Connection

[madimpossibledreamer]

I might write another chapter along these lines, but if not, know that this is a conversation that happens: Student council president being jealous “on behalf of her friend”, but immediately calming down when he explains she’s like a sister.

Main Points:
Death Mark/Shiin
Chapter Summary: Yashiki is surprised by what happens when he wakes up in the infirmary.
Word Count: 700
Rating: Teen
Spoilers: Major spoilers for the first and minor spoilers for the second game.

 

        “I hate to wake you when you look like you’re finally getting good sleep, but get up, Yashiki-san.”
        Yashiki frowns. He’s comfortable and doesn’t want to move, but something’s wrong. He doesn’t really want to think through the warm comfort, but—Saya wouldn’t call him Yashiki, would she?
        “Don’t make me ask again,” she warns, voice sharp and not teasing, and—wait, Saya’s dead, isn’t she?
        He sits up abruptly, blinking, but—ah, he’s not wearing his glasses. He won’t see much without them.
        “Here.” Someone—Sakamoto-san?—hands him his glasses, and he puts them on. Much better. They help clear up everything visually, at least. Physical glasses, he realizes, can’t help him make sense of this situation at all.
        “It looks like the sleep did you some good. I brought bento. You had better eat it all. I don’t want to have wasted money on you.” His stomach growls despite himself, but he hesitates. This...doesn’t seem normal. She’s not...possessed, is she? He has to be somewhat cautious.
        “Thank you for the food?” It comes out as more of a question than intended, but he’s still a little groggy.
        She sighs. “Consider it my apology. I’m not particularly good with saying such things out loud, and, well, you’re depressed, aren’t you? How long ago did Saya-chan die?”
        He squints at her suspiciously. Could she be The Departed?
        “You called me by her name as I was trying to wake you up.” That’s...plausible enough, but he’s tired enough that he doesn’t remember if he had or not. She sees him staring at her and crosses her arms. “You don’t have a monopoly on those you love dying, you know.” Oh. That, he supposes, he can understand; he’d hoped, after he’d lost his memory, that the grief and loss that overshadowed most of his experiences were an exception, but once he’d gotten his memories back he’d found he was unfortunately even more familiar with them.
        “I’m sorry.” It’s still maybe a ruse, but the emotion and facts are real.
        “And I feel for your loss, as well. Though I suspect grief is not helping you complete this job any sooner. Answer me this: are you at least considering the possibility it’s not the supernatural?” She still doesn’t believe, but she’s not as hostile as before, which is something. Even if, to some extent, he does deserve her wrath, because children are dead.
        “...I...did, to begin with.” It’s oddly easy to admit this to her, perhaps because they’ve been so open, now. “I took the case because I thought it probably was a prank, so it’d be easy to put everyone’s minds at ease and no one else would die, but...the evidence says otherwise.” Evidence she wouldn’t trust, but important nonetheless.
        “Hmm.” She doesn’t respond outright to that one, focusing on the bento, so Yashiki copies her example. His stomach’s still a little unsettled, so he has to take it slow, but it’s still good. He’s pretty sure he’s never mentioned that he likes tonkatsu.
        “Did you make this?” Saya would, although she would often buy pre-made salads and the like, rather than cutting much herself.
        She snorts and shakes her head. “You think I can cook? I’m flattered, but the point of this was to make you look more like an upstanding teacher, not make you sicker.” It sounds like she’s actually exaggerating slightly, which is a surprise; he wasn’t sure she even had a sense of humor. That, or she’s poking fun at him. That’s much more in character.
        “I can’t blame you. I’m not much of a cook myself.” He’d done it—grudgingly—when overseas, but even then he hadn’t tried too much. The simpler the better, when he hates every second of it.
        “You’re a man. You’re not expected to be skilled in that area.” She honestly sounds a little bitter about the subject.
        “Huh?” True, if she’s single, it’d be more useful if she could, but...surely it’s no one else’s business?
        Sakamoto-san stares at him, expression unreadable, before turning back to the bento. “You really are clueless, aren’t you.”
        That wasn’t a question, and doesn’t help with his confusion. It doesn’t seem like she’s going to elaborate further.