“Of course you’re more than welcome, since we accidentally trapped you in the first place… feeling better, Kaito?” Shuichi asked, noticing Kaito shuffle back towards the couch, blanket still over him.

Kaito didn’t answer. His arms just pushed out to the side, patting around the couch before finding Miyako, picking her up and pulling her under the blanket with him. 

“That’s probably progress,” Shuichi decided, looking back to the ghost. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a small journal, starting to take notes, “This is actually my first encounter with a ghost, and indeed, I believe my first concrete bit of evidence that ghosts can exist in a physical, observable way outside of possessing other items or bodies. My name is Shuichi, and I’m actually a supernatural detective in training, so first may I ask: what is your name, and has your death occurred recently enough that we ought to be moving quickly to retrieve your body and/or capture your potential murderer? Assuming you didn’t die of less aggressive causes.”

“Dada’s crazy, Miya,” Kaito whispered to Miyako beneath the blanket, cradling her to his chest as she cheerfully tried to eat his arm, “He’s bonkers. Can you say ‘Dada’s bonkers’?”

“Wuagh-weh!” 

“See, I knew you’d understand. You and me, Miya, we’re the only sane people in the castle,” Kaito whispered, sweat pouring down his face. His heart pounding violently despite his attempt at a steady, even tone.

Quinn gave Prince Kaito another concerned look, but, admittedly this time, Prince Shuuichi stole his attention without Quinn rationalizing it. His eyes widened with an accompanying, “Whoa!”

“A supernatural detective?! That’s, like…a thing?” Quinn asked earnestly, before the implications of such a thing, along with his relative position kicked in. Oh…uuuuh… If he didn’t want to immediately be found out…

Trying to delay having to answer, Quinn questioned, “You, uh…don’t…hunt ghosts, do you?” A hint of genuine fear amid the spectral reverb. 

“Hunt? No,” Shuichi said a tad dismissively, though he made a note of it. “Unless, perhaps, you were the culprit of a different murder, and died in the victim’s attempt of self-defense. Or if you attempt to harass him in any way,” Shuichi said, absentmindedly nodding towards the shivering blanket, “Just so we’re clear. How old are you? Post-death.”

“What?! No way!” Quinn yelped, looking shocked at the prospect of him being a murderer. “A-and I really don’t want to bother your husband either, I just…”

…okay, he still hadn’t come up with an answer, and the prince really didn’t seem okay, and if he was gonna out himself anyway--he could just straight up lie, but that seemed…more difficult right to a detective’s face--then…

Tapping his fingers together, Quinn gave Shuuichi a nervous look. “...do you think he’d feel better if I didn’t look like this?”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow, a thousand questions running through his mind: are you a shapeshifter? Do you plan to turn invisible? Can you stop looking transparent and green and oddly sparkly in your ooze? Can you stop looking like a child?

…but the easiest way to get all of his answers was to say, “Yes, I think it would.”

Looking a little more nervous, Quinn gave Prince Shuuichi a small nod before…well, there wasn’t much aplomb. The soft sound of feet dropping onto the ground, something the almost looked like an ink wash over a painting changing the transparent, glowing green ghost into…a young teen with dark hair and bright blue eyes and freckles, jagged scarring going down from one of his eyes down his neck and reappearing from the sleeve of his shirt down his right arm. 

Quinn shifted his weight uncertainly, glancing at the blanket before speaking up, his voice…soft and a little rough, but undeniably human. “Um…Prince Kaito?”

Shuichi was furiously writing into his journal– alv+ded=/=????--as behind Shuichi there was a pause, some deep, desperate breaths coming from beneath the blanket… before hesitantly, Kaito dripped up the blanket with his arm, peeking a reddened, wet eye out…

…before Kaito’s whole head pushed out, frowning as, blanket around his shoulders, he stood up. Walking over to Quinn and giving him a hard look. Taking in the scars and, also, just the kid’s general demeanor, his nerves, dark hair that was a little too shaggy, arms that were a little too thin for a kid at the edge of what was going to be a growth spurt…

Kaito scowled, before saying shakily, “W-we’re putting some food into you, a-and water, a-a-and,” Kaito looked around, a little lost, like he was expecting an answer to pop up, before deciding, “A-and you’re going to the m-med ward to get checked on.”

“For what, Kaito?” Shuichi asked.

“F-f-for blood pressure, I don’t know!? He was dead a second ago! He’s getting a check up!” 

Well, not hiding was an improvement! So Quinn offered a gentle smile as the prince came over…before he gave the man an incredulous look. “Dude, I just spent like half a month in the hospital, I’m all good.”

“You were dead!” Kaito sputtered, looking to Shuichi and saying insistently, “Handsome, hold my baby!”

“Kaito, I am not about to lose my chance to speak to this young man just because he happens to be another half-dead teenag–”

“Fine, YOU hold my baby!” Kaito insisted, holding Miyako out to Quinn.

“Yeah, but I’m allllso alive!” Quinn countered, his voice rasping a little more as it rose, forcing him to clear it a bit, “I like to think that counts for a lot. And it apparently does for a lot of other people too.”

Startling a little as the baby--Princess?-- was held out to him, Quinn did feel the impulse to just do what the prince said, before he crossed his arms with a stubborn look. “...if you’re gonna try and take me to the hospital by force, I am just gonna go intangible again and I am not dropping a baby because of that.”

Softening a bit, Quinn tried to placate. “Look, I really am fine. The healers actually said it was kind of a miracle I survived, and Mr. Essei said that I probably healed way better than expected like this because I’m dead too, though he did say that was just a theory.” Quinn shrugged, nonplussed. “Apparently it’s not the most common thing in the world.”

Kaito frowned, bouncing Miyako against his chest. Damn, usually the ‘hold the baby’ trick worked. God he was going to lose this freaky kid so fast. His skin felt so clammy. He needed water. Why were half-dead teenagers always the hardest ones to help!? Kaito wished being half-dead made you more agreeable, dammit! 

Shuichi, though, looking over his notes with a frown, putting together a few context clues, asked, “...is your name perhaps Quinn?”

Quinn startled slightly, before giving Shuuichi a sheepish look, half-grinning as he tapped his fingers together. “What gave it away, the lightning scars? Uh…yeah. Quincey Pectra, at your service. Sorry for, uh…disrupting royal family life, or whatever, my literal first day here.”

“Actually, referencing being in the hospital for a month,” Shuichi explained, reaching over to pat Kaito placatingly on the back, mildly surprised at the dirty look Kaito shot him when he did. Taking his hand back–suddenly wondering if maybe he needed to do some quick ‘oopsy, pissed husband’ work–Shuichi looked to Quinn and asked, “Are you hungry though? Would you be okay with sitting down with us over some food? It’d make us feel better to see you well-fed and know you’re not about to pass out.”

Oh, yeah, that’d do it. Self-incrimination was wild. 

“I mean, sure?” Quinn shrugged, “Though we did get breakfast this morning and everything. I’m not…” Realization brightened Quinn’s face before he sighed, looking tired. “...look, I…know it doesn’t look great, from what my parents’ accusations are, but it’s not… I’m not a latchkey kid, and my parents don’t just disappear for ages, and they don’t hurt me or anything. I really am okay.”

His mouth scrunched a little. “...aaaaand I may have slipped my ‘security detail’,” he made air quotes, “so if we go…down? Just, uh…brace yourselves, maybe.”

Kaito’s mouth scrunched to the side–uh huh. He had heard that one before. Pull the other one, kid, it’s got bells on it–before his eyes widened, visibly brightening as he said, “They’ve given you a security detail? Really? Oh!”

“Really?” Shuichi asked, far more skeptical.

But Kaito noticeably relaxed, grinning tiredly as he said, “Okay, well, we should get you back to them soon, then. I know it can feel stuffy, but it’s really unfair to them to make them worry when they’re just doing their jobs. Let’s go find them and–”

-

“--and then we’ll…” Kaito said, reestablishing now that they were downstairs, that he still wanted to insist on water and some tea, before his face scrunched uncertainly at seeing the ‘security detail’. “Oh.”

“THERE HE IS! GET HIM!” Orlin shouted, bolting at Quinn and tackling him, “RESCUED!!”

Despite being the person to give the initial warning, Quinn still let out a strange, rasping squeak as Orlin tackled him, at the last moment deciding his efforts were better placed bracing for the ground rather than against Orlin. 

A little slower, Edgar ran after Orlin and, seeing his boyfriend had Quinn covered, he gave the men and baby with him an appraising look. “...I’m going to have to ask you some questions for Quinn’s well-being. Don’t resist.”

Shuichi deeply, deeply sighed. Children. Before saying, “Please, go ahead.”

Kaito, in turn, looked briefly, absolutely heartbroken that the security detail was, in fact, more teenagers. Giving Edgar a concerned look before warily asking, “Are your… parents here?”

“What are your names, and what were you doing with Quinn?” Edgar asked. “Have you ever been arrested before?”

Limp under Orlin, knowing better than to resist, Quinn sighed. “Guys, these are Prince Kokichi’s husbands, we just ran into each other. They, uh…” Think fast. “Wanted to check up on me since the trial’s going on and we were gonna get drinks in the dining hall. Uh…” Quinn looked up at Orlin. “They mentioned all sorts of teas, and there’s a hot chocolate station set up during winter, apparently, and I’m sure they have coffee…”

A slight wince went through Edgar’s face. Not just any coffee was Owlan Coffee, but, still…Quinn was playing dirty. “...good thing we found you, then.”

Giving Kaito a dry look, Edgar answered, “Uh, no? Why would they be? They’re not on grand trial.”

“Right,” Kaito blinked, “...where are you staying?”

“Oooooooh, coffee,” Orlin whispered, checking Quinn over for any injuries that weren’t caused by having been tackled a moment before, before standing up and helping Quinn up too, glaring at him, “You can’t just keep disappearing on us! Also, HOW??”

“G’OW!” Miyako shouted in solidarity. 

“Do you keep doing that!? It’s bizarre, man, what the fuck!?”

“Um, let’s hold back a bit on the cursing, please–”

“What!? I can’t say fuck!? Anyone can say fuck!”

“G’WOCK!” Miyako shouted in solidarity.

“I will bury you in the gardens if my daughter’s first word ends up a curse word because of you, peasan–”

“Annnnnd, I’m taking the baby, and you’re taking out your rock, and we’re all going to get some drinks,” Shuichi decided, taking Miyako from a twitching Kaito’s arms, trying to smile endearingly at the boys, “Latchkey children or not, going through a few questions on both ends will neatly wrap everything up.”

“What the heck is a pesan?” Orlin whispered to Quinn and Edgar, “Is that a curse word I don’t know?”

Quinn gave Orlin a small nod of thanks as he was helped up, rubbing his shoulder a little. He mumbled something around an explanation, but was strangely enough saved by Prince Kaito, though not through a method he would’ve ever guessed. He supposed it was reasonable for a parent not to want their kid’s first word to be a swear--and it was kinda funny how the princess kept echoing sounds--but, uh…

Edgar frowned at Kaito. “...if that is a swear, you shouldn’t talk to him like that. Or, like. Threaten death. That’s really uncool. Quinn almost died for real, threatening it is really insensitive.”

Kaito, briefly, ground his teeth… before pulling out the pebble and cloth, quickly starting to clean it. “...I apologize,” he forced out. 

Shuichi, raising an eyebrow–and recalling that Kaito had been hiding under a blanket not that long ago–stepped over to him and whispered quietly, “Why don’t you head up to the room and get some rest. I can take care of this.”

Kaito frowned, giving the teens a concerned look before whispering to his husband, “Shuichi, that one dodged the question of where his parents were and the other one is de–”

“And I’ll handle that. Go, you’re at a limit. Go rest,” Shuichi whispered, gently pushing Kaito off. 

Kaito briefly looked like he wanted to argue, before sighing and nodding, heading off. Shuichi adjusted Miyako in his arms, before looking back at the kids. “Has anyone actually shown you where the dining hall is yet?”

Quinn watched the hushed conversation between the princes, a bit of guilt bleeding through his expression. He really hadn’t meant to freak Prince Kaito out so much. He hadn’t meant to get trapped in a weird magic chest at all! But…still, maybe he could’ve…like, unghosted before they opened the chest? Though, finding a regular kid in a chest was still super weird on its own, and Quinn had no idea how he’d answer that either. 

…shoot. 

“No,” Edgar answered for the group, when it looked like no one else would. “Orlin and I only got here a few hours ago and they were out of maps at the front.”

Quinn shrugged a little. “I got pointed directions earlier. The guards I talked to said I could go most places in the castle that weren’t the higher floors of the west wing.” Residential rooms, he’d been told, and also that if a door was closed, there was a good chance it was being used. Considering what he’d seen before he escaped Orlin and Edgar before, though, the castle seemed pretty open so it wasn’t like he was super confined, asked to stay within it today.

“All of that is basically true. There’s a few rooms on the higher floors that are also open to the public if you find yourself wanting to use them,” Shuichi explained, leading the way to the dining hall. 

It was busier than normal, which was saying something considering how busy the dining hall usually was. Shuichi could guess it was just the hustle and bustle of things trying to rev themselves up again after the freeze, clubs re-meeting and hobbyists itching to get their hands on technical equipment the castle stocked. But it probably also had something to do with the court case, Shuichi keeping an eye out for anyone who seemed to recognize the teens as he showed them the hot chocolate stand and where to get tea and coffee to mix and match as desired. 

As they sat down, Shuichi gave Orlin a concerned look as he sipped at the drink he had. “I saw you put six shots of caffeine in that.”

“Seven,” Orlin corrected, sipping again.

“....” Shuichi redirected his attention to Quinn, “How are you? Outside of us running into you earlier, I mean. You stressed earlier that your parents aren’t neglectful or harmful. If you’re worried about the case, you should know that Prince Kokichi and King Aiichi are both extremely reasonable people. If this has all been a misunderstanding, they’ll sort it out.”

“It is a misunderstanding,” Orlin said, sipping his coffee before twitching, “The gnomes did it!” 

“......” Shuichi gave Orlin a long look… before adjusting Miyako on his lap to pull out his journal, “Tell me more.”

Just getting a simple hot chocolate himself--and conceding with absolute maturity not to get marshmallows, since he didn’t feel like taking his bands out--Edgar gave Orlin a proud pat on the back. Seven was a huge improvement from ten. 

“I mean, yeah, I don’t really get what the case is, beyond people just being freaked out about me, but…”

Edgar cut Quinn off bluntly. “The Oumas might be reasonable, but Pectra and Fenton aren’t.” At the tired, unamused look Quinn gave him, Edgar shrugged. “It’s true. Even if they’re not as crazy as everyone in town says, your parents go way over the top for everything.”

Quinn had to pause, giving that reasonable consideration, before Edgar blinked at Prince Shuuichi and sighed, fishing in a pocket to give Orlin a silver. “You were right, honey. We should’ve brought the poster board.”

“Guys,” Quinn groaned, “Look…even if gnomes are involved in some way, it wasn’t them, or my parents. I electrocuted myself.”

“From one of your parents’ machines,” Edgar clarified, earning another groan from Quinn.

“Taken advantage of BY THE GNOMES!” 

“G’OAN!” 

“She really does enjoy repeating shouted words,” Shuichi realized, patting Miyako on her belly as she gurgled happily. 

“But yeah, they still needed to leave a bunch of crazy equipment around for the gnomes to be able to use it against you in the first place,” Orlin pointed out, “It’s dangerous, man!! My parents didn’t let me run the big coffee machine in fear of burns until I was TEN, but your folks just have crazy full body uuuuuuh DEATH MACHINES or something lying around!”

“GYAA!” 

“That still might not lead to any serious consequence from my husband or the court,” Shuichi reassured, “If the issue is that dangerous equipment was left around where teenagers could interact with them, my guess is the fix is going to be insisting you and their work space is kept in distinctly separate areas. But sometimes children are just curious and electrocute themselves. Nothing to do but try to be more careful…right, Tim?”

“Your scars are cool,” Tim said from right behind Quinn, frowning as he stared at his arms, “I didn’t get cool scars when mine happened.”

Edgar nodded, silently backing up Orlin’s point. He had a feeling that it was more than Quinn had ever mentioned, but some of the stuff he had mentioned, death machines laying around his house, family road trips to the middle of nowhere to hunt ghosts, was…wild. It could turn out Quinn’s parents weren’t legally neglectful, but they were wackjobs for things other than believing in ghosts. That was just the point people tended to focus on. 

Honestly feeling a little reassured by Prince Shuuichi not having a total freakout over everything, Quinn smiled softly. “I mean, yeah, I’m definitely gonna make sure that everything’s unplugged if I get curious about a new machine, but…”

He jumped a little, before turning, seeing a younger boy and…giving Shuuichi a quick, tentative look for a moment. Shuuichi said that he was the first ghost he’d met, so… Quinn gave the boy, Tim, an awkward grin. “They are pretty neat, thanks. Can’t say I love the questions I keep getting about them, but on their own they’re cool. You…got an electric shock too?”

Edgar’s eyes narrowed slightly, just watching Quinn as he took a sip from his drink. 

“Yeah,” Tim said, bringing up his hands and showing Quinn the white, broad marks on his palms, “But my scars ended up looking like this, which is way more boring. Hi Miya.”

Tim was greeting his sister because Miyako had immediately started wiggling in excitement when she noticed he was there. For some reason, ever since the day he had taken the bewildered baby to play in the snow in the study, Miyako had decided Tim was one of her favorite people despite having subjected her to The Cold. In truth, she just liked his calm, warm, excited feeling that he usually radiated, enjoying its simple rush as she reached insistently towards him. “NGH!!”

“I see that I am being rejected,” Shuichi said dryly, as Miyako whined and reached for Tim again… who went blank faced, heading around the table and picking Miyako up, before his expression cleared, blinking in confusion to see her suddenly in his arms, “Well, would you mind watching her for a bit, Tim? Where’s Chase?”

Tim looked over to the door of the dining hall, where Chase was licking up some water in a bowl. “Was about to take Chase on a walk.”

“If it’s a short walk, can Miyako come with you?” Shuichi asked.

Tim nodded. “Sure. Come on, Miya,” Tim said, heading to the door. 

“So many children,” Shuchi sighed, before looking back to the new three, “Where are you two staying, tonight? In the castle?”

“We’re just gonna bike home,” Orlin said.

“...how far is home?” Shuichi asked.

“Oh, huh,” Quinn mused, before bringing up his right hand to show Tim the whiter scarring on his index and middle fingers, “Burn scars. Direct contact, huh? Ouch.” Though, from what he’d understood from the healers, saying that the rest of his scars weren’t burn scars was technically incorrect. Just that they were signs of electricity burning through his body, and not just from the outside of his skin. Though that was a little much to explain to a little kid. 

“We live in Entente Grove too,” Edgar answered Shuuichi, just quietly watching one sibling coming over to take care of another before he looked back to the prince, “We biked over this morning to look after Quinn while the trial’s going on. I guess the castle’s an option, but hotels are too expensive so we didn’t think about it, and Orlin’s got a shift Wednesday morning too if he can’t get out of it.”

He gave Orlin a small shrug. “I still think adding up your vacation days is enough of an argument for your folks. My mom said it was romantic that we were taking a city trip together.”

“I-I-I dunno, man, I’d have to get a message to them by this point and it’d just be A LOT!” Orlin twitched, gripping his mug tight with anxiety. 

“Why don’t you stay at a room in the castle tonight,” Shuichi insisted, “There’s a legend around here that teenagers who try to ride off from the castle at night get chased down by a madman on a horse. It’s a pretty persistent legend in these parts, I know of at least three teenagers myself who swear up and down it happened. Best not to risk it.”

“WHAT? Oooooh man, I can’t get run down by some crazy headless horseman!” Orlin squeaked.

“I never said he was headles–”

“MY PARENTS WOULD KILL ME!”

Quinn’s eyes widened and he quickly tried to stop Prince Shuuichi, but he only managed to cover his closest ear to Orlin as the prince got the legend out. 

Putting an arm around Orlin, Edgar started soothingly rubbing his boyfriend’s arm. “If someone on a horse started chasing us, horses are pretty fragile, we’d figure out a way to trip it up. And there are phone lines now, remember? We can call your folks later, either I can watch Quinn while you do, or I can make the call for you.”

Edgar gave Shuuichi an imploring look. “There are operators here like other phone centers, right?”

“Of course, available for anyone to use, so long as no one has a reservation or there isn’t an emergency happening,” Shuichi said, “I can show it to you next, if you like, and then we can get the rooms set up. And really, you wouldn’t need to hurt a horse for this particular legend, he tends to just be annoying until you go back to the castle before disappearing. He’s not dangerous, and the horse I’m certain is just minding its own business.”

“I guess I don’t want to trip a horse,” Orlin admitted, frowning, “And it’s probably hard for a guy without a head to really attack anyone? No sight, no sound, that’s not the most effective attacker???”

Shuichi still had no idea where Orlin got ‘headless’ from, but nodded sagely. “That sounds correct to me.”

Edgar saw Quinn’s head tilt a little in his peripheral vision, and while his expression barely changed, Quinn saw death in his eyes. It was normal for the two of them to argue scientific semantics, but, well, that was enough of a reminder to shut up about anything that might launch Orlin into a paranoid frenzy. 

But while one whirlwind was avoided, another one was stirring, Doppio walking into the dining hall with a narrowed, suspicious look before he spotted a group of teens and a prince, though it took him the time of walking over to really register which prince it was. Which led to a wholly belated look of surprise as Doppio asked, “Prince Shuuichi? Where…” Doppio’s eyes narrowed again, looking around cautiously. “...do I even want to tempt fate asking?”

Oh, good, moooore children. 

Shuichi looked around, vaguely hoping Maki might pop up out of nowhere to save him, before resigning himself to his fate as he looked over to Doppio with a small smile. “I’ve sent him upstairs to rest. Thank you for the cookies the other day, Doppio, they were delicious. Doppio, please meet… oh, I’m sorry, I haven’t caught everyone’s name yet.”

“I’m Orlin! A-and I don’t know if anyone here is a Fae, so I’m reserving giving my last name!” Orlin insisted, twitching. 

“For the best, probably,” Doppio muttered, before looking a bit sheepish and pleased. “Oh, it was no problem! I’m glad you liked them! I’ve never really celebrated Unity in a big way before, so it was just nice to make them for people.”

“Edgar,” Edgar followed Orlin up with…with nothing more.

And left for last, Quinn gave the newcomer a little wave. “Uh, Quinn, it’s…nice to meet you?”

Looking a little embarrassed now, Doppio returned the wave to the whole group. “Aceto Doppio, though I usually just ask people to use ‘Doppio’. Sorry for just kinda barging in, uh… Quinn,” he nodded to Quinn, getting a confused nod back, before Doppio flipped to a page in a notebook, humming to himself in confirmation. “Prince Kokichi asked me to come by, if you were going to be stuck at the castle for a while? Though, uh, I guess if you have friends here, that doesn’t really matter, but, um, also! My dad met you while you were in the hospital? And since I was coming by, he passes on his hellos and glad you’re doing better, uh…i-if you are. Which I’d kind of assume since you aren’t in the hospital anymore so…yeah.”

Edgar gave Doppio a sizing up look, before giving Quinn a more indiscernible one. “...when we came to visit you, reception said you weren’t supposed to have guests.”

Quinn just gave Doppio a mildly confused look, before his eyes widened in recognition. “Oh! Oh, you’re…Mr. Gepano’s son…” Think quick! Turning to Edgar, Quinn blurted, “Doppio’s dad was a, uh…counseling specialist! That I saw. So not really a guest…”

He let out a sheepish laugh, tapping his fingers together nervously. “He did say he lived in Usott, before… That’s nice to hear the hellos, and I am doing better, thanks.”

Doppio did a little bob of triumph, proud to have successfully passed on a message.

“Wonderful. I did hear Kokichi was planning to reach out to you, I wasn’t sure if he had followed through on that or not,” Shuichi said, “Perhaps, Doppio, if you wouldn’t mind showing them around, you could help them find something to spend their time with today? Court trials are mostly long and boring, but there’s always the museums or the arcades around, which might make the long trip here worth it?”

Shuichi would still prefer to talk to Quinn about the boy being a half-dead entity, absolutely. But he knew a losing battle when he was in it, and now he was slowly trying to detangle himself from teenager duty. He did not feel the strong, insistent call to be A Mentor that Maki and Kaito did. He was more like Kokichi, admiring children from afar without reeeaaaally wanting to be in charge of them. 

“Though, of course we’ll still first bring you to the phone room so you both can let your parents know at the very least that you arrived safely and are staying at the castle,” Shuichi said, feeling like that was the bare minimum of being The Adult he had to insist on. 

“Oh, uh, sure!” Doppio blinked in surprise before giving the group a little nod. “Hopefully your parents’ trial will be shorter than mine! But the process is still super long so, uh…where would you want to go?”

Edgar considered that. That did make more sense, then, why Prince Kokichi would reach out to Doppio if he’d gone through the whole thing before, and…well, it couldn’t hurt having someone that knew Usott a little better help out. Maybe keep Quinn from slipping into, he didn’t know, alleys or something that they hadn’t noticed before. 

“Well, I’m…not super supposed to leave the castle today,” Quinn mumbled, just feeling…so lame, though the commiserating nod he got from Doppio made it a little better, “But…there’s an observatory at the top of the castle, right? I did think that was cool to check out.”

Edgar gave him a dry look. “...did you really ditch us when we were talking about it just to look yourself? We would’ve gone with you, dude. Dr. Hoshino’s work is legendary.”

Shuichi brightened. “The observatory is lovely, and the phone room is closer to it than here. I’ll drop you off there and leave you all to your day. Though, if any of you need anything at all…” Shuichi glanced over at Quinn, “Please ask anyone to lead you to the princes’ wing, we’re very easy to find.”

Shuichi hurried them along, which he explained as him wanting to get back to the dining hall soon to ensure if Tim came back soon he’d be around to collect his daughter from his step-son. Dropping them off at the phone room, Shuichi headed off.

A call and a message promised to be delivered later, and the teens were in the clear, heading back out into the hall as Orlin said, “Let’s go see what conspiracies the castle observatory’s hiding!” 

-

Teenagers adequately dealt with, baby retrieved, puppy pet and step-son chatted with for a bit, checking in with him and thanking him for the brief babysitting, Shuichi eventually headed up to the room. Miyako needed both changing and feeding, and she’d probably need to be put down for a nap after that, worn down from an exciting day of hanging out with her brother and very nearly getting to say Fuck as her first word. A busy day for a little baby! 

Shuichi, admittedly, did not remember that Kaito was upset, as he headed inside and saw his husband sitting on the bed, reading a book with a disgruntled look on his face. Assuming something in the book was upsetting him–Kaito tended to get very invested in whatever he was reading, occasionally gasping aloud at a twist or getting angry at a character for some betrayal or dumbassery–Shuichi paid it no mind as he headed to the changing station, excitedly saying, “Wasn’t that fascinating? Do you think Kokichi knows?”

“...no,” Kaito grumbled, flipping a page, “He’d have given us a heads up.”

“He’s going to be so intrigued, I can’t wait to tell him about it,” Shuichi smiled, undressing Miyako from her onesie and pulling off her diaper, starting to clean her up as she gurgled. “I wonder if Quinn would be willing to meet Drake? It’s always helpful to expand your network, and considering Drake is in the same field, I’m sure it’d be invaluable to him to meet a true spectral being, if he hasn’t already.”

Kaito ground his teeth for a moment. “...did he go to medical?”

“No?” Shuichi said, briefly confused why Kaito would think he would have, before recalling that had been what Kaito had been trying to talk the boy into. “Oh, no, he’s fine, Kaito. Doppio’s with him now, actually, they’re exploring the observatory together. It was funny, Doppio kept waiting for you to pop up. I told the other boys you were a legend, stealing teens back in the dead of night on horseback. For some reason one of them immediately added the detail of you being headless? I might have just reminded him of a different legend without meaning to.”

“Wow, haha, hilarious,” Kaito said, closing the book and getting up, “You have Miya, right? I’m gonna take a walk.”

“Kaito,” Shuichi frowned, looking over at him, “Why are you upset? Because I sent you off? You were doing that thing again. Talking like a royal? You only do that when you’re really fed-up, you needed the rest.”

“I needed… ugh,” Kaito growled, rubbing his temple, holding the book to his chest, “...Nevermind. I don’t want to argue in front of Miya. I’m taking a walk.”

“We’re not arguing. Why do you think we’re arguing?” Shuichi asked, gently brushing Miyako’s hair after he finished putting on her new diaper, before going to set up her bottle. “You can’t be upset that I sent you up here.”

Kaito stared at the door, like he was considering just walking off… before he scowled, looking back at Shuichi. “You can be such a… thoughtless jerk sometimes.”

Shuichi’s eyes narrowed. “Oh?”

“In what world?” Kaito said, turning to him, looking increasingly flabbergasted, “Is throwing a blanket on someone who’s having a, a… moment. A reasonable thing to do?” Kaito demanded, trying to keep his tone even and casual, though a part of him winced knowing Miyako was still very aware of his feelings anyway, as he said again, “I’m so mad at you right now, and I don’t want to be mad at you in front of our daughter, so I’m going. On. A walk.”

Shuichi’s lips thinned a little. “...how about you find someone to watch Miyako, then, and we can walk together?”

Kaito ground his teeth again, briefly wanting to tell Shuichi he didn’t want to walk with Shuichi, that Shuichi could stew in it for all he cared… but he sighed, nodding. “Fine.”

“Good,” Shuichi said, “I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Ngh.” Kaito grumbled, heading out. 

Maki ended up being home: “I need you to watch my baby so I can shout at your brother.”

Maki raised an eyebrow. “You must be very mad at him. You never call him my brother.”

Kaito shrugged. “I know Shuichi has mixed feelings about the name, so I usually try to respect that. But right now? Fuck him, come watch your niece so your mean, dipship brother can find out just how much I didn’t appreciate his help today.”

“You’re very angry,” Maki said, “Do you need an intervention?”

“No, no, we’re fine, I’m just… talking shit. Castle’s haunted, by the way.”

“...oh?”

“Yeah, but it’s not a problem, I don’t think. It’s just…” Kaito closed his eyes, shivering, “A thing. That is happening. For a bit.”

“Noted,” Maki said, “Alright, I’ll watch Miyako so you can argue with Shuichi. Just don’t let him try to distract you with sex, okay?”

“Hah! He’s not getting any for a MONTH!” Kaito cackled. 

“...”

“.......at least a few days!” Kaito insisted, while Maki rolled her eyes and headed to his room, “I can hold out!”

“Uh huh.”

“YOU’RE A JERK TOO!” 

“Loooove youuuuuu,” she drawled, heading over.

Kaito waited in the hallway, leaning against the wall next to one of the paintings he had made with Nadya. Kokichi had also made a few pieces for the wall, once he realized what Kaito was doing, and Kaito stared at one of Kokichi’s pieces. It was fun and bright and was, Kaito was pretty sure, Maki’s ugly dinosaur doll cheerfully rampaging through a forest. It was cute. 

When Shuichi came out, heading to Kaito, Kaito scoffed and said, “You wouldn’t have treated Kokichi like that.”

“Favoritism?” Shuichi clarified, faintly amused as Kaito nodded before stomping off, Shuichi walking with him, “I thought about that, actually. Kokichi’s small. If I make a mistake with him, he can only hurt me a little bit. And you and I both know that making a mistake with someone having a panic attack can lead to you being attacked, even if you’re trying to help.”

“I would never attack you!” 

“Kaito, I love you, but we both know that’s not true,” Shuichi said dryly, “You’ve hurt me before, and that was just feeling emotional–”

“You had poison in your room that you told me you were going to kill yourself with,” Kaito whispered heatedly, shooting Shuichi a frustrated side eye, “Which, usually, I don’t bring up when you bring that up! Because I know it was shitty to hit you! But you weren’t going to tell me where that shit was until I scared the crap out of you. What was I supposed to do, Shuichi, just let you go that night and fucking hoped you woke up the next day? I was this close to calling the guards to detain you just to make sure you fucking survived.”

Shuichi gave a frustrated sigh. “You… don’t handle death well–”

“No, I don’t, I really don’t, I don’t handle death well, I don’t handle the endless fucking void where I lose all my loved ones well, I don’t handle murder plots well, I don’t handle my best friend casually telling me he’s going to kill himself like he’s fucking discussing the weather well, you’re right, I fucking don’t.” Kaito snarled at him, the two stalled at the top of the stairs, glaring at each other. “And then what happens to show up but the literal……embodiment of all those ideas, just, popping up, saying hello is in some stupid little kid’s face with his stupid little kid freckles and all of his stupid fucking potential in life ripped away from him when he was barely getting started, and you…threw a– hi!”

Shuichi looked over his shoulder, where Kaito had suddenly done a 180 and was grinning calmly, some random folks heading up the staircase. Shuichi nodded politely at them, the two princes waiting for them to pass… before Shuichi whispered to Kaito, “You needed to calm down. The blanket gave you space to do so.”

“You didn’t want to deal with me, and the blanket gave you an excuse not to,” Kaito snarled back.

“Ugh, we need somewhere to argue. There’s never anywhere to just have an argument,” Shuichi murmured, looking around.

“...ngh, we could go to the dance room?” Kaito sighed, “If we turn on the music, no one’s going to think anything of the noise.” 

“Alright,” Shuichi agreed.

The two headed to the dance studio. And as so often happened when Kaito and Maki went in there to fight, a lot of time was suddenly being dedicated to picking music to argue to, the two looking through albums by the record player in sullen silence.

“...you could have just ordered me to tell you where they were,” Shuichi said.

“Back then?” Kaito said, as Shuichi nodded, “You would have lied to me. You would have told me where one bottle was, and then if I was smart enough to ask for all of them, you’d have told me where two bottles were, and then killed yourself with the third one. I watched you talk around people our whole lives, Shuichi, I know you’d have figured out a way.”

“You just wanted to hit me.”

“You know what? Maybe,” Kaito admitted, glaring at the records. “Maybe I did? Hey, Kaito, I have these poisons in my room and sometimes I just stare at them, thinking about killing myself. I don’t know when I’ll do it, but I think I might,” Kaito mocked, mimicking the sound of a younger Shuichi’s voice, “Not that you should be worried. Hurp-be-durp. Fucking asshole. Scared the shit out of me, maybe I did just want to fucking hit you.”

Shuichi frowned, before sighing, looking through the records quietly a bit again. “...I don’t think I was ever truly going to do it. I wouldn’t have told you if I was.”

“I think the literal only reason you’d ever tell me is if you were actually going to do it,” Kaito said, glaring at the record in his hand, ignoring the way his hands were shaking, “I don’t think anything else in the fucking world would have compelled you to let me know what you were considering, unless you were imminently going to do it. I think you’d have died that night.”

“Well, I guess we’ll never know,” Shuichi muttered.

“Yep. Damn shame. What a world,” Kaito muttered, “Too bad your asshole friend dragged you kicking and screaming into your room to force those vials from you. What a fucking shitty thing for me to do.”

“I’m not going to thank you for it, Kaito,” Shuichi whispered.

“Oh, trust me, handsome, I have more than come to accept that.” Kaito scoffed, glaring at the records… before he sighed, throwing one down. “I don’t know which one to pick. Do you want to pick one?”

“I don’t know. My taste in music isn’t very refined,” Shuichi admitted, looking through the records, “What about this one?”

“You wouldn’t like it, it’s a lot of screamo.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah, we’ve been collecting albums from the market. There’s all sorts of interesting music being recorded these days, now that it’s more accessible,” Kaito said. 

“Huh,” Shuichi mused. 

The two sat in silence for a bit. 

“...it’s not fair that you’re waiting for an apology from me,” Kaito said. 

“I’m not waiting for anything, Kaito. I just don’t understand why you’re upset.”

“You’re waiting for an apology because I yelled at you.”

“I actually do not care that you yelled at me.”

“Yes you do,” Kaito said tensely, spinning a record around in his hands, brow furrowed as he insisted, “I yelled at you and said mean things and now I have to apologize–”

“I think I’m surprised you’re upset because I expect you to not be so sensitive to things,” Shuichi said, “Like, really, Kaito? You’re upset I didn’t coddle you? Really?”

“...” Kaito sighed, some of the tension leaving his shoulders, “Is that so bad? I coddle you guys when you’re upset.”

“Me and Kokichi?” Shuichi clarified.

“Yeah. Is it really so bad that I was scared and I wanted to be fussed at a little through it?” Kaito asked, looking away uncomfortably, “I wanted to be hugged and told everything was okay and be the center of your world for a second. Instead you threw a blanket on me because I was distracting you from what you actually wanted to do, which is talk to the scary ghost kid.”

“It works on horses.”

“Shuichi.”

“And I’m not expecting an apology because you yelled at me, Kaito. I think you’re just feeling the pressure to apologize because you feel guilty,” Shuichi said, “That pressure isn’t coming from me. It’s coming from you and whatever version of me you’re imagining in your head.”

“...” Kaito nodded, just the smallest little thing as he murmured, “Sorry I yelled at you.”

“The versions of us you talk to in your head are so much crueler to you than any of us actually are, Kaito,” Shuichi said, “I’ve noticed you do that to Kokichi too. I have no idea what the Kokichi in your mind is like, but he sounds like an asshole.”

“...he can be, yeah,” Kaito admitted, “I feel like everyone’s always mad at me, or laughing at me, or just…just separate from me, in a way that I can never really breach. It’s the same feeling that had me convinced as a kid that everyone knows my secrets but only I’m kept out of the reason why. I just always feel like this… thing that people have to put up with.”

“You know that’s not true.”

“I do know that! I do know that’s not true. But man, Shuichi, it does not make it easier to not feel that way when you treat me seeing my worst fears come to life like an inconvenience,” Kaito growled, “I get it, you wanted to talk to the kid. I get that! But man, handsome, I could have used you in that moment. Maybe you couldn’t have gotten me to feel better, not in the moment, but I would have really appreciated you trying. It means something to just have someone fucking…try.”

Shuichi looked through a few more of the albums, uncomfortable silence falling over them again… before he picked one and, without asking Kaito what he thought, put it into the record player. 

It was soft, easy sounds. The record had a meadow on the front and names like ‘Journey’ and ‘Golden Evening’ and Shuichi had guessed, correctly, that it’d just sound pleasant and sort of background and sort of soothing, as he scooted to lean against the wall. “Come here.”

Kaito looked at him warily, but did so. Sitting beside him. 

Shuichi patted his lap. Kaito huffed, “You’re not distracting me with sex. I’m not going to blow you.”

Shuichi rolled his eyes, grabbing the side of Kaito’s head and encouraging him down. Kaito followed the movement, knowing Shuichi wasn’t the sort to ‘insist’ on that, so he just followed where Shuichi led and laid down his head on Shuichi’s lap. Slightly cold from the floor and slightly uncomfortable with his arm pressed against the ground and–

Shuichi started to lightly scratch his fingers through Kaito’s hair. “Scary, huh?”

Kaito could see himself and Shuichi from the opposite mirror. He thought he looked a little ridiculous. A grown man with his head laid out on Shuichi’s lap, getting skritches because he had whined about being upset and needing comfort. Sort of pathetic… but it was hard to hold onto the shame of that, watching Shuichi look down at him, calm and content to have Kaito there, running his fingers through his hair.

“...I was seeing spots. I think I was on the verge of fainting.”

“That’s a pretty bad attack,” Shuichi agreed, still scratching through his hair, “Did it help seeing that it was just a kid at all? I think ghosts might just be a different type of person, when all is said and done. He wasn’t dangerous to you, any more so than any teenager in your general area tends to be a danger to you.”

“He wasn’t scary when he was a person again,” Kaito said… before frowning, seeing the lie on his own face in the mirror, “No, he still kind of was. It was just easier to pretend he wasn’t once he had looked more like us. He still scared me.”

“Why?”

“Same reason Drake does?” Kaito shrugged, “Not ‘scares’ me, it’s just… I feel bad about it, but I’m always unnerved by him. He looks…gray. To me.”

“Gray?”

“It’s the easiest way to describe it. Dead. He always looks a little dead to me,” Kaito admitted, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you. You get unsettled by death. That’s nothing new,” Shuichi said, still gently scratching, “But I know you, and you’re going to manage to pull it together for a kid who, very likely, and very annoyingly, will come to us for answers. Or we’ll end up needing to insist on answering questions for him when we notice things are wrong in my pursuit to absolutely pick his brain for knowledge. But it’ll be you that wants to do that, and you’ll do it despite your phobia, because you’re very strong and capable like that.”

Kaito flushed, even as his insides squirmed slightly uncomfortably. “You don’t have to flatter me…”

“I want to. Everything is going to be okay, because you’re more than up to handling this. I have all the faith in the world in you,” Shuichi said, “Enough to think that just a blanket and some ten or so minutes to breathe are all you need. Maybe I was overconfident. But it was overconfident in you.”

Kaito still felt the need to squirm uncomfortably. A part of himself felt like he was being made fun of… but he needed to trust the Shuichi in real life was kinder than the one in his head, who absolutely would say that in the most mocking and derisive way possible. Shuichi was kinder than that. “...yeah? Thank you…”

“Though I’m sorry I didn’t say that to you in the moment. I got distracted.”

“It’s alright,” Kaito said, starting to shift a bit, getting a bit more comfortable laying his head on Shuichi’s lap. It wasn’t bad. Shuichi had great thighs. “...I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“It’s alright,” Shuichi echoed with a small smile. “I’m sorry for adding another teenager into our life. Because I will absolutely need to talk to him again.”

“I mean, he’s already a Kokichi problem, so either way he was gonna be a factor once he was in the castle.” Kaito sighed, closing his eyes. “Speaking of, we should head back soon. Kokichi’s going to need help destressing after the court, remember?”

“We have time,” Shuichi said, leaning back against the wall, still brushing Kaito’s hair through his fingers, “Relax. Let’s just focus on calming you down for a bit. Today was a lot.”

“...” Kaito ignored the uncomfortable squirm in his stomach, before nodding, taking a breath, “...okay. Thanks, Shuichi.”

-

It was just bad practice to have a court session actually go all day, but it was firmly into mid-afternoon when Kokichi pulled himself back upstairs, the lines under his eyes and the slump of his posture growing with every flight. He didn’t want to just go to sleep, to miss out on spending time with his daughter and his husbands…but there was a part of him that just wanted to conk out until he had to pull himself together to…do the whole thing again tomorrow. 

…whine.

Opening up their room, Kokichi made a beeline for the area in front of the fireplace, hoping that some of the blankets he regularly dragged over since the season started would still be nearby, and not picked up and tidied under the guise of such things as ‘fire hazards’ or ‘tripping hazards’. 

Kaito and Shuichi both glanced at each other from their cuddling on the bed, before Kaito shuffled out first, peeking over the reading chairs to see Kokichi had plopped himself down face first into the pile of blankets Kaito had found himself earlier in the day pulling slightly away from the fire. Kokichi was flat on his face on the pile, laid out like a plank, groaning into the fabric… “Tough day, beautiful?” Kaito asked, giving Shuichi an appreciative nod when he saw his husband go to fill the water pitcher. 

“Mmmmmm,” Kokichi groaned in reply. There was a pause for a few beats before an airy, stressed laugh, and Kokichi turned his head from the pile to…well, see his husbands’ legs, at least. “You know how we were hoping for the best, with Quinn’s sister?”

Another groan, as Kokichi tried to become one with the blankets. “Lyra Pectra is one of the main witnesses testifying against Liv and Xuan.”

“Oooooh,” Kaito winced, going to sit down next to his husband and reaching over to rub his fingers into his lower back, starting to press and work against the tension Kaito was certain had to be back there by now, after sitting all day in stress. “Well… okay, that’s not great, I’ll admit. So not a big misunderstanding then?”

Shuichi came over and put a cup of water between Kaito and Kokichi, trusting Kaito would get Kokichi to drink it when he could, as Shuichi sat on one of the reading chairs. Shuichi leaving Kaito to do this part of it for now, until Kokichi was a little less distressed. 

“It’s…ugh…” Kokichi closed his eyes, a line forming between his eyebrows, even as Kaito started to rub his back. Kokichi wasn’t really supposed to talk about what happened in court, but…it wasn’t good to just keep his stress to himself. And he trusted Kaito and Shuuichi to not go to the papers or anything about what he said. “...Liv and Xuan genuinely love their kids… I could feel that the entire time, and when Lyra was called up as a witness, they were shocked. And hurt. But none of their feelings after that were…like, vindictive? Or, like…’I raised you, how dare you’ sort of feeling. Just…hurt.”

“They’re not malicious, that’s clear, and…the findings of what happened to Quinn do seem like an accident, but some of the stuff Lyra brought up…” The line deepened as Kokichi’s eyebrows scrunched more. His voice softening in sadness. “...Xuan and Olivia are out and proud exorcists in a town that isn’t magic-open, and how Lyra describes it… It’s made their family laughing stocks. That it’s an upward battle to make friends, even scoffing at what their parents do, and because Quinn doesn’t, Lyra said that he’s been bullied at school. That no one takes them seriously because the Pectra-Fentons are ‘ghost-obsessed’...”

“And that’s not even getting into their homelife… How she describes it, she and Quinn are only barely not test subjects, and she just…beared through it, but with Quinn nearly dying, she can’t abide by…’parents who act like gleeful children at their first science fair’...” 

Kokichi made a stressed sound. “...I got to meet Quinn briefly after the session closed today, and he’s sweet and…I don’t think he really thinks about all that stuff at all as, like…abnormal, if he considers it. I get that electrical malfunctions are a thing, but the fact that seeing a machine that’s supposed to destroy ghosts on a molecular level was normal enough that he thought it was fine to poke at it, I just… The medical reports said it was a miracle he survived…”

Kaito and Shuichi looked at each other.

“...exorcists?” Shuichi said.

“Ghost killing machine?” Kaito said, starting to sweat, “They want to make dead people more dead?”

“That’s…” Shuichi pressed his fingers together in front of his mouth, “hmmm.”

“...baaaaabe,” Kaito said, looking down at his husband, now running both hands over his back, trying to massage some of the stress out of him as he said, “One, everything’s going to be okay. Two, I’d be very okay with rubbing some of that drug relaxer into you today, just say the word. Three… there’s another issue you need to consider from all this.”

It was Shuichi who explained what they had seen that day, and the apparent nature of Quinn’s existence. “Who seemed very calm about it,” Shuichi said, “Which is very odd to me now, knowing that his parents want to destroy him at a… molecular level. Which seems a bit inhuman to me. Perhaps, I’d dare say, a bit murderous.”

Kokichi looked between his husbands, face tensed with further worry, before all at once he paused. A soft, “Oh no,” all that came from him for a good few moments. Kokichi staring at nothing, before he started to gnaw on the end of his thumb. 

“Oh no…”

Thinking about every moment of zeal from Liv and Xuan, the utter pride they had in their grand quest to rid the world of evil spirits, their slogan of ‘life is for the living’... While at first Kokichi had worried that they were running into another Edahu situation, when Lyra said that they were the town jokes, and Kokichi did routinely advise tolerance, it was a bit…much. And…only not straight up hate-speech, because, well…it was against ghosts. Which most people didn’t think were real. 

But they were. And…their son was…

“Oh no,” Kokichi whispered. His teeth softly clicked together as he bit through his nail. “...there’s no way he told them. Oh no… Even if he…hid it? Until he was of age, and managed to move away, he’d still be living with…oh no…”

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Kaito reassured, “Let’s sit up and drink some water, and take a breath. This does not have to be solved right this instant, and you’re not solving this alone. We’re in a great position of suddenly having all the facts! With the kid and his parents and his sister all right here, safely in the castle, where we can do something about this. This is ideal. Quinn got very, very lucky today. This is a good thing… Drink some water, babe, I know this is stressful, but I promise this is good.”

Kokichi made another stressed sound as he chewed at his thumb but he turned over to sit up, accepting the water and taking sips. Fuck… Did Lyra know? She would understand better than anyone if her parents’ love would be able to outweigh their hatred where it came to Quinn. Fuck… That would absolutely be the sort of impetus to take a legal stance against her parents, even if her little brother ‘nearly’ (fuck) being killed was already reasonable enough. 

A few sips in, Kokichi looked up at his husbands imploringly. “...he’s okay? I’d get putting on a brave face to deal with the day to day, but…I dunno, even if I was expecting it, I feel like I’d struggle facing my own death, and that’s even without a whole caravan-load of baggage from my parents about it.”

“Oh gods, I hope he hasn’t picked up a whole complex of self-hatred from them…” he muttered.

“He was surprisingly resilient,” Shuichi recalled, “Maybe oddly so. He handled being randomly trapped in a box extremely well, looking back at it.”

“Nngh,” Kaito groaned, covering his eyes for a second, getting to grips with himself at the memory, before grinning at Kokichi, “He probably does need some therapy help, after we figure out the ‘saving his life’ thing, but! We are fully prepared and have a great support network to find him the help he needs on that front. And for now, however he’s coping seems to be working, so hopefully that can just last through this next… step. Which we’re going to need to be active participants in–”

Shuichi groaned, putting his head in his hands.

“--because we’re the only adults around right now who know the entire situation and have actual resources to do anything about it,” Kaito said, frowning as he reached over to rub the back of Kokichi’s neck a little. “...I don’t want to separate a kid from parents who love him. But considering the situation? We need to talk to him about asking the court to rehome him. If they have ghost-killing equipment lying around? We can’t act on good faith that he can just hide it. A worse accident can happen, and… the sort of destruction that suggests isn’t acceptable. We cannot allow that kid to go home. It’s just not a real option.”

Kokichi gave Shuuichi a soft look at his dismay before sighing, closing his eyes as he leaned a little into Kaito’s hand. “...yeah. I’d love to believe that his parents would change if they knew, but…bigotry usually isn’t solved just by knowing someone of the group you’re bigoted against. It can help, but…it’s a lot to untangle in yourself. And Quinn shouldn’t have to bear the weight of that hate, universe-forbid any violence. And he shouldn’t be forced to hide a part of himself, especially a part gained so traumatically, from the people closest to him.” 

Kokichi gave a deeper sigh. “...we can talk to him. As someone part of the case, I’m not supposed to ask him details about it, because he should be protected from being a witness…but being a ghost sometimes isn’t part of the case.”

Opening his eyes, Kokichi gave Kaito a concerned look. “...are you okay? Even if he’s a nice kid, I can’t imagine seeing a real ghost is any better than seeing a fake one…”

“Oh, you know,” Kaito shrugged, grinning warily, “Shuichi was there.”

Shuichi scoffed lightly, before giving Kokichi a soft look. “We should definitely talk to Quinn about this at some point today or tomorrow. This is ultimately going to be about convincing him to leave his parents, because with how he can literally fly through walls, I don’t think us needling, manipulating, or forcing him to is going to work. Worse, our resident ‘drag abused kids away from their parents’ member basically can fall apart in front of said kid at a moment's notice, whenever he decides to take advantage of that. Speaking of: Kaito, you’re leaving most of this to us.”

“I can help,” Kaito said, “I mean… I want to help, and I’m pretty sure I can help. I can be pretty convincing sometimes.”

“Kaito, you make enemies out of nearly every teen you talk to. Only this one can send you into a panicking, gagging mess at will,” Shuichi said dryly. “You’re leaving this one to us. Kokichi and I can handle this. You can help support us when we’re stressed. That’s how you’ll help.”

Kaito took a deep breath through his nose… before nodding. “You guys are going to do great. It’ll be fine. We’ve got this.”

Kokichi gave them unconvinced looks, before drawing in a deep breath. Letting it out, as he scooted to put an arm around Kaito’s back, squeezing his husband in an open hug. “I’d be supportive, if you wanted to try working through your phobia with…well, the clearest example of it we’ve ever met. But Quinn’s dealing with enough already, before trying to be a perfect conduit for exposure therapy, and I don’t want you to force yourself into debilitating stress or a potential medical emergency trying to help him. It already hurts enough, seeing the stress you get from helping other kids. I want my Kai-chan to be healthy, even if I love the help he wants to give others.”

Kissing his shoulder, Kokichi then shot Shuuichi a small grin. “We’ve got this.”

“Hah, I mean, no, I do not want this kid and his exorcist parents to have to deal with my perpetual wincing and hyperventilating at him.” Kaito laughed, leaning into Kokichi and giving him an appreciative kiss against his head. “And honestly? I barely need to be convinced to not be around him too much. Even thinking about it gives me the shakes, I love having an excuse not to do it.”

“But, you two are going to do great! Annnnd part of doing great is resting when you are so clearly very, very tired. You need to be like our Miya: do not fight the nap. Embrace the nap. Eat some food, have a good poop, get some sleep. We can solve this after.” Kaito said, “Do you want to rest in front of the fire, Kokichi? I can add more logs and grab more pillows?”

Kokichi let out a breath of a laugh before smiling adoringly at Kaito. “Well, who am I to not take the Miya-Miya example? …yeah, I think I wanna nap here. The courtroom is comfortable, but it is on the bigger side so it does get a little colder. Snuggling right up here and getting toasty sounds great.”

“Okay. More pillows for the Ouma~” Kaito said, leaning in to take a kiss, before getting up.

Shuichi, seeing his opening, went to go sit down with Kokichi, wrapping his arms around his waist and hugging him. “I think I’ll nap with you. Today was stressful, I’d rather just lay here and forget about it all for a bit with you.”

“More pillows for the Saihara, coming up!” Kaito called from the bed.

“Mm, getting toasty sounds great, but getting toasty with my Shuu-chan? Well, that just sounds perfect,” Kokichi hummed happily, hugging Shuuichi back. “My most favorite pillow of all.”

-

They had to find out where Quinn was sleeping for the night, but near the evening, after dinner, Shuichi and Kokichi decided they were going to go talk to Quinn. They only had a few days before the court case itself was resolved, so they didn’t have a long time to let Quinn just settle and exist. 

They needed to at least start figuring things out. It really was in Quinn’s best interest. They really had to go talk to him that day– “Just try not to get too caught up in asking him questions, handsome.” Kaito had called from the bed, waving them off.

“Alright,” Shuichi whispered as they came to Quinn’s door, “We want to let him know what we know about him. We want to lay out the situation as we see it. And we want to talk to him about his options of getting out of the house. Yes?”

Kokichi nodded worriedly. The nap had done wonders for letting him get his head back on straight, but it didn’t mean the whole situation didn’t still concern him greatly. So he and Shuuichi had talked over their gameplan, Kokichi clarifying that while they could talk to Quinn about things generally, anything that Kokichi had learned specifically while in court he couldn’t question Quinn about, nor could Shuuichi ethically mention it. 

However, and perhaps unfortunately for the situation itself, that still left quite a bit that could be discussed. 

“Yeah…” Kokichi whispered back, “At least to get the conversation started. We might have a narrow time limit, but I don’t want to rush him too much either.”

And, with another nod between them, Kokichi knocked gently on Quinn’s door. 

“I don’t want to talk, Dad!” a hoarse, breaking voice called through it, not particularly loud, but clearly sounding like there was an effort for it to be. 

Shuichi blinked, before leaning in to whisper, “Are his parents supposed to have access to him?” before taking a breath and bracing himself for Teenager, he called through, “Actually, it’s Prince Shuichi and Prince Kokichi, Quinn. We were hoping to speak to you, if you had any time for us.”

“With supervision,” Kokichi murmured back. Quinn had gone back home normally after he was released from the hospital, after all, and while the initial investigation and trial had happened. Since there weren’t conclusions about retribution or physical or emotional abuse, and Quinn had opted in for seeing his parents, it was deemed he wasn’t in danger being allowed to see them, though with supervision to make sure of that present. 

“Oh? What…” It was just barely a murmur from behind the door, before a few beats passed. Then, the door opened, Quinn looking a bit surprised to see the princes…and Kokichi’s heart ached, seeing the redness around his eyes. Not the kind of puffiness that came with crying but…well, it seemed that the latter part of the afternoon had taken a worse turn, since Kokichi had seen him last. 

“Uh, hi,” Quinn greeted, before clearing his throat a bit, “Y-yeah, I have time to talk.” His gaze went a little dry. “Not really doing anything else.”

“Thank you,” Kokichi smiled softly, “And I’d argue alone time is still doing something, so thanks for that too. We wouldn’t want to intrude on your space, so… Are you a fan of snakes? We’d talked about inviting you to Shuu-chan’s office to talk, and he has a darling ball python.”

“Snakes?” Quinn said, even more bewildered, before giving the princes a shrug. “I mean, I don’t mind them, that’s fine with me.”

…dang, couldn’t score points with another animal lover this time. 

Shuichi ever so slightly pouted. Don’t mind them? Don’t mind them?

Clearly, Quinn had just never seen the majesty of a beautiful snake then. Shuichi would take this opportunity to educate him. “Good. His name is Nini, actually. Spelled with two i’s. It doesn’t mean anything, I just wanted a name to reflect his sweet nature,” Shuichi explained, leading the way expectantly upstairs, “He has a very agreeable temperament, he actually used to be a classroom snake, very good with children. But it’s not actually that unusual for larger snakes to be fairly calm around people, if they’ve grown up with them. Smaller snakes are more skittish, but for one, they’re younger, and two, I think most of us would be a little skittish around giants, yes?”

Shuichi kept going as they went upstairs, fondly moving from Nini’s temperament to the particularities of his species, to his eating habits. “He gets so sleepy and cute right after a recent meal, which I only see occasionally because he really doesn’t need to eat much or often. Do not mention this around my taller husband, but when he’s been around Miyako, he’ll give her these cute little nose boops. It’s adorable. Don’t tell him, he has many phobias. Our Kaito’s a bit of a scaredy-cat. But then, isn’t it always the big folk? All those muscles wreck their nerves, I swear.”

Shuichi was playing up Kaito’s ‘scared’ tendencies a bit. He hoped that if Quinn thought Kaito was just a coward in general, that he might take his reaction to seeing Quinn’s ghost form less personally. “Here we are,” Shuichi said, opening the door for Kokichi and Quinn. “Nini is in that cage back there. Would you like to hold him? You should hold him, let me go get him.”

Quinn had nodded, making little attentive comments as Shuuichi told him more about his snake, but, uh…as the prince detective kept going? Sure, it wasn’t an epic journey to the third floor, but Shuuichi managed to fill the entire trip with snake facts, and after a little bit, Quinn just…kept nodding. Feeling like this had gone from ‘sort of strange’ to ‘incredibly weird’ fast. 

(It was all Kokichi could do not to break out giggling and smooch his husband right then and there. His husband was so cute~ And loved his snake very much.)

As they got to the office, Quinn peered towards where Shuuichi indicated Nini’s cage was, and just got out, “Um, sure, that’d be cool…” before Shuuichi was already off, getting his python and…well, soon enough, Quinn was suddenly holding a snake, making some soft, impressed sounds. 

Shuichi swelled with pride. That’s right. Bask. Bask in the charm of a big snake! Such a good boy. Good job Nini! So sweet! What were they doing here again?

Oh, right. “Quinn, I feel like we should get some things out in the open from the start. I have told my husband here everything I know about you.” Shuichi said, gesturing to Kokichi, before bowing his head, “I know that might seem cruel, but after considering the realities of your situation? I couldn’t not tell him. We’re very concerned for you.”

“...ooooh,” Quinn said slowly, giving Kokichi a nervous look.

Though, before he could say anything else, Kokichi gave him a sympathetic smile. “No ghost phobias for me, and no agenda to hurt any either. My duty’s always been to the Dicean people, and that still includes you and any other people who’ve remained here after death too.”

It wasn’t a huge reaction, but Quinn did relax in relief hearing that, before glancing between the princes. “Cool! That’s good to know. But…I mean, I don’t really know how to say it clearer? Um, no offense. But while it may seem freaky, being able to be a ghost sometimes isn’t really concerning.”

Kokichi gave the teen a worried look. “Quinn…you died. And now there’s a part of you that, in most parts of society, you have to hide. And your parents are exorcists… I’ll respect how you feel, but…none of that worries you?”

Quinn wilted a little, wincing slightly as Kokichi brought up his parents. Busying himself looking at Nini, Quinn shrugged and mumbled, “...my parents love me…” Even that couldn’t seem to stick for long, though, as he sighed. “...and they really, really hate ghosts.”

Shuichi took a seat, giving Quinn a curious, somewhat appraising look. “...Quinn, could you clear something up for me? I’m aware of how you got into your accident, that you were touching a machine that malfunctioned on you. But considering the new information, I want to… well, this is going to be abrupt: it was an accident, yes? You weren’t a ghost before messing with the ‘ghost destroying’ machine?”

Shuichi’s expression softened in slight concern, “There won’t be any judgment if the truth is more complicated than that. There won’t be any consequences either.”

Quinn blinked, giving Shuuichi a baffled look. “Noooo? Look, I’m sure people are thinking I just want to be more careful after the accident, but I haven’t touched any of my parents’ stuff since I woke up green. My…”

He cut himself off with a sigh, looking a little…frustrated, and tired. “...my parents are fantastic engineers…but considering the field they do all of their work in is something that, until like a month ago, I would’ve said probably doesn’t exist? And most people just call fake? There’s…basically no way to measure if their inventions actually work.”

Quinn’s frustration melted into worry after that, his eyebrows arching. “...but most people that get electrocuted die. Most people that survive an electric shock might have some weird health issues, but not ones that include being dead and glowy half the time, and just…fine the other half. Mr. Essei said that me being how I am isn’t just some fluke that can happen with near-death experiences… I…think my parents’ machine actually did something.”

“...so if that did something, then…maybe their other ones do too, and I’m not exactly eager to find out personally,” he finished, shrugging a little. Though it wasn’t truly the end as Quinn squinted, looking to the side. Speaking quietly. “...my parents don’t know about me. They were thrilled and terrified when I woke back up in the hospital. To them…they’d just almost lost their kid. It…”

He looked back at Shuuichi, frowning in earnest. “...they really didn’t kill me.”

“I’m not suggesting they did,” Shuichi said, shaking his head, “I was actually more concerned that this transformation of yours happened before the accident, and that you might have become overwhelmed by it and tried something drastic. It’s reassuring to know that wasn’t the case.”

“That said? Having a bunch of equipment around that’s designed specifically to hurt someone like you, that your parents are unaware could harm you? Is another accident begging to happen.” Shuichi frowned, “Can you tell us how close you are usually to their experiments?”

“Uh, well…” Quinn’s voice pitched a little higher, only not expressing any nervous habits because, well, he was holding a large snake. “I mean, like, I’m in school so it’s not like I’m even around all the time. And they have a lab! So I’m just not, like, hanging out at home in the same room they’re working on stuff…” 

“Mostly,” he mumbled. 

Though, Quinn picked himself back up again. “But they don’t, like…ask me to volunteer to use things! Or point anything at me. Just, uh…” He shrugged a little. “You know. Sometimes things break and you’re like, ah, must be an experimentation day.”

“I understand that. I grew up with pretty dangerous materials around me regularly as well. I never seriously was injured by them, but looking back, I had a lot of missed calls.” Shuichi laughed lightly, before his expression calmed into something serious, “...have you considered moving out of your parents home? Not as a way to estrange yourself from them, but just as a safety precaution. You’re 14, I believe? You could simply consider it a first stage towards your independence.”

Quinn gave Shuuichi an eager nod…and Kokichi couldn’t help internally sighing at the immediate drop into shock at the next topic Shuuichi brought up. Not necessarily manipulative, but…well, not the kindest flow. But there wasn’t a way for it to be. 

“What?!” Quinn rasped, looking at Shuuichi incredulously. “What sort of 14-year-old is independent? I can’t even get an official carriage license.”

Kokichi gave Quinn a soft look. “We’re not outlining you renting an apartment of your own or anything. But just…being in a place that isn’t unpredictably a test site for things that pose you a lot of harm. Or that you wouldn’t have to make sure you’re not a ghost even in your most serene moments. A place to have peace.”

“Exactly,” Shuichi said, “Less independence in the sense you’re living in your own apartment, more just exploring your options of other people you could live with, other than your parents. You wouldn’t have to move far from them. Maybe with other, nearby family?”

Quinn looked between the princes for a moment before his expression tensed. Not expressing anger, but just…tense. “...did Lyra talk to you before this?”

“Your sister?” Shuichi clarified, shaking his head, “I haven’t actually met her yet. I only know her through reputation from the case. Why, is it something she’s brought up with you?”

Kokichi gave Quinn a gentle look. “I haven’t had the chance to talk to her personally yet either, though I am sitting in on the trial. But, no, this was something we independently discussed bringing up with you.”

Quinn gave them both another tense look before sighing, a plume of fog wafting out of his mouth. “Lyra hates what Mom and Dad do. She’s always thought basing a whole career off of chasing fairytales was dumb but…more recently? She…started talking to me a lot about visiting her dorm at college, if I don’t want to be at home. And today…”

His nostrils flared a little as he looked down, letting out a breath. Voice smaller. “...I don’t get it… They’re her parents too…”

“Well, certainly… but they’re also just people.” Shuichi said, “And even people we love need navigating and compromising with. Realizing the situation doesn’t work doesn’t mean you love them any less.”

Shuichi paused… before glancing over at Kokichi. Trying to gauge if he was being comforting or not. He was trying his best here. Hug the snake more, Quinn. Let Nini be your comfort.

Huh. It was sort of interesting, that both Doppio and Quinn had a fog thing going on, though it looked different between them… Of course, Kokichi knew exactly what was up with Doppio’s, but he wondered if…ghost fog was a thing?

These were all idle observations, though, and Kokichi noticed Shuuichi looking his way. He gave his husband a small, proud smile. Quinn wasn’t really fighting them, just…being a confused, worried teen, so…Kokichi thought they were doing alright. 

Quinn looked down, thinking all that over. A struggle visible on his face. One of his hands phasing through Nini for a moment. “...I like living at home,” he began finally, “and Mom and Dad are great, but…” Quinn let out almost a desperate breath. “I cannot tell them about me. And thinking about hiding it forever isn’t really a party countdown…”

“Look, this isn’t a decision you have to make immediately,” Shuichi said gently, standing up and heading over to him, lightly petting Nini’s head before gently uncurling the snake from Quinn’s hands, “It’d be unwise to try to. Some decisions need time and, honestly, a full nights sleep. We just wanted to start talking to you about this, to let you know it’s a real option you should consider.”

Pulling the snake to himself, smiling lightly as Nini immediately crawled up and around familiar shoulders, relaxing around him, Shuichi said, “There’s more we’d like to talk to you about soon. About maybe you talking to a therapist, or talking to a healer who can look you over with your supernatural side in mind. But that can also be a conversation for later. Just understand, everything we’re discussing is to make things a little better for you. To ultimately make things easier.”

Quinn easily relinquished the snake, sighing softly as he gave the princes a slightly glum look. “Things really are mostly fine, current court case notwithstanding. I don’t really remember, like, the moment? But dying’s really not as bad as people make it out to be. And I can fly now, which is super cool.”

Kokichi laughed softly. “That is cool, but just because there are good things about it doesn’t mean there’s nothing else to discuss. At the best? You’ll just have a ton of resources you don’t end up using. But you should still have access to them.”

“Exactly. In truth, you don’t seem the type to care about this, but I like to consider it embracing being spoiled.” Shuichi said, heading to the cage and, kissing Nini’s head, gently untangling himself to place the snake back in his home, “Why not have more than you need? Forcing arbitrary limits on your own resources and help is foolish, especially if it’s not taking anything away from anyone else. Which none of this would.”

Looking back to Quinn, Shuichi said gently, “And don’t assume that your parents wouldn’t understand your choices. They’re older than literally everyone in this room, they understand what it means to sometimes need to sacrifice to have something precious to them. They’ve made sacrifices to be exorcists, it sounds like because they love it. They’d be profoundly unkind, to not understand you needing things for yourself too.”

Quinn looked down, tapping his fingers together a bit. His parents were…eccentric, sure. But they had always been supportive of him and Lyra, their biggest fans and the greatest source of love in his life. It was…on the rarer side for a teenager to suddenly need to live in a different space, but…maybe they’d understand?

(...it felt shittier to feel like he might need a different space because he was scared of what they would do if he ever accidentally phased through the floor at night while they were still up.)

Quinn let out a small, defeated sigh. “...I’ll…talk to them later. Before the next session tomorrow, at least. Maybe…me living somewhere else is a settlement that’ll work for the trial too, or something…” Since…it was his parents contesting, so if they wanted to drop the case, that was how that worked, right?

Kokichi’s eyes narrowed a little, his work brain wanting to pipe up. “Well…it’d be discussed in the trial, at least. But I think you’re on the right track of guesses.”

“It certainly couldn’t hurt things,” Shuichi half guessed, half lied. Only lying since he didn’t really know. He trusted Kokichi to handle it in that regard, one way or another. “Now, before we let you run off from us, just be aware… I know it will be tempting to come back to this office to see Nini again,” Shuichi sighed, “I know. You’ll want to show him off to those other…teenagers.” Shuichi said, waving his hands dismissively at the idea, something deeply unimpressed in his tone as he looked away, “That’s all well and good, but it’s better to handle the snake when I’m around to supervise, understand? It’s not okay to open that cage otherwise. Yes?”

Quinn blinked, before repeating tentatively, “Yes? Yes. I won’t, promise. I, uh…I mean, this is a private room for you, right? So I probably wouldn’t come by anyway.” Quinn’s gaze slid to the side. “...and I’m not sure if Edgar has a snake thing. I think the only thing he loves more than his ferret is Orlin, so I dunno how cool he’d be with a creature that eats small rodents, and if Edgar’s upset about something Orlin tends to freak out a ton.”

Kokichi could almost straight up hear the words, ‘and you do not want to have Orlin freak out on you’ from how strongly Quinn felt the sentiment. 

“It was great meeting them, though I’ll say again, it’s very kind that your friends came all the way over to Usott just to be with you during the trial,” Kokichi said kindly, “So, yeah, definitely don’t want to spook them. Are Orlin and Edgar riding back to Entente Grove with you and your folks too?”

Quinn gave Kokichi a quizzical look for a moment. “Too? Uh, no, at least they didn’t make plans or anything, uh…” He nodded at Shuuichi briefly. “They mentioned it when we ran into Prince Shuuichi and Prince Kaito earlier; they biked over.”

Kokichi’s eyebrows scrunched in a bit. “...from Entente Grove.”

Quinn winced lightly. “Yeah, that’s the Power Duo for you. Better not to question it too much.”

Kokichi would absolutely be questioning it more. And trying to talk two teens into either riding back with Quinn’s family, or accepting a ride from the castle.

OnO

….clearly the next generation was already a lost cause. Poor Miyako was going to be a beacon of light among a sea of sludge. Honestly, what was wrong with the youth of today? Terrible, truly terrible.

Walking Quinn out, watching him as he headed down the hall and out of sight, Shuichi sighed. “Well… I think that went alright?”

Kokichi tipped his head back, tugging on the back of his hair lightly. “They biked all the way from Entente Grove…to get here in the morning. In the snow… By themselves…”

Shuichi blinked, having not entirely caught that this was something to worry about. “Ah, right… Kaito had been saying something about that too, I recall. They were planning to bike back today, but he insisted they get a room here… actually, thinking about that, I don’t know that they actually got a room? I assume they did.”

Kokichi looked at Shuuichi, before making a drawn out, stressed sound. Shaking his head, before starting to head out. “I’m gonna go check on that. Hopefully they were able to find where to check rooms out on their own, but better now than hearing they just ended up camping out in a parlor, or really are trying to go back tonight… Fuck, biking to Entente Grove in the snow, in the dark… We’d be lucky if their parents didn’t end up coming over to sue us for negligence…”

Shuichi sighed, following his husband. “I’m sure they’re fine, if they made it down here in the first place then I imagine they could make it back to their town. And they’d literally just have to ask around, to find out how to reserve a room. I’m sure they figured it out… though, of course, let’s go check.” Shuichi said a tad warily, noticing the stress on Kokichi’s face.

“Thanks, sweetie,” Kokichi said, slowing to take Shuuichi’s hand and pressing his shoulder affectionately to his husband’s arm. Alright…more teens to secure.

-

Alter Ego gently landed into Kaito’s mind, which had been shifting a bit the more his lobby naturally disintegrated. Something Kaito noted when, as far as he was aware, he ‘opened’ his eyes at Alter Ego’s arrival, greeting the empath before looking around. “You know, when you and ‘Kichi told me I was going to lose that lobby, I didn’t think my mind was going to look like… this.”

It was an open Atuan temple, etched and carved into the side of a canyon. And while the sides of the canyon rose high, red-dust coating the air as the wind blew through and jostled the intricate, gem-stone chimes hanging around the ruffling tapestries, the canyon itself was full of flowers. Dicean flowers growing in an impossible landscape, their coloring and stems reflecting the still impossible desert heat they were growing in, familiar rose bushes and fields from around the Dicean castle now tinted sun-bleached shades of orange and brown and maroon. 

It wasn’t a place that truly existed. Kaito had never imagined a place like this. “So why…?”

“It’s just another part of your mind.” Alter Ego explained, watching a little gecko scurried across the path from one side of the desert-burnt garden to the next. “Most minds are a sort of landscape, and where you go through it changes what they look like. The landscape is, basically, whatever would make sense to you. In this part of your mind, this landscape apparently represents to you what this part of your mind means to you.”

“What part of my mind is this?” Kaito asked, leaning against the red-stone pillars of the open air temple, wearing a robe that was more like the sort of clothing he had seen in Denji’s record of old Luminary outfits, waving himself with a Dicean style fan. 

“It’s hard to explain… have you ever felt nostalgic for a past you never experienced? Like you miss something you never had?” Alter Ego asked.

“Sure,” Kaito said, looking out to the strange field, “Doesn’t everyone?”

“Plenty, sure. This place is that feeling. A mix-mash of things in your past both imagined and real and desired, all morphed together into a daydream of a life you could have had. Just familiar enough to miss.” Alter Ego said, tail flicking slightly as they observed Kaito, “A nostalgic daydream for a life never experienced.”

“Feels a little sad, when you say it like that,” Kaito admitted, looking around the canyon, “...sorry, AE, I can’t remember why you’re here. You don’t usually just pop in randomly.”

“You asked to be a part of it, for Madison’s first full year appraisal.” Alter Ego said.

“Woah,” Kaito’s eyes widened, closing the fan and standing up, “It’s that time already? It’s really been a year?”

“It’s really been a year.” Alter Ego agreed, their small paws padding against the stone and dirt pathway, little gems placed into the stone in small bits of decoration. “One year conditioning free.”

“Wow,” Kaito whispered, following Alter Ego down the pathway, “One year today that Tengan’s been gone, right?”

“It’s a little incredible, when I think about it.” Alter Ego said, “A year ago, Kokichi really was at the beginning of even accepting he was an empath, let alone getting a true grip on his abilities. Even as much raw power and help as he had, the head secretary was seasoned by a lifetime of manipulations. Kokichi had to resort to a serious burst of power to free you, after already having used up a good deal of his energy putting in smaller defenses.”

Kaito wasn’t ‘wearing’ them, perse. But he knew if he really wanted to, he could put his hand on his hip and there would be a sword scabbard there. If he put his hands on his shoulders, he’d find a cape, protecting him. If he put his hand on his head, a thin, unfinished, but still powerful wrap of metal…

“A full defensive outfit, attacking vines, watching dogs, and a whole saint with all the sass of our Maki… heh,” Kaito grinned lightly, “My husband spoils me, honestly. I probably didn’t need all of that to break conditioning.”

“Arguably just Saint Madison works for the conditioning, but don’t forget, Kaito, Tengan was a frequent, long-term visitor who groomed your mind to be defenseless to his invasions.” Alter Ego cautioned, looking back, “It can seem excessive now, but at the time? We were lucky this worked. Our other ‘reasonable’ options was constructs that were 24/hour surveillance with us invading your mind every time something went wrong. Which was invasive at best, and made your mind a battlefield at worse. Your husband didn’t want that for you… and, well, none of us had realized what Temp was going to do by that point.”

“Would have probably saved you all some time and effort, if he had just admitted he was going to mind-wipe the guy, huh?” Kaito said a little warily. 

“I’m not convinced Temp knew what he was going to do until the moment he did it. It sounded impulsive when he talks about it, a moment of anger. I think at the very most he had hoped to never let Kokichi know what had happened. As you know, the Ouma-apparent’s disappointment can be difficult to live with.”

“Kokichi has an effect on his people.” Kaito agreed, “I’m surprised he’s not here, actually.”

“He knew I was coming, but I’m sure he imagined I was just going to peek in, confirm she was still doing her thing, and head off.” Alter Ego said. “Speaking of, none of your defenses have reacted to my presence yet… I hope that’s not a sign they’re deteriorating.” 

“Oh, no, sorry, I’m just…” Kaito tapped his head, “I can feel it. I’m pulling back.”

Alter Ego paused, looking up at Kaito, something curious in their gaze, “...well, we do know that you’re particularly adept at compartmentalizing and with a very vivid imagination. I suppose between the two character traits, along with a lifetime of having empaths actively hanging out in your mind and…maybe also the pollen?”

“Should I not be able to do that?” Kaito confirmed, as he watched Alter Ego try to rationalize to themselves. 

“Most people are a little bit helpless to empath constructs. They just don’t know how to manipulate their own minds the same way empaths can do naturally. You effecting the constructs placed into you, even in small ways, is a little strange yes. Unfortunately, its hard to draw a conclusion from it since, well…”

“Since the empath living in my head, the pollen, the natural imagination thing and the mental illness stuff and all the other weirdness interfering?” Kaito asked.

“Good, you get it. You’re a great first success for what we’re doing with conditioning, but unfortunately, you’re a truly terrible specimen to learn from.” Alter Ego laughed lightly, shaking their head, “You’ve had too much going on to suggest anything with our anti-conditioning methods affecting you could be considered ‘standard’ or ‘typical’. Even the pollen situation is somewhat unusual with you, because they never finished making you a seedling. You were just kept at the edge of it, perpetually. Like constantly being on the verge of a growth spurt, only able to be heard by the hivemind for a few years… you’re just kind of a weird case.” 

“Specimen, huh?” Kaito tilted his head, considering that. Did he like being a specimen? Mmm… if Kokichi and Shuichi were the ones doing the experiments? “....kinky. I like it.” 

Alter Ego snorted, rolling their eyes, “Anyway, let your defenses react. We need them to find Madison.”

Kaito nodded, before taking a breath, relaxing a little… mentally letting something go…before lunging at Alter Ego and grabbing the vines as they shot up around the cat. Holding on as they pulled them both into the dirt, dragging them through Kaito’s mind.

After a bit, Kaito and Alter Ego were dispensed into a stone hallway that looked more familiar to Kaito, the two now in the Luminary castle as three dogs growled around them, staring with fierce eyes at Alter Ego, who Kaito quickly picked up and held to himself to protect him from the dogs. Stepping out of the shadows of the hall, Saint Madison scowled, “That’s not helpful, your grace.”

Kaito stuck his tongue out at her, “My mind, my rules. Alter Ego gets to stay.”

Saint Madison sighed, before snapping her fingers. The dogs relaxed and the vines disappeared. One of them nudged into Kaito’s legs, demanding pets. Kaito did so, letting Alter Ego, who materialized a cloud to settle on, fly over to Saint Madison. 

Kaito spent some time petting the dogs as he listened to Alter Ego question Saint Madison: any visitors? Yes, that little power chibi, who tended to sneak around until being found, buzzing around like a fly in Kaito’s mind until Saint Madison eventually chased her off. Anyone else? Yes, Miyako. Kokichi usually was notified to come get her. Okay, just those two? Your annoying ass shows up occasionally. 

Alter Ego sighed. “I guess we can reasonably assume that other than Amaina, who’s adept at sneaking through minds just to be nosy, and likely doesn’t ping as a danger to you Kaito simply because you know who she is and ‘hold back’, and Miyako, who you again ‘hold back’ for, then we can assume your mind is still clear. I would like to stress test this at some point, maybe invite an empath to try sneaking in that you don’t know. Would you be okay with that?”

“Sure, I guess just let Kokichi know.” Kaito shrugged.

“Agreed. Alright, what else…” 

How had the battle against the ribbons been going? Easier and easier. Were they still showing up a lot? Nowhere near as often as they used to. How often then? 

“Oh, maybe once every few days, but in bursts,” Saint Madison explained, “As in, there will be weeks at a time where they don’t show up at all, and then for a week or two I have to cut them down every other day.”

“Interesting,” Alter Ego said, “Any theories as to why?”

Saint Madison shrugged, but did add in, “Periods of stress? Kaito’s usually stressed for those few days where they pop up a lot.”

“Okay, so negative feelings can trigger your conditioning more often.” Alter Ego noted, “But, so long as Saint Madison can keep cutting them down when they do show up? Even the fact that there's weeks at a time when they’re not triggered at all? That’s a great sign. Conditioning not just being stopped, but your mind actually actively starting to recover… that’s a great sign.”

“Awww, heck yeah! Great.” Kaito grinned, scratching the dogs ears before looking up to Madison, “Hey, divine, how are you?”

“I just explained to the intruder.” Saint Madison said.

“No, I just mean in general. You happy? Everything going alright in the…” Kaito looked around the castle halls, “Mind palace?”

Saint Madison sighed, “Sentimental… it really is our worst trait.”

“Agree to disagree.” Kaito said cheerfully. 

“I’m fine. The fiasco with the panic attack yesterday wasn’t great, but at least you had the good sense to go to bed early.” Saint Madison frowned, “Also, you dropped the ball on those boys. They look like little idiots. You should have made sure they got a room.”

“....ugh, yeah.” Kaito sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, “I didn’t do that, did I? Yeah. Alright. I’ll pull it together tomorrow. Thanks for remembering for me, divine. Heh, maybe you’ll be my memory construct, like little me for Kokichi!”

“No. I’m already busy. I’ll kill you.” Saint Madison said.

“Heheh, alright,” Kaito said, standing up and heading over to her. Grinning up at her for a moment, before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a hug, resting his head on her collarbone, “...happy birthday. Thanks for doing such a good job. I know Kokichi’s super proud of you.”

Saint Madison looked down at Kaito blankly for a moment… before rolling her eyes a little, but hugging him back. Honestly. So sentimental. Silly person. 

Alter Ego declared Saint Madison working as well as could be expected, wished Kaito a good night, and sent everyone to sleep. The saint dutifully wandering through Kaito’s various temples, keeping an eye out.

-

“...Arven?”

…

“Aaaaaarven?”

Kiba would later deny that he was even capable of making any sound that resembled a whine, but the way he stood at his brother’s door, starting to knock repetitively on it and calling his name was, uh…sort of whine-ish. 

“Aaaarven, Arven, Arven!”

Arven, looking far too chipper and alert for it still being early in the morning, opened up his door, “Yeah? What? Are you dying?” Arven asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kiba perked up as Arven opened his door, grinning brightly. In his hands, he was holding writing supplies, also looking rather put together for first thing in the morning. Though considering that Kiba looked awake, it probably wasn’t ‘first’ thing in the morning for him. 

“Hey! Good morning! You wanna hang out?” Kiba asked eagerly. “I got a letter from Ravin so I was gonna write back to him, if you just wanna chill together?”

“Sure,” Arven said, glancing down at the supplies, smiling lightly. “Let’s hang out on the patio, it’s the first sunny day we’ve had since the freeze. Just give me a second to grab a coat.”

Bundled up, Chief padding along beside them, the two cleared some of the snow that still managed to get onto the patio furniture after removing their coverings. Sitting down in the bright sunlight, snow glistening in the field around them, Arven took in a deep breath of crisp, chilly air as Chief went to go cheerfully walk around the field. 

“So, what does the mysterious and alluring Ravin have to say this time?” Arven asked.

“FIFTH YEAH!” Kiba cheered, excited to hang out, just laughing and calling back an apology for his volume at the dissent shouted from down the hall. It wasn’t really like everyone had fled the house as soon as they were free--sure, Tsume and Hana had got back into the swing of work, Hinata had been able to go back home, in a good way, thankfully, and Arven had been eager to see Doppio again, but they weren’t collectively out more than usual, and the whole family had reconvened for the full moon last week. 

Kiba supposed he was just craving some companionship, as he did, time to time. It was always nice being around friends and family. 

As they went out on the patio, getting comfortable, Kiba settled one of his textbooks in his lap to write on…even if he just basked in the sun, Akemaru rolling around on a sunpatch on the patio before prancing after Chief and Akamaru. 

“Heh, well, the Death Battle in Carbosi happened last week,” Kiba relayed, looking over the letter he’d received again. It was easier to just talk about the contents like a normal person now, since he’d given himself the space to be a total weirdo alone before knocking on Arven’s door. “I forget if we talked about it--it’s a big showcase for the mechanics’ club at his school? And I guess any similar youth hobbyists in the city too. You build little machines or automatons or whatever and see how well they do in certain tasks, though the big one is a cage match at the end. Ravin came second this year!”

“And,” Kiba leaned over, voice ripe with gossip and conspiracy, “apparently the king of Luminary came to the event! And seemed pretty into it? Like, Ravin said there was this whole entourage around him, which I guess I get, but the king came over himself to talk to some of the participants. That’s pretty cool, foreign royalty being a techie and wanting to chat about it, right?”

“You did mention it,” Arven recalled, leaning back into his chair to watch the dogs run around, nodding with Kiba’s explanations, “And hey, that’s pretty cool! Ravin got second, huh? If it’s a big event, I’m going to assume that’s pretty impressive. Did he say what his robot looked like?”

Arven’s eyebrows raised, before saying, entirely sincerely, “The kings a techie?” Before tilting his head, “Huh… I guess I never thought anyone from Luminary would be into that sort of thing. Do they have access to stuff like that? Wild.”

“Aww, you should get Ravin something cool for winning the tournament, sort of,” Arven said, crossing his arms as he thought about it, “What do robot types like? Um… screws? We could send him a packet of screws? Various sizes?”

Kiba chuckled a bit, flushing lightly. “He said that this year he went with a variation of his ‘Iron Ant’ design, but he said I’d have to actually suck it up and make the trip over to Carbosi myself for once to see the differences.” Kiba rolled his eyes fondly. “He and his siblings usually are the ones coming here if we’re all gonna visit each other, and Ravin has fun griping about us putting in the effort one of these days. Ha, maybe I will, just to catch him off guard!”

Carbosi was a cool city in its own right--just was usually easier for the three Sabaku siblings to catch a ride over to Usott, than it was to organize the dozen or so of them in Usott into going over. But if Kiba was gonna just visit himself? That seemed more doable…and he was probably old enough now that he could make an argument with his mom about taking a trip himself.

Shrugging a little, Kiba didn’t think much of it as he wrote down a little more of his letter back. “I mean, even if you don’t live in an industry city, there’s always some folks who get into that stuff. Couldn’t really name a Luminous invention off the top of my head,” Kiba laughed brightly, “But that’s more ignorance on my part than nothing going on over there.”

Kiba paused when Arven suggested getting Ravin a gift, worrying the edge of his lip between his canines for a moment before he gave Arven a bashful grin. “...you really think I should? Would be nice, and Unity’s soon anyway…” Kiba tipped his head back on the patio chair he was lounging in, closing his eyes against the sun. “...maybe I could look around for kit-bashing pieces? We might have stuff here they don’t in Carbosi, though I dunno what exactly to look for. He’d probably appreciate the sentiment, at least. Might accuse me of trying to offload junk from our attic,” he laughed.

Arven, briefly, looked scandalized. “A… kit bashing set?” he said, giving Kiba a bewildered, alarmed look, “Isn’t that cruel to the kits?”

“Wha-?” Kiba startled for a moment, before chuckling kindly, “Dude, nah, different thing. You know those model sets you can get? Where there’s all the pieces, and you can put ‘em together and paint them and stuff? Kit-bashing is when you take pieces from different sets, or some that don’t belong to anything, and make your own designs.”

“Oh… right,” Arven said, blushing a little, “Sorry, mind immediately went to baby foxes. I’m not super tech-savvy myself, I guess. I’m still trying to get my head around phones.” 

Tilting his head up, mildly watching clouds drift through the sky, he said, “That sounds like a good gift, but I bet Ravin would like anything you got him. Hey, pass me a paper and pen, would you? I should actually get around to writing back to my penpal. Not sure what I want to say yet, but he was nice enough to send me a letter and, well, I already went through the effort of asking Prince Kokichi to make me drawings to send back to him. Might as well do my part in it.”

Grabbing some of the supplies, Arven looking down at the paper, tapping against it, “...hmmm…. What to say… I don’t know. He had so much to say to me, I feel bad that nothings really coming to mind for me to write back,” Arven huffed, resting his head against his palm, “Maybe I should tell him my brother has a weird long distance crush with a mad robot scientist.”

“Makes sense for your expertise,” Kiba chuckled, waving Arven’s embarrassment off. “And, seriously, I pretty much just know this stuff ‘cause of Ravin, it’s not like you’re missing out on common knowledge or anything. He’s eventually gotten used to my needling that he actually tells me about his hobbies, so I learn a lot! Aaaaaand I try to remember what I can.”

Snorting, Kiba wasn’t…so sure about that. Ravin wasn’t the type to do politeness for politeness’s sake--if Kiba got him a shit gift, he’d be sure to know. Which was nice in a certain way, ‘cause it meant that Kiba didn’t have to dig through mind-games…but it could be embarrassing when Kiba felt like he’d do anything to get Ravin to genuinely smile. 

But it did seem like a decent gift idea. 

Passing Arven some writing supplies, Kiba made an interested noise as Arven mentioned writing back to Levi. Though he just scoffed at what Arven thought to write. “Hey, at least talk me up first! If you’re gonna tell mad lies, then you could talk about how awesome I am first.” Shrugging a little, Kiba suggested more seriously, “You have questions from him to answer, right? That’s a place to start too. Maybe more stuff’ll come to ya once you get started.”

“Dear Levi,” Arven pretended to write, airing over the paper, “From 0 to 10, how goofy do you think it is to fall madly in love with a guy in a totally different city? 0 is a little silly, 10 is named Kiba. Please write back promptly, this is extremely necessary information.”

Chewing on the back of his pen, Arven considered what he actually wanted to write. “...I guess I’m curious about this Kyuu-spawn stuff he mentions. Have you ever heard of that stuff, Kiba? Little plant creatures with names like ‘Therefore Infinity’ and flying looking creatures named ‘O Night’? Sort of looks like a fluffy dragon unicorn?” Arven frowned, “It’s hard not to feel like he’s messing with me, but, well, weirder things have happened. I’m just shocked at how casually he talks about it. Like it’s common knowledge.”

“Ugh.” Kiba shot Arven a dirty look…though it was severely undercut by the shade of pink he turned, and the fact that he melted down onto his chair quite a bit. “Dude, I’m not in love with him…”

It felt like a losing battle to even try to refute what was obviously a joke, but Kiba still found himself doing it anyway. Ravin was his friend! Sure, Kiba…maybe had some other feelings towards him too, but it wasn’t anything serious. Just fleeting fancy! 

…despite the fact it had been several years at this point, and what Kiba could’ve written off, awe and instant infatuation with the guy that saved his and his dog’s lives, had really just stayed as awe, and the crush had only come once they started talking more. But nothing was happening! Other than two cool guys being friends!

Stretching his legs out, just adapting to his new slouched position, Kiba gave Arven a thoughtful look. “I haven’t heard of those things exactly, no, but…” With a sigh, he did pick himself up more, his neck only willing to play along for so long. “...like, some of the stories that have been passed down in the family? Werewolf stories. Obviously it’s not ‘common knowledge’ but it is pretty casual. Hearing about the old clans that used to run in Usott, passing down family scents, Sixth, I hadn’t heard of ‘em until you brought them up, but if Ma knows stories about the Titans? Then those would just be regular stories. Stuff that sounds insane to other people, but is just normal here.”

“Just different contexts, yanno?” Kiba shrugged, before resting his head in his hand, looking out over the field of their backyard, watching the dogs. “...people are starting to talk about that dream thing we all had like it’s normal now too, rationalized all sorts of ways, though folks in other cities would look at anyone here like they’re crazy. People don’t just all fall asleep at the same time…but we did, so it’s something people gotta make normal.”

“I guess I understand that for… other people,” Arven said, smiling lightly as he realized where his hangup really was, “But me? Not know about an entire monster species? It’s hard to accept. I mean, easy to understand, makes a lot of sense. Still hard to accept.”

Looking back to the letter, Arven jotted some lines down, before considering some of the questions Levi had asked him, jotting down some notes about his own enjoyment of gardening, though adding in that it wasn’t like every single Dicean did. “Right, they don’t have phones yet,” Arven recalled, thinking of another question, jotting down the little he knew about phones. “I have to imagine they’ll get them soon though, now that the techs out there. Maybe I’ll actually get to talk to this guy at some point? That’d be pretty odd.”

“Annnnd he wanted a recipe,” Arven mused, tapping the pen to the paper, “...I might have to wait and decide what recipe to send. I’ll probably want to rewrite this letter to make it coherent too. I’ll give myself a time limit of sending it back out by the end of the week.”

“What’s it like to pass down scents, anyway?” Arven asked, looking curiously at Kiba, “I mean, is it literally just… this is what grandma smelled like? And that’s the whole of it? Do you get more out of it than that?”

Kiba snorted, snickering a bit as he gave Arven a teasing look. “Well, Mr. Naturalist would have that kind of pride, huh? Hopefully Levi isn’t really pulling your leg, now that you’ve had a whole revelation. That’s the kind of shit that gives people trust issues.”

Working on his own letter in companionable silence for a moment--one of the reasons he’d sought out Arven in the first place--Kiba gave a hum of wonder. “Right. People probably gonna stop at just connecting the continent, right? That’s… That’s crazy. Imagine being able to talk to someone across an ocean instantly?! Ha, it’d be sick to get to talk to Levi, though. Right place, right time for so much.”

Giving Arven an amused look--Arven was a good guy to ask for recipes--it soon morphed into a thoughtful one, Kiba letting out a short stream of air. “Ah man, well… It’s sorta that, and sorta more, though it’s hard to explain… It’s not…” Kiba struggled with his words, tilting his head to the side. “...it’s not psychic stuff. But with someone’s scent that’s passed down to you, it’s…sort of getting a feel for what they were like too? I’ve never been able to explain it right.”

He snorted a little, giving Arven a grin. “Shino and Hinata looked at me like I was crazy for saying it, but scent can sort of be like a vibe-check? Not like generalizing that someone that hasn’t bathed is a weirdo, but like…you can get an idea if someone’s, like…friendly, or shifty, or whatever by their scent. And for family scents, you get some of that too. It’s all wrapped up in stories too, so it’s this big whole thing together.” 

“Huh… vibe checking great, great grandma… I imagine it’d be weird to smell an old family member and realize sniffing them that you wouldn’t have liked them.” Arven said, still making little notes into his letter, before tilting his head a bit, “...now that I know how genetically close I got to being able to do something like that? I’m sort of disappointed that I can’t. I only know what you smell like the normal way. Which is usually that you need to change your socks.”

Arven paused, before looking at Kiba. “...what do I smell like?”

“Pff, yeah, and since our family’s so close? It’s rare for anyone to get left out of the whole thing, so you get stuff like smelling some long ago distant cousin that was a total perfectionist and you get ragged on hard for makin’ a scrunch face during scent time,” Kiba snorted, toooootally not referring to anything specific. But, well, that was pack. You may not like everyone, but your bonds still stood strong. 

Sticking his tongue out at Arven--he was a master of laundry, thanks!--Kiba immediately answered, “Sage.”

“Sage and pine needles and just the barest hint of smoke,” he continued, closing his eyes and breathing, narrowing down the specifics of Arven’s scent, “Like a trek through a forest…but emphasis on trek. There was a long journey to get to that point, but if anything that just makes the peaceful moment more meaningful. You smell like…appreciation. But not a kind that makes you linger. Mm…progress, maybe.”

“...and also like wet hair, sometimes,” Kiba smirked, opening his eyes to tease Arven a little.

Arven’s jaw had hung open a bit, not having expected an explanation that… thorough. Also, sweet? Also… ow? But in the nice way. Ow. 

“...well, now I feel bad about joking that you smell like socks.” Arven pouted, picking up a pinch of snow and throwing it at Kiba. “Jerk.”

Laughing brightly, Kiba half-heartedly shielded himself from the brutal snow attack, kicking a little left on the porch at Arven’s feet in retaliation. “Hey, you asked!! It’s not often I get to use my nose to show off, lemme have this moment! Just watch, next time we’re hangin’ out with people and can’t decide where to get food but we smell something great and can’t pinpoint it? You’ll all be beggin’ me to lead the way.”

Arven chuckled a little, still feeling warm with the ‘sage’ explanation as he leaned back into his chair, looking back at the dogs, who all seemed absolutely determined to dig through all the snow. “I’m holding you to that. Soon, even, we should go to the market and hang out before the snow thins out too much. Everyone always brings out their best spice recipes around this time, we should go take advantage. It’ll be fun.”

Closing his eyes, Arven made a big show of sniffing… and while he couldn’t really smell what he knew Kiba was talking about, that ‘wolf scent’, he said, “You smell cool. And fun. And, weirdly generous? Way too generous. Like a guy who’d share his whole family with a friend… it’s a good smell. I like it.” Arven peeked at Kiba, “I bet all the family after us is going to like it too.”

“Dude, yes!” Kiba wholeheartedly agreed, “Get the whole crew together! Probably goad each other into eating way too much and it’ll be awesome! Ha, I’ll even bring extra tissues when we end up eating stuff that’s too spicy but waaaay too good to stop eating.”

It might be a good way to bring some levity to Hinata and Neji too. Whatever his own suspicions about it, he was incredibly relieved to hear that some of their grandparents finally wised up and stopped being cringe, but, well, Neji’s dad was still super sick, and Hinata’s dad was still an asshole. So maybe a fun day out at the market with good food and good friends would be good for them.

Already practically tail-wagging thinking about that, Kiba’s eyes widened as Arven sniffed at him, giving his own breakdown of Kiba’s scent. And what it was…

Kiba beamed brightly, full fangs out as he practically tackled Arven, hugging him with the full force of joy. “FIFTH YEAH, BRO!! Legends right in the making, here, the both of us! Future Inuzukas are gonna beg the techies to make a time machine just to chill with us.”

Arven snorted at that, “It feels like anythings possible right now, with phones and magic lantern shows and stuff… but could you imagine time machines?” Arven rolled his eyes, an amused smirk, “Now that would be ‘wow’.”

-

In one manner, Kyle wasn’t…sure what he was doing. Yes, he felt for Quinn, and he wanted to help out a young ghost, and a kid that was going Through It, but having a couple phone calls over the course of a week was not a basis to go full protective mode and… What. Was he hoping to swoop in like a hero and solve everything for Quinn? Just ridiculous… 

But he found himself at Usott Castle all the same. 

-

While Doppio had shown Quinn and the Power Duo around Usott Castle the day before, they had run into another teen that lived there, and while Elthea was uhhhh intimidating, she had apparently decided that hanging out with them was the Thing To Do, so the four of them were having a late breakfast--or just continual snacking--in one of the sitting areas in the entrance call when Edgar’s usual quietness seemed to get a little more pointed. His gaze fixed out the window. 

Watching a seven-foot fursuit head towards the front door. 

It was Orlin who saw the fursuit first, actually. But beyond noting ‘oh, huh’ he hadn’t said anything about it, just clutching at his coffee as he tried to make small talk with the new girl again. “S-S-so have you ever been abducted by aliens? N-no offense, you just have a healthy glow to you, which can be a sign of alien interference.”

“Ooooor it means I actually go outside when the sun’s out,” Elthea countered, though her voice was more amused than confrontational. “If I was ever abducted by aliens, then that’s probably a sign they’re losers since I don’t know why they’d give me back. More likely is it’s just never happened.”

“We really don’t know what kind of ethics codes aliens might have,” Edgar muttered, unable to keep himself from chiming in on one of his favorite subjects, despite the, wow, yeah, just a whole-ass furry casually coming to the castle. “They might practice ‘catch and release’, no matter who it is they actually abduct.”

“I still really doubt aliens have come to our solar system. If a society was that advanced to be able to not just break through their atmosphere, but invent interplanetary travel, I don’t know why they wouldn’t make more noticeable contact, or be so perfect in going under the radar that no one would have stories about abduction,” Quinn hummed, taking a sip of tea…before nearly choking on it, finally seeing what the others did, though he had enough context to put together, “M-Mr. Essei?!”

Kyle startled slightly, looking at the kids--the girl looking mildly surprised, but giving him a wave, the boy with the hat just staring--before plodding over, waving gently back. “Ah, Quinn, dinna think I’d see you immediately--’ello. ‘N ‘ello t’ the rest of ya, too.”

Edgar blinked, before looking at Quinn. “You’re a furry too?”

Quinn flushed, quickly glancing at Elthea before sputtering, “Dude, no.”

“Dude, w-we’re not gonna judge! F-furries are a thing!” Orlin said, now entirely convinced Quinn was, indeed, a furry, “Why didn’t you make friends in school that way? The furry club is right there! Th-then you wouldn’t be such a loser loner all the time!” 

Quinn turned redder, gritting his teeth as he insisted, “Not a furry!”

“Maybe you should be,” Elthea shrugged, snickering a little as Quinn slouched and hid behind his mug, before turning her attention back to Kyle. Her eyes taking on a considering gleam. “Mr. Essei, yeah?”

“Ya can call me, Kyle, don’ use ‘m last name much.”

“Cool, Kyle. We’ve never met, but you sorta work with Prince Shuuichi right?” Elthea asked, inadvertently explaining why she wasn’t so surprised to see Kyle, since the initial shock of seeing him had come and gone with his previous trips to Usott Castle, “Did you get called over to be a witness for Quinn’s parents? Like as a work colleague, since you do supernatural stuff too, right?”

Edgar blinked, before looking up at Kyle. “You’re an exorcist too?”

Kyle scoffed. “Not on a chance. Am a paranormal investigator, though, though, uh, no, I dinna get called for the trial, just here to,” …Kyle didn’t want to out Quinn, if he hadn’t explained things to the others, “Visit Shuuichi, though i’s’a coincidence t’ get t’ say ‘ello t’ you too.”

“Oh wow…s-s-so the prince is a furry too!?” Orlin gasped, before looking proudly over at Quinn, ”See, Quinn? You’re even being directly represented in the royal castle! It’s a great time to be a furry, you don’t have to be ashamed!”

“Not…a furry,” Quinn continued to insist.

However, he could only give Kyle a betrayed look as a soft, echoey chuckle came from the fursuit. “Dunno, think Shuuichi would be more of a scaly than anythin’...” Shaking his head a little, Kyle got back on track, saying, “Well, don’ want to bother ya too much first thin’, an’ I gotta get a room fer m’sel’ cleared up, but I’ll be ‘round fer a bit if ya ever wan’ chat, Quinn. Nice meetin’ th’ res’a you, too.”

“See you, Kyle,” Quinn sighed. Still mostly focused on the incorrect accusations being slung his way, but having a hunch that Kyle really had come all the way to Usott to check on him during the trial. Which was super embarrassing but…kind of nice.

“N-NICE meeting you!” Orlin called, watching the paranormal investigator wander off… before leaning in to whisper across the table, “Okay, but there’s obviously something going on at the castle, right!? If the prince called in his ‘friend’ who just ‘happens’ to be a ‘paranormal investigator’,” Orlin said, air quoting all the words, “Then somethings happened and they’re trying to quietly take care of it! Who wants to bet it’s the gnomes?!” 

Elthea raised her eyebrows a little before smirking, leaning in as well, about to share some tea. “You know, if you’re actually curious? Some of the housekeeping staff have some weird rumors about towels going missing and finding weird stashes of wood chips around. I know Kyle was around when we had that Big Sleep too.”

Quinn…knew Kyle was most likely there because he had mentioned his parents’ trial their last call. But he wasn’t about to tell that to the others because…well, why would Quinn be talking casually to a paranormal investigator, if not for paranormal investigations? And while Orlin and Edgar cared about his well-being in their own weird ways, Quinn… Well, for one, he didn’t think Orlin was even capable of keeping a secret like that, even if no one would believe him, and he just…wasn’t sure what the duo would do if they had real, undeniable proof of the supernatural in front of them. He didn’t think they’d be exactly like his parents, but…Quinn didn’t really want to find out. 

So he just gave Elthea a slightly worried, curious look. “Actually, we did hear about that in Entente Grove… Everyone in Usott falling asleep at the same time? What was that actually about?”

Elthea shrugged a little. “Exactly what you said. Everyone falling asleep. No one’s gotten a more in-depth answer why.” Only guesses, but that was borrrrring, and Elthea wasn’t gonna get into it with this group.

“See, THAT feels like standard alien behavior! I bet they’re all chipped. Like in science fiction stories, where you put a little metal thing in someone’s skin and suddenly you always know their movements?” Orlin explained, “THAT. Usott’s just a big sample size for the aliens to study humans! …and the dream was a coincidence or something.” Orlin shrugged. What, come on, he was supposed to have ALL the answers?! Unreasonable!

“Being chipped by aliens would be so cool…” Edgar sighed, before giving Elthea a curious look. “People do say you all had a mass hallucination or something. What did you dream about?”

“I don’t fully remember, honestly,” Elthea hummed, propping her head up on the table with a hand as she looked up at the ceiling. “I had a little fox friend that used a stick as a magic wand? And I know I was hanging out with my real friends too. Seems a little mundane, really, but I get the sense of it being a good time.” 

“Weird,” Quinn muttered. 

“Yeah, that’s what a lot of the reports said. That ultimately it was a good dream. So at least the aliens were nice about it?” Orlin said, “It’s a good sign in our future space overlords!”

Edgar nodded knowingly. “If aliens did advance enough to get to all the stuff Quinn said earlier, then it makes sense they’re benevolent. You just can’t progress that far through conquest and malicious intent.”

He paused for a moment, before looking to Orlin, his expression largely the same, though his eyes gleamed with barely contained excitement. “If aliens are keeping tabs on Usott, you think that means we could see UFOs at night here?”

Orlin lit up, “DUDE I BET WE COULD! We’ll have to keep an eye on the observatory! Better our odds if we visit there a lot!”

While seeing how genuinely excited and pleased Edgar and Orlin seemed to be was…actually nice, Quinn couldn’t help but wonder on that subject himself. Not to see aliens--despite having the existence of magic smacked in his face, Quinn still thought that was super unlikely. But just for space in general… 

He could fly pretty fast. Could…he break through the atmosphere? Or even getting close to it… It wasn’t like he needed to breathe, and as a ghost there wasn’t anything for pressure to effect, so…

Could he go to space????

Elthea glanced around the dreamy-eyed boys around her and rolled her eyes. Total nerds, all guys were. She needed to plan a sleepover with Minnie and Nela soon.

As the four teens chatted about the odds of seeing a UFO if they just kept watch on the telescope, around the corner a man was watching, having been trying to hype himself up for the last three minutes or so. 

It’s fine! He is… literally just a kid! A normal 14 year old young man! On the cusp of adulthood! Basically harmless, if one did not count hormones and no social grace! Just a… totally normal kid! With the exception of one itty bitty smallllll thiiiiing–just don’t think about it! Just… go! 

It was the middle of winter, but when Kaito approached the table, he looked like he had been standing in the sun for a while, his shirt soaked through with sweat as he grinned like a madman. Saying very, very quickly, “Hah, it’s nice to see the sitting area so lively! Hey, so, you two, you have rooms right? No, hah, my husbands say you did, but they also mentioned something about, hah, you biking home? Hah, so, I thought maybe I should really quick mention that, you know–”

Kaito glanced over at Quinn, started to sweat harder, before saying very, very fast, “So-we-can’t-actually-let-you-guys-bike-in-the-snow-back-to-your-city-alone, it’s, hah! Dangerous-so-we’re-going-to-make-sure-you-have-a-ride-back–” another glance at Quinn, speaking faster, “attheendofthetrialjustsobeawareyouWILLbetakingacarriage, HAH, okaygoodtalkbye!”

Before Kaito rushed off, shaking.

“...what’d he say?” Orlin asked, baffled.

Edgar blinked, before lightly tugging on one of his hat’s tassels. “...news did spread Usott had a big drug problem recently too.”

“No, Prince Kaito’s just like that,” Elthea sighed, grabbing another scone to load up with jam. “Something probably spooked him but he has a thing about kids, so whatever he wanted to tell you couldn’t wait. It’s probably nothing, but if you're curious just, like, wait a couple hours to ask. Maybe when he’s with his daughter, he usually gets way more chill when he’s looking after her.”

Quinn just shrugged, looking to the side.

“Well, whatever.” Orlin shrugged, before saying, “Hey, should we camp out in the observatory tonight!? It literally has a bed in there, which, WEIRD! But useful??”

“Yes,” Edgar agreed quickly. A night looking at the stars and potential aliens with one of the best telescopes he’d read about with his boyfriend? And…Quinn, he guessed, but Edgar wasn’t totally distracted by the romance of it all. Sign him up. 

“Uh… Well, my parents will probably want to talk with me after the end of the session today,” Quinn mumbled, half shrugging, “But if I’m not tied up with them, sure.”

“Eh, maybe,” Elthea said lightly, “A girl needs her beauty sleep. But it could be cool for a while. I love the portrait of Dr. Hoshino up there, she looks so elegant.”

“Yeah. I wonder if her ghost haunts the place at night? That could be cool to see!” Orlin said, now doubly excited. “I-it’s a plan! I’ll bring the night coffee!”

That was coffee laced with melatonin. Orlin had a problem.

-

Sora and Axel were chatting over the bar counter, discussing who they thought was going to go next. 

“I already told the guy that Ienzo needs to go later,” Axel said, sipping at some mead that Sora had managed to buy with more delivery money, “But that’s just one out of 11 of us. And I’m not sure where everyone else is at with it, mental-wise.”

“I think your sister is still a little nervous to try it,” Sora admitted, chewing on some bread cheerfully. He was AWESOME at deliveries! Seriously, he rocked at it! “But I think most everyone else is curious to give it a shot! I mean, you and I went great, right? Why not?”

“Well, yours went great, mine just added more questions.” Axel shrugged. “Hey, did that weird noble lady commission another delivery for you? You know just because she pays well that you don’t have to keep going back to that place. She creeps me out.”

“She’s not so bad. She asks me a lot of questions every time I go, but I think she’s just lonely. And just… drunk. All the time,” Sora laughed a little, “Drunk or on some other stuff, I can’t tell. She’s on something. But I don’t think she’s dangerous.”

“She calls herself a ‘Momota’. Regardless if it's true or if she’s crazy, that’s still dangerous. Don’t be a dumbass, just be aware,” Axel insisted.

“Wise words,” a disappointed voice pointedly noted. Aqua had just come into the tavern, dragging Demyx in by the arm, the two of them scuffed and tousled and, uh…blood-spattered. Just a bit. “Ones this one needs to heed more.”

Dragging Demyx to a booth, Aqua gave Sora and Axel a firm glare. “The Ouma is fixing him next.” Maybe regular Demyx wasn’t much more reasonable, but at least not having something to prove and a proclivity towards sadism would help. 

“Geez, what’d you do this time?” Axel sighed, as Demyx whined and complained while Aqua threw him into the booth stall. 

“Nothing! Nooooothing~” Demyx said, leaning against the counter like he didn’t have a black eye and a temple wound that was gushing blood down the side of his face, “I got into a minor disagreement with two, just, horribly ugly guards who clearly had too much time on their hands–”

“Guards?” Sora winced, “Demyx, we’re meant to be keeping a low profile.”

“I am! The lowest! It’s not my fault the restaurant didn’t want to pay me to stop playing! My rates are very reasonable!” 

“Okay, yeah, Demyx is going next,” Axel agreed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “The real Demyx at least has a self-preservation instinct. Larxene is gonna get herself killed at this rate.”

“Larxene? Pray tell, WHO is this ‘Larxene’ person?” Demyx snickered, as Sora dabbed a napkin on his temple, “Whoever she is, she sounds entirely not at fault for this situation, and also very sexy.”

“Don’t worry, Demyx. You and Larxene are going to feel a lot better when you’re both whole again,” Sora promised, before looking to Aqua with a smile, “How are you doing, Aqua? I got groceries! Check the cooler, we even have ice!”

They didn’t have much, but the Nobodies had invested in first aid supplies, and leaving Demyx in Axel and Sora’s care for a moment, Aqua left to retrieve it. As foolish as getting into the fight to begin with was, fighting those guards had felt…good. It was a shame killing them would be more trouble than it was worth. 

She couldn’t have yelled in those dogs’ faces that they were embarrassments, pawns of the money flow and mockeries of protection, but hearing one’s skull crack against the dirt as she tripped them up was almost as satisfying. 

Returning with a cloth, a glass of water, and the first aid kit, Aqua gave Sora a small, approving nod. Only hesitating a moment before smiling and squeezing his shoulder. “That’s wonderful, Sora, thank you. You’re really taking this ‘head of household’ idea to heart, aren’t you?”

“I’m fine,” she actually answered the question, gently nudging Sora aside to start properly cleaning Demyx’s head wound. “I got grabbed a few times, but bruises heal.”

Another awkward beat. “And yourself? And you, Axel?”

Sora swelled up a bit with pride at the ‘head of the household’ remark. He knew it was mostly jest when everyone said it, including himself…but he did let the idea motivate him a little, when he was out running around as fast as he could around the city to make his deliveries and walking the market, risking himself by asking around who needed deliveries. Knowing that his effort meant his family was going to be a little more comfortable that night? Kept him going when things got a little intimidating or a bit sweaty. 

He was still considering last names. He knew the chances of the others adopting it were slim to none, but, well… still! It was a lot to think about! He wanted a good one!

“Eyyyy, it’s all good on my end, Aqua.” Axel grinned, giving her a wink. Before reaching over and rustling Sora’s hair, who pouted. “And this one needs to go ahead and rest already today. You know he left the tavern before sunrise?”

“I had a delivery pickup promised! It was good coin!” Sora insisted… before yawning, “Okay, I am tired though. Hey, who’s going to help the Ouma prince with Demyx?”

“Ienzo will be there no doubt,” Axel said, tilting his head, “Not sure who else should go. Demyx?”

“Eh?” Demyx said, wincing as Aqua placed the bandage, “What?”

“Whose help do you want for your brain therapy tonight?”

“Ehhhhhhhh,” Demyx crossed his arms, sighing, “I dunno… I guess Ienzo is fine? I bet mine’s gonna be fine. I’m already halfway there anyway!”

Sora and Axel both shared a glance with each other and Aqua. Demyx had seriously committed to his act as, well… Demyx. Admittedly, sometimes it was convincing. But mostly it was about as much of a bandaid as the one on his temple. 

And it wasn’t convincing, when Demyx tipped his head to the side and groaned, “But, maaaan, I’m a little jealous of you, Sora. You got to actually talk to one of the people you conditioned long after they were done! I’ve always wanted to do that! I can’t decide what’d be funnier to watch: the ones freaking out about the water that’s not there, or the ones with the endless music in their head!” Demyx cackled. “I LOVE that second one! It was my favorite!”

“You’ve taken to responsibility like a duck to water,” Aqua nodded approvingly, before giving a little half-smile, “Not that that’s so surprising for you. But don’t run yourself into the ground. The burden of supporting all of us shouldn’t be left to our youngest’s shoulders, regardless of your capability in carrying it.”

Sighing, Aqua started taking a look at some of the more obvious cuts and bruises on Demyx, though, thankfully, none of them were as bad as the cut to his temple. And that was only as bad as it was since head wounds bled a lot. Just rest would be good for the bruises, though she started disinfecting the smaller cuts. 

“I’m surprised you don’t want Lauriam there…or perhaps not. He may more likely encourage you to stay separated than be of genuine help,” Aqua mused, before giving Demyx a dry look. “Slipping.”

“Eh?” Demyx said, thinking back… before sighing and going, “I meeeaaaan it’d be… suuuuch a bummer. To meet one of my poor victims. And see how they’re doing. Hopefully they’re all doing welllllll.”

Axel sighed, while Sora smiled, giving Demyx an encouraging thumbs up. 

“But, yeah, Lauriam hates all this stuff,” Demyx shrugged, “I’m sure he’ll come around when he sees it's possible though. But yeah, if I invited him along? He’d spend the entire time snarking at the Ouma.”

“Well, I’ll tell Kairi to send Kokichi a message about who’s getting made whole today,” Axel said, straightening up and heading around the counter, “Don’t go to bed drunk tonight, Demyx.”

Demyx stuck his tongue out at Axel, before smirking at Aqua. “You’re gonna miss me~ Who else are you going to get into street fights with?”

They’d see about that. Sora was the exact example they’d hoped for, and yet didn’t dare believe in until he was whole and bright in front of their eyes. Direct proof against the idea Aqua had caught Lauriam muttering about to Demyx before, that maybe there wasn’t actually anything deeper in them to uncover. 

And yet Axel had just created more questions, throwing into uncertainty if Sora had been the exception or the rule. Even if he did seem more at peace with himself, which was still an improvement. 

Either way, Aqua had a feeling Lauriam would give into peer pressure if nothing else, if the rest of them went through with regaining their hearts. Marluxia was cocky and ambitious and cruel…but he definitely wasn’t a loner. As much as he griped and fought with the others, Aqua knew he needed them as much as they all needed each other. 

A heavy veil darkened Aqua’s eyes, her voice deadened. “That’s the nature of relationships. Goodbyes are inevitable.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Demyx sighed, leaning against Aqua a bit, peering up at her, “And yet… you’re stilllll here. Whatever’s going on with me? Is gonna be a melody, compared to whatever it’s gonna take to handle you, Terra…and while I’m still myself to say so? …” Demyx pouted, pursing his lips, “I am so bummed I never managed to convince you to join me in the broom closet. What a waste!”

“Is rhythm or harmony really that much more difficult, compared to melody? I suppose you’d know more than me.” Sighing a little, Aqua finished tending to Demyx’s injuries and started packing the first aid kit back up…though she paused, raising an eyebrow at the lean and flirting. 

He shook his head before smirking a little and getting up. “...come find me before you go to bed tonight, and I’ll give you a proper farewell, Larxene. We might as well revel in the luck we have to do it, rather than saying them to the wind.”

Larxene startled at that. In truth, out of the group, she had been one of the Nobodies to have a harder time finding connections with the others, including in just small ways, like physical comfort. She was, as had been explained to her: distinctly unpleasant. 

She had half expected a smack for the come-on. And while a part of her was worried she was being set up for a smack later… she smirked. “To our luck and the wind, then.”

And she watched Aqua walk away… before glancing over at Sora, who was looking bright red and like he couldn’t decide between being mortified or wanting to laugh at them. “Isn’t it your bedtime?”

“Okay yeah bye!” Sora said, scurrying off. 

Demyx chuckled at that, before taking out his sitar. Strumming uselessly at it. 

…it’d be nice, he supposed. If tomorrow, he could actually remember how to play.

-

Kokichi felt a little more prepared this time, actually getting a message from Namine about who was volunteering that night, and confirming a time to come over, so there were far fewer awkward check-ins and pleasantries before Kokichi popped up on the beach of Destiny Island. He was beach-ready as ever, lightly humming the song he and Kaito had been practicing that evening in preparation for Unity. He was pumped for the upcoming holiday!

…but that was for later, and for right now, Kokichi was ready to help out his community. 

“Good evening, Prince Kokichi,” Zexion greeted, bowing his head and closing the book in his lap, for once already waiting on the beach. “You seem to be in good spirits.”

“Hiya, Zexion!” Kokichi greeted back with a wave before bowing back, grinning sheepishly. “That obvious? Just some nice personal stuff, but! I’m ready to help Larxene out tonight! Is she here?”

There was strumming coming from down the beach.

In Destiny Island, it didn’t matter that Larxene didn’t actually know how to play. As she laid out on the sand, watching the clouds pass by, a watery version of Demyx strummed at a sitar, eyes closed as he played for her. While Larxene could only make the damn thing do unpleasant clanging noises, in the water silhouette’s hands, the sitar was damn near an orchestra by itself. Demyx’s talent on it unparalleled. 

Larxene frowned as a shadow fell on her. “You’re blocking my sunlight.”

“Sorry,” Kokichi apologized lightly, shifting to the side. Taking in the…water clone, the incredible swell of music it played. A style and sound he’d never heard before, and Kokichi could only guess that it was something Luminary specific. Another instrument like the hurdy-gurdy that was entirely new. 

He smiled kindly at her. “As much as chilling out on the beach with great music sounds like a great night…are you ready to go to your world?”

Larxene sighed, glaring at the clouds. She ran her tongue over her lower lip a bit. Aqua sure knew how to leave a girl with some regrets…

…but, well. Her time was done. It had been a shitty ride anyway.

Sitting up, the platinum blond woman smirked at Kokichi. “Hey, we’re supposed to call you ‘Kokichi’, right? Not ‘prince’ or ‘lord’ or ‘your grace’?” she confirmed, reaching up and, forming from the ground, two more Demyx water forms–both with their eyes closed–formed up, lifting her to her feet, the third still playing as the other two melted away.

“I mean, I do like that more than those titles, but I do get if people are uncomfortable using my first name,” Kokichi answered, peering curiously at the water-people. “I was telling Axel before, the Dicean concept of hierarchy is waaaaay looser than how it is in Luminary, and, yeah, most people just call me my name in person.”

Zexion gave Larxene a suspicious look, and he made sure that all his books were safely away in hammerspace. 

Larxene bit her tongue at Zexion and winked, before shrugging as she headed up the pier towards the waterfall. “I’m saying, you got yourself a free pass to get people to call you all sorts of sexy things, and you pass it all up? What the heck? If I was noble, I’d be making everyone call me ‘Lady’ this or ‘Mistress’ that. Getting called ‘Your Grace’ or ‘Your Highness’? Hell, even just the title ‘Prince’ itself is sooooo powerful.”

Larxene sighed, looking down at the small pond the waterfall was pouring into, “I don’t know how you resist,” before jumping into it. Disappearing beneath the water. 

“Well, maybe here,” Kokichi conceded, before snickering a little. “Back home? People do give me the benefit of the doubt because of my oath, but if I suddenly started demanding to be called stuff like that, I’d be ridiculed. And probably harassed about my ethics constantly. A power-tripping Ouma tends not to be an Ouma for long.”

Zexion raised his eyebrows, leaning towards Kokichi in interest. “You’re talking about revolt?”

“Eyup!” Kokichi chirped, before with a grin he jumped into the pond after Larxene, Zexion following soon after. 

The water went down, down, down… until eventually a blue glow started to shine through, showing the watery caverns they were swimming through. A far distant sun above the surface, just barely able to touch the freezing depths of the rocky walls and sandy floor through cracks in the caves’ ceiling. 

There was music everywhere. Distant and playing all at once. Different songs in different voices. Some happy and bouncy, others screaming in rage. Some just a low, sad sound. 

The further Kokichi and Ienzo swam into the underwater caverns–and it was just them, neither Larxene nor her water puppets anywhere in sight–the more that music shifted and moved around them. Every time they got close to one of the songs, it faded out and a different one got louder. Not loud enough to truly hear the words, but each song tantalizingly close, like any second they’d move through the water and finally be able to hear it clearly. 

And just when it felt like perhaps they’d been left to be lost in the dark ocean depths, a trick played on them as music swirled and confused around them, the caves suddenly opened up into a larger area. And the sand veered off into a cliff, where down below a massive structure circled downwards towards a center stage full of light, crowds screaming and cheering in the stands as the water people all peered down at the stage, Larxene smiling up at her guests. “Welcome, welcome, one and all! To the most fun mind of the bunch! Definitely a never-ending party! No atrocities have ever been committed here!” 

And as Larxene giggled, then cackled, the light shining down from above the surface of the water suddenly flashed like lightning, and in that flashing, a creature far below the stage swam in massive, slow circles. 

Ugh. Zexion never really spent time in most of the others’ worlds for pleasure, but he really didn’t like the process of getting to Larxene’s. The blast of sensory information he could deal with--he sort of wished a decibel reader would be able to work in their minds, since he truly wasn’t sure if Ienzo or Demyx’s mind was actually louder--but, as it turned out, being locked inside for most of your life didn’t make you the strongest swimmer.

And it looked like the Dicean Prince wasn’t either, since he was mostly just propelled by the currents. Not that he looked all that bothered by it, more curious about the music, though as they got to the stage arena?

✪O✪

“WHOA!!” Kokichi exclaimed, looking around with wonder, before, to Zexion’s utter bewilderment, the prince pattered over to the side of the stage, looking down towards Larxene’s sea monster. “Oh my gosh, did you make a kraken?!? Or like a pleurodon or something?! That’s so awesome!!”

Larxene looked mildly surprised… before she smirked, swishing her flowing locks back a bit as she said, “Finally, someone who appreciates a good aesthetic!”

Again, a flash of lightning above them randomly lit the ocean with bright, blinding light, distant thunder accompanying it this time as the audience–seemingly random images of people made up in water silhouettes–cheered at the display.

Glancing off the stage, she said, “Oh, Guppy? Guppy’s a big ol’ squid, yeah. Guppy’s usually my assistant for conditioning. Well, some conditioning, the tougher ones. Otherwise I get into people’s heads through music. Everyone always calls me a sadist, but really, I’d argue I have one of the gentlest conditioning methods! Aren’t I a saint!?”

She called that out to the crowd, who cheered in response, bubbles floating up to the surface in mass as they shouted. No one was struggling for air, but as everyone talked, little trails of bubbles often escaped from the side of their mouths. Just a rule of this particular world. 

Larxene turned to the other two, hands on her hips as she scowled. “Alright, so…what exactly are we doing? How’d you fix the other two?”

“Wow…” Kokichi marveled for a little longer--man, Kaito would hate it here--before he straightened himself up, turning back to Larxene and the stage. “Well, for Sora he was…dormant, I guess, in a specific location in his mind, which came from a sense of his safe place, and…as I guess you guys heard?”

At Kokichi’s pause and questioning look, Zexion nodded. “Axel told us what happened with him, how it was more of an emotional aid than a construct that was his deal. I’m fairly certain you’re a full construct, through, Larxene.” When Larxene wasn’t mimicking him, they were pretty different personalities, after all, for all that ‘dramatic’ and ‘bombastic’ fit them both. 

“Right… Then I guess we could start by looking for a place Demyx would retreat to, then.” Prompting, Kokichi gave Larxene an encouraging smile. “I think I can guess that music’s pretty important to you, so…maybe something to do with that? A specific song, maybe?”

“A specific song…” Larxene tapped her finger to her chin, looking around, before calling out, “Band!”

Up and out of the ground, forming in little cyclones of water, more Demyxs formed. All with their eyes closed, most with sitars, but a few with other instruments as well. “I know lots of songs. I don’t know what songs are significant to him,” Larxene said, gesturing to the silhouettes, “But you’re right, if this loser is hiding anywhere? It’s in the music.”

“Buuuuuut, here’s the thing,” Larxene said, taking one of her little antenna-like strings of hair and wrapping it around her finger, “I associate all this music with different conditioning scenarios. Basically, if I’m playing a song in here? This whole area is going to react. I could try to hold back, but honestly, that sorta sounds like a headache waiting to happen. So you’re just gonna have to deal with it, I think. Yeah, that’s the plan.”

“A song that’s important to him, a song that’s important to one Demyx what’s his name… What did that loser like? Gambling a little, concerts a lot, uhh… his mom… drinking… ugh, I don’t know, he was a loser who had nothing going on in his life. You know how we ended up Indentured?” Larxene scoffed, looking to Kokichi, “We didn’t ask about the interest rate for a loan we took out to repair our sitar. Dumbass just signed the contract without even glancing at it! In a year a 500 copper debt turned into 5000. And even then? We had the option to just let our legs be broken, but noooooo, signing up for the program to clear our debt? Waaaaay better idea.” Larxene said, rolling her eyes, “It’ll give us job skills, we thought! We’ll be more employable! It’s basically free meal and board for a measly five years. Ugh…now five years was five years ago. A decade wasted… because we didn’t read one measly contract, didn’t want to deal with one broken leg. Ugh… you know what? I have a song.”

Larxene snapped her fingers. And all the water silhouettes started to swift and sway in the water. Music starting to rumble through the water.

And just as the music started to play, the silhouettes in the stands of random people seemed to still. Eyes glowing and widening. Like they were shocked. Starting to clutch at their throats as the bubbles escaping from their throats started to triple.  

One of the Demyx’s eyes peeked open. Glowing like the people in the stands as he began to sing.

“Don’t take it personally,

This is not about you.

I begin to slide inward and throughout to 

Shatter the static clinging to my mind.”

And at the word ‘static’ there was a sudden flash of lightning. Only this time, the lightning crackled through some of the stands. And everyone it hit suddenly gave a muffled scream, losing all of their bubbles at once, before growing still. Larxene snickering as she watched. 

Again, Kokichi started to feel a little inadequate. He didn’t know the Nobodies well, so any suggestions he could give were surface level at best. Vague guesses, while the actual deep thinking or puzzle solving was left to the people who’d already been trying to help themselves without him. But Kokichi was reminded of what Shuuichi had said to him, after helping Sora. Kokichi was making the space for everyone to have a chance. 

So he just had to hope that it was enough. At least the Nobodies didn’t seem fed up with his attempts to help, yet. 

“I don’t think holding back would be helpful, either,” Zexion advised. “Kokichi was only able to figure out what was happening with Axel when he was aggravated, so I believe trying to manage ourselves in this endeavor is counter-productive. It may not be a rule, but so far we’re two for two on being attacked, so…” He shrugged a little. “We’ll deal.”

As Larxene told Kokichi about Demyx--another name--and how they ended up in the Togami Corporation, Kokichi…really could only look at her in shock. Sympathetic, for a difficult situation just getting worse with time, most of all, but…a ten-times increase in a year?!? How was that legal?!?! Even the dry, confirming look Zexion gave him wasn’t enough to quash Kokichi’s aghast reaction, his old furies at the system in Luminary rising up…

But he forced himself to take a breath as music started to play. 

Again, a tune and a sound that was wholly foreign to Kokichi…but pretty catchy too. And if it weren’t for the audience suddenly drowning… Well, that was dour enough for Kokichi’s impulse to dance to evaporate. 

“That’s…disturbing, but I’m not sure giving, like…respirators to those figments is really the answer here,” Kokichi murmured quietly to Zexion. 

Zexion could only give the prince a bewildered look. “...you may not think of using power in your country, but Empathetically, you’re a bit terrifying. Creating safeguards for the whole audience…” That kind of power to combat Larxene’s own influence was insane. And made Zexion too aware of the headache he was still somewhat nursing from having a session with Rantarou and Xiomara earlier that day. But he wasn’t going to miss out on another experiment for anything.

“Usually the conditionee is part of the audience,” he quietly explained, watching Kokichi grimace as more lightning strikes came down, “Which is why it seems more morbid and bizarre than threatening to us now.”

Indeed, Larxene seemed to have gotten a bit caught up in her own show, turning to the audience with a flourish like someone alive and aware might actually be out there, putting on a familiar performance as she shouted, “Are we all still feeling good!? Still having a good time!? Don’t worry, we’re nowhere close to done with you yet!!”

And the Demyx with his eyes still peeking open continued to sing,

“I used to dream about killing certain people, 

Dreams that sew me up like sleeping with a needle.

Those feelings that I had were building up to something.

I feel a schism in the rhythm now I'm running.”

Another flashing series of lightning, as more ‘people’ in the stands screamed before losing all their air. Twitching and dying in their seats. 

“I was good at this,” Larxene whispered, watching as the remaining living silhouettes cried out in horror in the stands, struggling to free themselves from seats that sucked them in like currents. “I was the best at this. Do you know what it’s like, to not only exist for torture, but to excel at it? I didn’t have to clumsily throw fireballs in lonely dungeons, I didn’t have to stalk people like a serial killer in rainy, depressing cities, I didn’t need to chase down with wolves or carve into flesh, none of that. I could literally put on a show, and frighten people to their cores. Waiting, waiting, waiting to see which verse was gonna be the one to drown them… and that was only the start. To realize that being allowed to drown would have been a mercy…”

“I was so good at this,” Larxene whispered, as another bolt of lightning shot through more of the audience, “He was never good at anything.”

Kokichi looked at Larxene sadly for a moment. How…painful it must be, to have come into being for the sole purpose of inflicting harm. And to excel at it. To be born not to live, but to destroy, and that being all you were. 

“...but you still use his voice to sing,” Kokichi pointed out in a soft voice.

Larxene was very good at her job. Not the quickest--that had been Axel, though Larxene didn’t let him take that title without a fight--and not the one with the fewest mistakes--Zexion could point at many memories Ienzo’s constructs had experienced, watching over Demyx while he healed from the consequences of sloppy conditioning--but good. When her conditioning sessions worked, they worked. 

Zexion could understand the pride in that. Though…

He tilted his head, giving her a curious look. “...Larxene, do you believe that Demyx doesn’t deserve to be conscious anymore?”

“Why should he? I did all the hard work.” Larxene scoffed, looking back at the water silhouette band, scowling at them. “Zexy, you said that antagonism helped figure out Axel? Well, lucky us, I can antagonize my own damn self. This waste of space–” Larxene said, reaching over and grabbing the singing Demyx’s neck, squeezing it as he winced, his voice cut off, “Got us into this mess! And then when push came to allll the shoving? Made someone else to deal with it for him! Pathetic.”

She scowled at the silhouette, whose eyes started to close now that he wasn’t singing, the others still playing their instruments as she watched him start to choke. “Our whole selves were pathetic. All of them. None of them could just live with it. Who cares that we had to torture people? It’s not a big deal. It’s not like anyone died… well,” Larxene smirked, reaching up with her free hand to snap her fingers, “Not in real life.”

More lightning ran through the audience. The audience now more floating dead corpses than squirming people trying to escape. 

“If they couldn’t handle the hard stuff, why should they get the rewards?” Larxene asked. The music around them shifting in her anger.

“Life is not a reward, it’s a right,” Kokichi said simply, before sighing. “And it’s not something that would be revoked from you going back to base essence. I… I have a lot to say with that philosophy, but…honestly, I don’t think it’ll translate here. Not from a Luminary point of view, and not when your life experiences haven’t reflected it.”

Zexion blinked dryly at Larxene, and frowned a little at Kokichi, before crossing his arms. “...you know that wasn’t the hard stuff. You cannot handle the hard stuff, that’s why we’re doing this.”

Larxene’s grip, briefly, squeezed harder on Demyx’s throat. The silhouette cringing in pain… before relaxing when she let go, lowering her grip with a sigh. “...ugh.”

She looked tiredly over at Zexion, looking briefly, genuinely exhausted. “.....what do you want me to do? This isn’t just up to me. Or, it is, but I’m not the only one calling him a coward,” she said, stepping back, gesturing vaguely to the band members, all with their eyes closed as they strummed their instruments, “I know I can’t handle being a person. Not as I am. I’m all twisted up and broken… but I’m doing what I do best. And that’s keeping him from having to do anything scary.” She scoffed, looking away in disgust.

Up to and including living his own life.

…that was the question, wasn’t it? One that Zexion didn’t have an answer to, since…he didn’t have it for himself either.

But Kokichi was still trying. “...what’s something that makes him feel brave, then? Having a sense of power and control is what makes you feel brave, which helped in having to condition people, but…what about him?” He smiled softly. “Even the biggest scaredy cats have things they care about.”

Zexion closed his eyes, tipping his head back in thought. Ienzo had already been a teenager by the time Demyx had gotten caught, but…even then, he used to often be one of the people shuttling Ienzo’s body along where he needed to be. Zexion had never understood that, really. It was simple to just leave that to Even or Aeleus, or even their handlers if Ienzo was truly out of sorts, but since he had gotten to the factory, Demyx had been a consistent face. 

He remembered that Demyx used to play silly songs for the younger kids on the island, especially if it had been a difficult day. Their Nobodies had been made to shield their true selves from the horrors they inflicted, yes, but…well, it wasn’t as if they were unaware. And yet, sometimes Zexion had seen the kids end the day giggling. 

He remembered when Terra died. It had been hard on all of them, but Aqua especially, and while they were concerned, most of them wanted to give her the space to grieve in peace. Zexion knew that Demyx and the younger trio had made some sort of plan otherwise. He’d never found out what it was, and Aqua had seemed to be doing a little better for a while, before…well. ‘Terra’. 

And yet…he wasn’t sure those things were ‘bravery’. Care, yes, but…

“...Demyx owes me,” Zexion’s eyes flicked to Kokichi briefly, just as sudden as how he’d started talking, “...the thing that he knows he owes me. And we’re both aware that that’s not a debt you can repay in his stead. If he refuses to do so, if he truly decides to remain listless and cowardly and forfeiting his own life,” Zexion’s visible eye gleamed, a dark promise coming to life, “Then I will be forced to take drastic measures. I can wait years. But I am going to get it one way or another, eventually.”

There was a beat of silence… and then a few of the Demyxs peeked their eyes open. Glancing with clear concern over at Zexion. The dark, sullen music they were playing suddenly weakening a bit, like they were losing track of their notes.

Larxene snorted a bit, before looking over to Kokichi with a shrug. “Believe it or not? These two were close, once. I mean, back when Zexion here was, what, only 40, 50 versions in? They actually had fun, sometimes. Played games together. Twister, if you can believe it or not. One of the supervisors gave it to us.”

“...nothing ever made him feel brave the way you’re describing it,” Larxene admitted, watching the Demyxs peek over at Zexion, “I’m his brave side. He didn’t have one. A coward, through and through… but.” She tilted her head. “...’powerful’ isn't quite the right word, but…you know what made him feel close to people? Connected to the world?”

Larxene snickered, glancing at Zexion, “Singalongs~ Duets~”

(They had been friends, once.)

(Demyx was the closest person in age to Ienzo, and while Zexion thought they got on fine with the ‘proper’ adults, were comfortable with those a little older, kept up with the younger trio…)

(Ienzo had been happy, talking with someone his own age…basically for the first time.)

(Demyx had actually spoken to Ienzo.)

Kokichi looked between Zexion and the water clones with some worry--he didn’t get exactly what Zexion was implying, but it didn’t sound great (and while he didn’t want to take away from Zexion’s agency, Axel had said he was a bit…unstable)--but raised his eyebrows in surprise at Larxene. “...Twister? Really?”

Shaking his head a bit, he sighed at the…sort of dead end of that questioning, but…

Zexion didn’t have feelings, that was the point. So he certainly didn’t smolder in embarrassment (1, 7, 13, 42) or turn red (4, 6, 33, 67) or cover his face (19 was basically in a ball). Though he did give Larxene an unamused look. “...we both know I’m awful at singing.”

Demyx had thought it was hilarious, and often tried to goad Ienzo into a song.

A few more of the Demyxs’ eyes opened a bit more. Some of them were showing hints of shit-eating grins. Larxene was full on smirking.

“Oh noooo, it’s the only waaaaaay,” Larxene said, pressing her hand dramatically to her forehead, “How will I possibly escape my mental prison without my dear friend Ieeeenzooooo… oh, come on,” she rolled her eyes at his look, “You were ready to suicide-bait me into letting Demyx out. Certainly you can sing a song. Come ooooon… how about this.”

She gestured to one of the Demyxs, who practically snickered before saying, “You got a friend in me…”

Kokichi, in all his gracious kindness, wasn’t laughing, but the sincerely encouraging look he gave Zexion was almost worse. 

Zexion glowered at Larxene and the Demyxs. “...I hate you.”

…

“...you got a friend in me,” he grumbled petulantly after a moment. Voice flat.

It was damn near instantaneous. Suddenly, jaunty, jazzy music started to melodically bounce along. Everyone in the stands suddenly deciding they were not, in fact, pretending to be corpses anymore and instead clapping cheerfully, to the beat, as they swayed slightly side to side. 

“You’ve got a friend in me~” One of the Demyxs sang out, though more of them were peeking their eyes open, all of them endlessly amused as he continued, “When the road looks rough ahead and you’re miles and miles from your nice warm bed? You just remember what your old pal said, booooy–” they leaned in expectantly.

Zexion looked disgusted. Glaring fiercely at the water Demyxs, and…

In Kokichi’s eyes, for the first time, looking more…human, than the Nobodies’ projections usually did. It reminded him so much of Amber rolling her eyes and scoffing when Kokichi went off on too long a tangent about how much he loved his husbands, or what Temp looked like as he regaled the group of the new cat Addie had seen and had been enamored with. 

Absolute disgruntlement with your friends. 

“You’ve got a friend in me,” Zexion finished the line, glaring even as he sighed, singing…or, ‘singing’ the repetition with the Demyxs next, “Yeah, you’ve got a friend in me.”

“BOOOOY YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME~~~” 

Larxene stepped back, watching as the Demyxs headed over to Ienzo, clearly having fun with him as the group sang. 

Around them, there were small signs in the world too, that something was changing. The underwater stage looked brighter. The colors more vibrant. There were colorful fish swimming about in little schools. 

She glanced over the edge and something genuinely sad went across her face, as she whispered, “Oh… I guess this is it, Guppy.”

The space beneath the stage just full of coral color and fish now.

Little by little, as one of the Demyxs became more solid, Larxene became more liquid. It pulling up from her feet to her legs, her fingers to her palms. She watched it happen, something both mildly irritated and sad in her expression.

“...I don’t regret enjoying it,” Larxene said to Kokichi, as she watched herself start to liquify, “I don’t regret leaning into it. Why should I have been created just to carry others' guilt? I refuse to accept misery as some moral punishment for things I had no control over.”

“I’m glad you don’t,” Kokichi said sincerely, putting a gentle hand on Larxene’s back as she started to turn into water. The changes in the world still amazing and fantastical, but…different. An entirely different vibe. 

“You did what he asked of you, what you were made to, that’s not your fault. And what you guys had to do wasn’t your fault either. To be made just for pain…it’s cruel. And I’m sorry. And I’m glad you’re telling fate to suck it.” Kokichi grinned softly. “...I do hope the life you two have going forward has a lot of fun, though. This really isn’t the end for you…even if it’s time to retire from the stage.” 

“Heh. Yeah, fate can suck it,” Larxene whispered, trying to wipe her eyes, and then laughing as she realized it was just more water, on water, on water, “...I hope it’s fun too.”

And then, in a moment just for her, Larxene turned around and, to the audience that wasn’t one anymore, she did a small, simple bow… and the water dissipated. Merging into the water around it, there and gone in an instant. 

Demyx laughed, whole and singing his final note.

Curtains closed.

Zexion trudged over and socked Demyx in the arm, hardly wincing at how he had to shake his hand out right after. 

Kokichi closed his eyes for a moment. Rest well. You won’t be forgotten.

“Ow! Hey, what’d I do!?” Demyx demanded, rubbing his arm with a wince. “Brute!”

Zexion glared at Demyx. “You owe us double now.”

Then he closed the distance with a hug. “...welcome back,” he said quietly. 

“Heehee~ Am I back?” Demyx asked, hugging Zexion back, before laughing as he lurched back, picking up the thinner man and swinging him a bit, “I’M BACK! I’M WHOLE! WE DID IT!!!”

Laughing, he let Zexion fall back to his feet, before grinning over at Kokichi. “Hey, prince-guy! Thanks for the help! This is weird, right!? I mean, I totally called it though, mine was smoooooth as a melody~” Demyx snickered, giving Zexion a wink. “Didn’t I call it??? I’m a genius.”

“Wha - h-hey! DEMYX!!” Zexion could only hold on for dear life, stumbling a bit once Demyx let him go, before visibly fuming at the taller man. 

Kokichi wasn’t so gracious this time not to snicker, though it was brief before he gave Demyx a bright smile. “No problem, though it really was mostly Zexion. Though, uh…” He gave Zexion a mildly concerned look. “...I really can’t stop you, but I’d advise against using a suicide-bait as a tactic in the future. We’re not trying to traumatize you guys back into yourselves.”

“But the power of music is something I can believe,” he chuckled, just leaving his warning at that. “You’re a wonderful musician, by the way. You, uh…” Kokichi nodded to his instrument. “You called that a sitar, right? I’ve never heard anything like it, it’s really incredible!”

“What?? You’ve never heard of a sitar before!? Come on, man, these guys are as common as, I don’t know… hurdy-gurdys, how have you not seen one before?” Demyx gasped, absolutely baffled…before squinting his eyes. “Wait, if Dicea doesn’t have these? Maybe I could make a killing on the street market for the niche value! Then Sora won’t be the only breadwinner around! Ienzo, you gotta get us to Dicea, post-haste! Get on it!” Demyx insisted, slapping his friend cheerfully on the back.

“Tell me you’ve heard an accordion before saying I live under a rock, okay?” Kokichi snorted, before giving Demyx an encouraging nod. “I can’t tell you about the day to day culture in other cities, but street performances are really common in Usott. I bet you’d find fans in no time.”

Zexion’s eyes had widened slightly at the mention of an accordion, before looking to the side, a hint of…sadness, somewhere in the maze settling in. But not for long, as he ‘ooph’ed softly at the slap, refocusing to glare lightly at Demyx. “You know that plan isn’t my prerogative.”

“Oh, right!” Kokichi popped up, clapping his hands together. “I can leave you all a general message before I head out, but I can let you two know personally--we heard back from my contact. Her name’s Clara, and she should be able to get into contact with you guys either late this week or early next week. Hopefully that’ll alleviate some stress, and start settling plans for you guys.”

“The heck is an accordion?” Demyx whispered to Zexion, before lighting up at Kokichi’s news, “Eyyyy, we have a lead! Awesome~ My memories of Larxene in the day to day outside are actually coming in pretty clear? So I was starting to worry Sora actually was going to end up an escort for that lady who keeps hiring him at this rate. Maybe better to get that kid out of the city sooner rather than later, ya know??? Being an escort always sounds like easy money, but trust me, it’s devastating for the ol’ self esteem when they take one look at you naked and start negotiating for a lower price. Really makes ya think, ya know?”

…it was telling that Zexion didn’t even begin to answer Demyx’s question. 

Kokichi winced a little. “Yikes… Well, yeah, hopefully things will be moving along soon. Things are thawing well over here, so passage through the mountains should open up again soon, though I’m sure Clara will have more information about that for you guys.”

“We’ll await her arrival, then. Thank you again for your help, Kokichi,” Zexion said, bowing lightly to the prince.

“Oh yeah, thanks!” Demyx grinned, giving a much sloppier bow and trying to wave at the same time, and not really managing to do either very gracefully, “This was a lot of fun! Come around any time, there’s always music playing here!” 

And indeed, there was. The sound following Kokichi out. Demyx effortlessly falling back into his rhythm. 

-

Ingo awoke with a moan on his lips, the fleeting sensations of touch leaving his skin warm and sensitive, even if the only thing that had been caressing him through the night was his bed. He shuddered, immediately reaching down to relieve the pressure of his pants, even if his other hand took a more meandering path, recalling the fading imprints of phantasms. 

Fuck, he couldn’t even remember what it had been this time. Manicured nails grazing down his skin, a shove into a mattress, flustered, yet pushy demands… Shy kisses and tentative touches, maybe amused, expressive eyes telling him to raise that fantastic ass higher, darling, for a better show.

A whine broke from Ingo as he shivered, half rolling to reach the low shelf next to his bed. Without a thought--or maybe just ones wholly concerned with goddess touch me please--he pumped some oil onto his free hand, expertly, idly coating his fingers as he wriggled his hips. Pushing his sleep pants down enough so it was easy when he reached down to--

A stuttered sigh left him as he pushed a finger into himself, pumping his cock furiously as a chorus of imagined teases and encouragements bloomed a flush across his face. It was only bested when he managed to get to two, lightly biting the inside of his lower lip, imagining the impression of hands on his thighs, pushing his legs up and back, a teasing, sarcastic drawl chastising him from trying to hide, weight pressing onto him…

Ingo saw stars. 

-

Shuichi was going to go check on Quinn, because he was a reasonable, responsible, and empathetic person who could recognize the literal child was currently going through a very scary and difficult time in his very recently deceased life, and probably needed the check-in… and that was…. All. 

Yes. That was all. 

…nevermind the list of questions he had down in his journal. If it came up! Then fantastic! But of course allllll Shuichi was doing was being a kind and attentive member of the castle, checking in on one of its more vulnerable guests.

Yes.

With this in mind, Shuichi knocked on Quinn’s door, waiting for him to answer. “Hello,” Shuichi smiled, “Have you eaten yet today? I know you’re not allowed to leave the castle unescorted, but I thought you might enjoy a chance to eat at one of our restaurants. How do you feel about ramen?”

There had been a soft ‘thunk’ from behind the door, like something dropping from a height, though Quinn didn’t look bothered in the slightest as he lit up at the prospect of food. “Pretty fantastic,” Quinn cheered, before laughing sheepishly. “I don’t exactly mind the pity points getting me a meal treated by a prince, but I am alright, Prince Shuuichi.”

He peeked around the hall a little, making a curious noise. “Did Mr. Essei actually meet up with you yesterday? It seemed like he actually knew you, even if that was kind of an excuse to not have to explain why he’s here.”

“Sorry, who?” Shuichi asked, as he led Quinn down the hall, “And consider it a sort of maintenance check-in, rather than a pity one. As someone familiar with your situation, I feel compelled to reach out and check in. Don’t worry, I have no intentions of being overly involved. Just a lunch and a ‘how are you’.”

Quinn nodded a bit as Shuuichi explained himself--yeah, sure--before giving him a confused look. It…sounded pretty truthful when Kyle had mentioned knowing Shuuichi, so unless he was a really incredible actor… “Uh…Kyle Essei? Giant orange fox fursuit? I…” Quinn’s eyebrows scrunched a little. “...guess you…did say you hadn’t met another ghost before…”

“Kyle?” Shuichi frowned, playing that over in his head a bit. “Sure, I know Kyle, but… you’re certain? He introduced himself to you as ‘Essei’?”

Quinn blinked before nodding, looking away to wave at a guard he’d been introduced to his first day at the castle. “Yeah? Shit, have I been saying his name wrong? I didn’t want to be rude, but the accent is a little hard to understand sometimes… He didn’t correct me, like…any time I’ve said it, though.”

“No, I’m sure you said it right,” Shuichi said, opening up his journal and jotting something down, giving the guard Quinn was waving to a small, acknowledging nod as they kept going. Shuichi had already informed Captain Setsu that he was taking Quinn out to the ramen stand for lunch. “Yes, I know Kyle. Though, no, I wasn’t aware he was visiting the castle. I can be difficult to get a hold of, sometimes, he might just not have asked for me when I was available for a guest. Slotting out hours for myself is one of those necessities when you’re helping raise a baby.”

Kyle Essei, hm? That… well, that was certainly something to consider. Perhaps Kyle’s relationship to the Spring Slasher was more complicated than Shuichi had thought. Or, perhaps, more straight-forward, in a certain manner of thinking. 

“Still, Kyle came to the castle to also check in on you? He’s taken me on a few cases to shadow him while I’m still getting my detective license, I’ve known him to be very capable,” Shuichi said, “You’re fortunate if he’s taken an interest in you. How did you meet?”

Quinn gave Shuuichi a curious look, before shrugging a little. Well, whatever the confusion was there, he figured it didn’t matter much. People changed names all the time, and Quinn figured that was doubly so for a ghost that had been around a while. Couldn’t really go around with the name of someone who’d notoriously died. 

He’d lucked out on that end. 

“Ah, well…yesterday was the first time we’ve ever met in person, actually,” Quinn sheepishly grinned, “When I was in the hospital, Doppio’s dad gave me Kyle’s business card, saying that I should contact him if I had questions about, yanno, this. I called him a week ago and we’ve been talking off and on.”

Quinn rubbed the back of his neck and ducked his head a little in embarrassment. “I was kinda surprised to see him here, actually, and uh…see how much he really wasn’t exaggerating about the fursuit. Guess he was just worried.”

Shuichi laughed lightly, “Yes, the fursuit does take a bit of getting used to. It makes him seem a bit imposing. But he’s a sweet man, really. I’m not surprised to hear he made the trip, just in case you needed any help.”

“And, of course, you two do have some things in common… I suppose?” Shuichi said, tilting his head, “Though the reality of your situation feels different to me, than his. I’m not entirely certain Kyle can leave his suit.”

“Well…” Quinn’s voice pitched higher, before fizzing out, making him clear his throat before giving Shuuichi a bashful look. “This is all from stuff he’s told me? But, uh… Theoretically, Kyle could exist outside the suit, though because he is possessing it, and has been long-term, it’d take some sort of outside source to get him out initially? But he said he’s been a stable spirit for so long, which…is apparently more on the rare side, that he’d be able to maintain his own form, like I do.”

“Could he? That’s interesting…I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure your situation was even possible before I met you, Quinn.” Shuichi said, glancing over at him, “I believed all spirits were essentially stuck in Kyle’s situation. Tied to something in the physical world. That’s what I meant when I said I hadn’t met another ghost before… I’ve never met a person who wasn’t some form of existing in the living world. I realize saying it aloud that might not be clear what I mean…”

Shuichi paused, thinking about it. “...I guess I didn’t think the transparent, floating in the air, ‘boo’ sort of spirits could actually exist. And yet.” Shuichi shrugged. “At least some of the time? That’s exactly what you are. Learn something new all the time.”

Quinn laughed softly. “Hey, that makes two of us.”

“Apparently it’s not common,” he shrugged, “and my specific situation even less so. How Kyle described it… Ghosts need something to sorta…hang onto, in the living world. Emotionally, which is what keeps them from letting reapers take them to the afterlife, but also physically? Which is why possessions are more common, since that’s a physical object that already belongs here, so attaching yourself to it keeps you, like…contained. He said new spirits can be pretty vulnerable, in a way, and if a ghost doesn’t find, like, an anchor, they kinda just…dissipate into energy. Still that soul, but so spread out that they’re not really aware and are just emotion and energy.”

Quinn grimaced, looking a little unsettled. “Pretty freaky.”

Shuichi frowned at that idea. “That… I will admit, sounds like a tragedy. But, then, that is one of the reasons I chose this career. I’d like to be able to help people before it gets to that point, ideally.”

Shuichi glanced over at Quinn. “But you don’t find yourself having that sort of issue? How long are you usually… what would you call it? In your ‘ghost’ form?”

Kyle had said the same, when the topic had first come up between them. Apparently a lot of the legitimate hauntings that people reported--not that there were many that were legitimate in the first place--were that case, a ghost just becoming malevolent energy in an area. It had been…more reassuring than Quinn had wanted to admit, hearing that even then what Kyle’s business did wasn’t ‘exterminating’ the ghost, like something his parents would do. Apparently it was more like detective work, figuring out the initial reason the ghost had stayed and then trying to help them, or finding a way to gather their scattered essence into something that’d keep them more stable. 

Quinn shook his head, before grinning a bit. “I’ve stayed a few hours at most, but mostly because I’ve had to be around for, like, doctor’s appointments or having dinner or stuff like that. I feel pretty, uh, together?” 

He scratched the back of his head. “Apparently my anchor is…myself. But not in a ‘I’m possessing a corpse’ sort of way. But, uh… Okay, I think I’m missing some nuance, but since my anchor is ‘suited’ for me, and, like…a living thing, that apparently means I’m more stable and powerful than most ghosts? I don’t really know what happened when I died, but Kyle said it was some ‘nonsense bullcrap’ called a paradox flux so…”

Quinn looked up at Shuuichi, shrugging a little. “I’m both definitely alive and definitely dead. At the same time. And being able to go through both states is a perk to that.”

“You’re ‘The Cat in the Box’,” Shuichi mused, taking out his journal and noting it down, “Though, I’m speaking more poetically than what that term actually means. I’m not a real expert, but honestly, I’d probably just assume you were more ‘alive’ than ‘dead’ at this point. Just physically transformed. But I’m an amateur through and through on this sort of subject. That’s actually one of the reasons I’ve been hoping to sit down and talk to you. The next time I meet an ‘untethered’ ghost, I doubt they’ll be in the state of mind to ask technical questions. But that sort of knowledge might help me help them, in the long run…”

He glanced up at the ramen stand. “Which I’d love to ask you as soon as we get our seats and food. Come on,” he said, pushing aside the curtain. 

They ordered and sat in a far corner booth, the hustle and bustle of the lunch crowd drowning out their voices as much as it was drowning out everyone else’s, as Shuichi asked, “Not too spicy?” 

Quinn brightened a bit. The thought of him, in a way, being able to help another ghost down the line? 

…Quinn had heard his whole life what a blight ghosts were. Spirits sticking around past their time, warped by death, causing nothing but problems for the living. A cause of sickness and madness, like a parasite…

But Quinn didn’t feel any different. And maybe that was because he was a ‘strong ghost’, but…Kyle was really nice too. Sure all sorts of adults wanted to make it clear you could totally talk to them, being reliable community members for kids navigating their way through life, but Quinn really couldn’t think of many adults he knew that would take up some random kid calling them up and…taking them under their wing. Someone willing to take a whole trip to a different city just…to be there, if someone needed help. 

If ghosts weren’t really horrible, mindless monsters, but just…people? It made Quinn feel good to be of some help to them. 

“Mmf?” Quinn glanced up, mouth full of noodles, before sheepishly swallowing, thumping his chest a few times before giving Shuuichi a grateful smile. “Y-yeah, this is great! I thought the ramen place by my school was good, but this is really on another level--thanks for bringing me.”

“I’ve always gotten the impression this place was particularly good,” Shuichi smiled, “It was one of the first restaurants my husband ever took us to. We don’t have this very commonly in Luminary. I imagine technically you can find it, but it’d be a niche sort of place.”

“Now…” Shuichi pulled out his journal, placing it next to his bowl and grabbing his pen, “Let’s see…can I ask you, generally, how your experience has been since the accident? Do you still feel ill? Does transforming hurt in any way?”

“Transforming doesn’t hurt, no. It doesn’t feel a lot like…anything?” Quinn tilted his head a little. “Sometimes I have to consciously remind myself to breathe if I’ve gone ghost for a while, but that’s never painful or anything.”

Stirring his noodles in the broth a bit, Quinn grinned sheepishly. “I actually feel great, which is kind of weird. Like, right after I woke up I was super tired all the time and I felt, like…weak, I guess? And the burns hurt, which is a really weird feeling. But after I healed up and could go home? I’ve been totally fine.”

“The healers were kind of amazed, though I could tell they were trying to be subtle about it to not freak me out,” he shrugged, looking unbothered by the idea, “I should’ve died. I should’ve taken longer to heal. I probably should be dealing with bigger and longer-lasting health complications…but I’m not? Kyle guessed that the flux thing kinda…healed me up, sort of? Or maybe, like…the things that would be complicated, I don’t really need to live anymore, so it’s fine?”

“Fascinating. Someday, you really should let a healer who understands your circumstances look you over; I can’t imagine what sort of breakthroughs could be discovered by observing how you healed,” Shuichi mused… before squinting, “But. That’s not me saying you should volunteer to be someone’s ‘specimen’, understand? I won’t go terribly into it right now, but working with a healer is something you should always do with a stick in your hand, metaphorical or otherwise. Or even better, just have someone with you whose job is to be skeptical about what the healer says. It’s easy to get caught up when it’s you being examined, so you need to go in with some boundaries already in mind.”

Shuichi waved his hand lightly, sighing slightly, “Sorry, that’s my soapbox. But, okay, so your ghost form comes with health benefits. Good. I already know you can fly and move through physical objects… have you noticed any limitations there? Any other noteworthy abilities? Invisibility, I imagine.”

Quinn looked a bit skeptical as he slurped up more of his ramen, before a more considering look washed over his face. “...I guess there would be healers who know about this kind of stuff, huh… Crazy.” Apparently the supernatural world was much, much larger and more prolific than Quinn could’ve ever guessed. Sometimes it was still hard to wrap his head around. 

Giving Shuuichi a nod at his…advice and warning? Quinn swallowed with a small hum. “Hmm… I think I can actually fly way faster than I ever do? I don’t actually feel, like, wind-resistance and drag when I do, but I didn’t get a power-up to my eyesight.” Quinn rolled his eyes a little. “So I guess my theoretical limit right now is how quickly I can visually track things. And I guess that chest your husband has is a limit for intangibility.”

With a small nod, Quinn confirmed Shuuichi’s guess, holding out a few fingers to count on. “Invisibility, yeah, I can still touch and move physical objects if I focus, which is apparently unusual, oh, I can teleport, which is wild? But only like a couple inches. And it’s sort of a subset of being able to touch things, but Kyle theorized that I can probably, like, be a shield for stuff since only ghost-specific, like, weapons and substances would be able to actually hurt me.”

“Ah, yes, the chest. I did look into it a bit yesterday, though not enough to say I’ve properly investigated it. Kaito bought it from essentially a mixed junk stand. Essentially one of those markets where they sell odds and ends they just happen to stumble across. The seller had bought it in bulk with a bunch of other items from someone passing along junk they’ve collected, but looking at the other items he got in that same sale didn’t strike me as someone bulk-selling magical items. Basically, I think people have just been passing around a decorated chest for a while, and likely had no idea there was anything functional to the designs at all,” Shuichi explained, “Who knows how many hands it’s passed through by now. I still plan to get it appraised though.”

“Teleportation…” Shuichi murmured, jotting down TLPT+inches in his notes, “But so limited? I’d wonder at the point, but there might not be any. I doubt your abilities are inherently ‘balanced’, considering they came from an accident. Still, I wonder if in time you could develop it into something useful?”

And Shuichi raised an eyebrow at the last point, looking up at Quinn. “Let’s not be too quick to throw yourself into harm's way, just because you feel invulnerable right now. You never know what will be your next chest situation, and there’s not too many reasons to throw yourself in front of a blade’s path even if you’re someone who comes from a place where weapons are more common. Don’t get reckless.”

Wild… Magic stuff was probably as common as magic people, just…around in places people didn’t notice. It was kind of crazy to think about how many things Orlin might actually be right about. 

Giving Shuuichi a sheepish grin, Quinn laughed lightly. “Totally. I mean, I’ve never been looking to get into fights before, and I’m not starting to consider it now. I just…” His expression softened into something a little wistful. “...it’s kind of a nice thought, right? Knowing I’d be able to protect someone in a dire situation.”

Almost in the same thought, though, he noted, “It’d be pretty cool to not have to open my locker to get stuff from it too. Writing my lock combination down is just asking for trouble, but they’re kind of hard to remember.”

“Can you change the combination?” Shuichi asked, “Count the lines at the top joint in each finger, and then make your combination that. If you ever forget, you can just look at your hand again.”

Quinn blinked, before looking at his hand. Furrowing his eyebrows for a moment, before looking back up at Shuuichi. “...huh?”

Shuichi tilted his head a bit. “The four numbers you have to twist to, to get into your locker space, yes? Each one goes from 0 to 9? The top knuckle on your fingers has little lines embedded in them, but how many varies from finger to finger and person to person. You count them to make your combination. That’s how we did it in Luminary… well, how everyone else did it. I just remembered mine.”

Quinn blinked at Shuuichi again, before looking at his hand once more, making a little ‘ooooh’ sound. “...you know, I’ve never really considered that’s different person to person. Though, uh…my lock at school is three numbers from 0 to 39. That still might work, but I feel like it’d be pretty easy to guess if I look at my hand a lot and don’t move the dial much.”

“39 is too many numbers,” Shuichi said dryly, “My husband would have never gotten into his locker ever again.”

Shuichi was (mostly) kidding. But huh. The four code, 0-9 locker layout was so common in Luminary that Shuichi had never considered they’d do it differently anywhere else. But, Shuichi had always appreciated the locker system in Luminary, because Quinn was right: especially for nobles, who constantly moisturized their hands? But did not consider how fewer lines their knuckles got because of that? It was pretty easy to brute force their locker combinations. Though, for the rougher handed lot, there were still 10,000 possible combinations, so it really was just an advantage over the wealthy and forgetful.

Which Shuichi certainly didn’t mind. 

“Now, I have noticed you look a little different in this form, than your other one. When you’re a ghost, you look… how should I put it…” Shuichi tilted his head, “...squishy. In a cute, pinch your cheeks sort of way. Was that a conscious choice?”

Quinn nodded in sympathy, snapping up some fried tofu from his bowl. It wasn’t that Quinn really considered himself a forgetful person! It was just hard sometimes to remember a three-number code with that much variance when he didn’t even use his locker every day…and often had to focus on steadily turning the dial while keeping a lookout for any assholes roaming the halls to slam the locker doors on dweebs leaning in, or getting a water bottle tossed on him or…whatever. 

High school, man. Quinn wished it wouldn’t be so obvious if he went intangible if Speedrick tried to shove him. Something to workshop, he guessed. 

“Huh?” Quinn bewilderedly questioned again, before flushing a little. “Cute? I…look the same, other than the colors, right?”

“No,” Shuichi said, cutting up his ramen noodles a bit before eating some of the cut pieces, the monster, “In your body, you look maybe…15, if I had to guess you purely physically. As a ghost? I’d have said maybe 13. Because of, again, the squish, round cheeked, round eyed factors. In most other circumstances, Kaito would have likely found you adorable. That sort of thing.”

Quinn scrunched his face. He…wasn’t sure how to feel about that. It was kinda cool that he normally looked a little older than he was! But…looking a little younger as a ghost?

“...weird,” he decided on, before giving Shuuichi a worried look. “Hey, uh, he…really doesn’t have to come check on me, by the way. He came over to talk to us the other day and looked like he was on the verge of another panic attack just looking at me.”

“...can’t say I really love someone being that freaked out by me just existing,” Quinn pouted a little, “But people can’t help what they’re scared of, I guess.”

“Ugh, that would explain it.” Shuichi sighed, rolling his eyes. “I knew he was spending too long painting that doll-castle for Miyako last night. He likes to keep himself busy when he’s upset, especially with his hands. He was painting the inside of a ballroom for hours. That wooden castle’s going to be better decorated than the Luminary castle at this rate. All for something Miyako’s going to break apart by the time she’s 2.”

“He’s fine, but you’re correct, he shouldn’t be approaching you. I’ve already told him, and I’ll likely have to tell him again. And you’re correct, it isn’t fair that your existence creates that sort of reaction in him, but…” Shuichi shrugged, “It really has absolutely nothing to do with you. Kaito has his own issues with mortality that he needs to work through. I like to imagine once he gets over the idea that ‘ghosts equal death’ that he’ll be fine around you.”

Though, Shuichi didn’t really know that for certain. He didn’t really understand why Kaito was afraid of things like ghosts and spirits and hauntings in the first place. It had honestly never seemed that important before. Now it was very relevant and something Shuichi would likely be bringing up in group therapy at some point, since now helping spirits was literally going to be his job.

Oh, speaking of.

“I sincerely doubt this rule applies to you, but I feel like I have to ask… did you feel like you came back due to unfinished business?” Shuichi asked, “I know that might seem like a strange question. You’re merely a boy, of course you didn’t feel ‘done’ with life. But people with more to do die every day. Only some people actually stick around. Are you one of those, or is it a coincidence?” 

“Geez…” Quinn sighed. He could get that it wasn’t personal. That phobias didn’t have to make sense. But…he didn’t know. A phobia towards an entire subset of people just felt kind of…shitty. It made more sense when ghosts weren’t real, and weren’t people. But his…existence? And even when he wasn’t all freaky--and apparently cute?--looking, when he looked the same as he ever did, new scars considered, it just felt…bad. 

(...like the sort of thinking that led his parents to the ideologies that ghosts weren’t people. Things even worse than pests, because at least animals were living beings.)

Quinn shifted uncomfortably and focused on his ramen for a moment, before considering Shuuichi’s next question. “Uh… Well, from how Kyle described it, I don’t think so? Like, don’t get me wrong, I’m really happy to be alive, and…like…” Quinn looked to the side and blushed a bit, “E-even if I don’t really know what I want to do with the rest of my life, I at least know that I want to live it, you know? But it’s not…”

He looked up, trying to synthesize what Kyle had told him about the nature of ghosts. “I don’t…have a motivation that’s all consuming? Or feel like there’s something I have to express at all costs. I just feel like me.”

Tapping lightly on the side of his bowl, he told Shuuichi, “I only half remember it, because it was right after I woke back up and stuff, but a lot of ‘reapers’ came to see me? And it wasn’t like how Kyle told me his experience has been, like being explained that I have a clear choice, or trying to be bargained with or anything. They all just kind of seemed confused, until Doppio’s dad…” Quinn snorted. “Basically took one look at me and said he’d get the others to stop coming by. So I don’t think I’m a regular ghost in that regard, no.”

“Interesting. That’s another thing that makes me assume you’re simply alive, but changed. I have a friend who’s told me about the nature of Reapers and death and their god a bit, and they’re pretty insistent on trying to get spirits onto any sort of path in the afterlife. Specifically to cut off any unfortunate accidents wandering spirits can find themselves in. It's considered a pretty sacred duty to help people find their way to… well, whatever they’re looking for,” Shuichi said, “So for them to not offer you anything? Makes me believe that at the very least, Bathul, the god of death and trade, doesn’t consider you dead. So…”

Shuichi thought about his point… before shrugging. “I don’t know. That might be a good sign for you, as far as your parents’ weapons go. Though I’d strongly suggest you not try testing that theory out the permanent way.”

Shuichi tapped at his journal bit, debating with himself… before he sighed, “I should ask: how are things going with that? Have you given any more thought to moving out?”

Quinn nodded softly. “Mr. Gepano said that reapers aren’t meant to bother the living, so…that’s one metric I pass, I guess. But he did say it was weird I could see them, so…” He shrugged, making an ‘I dunno’ sound. 

Before sighing. Looking down as he tapped his fingers together. “I think that’s one of the big things for the trial session today? I, um… My family talked about that, last night. My parents weren’t thrilled, it’s obviously not their first choice, but…I guess with how the trial’s going…” Quinn looked to the side. Tired. “I think they’re gonna try and settle things with them not being my official guardians anymore, and my sister getting custody of me. Like, I can still see them and everything, but they can’t make legal decisions for me anymore, or be in charge of my well-being.”

Quinn sat back and crossed his arms over his middle, looking troubled.

“...” Shuichi looked away, “...”

“........” Shuichi looked down at his bowl. Then up at the ceiling. Then finally back at Quinn. “....would you like to talk about it?”

Quinn let out a quick, heavy sigh. His eyes squinting. “...I don’t want to be the reason Lyra drops out of school. She would, she…freaking…set up a whole statement to testify against our parents for me. She was so excited to start going to college and to move out…”

Looking up, he gave Shuuichi a glum look. “I brought that up when we talked about it, but…this is the idea she and my parents decided on, at the end of the night. Still don’t know if the court will approve it, but…probably.” He sighed again. “It’s not like she really needs to drop out all the way, I’m 14, it’s not like I need a babysitter all the time. But considering one of the big points of the case against my parents is a lack of supervision…I doubt the court will totally be fine with her saying she could juggle school full-time while also looking after me. And I don’t think she’d even want to try that herself.”

Ah. Apparently so. 

Shuichi nodded politely when appropriate, still carefully eating his precisely cut ramen pieces. “I imagine a bigger point in her favor is she will have considerably fewer weapons around her home than your parents do. I’ve heard of some of their ‘ghost hunting’ inventions that have been mentioned in the courtroom: the Pelora Sigiled Spiked Crossbolts must be a hefty design, once I looked up what the Pelora Sigil actually looks like. It’s genius if it works. Still horribly unsafe around someone not trained in crossbolts though.”

“Yeah, Lyra hates all that stuff,” Quinn sighed, “She took a World Religions elective in high school just to debate with Mom and Dad why all the blessed or holy stuff they’ve worked on has nothing to do with death or hypothetical supernatural creatures. Mom had to reconfigure the bathroom plumbing once we got the crossbolt out of the wall.”

“I did wonder about that. I’m not sure what Pelora has to do with ghosts at all. But then, I’m sure there’s more to it than just Bathul. I don’t know much about the gods other than the acknowledgement they’re one more aspect of my job, at this point, odd as it is to say.” Shuichi picked up his bowl and sipped the both a bit, before putting it down. “My friend Maki is going to beat up a god one day. I’m looking forward to it. I’m very much hoping to get to watch.”

“Anyway, I wouldn’t beat yourself up about your sister's sacrifice. She’ll likely remember it as the best thing she ever did. You’ll come with stress, certainly, but ultimately it’s something that’s going to make her happy, especially down the road. If it didn’t, she wouldn’t do it.” Shuichi said, “Keeping you safe and giving you a comfortable place to exist is valuable to her. Be thankful for the other valuable things she had to give up, yes, but don’t lose sight that you are one of them, to her. It’s something she wants.”

Quinn watched Shuuichi for a moment, wondering if that was an inside joke, or… “...whoa,” he muttered. Looking a little awed at the idea of beating up a god. He…guessed he kinda had to face that some of that stuff was actually real, so if it was, then having the…hubris? Or determination, he guessed…whoa. 

Though he was quickly brought back down to earth, Shuuichi’s summation actually…comforting. Quinn knew Lyra loved him. His parents did too, but the way Lyra always tried to look out for him was different, and always had been different in a way that Quinn hadn’t really been able to pin down before. But her valuing him having a safe and comfortable place to exist…

Quinn sighed, but looked less bothered than when he had brought the trial up. “I guess we’ll just have to see what the court actually decides. And if I do end up going to live with Lyra, then…we’ll work stuff out.” Looking up, Quinn gave Shuuichi a smile. “Thanks, Prince Shuuichi.”

…oh.

Shuichi lit up a little, a bit pleasantly surprised. Had that… helped?  He had just been stating facts really… well, good. “Of course. Anytime.”

“...unless I’m the only one watching Miyako,” Shuichi amended, “Or having a personal emergency. Or sleeping. If you need assistance and I’m sleeping, ask yourself: is this something that can wait till morning? If not, can a guard help? Actually, it’s alright if you need help with something when I’m sleeping, I’ll just ask one of my husbands to take care of it.” Shuichi shrugged. “Otherwise? Anytime.”

Quinn giggled a bit at that, his voice rasping and catching before he had to turn away to clear it, coughing into his arm. But he just looked amused when he turned back. “I appreciate it. And if you ever find yourself with a ghost problem, I’m your guy. If I ever figure out how to teleport longer distances, maybe even in the middle of the night too.”

“I’ll take you up on it,” Shuichi promised.

-

It did end up going the way Quinn said his family had decided to propose. Lyra Pectra was given custody of her little brother; she would be moving into an apartment with him in the coming days once they were back in Entente Grove. She would be dropping out of college to look after him…but potentially only winter term, maybe spring. She wouldn’t be committing to school full time, but, especially with the domestic assistant they would be hiring on the government’s dime, taking a class or two a term would likely be more than feasible while still properly caring for Quinn.

Olivia and Xuan would no longer have legal guardianship over Quinn. They couldn’t make legal or medical decisions for him, and couldn’t request his presence…but Quinn could still see them without issue. There was a probationary period that had been decided on, keeping them from being able to spend time with Quinn in private, without supervision…but only for a year. And with these terms being the things keeping their family from being torn apart--Quinn legally, Lyra by choice--Olivia and Xuan had accepted the terms. 

And as the trial finished, and Kokichi got to see a family smiling and embracing each other at the end…he could breathe easy. Not all difficult problems requiring destruction for new growth. 

-

Kokichi couldn’t help giggling to himself as he set up his paints and brushes, snickering as he called out, “Warning you now, I might get waaaaay too in the weeds with the art.”

“It’s not like you’re going to get a ton of chances to do this, so feel free to go as deep as you want about it… really? Not even a chuckle?”

“...”

“Kaito?” Shuichi called, before sighing, repeating, “Kaito. Kaito. Kaito–”

“Huh?” Kaito said, who was sitting in the desk chair backwards, watching with wide, slightly glazed eyes as Shuichi stretched out on a paint tarp, naked head to toe, “Wha?”

“Did we lose you before or after the joke?”

“Yeah, yeah, go… definitely as deep as he wants,” Kaito echoed, chewing on some berries he had placed on one of the table stands beside him. He had been told in no uncertain terms that–for the most part–it was just gonna be a painting night, and if Kaito wanted to keep himself occupied he had better find something to do. Kaito had decided snacking was the thing to do. Snacking and… watching. 

Shuichi gave a small amused huff as Kaito’s eyes unfocused again, clearly lost in some daydream in his head. Lying back down, Shuichi looked over to Kokichi. “So, they really seemed okay with it by the end, then?”

Kokichi quietly brayed a little more, both from the joke and Kaito’s gaze, before shaking his head a little and settling on his knees. Wetting a brush and starting to pick up some paint. “This’ll probably tickle. Let me know whenever you want a break, or if you’re fed up with it.”

They had decided on the full body snake design after all, so, first things first, Kokichi needed to decide on a line of action over Shuuichi’s body. 

Smiling softly, he nodded as he began. “Yeah… I mean, it definitely wouldn’t have been Xuan or Liv’s first choice, but I think they saw how much strain everything was on their kids. They’re eccentric, but…not the types to make their kids miserable for their own pride. Getting a solution where they can all still be in each others’ lives is still good. And it’s not as if Lyra hated her parents either, so getting the confirmation that they can’t put Quinn in danger anymore--becoming a guardian isn’t easy, but I think it’s a lot of stress off her. Hopefully this will make their relationship easier going forward.”

Kokichi let out a little breath as he curved a line around Shuuichi’s stomach. “I’m happy with where we ended up, but I think I’m more than done with child endangerment cases for a long while. Everyone can just stay happy and safe, thanks.”

“I’m just glad it ended with the family still more or less together. That’s pretty rare for the situations we see,” Shuichi said, though he shivered as he felt the cold paint trace a line down his body. Ooh, that was a curious sensation…

“You good, handsome?” Kaito suddenly asked, eyes focusing.

“I am, I am,” Shuichi murmured, though he appreciated Kaito asking. In truth, he had wondered right up until he took off his clothes if he could actually handle this. Shuichi wasn’t sure when, exactly, his hatred of his body had turned into an admiration for it. He attributed a lot of it to Kokichi and Kaito’s encouragement, but honestly, he and Dr. Ford had been spending a lot of time deconstructing everything that had happened with Nao.

It had taken a long time, and honestly, Shuichi felt like he had ended up repeating the same damn confessions and the same analysis over and over again until he had worried this was just something that was never going to feel better… and then one day it just had. Not necessarily from a big, all-consuming revelation. At least not one he hadn’t had several times only to relapse over and over again. It was more like at some point he had just actually accepted the things he and Ford had been discussing for a year now. Just… internalized them. 

And now he felt better.

It was almost anti-climatic, how okay with it he was when he had laid out on his back, wanting to be able to see what Kokichi had drawn so deciding to let him draw down the front of himself. He kept waiting for the old, dark thoughts to come back, and they just… didn’t. He just felt fine. 

A miracle made mundane. Shuichi was grateful all the same. 

Still…it wasn’t something he had told too much to Kokichi or Kaito. Kokichi a little, Kaito almost not at all. It was cruel, but it just hadn’t occurred to Shuichi to let them know he was feeling better, not when it first happened and only as an afterthought long after that. 

Following that line of thought, Shuichi huffed, “I wish it occurred to me to tell you guys when I’m happy as often as I’ve told you when I’m feeling bad. I really do feel fine. I haven’t had any bad thoughts about myself in a while now.”

Kaito relaxed a little, eating another berry. “Alright, if you’re sure…”

Kokichi had paused at the shiver and question, smiling at Shuuichi’s response before he continued…though he soon paused again, leaning over to kiss Shuuichi’s cheek as he gave his husband an adoring look. “I do like hearing about Shuu-chan being happy. Or peaceful or amused or comfortable, or any nice, positive thing. But I think it’s even more comforting knowing that you feel those things way more than you think to mention them.”

Starting to wave the line down Shuuichi’s legs, Kokichi hummed lightly. “I’m really proud of you--something I don’t think I say enough to the both of you. But Shuu-chan working through his issues…that’s a ton of miserable work, I know. I’m proud, and I love hearing that your happy days are plentiful.”

“And, of course, I love getting to see you like this, ‘cause you’re smokin’ hot,” Kokichi giggled, giving Shuuichi a wink. “Prettiest canvas I’ve ever had.”

Shuichi returned the wink with a smirk, but that smirk didn’t do much to hide the genuinely flattered flush of pink that gracefully crossed his face. Kaito scoffed seeing that. Honestly, some people had all the luck. Kaito would have turned into a tomato at that compliment. 

“I think we’ve all come a long way, really,” Kaito said, able to focus better now that they were talking instead of just staring at pretty Shuichi skin, “I mean, I’ve told you, Kokichi, that I admired how well you came along after everything… ya know, happened.” Kaito sighed, “But that whole point got kind of buried because I wildly overestimated how soon you did pull it together… but you still have. Also, ‘pull it together’ isn’t really what I mean, what am I trying to say…”

“Recovered?” Shuichi asked.

“Yeah, recovered… well, no,” Kaito frowned, “I think ‘recovered’ is still something we’re all working towards. Shoot, what am I trying to say… steady? I feel like we’ve all gotten to a point where we’re pretty steady. The past is still affecting us, but we can handle it, does that make sense?”

“I think that might always be the case,” Shuichi said, “But I think I understand what you’re trying to convey anyway. You don’t hide in your shrine anymore, Kokichi’s not hiding in his closet, I’m able to look people in the eye without the hat… I’d call that more ‘steady’, sure.”

Shuichi shivered. A fresh dip of paint. Cold… Shuichi liked the chill. 

Kokichi looked up, giving Kaito an adoring look next before he nodded, finishing up the initial line and taking a look, seeing if it was a shape he wanted to commit to. “We’re past the points where things feel…uncontrollable, and like everything will just be awful forever. Taken enough small steps forward that if we look back, there’s visible progress. We’re a long way from having a new crisis every few days… And I’d argue a lot of the more stressful stuff lately is stuff we’ve chosen to involve ourselves in, because we want to help, not just life bombarding us with things we’re helpless too. Some of that’s luck, but…I dunno, I’m still choosing to be proud of that.”

Getting more paint this time, Kokichi started blocking out the main body of the snake. 

Shuichi let out a little breath, trying not to squirm as the brush strokes grew wider. 

“....” Kaito stared at Shuichi for a bit, somewhat glazed… before he blinked hard, nodding suddenly. “Yeah, exactly! Like our ‘Kichi said, it’s worth being proud of, the stuff that has been stressing us out. You’re right, it’s nothing we didn’t volunteer for, by this point. Heh… hey, I can’t remember if we said this aloud, or this is just something I thought, but…” Kaito grinned, leaning his chin against his arms over the back of the chair, “...this year’s been kinda boring, hasn’t it? The second half, I mean.”

“Boring feels like absolutely the wrong word,” Shuichi said dryly, lifting his head up a bit to give Kaito an incredulous look, “I recall having to escape a dream invasion while a queen acted out her assassination fantasies.”

“Look, I’m not trying to downplay that, yeah, that happened…but I barely remember it.” Kaito grinned a little sheepishly. “I mostly just gotta take Kokichi’s word for it that it happened, along with little flashes of images. And Miya is her own little adventure, as I’m sure her godmothers are becoming very aware of right this moment. And yeah, Doppio and Arven were definitely a whole process… but in comparison to what was our normal, for a while there?” Kaito sighed, “It’s been kind of peaceful, hasn’t it? Our Tim’s doing well in school, making friends, who I’m grateful for… even the little shit who kicked me in the balls. Our Maki’s dating a nice woman who is endlessly patient with how awkward and neurotic we are, and has so far gracefully accepted every attempt I’ve made to beat her in grappling–”

“And has beaten you every time,” Shuichi pointed out.

“She’s good at grappling! Anyway,” Kaito pouted, “Honestly, personally, the most excited I’ve been lately in a combative sort of way is competing in the PTA for a good spot on the refreshments table. Which I will get next time… but otherwise? Calm on my end.”

Shuichi laid his head back down, another little shiver running through him at the fresh paint. “...that’s not entirely true, Kaito.”

“Okay, the ghost kid showing up wasn’t bad. Just… surprising.”

Kokichi raised his eyebrows at Kaito, giving Shuuichi a nod as he brought up the relatively recent very big thing that had happened to them, though…while they had had to deal with, apparently, the queen of Danganronpa passed out in their room in the morning, that had ended up having a pretty hands-off solution. “Getting in touch with the memories of my past lives is a little more than boring, I’ll add too, but…I get what you mean.”

Even with some of the stresses around them now…things were good. Not quite the boring year they had wished for, but…getting closer to it. 

Which sometimes left space to deal with things that had just gotten buried before. 

Kokichi glanced up, giving Kaito a worried look. “I wouldn’t call Quinn just being around bad, no, but…really, hun? I haven’t seen you that freaked out in a while…”

Kaito glanced away, pouting. “I don’t think I was that bad. I didn’t faint.”

“That was a very near thing the first time, and you were so frazzled afterwards that you threatened the teenagers, forgot to follow up with them, got into a big fight with me, and then went and bought a miniature castle that is only ‘miniature’ in comparison to an actual castle,” Shuichi said, “And it’s already half painted. With details. You put little glistens of light on the gems. With a toothpick.”

“All I’m hearing in that last part is ‘good job, Kaito, you’re painting a cool toy for our awesome daughter’,” Kaito said. 

“You had a panic attack, Kaito.”

“Well, sure, but… that doesn’t mean anything bad happened,” Kaito insisted, “I was just a bit nervous around the kid. And it’s not like that’s going to be a regular thing. He went home. It’s all good.”

“...Kaito, we really should talk more about what my new job is going to be…”

“I know, I know! And I am a-okay with it! I promise!” Kaito paused, before saying uncertainly, “So long as you work with a partner. And don’t take unnecessary risks. And if you’re going out of town I want Kokichi to be able to peek in and say you’re good every now and again…and maybe phone calls…”

Shuichi sighed. 

“Nothing bad needed to happen. Isn’t it enough that you felt bad?” Kokichi asked, giving Kaito a soft look before sighing, cleaning his brush to move on to a darker pigment to give some initial depth to the curving of the snake. “I don’t mean to…do anything, necessarily. That’s not fair to Quinn, and you’re right, he’s back home now. But I think it’s worth talking about.”

Kokichi worked on the snake for a few more moments, before looking up at Kaito plaintively. “...I’m not asking to…try to logic your way out of fear, or to prove you aren’t scared somehow. I’m just genuinely asking…hun? What about ghosts is the part that scares you?”

Kaito pouted still, but, well… it was a fair point. Kaito didn’t have to do anything about it, and Kaito kind of knew enough about his own thought process now that that meant, well… if nothing could be done, nothing could be wrong. Which he would never accept if it was coming from one of the others! But him? Well… Kaito could admit he had different rules for himself than he did everyone else. 

But those rules weren’t fair, and he had to take the outs his husbands gave him. Even if there was nothing that required action… it had still just been bad. Okay, yes. Yeah. He could admit that. 

For a moment, the three enjoyed the quiet of Kokichi painting Shuichi, Kaito especially enjoying watching the little shivers in Shuichi’s body seem to settle into a content sort of calm, the only visible sign that Shuichi’s body was being affected by the painting being the point of his nipples. Shuichi enjoying himself…

Though, Kokichi’s question broke Kaito out of his admiring gaze. “...um,” Kaito frowned, brow furrowed, “...honestly? I’m not sure?”

“It’s the death part, yes?” Shuichi guessed, eyes closed as he relaxed under Kokichi’s brush.

“Yeah! …um,” Kaito frowned, “...yeah? Well, maybe…”

“You don’t sound certain,” Shuichi said, “What else could it be? Your fear of death isn’t exactly subtle.”

“...yeah?” Kaito said again, sounding even less certain now as he looked away, “...like, that makes sense, right? If you had asked me before, I’d have said one hundred percent, that’s where the fear comes from. What they represent, right? The end, the final moment, where it’s all just… gone…”

Kaito closed his eyes, briefly tense with a grief at the concept that he had never quite come to terms with… before letting out a breath, opening his eyes. “But that’s where it gets a little weird, because… he’s not? Gone? So… I don’t know, maybe it’s still an association thing? But other things associated with death don’t make me react that way…”

Kokichi nodded a bit. He meant it when he said he wasn’t asking to ‘logic’ away Kaito’s fear, but…that was a point. In a sense, ghosts were the exact opposite of Kaito’s fears about oblivion--people who had died and were clinging to life so hard that they didn’t even go to an afterlife. And it wasn’t the concept of being people Atua had left behind, because…that choice wasn’t up to Atua, it was up to them, and if they ever decided to go then there were plenty of places to take them in, Atua’s trials and paradise included. 

Those things could be true, but also the source of Kaito’s fears. But his uncertainty now…

Kokichi hummed softly as he switched up paints again, rolling his wrists as he got to the fun part. Scales~ “Yeah…like graveyards and memorials can make you uneasy, but…because they remind you of ghosts. And it felt like we had a good time celebrating Remembrance this year. Talking in general about people who’ve died just kinda depends on context, it’s just ghosts that gets you.”

Kaito rubbed the back of his neck, rolling that information around in his mind. 

He wouldn’t say it aloud, because it was depressing and he wanted to ogle Shuichi in comfort, but… Kaito had always thought Kokichi’s illness had been a sign that while Kaito hated the idea of death, he was still capable of coping with it. He wanted his husband to live to 120 years old, 80 at the minimum… but, well, Kokichi had had several close calls when Kaito first met him. Medical emergencies that had felt like Kaito was watching him straddle death’s door, just… hoping, praying, that Kokichi would turn around and come back to him. That feeling fear, yes, and a deep, profound grief that shook him to his core…

…but it wasn’t a panic attack. Or that mindless, electric terror that panic attacks felt like to him, like every muscle in his body was spasming under actual electric wires. It wasn’t the same feeling of panic that caused him to throw fires into whispering woods, or to run through a swamp, grabbing every single person he could get his hands on and dragging them along with him in terror. It wasn’t what had made him try to lift up a grave to throw at teenagers who had briefly had him absolutely convinced he was being attacked again–

Again?

As Kaito quietly wondered, Shuichi pointed out, “It really might not have any logic to it. I mean, my fear of heights has some logic, in that falling from a great height seems like a terrible experience… but that would be terrible for anyone. But not everyone freezes at them the way I do. And I’m not sure what the actual fear of bugs is, inherently. Is it a fear of bites, Kokichi?”

Kokichi grimaced, shuddering a little. “Not really, though those would suck. It’s definitely not a logical one for me… It’s the sensation and realization of arachnids, cause I’m mostly fine with other bugs, crawling on me. Logically, that’s not a problem at all, and even for venomous ones they don’t want to be on people either and won’t even necessarily bite… But just the idea of an arachnid being close enough to me to touch?”

Kokichi shuddered, hunching his shoulders as he shook his head a bit.

“Maybe it’s a texture thing? Or… well, if other bugs are fine, it’s probably not the way they move…” Shuichi lifted his head to glance down at his body, distracted as he noticed, “Ooooh, the scales are coming out nice. Awww, I can’t help but think of it as being Nini. I miss my snake. Kaito, go get my snake.”

“Not a chance,” Kaito said dryly. 

“Your phobia of Nini went away, if not your distaste,” Shuichi pointed out, “And I feel confident your fear of snakes came from being afraid it’d hurt me when I was pregnant, and now the baby. I bet when Miyako’s older? And bigger? You’ll like Nini.”

“I mean, I guess anything’s possible… but so what?” Kaito asked, knowing Shuichi wouldn’t have brought it up if it wasn’t related.

“You get scared of things that are dangerous that you don’t think you can fight against,” Shuichi pointed out, laying his head back down again, “You’re good at fighting when you have a weapon in your hands, but you freeze and go quiet when you don’t. Which isn’t something I noticed about you until we got to Dicea, where you almost never carry a weapon. You get way more skittish in fights now, and I don’t think that’s entirely just what Maki did to you.”

“So… ghosts feel dangerous?” Kaito reasoned out, “Sure, but lots of things are dangerous. I don’t panic at all danger.”

“But you get more and more nervous at danger you know you can’t fight against.”

“I feel like that’d be true for anyone.”

“I’m just suggesting, try thinking of ghosts as a source of danger. What would make them different from everything else?”

“...okay, okay, let me think about it,” Kaito said, watching Kokichi’s skilled, small strokes across Shuichi’s skin. It really was coming out amazing looking already…

Kokichi stuck his tongue out a little. It had taken a lot of work to even be able to talk about his phobia with this much depth, but even still…trying to describe things about spiders still gave him the heebie-jeebies. 

Though, getting compliments to his art did perk him up a bit more. 

Getting back to it, Kokichi considered Shuuichi’s observations. “Hmm…that does feel true, though I think Kai-chan’s right about it being a sorta true thing in general. But it does still apply, I think. In a panic, you do tend to try and look for weapons, if it doesn’t just freeze you.”

Letting Kaito think about it, though, Kokichi focused on the scales. The base of the snake was a deep green, so he was outlining a lot of the scales with colors around that base, but he was adding in yellows and purples here and there too, giving contrast and variety to the whole thing. Almost like hints of reflective light and iridescence. 

What was dangerous about ghosts… What was dangerous about ghosts…

…were? Ghosts dangerous?

Kaito tried to picture a ghost–unfortunately, they now very distinctly looked green to him–and felt an uneasy shiver of revulsion run through him, biting his lower lip in worry. They were scary! Wasn’t that dangerous enough!? 

No, no, come on, Momota, being ‘scary’ wasn’t inherently dangerous. Why were they dangerous?

Kaito restlessly rubbed his fingers into the wood of the chair, before sighing, getting up and going to grab his meditation stone and polish from the nightstand. Sitting back down, Kaito carefully started the polishing process, letting his hands work as he thought about it. Why were they dangerous… what did ghosts do?

“Ghosts… can move through walls,” Kaito reasoned out, frowning as that didn’t cause him to shiver… before shuddering when he pointed out, “They can just show up. Like, wherever you are, whenever. You can’t lock them out. You can’t be in a space small enough that they can’t just get in, because they can phase r-right through you, j-just… existing right inside of you, if they have to, like you can’t keep them out no matter what.”

“I’m not sure if that’s literally true, but alright, keep going. Sort of sounds like you’re onto something,” Shuichi said, before suddenly giggling, “Kokichi, that spot is ticklish, be gentle.”

Kaito grinned lightly at Shuichi’s amused, sudden giggle, feeling himself calm down a bit as he tried to think about it more. “...yeah, you can’t escape ghosts, not if they want to follow you… they’re invisible, but, like, not always? And when they do show up, it’s just to fuck with you, like, ghosts in ghosts stories are mean. They… fucking whisper at you and just randomly show up but only when no one else is around to see so you sound fucking crazy a-and they can randomly just t-touch you when a second ago they weren’t even there… that’s mean! That’s such a dick move! Ghosts are assholes!”

“...well, no, not really,” Kaito muttered, “But ghosts in ghost stories usually are. Everything they do is just to upset you. They do everything they can to freak you out or hurt you, and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it. You’re just helpless to it… and they’re overpowered! Like, it’s not enough they can show up and touch you whenever and whisper things and freak you out, if they’re really determined to fuck with you, they can just… pop inside a-and puppet you, and suddenly your body is just…”

Kaito swallowed, touching his throat suddenly. A bead of sweat pooling on his forehead as he suddenly started shaking, flashing back to the beach. “...I really don’t like being electrocuted. Everything’s just suddenly out of your control, your body is just someone else’s for a while, just entirely out of control… being electrocuted feels a lot like how I feel when I’m at my most freaked out about ghosts.”

Shuichi frowned. “When you’re having panic attacks?”

“Yeah, but the way they used to be when I was younger. Not when I was just spooked, but when I was waking up with actual night terrors and stuff. Just your whole body is tensed up and shaking until it hurts?” Kaito looked pale and grim, “I’m glad I don’t get those anymore. That was when the phobia was really bad. Especially when I was alone? I’d get myself all worked up until I couldn’t function. Like I was just seizing, but not having a seizure, you know?”

Shuichi licked his lower lip, something concerned in his eyes. “...Kaito, maybe we should set up an appointment with Dr. Mariah for just you, soon. Just… not to not let you talk about this with us, just… to give you more room to talk about it in general.”

“Not Miss Crystal?”

“Maybe… not.”

“Sorry,” Kokichi lightly apologized to Shuuichi, a little giggle in his voice as well as he picked his brush up, giving Shuuichi a break from the painting there at least. He kinda thought going lighter would just make it even more ticklish, but, well, he’d warn Shuuichi if he wanted to go back there, and see what his husband wanted. 

Things…were not so light otherwise. 

“...something you can’t escape, can follow you everywhere no matter where you are or what you do, can show up at their leisure…but for the sole purpose of fucking with you. To be mean, and startling, playing with your perception and making others doubt you… Can puppet you, make you feel out of control…” Kokichi quietly murmured, putting together all the pieces…

…aw shit. 

Glancing to Shuuichi, perhaps on the same page, Kokichi frowned in worry. “...I don’t even remember when it was, it was ages ago… Dr. Mariah even said that your subconscious would still react even if you weren’t aware of it…” 

Kokichi glowered a little. “...Ghosts are Tengan.”

Kaito’s shoulders immediately hitched up and he hissed in a sudden burst of anger, “They are not, do not say that.”

But that flash of anger gave way almost as soon as the words were out, and Kaito’s shoulders were still up defensively as he clutched at his polish and stone… and he noticed that what had sparked the sudden rush of anger was a heavy jolt of fear. Hitting through his chest and plummeting into his stomach until that fiery, angry feeling had briefly been all he could comprehend. Feeling defensive. Defending. Bracing for an attack.

“...sorry, give me a second,” Kaito said, taking a few deep breaths, trying to force his shoulders down, waiting for the feeling to pass. “Sorry, one second… sorry…”

“You didn’t yell, if you thought you did.” Shuichi called from the floor, adjusting on the floor a little to prop himself up with one elbow, wanting to look more evenly at Kaito from the floor, “If you’re apologizing because you thought you yelled, you didn’t.”

“Oh… oh.”  Kaito sighed, closing his eyes. He had thought he had screamed it. The words had just erupted out of him… but he guessed not as intensely on the outside as it had felt on the inside. “Okay… still…”

Shuichi frowned, glancing at Kokichi, before calling to Kaito. “...do you need something? We can stop this.”

“No, no, I’m not… sorry, one second.” Kaito rubbed his temple, taking a few more breaths. “...I know this is going to sound like I’m lying, but I’m not as upset now as I was literally a second ago. I was just caught off guard, I’m not upset, I’m actually still okay, I promise. If anything? I’m just sort of like… oh. Yeah.” Kaito scoffed, an irritated, repulsed look on his face as he scowled. “Of course. Like… I went from ‘no, that’s not what’s happening’ to ‘oh no’ to ‘wait, that makes a lot of sense’ in like five seconds. That was a rollercoaster. I’m absolutely going to get heat flashes when I’m older, guys. I feel like I’m pre-destined for them.”

“...damn,” Kaito whispered, “That makes a lot of sense…”

“.........okay, but wait, I’m not afraid of Empaths,” Kaito suddenly frowned, “I’m afraid of ghosts. How does that work?”

“You didn’t know what an Empath was, growing up,” Shuichi guessed, “But you knew something was happening to you, and you knew what ghosts were. Subconsciously, you must have just… made a connection.”

Kokichi startled slightly, blinking at Kaito in shock from the sudden burst of anger. He…hadn’t thought he’d said that unkindly, or all that suddenly, but still… Sharing a look with Shuuichi, Kokichi set his brush in his water cup for a moment and moved over towards Kaito. Not reaching out for him, but just kneeling nearby. Being close. 

…though he did get up after a moment, after Shuuichi assured Kaito he hadn’t yelled, and brought back a few cups of water, handing one to Shuuichi and waiting close to Kaito with another. 

“...I’m sorry,” Kokichi said softly, not…quite as Kaito had gotten his breath back, but when they came a little more easily. “I didn’t mean to catch you off guard with that, I was…kinda just putting things together myself.”

Sighing, he offered the cup to Kaito, nodding with Shuuichi. “And what Tengan did, messing with you, is a lot more in-line with what happens in ghost stories. It’s not a stretch. By the time we were all talking about Empathy, I think there was a lot more to the conversation than the scary stuff. And, well…” Kokichi smiled wanely, “You knew some trustworthy Empaths. You didn’t know any trustworthy ghosts, growing up, at least I have to guess.”

“Thank you, babe,” Kaito said, taking the glass and taking a sip… before chuckling to himself, “‘Babe’. This feels like the wrong moment for a ‘babe’, should have gone ‘Kichi’ or ‘Beautiful’. ‘Daddy’? Heheh, at least it’s accurate this time… ugh.” 

Kaito rubbed the glass on his forehead, letting its chill soothe him. “...I trust Empaths. My brave, valiant ‘Kichi went above and beyond for me, with his little squad of Empath friends. Spoiled me. Practically drowned me in protections and defenses… god, I’m so grateful for you, Kokichi. This could have all been so much worse for me… thank you.”

More rubbing the glass against his forehead… before he drank more of the water, looking more clear-eyed as he gave his worried husbands a small grin. “First, yes, Shuichi, you’re right, I need to talk to Dr. Mariah about it. But later, it’s not an urgent, today thing. Just, in general. I just…didn’t want to think about what Tengan did, that’s why I reacted that way. I’ve actually had a hard time thinking about all the implications of Tengan in my mind since I found out about it. It’s… scary. It scares me a lot, to think about it,” Kaito admitted, looking down at the glass, “Every time I sort of start, I get overwhelmed and just tell myself I’ll think more about it later. But then it’s hard next time too, so I do it again. So yeah, Dr. Mariah can help with that.”

“But in the end, this isn’t new information. The theory it gave me a ghost phobia is definitely new, but the whole… Tengan being in my head and doing awful stuff that subconsciously I was aware of and couldn’t prove even to myself was actually happening? Ugh.” Kaito shuddered, looking grim again. “....ugh. Yeah, I knew that already. It’s just hard to think about it. Basically as hard to think about as ghosts. So… yeah, if that’s not a connection right there? Yeah.”

“...” Kaito suddenly squared his shoulders, “Can I paint stars and stuff on the parts of your body that aren't being covered by snake, Shuichi?”

“... come on,” Shuichi said, lying back, “Decorate me~”

Kaito took a steadying breath, going to grab and clean the paint supplies he was more used to. He wasn’t a painter like Kokichi, but he could do little detail work. Stars dotting around Shuichi’s body? He could handle that.

-

Lots of families were hit hard by the NGP abductions. When 11 prominent young adults, all from the same area of the capital, all with direct connections to the second son, went missing all at once, there had been a scramble and chaos looking for them. Many of the families, nobles with powerful positions in Luminary’s economy, found themselves pointing at each other, each deeply suspicious of every other family among the list of abductees as being part of some conspiracy or another and trying to hide their involvement with their own missing child. A few banded together and looked for culprits who might have been connected to all of the abductees in less obvious ways than the prince had been. There was rumors and speculation that Prince Kaito himself was involved in their abductions, though the royal court squashed and intimidated such gossip into silence before anything legal could be drafted. 

Months passed, and eventually it had to be accepted that all of the abductees were dead. Lost in some terrible–likely royal, everyone whispered–conspiracy. The civil war, the famine, the changing of the guard at the highest levels, just gave no space for even the family members of the missing abductees to focus on them too long. Everyone was in survival mode. There was no time to grieve. No time to search.

And then… Sahara Guiness returned. 

As well as another abductee of national importance, Komaru Naegi, but among the elite of Luminary, Sahara was the one that everyone immediately heard about when she suddenly showed up in her noble home. Sahara was the heiress of Luminaries most prominent alcohol distributer, one of the wealthiest and most influential noble families, especially when it came to being leaned on by the royal courts for food trade. When the famine was at its most dire, it was the Guiness family who pulled from already established off-continent trade deals to purchase much needed emergency food to be shipped to NGP. The royal court negotiated the emergency trades through the Guiness family, along with a few other food-based trading families, and while it did little to help within the first few weeks of the famine, emergency shipments overseas did eventually reach Luminary, useful in actually distributing to the surrounding cities and villages that had been essentially pillaged in an effort to feed the starving capital city. 

For their efforts, the Guinness family was going to be given a new marker in their crest as heroes of Luminary, and an ‘official’ blessing from one of the Saints of the temples, establishing their family as divine-touched. It was one of the highest honors the royal court could give to an already noble family. In practicality, it would ensure that for at least another hundred years, even if the family did nothing noteworthy or were perhaps even challenged in their nobility through harmful actions by the royal court, the additional leverage of their creed would ensure their future generations kept the protections and title of nobility. A member of the Guiness would have to do something truly horrific or unforgivable to lose the family their title now. 

And with not long after being given their blessing by their new families patron saint, Saint Tequila, the patron saint of joy and plenty who was recognized for her efforts in Luminaries last country-wide famine, for Sahara to suddenly return… the temples declared it an act of Atua. Sahara’s return a sign of Atua’s approval in the noble families working with the new Queen, Kaede Momota. 

If you needed more proof? The sudden return of Komaru Naegi, Makoto Naegi’s sister, was Atua’s other official divine approval for Kaede’s rise to prominence. Makoto Naegi was the central lead in the revolution for getting Kaede rightfully acknowledged as Atua’s chosen divine ruler, leading the rebellion to usurp the false pretender, fallen King Byakuya. 

And considering neither woman remembered what happened? Perhaps they were more than rescued. Perhaps they were revived. True divine gifts.

…Ventus wanted to know why his brother hadn’t been considered worthy to revive, if that was really what happened. 

It was a sentiment shared with all the families whose children had not had a ‘divine resurrection’ to reward the nobles for their faithfulness to the crown. It was true, out of everyone specifically with an abducted child, Sahara and Komaru both came from families who were the most immediately useful to the crown when Kaede first took over. But most of the other families hadn’t…directly opposed Kaede’s rule. Most nobles had had the good sense to try to stay out of the conflict and see who came out victorious. The wealthier families had kept selling both to Byakuya’s forces, but had made no serious effort to cut off the chain of supply that brought their goods to Kaede’s forces either. They had made token gestures to whoever was in front of them and had otherwise tried to remain neutral, so that neither side felt compelled to get rid of them once they stabilized their rule.

Certainly, the Shard family had been of help to Queen Kaede, by not shutting down the trading paths that armed her rebellion? Certainly they had been of use? So why… not just them, but their cousins as well. The Shard and Linn family, two of the greatest weapons manufacturers in Luminary, Shard their blades and Linn their crossbolts… surely they would have earned at least one of their stolen heirs back?

Everyone wanted to talk to Sahara and Komaru. But the two women were impossible to get ahold of. Their families, the royal court, and the temples all working together to keep the two from having to answer to anyone about what had happened. The narrative established. No one was allowed to poke holes in it with ‘questions’.

For a family as proud as the Shard family? The Linn family? This was unacceptable. Both of their heirs, carefully trained and raised their whole lives for the position, both primed to compete against each other for central control of the entire weapons industry within Luminary, a competition that had helped both families thrive through generations… they wanted to know what happened.

So, today, Ventus–turning 13–was continuing the family tradition of being given his Inheritance Quest. A family chosen task that, should he accomplish it, would allow him to be officially recognized as a potential heir for the family weapons industry. 

He wasn’t the only heir in the running–both families kept competition fierce among their heirs by being sure to have multiple kids, so should one fail another could take their place–but he was in the unusual position of being the only one turning 13 within a few years between both families, who tended to have children at the same time. Ventus had not been adopted with the idea of directly competing with anyone. Ventus had been adopted with the goal of one day being a powerful support to the next heir. He had not been being raised to lead, but to follow.

And yet… with the two competing heirs now both dead, and their younger siblings notably not to their levels, both families were now looking at Ventus as a potential wild card to the inheritance. True competition started at 13, when legally Ventus was considered an adult, and this would be his first opportunity to prove himself as a potential contender. 

Ventus’s other older siblings and cousins–15, 15,17, 17, all failures in the families’ eyes already–all glared at him from the shadows as he finished sparring his tutors, graduating from his childhood education by proving that he could defeat them both in a spar, before going to kneel and bow to the heads of both families. Not even panting as he stared at the ground, composed after the difficult fight. 

“...Ventus Shard. Ventus ‘Spare’. That’s what your siblings call you, yes?” Ventus’ father, Lord Shard, asked. 

“Saber didn’t.” Ventus said loud and clearly, “The others: yes, father.”

“Children tend to tell the truth, even if it's cruel.” Lord Shard said, leaning back in the small, throne-line room that the families kept in their dojo. “You were a spare. But now, through apparent divine will… you may one day be heir, Ventus.”

“How do you feel about that?” Lady Shard asked. 

“Grief.” Ventus said. “Saber would have led us well.”

There was an approving murmur through the families. Everyone knew what his family quest was going to be. 

“Saber would have done well, if Balisong somehow managed to fall.” Lady Linn said stiffly, “But it is good for a young Shard to feel that way.”

“Our families have been deeply hurt. Your brother and cousin cruelly taken from us.” Lady-consort Linn, Balisong’s other mother, said, “The temple spins tales of what happened to them and the royals won’t let us question the last people to potentially see them alive. It’s a disgrace…”

“As our youngest Shard and Linn now of age? Among a group of potential heirs who have so far found themselves to be worthless and lacking?” Lord Saber said, glancing at his other children, who shrunk away from him, “Ventus Shard: your quest is to discover the truth of your brother and cousin, before the year is up. If you can fulfill your quest? You will be in line for inheritance. And at this rate? Heir-apparent.”

“Do you accept this task, son?” Lady Shard asked. “Knowing it will put you at odds with the wishes of the Royal Court, and the temple?”

Ventus nodded, still staring at the floor, “Yes, mother.”

…Ventus was very, very proud of himself.

His voice didn’t waiver at all. 

He wondered if his shaking was as obvious to anyone else, as it was to him, standing up when his father said, “Rise. Strong as a blade, swift as a bolt!”

“Strong as a blade, swift as a bolt!” 

Ventus stood up… and still stared at the floor. A quest that put him at direct odds against the new royal court. Against the temples. With every single one of his older siblings and cousins rooting for him to fail.

Oh no.

-

Time was difficult to keep track of in the factories. The walls had no seasons, the lighting hardly wavered, telling them when a day had passed. Even had once theorized that the lights weren’t even set to a standard day-night cycle, to keep the Indentureds--and, consequently, the Empaths--disoriented. With how often they all were compelled to do all-nighters, it was difficult to even make guesses from their sleep schedules. 

Still, it wasn’t impossible. And regardless of the method…Aqua knew. Somewhere in the deepest parts of her, she could never forget. Unlike the world that had forgotten them. 

It was easier to tell time now, the rising moon stark against the sky, the breeze in the air unequivocally night, winter. Aqua looked up at the light, just shy of a half-light…

He would’ve been 13 today. Thirteen years… Taking the first steps of maturity, given the government-acknowledged right to sign contracts… Terra felt something in the void where Aqua’s heart should’ve been twinge with longing. Grief. 

They would’ve been talking with Ventus for a while, about what contracts meant. Any legal jargon they would’ve picked up, likely asking Even and Dilan for tips, impressing on Ventus to always read a contact in full, to be suspicious if there were parts that were vague or could be open for interpretation, to value his freedom above all else…

And then Terra would’ve gone around with him, goading the others into making all sorts of silly contracts for Ventus to sign. Things little more than promises, but still getting to flex his new right, in a way that would never hurt him. In an even kinder world, maybe even looking for some out in the wild. They would get fruit frozen ice together, get Ventus a proper weapon for a teenager, whatever he would’ve been interested in… Terra wondered if he would’ve chosen swords, like them. 

What Ventus would’ve chosen for anything. What sort of person he would’ve become. Thirteen years…

Terra sighed, swallowing his grief. Eyes snapping to the target he had been keeping tabs on for a few weeks now. 

Larxene had been…more right than Aqua wanted to admit. Scuffles still happened, but the others were far more careful to not get into actual fights in the city, keeping true to staying low-profile. It was the smartest thing they could do for their safety, and Aqua agreed. But when presented an opportunity, when the safest thing to do suddenly became to make blood sing…it wasn’t as if Terra disliked it. Though their more preferred method, sans the impetus from Larxene’s demon-may-care attitude, was a bit more…methodical. 

Really, any former supervisor was just foolish to stay in the same city. 

Terra moved through the shadows, forgotten by even the world itself…

But he’d never forget what the world had done. Or the actors who’d been the ones to do it.

-

The Nobodies tried to keep busy. In some ways, finally getting a break after working non-stop for…years felt well-deserved. In others, it felt maddening. Sure, they’d tried to find jobs--mostly to no avail--and they took up projects, but it was only recently that any of them (Sora) really had something to do every day. But there were still smaller things, and while the tavern and other buildings weren’t particularly nice, they were still home, and required a certain amount of housekeeping. 

So that was what 10 was doing, on this particular day, sweeping out the accumulated sand and dust that had settled in the lower floors of the buildings. A simple, mindless task that a construct was actually quite well suited for, and it was a peaceful time just--

The broom clattered lightly on the ground, barely even hitting once as boots bolted away. 

Ienzo’s body sprinted towards the tavern, looking, looking, visible blue eye a little too wide, looking a little manic, until it spotted the proper blond, and without preamble, 8 demanded, “DEMYX, LET ME IN!”

“WOAH, GAH!” 

Demyx crashed, startled out of the booth that he had been strumming his sitar on, falling beneath the table with a clatter as his sitar fell on top of him. Making many, many unnecessary noises in his attempt to stand up again, Demyx’s head popped up from under the table, his hair all over his face as he said, “Dude!? What?? In where!? Are you dying!?!”

“In your mind,” 8 said quickly, honestly a little disparaging, as if it had been obvious. Making a little impatient noise, he looked at Demyx intently. “Let me in, hurry up!”

“Ehhhhhhhhh, alright, alright, just don't do anything weird in there, you have ‘I’m gonna be super weird’ eyes right now,” Demyx whined, sitting back in his booth and, with an overly exaggerated hum, closing his eyes and clasping his hands together. Focusing as his empath ability reached out towards Ienzo, creating a bridge for him to come in…

There was just as much a sense of ‘barging in’ as Ienzo had done physically, though his presence was hardly there for a moment before…well…

Music. 

A jaunty tune, played clearly, though not a memory. Almost like another link, though not as direct. Like walking by in a market and hearing someone around the corner playing. 

It was astounding enough that 8 heard…well, anything distinct from the ghost box, the constant ‘channel’ flipping of any Empath broadcast strong and public enough that someone Ienzo’s strength could still hear it. Every now and then there were group discussions, more like announcements, rarer were ripples, someone doing something amazingly strong and usually naively to catch notice. But something clear like this? And not just snippets of conversation or information, but music?

And…it wasn’t just that. The sound was a little strange but…Ienzo knew this song. It was a Luminary song, something he’d…

…

Well, it was in his memories. 

Knowing someone personally that loved music, was an Empath, and likely would get excited by hearing Luminous music? 8 looked at Demyx expectantly, proud of being able to share something special. 

Demyx’s eyes widened… and then widened further, dazzled.

“What is that sound?” Demyx asked, putting his chin in his hand and trying for the life of him to place it, but he couldn’t. It was so distinct and airy, almost like a hurdy-gurdy, but so much faster and clearer, like they had found a different way of pressing the air through the pipes. It was almost like the air was moving…

Unable to help himself, Demyx grabbed his sitar and started to play a bit, accompanying the sound in his head. Following its tune–did he know this song? Wait, was this…Glenside?? It was, it was Glenside!!--and grinning as he did little flourishes for himself and his audience of one…

…before an idea came to him. Because whatever they were listening to was a lot bigger than themselves, and there was little feelings of… so many people… what even was this? What had Ienzo stumbled upon? It was a little like the way their Destiny Island felt, but so much bigger… and longer, like a road…

And reaching out tentatively, he {played his sitar along with the tune}. 

{OoO}

{Feelings of surprise, then joy, recognition of an artist to an artist, cheers}

8 grinned, bolstered by the…almost festival-like feelings of excitement and happiness, listening to the music coming through intent, and in physical space. His focus and attention completely centered on experiencing the present. 

And even as the song ended with a flourish, a few notes persisted before going right into the next, feelings of encouragement flowing with them. 

Demyx felt a rush of excitement run through his stomach. He hadn’t played his instrument with another person in… god, a decade now. He had sort of forgotten he could. Playing the sitar these days had been one of those things he had felt lucky to be allowed to do. He had only been allowed to have one in the factory because a supervisor had mentioned getting one for his kid, who had almost immediately abandoned it, and was trying to figure out where to get rid of it. Demyx had begged for, had been absolutely, annoyingly relentless in his begging, offering to play for the supervisors in exchange, and then offering other things when that didn’t seem to get their interest. 

They hadn’t taken him up on it, but his desperation may have gotten through in the offer, because the supervisor had ended up giving it to him, and after that? Demyx had often played for the others. A little bit of music to lighten up the depressing atmosphere of the closed off factory they were trapped in. Sometimes the supervisors would threaten the instrument or confiscate it for a while if Demyx was being an ass, but they always eventually gave it back, and it had been one of the small comforts in Demyx’s life ever since his freedom had been stolen from him. 

He had used to play with other people. He had played in a band. In pubs. Camping, festivals…… he had had a life, before the factory. 

And he didn’t recognize this song, but he knew how to play by ear and keep up, so he joyfully played along, { ^v^!!}

“Demyx playing in here?” Sora called from upstairs, heading down the staircase and peeking between the balusters as the two older Nobodies–well, not anymore, for Demyx–with a grin, “Are you guys hanging out again?”

“Sora, get over here, you have to see what Ienzo found!” Demyx insisted, as the boy skipped down, heading over. “Bridge to me.”

Sora didn’t really need to focus to bridge. He just reached out for Demyx and {Oh wow/Look/People/So many people/Who are all these people/This is big/This is a big place/A little intimidating/Hi people!/Music!!}

It wasn’t just Sora who had noticed. Sure, the sound of Demyx playing music wasn’t odd--only that it actually sounded like music now--but maybe it was infectious excitement, maybe it was people wanting to listen, maybe just following Sora, maybe noticing where Ienzo had abandoned his chores and came over to try to find him, but little by little? All the Nobodies that were home today slowly congregated in the tavern, connecting onto the wavelength 8 had found and marveling. 

There were people. There was music. There was a sense of playfulness and community that was so much larger and more at ease than anything their little group had managed. 

8 was practically sparkling with joy, watching Ienzo’s family brought into this good time from something he had found. They’d still need to actually frame things as an apology later, but for making a change to engage with the world around them, while using their skills in the psychic planes? He’d nailed it! 

And, for a job well done, people brought into the fray, 8 let out a soft, joyous little laugh, before Ienzo’s body crumpled like a tossed wet paper towel.

The music stopped with a sudden TWANG, “HOLY SHIT!” 

“Oh, dammit, Ienzo!” Axel said, immediately reaching over to move his head, placing his hand against his mouth to check for breathing, “Someone grab some water and, shit, I dunno, a painkiller? I swear if he’s pulled another damn all-nighter–”

“I’ll go get the fan!” Kairi said, hurrying upstairs. The tavern had one Really Good Fan, which would do a good job of airing Ienzo out.

Sora came back with the water, Riku came with a painkiller and Kairi the fan, Axel shaking Ienzo a bit as he said, “Would you get up you ass? You better not die on us…”

Aeleus put a gentle, but firm hand on Axel’s forearm. “Don’t shake him while his neck is limp.”

A bleary blue eye opened, looking a bit dazed…and honestly a little unsettled. From seeing the group of people all peering down on him, sure, but…

“Hm.” 6 said, lips drawing tight in worry, even as he acquiesced to the others keeping him from sitting up. And, eloquently, 6 summed up a perfect reaction to what had happened. “What the fuck.”

“Ienzo, man, you just passed out on us! Like… mid-laugh! It was fucked up!” Demyx said, shivering a bit at the very recent memory, “Just, happy laugh, then BAM! Full collapse onto the table!” 

“Here, we have water and a painkiller tablet.” Riku said, passing on the supplies to Axel, who gave them to Ienzo. Sora in turn was enthusiastically blowing Ienzo with the fan. 

“No, we didn’t,” 6 said, voice tentative, but not from denial, or confusion. Or, well, yes from confusion, but not about passing out. Catching Aeleus’ questioning look--and, with a sigh accepting the water from Axel at the stern look that followed--6 took a sip before…hesitating briefly. 

He didn’t tend to explain a lot about Ienzo’s system of constructs worked in practice. But…it might be necessary now. 

Saying slowly, with enough gravity to impress how important this fact was, 6 said, “We didn’t put 8 in charge.”

Everyone stared back at him.

“...okay?” Sora said, tilting his head and crossing his arms, “...what does that mean?”

“I mean, I know what it means a bit,” Demyx frowned, “But…okay, I guess I don’t know what that means right this second. What does it matter if Ienzo 8 wasn’t in charge? You had to brain yourself over it? You could have broken your nose! Your tiny, tiny nose, you can’t afford to break that, it’ll literally just smush flat my dude!”

6 gave Demyx a flat look, but was drawn back to the matter at hand by Aeleus. “6…8 fronted independently?”

Nodding, 6’s annoyance turned back into worry. And with a small sigh, he more properly explained, “It seems natural for us, considering that creating Nobodies was such an expected process, but constructs generally aren’t meant to outwardly control a body. It’s not something that happens fluidly. Whenever one of us is fronting, it’s because of a dedicated decision, usually by Zexion. And when we stop, there is a dedicated pause to ‘hand things over’ to the next construct. It’s a mindful, mechanical process.”

Ienzo’s eyebrows drew in. “Our constructs aren’t meant to simply take control whenever we ‘feel like it’, or can simply drop out on a whim. But 10 was out of control before he could even process it, and 8 didn’t hand things off to anyone else, which is why our body dropped.”

In case that wasn’t clear, 6 said worriedly, “...none of that is supposed to happen.”

“I see…” Kairi frowned, grasping her hands together, “...perhaps you should go next, Ienzo. With the Ouma, I mean.”

“Oh, uh,” Axel frowned, “...if he is? We’re all going with.”

“...what?” Kairi said, looking over at Axel.

“Yeah. I mean… yeah. I didn’t stutter.” Axel said, crossing his arms, “Ienzo’s got a ton of constructs! The Ouma’s probably gonna need help! We have the manpower, might as well.”

“Everyone else has had at most one or two assistants to the Ouma.” Kairi said, “Sending all of us is excessive.”

“So? Let’s exceed! Excess! Ex… whatever, we should all go, if Ienzo’s next.” Axel huffed. 

6 gave Axel a surprised look as well, before shrugging a little. “I believe ‘exceed’ is correct. And I don’t believe Zexion has any objections. Three is a rather small proportion, but we had planned on observing everyone’s session with Prince Ouma, so even if it’s pre-emptive--fair play.”

He frowned a little. “Especially if some of the other constructs are going rogue, and we already know that they tend to become hostile, or aggressive at the least, during the session…” 6 paused for a few moments, eyes losing focus briefly, before nodding. “Zexion is going to increase his efforts of assimilation before Kokichi checks in again. Even with extra help, hopefully that will make things a little easier.”

6 sighed a little. “...damn. 8 was our dedicated space for listening to Empath channels. But he will likely be up next for pulling something like this.” Ienzo’s head tilted a little. “Though I suppose it’s good to know where in the system things are breaking down. If some of us are starting to form egos separate from Ienzo, that’s a problem that needs immediate attention.”

“Awww… but I liked happy, excited Ienzo. He was great.” Demyx pouted… before wincing, “OW!”

“Shut up, we’re all trying to get whole again.” Even scowled, smacking Demyx in the back of the head again, who raised his arms to try to protect his noggin, “Don’t start picking favorites of who gets control of the body. Axel let Roxas go, and those two were a lot more co-dependent, you can say goodbye to a construct that could briefly tolerate you.”

“I wasn’t saying nothing! Of course I want Ienzo to be whole! …just it’d be nice if he was a happy Ienzo.” Demyx pouted. 

“All emotions are likely within the varied experience of being a whole person,” 6 said dryly. “I’m sure if happy things are going on, Ienzo will be happy. Also, that was unusual for 8 as well, considering it’s rare we catch anything not irrelevant or miserable through the Empath channels.”

6 paused, before apologizing, “Sorry for interrupting something fun.”

“I mean, no, you’re fine.” Demyx said, “It’s a party, everyone’s invited–OW OW WHY??”

“Stop feeling sorry for the smaller constructs you’re going to give him a complex!” Even shouted.

“YOU’RE A MEAN OLD MAN I WANT YOU TO GO NEXT YOU BASTARD! OW!!”

“It’s sort of wild to think that those empaths have been there this whole time…” Sora said softly, looking away a bit, “We knew they were limiting our range a bit in the factory, but… it was so big. It’s hard not to think all of that was just out of our reach, all this time.”

“Tsk. Still hard not to feel abandoned. I wonder how many of those empaths are literally in Luminary,” Axel scoffed, “Leaving us just trapped in there… who needs em.”

“Well, so far, we do,” Kairi pointed out, “The Ouma’s been invaluable.”

“He’s an ultra powerful nutjob who’s apparently ready to help pull all of us out of the fire… doesn’t make him typical.” Axel said, “Doesn’t make me feel any different about all the others.”

“Even for us ‘smaller’ constructs, we still need to talk,” 6 dryly drawled to Even, giving him a flat look. “Or would you prefer to only ever acknowledge Zexion about once a week?”

Sighing a little, Aqua crossed her arms as she leaned against the bar. “Even if there are more than one or two in Luminary, what were they supposed to do? Storm a high security building that’s one of the best equipped places to handle Empaths in the country--oh. Wait.”

Aeleus frowned at that. “There was never any evidence that NEST was caused by outside influence. And we do know for a fact the Empaths there died.”

“Still would’ve appreciated some attempt,” Aqua shrugged, before her gaze flattened. “But instead we’re quite aware that the rest of the world’s Empaths were content to leave us to our fate. An exception to the community.”

“Come oooon, like we would have been any different in their shoes.” Demyx said, sticking his pinky in his ear and cleaning it a bit, “I don’t know about you guys, but empath or not, I am not a soldier. I hate sparring, I hate handling weapons, I hate dying in glorious attempts to rescue strangers from government compounds. I wouldn’t have come to save us.”

“I think I would have.” Sora said, “At least, I like to think so.”

“Well, you’re a go-getter type. Me? Not so much.” Demyx shrugged. 

“...yeah, I probably wouldn’t have rescued us either.” Axel admitted, shrugging, “Not unless I knew someone on the inside. Too big a risk to not have something in it for me. Hell, it’s not like I risked myself to save my friends when I knew they were about to get caught and thrown into the dungeons. Some of them are probably still down there. I’m not going to go get them, the poor jackasses…”

“That feels a little different. Those are criminals. They’re there for a reason.” Kairi said.

“Sure. Same as we were indentured, in the factories for a reason,” Luis said, rolling his eyes, “It’s all subjective. Who’s worth saving, who deserves what they got, who’s a victim… I don’t think I’d have gone into that factory if me mother was locked up in there. Not when I was a wee lad with a head full of hot air, definitely not now, knowing what was inside. I’d have left me to my fate. I’d feel more shame not to admit it.”

Aeleus closed his eyes. There was no shame in a lost battle. If you had done your best, if you had prepared all you could, being outdone was simply part of a life of conflict. But also, “You can’t ask people to fight battles they can’t win. You can’t ask people to die, and expect enthusiastic participation across the board.” 

Because if Empaths knew about the factories, knew that there were Empaths inside to save in the first place? Then they knew how the factory Empaths had been caught. How the factory had managed to prevent their escape. And with odds like those…Aeleus did not blame others for not coming to their aid. It took a specific kind of person to wage a losing war. And another to believe that that war would not be lost. 

They had needed a Maki Harukawa, and even not being an Empath herself, she had still saved them. 

(Aeleus didn’t discuss it with Ienzo, not since he had been very young, since he knew it upset him, but when they had first heard tales of Maki’s victory…the thought had crossed Aeleus’ mind. If Maki would have fought the factory sooner, if she had known.)

“Well, we are free now,” 6 reminded the now dour group. “Unless someone has an anger boner they want to get out of their system, there’s no point in dwelling on what if’s. We’re out. We’re getting help now. And…it seems we can simply join the rest of the community whenever we want.”

“Well, that’s at least one bright side to all of this,” Dilan said, stretching his arms over his head and popping some of his back muscles, “Look, if we’re all done here? I was enjoying a good book before this. Some smutty detective novels. I’d like to get back to seeing if the noble lady knows who was standing at the clocktower at midnight, and or decides to sleep with the detective.”

“Ew, gross.” Sora said, sticking out his tongue, “Why would you want to read that?”

“You’ll understand when you’re older.” Dilan snickered, getting up and heading to the stairs.

“Have we decided on Ienzo next, then? I can inform the Ouma.” Kairi said.

“It seems so,” 6 shrugged Ienzo’s shoulders. “Considering the other trials, I assume I have little say in the matter, but I’ll try to make it easy.”

“Maybe don’t try too hard,” Lauriam smirked, “Might take all the fun out of catching the brainiac off guard for once.”

-

“Now, I don’t want you to think it’s because I don’t want to be bothered.” Dr. Mariah said, “But it has occurred to me that we might want to risk bringing Miss Crystal into the loop.”

“Oh yeah?” Kaito asked, chewing on some fries, “Why?”

Dr. Mariah looked around the diner Kaito had asked to go to, looking a little out of place among the hustle and bustle of breakfast and lunch style foods going to and fro as happy families, loud couples and even louder older couples trying to hear each other all talked in the booths around them. All that noise somehow still not competing with the gaggle of kids outside the diner playing in the snow, a few who, apparently, recognized Kaito and had waved at him, and then licked the windows to try to gross him out before being chased off by the diner hostess.

“I just get the sense that you wish you could talk to her about this sort of thing.” Dr. Mariah finally said. 

“I guess so. We do talk about a lot of really important stuff, and sometimes I’ll word things to be kind of like what I really wanna talk about, but… yeah, it can be hard to not talk about the stuff really bothering me, these days.” Kaito admitted. “But Miss Crystal probably wouldn’t understand.”

“She might understand more than you think. You do know those stones she gives out are functional, yes?”

“...you mean in the sense that polishing them is a useful habit?” Kaito asked.

“I mean in the sense that spending a lot of time with those particular crystal and stones, for certain people, genuinely does improve energy imbalances.” Dr. Mariah explained, “The one you’re always holding in your hand to soothe your anxiety? Is literally for sleep issues and anxiety. It’s essentially a stone that’s meant to calm you, even outside of the ritual you’ve put around it.”

“...shut the fuck up, no its not.” Kaito said, pulling out the stone and looking it over, “Is it? Wait, so the polish thing isn’t a thing?”

“No, it is. She’s basically just doing double duty with those crystals of hers. Giving you a task with it gives you the mental space you need to back away from something bothering you and soothe yourself, while the actual stone property itself, if kept near you, radiates a small but very much physical and present calming energy. Do you know what your stone is called in some circles?”

“...pretty?” Kaito asked, looking at the gentle blue and purple.

“A worry stone.” Dr. Mariah said, “Otherwise known as a moon stone. And it’s very much what one would consider ‘magical’.”

Kaito squinted at the stone in his hand. He had been polishing it for so long now, a part of him really wanted to insist it was just a pretty stone and that was all… but okay, look, he was a bit of a dork, he could admit he was a little delighted to hear, “Really?? Moon?” He asked, lighting up a little, “I’ve been carrying around a stone based on the moon this whole time to represent my husbands? That’s so cute. I’m adorable. I love that.”

“I didn’t realize it was meant to represent your husbands. You’re right, that is cute.” Dr. Mariah agreed, smiling as the two received their coffees from the waiter. “So, yes, I think we should bring Miss Crystal up to speed with you. I think it’ll go better than you realize. But, for now… it’s usually bad when someone schedules with me but starts with ‘it’s not an emergency, but…’. What did Kokichi mean?”

“...ugh,” Kaito groaned, rubbing his temple.

“A strong start.” Dr. Mariah said.

“...well, we think we know– we meaning me and my husbands–why I have such an aversion to supernatural things? Ghosts, specifically. Hell, almost exclusively,” Kaito said, “...and it’s not a big deal, but it has made me realize that I’ve really refused to let myself think about something that’s been kinda weighing on me…”

“May I guess?” Dr. Mariah asked.

“Sure, but if you guess my libido, you’re going to feel soooo dumb.”

“Actually, we’ve discussed your issues with your high sexuality quite a bit, which is why I know it’s not that,” Dr. Mariah said, “And out of everything we talk about, there’s two big things you struggle to discuss at length to this day: your parents, and Tengan.”

“........yeah,” Kaito frowned, “Well, no, I told you about Tengan.”

“You did. We spent one session where you admitted how far the abuse went. I think at one point we discussed your fears over how much of your identity is attributed to him, but we didn’t go into that nearly as much as a fear like that would require.” Dr. Mariah said, “And getting you to admit any of that had taken basically a bombardment of strong-arming from your family and, admittedly, me a bit. Your parents, Tengan… I think maybe anyone who had any serious impact in raising you, you struggle to talk about. I don’t even hear about the good ones very often.”

“Well, we’re busy during the sessions a lot.” Kaito frowned, “I mean, we just went into all that stuff about Maki and Shuichi’s mentors, that’s taken a while, and it’s important–”

“I’m not saying our sessions haven’t been fruitful. I am saying getting you to talk about how you were raised is still quite an effort.” Dr. Mariah said, “You’ll talk about friends and childhood stories independent of who raised you and ex’s and people you had crushes on or admired or vendettas against all day, if I let you. You’ll talk about Byakuya and Kaede. Maki and Shuichi. But parental figures? Never…which is glaring when at least one of them was abusing you within the literal last year, and the other two died at the same time as that was happening.”

“...” Kaito stared unhappily at his plate of fries, “...I mean, all of that was really recent. It makes sense that it’s hard to talk about.”

“It does.”

“.....did I ever tell you about General Juuzo?” Kaito asked, sipping at his coffee.

Dr. Mariah tapped at her journal in her dress pocket, “Once. You used him as an example of Submission Bows.”

“Right, yeah.” Kaito frowned, looking away, “Our relationship was complicated, in kind of how uncomplicated it was. Officially, he was my mentor. As in, he was my publicly acknowledged mentor. If I succeeded or failed in the military career? He was considered a factor in that. His mentorship officially started when I was sixteen, but in truth he was doing little mentorship things since I was little. I think…” Kaito took a small, frustrated breath, “I think he knew things weren’t going to work out for me. Technically I could have still succeeded as an heir until I was 11, but I think he saw the writing on the wall way before everything happened, that I wasn’t going to make it. Same with Priestess Meruko, who I consider my first un-official mentor. She guided me through a lot of my early religious exploration, and while she wasn’t cruel about it, looking back at it, I get the sense that she also knew I was doomed…”

“What made you ‘doomed’?” Dr. Mariah asked, “What sign do you feel like they were seeing?”

“Tengan.” Kaito said softly, “Tengan decided what my life was going to be like from the very start, and I think Juuzo and Meruko both recognized that. My priestess would tell me not to listen to him, would hide me in the temple when he came looking for me, get into these little arguments with him that I didn’t understand as a kid but I could recognize how tense they were together. I think at one point Priestess Meruko was trying to scare him away from me, but… there was an incident at the temple, and she died.” Kaito said, squeezing his hands together tightly, before picking up his stone, rubbing it a little, “...I uh… I killed the guy who killed her. Sort of. No, I did… sort of.”

“Go on.” Dr. Mariah said gently, when Kaito trailed off, clearly lost in his own head.

“...yeah, I… so I was 8? I was 8. Um… Priestess Merry, what I called her, she got into this big fight with Tengan and she told me that… I wasn’t going to spend any more time with him, and then…” Kaito stared at the stone, “...yeah, and then some guy came into the temple to rob it? It happens, the temples always have expensive decorations and holy items hanging around. And my priestess was there when it happened and the robbery went bad and he killed her and that was that…” Kaito bit his lower lip, “...Shuichi proved he was there. He proved it, it was one of the first cases he ever had, and it wasn’t really his case, it was Miss Kirigiri’s, but Shuichi found the evidence that proved the man had been there. That was how I had first heard about Shuichi, I hadn’t met the new detective protege by that point. Shuichi found the evidence that proved the guy was there, and I believe him.”

“...but.” Dr. Mariah said.

“Hah! Ahh…but,” Kaito said, chewing on another fry, saying through it, “But, the evidence only really proved that the guy robbed the temple? And not… I mean… he had to have, right? Killed Priestess Merry? I mean… I killed him, so…”

“You were 8,” Dr. Mariah said, “And you’ve talked a little bit about this before too. If I recall, someone had to help you lift the blade you executed him with. In front of an audience, including your parents and Tengan.”

“The general helped me lift it.” Kaito said softly, “He told me to breathe and just hold onto it. That the sword would do all the work.”

“That doesn’t sound like you killing anyone, Kaito.” Dr. Mariah said, “That sounds like you being manipulated and used as part of a show. And whatever evidence Shuichi found? I’m certain he was just trying his best, as another child in an impossible situation.”

“Yeah.” Kaito said in a breath, closing his eyes, “...I know, alright? I’m not stupid. It’s not like… I never put this all together before.”

“I know, Kaito.” Dr. Mariah said, “But you’re someone for whom life didn’t reward you very often for thinking too hard about things or calling out inconsistencies when you saw them. Acknowledging hard truths for you just led to harsher punishments. It’s not surprising you struggle to talk about the people who raised you, the things you saw or the things they did. That was how you were raised… but it’s not healthy for you, to hold onto that secrecy now, with everyone involved in it dead.”

“Yeah… yeah…” Kaito laughed weakly, “They’re literally all dead, every one of them… I get a little dizzy when I think about that. General Juuzo died with the Luminary Party. Mom in her dressing room, Dad off the war-tower, Priestess Merry in temple, Head Secretary Tengan… who knows.” Kaito sighed, “In his head? Doesn’t matter. They all died. And now I’m just left with all these shitty memories and weird, like, personality things, because of them, wondering what the point of it all was… it’s funny. I feel like I should have been this important, like, main character in all of their lives. Like it all should have been about me… but hell, for all I know, Tengan and Merry just hated each other to start with, and I was just another aspect of that.” 

“Juuzo was assigned to come with the party, and it’s not really anything to do with me that the party headed to Danganronpa,” Kaito reasoned out, “And Byakuya was always going to do what he did, eventually. Maybe I sped up the timeline, hell, maybe I didn’t. But it was always going to happen. And Tengan… if not me, one of his victims would have eventually caused his end. I wasn’t exclusive. He was shitty to lots of people. Basically almost everyone.”

“Does it make you feel better to think you couldn’t have affected their fates?” Dr. Mariah asked.

“Opposite. I’m annoyed,” Kaito admitted with a small, tired grin, “If they were going to all go soooo far out of their way to make my life so hard? I would love to feel responsible for how their lives went. Except my mentors, I just like to think I could have made their lives a little better, in the end. No, what annoys me is how little I probably mattered in all of it. I was just a side effect to other things going on, and that sucks. I’d rather it have been personal.’

“That’s fair. We have discussed before that you prefer to be in problems with other people, rather than a mistake someone made. Mistakes feel cosmically cruel. Pointed attacks are understandable.” 

“Yeah, exactly,” Kaito said, taking another sip of his coffee, “...so, the ghost thing, I guess, after talking about avoiding things…”

“I don’t think we’re avoiding talking about the issue. All of this was connected. That’s why it came up. It’s the most I’ve gotten you to talk about your childhood all at once, really,” Dr. Mariah said, “The bits that you need to talk about, I mean.”

“Right… okay. Okay. Okay, so…” Kaito pressed his hands together, brow furrowing, “...you know, a part of me hates talking about this, because there’s just so much of it. It feels endless. Like if I chip at any one bit of it, it’s going to just… take forever. And I’m going to be miserable the entire time. It makes me really want to avoid it.”

“Understandable,” Dr. Mariah said, “Summarize.”

“...oh, uh,” Kaito blinked. Summarize? What would summarizing even sound like? “...Tengan’s influence on my life makes me worry that there’s no aspect of myself that isn’t directly due to him. My phobias might have been me rationalizing what he was doing to me. My sex drive might be literally from him grooming me. My family loyalty comes from him wanting me to be loyal to Byakuya. My faith, the good and bad of all of that, from hearing voices from the pollen he dosed me with. Even my life now is ripple effects of things he did: Kokichi bonded with me because Tengan targeted him. Shuichi got pregnant because Tengan targeted him. Tim and Miyako are only my children because of Tengan’s actions–”

“Tim?” Dr. Mariah asked.

“I adopted him to protect him from Tengan, when it came out that Tim was my would-be assassin.” Kaito explained, “I took a lot of comfort that I was designed with a purpose by Atua… but I feel more like a product of Tengan. Who had no purpose in mind for me beyond having fun making me… a personal punching bag, really. So talking about it in detail feels so overwhelming, because Tengan feels like… literally everything. My whole life. All of me. It all goes back to him.”

“I see…” Dr. Mariah closed her eyes, thinking, “...you need to tackle this with Miss Crystal.”

“What? Really?” Kaito asked, frowning, “Just hold off till I can talk to someone else about it?”

“I’m not being dismissive, Kaito, I’m keeping your best interest in mind,” Dr. Mariah explained, “Because I’m inclined to agree with you. That’s a substantial thing to dissect and work through. I don’t feel like the reality of your life really is all attributed to Tengan, not really. But showing you the truth of that will take so much more than I can give you in a single session. More than that, Miss Crystal is good at working through your life with you. I’ve been admiring her progress with you for a year, you’ve made remarkable strides in what I don’t think you quite realize is a shockingly quick timeframe. For whatever reason you want to attribute to it, you and Miss Crystal clicked in a way that’s actually a bit unusual for first time therapists, Kaito. It takes most people a lot more searching and trial and error to slot with a therapist this neatly. Whatever is happening with you? Even without having all the context, so far, Miss Crystal has proven that she understands you.” 

“...well, so do you though?” Kaito pointed out.

“Me? I understand how you fit into your family and the dynamics you have with them. But individually? You’re a tricky case, Kaito.” Dr. Mariah shrugged, “In some ways, I’d love to take you as a one on one client, because I’d love to dig into your mind and learn from your case… but that would be selfish. Miss Crystal is a better fit. She’s going to know how to help, from the beginning. So I will say it again… we need to bring her into the loop.”

Kaito slowly nodded. Alright… okay. 

He’d tell Miss Crystal.

-

Kokichi could say it about a lot of holidays, really, and a lot of seasons, but he loved Unity. And while last year had been incredible, such a show of love and community from all his family coming by to celebrate while he was sick, this year?

Kokichi practically skipped across the entry hall, a soundtrack of winter songs hummed all the way down from his room as he beamed at the Unity tree, all the way to the dining hall. And his first recipient in clear sight. 

“Happy Unity, Tim!” Kokichi cheered as he met with his step-son at a table. With a bright smile, he presented a thin, rectangular wrapped box, which, when unwrapped, would be a honestly very nice maple wood box with a thin slit two-thirds up, showing it to be more of a case than a box. And in the case, held and cushioned by dark green velvet, were eight…symbols. One looked a little like a metal nut, another like a bell with a striped hoop around it, one like two hands firmly clasped…

Tim had been eating a hearty breakfast of ham, bacon, more ham, and in case his dad came around the tiniest portion of fruit pushed to the side, and a muffin, when he had said through a mouthful of ham, “Her’wo, Uncl’w ‘Oichi.” Before swallowing and saying more politely, “Happy Unity.”

Chase, who had been cheerfully working on some bacon bits at his feet, had bounded up and, her tail shaking her whole body, went to go lean happily against Kokichi as she panted. DAD! DAD, UNCLE KOKICHI IS HERE! DAD LOOK! 

Tim’s eyes had widened slightly in curious wonder at getting what he’d realize later was his first gift of the day, taking it and opening it up quickly but carefully… before tilting it side to side, giving it an increasingly bewildered look. 

“......” Timothy’s training and his parents voices filling his head with ‘Be Nice’ compelled him to say, “Thank you,” in a tone of voice filled with, ‘what the hell is this’? “For the… box?”

Though, mid-thanking, he saw a small line in the side and, realizing, oh, it opened, he pushed it open–

Once he’d handed off the box, Kokichi half-squatted down, greeting Chase with some loving ear scritches. “And happy Unity to you too, Chase! Aw, good girl, good morning…”

Though he looked back up with a soft, amused breath, seeing Tim’s clear confusion. And still excited, though with some sheepishness, he explained, “I know you don’t remember it well, but…well, you still earned a lot of these, and I’d say that saving the city is well worth Pokemon League recognition.”

Smiling softer, he continued, “In the dream, there were these challenges, eight in the region, where you’d challenge a pokemon gym and its leader usually for some kind of activity and then a battle, and when you won you’d earn a badge, recognizing your accomplishments. I did my best to recreate the badges so you’d have your own set…”

“...the vast majority of people in Usott will never know what you did for them, you, Mike, the girls…” Kokichi gave his step-son a proud look, “And saving everyone is worth more than this, I’ll admit, but I thought it was a nice way to commemorate it. Even if they don’t mean much here, you’re still a Champion to me.”

Tim, briefly, genuinely, had no idea what his uncle was talking about, and was going to nod his head like he did and thank his uncle for the gift because he wasn’t going to be a little snot about it…

…but when his uncle explained, little, distorted flashes of memory came back. Not much. Just little things. Trees that went up and up and up that he had both felt free in, and somehow also wanted to escape. A tapestry blowing in the wind, advertising some sort of… dojo? His mom, looking stern, but contemplative, in a way that made Tim feel like he could suddenly do anything he set his mind to, because it had occurred to her as well, as she handed him… something…

Lightly, Tim ran his thumb over the metal shine of the fisted locked hands badge. 

“Thank you, Uncle Kokichi.” Tim said more sincerely this time, looking over the badges… before asking curiously, with absolute certainty in the question, “How did I earn yours?”

Kokichi smiled a little brighter. He knew there was a chance the kids wouldn’t really care about the badges at all--they could barely remember the dream, after all. But…they had saved his life. His family’s life, the city’s life… And that was worth, at the very, very least, recognition, even if it had to be more secretive. 

…but he had hoped that Tim would like them anyway.

Laughing softly, Kokichi gave his step-son a teasing look. “Saving the city. Unfortunately, you guys never made it to my gym before everyone got involved saving ourselves, which is a real shame since my gym was a whole circus. Literally.”

Smile growing fond, he recounted, “I usually had challengers take part in a circus act. Not during a regular show, though there was still a different kind of audience for gym challenges. But whatever someone thought they were best at, or just wanted to try--juggling, tightrope walking, I really loved when someone wanted to be part of the clown act, since that’s what I did in the regular show… The point wasn’t to be incredible at it, or to get the biggest reactions from the crowd.”

“It was just…to sincerely try something new,” Kokichi said softly, “To take a step back from the ‘battle’ aspect of living with pokemon and explore something completely different.” He snorted, rolling his eyes a little. “Then of course we’d have a battle right after, but I like to think they were more fun after the challenge.”

Nodding, he pointed to the bell and hoop badge. “This one was mine. The Whimsy Badge.”

“Oooooh,” Tim said, looking at the bell and hoop badge, tilting his head slightly. He supposed earning it by saving a city was pretty impressive, but… that wasn’t how you usually earned Uncle Kokichi’s badge, huh? 

The other kids were going to come over to hang out for Unity. Tim knew what he was going to pitch they do today. 

-

If there was family home, the Inuzuka house was rarely quiet. And on Unity, a day meant to celebrate the community bonds you had with others? It meant it was a damn cacophony in the house. It was still early enough that the whole pack wasn’t over yet, and that Kiba was in the kitchen, loudly singing winter songs to a chorus of dogs joining in…along with rowdy twins who’d slept over the night before and were enjoying the song, but more eagerly sneaking food from Kiba’s prep every time he lost vigilance. 

It was a lot, so Tsume didn’t think they’d be missed much as she nudged Arven’s arm, from his early-morning delivered gift, tilting her head away from the kitchen and living room with a request. “Sit with me for a sec, hotshot?”

Arven had spent all morning cooking.

Like, COOKING, cooking. Snow still layered outside, some still frosting down from the sky, Arven was wearing a tanktop and shorts, a thick layer of sweat on him and his hair pulling back into a frizzy ponytail as a bandana was tied around his forehead as a sweatrag to protect his eyes as he went to work. Not just making breakfast for the family, but prepping food for the rest of the day as well, meats simmering in slow-cooking pots for dinner, pastas with a dozen layers baking for lunch, soooo many pans actively bubbling around him as he finished putting on some of the decorative frostings for the pastries. 

He had started before the sun rose and had really only just gotten to a point where he could walk away from the kitchen without something boiling over and burning, as he nodded, following Tsume, leaving everything still cooking on low flames. “What’s up?”

Leaving the noise of family to…be muffled, at least, Tsume handed Arven an iced coffee (one of the few food items she could make actually pretty well), affectionately ruffling Arven’s hair over the bandana. “Kiba mentioned way back when, that you’d asked about how taking care of a puppy was.”

Sitting on a cushioned chest, patting the spot for Arven too, she sipped at her own coffee. “Sure you’ve figured it out now, if he didn’t tell you before, that it’s a right of passage for the Inuzuka to raise an inuken. A lifelong partner, at least for one of you, a responsibility to the well-being of another. ‘Course, Chief’s already all those things for ya, and his breed don’t change that.”

“But I wanted to propose it--how about you and Chief think about taking on a protege?”

Arven had smiled lightly at the hair ruffling, sipping at his–much appreciatedly iced– coffee as he leaned into her hand a little.

(If Kiba was a type of dog that bounced and got excited and whined and expressed with the whole of his body in every given moment, Arven was one that appreciated all the same little things Kiba did, but slowly and slightly reserved. In some ways, that was a massive factor in why, despite feeling so protective of Doppio and arguing with Kaito so much, Arven still had found himself a little attached to that relationship: he…kinda liked random head pats. And being both obnoxiously praised while also absolutely being ready to throw down and fight, playfully or otherwise. Kaito was Arven’s first experience towards that lifestyle.)

(But the Inukuza family did all of that, times a thousand. Every small little bit of physically expressing themselves and aggressive affection that Arven had gotten a taste of with Kaito, was unabashed and relentless here. And while Arven was still in many ways learning to trust it… he did like it. A lot.)

But what Tsume brought up next… Arven’s eyes widened, “Woah.”

“...um, but I don’t really know how to train a dog the way you guys do,” Arven worried a little, biting his lower lip a bit with his canine tooth, “I didn’t really train Chief at all, he just kind of grew up alongside me. I’m not sure how good at it I’d be?”

Tsume snorted, amused, and lightly pushed Arven with her shoulder. “That boy’s one of the better judges of strength I’ve seen, his protective instincts are honed, and he loves ya more than anything, kiddo. Doing your thing was perfect.”

“And I’m not asking you guys to go as far as what Kiba and Akamaru do. A pack doesn’t function when everyone has the same skills. I’m asking you two to think about if you want to bring up some pup…and, c’mon.” She gave him a fanged grin. “You think it’d just be the two of you? You’re getting help and unsolicited advice whether you want it or not, hotshot, perk of being in a family where no one minds their own damn business.”

“It’s not something to decide right now,” she tempered a bit, “Puppy season isn’t ‘til spring, and even then ya gotta let the pups have mama time. But if it’s something you do opt for, then you’ll be helpin’ me out with all that to get a little more practical experience before it’s your day to day. Ain’t about bein’ good--we’ll make ya good by the time I’m through with ya,” she cackled.

A puppy for him and Chief to raise…

Arven realized, after a moment, that he was hesitating for the same reason he had never gotten a puppy before this. It wasn’t just Chief he loved, he did love dogs in general. And in an empty house with often no close friends, or on long trips alone, he had sometimes thought it’d be nice to get another companion…

…but as Chief had gotten older, gotten sicker, each time Arven had thought of a puppy had felt like a betrayal. Like he was trying to replace Chief. When nothing in the world could have replaced his friend… Arven preferring to run across the country chasing myths and legends, than even consider getting a new dog instead.

Some part of him still felt a gut-punch of guilt at the idea. How dare he get a new dog, Chief was right there…

But Chief seemed so much happier now, with other dogs around. Even after being healed by the medicine, nothing had seemed to energize or strengthen his friend more than being around a bunch of other dogs, all the time. Now it occurred to Arven that maybe Chief had been feeling the pressure of their isolation too. Both of them needing more than just each other in their lives.

“...okay,” Arven decided, grinning nervously, “With everyone’s help? We can probably raise a puppy. I’ll do it.”

“Eyyyy, that’s my boy!” Tsume cheered, putting an arm around Arven’s shoulders and jostling him. “Ain’t no shame in recognizing your limit, but you got guts, hotshot, and I believe in ya.”

She gave him a surreptitious look and a wink, putting a finger to her lips. “Still wantcha to focus on your studies, but when there’s a spring day too perfect to spend in a classroom? I’ll vouch for ya and getcha some experience at the care center. Try not to brag to Kiba about it too much.”

Arven puffed up a bit, nodding determinedly, “I won’t let you down.”

And Arven might have said more, had there not been a sudden whistling sound from the kitchen and, gasping, Arven shot up and shouted, “Who put the lid back on one of the pots!? It needs to air!!!” before bolting to the kitchen. 

-

Arven, after asking a bunch of people what would make a good gift for his boyfriend on their first Unity together, had gotten a mix of responses, but the number one thing had always been ‘make it something sentimental’.

Which Arven found… difficult. 

He wasn’t a very sentimental kind of guy, at least when it came to items or, well, really other people. Outside of literally Chief, there had never been anything Arven had grown up either hyper-attached to, nor had he really witnessed that sort of sentimentality in anyone else, because, well, there hadn’t been many people in Arven’s life. 

At one point, he had floated the idea to Amaina, “I could get him cooking alcohol?”

O.O 

OoO what?

“Because… that’s how we met?” Arven had tried reasoning out, feeling less and less certain at Amaina’s blank stare, “It’s… cute?”

O.O

OoO baby king if you get little senpai a seasoning for a gift IMMA FIGHT YOU

OOO GET SOMETHING NICE YOU DOOFUS

“What’s nice?? Aceto doesn’t even like nice things, he’s not all that fancy! Should I get him a frog to pet??”

OOO I’LL PET YOUR FACE WITH A FROG OF STONE

“Gah!” Arven had whined, throwing his head into his hands, “I don’t know??? His family is already getting him every stuffed animal under the sun, would another stuffed animal work?”

OvO I’m sure he’d love anything you got him.

“... but–?”

OOO HE’S ALREADY GOT A THOUSAND STUFFED ANIMALS USE YOUR HEAD SENPAI

“Well, what would you get him!?”

OoO oh I’m gonna give him a really nice dream where he gets to go on an adventure through Hyrule.

O.O

OvO you’re gonna be in a skin-tight Sheikah suit that shows off the booty

Arven had squinted at her, pouting a bit–how was he supposed to compete with that??--before suddenly tilting his head. Wait, yeah… he and Doppio both bonded over the Hyrule stories… maybe…

…where could you even get something like that?

-

Turns out, if you asked the right questions and were willing to shop around for, just, waaaaay too long, you COULD in fact find ‘something like that’ in the market, as bashfully, that afternoon, he and Aceto met up at the park to exchange gifts. “Here, it’s a little dumb, but… well, I hope you like it.” he said, handing Doppio his gift-box. 

Watching Doppio open it, Arven shuffled the snow beneath his heels a bit, before explaining before Doppio had a chance to comment, “I don’t know, because you’re, uhhhh, you’re my hero or something?” He murmured bashfully, kicking the snow a bit, “But also because you’re all sort of forest–y and because you’re kind of… I mean, this is not a totally one-for-one comparison, but your stuff is kind of like the Kokiri Children? Like, you’re this amazing, magical, ageless spirit that came from the woods and changed my life but also I don’t really know if you like instruments, and I don’t expect you to learn or anything, it could just be a nice decoration, and–”

Flushed lightly and with a bright grin, Doppio pulled Arven into a hug, turning his head after a moment to kiss Arven’s cheek. “I love it, thank you.”

Squeezing Arven for another moment, Doppio only then pulled back, grinning down at the blue ocarina with pleased wonder. “It looks just like the illustration from Kaito’s book… Where did you even find this?” Unable to help himself, Doppio brought the ocarina up and blew a tentative little note through it, looking exceptionally pleased. 

Though he looked a little more amused when he looked up, nodding for Arven to open his gift. “It does make me feel a little silly about your gift, though.” Not that he thought it was a bad gift now, but if it turned out Amaina had played them both to stick on theme…

“It was a music shop, actually, but someone I was about to buy a normal ocarina for realized why I was buying it and directed me to this place, because they sell, like, novelty instruments in the back.”

He tilted his head curiously at Doppio’s explanation, taking his gift and, excitedly–gift! From Doppio!!--opening it up. 

It took Arven a second to comprehend what he was looking at. At first just, oooooh, pretty arrows, he did have a thing for bows and arrows these days… but then his eyes widened as he realized, “OH! Oh, Aceto, these are cool! Ooooh, these are going to look so cool on my wall!” 

Arven took out the arrows one by one, looking them over one by one: one themed like an Ice Arrow, blue with little hints of frost in its end, one obviously a Fire One, red with little hints of flame and charcoal in its paint, and the last a Light one, which was golden and its ends were actually see through, reflecting the light of the sun, which Arven though was clever… before he looked closer and realized, “Wait, are these functional?? Can I use these on my bow?”

“Oh wow…” Doppio wondered if Dante knew about that place. He loved the ocarina, as a gift from Arven, and a reference from…really, the first real story he knew, and one that he shared a love for with friends. But as an instrument? Doppio hadn’t really considered playing music before, but after getting to know his dad more, listening to Dante answer questions Doppio had about all the instruments in their house, listening to him play… Doppio found himself kind of…excited? To try and learn something. 

He’d see if the copies of Link’s Adventures at the library had the music diagrams like Kaito’s copy did…and probably just ask Kaito if he could copy them if not. 

Perking up at Arven ‘oohed’ over his gift, Doppio smiled brightly, before nodding. “Yupp! I-I mean they would still look cool on a wall, but Unity is supposed to be more than just gift-giving, right? So I wanted to get you something you could use too. The fletcher said that they should be pretty durable, so you wouldn’t have to worry about damaging them.”

Doppio tilted his head to the side and let his gaze drift up as he soon amended, “...unless you’re shooting into a stone wall over and over, I guess? Or trying to break one over a knee? Like, they’re not indestructible, but they should be comparable to regular arrows, I mean…”

“I’m not going to shoot your cool gift into a stone wall,” Arven said, still looking over the arrows pleasantly, “...I am going to shoot them into a target though. That's going to look so cool. I can’t wait to try these out, I sort of want to do it now, honestly…” Arven lit up, looking over at Doppio, “Wanna come shoot arrows with me? Just for a bit, I know you gotta head home soon.”

“Absolutely!” Doppio cheered, before laughing softly. “Yeah… I would invite you, but it sounds like things are going down big time at your house. Cugino Matteo said he was gonna teach me to skate, so I’m just dropping stuff off at home, more than anything.” His eyes narrowed a little. “...well, he said he was going to teach me how to sprint and dodge on ice, but…skating’s kinda part of that.”

“Oh, that sounds intense. You’ll have to show me what you learned after,” Arven said, the two heading out of the park and back towards Arven’s place, chatting excitedly about the rest of their Unity day plans.

Looming, far above, hair blowing majestically in the wind, Amaina watched them go.

Fu-fu-fu, all according to Keikaku… now BOTH senpai’s were primed for Hyrule dream shenanigans… they’re going to be SO excited for Hyrule stuff now… which means Amaina was going to WIN AT UNITY!! MUWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Alright, that stage done, time to go harass her chibi friends. 

-

For all of his performance shy nature and his reserved mannerism in the day to day, it was easy to forget that Timothy was literally rewarded drummers highest honor because he was so damn effective at adjusting on the fly and rapidly organizing in direct assistance to literal generals. 

Meaning to say, if Tim decided he was going to both put on a show for his parents, and also organize an event for all of his friends to have fun in, at the same time on the same day it occurred to him? Tim was going to get that done. It wasn’t even hard.

So, after recruiting and organizing his friends, hassling a few adults in the castle to help him decorate and find resources–Kirumi, Sei and IQ specifically, because Tim knew how to use guilt as a leverage too–before finding Miss Kawaii and asking her help in wrangling all of the adults, he had scurried off downstairs, wanting everything to be prepped by the time the audience had arrived.

As Kaito, Maki, Kokichi, Shuichi, Tsumugi, Elia, and Ikuo–Tim had really only meant to invite his parents and uncles, but Elia and Ikuo had both been around and it felt meanspirited to leave them out when they were literally hanging out with the parents, and some of the other kids had wanted to invite their own families too–all followed Haneda down into the basement, Kaito asked, “So, did he explain to you what’s going on, Haneda?”

Mike didn’t have much excitement over Unity, but he had thought about coming over to the castle anyway. Getting the message from Tim that he had a plan? Mike was so there. 

…and because of the fact that Tim said there was some sort of reward, and Mike was not above being bribed. 

Bianka hadn’t needed to be, but she had asked to delay for a little bit. The Trussen family had had a great Unity breakfast together, but they had all made the trek across town to the castle before Bianka had even heard from Tim, planning to make use of the phone room. It was a little hard to schedule, since she was traveling, but they managed to arrange a proper time to call Cheri’s mom, and even for her friends, Bianka wasn’t missing out on a chance to talk with Clara. 

But once that was over? It was showtime. 

“Sort of,” Haneda hummed, going down the stairs, “But I’m not about to ruin the surprise. You’ll see soon enough.”

“Well, I’m just plain excited. It’s always so sweet when the kids put something together, isn’t it Doris?” Tsumugi said, looking over her shoulder to the other gaggle of adults filing in behind her. “And… others! Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to meet everyone yet, I get so busy!”

Medli–in her human disguise–smiled lightly, “I’m a family friend, but all of my family live in a different town, so I’m spending it with the Teavee’s this year.”

“Just darling,” Doris perkily said. Honestly she couldn’t believe it, hearing that Mike had put something together with the other kids to show their families, and she was a little…wary. But Mike’s friends were bright, friendly, a-a little rambunctious, but ultimately normal kids so…she had hope. “Oh, and this is Medli, Tsumugi! We’re fortunate you decided to spend the holiday with us, Medli, I’m sure it’ll mean the world to Mike for you to see…whatever this is too!”

Elia had plans with her own family later, but was greatly enjoying spending her first Unity with Maki during the first part of the day. And seeing the characters of Tim’s friends’ families was pretty amusing too. Maki had mentioned Doris Teavee before but…wow. 

Smiling at her girlfriend, Elia wagered, “How likely do you think it is we’re getting a play? It does seem to be their signature, though this being Tim’s idea feels like a curveball.”

“I have to imagine putting together an impromptu play is challenging, but they’ve been known to just throw together skits on the fly.” Maki said, huffing slightly in a mixture of amusement and exasperation, “My guess? We’re about to watch an improv.”

“I’m just curious what they wanted Miyako for.” Shuichi said, “They only picked her up about twenty minutes ago, so whatever it is, she wasn’t around for ‘rehearsal’, if they’ve done one.”

“Well, Bianka hasn’t been here very long either, so maybe Maki’s right and Miya’s just been added to the improv?” Kaito mused, looking back over at Lio through the crowd, “Unless Bianka’s been practicing something?”

Not that there was much time to answer. The family was milling about at the bottom of the staircase, waiting to be let into the rest of the basement. And just as Kaito had asked, Cali had peeked her head in, saying, “When the last person comes in, turn on the light switch!” Before hurrying back in.

“You heard the lass! Last person in line is on switch duty!” Kaito called back, “Everyone else, watch your step!” 

Lio had opened his mouth, but just gave Kaito a shrug once Cali’s message had been given. Bianka had been practicing something alright, but Lio wasn’t really sure it was for this. He had only been able to sigh and smile that morning as Bianka opened her gift from her sisters. A pair of full-calf leg weights… For as much as he’d been worried about Bianka’s interest in his old fighting styles, it seemed that Cheri and Nela were fully encouraging about it. Nela had even pointed out that the regular skating trips to the pond Bianka went on with Tim’s family could be good resistance training. 

He just hoped that Bianka had better sense than to practice kicking things in half than on their furniture. 

Last in line, a little amused by the considering look Kokichi had had on his face since they’d gotten Tim’s message, Ikuo gave a small warning before turning the lights on.

The basement–the same one Maki had used to teach Tim and Kokichi how to knifethrow–had been rearranged and decorated to look like… well, what it was. A make-shift, thrown together circus stage. But with various levels of decoration. 

In the center was a bucket turned upside down with a cloth with stars and bright colors laid over it, that Tim was standing on, wearing a far too big hat and a far too small cape. To the right, some of the wooden crates had been grouped together, some painted in circus colors, one with a painted, simple elephant on it. Miyako was sitting in her baby sit-up pillow on it, Chase excitedly chasing her own tail in front of it before laying down, panting excitedly. Cali standing with them, holding a rope and a hula-hoop.

To the left, Kimiko was wearing her ballerina outfit– “Oh, I didn’t realize she had a spare at the castle.” Tsumugi mused as the adults all filed in–posing near two long white clothes that Kirumi had fastened to the ceiling. 

Bianka was by two more wooden crates, a thin plank bridging the gap between them, scrunched red and orange paper on the floor under the plank. And Mike…well, Mike was off to the side, though as the adults came in and saw the ‘stage’ in its entirety, he counted out a few beats in his head before smirking. Giving Tim a nod and pressing a button on a device in his hand, a blue light spotlighting down on Tim, making him the center of attention. 

Tim hadn’t really thought his stage fright would be affected by literally just his family around… but seeing all the adults file in suddenly seemed like a much bigger deal, Tim going stiff as a rod and saying with a slightly shaky voice, “W-welcome! To the B-Baby Assassins Circus! W-where we’ll be… uh… getting badges!”

“Badges?” Kimiko whispered, while at the same time Cali gamely shouted, “YEAH! GETTING ALL THE BADGES!”

“G’YAH!” Miyako shouted in solidarity, which caused Chase to bark, putting her paws up on the crate and sniffing Miyako’s feet, who giggled. 

“Not yet, Chase, you’re not eating her yet!” Cali whisper-shouted.

Kaito’s grin twitched, “What?”

“Please take a seat! In the designated seating area! For the… the show!” Tim said, gesturing to the wall where some pillows had been put down, along with one actual chair, “The chairs for Uncle Shuichi.”

“Naturally.” Shuchi said, going to sit down in it. 

Kokichi’s eyes widened before a soft, touched smile spread across his face. He’d known that Tim liked the badges, but…to do all this… Ha, well, the badges were already well-earned, but they could do a more traditional challenge too. That was part of the fun. Catching Tim’s eye as the adults shuffled over to the cushions, Kokichi gave him a proud grin and a double thumbs up. 

Most of the adults sat in groups of their families, Nela and Cheri pulling Lio over towards the side of the room Cali and Bianka were closer too, already giving the girls a few cheers, Doris taking a daunted look at the cushions for a moment before giving Medli a grateful smile as she helped her sit on the floor without tumbling over. Haneda claimed a spot towards the center, her gaze on Tim intense but warm. 

Once everyone was settled, Mike pressed another button from an entirely different device, and a crackly-sounding drum roll started playing…behind the adults. (It had been a little rushed and scuffed to put together, but Mike had recorded Tim doing a drum roll, and then had placed speakers behind the seats when they were setting up.) And, ready for Tim’s announcement of the first act, the spotlight above him changed color.

“Oh, wow, impressive!” Tsumugi whispered to Doris, before clapping enthusiastically as Mike pushed another button and from behind the kids now, jaunty, circus music started to play. 

“We have three acts for you today.” Tim stiffly announced, gesturing to Cali’s side first, “Starting with our Beastmaster, and her young assistant, Cali and Miyako.”

Lights shifted over to Cali’s area, focusing all the attention on her, who posed and waved while Miyako looked dazed at the lightshow. “Today, I am going to regale you all with the most death-defying stunt you could POSSIBLY IMAGINE!” Cali shouted, picking up Chase by the middle and showing the dog off to the crowd as she said, “WITNESS! This terrible, frightening, wild beast! Barely contained by my grip alone!!”

Chase wagged her tail happily, tongue hanging out as she panted. Though admittedly, Cali was barely managing to hold her, Chase a bulky dog as Cali hefted her up on top of the crate next to Miyako. 

“But don’t be worried, for while I control the beast, our stunt is being done by our most daring, courageous stuntwoman, Miyako Saihara!”

“Oh no,” Kaito whispered through a tense grin, clapping, “‘Kichi, I’m gonna throw up.”

“Relax, she’ll be fine.” Maki whispered from his other side, rolling her eyes. 

Kaito knew that was very likely true… but he made a strained whining sound as Cali took Chase’s jaw and, opening her mouth, guided the dogs head over Miyako’s, who looked up at the inside of Chase’s mouth curiously. 

It was, honestly, entirely because Cali couldn’t seem to aim Chase’s head anywhere close to Miyako, the dog’s tail still wagging but her neck rock solid, refusing to bring her teeth anywhere near the baby, that kept Kaito in his seat as Cali called, “BEHOLD! SHE LIVES! THE BEAST DID NOT DEVOUR HER!!”

Doris had a restrained startle at the sudden drums, glancing around in confusion, but when Tsumugi commented on it, she was practically preening. Looking proud as she joined in on the applause. She had no idea just what her son had done, but you bet your bottom coin it was impressive!!

Giving his husband a soft look, Kokichi rubbed Kaito’s back softly…even if there really was no danger even of accident. 

Haneda nodded approvingly as she applauded. Good girl. They obviously hadn’t had Miyako in mind when they had started training Chase, but acclimating her to babies and the idea that even playing nips could hurt with things smaller than her had really paid in dividends. 

“Well done!” Kokichi called through the applause, “So brave!!”

“Bravo, bravo, okay, I’m taking my itty bitty baby now, excuse me, hello Chase, good girl, just gonna… yoink.” Kaito said, getting up and, giving the kids an encouraging grin, picking up Miyako and backing up back to the audience, “Good job, Cali, very impressive! So scary!”

Cali beamed proudly. Nailed it!!

“Over this way,” Tim said, the lights readjusting to Kimiko–the music shifting into something softer and melodic, Kimiko smiling sweetly as she immediately stood on her toes– “Kimiko, the Danger Ballerina!”

Kimiko at first just did a few ballerina moves, getting onto her pointy toes a bit and doing a little spin, looking graceful, if still very new to ballet. And then, smiling sweetly still, she grabbed the cloths hung from the roof. 

“What is she…?” Tsumugi whispered, never having seen Kimiko do anything like this.

Kimiko lifted her legs and spun on the cloth a bit, swinging back and forth to show it could hold her weight, kicking her legs out a bit… before with a breath and a “h’op!” sound, she pushed herself, pulling her legs in and then up, gracefully–and strongly–pushing herself into a handstand on the cloth. 

“Woah! Wow,” Kaito complimented, clapping with the rest of the group as Kimiko held the pose. 

“Good use of your core, Kimiko.” Maki called. 

“Thank you!” Kimiko called, still holding the pose… before she clearly started to shake in the position, “Mister Kokichi???”

Kimiko had still not figured out how one got out of that pose. 

“Wow!” Nela’s voice read as genuinely stunned and impressed--not that she or the others were really humoring the kids in the first place--as she clapped with the others, admiring Kimiko’s stunt. 

Though with a small, ‘oop’, Kokichi scuttled up to go spot Kimiko. Hands on her back, just like last time, he guided her down, giving her a proud side hug once her feet were on solid ground again. “Incredible performance, Kimiko.”

Rejoining the audience, the lights and music shifted once again at Tim’s call, the tone this time…noir jazz. Bianka perched on one of the crates in her area giving a daring, smoldering look to the audience. 

And at the call of, “Bianka, with daredevil acrobatics!” she flipped herself to stand on the crate, giving a flourish before treading across the balance beam. Taking in the scene, Cheri murmured to her dad, “I…think that paper is supposed to be like a lava pit? That’s really cute.”

As Lio was mid-nod, agreeing, Bianka was one step away from the other crate…and smirked. Sharing a mischievous look with Mike, who’d gone along the shadows of the room to Bianka’s ‘ring’, and smirked back at her, crouching before--

“Rule of investigation!” Bianka called out, challenging the audience. “Never accept something for what it seems without confirmation!”

And as the papers under her burst into flame--they had been covering a trough-like fire pit--Bianka bent backwards, doing a cartwheel over the balance beam. 

“Oh dear.” Tsumugi said, standing up and immediately going to Kimiko, pulling her back from the flames as Kimiko cheered the display. 

“Cali, Cali, over here, now!” Kaito demanded, standing up and reaching out with his baby-free arm to grab Cali by the scruff of her shirt, hefting her up and bringing her backwards.

Maki, in turn, stood up and headed over to Tim, reaching over to pinch his ear a bit as he looked up at her, “Really had to set something on fire, huh?”

“Mike said it's not going to spread.” Tim said as he rubbed his ear, his tone entirely calm despite the chaos around him. 

“Oh, very impressive.” Medli said from her seat, clapping lightly.

“Michael Teavee!” Doris said in a strangled tone, struggling to get up for a moment, her eyes darting to Bianka’s family in worry. Oh no, he was not setting another kid on fire…

“Bi…” The Trussens darted over, only for a pouting Bianka, her cartwheel safely finished on the beam to shoo them to the side. 

“You’re blocking everyone’s vieeeeew,” she complained, before sighing, looking back down at Mike. “Ta-da? …shut it down, Mike. Didn’t even get to make my point that danger without precautions is just vigilantism.”

Shrugging, Mike activated the fire extinguisher that had been in his hands the whole time, quickly dousing the fire as Lio picked Bianka up over his shoulder and moved farther from the fire. 

Kaito huffed, putting Cali down and running his hand over his face as the room filled with the smell of smoke, Miyako babbling excitedly as everyone made a bunch of Fun and New Sounds!! “Phew… I swear, you kids are determined to put me in the grave early. I am going to scold you all so much the second my heart calms down… pff,” Kaito suddenly laughed, giving the other parents an amused look, “God, we can’t take our eyes off them for a second.”

“Kimikooo, you should know better. We’ve talked so much about how dangerous fire is.” Tsumugi pouted at her daughter. 

“It was fine, mommy, Mike-arooni already tested it!” Kimiko insisted.

“You already set the basement on fire once?” Maki asked Tim dryly. 

“It’s why we couldn’t bring Miyako down earlier.” Tim said, before pointing insistingly at Bianka, “She’s really good at cartwheels. You all could have at least let her finish.”

“Guess who is Cleaning The Basement!” Kaito shouted, Cali groaning beside him. 

“Bianka…” Lio sighed, setting her down, “Even with precautions, creating danger is still its own issue.”

She pouted more up at her dad. “Just walking over paper is lame though. I wanted to do an act just as cool as Cali and Kimiko’s!”

“Mikey,” Doris said tentatively, tensely wringing her hands to be doing this in front of all the other parents, “We don’t set others on fire because it’s ‘funny’; if you talked that poor girl into this--”

“It was Bianka’s idea,” Mike huffed, glaring at his mom, “And I wasn’t setting her on fire. We even treated the wood closest to the trough to make sure it wouldn’t catch, we’re not idiots.”

Shuichi huffed, getting up and going to Kaito, “Give me my baby, the airs too dense. Come on, Miya. Have fun cleaning the basement, Kaito.”

“Aw,” Kaito pouted, passing off Miyako, who happily bounced in Shuichi’s arms as he headed to the stairs. 

“Mike,” Medli said, “Do you know what the difference between someone who’s stupid and someone who’s an idiot?” She smiled with a tinge of exasperation, “Someone who’s stupid will do something and not realize there’s an issue at all. Someone who’s an idiot will know there’s an issue but be convinced they can handle it anyway. That said… how are we dealing with the underground smoke you brought a baby into? If you’ve set up fans, now’s the time.”

Coloring, Mike grumbled as he stomped over to the wall, pressing a few buttons on devices on the ground as ‘wrrrrrrrrr’ sounds started to fill the basement. 

Shaking his head with a small smile, Kokichi clapped to get everyone’s attention. “Well, smoke inhalation isn’t great for everyone, so while it clears out down here, let’s all head back up for a moment.” Smiling warmly at Tim, he prompted, “Our excellent ringmaster did promise a wrap up to the performance, after all, and all great performers deserve recognition for their art.”

Tim lit up at that, puffing a bit, while Kaito dryly called, “Don’t any of you kids try to run-off on me when we’re upstairs. We’re sweeping, mopping and washing the walls to clear out any soot that got in the air, alright? It’s not gonna take all day, but it is gonna take us at least an hour, and I don’t care if that means we have to do it twice.”

“So strict, it’s a holiday, Momota, don’t be such a task-master.” Maki smirked as the group headed upstairs.

“What!? What! I am SO laid back!”

“Which one of your husbands got to shove the stick back there, huh?”

“Elia, control your girlfriend, she is BULLYING ME!”

“Where is the stick?” Cali asked Kimiko, knowing she’d know.

“Up his butt.” Kimiko whispered with a giggle. 

The group got up to the ground level, and Tim turned to the group of adults, explaining, “We’ve put on todays circus to prove that we’re, uh… adaptable,” Tim said, pointing to Cali, “strong,” he said, pointing to Kimiko, “smart,” Tim said, pointing to Mike, “and brave.” He said, pointing to Bianka, “Miya is too but she’s a baby so she can’t have a bunch of little metal objects, so it's fine. Anyway, so…” Tim rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging a little uncertainly, “Bianka and the fire was meant to be our big finisher. Did we earn our badges?”

Elia snickered. “Task-master Kaito…does have a ring to it, huh? A bit quicker than ‘actions have consequences’ Kaito.”

At the wrap up, Kokichi looked over the kids fondly, before giving a delighted laugh. “None of that stuff was ever in question for all of you, but this was a fantastically fun way to show it off. I’d say you’ve more than earned your badges, but I do have one last question: Did you have fun?”

Bianka blinked, before beaming. “Totally!!”

“Yes!” Kimiko beamed happily. 

“The Baby Assassins perform again!” Cali shouted, jumping in triumph.

Tim nodded.

“It was kinda cool, I guess,” Mike muttered, shrugging and looking to the side. 

But even that was enough for Kokichi as he grinned. “Then, by the power vested in me as Usott’s Clown Gym Leader, these badges belong to you.”

Reaching into the bag he’d been lugging around for most of the day as he ran into people, Kokichi pulled out four thin boxes, passing them out to Cali, Kimiko, Bianka, and Mike. “Happy Unity, kids.”

Mike’s brow had scrunched a bit at what Kokichi said, but as he opened the gift and the box, looking at the badges inside…his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. Words escaping him as he could only gawk for a moment, before looking up at Kokichi in wonder.

These were…

“Oooh, thank you so much, Prince Kokichi!!” Bianka cheered, hopping a few times in excitement. “These are so pretty!!”

“Ooooh, cool… what are these?” Cali asked, boh delighted and confused. 

“They’re badges proving stuff.” Tim said, pointing to the badges and explaining, “Basically we earned all of them being cool and kick-ass already–”

“Language, Tim!”

“--but we still hadn’t done a performance for this one,” Tim said, pointing to Kokichi’s gym badge, “So I figured we’d go ahead and do it for completionists sake.” 

“Oh… cool!” Cali decided. She still wasn’t entirely certain what that meant these badges were, but you know what!? She liked little metal ‘good job’ stickers, essentially! Hells yeah!!!

“Ooooh, right…” Kaito said, pointing to the fairy badge gym, “That one was mine. You earned it essentially by learning a new environment. Yeah, you guys did that.”

“Mhm. Mine was learning to fight with respect,” Maki nodded, “You did that too. Shuichi’s was probably ‘something something, investigation, something something, smart’, so chances are Bianka and Mike covered it for the group at least.”

Kokichi laughed softly. “Mike covered Souda’s challenge too, by a long shot. I would love to see your set up, by the way, after the smoke’s cleared. Setting up all those lights and speakers was fantastic! And all you guys did, but Kimiko’s performance of pushing to your potential definitely earned Lake-nee’s,” he said, pointing to the sideways double ‘M’ shaped badge. 

“Oh, is this related to that pokemon game you guys play?” Cheri asked, suddenly enlightened. 

“Sorta, yeah,” Kokichi laughed sheepishly. 

As the adults explained to anyone who wasn’t caught up–Doris and Medli, mostly–what ‘Pokemon’ was, the kids compared badges, deciding which ones they thought were the coolest looking, pulling them out to look at them in the light. 

Kaito leaned down to give Kokichi a quick kiss on the temple. “Those are great gifts, babe. Maybe in a year or so we can make a new set for them to earn by doing challenges or something, that might be fun. Either way, I know at one point, getting all of those meant the world to them, so… I’m glad you honored that. They deserve it.”

“...they also deserve to clean the damn basement though,” Kaito sighed, “I’ll meet back up with you for lunch?”

Kokichi preened at the kiss, before smiling softly up at Kaito. “I know they would’ve done it. Even if the league wouldn’t have given them all honorary badges for their bravery and excellence, if they’d been given the chance to go to all the gyms, I know they would’ve beaten all of them. It didn’t seem right to let that recognition fade into the night. And I am pretty proud of how the badges turned out.”

Snickering, Kokichi nodded. “But! They’re still cleaning. Yeah, I’ll see you then, hun.” Giving Kaito a conspiratorial look, he suggested, “Maybe the music room after lunch?”

Kaito grinned wide, lighting up in excitement… before turning to the kids with his hands on his hips, “Alright, you little trouble-makers! Come on, we gotta go to the supply closets and collect our tools! I changed my mind, if you can get the whole basement wiped down before the hours up, we don’t have to do it twice! Come on, it’s Unity, let’s get this done and get back to our days!”

-

It was close, but the kids managed clean-up in under an hour, though Kokichi was privately attributing some of that to the basement not being the biggest room. But, it did mean that Kaito met back up with them for lunch, and then right after, they managed to entice Shuuichi into the music room. If getting some amused looks at how visibly giddy he and Kaito were. 

They hadn’t had tons of practice time. Kokichi had proposed the idea to Kaito just a few weeks ago, while Kaito had been lamenting what to get Shuuichi for Unity, and…well, the freeze and court case had taken up time that they couldn’t sneak off alone together for. But they had managed some time, and…Kokichi thought they sounded pretty good. 

Sitting at the piano, Kaito next to him on the bench, they both grinned at Shuuichi before Kokichi started playing. Giving Kaito a quick wink as the first verse was about to start. 

“You caught me when I was falling down

Picked me up when I was on the ground

You were warm when everything was cold

On you, I have been sold

I thought I was drowning once, but then

You made my life happy once again

I thought I was lost but now I'm found

It's you I wanna be around~~”

Shuichi smirked as Kaito–being far too extra about the mere act of sitting–practically lounged next to Kokichi, giving Kokichi a wink and a point as he crossed his legs, looking somewhat like he was leaning against Kokichi without actually putting any weight on him. Shuichi was leaning against the piano, watching his ridiculous husbands cute little show, as Kokichi piped up next. 

“And I’ve been waiting for a pretty face to walk right through the door, but now I found

You came in through the window~”

Kokichi nudged Kaito affectionately at the part they sang together, before sitting up straighter. Still focusing on his piano accompaniment, which was hard to sing along with but, well, that’s what a lot of the practice had been about.

“You’re the person that I love to see

Even when I don’t want no company

Somehow it’s different ‘cause it’s you

It’s always sunny with--

Finally safe now in your arms

Completely safe from harm

People say words that hurt, it’s true

It’s always sunny with you!”

This time as the chorus came in, instead of just singing together, Kokichi and Kaito harmonized with each other. 

“And I’ve been waiting for a pretty face to walk right through the door, but now I found

You came in through the window~

And I’ve been waiting for a pretty face to walk right through the door, but now I found

You came in through the window~!”

Shuichi laughed, resting his cheek against his hand and watching them both fondly. They were so cute… 

“You two sound way too good at that,” Shuichi finally said, clapping as Kokichi finished the song with a little piano flourish, Kaito posing next to him ‘casually’, “When on earth did you find time to practice this?”

“Who said we practiced?” Kaito grinned, “Maybe we just looked at you and sang what sprang up in our souls…perfectly harmonized at the same time to Kokichi’s notes.”

Kokichi nodded haughtily, backing Kaito up. “Spontaneous brilliance. Very reasonable, when you consider it’s Shuu-chan that’s inspired us.”

He kept it up for another second before giggling, getting up and circling around the bench to kiss Shuuichi’s cheek, looking at him adoringly. “Happy Unity, sweetie.”

Kaito scrambled to follow Kokichi, kissing Shuichi’s other cheek as Shuichi pinked lightly. 

“Thank you both, I love it… actually,” Shuichi laughed, “Can I hear it again? You actually are very good at that, I’m not being flattering. That’s a fun song.”

“‘Kichi, ‘Kichi, come on, our audience demands an encore!” Kaito said, hurrying back to the bench, sitting on it and looking for all intents and purposes like a kid who just got full access to the candy store. Yes! He would ABSOLUTELY love to perform for Shuichi again! 

Kokichi lit up, making a little ‘eeee’ sound as he rushed back to the piano as well, grinning giddily up at Shuuichi before starting up the piece once again. 

-

Unity was an absolute joy, and especially these days Kokichi hated mixing more serious things in with holidays, but, well, the world still spun, even if you were taking things slow to enjoy them. So that evening, he offered a mug of spiced cider to Maki--less ‘spiced’ for her, even if Kokichi really didn’t consider things like cinnamon spicy--and a seat next to him on the porch outside of the dining hall. 

“I got kind of a weird message, recently,” he started, giving Maki a small smile. “I’ve been helping out the Empaths in Luminary, right? And as we’ve gotten into the swing of things, Namine sends me messages about times to come over, even who they’d decided was next, last time.”

Kokichi tilted his head a little. “I got that one, but then later she sent an addendum. Asking for you to come along this week too. Which I could understand if it was her turn, since we saw what happened with Shuu-chan and Roxas, but…it’s not.”

He huffed a soft sound. “Sometimes I get a little confused about what to call them, since they use different names for…their constructs, and their selves, I guess. She said we’re doing Zexion next, though I got a clue last time that I think his other name is Ienzo?” Kokichi gave Maki a curious look. “He was one of the ones you met initially… Have any idea why he’d want you there?”

“Zexion,” Maki said, not in recognition, but echoing the name like it might give her a clue, frowning. “Zexion…”

She was currently wearing, just, waaaaay too many flower decorations. Her siblings had apparently at some point in the last week or so gotten together to decide what to get her, and had decided as a group that what their big sister REALLY needed was hand-made accessories, mostly made of flowers, a few made of little stones or shells they had managed to collect. Maki, grumbling the entire time, had of course put every decoration on until she looked like a walking flower monster. The kids had run off by this point, but Maki still hadn’t bothered taking any of it off, sipping at her cider. 

“...what did he look like?” Maki asked.

“Mm, he’s about your height…I think, like, just a little taller, when you guys were standing by each other,” Kokichi hummed, thinking back to that first confrontation, “Kinda like a blue-grey color for his hair, styled over an eye, blue eyes, for that matter, fairer skin… He looks bored a lot. Low nose.”

“He wanted me, huh…” Maki said, closing her eyes, “Why…”

“...” she peeked one eye open, looking at Kokichi, “I don’t entirely understand how your powers work sometimes, so I’m just going to ask: you think you could peek through my brain and find out if I’ve ever seen someone like that before? Maybe he just wants me by reputation, or he has some vendetta against me on someone else's behalf. But maybe we’ve met? And I just don’t remember. It happens.”

Kokichi nodded slowly before giving a lower hum, looking a little disappointed. “I mean, theoretically, yeah, but…memories, or other people’s at least, aren’t really like an index. I’d have to sort through all your memories and then consciously recognize Zexion myself, if you guys even have met before all this.”

Taking a sip from his mug, Kokichi blinked before he made a more uplifting noise. “Oh, unless I had Chibi Kai-chan do it, like you let him do before for memories about you and Kai-chan hanging out. I dunno if this is really important, but…that’s an option if you want it?”

“One of the people who brainwashed us is asking for me to accompany his inner journey redemption thing, and it’s not the one who convinced me all my loved ones were going to die if I hesitated to kill on command,” Maki said dryly, poking Kokichi’s forehead, “It might be important. Come on, empath-boy. Time to empath for me. Send in the little dork.”

Kokichi laughed sheepishly, gently opening a connection to Maki’s mind and ‘sending’ Chibi Kai-chan in to look for memories with Zexion/Ienzo’s description. “Yeah, but I meant more… Even if you guys have never met, or it’s something you don’t remember, I think that you’d still be able to help for…whatever the reason they asked for you is.”

“...well,” Kokichi tilted his head, “Namine said it was something that Axel told her, not Zexion, but…I assume this is something they’re all discussing, and I’ve heard the others talk referencing Namine and Axel as siblings so…maybe they’re just closer?”

“Maybe, or they just came from the same orphanage,” Maki shrugged, “Which wouldn’t necessarily mean they’re close. Culturally, the sibling bond of orphans raised together really does differ person to person, it’s not a hard rule. But for the most part, calling them ‘siblings’ is the default, just to acknowledge they were homed together. But even that can be flexible based on the person. Sometimes orphans grow up wanting to date each other, so they wouldn’t want to be called siblings, obviously. Sometimes the person just feels weird about the title itself. That’s why Shuichi very rarely calls me ‘sister’, and never before we moved here. He didn’t really consider anyone he went to the orphanage with siblings, which was understandable on his end, since he spent so little… time…”

“...hmm.” Maki hummed.

-

Chibi Kaito waved at the mountain, before hopping through Maki’s mind. 

It wasn’t as seamless as it was in Big Kokichi’s mind, but Chibi Kaito had long learned there was a method to the memory madness. While for a long time it had all felt so random and disjointed, he had learned that focusing on a single connecting thread usually found you what you were looking for, if you were ready to follow that thread for the long haul. 

And time in the orphanage had created a thread. 

Maki had lived in her orphanage for a long time, before she had been picked by Nekomaru. She had been raised as an infant in Sunny Side, held and nurtured by children barely older than herself, who disappeared frequently, sometimes quietly overnight, sometimes loudly and with tears. 

Chibi Kaito picked up a red bow that an older sister had wrapped around Maki’s hair, and followed it into a memory of an elder sibling first explaining to Maki, “That’s just how things work here. This isn’t forever for any of us. Tomorrow, I’m just moving on to my career… but don’t worry, I’ll come back to visit.”

Maki had hugged the girl's leg and sniffled and said she’d wait for her, and the girl never came back and Maki eventually forgot her name. Which had been–

Chibi Kaito picked up a red crayon and followed it.

-

“You have a short name, which makes it easier. Like Anya did.” One of her older brothers had laughed warmly, showing Maki how to spell her name. 

“Who?” Maki had asked, carefully writing out the ‘k’ in big, shaky handwriting.

Her older brother had frowned, looking briefly hurt… before he just smiled, shrugging lightly. “Don’t worry about it, it doesn’t matter now. Hey, that ‘k’ came out great! You’re smart, Maki, maybe you’ll end up a detective someday!”

Maki preened proudly, looking at her name, written all by herself. She was smart, thank you very much. Smart enough to make it to the detective track! 

Which she had taken the test for and–

Chibi Kaito picked up a pencil.

-

Maki cracked the pencil into tiny pieces, before throwing them off the roof of the orphanage, glaring furiously at her feet as she sat down with a huff. Writing and math was stupid anyway. She didn’t care. Who needed to be smart? 

Everyone had known Maki wasn’t going to do well on the tests anyway. Maki was strong. Everyone said so. She was good at climbing and running and she didn’t get scared when she fought the bigger kids. Maki was strong. She didn’t need to be smart. 

The orphan caretakers had even started saying that maybe if Maki worked really hard? Maybe she could still qualify for one of the ‘big’ career tracks. Just as important as the detective one! Maybe even more! She could be an assassin! 

What were assassins? 

Well… Maki still wasn’t entirely sure. But she knew they had to be strong. And everyone respected them. Maki could do that. Maki could…

And when she did? No one would ever call Maki stupid again. Everyone would love her. Everyone would…

Chibi Kaito picked up a patch with the letter ‘M’ stitched into the patch.

-

Maki wore a patch on her blouse with the letter ‘M’ on it. 

Maki had been picked for the assassin track, but would be spending one more year among the Sunny Side Orphans before she was sent to her first conditioning round, and only then would she meet her new mentor. For the year she was in prep for conditioning, Maki wasn’t meant to use her name. 

When Maki had asked why, she was told a good assassin considered everything else before themselves. A good assassin didn’t consider herself ‘Maki’. A good assassin was just whatever it was told. 

Maki quietly thought the caretakers were being kind of stupid. She wasn’t going to forget her name just because no one was supposed to call her by it anymore. And the others didn’t stop calling her Maki anyway. They just waited until the caretakers were outside of earshot to do it. 

But Maki decided she’d take the advice of considering others sincerely. After all, she was 6 now. She was basically an Older Sibling now. Older Siblings had a lot of responsibilities. They took care of the younger siblings, taught them to read, taught them to write, kept the babies alive. Maki didn’t need anyone to take away her name to get her to care that the younger siblings needed her. 

Not just the younger ones, but the new ones especially. They were sometimes even needier than the babies. They always ‘missed’ something…

Chibi Kaito picked up a mirror cameo.

-

Maki snuck in through the window.

The caretakers didn’t permanently live in the orphanages with the orphans. They all had apartments or homes nearby, using the overnight caretaker room when it was their shift, and sometimes not even then. The caretakers really just took ‘care’ of the paperwork. It was the older siblings who took care of the younger siblings, and each other.

And Maki wasn’t older than the lordling, but the lordling sure acted like a big baby. He wouldn’t stop crying. And the other kids were starting to bully him over it. Unless ‘Lord Seisear’ stopped crying sometime soon, the other kids were basically going to brand him a target for life, and honestly, the lordling was too small and skinny to handle that much teasing. 

It didn’t help that he was, as one of her siblings would call it, ‘touched in the head’. Maybe it was a rich kid thing, but he didn’t seem to want to talk to any of them, preferring to literally just talk to the wall. It was bizarre. If he wasn’t crying, he was murmuring to the wall. If he wasn’t murmuring to the wall, he was crying. 

Finally, Maki had asked what would make him shut up already, and he said that one of the caretakers stole his mom’s jewelry, which… yeah. That checked out. The caretakers stole stuff from the kids all the time. That was why if you got anything good, you had to hide it.

But the little lordling didn’t know that, so Maki didn’t think it was entirely fair to roll her eyes at him and go ‘no duh’. Fine. If the little lordling wasn’t going to stop crying until he got the jewelry back? Maki could handle that. Which caretaker?

After that, it had just been a matter of sneaking off. 

Maki had been practicing, prepping for her career track. She was going to be the best assassin, she had decided. She had heard assassins climbed buildings and broke into rooms (for some reason?) and so she had been practicing doing all of that! And had discovered upper story windows tended to be unlocked! So really, it was a piece of cake to sneak into the caretaker’s apartment, looking around for what he had described…

She had shaken him awake, hair plastered to her forehead still in sweat, showing him the necklace looking thing she had found as she whispered among their sleeping siblings, “This it?”

Ienzo had stared at the cameo for a moment, before looking at Maki with wide-eyed amazement as he nodded. Feeling…maybe not okay, but the closest to okay he’d been since…since. Knowing even then how powerful and rare it was for someone to use their power for you. 

“Thank you, Maki,” he’d whispered back, clutching the small pendant. 

(Her idea had worked out. Ienzo had stopped crying as much after that. And because of someone using their power to help him, even if he was still a bit standoffish, every time he could, he used his power to help her in return.)

(Who knows what that would’ve meant, if he hadn’t gotten taken to the factory.)

Maki grinned proudly–she hadn’t learned to keep her emotions off her face yet, not having gone through that conditioning yet–as she said, “No worries, it was easy. Just hide it, okay? Or else someone else will steal it. Got it…”

Realizing she didn’t know, Maki tilted her head, “What’s your name again, little lordling–”

Chibi Kaito picked up Shuichi’s hat.

-

The Shuichi kid had only just gotten there, but already he had been picked up for the detective track. So quickly that he was going to be shipped off to the conditioning rounds that Maki had been waiting for for a year, and Ienzo for 7 months now. 

Maki tried not to hate him for it, as she whispered in the group they had been herded into, “It’s going to be fine, you know.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Shuichi had asked, looking calm. Looking a little apathetic to the whole thing, still grappling with the extremely recent loss of his family, being shipped off to the warehouses just one more thing in the chaos of his life lately. He didn’t see anything special about it. Hadn’t had a lifetime to think about it, like Maki had. “We’re just going to a school… or something. Don’t tell me you’re scared of school.”

Maki decided she didn’t like Shuichi very much. If they weren’t literally about to be shipped out to the warehouses, she might have punched him in his face and spent some time teaching him he didn’t want to be bullied the hard way. She knew kids who had spent years studying for the detective track and hadn’t made it. He didn’t seem to even understand what he had. It was annoying.

She resented Ienzo a little less for it, but only because one, he was a lordling, and it was still pretty bizarre he had ended up in the orphanage to begin with. Isn’t that what godparents were for? So it kind of made sense he got into the ‘smart’ track, as someone who actually went to school at one point. But also, Ienzo had been way more tolerable, ever since the jewelry thing. He still didn’t talk a bunch, but he hung out with Maki and Maki found she didn’t mind him. It was nice to be around someone calm and quiet who didn’t need a lot from her. It was soothing. 

But, well, Maki was meant to the the Strong One, as the one going in for the assassination track, so she was going to be strong and reassuring to the two smart nerds regardless if she liked them or not, as she reassured, “I’ve been told the first time you go in, nothing much even happens at all. I heard they just ask you questions and let you sleep in a room all day.”

“Oh yeah? Well I heard that they hang you from the roof and stretch your legs down to the floor every day, and that’s why everyone who comes out? Comes out taller,” one of their older siblings, listening in, said menacingly…before ‘oophing’ when another one elbowed him in the stomach.

“Don’t be a dick. Or our little Maki’s gonna come and stab you someday, housekeeper,” she whispered.

“Pfff, like you’re so much better, cook,” he whispered back, elbowing her back.

The three younger kids ignored their older siblings, who continued to roughly nudge each other as they argued, looking back to each other. Shuichi still dazed and apathetic, as Maki said determinedly, “That’s true, I’m gonna be an assassin! So if anything happens in there? You can tell me about it after, and I can make whoever did it pay for it, okay? I think punishing people is literally my job!”

“Sure,” Shuichi said dryly, looking away, “If we ever see each other again.”

“We will!” Maki said, smiling, “I promise!”

“There’s always the second set, so…it’s not impossible,” Ienzo had murmured with a small smile. “This isn’t goodbye forever…I’ll promise that too.”

Chibi Kaito watched as the kids were herded into a cart attached to a horse, long and closed off. He gave the cart a sad little wave, as it headed off. Feeling Maki’s conflicted feelings about it as she recalled what had happened. A memory of a happy, determined little girl she had long, long forgotten.

Chibi Kaito made sure Maki got all of that, and then headed back home.

-

“...oh,” Maki said in the real world, sipping her cider, “...the little lordling. He’s one of my brothers.”

She blinked, taking all of that in. Another weepy-eyed sibling, this one special because this one–like Shuichi, who she had entirely forgotten she had taken the cart-ride with–had been with her at the start of the journey. The two promising to reunite. Maki leaving the warehouse and apparently… Ienzo simply hadn’t. Trapped inside. For… years…

…another sibling…

… Maki took off one of the decorations from her head, looking over the rounded flowers entwined together, one of six she had gotten that day.

“I’m glad we’re going to see him soon.” Maki said, “He owes me a flower crown.”

Kokichi tilted his head a little, feeling Chibi Kaito return and thus closing the link to Maki, but, as designed, not knowing any of the information Chibi Kaito had sifted through. But Maki wasn’t being unclear in the slightest, and Kokichi’s eyes widened. “Oh…”

He just absorbed that for a moment, before huffing with a small smile. “They already feel like you helped free them, so…I guess the Empaths are just another part of Maki-chan having fought for her family.”

Taking a slow sip from his mug, Kokichi contemplated a little longer. “...maybe he just felt too awkward to bring it up before, since you didn’t remember. But…yeah. That does seem like helpful context for when we’re helping him out.”

“Yeah,” Maki said, spinning the flower crown around her hand a bit, before letting it slide down her arm, taking a long sip of her ‘spicy’ cider. Watching the firepit that they were sitting near on the patio, the fire beating off the winter chill. 

“......I forgot what I was like, before I had emotional conditioning,” Maki said, “The memories your little Kaito showed me? Showed me a few memories before I ever went for my first round. If you had asked me a second ago when young me was like, I’d have just said not much different from me now. Sullen, angry, determined… it was odd, having that delusion shattered just now.”

Kokichi gave Maki a soft look before he looked out at some of the snow clinging to various plants around the patio. It was already fairly dark, but even just all the way from the firepit they still glittered. “It’s hard remembering what you were like as a little kid, for anyone, really. Things you did, sure, but the ‘inner world’ is so clouded by age. For you, and everything you went through growing up…it certainly couldn’t have made it any easier.”

He gave her a curious look. “What were you like, then? You just said it was different, but I have a lot of trouble imagining an undetermined Maki-chan.”

Maki snorted a little. “I suppose I still was. I smiled a lot more. Laughed more. Could be a bit of a bully, sometimes, but still thought it was my personal responsibility to be The Best Older Sibling. Actually, that surprised me… I wanted to be ‘the best’ at a lot of things,” Maki said, putting The Best in quotation marks, “I got my feelings hurt not making it to the detective track, and decided I was going to be The Best assassin to prove a point about it… but I didn’t actually know what an assassin was by that point. I think near the end, I had actually convinced myself it was some sort of special ‘hero’ track, where I was expected to punish evil-doers… heh.”

“I reminded myself a little of Kaito.” she realized, sipping her cider, “Doing things because it was ‘heroic’ or ‘cool’. Wanting to earn love through respect. I told Ienzo if anyone messed with him in the warehouse, to let me know and I’d sort them out… I wonder if he feels let down.”

Kokichi smiled into his mug. Little Maki sounded very cute. “Ambitious Maki-chan… Those are nice ideals. Your method of turning hurt or insecurity into things to protect or dazzle others…I bet it made people feel really loved. ‘Course, I am biased, knowing who you grew up to be, and how loved Maki-chan makes me feel.”

Ienzo, huh… Guess that was his ‘real’ name. Though the ‘x’ in it was more of a giveaway, even if Demyx broke that rule. Kokichi had gotten the impression that he’d joined the others ‘late’...but even that had been a decade long. Thinking about how that implied just how long the others had been imprisoned there…

Kokichi sighed softly. “I suppose we might find out. I have to assume he never got to tell you about being messed with, so…” Kokichi grimly smiled. Knowing that this wasn’t some neat little tie up to a story where everyone lived happily ever after. “...maybe him asking for you now is that. Even if you did sorta sort things out already.”

“That’s a way of thinking about it,” Maki conceded, leaning her head back, staring at the small twinkling of stars. “...I wish I hadn’t made so many promises to so many people. I gave them away so casually. Even working on it my whole life, I’ll never live up to everything I told everyone I would be. I offered too much of myself… it wasn’t fair to me, but also, it wasn’t fair to the people I promised everything too. So many siblings I don’t even remember, and yet they remember me… I wonder how many siblings I’ve forgotten, who remembered me as the last person to give them hope.”

“Learn from me, Ouma,” Maki sighed, “Don’t promise everyone everything. Or, if you do, at least write it all down. It’s tough to keep track of.”

Kokichi gave out a long, heavy sigh. Looking out past the castle’s retaining wall, seeing just the peaks of the city lights in the distance, the heavy shadows of mountains farther out. “There’s only so much of us. So much of anyone. I’ll still say the intentions are important. Intending to help everyone, wanting that…it’s important.”

“...but it’s just not feasible,” he said quietly. “In pure possibilities, but…also if we ever want to be able to help ourselves. And that…sucks. All the people you have to say no to, all the people that you just…end up failing.”

Kokichi slouched a little, looking at the stars. Softly admitting, “...I try not to read too much, when I go over. It’s not fair, and even when I’m doing my best, even if I go into everything with the best intentions…I’m still so terrifying to them. …they feel so betrayed by other Empaths, for being…abandoned, essentially. I’m trying to help now, but…”

Cutting himself off, Kokichi closed his eyes and shook his head a little at himself. “...well, I’m trying to help now. And I’m glad I can. Can’t save everyone, but I should try for the things I can.”

Maki gave Kokichi a soft, amused look. “Give yourself a break, Ouma. You didn’t even know you were an Empath till about five seconds ago. I knew you were an Empath before you did.” She said, sticking her tongue out at him, “Hah. I knew all you ‘smart’ types were overrated. Went and let one of the jocks figure you out first. Nerd.”

Kokichi burst into soft chuckles, shrugging as he sipped his cider. “Don’t call me out too much, Maki-chan, it’s a holiday, go easy on me. And ‘let’ only goes so far,” he fondly snorted. “You might claim the jock title, but you’re just as smart as any of us in your bullying range. You just save the brain power for things other than the thematic elements of romance novels.”

“I made one or two observations! Occasionally! Under duress!” Maki lied, huffing as she crossed her arms, looking away, “That’s what I get for indulging that husband of yours.”

The two laughed lightly, before falling silent, watching the fire crackle. Comfortable and calm in each other's company. 

-

“Miyaaaa~” Kaito sang-song to Miyako, playing with her feet, “Happy Unity, Miyaaaa~ Miyaaaaa~ you don’t know this, but you have a lot of very nice, brand new pacifiers that are suuuuper cute and that’s your Unity Day giiiiift…”

Kaito conspiratorially looked around, before leaning in and whispering, “But between you and me, sweetbun? Dad just used Unity as an excuse to get you cute new pacifiers that you’re absolutely going to lose in, like, a month. Where do all your pacifiers go, Miya? Do you eat them? Do you open your mouth reeeaaaal wide and swallow them whole, you strange little creature? Are they in your belly?” Kaito asked, poking Miya’s belly, “Eh? Eh? All your lost pacifiers in there, princess?”

Miyako suckled on her cute new pacifier. That was her to know and you to never find out, old man.

-

Like before, when Kokichi arrived in Destiny Island with Maki, as promised, Zexion was patiently waiting for them. Though…far from alone--in fact, if Kokichi counted right, this was the first time he’d seen all of them together since initially confronting the Nobodies. It seemed like…a lot, but if Zexion had gone out of his way to ask for Maki’s help, maybe that wasn’t so much of an outlier as they had originally felt, before uncovering their connection. 

Not wanting to make assumptions, though, nodding back to Zexion’s shallow-bowed greeting--noting his small…surprise, seeing Maki, though he greeted her as well-- Kokichi gave the group an earnest glance. “Uh, hey! I’m kinda guessing this means you know who you want to come along?”

“Everyone,” Zexion shrugged placidly, before getting off the ledge of the pier he’d been sitting on and starting to walk off, “Or, at least that’s the plan we’ve decided on. I’m not one to stifle curiosity…or vengeance. Let’s not waste time, though, please follow.”

Maki lightly bowed back, taking in the whole… group. 

“Why on earth do we need this many people?” she whispered to Kokichi, taking in some of the members of the group and looking a little less than impressed. A few of them did not look like they were taking this very seriously, for one. The blond with the odd haircut was loudly whining about why they couldn’t take their time as the group followed after Zexion, another blond with shallow cheeks and angry eyes telling ‘Demyx’, apparently, not to be a lazy butt when they were on a ‘mission’. 

A few seemed reserved, like they weren’t entirely sure why they were there either. A man doing idle card tricks with his hands seemed to look almost a little sheepish walking into Ienzo’s mind, like he didn’t feel like he belonged in the space, while the two hulking men beside him seemed to be awkwardly making conversation with each other, in the sense one of them was making small attempts to talk while the other didn’t seem aware he needed to contribute anything at all. 

Namine was there too, looking serene and reserved in a way that Maki was starting to realize was more and more performative, though who she was performing for was anyone's guess, as a boy–ah, right, Sora–seemed to practically skip on one side of her, and on the other was… well, maybe it wasn’t fair to define him like this, but Maki’s immediate thought was ‘a Kaito wet dream’, the tall, tan, stern looking man seeming oddly ominous even among this strange group.

It said something that the only ones that didn’t feel immediately ‘off’ were the two brightest colored ones, a man with bright blue hair and another with bright pink hair in the middle of the group both somehow drawing almost no attention to themselves as they walked into Ienzo’s part of the island. Both looking mildly disgruntled, if nothing else.

“This is too many people to keep an eye on. Someone’s going to cause a problem,” Maki predicted. 

Kokichi could only give Maki a small shrug. “I mean…Zexion’s been going to everyone else, but that’s still only been three people at this point,” he quietly murmured back, “He does have a system with more constructs than anyone, so maybe that’s why, but I couldn’t tell you for sure.”

“Not intentionally, though that’s a fair worry to have,” an amused voice answered Maki as they walked, a man with brown hair pushed back out of his face giving the two outsiders a smile as they quickly looked at him. “None of us really want to make this harder on Zexion than it has to be. He has mentioned that our constructs can get kiiiinda ‘fight-y’ during the process, so?” Terra playfully flexed. “I figure we’re here as muscle.”

Zexion led the group more into the trees of the island, though considering its size, there wasn’t anything you could call a forest by any stretch of the imagination. But there were still enough to serve a purpose, Zexion pausing and, well, speaking more to Kokichi and Maki, since the others already knew. 

Pointing to a knot in a tree across from them that looked like an eye, he explained, “I’ll demonstrate personally, but getting into my world requires you to walk past this tree in front of us, obscuring your form from that tree. As such.” And, as he said, he walked behind the tree and…disappeared. 

One of the first things someone might notice in Ienzo’s world was the smell. Nothing shocking, really, but the scent of paper, old and new, of worn leather, the slight earthiness of ink--all things you might expect from a library, but…heightened. And it definitely was a library they landed in. Heavy, dark wood cases with metal siding lining wall-to-wall…to wall. To wall. The entire room almost looking like it was made of books, for how packed it was, and no matter which way you looked, the corners just seemed to continue the trend. 

That wasn’t all there was, though, a library wasn’t just a place for storing books, and in various sitting chairs or reading desks or lamp-lit lounging couches, several constructs looked up, from their reading or conversations or shelving duties, some just ignoring the group, but others giving small nods of acknowledgement. 

And, oh, that was the other thing. 

The sound. The acoustics just echoed enough, despite the bookcases going all the way to the ceiling, to create a perhaps surprisingly loud, but still background-like level of constant, drawling chatter. 

Maki’s eyes immediately scanned the library up and down, glancing to the ceiling and at the spaces between shelves, looking for danger. But while she scanned, she noticed that the rest of this group moved into the library with a casual familiarity. Any of them that so much as glanced around clearly looking for specific things, as Demyx smiled at one of the nearby reading constructs. “Oh, man, I haven’t gotten to that one yet! Okay, spoil something for me, it’s killing me: has the general found out the rebel is his son yet? I have to know if it happens between where I’m at now and that book, it’s killing me waiting for it!”

“I’m assuming you all spend time in here, then?” Maki asked, as one of the nearby Nobodies glanced back at her. 

“Why wouldn’t we?” said Kaito’s wet dream, the tall man’s voice a low rumble as he looked around the area, “Zexion has access to more text than most of us have seen in the real world. It’s been… helpful.”

“And has kept us from collectively growing crazy. All of our minds have,” one of the more buff ones–Xaldin, Maki would find out–explained, scowling a bit, “As much as we all are meant to enjoy our work–”

“Which we do,” the bright blue one–Saix–said.

“Well, sure, as much as we should and we do, believe it or not, we don’t only want to torture people all the time. So Larxene puts on shows for us and plays songs Demyx here has heard, Marluxia has his gardens, I put on little fighting tournaments for us all to mess around with… all our minds contribute to the ‘keep everyone from getting cabin fever’ issue we’ve always had.”

“So you all spend a lot of time in each other's minds then,” Maki said, glancing down at a stack of books left on the table. “That doesn’t become invasive?”

“Lady Reaper, I don’t think you really grasp what our situation has always been,” Demyx called over, listening in, “We stopped worrying about ‘invasive’ aaaaages ago! The only reason we don’t explore each others’ mind deeper is usually there’s something we don’t feel like dealing with hiding inside. Like, I love hanging out here, but the chattering does not get better over time.”

“Hm.” Maki hummed, grabbing a book at random, considering it, before putting it down. Curious to open one up, but waiting for one to draw her eye.

65 glanced up at Demyx, before sighing softly. And, perhaps a little jarringly, calling into the library, adding to the din, “Regarding Penumbra Shock, which volume has Demyx read last?!”

It was barely a moment before a voice returned, “Two!!”, and though all the cloud of chatter in the library was in the same voice--Ienzo’s voice--somehow it seemed like this was perfectly clear communication as 65 nodded at Demyx. “There’s a lot more worth in the journey than the destination of a book, you know. But that’s still something to be appreciated even with spoilers.” 

Though, one should be respectful of others’ wishes to not be spoiled, so the construct got up to whisper in Demyx’s ear, explaining about the series’ timeline. 

Still looking around a little--despite his intent to not waste time, Zexion wasn’t oblivious that his library could be a little overwhelming, so he found it productive to let everyone acclimate for a moment--Kokichi marveled softly. “Your minds and abilities to shape the mindscape really were some of your best resources…still, just personally this is pretty incredible. I’d been told that, like…consolidating your knowledge into a library, as your mind’s metaphor, is a super difficult and finicky feat to even try… And then having all your constructs act as…researchers and librarians, in a way…”

It was the kind of thing that pointed to either Empathic genius, or…an amount of dedicated time Kokichi found kind of…terrifyingly concerning, the more it dawned on him just what that would entail. He had a feeling it might be a mix of both but likely heavily on the latter. 

“Like a colony…” he mused. 

Zexion hummed consideringly, and like a natural flow of thought expressed from several constructs, they looked over to chime in:

“Such as coral, phylum cnidaria, joined by such subphylums medusozoa though classification has been contested--”

“In addition to eusocial colony creatures such as examples from order hymenoptera that retain relative individuality in relation to their intelligence but rather are ingrained within clearly defined social behaviors--”

“Of course, we could not discount myriad forms of microbes, which in themselves draw comparisons to the role of cells within an organic system--”

There seemed to be little connection among the books on the table, novels, non-fiction, a schlocky mystery…but there was one that looked to be a book of poetry, one of the pages dog-eared. 

On the page, there was a small etching of a worn stuffed animal wearing a red guard’s cape, and the title, Wild Things. 

Steal dreams and give to you

Shoplift a thought or two

All children touch the sun

Burn fingers one by one

Will this earth be good to you?

Keep you clean or stain through?

So wake up, sleepy one

It’s time to save your world

You’re where the wild things are

Toy soldiers off to war

Big eyes to open soon

Believing all under sun and moon

But does paradise know you’re here?

And did they give you smiles or tears?

So wake up, sleepy one

It’s time to save your world

You’re where the wild things are

Toy soldiers off to war

So close your little eyes

Maki had picked this one up, admittedly, because of its cover. It was obviously some sort of… well, if not actual children's book, clearly some sort of mimic of one. The poems all accompanied by childish imagery, sketches of empty playgrounds or balls with odd stains on them. 

But she had lingered on ‘Wild Things’ because it was familiar, though she had never read this poem before. It was a Luminary–a distinction she now had to make, after jumping countries and seeing how the stories differed–children's story, where a child proved himself by standing up to the monsters of the wild, by ultimately being a little monstrous himself.

It had been harmless enough by itself, just a kid embracing his inner rambunctiousness to handle a chaotic and rambunctious world. But Maki could see how the poem, sending fighters off to die, reflected the same theme and moral. To survive a harsh situation, one had to become like it. To survive a battle, one had to fight. To survive a war…

“How is the famine going?” Maki suddenly asked, staring at the little guardsman animal, “Were you all affected by it?”

“The famine? Nah, we’re too far away from the capital, it didn’t hit us,” Demyx said, still clearly thinking about the timeline the constructs had given him. To think, the general had taken so long to find out… “That really affected more everyone to the west. That ended up being where the capital confiscated most of the food.”

“Too afraid to go near the farms in the east. They at least had the good sense to not risk the land,” Axel said, though he and Demyx were mostly repeating things they had heard at first the supervisors, then the guards, then just random citizens say as they were emptied out from the factory. Even with everything going on, the famine for a few weeks there had been all anyone could talk about. Mostly everyone in their city reassuring each other that the guards weren’t coming for their food next to send to the capital. 

Maki supposed that was good for them. She wondered if the Nobodies would be as trusting to her if the famine had affected them. She wondered how many people knew she had been the one to take the farms hostages. 

She closed the book, putting it down. Feeling uneasy.

Kokichi sighed softly, pressing his shoulder against Maki’s arm gently in support. And, again, feeling that swoop of guilt, remembering the trade Maki didn’t know. But for all his dilemma still pressed on him, it wasn’t even something to consider tonight.

“If you are all ready, I’ll ask that you don’t stray from the group as we proceed, unless you’re bowing out,” Zexion addressed them all, apparently figuring that he’d given enough time. “We could certainly find you, but having to find someone lost in here will be an avoidable detour.”

“Ah, then you have an idea of Ienzo’s safe space?” Kokichi prompted. He figured that wasn’t so surprising, considering Zexion had seen how this went--

“I know exactly where he is, it’s just a matter of getting there,” Zexion said dismissively, before starting to lead the way. 

“Help!”

Though he wasn’t leading alone for long, as Marluxia sidled up, glaring at Zexion suspiciously. “Uh, hey? If you’ve had a secret treasure map to yourself this entire time, then why the hells are we here?”

“It never seemed important enough.” Zexion shrugged, just as dismissive.

“Zexy, bud, that’s super not an answer to his question,” Demyx said, trotting up closer to the Zexion they were following, having been making idle chit-chat with some of the Zexions they had passed in their way through the aisles, “You’ve known how to make yourself ‘whole’ this whole time? Why didn’t we start with you!?”

“And why are we all here, then… though I suppose that’s more a question for Axel, actually, since he’s the one that insisted,” Xaldin said, looking to Axel.

“What? We’re here to support! And because there’s like a thousand of these guys,” Axel said, reaching out and grabbing a random Zexion by the cuff of his jacket, shaking him at the others, “Two or three of us can’t handle all of them, they’re an army!”

“An army of nerds, maybe,” Luxord said, “Zexion’s not our biggest fighter even on his most aggressive days. How did you condition again, Zexion? You weren’t exactly beating people.”

Zexion still looked pretty passive, until Xaldin spoke up. His eyes flicking to Axel for a moment, something considered…even as the construct Axel pulled over sputtered, “A-Axel! I’m not a prop!”

“Even just the threat of physical pain isn’t the only way to harm someone,” Zexion said simply, turning back forward. They’d taken a couple turns down some bookshelf-lined pathways, and what Zexion had warned was true. While the titles might be different, there wasn’t much that differentiated this stretch from the others. “Though I doubt this is the most riveting subject for our guests…so I’ll give a more mild example.”

“Please…”

Glancing back at Maki and Kokichi, he asked, “Are you at all familiar with sensory deprivation tanks, or zero-decibel rooms, or the Groethe Prison Experiment?”

Kokichi frowned, looking at the…enclosed shelves, echoes that made the space feel endlessly large, despite only being able to see a small section at any given moment, the lack of distinguishing features… “The first two, yeah, for me.”

Axel–who, lest we forget, kind of never actually had a Nobody–snickered a little, lightly shaking the Zexion he had grabbed before letting him go, giving him a friendly pat on the back before moving on. 

Maki, whose mind had drifted to a relevant, but not entirely on subject, topic, said simply, “Deprivation tanks sounds self-explanatory. A tank where you’re deprived of things?”

“I don’t feel great about the idea that the literal assassin doesn’t know much about this stuff,” Demyx winced a little, “Like, I know the whole point of us is we’re meant to be scummy, but when we’re talking casually about things the trained killer’s never heard of? Yikes.”

“I’m not a torturer, it’s not that surprising,” Maki frowned, “And if I was sent as a warning, usually my presence was enough of a message.”

“Let’s not get into a pissing match of ‘who had to be shittier’, eh lads?” Luxord said, still nervously fidgeting with some card tricks. The only Nobody uncomfortable in Zexion’s space. “Let’s just agree we were all shitty, ye?”

“Technically correct,” Zexion hummed. “Some people use them as a form of meditation, apparently, but it’s a tank filled with lukewarm water with no lights and a thick, noise-canceling build. So, the things you’re deprived of are your senses. Some might find the act of mindfulness without bodily sensation relaxing, but it’s quite panic inducing for others. A zero-decibel room is a little more physiological, as it’s a room that’s been dampened to the point of being…mm, in poetic speech, more silent than silence. Any sound you might make yourself is unsettlingly dampened and cut-off, and you can hear the blood running around your ears, apparently.”

“No one has ever been able to stay within one for more than an hour,” he continued, “At least according to a paper from five years ago. Without being vulgar, hallucinations start to set in alarmingly quickly in that sort of environment, and they only worsen the longer you stay.”

Kokichi grimaced, that following along the lines he had been thinking.

Though, a construct sitting on the ground, a book open in his lap only gave Luxord a curious look as the group neared. “Now there’s an interesting philosophical question. One that’s predisposed depending on your beliefs about the ‘nature’ of humanity, and if beings such as ourselves are included in that, considering the concretely established purposes for our existence. For example, a creationist may argue that a coyote killing someone is not immoral--it’s simply following its nature, as determined by God, and God’s Plan is the most moral thing there is. There is the argument that actions done in pursuit of survival are always moral, regardless of how immoral they may be in other contexts--given that we, ourselves and her both--had no true choices other than death in our situations, and thus the most moral choice is preserving our own lives. Of course, there is the counter to that--”

As that construct prattled about philosophical quandaries, a few books were pulled from the backside of a bookcase, a blue eye peeking out and subtly trying to get Axel’s attention behind Zexion’s back. 

Maki’s eyes glazed over a bit. If she wanted to talk about random philosophy, she needed either a drink or, frankly, some alone time with Shuichi. Maki was very selfish when it came to her philosophizing time. It was either going back and forth with someone whose opinion she already cared about, or it was shouting someone down in a slightly drunken rage.

Kaito would have enjoyed it. Maybe one day he’d get the chance to hear the guy prattle on about… stuff. 

Axel, who had been idly looking at the books behind Zexion anyway, startled when he realized what he was looking at. As the group continued on, he made a small, “Oh, my boots are untied,” murmur, kneeling down to tie the entirely imaginary piece of clothing as the group walked around him, heading up ahead, before he dived into the aisles, looking for who had tried to get his attention.

2 let out a little sigh of relief. He didn’t think Axel had forgotten--he had collected everyone, including the Reaper, after all, but…still. This was a delicate situation. 

Not wasting time, he quietly told Axel, “You guys need to get away from Zexion. Not obviously, at first, but just enough to create some space. I have a plan to stall him, but then I need you guys to follow me as quickly as possible. I’ll try to explain more on the way, if people have questions.”

With that, though, he shooed Axel on his way again, not wanting to accidentally get the guy lost from the group. 

“...-ave -s!”

“Uuuuh, okay!” Axel agreed, taking 2’s cue and hurrying back to the group. Feeling pretty confident he had gotten away with it… and grinning uneasily as Maki openly stared at him. “...eyyyyy, so, you seeing anyone right now?”

Maki’s eyes narrowed, and while Axel felt like he hadn’t exactly dissuaded her, she did seem to dismiss him for the moment. Interrupting Zexion’s rambling as she suddenly asked, “Who here works with hunger?”

There was a beat of silence, since that was clearly a loaded question. Finally, Xaldin called back, “I do, on occasion. Why?”

“Do you remember a Timothy Green?” Maki asked. 

“....uh, no. If you have something more specific?” Xaldin asked, though he followed that up with an immediate shrug, “Though, if he was conditioned primarily through hunger? I probably wouldn’t remember him even with more info. I used that on the kids. I get bored with them, hunger’s an easy conditioning tool for low level results, I tend to just use them on anyone between the ages of 7 to 12, so long as they don’t need something complicated, like one of those perfect memory retrieval things or something.”

Maki sighed. “Well, if it’s the same for anyone… I’m trying to understand my kid’s conditioning limits better. Timothy has only had one session, I know hunger is a part of it, I know he’s had devotion training–”

“Standard,” Xaldin nodded. 

“--but he also has this odd one that I can’t figure out for the life of me, I’ve never heard of it for anyone else,” Maki said, “He’s a drummer boy. Or, was a drummer. But I’ve never heard of drummers all having some conditioning hardwired into them for it.”

“Drums?” Xaldin frowned, shaking his head, “No, I’d remember that, that’s not one of mine. Anyone here have to do anything special with drums?”

Silence. 

“...I won’t take vengeance, I’m just trying to understand it more,” Maki said.

“I don’t think anyone’s trying to hide it,” Namine said with a small frown, “I’ve never heard of conditioning specially for drummers either. Was this a military career Indentured?”

Maki nodded and Namine clasped her hands together as she thought about it. “...perhaps… someone in the military did something? I don’t think it was us. But I imagine any Empath who knew anything about conditioning could try it themselves on the outside. Though, the conditions would have to support it.”

“Know anyone who tortured the lad?” Luxord asked.

“Not that he’s ever mentioned,” Maki said, not feeling naive to think that by this point, Tim would have mentioned something like that to her. If anything, Tim had really enjoyed his time in the military, with the way he talked about it. Everything except for that time he had been forced to stab that woman, really. But then, Tim might have rationalized something to the point of not thinking it was worth bringing up.

“Is it possible to condition someone without torturing them?” Sora asked, tilting his head curiously.

“What, no way, then we wouldn’t have bothered doing all of this!” Demyx insisted. 

“I’m not sure about that,” Ansem said, crossing his arms, “The Head Secretary and his ilk seem like the type to, once they find one way something works, not bother looking for ‘kinder’ alternatives. Perhaps there is a way?”

“Or someone just erased his memories,” Namine said.

Axel watched Zexion, not sure what he would do to get the others to follow him once whatever stalling technique occurred. Deciding maybe just telling the others would work, he whispered into Lexaeus’s ear, “Hey, when I say ‘let's go’, everyone follow me. Pass it on.”

Briefly Terra looked down. The Reaper was trying to understand her kid more, huh? A child that had, possibly, passed through their hands…

“Drums?” Zexion hummed, a couple constructs trotting over after a moment with books in their arms, joining his walk as they poured through the texts. “Namine’s right, unless they came to us before enlistment, none of our handiwork is in military folk. Obviously we weren’t given management information, but I would assume there were specific complexes just for the military, so it’s possible your child went to one of those; hunger is one of Xaldin’s calling cards, but it’s not such a complex idea that no one else could’ve utilized it. There’s plenty of trauma in warfare itself that it’s possible that could do the trick, for something simple…and a particularly strong Empath.”

Lexaeus gave Axel a skeptical look. 

…but not dismissive. 

Ienzo, Zexion, their whole system…it wasn’t well. The incident the other day was glaring, yes, but there were a lot of other signs that pointed towards the conclusion that things weren’t as under control as Zexion presented them to be. 

It was significantly quieter in the library than it used to be. Ienzo had always been prone to going off on tangents, but his constructs seemed far more erratic about it these days. If Zexion really did know where Ienzo was, needing to have a ‘reason’ to find him wouldn’t have prevented him from trying to become whole. 

Lexaeus trusted Zexion far more than he trusted Axel…but it didn’t mean that trust was lacking, and he quietly passed the message on. 

Which seemed to work out well, since with Zexion wholly distracted looking for any information about drum-based conditioning or military conditioning, 2 seemingly walked out of a bookcase and gestured for the others to follow, calling out quickly, “This way!! 13, now!!”

And Zexion could barely look up in confusion before another construct jumped him. 

“W-wha-- 13, 2, are yo-- Get OFF me!! You’re don--!!”

Thwapping Zexion in the face with a large tomb, 13 bared his teeth at the prime construct. “That’s for 14 and 8.” Not even looking at the group as he continued to grapple Zexion, he shouted, “GO NOW!”

“Oh nevermind that was NOT subtle, GO GO GO!” Axel shouted, running after 2. 

“Oh, shit! Uuuuh, good luck, Zexion!” Demyx shouted, not sure which one he was wishing well but, well, sometimes you just had to go with the person who seemed like they knew what was going on! Which Axel seemed to! Or something!? 

Namine pouted. “Axel, you’re not group leader–EEP! AXEL!” 

“Yep, let’s go go go!” Axel shouted, swooping up Namine and throwing her over his shoulder as he passed her, the group following at his and 2’s heels. 

“Kokichi, what on earth is happening?” Maki griped at him as they ran. 

“You think I know?!” Kokichi said incredulously, giving the fight behind them a worried look but deciding to follow the others. 

If it had been Axel who asked for Maki, and Axel who gathered the others, then…whatever was going on now, that was Zexion’s constructs going haywire as they tried to find Ienzo? This seemed like the best path forward. 

“Apologies!” 2 called from the front, leading the group not down the bordered halls of the maze that they’d been walking through with Zexion, but through certain bookcases, down paths that didn’t seem like they existed, turns that were too shallow or too narrow for the carefully drafted bookcases should allow, even dipping into the floor once. “You’ve seen it before, right? Or at least Prince Kokichi, Sora, Axel, and Demyx--your constructs are defenses. They’re trying to defend against interference.”

“Help!!”

Pausing briefly, 2 seemed to listen for a moment, crashes and sounds of a struggle happening in the distance before he shook his head and started pushing a bookcase to a side, revealing another hidden path. “Zexion was lying, he doesn’t know where Ienzo is. Maybe he did once, but not anymore. And he wasn’t even trying.” Internally cringing, 2 forced himself to spell it out clearly for the others. “Our forte is illusions. If he was taking you down the paths you could see, he was just trying to endlessly lead you in circles, like the people we conditioned.”

“What makes you any different, then?” Marluxia tsked, “Isn’t Zexion supposed to be the ‘main’ one or something?”

“I don’t know,” 2 said honestly, “We’re supposed to all be the same. All Zexion. The fact that we’re not is one of the bigger signs something’s wrong. But I do know that this might be one of the last chances to ever get to Ienzo before Zexion manages to build the maze to the point really no one can ever get through. Not without cracking our head open.”

“Wait, that’s what I thought, I thought all of you guys were Zexion! Was the number thing meant to mean something else!?” Demyx asked, sounding flabbergasted. None of the constructs he had talked to had ever seemed ‘less’ than any of the others. It was all just his friend but with, like… special interests! 

“Makes sense to me. In every group, there’s always one that wishes he were the alpha,” Saix frowned, crawling over a bench that was blocking off the path between two aisles that could barely fit it, “Even if there’s no need for one, the desire to reign supreme always enters one person’s mind.”

“Yeah! Like Namine!” Sora said cheerfully. 

“Sora!” Namine gasped, still hoisted over Axel’s shoulder, “I’m the strongest of us, it’s not a delusion!” 

“It’s kinda a delusion, right up until the wee lass dunks your head in nightmares for a week,” Luxord grumbled, “Then it’s like, eh, well, maybe the witch has a point.”

“Is that what is happening, then?” Ansem frowned, floating ominously above some of the debris, too dignified to need to run, “This construct is, to stick to the metaphor, ‘dumping the heads of the others in nightmares’?”

“The numbers are just to distinguish us, but the fact that most of us have numbers, and Zexion doesn’t? He was the first. He’s the one in charge. He’s the one assimilating us, even when it’s clear that something about this isn’t working out,” 2 clarified. 

Before he came to another stop and waved for the others to pause for a moment as he listened…though he did sigh after a moment. “I’m not making a bid for power. And not to deconstruct you too much, Saix, but the models of ‘alphas’ in wolves is a phenomena that’s only ever been recorded in disparate wolves in captivity, under stressful conditions. It’s not something they do naturally.”

Shaking his head, refocusing himself, 2 closed his eyes and breathed in, trying to smell…okay, this way. “...ideally, Ienzo will be able to properly reassimilate all of us. But…” Another sigh, as something difficult went over 2’s face. “...even before we got out of the factories, and all our Nobodies were stuck in charge? …Ienzo hasn’t been out for ages, guys.”

Terra gave 2 a look that was bordering into concern, even as they followed his lead. “Uh…kiddo, gonna need a clarification on ‘ages’.”

2 shrugged tiredly. “Years.”

Saix glanced around the library. Felt pretty captive to him. But, admittedly, he hadn’t really been thinking of wolves anyway. 

Maki frowned at the clarification that Ienzo had been trapped in his own mind for years. Which felt… wildly in character for him actually, as she sighed, looking around, “Never could just calm himself down… still a crybaby, huh?” 

“Hey, so, assuming you’re not also trying to mislead us, where exactly are we all going?” Xaldin asked, “I don’t love feeling like a rat in a maze. But that is how it’s starting to feel.”

“That’s true. This could be another form of distraction Ienzo’s mind is putting up as a defense,” Vexen said.

“That is the point,” 2 said dryly, before sniffing again, choosing a path more conclusively after a moment, “You all were talking about it with Zexion before, weren’t you? If you’re not just here to read, this place is meant to make you wander in useless, mind-numbing circles until you’re desperate, then defeated. You don’t need a threat to hurt people, hellfire can be yourself.”

“Please, help …e!!”

“...but you’re navigating it by scent,” Kokichi observed, piping up again, getting a small, confirming nod. He had noticed that things were heightened, smell-wise, but he hadn’t figured out how that fit into everything.

“If there’s any way to get to Ienzo, it’ll be through a method we don’t think about. And have a harder time fooling. There’s no way to verify who to trust…but I like to think I’ve mustered up at least a little trust,” 2 said softly, glancing to Sora for a moment. “I’ve been pretending to be as mechanical as 98 for ages, just to make sure Zexion didn’t suspect anything. You saw what happened to 8.”

Sora winced. “Oooooh, that was Zexion? I thought that was Ienzo? So Ienzo isn’t becoming more whole, Zexion is just weeding out rebels?”

“What are you smelling for?” Maki asked, “What specifically?”

2 looked tired. “They should be the same thing. Base essence is base essence, after all. But if Ienzo isn’t in control? That just means Zexion has more of our capabilities, and if he’s prioritizing those of us that aren’t just clear copies of him? Going back isn’t supposed to be a punishment. I follow his logic, but with things breaking down in here the more he does it…it’s flawed in practice.”

“...-ave --s!!”

He glanced to Maki. “Blood. I noticed it on one of my first attempts to find Ienzo once I realized that Zexion couldn’t find him anymore. It’s the best lead I have, really.”

Kokichi paled a bit. “...oh?”

Maki’s eyes narrowed. “Oh.”

Demyx laughed nervously, before turning to Saix. “Well???”

Saix blinked. “Well, what?” 

“Do the thing, man! Turn into a puppy, find Ienzo!” 

Saix frowned. “I can’t just do that on command, not outside of my own world. I need a full moon, or a proper trigger–”

Axel grabbed Saix by the scruff of his neck, pulling him close and whispering into his ear, “Heel,” before throwing him down into the ground.

Saix caught himself on his paws, growling as his fur bristled. Axel had the good sense to step back before the wolf bit him, but then Saix sniffed in the air, growling a bit as his ears perked up, his head waving around as he sniffed the air some more… before leaning his head back and howling–

“Woah, way to give us away!” Demyx groaned.

–before bolting into a run. 

It was a bit of a struggle for the group to keep up, even Ansem needing to glide faster to not lose track of the wolf, before Saix stopped in front of a door, howling louder. Maki put her hand on Kokichi’s shoulder, whispering to him, “I’m going on ahead, stick to the back of the group. If I shout to close your eyes, you do it. Kaito will kill me if I let you pass out here.”

Demyx’s concern was valid. As they sprinted after Saix, a series of crashes and yells seemed to follow, 2 glancing back in concern once before focusing himself. He put his trust in 13, but he didn’t expect that distraction to last forever. As long as he got the others to Ienzo…that was the answer. 

As they followed Saix, it wasn’t just the sounds of a fight that got closer. The smell of blood increased, as well as faint…cries. Sounding almost like a distant chant, the closer they got to the doors, pleas to be saved, calls for help…and it was with grim realization that some realized they had been hearing it for a while, just buried in with the regular din of the library maze. 

Quick to get to the door after Saix, 2 gave him a breathless, “Thank you, Saix,” before putting a hand on the doorknob to open it…and pausing as his eyes widened. “Ah.”

“Got it,” Kokichi whispered back to Maki, worry tightening his expression. He was already starting to feel a little nauseous… It wasn’t a stench, where they were, but he could clearly smell and identify…y-yeah. Blood.

“...2,” Lexaeus prompted.

Turning back to the group, 2 gave them a grim look. “...I can’t go in. But,” his eyes flicked over to a nearing crash, and 2 drew himself up, a Lexicon appearing in his hands, “I’ll hold Zexion off as long as I can. I can’t help, but what hint I can give…there’s an extra clue in the first one, if you’re stuck on what to do.”

With that, 2 nudged his way to the back of the group and held a hand out, creating a barrier between them and the rest of the library. Bracing himself. 

Maki pushed to the front of the group as 2 pushed his way to the back. There was a moment where she wanted to say something, maybe. Let him know she remembered him. Tell him to be strong. Tell him it was going to be alright. 

But Maki wasn’t one for sentimentality. She just caught his eye for a moment, before moving past him, as Demyx reached for the door. Ienzo was in trouble, wherever he was. He didn’t need reassuring, he needed to be saved. 

But Axel didn’t feel the same way, as he called back to 2, “Don’t worry, we’ve got this! We’re going to make you whole, 2!” before setting Namine down, the group pushing ahead into the door. 

2 gave Axel a small smile, before focusing intently in front of him. They needed the best chance he could give them, and 2 had waited a long time for this. 

Inside the room was a dim parlor, though it might take Kokichi a moment to recognize it as such, considering its stylings were very different from the ones he’d be used to. Heavy, polished stones, curling metalwork, dark tones… And six mannequins laid out on the furniture. For the most part they were all dressed differently, but there were a few items that stood out on each. 

A dark, hooded veil on one, a hassled-looking figure with half-moon glasses, a figure holding chains and what looked like whips slotted into pockets, a man and a woman intertwined, the man with a familiar shade of slate blue hair, and a mirrored cameo around the woman’s neck…and a smaller, child-sized mannequin, with that same shade of messy slate blue hair covering one eye. 

In the middle of the room, six nooses hung in a row, labeled by plaques that read: Kidnapper, Torturer, Lovers, Conditioner, Executioner

And glowing slightly, in readable, yet elegant script, almost like it had been writ into the air itself, read:

We may visit death upon the head of the sinner, but to what avail?

In the name of retribution

We took part in a bitter comedy this day

You, hanging as you do, by your neck

Unforgiven and cursed by all

The first one killed without grant of death

Should it be her to draw no more breath?

The crown considers, no, I think not

For we need more of what she has wrought

The next one with his smile and sweets

Stole poor children off the streets

To men who dressed unsavory

He sold them into slavery

Broken, battered, at the end of their wits

This one’s favorite prey, ripe for the blitz

A change here and there, what does it matter?

One’s autonomy gone, served up on a platter

A love for the world, arms ready for embrace

And yet common sense completely erased

Speaking from one’s heart, a virtue for some

I wished you had just stayed Mum

And you, who’ve brought all to their end

Not forgotten in our story penned

A body count much higher than all above

One might think it’s a labor of love

What meaningless contracts

But also signs of guilt

Some were done without reason, done out of fear and a ripe imagination

Spinning along at the end of a rope

It is nothing less than a disgrace to us all

“...oh boy,” Demyx said, immediately scratching into his hair, reading and then re-reading again, the poem… riddle? In the air. “And our smart one is off battling himself in the library too. We’re so screwed.”

“Hey, come on! We’re smart! We can totally… uh…” Sora trailed off, looking between the mannequins and the poem, puffing his cheeks out a bit as he crossed his arms, tilting his head like he might better get it from an angle, “Okay, give me a second, so it’s just… ummmmmm…”

“It’s matching the verses to the mannequins,” Ansem said… before crossing his arms and tilting his head, looking eerily similar to Sora as he stared as well, “Right?”

“It’s deciding who’s going to be hung, I think, and where,” Maki said, having been mostly paying attention to the nooses. 

“Okay, easy! Easy, easy, easy,” Axel insisted, pointing to the two entwined mannequins, “The lovers! That’s two nooses filled, right there.”

“We should see what actually happens when we hang them before we make any more guesses,” Vexen advised, “Considering that likely is a sure guess for the lovers, we should see if how the nooses react provides any clues to what might happen if we get it wrong.”

“Sora, Ansem,” Namine said.

“Oh, uh, on it!” Sora said, scrambling over to the presumed lover mannequins, Ansem gliding ominously behind him as the two hefted the mannequins up, bringing them over to the lovers’ noose. 

Well, it wasn’t bloody, so that was, er, good. Though, as Kokichi read through the poem, fighting against the lingering smell in the room, the muffled cries nearby, and the fact that…well, they were still just guessing, but it seemed like the puzzle meant for them to sentence people to death?

“...this is…extremely grim…” he muttered, mostly to himself. It wasn’t like the others’ minds had been sunny days and walks in the park but this just felt…particularly depressing.

Marluxia considered the mannequins again as Sora and Ansem adjusted the ‘lovers’, his eyes narrowing in distaste. Nudging Demyx, he nodded to the mannequin with the chains. “Just me, or does this look an awful lot like Orlette? Seems like she’d fit ‘torturer’ pretty well.”

Lexaeus frowned at the smallest mannequin. The resemblance wasn’t even trying to be vague there. 

Though, as Ansem and Sora adjusted the nooses over the two mannequins’ heads, the ropes slowly raised and tightened, keeping them in place. There was a pause, before writing appeared in the air above a gallows lever. 

Is this your answer?

“Our answer?” Sora frowned, “Ye–”

“WAIT!” Vexen shouted, shoving his hand on top of Sora’s mouth and pulling him back, scowling at the lettering in the air, “Don’t just agree! Don’t you see what that means? This is meant to be a final answer! Who knows what will happen if we get it wrong!”

“I mean, theoretically the worst that happens is we all get kicked out of his mind or something, yes?” Xaldin said.

“Or pain? Terrible, agonizing pain?” Demyx winced, warily eyeing Orlette. “I’m up to being careful to avoid pain.”

“I’m more concerned about us finding this place again if we’re kicked out,” Namine admitted.

“Does this mean we have to make sure all the nooses are already full?” Ansem guessed, “Before giving our answer?”

“Or we’re misunderstanding the bet,” Luxord cautioned, “Maybe it’s not asking us to fill all the nooses. Maybe that’s why the mannequins don’t feel subtle, because it’s not about guessing which one is which.”

“Well, then what IS it asking for?” Sora asked, pulling away from Vexen’s hand.

Axel was rereading the riddle, mouthing the words aloud, “The first one killed without granting death, should it be her to… should…” Axel bit his lower lip, growling a little, “...is it asking us who deserves to be hung?”

Saix huffed a growl at Axel’s feet, still a wolf. Nodding insistently. 

“Oh man, it’s good we caught that!” Demyx fretted, “We’d have been totally wrong!”

“Why do you think that?” Namine asked, looking genuinely curious.

“What? Because out of all these guys, obviously the lovers don’t deserve to die,” Demyx said, “It’d be the torturers and stuff!”

“The worst people aren’t always the ones to die,” Maki said, her gaze steady as some of the others gave her a grim look at that, “They’re rarely the ones to die.”

“Yeaaaaah, let’s call that ‘funky assassin bias’ and actually solve the puzzle, yeah lass?” Luxord said, “It’s asking who deserves to die. Clearly. In which case, let’s get that cunt Orlette up there. That’s an easy one.”

“I’ll agree with that reasoning~” Marluxia hummed, picking up the mannequin to bring over to the ‘torturer’ noose. “And if this is from Ienzo’s perspective? Then I’d feel safe saying he did too--always noticed the numbers going up after she kicked his ass.”

“Then do we think it’s everyone from the factory?” Terra asked, glaring at the mannequin with the glasses. “Even if we couldn’t get our own vengeance in real life, this could be Ienzo expressing his disapproval for it all.”

Lexaeus was still looking at the little mannequin. Ienzo did hate the conditioning they had to do, and if his guess of which verse of the poem was about that, it did read as sarcastic. Even if Zexion could only express it in certain ways, Lexaeus knew that he felt a lot of guilt for what they put people through--his efforts in working with Rantarou and Xiomara, and trying to reverse engineer conditioning spoke volumes…

…but that guilt had never read suicidal to him. Even when they were baited about it, Ienzo had always been staunchly against any of them taking their own lives. And the construct just before, in the maze, talking philosophically about what it took to survive, and how even deplorable acts could be moral, if it meant preserving your life…

Kokichi sighed, looking over the poem again, the part that Axel had read before. “...should it be her… the crown considers no.” Kokichi tugged the back of his hair. “It could just be to facilitate a rhyme, but…why mention that? If anything, your guys’ connection to the Luminous government is that they ignore you.”

“The crown considers no,” Vexen whispered, “The crown considers no…”

“Maybe that’s just what happened?” Demyx shrugged. “Like, regardless of how Ienzo felt about it?”

“Doesn’t that change the nature of the question?” Namine said, “It’s about who deserves it.”

“Isn’t it?” Axel whispered, mostly to himself.

“...Kokichi and I are working with only half information,” Maki realized, heading to the mannequins, looking over them, “You guys all sound like you can guess pretty easily who is who. Explain it to us. Who are these people? What happened to them?”

“Well, some I’m just guessing at. Like, I don’t really know who the lovers are,” Demyx admitted, before pointing to the hanging torturer. “But that’s definitely Orlette. She liked whips,” he said grimly.

“And nothing happened to her,” Sora frowned, “Not that we ever heard about. The factories closed and we never saw her again.”

“Did she ever kill anyone?” Maki asked.

“Not one of us,” Terra said lowly, crossing his arms as he glared up at the visage of the woman, “Though it’s not like any of us knew what her social life was like. As far as I’ve been able to tell, she had better sense than some of the others to skip town.”

Half-leaning on one of the parlor tables, Marluxia gave a distasteful look at the mannequin in the glasses, explaining, “That’s probably Hayner, too. Know he brought me in, and the ‘light of heart’ trio too.” Though, that was mostly his short list since most of the others had already been there when Lauriam had been caught. And since not all of them had simply taken a different path once already deemed Indentured…yeah, ‘kidnapper’ worked. 

“Ienzo,” Lexaeus said simply, nodding to the small mannequin. And as that had been their job…’conditioner’. 

“Still doesn’t explain who the lovers are,” Axel said. 

Maki re-read the lovers section, musing a bit at it. She had a guess who they were, but no real proof…

……oh, no, “I’m an idiot,” she sighed, “The answer is right there.”

“Ah, you saw it too, then?” Vexen said, “It’s a pun.”

“What?” Maki said.

“The… the clue,” Vexen said, pointing to the ‘mum’ part of the riddle, “It’s not wishing she had kept quiet, it was wishing she had stayed his ‘mum’. Obvious once you see it, right?”

“...” Maki squinted up at the riddle, before irritatedly waving it away. “No, you dunce. She’s wearing his mom’s necklace. Look,” Maki said, pointing to the mannequin with the cameo on it. 

The rest of the group looked at the necklace blankly.

“.......he didn’t tell any of you about the necklace?” She asked, “Haven’t you known him forever?”

“Uuuuuuh, I mean, he didn’t talk about his childhood much,” Demyx frowned. “So, the lovers are his parents? What happened to them?”

“I mean, we don’t know what happened to his parents,” Axel said after a beat, when no one spoke up, “But we do know what happened to the other four. And none of them were executed. So… by process of elimination?”

Everyone stared up at the nooses. 

“...wait, were we right from the start!?” Demyx demanded. “If we had just said yes would we have been good!?”

“...oh,” Kokichi murmured, nodding a little. “It is capitalized, huh. I didn’t realize you guys had that dialect here too.”

Terra could only blink at the necklace--he’d…kinda figured that the lovers were supposed to be generic nobles, from how they were dressed, but…if they were Ienzo’s parents?--before frowning a bit at Maki. “Wait, how do you know that, then? You didn’t remember the island when Namine first connected to you, and I really doubt that if he didn’t tell us, Ienzo was just venting to people taking a break on the island.”

“Oh, he never mentioned me?” Maki asked, at first just sounding mildly curious about it…before furrowing her brow, “Wait, then why was I invited? If you all didn't think I had any connection to him?”

A beat of silence. Namine looked over to Axel.

“Oh! Right, so 2 asked me a few days ago to make sure all of us, and Maki, were here for when we did his heart unlocking,” Axel explained, “And I… I don’t know, he was convincing! So I promised I would! But he didn’t explain why. So you know each other?”

“I mean, he’s always been a little weird when it came to talking about The Reaper anyway,” Demyx reminded them, “...did you kill his parents? Maybe that’s why he never says your name, even when we’re talking about you?”

Maki considered holding what she knew close to her chest… but honestly, she couldn’t imagine the point of him hiding his connection to her. It wasn’t like being one of her siblings put him in any worse danger than he had already been in, as she explained, “I’m one of his orphan sisters. We spent about nine months in Sunny Side Orphanage together, before being shipped off to the warehouses at the same time.” 

Maki pointed to the necklace, explaining, “One of the caretakers stole that from him, so I stole it back for him. It was his mother’s.”

“Oh… WOAH!” Demyx said, “Ienzo’s sister is The Reaper!? And he actually, like, knew you, knew you!? You were friends?”

Maki nodded, though she added, “Well, we were 7, when we met. So we knew each other at that point. I’ll admit, I didn’t recognize him when I saw him first on the island. I had no idea he had never left the warehouse, I just assumed we never crossed paths again.”

Surprised, Lexaeus considered that. Ienzo wasn’t the most sentimental person. None of them could really afford to be, but even when they had been introduced to the new, young child, Ienzo hadn’t really…struggled. At least as much as some of the kids could. Hope had never really seemed to be fully lost for him, but Ienzo had seemed to accept that the factory was just how life was, now, and his greatest laments had always been new books and information. Nothing…personal. 

It tracked that even an orphan sister, a friend, would be a memory Ienzo would keep close to the chest, and not mention. Though, it seemed that connection had shown through anyway. 

He wondered what context he was missing for some of Ienzo’s other behaviors that he’d just accepted. 

Terra nodded a bit, his gaze a little distant. “Not a lot of us had people waiting for us on the outside. But I can figure that’s the assumption they made too. It’s not like the factory was advertising that sometimes they just kept people.” His gaze refocused on Maki. “But news about you wasn’t exactly subtle, so maybe 2 had a hunch that someone that knows him in ways we don’t might’ve been needed for this.”

“Yeah, yeah, brainiac’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma,” Marluxia drawled, having gotten Orlette back down from the noose, “But we’ll be here all day trying to unravel this ball of yarn. Someone hit the lever, would you?”

Axel pulled it and the two laden nooses suddenly jerked up, a cracking noise going through the room as the mannequin heads lolled, the bodies then hanging silently. And a door in the back of the room appeared. 

Through it, the group would find…well…

There were a few things that could draw anyone’s attention first. 

The scent of blood reeked in there, not just the tang of metal, but the scent of heat, and the back of your throat film of a source of blood, the implication of exposed meat and organs and viscera. 

The cries that had been building in volume were suddenly clear. Clear in a way that didn’t just mean unmuffled by distance, but that revealed that they had been distorted before, the sounds just sounds, not actual voices, because what they sounded like now? Were clear, distinct, individual voices…none of them Ienzo’s. 

They were the screams and pleas in children’s voices, some maybe familiar, some perhaps forgotten to time, all crying out, not ‘save me, help me,’ but…

“SAVE US! PLEASE, BIG SIS, HELP ME! MAKI, HELP!!”

And in the center of the room…was Ienzo. Knelt forward, placed in stocks, if stocks were made of blades, thrust in every direction through his body, pinning him in place. His expression warped, as if it had been grimaced in pain and fear, once, long ago, but had settled into hurt resignation. Even held firm by blades, his hands were frozen, reached for his head, the wounds in his arms pulling and torn, as the areas of and around his ears were just still-gushing, bloody gouges, his fingers stained. 

Of course Maki ran.

The sound of children screaming out had only startled her for a moment. But the second ‘Big Sis’ was called out, Maki hadn’t needed to hear more. She had vaulted herself up and around the other members of the group, moving faster than eyes could keep track of. Holding in her hands a full set of obsidian blades that she hadn’t had access to a moment before, pulled from a particular skirt she hadn’t worn in a long time. 

Her hair was long, as she looked around, before her eyes focused on the only actual victim in the room. 

Somewhere, a mountain rumbled… but Maki couldn’t hear it. Couldn’t see it. It was drowned out by screams that before she had only ever imagined. It felt impossible to think in this situation. At this point, there likely wasn’t an order she could have rejected, no demand she could have scoffed at. She felt mindless. A tool.

But with a lack of orders to distract her, she just focused on Ienzo. Moving quickly over to him. She had to get him out of this thing, she had to–

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!!” 

Appearing in the room, Zexion, looking wild, roughed up and beaten, and holding a struggling to stand 2 by the collar, swooshed out a hand, the floor between Maki and Ienzo expanding then shrinking until she was a few feet away again in the blink of an eye. 

“Ienzo!!”

The others hadn’t been far behind Maki (Lexaeus had lingered a moment, advising the Dicean Prince to stay back. He’d noticed the young man’s uneasiness around blood, and…while Kokichi’s help was important, if they lost both him and Maki if Kokichi couldn’t stay in Ienzo’s mind, they’d lose an important edge) but as they pushed into the room, several other blank-faced constructs appeared at each person, poised to block their advance. 

Maki stopped regardless. The screams of begging siblings were flooding her mind. This was literally how conditioning had worked for her. Before the mountain had made everything seem small.

(But it wasn’t just the mountain, was it. The mountain had always been there. Her siblings had also been safely in Dicea, when the conditioning had eased.)

And as Namine looked worriedly at the blank faced construct in front of her, she knew very well the issue Maki was having, as she shouted out, “Maki Harukawa! Fight Zexion! That’s an order!... or they all DIE!” 

Maki blinked, the screams of her siblings flooding her thoughts, as she narrowed her eyes at Zexion. Flicking her wrist as the old, familiar sound of two of her blades sang through the air, aiming for his chest.

“Having fun, witch?” Zexion bit at Namine, before scoffing, looking down at 2 with nothing but ice. “I don’t have time for you, traitor.”

It was barely a blink, Maki striking true with her daggers…into 2, who could only let a breath go, as Zexion held the back of his neck. The construct dissolving under his touch, revealing a bitter glare. 

“It’s almost admirable, how much this still affects you. Let’s see how you handle hearing it as the background noise we do.” Clenching a fist and turning his hand, the noise warped, still unsettling, still there, but…well, background noise.

“Zexion,” Lexaeus called out, “You have to let Ienzo go. This is hurting him.”

“What would you even know about that?!” Zexion snapped, “Failed protector. I protect Ienzo, which is more than anyone else has ever been able to do for him.”

Axel couldn’t help the small “Dammit,” that came out of him when he saw 2 dissolve. He hoped when all this was over, the guy found peace in returning to base essence. Because right now, he was just going back to chaos, with this shit.

But he didn’t have much time to think about it, because the blank constructs were attacking. He found himself needing to bring out his spinning fire blades, and scowled when instead of just fighting like Ienzo usually did, when he had to, the construct in front of him immediately struck a pose like Demyx would, and suddenly water silhouettes were standing in Axel’s way. 

All the others were in similar predicaments. The constructs in front of them not just fighting back, but using methods that were specifically good against their skillsets. Luxord tried to hide into his spinning cards, but the construct's spinning javelins immediately made his area effect worthless. Demyx, in a hint of irony, kept getting electrocuted every time he tried to use his water attacks. Sora was dodging long, concentrated energy beams while Ansem was getting pulverized by a suddenly manifesting rollercoaster. 

Maki winced as the screams and wails of the children cried out… before she leapt again, this time trying to close the distance between herself and Zexion. Spinning like a flurry of daggers in hopes of knicking and cutting at his skin a few times, before wincing again as screams of her name distracted her. 

One caught her attention in particular, and Maki staggered, looking around for its source mindlessly. A wailing, sobbing cry sounding so familiar. “...Glen?”

(Kokichi could still hear what was going on in the other room of course, and he’d startled when one of Zexion’s constructs appeared before him…but it had just given him a plaintive look and a soft, “Don’t”. Kokichi wasn’t going to ‘don’t’...but he did have to figure out what he could do to help the others without making himself pass out or accidentally shattering Ienzo’s mind.)

Zexion…wasn’t really fighting Maki. He was her opponent, sure, but he wasn’t really going on the offensive, just using tricks of perspective to keep her attacks from pushing them towards Ienzo…and switching places with constructs when she landed more significant hits, the constructs only getting a moment of surprise before dissolving back into base essence. 

As she paused, though, Zexion narrowed his eyes. “...Glen Gregory, would be…11, at my best guess now. I wouldn’t make the mistake of actually giving you something to protect.” Even saying that, though, he bared his teeth at Maki. “He kept passing out, even as a mental projection. Begging you for help the whole time…”

“We all had our share of conditioning kids, but wouldn’t you know it, they always sent Sunny Side kids to me. Apparently, Sunny Side orphans were particularly close, even for orphan siblings. Apparently, there was a big sister that still visited for years and years and years, inspiring loyalty and a sense of responsibility throughout waves of orphans that usually forgot the older ones over time.”

“How lucky, it apparently was, our supervisors thought, that they had a Sunny Side kid too. Those kids would let their guards down faster, if a Big Brother was there,” Zexion spat, actually looking visibly angered. “It was impossible for me to ever forget your name.”

Maki watched another construct dissolve, then another, and took a breath. Flicking her knives restlessly around her hands, only two left. She had to be smarter, move slower, not unarm herself, she had to… she had to…

Maki listened harder to the voices screaming around her. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it's okay, big sis said it's Just For Now, Just For Now, just for… MAKI!” Piper screamed, before whispering again that it was just for now, that she was leaving soon, big sis had said–

“Atua, who loves me, Atua, who loves me, Atua who–TELL BIG SIS, TELL HER I NEED HER!” Savannah screamed, “TELL HER TELL HER–”

“Jaime!?” Tyrone had called, before sobbing, “Maki said you were brave, you can do it, just be strong, big sis said you could–”

“I CAN’T I CAN’T I CAN’T MAKI! MAKI MAKE THEM STOP!” Abel shouted. 

“Big sis said you could do it, you’re a troublemaker, no one can stop you,” Jaime had reassured himself… before starting to weep, “Big sis, I’m sorry.”

Others too. Ones who had not made it to Dicea. Ones Maki had not been able to personally save. Reassuring themselves from things Maki had told them before they were shipped out. Screaming for her help. Asking someone–Atua, a supervisor, she heard Kaito at one point–to go tell her that they needed her. 

In a lot of ways, this was Maki’s worst nightmare brought to life. Her siblings screaming for her, and Maki in no position to save them. Just trapped. Listening to their cries.

“...” Maki stared at Zexion, who snarled and sneered at her. Feeling her mind clear a little bit. Some of her thoughts return to her. She knew, one way or another, where most of these voices were. They weren’t here. This was just noise.

The mountain rumbled. 

“...were you?” Maki asked, “A big brother? To get them to let their guard down?”

Zexion grit his teeth. “...Ienzo wanted to be. Not to make our job easier, but when we gave them breaks? …he wanted to give them reading tips, share uplifting stories, wanted to give any kind of tip he could that might come in handy down the line… Just…say anything to remind them of their worth. That nothing in their jobs or because of conditioning was their fault.”

“But that wasn’t who we were allowed to be to them,” he glared at Maki, “When the clock started again, we had to work. And nothing we ever tried, in sabotaging conditioning, or creating loopholes for it, ever resulted in anything positive for the people we wanted to help. We were never going to get to be a savior…not when we had to be the demon. It would be kinder to never give them that hope, or break that trust.”

He sneered, almost finding something funny in that. “That’s the kind of thing that can screw you up for life, you know.”

Maki listened to the screaming of the children. The wailing. The crying. The endless, endless crying. 

God, such a crybaby.

Maki looked away from Zexion, and called out to Ienzo. “Can you hear me?”

Zexion gave her a…very trademark sarcastic look, considering the situation. “...what do you think?”

Tsking, he centered himself again. “Whatever, anything anyone can say to him, they can say to me. It’s not like that’s ever been different.”

Maki thought about pressing the point. Just ignoring the construct and focusing on Ienzo. But… something about the way he said it made her believe him. Oh, yes, absolutely the Ienzo they were trying to get to was absolutely locked up in that knife contraption, certainly. But what had the constructs said? That Ienzo hadn’t been out in years?

Ienzo might be who they were ‘rescuing’, but Zexion was who she was talking to. 

“Fine,” she said, looking back to him, “We’ll talk. But the crying’s annoying me. What do I have to do to get it to stop this time?”

For the first time, instead of just pissed, Zexion looked…tired. “It doesn’t. Getting a necklace didn’t actually bring Mom and Dad back. And just because I take over doesn’t mean it stops hurting.”

Briefly, Zexion looked back at Ienzo. “...it just didn’t get this bad until the kids. He doesn’t want to listen to it either.”

“The necklace was never supposed to bring them back,” Maki said. “I’m trying to do the thing that actually helped. Which is talk to you. But the noise is a lot,” Maki said, and at this point, it might be more obvious that some of her aggression wasn’t her being flippant. There was a sheen of sweat pooling at her temples. An order from Namine to attack, attack, attack that Maki was still just barely ignoring. The wails of all her failures screaming around her. 

And a part of her was so fucking furious that this was just an illusion. She wanted to talk to him, but she needed the noise to stop. She needed the sounds of battle behind her to stop. She needed– “Kokichi,” she suddenly growled, “Make it stop.”

He’d try. 

“Sorry,” Kokichi whispered to the construct by him, before--

It stopped. 

It being, uh…everything. At least around Maki and Zexion. The complete absence of everything jarring, Zexion almost looking just like Ienzo for a moment as he staggered, arms coming up to cover his ears, but stopping short. Just…gritting his teeth through it as he tensed. 

Maki let out a breath. The sound of war and the children’s screams still ringing through her mind for a moment, entirely her own eternal echoes… before she took a deep breath. Then another…

“...fuck,” Maki said, giving Zexion a tense look, “You have got to get that under control. Are you alright?”

“Fine,” Zexion bit out, though even as he forcibly untensed, he looked…uneasy. Appraising the void around them as one might an animal corpse laden with parasites. Disturbed and tentative. 

He testingly waved a hand through it. 

“...it’s too quiet in here.”

“Put up with it for a bit, because I’m not talking to you out there,” Maki said, her voice stern… before she shakily sat down, starting to tremble, “Fuck.”

Zexion looked at Maki…his expression softening slightly. Eyes flicking down. He was Ienzo’s protection, Ienzo hadn’t made him to be ki… 

Well. No. He once had. 

Gently, Zexion sat down next to Maki. “Sorry. Not even the fun kind of irony that his worst nightmare and yours are the same thing.”

There wasn’t much comfort he could give, not that would be true, but he still said, “...they always left the factory alright. Never physically harmed. And Namine made sure they didn’t remember the rest of it. If I could make a conjecture, the hope you gave them did a lot more good, overall, than it hurting in the factory.”

Maki took another deep breath. Then another… before nodding. 

“...a lot of them are fine, now,” Maki said, running her hands through her hair, which had grown short again, tucking the ends uselessly behind her ears, “And even more than I can personally account for are still probably just… fine. Did they tell you, in the warehouses? I got 33 of them. A few of them before they ever came to you. They’re all adopted now. They’re…”

Maki took another breath. “They’re fine.”

“...you know, what I kept wanting to tell you in there?” Maki said, “But I couldn’t get it out between the sounds of battle and the screaming kids… You know, when I was growing up, me and my friends made games, out of triggering each other's conditioning. We all had these little flaws we discovered in each other. Little ways we could take advantage of it, in each other. And instead of being frustrated with it, or angry, or frightened… we made it a game. We knew we would all take advantage of it, and preemptively just decided that between us three? It was normal.”

“....I never saw that, with the Sunny Side kids,” Maki said, “I never saw them triggering each other's conditioning, or getting accidentally triggered. Accidents I see all the time in other Indentureds. I even saw it in my son, once. But the Sunny Sides? Never. Not once.”

“Maybe it’s a hollow victory, to have just done a good job at a terrible thing,” Maki said, resting her elbows on her knees, staring at Zexion from the corner of her eyes, “But as the resident assassin? I know sometimes just doing the terrible thing efficiently is the only mercy you can actually give. The world didn’t give people like you and me better choices than that. If I was in your shoes… I’d find some pride in it. In no mistakes.”

Zexion glanced over, his eyes widening slightly. Letting out a breath as he sat back on a hand. “Thirty-three… No, they didn’t tell us. Anything we ever found out in the factory came from the people being conditioned…or what I could pick up from other Empaths. If someone didn’t come back for another session…” He sighed. “...it’s good some never went in the first place.”

It was a mercy, if Ienzo had ‘siblings’ he never met.

As Maki got to what she had struggled to say before, Zexion nodded slightly, aware of the flaws. As much as they’d relied on the blueprints, and the supervisors seemed invested in believing it was a perfect formula, conditioning wasn’t some stand alone, tested and true process. It was something highly specific to each individual, and that came with mistakes.

If he hadn’t been able to ensure it wouldn’t work for them at all, Zexion just hadn’t wanted to give them further grief. 

“I won’t say I truly never made mistakes, but I did aim for that.” Zexion sighed softly. “...I’ve been trying to figure out a process to undo conditioning. Since within the factory, but more boldly since we left. It…feels like the least I can do, for the harm I’ve enabled to come to people.” Zexion looked up, tired. “...I don’t think Ienzo feels like it will ever be enough.”

(Outside the void, the constructs less aggressive, but still keeping anyone from approaching Ienzo, they suddenly all said at once, “But there’s worth in the attempt.”)

(“Okay, now they’re just being creepy!” Demyx shouted as he dodged another thunderbolt. Having tried to get near Ienzo.)

“My therapist says there’s not actually a scoreboard to keep up with. That ultimately it’s up to us to decide what makes up for what we did,” Maki said, “...but that advice can be kind of shit, when you realize that means there really is just no way to make up for it. It’s insurmountable.”

“There is probably worth in just the act of trying,” Maki agreed, “I went the opposite, after the war. Instead of trying to redeem myself, I just… wanted to give up the power to influence anything entirely. Give up my agency. Let someone else decide. Which is a bit ironic, since that’s largely what I was fighting my whole life.”

“But once the kids were safe? I realized I didn’t really care if I had control over my life. It was always about you guys. Freeing myself was incidental…I could never save all of my siblings. Not truly. I had accepted that there would be ones that slipped through my fingers, lost in careers or moved where I couldn’t find them or… disappearing into the warehouse and never coming out again, apparently,” Maki said, “...if I had realized you were trapped in there, I would have wanted to come get you. I didn’t mean to abandon you. I just can’t be everywhere. Not really. I’m not a ‘savior’. I’m a girl who stretched herself impossibly thin, and now sometimes still needs a damn Momota to tell me it’s okay to take a walk, or bring my girlfriend a gift. Because some days I wake up and I just can’t… function. I can’t do anything.”

“That’s a bit pathetic to admit, but I noticed some hints of jealousy in your angry monologue earlier,” Maki said dryly, “I really cannot stress to you enough how overblown the ‘savior’ rumors are. Most of my big successes were acts of terrible cruelty. And it all messed me up pretty badly.”

Zexion gave Maki a mild side-eye, not judging but just…surprised to hear that she was in therapy. In the months they’d been out, it didn’t seem any more ubiquitous than when he was a kid, and, well, he had assumed that even having someone metaphorically poking around in your brain wasn’t something someone conditioned would be all that thrilled to participate in. But whether Maki’s logic was derived from that or from her own thoughts…he could follow it. 

(...it didn’t actually mean much. But even still Zexion did find some comfort hearing that Maki would’ve wanted to get Ienzo, if she had known.)

(It was something that had made their siblings’ cries hurt all the more, maybe. Knowing that Ienzo had thought about their promise before the factory, in the early days, and even knowing how fanciful it was, still…hoping for a fantasy story to suddenly happen. She’d done the impossible for him before, after all.)

Zexion huffed a little. “You’re not wrong, but I don’t think Ienzo would even want half of what people say about you. The love your siblings feel for you isn’t overblown, though, and I think that’s understandable to be jealous of.”

He looked down, thinking over some of the things that had happened in Ienzo’s mind. “...thank you, for threatening to starve out an entire city. I’m sorry you had to. I’m sorry that that’s something you have to carry with you now…but thanks. We all had to come to terms with the fact that we were going to die in that factory. Now any of us can see the sky whenever we want.”

A small, sarcastic smile twinged at Zexion’s lips as he sank into his shoulders a little. “Not that that’s been Ienzo’s prerogative, much. I know the other kids thought we were crazy since he liked talking to me more than just about anything. Until we started hanging out with you.”

Maki closed her eyes, hiding the way they burnt at that. A part of her feeling pathetic, for how… desperately she took those words from him. Grabbing that thank you and immediately hiding it somewhere deep inside of herself, a cherished memory, for when things got hard. A cruel joy she could hold to herself.

But what Zexion said next, perhaps thankfully, got her out of her feelings. Maki telling herself ‘there’s time to feel that later’ as she expertly buried it, giving Zexion a more pointed, appraising look. 

“...you’re pre-Nobody,” she realized.

Zexion nodded a little. Quiet for a moment before he looked out at the void. 

“Ienzo didn’t have any friends, so he made one. It feels a lot better to talk about the things you’re interested in when there’s someone just as excited to listen and share their thoughts about it. Or to keep you company when you’re alone. I think I might’ve just been a figment, then…might’ve stayed one.”

He sighed exasperatedly. “Officially, Lord and Lady Seisear died via double suicide. Unofficially, Ienzo Seisear woke up one morning and found his parents hanging in their breakfast parlor with neck injuries that didn’t match hanging, but what gave it away more was the fact that within an hour the guards were there, despite the fact he hadn’t moved. He couldn’t handle it…so I offered to take over.”

Zexion closed his eyes. “...I was always meant to protect him. And I always have.”

Maki took a small breath. Leaning back on her hands, staring up at the void. It might have been too quiet for Zexion, but she liked it. It was soothing. Nice, to briefly stop.

“...he doesn’t seem entirely comfortable in the knife bondage gear, surrounded by screaming children,” she said. “Just as a note.”

Zexion scrunched his nose. “That place doesn’t exist all the time. Just when it’s pointed out, like, I dunno, when over a dozen Empaths are right there contributing to its support.”

“It is interesting, though,” he noted, shifting his weight onto one arm to lightly tap his chin, “I didn’t think that what happened to Roxas and Larxene and…well, Axel’s aid was something they were doing on purpose. But I do think I really would harm you all if you tried to get near Ienzo while I’m there.”

He looked around the void uneasily again. “...your Ouma’s power is truly unsettling. I imagine this is the closest to a functional demonstration of divinity I’ll ever experience.”

‘You’re not far off,’ Maki thought, as she said aloud, “I’m sure he’s twisting himself into pieces over it, arguing how ethical it is to essentially trap a piece of your mind away from the rest of you, just because I asked him to. You couldn’t ask for a better person to have these abilities. I’m just a bad influence on him… which is good. Keeps him human.”

“If you’re his protector–and I do believe you–then why are his other constructs begging us to save him from you?” Maki pointed out, “Why are we literally fighting a battle of blank-faced zombie versions of him, while he’s tortured by us comprehending his current situation? Why hasn’t he left in years? I’m not saying you didn’t do it for his own good. I am saying being over protective of someone can do a lot of damage to them too. As a friend of mine has said once: you’re always the bad guy, if you’re locking princesses in towers.”

Yay. Zexion was so thrilled to take part in another experiment on the limits of morality.

A frown scrunched to the side as Zexion moved some of his hair out of his face, really…thinking about that, without his defense impulses coloring everything. “...I’m not sure, mechanically. We’re all meant to not be functionally different from each other. Empathetic dissociation can only do so much without ripping Ienzo apart into entirely different people…but there always have been differences. I’ve always had more of a personality, according to the others, 6 is close to me…the fact that 13 is so genuinely upset from losing 8 and 14, is…something.”

“...” Zexion tilted his head. “...perhaps 2 just had parts of Ienzo that even I didn’t have. Though it wasn’t my idea for Ienzo not to front for the time he has. Between stone walls, people that treated us like monsters only with every part of that fear channeled into disgust and anger, and people terrified of us for good reason? And then somewhere with near endless knowledge that he could stay in? I don’t blame him for not wanting to come out. Or any of the others not wanting to deal with it either. By the time it even occurred to me to see if he might want to front? I couldn’t find him anymore.”

“Right,” Maki said, “...I mean, not that I understand anything you just said. But right. Got it.”

“...I’m not a therapist, or an Empath, or even someone particularly good at understanding other people outside of how their fight and flight instincts work,” Maki said, “But I am your sister, and I might even be your big sister, I don’t know, I could be older than you by a few months. My point is, you have to listen to me. And I’m telling you, if we’re going back out there, we need at least a start of a plan to fix this. Your true self, or other self, or whatever the heck Ienzo is, can’t just be locked away in your brain, your constructs can’t be actively afraid of you destroying them out of revenge or trying to make coups against you. This is a stupid way to live. We need to fix this.”

“Uuuuuuuuugh,” Zexion groaned as he flopped onto his back. “Yeah.”

He glared up at the void, the view no different from right ahead. “I would suggest trying to get to Ienzo, since that’s the thing I’m trying to stop all of you from doing, but I’m pretty confident that I’ll succeed. My forte is illusions, but within my own mind, it’s not a matter of fooling you. They’ll be just as real as any Empath attack.”

“...I could try to “kill” all of you and see if that baits Ienzo out?” he suggested.

“Sounds traumatic. And probably stupid again,” Maki said, scratching the side of her neck, “Augh…eh, I mean, if you want to slaughter all of your friends to traumatize yourself out of hiding, I won’t stop you. But you said you’re hiding him because you want to protect him, right? What if we made a scenario where it’s just safe to come out?”

Zexion frowned at the void. “...I’m not sure what that would be. Any of you just being in that room feels like a threat, and when no one’s in the room, it doesn’t exist. And it’s been safe before. There’s not exactly quotas to meet when most days’ plans are sitting around an abandoned tavern for most of the day.”

“Then where’s the danger?” Maki asked, “You don’t lock someone away because you feel safe. And in my experience, the best way to deal with constant, pressing paranoia is to be honest with yourself about where you think the danger is. You can’t just pretend you’re not afraid. It doesn’t work that way.”

Zexion glared at the void, trying to think. Where was the danger now? 

Starvation was a more pressing one, now. Less so more recently, with Sora picking up jobs, Demyx actually making some money busking, and…well, at least the hope of the prince’s contact set to arrive any day now. But even without more legal means, Zexion--or at least one of the constructs--had been more than willing to manipulate their way into making sure they had food. 

Okay…then…injury? They had some supplies, but there was no way they would be able to not just pay to see a healer, but pay enough for a healer they could trust to actually heal. If it was something serious, Zexion knew that most of them would be alright bending their newly formed moral bounds, but…serious injury was already an issue in itself. That was scary, sure. 

But…oh, those were methods, not--

(Ienzo had gone to sleep as the prized son of rich parents one night, and had woken up an orphan. He had gone to sleep with tentative, but valued friendships one night, and had woken up a prisoner. He’d gone to sleep with a family made in the darkest corners of the world, and once in a while he’d woken up with a member gone.)

(Death and change were facts of life. Ienzo was terrified that each time he closed his eyes, he’d lose something he never saw coming again.)

(He’d--)

(“Stop,” Ienzo whispered in the room, expression pinched. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”)

…

{Maki?} Kokichi asked.

Maki stared off into the dark. She knew she couldn’t answer him the way he was asking. So she just waited for him to look through her thoughts. 

Zexion had maybe stumbled onto a breakthrough. But it seemed to be one of those ‘getting worse before it gets better things’. If his expression was any indication. 

Maki had done what she could. Kokichi should probably pull them out now.

Kokichi gave a small warning, but even with that the transition back to the room was just as jarring. Zexion’s shoulders jumping as he was bombarded with cries again, though he immediately took note of the area around Ienzo…before tensing even more as he realized Ienzo was looking right at him. Identical blue looking hazy and pained…but aware. 

“We can’t keep doing this,” Ienzo whispered to his construct. His oldest friend.

Zexion clenched his jaw, vision narrowing on Ienzo. “You can’t go out there. You won’t survive.”

“I can try,” Ienzo whispered back, closing his eyes exhaustedly.

“W-woah, hey, Ienzo’s talking! That’s a good sign, right!?” Demyx grinned, before barking at the construct in front of him, “HEY READ THE ROOM! We’re done fighting! Don’t zap me again, man!!”

“Ienzo!” Sora called, hopping up and down so he could be seen over the constructs that had surrounded him, “Hey, hey, welcome back! Are you coming back!? What was that about surviving!?”

“Come on, man, the tavern isn’t that dangerous,” Axel whined, “Okay, yeah, that one stair-step totally crumbled on us, but so far everything else is good! Besides, we’re moving soon anyway.”

“If it’s about survival, your odds are better if you’re awake,” Maki said, standing not far off from when Zexion had spawned, “But you’re smart: you know that.”

“If you’re awake, you have to be aware,” Zexion said softly, hands clenched into fists at his sides. Visibly trying to keep himself from attacking Maki. “If something’s happening to someone else, it’s not happening to you. That’s the entire basis of ‘auto-pilot’. Of every one of our constructs.”

“If you’re out there, you have to reconcile everything,” he warned Ienzo. “And choose what to do next. There is no funnel to be shunted along on, you have to decide.”

“It smells awful. And it’s too quiet. And there’s barely any time for experiments, or following up on side-thoughts, because bodies have maintenance that won’t wait for a good time.”

“We can’t hide forever,” Terra called out, his voice low but remarkably steady for the dead-lock he was still in with his Zexion-construct. “We all knew that going into this. And what’s a few existential breakdowns between friends, yeah?”

“You will not be alone, deciding your next steps,” Lexaeus brought up. “We may not be hundreds, but you have never been alone among us.”

“Oh grow up! Like we haven’t been helping you out with your princess nose and food breaks for forever,” Marluxia taunted. 

“I needed your help…and you’ve always been there for me,” Ienzo whispered to Zexion, “But we can’t keep doing this.”

“...dad? …sis?” Ienzo called out, barely louder, shuddering as another slew of the constantly streaming blood gushed out onto the blades around him. “...please get me out of here.”

Maki had no idea who ‘dad’ was. But sis meant her. She pushed past Zexion, heading to the blades. 

It worked, as far as she could tell, the way stocks did in real life. Meaning among the blades, there was a clear sign of a lock. Maki frowned, no idea how to pick it, and not certain how to break it either… before deciding, well, anything could be cut through with enough pressure, right? And taking her obsidian blade, she pressed it into the lock, saying as she worked, “If your mind logic thing isn’t going to let this work, let me know now so I can stop looking like I have no idea what I’m doing, Ienzo.”

“Also, welcome back,” she said, focusing on cutting through the lock, “I’m sorry it took so long.”

Lexaeus didn’t hesitate to come forward (his son was asking for him) and, unhindered by the construct this time, he joined Maki by Ienzo. Pulling out the blades seemed obvious…if extremely painful. But blades were metal, and metal was earth, so Lexaeus reached out to touch as many blades at the same time as he could and focused, the metal starting to degrade and crumble. 

Ienzo smiled faintly. He and Zexion did look remarkably similar, but there were differences. Ienzo’s hair a little bluer, his features slightly softer. A present, overwhelming exhaustion that Zexion only showed sometimes. “I think it might… Sorry it took so long to keep my promise too. Kinda nice to have finally proved Shuuichi wrong.”

“Oh, we can absolutely rub it in his face later. I saw those memories for myself the other day? What a little brat.” Maki smirked, still working on the lock.

“Maki Harukawa, Lexaeus, would both of you hurry up already!?” Vexen demanded, looking very much like he was in danger of pulling out his hair now that he could get past the constructs that had been blocking him, heading to the stockade and wincing at the blood pouring down Ienzo’s body. “Ienzo, what on earth have you been doing to yourself?! This is not how I taught you to make Nobodies! Who told you pulsing organ rooms full of blood and screaming children was a part of it!? It’s like you didn’t pay attention to lessons at all! Get him out of there already!” Vexen insisted, clearly now yelling at Maki and Lexaeus, before looking over at Zexion, “You, come help pull it up! Come on now, you’re half of these bad decisions! Own up!”

Zexion rolled his eyes (even if the prompt to jolt him out of himself had been needed) and came over. “No shit. You were about four or five years too late for me, at least.”

As Zexion joined, blades crumbling under Lexaeus’ hands and the lock groaning under Maki’s knife, he sighed. Reaching out a hand, and…with a mild start, finding Ienzo’s entwined with it. His gaze back on him, saying more than they could even in their own mind. 

They had been a lonely little kid with a vast world to learn about at their fingertips and people barely there to ever tell about it. They had needed each other to avoid being crushed by that. Ienzo had needed someone who could deal with the guards, while he dealt with his grief. Ienzo had needed someone who could meet the demands made of them while he had been scared and just starting to understand the horror of what their life had become. 

But Zexion wasn’t a person, not really. And while he had been needed, and loved…Ienzo had his own life to live. And Zexion couldn’t keep him from that forever. 

Hilts dropped to the ground, the lock snapped, and the rest of the blades fell through Ienzo’s no-longer injured body like projections. And Ienzo gave Zexion a smile, before his hand was only holding air. 

And, his eyes filling with tears, he fell into awaiting arms, crying against his family.

-

Kokichi opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. What the fuck.

-

When Kaito briefly jostled awake, he was fairly convinced for a second that the dip to his right in the mattress was probably Kokichi. It was lighter in weight, like him, and Shuichi didn’t tend to move around much at night. It was probably just Kokichi checking on Miya before heading back to bed.

Then he adjusted his weight and he realized with a small spark of terror that Kokichi was half laid out on top of his chest already as another slim figure crawled under the blanket and pressed into his side, Kaito taking a sharp, frightened breath of alarm… before he smelled Maki’s familiar scent, letting out a frustrated huff as he whispered, “Maki.”

“Mmm,” Maki hummed, like it was perfectly natural she would be there. Laying her head on his shoulder, grabbing his wrist and pulling it over her.

“I almost screamed, man,” Kaito whispered, glancing down at his chest to confirm, yes, Kokichi was there, so the weight on his left was, yep, Shuichi laid back and snoozing, Kokichi’s lower half wrapped around him. “What the hell?”

“Mm.”

“...” Kaito frowned, realizing there was a small tremble in Maki’s body as she curled against him, hidden under the blankets. “...are you okay?”

“...” Maki clutched to his shirt, “...am I?”

Oh. It was one of those days.

Maki had moments, lately, sure. Kaito would find Maki sitting in the dining hall, looking zoned out and a little stressed out, and Kaito would realize she was overwhelmed by the idea of trying to decide how to spend her afternoon after dinner. She’d freeze when Tim asked her for permission to do something and occasionally just look at Kaito. A few times, she had knocked on his door just looking tired, asking him to pick a number between 1 and 5, and would just wander off after he gave her a number, no explanation ever given.

This was the first time since the early days of this ‘agreement’ of theirs that Maki had needed help first thing in the morning. Usually it was just the result of her feeling stressed out by something in the middle of the day, needing help getting past it. This was something different. 

“...are you injured?”

“No.”

“Is it an emergency?”

Maki shrugged.

Kaito chewed on the inside of his cheek, wishing he could fuss with his knuckles. “...I think you’re… not entirely fine. But… taking a nap here might help a bit. And we’ll reassess when we wake up, and figure it out from there. Okay?”

Maki just trembled for a moment… before she nodded against his shoulder. Her body seeming to forcibly relax as she whispered, “I’m taking a nap.”

“You’re taking a nap,” Kaito agreed. 

He held his breath for a moment… and let it out when he felt Maki’s breathing even out. Obeying the order almost immediately. She was asleep. 

Fuck… whatever had happened that night, it had gotten her hard. Kaito wondered what the day was going to look like. He should probably just plan to have Maki nearby that day. Damn.

Trying to take his own advice, Kaito closed his eyes. They’d figure it out in the morning. 

-

As the sun peeked through the windows, Shuichi had sat up. Squinting for a solid five minutes now at the…odd lumping around Kaito.

Either his husband had suddenly gotten a terrible tumor on his side, or maybe had brought into the bed a body pillow after they had gone to sleep…but it sure as heck looked like there was a fourth person in their bed, hidden under the covers.

…Shuichi pouted. Who the heck was Kaito cuddling!? Maki. Shuichi knew it was Maki. Far from the first time they had slept in the same bed… but Maki! That was his husband! She was cuddling! When had she even got there?!

Shuichi reached over Kokichi and poked the lump.

“I can feel you fuming from here, Shuichi,” Maki said under the covers.

“Go cuddle your girlfriend.”

“She didn’t spend the night last night.”

“Go to her house.”

“Cry about it, Saihara.”

Shuichi fumed. The gall! “...are you okay?” he finally, begrudgingly asked. Maki probably hadn’t snuck into their bed in the middle of the night for no reason.

It was Kaito, eyes still closed, who whispered, “Shuichi, leave Maki-roll alone, she's sleeping.”

“Yeah, Shuichi. I’m sleeping,” Maki said. He could hear her smirking. Jerk.  

“I swear, if you guys wake Kokichi…” Kaito grumbled.

“I’ve been awake,” Kokichi said softly, opening his eyes to look up at Shuuichi. He managed a small smile, but it was clear on his face that that was something he was ‘managing’. “Hi, Maki-chan… Morning, Shuu-chan, Kai-chan.”

He hadn’t really…wanted to go to sleep once they’d left Ienzo’s mind. But he knew he needed to, so Kokichi had really tried… He probably got some sleep, unless he really had just zenned out so much there wasn’t much of a difference. 

…ugh.

“...I think,” he said quietly, closing his eyes, “we should get hot fudge sundaes with warm brownies on the bottom.”

“Oh geez,” Kaito whispered, shifting slightly beneath the weight of Kokichi and Maki a bit to get his hand to his face, rubbing his palm over his eyes, “Maki crawls in in the middle of the night, and Kokichi wants dessert first thing in the morning? Something happened last night.”

“Weren’t you planning to do a session with the Nobodies last night?” Shuichi asked, “Did it go wrong?”

Maki shrugged beneath the covers. Kaito groaned, pushing his weight up between his two clingers, adjusting them to not be entirely dislodged as he said, “Alright, alright, we’re getting up, we’re getting, uh… sure, we can get some sundaes and coffee. We’re taking a walk, going outside. Some real world time…then we’re figuring out if we’re begging Dr. Mariah for an emergency session. Alright? That a plan?”

Kokichi sighed, nodding against Kaito’s chest. Gently stroking his foot against Shuuichi’s leg and holding Kaito closer for a moment. “Sounds fine to me. I’m not saying we shouldn’t consider Dr. Mariah, but…I dunno, I think I’d have to consider what I’d feel alright talking about. Some things are more direct but…I don’t want to expose Ienzo’s privacy more than what I’d need for my own well-being.”

Or for Maki’s, but…that was her choice. Even if it was that exact thing she might have trouble with today. 

Kokichi snorted quietly. “...I think this is the first time I don’t have a new painting idea.”

“Oh yeah? That’s a shame, your ‘mind world’ pieces have been really stellar,” Kaito yawned, lightly hugging Kokichi and patting Maki warmly on the arm as she now shifted to hugging around his waist, “...guys, I can’t get up like this.”

“Deal with it, Momota,” Maki grumbled into his shirt. 

Kaito glanced over at Shuichi, who just shrugged back at him. Apparently last night had been bad, but if Kaito was looking for clues as to why, Shuichi knew just as much as he did. “Should I get a babysitter for Miyako?”

“Might be wise. You mind asking around, handsome, see who might have a day free?”

“Sure,” Shuichi said, getting up and heading to the closet to change. Shuichi always showered before the night was over, but not in the morning. Kaito tended to be a morning showerer though, unless he had gotten himself particularly dirty the night before. But even then, he was both. He just liked morning showers, they woke him up. 

Maki had a bizarre schedule of just showering whenever was convenient in the day, though Kaito leaned down to sniff. “...you were sweating hard last night. It was that bad?”

“Are you saying I smell?” Maki grumbled.

“Kinda.”

“I thought about mind-snuggling with Miya last night, when I woke up,” Kokichi mumbled, “But I think even taking comfort in hanging out with her would bleed over too much and I didn’t want to do that to her. Gonna give her all the kisses in just a sec, though…”

…though Kokichi made no moves to get up. 

He sighed softly. “You wanna take advantage of a bath bomb, Maki-chan? We got some new ones from Auntie for Unity.”

“I don’t know,” Maki said, clutching around Kaito’s waist “Kaito?”

“Eh?” Kaito said, still waking up and struggling for a second to follow where the convo had gone, “Oh, do you want to take a bath? Uuuuuh…if we leave you alone to go grab ice cream and coffee, and then come back, will you have stayed in the bath?”

“Mmm. Don’t really have anywhere else to go.”

“And you’ll just enjoy a bath? You won’t be horrifically devastated being left alone for a bit?”

“Mmm.”

“That’s not an answer, Maki.”

“Mm.”

“If the sticking point is about company, rather than the bath itself, I can stick around,” Kokichi offered, still laid out in bed. “If getting sundaes and coffee isn’t too much to do, Kai-chan.”

“Mmm… that does sound better,” Maki admitted, “Kaito?”

Kaito stared off in the middle distance. Imagining Maki and Kokichi lounging in a bath together. Just both… soapy. 

“........oh it's too early in the morning for this,” Kaito mumbled, finally firmly scooting himself out of Maki’s hold, getting up and out of bed, “Yep, sounds good. Maki, you’re taking a bath. Shuichi’s gonna figure out our Miya’s day. I’m on sundae and coffee run. I won’t be gone long guys, just…whatever happened last night, we’re gonna work through it okay? Go relax in the bath a bit.”

“Aye aye,” Maki mumbled, face down on the bed now. She listened to the door open and close, Kaito throwing on some clothes and disappearing out of the room. “...he must be worried about us. He didn’t do his hair at all.”

Abandoned by both husbands, tragic. The skew of Kokichi’s body was a reminder of what once was…

“I mean…this is more alarming than anything we’ve had for a bit,” Kokichi hummed, blinking tiredly at the wall. “I have my rough mornings, but I usually seek comfort in cuddles, rather than something more. You have tough moments, but not usually first thing in the day. We’re worrying.”

…it didn’t feel like something he could apologize for. But still, Kokichi said, “...I’m sorry I didn’t help more. I know it was even worse for you, and it was already terrible for me.”

“You helped plenty. You locked a guy up in a void ball in his own head,” Maki said, tilting her face around to peer at Kokichi, her cheek mushed against the mattress, “He called it the closest he’d ever get to a ‘divine experience’. Super-weirdo.”

Kokichi snorted quietly. “I think…it’s good for me to spend time with less powerful Empaths. Every time Ienzo looks amazed and disturbed by the ideas I casually bring up, it’s humbling. Gives me better perspective of what people generally consider feasible. Though I don’t always feel great about being considered scary.”

“Considering this time last year, you were a kid no one could imagine being strong enough to go visit the Usott market, let alone being ‘scary’, I imagine it’s a trippy experience,” Maki said, adjusting to lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, “Meanwhile, I went from scary to… well, I don’t know what I am now. Definitely not scary anymore. You know what he called me? ‘The savior’...a part of me likes to think of myself that way, but it sounded silly coming from him. Like he just didn’t have all of the info.”

“...everything that happened to my siblings?” Maki said, “That was me trying my best. And that still happened to them. I didn’t save them from any of that.”

“Don’t tell me it’s only been a year, I’ll start to have another crisis on top of this.” Kokichi watched Maki turn before shifting to face up himself, pulling up some of their blankets all the way to his chin. It was trippy, though. Relatively recently, Kokichi had thought that no one believed in him to take a step outside his home. That no one wanted to tell anything to because he’d flip out. That no one wanted to be around him because if they didn’t catch illness from him, he’d just be sleeping the whole time. 

Going from that to…being one of the strongest Empaths around right now? A pioneer in a field people thought impossible? A reliable father and partner and friend? Hearing people call him the ‘Light of Dicea’ in person, to his face? It didn’t really feel real sometimes. 

And for Maki, going from The Reaper to…a woman trying her best?

“...” Kokichi sighed. “...no. But I think it’s unfair for anyone to say you could. You put your efforts into a greater movement to save your siblings, and that was monumental…and still asking too much of you. And everything you gave them before the war… It might not have saved them, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say you still gave them something invaluable to hold onto, in their own fights. Holding out until safety could reach them.”

“Maybe something like that doesn’t get a title, but I don’t think the people who’d wanna give you one are wrong.”

He let go of a bigger sigh. “...I wish it wouldn’t just feel totally weird for them to just…go around town and give them hugs. Only Mitchy and Gabel even like it when I give head pats.”

“...fuck.”

“Well, I’m exaggerating a little. Closer to a year and a half,” Maki admitted, “Try not to have a crisis about it either way. Hold off on it, maybe have that crisis this weekend.”

She thought about that. About how many of them had been screaming her name because they had been repeating reassurances and platitudes that she had given them before they were shipped out. That their time in the warehouses were only temporary. That it wasn’t even very long. Just a few weeks. Then they’d get to come home and the others would celebrate getting their sibling back. A brief moment of discomfort, then a party. Certainly you could be strong for a few weeks.

“…it’s a mercy, to not remember.” Maki said, “Shuichi and I were right to reject it. I think a part of me was in denial, that they were actually torturing children in there. Which feels extremely naive of me. I knew damn well what those people were capable of. But it was different, hearing it. I can’t understand how anyone allowed that place to exist. Certainly they must have cried in the real world too. It’s not like the people running the warehouses were also brainwashing themselves to not feel anything, or compelled by triggers, or… At a certain level, that place existed because someone said yes. And I just can’t… understand how a person, without being forced to, does that. How do you approve a plan like that? How do you say yes and allow it to happen? Enforce it? I know ignorance and willful blindness is a part of it, but at a certain point, someone who could have said no had to have seen it. And still said yes.”

Maki blinked. “I just really don’t understand…”

“...” she sat up, “Come on. At the very least we can add some bath salts to the bath. Besides, I sort of feel like I have to follow through on the bath thing now. Kaito said that’s what I’m doing. So…” She shrugged, getting up and heading to the bathroom. 

“I’ll do my best,” Kokichi promised. Of all the crises to have, that did feel like a more doable one to stave off. Or even just to quickly get through, look up at the ceiling with a ‘damn’ and then move on. 

Facing what were…likely very real memories of something that haunted a person into shutting down, and having to look at the structures that allowed it?

“...I don’t know,” Kokichi agreed. He could understand pain. He could understand anger, and desperation, and fear… Kokichi couldn’t understand the…evil, and greed, and total lack of connection that some people allowed to drive their actions. It felt fake, unreal. Completely alien, to see the suffering of people that were only in that circumstance because of you, and allow it to continue. He didn’t know how it could happen. 

He thought of Axel’s utter giddy glee, hearing of Tengan’s death. The anger and disparagement the others talked with, discussing the solution to Ienzo’s puzzle. It didn’t sound like they knew either. 

Groaning, Kokichi pulled himself up, rolling out of bed to follow Maki to the bathroom. Under their sink, he pulled out the container of bath bombs Nazumi had gifted them, taking a sniff just for the pleasure of it. “It probably can’t hurt. I don’t think you stink, but getting clean does help make things feel more doable, in my experience.”

“Kaito’s gotten too comfortable, now that I don’t cut him anymore. He’s only mildly terrified of me when I’m angry now. I’m going to zap him with your weird dildo, remind him who I am,” Maki said, adjusting the temperature of the water as she plugged the tub. She sniffed at her armpits as she did so. “...though, no, he’s right, I do kind of smell.”

Maki, to her credit, didn’t hesitate when it was time to take off her top half of her clothes. She had been practicing, after all. She did briefly hesitate in discomfort when it came to the bottom half, but, well, it was just Kokichi at the end of the day. Besides, he wiped up Miyako all the time, so it wasn’t like she had anything he hadn’t seen waaaaaay too much of lately. Rationalizing to herself, she kicked off her clothes, before still quickly getting into and under the water. Some levels of cultural stigma too difficult to entirely shake off with ease as she hid herself in the water.

But it was easier once she was in, steam lightly fogging the air as the bath balm morphed the color of the water. “...how did you not drown in this tub growing up? I thought Kaito’s bathroom setup was overly elaborate, but the size of your tub still gives it a run for its money.”

“Mm…maybe something else, if I can sway you. He really doesn’t like electricity,” Kokichi hummed, sitting on the toilet and resting his head on the sink counter, closing his eyes for a moment. In part for Maki’s modesty, sure, but just because he was still pretty tired. If he was lucky, they could talk through things enough that he’d feel alright taking a nap later. 

Keeping an ear out for Miyako--still little baby snuffles--Kokichi gave a small, wry smile. “The grips on the bottom and on the slopes against the wall used to be even grippier. And if there was any worry about me falling in ‘cause I was sick or something, someone usually stayed in the bathroom with me. It’s still pretty luxurious though, huh. Personal hot tub for the days I don’t feel like going downstairs to the other, slightly less personal hot tub.”

Kokichi smiled a little more. “I’d say I could see Mi-Mi commandeering our bathroom for the luxury when she’s older, but if her distaste of water stays true, I think her bathroom will be just fine.”

“In my experience, babies’ taste for things don’t tend to be set in stone as they get older,” Maki said, “You know, at one point, Jaime was the shy one. It was cute, he’d just hide behind your leg whenever anyone so much as glanced at him. Now? The kid always has to be the center of attention. Piper had a vendetta against the bread with seeds baked into it, which was unfortunate since getting better food was actually something I had strong-armed Kaito into influencing the caretakers about. Kaito did his thing, the food quality improved, annnnnd the kids hated it for like six months.” Maki said, closing her eyes and groaning a bit, “They wanted the cruddy, sawdust food they were used to. They didn’t understand why they had to eat the new stuff. Piper especially didn’t like all the texture changes healthier food had. She damn near did a hunger strike.”

“And then one day, they all got used to it and it all stopped. And I mean stopped, stopped, like they couldn’t even remember putting up such a fight. I bet if you asked them about it now, they’d maybe go ‘huh’ and say they vaguely remember saying not liking it once or twice. Kids are so annoying. They’re so inconsistent. Little brats.”

Maki laid her head back, soaking in the water… before glancing at Kokichi. “You don’t have to sit on the toilet. You can hang out outside, or get in with me. I’m not going to hurt myself.”

Kokichi huffed a soft laugh, letting himself paint tableaux of Maki’s stories. People changed constantly as they grew, he knew, but just knowing his daughter as she was now? It could be fun, imagining the traits she currently had as they might look in the future. Though, not as fun as being along for the ride in every change that would inevitably happen. 

“Oh nooooo,” he laughed, “That sounds miserable. And I really do know that every conversation about nutrition under the sun still doesn’t help the ‘ew, icky’ impulse.” He smiled a little more. “I like to think of childhood as ‘wonderfully mutable’ rather than inconsistent, myself. You can’t figure out the rules you agree with if you’re not constantly testing them. As aggravating as it can be for someone who’s already gone through the trial and error and knows that healthy food pays more dividends than you can imagine.”

Opening an eye, Kokichi looked back at the tub. “...honestly, I didn’t think you would. And I’m kinda comfy here now… I like talking with you, and I do feel a little more comfortable knowing I can get up quickly if Miya-Miya wakes up.”

“Buuuuut if you’re insisting…” Shifting and scooting himself, Kokichi pulled up the legs of his pajama pants and put his legs over the edge of the tub, dipping his feet in the warm water. Looking oddly comfortable with the odd lean he had against the sink counter. 

He closed his eyes again. “...it’ll be nice, getting back in the zone of swimming lessons when the weather warms up again. I can kinda float around the hot tub on my own now.” 

“Putting on some weight probably helps,” Maki said, reaching over to poke Kokichi’s thin calf muscles, “You’re getting there. Not that it’ll ever be as easy for you as it is for Shuichi. Shuichi can just lay out on top of the water now, no problem. I’m a bit envious. I always have to do the wrist trick.”

They were silent, for a bit. Just enjoying the heat of the water, letting the silence wash over them in a way that was comforting. The quiet was nice, sometimes, especially when the nerves were frayed… but the door opened and Shuichi came in. “Aiichi doesn’t babysit, but how do we feel about Hideki… where’d everyone go?”

“Bath.” Maki called.

Shuichi headed into the bathroom, raising an eyebrow as he saw Maki and Kokichi, Maki naked in the tub and Kokichi warming his feet and ankles. “...darnit, Maki, the other one too?”

“Pff, now I know you’re playing it up.” Maki snorted, “Kokichi doesn’t have a bi bone in his body. You know what Kaito told me? Not even his past lives ever ended up with women. We spent some time together trying to imagine what that was like.”

“Whatever,” Shuichi huffed, kneeling down and resting his arms on the side of the bath, looking up and over at Kokichi, then Maki, then Kokichi again, “I found Hideki, he said he’d be able to watch Miyako for a while. But are we staying here after all? You two do not look like we’re making a trip out of the room today.”

“I am doing whatever it is we are doing today,” Maki said, “That’s the kind of day it is.”

“Those dividends are really something,” Kokichi agreed, before smiling at the mention of his husband. “I don’t think Shuu-chan’s gone swimming any more than I have, but it does sound nice to be able to do together. Water-lounging feels like a very Shuu-chan activity.”

And speak into the universe and it shall deliver.

Kokichi looked over adoringly as Shuuichi came back to the room, sitting up for a moment to place an affectionate hand on Shuuichi’s arm before he lounged back again. “I’m okay with my uncle watching Mi-Mi, that’s nice of him to offer. And thanks for putting out the lines, sweetie.” Kokichi took a little breath, tipping his head back. “If we end up going to see Dr. Mariah, that’ll be helpful. But so far, my plans are keeping my feet warm like this, and eating the gooiest sundae I can imagine.”

“Do you all need to see Dr. Mariah?” Shuichi asked, looking between them… before he sighed, “You know, perhaps someone should just say what happened. I feel like I’m scrambling a bit, I’m not entirely sure what would be soothing, since I don’t really understand what’s wrong.”

“Do you remember Ienzo?” Maki asked.

“...no,” Shuichi said, letting himself think for a moment. “Should I?”

“No, probably not. Your perfect memory conditioning happened after the last time you saw him,” Maki said, “Do you remember spending time with me in Sunny Side at all, for that matter?”

Shuichi frowned a little. “We spent time together?”

“We were shipped out to the warehouses together. I think you’d have been just about 8.”

Shuichi sat, trying to recall. “...I really only remember sitting on the back patio and watching other kids playing around in that fenced in dirt area. I don’t remember much at all… oh, I remember tattling on a girl who pushed another kid off the top of the jungle gym.”

“That was you?” 

“That was you?” Shuichi asked, surprised, “Why did you push him? It came out of nowhere.”

“It did not come out of nowhere, he said if I didn’t get off the gym he’d push me, so I pushed him first. You’re lucky I didn’t know you were the one who told on me, I would have pushed you in the trash.” Maki snorted. 

“Someone had to keep order in the playground.”

“Yeah. Me. I did.”

“Someone had to stop your vigilante justice.”

Maki laughed lightly at that, before sighing, “...Ienzo is the guy we helped last night become ‘whole’. He’s from Sunny Side. He was one of our siblings, there at the same time as us. He shipped out with us, even. But… he never left. Well, not until this year.”

“That’s… unfortunate.” Shuichi said, “But why did that seem to hit you both so hard?”

Before Maki had a chance to answer, it was Kaito who came back next, having begged and pleaded for help from the breakfast crew downstairs, before finally succeeding in getting his goal as he called out, “Alright, I have ice cream and coffee! And bread! Awww, Miyaaaa, is someone awake in her criiiiiib~”

Kokichi still wasn’t sure. He did feel like talking things out would help, but he was undecided if they really needed to schedule an emergency session for that. He didn’t feel like he was struggling to communicate, he was just…sad. And disturbed. And…felt like he just wanted to bring everyone he cared about around him into a big hug and promise that things would be okay. 

But he and Maki hadn’t really communicated yet, so that was probably still step one. 

It wasn’t surprising to hear that Shuuichi didn’t remember Ienzo--Maki hadn’t either--and not even that he didn’t remember Maki, since Kokichi was fairly sure he’d mentioned that before. Given what he now knew what the short time Shuuichi had been in the foster care system had been like, Kokichi wouldn’t be surprised if the whole thing was a total blur…but it did make him smile, hearing about one clear memory. 

Until getting back to the matter at hand made him sigh, though he looked over to the door as Kaito returned. With a stretch, Kokichi lifted his legs and patted them off on the bathmat before heading out to the main room. 

“Thanks, hun,” Kokichi appreciated, kissing Kaito’s arm, before going over to Miyako’s crib, reaching in to stroke his daughter’s cheek. “Good morning, Miya-Miya. I hope you slept well, sweetroll.”

Miyako was currently gripping both her feet, cheerfully mimicking her nickname’s namesake, a little roll all squeezed up and contently enjoying the rays of the morning sun. “Grrhg–uuu.”

“She’s gonna need a change and a feeding. Give me one second, babe, let me just… Shuichi, Maki, do you want your ice cream and/or coffee in the bathroom?” Kaito called.

“Coffee.” Shuichi called.

“Ice cream.” Maki called.

“Actually, I want the ice cream too,” Shuichi called, “both.”

“I’m just going to bring one of the eating trays in there then!” Kaito called, setting up their requests and adding in some bread regardless, picking up the tray and delivering it to the both of them. Kaito heading back out with his face only slightly pinked before heading to the crib, “Do you need changing, Miya? Did you make a mess of your diaper in your sleep? Don’t lie to me young lady, I know you did. You always go poopsie in your sleep.”

Precious girl… If the weather kept up like this, it was looking to be a perfect Miyako day. Leaning down to kiss her head, Kokichi gave Kaito an appreciative nod once he’d delivered food to the bathroom. “I’ll set up her bottle, while you change her? Shuu-chan said that Hideki-ji was down to watch her today, if we end up going out. Or…really if we just want some time, I guess. You okay with that?”

“Daddy’s gonna get you your bottle, Miyaaa~ and Dad’s gonna wipe your poopy butthole~” Kaito said cheerfully, picking up Miyako and kissing her stomach a bit as Miyako giggled, before putting her back down on the changing table. “Hideki? Sure, that’ll be alright. Miyaaaaa~ will you be a good little baby and help get that stick out of your… would he be her grand uncle? Or just also her uncle? Let’s be honest, Miya,” Kaito leaned in, whispering to her as he wiped her up, “He and grandpa Aiichi have a whole thing going on, so maybe he’s the grumpy grandpa, hmmm? Would that be a scandal, Miya? That’d be such a scandal! The rumors would be scathing! The tea fierce! We’ll have to be very supportive of grumpy grandpa Hideki.”

Miyako gurgled in what Kaito imagined was a very solemn way. Agreeing, yes, they’d have to be very patient as they weathered that particular social storm. 

Kokichi gave his husband and daughter a quietly amused look as he prepared Miyako’s bottle. And it was another slow, pleasant moment, Kaito and him tending to their daughter’s morning routine, filled with plenty of coos and snuggles and kisses…

Though, Kokichi was pleased that his sundae wasn’t too melted by the time he returned to the bathroom, reclaiming his position as he dug in. Just taking a moment to let the chocolatey, creamy sweetness fill his mouth. 

Definitely better. 

“I s’ink I’nzo’s mind ish one of th’ mosh depressing placshes I’ve ever been,” Kokichi commented, mouth half full.

Kaito, turning on the mobile and giving Miyako Little Lamb, carefully backed away from her crib, waiting to see if she’d take offense with everyone wandering away into the bathroom… and let out a little sigh of relief when Kaito disappearing into the bathroom did not lead to offended shouts for him to return. Sitting with his bread and coffee on the floor, looking between his three loved ones, double checking they were all settled with what they had, before asking, “Why?”

“Ienzo came from Sunny Side,” Maki explained.

“Ooooooh… oh, that’s kind of interesting! You had a sibling among the Nobodies?” Kaito asked, lighting up a little, “Have you guys talked? Was he one you knew?”

“Yes, and yes. We talked about it last night… after he told me he was in charge of conditioning all the kids that come from Sunny Side. And showed me in one massive burst of noise the sounds of all of them calling to me for help,” Maki said dryly, “So, yes, it came up.”

“...what!?” 

All four of them froze, waiting to see if that would startle Miyako into crying. When there was no sound, Miyako still chilling out with the mobile, Kaito growled, rubbing his temple as he said quieter but no less angry, “He what?”

“They assigned someone from Sunny Side to condition every kid that came from there?” Shuichi frowned, “Who did he piss off?”

“Well, apparently, Sunny Side uniquely works for something like that, since all of the kids are prepped with this idea that they can trust their older siblings from the orphanage,” Maki said, sinking into the water a bit more, staring miserably at the water's surface, “You know. Because of that one older sibling who kept stressing how the older ones needed to look after the younger ones. They met Ienzo, he said he was from Sunny Side, they gave him the benefit of the doubt for being a big brother. Apparently, it was easy from there.”

Kokichi nodded slightly, glumly putting another spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. In Ienzo’s defense, the cries didn’t seem like something he could control. Regrets and bad memories and nightmares and intrusive thoughts just…a plague in his own mind. One that they had gotten to see, delving into such an intimate part of him. 

It still didn’t mean that it hadn’t been a nightmare for Maki to have it shoved at her. Or just despairing for everyone else. 

Shifting, Kokichi rested his head against the sink counter again. “...it felt like it was uniquely cruel. But every little thing I learn about the warehouses, it…kinda feels like any sore spot the Empaths might’ve had, it would’ve been exploited under the guise of them knowing what to do more intimately.” Kokichi’s gaze deadened a bit. “...Zexion said that they’d all conditioned children. I could imagine that a kid being sent to another kid might’ve been another case of…an exploitable shortcut of trust.”

“I mean… I mean…” Kaito looked away uncomfortably, putting down his cup of coffee and crossing his arms over his chest, “How bad could that first round possibly be? It’s literally just devotion training, it’s basically a propaganda seminar for a few weeks–”

“Kaito,” Maki suddenly snarled. 

Kaito’s whole body jolted, his arms growing tighter around himself as he felt a wave of guilt run through him at Maki’s tone. It took a second for him to think of what he had said wrong, before his mind cleared up from his brief panic and he thought back… deflating a bit. “...devotion training isn’t that straightforward. No conditioning is. It requires torture.”

Maki took a breath… before relaxing. Nodding. “Especially after what I just witnessed. I’m not letting anyone try to brush away what’s happening there. Or, was happening. It wasn’t ‘just’ anything. They were screaming, Kaito. All to learn ‘Momotas and Luminary come first’.

“Sorry.” Kaito whispered.

“It’s not like a part of you doesn’t know the reality of it,” Maki said, relaxing further at Kaito’s deference, “Devotion training was one of yours too. But it was whatever you went through in the study, only much worse and in a much quicker timespan. And Ienzo was apparently their go-to person for that. Though, I asked about Tim’s?”

“Oh?” Kaito said, looking up, his desire to know about that beating his guilt over his guffaw, “What’d they tell you?”

“Hunger’s a pretty standard form of devotion training there, but they had no idea what I meant with the coding, drum thing. Might have been a military Empath thing, was their guess.”

“I didn’t think the military did conditionings… maybe it just wasn’t official.” Kaito frowned. “I’ll bring it up to Kaede, just to make sure she also knows about it, assuming it wasn’t just me missing things.”

“We’ll have to be careful when the Nobodies get here.” Shuichi said, “This city is covered in conditioned kids. We’ll want to make sure they’re not going to make things difficult for each other.”

Kokichi had given Kaito a disappointed look…though Maki’s callout was much clearer. 

…Kokichi felt his eyes start to burn. It wasn’t just…screaming. It was utter, mind-shattering fear. The kind of fear that made you call out to anything, anyone, to save you--and for the kids, it had been the biggest form of protection they had known--because there was nothing else you could do. It was the kind of fear that crumbled courage and rebellion and determination, leaving you shivering and just pleading for the mercy of it to end. 

Zexion had never explained what that prison experiment he mentioned was. But the things he did…knowing that all those kids went through it…

All to learn Momotas and Luminary came first. 

Kokichi sighed, nodding to the plan of talking to Kaede about where Tim’s more specific conditioning might’ve come from, before rubbing a tired eye at the plans needing to be formed that Shuuichi brought up. 

Ienzo had named one of the kids by name, when Maki recognized a voice. There was no pretending he didn’t remember them, that they were just a few in a long list. 

“...well, I can’t imagine they’ll find reasons to hang out around elementary schools, so that’s at least one place to not worry about,” Kokichi sighed. “But…yeah. It’ll be something to discuss…”

“We have time,” Kaito sighed, “Maybe we should talk to the kids themselves about it. Let them know, here’s who’s coming, here’s what to expect, here’s what to do if something unexpected happens… the usual stuff.” Kaito grinned warily. “Like the spiel I give Tim and the girls when we’re putting them with new groups of adults.”

Kaito was paranoid about the kids knowing ‘what to expect’ when it came to adults, and Maki knew it could get a bit excessive. But, honestly, she understood why he insisted on it. Telling a kid something was normal could let you get away with a lot of terrible things. Like telling them it was normal to be shipped away to a warehouse where they’d be isolated and harmed for a little while. But only a little while. No big deal.

“A part of me wishes I had never heard any of that,” Maki admitted, “There’s nothing to be done. The program is gone. The warehouses are closed. Everyone whose voice I heard is probably having a very normal day today. But it feels so urgent, so sudden. I keep feeling this tension in me, like somewhere those kids are still screaming, and here I am sitting in a bath. There’s nothing to be done…”

“Well, Kokichi is doing something,” Shuichi pointed out, “He’s working on undoing conditioning. So are those Nobodies. I bet they’re not the only people trying to help ex-Indentured either, as pessimistic as I know we can get about that, when it comes to Luminary. Things are happening… but you already did your part, Maki. You couldn’t have done it better. It’s still shocking you did it at all.”

Kokichi nodded slightly, stirring his ice cream. “We could make a day of it, inviting the kids to a snow day, or depending on travel plans, maybe a sibling picnic if it’ll get warm before the Nobodies come over… Just block out a lot of time if the kids have questions or concerns, so we all can plan things out. And just have a nice day otherwise.”

Have a day where the kids could play and have fun and be safe and happy, like they should’ve always had the opportunity for.

Kokichi gave Maki a regretful look. “Part of me wishes I’d asked more when they asked me to ask you to come…but considering that no one but Axel knew why, and even he was just working on faith, and that room was a surprise for everyone…I don’t think it would’ve helped.” He slumped more. “...could’ve tried to block it out more quickly, I guess. I was so worried about hurting him but…I just had to swing for the fences when you called out to me. I hope he’s doing okay now…”

With a breath, Kokichi nodded along with Shuuichi’s points. “And you’re still doing a lot just trying to live well…though saying that, I feel kind of silly because?” Kokichi’s face scrunched as he gave Maki a mildly incredulous look. “Yeah, you raised your siblings, and took part in a revolution, and are tending to your own life, which is already so much. But Maki-chan? You immediately agreed to help someone you didn’t remember until yesterday, that until then you only knew as one of the people who tortured you, just…because he asked. No qualms, you came into a space you don’t have expertise in, never even debating at any point asking me to send you back to your own mind. Even when he was literally fighting you in the manifestation of your worst case scenario.”

“Maki-chan, you in no way aren’t doing anything.”

“...well, when you put it like that.” Maki sighed. 

“Our Maki-roll has a strooooong, strong sense of responsibility. It’s one of the things I’ve always loved about you.” Kaito grinned at her. “Especially when it comes to your family, even if you barely know them. It’s just enough to you that, like… like… they needed something from you? I have never seen you turn someone down who’s asked you for help, Maki, not really. And for your siblings, they rarely even have to ask. You just work out what they need and you show up. But without being, like, crazy pushy about it, like I do.”

Maki shrugged. “Most of the problems I was solving were pretty straightforward. Usually someone just needed to be intimidated for some reason.”

“Sure,” Shuichi said dryly, “Like intimidating all of Luminary to end the program.”

“Or intimidating Lord Byakuya to give up his throne,” Kaito snickered, “Little, straightforward things.”

“Smartmouths.” Maki said, “I just meant the little things. It’s not like I tried to be any of their parents. Just someone they could come to if they needed help with something. Why would I say no, if I could?”

Shuichi sighed at that, leaning against the tub. “I’ll never entirely understand you. Any of you, really, you all have some of that ‘of course I’ll help’ in you, with different circumstances in mind. There’s a thousand reasons to say no. Like you’re tired. Or you don’t care. Or there’s other people to ask…I don’t know anyone who works as hard to help other people as you three, and I don’t know anyone who gives themselves less credit for it. You,” Shuichi said, pointing to Kokichi, “are never doing ‘anything’ in your mind. Nothing more than the ‘bare minimum’ anyway, which is actual insanity. You,” Shuichi said, pointing to Kaito, “are convinced that being chronically annoying somehow negates the literal lives you save, which is also insane, and you,” Shuichi pointed at Maki, who gave him an amused look as he huffed, “are literally going to punch GOD someday, and then immediately be like ‘well, why didn’t I punch god earlier, god was always there, I always had these fists, I could have gotten around to it sooner’. Which is absolutely infuriating, how is anyone ever meant to keep up?”

“I will punch god someday,” Maki said serenely.

“Which god?” Kaito pouted. 

Kokichi snickered softly, then a little more at Shuuichi’s tirade. He knew them too well. There were always a hundred problems in reach, and if you didn’t want to be swallowed by them, then…it was natural to do what you could to help. But that only opened the way for even more problems to come to light, and when you could see how they affected people… In some ways, it never mattered that it wasn’t Kokichi’s responsibility, he just couldn’t imagine leaving someone out to dry if he had the ability to help. 

“It’s why we need our Shuu-chan…who, of course, is saying all this as a person that’s on his way to a career in helping people,” Kokichi mused. “The reminders to delegate, or what doesn’t need an answer immediately, or that we’re people that need help too and we’re not only around to help out others are things I need more than I’d like…” 

Not because he wished to never have his own needs and to be all powerful to help others, not anymore, but…well, because it was a little embarrassing to realize he’d been neglecting those things. But it was worth the embarrassment in the end. 

Kokichi sucked some fudge off his spoon. “...do you think you’d punch any god you got to meet? I’m sure they’re all busy with divine plane whatever, but…I think a lot of ‘em have a lot of nonsense going on.”

“If any god has the poor sense to get in front of me on my way to Atua? They’re also getting punched.” 

“Noooooooo,” Kaito whined, “Come ooooon, Atua didn’t do anything!”

“That’s why he’s getting punched,” Maki said simply, “Originally I was going to do it because he gave the Momotas power to do all of this to Luminary. But now, knowing what I know about the world, and our relationship to the divine, and what it all means… now I’m going to go punch him because he ignored you.”

“Oh.” Kaito blinked, startled by that… before he looked away, blushing a bit. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I still haven’t decided if I’m angry at Kaede or not either. She’s already made some mistakes. Leaving the factory Empaths on their own to starve isn’t great… but,” Maki sighed, “It’s also not exactly whisking them away to utilize them elsewhere, in the guise of helping them. Which, let’s be honest, for a Momota would have been helpful. She just let them go. It’s not kind, but it’s not quite cruel either. Just… apathetic.”

“You don’t have to be mad at Kaede… I will be mad at Kaede,” Kaito said, “Not that it’s worth much, but I do try to argue with her when we talk on the phone. I think I managed to get her to treat her husband a little better, at least she let him come visit us. But, otherwise, when it comes to Luminary… Maki, I think you did everything that could be done without literally just destroying the kingdom or making yourself queen. Like our Shuichi said, give yourself more credit, you did what you could there. And like our Kokichi said, sometimes we all need reminders that some things are other people's job. We’re not running Luminary… well, if Kaede died and Theor died, technically Miyako would be running Luminary, which means technically us and Sou would be secretly fighting to secretly run Luminary until she grows up and can wrestle control from all of us… but really that’s just until Kaede picks her own heir and Miyako gives up her inheritance and THEN!” Kaito said, smashing his fists together, “That’s it! Luminary is no one here’s responsibility. We can’t force the people who still live back there to obey us from a distance, if that was a possibility I’d just say Kokichi needs to go to war again, and frankly, Kokichi, I don’t think you could capture us any more than we could capture you. Like, those mountains really stopped us, but I think you’d have some issues with the desert.”

“Kaito, your military is showing.” Shuichi said.

“Come on, all I get is ‘what-if’ scenarios, let me indulge myself!” Kaito whined.

Kokichi smiled fondly at Maki, before sighing and pouting a bit. “I’m mad at Kaede too, and I know I just talked about delegation but I’m not passing that off to anyone. Even if just ignoring the Nobodies was apathetic more than cruel…” Kokichi wrinkled his nose. “She could’ve given them unemployment pay. Even a one-time lump sum! You know how many times we’ve talked and one of them mentions that not everyone ate that day? Way too many!! I know Clara and I discussed market values to death when we were deciding how much money to send over initially, and I can’t hurry her, but I think I’m almost as eager as them for her to make it over to Chonis.”

“And don’t even get me started on Sou,” Kokichi groaned, furiously digging into his sundae. “I’ll respect his decision, whatever it is, but I really hope he’ll take up the offer to be an ambassador.”

Kokichi pouted a bit. “I don’t even want to rule Luminary…even if it kinda looks like I’m stealing a few people here and there.”

“Well, not a ton of people. Like… okay, I stole three,” Kaito said, pointing to Shuichi, Maki, and saying, “And Tim. So that’s three from me. And technically, Aiichi stole me, so I don’t count for you. One for the king, three for me, uuuuuh thiiiirty-three from Maki? Shuichi, have you stolen anybody?”

“I can’t quite wrap my head around what the criteria for ‘stealing’ someone is,” Shuichi said dryly, “How did you steal us?”

“Brought you from Luminary to live in Dicea?”

“Zero thefts on my end, then.”

“And now our Kokichi is stealing, ummmmm… what is it, thirteen?” Kaito asked, “Let’s not count anyone we know who crossed the border on their own, they stole themselves. Totally reasonable amount of citizen thefts!”

“Mr. Nidai told me when he met the king, the king just assumed all three of them were there to stay. So that’s an attempt at stealing three more for King Aiichi,” Maki pointed out.

“Attempts don’t count, but they get an honorable mention!” Kaito grinned, laughing a bit… before giving Kokichi and Maki appraising looks, “I know we’re joking, but I don’t actually just want to brush what happened under the rug. I think if I heard a bunch of kids getting tortured, I’d be a mess today. I’m not sure how I’d talk about it either.”

“Excessively. In a long, rambling monologue filled with tears, anecdotes, and loud, expressive exclamations,” Shuichi said.

“Well, probably that way, yeah.”

“Mm, fourteen, if we’re counting Sou, though I will concede that his offer is an offer, so maybe that doesn’t count the same.” Kokichi tilted his head, considering Maki’s point about the mentors…and then considering it again. His dad hadn’t known they were coming…but he still had offered them citizenship papers at first meeting, and it was partially Dicean arrangement to get them there, even if it was a vacation that the mentors had set up themselves. So…yeah, honorable mention. 

Kokichi sighed softly and gave Kaito a soft look. “I’m…definitely gonna talk about it for a while to Dr. Egami, my next appointment. And the other stuff we saw in Ienzo’s mind too, without betraying too much of his privacy… Axel had warned me that he’d be a doozy.” Kokichi sighed again. “He really wasn’t kidding.”

“But it worked, right?” Kaito asked, looking between the two, “I mean, you guys are doing this whole ‘helping them be… whole… thing,’” Kaito said, tilting his head in obvious confusion, “Which is a… process where they… um… feel things?”

“Don’t think too hard about it, Kaito, but yes, we helped. He was ‘whole’ again,” Maki said.

“Then it’s good, that you guys have been managing to knock these issues out for them. Hell, it sounds like Ienzo might be one of their stronger Empaths, maybe they’re getting to a point where they can just do it for each other, themselves,” Kaito said, looking to Kokichi, “It shouldn’t be on you, babe, to be there all the time. You’ve given them a strong starting point, it sounds like to me, I bet they can handle more on their own.”

And then his husband wouldn’t be randomly traumatized by more Luminary bullshit. 

Kokichi nodded a bit before humming softly. “As long as they still want my help, I want to give it. I offered in the first place, after all…but you are right. Zexion had said that one of the biggest reasons he wanted to come along every time was to figure out a process so they could help each other, and I have to imagine they’d rather speed things up more than once a week if they can. They’ve said before that Namine is the strongest Empath among them, so…I think at the least they might need my help when it’s her turn.”

…it seemed to him that she might be struggling a bit, with that. Being the leader by necessity, because she was the strongest. Taking to that responsibility, but not always knowing what that means, or what it asked of her, and feeling all the more frustrated with the things still out of her control. Maybe that was something he could potentially help her with too. 

…

Kokichi looked down, pouting as his spoon scraped his empty bowl. Aw…he finished everything…

Kaito rolled his eyes at Kokichi’s pout, stood up, headed out the door, and after a moment came back with another bowl, passing it to Kokichi as he took the empty one. “I’m not going to eat the ice cream anyway, I don’t know why I got one for me.”

“Favoritism.” Shuichi said.

“True.” Maki agreed.

“He had a hard night! Hard nights earn extra ice cream!” Kaito shouted back as he went to go put away the dirty dishes.

“I had a hard night, where’s my extra ice cream?” Maki asked.

“You’re going to be glued to me all day, which means, lass, we’re going to end up doing things you want to do today. At least I am.” Kaito said, coming back and rolling his eyes at her, “Don’t pretend like that’s not exactly what’s going to happen. It’s gonna be a spoil Maki kinda day. I’m half convinced you do this just for that.”

“Not really.” Maki said. “I tried to explain it to Ienzo, actually, our arrangement. I’ll admit, I had some trouble putting it into words.”

“Well, you two have talked before about how it’s a way to stop you from self-harming, Maki,” Shuichi said, “So that’s always part of it.”

“I’ve also heard the ‘it's cathartic to inconvenience Kaito’ argument too,” Kaito said dryly, reaching over to flick some water at Maki, who stuck her tongue out at him, “But, as far as punishments go, being forced to spend time with you is really, really low on the harshness spectrum. I like spending time with you, Maki. I don’t love the ‘am I allowed to breathe your highness’ aspect of it, but I do love that it gives me Maki time.”

“...that said, were you supposed to see Elia today?” Kaito asked, “I know she knows about this thing a little bit, but I don’t think she’s really ever seen it happen. Should we avoid her?”

“...” Maki twitched, “Should we?”

“See, that part. Hate that part.”

“Ehee~” Kokichi cheered, lighting up as he leaned over to smooch Kaito’s arm before he moved too far away, gratefully accepting the new bowl of ice cream. “You’re the best~”

It was true, for many things, but for getting an extra bowl of ice cream and spoiling Maki after a hard night too. Kokichi idly wondered what clothing piece Maki would claim next. Though, one idle thought led to another as he muttered, “Oh, right, that guy talked like that too… Guess it really is just another dialect.”

As he worked on his next bowl, Kokichi frowned a little as he tilted his head. “It…is easier taking the stress of a question you’re not sure of the answer for and putting that responsibility on someone else… I feel like Elia would wanna help make today easier, but…it’s hard sharing that kind of vulnerability with someone for the first time, and by the nature of it, when you’re not in a place to, like…offer training wheels, I guess. That’s a hard thing to consider on a regular day.”

Maki sighed, nodding reluctantly at that, “I keep waiting to scare Elia off. Honestly, I have no idea what she sees in me–”

“Saved a shit-ton of children, co-lead a revolution, took down a bloodthirsty king, incredibly fucking hot–”

Maki kept talking with Kaito reciting the things worth dating about her in the background, undaunted, “She really is so put together and sweet and just… patient? Far too patient, really. I thought she was just using me in the beginning, if I’m honest. And I didn’t mind that, I sort of wanted to be her easy lay, in some respects. Low effort, flattering, low-commitment… but then she just kept spending more time with me? And it wasn’t like I was exactly putting out… I’m still not exactly ‘putting out’, actually.”

“--really funny in a sarcastic, cutting sort of way, really fun to talk to about any particular hobby because you usually find some dry, sarcastic thing to commentate on, really good at playing pretend, roleplaying, sexy–woah, wait,” Kaito startled, giving Maki a baffled look, “...you two aren’t fucking?”

“That would be the thing that grabs your attention, Kaito.” Shuichi said dryly.

“What, I mean… but Maki likes sex!” Kaito tried to explain, looking increasingly baffled, “A lot. A lot, a lot! I know you were in the beginning! What happened?”

Maki shrugged in the bath, “Like I said, in the beginning I sort of thought that’s what she wanted. I thought that’s the kind of relationship we had, so I was trying to perform. And when I realized she liked me, liked me, and wanted to hang out with me regardless… I just sort of stopped? Maybe we mutually stopped, I really don’t know. It has occurred to me to be a little worried about it. Because now I’m just this woman with a ton of baggage who did a lot of deplorable things–”

“I would like to note without actually interrupting that I honestly think by this point you’re being too hard on yourself about a lot of those things.” Kaito pointed out.

Maki hesitated, before mildly nodding, “Okay, noted? Not sure if I believe you, but noted. Anyway, now I’m just allll this baggage that she’s being really, unreasonably nice to, and I don’t even give her head. And yeah, adding me being a total mess and not being able to do anything without looking to Kaito about it just, so damn randomly, it’ll seem? It’s like I’m begging her to move on and find someone better.”

Kokichi frowned a bit as he listened to Maki, giving her a soft look that only softened the more she outlined her insecurity in her relationship with Elia. Nodding in agreement with Kaito, he added, “And I don’t think you’re ‘just’ a woman either. With baggage, sure, but a lot of people do, and without downplaying the trauma and just…difficult situations you had to navigate that I do think are more than what a lot of people go through in the same timeframe…I agree with Kai-chan. I don’t think anything you’ve done has made you deplorable, or unforgivable or…anything like that.”

Maki was someone who had been through a lot of impossible situations, and had to make tough choices. None of them had ‘stained’ her into something lesser. 

Giving Maki another gentle look, Kokichi sighed softly and asked, “...have you talked to Elia about feeling like this?”

“Not even a little bit.” Maki said immediately, flatly, “That sounds like the worst possible thing ever.” 

“We spend… soooo much time in relationship therapy.” Shuichi said, now sipping his coffee, his own ice cream finished, “How on earth are you afraid to talk about your feelings to her, by this point?”

“I spend relationship therapy talking to you guys. And you all are talking about romantic relationships, but I’m not,” Maki said, Kaito humming lightly in acknowledgment to that, “Regardless of how Dr. Mariah feels about it. Or how Kaito feels about it–”

“Look, it’s complicated how I feel–”

“--I’m discussing family relationships, essentially. Ones that already realistically hit their breaking points and somehow, miraculously, bounced back. Honestly, I have no idea what I’d have to do to get any of you to disown me. I literally can’t imagine a scenario where that happens, by this point.” Maki admitted, “But Elia? It’s so… fragile. She still barely knows me, when all is said and done, I can’t understand why she’s with me, I feel like breathing wrong around her is going to ruin whatever this thing we’ve put together is. And I really like her! A lot. I was going to ask her to tattoo me with something, at one point, just to prove how serious I was about her…and then immediately ruined the gesture because, uh oh, was I asking for someone to be a ‘master’ again…ugh.”

“Come on, I’ve heard that story before, that was a way cuter moment then you’re giving credit for. And the jacket you got is kickass. That wasn’t ruined, you guys are just still figuring it out.” Kaito insisted.

“I feel like you’re not giving you and Elia’s relationship enough credit,” Shuichi said, “but I also think this is a tough day for you to try to tackle that. If we’re going back to the ‘should you see Elia today’ question? My votes no by this point. Though I do think you should talk to her about all of this on a better day.”

“Ooooone where you didn’t watch your family get tortured the night before, yeah.” Kaito agreed.

Kokichi gave Maki a look as flat as her voice. Maki kept saying she didn’t know why Elia was still with her, why she liked her. Yes, that was a mortifying thing to ask, and it felt bad asking someone to ‘prove their feelings’ like that, if that conversation didn’t have the proper care put into it. But if Maki’s biggest insecurities in her relationship were self-doubt and not knowing what was going on in her partner’s head, then…that was a conversation that needed to happen. 

But certainly not today. 

“It is a really incredible jacket, I didn’t even know you could press leather into designs like that, and still get different colors out of it, and Elia couldn’t stop smiling at you when you guys showed it off to us,” Kokichi noted, before nodding with his husbands, eating another spoonful of ice cream. “But…yeah. Today’s a piss and moan and recover day to be doted on. No difficult, soul-searching, vulnerable conversations.”

Kokichi paused. “Unless that sorta stuff is on your mind and you wanna talk about it, then of course, but, yanno… No going above and beyond to tackle stuff for the sake of it.”

“Yeah! I mean, no tough convos with Elia, but we are so right here!” Kaito insisted, “Have them with us! I want to have them! Talk to us!”

Maki squinted at Kaito.

“..........okay, that’s not an ‘order’, don’t make it damn weird, Maki.”

Maki had a flicker of a smile at that. “There absolutely is some part of this where it’s just fun to mess with you,” she confessed.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Just remember our resident clown is right there, feeling all dejected because you only like to mess with me.” Kaito said, reaching into the water and flicking some at her.

“I haven’t had a good reason to toss anything into his hair in a while. I’ll be sure to correct that soon,” Maki snorted, leaning back and resting her head against the tub brace, “...so, how are we spoiling me today?”

“I dunno. Any requests?” Kaito asked.

“No, not really. It’s still sort of hard to think.”

“Okay, well…” Kaito crossed his arms, tilting his head in thought, “...what about the rage park place? The dump? Wanna go break things?”

“Didn’t we end up worshiping a make-shift trash rabbit king or something?” Maki vaguely recalled, “Some sort of doll or stuffed animal we found. We built it a throne. We barely broke anything.”

“What?” Shuichi asked, baffled by this random bit of Maki/Kaito lore, “You did?”

“I found it helpful to worship our great trash-king.” Kaito shrugged, “The dump was full of treasures. It was neat. And whoever came after us had something cool to break.” 

Kokichi snorted softly, half covering his mouth to stop ice cream spittle from flying away. “I’ll take that as a warning. I’m not quite due for a haircut, so I’ll ask to spare me from anything sticky, at least.”

Hearing about Maki and Kaito’s excursion to the rage park, Kokichi lit up with a soft look. “Awww… That’s so sweet, though. And you guys put together a whole obstacle course when you had the bodyguard tryouts too; aw, keep building things in the place all set up for destruction~ Very Kai-chan and Maki-chan of you.”

Still tickled by that, Kokichi smiled to himself before softly sighing. “...I’ll be honest, I still kinda just wanna, like…sleep all day. So nothing’s coming to me immediately, but taking the time to try and think helps.” He tipped his head back against the sink counter. “Dooo…you feel any particular way about a manicure, Maki-chan?”

Both Kaito and Maki gave Kokichi mildly baffled looks, before glancing uncertainly at each other. Was that? Very ‘them’? To build things in destructive places?

Huh.

“Manicures…” Maki clearly wasn’t sure what that was for a second–

“Kaito’s hand and feet thing.” Shuichi said.

“IT IS NOT A ‘THING’--”

“Oh,” Maki said, immediately understanding, “the thing where they massage your hands and wax and paint you and stuff? I was taught to give myself clear, clean fingernail paint by Mr. Nidai. He said it’d make me a better ‘blank canvas’ for people to project onto if I was infiltrating a party. Which, again, I never did. Because that’s a massive waste of time.”

“I think he just liked teaching you how to paint your nails,” Kaito said, “...and it’s not a thing–”

“It was a thing for you.” Shuichi said dryly.

“It is nice to have someone put warm stuff on your hands and feet, and you get the little massages and idle chit-chat and everyone’s always like ‘ooooh, Prince Kaito, your skin is so soft’, none of that is my fault!” Kaito insisted, blushing red in genuine embarrassment, “Anyone would get flustered!! I bet even ‘Kichi would get flustered!”

“I bet it has literally never even occurred to him that there’s anything sexual in getting your hands and feet cleaned and painted.” Maki said, glancing meaningfully at Kokichi.

Kokichi blinked at Kaito, once, twice, surprise etching onto his features before he tilted his head with consideration. “...oh, yanno, I’ve never considered it to be a ‘thing’, but I guess it could be, for some people. Takes all types, and all that. And it is kind of fundamentally a pampering thing, so it’s not that much of a stretch, I guess…”

He gave his family a little shrug. “I’ve never gotten a professional one, and I mostly do ‘em myself so the product and massage stuff is kinda fancy. But I do like painting my nails every now and then. I think I’m pretty good! Doppio-kun liked his when I painted his nails when I chatted with him.” 

Giving Maki a smile, he added, “I could ask Denji-kyou for their, like, cuticle stuff and all that if you wanted to go full fancy.”

Kaito groaned, throwing his head into his hands at Kokichi’s damning attempt to understand his tallest husband. He wasn’t weird! Those pamperings were meant to be a little bit flustering! They had to be! Nothing else made sense! Ehhhhh!!!!!

While Kaito wailed in pervy jail, Shuichi looked at his own cuticles and said, “That might be nice. I say we do it.”

“This is my spoiling day.” Maki reminded Shuichi.

“It's yours and Kokichi’s spoiling day, and as his husband, I say the best way to spoil Kokichi is to let him spoil me. That’s just how this works.”

“Oh!” Kaito suddenly lit up, “I can do the waxings! I know how! It’s really fun!”

“See? Kaito gets it.” Shuichi said, “He’ll bring snacks too and do the massages and all of that stuff.”

Maki glanced over at Kaito, who had gone full glazed eyes, before nodding, “Alright… want to chill out in the hottub after everything dries? Or would that ruin it all somehow?”

Kokichi chuckled softly. He certainly wouldn’t mind spoiling Shuuichi a bit along with Maki, not at all. “The pampering itself is nice, but I just like having fun colors on me, and more lately, manicures have just been a nice excuse to chill out and talk with people. Aaaaand having a lot of yummy snacks around sounds pretty nice to me too.”

It…sounded like a plan. A chill, spa-like plan. 

“I think it should be fine?” Kokichi shrugged. “Like…I think your nails might soften if you’re gonna keep them in warm water for ages, but I don’t think that’ll really mess anything up. And even if it did, like…who cares. You’d still have had some comfy pampering, and then would be comfy in the hot tub.”

He laughed softly in his throat. “I do love my color-changing nail polish, but I’ll bring all the colors for you guys. Even just regular, non-sparkly, plain black.”

“Kokichi, please, I’m not so unoriginal,” Maki huffed, “I would settle for a near black dark red as well.”

“Thank you, ‘Kichi,” Kaito grinned, leaning over to place a kiss on his temple, “Today will be nice! Chilled out spa time! Maybe Maki confides in us some stuff! I get to put wax on everyone’s hands and feet–”

“Now you’re not even being subtle about it being a ‘thing’.” Shuichi pointed out.

“Anything I do with you guys automatically becomes a ‘thing’. We all know this. What would be the point in denying it?” Kaito chuckled, “But that’s different for a general ‘thing’! I just love you guys.”

“Aww,” Shuichi smiled lightly, “...where are we doing this, by the way? I’m vetoing the hot tub basement area. I like the hot tub itself, but that little lounge area does nothing for me.” 

“Ummm…” Kaito tilted his head, “...oh! What about that really nice sitting area on the second floor? The really big one, with the full wall-windows? We could go claim it? It’s got a massive fireplace too, it’ll be warm, has all those house plants. It’s a nice room!”

“Ooooh, that sounds great,” Kokichi cheered. “Weeee should bring blankets too, for maximum coziness. And when I go bother Denji, I’ll see if I catch what Haneda-chan and Tim are doing today, so I can let them know where we are. I’ll pass the word on anyway, even if I don’t see ‘em.”

“Thank you, babe,” Kaito said, standing up with a stretch, “Alright! I’m going hunting for wax, and I’ll bring the blankets down too! Kokichi’s got the nail stuff, I’ll grab snacks, Shuichi, Maki… you both bring your beautiful selves! We got this! Break!” Kaito laughed, giving his family a wink before heading out the door. Ready to start the pampering day.

-

Demyx squinted at Ienzo… before reaching over to poke his forehead.

Poke. Poke. Poke poke poke

Ienzo…hadn’t woken up. That wasn’t too surprising on its own, since both Sora and Demyx had completely conked out after their turns, but…well, the minor nosebleed and what felt like a fever hadn’t been as blasé. Over the night the nosebleed had stopped and the heat from Ienzo’s forehead had lessened, but…

…well, he still hadn’t woken up. To the point Lauriam had made some comment before he’d headed out for the day wondering if Ienzo even remembered how to take hold of his physical body. 

Demyx pouted. Pushing his foot forward and lightly nudging Ienzo’s side. Come ooooon… wake up. Don’t be weird. Be weird and awake! Not weird and napping! Come hang out with hiiiiiim.

Poke, poke…

{Poke}

{凸( •̀_•́ )}

{ (☍﹏⁰) }

{Let me iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin.}

{Ienzoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo}

{Poke poke poke}

A library door opened…metaphorically. 

And it would be shockingly different, when Demyx entered. Only minor structural changes, the shelves were as bursting with books as always, the seating areas just as comfortable…

…but it was dark. And weirdly warm. 

…and silent.

“Oooooh, creepy.” Demyx whistled, shoving his hands into his pockets as he sauntered inside, trying to appear less disturbed than he was as he swayed from foot to foot. “Hey, Ienzo, buuuud, why is your head always some weird little horror setting, bro? Like, you’re our shy little nerd Nobody, or, you were… you know what I mean! You got a lot going on, is what I mean! More than I thought! Really thought you had that stoic book nerd thing down!”

Demyx pouted, the silence just answering. “...well, if no one’s going to talk to me, I guess I’m gonna just have to practice my yodeling… YOOOOOOODELE–”

ㅍnㅍ Do you really have to yell within five seconds of being anywhere?

It…wasn’t a chibi. The figure was much bigger than that. But it didn’t quite look like a human either, too small and its proportions too simple and short. It did have some of the ‘squishy, cute’ quality a chibi had in design, but…more like an intermediary, or a different art style following the same principles. 

Though, this not-chibi looked pretty roughed up, tired and littered with bandages, a cold compress sticker on its forehead. 

Within the blanket curled up on a couch, the not-chibi gave Demyx a tired look

ㅍ_ㅍ Ienzo’s trying to rest. Since, if you recall, he was quite literally fighting his whole mind. And all of you. At the same time. 

“Oh my god,” Demyx gasped, squatting down to look eye-level at the not-exactly chibi, giving it a dazzled look. “You’re adorable. Except for the fact that you look beat all to hell. That is a little disturbing on your cutesy oopsie little face! You’re so beat up! Who beat up little chibo-Ienzo?” Demyx cooed, reaching over to gently pat the not-chibi.

The not-chibi gave Demyx a disparaging look. 

ㅍ_ㅍYou

ㅍ_ㅍDummy

It sighed a bit, reluctantly finding some comfort in the pat. 

￣Д￣＝３I’m aware this was our entire issue, but I don’t think Ienzo could really make himself get rid of me completely. 

ㅍ^ㅍ I blame Axel for this, though. He did say that Ienzo would benefit from a construct like Prince Kokichi’s, that’s an indication of how he’s doing. So…I suppose this is my role now.

ᅙ_ᅙ…I’m sorry for freaking out on you, Demyx. I’m not exactly thrilled I hurt you guys. Or put you guys through a gauntlet of Ienzo’s worst memories. 

“Yeah, that was pretty extra,” Demyx agreed, before gasping, slapping his hands against his cheeks as he realized, “So you’re Zexion! Awwww. Zexy became stumpy! You’re so cute! Also, I feel a little less bad about how beat up you are, because yeah! That was a lot!”

Demyx grinned, standing up as he said, “But, that said: apology accepted! I know how tough it is to have a Nobody who’s got a whole ego outside of yourself. And is super extra. And was also sadistic. But really good at stage performance.” Demyx sighed, placing his hands on his hips as he lamented, “I hope one day I can do stage stuff as well as Larxene did. She was so creative! Where’s that skill in me!? What’d she tap into, because I sure can’t find it!”

“Speaking of finding things,” Demyx looked around the silent library, “So, where’s the bigger you, Chibo-Ienzo? Where’s Alto-Ienzo?”

Chibo-Zexion nodded, accepting but still a little disgruntled. It was…strange, having a smaller, cartoonish body. He couldn’t say it hadn’t been daunting at all to go back to base essence, but…it was what he accepted. Respecting Ienzo’s choice to try and be present for his own life, to try and live without the safety nets he’d made when he was a little kid. He hadn’t expected to stick around.

Especially when none of the others had. 

But if Ienzo still needed him in some capacity, Zexion hadn’t shirked away from the call of purpose. Even if right now that seemed to be simply being a visual representation of the damage and exertion Ienzo’s mind was currently healing from. 

=n= Perhaps a sense of pride. Or ambition. Have a goal to work towards, and maybe that will inspire work ethic in you. Or it’ll collapse the universe, one of the two.

O_O

O_o Alto…Ienzo? Are…you really mixing metaphors here? Though I suppose I’m not really familiar with what a ‘chibi’ is in the first place…but wouldn’t that make more sense to call me something like ‘Tenor Ienzo’?

ㅍ.ㅍ …just call me Zexion.

Despite his better judgment, Chibo-Zexion could only sigh and wriggle his way out of his blanket, starting to lead a path further into the library. 

ㅍ_ㅍI did tell you, Ienzo’s resting. But…maybe you can help wake him up, properly.

ᄒ_ᄒ I don’t know how he’ll take being aware of the physical world again. It’s really gross and overwhelming, and he hasn’t done it in a long time. 

“Whatever you say, Chibo,” Demyx agreed, sticking his pinky into his ear and scratching out some wax, sticking out his tongue as he really dug his pinky in there… before he sighed. “Oh, right, my ear is itching in the real world. I should clean my ears eventually, it’s been a minute since I really got up in there, you know? …anyway, what’s gross about the real world?”

Looking around before saying loudly, in case someone was listening in, “Like, you just spent whooooo knows how long sitting in your own metaphorical filth, in a really warm organ room! Ienzoooo! Ienzo, your bleeding, screaming organ room was way grosser than the tavern! If you come out, we can use the tavern shower, get you clean!”

Demyx paused, before adding in, “You can go to a sauna! Remember us telling you about saunas? Cleans your pores? You’ll be cleaner than you’ve ever been!”

Chibo-Zexion just shook his head, disgusted, though soon there was a quiet groan and the gentle feeling against Demyx’s shoulder of someone dropping their head onto him. 

“Demyx, I know that my constructs always made sure we washed regularly. That was one of the main reasons I made them.”

Ienzo looked…tired. Not as overtly beat up as Chibo-Zexion, but truly exhausted. Though, there was a small, considering hum from him as Demyx brought up saunas. “...it would be interesting, experiencing one for the first time… I still don’t see how there’s any scientific basis for ‘clearing toxins’, but there are other benefits as well.”

“You know! They clear creepy crawlies. Inner, like, what are they called… viruses?” Demyx pouted, before grinning wide, turning around and grasping Ienzo on the shoulders, “There he is! Heeeeey! Nice to meet you! Apparently?”

Demyx laughed, before tilting his head. “No, seriously, have you met me? I was too busy getting zapped in the sidelines to catch much, but the impression I got was Chibo Zexion over there has been in charge basically as long as we’ve known each other,” Demyx said, nodding to the not-chibi, “Sooooo, I’m Demyx. We’re friends. You love when I randomly start singing at the top of my lungs. What else should you know about us…”

“That’s not how viruses work…” Ienzo sighed, before letting himself be manhandled, smiling tiredly up at Demyx…before surprise flashed across his face, quickly followed by regret. Expressions much more forthcoming from Ienzo than they had ever been on Zexion, or most of the constructs. The truth was, as closely as they had been able to mimic some habits, one of the biggest reasons the constructs had been able to quietly keep up the ruse so long was…simply because none of the other Nobodies really knew Ienzo that well. Even for the older Empaths who’d raised him, it had been easy to brush certain changes in habits under teen angst. 

“We have met, Demyx,” Ienzo quietly corrected. “I haven’t fronted for the past few years, and…not frequently for longer than that, but I have been in charge sometimes.” He smiled softly, the expression almost a little unsure. “Twister was me.”

“Hah! I knew it! It was a trick! To get you to admit you lost to me in Twister, fair and square!” Demyx cheered, pulling Ienzo into a sloppy half-hug, before patting his side. “So! Let’s eat something and go to a sauna then! But that means you gotta wake up, man. Can’t put it off forever! And it’s, you know…” Demyx gestured to the beaten, broken looking Chibo, “it’s not like your bones are gonna heal over time. So we gotta start working on your brain, man. Which probably needs water by this point, let’s be honest.”

“I didn’t lose,” Ienzo quietly snapped, before…he jolted, looking a little alarmed at the hug Demyx pulled him into. His cheeks flushing as he went stiff. The little pat not moving him a bit. 

Chibo-Zexion’s look, well, was slightly disparaging, but there was sympathy in his gaze as well. It had been a while. Even if their body was used to something, it was a different beast to get used to it mentally again. 

Sighing, Ienzo looked to the side before drawing himself up. “...yeah, okay. I’ll…meet you out there, I guess.” The prospect shouldn’t look so daunting, but…it was.

But Ienzo had made his choice, and he could keep hiding in his head even less than he could before. So with as much bravery as he could muster…

Ienzo opened his eyes, immediately squinting in the midday light coming into their make-shift bedroom. The heaviness of his body feeling…strange, and the pool of drool coating the side of his face certainly wasn’t helping anything. Slowly, he pushed himself up, wiping his face with a sleeve.

It was too quiet, it smelled like dirt and distant smoke and faint sweat and dust, his stomach hurt, his head hurt, it was so uncomfortable…

“Water!” Demyx cheerfully offered, coming back into the room–he had puppeted his body to go grab it while he was chatting in Ienzo’s head–before shoving it into his friend’s hands, “Come, time to guzzle that hydration doooown! Dance, water, dance!”

Thanks.

Ienzo awkwardly grasped the water thrust at him before giving Demyx a little nod, starting to…yeah, drink. Look, this wasn’t so hard! You remember drinking, don’t you, Ienzo? You just fill your mouth with liquid, don’t breathe, and swallow. And it’s perfectly fine if you can feel a temperature change going down your esophagus, the weirdness is just part of the experience. This was even a nice thing, see? It revitalizes your mouth, your throat, it’ll help your head in a--

Oh. 

Huh. 

Ienzo swallowed, before frowning a little incredulously and…looking a little embarrassed. Opening his mouth slightly, feeling tentative…before shakily, quietly actually saying aloud and not thinking, “Thanks.”

“Hehehe, your voice is squeaky,” Demyx said, poking Ienzo’s arm. 

It wasn’t. It was kinda raspy and whispery, for the most part…but there was a squeak in some of the syllables. Like a man gasping for water as he dragged himself through the desert sand. A wheeze, perhaps. Demyx was gonna call it a squeak, as he laughed. “Hah. Squeaker. Alright! You look like death warmed over, I’m going to steal a pain killer from Luxord, a sandwich from Sora, then we’re heading out! Hold tight, squeaky!” Demyx said, standing up and heading off, “Lux! Lux! I got a real easy bet for you! If I lose, you give me a painkiller!” 

“The hell kinda bet is that, lad!?” Luxord called from the distance.

“I bet you’ll dodge my tackle!” 

“Oh, for SHITE SAKE!” 

Ienzo gave Demyx a flat look, the expression much more familiar, compared to the constructs’. 

He knew his voice hadn’t actually changed any. His vocal chords weren’t damaged in any way, other than perhaps being dehydrated, there weren’t going to be any different sounds coming out of him. His constructs had talked just fine through his body before. It was entirely a mental disuse, which maybe could change tone, but…nothing substantial. 

…as difficult as it’d be to get used to again. Ienzo felt another surge of sympathy, for the story Namine had told about nearly being hit by a carriage. 

Sighing a little to himself--at least that felt natural--Ienzo carefully started getting up, getting used to moving his physical body around again. By the time he made it from his cot to the bedroom door, walking felt alright…but Ienzo found he needed to take another bracing breath before pushing the door open and stepping outside. One more safe haven left.

After a tackle, a fight, some scrambling, a quick trip to Sora, who had a literal pile of sandwiches beside him as he read in his bed pile–he was a growing boy!--Demyx came back with everything he had promised Ienzo, plus more water. 

“Come on, come on, chop chop! You need to take a piss? You remember how to take a piss?” Demyx asked, genuinely curious as he led Ienzo carefully down the stairs, the two taking the steps a little at a time.

Ienzo narrowed his eyes a little, rapidly refocusing his attention on the stairs. He was still working on remembering how to successfully multitask. “...I genuinely cannot remember the last time I used the bathroom myself. That was an early switch for me--I could keep working on projects if I left the more mundane parts of my body’s upkeep to a construct.” He frowned a little. “...I think I remember how. It can’t be that complicated.”

Ienzo frowned a bit at the slight give of the step under his foot, unsure of what really to do besides freeze if the stairs decided to be difficult today…but the stair remained intact as he continued down. Thankfully. As much as relearning how to navigate the physical world was just a process he needed to go through, Ienzo had a feeling the others wouldn’t let him live it down if he made a catastrophe around himself while doing so.

…ugh. Ienzo couldn’t help covering his nose a bit as they got onto the main floor of the tavern, the dust smell stronger down here…along with a slight sour tinge that Ienzo could only guess was the remnants of spilled alcohol from years past.

“Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh I’m sure it’s fine? It’s natural! I guess just go before it becomes urgent! Mostly so you don’t piss yourself. Or other things! They will kick us out of the sauna,” Demyx explained, glancing down at Ienzo and watching his face pucker as he notably sniffed, “Your tiny nose picking something up? What’chya smell? Eh? Eh?” 

Demyx tapped Ienzo’s nose. “Someone dump something in the water well?”

Ienzo nodded seriously--of all things, he wasn’t about to get them kicked out of a sauna for wetting himself--before giving Demyx a dry look. “Booze, unsurprisingly. At least that’s my best guess. I wasn’t exactly drinking age last time I was free. …ugh.”

He gave the tavern a withering look. “...really didn’t miss this at all, not being conscious of my sense of smell. You wouldn’t believe how many constructs tapped out because of just how pungent things were around us.”

“Ienzo, you were literally just around us! Most of the time! Are you saying we smelled?” Demyx asked, digging his pinky back into his ear again. Oooooh, yes… the itch was fading this time. Hell yeah. “And we probably shouldn’t let you drink. I feel like you’d be a terrible drunk. I already feel like you’re pretty uninhibited as is, who knows what kind of nerd rants we’d unlock with some tequila.”

Demyx plopped himself down in a booth, clearly just waiting for Ienzo to finish his sandwich and water. And maybe go use the bathroom. He really did not want to risk having a mess in the sauna. Now if ANYTHING was going to smell. “I’d ask how you feel, but by the look of you, my guess is terrible. Give it a couple of days! You’re going to feel right as rain, soon!”

“Yes,” Ienzo said simply. In the way Demyx was likely asking, yes, because no matter how clean you tried to be, the fact of a lot of people living in an enclosed, proportionally small area was going to smell. And that wasn’t even contributing to the fact that they worked in a torture factory, and sometimes torture stank. 

But he also meant it towards just smells in general. With how sensitive Ienzo’s sense of smell tended to be, even pleasant or neutral smells could get uncomfortably overwhelming quickly, and his constructs rarely stuck around to bear through it. Something that he’d have to just get used to now, he supposed. 

Tilting his head at Demyx’s assertion he’d be a terrible drunk, Ienzo hummed quietly. “Am I that uninhibited? I’d want to follow up on the claim that ‘ranting’ is something to purposefully stifle. And there’s other reasons to imbibe as well, other than for the express goal of intoxication, but don’t misunderstand, I’m not arguing that I want to drink. From the experiences of my constructs that I can recall, it’s never been a particularly nice experience for me.”

Sighing a little as he worked through the ‘be a person’ provisions Demyx had gotten him, Ienzo gave his friend a little nod. “I feel like shit. I don’t think I’ve exerted that much psychic power…ever, maybe. And it wasn’t even really something I was doing on purpose. I can’t say his reasons, but…I think I should be grateful Kokichi didn’t push back on me as much as he could’ve. Making me fight him directly would’ve left me in far worse shape.”

“Yeah, that guy’s scary as balls, isn’t he?” Demyx mused, pulling his sitar off his back and lightly strumming at it, deciding not to comment on everything Ienzo said that entirely proved his point, “He can just… control the whole brain, I think. I don’t even think I’m exaggerating. Like, he’s not just holding someone’s attention and stressing people out, like most of us do, it’s like he actually has you. Like the whole of you is physically in his grip. It’s soooooooo scary.”

Demyx smiled brightly. “Honestly, now that you’re out? I think I’m gonna decline any more invitations to go mind hopping with him. I’m such small fry in comparison, I don’t know what I could offer other than being a bug for him to accidentally squash. Glad I could help you! Respectfully, fuck that shit.”

Ienzo’s eyes widened a little as he nodded. “I don’t think I could’ve even conceptualized or theorized his level of power before all this. Axel let me look at the memory of what happened after I was pushed out of his mind? In that case, it wasn’t even a…nudge, or helping us work through the breakthrough we needed ourselves, like with you and Sora. Prince Kokichi psychically altered the mechanisms of Axel’s mind. That’s…terrifying.”

His brows furrowed incredulously as he continued, “And he completely blocked off a part of me from the rest of my mind. That wasn’t just…a change of perception, or being in a dire situation somewhere else. If he hadn’t let Zexion out? I…think that would’ve been a literal lobotomy.”

Ienzo was grateful, of course, for everything the prince was doing for them…but last night was something that really made him aware of how mortally lucky they were to not have an enemy in Prince Kokichi. Namine had been playing with a very dangerous fire, when she linked to Maki’s mind that night.

Glancing up, surprise flickered through Ienzo’s expression before he smiled softly. “It seems like it was at the behest of quite a twisted set of machinations, but…thanks for coming along to help me.” Ienzo let out a timid, unsure laugh. “I guess I have a lot to thank you guys for, lately.”

“Yeah, see… that. I don’t want anything to do with that. And we thought the witch and the head secretary were bad,” Demyx snorted, “I know my own power levels. I don’t want to be anywhere near that.”

“And yeah, you should thank us! But, like, only once, man. We’re your friends. Even if nine of us can’t really remember that right now,” Demyx said, glancing at the ceiling, where other Nobodies were hidden away upstairs, “We’ve all been through a lot together. It’s probably going to be a long time before any of us can relate to anyone outside of us… period. Who else is gonna get us? Understand what we went through. Understand who we are…”

Demyx strummed hard on his sitar, noise ringing through the tavern as he smirked. “Or put up with all of our annoying habits? Hurry up~ hurry up~ I wanna go to the saunaaaa~~~ IT’S SAUNA TIIIIIIME~ in CHOOONIIIIIS, SAUNA TIIIIIIIIME, WITH THE FRIENDS WHO KNOOOOOW UUUUUUS!!”

“SHUT THE HELL UP, DEMYX!” Dilan shouted down the stairs. 

“I SWEAR THAT BRAT’S ON SOMETHING TODAY!” Luis shouted from across the floor to Dilan upstairs. 

“GUYS, BE NICE TO DEMYX, HE BOUGHT US SUPPLIES YESTERDAY!” Sora shouted from another room upstairs.

“HEY, SOME OF US ARE SLEEPING!?” Riku shouted from another spot.

“WELL GUESS YOU’RE UP NOW HUH!?” Axel shouted, “AFTER A LONG ASS NIGHT GUESS WE’RE ALLLLL UP NOW!!!”

“We should go.” Demyx smiled brightly.

It was fair enough. Now Ienzo was starting to feel a little daunted himself, but, well, sometimes understanding came with danger. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they said. If he wanted to truly understand the Auto-Pilot defense and how to deactivate it, then being around for the only examples of it he knew was a must. If he wanted to really understand the upper potential of Empathy, there was no greater example Ienzo knew than Prince Kokichi. 

Being present for great acts of power that bordered on divinity was just part of the cost of entry, he supposed. As were the moments of existential terror, such as knowing that Kokichi knew of a power not his own great enough to literally erase the former head secretary. 

Almost as terrifying as the wrath of his family being woken up in the middle of the day. 

Stifling a soft, barely there giggle under a hand, hearing the outrage Demyx provoked from the entire tavern, Ienzo got up and grasped the edge of Demyx’s sleeve, pulling him along to make their escape. “Maybe they’ll calm down by the time we come back.”

“I’m sure they’ll forget allll about it,” Demyx giggled as he followed Ienzo’s grasp, ignoring the clamor coming from upstairs as Even shouted that the NEXT PERSON WHO SHOUTED WAS ABOUT TO GET A NOTCH IN THEIR EAR, AELEUS!! AELEUS, GET THE EAR NOTCHER!! 

-

Kokichi was focused. Posture hunched, his tongue peeking out a little as he kept his hands steady, working on the first color coat on Maki’s nails. She had ended up picking out a deep, dark red, and Kokichi had a feeling that she’d likely pick out his dark tinted top coat too, when it was time. If he could convince her to let him put on a top coat. She had looked pretty incredulous when he got out the base coat initially too. 

But! Even just for fun, Kokichi was taking it seriously, wanting to do his best. 

Because Kaito certainly was, if the contented sighs Shuuichi gave every now and again were any indication. 

“....sooooo, I don’t usually do anything that fancy, but are you sure you don’t want any decals or anything?” Kokichi confirmed. “Denji gave me a whole sheet when I got the cuticle stuff.” Along with…more nail care items that Kokichi wasn’t really sure how to use.

“Decals?” Maki asked, having been sitting still for Kokichi, curiously watching him work.

“The nail art thing you see sometimes. Remember Monique’s nails?” Kaito called from closer to the fire, Kokichi and Maki working by the cracked open windows, letting the fumes from the nails air out, “Those weren’t painted, they were like little sticker things you press on!”

“Oh…” Maki tilted her head, considering the nails, “...do you think Elia would like them?”

“Probably! I sure liked them on Monique.” Kaito grinned, before snickering as Shuichi pouted, lightly kicking Kaito’s face with the side of his foot. Kaito gave Shuichi’s foot a quick kiss in apology… before his nose wrinkled. Right. Oops. The wax was still on there.

While Kaito tried to discreetly wipe the wax he had gotten on his lips off on his shoulder without tasting it–he failed. Blegh–Shuichi called to them, “I’ve always thought there was something sophisticated in the little gem-stone looking ones. Those might look nice on you, Maki.”

“Mmmm… you do actually know how to put them on, right, Kokichi?” Maki clarified, before giving him a suspicious look, “I’m not going to look silly? Ouma?”

Kokichi couldn’t help but snicker a little as Kaito tried to wipe his mouth. He had to say, the massage and wax--and Kaito had helped out with the buffing and cuticle spray too--really was something Kaito excelled in, no surprise, but…heh, wax mouth. 

Though he quickly gave Maki an assured grin. “I do, actually! They’re kinda hard to mess up, in a way that looks bad. The hardest part to me it getting them to stay in the place you want, but the gem ones are a little easier since they’re thicker.”

Glancing over at the supplies Denji had given him, Kokichi noted, “It…looks like there’s clearish ones? At least in this set. We can figure out a design to do ‘em on a few fingers if Maki-chan doesn’t wanna bother with all of them too.”

Maki relaxed, nodding a little… before her face scrunched up, a sudden flinch running through her. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, trying to clearly swallow something down… before she sighed, “Kaito–”

“Sounds good, babe, she’ll go with that!” Kaito called, before saying softly to Shuichi, “You know, you really do have nice feet–”

“Kaito’s getting more brazen about the feet thing!” Shuichi called. 

“You are my HUSBAND, I am allowed to think your feet are CUTE!”

Maki laughed lightly at that, looking back to Kokichi to watch him work. “...how are you feeling?” She asked him, her tone soft. 

Kokichi gave Maki a soft look, before snorting a bit at Kaito. “Like he hasn’t been before. Every time he gives me a foot massage? The only person I’ve ever met that cracks toes? Brazen.”

Finishing up the first color coat, Kokichi chuckled a little more before smiling softly at Maki. “...better, I think, now. It helps having something to focus on, like painting your nails, and, well, hanging out with you guys always makes me happy.” 

He sighed a little. “It’s not like helping any of them has been a total walk in the park. Sure, their worlds are amazing, but that doesn’t change the fact that…” Kokichi looked up a bit, before setting up the handheld fan Souda had gifted them to dry Maki’s nails faster. “Axel told me that their worlds were made for conditioning, so inherent to them are feelings of oppression and unease, no matter how cool they are. And then…basically having to push them into distress, hearing about their biggest insecurities and fears…”

Kokichi shrugged a little, his gaze low. “It’s never great. And I hadn’t expected Ienzo to be better. But even having a warning it still…just got to me, shockingly.”

“How can you give a massage and not crack the toes? It’s the most relaxing part of it! That and twisting the ankle. Like this–” 

“Nnngh,” Shuichi sighed, briefly turning putty as Kaito bent his foot gently back, before rolling it into a circle as he pressed his thumb down onto the center of his foot, “Where did you learn this?”

“Eh, trial and error for the most part.” Kaito shrugged, “I like touching people, I like making them feel good, I’m not always up to sex. This is a nice middle-road.”

“Mmm.”

“Shameless.” Maki sighed, shaking her head. “...were the worlds beautiful? I only saw Roxas’. Well, and the island, I suppose… the island was meant to be beautiful, and I suppose the raining city had its own charm.”

“The mosaic was gorgeous.” Shuichi admitted, “It’s a little upsetting to think about, sometimes. Those images weren’t made by the… whatever we call them, the people made ‘whole’, I suppose. They were made by the torturers. They shouldn’t be able to make something like that.”

Kaito frowned slightly, brows furrowing. But he just kept massaging, turning over that thought in his head a little.

“Mhmm,” Kokichi said quietly, snuggling into a blanket as he delighted in the contrasting temperatures of Cozy Blanket and Open Window. “I told Kai-chan about it, but Axel’s rendition of the Fire Temple? And even how fierce his Volvagia was…it was like I’d been dropped right in the book, it was incredible. And Demyx’s water area was like a deep-sea explorer’s dream… I do like how colorful it became when he…was fully him again, but Larxene’s version was such an amazing vibe.”

Kokichi took in Shuuichi’s words for a moment, considering them. Looking at the ceiling as he mulled it over. “...I don’t see why not. Constructs can become incredibly complex over time and with energy put into them, and…well, the Nobodies were made to be stand-ins for whole people, with energy constantly being put into maintaining and adapting them, and…” Kokichi sighed. “Like, for Ienzo? At minimum, Zexion’s been around for….17 years? And depending on how closely the others’ projections match their actual ages, he’s on the younger side of the group. Developing a complex construct over a lifetime?”

His eyes squinted a little. “...they’re not full people. That’s why they’d been trying to be whole again. But…they still are people in themselves. Even if they were made for something horrible…that’s not their faults. And it’s not all they are. So I don’t think it’s…even strange that they can make beautiful things. They have fears and hopes and quirks and hobbies just like their whole selves.”

“Maybe it makes sense, but I wish they couldn’t.” Shuichi said plainly, looking away with a sigh, “It just doesn’t feel fair.”

“You don’t really mean that… or, no, that’s not fair of me to say,” Kaito admitted, pressing his hand firmly around Shuichi’s pinky toe, popping it, before moving onto the next one, “...I think saying people who do something wrong aren’t capable of any good thing is maybe not being kind to us, is all. We’ve all definitely been that person to someone. You, me and Maki especially, but even Kokichi has his naysayers… I mean, they’re ridiculously wrong, but they exist.”

“And maybe I just want to defend that, because I definitely fall into that same mindset too,” Kaito said, popping another toe, “If I don’t watch myself, I mean. I’ve wished people were more one-dimensional too. Less confusing. Like, if you’re going to be a dick, just be a dick, sort of thing. Don’t also be a doting father or a good ruler or a dedicated, breathtaking artist… just be the dick! It’d be so much easier! You owe it to everyone you hurt to not be anything more!”

“But at least for me, that’s almost never actually been true,” Kaito said, “And worse, it makes me feel like I’m getting away with something, any time I do something well, when I’m also feeling guilty about stuff. Like, if it's true for them, it should be true for me too. I should just be a dick. What right do I have to be better? To do good things? That’s not fair.”

“The ones that got away with it.” Maki recalled lightly.

“Yeah,” Kaito sighed, “Yeah.”

“...maybe it’s because that room was only for Ienzo,” Maki theorized. “Everyone else is apparently making beautiful, elaborate worlds for their torture chambers. But those are the places the people they’re conditioning are actually trapped in, forced to look at. Maybe the Nobodies, at least the ones you’ve helped so far, wanted to make… at least one aspect of it worth witnessing? Like, yes, you’re being chased by a giant fire dragon… but also, you’re being chased by a giant fire dragon,” Maki said, “I can personally think of far worse ways to hurt someone, without all the dramatics and setups. Maybe making the torture story-like and thematic and beautiful was its own sort of mercy. Especially knowing everyone was supposed to forget afterwards. If your memory erasure was slightly messed up, and you remembered a little bit from what happened in the factories, then getting flashes of a massive show in an underwater stage…?”

“I think I get what you’re saying. Ienzo’s area was awful because that likely wasn’t actually where the kids were getting tortured?” Kaito clarified, “So if it was just for him, why not make it as awful as possible?”

“My assumption would be that if they were trying to make their torture ‘beautiful’, it was for themselves and not their victims,” Shuichi said, “...but I’ll admit, I’m just feeling a little resentful right now. You both didn’t have to help them. But every single one of them has turned around and tried to torture you for the act of helping you. And this time, one of them actually succeeded.”

Kokichi gave Kaito a soft look, a small smile playing on his face. How many times had they talked about that? Argued about it. Assholes should be assholes, nothing more… The thing was, was that you were never obligated to be around assholes, but they were never just nothing more. Every person is a person, complex and messy and three-dimensional, even the ones that didn’t have the self-reflection to recognize that even in themselves. So…even the constructed people were like that too. 

“Maybe,” Kokichi hummed to Maki’s point. He could certainly see the logic in it, and…well, even for Larxene, who had been specifically made to enjoy the torture, not just get through it like some of the others, what had she made? Not just pure pain, plain and simple. She had made a performance. Something inherently fun, even if the show played was torture. Maybe even just to get through it, the whimsical worlds were what the Nobodies had had to make. And Maki’s point about the fantastical nature of the nightmare for their victims held true for that too. 

“It is for them, a bit,” Kokichi nodded to Shuuichi, “At least for outside of their work. They’ve said that they hangout in each others’ worlds sometimes, just for fun and to pass the time. But…yeah. If Ienzo’s shared space was his library, then those two rooms…” Kokichi closed his eyes and shook his head a little. 

Before opening them again to smile grimly at Shuuichi. “I’m certainly no healer or guard, yeah. But I still want to help them.”

“Far too generous,” Shuichi pouted. 

“And that’s why we love him, and we’re very lucky to have him,” Kaito insisted, kissing the side of Shuichi’s ankle this time, “Our Kokichi’s very, very good, and so sweet, and so helpful, and crazy powerful, all in a cute little compact body with thin little hips and a cute little butt and a cute little di–”

“I’m in the room, Kaito.” Maki reminded him.

“--ctation when he talks! Sometimes!” Kaito smiled blankly, “In certain situations!”

Things were silent for a moment, Maki watching Kokichi do her nails, Kaito taking the wax bags warming by the fire and asking Shuichi if he wanted another round on his feet, before wrapping the bags of wax around his feet, letting them warm as Shuichi sighed contently.

“...do you guys think it matters if something happened, if you can’t remember it?” Kaito asked. 

“Mmm… elaborate.” Maki said.

“We keep calling them torturers. And yeah, they’re definitely brain-washers. And from their point of view, they’re definitely torturers… but no one can remember what they did but them.” Kaito pointed out, “Does it count if the victim can’t remember?”

“I’d argue yes,” Shuichi said, “And more than just because if it happened, than a crime still occurred regardless of who witnessed it or not. There was clear and obvious consequences of the torture that occurred that we all still do remember. I felt like I was suffocating, when I was ordered to give information and didn’t immediately. I felt that way, because when I was with them, someone clearly suffocated me. Even if I can’t remember the incident itself, I was still being suffocated by it later.”

“But you said even if there wasn’t, you still think it’d matter?” Kaito clarified, “If no one could remember it at all, or been affected by it, so long as a crime still occurred?” 

“Pain forgotten is still pain.” Shuichi said. 

Kokichi gave Kaito a flustered, embarrassed look, before huffing. Quietly working out with Maki which nails she wanted the gem decals on before starting the next coat of the red, and gently pressing the gems into the wet paint. It was even more meticulous than regular painting, so Kokichi was focused again…

But not disengaged with the conversation. 

He glanced up at Kaito, frowning softly, before looking back to Maki’s nails, nodding with Shuuichi. “It still happened, and still hurt when you experienced it, even if you can no longer recall that experience. And I think that matters. Both for the person that forgot, but the person that inflicted that pain too.”

“Forgetting might make it easier to move on, maybe even easier to build a relationship with the person inflicting the pain if that’s what you want, but…it’s still something that happened, and that matters. You just get to choose how much it matters to you, I guess.”

He remembered Larxene calling…the ‘Somebodies’ weak, for not doing the torture themselves. Asking how much it really changed making someone else do it. It was clear that even if it wasn’t him, Ienzo had still been aware of Zexion’s conditioning sessions…and even that degree of separation had been agonizing to him. 

…he thought of the ‘torturer’ in the riddle. The woman the Nobodies had called a supervisor, how the puzzle had made sure to include her with so many torture devices, maybe just to make it clear, but…Kokichi didn’t think it was fiction Ienzo’s mind had added. That it was likely she’d really used all those things. 

His eyes reddened a little as he carefully placed tiny gems on Maki’s pinky.

“So sentimental,” Maki gently chastised, bringing up her free hand to press her palm against the edge of one of Kokichi’s eyes, wiping off a building tear, “...I agree. It should matter. But if they’re not a danger anymore, that should matter too. And right now they’re not. They’re just a group of people hunting lizards for snacks in a back alley, from what I hear.”

“Lizards are delicious though,” Kaito murmured. 

“Still such a weird thing you’ve clung onto, Kaito,” Shuichi said, “I used to think you just ate those to impress people. Like, ‘I’m royalty but I can still eat the street vendor food’. Did you actually like the lizards?”

“They were crispy~” Kaito said dreamily. 

“I’m so relieved we ended up in Dicea. For all the obvious reasons, but the food is better here.” Shuichi sighed. “More salt. Less lizards.”

Kaito stuck his tongue out at Shuichi, taking off the wax bags and grabbing a towel to start peeling the layers of wax away again, “...so, I’ve been talking to Miss Crystal about everything, right?”

“Mhm,” Maki said. It had been a bit of a debate, but Dr. Mariah had insisted Kaito needed to get his personal therapist involved in the empath stuff. That it would sabotage his mental health if they kept trying to work around it. Kokichi and Kaito had ended up sitting with Miss Crystal to explain it all, getting her caught up.

“Right.” Kaito nodded, smoothing out the wax, “So…we discussed in our last session, if the things Tengan did to me in my head still counted as things that happened to me? Like, if that was something that counted for anything, since it’s not like I really know what he did up there. I wasn’t conscious of it happening. And Miss Crystal is on your guys side, that if it had consequences, or that it happened at all, it still matters even if I can’t remember. Like, it’s still something that happened, and have to work through. And that made me think, well…”

Kaito huffed, tilting his head back to think, “...if it matters even if I’ve forgotten, does it matter even if he’s forgotten? It still happened…”

“Oh,” Shuichi said, realizing where Kaito was going with that. “Hm.”

“Yeah, I’ve been debating confronting the guy still,” Kaito admitted, shrugging lightly, “But my point in bringing it up is, like… well, I have a few different things connected to that idea, but… maybe it’d be helpful… if they got to confront a Momota–”

“You have to stop offering yourself up as some symbolic punching bag every time something happens, Kaito.” Maki said.

“I know, I know, I just… this is a complicated situation. Because one day, the kids might want to confront them too,” Kaito frowned, “And I guess I just want to think about what all that might mean, someday. In practice. So why not practice it with me first?”

Kokichi gave Maki a little grin, appreciative of even the light scolding, though he did take a deep breath, evening himself out a bit. It mattered that it happened…and it mattered that it was over. Even if they were struggling, the Nobodies were a group of people that struck him as…well, yeah, not a danger. They didn’t want to hurt people anymore. They just wanted to look after each other and keep everyone fed. 

And Kokichi was already extending help for that, so…that was that. 

But even settled matters could still be processed. 

Kokichi glanced up, giving Kaito a surprised look, before huffing a little. And…then frowning as Kaito offered something he unfortunately did enough for Kokichi to see a pattern, though Maki called it out immediately. 

“I agree with Maki-chan,” Kokichi prefaced, “...but I can’t stop you if it’s something you really want to offer. Honestly, the Empaths seem kind of…daunted by you. Royalty in general, I guess, though I think they’re getting a little more comfortable around me. But…I mean, Axel getting excited at the thought that you might think something he made was cool was really even the…closest to a confrontation they’ve ever indicated to me.”

“Really?” Kaito asked, wiping off his hands, the wax cleaned from Shuichi’s feet, before idly just massaging his ankles and legs, “See, that just boggles my mind a little. My family was responsible for everything that happened to them. It was all done in our name.”

“They never met any of you. You’re just famous names to them. I bet the civil war was the most any of them had ever heard about any Momota.” Shuichi pointed out, “It’s not like they even had access to newspapers or pamphlets. It’s much easier to resent someone who’s hurting you, right in front of you, then just a name on some paperwork.”

“That’s a point, actually. The kids might end up feeling the same way about the Nobodies,” Maki theorized, “We didn’t really care who our conditioners were until Namine literally dragged us into her mind to make us care. Sure, it was different when we actually met them, but it was different by design. She was trying to find another path towards wholeness by talking to us, two grown, noteworthy victims they had. If we don’t put the kids in the same situation? They may never care at all. And maybe it’s kinder to not insist they have to.”

“It felt like I was more than a name on some paperwork all the time, growing up,” Kaito said, something irritated running through his expression. Though, it was clear not at them, as he continued, “The main reason I ever had to be careful when I was sleeping around? Was people trying to take something out on the easily accessible Momota. I can’t tell you how many nights I had to bail on because I realized they had some really strong opinions on Momota’s that I did not want to be on the receiving end of.”

“Your perception is pretty biased then. You were accessible. So, anyone who wanted to get a little bit of vengeance on a Momota, even if it was just ruining their night for a night? You were the one they’d gravitate towards, because you were easy.” Shuichi said, “So to you, it’d seem like they were ‘everywhere, all the time’, when really it was just a small portion of people gravitating towards you like a magnet. That was half the reason I was always sent off to spy on you, honestly. Looking out for those people specifically.”

“And I’m very grateful to you, Shuichi,” Kaito assured him, “Not so much my family for sending you to spy on me, but you? Very grateful! Thank you for taking care of me~”

“It’s the same for all of us, really.” Maki said, admiring her nails as Kokichi moved to the other hand. Pretty, she could admit it. “We’re disproportionally seeing all of this sort of thing because of who we are, title-wise. I bet the average person goes through their whole life, never seeing signs of torture at all.”

“Lucky.” Shuichi sighed. 

“I’m not saying that no one would take you up on it, just that I’ve never seen it. Which is a pretty big bias, considering they know we’re married,” Kokichi shrugged. “...and also the fact that I’m really scary to them, so maybe even if they did feel the urge to take something out on you, they might not because of me.”

Kokichi paused for a moment. “...I am curious about how the rumor about me being taller came about.”

But it really could just be that Kaito, and maybe just the Momotas in general were too far removed for the Nobodies to feel angry towards. Yeah, they had been imprisoned under the Momota regime. Yeah, Tengan had been a voice for Leon, and the Nobodies very personally despised Tengan. But…Kokichi couldn’t really guess how often the name Momota was even talked about in the warehouses. If they were going to resent anyone, Kokichi would guess it’d be those ‘supervisors’...and other Empaths. 

Kokichi sighed a bit. “It’s hard to always keep in mind that we’re like…the most outlier of outliers. Our experiences are not even tangentially close to the average person.”

“What’d Dr. Mariah say?” Kaito asked, before toning his voice lower, yet softer, as he mimicked, “Your situation is not typical. No one else has gone through what you’ve gone through. If you don’t respect that, you will never recover. Something like that?”

“Something like that,” Shuichi agreed, not bothering to correct him. It had been ‘there are no relationships like yours’, but Kaito had gotten the point across.

“...my siblings aren’t above punishment,” Maki admitted. “If they’ve done something, I am not so biased that I cannot allow harm to come to them. I feel like I’ve proven that in the past.”

Kaito nodded. She had. 

“But even if he hadn’t been my sibling? I think I’d have forgiven Ienzo for everything I heard in there. You can’t resent slaves for what they’re ordered to do. I’m entirely self-serving to believe that… but I do. It hadn’t been his choice to torture them. He’s not proud of what happened, even if he has moments where he might be proud of his skill. Which I only mention to keep in mind the other Nobodies and how they feel about it… but even if he wasn’t a sibling, and even if I had no desire to ever see him again? I’d still forgive what happened. Even after seeing what I had.”

“And that’s why we love our Maki-roll,” Kaito sighed, “who’s kind even when the world gave her every excuse not to be.”

“Mhm,” Shuichi hummed in agreement.

“...and is very pretty. With crazy red eyes and cute puffy cheeks and very nice hips–ow!” Kaito whined, catching Shuichi’s ankle before he could kick his chest again, “I’m leading up to something! I’m saying Elia has a thousand reasons to be lucky she’s with Maki. She’s kind, and kickass, and sexy as all hell, she’s the full package!”

Maki smirked lightly. He was such a dummy sometimes… but she didn’t hate the flattery.

Nor did she hate her nails, as she said, “These are coming out nice, Kokichi.”

Kokichi nodded slightly as Maki spoke. He didn’t know exactly what all she and Zexion had talked about when Kokichi had separated them from the group, Maki had let him in on some of it, but it wasn’t like he looked at the memory. But even just from what he had seen and heard… 

Ienzo had done something horrific. As much as Kokichi could have a chill day today and talk things out with his family and move on, he had a feeling that hearing Maki’s siblings were a sound that would haunt him for a long time. Just as they had haunted Ienzo. Even with it being his reality…everything about Ienzo’s rooms spelled out hurt, and guilt, and grief. And he didn’t forget the individual kids either. 

As awful as it was, when Kokichi took in the whole situation, he couldn’t bring himself to hate Ienzo, or even be disgusted with him. Kokichi just…felt pity, and sympathy, and grief. For everyone involved. 

So adding in that Maki had another attachment beyond that? Yeah. 

Kokichi gave her a warm smile, agreeing whole-heartedly with Maki’s kindness, before preening a little. “I’m glad you like them! I never really do any paints this dark, but I think they look nice too.” He snickered softly. “Aaaand I guess more in-line with Maki-chan’s fashion than bright yellow or green or something.”

“Can I come take a peek?” Kaito asked.

“Can he, Shuichi?” Maki asked.

“I’ll allow it.” Shuichi said.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re both so funny,” Kaito scoffed as he stood up, the two chittering in laughter at him as he headed over, peeking over Kokichi’s head, “Oooooh, that came out great!”

“Stars in a night sky?” Maki guessed.

“Actually, more like gems in volcanic rock. Equally romantic imagery.” Kaito insisted, running his hands through Kokichi’s hair and tilting his head up a bit to place a kiss on his husbands forehead, “My talented ‘Kichi~”

“...you know, I’m starting to notice it,” Shuichi admitted, sitting up to watch Kaito place more kisses on Kokichi’s face, before hugging around him.

“What? That Kokichi’s hella talented?” 

“That Kokichi doesn’t talk about things that bother him that much.” Shuichi said, “I sort of thought Kaito was being overdramatic, but this is… a pretty clear line from ‘traumatic thing happening’ to ‘Kokichi not talking about it’. It’s not like there’s been time since it happened, or it didn’t directly affect him, or he’s processed it in some other way. He just doesn’t talk about it.”

Kaito gave Shuichi an owlish look of surprise, still hugging Kokichi… before he lit up, “Yes!! Someone else noticed!!”

“What?” Kokichi said, pressed into Kaito’s affections. Not offended or defensive, but genuinely confused as he looked between his husbands. “I…have been talking about this? It’s what we’ve been doing all morning.”

“Hmm.” Maki hummed, not ready to comment until she understood the situation more, waving her hands lightly to dry them a little faster. 

“Maybe it’s just a difference in how you used to talk about these things,” Shuichi admitted, “You do talk about them, but you don’t… hmmm…”

“Whine?” Maki guessed.

“No!” Kaito shouted… before he furrowed his brow, “Well, maybe a little that. I guess I’m just used to the way we talk about things that bother us in these big, emotional, rambling ways… which you did used to do, Kokichi. Though, saying that out loud, I am worried that I’m currently advocating for you ‘being upset until you have a heart attack’, I’m realizing.”

“That’s true,” Shuichi said, “Maybe it’s just hard to equal you acknowledging your feelings to the full-body, self-destructive reactions you used to have.”

“Ooooh,” Kokichi hummed, nodding slightly as he leaned against Kaito’s chest. “Well…yeah. I’m actually kinda proud there’s such a contrast, since the ‘full-body, self-destructive’ reactions were things that I purposefully had to work on. And I have been.”

“I don’t…really feel like I’m over compensating, at least most of the time, though,” he frowned, “Sure, sometimes I keep quiet when there’s stuff that’s more your problems that I’m just empathetic to, which we’ve talked about in therapy before, but…I don’t feel like I’m stifling my feelings to myself, or holding off until later. I just…feel like I have a better way of processing things that isn’t as…overwhelming? Or all-encompassing. And harmful for me and the people around me.”

“Does that just look like I don’t talk about the stuff that bothers me to you?”

“Not really,” Maki said, “It just sounds like you’re coping to me.” 

“I suppose I just worry that you don’t allow yourself to be, well… perhaps a little over dramatic around us,” Shucihi admitted, “That’s what I was referencing, when I said I had noticed it. We’re a group that indulges our melodrama, from time to time. And I can see why Kaito might have noticed before all of us, since he’s the most prone to melodrama among us–”

“I do not!” Kaito gasped, “I emote an appropriate amount! There’s just a lot to emote about!”

Shuichi nodded, “Mhm. See? But I do it as well, on occasion. Long monologues, naval gazing, dare I say, ‘emote’. Mostly to Maki, honestly. But I do that to vent those emotions and feel okay afterwards. So I was just worried that you were feeling, like you mentioned, Kokichi, ‘stifled’. But if you’re not? Well, good, honestly.”

Kokichi giggled softly, before shrugging slightly. “Well…I will admit I can be sort of the no fun patrol, sometimes. Because of how badly I used to handle things, sometimes seeing melodrama doesn’t look like cathartic exaggeration to me, it looks…genuine seems like the wrong word, because even being over-dramatic isn’t necessarily lying. But…equivalently sincere, I guess. So that really sparks the, uh oh, this is a serious problem, we should calm things down and try to talk it out, impulse in me. So it’s not something I turn towards as much myself, for that reason. I think I can get too caught up in melodrama too easily, and just turn it into drama.”

“Sometimes I do get silly with it, but…less, I think these days. But I think that’s just better for me, and not to the lengths of not letting me express what I need.” He smiled softly. “Just trying out different stuff, I guess, and seeing what helps most.”

“I’ve worried that maybe my reaction to things is what stopped you from wanting to… are we sticking with the word ‘melodrama’?” Kaito asked, before shrugging, kissing the top of Kokichi’s head, “Has made you shy away from melodrama. I’ll admit, I get jumpy when you start getting upset. And it’s not always from the most altruistic place, though I do worry about more trips to the healers when I notice your blood pressure is starting to rise. You were… tough. To talk to. When you were upset.” Kaito admitted. 

Leaning back to shuffle around Kokichi, peering down at him to get a better view of his face, Kaito explained, “So was I. We’re all tough to talk to when we’re upset. That’s one of the ways you could tell one of us was really upset, if they just made themselves impossible to talk to. But! I’d rather learn to better control my ease when you feel like being melodramatic, than say to avoid all melodrama just so you don’t end up lashing out upset. I don’t want to say that you just never get to tense up around me. That’s not fair to you.”

“You think it’s a ‘you’ thing specifically, Kaito?” Maki noticed. Kaito had a tendency to speak in ‘we’ statements for conversations like these, so it usually meant something if he specifically started referring exclusively to himself.

Kaito nodded, smiling, something both genuinely happy and a little sheepish in his expression as he said, “Our ‘Kichi spoils me. Honestly, he bends over backwards, constantly, to make things just a little more comfortable for me, a little happier, safer. He has for basically all of our relationship! But there was a brief moment in the beginning, like, maybe literally at most, maybe, a month, where our Kokichi was a tad cruel? And… I know how I still feel about the things we did early in our relationship, and…”

Kaito sighed, sitting down beside Kokichi, giving him a tired, fond look, “I just don’t want you to feel like you’re still making up for all that stuff, at the beginning. Because you’re not that guy anymore. You’ve worked so, so hard to understand me, and treat me better, and just… I don’t want you to think I haven’t noticed. And I don’t want you to think that’s something you have to aspire to forever. I’m okay. You don’t have to be perfect for me.”

“I won’t say it wasn’t a reason,” Kokichi admitted, “But it was more of a wake-up call than anything. You weren’t the only person I hurt by acting out… I mean, my sister had to reconcile subduing me because of how violently I’d lash out at people and myself, and that’s only a proportion of things. It wasn’t just being over-dramatic, it was something destructive, and I needed to learn how to manage it. Seeing how it hurt you, and talking about it in therapy were things that just…gave me the right push to seek help for how.”

“You’re right that it’s not fair if I could never be upset in front of you because it stresses you out…but how I used to react to things was way beyond that.”

Kokichi smiled softly, hearing the now common sentiment of how he spoiled Kaito…and acknowledging that it had been far from that at the beginning of their relationship. It was something that Kokichi was ashamed of. But…

With an adoring look, Kokichi leaned in to give Kaito a peck. “Thank you. And, for the record, Kai-chan’s not the same as when we first met either, and I’m so proud and in awe of the work you’ve put in… Perfection’s not a real goal. But I do just enjoy trying to be better than I was before, each day. I think it’ll be sad, to ever decide I’m done learning, or trying to understand the changing world around me. But I want to be better because…that’s a good way I think I should live my life, not to make up for mistakes I’ve made or things I hadn’t learned yet in the past. Past Kokichi just wasn’t there yet…but I know he gets there, and I’m glad he got the opportunity to. I’m not gonna malign the sprout because I don’t see a flower. It’s all important.”

Kaito brightened at the small kiss, wrapping his arms around him and resting his head against Kokichi’s. If Kokichi had been working hard to be better, Kaito was a clear and obvious result of his efforts. Even taking into account his struggles with disowning Byakuya and talking about what had happened to him in the study, Kaito, physically, just… looked better. Since even six months ago. Better rested, more relaxed, talking to people easier, not straining or flinching from every sign of disapproval, not screaming in frustration in furious bids to be heard. 

And while, yes, a lot of that was the therapy, and the sleeping aids, and just time marching along… all of those things Kaito only had access to because Kokichi had worked hard to essentially build Kaito’s life back up around him. Not always flawlessly, no, but that amount of effort was always going to lead to slip-ups. That was the consequence of trying to help, that sometimes you made mistakes. And Kokichi had essentially forced himself to do years of growth all in one year, to be the kind of person who could then let Kaito talk about what happened in the study and cry about it. To be the kind of person Kaito felt safe to sleep around, dosed in sleeping medication. To be the kind of person who could literally, if he wanted to, take Kaito’s mind and restructure it as he pleased… and Kaito would just believe him, when he said he never would. Because Kaito trusted Kokichi to not harm him. Not like that.

Kaito had done most of his crying in the last six months, because Kokichi had made a safe place for him to do that. And now he felt better. And things were better. And he just… was grateful for everything Kokichi had done for that. 

Kaito might not have valued the vow for Kokichi to prioritize his time to Kaito when he had been given it, not when he had been desperately hoping for a vow to be physically protected by that point in his life. But reflecting on it now, Kaito realized how important the vow as Kokichi had understood it had been. Kokichi had dedicated so much time and energy to prioritize him… Kaito was grateful. And he just always wanted to be that for Kokichi as well.

…idly, he wondered if Kokichi had ‘heard’ any of that’. He had stopped talking for a moment, just hugging Kokichi. Basking in his grateful feelings. Maki was giving him the ‘you’re being extra’ look. Kaito grinned at her.

Kokichi snuggled against Kaito, giving his cheek another kiss before settling to let Kaito rest his head without Kokichi constantly squirming under him. And it was…wonderful. Kaito was even warmer than his blanket, and was all soft and cuddly too…and came with cozy, loving feelings of appreciation that made Kokichi want to take after their daughter and just bask in. 

…they’d done a lot, to get here. They were right to be proud of it. 

“...Kai-chan, can I do your nails next?”

Kaito grinned against Kokichi’s hair, “Just don’t paint them yellow or green…though, we can go bright. Shuichi!” Kaito called back to his husband, who was still enjoying the fire as he watched them get all cuddly together, “What color should I go for!”

“Pink.” Shuichi said.

“Really?” Kaito asked, “....eh, you know what? Sure. Let’s go pink. But I want a cool decal on it then! Like… swords!”

“Flowers.” Maki said.

“Okay, but only because you ordering me around is probably a sign you’re improving, Maki-roll,” Kaito grinned, before hugging Kokichi tight again, “...thanks, Kokichi.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure.” Kokichi beamed impishly up at Kaito, giving him another kiss. 

-

“After that? You just pour some water on the embers, annnnnd boom! Steam!” Demyx showed him cheerfully, dipping the ladle in the water again to pour some more over the hot stones, “We can add as much steam as we want! But you’ll find it doesn’t take a lot before the room’s all warm and wet. You can also scent it if you have the ingredients, but it’s considered a bit rude to do that for a public one like this. Though lucky us, no one seems to have joined our room yet! It’s like we have our own private sauna! How luxurious~” 

Demyx laughed, doing one more pour before setting the ladle down, lounging back on the stone bench, placing his arms up on the ledge of the second stone bench acting as a wall to them. “Ahhhh, feel that sweat… that’s the stuff. Way cleaner than sweating in the sun, where all the dirt gets in and stuff. No sunburns too! Have you experienced a sunburn yet? Those suck.” 

Ienzo watched intently as Demyx demonstrated how to operate a sauna, committing every instruction and action to memory. 

…or, he tried. 

It turned out, keeping up a constant stream of observation and data logging was much more difficult when it was something you were doing yourself. While walking through town wasn’t unfamiliar, Demyx had needed to literally pull Ienzo along, getting him walking again a few times because Ienzo just had to…stop. Finding the amount of raw data around him far too much to catalog while on the move. 

It had basically been like that since they left the tavern. And Ienzo had found some things welcome--the din of a bustling city was…comforting in a way he didn’t particularly feel like analyzing that moment--but others…well. He was remiss to just dismiss any phenomena of the world. 

…but everything was so bright. And pungent. And claustrophobic. And…tactile. 

In some ways, finding a sauna room to themselves was a relief. And one Ienzo wasn’t so keen on giving up right away…even if there was a part of him that sounded suspiciously like Even scolding him that he was running away again. 

“Noted,” Ienzo said stiffly, eyes slightly widened as he sat awkwardly on the bench. “However, I’ll have to refute the point of dirt--even with regular cleaning, dirt and general debris are in here too. There may be a point that the lowered amount makes a difference for the health purposes of a sauna, however…though, again, that would make better sense linked to the response of skin pores softening and expanding in humid heat, not from the response of sweating.”

Ienzo barely paused. “I’ve had sunburns before. If I remember correctly, I’m rather prone to them, likely due to genetics and a relatively low level of melanin in my skin, though high levels are not necessarily protection against various types of sun damage and proper protection should always be utilized.”

“Look, maybe the toxins thing is an old wives tale, but,” Demyx smirked, winking at Ienzo, “Those old wives tend to tell those tales for reasons! Trust the process! Saunas are good for you, I just can’t explain why.”

Demyx leaned his head back, spreading his legs wide beneath his towel to really let the heat waft in, nodding every now and again to Ienzo’s explanation. “Mhm, mhm, always a good idea to wear clothes that cover the skin out in that heat. You know, I see those folks who go around barely wearing anything, 100+ degrees, they seem crazy to me! Maybe their skin is made of thicker stuff, I feel like I’d be stinging all over! That was one plus of the factories: noooo sunburns!”

He paused, before amending, “No sun at all was kind of a bummer though. Though, you forget, after a while, what it was like. Being in the sun, I mean. I wonder how long it’s going to take before we’ll all start to forget what being in the factory all the time was like? I imagine that will happen. Weird.”

“I’m sure there have to be reviewed studies somewhere. For such a ubiquitous pastime, it would only be suspicious if no one has studied it. So it’s just a matter of finding the information,” Ienzo mumbled. Unsure how he felt about breathing in steam. It was…weirdly heavy. And thick. But the sensation was so poignant he could see how people felt like something was happening as they inhaled. 

“In direct sunlight causing that sort of temperature, I’d say you’re correct regardless of how fine those people feel in the sunlight. Even the most suited for sun exposure will receive some form of sun damage…I theorize it’s just to a degree they’ve either internalized as normal, or just something they’ve decided is worth the experience. Imbibing alcohol is a nearly universal human experience across the world and cultures, after all, so it’s not as if incurring damage to one’s body is something people logically avoid at all costs.”

Ienzo gripped the bench under them. The stone wasn’t craggy, but it was still porous to an extent. Perhaps to take advantage of natural flexibility when it came to humidity, to avoid cracking and having to repair or replace the benches all the time. Its roughness felt odd under his palms. 

Shrugging, Ienzo stared fixedly at the steaming embers. “We had the island, and just about any setting we could think of. And without the actual consequences of being outside, ie. the discussion we just had on the topic of sun damage.”

“I’ve not had time to deeply study the long term effects of trauma, for as much as the onset is something we’re all familiar with. Instinctually, it doesn’t feel like we’ll really forget our time in the factory, though perhaps the feeling of strangeness outside of it, and the idea of being inside of it being the familiar, will fade until it’s no longer our primary or even comfortable paradigm.”

“Eh, most of Larxene’s memories feel like something someone told me about in waaaaay too much detail,” Demyx said, his nose scrunching in disgust a bit, “Like, so much detail that I can imagine it… but it feels like imagining it. Not like something I was there for. Sora says he straight-up remembers what Roxas did, but it feels like something that happened a long time ago.”

“Axel… honestly, I’m expecting that guy to just have a mental breakdown at some point,” Demyx said, tilting his head up to gaze over at Ienzo, “You know what I mean? Like, he didn’t do the thing we all did to get through it, that was just basically him, the whoooole time. I’m betting that’s gonna sneak up on him one day. Bam, full breakdown! …well, maybe that’ll happen to all of us, over time. Really hard to guess by this point… how do you think it’s gonna affect the experiments you’re doing on scary punk lady and pretty green boy?”

That was true. Their Nobodies were really who interfaced with the actual factory more than anyone. Perhaps his inclination was more true to just Destiny Island, then, since that’s where they’d spent the most time as themselves, before it had just been the Nobodies. 

“Interesting. It seems that out of the four of us, then, your Auto-Pilot might’ve been the most genuinely successful at actually defending you against mental harm. It might not help if we manage to get into more confrontations, but I think you feeling so detached from the work might be the best outcome for your mental health going forward,” Ienzo theorized.

And it did make sense, since Larxene was far and away the most different from Demyx of the four examples they had. 

Ienzo nodded, the motion a little stiffer and jerkier than he meant. “Axel seems to be handling things…almost concerningly well. Perhaps it’s to do with his job before being caught, though against my own impulses, I suppose he’s the only one actually qualified to compare them. But until it’s too much for him, or he reaches out for help, there’s only so much we can do, I guess.”

Ienzo breathed shallowly in the steam. Hm. Yeah, his forming opinion was lowering. 

Blinking, his bangs sticking to the sweat on his face, Ienzo barely glanced at Demyx for a moment before looking back at the embers. “...how do you mean? Are you asking how no longer having constructs I can utilize will affect our sessions? I am capable of any purpose I used them for.”

“I guess what I mean is, do you think you might have a harder time understanding conditioning? Now that you’re not entirely the guy who did it?” Demyx asked. “Or maybe you don’t need to understand why strangling someone for a while makes them less inclined to mouth off at you within strangling distance. I dunno, I don’t really understand how your methods for undoing conditioning are meant to work… Hey, are you good?” Demyx asked, “Do you want more steam? You look stiff.”

“I think our initial hypotheses of anti-conditioning just being a matter of directly untangling the initial conditioning were wrong. Or at least only right through a method we’ve never found,” Ienzo said, body growing tenser. “I don’t think undoing it is actually related to the process of conditioning at all. It’s still to early to say if that’s a correct line of thinking, but between the things the prince and his family have mentioned, and what I’ve implemented for Rantarou and Xiomara, I…think it’s more a matter of finding something that can fight or subvert the route of conditioning, rather than undoing the process itself.”

…

As evenly as he’d been talking the whole time, Ienzo took a shallow breath and informed Demyx, “Demyx, I’m trying not to freak the fuck out right now.”

“Ooooooooooh,” Demyx said, straightening up and giving Ienzo a nervous, uncertain look as he scratched the side of his face, “So… noooot doing great then?”

“No.”

“...I can feel Zexion yelling at me because I’ve been making the door to this sauna look ‘off’ to anyone that comes near.”

“Oh shit, really!?” Demyx gasped, glancing over at the door like he’d be able to see some little tell of it, like a sheen of illusion or something… before he grinned, “WOW! That’s awesome! You can do that?!”

Ienzo wasn’t entirely sure that the sweat dripping down his arms was entirely from the sauna. “Barely. And I can feel my headache returning despite the painkiller you swindled. Sorry.”

“Normally I can only influence minds who already let me in, or ones that are just too addled to put up much resistance. But it seems that a low level illusion like this that’s not me adjusting senses all that much is within my abilities. Which would be astounding to find out, if I didn’t feel like I was going to…”

Words weren’t enough. 

{Overwhelmed; overstimulated; scared; astounded; excited; TOO MUCH WAY TOO MUCh not enough not nearly enough; fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck ああああああああああああああああ}

A soft, strangled noise squeaked out of Ienzo’s throat.

There was a small beat of silence, Demyx staring wide-eyed at Ienzo as his brain was suddenly flooded by a panic attack… but he just took a breath as it faded, whistling low as he felt the adrenaline of it pass through him, “Oooooooh, yeah, you’re freaking out. Okay! Hmm.”

Demyx tapped his chin, bringing up his legs to sit cross-legged. “I’ll admit, I’m not sure what’s more relaxing than sitting in a sauna, so nothing really strikes me as ‘let’s do something relaxing’, because my guy, we’re literally in the ‘sit down and do nothing’ room. Sooooo, so, so, so…”

Demyx tilted his head one way, then another, humming as he thought, “...do you want drugs? Like the tranqs they used to give us back at the factory. But less, like, oh no, they pumped us full of tranqs again and we’re going to end up passed out or drooling in a corner! And more like, eyyyyyy~” Demyx grinned, winking at Ienzo, “Passing out or drooling in the corner time, babyyyyy~”

“Or alcohol? Self-medicate with alcohol? Though I hear that can ramp up some peeps’ anxieties,” Demyx mused, “...we could just go hang around drunk people? They sound easy to manipulate! Maybe that’d be soothing?”

“Mm?” Ienzo said, no amount of descriptive words in his vocabulary able to match the clarity of ‘I have no fucking clue’ better than that strangled sound. “...hate being on drugs. Passing out or drooling in the corner were literally my second least favorite things in there. …and alcohol, and in general alcoholics, smell terrible.”

“...this sucks,” he whispered. “I didn’t expect myself, as the ‘literally buried myself in over a hundred layers of copies to avoid everything’ guy to just…be fine out here? But it’s just…so much. And at the same time everything’s so quiet I feel fucking braindead, and…”

Ienzo squinted, taking a few quick shallow breaths. “I can’t… I have to catalog everything myself, but it’s so slow, and I keep missing things and it’s like there’s a million things to think about and discuss but I can’t do any of it because it’s just…me. Now. And I hate how everything smells and everything feels weird to touch and I want to punch the sun for how much it makes light fluctuate so I just want to hide in the corner of our bedroom but it feels like if I’m not conscious and around someone I’m going to die.”

“Mhm, mhm,” Demyx said, crossing his arms and nodding, “Tell me about it, man. Same, same. I am also buckling under the weight of everything there is to think about! Like, uh…”

“...like do you think worms can be Empaths?” Demyx asked, “And if they could, could we recognize them being Empaths? Like if a worm projected their wormy thoughts and feelings at us, would we recognize the emotions? Or would it be just too wormy for us to understand? I think about it a lot, man. Maybe a worm’s tried to reach out to me before, and I just didn’t notice. Wild.”

“...they do have brains, so if we decide that reasonably anything with a brain can be an Empath, that’s a possibility,” Ienzo said after a moment, a deeper breath coming to him. “Though I feel like that’s a broad assumption to make. But not an unreasonable one, considering that though we often operate in metaphor for our own understanding, the reality of our abilities comes down to the manipulation of the physical mind. And not ‘mind’ in the spiritual sense, referring to things like sentience, but the physical organ, the brain.”

“I think it would be fair for us to recognize a worm Empath’s message as being life, though that might be the extent of our understanding. I could be wrong, but I don’t think worms experience the same emotions we do, so even for a form of communication that reportedly transcends that, I don’t think we’d be able to communicate. Like…trying to speak to someone that communicates by…hand signals, maybe, and you’d never heard of flag signs. It would become clear, after a bit, that the two of you are trying to communicate, but the methods are so foreign that you wouldn’t even know where to begin in trying to decipher the meaning.”

“Yeah, I could see that,” Demyx nodded, scratching lightly through his hair, fluffing it out, “...you know, people wear masks. All the time, I mean. It makes them look cool too! Dangerous~” Demyx smirked, “I bet you could deal with all the smell stuff if you became a mask guy. And people would think you’re mysterious and menacing and stuff. Because they don’t know you’re a nerd who’d totally talk to a worm.”

“...maybe,” Ienzo conceded, “Though getting used to smelling my own breath all the time would be an adjustment too. Maybe just one more consistent than the whole of the world, always.”

Ienzo looked over at Demyx, raising an eyebrow with an amused look. “Are you implying that people wouldn’t find someone that would have no qualms communicating with foreign life menacing? I’d say the unknown is one of the biggest fears there is.”

As fun as that was, Ienzo soon deflated a bit, his gaze going lidded as he looked out at the embers again. “...I’m not so sure I want to be all that menacing casually, though. It might be safer. But…I don’t know if people actually being afraid of me is something I want to encourage.”

“Easy fix,” Demyx said, snapping his fingers, “Get you one of those cute masks with a smiley face on it. Adorable. Or flowers! Alright, give me a hard one, I’m ready!” Demyx grinned, looking pumped. 

…look, Ienzo hadn’t been wearing clothes he picked out himself pretty much his whole life, but the things he found he gravitated toward, when they had found the budget to actually get more clothes than what the factory had sent them out with? That…didn’t really seem his ‘vibe’. But he supposed he could try, if even just a plain mask was too menacing. 

Ienzo just stared for a moment, trying to work out what Demyx meant, before his eyebrows lifted slightly. “...how do I bridge the gap from having a hundred people talking in my head, to silence?”

“Talk to me more, I talk more than enough to make up for a hundred Ienzos.” Demyx grinned. “Sure, I’m not going to be as ‘smart’ as all the Ienzos, but come on, I’m going to take conversations places you never saw coming! That’s exciting! You bring the ‘brainiac’ part of the convo, I bring the ‘worm Empaths’ side! Easy peasy. Also, the rest of our group is all full of chatterboxes too. Have you talked to Sora lately? That kid will talk your ear off, I swear. You know he’s been talking about getting a dog? Even’s been trying to talk him out of it, and somehow, that conversation turned into him also wanting a duck. Where do you even find ducks!?”

Demyx paused, before lighting up. “Oh, and I’ve been hearing music records are a thing! Music’s a great way to just fill silence. We should get you one of those!”

Ienzo smiled slightly, something…weird settling in him. “He’s still on that, then? He still does have the most consistent income out of all of us, so it’s his call, I guess. And I suppose you can find ducks at ponds. Wherever the closest one to us may be.”

Music…wasn’t a bad idea. Getting a record player seemed expensive, along with getting records themselves, but Ienzo doubted that would be something he’d enjoy alone. Maybe once he pulled himself together to see if he could make some money for their group too, that would be an investment. 

Though, music just led back to…

Ienzo smiled shyly, looking down. “...I do like talking with you, and the reason you stated is part of that. Your ideas aren’t unintelligent, but they do tend to be unexpected, and that’s…fun.”

His expression grew more tentative as he looked away more, lightly tapping his fingers against the side of the bench. “...for clarity, I do wish you’d never been caught. Never had to contend with the Indentured Program. But…I was really happy when you joined us. Lauriam and I can get along sometimes, I guess, but…” Ienzo shrugged a little, his gaze growing dry. “...well, I guess it’s telling enough that I actually met you, even if that was a little more frequent when I was…like, 13 and around then.”

“Relax, you’re not going to come off like some dickhead if you just say you’re glad you met me. I’m glad I met you too! Man, you were really 13 back then, huh? What was I, 17? Probably says more about me than it does you that the person I got along with best was the youngest of us, at the time, but whatever. You were fun, I don’t regret it.” Demyx shrugged, before grinning at Ienzo. “Hey, open your link up a little, let’s see if I can pull this off at least for the two of us…”

He reached out towards the steam and, whispering to himself, “dance, water, dance” he ‘pulled in’ the water from the steam, forming a water sitar that he rested on his stomach. Experimentally pulling some of the strings, he then started playing lightly. A sound only he and Ienzo could hear. 

As he strummed, Demyx said after a bit, “You know, I can’t remember my left and rights?”

Ienzo shrugged a little. Out of anyone in the world, their group would give each other the benefit of the doubt, but…well, like he’d prefaced, he just wanted to be clear. If life had been kinder to them, none of them would’ve ever met. …other than perhaps Axel and Kairi, if the ‘kinder’ version was their parents not being awful, and Kairi, Sora, and Riku, otherwise. But for the fact that they had met? Ienzo valued those bonds. 

Snorting a little, Ienzo muttered, “I mean, I’d been mostly hanging out with people actual decades older than me before, so maybe it says a little about me as well. Along with the fact that you were usually the one prompting me to actually ‘act my age’.” There was a part of Ienzo that liked to think he was a bit of a ‘trial run’ before the Light of Heart trio showed up. Maybe it was wishful thinking to assume they had any more of a childhood than he did.

Raising his eyebrows again, Ienzo opened his mind to Demyx before smiling lightly. Feeling himself actually relax a bit as Demyx played for them, his expectations and muscle memory perfectly in sync. 

Though, true to form, the next thing Demyx brought up surprised Ienzo. “You don’t use the ‘L’ trick? Or…associating one of them with your fret hand?”

“Weirdly enough? Trying to do that suddenly has me doubting what an ‘L’ looks like,” Demyx chuckled, strumming at his sitar, “Drove your old man nuts when he realized. Old professor sat me down one day and tried to literally brow-beat it into my head, what was my left and what was my right hand. Would hit me over the head every time I got it wrong. I remember asking him if he did that to you and he said you didn’t need to be hit to remember stuff. No fair! For all we knew, he was knocking the info right out of my head!”

“But,” Demyx smiled lightly, closing his eyes, “at the end of that day, I was reciting what was left and what was right perfectly. Flawless. It had really seemed like I had mastered it… and then the next day, when he tested me again? Right back to square one. Even after all of that, still couldn’t do it. Trying makes my head spin. So he asked me how on earth I had been managing up till then, and, well, for one, I got lost a lot. I think whatever’s connected to my inability to remember left and right keeps maps from forming in my brain too, or something. But two…”

Demyx showed Ienzo his right hand, at the long neck of the sitar, and showed him squeezing the strings for a moment, enough to leave deep, deep indents, as he explained, “If I need to remember left or right on the fly? I run my thumbs over my fingers, and feel for which hand has deeper indents on my fingertips. My left has more scrapes than dents, all on the sides of my fingers, but my right one has deep lines and scars right on the center. It’s the only way I can remember. Running my thumbs over the scars, and remembering what makes those scars.”

“My point is, sometimes brains are stupid and you just have to deal with looking like a moron while you fix it,” Demyx shrugged, smiling serenely, “Nothing makes people want to brush me off as stupid more than I can’t remember my left and right and need a little physical trick to compensate. Oh well. It’s not something I can fix, and I’m not going to let people shame or embarrass me out of a solution just because it sounds stupid or looks weird. If it fixes the problem? Who cares what people think. It makes it easier for me to just do the workaround, rather than pretend it’s something I can solve with just enough studying or hits to the side of the head.”

Ienzo snorted softly. Yeah, that was Even. For all that Ienzo truly considered his dad an academic, Even was no teacher. If you couldn’t learn by simply being told information, he was out of ideas…the antiquated jerk. It just happened to work out that Ienzo had a good memory, and had already been taught how to learn from information he found out. 

“For remembering things? No. But you know how exasperated he’s gotten at me when I’ve left my body in weird areas, or my constructs forgot to eat or sleep. And I think the only time I’ve ever been that scared in the factory other than from Orlette was when Even found out I was contemplating experimenting with conditioning.” Even’s reaction had been warranted, honestly. Messing up conditioning had some truly awful consequences, and if their supervisors had ever figured out that Ienzo was tampering with things on purpose? Better not even to think something like that into existence. 

In hindsight, though, Ienzo could see other reasons Even had stopped him. Truly treating their victims as test subjects? There was a path Ienzo could’ve gone down, should he have continued thinking about it, and…Even had likely saved him from becoming that person. Someone that Ienzo didn’t think he’d like very much. 

Huffing a little as Demyx explained his poor sense of direction, and leaning closer to look at the scars and calluses on his hand--he was right, it was an association with his fret hand--Ienzo smiled softly. Realizing why his friend had told the story. “...is it too twee to say I admire your ability to march to your own beat?”

Brains were weird. …it wasn’t the end of the world if he needed some help adjusting. 

Ienzo looked around the sauna a little, more idly than his fixed gaze before, before offering, “I’ve made an adaptive map and replica of everywhere I’ve been in the city. Do you want to see it?”

“Sure~” Demyx said, “Sounds neat! Show me where we live! Seriously, half the time I’m spending the night at a brothel, it’s entirely because I couldn’t find my way back to the tavern that night. And this area is covered in brothels, man. I am spoiled for choice.” He snickered.

Already linked, it was easy for Ienzo to project the image of his meticulously cultivated map. The city huge and sprawling--if less detailed in the places Ienzo hadn’t gone yet--before slowly zooming in on their home. 

“...you know, you could just ping me and I could give you a map back,” Ienzo offered in a small sigh. “If you looked around for a landmark or two, I think I’d be able to figure out where you were pretty easily, and I could even overlay…maybe something like a path, or an arrow to literally guide you back.”

“...though I guess I wouldn’t want to take away an excuse you wanted,” he mumbled, turning a little pink even beyond the heat of the sauna. 

“I don’t need an excuse to go to a brothel, I’d just go. I’m shameless.” Demyx snickered, though he still curiously looked around the map being siphoned through him. “Wow… it really just looks like this to you, huh? That’s so odd to me. Everything is such a mish-mash to me, I get lost and confused literally walking in a circle.”

“Yeah, I’ll ping you next time I’ve gotten lost getting home. You can rescue me!” Demyx grinned, strumming his sitar a bit, “...and if I don’t show up that night, you can assume I just felt like stopping by a brothel. Or that I got mugged and am dying. Actually, don’t assume that one, I’d ping you guys if I was getting stabbed. But not if I’m doing the stabbing, eyoooooo! Get it? Get it? Eh, nevermind.” Demyx laughed. 

“So… you still going あ in your head there?” Demyx asked.

Something that was shared between Demyx and Larxene. It was bafflingly incomprehensible to Ienzo.

Nodding slightly, Ienzo tried to explain, “I’m not sure if it’s just a feature of how my brain works, or a result of understanding my Empathy from a young age, but in my understanding, everything one experiences is just…data storage, isn’t it. Filtered through your own perspective, sure, but that’s still information. And since I can manually adjust and configure how that data is stored and recalled, then…I can build things like reference maps. Or whole books.”

Ienzo didn’t really know how to do it any other way…though it was looking to be more difficult without constructs to help him. 

Shaking his head a little at the innuendo, Ienzo sighed a little, bringing his hands into his lap and slowly clenching and unclenching them. “...no. I…think I’m okay. It might ramp up more again once we leave, but for now?” Ienzo glanced over with a soft smile. “...thanks, Demyx.”

“No worries, what are friends for? Alright! Time for me to sing a song! What should I sing, what should I sing…”

It didn’t really matter what song Demyx picked. After a bit, the sauna filled with singing and music. The two enjoying each other's company for a moment. 

-

The manor still looked like an oddly locked up, abandoned building, more attune to the scary stories that send those like Kaito right back under the covers, huddling with their infants again… but now it was a very active haunted house. With flashing lights and music thumping inside, like someone was playing the drums so hard that it was reverberating through the floorboards and into the earth itself. A sign now hung on the front gate saying locks jammed, use servant entrance ← 

Maya’s neighbors hated her. Honestly, they were right to. They weren’t invited to her parties, by and large. Not the sort of folk she enjoyed partying with. 

Ienzo looked up at the manor, feeling even more unsure than he had the whole walk over.

He supposed some of this was just him playing with fire. It would’ve been more reasonable to make the trek in the daytime, you know, when most people took social calls. Sure, his initial reasoning for coming in the evening was because Sora mentioned that Maya tended to either be asleep or completely zooted during the day and… Well, Ienzo didn’t know her substance schedule, but he had been hoping to catch her at least somewhat lucid. 

It was just pathetic to say he’d only do this once, but if he were really being honest with himself…this was scary. Ienzo supposed he’d gotten lucky that none of the others had really asked about the ‘puzzle’ much, but…that was the only connection he even had with Maya, at least prior to the light engagement she had with Sora now. Talking to her likely meant talking about his parents and…

Ienzo sighed softly. He couldn’t hide from that forever. And he knew he’d regret it if they ended up leaving Luminary without him ever trying. 

…what looked like a raging house party didn’t seem like a good setting to, one, be able to catch Maya at all, sober or not, or two, have any kind of difficult, vulnerable conversation. 

Or, uh…potentially not get kicked out. Though Ienzo didn’t think Maya would be the type to call the guards to get someone from her home. Her neighbors, on the other hand…

Ienzo stood in front of the gate, shifting his weight unsurely. Maybe he should just…come back another time…

“Holy shit,” Demyx said behind Ienzo, “You guys weren’t kidding, she lives in an actual manor! Like, a real, no shit version! This is a mansion!” 

“Told you,” Axel said, stepping up to Ienzo’s other side, rolling an unlit cigarette around his mouth–he had apparently stumbled across a carton of them and, without really explaining to anyone why, had practically pounced on them, like he had found some sort of precious treasure… but now that he had them, had seemed reluctant to actually light one. Holding them in his mouth like a toothpick seeming to be some sort of middle ground for what he wanted from that–as he knocked the back of his hand against Ienzo’s shoulder a bit. “Eyyyyy, look at that! Sneaking out of the old mens’ house to go to a party?! You really are growing up.” 

There was a clatter of bottles, and Sora whined. “Hey, Riku, Kairi, and I are the only ones actually acting grown up tonight! We’re working! What are you guys doing here!?” he demanded, huffing as he put down a large metal box full of bottles on the ground, a giant backpack on his back, Riku in a similar situation while Kairi held a lantern and a map, looking at the three adults like they hadn’t expected to see them there.

“Okay, I liked it when Ienzo snuck out, but you three? It’s late! We talked about doing deliveries after hours!” Axel chastised.

“Yeah, especially tonight of all nights? You gotta be careful on party nights, babieeees! It’s WILD out here!” Demyx crowed, throwing an arm around Ienzo’s shoulder, “Tell the em, party animal! Out here sneaking out to a party! You should have told me, man, I wouldn’t have narced on ya!”  

Ienzo flinched lightly at the voices behind him, before he gave the group a bewildered look. He had been sure no one noticed him going out--sometimes he just did and no one had given a shit before. Hm. He supposed constantly tethering to the others did make it hard to notice where they actually were in physical distance. They always felt close. 

And Sora, Riku, and Kairi…

Ienzo looked at the supplies, before deciding to just focus on one thing Demyx said, giving him a confused look as he was jostled around. “...what do you mean ‘tonight of all nights’? What makes this more of a party night than any other?”

“IT’S THE NEW YEAR BABYYYYY!!!” Demyx crowed, throwing his whole back into it as he craned backwards, shouting towards the sky, “IT’S… well, I have no idea what year it is, but it’s definitely New Years! I know because allll the local bars and brothels have been advertising their New Years events for the last few days.” 

“Buuuut,” Demyx whispered, leaning in and smirking practically against Ienzo’s cheek, “I hear this is the place to be tonight, if you can get past the bouncer. No one’s sure what the criteria for being let in is, but I hear being handsome doesn’t hurt your odds, so I figured at least I’ll have no issues getting in. You can get in on the ‘cute’ look! Axel’s probably doomed, the old man.”

“Who’s OLD?!” Axel demanded, looking genuinely offended, “I’m only in my thirties!” 

“Decrepit. One foot in the grave, you hate to see it.” Demyx snickered. 

“Sora, we should just keep going,” Riku said softly. 

“Yeah, we didn’t go this far just to stop! Right?” Kairi said, doing her best to ‘bounce excitedly’ as she smiled warily. Namine struggled to be Kairi more than was usual within the group. She wore the girl’s cheerful pep like an ill-fitting sweater. 

But Sora still smiled encouragingly as he said, “You guys are right, we’re already at the finish line! Come on, let’s get this delivery done!” He picked up his box and headed around the gate to the servants entrance. 

“Good thing I followed Demyx, I guess,” Axel said, crossing his arms as he watched the teens go, “Those three are going to get swallowed up by this building. Better go keep an eye on them.”

“Wait, you followed me!? Why!?” Demyx demanded.

“It’s New Years and you snuck out. Figured you were looking for trouble. And this place? Absolutely trouble,” Axel said, heading off to follow the teens. 

Ienzo blinked. Oh. Yeah, that’d make sense. New Years, huh. 

…that was a little embarrassing. And just…absolutely awful timing for him to choose to try and talk to Maya. He’d be surprised if there wasn’t anyone in the manor already on their way to a New Year blackout, and it just sucked in general to make things more difficult on a party host, so he should really…

Ienzo sighed and started following after Axel. “...if it’s literally anyone at the door other than the bouncer, or Sora gives his name, they’ll probably be invited in, and they’ll take it. We…likely shouldn’t just leave them to it.”

Sure, the teens were young adults in their own rights, and Ienzo was all for them pursuing a little experimentation, but…well, they were the youngest of their group, and now that they could be afforded any? The rest of them finally had something to channel protective feelings into. 

…and it sounded like a wild party thrown by a notable eccentric so keeping an eye on the teens was just responsible. 

That said…

“...if none of us are invited in, though, we shouldn’t fix the scales,” he warned, giving Demyx a long look…even if Demyx wasn’t exactly the one he was worried most about. 

“Eh?” Demyx said, “Fix the scales… oh! Oh you mean…” Demyx looked right, then left, and honestly he could not have looked more suspicious as he leaned in and whispered, “Do a little… mental witchcraft?”

He paused, then tried, “Brain gymnastics?”

Smirking, on a roll, “Dance along those waaavelengths–come on, I’m joking, of course we won’t. Now, the witch I can’t speak for,” Demyx shrugged, “But we’ll see.”

As they turned the corner, even Demyx went pretty quiet as he saw the crowd that was milling outside of the servants entrance. It was easy to tell at a glance that these were folks who had been rejected at the door but hadn’t quite moved on with their night yet, drinking outside in groups and talking–complaining–at each other. It was easy to hear them theorize that maybe the manor was just at capacity and the second some guests fucked up and got kicked out, they’d be let in! This seemed to be in firm denial that, whatever the hostess was looking for, they hadn’t lived up to it. 

Demyx caught guards watching the crowd and quickly pushed on Ienzo’s back, hurrying him down into the staircase, “Come on, come on, leeet’s move.”

They saw just in time the teens and Axel being let in by the bouncers–plural, two large people whose grungy intimidation only was more pronounced in the shadows of the entrance. Sora saw them approaching and said, “Oh, those are my friends! I think they’re here to see Princess Maya herself.”

One of the guards snorted. “Princess. Uh huh. Cute kid. Watch yourself in there,” she said, before turning to the approaching men, “Names.” 

“Ienzo and Demyx!” Demyx greeted, “We’re in between last names right now!”

The other bouncer furrowed his brows behind his pitch-black sunglasses. “Don’t belong to a family name? How does that happen?”

“I mean, we’ve been assigned ‘Doe’, but come on, we’re not gonna use a government assigned last name,” Demyx laughed, “Doe? What are we, bodies!? Grim.”

“Carrying any weapons on you?” one of the bouncers asked. 

“Any drugs?” asked the other.

“No, annnnnnd… no?” Demyx said, trying to judge if that was a good or bad thing or not. The bouncers were hard to read.

Ienzo couldn’t help but snort a little at Demyx’s euphemisms, though he didn’t waste time moving with the push, having spotted the guards watching the small crowd as well. Thankfully it didn’t seem suspicious to go in then right back out of the tunnel, considering people had been denied, but it was just good practice to not be scrutinized by any guards at any time. 

Smiling a little at the name Sora had apparently started using for Maya--Ienzo supposed that Sora had come around to believing her, then--he took a small breath as they approached the bouncers. Mostly letting Demyx talk, just shrugging at the question about their last names, before speaking more clearly about the vetting questions. 

“No weapons,” he affirmed, “and no drugs.” Jerking his head to Demyx, Ienzo mentioned, “Don’t let him fool you, he’s just like this naturally. One of the greatest puzzles of the scientific community.”

“The hair was a bit of a giveaway.” One of the bouncers admitted, “No one’s high long enough to not notice what they’ve done to it.”

“Uh, rude,” Demyx pouted, “My hair is amazing. I did it myself!”

“Did you not have access to another mirror to see the back?” the other bouncer asked.

“...” Demyx’s eyes suddenly went round and wobbly, “No.”

“Oh,” both bouncers said at once, glancing awkwardly at each other. “...look, you can come in, but if you,” she pointed at Demyx, “are caught trying to play over the band we’ve got in there or drop anything in anyone’s drinks–”

Demyx gasped. “RUDE.”

“--then we’re kicking you out of here and not with all your teeth.”

“As for you,” the other one looked at Ienzo, “...just watch your drinks. Go on in.”

Ienzo smirked a little. He did like the mohawk, but it was unique, which meant that no matter what Demyx did, it looked a little silly. But if it gave way to the bouncers giving them more of a benefit of the doubt?

Expression not changing much, Ienzo gave the bouncers a polite bow before heading through the space they made. “Thank you, I’ll keep an unneeded eye on him. Have a good evening, and happy new year.”

“...I am…undecided about how to feel about being stereotyped like that,” he hummed quietly to Demyx as they entered into the old servants’ quarters.

“Yeah, exactly! You could totally be a date-rapist too!” Demyx pouted, “How dare they!”

Ienzo smirked again, nudging his shoulder against Demyx. “Precisely. What is that literary trope about having to watch out for the quiet ones? Though I’d more accurately call me more quiet in presence, than literal volume or loquaciousness. But it is a fault of bias to not assume that I’m the asshole, and you’re just a loud softy that would much sooner shoot your shot with everyone here and glumly go home yourself than try to pull non-con off.”

“YES! I am all about not being assumed to be the scummy creep for once!” Demyx cheered, literally hopping up and down as they walked through the kitchen–which was bustling tonight, big wooden boxes stacked up to make a make-shift path for the guests  to go through without disturbing the cooks who were making, from what Demyx could smell, some excellent fried food snacks–before heading up the stairs with Ienzo, “You would not believe how often people assume I’m a creep at the bars and brothels I go to. Bouncers have warned me against all kinds of stuff just walking inside. I’ve been accused on sight of being a drug dealer, a harasser, a pickpocketer, a–”

As Demyx went on, they got to the main manor hall. And it was bumping. The band was playing at the entrance doors, which had been nailed shut, and the entrance hall and staircase had been turned into a dance floor, lights flashing in simple rhythms above as the crowd hopped and sang along with the band that was still managing to be louder than all of them. 

The Light of Heart trio were heading up the stairs, Axel now helping them carry the boxes up, so Demyx moved Ienzo through the crowd with him with ease, keeping a hand on his lower back and keeping them moving as he continued, “--roofier, a beggar, though, admittedly I was begging that night, but come on, it’s not obvious on me, right!? I shower!” 

…ah. 

This was a bit noisy, even for him. The music and shouting rang through Ienzo’s head and he felt like he could practically feel them jostling his ossicles. The lights were disorienting enough, and while going through the kitchens was a little overwhelming, but in a nice way, actually getting to the dancefloor…

It reeked. If stickiness had a smell, this was it. 

But there was no escaping it. No retreating back inside his head and making someone else deal with it. It was all just Ienzo now. 

Though that wasn’t to say he was alone.

Slightly reached back to keep Demyx’s shirt in a tight grasp, Ienzo was thankful for the guide, just moving wherever Demyx pushed him and trying to focus more on what he was saying than…everything else. 

“We look poor,” Ienzo said simply, “And there are overwhelming biases against poor people. Any applicable negative trait someone could think of in a situation, they’ll apply to you under the guise of caution, or just as a conduit for anger in other facets. And you do tend to draw attention to yourself more than the rest of us, so that makes you a bigger, more frequent target. It’s not, well, entirely your fault, just a symptom of the social attitudes around us.”

“Gah, I knew I looked poor! I even asked Saix this morning, hey, does this outfit look poor, and he was all, like, bow-wow, of course it does, it has holes in the jeans, and I said, hah! Jokes on you, there were holes in these jeans when I got them, they came like this! And then he was all, bark-bark, I watched you steal those jeans from a dumpster two days ago, of course they came with holes in them, and honestly he had me there, I gotta admit.” 

As Demyx rambled all of this, he guided Ienzo up the stairs, around some making out folks, before finally getting to the top, where the crowd had thinned out a bit. There were still a lot of people up there, watching the back from the balconies, but as the two headed into the halls the crowd thinned to almost nothing, the groups clearly sticking to the main entrance for the most part. Safety in the crowds, sort of thing.

“Alright, now, to find… no, I’ve lost them, where are we?” Demyx frowned, the two ducking into a nearly empty hall, and then empty once the few people who had been walking through it turned the corner and walked into a room, slamming the door behind them before laughing and cheering behind it. “Man, I’ve never been inside a manor before. This is a lot of doors, I have no idea where to find the host.”

“It was more of a wonder they actually fit you,” Ienzo muttered. “Sure, considering all our builds, usually we can find a use for any tossed clothes if they’re not for children, but it’s lucky to find something that works when you’re actually the one looking. …I do still think premade holes are a trend, but there may be certain giveaways in how the holes look that differentiate purposeful ones from wear.”

Ienzo hadn’t dressed up, even for the slight definition of that that applied to the Nobodies. He hadn’t known he was going to a party, nor had he noticed that it was New Years Eve, so he had just tried to dress in the most inconspicuous things he had. 

…which was just his usual hoodie, but if it worked, it worked. 

Ienzo let out a shaky little sigh of relief as they got out of the crowds, taking a more real look at the hall Demyx had guided them into. “...for nobility, my best guest would be a study or favored sitting room, with only the most elite guests, or at least either the ones the host wanted to impress or actual friends, in company, having a sort of party within a party…but I don’t know how Lady Maya would approach the concept.”

She liked drinking and being high. She liked having sex. Ienzo…didn’t know if she’d throw a whole party like this just to be functionally alone, so…

He looked at the ground, frowning. “...I have my map to the room she led Sora and me to before. I suppose that’s as much of a place to start as any.”

“Let’s give it a shot! They would have just given the drinks to the crowd if it wasn’t supposed to go to the host, so that’s where our group is!” Demyx said, now following Ienzo as he led them around the manor. 

They found a large, closed double-sided door, with lots of laughter and sounds–some shrill and giggly, others deep and boisterous– and a guy sitting outside the doors who looked up as they approached. “I’d party somewhere else, if you’re looking for a room. This one’s occupied. Though… not saying you couldn’t try your luck at getting invited,” the man said, looking the two up and down.

Demyx grinned. “Nah, we’re actually looking for some drinks that we saw getting brought in. They didn’t go in there, did they?”

“The baby-faces? Nah,” the man said, shaking his head, “But you might not want to follow them either. They’re at the roof. It’s where the mad Momota is right now. That lady’s off her rocker, but she hosts fun parties, I’ll give her that. I’m honestly just taking a break myself, too much dancing, too much everything. Gets to be a bit much without a breather.”

“Makes sense, makes sense. Actually, that’s perfect, you’re sure she’s on the roof? Sounds like we just need to know how to get there then!” Demyx said, “You wouldn’t happen to know where the stairs are?”

“Not exactly, but a guy who did showed the baby-faces where to go that way, so I’m guessing that way,” the man said, pointing down the hall.

“Thanks!” Demyx grinned, leading Ienzo down the path. 

They turned a few more passages based on similar information– “I’m pretty sure down that hall?” “I know most places built like this won’t actually hide the staircase behind a door.” “Yeah, I saw a staircase heading up down there.”--before finally they found the staircase, heading up and–

It was a lot calmer on the roof. There was a clearly built bar and sitting area, meant to host guests and parties, but the area itself seemed to be at odds with the decorations and furniture that was actually up there. Rather than fine dining tables and garden benches, sofas and fancy chairs with their legs broken off were laid out among cushions, people sitting among the strange arrangement of furniture with drinks in their hands as they chatted amongst each other. In the corner was a jacuzzi, clearly not built into the building initially, a large pipe leading off over the edge to take its heat from somewhere within the manor itself, as Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Axel all put the goods down beside the jacuzzi, where Maya was lounging inside with a few people. 

As Demyx and Ienzo got closer, Maya draped herself over the side of the tub, beaming dreamily at the group. “My faithful deliverers. I knew you wouldn’t let me down. You got the goods?”

Axel watched suspiciously as two of the jacuzzi guys got out, heading to the boxes. The drink containers were heavy, but he had seen how oddly light some of the others were, and he had been worrying all the way up. “What did you have them pick up?”

“Boom! It’s here!” One of the guys cheered, opening up the other boxes and bags and pulling out… fireworks. “The good stuff too! Oh, we are LIGHTING UP tonight! Woo!” 

“Get it all set up, fellas. I’d say someone go let the folks downstairs know fireworks are happening soon, but, eh…” Maya leaned back in the water, letting it gently float her as she looked up into the starry night sky, “Some things can be just for us… and all my neighbors. And half of the city, if these fireworks are worth what I paid for them. Speaking of. Check my pants pockets down there,” Maya said, pointing to the pants, “Your payment’s in there. Everything we negotiated, Sora, plus a bit of a tip. Now, why not stick around, watch the show. Have a few drinks, on me. I got other stuff too, if you want it.”

“Hey, are these legal?” Axel asked, looking at the hefty fireworks. They were massive. 

“Heh, no. But that’s reflected in the payment. Speaking of, you’re not part of my deal with them. You’re not here to steal the pay off some hard working delivery kids, are you?” Maya smiled like a cheshire cat. It was the sort of smile that a cat might give a very pretty bird, trying to decide if it was hungry or not. 

“No, he’s our friend! He was just worried about us coming in here. We’ve never been to a party like this before,” Sora admitted, while Riku and Kairi both nervously looked around, keeping close to him. Sora though seemed at ease as he said brightly, “And if you’re offering, yeah we’ll stay to watch the fireworks! That sounds amazing!” 

“Geez… well, I guess if you paid them with it being illegal in mind,” Axel said, noticing Kairi count out the notes in the envelope, and uh, yeah, that seemed all above board, that was absolutely what Axel would have expected for an illegal delivery run. More, actually. Maya had been generous with her tip, apparently. “But don’t ask these three to do that again, alright, they’re not mules.” 

“Fireworks hardly makes them mules, but duly noted~” Maya smiled at Axel, before her eyes rolled all at once to Ienzo. Smiling wider. A much prettier bird catching her attention. “Well, well, well… what a surprise. The boy who doesn’t like mysteries.”

It was…actually rather tolerable on the roof. All the noise and conversation around becoming a comforting drum of white noise, the open air quickly dissipating smells and refusing to let them build for long, the dark, starry sky above them… If Ienzo were pressed, he might actually call it pleasant. 

…less pleasant with the Light of Heart trio delivering illicit goods, but…well, if they had known, and Sora still made that choice? There wasn’t a lot they could fret about, though Ienzo did give Sora a Look as he and Demyx approached them and the jacuzzi. Axel could handle the majority of scolding, Ienzo just wanted to make it clear that Sora had done something Dumb. 

So had Ienzo, really, though of an entirely different flavor. 

His grip tightened in Demyx’s shirt. 

“Lady Maya,” Ienzo greeted back. “Happy New Year. I would apologize for crashing, if it didn’t seem like you don’t have much of a guest list in the first place.”

Sora giggled sheepishly, before bouncing off as he said, “Riku, Kairi, come on! Let’s go try one of those fancy drinks!”

“Hey, you three take it slow, you don’t know how much you can–ugh, wait up! Can’t believe I’m–” Axel continued to grumble as he followed the eager–well, Sora was, Kairi and Riku were just doing their best to keep up–teenagers to the bar, explaining over their heads as they looked at the menu what all the different drink combos actually meant while the bartender watched, amused. 

“Less a guest list, more of a ‘list of people to avoid’,” Maya admitted, leaning back into the now empty jacuzzi, the ones she had been lounging with off to set up the fireworks, “My parties tend to have a particularly vulnerable crowd and I don’t need people coming inside whispering orders in their ear for free, easy lays. Not my vibe. So my guys down below take account of who seems impressionable when they come on, and who seems… like they might have an advantage.”

Demyx frowned. “Really? Because I was warned against drugging people, but they still let me in.”

Maya shrugged. “Can’t safeguard against everything. Just some of the more obvious stuff. I’d ask if they asked you where you worked, if you were people with authority over others, buuuuuut,” Maya looked at their clothes meaningfully, “I bet they didn’t feel like they had to.”

“They asked about my haircut and if I had more than one mirror,” Demyx said.

“You don’t look like a man who can afford a vanity desk. No offense, sweetheart~” Maya practically purred, “You boys want to join me in the water? I’m suddenly lacking company and I’m very lonely.”

Understanding lit up in Ienzo’s eyes and he nodded faintly. Ah…yeah, that tracked, with everything he’d found out. And not a bad way to keep a party rambunctious and safe. The question of where they worked was almost overly important when it came to them--more biases, that the bouncers hadn’t--but…well, they didn’t work there anymore. And of anyone that’d try to take advantage of conditioning in Maya’s guests, their group would have the biggest guilt complexes over it on the planet. 

With a small, “Told you” mumbled to Demyx--they looked poor, what can he say--Ienzo glanced at the jacuzzi before sighing softly. Forcing himself to let go of Demyx’s shirt. “...I did come over to talk to you, though I realize now this is probably one of the worst times I could’ve chosen. I might as well ask though.” Gaze lidded and dry, masking the nerves underneath, Ienzo asked, “Want to end the year talking about super depressing stuff?”

“Depression can be poetic,” Maya said, reaching over to her drink–one of the ones that Sora had just delivered– and popping it open on the edge of the hottub, taking a sip, “Some of the most interesting nights I’ve ever had were with people who were depressed as shit. You all are fascinating to me. Can’t relate, but fascinating…so, sure. Though, I just want to remind you, I offered you a fun mystery to talk about. And you came back with depression. Just stew in that. That’s not a way to live your life.”

That seemed to be her final word on the subject, silence hanging between all of them, Demyx looking back and forth between Iezno and Lady Maya. “...wait, am I invited?”

“Yep,” Maya said.

“We don’t have bathing suits.”

“You have your birthday suits,” Maya shrugged, “That’s what I’m wearing.”

Demyx took a deep, deep breath… before placing his hand on Ienzo’s shoulder and saying, “Ienzo, bud, pal… I’m getting in that hottub, with or without you. I gotta. Don’t leave me hanging,” before he quickly started to take his clothes off. Ignoring the cheers of people on the roof who had glanced over to see him do it.

Ienzo rolled his eyes a little. “You offered me a mystery I already know the answer to, and that answer sucks. There’s a skill in optimism, but not in willfully ignoring clear facts.” He paused for just a second. “Though there is a broad range of interpretation of those facts and that’s often where the difference in outlooks occur, but considering the personal impacts of those facts, regardless of interpretation, I stand behind my own.”

He couldn’t fully stifle a grimace as Demyx stripped and got into the jacuzzi. He was happy for his friend to have a good time, of course, but… Well, who was Ienzo kidding? The moment the others had come up behind him in front of the manor, he was doomed. And…he likely would have to tell them one day. 

Choosing to stay outside of the jacuzzi (for now), Ienzo looked down, fighting for a moment before he sighed, choosing one of the bigger questions he’d had to start with. “...did you actually get it through the news, or did you figure it out when they stopped writing?”

“Doesn’t change the outcome. I invited you in a fun way, and you refused. And now you crash my party, bringing me sadness. That’s still a ‘you’ issue, at the end of the day. Try to do some self-reflecting, it’s the new year after all. Aren’t we all going to be entirely new people when the sun rises?” Maya laughed, before smirking over at Demyx, who was sitting on the other side of the hottub, “He left you hanging.”

“He’s still here! Come on, give my guy here a break! He’s had a tough week,” Demyx said, smiling wide, staring down at the hot water and shifting his weight a bit, before gasping, noticing something beneath the water, “Oh I just found the jets… wow, I haven’t been in a real hottub in so long.”

“Here, have a drink,” Maya said, reaching over to grab one of the drinks from the boxes, placed on a table next to the jacuzzi, and handing it to Demyx. 

Then, as Ienzo got to business, Maya reached over to an ashtray near her. Picking up one of the blunts leaned against it and, flicking open a lighter, dipping its end into the flame for a bit before taking a long breath from it, pushing the smoke up into the air above them. “A little of both, actually. I knew something was odd when the letters stopped, but I didn’t think much of it for a few years. People lose interest in you, if you have nothing to offer them. Hanger-ons show up all the time, thinking maybe they can risk the rumors, tap into some of that wealth that has to be keeping me living pretty in this place… and then they don’t get what they want and they, poof,” she waved her hands through the smoke a bit, dispersing it, “fly away. I thought your folks were like that. Didn’t grieve it much. I was getting to the age where it was starting to feel normal.”

“But then, a few years later, just purely by chance, I was in the right group during the right conversation to hear the right rumor, looked into it, and…” Maya sighed, her lashes fluttering dreamily, always looking half awake, “...I’ll admit. It was sadder to realize why the letters stopped, once I knew. Not that I know everything, mind you… You might have all the answers,” Maya said, her voice suddenly cold. Hard, as she looked over at Ienzo. “...but there’s still mysteries in it for some of us. It’s not allllll about you~”

Fair enough. Even if he hadn’t intended on crashing any party when he left the tavern that night. 

Again, the night air around them was a boon, even if Ienzo could still smell the skunk. It was at least tolerable this way. Even if the conversation he’d brought on himself…

Crossing his arms, Ienzo sighed softly, gaze lowering as he heard what it had looked like on Maya’s end. …before he smiled softly, giving her an amused look as he looked back up. “That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? It’s an interesting perspective to call it a mystery on my end when I’m just providing context.”

…c’mon, Ienzo. It’s not that scary. Demyx and the others know way worse about you. 

“The official story, disseminated by coroners’ reports and official notice among the elites and out to the public, was that 16 years ago Lord and Lady Seisear committed a double suicide. There were no notes, so nothing was investigated more, though rumors spread that the eccentrics simply got it into their heads to try a new experience, or perhaps vacation in paradise.”

Ienzo’s visible gaze was flat as he looked to the side, staring off into the night. “...what was never investigated, was the fact that the Seisears had injuries that were incongruent with hanging, and that the authorities showed up at Seisear manor early in the morning without anyone calling them. So, naturally, the fact that they were loud and known dissenters of the then burgeoning war with Dicea, along with being world travelers, was irrelevant to keep in mind.”

“Oh…” Demyx whispered, giving Ienzo a wide-eyed, startled look, “...that’s kinda heavy.”

“......wait, you're a LORD?!” Demyx suddenly realized, practically half-drowning as his splaying limbs almost sunk him below the surface of the water, “Is that what I’m hearing!? Ienzo, how can you be a lord!? Lords don’t end up at, well… well, you know!” 

“Of course, of course, we all know,” Maya said, nodding as she took a sip of her drink, “...but we should say it out loud anyway, where you’ve been all this time. For fun. Because it’s a fun thing to do.”

“Wait, is that how you two know each other? Did you go… to a special ‘lord’ school? Together? Or something?” Demyx guessed.

“Pffff, no, I’ve never been to a school, could you imagine? Hah… no,” Maya said, keeping her gaze on Ienzo, “Something your parents took a bit of an offense to, I remember. Seemed to feel a girl should be educated regardless of anything, and a noble twice as much. That was the original reason they started sending me letters, at least, from my point of view it seemed that way. They sent me textbooks and articles and insisted I go over them with tutors and send back my thoughts… very strange, insistent people, your parents… very funny. I remember they had a remarkable sense of humor. Too sophisticated for my child mind, but their oddness more than made up for a lack of context. Though saying they would take a ‘vacation in paradise’ is… mocking. They were eccentric, not insane.” 

Ienzo winced a little at Demyx’s outburst, practically able to feel the others looking over from the rooftop bar. He shifted his weight, looking anywhere but Demyx. “Not anymore.”

Maybe that had been the most suspicious part of it all, how he had been sent to Sunny Side and his family name stripped of their wealth and accolades. Even with assassinations, usually titles and responsibilities just moved to the next person in the inheritance line. Given his parents’ relative independence from…well, a lot of structures, Ienzo had wondered more than once if there just hadn’t been anyone else in line after him, so the government’s seizure was just a by-product, rather than more of the plan. 

Looking at the side of the jacuzzi, Ienzo spelled it out for Maya. “Prison for particularly unlucky people. Also known as the Togami Branch right outside Chonis.”

And for Demyx, Ienzo explained, “Lady Maya was my parents’ penpal. The two of us never actually met until Sora and I came over before.”

Taking a deep breath, Ienzo centered himself as Maya reminisced over his mom and dad. It had been a long, long time ago…but it did still hurt, sometimes. Sometimes Ienzo wasn’t even sure if he was still hurt by their deaths, or just that his life had turned into a nightmare because of them. It was a hard feeling to untangle. 

Nodding slightly, Ienzo agreed. “My parents had a lot of unique views on things. Regarding education, I distinctly remember them having the opinion that quality education should be free and provided for all children, regardless of standing.” He shrugged a little, still looking to the side. “Such things didn’t make them very popular among the elite, so I’m not surprised about even rumors I never managed to catch before being sent away.”

“Ah, of course, the one place I didn’t check… kidding, there were lots of places I didn’t check,” Maya said, flicking some of the ash into her ashtray, “...lots of places I did check, though. I did actually know you were sent into the program as a kid, but by the time I went looking for you, you should have been well into your career and on the verge of your contract ending. And yet, no matter who I bribed or where I looked, no one had any idea what happened to you after being put into the program. Once again, gone, poof.”

“You went looking for Ienzo?” Demyx asked, “Wow, so you and his parents were really close then, huh?”

“I was curious. Grown and bored. Had a picture of you in my room that I never knew what to do with after your parents died. Just this little boy staring at me with his sad little boy eyes. Don’t let his tragic backstory fool you, he was sporting that ‘aloof, haunted’ look well before his parents died. I have the proof downstairs…in what I believe might be an orgy, currently. Well, tucked in a desk beside an orgy. So maybe not right now.”

Taking another long smoke, she said, “I think back on it all, re-read the letters, the conversations we had… I can’t tell if your parents wanted me to be your sibling or your wife someday. They were so enthusiastic about the idea of us meeting someday, swore up and down next time I saw them they were bringing you. Who knows… I have a feeling we’d have made a miserable pairing.” She admitted, looking Ienzo up and down, before shrugging, “Though, that said, if you ever stop standing at attention and looking at me like I might suddenly grow a second head, I could be up for fooling around. Finding out.”

“Nah, Ienzo’s not like that,” Demyx said, “He’s just uncomfortable right now.”

“Hmm… I have ways to calm the nerves. Would recommend this one in particular, if I’m honest,” Maya said, gesturing to the blunts, before saying meaningfully, “Not that I’m telling you what to do. Let’s be clear.”

Since he’d started explaining, Ienzo looked up at Maya for the first time in surprise.

She’d…looked for him? 

Something uncomfortable settled in his chest as he looked down again. …Ienzo had pretty much just given up hope when he ended up at Sunny Side. Noble kids didn’t go to orphanages, they were taken in by their godparents, or assigned someone to look over affairs while they were the Head of Household in name only. Noble kids definitely didn’t go to self-established orphanages, ones not managed by the temples or set up as charity work by elites who were trying to garner public favor. 

Ienzo had been sent to Sunny Side, and had, at least to his own reasoning, had to contend with the fact that he was now alone in the world. Truly. 

(Then, of course, he’d met Maki, and he’d had a friend, a sister, and…things had felt a little less scary, for a few months there. Then he’d met the other Nobodies, his family, and while the reality of their lives sucked…at least Ienzo had other people there too. And he had felt more secure and cared about than he had felt in…maybe his whole life.)

Everyone in the outer world had been ‘other’. Ienzo never even thought there was anyone who’d even think about him, let alone care enough to try and find him. 

Ienzo snorted softly, a grimly amused smile playing at his lips. “Couldn’t tell you their intentions, regarding us. I knew they thought you were bright, and ‘should be given the opportunities to let your unique perspective flourish’. They might’ve just wanted me to talk to someone near my own age, for once…though I’m inclined to agree that any matchmaking seems doomed.”

Huffing a little, giving Demyx a mildly embarrassed look, Ienzo glanced at the blunts before his expression softened at Maya’s implication. “...I do appreciate the consideration, but I’m not conditioned. So you’re not going to trigger a compulsion, I mean.”

…weed was pretty gross. Sure, all the rumors and general feelings around it were mostly rubbish, but…it smelled so bad. 

…it could be an interesting experience, though. And it wasn’t like he was here alone. 

Curiosity flitting across his face, Ienzo shuffled over, picking the blunt Maya had indicated, inspecting it curiously for a moment.

Demyx had still been watching all of this in awe–the guy he had, more than once, noogied for being a stick in the mud when they were playing games had been… nobility? And also rich, probably. One usually led to another. The sort of guy where having an ‘inheritance’ meant more than hoping whatever debt your parents had gotten into before they died didn’t mean you’d have to sell anything they left you immediately, and if it did, please don’t let it mean there was still debt leftover you had to adopt to hold onto for your own kids someday.

Wow…though, not that it had seemed to help Ienzo out any. Seriously, how had he ended up in Sunny Side???

Actually, he was just going to say that out loud, though he was a little surprised when his friend actually looked at the blunts like he was considering them. Weed was some super illegal shit, though Demyx had never found it any more physically hardcore than any other drug that came to mind. It was just THE drug you didn’t want to be caught holding. Considered inherently demonic, in some way, that was different from the other drugs.  “So, wait, Ienzo… your folks were killed by the guardforce? Like… assassinated?” Demyx winced, “And you were sent to an orphanage? What the heck happened?”

“Like he said, his parents were international tourists and vocally against the war against Dicea,” Maya said, shrugging, “Which is fine for some people, but not for the family that was essentially considered the academic nobility family. They were known essentially as ‘The Smart Ones’. And the smart ones among the elites were saying this was a terrible idea.”

“...so? Why would the king care what some nobles said?” Demyx asked genuinely, “He’s the king, it’s not like they could have made him stop.”

“Not how royalty works, actually. That’s mostly a myth, that unquestioning leadership, solitary leadership style thing. The royal family is constantly playing elaborate social games to keep their place on the throne. Lots of people would love to replace them. Would love other people to replace them. Other systems. Would like to puppet them, if they can manage that one. Momotas are very good at one thing, and that’s convincing a majority of people around them that leaving them there is slightly more convenient than, oh, let’s say as a random example… pushing them out a window.”

There was a heavy beat… before Demyx asked, “Am I supposed to get that reference? Is that a reference? You said it like I should recognize it.”

“...” Maya gave Demyx and Ienzo genuinely confused looks, “...where the hell have you two actually been?”

…fuck it. It wasn’t like Ienzo would likely get another opportunity to ever try weed, since it wasn’t like he was going to try and get some himself. Re-lighting the blunt as Maya had earlier, he took a tentative breath in…and tried not to completely hack into his shoulder, face twisting at the burn and taste of the smoke. 

Ugh. It’s for science.

And still not even close to enough to deal with the fallout of facing Maya like this, though Ienzo gave Demyx a small nod at his clarifying questions. Sighing, closing his eyes as he tried the blunt again, Ienzo said dully, “I never heard anything direct, so I can’t prove it. But my parents actually spent a good amount of time in Dicea, since next to Novoselic it’s the easiest country to get into, at least back then. If it wasn’t public embarrassment or political sway, people arguing that they could be Dicean spies? If anyone could’ve put together a reasonable argument for it, that would’ve even been enough for public condemnation, rather than the cover-up.”

Maybe it was just pride, but Ienzo didn’t think most of the other elites who were most worried about the Seisears would’ve been able to win a debate against his parents. They were a weird pair, but…well, as Maya had said, they were considered notable academics for a reason. 

Opening his eyes, Ienzo gave Maya a lidded look. “Under a rock. It’s not hyperbole to say that we’ve literally been locked in a building until recently. Sorry if that means we’re a little out of date with pop references.”

“...” Maya tilted her head, “...I’m listening.”

But before Demyx could try to come up with a way to explain away what Ienzo had just said, there was a sudden, high whistling noise. Gasps of delight around the roof as the whistling sound got further away, Maya and Demyx’s eyes on instinct immediately looking up, following the familiar sound…

Light exploded with a sound like thunder.

It was a large, massive sprinkling ball of gold, another whistling sound chasing it as a massive ball of red exploded amongst the gold. There were cheers and gasps, but among them, the Light of Heart trio could be heard above everyone, gasping in open wonder, shouting out in amazement. Sparkles raining down on all of them after a moment, cooling in the descent for the most part, but each time they landed on the skin this smallest trace of warmth before they dulled into nothing, barely ash.

Maya took a deep, long breath, closing her eyes for a moment, like she was trying to imprint the lights to her eyelids. Before calling out to guys working the fireworks, “Keep going as much as you please. Till they run out. The others will come out to the backyard if they want to see it.”

The guys cheered, before starting to set up more. 

After a moment, more whistles rang through the air. Lights exploding in bright bursts above them, filling the whole sky. There were sounds of cheers from below, people hurrying out of the manor, out of their own neighboring homes, to see the fuss. A firework show, just for them, right above their heads. 

(It looked like a universe breaking apart and then, in that same burst, reforming again.)

“...so who do you all think you’ll be for the next year?” Maya asked. 

It was a New Years tradition, based on a myth that no one could seem to entirely trace the origins of anymore. It wasn’t an Atuan myth, but it had an air of religion, though which religion had long been lost to time. A myth that if you wandered into the desert during the new year, and faced the mirage you found there, you’d return in the morning a new, better version of yourself, ready to face the hurdles of the next year.

No one wandered into the desert, of course, and no one knew what it meant to face a mirage, which by their very nature were always untouchable in the distance. But the myth had become a, eventually, a watered down version of itself, where you spent the night of the New Year reflecting on who you were, before deciding who you’d be the next year. A vow to improve. To face the mirage. 

A silly idea that most everyone gave up on basically as soon as the next day's afternoon hit. But it was nice to indulge in the romance of it, for a night in celebration. The hope that maybe tomorrow, they’d all be better people, ready to face themselves. 

And Demyx said what he said every year. “I want to write a new song,” he grinned, “One of those ones that changes people's lives. That people read to each other in vows or get painted on their walls, you know what I mean? A masterpiece!” 

“Nice~” Maya said, raising a glass, “To your masterpiece. And the person you’ll be tomorrow who can do it.” 

Ienzo looked over, less startled by the boom than he had been with a lot of things that night, and…he smiled. Watching humanity’s stars erupt and glitter across the sky. Feeling the feedback of Demyx and Axel’s awe, and the teens’ unabashed total wonder and joy and basking in those feelings himself. 

Illegal as they might’ve been to get, it was a really incredible moment to have. Maybe that was something Sora had felt, in the ‘gut feelings’ he often followed, and thought it worth the risk. It did feel like it, at least right then. 

Taking a more practiced hit as the fireworks continued, the sights no less dazzling, but the sounds a little less jarring, Ienzo smiled softly at Demyx’s answer to the old tradition. Something they’d kept in the factory, on the island, even when it all had felt futile. Nothing had ever changed there, and the one thing that did, the changing of the people there, was always awful. 

But it was nice to try and be optimistic, one night a year. A night to pretend. 

…they didn’t have to pretend anymore. 

Leaning against the side of the jacuzzi, Ienzo watched the fireworks and contemplated his answer. “...I feel like I’m a few days early. But I think it should still count. I want to experience as much as I can. Face the world as myself, and start making some dents in the limitless knowledge the world has to uncover. There’s only so much to do under a rock, after all.”

“Also a good one. Feels like something I’d have read in a letter from your folks,” Maya said, nodding approvingly. Still watching the lights dance across the sky as she took another drag of her blunt. “...how did you all get through the Togami Factories and not come out with conditioning?”

“Nah uh, we told you our New Years vows, your next!” Demyx said in a tactful attempt to change the subject.

“Well… mine’s a few years too late, but I guess I did find the sad-eyed boy in my photos. Check that one off the list,” Maya said, “...my answer’s going to change a dozen times tonight. Every drink I have the answer will change. But right now?”

“I want to care about something again,” she decided after a moment, “Anything. Just find something worth feeling passionate about again. I want the Maya that comes when the sun rises to be passionate about… something.”

“Vague,” Demyx said, “...you could take up a hobby?”

Maya snorted, “Any recommendations?”

“Learn an instrument!” 

“Sounds dull.”

“Fashion? Start a clothing line, you seem like you have the money?”

“I like collecting colorful robes. Not enough to call it a passion.”

“Hoooow about funding down on their luck party guests?” Demyx grinned.

“Pfff, your little excitable one over there is already extorting me an arm and a leg for deliveries. I basically already am,” Maya huffed, “But I’ll tip you what I have left of my allowance this month, if you tell me how you two got through the factories with no conditioning to trigger. What’s a little bribe between old friends?”

Ienzo huffed softly as Demyx questioned Maya on her New Year's vow. “I feel like finding me was a little ambitious. Something to be proud of now that you’ve actually done it, I guess.”

As Demyx started listing off hobbies, Ienzo added in a few suggestions of his own. “Get a little unhinged about a children’s book series and start making fan content and theories to send to zines. Learn quilting and figure out patterns that are rude or questionable when you fold them a certain way. Get really into speed puzzling.”

But what Demyx tried to get by had Ienzo glancing back at them, raising an eyebrow. “...are you sure you actually want to offer that? To, as you said, people who don’t look like they can afford a vanity? We’re very easily bribed these days.”

Maya rolled her eyes. “It’s not as much as whatever you’re imagining. After funding a party like this? I have 8 gold before my next allowance comes in–are you okay?”

Demyx had started coughing, having choked the drink down the wrong pipe in his shock as he said, “E-eight gold!? You’re seriously offering us eight gold right now!?”

Maya frowned. “...did I offend you?”

“W-w-wha–well,” Demyx suddenly grinned, a near manic sheen in his gaze as he said, “If you want to offer us more than, ahem, 8 gold… we could call it an IOU… b-but we’re not the greedy types, we’ll totally take the 8!” 

Ienzo’s eyes widened, before going a little distant. His expression barely changing as he reached up to flick Demyx’s ear. Sure, Maya had an allowance and was…well, a noble in many ways, but she wasn’t an acknowledged Momota, and the end of the month was still a little ways out. But…8 gold…

“We’re stunned, not offended,” Ienzo said quietly, clarifying for Maya. Blow to pride or not…well, she was an ‘old friend’. “That’s…an absurd amount of money for us right now.”

Blowing out some smoke into the air, Ienzo considered that. They’d been told Clara would be around any day now with the Ouma’s first set of funds, so…that would take a lot of stress off their shoulders. But 8 gold now? Would make a world of difference. 

“Part of the reason was in your question,” Ienzo answered. “We didn’t leave the factories, not until the whole program was shut down and the authorities came to kick everyone out of the buildings.”

Demyx whined slightly, but went quiet. It hadn’t hurt, but he knew a ‘shut the fuck up’ when he felt it. 

Maya, in turn, just seemed more confused about his explanation. “...you didn’t leave? Does that happen? You were Indentured, weren’t you? I’ve heard a ton of stories from Indentureds about heading to those warehouses, but I’ve never heard of them just keeping people indefinitely.”

“Well, not the sort of thing you want getting out, I imagine. If I had known there was a chance I’d never be let out, I’d have never signed that damn contract,” Demyx said, scowling. “Was in there way longer than five years, too.”

“I’d imagine, since you,” Maya said, looking to Ienzo, “would have had to have been in there, what…” her eyes narrowed, attempting the math in her glazed mind, “...16 years? That’s way past even the longest contract you can sign, you’d have had to resign three times. Which, I know they do for the more valuable Indentured, but even they would have had to actually sign it.”

“Yeah, more or less. Went real fast from ‘indentured servant’ to ‘slave’,” Demyx said dryly. Snapping his finger. “Happened like ‘that’.”

“...again, why?” Maya asked, “Were you there to… clean the warehouses? Make meals? Certainly they didn’t need to keep you indoors all the time just to work as housekeepers?”

“Adding in the reaction when we got out, or the lack of one, I surmise we were a well-kept secret from…most of everything,” Ienzo said dryly, his gaze on the top of the water bitter. “The conditioning process isolates people anyway, and it’s nearly impossible to keep an accurate track of time. It’s easy for people to fall through the cracks, for anyone who’d even be curious to know. One moment, we were Indentureds at the starting stages of what that meant. The next, imprisoned for life…barring a war built on a platform of destroying our prison, that is.”

Ienzo sighed deeper, feeling…a little lightheaded? But not unpleasantly. It wasn’t difficult to think or notice things, like it was with tranquilizers. He just felt…calmer. Though he still had the presence of mind to keep his voice low. “...Maya, they had us work as conditioners. You don’t need to lock a housekeeper indoors to sweep the floor. You need to practically keep a crossbow at the heads of the people who know how your country’s slavery system works.”

Maya’s eyes widened in shock… before she pushed her way out of the water, sitting on the edge of the jacuzzi. “Phew, I need to be less hot for this conversation. That’s a lot.”

“...” Demyx blinked, “...you’re wearing a bathing suit.”

“Oh, yeah, I lied.” Maya said, adjusting her bikini around her breasts, before reaching over to grab her drink again, “Phew…wait, but… okay, give me a second.” She frowned, sipping her drink. “...so you know how to condition people? Is that what I’m hearing?”

Demyx, who was just looking more and more depressed every second, nodded weepily. “Yeah… more or less…”

“Right, right, right…” another long drink, “You guys need to not tell people that. That information is worth way more than 8 gold. You, individually, are…priceless. If people knew you knew how to condition? You’d disappear overnight. Locked under more little rocks, explaining exactly how it works to people who’d spend their fortunes to know, because boy would they be making it back over time…”

Maya puffed her joint. “...you guys need to get out of the country. It’s not safe for you to be here. You can’t live where people might find out what you can do.”

It had the potential to go badly. Very badly. 

In so many little ways, Ienzo had seen Maya ensure more respect for Indentured people than he’d seen since leaving the factories, even between Indentureds themselves. Him dropping the bomb that he, and the present company, were the reasons why those people had conditioning at all? In some worlds, the new year would’ve risen light upon their splattered remains. 

Or with them in another cell. 

(Ienzo gave Maya a highly sarcastic, unamused look as she mentioned they’d be disappeared if people found out. Considering what had gotten them there in the first place.)

But maybe foolishly, for a woman he barely knew and only really knew things about from when she was a child, Ienzo…trusted Maya. Enough to tell her and feel confident about not getting the utter shit beaten out of him. 

Ienzo let out a long sigh before taking another hit. “Well, we’re already making moves on that front. We…” Ienzo trailed off, before a little smirk seemed to amuse him. “...your brother’s husband contacted us about moving to Dicea. We don’t really have better prospects here, and he said he’d pay, so…seems like that’s the plan.”

Maya’s mouth parted lightly, in a silent little ‘oh’ as she brushed her hair back with her fingers, looking away with a small frown. “...well, I’ve heard mixed things about the Oumas, but… I do believe some of the better rumors a little more, these days. If the Reaper went back to Dicea and took her whole brood with her, after all, there’s gotta be something for Indentureds there…”

“You don’t seem thrilled,” Demyx said, shaking off his depression to realize he was the only naked person in the tub now.

“...eh, I guess I just have to say it. Maybe don’t mention you know me? Or have talked to me? To my… ‘brother’,” Maya said, quotation marks in the air as she sighed, “I have no idea if he even knows I exist, but if he does? He probably hates me. It’s a bit of a Momota family curse. Things get real ugly between us, and, well, I’m older than him, which doesn’t help.”

“Well, you’re not really a Momota,” Demyx said, “That’s just a weird thing you tell people to up your mystique, right?”

“Oh, no, I am. King Leon’s eldest child, with allllll the perks that come with it,” she said dryly, gesturing to her half-destroyed mish-mash of decorations for the roof, and the manor beneath it, “Along with little things, like not going to school. Or not getting a job. Or my favorite,” she patted her stomach, “Not being fertile. I get to live in the luxury of this manor, with all my needs taken care of… so long as I never go anywhere, or do anything, and they never have a reason to assassinate me.” 

“Who knows if Queen Kaede even knows I exist. I keep waiting to fall asleep and wake up with a ‘sudden desire to visit paradise’, if you catch my meaning. She might have spared her cousins, but she doesn’t know me. Might not have the same pity on me,” Maya said. “And Prince Kaito? He might have me killed purely in vengeance. You know between us, who hasn’t denounced her claim? Me. This one. I am still technically an heir of Atua,” Maya said dryly, pointing at herself, “...who’s keeping her damn mouth shut about it and hoping the Queen never notices. Maybe she’ll have pity if she does and sees how good and quiet I’ve been about it. Queen? Who’s queen? Nooooot me.” She said dryly. 

Ienzo raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. He knew that Maya basically didn’t have any relationship with the known Momotas, and was a ‘secret’ child. He could even imagine some wariness on her end considering her blood kin. But that wariness to the Oumas too, and more pronounced?

Ienzo settled into a baseline of concern, slouching against the jacuzzi. “...Prince Kokichi has turned out to be far kinder than I could imagine…like, not even just royalty or nobles? But even just…people being. It’s suspicious, but just because of how truly genuine it all seems. And how his family treats him too. I haven’t met Prince Kaito, but his husbands and…well, whatever Maki is to him, they all regard him fondly.”

“But we won’t snitch, if you want the protection of your own rock,” he shrugged, before blinking slowly, “...out of curiosity, why did you never renounce your claim?”

“Heh.” Maya chuckled at the ‘rock’ comment. She couldn’t deny it. “I couldn’t. My father is… or, was, a complicated man. With his own odd set of morals.” 

“Having me renounce my claim would have meant talking to the High Priestess. Going through the ritual. It has to be witnessed and honored by Atuans and the rest of the inheritance family. Basically, having me denounce my claim would mean admitting I existed to everyone in a big showy affair. Which did not look like a good time. I have those seedy magazine portraits and pamphlets they printed out at the time when my brother was going through it, and maybe it was the artists exaggerating? But that poor bastard looked like he was going to just die on stage any second. Just melt in the shame. Tough way for a 12-year-old to look.” She frowned. 

“So, I couldn’t denounce it without announcing myself. And my father…I don’t know. We didn’t have much of a relationship. I think I met him maybe three times. I say maybe because I heard he came for a summer once, when I was really small, to spend the whole summer with me. A nanny told me that once. She sounded thrilled on my behalf, that the king would take a whole summer to spend time with his 4-year-old, telling this to me when I was 7. And had no memory of ever seeing him at all.” She scoffed, “But you know, I had stars in my eyes when she told me. I used to read statements he’d put out, newspapers, and pretend he was talking directly to me…”

She frowned, before sighing, “Sorry, I’m getting too loose-lipped. A mix of booze and weed does that to me. Forget all of that. Long story short? Dear old dad couldn’t bring himself to kill me, but couldn’t bring himself to cover his tracks properly either. Refused to make me a bastard even though literally that’s what I was. Gave me my name, titles, inheritance, and then locked me away at the edge of the country. Whaaat a freak.”

“Man, there are a lot of sad stories today,” Demyx pouted, “Anyone want to hear the sad story of my folks?”

“Uh, sure, go for it,” Maya said.

“Well, they refused to accept my choice to be a musician, and so when I went to them telling them I was deeply in debt… they told me to figure it out. And that they’d see me when I got out of the factories,” Demyx said, “Well, jokes on them…aw, now I just made myself sad. They probably think I’m dead. Maybe I should try reaching out?”

“Maybe,” Maya said, “After you leave the country. Seriously, the knowledge you have is worth fortunes, you’re not safe here.”

Ienzo did a little sort of considering nod, glumly listening to Maya. That tracked. He hadn’t known what went into denouncing your royal claim--he hadn’t been around for what sounded like Kaito’s debacle--so if it was a huge, showy, public affair? Then…yeah. Maya had been trapped into a bloodline right that put her in danger, with an escape clause that…would also put her in danger. Which left the smart decision to just be keeping your head down and shutting up. Hoping no one noticed. 

“What a fucking mess,” Ienzo sighed, blowing smoke out into the night. “You sound like you’d do well getting out of the country too, if that didn’t go against the whole ‘never go anywhere’ thing.”

Pouting a little as Demyx shared his own awful parent story, Ienzo carefully put out his blunt on the ashtray before going over to his friend, dropping his head on Demyx’s shoulder and loosely putting his arms around Demyx’s shoulders, sleeves and all into the jacuzzi. 

“You should,” Ienzo mumbled. “You said you were close with your mom, once. And you’re a fantastic musician, their faith was misplaced.”

“Awwwww, you’re right. I am a fantastic musician~” Demyx grinned, accompanying that grin with a raised eyebrow as he saw Ienzo’s sleeves get wet in his unsolicited hug, “Oh man, you’re affected, huh? Still with us, brainiac?”

“Sorry, I should have given you a heads up, my stuff is pretty strong. One blunt will do it,” Maya said, shrugging, “But, you know, all the rumors are overblown. It doesn’t mess you up that bad. I’d argue alcohol fucks you up worse, and without any benefits either.” 

“I’m fine,” Ienzo lightly groused. “And according to what people consider ‘demonic’, it’s not like I can really get any worse. For those actually looking at reality, tetrahydrocannabinol actually has an extensive history being tested and cataloged as a medicinal herb, particularly because of its nature as a partial agonist in the central nervous system, which causes pain relief from spasticity, and some studies even suggested it may actually contribute in overall objective relief. In addition, studies about overdose and toxicity are often conflicting and unhelpful, though reported deaths usually are due to actions while under the influence, and not due to toxicity itself. While there is chance of addiction, so is there for nearly everything, and compared to other drugs treated with relative comparison, success cases for rehabilitation are far more common.”

“...”

Ienzo hummed softly against Demyx’s shoulder. “...I don’t think I’ve ever taken a psychoactive before. It’s interesting. This is far more pleasant than tranquilizers.” 

Maya nodded along with everything he was saying, but her expression was clear, unabashed confusion, before glancing at Demyx for a translation.

“Sometimes he says stuff and you just gotta try to feel the vibe of it,” Demyx grinned, “Like, maybe you didn’t pick up all the little details, but I think it’s safe to say he said Weed =’s Good, generally.”

“Oh,” Maya said, “Yeah, weed does equal good. I’ve always been a fan. Though, tranqs sound hardcore, what’s that like?”

“Dizzy. Like, you know how you would spin around in place as a kid to make yourself unable to stand up? That one, but there’s no stopping to catch your breath. Then if you’re lucky you pass out,” Demyx said, “If you’re not, you’re just dizzy and unable to think for hours.”

“Sounds like a bummer. Why did you do that?”

“Mostly it was done to us. If you thought being the guys in charge of conditioning other people had perks, ahah, you’d be… well, mostly wrong. We did always have a place to sleep. Nothing else, but we had that!”

“Bummer again,” Maya frowned, “I think I’ll pass then. Sounds like being roofied a bit.” 

“That ever happen to you?” Demyx asked.

“Once, actually, yeah. Nothing happened, thank Atua, but that’s actually one of the reasons I invest in so much security in these parties now,” Maya explained, “It’s not just the folks at the door, I actually have a lot of people hanging around in plain clothes, just keeping an eye on people.”

“Oh! I bet the guy at your door was one of them, I did think it was odd he was just sitting around listening in on an orgy. This party is kind of wild, did you know that? Usually it’s a very different holiday before I see something like that,” Demyx said, sipping his drink but being careful not to jostle Ienzo as he did.

“Honestly it partly comes from my reputation. You don’t get the name Mad Maya without people considering it a personal challenge. People come here expecting it to get wild, but I don’t really set that stuff up, they do it on their own. I bring the band, the fireworks, the drinks. Otherwise,” Maya shrugged, “People just find empty rooms and go nuts. Not that I have any room to judge or discourage it. I’ll find someone tonight to have some fun with eventually too. I just want to relax and enjoy the light show and the music first… and this hot tub. And Ienzo’s sad drama he’s brought me. I’m enjoying that too.”

“I’d be more than happy to go into further detail with anything you’re unsure about,” Ienzo said, sounding juuuuust a bit like he was pouting about it. “I try to be clear but you do run into the problem of specificity clashing with accessibility. As much as I agree that any broad concept worth talking about can be summarized into more accessible language, the more detailed you delve, the more difficult that becomes without making sweeping statements that over-simplify to the point of misinformation.”

“...tranqs do suck. Incredibly,” he agreed as the conversation moved on. 

It just…didn’t occur to Ienzo to straighten up or move at all. He didn’t really feel dizzy, which had partially drawn his comparison to tranqs, but the side of the hot tub and Demyx’s shoulder were providing a sort of stability that was just comfortable to stay in. Add in the warmth of the water and, well, Ienzo did like spending time with Demyx, so he just…didn’t think of any reason to leave. 

And it was kinda nice smooshing his cheek against Demyx’s shoulder every time he nodded. 

“A bit like a self-fulfilling prophecy, then. The expectation creating results. I suppose I’m glad that my intentions existing outside that paradigm have still meshed within it, in a way,” he hummed. “I don’t think I would’ve come if I’d remembered it was New Years. I don’t think I’m that much of a downer.”

“And that would have been a shame. You look cute all smushed up against your friend. I bet I wouldn’t have seen that on a normal night,” Maya said, smirking as she dipped back into the hottub. 

“I am very comfortable to lean against. It’s not strictly a New Years thing.” Demyx huffed.

There was brief silence, the group waiting for the next whistle of fireworks to explode into the sky, not trying to talk over the noise as a mixture of greens and blues decorated the air. 

“Besides, I like showing off my parties. Especially for Indentureds, or, ex-Indentureds now I suppose. Not a lot of safe places for them to let loose. People should be allowed to be a little wild without fear that someone’s going to take advantage. One of the little joys in life, being dumb and lewd and safe to be both of those things,” Maya said, watching the sparkles come down before turning to ash, “Isn’t that kind of Atua’s teachings, in a way? If sex is prayer, partying is mass, this manor a sanctuary.” 

“Kind of a fancy way to describe a club, don’t you think?” Demyx asked.

“With the right music, the right heat, the right heartbeats in your ear? Clubs are holy places,” Maya said. It was hard to tell how much she was joking around, and how much she really thought of her parties like that. 

Ienzo nodded as he lazily watched lights bloom into the night. He supposed his eyesight might be lagging a little, but it did just make the streaks of the fireworks look even cooler. Like meteors if they didn’t burn up as quickly as they actually did, and in far more colors, but without the realization that a meteor sticking around that long might mean a significant amount of destruction…or a really cool discovery for geologists and astronomers and--

“He is,” Ienzo lazily agreed. “He’s also frustratingly flexible, which is just bullshit for someone that, as far as I’m aware, never exercises.”

“That’s a nicer way to show off than a lot,” he also mused, barely leaving a gap between thoughts. “Also reminds me of something I’d read in a letter from my parents. ‘What use are resources if they’re not shared to enrich and astound’ and all that corner of philosophy…”

He smirked a little, eyes hazily watching the fireworks. “And would you look at that, it’s even maintained and overseen by a holy figure. Checks all the boxes, I’d think.”

Maya raised an eyebrow at Ienzo, before looking meaningfully at Demyx. 

“TWISTER!” He sputtered, “He’s REFERENCING TWISTER!”

“You should have just let me think he was fucking you, that would have been mildly less embarrassing,” Maya snorted, “I don’t know if I actually believe in Atua, mind you. Sort of seems like it’s a bit too convenient for my family, to be officially approved by some being no one can actually verify anything with. But I like the ideas he represents, otherwise. Big fan of the saints. They’re comforting ideas and stories, and they happen to align with the way I already wanted to live my life anyway. Easy to be faithful when it feels like a natural way to be.”

“But I don’t know. Too much in the last century went directly against one of his biggest teachings, and if he didn’t say anything about it? No way he’s here,” Maya said.

“Which teaching?” Demyx asked.

“Slavery. It’s literally in The Book,” she said, “It’s not hidden or anything, people even still teach it at the temples. Atua favors anyone used for their bodies.”

“I always thought that was part of the sex stuff,” Demyx admitted.

“It doesn’t say strictly used for sex. Used for their bodies. Conditioning might control a person's mind, but to do what?” Maya said leadingly, tapping first her temple, then her chest, “To manipulate their body. It bluntly goes against our teachings. But it’s like if no one deliberately points that out, no one ever seems to make that connection, or think about it. Complacency literally blinding people to the words they’re reciting along with.”

“I still would’ve won,” Ienzo grumbled quietly, unphased by Demyx’s outburst. …so what if he’d maybe ‘bent a few rules’, people played house rules for games all the time, and they’d never established beforehand that knees were off limits. 

Letting one of his arms sort of half-drift in the water, no longer purposefully hugging Demyx, Ienzo’s gaze wandered around the sky as Maya explained the…well, blasphemy he supposed, the entire country had been complicit in. Anyone used for their bodies…

“The mind still is part of the body,” he mused, “We aren’t beings separated into distinct, non-overlapping pieces. But that just renders your point more damning.” Ienzo’s gaze dulled a bit. “And it goes beyond people just not thinking about that fact. There are people who just overtly deny that conditioning is even mind control, just a form of propaganda, and they make the lines between those things starker than they are. And it’s not like there was much incentive for people to consider Indentureds themselves as much more than invisible.”

He huffed in irritation. “Belief predates doctrine, after all.”

“Oh, it’s mind control, alright. When you know what you’re looking for, ask the right questions?” Maya huffed, “Well, you two would know better than anyone, I suppose. The way they describe it? It’s like their bodies seize up or their mind breaks down, if they try to defy orders given by the right person. Scariest thing I’ve ever seen, watching someone genuinely try to fight to control themselves. And it’s actually hard to find an escort who doesn’t have some sort of conditioning, so you can imagine how tricky that gets for me. I basically haven’t had sex without hotboxing in months now. Not always my favorite thing, if I’m honest.”

“Hotboxing?” Demyx asked. 

“I would have thought someone with your attitude about parties would know the term. Filling a room with smoke, trapping us all inside with it,” she said, flicking her half burnt down blunt, “Easiest way to deal.”

“Right, right,” Demyx nodded, “...deal with…?”

“The whole ‘fighting the orders’ stuff.” Maya shrugged. 

Ienzo looked down, guilt drawing through his face. Body seizes up, mind breaks down…have the feeling of drowning, feel overwhelming despair that leads to decision paralysis even for the most basic things… Yeah, they knew. More mechanically than anyone. That wasn’t…

Attention drawn back up, Ienzo blinked slowly at Maya, the gears in his head turning. His lips parting slightly as his eyebrows drew in, Ienzo lifting himself over Demyx and leaning over the side of the jacuzzi, giving Maya a look with more clarity than should’ve been possible for how much weed he’d smoked. 

“...Maya, does weed nullify conditioning?”

“Nullify?” Maya said, raising an eyebrow, “No. It just stops the symptoms for a while. Makes it so you can say no without it hurting. Why?”

“That’s… basically what he means,” Demyx said, staring at her wide-eyed as well. “Getting rid of the symptoms basically nullifies it. Right? Right? I’m not crazy, that’s what you heard too, right?” he said, looking to Ienzo. 

Maya’s lips pouted lightly, still confused at their reaction. “It’s not like it doesn’t come back once they sober up. And… yeah? I don’t know, your body and mind might overlap, but it doesn’t always feel like that when you’re high as a kite. Makes it easier to manage that sort of thing.”

“Fuck, that’s why it’s illegal!” Ienzo put together, looking astounded…before pissed off. “Bet you can fucking guess who put that together. Ugh, almost makes me wish he even had a tomb so I could piss on it but even desecration’s too good for that garbage.”

Working himself up a bit in anger, Ienzo almost simultaneously lit up in excitement. “That’s groundbreaking though! Like I said, weed’s a partial agonist, basically every known cannabinoid in it having those qualities, which mean they bind and affect to nodes in the body which means that state can be studied, and if it can be replicated on a scale that’s reasonable in terms of function and longevity, that means you can undo conditioning! Not at its source, but its symptoms, which at least for daily life would ren--”

SPLOOSH

Ienzo was cut off as his excited theory had pushed his balance over the edge of the hot tub, causing him to flip right in.

“OH GEEZ!” Demyx squeaked, reaching over to save his friend from the watery depths of the roughly four feet of water he was submerged in. Ienzo probably couldn’t swim! Demyx didn’t know! There were no pools in the factories–

Maya reached into the water, grabbed the scruff of Ienzo’s shirt, and hefted him up with a shocking amount of strength in one arm. The strength and roundness of her bicep only noticeable now that she was using it as she hefted him up, holding him like a soaking wet kitten, giving him an inscrutable look for a moment. Like she was appraising him. Trying to see him for Who He Was.

“...your folks had their eureka moments too,” she suddenly smirked. Looking oddly excited. Steam rising off her skin from the hot water boiling around them as she asked Ienzo, “How much starting capital do you think you’d need for funding? I’ve never taken out a loan before. Always looked like fun.”

The ‘soaking wet kitten’ analogy was spot on, Ienzo literally hanging from Maya’s grip for a moment as he sputtered before remembering the relative location of his feet to the rest of his body and standing up. Even just from a moment his visible skin was pinking, which really didn’t help the look as he moved his plastered bangs away from his face, both eyes now seen to blink owlishly up at Maya. 

“...huh?”

“What you’re talking about is some good ol’ scientific research to figure out how to ease the symptoms en masse, right?” Maya said, letting Ienzo go and leaning back, crossing her legs as she peered at him, “I’m not going to pretend I know much about science, or even much about business. I don’t know much about anything. But you know what I did learn from researching your folks? Not to mention by just being around these chucklefucks all the time?” She gestured to the home of her neighbors in the distance. “Research without grants is just screaming into the wind. Your parents used to fund other people's research projects all the time. Used the capital from their own businesses to fund their own research. But you don’t have access to any of that.”

“I don’t have a ton of practical knowledge, but I have access to resources you don’t and know how to get them for you,” Maya said, “And I have faith that the son of the Seisears knows what he’s talking about… which is helped by him being one of the people who actually knows how conditioning works. So~”

She tilted her head to the side, giving him a stern, insistent look. “Figure out the funds you’ll need. Get back to me. I’ll make sure you get them.”

…she was offering to fund his research?

There was a part of Ienzo just on principle that wanted to deny it. It was part of why he hadn’t asked Rantarou or Xiomara for money, though the fact that he figured a lot of ex-Indentureds in his area just wouldn’t have extra spending cash and he didn’t want to limit anyone who’d actually agree to be a test subject was a big part too. Ienzo just…felt like he should be working on a way to reverse conditioning. It wasn’t a service he was providing since it was partially his fault in the first place they had it. If he could even start making a dent in the harm he’d enabled to come to people then…it was just something he should be doing. 

But that was just the guilty part of him, the part that thought even with losing a decade and a half of his life under constant stress and abuse that wasn’t enough punishment for what he’d been a part of. An illogical part. 

And Maya was right. Research that wanted to have an impact, that wanted to be done correctly, needed money behind it. And if Ienzo actually wanted to help ex-Indentureds, then…having something more than a tense agreement with two people in the dilapidated tavern he lived in would be a game changer. 

So…could he really…

“Uh…y-yeah,” Ienzo nodded under that intense look. “I’ll figure it out.”

He blinked before glancing down at his soaked hoodie. “...I think I’m going to drench your roof a bit getting out of here.”

“Eh, what are roofs for?” Maya shrugged, resting against the wall, pleased with how that had gone. “Mess it up. Break something on your way out. It’s fun. Whatever you want. Can I suggest knocking over any vase that might still be upright on your way down? They make satisfying shattering sounds.”

“Will do!” Demyx cheerfully agreed, giving Ienzo an inquiring look, “Are we bailing?”

Ienzo gave Demyx a hazy look, not entirely steady as he was lightly pushed around by the jacuzzi jets. He then looked around the rest of the roof. “...I mean, I just meant it’s kind of weird to stand in a hot tub fully clothed. So I’m getting out. …where did the others go?”

“No idea,” Demyx admitted, stepping out and looking down at himself, “Oh, I forgot I was naked. Really flapping in the breeze here, huh? Hmmm… feels nice!”

Maya glanced over the edge, before noting, “Does ‘shrinking’ happen if the water’s not cold?”

“Annnnnd I’m putting my pants back on,” Demyx huffed, ignoring Maya’s teasing snicker as he threw his clothes on, “I bet Axel herded them home already. It’s not like he can’t trust us to get home ourselves. Between the two of us, even with you high as balls, we still make one competent person! Let’s go!” 

It took a bit of fumbling and waaaay more concentration than Ienzo would’ve guessed, but he did make it out of the hot tub in one piece. The winter night thankfully not that cold as to freeze him immediately, even if he did try to squeeze a decent amount of excess water out of his clothes. 

“I feel like they can put up more of a fight than that. Especially if they make more jokes about Axel needing an old man bed time,” Ienzo idly mused, before giving Demyx a small nod, and Maya a slightly off kilter bow. “Nice to catch up, thanks for having us.”

Maya, still enjoying the glow of a good conversation, gave him a little waving finger wave goodbye, as he and Demyx sloshed across the roof. 

“Well, he can handle them. If he needed backup, he’d have pinged us.” Demyx shrugged, not terribly worried about it. If the kids were still here? Well, cool! Let them be dancing on the first floor, or gasping at people making out in the halls. They’d be fine. 

As the two headed down the staircase into the main building… “So,” Demyx said, “Tragic rich kid backstory?”

Ah. Right. 

“Seems so,” Ienzo said neutrally, trying to focus enough to walk in a straight line. It was strange, because it didn’t seem like he was veering at all, but it felt like his balance was all wonky. Or that he was just walking strangely. “...sorry to surprise you with all that when you were just following me tonight.”

“Maaaaan, you’re such a weirdo sometimes,” Demyx snickered, reaching his arm around Ienzo’s waist to steady him a bit, “I’m going to grill you about this later when you’re more sober. I can’t believe you got high! And jumped into a hot tub fully clothed on the roof of a manor! And got funding from some weirdo long lost queen lady, assuming she isn’t actually out of her mind! …and got a breakthrough on conditioning! What a weird night!” 

Demyx laughed, grinning brightly, “I don’t really care about your past, Ienzo. I’m most confused why you never felt like you could tell me, honestly. That’s more what I want to ask you about later. But then, I don’t know, I guess any particular answer works. It’s not my business, you know? I’m just curious. But it doesn’t really change what I think of you… you were always a smarty-pants, well educated kind of guy. Now you’re just one that used to be rich. When you were a kid. Which is barely ever having been rich at all. Not a big difference.”

“Making good on my plans to experience more things already,” Ienzo said, huffing a small laugh. “Though getting high was the only purposeful decision. If a noble’s actually going to fund my research as a legitimate scientist though, that…definitely solves some of the dread of trying to find more stable employment. Even as myself, I’m nowhere near as personable as Sora to really go bootstrapping.”

Ienzo sighed softly, the hand around his waist really not helping him avoid just lounging on Demyx again. A token effort was still an effort made. “...it just hurts thinking about my parents, sometimes. Even as time went on. And…” Ienzo blinked slowly at the ground. “...I think I got it into my head at one point, early on, that… The elite make the rules, you know? Even if I knew my parents never even had the opportunity to weigh in on anything like the Indentured Program. But it ended up as this circular logic of…it was people like me that got me into this mess, and everyone else too. And I don’t have a title or money anyway, so there’s nothing I could offer so…I just never talked about it.”

Ienzo’s eyes narrowed a bit, some strands of his bangs starting to fall back into his face. “...it didn’t help that those were the memories he seemed to enjoy pulling up from me. I know Zexion did bolster the maze because of him, but…I think that whole puzzle room might’ve come into existence as a defense just because of that. ‘N so I didn’t have to think about it.”

“Ah, missing your parents I get more. I guess I didn’t find a lot of reasons to talk about mine either, and, well… you lost yours in a way harsher way.” Demyx winced, enjoying the lounge against him. What did he care, they were both in wet clothes already. Couldn’t get more uncomfortable by this point. Sharing body heat helped! “But, still, I’d like to hear about them more, they sounded cool! And I don’t know if I’d want to blame them or you for everything that happened anyway. Maybe other elites in general, but you guys are family, so whatever, you get a pass even if your family did have something to do with it. Shit happens.”

Demyx basically meant it. Even as someone caught up in the madness of the program, he hadn’t spent a lot of time raging against it, or those who had fared better within it. He hadn’t thought much about it at all, outside of how it immediately affected him on the day to day. It wasn’t his style to worry about things he couldn’t interact with. So it just never occurred to him to do so.

Like Tengan. Demyx almost never thought about Tengan unless someone else brought him up. Same way he didn’t think about Orlette, now that she wasn’t an immediate problem. She was gone, so now she Didn’t Exist. That was just the way his brain worked.

…that said. When those terrible things were brought up, it wasn’t like the memory didn’t hurt. 

Demyx winced, before saying softly, “I think that might have been why Guppy was made too. I mean, Larxene used him for other stuff, but Guppy made us feel safe. Like we had a force of nature on our side… for however little good it did in practice. Just more performance, more make believe…”

“...I did kind of wonder why you hated the guy so much, when you were talking about him before,” Demyx admitted, “I guess maybe I was hoping that you had avoided the worst of that. His, you know…” Demyx’s expression went grim, “...weird games.”

Something settled in Ienzo’s chest, hearing Demyx say straight out that he didn’t blame him for their shitty lot. Look, he knew it was irrational; just the fact that Ienzo had been put in the program in the first place was proof enough that he hadn’t had any influence on it. …but there was pride, in hating the groups that subjugated you. The rich, the noble, the storied…Ienzo just hadn’t wanted to deal with any of the fallout that might’ve come. So he hadn’t. 

But it was still nice hearing he was still accepted anyway. 

“They were huge weirdos. I think they would’ve liked how much of a weirdo you are too,” Ienzo said softly.

And he closed his eyes for a moment to sigh, before remembering that he definitely needed to see to walk. “Make believe was the best we could do, most of the time. And I don’t think we should downplay just how powerful our version of make believe is, in the grand scheme of things.”

Just…not powerful enough against certain people.

Scowling, something tense went through Ienzo’s expression. “Not even close,” he huffed. “I think he thought it was funny, watching how I found my parents. Putting together that all my constructs were more of a trauma response than a tool. It’s an adage to not feed the trolls, but if they actually manage to find something that provokes a reaction anyway? It’s just worse.”

It didn’t help that Tengan had been…weird. In other ways too. Ienzo had refused to delve into what ‘so close’ meant.

“Yeah…” It wasn’t the first time they had commiserated about Tengan. There had been several group lamentations on the subject, over the years. Ienzo had always been vague about what happened to him, but, well, with Tengan, if someone was being vague, that probably meant you didn’t want to know. So no one had pushed.

But, while Ienzo had likely heard this story before, or something like it, Demyx still commiserated anyway. “He liked to make me think I was actually in certain memories. He could just make me forget, get totally lost in the dream. I guess thankfully I never had anything as terrible to harp on as finding… finding?” Demyx realized, hesitating as he really processed what Ienzo had said. He’d ask more about that in a minute, not wanting to leave Ienzo hanging along in his misery. “Uh, h-he, sorry, he liked to grab this one memory in particular. The one where I was following up on this great band in a full bar, and I thought I really had my chance to impress everyone, but it was super late and when everyone saw it was a one-man show they just started leaving. By the time I finished my second song, I was playing to an empty room, right?”

“But he just made me keep playing. I stopped in real life and went to nurse my wounds, but he loved sitting in that empty audience and just watching me play to no one with this look on my face. And I know it was for the look, because he told me that’s why he liked that memory. Said the look on my face from that memory ‘warmed him’,” Demyx scoffed, looking away, “Creep just liked to get off on other people’s misery…I’m hoping he never actually took those feelings out on anyone. The thought gave me a nightmare once, that he spent an evening watching me humiliate myself and then went home to his wife to burn it off or something gross like that. I don’t love being someone’s fucking torture porn foreplay.”

“...sorry, I shouldn’t have said that right after hearing he watched some kid find his dead parents for fun,” Demyx muttered, “No one’s that messed up, so maybe I’m just projecting and that’s not why he was doing it at all. Still a creep, though.”

Ienzo nodded softly, his scowl persisting as Demyx told his Shitty Tengan Story, though he put an arm around him for a brief side hug as well. Just as it had the first and subsequent times he’d heard Demyx tell it, it was just so…humiliating. And filled Ienzo with a sort of rage that made him want to…well, indulge some impulses that at least at one point he’d classify as more Zexion’s style. 

Ultimately, Ienzo was glad for what Kokichi had told him and Axel, that in all the ways that mattered, Tengan was dead. There was still a part of him that seethed that he had never been strong enough to take his own blood from the bastard.

“Ugh,” Ienzo groaned, nudging Demyx’s shoulder a little. “No, he would be that type, you don’t have to apologize. If people only had him as a sample size, then maybe I’d really understand them calling us demons.” Even calling Tengan demonic still didn’t feel condemning enough. 

“I’m just glad he’s gone. Sometimes I feel like we should celebrate that, somehow… hell, there’s a lot of stuff we haven’t celebrated properly! And now we have some funds too–oh WAIT!” Demyx gasped, looking up the stairs in outrage, “Our 8 gold! Ah! We sold your tragic backstory for that! I am not leaving here without your gold!” He huffed, clapping his hands together, “Wait here, Ienzo! I’m going to get it!”

Ienzo blinked out of his stewing anger, looking up at the stairs they’d just come down. Splitting up at a crazy house party, even a vetted one, seemed like a terrible idea, but…could he really get back up those--?

Having put his hand in his drenched hoodie pocket to think, Ienzo felt…something that certainly wasn’t there before. One, two, three…eight. Definitely. 

“...when did she…?” Ienzo muttered, confused. 

“Oh my god,” Demyx whispered, eyes widening at more gold than he had ever seen in one spot in his life, all just cradled in Ienzo’s hand, “...maybe she’s the demon.”

“...if she is, consider me converted, I will happily let myself be subjugated and tormented by demons, if they always end up like this,” Demyx said, reaching over to touch a gold piece like he was afraid it’d turn to dust at his graze, “Holy shit… put that back in your pocket! Don’t let anyone see you have that! We gotta leave!”

“Or just a magician, which might even be worse,” Ienzo mused, still looking baffled at the gold before quickly putting it back in his pocket. Maya was right, that telling her that they knew how conditioning worked was worth more than eight gold…but it being worth a path forward in figuring out how to undo conditioning, and getting a grant to work through that path? 

Tonight was a lot luckier than Ienzo had thought. Maybe sometimes bravery really was rewarded. 

“Shut it,” he said mildly, before taking Demyx’s hand and continuing their way out. “Your reaction might even be more attention-getting. Let’s get back home in one piece before we plan anything.”

Demyx had a hard time calming down–a handful of gold! Like, LITERALLY a handful!!--grasping Ienzo’s hand with both of his own and practically vibrating the whole way through the manor, grinning at everyone like he had a secret as they headed out of the servants entrance, entirely shameless, unable to help himself.

Basically anyone who cared to notice thought he was about to get laid. Good for him.

Demyx couldn’t help himself as they got out of the wealthy district, suddenly hopping up and down and clicking his heels, “YAOOOOOOOOOOO!!! YA-HAHAHAHAHA!!! WHAT A NIGHT!!!!!”

“Shut up,” Ienzo chided again, though he was entirely unable to stifle the laughs getting through his voice. Demyx’s exhilaration was contagious, even outside of their tether, and while Ienzo was fully aware of how genuinely life changing this money was--why he’d initially even taken Maya’s offer--feeling how giddy Demyx was brought a whole additional layer of joy to the situation. 

Trying to bite back on his laughs, feeling warm despite their slowly drying clothes in the winter air, Ienzo warned, “We’re still not even home yet. Last thing we need is trouble now.”

“We’re going to be fine~ We’re beautiful! We’re dancing in the moonlight!” Demyx said, and to prove his point, he grabbed Ienzo’s hands and threw himself into a circle around him, pulling him close and doing a clumsy, un-taught waltz through the backroads as he sang, “Days seems sometimes as if they’ll never end~ sun digs in its heels to taunt you, but after sunlight days, Ienzo~~”

Demyx grinned at him, singing gently, pointing upwards at the moon hanging high above them, “Rises the moon~”

It seemed like Ienzo was made a hypocrite, because despite his own warnings, as he tripped over his own feet and followed clumsily along to Demyx’s spins and dances, Ienzo couldn’t help his laughs, grin free and happy as they walked. 

As he’d told Maki, when he thanked her, they had all been resigned to dying in the factories. The older Empaths had seen it with those that had come before them, and those of them on the younger side had seen it firsthand with Terra. There was no escaping, there was no retirement, there was just day after day of a reality they couldn’t meaningfully escape. 

…and yet, they had. They were free. They could never get back the years and peace that had been taken from them, yes, but they were free to have it for the rest of their lives. And as difficult as freedom was turning out to be…they had a god-like Empath truly helping them shake the last of the shackles off. They had enough money, especially now, to make sure everyone was eating. Hellfire, now they had enough to even start getting some comforts. And now, Ienzo even had a future to look forward to. 

Demyx was right, they did have a lot to celebrate. And as he outlined that in song, Ienzo could only be swept away in his melodious voice, heart somehow both swelling and turning to mush. 

-

“So, the legend goes, that you go out into the desert, to face a mirage and challenge the darkest side of yourself, Miya,” Kaito whispered, as far as he was aware Kokichi and Shuichi having long fallen asleep by this point in the night, “and if you can face the mirage, and defeat yourself! You essentially get a wish! You can make a vow to better yourself in the new year in one specific way, and facing the mirage will give you the strength you need to accomplish it.”

So,” Kaito whispered again, adjusting Miyako onto her feet on the vanity desk, the baby giving herself a bewildered look as he stood her in front of the mirror, “We’re going to do a safe little baby version, and afterwards we’ll make your wish! But first, I’m going to show you how to do a right hook and a swinging leg kick! There’s actually nothing insisting that fighting the mirage is a literal fight, but… well, it’s not like you can reasonably debate a dark entity version of yourself right now, sweetroll. You have poor language skills. But powerful baby thighs!”

Miyako, to prove his point, said nothing at this affront to her vocal skills. But she was already kicking out curiously, as Dad stood her up, letting her take little bits of her weight herself. 

“Alright, Miya, you got this. Just think about all the ways you want to improve next year! You’re going to start walking–pow!” Kaito whispered, bringing up her leg to touch her foot against the mirror, “and you’re gonna learn some words, ka-blam!” little baby slap against the mirror, “and you’re going to start learning how to potty train, butt-attack!”

Kaito turned Miya around to attack the mirror with her butt, and Miya, no longer distracted by looking at herself, cheerfully called out, “G’YAH!”

“Shhhh, Miya, don’t wake the daddies!” Kaito whispered.

Quite attuned to ‘Mi-Mi Noises’ these days, Kokichi blearily picked his head up, very bravely waking from the absolute food coma of New Years Eve food he’d been snoozing through. At first he was a little confused to be looking the wrong way from Miyako’s crib, before what he was looking at actually loaded into his brain.

Sitting up a little more, Kokichi gave his husband and daughter a sleepy, confused smile. “You two actually trying to stay up ‘til midnight to catch the first minute of next year? That’s a…” Kokichi yawned, “...an ambitious goal for a little Miya.”

“It was Miyako’s idea,” Kaito lied, picking her up and holding her to his chest, grinning sheepishly, “She insisted! How could I refuse to let her see her first New Year in good conscience, when she was giving me her little pleading face?”

Shuichi groaned, reaching out to wrap his arm around Kokichi’s waist, mumbling something that was indistinguishable beneath the covers and pressed into the pillows but was probably “Go back to sleep.”

“N’yAA!” Miyako crowed out. Come! Come fathers! They must fight the mirror people! For a wish!!

“She is hard to argue with, and there is something special about greeting the new year that way,” Kokichi said, bemused as he snuggled back, patting Shuuichi’s hand placatingly. Sorry, dear, the rules of bedtime are sacred, yes. “...does sound like she’s pretty awake. Want company soothing her back to sleep?”

“Do we want Daddy’s company, Miya~ Miyaaa~ Do we want Daddy and Dada to come hang out with us and fight the mirages?” Kaito cooed to her.

“‘Uaa’hh!” 

“Mirages?” Shuichi groaned, sounding absolutely unmoved by his daughter's insistence they all stay up, “Kaito, don’t start that up, it’s too late for that. We’ll do that next year.”

“Oh, don’t be a party-pooper, handsome, we’re just playing. Isn’t Dada such a party-pooper, Miyaaaa~? Don’t you love challenging the mirage?”

“Ooaaaugh!” Miyako shouted, before blowing a bubble, “Brrgh.”

“She loves it,” Kaito said wisely.

“Sounds like you’re both very awake,” Kokichi snorted, before, with a sigh, starting to scoot out of bed. It was fun to stay up for New Years, but they had decided ahead of time not to do it this year, instead choosing to not spend the first day of the year incredibly tired and missing the morning. Not that Miyako cared about any kind of cycle but her own, but they were trying to encourage diurnal sleeping. 

Tottering over to Kaito and Miyako, Kokichi gave them sleepy, fond looks. He tapped his head against Kaito’s arm while tapping Miyako’s foot, reaching out with a loving feeling to her. “Mirages, huh? What’s the party with challenging mirages? I guess I’d be one to talk about never-ending tasks…”

“Nah, not literally,” Kaito chuckled–ignoring Shuichi’s groan of despair and little murmurs of ‘traitor!’--leaning down to kiss Kokichi as he patted Miyako’s belly a bit–many dad taps!! Exciting night!!--before explaining, “You know that one scene in the Hyrule stories, where Link fights Dark Link in that weird little lake area? It’s like that, but in the desert. And when you do it, you take the strength you gained from it to improve something about yourself for the next year.”

“Maaaah!!” Miyako cheered, pleased with all this dad attention… though, she was missing one, wasn’t she? Where was Food Smell?

“I don’t know what Miya’s going to wish for specifically, but I want to give her her best start! She’s got so much to accomplish!”

“She needs to accomplish a regular sleeping schedule,” Shuichi grumbled from the bed.

“Dada’s such a spoilsport, isn’t he Miya?” Kaito whispered, “Dada has no wonder in his sleepy, sleepy heart.”

“Ooooh,” Kokichi said, immediately getting it. “Aw… So that’s a Luminary tradition, then? Or…maybe a myth, since going out into the desert seems like a little much for everyone to do on the same night, but…aw. That’s really cool. Starting the year with a plan and high hopes.”

Offering Miyako a finger, Kokichi gave her a loving look. “Miya-Miya has a lot to accomplish, true…though there’s no rush. Your schedule is your own, sweetbun, and you don’t have to get everything done by the new year. Dad, Daddy, and Dada will always be proud of you.”

Glancing up amused at Kaito, Kokichi added, “And Dada has plenty of wonder, particularly for the wonder of a good night’s rest.”

“Which will help her accomplish all those things that Kaito wants,” Shuichi sleepily called from bed, “more than ‘wishing’.”

“Tsk. No whimsy, then,” Kaito scoffed, “And nah, no one really does the desert thing. It’s mostly just people finding equivalencies or just saying their wishes regardless. Like this year, Miya, Dada could wish to be a little more spontaneous when he notices his family is awake in the middle of the night~”

“Ngh.” Shuichi grumbled.

Miya blinked, humming nonsense to herself.

“Or Dada could wish to fight his inner old man~”

“You’re old.” Shuichi grumbled, turning over.

“Or Dada could wish that when he’s old and boring and senile, little Miya is kind enough to help him still be as cool and fun and hip as Daddy and Dad–”

“Dada,” Miya said.

“...................................................... eh?” Kaito said, not certain if he had just heard a mish-mash of syllables again that sounded close or–

“Give me my baby,” Shuichi said, pushing Kokichi and Kaito to the side as he grabbed Miyako from Kaito’s arms, his eyes wide and DAZZLED as he stared at Miyako. “Did I just?”

Miyako startled at Sudden Dada… before she smiled brightly, wiggling happily. “DADA!!”

She was all powerful! She called and he arrived! BOW TO THE POWER OF MIYAKO!!!

Kokichi could only sigh a little, putting a hand over another yawn as his husbands bickered. It was a very sweet tradition…but it was late, later than any of them tended to stay up these days, and if they wanted any hope of Miyako sticking to sleeping through the night, they did need to encourage her to get all snoozy when the sun went down. But they could have a nice moment as they soothed her back to sl--

…?

!!!

Kokichi lit up, beaming at Miyako in Shuuichi’s arms, a burst of unbridled pride coming out not just emotionally but in little bounces too. “Oh Mi-Mi…! Dada!! Eeheh!” Cheering with little excited wiggles, he laughed, “Exactly right, you know just how to get Dada from bed.”

“Miya! Miya, you did it!!” Kaito cheered, throwing himself around Shuichi’s shoulders, peering over them and beaming down at his daughter, “You learned your first word! It’s a New Year's Mirage Beating Miracle! Say it again, say Dada!” 

“It’s not a miracle. Our Miyako is a prodigy,” Shuichi said simply, smiling warmly at her, eyes warm with pride, “...Dada. Can you say it again? Dada?”

Miyako blinked, mostly taking in All The Dads Attention she was getting… before she grinned and gurgled cheerfully, “Dada?”

“AHHHH!” Kaito squealed! “It wasn’t a FLUKE!!! She can say DADA!!! DADA AND MIYAAA!!!” Kaito screamed, wrapping his arms around Shuichi’s waist and lifting him up and down a little. “DADA AND MI-MI!!!”

“DADA AND MI-MI!!!” Kokichi joined the chant, doing little hops around Kaito’s air pedestals. 

“DADA!” Miya squealed. 

“Mi-Mi~” Shuichi said softly, kissing her temple.

-

A new year. A time for new beginnings, new outlooks, a metaphorical sun rising on new chances to take the world into your hands and make your dreams come true! 

Though, if Bog were being honest, all those things felt far more associated with spring now. Right at the start of the season of life, about eight months ago now, they’d left everything in Accus City and had come all the way out to the Solar Archipelago and Partinique with little more than a letter, a dream, and a few gold in their pocket. And they hadn’t regretted a single day. 

No more showing off holy sites to visitors who were just waiting for the wine tastings, no more going over historical facts so watered down they could be just about anywhere in the world, no more lonely isolation, despite being surrounded by people. It was just them and the land. 

…and the whole town of people, but the citizens of Partinique were alright, by Bog’s books. 

…except those city snobs in Escoffier manor, but other than the time Morris had barged into Pierre and Caroline’s shop while they’d been shopping, and when they tried to catch Shane and Sam after work, Bog barely even saw the obnoxious, gaudy building. Though they saw plenty of its trash in the river. Ugh. 

But on the whole? Things were good. 

And on the dawn of the first day of the year, the sun bright and shiny, Bog stepped out of their grandfather’s cabin, ready for--

Two strange people standing in the powdermelon patch. And the fact that Bog had to qualify them as ‘strange’? That meant, uh…

Warily walking over, Bog lifted a hand. 

“Uh, howdy, folks! Can…I help you with something?”

One of the men–a husky, in the most generous version of the term, man who was only middle age in the sense that it’d be shocking by this point if he managed to hit 80, with deep bags beneath warm eyes and mutton chops that were considered out of fashion even when they were in fashion (regardless of which time period or place you were referencing) and wearing a suit that suggested if it hadn’t been stolen from the trash, really should have been binned at some point anyway–was squatted in the field, hefting one of the powdermelons onto his lap, staring at it in wonder. 

“Kim,” the man said, looking to his companion, “It’s blue.”

“I see that, detective,” Kim said, warily looking around the quaint, bright… farm, they had found themselves in, “Perhaps do not touch it.”

“Okay.” The detective said, notably not putting the melon down, “...it has powder on it. It’s coming off on my hands.”

“And your clothes, I’d imagine. A better reason not to touch it, until we know what it is.” 

Kim was in many ways the opposite of his companion. While stress and strife had aged him beyond his years a little, he was otherwise a lean and healthy individual, with neat, orderly dark hair, thick bifocals, and a composure and poise to his stance that suggested he was as difficult to shake as he, in fact, was. He was a little shorter than average for a man his age, a fact that was compounded somewhat by his partner being slightly taller than normal. But despite that, there was a casual sense of potential and power in his stance… one that perhaps was slightly projected, rather than sincere, an intimidating stance doing some of the work of protecting himself in difficult to live places.

Kim couldn’t help but glance over at Harry, the idle but utter concern that Harry was very close to putting some random substance in his mouth… again… banished as he noticed the approaching presence. 

Turning to the person–pink hair, bifocals like himself, tanned from the sun and with a strength in their arms that suggested recent but consistent toning–Kim placed his hands behind his back, straightening his posture more as he said, “Forgive us, we’ve intruded. It was not our intention. I am Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi, precinct 57,” he took out a badge and flashed it, before pocketing it, “This is Lieutenant double-yefreitor… officer.”

Kim only ever called Harrier ‘Officer’ when he was upset. Kim knew Harry knew this. So Harry’s startled, puppy-eyed look as he looked up, his mouth now covered in blue powder from trying–and failing–to bite into the skin of the melon, was only somewhat satisfying, though really, Kim would have preferred Harry not have done that in the first place, rather then look guilty about it now. “Please put that down. We do not know how much one of those cost. I apologize,” Kim said, looking to the farmer, “My partner has not eaten since this morning.”

Bog raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses. “Farmer Bog, at your service… Lieutenants?” They said the word a little stiltedly, trying to copy the inflection Lieutenant Kim had said it with. They had…no idea what the heck that was, or what the badge meant, or what ‘precinct 57’ meant, but all of that put together, plus the air of authority Kim had equaled a pretty decent guess of, “Uh, you guys security? From the city?”

“Ah, well, shoot,” they sighed, that guess paling a bit to information they thought was a little more important (even if they glanced at the rising morning sun to the east), “You probably wouldn’t find eating a powdermelon right off the vine that pleasant even when they are ripe, Officer. Normally I would point y’all to Gus’, but the saloon’s not gonna be open for hours.”

Looking a little bashful, Bog offered, “Don’t have a kitchen yet myself, but field snacks are better than nothing, if you’d like some? The crystal berries and winter roots you can find around the forest are fine for the picking, but I’d feel bad just asking you guys to figure things out yourself.”

Walking back towards a set of locked chests in front of the cabin, if the security guys took them up on it, Bog asked, “Did Lewis send for you? Don’t really know what he’d be hoping for, if that’s the case…”

Lewis…? Kim glanced over at Harrier, lightly nodding his head in a bid for the other man to stand up and come over. 

Harrier took the hint, thankfully. The man put down the powdermelon, straightening up and brushing off his pants–it didn’t help, there were now bright shmears of blue powder all over his hands and pants and a little on his shirt–before trotting over. His expression taking in Kim eagerly, Kim nodding towards the farmer.

Harrier straightened up, trying to look like a proper officer, before asking Bog, “Is Lewis trying to murder you?”

Kim internally sighed. Not a strong start. 

Opening up the ‘spring forest…and wood-like craft stuff’ (look, their organization method made sense to them) chest, Bog started getting out the seeds and oats needed for field snacks, though they briefly looked over their shoulder with confusion. “Wha? No.”

Washing their hands to put the food together, Bog shook their head, just to make it clear. “Lewis has never had a problem with me here--honestly, he’s happy I’m revitalizing the ol’ place. Juuuust don’t mind the southern part,” they lightly joked, the overgrown trees and weeds still something they were working on. “I’m far enough outside town I’ve never gotten a noise complaint or anything, and contacting folks from the city for a first warning is a little dramatic.”

With the nuts and seeds and just the slightest bit of honey for flavor (but mostly to stick it all together), Bog grunted as they pressed down on the molding box, forming the snacks. And, with food put together, he offered them to the lieutenants. Though not without confusion, as they asked, “Well…if Lewis didn’t send you over here then…why are you here? Don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t exactly get a lot of guests from outside the archipelago.”

Kim glanced at Harrier, trying to judge if the offered snack would work. The detective’s eyes lit up, holding out his hand and taking both offered snacks, before passing one to Kim. Kim took it, looking the bar over. It had been interesting, watching the process come together. He supposed none of the ingredients had looked suspect. Moreso, Harrier had already eaten all of his.

…okay, he didn’t die. Kim took out a handkerchief, wrapping the snack up and putting it in his pocket, nodding in thanks.

“Kim?” Harrier said, looking to Kim, “What are we doing here? I thought we were going back to my precinct?”

“We were,” Kim said, straightening his glasses, before glancing around, “...we seem to have been in an accident, is my current best guess. Concerning, since I do not know where our autocarriage is.”

“We’re not injured either,” Harrier noted, looking around as he brushed the crumbs of his snack off, “No sign of skid-marks or any other damage from a crash. Are you sure we were in an accident?”

Kim was sure, yes. He could remember… trying to swerve the steering wheel, because he had suddenly gone blind. But not truly blind, because he could see his car, and his hands, and Harrier’s frightened shock at Kim suddenly spinning the car around. The detective’s mouth wide to ask what was happening, but Kim unable to hear him, or the car, or the grinding of his own teeth, as everything outside the car was suddenly just…not… there…

And then he had woken up in his farm-patch. Harrier helping him up.

“I do believe we were in an accident, yes. Though… this does not seem like anywhere near the road we were on,” Kim admitted, looking around. It didn’t look anything like Revacho at all.

Harrier blinked, before looking to the farmer. “What is an archipelago?”

Aw yuss. Liked or neutral gifts, then. Good to keep in mind. Though Bog knew their so-called cooking couldn’t measure up even close to Gus’. Or Jodi’s. Or Caroline’s, or…well, anyone in town who actually had a kitchen to cook from. Just wait, though! Once they saved up enough money to get that renovation from Robin, everyone’s tastebuds wouldn’t know what hit ‘em!!

Puffing himself up with thoughts of a well-cooked meal, Bog tuned back into the lieutenants’ dilemma…before giving them a highly concerned look. “You were in a carriage accident? Look, even if you say you’re not injured, lemme take you to Harvey’s, okay? If you guys wandered over from the road or something…”

Bog had just turned to lead the way before something dawned on them and they gave the lieutenants a searching look. “...I feel like you wouldn’t be confused if you had a teleportation totem on hand.” The way they said that didn’t sound like hedging, though, before they looked back at Officer. “Ah, sheesh, geography’s not one of my strong suits, but it’s a collection of islands, basically.”

Giving them another searching look, Bog said slowly, “We’re in the Solar Archipelago, on the northern coast of Novis.”

Harrier nodded. “Ah, of course.”

“No, not ‘of course’,” Kim corrected him, “We cannot be on a different island. We are on Revacho. Novis, as far as I am aware, is not one of the islands nearby, or an island at all.”

Harrier nodded. “Ah, of course. So you were trying to trick us,” Harrier said, frowning at the farmer, “That’s not a nice thing to do.”

“Revacho?” Bog repeated, much in the same way they had ‘lieutenant’. Their concerned frown deepened. “Look, I’m not trying to trick anyone… But, look, if I’ve never heard of where you’re from, and you folks don’t know where this is, and you just randomly ended up in my farm?”

Bog held his arms up in a shrug, eyebrows lifting over her sunglasses. “I’m just saying, this might be some weird teleportation magic snafu.”

They looked past the powdermelon patch to the south of the farm again, almost expecting something. It wasn’t really like the Wizard visited, like…ever. And if this had just happened, magic or not, that was pretty soon to get a note in the mail. But if some strange magic had happened on the archipelago, then Rasmodius knew about it. 

Bog sighed lightly. “...you two sure you’re not injured?”

Harrier’s eyes lit up, before looking earnestly at Kim. “Kim! Magic! We’ve been magic’d!”

“I am remiss to say we’ve been ‘magic’d’ before exploring literally any other option, officer.” Kim said, “Especially when the more logical solutions are much more… urgent.”

Harrier sighed, shaking his head. “We haven’t been kidnapped, neither of us are showing any signs of recovering from not only drugs, but the kind of drugs that would have to have been in our system so long that it kept us asleep for multiple days to be moved to a different island you’ve never even heard of. And they–”

Kim raised an eyebrow, glancing at the farmer. “They?”

“Trust me, I can just feel the vibe. They aren’t lying to us about something so basic, because if they were, we could literally just go ask any of their neighbors where we are, and suddenly they’d be dealing with two very upset ‘security guards’ who are still very nearby, for no potential reward. Besides, they made us a snack! Out of ground things! I’m pretty sure if you can make food from ground things, you’ve got more on your mind than lying about island names!”

Kim blinked, staring at Harrier. “...detective, do you mean ‘plants?’” before pausing, “...have we really not mentioned ‘plants’ in the last week?”

Harrier and Kim paused, both trying to remember the last week. Plants, as a definition, had not come up, no. No one had explained the realities of plant-life to the detective. Other than trees to hang people off of, there hadn’t been a lot of plants in the frozen island–oh, that was a good point.

Kim almost winced, immediately annoyed with himself for not having noticed, but while there was still a chill in the air, there wasn’t the deep, gray snow that the island they had come from was known for. This was just… not Revacho.

“...I am no longer certain we are not injured,” Kim said, turning back to the famer, “Do you have access to a radio? I’d like to try to report to our precinct where we are.”

‘Logical solutions’, sure. If there was one thing (among many, really) that Bog had learned in the past eight months, it was that magic was just as plausible as anything else, when it came to trying to explain things. Sure, there were divine party tricks all day long in the city, but things like teleportation? Grand restoration? Bog had been surprised when they met the Junimo, but…they were just as much a part of life as anything else. 

Not that anyone else in town other than the Wizard ever talked about them, so Bog never brought it up, so…sure. ‘Logical’. 

Which were succinctly debunked by Officer, Bog leaning back on their hip, impressed by the most coherent thing the guy had said so far…followed by a real head-scratcher. And…another, which didn’t seem any easier to try and talk through than explaining what ‘plants’ were. 

Bog blinked at Kim. “...what in Iony’s name is a ‘radio’?”

“Good god, Kim!” Harrier gasped, “The amnesia is spreading! Maybe we just forgot what Novis is!? They’ve forgotten radios! Everyone is forgetting stuff!!”

“Please compose yourself, detective,” Kim said stiffly, though the ‘amnesia is spreading’ theory was looking painfully plausible in that moment, if one squinted and turned their head to the right, “We know why you have amnesia, yes? You drank yourself into brain damage. I do not believe that is a condition that ‘spreads’.”

Bog winced a little with a light chuckle. “Ooph, now there’s a rough one, though I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss the spread of rapture, Lieutenant Kim. It’s easy to get caught up in prayer once one person plunges in.”

“...” Kim straightened his back even more, some of his spine popping at the sudden tension there as he placed his arms behind his back, “Apologies, I did not quite follow your train of thought. Prayer?”

Bog raised their eyebrows again. “...oh, do you guys not worship Iony in, what did you say, Revacho?” They let out a small, sheepish noise. “Guess that makes sense, with the ‘different country’ thing.”

“Iony is…well, a god of a lot of things, but revelry and booze are big ones,” Bog explained, the routness of it all coming easier with time and distance. “A lot of people pray through imbibement, and while most folks aren’t stumbling back to their places after worship, some do. Not too uncommon to hear about folks getting too zealous and having some pretty major blackouts.”

“...” Kim looked over at Harrier.

Harrier was already sweating profusely. Like, bucketloads of sweat. Kim had finally managed to talk the detective into taking a shower the night before, after finishing the case, arguing he’d want to look somewhat decent when he got back to his coworkers; all of that work to make him smell better was deteriorating every second Kim watched him grow shinier and shinier in sweaty, terror-fueled withdrawal. A week sober had put some healthier glow back into the detective’s skin since the day Kim met him, where he was as pale as a corpse and on the verge of becoming one. Some of that healthier glow was already starting to turn white again, as Harrier looked over to Kim.

“This is going to be really bad for me,” he told Kim honestly. 

“We need a radio,” Kim said, looking back to the farmer, “Is it possible anyone lives around here who does know where to find one? And, considering our luck already, I will assume we may need a hotel as well. Could you give us directions–”

“We might not have money here,” Harrier grimly reminded Kim.

“I have some Real,” Kim said.

“Their money,” Harrier said, “We don’t know what their money is like.”

Kim did not love the fact that Harrier’s recent experience of learning what the concept of money even was was now incredibly relevant to Kim’s own life. He did not love bringing his newly, barely sober partner to what sounded like a cult formed around alcohol. He would very much like to know where his missing auto-carriage was, and get his hands on a radio, and preferably, go home before they had to figure out what sort of money Novis used.

Bog gave Officer a sympathetic look. “It might be a way to pray, but no one’s going to pressure you into drinking, especially if you have an issue with it.” Alcohol was holy, yes…but that didn’t change the fact that it could be really awful for some people. Iony’s faith was about freedom and love, not reaching an early grave. Yes, some people got blackout drunk to the point it landed them in a hospital…but that was despite a very open and informative culture around drinking, drawing lines between drinking for fun and faith, and what was poison and an escape. 

But, one thing at a time. 

“We use the copper-silver-gold system,” Bog offered helpfully before sighing a little. “Maybe describe what a radio is? That I have to ask that isn’t really reassuring, I know, but maybe I could point you two in a good direction. And we don’t have any hotels in Partinique, but Lewis should be able to set y’all up with some lodging.” 

“Oh, our coins are made of copper too, aren’t they?” Harrier asked Kim.

“Yes, but they’re all copper. Gold and silver would be impractical to carry around,” Kim explained, though mostly he was trying to think of how best to explain a radio, to someone who did not know the basics… “Detective. Please explain a radio to them.”

“Goes ‘bzzzzz’,” Harrier smiled cheerfully, “You talk into the headsets and then some usually nice older lady or polite man asks who you want to talk to, then you tell them, then they connect you to someone else with headsets, and the whole time there’s always an undercurrent of bzzzzzz.”

“Yes, more or less,” Kim said, “It works with wavelengths and receivers, antennas, that sort of thing.”

“Uh….” Running a hand through their hair, getting the short spikes to fluff up even more, it was clear that Bog was…severely out of their depth. “So…some sort of talking…machine? Then? Oh! An electronic?”

“Still no guarantees, but for something like that, I’ll point you to Robin’s.” With a decisive nod, Bog checked their watch. “Actually, I can walk you there. I have some extra lumber I’ve been meaning to bring up to her place anyway. Just lemme….”

Lifting a finger to indicate for the lieutenants to hold tight for a moment, Bog quickly searched through some chests, putting various, well…rocks and flowers into pouches at their hip, before reaching into a shed to slip on a harness that, indeed, was already loaded up with raw lumber. 

With a deep breath, Bog led the way. “Just follow me!”