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It was funny, how her thoughts had gotten all turned around. Even though she knew better, even though she knew it wasn’t really true, she had come to think of the rural town of Inaba as her home.
The sky was a beautiful blue, stretching from horizon to horizon without any interruption. Not a single white cloud marred its brilliant surface. Trees bloomed and flowered—green, lush, alive—seeming to carry their own sparkle as they reflected the overhead sunlight. The surface of the river running nearby glimmered in fierce competition, a watery gold that flashed like fire from time to time.
Labrys couldn’t believe it was true; that she was experiencing this.
She couldn’t really feel the grass against her, or truly sense the wind, but her newly updated sensors hummed within her mind calmly, and the serenity she felt sinking into every fiber of her being was real. A huge grin crossed her face, and for a moment she was so overcome with emotion that she couldn’t do much else besides marvel at it all.
“Pretty deep in thought there, huh?”
She had heard him coming back from tossing away the remains of his lunch at a picnic area—she had been obstinately against him littering—long ago, and didn’t startle at his words. After all, it had been he that had led her out this way so that she could enjoy the view to begin with.
“Yeah, you could say that,” she replied, eyes slipping closed with the gesture.
Yosuke sat beside her, resting back on the palms of his hands and snickering at some memory only he knew. “You know, last year, our class had a camping trip around this spot.”
She opened one eye. “Oh yeah? What happened? Must’ve been pretty funny ta make ya laugh like that.”
He groaned loudly and flopped onto his back, grimacing so fiercely that she was a bit alarmed. “It was an absolute disaster. Between the girls and their cooking, the freakin’ awful sleeping arrangements, and then King Moron—“ Yosuke paused for just a moment, the insulting nickname slowly traveling off the tip of his tongue with an air of hesitance. He recovered once he noticed her curious look. “Our teacher heaved his lunch upstream and all us guys were in the water!”
Labrys chuckled, picturing how all of that must have gone. “Even if it was awful then, it’s prob’ly a good memory now, right?”
Yosuke pressed his hands to his eyes. “Ugh, I wish I could just blot the entire thing from my mind. I took five showers a day for a week before I felt clean again!”
“Still. If ya were able to laugh at it just now, it’s gotta make for some fun reminiscin’ with the others.” A bit of wistfulness had entered her tone, and he hadn’t missed it. He peeked at her when he thought she wasn’t looking, his expression soft.
“Hey, uh…Labrys-chan…”
“Hmm? What is it?”
His hands fell back to his sides and he cast his gaze upwards. “You’re…going back with Mitsuru-san and the rest after a few days, right?”
“Yeah. We’ve still gotta catch whoever’s behind this whole mess, and whoever it was that was controllin’ me before!” Labrys would have shivered if she could, just at the thought. Someone had been yanking her strings from afar…it could happen right now, even, and Yosuke would be in terrible danger if it did.
She clenched her fists.
“Well, yeah, I know. I figured.” Yosuke blew a sigh and she propped herself up on her elbows.
“What’s on yer mind? C’mon, spit it out! Don’t go beatin’ ‘round the bush for hours on end.”
He looked a bit stunned but nodded in agreement. “I was thinking that you could…uh…” His eyes darted everywhere, in every direction, except hers. “Maybe stay here in Inaba?”
“Stay here? Doin’ what?”
Yosuke rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. “It’s just…I know you have a lot of things of your own you want to do, but I…”
Labrys blinked, wondering what was running through that mind of his.
He finally met her gaze, though the way the edges of his eyes were crinkled revealed his tension. “I’d like to get to know you better.”
She stared back at him long and hard, bouncing his words around through her mind. What did he mean, “get to know her better”? She knew that he and the rest of the Investigation Team were her friends, but did he really, truly—
“I dunno. I don’t think I’m really all that interestin’.” Labrys fell onto her back again, arms folded behind her head. “And if I stayed in Inaba, what would I do? I’ve still gotta find the girl from my memories, y’know…” #024 would have wanted that. She had been entrusted with a dream, after all, and she would see it through.
“Huh? ‘The girl from your memories’?”
“It’s a long story.” She’d have blown a sigh of her own if she could.
Yosuke seemed tempted to ask after it, but in the end, he changed the subject. “Well, since you’ve come back…You look more human now. Uh well, what I mean is, it’s less obvious that you’re a robot?”
The corners of her lips quirked. “Oh it is, is it? Yeah, I know. I got fitted with some new parts not long after they gave me a checkup in the lab.” Labrys didn’t really like remembering that. She had been so terrified that it had all been a ploy, that they were going to erase her memories and make her fight again, or lock her up, but in the end…
Nothing of that sort had happened. The scientists had been polite and friendly with her. Nevertheless, she had been immensely thankful for Aigis’s constant, reassuring grip on her hand during the entire event. She was now as up-to-date as her sister in terms of technology.
“Hey, if you dress properly…I think you could pass as a student.” Yosuke grinned. “How about it? You could be a student for a year in Yasogami High!”
The offer was sorely tempting. Labrys mused on it, imagining attending school. Maybe she really could be student council president; could “graduate”…Schoolwork would be laughable to her, considering all of it could be stored as data. Aigis had told her that she had gone to school for a while, and with the new adjustments, perhaps she could hide her true identity the same way?
“That’s playin’ real dirty, Yosuke-kun.” She gave him a playful glare with her bright red eyes. Whoops. She’d have to change her optic lenses for a bit if she went along with that farfetched scheme of his. Maybe to blue, like her sister’s…
“Hey, whatever it takes—“ He put his hands up quickly when he saw her expression darken dangerously. “Whoa, whoa, I’m just kidding! Seriously, Labrys-chan, it’d be great if you could stay in Inaba though. You could hang out with us and experience a bit of a normal life, I guess? I’m sure I could get you a job at Junes too!”
Labrys enjoyed picturing it. The whole of the Investigation Team were great people, that was for sure. Friendly, accepting, supportive, and funny. She knew that they’d happily welcome her into their little friendship circle, but—
What then?
She offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Yosuke-kun, but I’ve gotta do somethin’ before I can just settle down like that.”
“Is it about the girl from your memory?”
“Yeah.” Her tone turned quiet. Standing, she paced down the grassy incline and towards the water’s edge. She heard Yosuke get up and follow her curiously.
Labrys leaned over and peered at her reflection. Her “skin” was flawless, white and pristine as porcelain. Her hair flowed in long silvery strands in the breeze she couldn’t feel. If she looked close enough, she could see the slight bulge in her clothing that was concealing strong metallic joints and servos. As human as she appeared, she thought there was still something distinctive about Yosuke that set him apart from her.
Yosuke surprised her by saying, “I still can’t believe you’re some kind of anti-Shadow weapon. I mean, look at us! I can’t even see any worthwhile differences.”
She glanced at him, touched by the gentle smile on his face. “Yosuke-kun…”
“I guess I’m being pretty selfish, asking you to just drop everything and stay here, huh? So how about this?” He showed her the biggest grin she had ever seen. “I could help you find this girl you’re talking about? Maybe then you’d stay?”
“You’d…do that, for me?”
“Of course. I mean, well…” He kicked one sneakered foot on the ground. The gesture was self-conscious but, Labrys thought, oddly endearing. “It seems pretty important to you. So if I could help you realize your dream, it’d…it’d be pretty great.” He ended that with a shy laugh, and she placed a hand over her chest, confused.
What…What’s this feelin’? It’s all warm inside…But nothin’s malfunctionin’ or overheatin’…
“You’d…really do that, huh…” Labrys pressed her palm more firmly to her chest, feeling as if her Plume of Dusk was heating up more and more by the second. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, but it was unfamiliar.
“Labrys-chan?” Yosuke’s brows drew down with concern. “Are you all right? Are your, um…systems fine, and stuff?” He took a step toward her.
She let her gaze drift back to the water. “I’m fine, don’t worry ‘bout it. You can drop all that ‘-chan’ stuff too, Yosuke.”
His eyes shot open wide. “Whoa—really? Are you serious? I mean that’s—well, it’s a pretty big—“ Catching himself in his frantic stammering, he made a big show of taking in a deep breath and saying as nonchalantly as possible, “Sure, L-Labrys.”
She nodded. “The girl I’ve been talkin’ ‘bout. She’s kinda like…my mother? I guess?”
“Your mother?” He echoed, walking closer to her. He seemed hesitant about this but got more courageous as he realized she wasn’t rejecting the advance.
“She was the basis for the personality of all the androids in my series. I heard her, though!” She faced him. “She said she wanted all of us to be happy…That she loved us. She was a sick girl and didn’t get to do all the things she wanted, but she hoped that wecould follow our dreams! She really wanted us to have good lives…”
Oh, the irony.
Confliction flickered in Yosuke’s eyes as he said, “Oh, wow…It’s no wonder that you want to find her. I’m not really sure yet how to go about this, but I’ll go with you on the search if you want?”
Ignoring the offer for now, Labrys fixed him with her best “Student Council President that Accepts No Nonsense” glare. “You’re thinkin’ ‘bout somethin’, aren’t ya? What’s on yer mind concernin’ this?”
He grimaced. “Ah, well…Don’t take this the wrong way,” he began carefully. “But if she was sick…She might not be around anymore, Labrys.”
She folded her arms and ignored the twist she felt in her chest at that thought. “You don’t think I ain’t guessed that already? It doesn’t matter. I’m gonna at least find out where she is. But we don’t know that for sure…she could be around someplace still, dreamin’ ‘bout things and the future. Either way I’m gonna find her. I’ve got to.”
Yosuke nodded at the conviction in her words and on her face. “I’m sure you will, Labrys…What about the Shadow Operatives, have they got any leads concerning that, or…?”
“They’re doin’ what they‘re able. The whole thing with me was sort of covered up, but I trust Aigis. She says they’re lookin’ into it as much as they can. That and the…weird possession stuff. It was only ‘bout two, three months ago that the whole shebang took place, lots to go through, y’know?”
“True…” He stroked his chin and let out another groan. “It’s exhausting just thinking about it…But hey, you’ve still got a few more days of vacation, and there’s still loads of things around town I want to show you. I could call up the others, and—“
“Y’know what? How about we get a rain-check on that for now?”
Yosuke froze with his mouth slightly open. He tilted his head. “Huh? What do you—“
Labrys’s smiled carried a mischievous bite. “I wouldn’t mind just walkin’ ‘round here a bit. Just the two of us.”
Predictably, Yosuke’s confusion gave way to sort-of hopeful—probably vaguely perverted—thoughts. Dawning comprehension crossed his face. “Just the two of—ohhh…Well, if that’s what you want, Miss President.” He winked.
She beckoned him closer and he obeyed, though he didn’t seem sure what to expect. A blush was crossing the bridge of his nose and she nearly laughed at the sight. It made the warmth in her chest intensify.
They were within mere inches of touching, when she flicked him across the nose as lightly as she could manage. She imagined it probably still stung a bit, though. “Catch me if ya can!”
With that declaration, she took off, her internal map telling her that the trail she was running along would twist and wind its way back to Inaba’s outskirts. She adored the feeling, of moving as quickly as she could, the world reduced to a blur around her.
For a moment, she was back on an island, being hounded by scientists and prizing every second of freedom from oppressive walls.
But a voice brought her crashing back to reality. He was surprisingly close, but she knew his speed would not match hers for long.
“Labrys! What the hell, I thought you said we were walking—“
“You’re way too easy, Yosuke! Ya gotta try harder than that!”
She slowed down a little and heard him wheeze out, “I’m gonna bust a lung here…!”
Labrys turned on her heel in one smooth motion and darted back at him, catching him by surprise. The angle led to the pair twisting in a wild pirouette that probably jarred Yosuke pretty badly, but he didn’t seem to mind.
They rolled down the side of a hill and collapsed in a heap, side by side.
“Jeez…” Yosuke draped an arm over his eyes. “You almost killed me!”
“Oh, suck it up, will ya? You’re not hurt, it’s fine!” She sat up and smiled at him, scanning him for any injuries and was satisfied to find that he was indeed all right.
The warmth in her chest felt like it was about to explode.
“I got to hand it to you, Labrys…You’re one hell of a runner.” His chest was rising and falling rapidly and she watched the motion with a sort of idle fascination.
“’Course I am. Gotta catch those lawbreakers, don’t I? No troublemakers in my school.”
He laughed, pulling his arm away and grinning up at her. She stared down at him, but was unable to keep the eye contact.
Labrys pressed her hand to her chest. “Sheesh…What’s this all about…?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Got this weird feeling though. Right here.” She tapped the spot, and she saw him jolt as if shocked. “What’s the matter?”
“Weird feeling? What’s it like?”
“Hmm…I dunno. Kinda like a fire, I guess.” Labrys collapsed onto her back, grateful for once that she didn’t have her axe with her. It’d have really inhibited the activities today anyway.
Yosuke was quiet for so long that she thought he wasn’t going to answer. But then:
“Do you…like it? The feeling, I mean.”
She hummed thoughtfully before answering. “Sure, I guess. Never felt anythin’ like it. It’s…nice.”
He closed his eyes and smiled. “…Heh, that’s great.”
Labrys was perplexed, but didn’t pursue the issue. Maybe she’d inquire after it later. “I’ll let ya catch yer breath here for a bit. Don’t want ya passin’ out or anythin’ on the way back.”
Yosuke heard her teasing tone and countered with the same. “Your kindness and understanding no know bounds, Miss President.”
And lying there in the gleaming sunlight, they laughed.