compnetwork | [Public post, but addressed to one(1) Minato Arisato]

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[Public post, but addressed to one(1) Minato Arisato] | VIDEO (Backdated)

[Miki has only been here for day, and yesterday night's events have left her happier than she could have imagined. But...she suppose she owes someone and apology for her behavior the night before.

Maybe it's the lack of a good night's sleep and she'd not using the camera and post function on the watch clearly, or maybe simply because she's not that great with computers in the first place, but what was supposed to be a private post is unfortunately sent publicly. Regardless, it is a small video of Miki looking like she didn't get that much sleep and she's looking at the watch's camera like it's a small cursed object.]

Hey uh. Arisato. I mean Minato. M-Minato Arisato yeah that sounds better..

Look when you watch this? Just wanted to say I'm sorry 'bout yesterday. I didn't know about the different world things and I just thought you were the Minato from my world.

He was the leader of Strega. That's why I did the...I'm watching you sign. [She says, tihnking 'I still don't trust you that much anyway.']

So uh. I'll stop that. I'm sure you're a nice guy and not an idiot.

[She pouts, trying to think of what else to say and just shrugs.]

Have a good day.

[End video feed.]

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[ . . .

Okay this is totally not what Minato expected to see when he gets home from his sister's.

And he stares, torn between several different reactions - the most superficial, of course, is to immediately message her to say, 'hey, you just... made this public...' but he only considers that momentarily because the contents of what this girl - Miki, if his sister's assumption is right - has said drive out most other thoughts.

That she's from another world with a different him barely gets a blink, if only because he's already acquainted with at least one alternate world thanks to Shinjiro and Minako. It makes extra sense if she's Miki, because if there are two different worlds for who lives and who dies between him and Minako, why not one for Akihiko and Miki? Maybe there's an infinite number of worlds with either/ors like that. It's not so out there.

What is out there, however, is the idea of a him in another world leading Strega. ]

[ He doesn't really understand how that could be.

What about Takaya? How would he even be a part of Strega, anyway? Did he never make it to the dorm? Did things go extra wrong with one of the relatives he'd stayed with? Or --

But weren't the members of Strega orphans rounded up off the streets? Imagining the possibilities there troubles him. And more than that, it's just -- strange to imagine overall.

Did he try and stop the other members of SEES from taking on Full Moon Shadows? Was he the one who shot Shinjiro and later Junpei? Or was Takaya still around there, too? And if he was a part of Strega, who was leading SEES? Minako? Or maybe Mitsuru, if Minako wasn't there? ... and who, then, was there to stop Nyx?

Too many questions circle in his head, and he shakes it, realizing that maybe he should just -- talk to her. As tired as she looks and as awkward as the message is (have a nice day...?), that's the only way to make things more clear. Besides, if another him in another world was part of Strega and maybe did some things to hurt others - like Miki - he wants to know, because he doesn't want to inadvertently hurt her here.

So he takes a deep breath and activates the video function of his own COMP. This isn't something to be done via text. ]

[ Even if she apparently doesn't know how to filter things to just one person, he makes sure his end is, at least. And he does his best to say composed and calm, though he can't quite help the wary uncertainty creeping in. ]

... It might be easiest if you call me 'Minato' to avoid confusion with my sister.

[ Right because that's really the issue here. ]

But it's okay. ... differences between worlds can be confusing.

[ And now he's just stalling. But he also really means it's okay - if she has a reason not to trust him on sight, it's... really okay. They'll have plenty of time to get to know each other... right? ]

Ah... your name is Miki Sanada... isn't it?

[ And now the gamble. And more stalling. He doesn't want to just demand answers... Maybe with the right prompts, she'll even just explain on her own --! ]

[The video snaps back on. It's got the red flashing LIVE button, so you're getting a feed! This time in private. She's learning after her first day. Miki coughs awkwardly and is looking everywhere but the camera, her eyes darting from left to right.]

Y-yeah. I'm guessing that you two figured it out. I was going to make a more public post for the rest of the SEES team later on but so much for that.

[Awkward silence....]

...

[More awkward silence....]

...So Minato. You lead SEES in your world, right?

[ Insert awkward turtle here. But he does make one comment after her confirmation of her name and her oops. ]

... ah -- nice to meet you, Miki-san.

[ It would feel strange calling her Sanada-san, but ... anything besides Miki-san seems too informal given the awkwardness. And she doesn't seem the type to go by her surname all that much, either.

But ahh yes. That awkward silence. He nods in the end, though. ]

I did. ... who... led SEES in yours?

[Well technically it was still Mitsuru kinda, but Minami was field leader. In Miki's eyes that made her the leader.]

Minami. Minami Arisato.

She's uh...you're other you's younger sister where I come from.

[ Wait what ]

Minami?

[ Definitely not a name he recognizes... Unless maybe this other world happened to give a slightly different name to Minako? Which would be weird, but... ]

The only sister I have is a twin named Minako...

Yeah I know. I learned that yesterday.

Minami's a year younger than you. I guess different worlds have different circumstances. A bit like why I'm here...

[At least her frustration seems to have shifted from him to this world.]

Tch. This is so confusing...

[ He nods absently at the remark about it being confusing, his attention really on the thought of a sister a year younger than him. A sister he never had. He's pretty sure he would remember it if so! ]

Minami Arisato...

[ He mouths her name more than says it as he thinks about the prospect of another sister in another world. A sister whose brother led Strega...

How does that even work? ]

What happened...?

[ He means, of course, how did it wind up that a sister he doesn't even know existed (but even now is wondering about - did their parents want two children and only two children? Did they plan on spacing them out a little, but having twins in his and Minako's worlds prevent that? and so on...) led SEES and he led Strega? ]

It's a long story.

[She averts her eyes from him again, both from the fact that no matter who he says he is, there's still a part of Miki's brain haywired to think of him as the Strega leader. It's like this weird bizzaro world that she can't shake off and it will take a good amount of time for her to adjust.

On the other hand, even her Minato did something good, in the end. She owes him for that.]

You might want to sit down, and I'll tell you everything.

[ . . . ]

I am sitting down...

[ He really is! He's at the table in his apartment's kitcheny area. But actually sitting is a different matter altogether than bracing himself for it. ... when someone tells you to sit down, that generally means the story is pretty weighty in addition to just being long. ]

[She attempts to look over to check but wait, cameras don't work like that.

...she should really get a coffee after this. This is going to be a long day.]

I didn't realize. Alright, maybe I should start at the accident...

[ > You tell the other Minato the story of your world, starting from the accident, to how both the Minato you know and Minami had the aspect of Death put into them...

>...While you have barely slept, you sometimes take odd poses, trying to remember the series of events correctly. All the while, the camera moves along with you as you first sit down, then slowly slide down from your chair to the floor and finally, the camera points to the floor with only part of your face visible. You continue to tell him everything...

> How the Minato was put into the testing facility and survived with the three other children...

> How the four of them escaped and formed Strega, only for Takaya's methods to cause him to be kicked out...

> How both Minami and Minato had no idea they were each other's siblings until much later...

> How Ikutsuki puts a hit on Mitsuru to lure Strega back into the city...

> In fact Minato might realize that Strega seems to have shown up much earlier than the ones in his own time...and this is why they recruited both Ken and Koromaru before SEES did...

> How some events stayed the same, such as Shinjiro's death, Ikutsuki's ultimate betrayal, Mitsuru's father's death, Ryoji's appearance...

> Minato might also notice how you quickly passed over the Ryoji bits and had an odd look in your face.

> How the Fall was still going to happen...

> How Chidori's 'death' caused Strega and SEES to come to a truce and talk, finding clues in the files about Minami and Minato's sibling connection.

> How both teams joined to fight Tatarus together, and Takaya tried to stop them one last time...

> How, in the end, when all hope seemed lost, Minato ended up sacrificing himself to become the seal, allowing his sister to live.

> You actually feel much better talking about it. And maybe feel a bit like a jerk about your Minato but...he still had killed a lot of people. Even if he had saved so many! But still...

> ...you should really stop having these internal battles regarding members of Strega. It's bad for your health.]

Edited 2012-10-01 05:43 (UTC)

[ Minato listens to it all quietly. For the most part he manages to keep his reactions to himself, especially as somewhere along the way, he realizes this is just as cathartic for her as it is informative for him, but he can't always swallow everything behind his impassive mask. Especially not when Miki touches on certain subjects. The accident, deaths, Ryoji (however briefly glossed over! he doesn't really think about Miki's particular reactions to Ryoji at this time, however), the end...

Especially the end. But also -- just hearing how his other self became a part of Strega. It's sobering to think about. He wonders how many people his other self had killed... He didn't think he had it in him to murder someone whether they deserved it or not - especially not now with the added perspective the Universe and the seal have brought. But if in another world he was a part of an organization that used the Dark Hour to kill people... he supposes he must reassess what he is capable of.

And besides that, to think of how easy it would have been for the Kirijo group to 'take in' either himself or Minako and put them through the experiments that Strega went through... Aside from their grandparents, there hadn't been too many relatives of theirs who cared much. Maybe they would have found it awfully convenient if he or in another world his sister had just ... disappeared with the wreckage.

Dark thoughts aside, however, he finds it interesting to hear about Minami and to hear about his other self. It's so -- strange, and he struggles to try and put himself in his Strega self's mindset. To understand. -- and to understand Minami, too. Some of how Miki talks about her reminds him of what he's gotten to know again about Minako. But some of it is altogether different, and it really helps him separate her in his brain from being another world's version of Minako. Similarities make sense - they come from the same parents, after all - but the differences are important.

And yet, they're not important at all, when it comes to the end. Neither the differences between his sisters (it's nearly impossible for him to not on some level think of Minami as a sister) nor between himself and his Strega self really matter, because how it ends makes complete sense to him, and of all things, he smiles just a little when Miki talks about the other Minato sacrificing himself and Minami living on.

Whatever else is wrong in that other world, he's glad that there's at least one place where he was able to protect one of his family members. He very much wishes that somehow his sacrifice could have protected Minako, too. But they're from different worlds, and it seems as if each world needs its own seal. Even so, that Minami lives on makes him happy. And that despite everything his Strega self had been through, he was still able to bond with others and realize his answer and make that choice... That, too, is cause for a smile. ]

[ But the smile doesn't last too long before it vanishes with a sigh brought on by his thoughts about everything else...

He's not really looking at Miki for a long while after she finishes - rather, he's got a far away, lost-in-thought sort of look, until at last he shakes himself out of his thoughts and forces himself to look up at her again. ]

Thank you for telling me everything. And... I'm sorry. For the trouble and the pain I've caused you in the telling and -- in your own world.

I know -- it was a different me, but... all the same.

[ With the history they have, he can't imagine it's easy for her to sit down and talk with and be friendly with the doppelganger of someone she'd known quite differently... and mostly negatively. ]

[Ha. That look, she knows too well.

That serious look at the other Minato she knew had. There was an odd allure to it really, and even if she had hated his guts for a while, Miki had quietly admitted to Minami once that he had 'nice eyes'. Of course this had changed nothing about them, at least until the uneasy truce between both groups. Even then, her speaking with him had been a mixture of awkward and attempting to look dignified around him.]

Edited (OKAY GOD I CAN DO THIS) 2012-10-01 21:05 (UTC)

[ Well, Minato didn't really expect to be hearing that voice again, but he's still pretty adept at pretending like he didn't hear a thing out of the ordinary in his head. So Miki will never know about that mysterious voice telling him he's made a new social link... maybe. ~~Though, shut up voice! Of course he's sure!~~

... but be that as it may, prior to the voice, he does smile a little at her 'we cool' and that hand gesture. That was hardly what he'd expected her to say or do, though in retrospect, he's not sure it's surprising.

He shakes his head just once at her 'thanks', however - she doesn't need to thank him for that. He felt like it was due to her after all...

But he can't resist a very mild tease, as what she said before made him think of a cross between Akihiko's awkwardness and Junpei's.... Junpeiness. ]

Then... I guess... we cool, now.

[It's your fault that you're messing up her normally cool and composed posture by being...well you.]

Yeah. We defiantly cool.

[She's taking this a little too seriously...]

[ Nah, it's her fault for being so easily disrupted! ]

I'm glad for that. [ And he smiles a bit. He really would like to get to know her - perhaps become friends, as the Star Social Link suggests is possible. ]

... maybe it might be a good idea to start over a little.

Hello. My name is ~~Insufferable McLineface~~ Minato Arisato. It is nice to meet you.

[N-no it's not like that okay!...wait are you for real. She already knows your name, this isn't like a square one thing or anything...]

[But okay sure. If he wants to do that, she can do that too.]

Hello. My name is ~~Miki Sanada. You killed my brother. Prepare to die.~~ Miki Sanada. It's also nice to meet you.

[Probably. OKay, it is nice to meet you.]

[ wow rude. Thisnato never killed anyone, least of all your brother. Either of them. ]

I hope we can look forward to getting to know each other.

[ it is his subtle hint ]

[IS THAT A SUBTLE HINT]

I...hope we can too.

[ (╯>□<）╯︵ ┻━┻ ]

... Maybe, once you're settled in, we can meet up for lunch or something sometime.

[ No, he's not asking her out. He just is thinking up neutral locations to have a conversation or two. ]

[She's had a bunch of guys say that to her in the school. A whole. Bunch of guys. ~~And one Ryoji.~~]

...sure. Something sometime.

[What game are you even playing Arisato]

(no subject)

fools_journey - 2012-10-12 13:30 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Public post, but addressed to one(1) Minato Arisato] | VIDEO (Backdated)

1 OF ... idk probably 2

I lied. 2 of 3.

[video - locked to Miki & done]

[Video - Now with more locking thanks to your sister]

[locked video - another gold star! ]

[Locked video ★★★LOOK AT ALL THESE STARS★★★]

[Locked video - What will you do with all of them?]

[Locked video - put them in my room as a wallpaper]

[Locked video - You will have the shiniest room!]

[Locked video - You have no idea how much I love shiny things. And Phoenix Ranger Featherman R]]

[Locked video - Phoenix Ranger Featherman R is pretty boss. ]]

[Locked video - It is! It's the best and---NOT THAT I'D TELL ANYONE.]

[Locked video - My lips are sealed ;) 1 of 2 ]

[Locked video - 2 of 2]

[So locked it's got locks on locks. Lockception]

[somehow I'm picturing this thread as someone in ace attorney with 5 locks]

[Better bust out your Magatama then Minato]

[ Oh boy! ... wait, who is my assistant? ]

[There are plenty of young girls to be found in this game...wow that sounds wrong] 1/2

[Also I swear I just keep making these silly faces icons because of Minato] 2/2

[watching the animations is really distracting]

[JUST AS PLANNED]

[Insert Title Here]

[ Did she really just tableflip at him? ]

[In her mind, she did]

(no subject)

[Public post, but addressed to one(1) Minato Arisato] | VIDEO (Backdated)

1 OF ... idk probably 2

I lied. 2 of 3.

[video - locked to Miki & done]

[Video - Now with more locking thanks to your sister]

[locked video - another gold star! ]

[Locked video ★★★LOOK AT ALL THESE STARS★★★]

[Locked video - What will you do with all of them?]

[Locked video - put them in my room as a wallpaper]

[Locked video - You will have the shiniest room!]

[Locked video - You have no idea how much I love shiny things. And Phoenix Ranger Featherman R]]

[Locked video - Phoenix Ranger Featherman R is pretty boss. ]]

[Locked video - It is! It's the best and---NOT THAT I'D TELL ANYONE.]

[Locked video - My lips are *sealed* ;) 1 of 2 ]

[Locked video - 2 of 2]

[So locked it's got locks on locks. Lockception]

[somehow I'm picturing this thread as someone in ace attorney with 5 locks]

[Better bust out your Magatama then Minato]

[ Oh boy! ... wait, who is my assistant? ]

[There are plenty of young girls to be found in this game...wow that sounds wrong] 1/2

[Also I swear I just keep making these silly faces icons because of Minato] 2/2

[watching the animations is really distracting]

[JUST AS PLANNED]

[Insert Title Here]

[ Did she really just tableflip at him? ]

[In her mind, she did]

(no subject)

[Locked video - My lips are sealed ;) 1 of 2 ]