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Chapter Text

11/12/2009, After School

M: do u hv prx 2day?

K: ya y

M: hw imprtnt is it

K: (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

K: fuk prx, rio cn dwi. wru

M: roof

K: omw

Makoto snaps his phone shut. It's a beautiful fall afternoon, and the red-and-gold leaves of the trees around him sway and whisper in the wind. In his headphones, a man boldly declares that "seasons change, but people don't." 

There's a little truth to that, I guess.

In the seven, eight months since he and Kotone came back to this island, most people would probably say a lot about both of them has changed. But from his perspective, it's less of a change and more of a reveal. I've always seen the little things Kotone does. I could always tell what she was feeling. Other people are finally starting to clue in to the obvious, is all. I... guess it's the same for me, too.

Speaking of his other half, she comes crashing through the door, binders spilling out of her half-open bag and hair messy from her mad dash. She catches his eye and bounces on over to him, brows furrowed with concern. Her bag gets unceremoniously lobbed somewhere on the table nearby. "Hi! You okay?"

Makoto wraps his arms around Kotone's waist and buries his face in her stomach. She jumps, because she's ticklish, but he crushes her just enough to get her to stay in place. For a while he says nothing and just enjoys her warmth. She strokes his hair and softly hums the same bouncy guitar line that he was just listening to. When he joins in with the bass, Orpheus stirs in their hearts and paints the autumn sky with their song.

After they finish the first chorus, Makoto mumbles into her shirt, "Help."

"Mm." Kotone nudges him so she can sit down and pats her lap. Makoto settles his head down and breathes. "Comfy?"

"Mm."

"Good!" She bends down to kiss the end of his nose, but he meets her halfway and catches her lips. The giggle that bubbles out of her gives Makoto the strength to go on... for probably another few hours, at least. "Pfft. Smooth, I'll give ya that. C'mon, crabstick, tell me what's up with you."

"Aigis. And Ryoji. Shouldn't have asked how bad it could get."

"...Yeesh." Kotone leans her elbows back on the table and puffs out her cheeks, blowing out a hefty sigh. "What happened now?"

"Ryoji and I were passing notes. Made plans for ramen tomorrow. He seems... dunno. Familiar. Come with me and help? My turn to pay. He won't mind."

She smiles, soft and warm and real -- the most real thing he's ever known, even now. "I'll go anywhere with you, anytime you want, Makoto. And y'know, I thought so too. Like I've met him before. Or maybe it's cuz you two kinda look like you could be related, and he just reminds me of you. He's like... a less cute version of you? Oh! Like, if you were an A, he'd be A flat."

"Mm. Maybe. Kinda felt the same about how he talks. Sorta like you, but more... forced." Makoto smiles back, then closes his eyes and exhales deeply through his nose. "Anyway. Aigis kept trying to snatch all the notes before they got to me. So Ryoji decided to pass her notes too. Something about not leaving her out."

"Sure, sure. How'd she react?"

"...She doesn't get how notes work. Started answering them out loud."

"Ah."

"Then she started asking me clarifying questions. Also out loud."

"Oh, no."

"Every note was a pickup line."

"...Ah, shit." Kotone winces. "How bad -- "

"Nothing too dirty. Just some bullshit lines about math. But it's..." Makoto sighs and runs a hand down his face. "M'tired. Haven't been able to doze off since he transferred in. And when I'm awake, I can't actually listen to Toriumi-sensei. They're too loud. Uh, sorry if my math answers haven't been great."

"Nah, s'okay! Fuuka's been helping me a little, and I am actually capable of learning by myself, believe it or not." She sticks her tongue out at him.

"Yeah, I know. Still, though. I like Ryoji a lot, but he has not made life easy. You spent any time in his blast radius?"

"Mm, bumped into him the other day when I was with Saori, but outside of that and the times I've been with you? Nah. But also, it's been, what, three days?"

"...Only three?" he groans. "Feels longer. He's somehow had the time to make date plans with every girl in my class. And two guys, I think."

She smirks. "Counting you?" 

...Oh, goddammit. Makoto grimaces and allows himself a single long-suffering sigh. "Three."

"Pfft. Well, I guess he got me, too, by proxy. Is Aigis one of the girls?"

"I have no idea. She hasn't done her usual after-class check-ins since before Ryoji got here, and she's been getting home late."

"...Huh. You're right. She hasn't checked in with me, either. Wonder what she's up to?"

As though summoned, a voice rings out over the rooftop. "Makoto-san. Kotone-san. May I... speak with you for a moment?"

They both snap their attention to the door. Aigis's head pokes out, but instead of looking right at them she's looking off to the side with a tiny frown on her face. Kotone glances down at Makoto and tilts her head. Whatcha think of this?

He responds with a slow blink. I don't wanna think about this anymore.

The part of his heart that's her flashes with fondness, even while she rolls her eyes and sighs dramatically. "Sure, Aigis. Anything to get this chatterbox to stop complaining."

"Hey."

Aigis marches up to the bench, stopping just short of them and squatting down onto her haunches. Without preamble, she states, "I believe Mochizuki Ryoji has 'fucked with my head,' as they say."

Wh -- oh, no.

"Who... taught you to say that?" manages Makoto. Kotone facepalms.

"It was Peipei! O-okay, maybe I also did, but only a little! Just a teeny bit."

He sighs and motions for Aigis to keep going.

"I do not... I don't know how, and I don't know what he has done, but he has tampered with me in some way," Aigis continues, glaring down at her hands in frustration. "He is dangerous. I... I feel it. This is impossible. I am a machine, and I cannot -- can't have feelings, but Mochizuki Ryoji makes me have them."

Kotone holds up a finger. "Okay, one: you have feelings, being a machine definitely doesn't mean you can't, that's bullshit." She puts up a second. "Two: let's try and break it down, maybe? Like, analyze the feelings."

Makoto nods from her lap. "Mm. Positive or negative?"

"I... I don't know." Aigis chews her lip and curls her arms tighter around her knees. "When he is around you, like in class, I think they're negative. I want him to get away from you. But I also want him to stay near me." She stills, as though taken off-guard by her own words. Her brow furrows and she hurriedly adds, "S-so that I can neutralize him if necessary. And I can direct him away from innocent bystanders. Yes."

Kotone leans forward, which Makoto certainly isn't going to complain about even if he's getting less oxygen. I'm not immune to girls. And she's the best one. "Ohh. Okay. Would you say you wanna be alone with him?"

"...Yes. That would be the safest option for everyone. But... when I follow him after school -- "

"Aigis, you what -- " Makoto tries to say, but the sound doesn't really make it out of Kotone's... chest.

" -- he is with other people. Girls. I think I've seen a boy, too. They are too close to him. I maintain my distance, but I... feel as though my perimeter may not be close enough."

"Hmmm. How close is close enough, then?"

Aigis hesitates and chews her lip some more. Kotone sits up straight again. Probably for the best. I guess breathing is important. "Here. I'll say a distance, and you say if it's close enough without thinking about it. Across the food court at Paulownia."

"That is my perimeter distance. No."

"Across the hallway."

"Not enough."

"Across the classroom."

"No."

"From your seat to his."

"No."

"From you to us on this bench."

"No. Wait -- What am I saying -- "

"As close as his dates."

"N-no -- wait, Kotone-san, I -- "

"Makoto and me, right now." Kotone's ferocious leer when she senses blood in the water is a truly beautiful and terrifying sight.

" I  don't -- I-I -- !!"

Makoto shrugs and rolls his head to look at Aigis. I might as well join in and see where it goes. Let's go somewhere way too far, then we can figure out how far to pull back. "In his lap. When he first got here and you tried to kill him."

"Aw, c'mon, crabstick, don't be mean -- "

"Yes!" 

...What.

Aigis gasps and slaps her hands over her mouth, then moves them to hold the sides of her head in confusion and despair. "I... I need to know why he is so familiar! He is like a -- a word 'on the tip of my tongue,' as they say, and he -- there is a pull? Like if... if I get close enough I will remember, and everything will make sense again..."

A... pull?

Makoto looks sideways up at Kotone, who's just as mute with shock. Aigis keeps talking. Apparently this admission opened the floodgates.

"He talks to me, and slides me notes with nonsense sentences on them, and I get confused, because I know he is no good but the pull becomes even stronger. I do not know why. I have already mentioned wanting to be... alone with him. And... h-he has tampered with my systems remotely, or is scrambling my sensors somehow. He has to be. I have no other explanation as to why I cannot -- I can't -- " She surges to her feet, stomps the concrete hard enough to crack it, and goddammit Kotone why'd you teach her to talk like this --

 "-- I can't stop looking at his stupid fucking lips!"

A heavy silence falls on the rooftop. Makoto blinks vacantly up at the sky, while a slack-jawed Kotone just stares at Aigis. Ten seconds go by, stretching into twenty, then thirty. But the usual suspect doesn't break the silence. Guess it's my turn. But lemme even out where the heat's going.

"So. Kotone. Was it like this for you?"

"...Whuh."

"Figuring it out after ten years."

"Oh. That." Her cheeks tinge a little pink, and she gently takes his hand while she looks down at him. "Yeah. A bit. Definitely the... pull. I, um, kinda have always felt it. Only ever gets stronger, actually. You?"

"Yeah. Same." He reaches up an arm to stroke her cheek, smiling when she leans into his touch. "About the pull, at least. Finding out was quick and simple."

"Pfft. 'Course it was. Everything is, for you."

"Finding out what, Makoto-san?" interjects Aigis. "Is this... something related to being human that I can't understand?"

"Aigis, I think you already understand it. Just don't know what it is. And we can't tell you."

"Gotta figure it out yourself," agrees Kotone. She nudges Makoto up and smirks mischievously. "I think I have a... call it a research proposal. It'll help you figure yourself out quick."

"What is it...?"

"Okay, so: pull Ryoji away from whatever he's doing and go somewhere you can be alone. Maybe... a rooftop. Like this one." Kotone stands and pulls Makoto along with her, walking him to the ledge and facing him. She drops his hand.

"...Kotone. What are you doing."

"He'll probably say something exactly like that! Now, when he does, you're gonna wanna do exactly as I do." She looks innocently up at Makoto. "Kiss me?"

"Anytime you want," he replies automatically, leaning down and putting his hands on her waist. She meets him halfway with a happy little sigh. It's a fairly normal, sweet kiss. Until she bites his lip, pulls him down by the lapels, sticks her tongue in his mouth and starts properly making out with him right in front of Aigis what the fuck Kotone oh fuck it sure.

Once she's kissed him completely stupid, Kotone lets go of him with a smack and turns to Aigis again. "And there you go! If you hate it, kick him in the balls and run, I guess. But if you like it, or you don't know... you can always expand your sample size!" She leans up and does the whole thing over again oh god wait nghh --

"Mmh... yeah. See? I learned things from science class," she snarks when she pulls away. "Side note, uh... since I'm not going to practice now, you wanna... get some exercise in, to make you feel better?"

"...Yes."

"...I comprehend, Kotone-san," Aigis says. Makoto feels a little bad about making out in front of this poor, innocent war machine, but she just seems fired up now. "I will consider this strategy. For now, I must 'put my thinking cap on,' as they say. Thank you both." She takes off running, arms streaming behind her, and the door closes with a click.

Makoto's hands slowly slide up Kotone's sides. "So. Your room or mine?"

"We can start with one before dinner and do the other for dessert," Kotone replies hungrily. He can feel her hold in a shudder when his hands settle around her waist.

On second thought... who needs a room? After about half a millisecond of thinking, Makoto concludes not us and plants his lips on Kotone's.

"Mmf!" She jumps, but enthusiastically starts kissing back. He lets her go a little early to attack her vulnerable throat, and she holds on to his hair for dear life when his hands keep wandering. "H-hey, weren't you the one that -- mmh, fuck -- said we ha-ahh-d to make it off campus to begin with? Wait, Mak -- ah!" Kotone jumps, then melts bonelessly against him and hisses, "You fucker, you know if you bite me there it makes me -- ngh -- !!"

Makoto grins and kisses the fresh bite mark. "Yeah. I do. S'why I did it. Now sit back down on the bench. Didn't get dessert at lunch."

11/13/2009, After School

The day passes pretty much without incident. Aigis is quiet and non-aggressive the whole day. Pretty much normal. She even manages to work her way through the day's history worksheet and get more than half the answers right, which gets actual cheers out of Junpei and Yukari. Makoto cracks a smile of his own, too.

It's so banal and normal that he's actually back to dozing his way through the last class. The bell rings and he starts to swim his way back to consciousness inch by inch, as is his right. If we end up needing to hurry, Kotone knows how to wake me up. Ryoji'll probably think it's funny. S'fine.

"Mochizuki Ryoji."

The room goes quiet as Aigis stands and marches past an already-growing crowd to get to the weirdly in-demand new student  "Yes, Aigis?"

"I have a... research project." She knits her brows together so tightly, Kotone would probably joke about her making a sweater. "Follow me, please."

Wh -- oh, shit.

Makoto shoots up from half-slumber and whips his phone out in a panic.

M: shes doing it. now.

K: (⁠☉⁠⁠ω☉⁠)?

K: whos doing wat

M: aigis is tkg ur advc

K: in class?!?!?!

M: theyre goin smwr idk whr

K: dam grl git it

M: kotone.

K: (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠—⁠☆

M: wat if he goes 2 far

K: thn he dsrvs w/e happens tbh

M: she has bullets

K: did i stutter

M: n warheads.

K: o. i 4gt abt those

M: if kirijo-snp finds out were *all* gna b executed

K: ...gfdi ok omw

As Makoto starts to clamber out of his seat to stop whatever is about to happen, Ryoji looks up and smiles at Aigis. "Oh! I would love to. Shall we do it over ramen with -- "

Aigis shakes her head vehemently. "No, 'fuck that'. As they say. Your full attention is necessary. Come here." She darts over, grabs Ryoji by the wrist, and yanks him out the door to a chorus of shocked gasps. Makoto takes off running, narrowly avoiding an unsteady Toriumi-sensei as she reels from the other running past.

"Aigis, what are you -- Mochizuki?! Oh, no, you again, for fuck's sake Yuki -- get back here, all of you!!"

Kotone pokes her head out of 2-E, sizes up the situation, and zips out to run right alongside Makoto. "Uh, sorry, we'll both serve detention, promise, but this is important!" she calls over her shoulder. "Makoto hold on, my stubby-ass legs -- "

Got an idea.

He slows till he's only a few paces ahead of her, bends as far down as he can while moving, and says, "Wanna see new heights again?"

"Hm? Oh! Yeah, obviously. Brace!"

He stops for just a moment. Kotone keeps moving and hops right before crashing into him, clinging to his back like one of those endangered Central American animals last week's biology lesson was about. His hands clamp onto her thighs (nice) to secure her, and he takes off on a full-tilt sprint down the hallway, to hopefully prevent an actual international incident.

Apparently, Ryoji can somehow match Aigis's speed, because she hasn't slowed down a single millimeter per second. Kotone's poor steed is panting by the time they manage to figure out where the pair went thanks to some very confused bystanders. He lets her down when they get to the dingy back-alley near Que Será Será.

She's expecting a crime scene, a crime scene in progress, or a crime scene waiting to happen. Or at least, a firearm going off, or a squabble, or yelling, or something. Her first mistake was expecting the expected, and not expecting the unexpected. But unexpectedly, the expected turns out to be the unexpected that she expected to not expect...?

Aw, man. Now I'm confused...

Anyway, it's completely silent when they round the corner and see Aigis and Ryoji, the entire width of the alleyway apart. She just stares at him, head tilted. He mirrors her tilt, eyebrow quirked in a way that's so familiar but a half step down. Makoto moves to break them up, but Kotone grabs his hand and yanks him back. "Hold on," she hisses. "For once, I'm gonna say wait and see."

"...So what's this project about?" asks Ryoji. "I'm very interested. Though, are you sure you don't want to do this over ramen? If it really does need to be us alone, then maybe some coffee? Your beauty is a little wasted on the surroundings."

Aigis scowls deeper and deeper the more he talks, then all at once her face relaxes and she turns... uhhh, contemplative? That sounds right. She mumbles something, quieter than Kotone's ever heard her speak before.

"The research question is... why."

"Hm?"

"Why do I feel so..."

"Are you alright? Have I done something to upset you?" asks Ryoji, looking legitimately worried. "I know we may have gotten off on the wrong foot."

Aigis clenches her fists at her sides. "There it is again. Your voice makes me feel a... force. It triggers a similar response to Kotone-san's." Her eyes widen. "And your face triggers a similar response to Makoto-san's." 

"Oh! Quite the flatterer! I'm honored," chuckles Ryoji. "I understand, though. I swear, my heart skips a beat whenever they're around."

Makoto's stare flick over to Kotone and he squeezes their joined hands. What?

She shakes her head. News to me. After a second, though, she waggles her eyebrows. Casanova.

He rolls his eyes and puffs his hair out of his face. Yeah, yeah. Like you're any better.

"Makoto is just so... solid. And reliable. The prettiest boy I have ever seen, too, and effortlessly impressive. Kotone... she's so light, and mischievous, but other than math she's truly genius. Bold. Gorgeous goes without saying. I hear they're both somewhat enablers, but I think that's beautiful, too. Encouraging passions to run free."

Kotone's jaw drops and clatters on the floor right next to Makoto's. For the first time ever, someone other than her other half makes her blush. Which she would feel guilty about, except he's scarlet, so.

Ryoji keeps going. Be still, my beating heart, or whatever. "But they both have such sadness behind their eyes. Even when they're having fun. Like part of them is... away. Except when I see them together." He smiles, maybe a little wry. "That's when I think they are truly happy."

What the fuck?! Next to her, she feels Makoto freeze, and the piece of her heart that's him does a somersault while hers does a backflip.

"You know, despite only knowing them for a few days... they feel so familiar. Like I've seen them loving each other for a long time. I know it's impossible, but... it feels like they're an important part of my past."

"There. That is the feeling," gasps Aigis. "All of you. You, and Kotone-san, and Makoto-san. You make me feel exactly that."

Ryoji looks down at Aigis with a soft and... almost sad look on his face. She stays doesn't flinch. "I mentioned it, when we first met. Now, I'm even more sure. You and I... I think fate brought me back to you."

"...That does not answer my research question," says Aigis. She scowls again, clearly frustrated, and her fists open and close, open and close. "I just want to understand why, even though I know you are dangerous to everyone and everything, I feel the need to..."

"You feel it too? Like... something reaching out and touching your heart, trying to pull you closer?"

Aigis goes still, like a beautiful statue, and locks onto Ryoji, blue on blue. "I don't have a heart, Mochizuki Ryoji."

"Of course you do. Everyone does." Ryoji puts a hand over his heart. "Not just the part that beats." He moves his hand to point higher up, right below his neck. Aigis gasps. "The part that feels. That's what the heart is... I think."

"...Hypothesis," Aigis says eventually. "Increased proximity will alleviate this strange pressure." She nods to herself. "Yes. Beginning experimentation. Procedure: decrease distance."

She takes one step closer. "Result... partial alleviation." She closes her eyes and swallows. When she opens them again, they're full of determination. "However... the scientific method requires multiple trials to determine the statistical significance of any result. So."

She takes one step closer. Ryoji inhales. "Okay. I'll... collaborate. 'As they say.' That's your line, right?" He grins roguishly. "It's cute. I like the way it sounds when you say it."

Kotone winces. Makoto bumps her arm in sympathy. Ryoji, you're flirting with the wrong girl and it's gonna get you killed...

He takes one step closer. Aigis nods. "Your contribution to data collection is... useful.  Continuing testing." She locks eyes with him again. "The clear and present danger you pose adds risk to this experiment. It... makes this procedure interesting."

...Did Aigis just flirt back?

They keep stepping closer, and closer, and closer. Eventually, they're almost -- just barely not -- touching. Aigis's fists, at this point, are so tight at her sides they're shaking. Ryoji murmurs, "Well, Aigis? It looks like the experiments are done. What's your conclusion?"

"No! I haven't satisfied my curi -- " Aigis snaps her mouth shut, glares, and tries again. "I have not fully done my due diligence."

"You know, I think 'due diligence' and 'curiosity' are two ways to say the same thing," he fires back. "Same with 'thorough,' and 'determined' and 'inquisitive' and 'driven.' Actually..." He leans in just a hair closer and winks. "Those are all ways that I would describe you."

"Ugh, jeez, would you cut that out?!" Aigis snaps, then blinks and visibly fights something down. "A-as... as they say. Your voice is interfering with my... it... you are -- "

Kotone has to slap her hands over her mouth so she doesn't give them away with her gasp. Where's the fucking veil when you need it, and also, why do you sound like Yukari?!

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Makoto whispers from beside her. "I thought it was just you and Junpei saying stupid shit..."

"Shut up and pay attention so I can check that I'm not hallucinating!"

Down the alleyway, Aigis breaks her normally-perfect posture with visible effort. She cocks her hip, just the tiniest fraction. Her shoulders actually slant a little bit. The bend of her arm's still way too square, and the final result is nowhere near as sassy, but... there she is. Aigis, hand on her hip, staring up at Ryoji like Yukari does to poor souls who piss her off.

"You're making it hard to think."

I... I legitimately have nothing to say. What else has Aigis picked up on?

With every passing second, it looks like Aigis gets more and more comfortable with the pose, and her body relaxes by fractions of a degree. She has a long way to go, but still. "Mochizuki Ryoji. I think a new experiment is necessary to get the missing data. There is a procedure I have stored in my memory banks, and observed directly, that typically produces the results needed."

"Oh?" Ryoji sticks his hands in his pockets and leans down oh what the fuck. 

"Why does he do your fucking 'I'm a super hot casual cool guy' pose, Makoto?!"

"I think something's about to -- wait, what."

"And what are the desired results, Aigis?" Ryoji asks, voice suddenly way deeper and rougher.

"Increased proximity," Aigis whispers, so softly it almost doesn't make it to the eavesdroppers, "and you 'shutting the fuck up.' As. They. Say."

A second goes by, then two, and then Kotone's brain kicks into overdrive. "Wait, are they gonna -- "

"Kotone, you literally said 'try this on Ryoji' and seduced me in front of her."

"C'mon, I wasn't in my right mind, I -- "

"Mm. Right. You got hit by Marin Karin. Don't remember who cast it, though. Jog my memory."

Kotone whacks his arm and hisses, "You, asshole! I was horny!" 

"...Oh."

She huffs and tries to ignore the heat rising to her cheeks. "Your head was in my lap and you're pretty, I -- it just happens, okay? I couldn't think of any other answers for her, but I didn't wanna just leave her hanging, and you were right there! How was I supposed to know she was gonna commit this hard -- oh, shit. Makoto we should probably -- "

He doesn't respond, just grabs her hand and lunges. But they're too late.

Aigis surges up, grabs Ryoji by the scarf, and snarls, "Kiss me."

"Whenever you like, Aigis," Ryoji hums back. Aigis meets his lips halfway, shudders, and throws them both forward into a wall. Ryoji yields to her, sliding one hand in her hair and the other low on her back while hers tighten in his scarf. Blonde hair curls around slender, pale fingers. When he pulls on it to shift her head and get a better angle, she groans and presses him even tighter against the brick and plaster.

Ryoji makes a broken little sound. Beside Kotone, there's a strangled "What the fuck -- " and she feels Makoto lurch. She skids to a stop so abruptly she imagines her feet making a car tire screeching noise in her attempt to keep him off the ground.

"Makoto?! Are you -- "

"You make that noise when I bite your lip."

...Oh, what the fuck.

Aigis releases Ryoji. From here, Kotone can see the red high in her cheeks, and her mussed hair dances in the breeze from her extremely overworked cooling units. "Results: hypothesis confirmed," she gasps.

"Honored to be a part of this study," pants Ryoji, fingers still toying with a lock of her hair. "I quite enjoyed it. But... w-was... was that all the data you wanted...?"

Aigis does something that looks suspiciously like heaving for breath, before swallowing and tugging Ryoji's scarf again. "I told you. The scientific method requires multiple trials to determine the statistical significance of any result."

"...I comprehend," Ryoji replies with a wink. "You have my number. Text me when it's time to work on our project again?"

"I... yes." She closes her eyes, chews on her bottom lip, and says, "However... I think I we should do one more trial now. B-before I go. J-just... just 'one for the road', as they say."

Kotone drags a catatonic Makoto out of the alleyway and walks both of them to Ogikubo to... contemplate life. Because what the fuck.

11/13/2009, Evening

It's late when Aigis gets home. Really late. Almost past their Tartarus call time. Makoto and Kotone are the first ones down, like always, and run into her gently closing the door with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Uh. Hey, Aigis! Thought you weren't gonna make it tonight. Kirijo-senpai almost called a search party earlier," says Kotone. No one else would be able to hear the fizzy undertone of nervousness in her voice, but Makoto can.

"You okay?" Makoto asks, before he starts lying his fucking ass off. "Haven't seen you since school let out. You took off pretty quick with Ryoji. Something happen?"

"No, nothing in particular," their friend chirps back. "I simply needed to ask him some questions. I judged it would be easiest to do that by removing him from the crowd. That way, no one would be in danger anymore."

"Sure, sure. Makes sense," nods Kotone sagely. "So what was the project on? Uh, did they assign something and I missed it? Shit..."

"...If they did, I slept through it and missed it too." 

"It wasn't anything major. Just... a survey for extra credit."

"...Mm. Where'd you go?"

"After we left the school grounds, I took him to the food court at Paulownia and asked him the survey questions. We parted ways, since he said he had plans. I then went to Bookworms to complete my research. I was waylaid by a stray cat on the way home, so I followed it. I apologize for my tardiness, it led me to very new places," says Aigis, measured and smooth. Way smoother than usual. Because she's started lying her fucking ass off.

...I guess that's another new thing she's picked up, then.

Kotone sharply bumps Makoto's elbow while smiling at Aigis. "Oh, gotcha! Wow, busy day. Well, at least you made it just in time. Go get ready, 'kay? We'll head out soon as you're done," she says, tone light and easy, and full of ice and steel underneath.

"Understood!" Aigis nods and gently pushes past them up the stairs.

Makoto turns to his other half. She crosses her arms and glares at him until he sighs. "Okay, it's one strike for me versus, like, eight for you."

"She learned how to lie exactly like you. Which means she can fool anyone except us. That's so much worse than anything she picked up from me!"

"Lockpicking."

"Not as bad!"

Makoto sighs again. I hope Kotone likes gray hair, because that's what's gonna happen to me if this keeps going at this rate. "Anyway. Question is, what was she really doing the whole evening, then?"

They don't find out. But she starts staying out late every night. While she never stops scowling at, berating, or otherwise threatening Ryoji... she doesn't do it as often. A couple times, Makoto swears he sees her bump Ryoji with her arm when she passes him by.

11/17/2009, Evening

The train ride to Kyoto goes surprisingly well. Kotone and Makoto trade off whose MP3 player they listen to so they can save battery, Junpei distracts Yukari as much as he can, Ryoji is genuinely lovely to be around, and Aigis... stays mostly quiet. She even cracks a smile or two at Junpei's jokes, and joins in on the physical comedy once or twice. The peace starts to get a little disturbed when they arrive and have to go to their separate rooms.

Kotone leans up to give Makoto a quick kiss and punch his arm. "See ya in a little bit, crabstick."

"Mm. Oh, if you see a vending machine -- "

"Yeah, yeah, I know, she asked us both..."

Makoto smiles. "Was just gonna say we should play the game again. The 'shitty soda showdown' one you made up."

Wh -- it's been years since I've even thought about that game! "Wait, you remember it?!"

"Yeah." He leans down and whispers, just loud enough for her to hear, "It was something that made you smile. 'Course I remembered it."

...Goddammit, Makoto, you're gonna make me cry in front of everyone! Her hand manages to muffle the gasp, but she can't do shit about the blushing. "I love you so much, oh my god. I need to step up my game."

He snorts and gives her another kiss, then gently nudges her over to where the rest of the girls are gathering. "Nah. Don't need to change a thing. But if you really wanna do something, start with the sodas?"

Kotone grins. I can't even be mad about getting Max Charmed. "Okay. Catch ya in a bit, then!"

She bounces over to everyone else, spirits high and excited to throw money at a vending machine. And then Junpei appears next to her. "Uh, Peipei?"

"Yeah, Makoto. Catch ya in a bit!" drawls Junpei in a high-pitched imitation of her. He waggles his eyebrows and snorts at her scowl as they both walk to the other girls. Wait, why are you walking with me --

Aigis brushes past them both with a stiff wave and a casual glance over the shoulder. "Yes. I will 'catch ya later, Kotone-san', As they say." She turns her head to stare straight at Ryoji, hardly even looking Makoto's way. Ryoji smiles back at her.

Wait, what? What happened to highest priorities or whatever?!

A few paces away, Yukari snaps. The bright red card over her head spins so fast it blurs, and she stomps her foot. When Kotone catches her eye, she...

Brown like always, but... dull, hollow, blank. Weighed down. Veiled. Shuttered. Empty.

Her eyes aren't... real, anymore. Like Makoto's, before. The... the dead ones. God dammit. How the fuck do I fix this, Igor?

"Enough of this! Aigis, you're with us. Kotone, you too. Junpei -- get away. You have your own room. Let's go."

"Maaaaan," sighs Junpei. When he actually gets a look at Yukari's expression, though, he sobers up. "Uh. I mean... sure. Sorry, Yukari. Aigis, c'mon."

"Maaaan," parrots Aigis. She turns to walk away, but she looks at Ryoji over her shoulder until she can't anymore.

Yukari shakes herself free of whatever that was a few minutes later, but Kotone does all her soda gathering in secret, just in case.

11/18/2009, Early Morning

The last soda Makoto and Kotone tried last night was so rancid and awful that the aftertaste wakes him up early. He rolls off his futon before sunrise and rushes to the bathroom with a toothbrush in desperation. Tomato juice should not be carbonated under any circumstances. Ugh. If the Dark Hour existed out here, it might legitimately have instant-killed us. Or done at least as much damage as a Megidolaon.

He smirks at his reflection. That said, I still won. But she said it was a victory for her, too, since I tasted better than the damn soda and she likes doing it anyway. Plus, I returned the favor. So. Guess the sodas were kind of just pretense.

The door opens and Makoto flips the switch, wiping the smugness off his face and replacing it with blank neutrality. Ryoji pushes through the door, fully dressed, hair a mess, and yawning.

Fully dressed? What? Wait. He wasn't in the room when I got back from seeing Kotone, or when I ran out.

"Oh! Morning, Makoto. You're up early."

Makoto finishes brushing his teeth and replies, "So are you. How long've you been up?"

"Oh, you know." Ryoji yawns again and wipes a hand down his face. "Difficult to sleep sometimes when you're in a new place, no?"

"Honestly? No. I can sleep anywhere," Makoto deadpans back. "Guessing you stayed up all night."

"Mm, of course. That explains all the sleeping in class," the other boy chuckles. He pulls his scarf tighter around his neck. "Yes, I did. Just walking around, enjoying the scenery. Nothing some coffee and good company can't fix, though."

"...Right." Something's off. That smile... s'like if you drew Kotone's smile with a pen and smudged it. Just a bit off. "See anything you like?"

"Oh, yes. This place is beautiful at night. Especially down by the river." Ryoji grins and winks at Makoto, and it once again feels so familiar but just off. Is this what Aigis was talking about? "It's a shame it was a new moon. But it isn't all bad, honestly. Sometimes, you need to see something in the dark to truly appreciate everything about it. There's something to be said about the mystery darkness adds. And... it makes you appreciate the little lights you never see."

What the fuck are you talking about?

Makoto stills for a second, then shrugs and heads back to the room. Over his shoulder, he says, "Lemme get dressed. I need coffee, too."

And to ask Kotone where the hell Aigis was last night.

M: gm

M: <3

K: awww gm 2 u 2 (⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠³⁠˘⁠)⁠♥

K: soooo tired

K: u wore me out tho so i slept rly gud (〃ﾟ⁠◠ ⁠ω◠ ⁠〃ﾟ⁠) ⁠~⁠♪

K: losing was worth tbh

K: ...but also fu my jaw hurts rofl

M: (///⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)

M: u 2

M: nice view both ways

K: ⁄⁠(⁠⁄⁠ ⁠⁄⁠•⁠⁄⁠-⁠⁄⁠•⁠⁄⁠ ⁠⁄⁠)⁠⁄

M: cute

M: ne1 notice u were gone?

K: uhh

K: ngl idk

K: u ltrly ko'd me, i ws out soon as my hed hit th pilo

K: rly hope no1 hrd me opng th door

K: (⁠*⁠﹏⁠*⁠;⁠)

M: (///⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)

K: stfuuuuu

M: no u

M: ne way. can u ask aigis if shes seen the rvr?

M: lmk wat she sez

K: uh, kk!!

K: g2g gt rdy,  ilu <3

M: ilu2

M: <3

M: ...pls nvr lt junpei see our msgs

K: i wud rathr die omg

11/18/2009, Morning

"Hey, Aigis!"

Her friend turns around with a pleasant, neutral smile. "Good morning, Kotone-san. Did you sleep well?"

...Wait. Did you not see me? "U-uh, y'know, fine. Once my head hits the pillow, bwomp, I'm out."

"I comprehend. 'Out like a light,' as they say." Aigis tilts her head and closes her eyes, like a pleased little white cat. Aww. "I'm glad you got a full night of sleep."

...Oh shit, you didn't see me. Which means you weren't in the room last night, because no way were my wobbly-ass legs quiet enough to fool you."Mhm! How about you?"

"I find it difficult to adequately shut down and perform maintenance outside of my pod. Too many potential threats. I left the room shortly after everyone went to bed and patrolled the perimeter, and returned shortly before everyone started to wake up."

Which means you left right after me, and you were out all night. "Well, thanks for keeping us safe, then," Kotone winks, nudging Aigis with her shoulder and pulling her along. "C'mon, we've got a lotta sightseeing and fooling around to do today and I'm starving! I hear we're going to the river later, hope it isn't boring compared to the rest of it. Maybe I'll push Peipei in to spice things up!"

"The river is... beautiful. Especially in the dark," says Aigis quietly. "It's strange, that the absence of something makes things look so different, even with night vision. In the bright light of the sun, the river is more... known. You know its depth. You know the places you shouldn't step, so you don't fall in. But in darkness, all of your knowledge goes 'out the window', as they say. It seems so much deeper. Like it's hiding something, and you have to know what it is. And it calls you to find out, to fall in. You know you shouldn't, but... you just can't stay away."

She puffs out air and twitches her shoulders and it almost looks like she's laughing, for a second. "Or so they say. I've never seen it, and it was outside of my operational perimeter last night. Maybe I can confirm this later today." Oh, shit, there it is! Makoto's lying voice and look. Uhh... what does this mean, though?"

While everyone shambles for the coffee and looks for food, Kotone pulls out her phone to report back.

K: she sed smth abt the rvr bng beautiful wn its drk 

K: n fallin in

K: n then she lied abt nvr seeing th rvr. p sure she went there last nite on ptrl

K: wtfs tht abt 

M: ...shit.

M: askd u bc ryoji ws out all nite n sed th rvr ws beautiful @ nite n prft 4 a "midnite rdv"

M: he hung out thr all nite. sed smth abt drknss n mystery n lil lites

K: ... ur fkn kdng me

M: nope. 

K: uh

K: shd we do smth?????

K: o w8 icu!! mkg my way dwntwn wlkng fast faces pass n im homebound ─=≡Σ(っ≧ω≦)っ

M: (///⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)/⁠♪⁠♪

M: shit junpei ws lkg ov my shldr

Bystanders hear a phone snapping shut and a muffled curse. Then, they hear a loud jeer of "AWWW YOU WUV HERRRRR, I KNEW YOU WERE A SOFTY YA WIDDLE -- " 

They don't hear what, exactly, Makoto is a widdle version of. What they do hear is him shouting, louder than anyone's ever heard him without a microphone, "Personal fucking space, Junpei, for fuck's sake -- " while Kotone barrels fist-first into Junpei's exaggerated kissy-face.

11/19/2009, Evening

When Aigis heads straight towards them in the hot spring, Makoto just sags in the water and sighs. Kotone will understand just looking at my face, but none of the others will, especially not Mitsuru.

Calling her by name is weird. Eh. I don't care, m'fucked no matter what name we call her...

"Makoto! Do something!!" whisper-screams Junpei. "She's, like, your bodyguard or whatever, get her to go away!"

"Junpei... we're doomed." Akihiko -- also weird -- clenches his fist and hangs his head in defeat. "Too late to run. It... it was an honor fighting with you."

"Surely it can't be that bad, right?" asks Ryoji innocently. "I mean, all she can do is warn us, confine us in the room, and take some privileges away, right? And Kotone's the one that said permission and privileges are just ropes made for jumping."

Makoto facepalms while the others gape openly, so shocked at the audacity of that statement they're frozen in place. Like Mitsuru's already trapped them in a glacial throne. Goddammit, Kotone, everyone's catching your bad habits.

"Ryoji. Kotone's a complete delinquent. Don't follow her example."

All he gets back is a wink. "I hear people like the bad boys and girls. You certainly do, don't you?"

Despite the dire situation, Junpei still finds time to snort at Makoto's blushing and spluttering. That is, until Aigis surfaces like a shark breaking the surface of the water. Everyone goes silent, waiting for her to arm her guns and alert the girls they've been betrayed. Unknowingly, but no one but Kotone's gonna care.

"Aigis! Did you find anything that way?" shouts Yukari. "Kotone, why aren't you -- "

"Meh. I got a feeling it's fine. No need to get crabby. "

Makoto feels a brief flicker of amusement in the part of him that's Kotone, and he smirks in reply. Thanks for the save. I hope.

"...I don't understand you at all, Shio -- K-Kotone. Apologies."

"I still feel something around here..."

"Aigis?"

Aigis looks at each of them in turn and opens her mouth. Makoto braces for impact and closes his eyes. But things don't go the way he expects.

"Negative. They aren't here," she calls out, not breaking eye contact with Ryoji. Her face is conflicted, and confused, and she looks like she's having a really hard time staying still. Maybe slightly leaning forward, even. "I will continue to search, but this side is clear."

Still staring at Ryoji, she points out a path to the back exit. "Go that way. Quickly." Junpei and Akihiko don't need to be told twice and tread quietly as they can, but Makoto swims backwards to get as much intel as possible.

"Hello, Aigis."

"...Hello, Ryoji. I should turn you in."

"Oh, for sure. But you won't."

Aigis scowls and turns away. "This doesn't change anything. You are still no good."

"Mm." Ryoji leans an arm against the big rock hiding them all. He smiles and asks quietly, "I'm no good. And you like it, Aigis. Any progress on finding out why, by chance?"

"I... I haven't collected enough data yet," she replies. Her hands are doing that open-shut thing again. At least the guns aren't arming...

"Hah. Thorough and relentless as ever. I love that about you." Ryoji takes a step closer to her back, and another one as Aigis coils like a spring. "Then shall we run some more trials tonight, same time and place?" 

What the fuck is happening right now.

Makoto's almost out of earshot, and he has to strain to hear what happens next. The visual, though, is stupidly clear.

"...Fuck you."

Aigis whips herself around, grabs Ryoji by the throat, and pulls him down for the angriest kiss Makoto's ever seen. That noise comes out of Ryoji again, the stolen one from Kotone, but he rallies and surges against her a second later. When she's had her fill, she shoves him away and wipes her mouth off on the back of her hand.

"Same time and place. Now get out."

"Roger that," drawls Ryoji, and then he swims away.

The boys make it out scot-free. As soon as Makoto has access to his phone again, he flips it open, allows himself exactly five seconds to stare at his new background (the two of them kissing under orange leaves looking out over a beautiful view) with a dopey smile, texts Kotone the dire and baffling news, and waits.

M: i thnk aigis n ryoji r h8fkng

K: sjjsbfkslak:?9(3947????????

K: i thnk IM gna hv a fkn HRT ATK

K: wat do we do?

M: atp? idk if theres ne thng we CAN do.

M: que sera sera

K: w8 r we snkg into a bar wn we get bk?? 

K: (⁠´⁠⊙⁠ω⁠⊙⁠`⁠)⁠！

M: i mnt th saying th bar ws nmd aftr bt sure, ytf not. 

M: ...th fact tht i thnk it sounds fun is ur fault

M: gna blm ur bad inflnc 4 the aigis ryoji thing 2

M: (///ー⁠｀⁠)

K: cmon is not js me!!!!!!

K: n u lik me bad, b honest

K: i stl rmb th lk on ur face the 1st tm i pkd a lock in frnt of u

M: ...u have a pt

K: (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠—⁠☆

K: ok so lik

K: ig we dnt hv 2 deal w those 2 rt away

K: we got tm

K: soooo... wen r we gna do sm gud ol fshnd trspssng?

M: sigh. guess we dnt

M: n anytime u want, u fkn delinquent

K: u stl luv meeeeeeee

M: ...<3

K: hehehehe. <3

11/23/2009, Afternoon

"Uh, you sure this is a good idea?" asks Kotone, munching on her extra-large order of fries. That is definitely hers. The fact that they're on her boyfriend's tray is completely irrelevant.

"Got a better one?" Makoto slouches back in his seat and coolly sips his drink. "This is the best shot we have. Aigis keeps lying to us when we ask, and he takes her cue." He smirks sidelong at her. "Wonder who that reminds me of."

"Hah! Maybe. No one does it like us, though. We're the worst."

"So people keep telling me."

"Aw, why do I get left out?"

"You'd take it as a challenge to outdo whatever our last stunt was."

"Mm, true. Pass the ketchup?"

Ryoji walks in, sits down, and takes a fry out of her fingers mid-dip. "Hello, hello. Wow, service here is pretty great. They even dip the fries for you!"

Oh, that's too fucking far.

Kotone feels the familiar battle-chill descend on her, senses sharpening like a jagged blade of ice and cold fury surging through her veins. "You did not just do that, Mochizuki."

"Woah, woah. Let's not," interjects Makoto. "C'mon, Kotone, you've done the same to me. Also, why the fuck would you do that, Ryoji?"

"Yeah, but, like, we kiss. And I've got history with you!"

"Oh. I... I'm sorry." Ryoji's whole body droops, even his stupid sticky-outie hair. "I... forget, sometimes, that I'm not actually as familiar with you two as I feel. Let me buy you a new order, Kotone."

"...You get to live for the next hour, at least," sighs Kotone. Still pissed at you, though. Fucker. "Make it an extra-large." Ryoji nods wryly and moves to get up, but she's seized by a fit of pique. 

Y'know what, if he wants to copy us so bad, then fine. Let's see, what'd work on Makoto...

Hah! Got it. Now, wait for him be juuuuust up enough to miss the seat if he falls, and... now!

"Hey, before you go. Are you fucking Aigis, or are you just fucking around with Aigis? I'm probably gonna kill you either way, but I wanna know what to write as the cause of death on the certificate thingy."

She snickers as Ryoji gets cut down at the knees, stumbling and slamming his tailbone first against the rim of the seat and then the floor. Tragically, her poor crabstick was halfway through a sip of their drink and becomes an unfortunate casualty, spraying sticky-sweet soda all over the booth and aspirating (Hah! Take that, vocab test!) even more of it. 

"Oops. Sorry, Makoto."

"Ghhk -- ack -- hckh -- s'okay -- fucking shit, Kotone -- "

"Oww..."

"Mmmmm, duck fat. 'Kay. Explain what you're doing to our poor, innocent war machine before I finish these fries."

"Uh..." Ryoji scratches the back of his head and laughs nervously. "Well, it's... kind of complicated."

"Uncomplicate it," mumbles Makoto, halfway through his fifth burger.

"I'm... I'm trying to get to know her more. She reminds me of something, someone, in my past. It... I have memory problems," Ryoji says softly. "Really, really terrible ones. Sometimes what I did even five minutes ago gets blurry. But when I'm near her, things seem so much clearer. I haven't forgotten a single thing I've said or done where Aigis was around."

Hmm. That is familiar.

He chuckles. "That's how I knew she'd been following me. I'd been waiting for her to come to me, when she finally asked me for help with her research."

"Right." Makoto swallows and puffs his bangs out of his face. Swoon. God, he's pretty.

No, wait, focus, I'm supposed to be the bad -- aw, but I don't wanna be a cop...

"Who runs the experiments?"

"Aigis," Ryoji replies, but his attention's clearly directed between them. Kotone doesn't see anything but her shoulder touching Makoto's, though. "She decides when to start and stop. Always. It's her project. I'm just a... very willing participant."

"Whussa prjctmmh -- gkh -- ?" Kotone flails around until she can grab Makoto's soda and clear the blockage in her throat. Once she can breathe, she tries again. "What's the project?"

"...Are you okay?"

"I'm halfway through these fries."

"Oh, shit. U-um..." He tugs at his collar, sighs, and says, "Memories. She thinks we know each other, too. Her idea to jog our memories was to, uh... get close."

Yeah, he's telling the truth so far. She presses her knee against Makoto's under the table and hands him a fry as payment for the soda. "Alright, so -- "

"Like that."

"...Huh?"

"Touching. Being... near one another." Ryoji sighs. "That's the project. We... Aigis thinks the world of you two, you know. That's why she works so hard to protect you. You're kind of her, I dunno, foundation, I guess. She wants to be like you."

He looks at Kotone, soft and sad, and she'd be lying if it didn't melt her a tiny bit because for a second he looks just like Makoto, making that help me face but not funny. "She wants to be bold, and bright, and full of laughter, and inspiring and beautiful and brave." He turns eyes so full of adulation and longing that she has to do a double take. "She wants to be calm, and collected, and supportive and thoughtful and cool."

While Kotone and her boyfriend try to be less like tomatoes, Ryoji quietly takes a few tiny runt-fries from the bottom of her tray. She's too off-balance to care. "Aigis admires all of your friend group. It's why she's picked up so many things from you all. I'm happy to help her grow into those things, to feel more natural."

...I don't buy it. You're hiding something.

Makoto agrees. She doesn't even have to bump him before he replies, "Then what's in it for you?"

"Oh, that's easy, of course." Ryoji chuckles, but there's no humor in it. He leans back, pops the last bit of fry in his mouth, and says, "Aigis is... I get that this is going to sound awful, but let me finish. At first, it was because I knew I could never even dream of coming between you two, and I was happy to have anything that could even come close. At first."

Makoto beats Kotone to her feet for once, absolutely furious. "Ryoji."

Putting aside that you're, like, in love with both of us... oh, I'm gonna turn you into paste. Mochizuki mochi. Kotone rolls up her sleeves. "So. Fucking around."

"Makoto, no, please let me finish. I know, it sounds awful. But I would never hurt her like that. Wouldn't've kept seeing her, if that was all it was. But as soon as we finished that first experiment, I realized that the pull I feel to Aigis is real, and it's so different from the one I feel to you. Because she is her own unique, beautiful person."

Ryoji smiles down at the table. "Just a few feathers shy of being an angel, honestly. She's already just as wonderful as you two are, she just has no idea. I wanted to... show her that. And enjoy as much time with her as I can get." He presses his hands, palms-up, into the wood. His weirdly blue eyes -- I don't think he's American, though, why does everyone just assume blue-eyed people are American and blondes are European? -- flash, almost like Makoto's when Thanatos comes out to play.

"Do you... do you ever feel like the world is just hollow and fake and blurry, until you see something -- or, someone -- that reminds you it's full, and true, and clear, and that it's something real, and you know it here, and here, and here?" Ryoji touches his head, heart, and below his neck in sequence. "Like... like that someone is a piece of you, one that you need to feel really alive?"

Makoto rocks back like Ryoji reached over the table and punched him in the gut. Kotone's jaw hits the floor again. It keeps happening. How the fuck did you...

"...Yes," they both say eventually. Ryoji closes his eyes.

"I thought so. I can feel your bond, you know. Everyone gets it, on some level. Something happened to you a long, long time ago that brought you together. I... Aigis and I think we're the same. We just... can't remember it. So, we're trying to find a way. And then we'll take it from there."

He stands rifles through his pockets, and pulls out a handful of money, but stops for a second. His relaxed posture and head tilt read so much like Makoto, but the bright cheeriness covering something up is all her.

"I said earlier that Aigis wants to be like you. And she does. But more importantly... she wants what you have. And so do I. At the end of the day, that's why we're doing this."

"Wh -- what the fuck do you mean, she wants what we have?!" splutters Kotone.

"...Love, of course."

WHAT.

"Aigis and I want to be wanted. Remembered. Known. To touch someone that fills our empty spaces with love, and makes even the darkest parts of us warm. Like you do, for each other. I... maybe I can give that to her. Maybe she'll be kind enough to do the same. But 'only time will tell,' as they say."

Ryoji pushes the cash to Kotone and winks. "Anyway, dessert is on me, you two. I'll let you get back to your date!"

Makoto and Kotone sit in dumbfounded silence for long minutes after the door shuts behind Ryoji. Long enough that the employees start to stare at them from behind the counter. Eventually, right before they get kicked out, Kotone stirs.

"...He finished my fuckin' fries, too."

"...Mm."