[Is she saying that because he asked her to tell him that, or because it's true...? Don't worry about it. With the money paid, she flounces over to the bolts of fabric she'd picked out, resting a hand atop the pile.]
Look, it'll only be a couple trips back and forth if we work together! [She pumps her fists, still with the same playful sparkle in her eyes.]
[Somewhere, in the back of Ken's mind, he was starting to regret this. Regardless, he couldn't just ignore her request. With a sigh, he walked up to her and picked up a couple of bolts.]
I'm starting to worry just how much you plan on making. And if I should be worried about how much I'll be making....
[She follows suit, hefting the exact same number as he's carrying before tossing a smile to the shopkeeper and heading straight out the door. No need to get them delivered if she's got Ken, after all!]
It's for anyone who wants to use it. And it's not like ingredients for cooking that'll go bad -- as long as you store it properly, it'll last a long time! So I can stock up. I like to stay busy!
[No rules, just right where Sewing Club is concerned! She hums a little to herself as she thinks back.]
When I was in Sewing Club with Bebe, I'd make stuff like felt bags, or cell phone straps, or little knit rabbits. The rabbits are my favorite, I think. Bebe's big project was to make a whole kimono, but there's no way I could do something like that without a pattern!
Not really? Usually it was just the two of us in the club at school, though, so we kind of just did our own thing.
[She hums, thinking back.]
At first it was kind of hard, but it got easier the more I practiced it. Like, your first project should be something simple like a bag or a pillow instead of like, clothing.
[Oh... he's so sweet. If she weren't carrying heavy bolts of fabric in both hands, she'd have her hand pressed to her heart. As it is, she only gives him a bright, genuine smile.]
I'd really like that. I still have the key you gave me, after all. I'd like to put it on a chain.
[It was only a few months ago for her, but for Ken, she knows it's been years.]
Wait, you still have it? I didn't realize that you kept it.
[Indeed. Ever since she was gone, he was fully expecting that his key was left somewhere in her dorm room and never to be seen again. All he could do was stare in awe as he suddenly finds himself not knowing what to say.]
Dunno. A lot of my things have been showing up here.
[Like, a lot of them. She has almost all of the little trinkets her friends had given her back in her possession now, save for one important notebook. Hopefully she hasn't gotten it back because it's made it somewhere into the wider world like she'd wanted... so others can read Akinari's story.]
[Although, all things considered, there wasn't much that he wanted to bring back from home. And yet, there was something that he really would like to see...]
But I don't think I would mind them giving me a picture of my mom and I.
I'd like to see that, too, if you get it. I got a picture of all of us -- remember the party we had back in the dorms when we thought we'd ended the Dark Hour? That picture.
[Her voice shifts, just a little melancholic. Are there even any pictures of her and her parents that she could have...? Surely there must have been some, but it's hard to remember that far back. Sometimes, it's hard to remember what they looked like.
[There was silence on his end. He didn't say anything as it served as a reminder of what they had back then. To think that they were so naive to believe that everything would be over and that not heartbreak would happen.]
I'm sorry, Kotone-san, when we get back? Would it be possible if I saw it?
[He said with a sigh.]
I'm sorry, I think there's a part of me that wants some closure or something.
[She answers without any hesitation, and only hums and nods in acknowledgement at first when he continues. It had been tough to look at that picture at first; they'd really thought they'd been doing the right thing, but then so many things fell apart after that. Things had already started falling apart even before that, though, hadn't they? There's someone missing from that picture, after all.
But she nods again.]
I get it. It... was all a lot, huh? For all of us. And then you had to do even more after, huh?
[Ken didn't say anything as he kept his gaze downward. Indeed, things were simple back then and there was so much he didn't know about. He didn't know how to feel seeing a picture of his past when things have gotten so crazy as it was.]
I think the day I made up my mind to be with you, I knew my life wouldn't be the same.
[Pause]
...I just never thought that I would keep fighting for this long.
[Her voice is soft and a little sad, because he has to keep fighting without her. All of them do, but it seems so unfair that Ken won't have the chance for a normal life, not really.
She shoulders open the door to the club building and keeps it open with her back for him to go through first.]
You said Mitsuru-senpai and Sanada-senpai started something called the Shadow Operatives, right? Are you going to join them after you graduate?
[He said immediately. As he went in and started to look around for a place to put the things down, he gave a small sigh. He didn't want to look at Kotone as he didn't know how her reaction would be. Was he fearful of what would she would say?]
It seems like the least I can do after everyone helped me out. I know they all said that I don't have to but...it just wouldn't be fair if I didn't.
It wouldn't be fair? [she echoes as she moves to the back of the room to deposit her own bolts and holds out her hands to take his to add to the small pile in the back of the room that'll become Sewing Club. There are a small handful of mannequins, sewing machines, and a lot of fabric and thread scattered around the room, which makes it a little creepy without the lights fully turned on, but don't worry about it.]
[Which was why Ken couldn't help but feel a tad bit nervous at seeing those mannequins. While they were harmless, it didn't stop him from feeling worried. As he followed her toward the back, he momentarily looked the other way.]
Mitsuru-senpai and everyone else helped me out so much. It seems fair that I return the favor somehow.
[He really was just a boy with a Persona. In many ways, if it weren't for Shinjiro, he wouldn't be here and met so many wonderful people. Despite all the hardships, he couldn't leave SEES or the Shadow Operatives even if he wanted to. He just couldn't.]
[She hums, not quite doubtfully, but not fully in agreement, either. She can't imagine that after everything, Mitsuru and Akihiko would require Ken to join their group in exchange for whatever help they'd given him.]
Do you think you'll wanna go to college first? I know both Mitsuru-senpai and Sanada-senpai took their entrance exams. Do you know if they ended up going?
I know that Sanada-san didn't finish college, he said that he wanted to be a police officer instead. As for Mitsuru-senpai, I know that she did. She is someone who wants to be on top of her grades...
[With that, he gave a sigh.]
But I know I will. I don't want to let them down but I don't really know what I want to do yet.
[Okay, now that's a surprise. Akihiko had always been really serious about school. Not nearly as much as Mitsuru, but... huh. Still, she feels a bit better knowing that someone like Akihiko will be out there protecting people like Officer Kurosawa.
But as she takes the last bolt from his arms, she gives him a flash of a smile.]
I dunno, I don't think you'll let them down no matter what you decide to do. You've got time to figure it out!
[Assuming they can even figure out how to get back...]
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[Is she saying that because he asked her to tell him that, or because it's true...? Don't worry about it. With the money paid, she flounces over to the bolts of fabric she'd picked out, resting a hand atop the pile.]
Look, it'll only be a couple trips back and forth if we work together! [She pumps her fists, still with the same playful sparkle in her eyes.]
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I'm starting to worry just how much you plan on making. And if I should be worried about how much I'll be making....
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[She follows suit, hefting the exact same number as he's carrying before tossing a smile to the shopkeeper and heading straight out the door. No need to get them delivered if she's got Ken, after all!]
It's for anyone who wants to use it. And it's not like ingredients for cooking that'll go bad -- as long as you store it properly, it'll last a long time! So I can stock up. I like to stay busy!
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[As he walks out of the door, he had to keep his eyes on the ground. He didn't want to trip on the ground...]
I never been to a sewing club before so I don't really know what you guys make.
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[No rules, just right where Sewing Club is concerned! She hums a little to herself as she thinks back.]
When I was in Sewing Club with Bebe, I'd make stuff like felt bags, or cell phone straps, or little knit rabbits. The rabbits are my favorite, I think. Bebe's big project was to make a whole kimono, but there's no way I could do something like that without a pattern!
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[Briefly, he looked at the fabric as he gave a small hum....]
...Was it hard to make them?
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[She hums, thinking back.]
At first it was kind of hard, but it got easier the more I practiced it. Like, your first project should be something simple like a bag or a pillow instead of like, clothing.
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[Pause]
...Or something that you would like.
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I'd really like that. I still have the key you gave me, after all. I'd like to put it on a chain.
[It was only a few months ago for her, but for Ken, she knows it's been years.]
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Wait, you still have it? I didn't realize that you kept it.
[Indeed. Ever since she was gone, he was fully expecting that his key was left somewhere in her dorm room and never to be seen again. All he could do was stare in awe as he suddenly finds himself not knowing what to say.]
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[Well, it's not like she'd had it with her when she arrived here, but she had kept it in a safe place in her dorm room, he's right about that.]
I don't know how it got from my dorm to here, but... I'm glad I have it. It's back at the farmhouse now.
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[Well, that was something he wasn't expecting.]
...Was it something that they can just give to you?
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[Like, a lot of them. She has almost all of the little trinkets her friends had given her back in her possession now, save for one important notebook. Hopefully she hasn't gotten it back because it's made it somewhere into the wider world like she'd wanted... so others can read Akinari's story.]
None of your stuff has showed up here yet?
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[Although, all things considered, there wasn't much that he wanted to bring back from home. And yet, there was something that he really would like to see...]
But I don't think I would mind them giving me a picture of my mom and I.
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I'd like to see that, too, if you get it. I got a picture of all of us -- remember the party we had back in the dorms when we thought we'd ended the Dark Hour? That picture.
[Her voice shifts, just a little melancholic. Are there even any pictures of her and her parents that she could have...? Surely there must have been some, but it's hard to remember that far back. Sometimes, it's hard to remember what they looked like.
But she smiles anyway.]
Still, I'm glad I have it.
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I'm sorry, Kotone-san, when we get back? Would it be possible if I saw it?
[He said with a sigh.]
I'm sorry, I think there's a part of me that wants some closure or something.
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[She answers without any hesitation, and only hums and nods in acknowledgement at first when he continues. It had been tough to look at that picture at first; they'd really thought they'd been doing the right thing, but then so many things fell apart after that. Things had already started falling apart even before that, though, hadn't they? There's someone missing from that picture, after all.
But she nods again.]
I get it. It... was all a lot, huh? For all of us. And then you had to do even more after, huh?
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I think the day I made up my mind to be with you, I knew my life wouldn't be the same.
[Pause]
...I just never thought that I would keep fighting for this long.
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[Her voice is soft and a little sad, because he has to keep fighting without her. All of them do, but it seems so unfair that Ken won't have the chance for a normal life, not really.
She shoulders open the door to the club building and keeps it open with her back for him to go through first.]
You said Mitsuru-senpai and Sanada-senpai started something called the Shadow Operatives, right? Are you going to join them after you graduate?
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[He said immediately. As he went in and started to look around for a place to put the things down, he gave a small sigh. He didn't want to look at Kotone as he didn't know how her reaction would be. Was he fearful of what would she would say?]
It seems like the least I can do after everyone helped me out. I know they all said that I don't have to but...it just wouldn't be fair if I didn't.
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What'd you mean by that?
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Mitsuru-senpai and everyone else helped me out so much. It seems fair that I return the favor somehow.
[He really was just a boy with a Persona. In many ways, if it weren't for Shinjiro, he wouldn't be here and met so many wonderful people. Despite all the hardships, he couldn't leave SEES or the Shadow Operatives even if he wanted to. He just couldn't.]
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[She hums, not quite doubtfully, but not fully in agreement, either. She can't imagine that after everything, Mitsuru and Akihiko would require Ken to join their group in exchange for whatever help they'd given him.]
Do you think you'll wanna go to college first? I know both Mitsuru-senpai and Sanada-senpai took their entrance exams. Do you know if they ended up going?
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[With that, he gave a sigh.]
But I know I will. I don't want to let them down but I don't really know what I want to do yet.
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[Okay, now that's a surprise. Akihiko had always been really serious about school. Not nearly as much as Mitsuru, but... huh. Still, she feels a bit better knowing that someone like Akihiko will be out there protecting people like Officer Kurosawa.
But as she takes the last bolt from his arms, she gives him a flash of a smile.]
I dunno, I don't think you'll let them down no matter what you decide to do. You've got time to figure it out!
[Assuming they can even figure out how to get back...]
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