Through context, she was able to infer that it was indeed a “who” although it still did not help her without a physical appearance for reference. She felt conflicted, deciding how she should respond, but she figured simple gratitude would be easiest, based on her accumulated knowledge.
Two simple words:
“Thank… you.”
There was an awkward silence that followed, during which Ryoji really kind of wished he’d just kept his mouth shut, and left for Paulownia like he’d originally planned. There was something interesting about Aigis though, something about her that attracted him and kept him there, making him more curious about her with every moment he spent in her presence. He didn’t know what it was; she did seem awfully familiar, so he supposed it could have been a minor case of déjà vu. Someone from his past, perhaps. His memories as a young child were virtually nonexistent, after all, for reasons he still hadn’t been able to figure out.
If she had been someone from his past, however, he would’ve expected her to remember him, so it was probably something else. Something strange that made her kind of irresistible. He could tell Aigis felt something strange about him too, based on how she acted, however it was much different, it seemed. Different, yet related, like two sides of the same coin.
“Koromaru-san would like to go home,” Aigis said suddenly. He looked up at her and whimpered, presumably deciding he’d had enough of watching the two trying to converse in awkward phrases and silences.
“Oh,” Ryoji murmured, trying not to sound disappointed. “I guess you’d better take him, then, huh?” He looked at him, sitting there at her feet-loyally and patiently. “And my friends must be waiting as well. I suppose this is where we part ways.”
“I will see you at school,” Aigis informed him; almost as if she was trying to remind him that their interactions weren’t quite done yet. “I will… keep an eye on you.”
“I can’t wait.”
Koromaru had already run ahead of both of them, so Aigis was forced to follow quickly, leaving Ryoji by the shrine, by himself. She was struggling to keep up with him, as Mitsuru warned her she might, as he was quite an energetic dog. He was also considerate, however, and eventually stopped to let her catch up to him when they neared the dorm. If she had actually had lungs to speak of, she was sure she would be panting, trying to catch her breath right now.
She thought back on Ryoji, as she reached her hand for the door, ready to report the night’s events to whoever asked it of her upon stepping inside. She thought back on all of the things he had said to her, mentally summarizing the evening’s events in her head to make the storytelling process easier.
And she thought back on the compliment he had given her, on her beauty-the first compliment she had ever received, being compared to Cinderella, a person or character who did not seem to be in her data banks.
She couldn’t wait to ask Minato-san all about her.
A/N: Hahaha, SO! Yeah, somehow I wanted to make a Cinderella reference and got this idea in my head. It dragged on for a lot longer than I had intended, and Aigis was a challenge to write, but I hope I did a good or at least a respectable job. She’s sort of at a weird stage of her character development at this point in the game, somewhere between a robot and the human-esque personality she has by the end of the Journey (and definitely in the Answer)-I hope it was believable.
I always liked Aigis and Ryoji’s interactions, and this seemed like a plausible idea to write at the time, and I don’t think anyone seems horribly OOC? XD Anyway, thanks so much for reading!