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Kotone Shiomi listened to the sound of the snares tapping. Although she maintained her calm exterior, inside her heart was pounding in anticipation. Did she make the right choice? Even though the mechanical voice said there was no right or wrong answer, she still wasn’t sure if she went down the right path. What if she chose someone totally different? What if it was someone that didn’t like her? What if--
Then all of a sudden, spotlights were shone upon herself and Akihiko Sanada.
“What’s this spotlight about…?” The silver-haired boxer said, unfazed. Kotone could feel a blush creeping up on her face and her heart started to pound. Her destined partner was her senpai she had developed a crush on…?!
“Oh! This means I’ve won, right?!” Akihiko exclaimed, beaming for some reason. Kotone could easily imagine Shinjiro smacking his forehand in the background.
Before either of them could say anything else, the ground gave way and both Gekkoukan students fell through a trap door.
“Whoa!”
"Kyah!"
Everyone else reacted with shock as they all ran over to the gaping hole. Yukari and Chie peered into it, but it appeared that there was an endless pit.
"Wh-where did Kotone-chan and Senpai go?!" Yukari asked out of panic.
"Oh man, this is bad!" Chie chimed in.
"Calm down everyone," Mitsuru spoke up. "Let's have Yamagishi and Kujikawa search for them. In the meantime, Ueno should take the lead until we have found them."
Megumi blinked a bit and then nodded. "Y-yeah! Leave it to me!" As the gray-haired girl motioned the group ahead, she couldn't help but slightly grin. She wasn't too surprised of her new friend's choice.
~*~
Group Date Cafe, The Big Day ...
“Ugh… that hurt…”
Kotone grumbled a bit as she stood up. As she was looking up at the sky, she immediately noticed Akihiko right next to her and he was a little too close for comfort.
“Ngh… How dare they do this to the winner…” The boxer said, annoyed about being caught off guard like that. Then he noticed the SEES leader right next to him. “You okay?”
“Uhm, yeah.” Kotone said. She can feel her cheeks heating up again.
“..... What did I win?” Akihiko pondered. As he tried to cross his arms, he noticed his right hand was latched onto Kotone’s left. “..... What the… Kotone, what’re you doing?”
Kotone was starting to get flustered and tried to yank her hand away, only to fail of letting go her senpai’s hand. “I can’t let go…!”
“It seems that you have reached your destination.”
The mechanical voice returned and was enough to startle Kotone. Akihiko just stood his ground. “That voice again…”
“This seems to be a path where lovers who met their destined partners discuss their love for each other. What could be waiting up ahead…?”
Kotone mentally slumped in embarrassment. She didn’t know what was worse: this situation right now, or that time that she and Akihiko were in that hotel room during a Full Moon Operation.
“You are free to step forth hand-in-hand, curiosity and fear in your hearts, or you can refrain.”
“Sheesh, all this about destined partners and lovers… It doesn’t make any sense.” Akihiko said. Kotone then felt her stomach sink. While it was true that they didn’t really see eye-to-eye at the beginning, she did learn about him better over time. But if there was one thing to describe him, it was that he was very focused on training himself to become stronger. He didn’t seem to be the kind of guy who wanted to be in a relationship.
“Well, fine. At least he’s giving us the choice whether or not to move forward.” He concluded. “Let’s remain calm and decide what to--”
“You are free to step forth, or refrain from doing so. These are your apparent options.” The voice spoke. “Now, step forth!” It then fell silent…
“.... That’s not a choice.” Akihiko said, slightly irritated. Kotone shifted her weight on her foot to the other. Her hand was getting sweaty from holding his hand. She’d probably enjoy it a little if he was more aware of why she’s blushing so much. He was, in Shinjiro's words, a dumbass. Kotone didn’t want to believe Shinji’s cold words about his own friend, but she understood why. Her senpai was really that clueless when it comes to the matters of the heart. Or was he? She really wasn’t sure.
Akihiko sighed. “Well then, we’ll just have to go forward…” He said as he looked down on the brunette, whose gaze was fixed on the ground. “Kotone? Are you sure you’re okay?”
Kotone’s throat felt dry as she could only nod at that second. “I-I’m fine, Senpai.” She shook her head to clear her mind a bit. Now was not a good time to mull over something like this. Their friends and comrades were nowhere to be seen and if Shadows or FOEs jumped on them, it would be an uphill battle. “Although, if we do go forward, it could be a trap…”
“There’s no ‘could be’,” Akihiko bluntly said. “It’s definitely a trap and we’re alone right now. We’d better be very careful.”
/We./ Kotone couldn’t help but smile slightly. Despite the context of his words, she couldn't help but take in a small amount of comfort.
“... But don’t worry. Whatever Shadow shows up, I’ll knock ‘em flat.” Akihiko nodded with confidence. “I’m still your senpai after all.”
Kotone’s smile grew bigger as she nodded. The boxer mainly focused on training to better himself, but there was one thing that made him stand out to her. It was that he was protective of those that were close to him. As their bond grew over time, she could feel his protective nature, even when it became overbearing at some points. She knew that as long as she was with him, she would be safe. And she was more than willing to return the favor.
“Alright, are you ready? Don’t let your guard down.” Akihiko said as he waited for the SEES leader to move first. With one deep breath, Kotone started to walk forward and he kept pace. She couldn’t help but look up at him, who only appeared to be calm and focused.
But that facade wouldn’t last long as the mechanical voice spoke up once again.
“Suddenly, all in attendance hear an announcement.”
“Again…? What is it this time?” Akihiko looked annoyed.
“... What attendance? I don’t see anyone.” Kotone said, looking around for possible signs that Megumi and everyone else was somewhere nearby. However, the place was still empty, save for her and her senpai.
“Up ahead, they see a bride and groom’s joyous commemorative photograph of love. They confer between whether to look at it, or ignore it.”
“... What?” Kotone blinked in confusion.
“... We probably don’t get a choice anyway,” Akihiko said. “I don’t know what it is, but let’s hurry up and look at it so we can be on our way.”
Kotone nodded slowly and together with the boxer, she looked at the picture with him. It was as she suspected, but for some reason, this was the most embarrassing thing she had come across. It was a picture of a groom holding up his bride in bridal-style, only someone or something had badly manipulated Kotone’s face onto the bride and Akihiko’s onto the groom. Kotone at this point would rather face a large Shadow during the full moon or deal with exams rather than… this.
“.....” Both were silent at first. Kotone buried her face into her free hand, trying to hide her embarrassment. Meanwhile, Akihiko was trying to figure out what the picture was about.
“... Is this… suppose to be a wedding between you and me…?” The boxer asked, a blush formed across his face. His conflicted feelings surfaced for the first time since arriving in this strange world. This was something he was asking himself for a while: just what was Kotone to him? His friend? His comrade? Or…
“S-somebody must’ve photochopped this, S-senpai…” Kotone’s voice stuttered a bit. However, the blush on her face wouldn’t go away. She looked up at him from her hand and he turned his face away from her and the photo, the blush on his face being obvious.
Awkward silence fell between them, until Akihiko spoke up first.
“M-marriage, huh…” He stuttered.
“... I-isn’t that too early to think about... th-those things...?" The brunette asked.
“Yeah… M-maybe that will happen one day… But…” Kotone looked up at him. “... Not anytime soon.”
“... You’re right,” Kotone lowered her hand down as she looked up at the blue sky. “There’s still a lot of things that need to be done… And said… Or something like that…” It was Akihiko’s turn to look at her. Did she just imply something? Or maybe she had a point. They were still young and attending high school, despite their circumstances as Persona users. All of this was too confusing for him.
Except the one apparent fact.
“... About this picture…” Akihiko groaned a bit as he refocused on the image. “Is the master of this labyrinth trying to marry you and me, Kotone…?”
A blush crept back up onto the brunette’s face and her hand was once again hiding her face. Once they are free of this predicament, that master was dead meat. “... D-don’t be ridiculous, Senpai…” Kotone muttered into her hand.
“But…” Akihiko mused. “You… as my wife…?”
Kotone couldn’t help but sigh. “W-we should continue on.”
“Y-yeah… You’re right.” Akihiko agreed, seemingly thankful that they could move on from this picture. However, the awkward atmosphere hung around like a cloud over the two and it refused to leave. As clumsy as he was with certain words, Kotone couldn’t help but think back to his question.
/His wife, hm?/ She kept thinking about this question and Akihiko noticed her pace came to a stop before they could reach the church doors.
“Kotone, what’s wrong? Is there something on your mind?” Akihiko looked at the SEES leader with confusion.
“Um…” Kotone began. “Sorry about all this.”
“Sorry about wha-- … Oh. W-well, you were answering the questions honestly … Right?” Akihiko asked.
“Uh, uhm… I think so…?” Kotone shrugged a little. “But… the idea of getting married, one day... That wouldn’t be so bad.” She smiled a tiny bit.
Akihiko found himself blushing again. Sure, he might lead a normal life one day, but his priority right now was to become stronger. His reason for this was to better protect the people he care about, especially before some become too important to him. Sure, Kotone was his leader and a friend and a sweet girl whom he had seen many sides of. So far in this friendship, he liked to think that he could read her like a book. Sometimes, it was the opposite. This was one of those moments.
“... W-well…” Akihiko rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I hope that you find that someone that will make you happy, Kotone.”
Kotone was taken back for a moment, but she nodded. “... Thanks, Senpai. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You’re quite charming.” She smiled as she blushed.
Akihiko wanted to step away from Kotone, but his hand wouldn’t let go. Was it just him, or was Kotone flushing even more as they were approaching the church?
“Sorry again,” the brunette giggled. “I feel a little weird. Wonder why…”
The boxer couldn’t help but watch her. His stomach did flops. Charming, huh? A part of him would admit that she was pretty endearing herself, with the way she smiled and giggled. But still… What was she to him?
“Senpai?” Kotone’s voice broke through Akihiko’s thoughts and her face looked at him with curiosity. Her cheeks were still flushed.
“O-oh… sorry…” Akihiko apologized and rubbed the back of his neck out of nervous habit again. Maybe she was right, there was much more to be said between the two of them. Now that he thought about it, they had not been out together since that one evening at Hagakure. That was the evening where he voiced his concern for Kotone’s safety whenever the group ventured out to Tartarus. Hell, seeing her fight in this world still made him anxious. Compounding the fact that she volunteered to be the leader of the group they're now in did no better in easing his worries.
“We’re almost there.” Kotone affirmed. “W-we should talk more some other time.”
Akihiko knew what she was talking about and nodded in reply. “Yeah…”
He made a decision to himself. He was not going to ask Kotone to stop fighting. Instead, he made a decision to keep protecting her. He was going to protect that smile, that personality, all of her from anything and everything that would hurt her. Shadows or anything else be damned, especially if they chose to stop him.
As they finally approached the doors, the voice spoke up once more. “The long-awaited moment has come. The bride and groom are finally about to enter.”
Both Gekkoukan students held their silence.
“The last moment of hesitation has arrived before you are to be wed.”
Both Kotone and Akihiko looked at each other and nodded. They knew that this was a trap.
“..... W-we’re not getting married.” Akihiko said, attempting to stay cool. Kotone was still flushed, but nodded in agreement.
“Through your own free will, you decide to vow eternal love to each other.”
“T-there’s no free will to this!” Kotone sputtered, her cheeks puffed. They knew that this was a trap, but it felt like the stupid mechanical voice played with their emotions. Kotone’s modesty began to change to agitation. How dare this master toy with them like this?!
“Now, open the door together!”
Kotone now understood Akihiko’s actions and words from that evening in July. This master was no different from the Lovers Shadow. That Shadow also played upon their emotions and human desires. It was clearly something that the two were not ready for. And for this master of the labyrinth to impose something such as “destiny” and “marriage” upon them…
Kotone found all of this unforgivable.
She pushed the door open, despite Akihiko’s protests. The next several minutes flew by, as the master revealed itself to be a priest-like being. Also, their friends and comrades lead by Megumi found their way back to the two. Finally, their hands became unstuck and Kotone was ready to fight. Akihiko was ready as well as he stood by her side.
It was in that moment of time that Kotone settled on a decision regarding him. She would keep waiting for him. While she was unsure if he saw her as nothing more than a friend, this was something that he had to decide for himself. And for Kotone, she had time. Guys like him were worth the wait.