December fifteenth. Iwatodai clear skies, winter chill, a perfect Sunday morning. Fifteen minutes until Shinjiro Aragaki's phone ran out of charge.
Not that he cared. There was precisely one person on Earth who had any real reason to call him, and he didn't feel like talking to his brother friend Aki today. Or any day, really, that was the whole reason he was trying to disappear into the crowd like this. So it would be like he didn't exist.
Cowardly? Yes. Effective? Also yes. He'd take it. Nine thirty-eight, not a single glimpse of silver hair or sound of crackling static. Sure, Mitsuru could walk up on him in this weather and he'd never notice with her element, but she'd never hang around here anyway, and she was a naturally noticeable person.
Not that she'd ever bother with him to begin with. Which was good. One less person to have to push away before he hurt them.
He liked walking down these streets at this time of day. Even on Sundays, nobody really walked down these streets at this time of day. Comparatively, at least. City rush and all that. But the streets were clear enough that he could see a kid standing next to an Apathy Syndrome patient.
The kid. "He's not gonna answer you," Shinjiro stated, because someone had to say it.
"Why not?" Is, of course, the response. Kids always asked that. Why something would happen, or why it wouldn't, and those older than them would have to fill in the gaps, often not even knowing better themselves.
Shinjiro knew better. But he also didn't want to tell the kid that various gooplike monsters wandered around at night and ate people's brains. Official, not-really-an-explanation it was, then!
"He's got Apathy Syndrome. You know, that thing they talk about on TV when it's been a slow news day? Surprised no one's found him yet, though... You'd better get going, kid. This isn't a good place to be." If the kid left, then maybe he'd feel better.
...Okay, probably not. But he could try.
The kid didn't leave, though. Instead he asked probably the last possible thing Shinjiro would ever want to hear from him. "...Do I know you?"
Shit.
"Why do you ask?" He replied, maybe too quickly, though the kid didn't seem to catch on, and that was probably the best thing about today.
"I'm... not sure. It just... feels like I've met you before?" Shinjiro didn't want to lie to the kid, but there were some things that really shouldn't be brought up in semi-public, and this was definitely one of them.
"...We've never spoken," Was what he eventually decided on. Because, really, he was not prepared for today. If being so was even possible.
Somehow, he doubted it.
And of course the last thing he used his phone for would be to call an ambulance for a guy on the kid's behalf. It was sort of funny, in a sad way. But it was also one less avenue for Aki to bug him.
He didn't know quite how to feel about that.
His newfound freedom all amounted to nothing, of course. Somehow, Aki and the kid had crossed paths, and for some reason the latter had decided to lead the former right to him.
And then the kid had, for some reason, decided he was concerned about Shinjiro! Something which he had just about negative reasons to do, and yet, there they were.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. And there's really no reason for either of you to worry about me in the first place." Aki didn't take his words well.
I mean, you told our brother to stop caring about us. Somehow, I doubt that's gonna happen.
"Our- the past twelve years say otherwise. And if you'd just pick up your phone every now and again, I wouldn't have to worry! It's not just me, either. Mitsuru's going spare because you won't go to school anymore."
"Look, just because you can't handle a little cold..." Really, it was kind of pathetic how quickly Aki bowed to Mitsuru in everything, as entertaining as it was to watch sometimes.
"It's December!"
"Not the point I was trying to make." Huh. He hadn't realized how much he missed this.
"Still relevant, though. I'm not letting you spend the winter out here, Shinji."
"And how do you expect to stop me?" This got Aki to stop, as though he hadn't thought this part through. He probably didn't. Good. Shinjiro would be able to wander off again in peace once this was over.
At least, until the kid spoke up. "You know, given that you told me to go home..."
"I don't see what that has to do with this," Shinjiro responded as quickly as he could, as though immediately saying the words would make them true. "I don't have a home."
What are you talking about? We've got Aki.
"Why not? It's pretty clear that Sanada-san cares about you."
"Well, Aki's an idiot." That was the best response he could make. Because despite being an idiot... Aki was right, sometimes. Twelve years was more than enough time to get irrevocably attached to a person.
Didn't mean he wasn't going to try and pry him off, of course. It was for his own good, really.
"I'm right here, you know..."
"That's still more than I've got. I- I don't really have anyone anymore. You're lucky." And cue the guilt trip. He didn't deserve any of this kindness, really.
"Doesn't feel like it..."
"Come on, Shinji, even the kid says you should come home. Just... until I'm sure you won't freeze to death. Please." Hey, he wasn't the one with an ice weakness between them. If anything, Aki should've been worried about himself.
But he still fought back, of course, because what else was he supposed to do? They were supposed to just give up, not keep pushing! ...Okay, maybe expecting that from Aki was kind of dumb. He saw the problem now.
I could have told you that.
In hindsight, he should probably have figured that out back before he ended up back in his room with the door frozen shut.
Shinjiro had no idea why the Kirijo Group decided to put Dark Hour security cameras in the kid's room. He wasn't a part of SEES anymore, so it wasn't his business, anyway. But apparently the kid had picked up Channeling from somewhere and started causing collateral damage.
Given that even Mitsuru had summoned her Persona before she started messing around with ice sculptures, that was more than a little concerning. And so, it was decided by Aki that the kid needed someone to follow him and make sure he didn't get into any trouble.
Long story short, this was why Shinjiro was spending Christmas Eve at the mall rather than literally anywhere else. Like streaming tacky foreign Christmas specials- at least one of them had to have a Japanese dub, right? That'd be far more worthwhile than whatever his brother friend Aki had planned.
And then the kid had met with one of his friends. And her father just happened to ask about the kid's parents.
Aki noticed Shinjiro's plan before it could get off the ground. "Shinji, if you try to run away again, I will zap you."
He wouldn't actually go through with it.
His escape attempt was quickly foiled by a Zio lashing at his fingers. He sighed and turned back, the marks of electrical damage already fading.
...Okay, maybe he would. Hold on, I'll fix it...
"Does informational security not mean anything to you?" But despite his grumbling, Shinjiro was still able to hear the kid's eventual response.
"...It was an accident."
"Accident? Like with a car?" The girl who was with the kid asked.
"Um... yeah, sure... let's go with that." It was pretty clear from his tone of voice that he was just saying that because it was the official explanation and not because he actually believed it.
"...Shit. He knows."
"Shinji, he doesn't even recognize you!" Aki pointed out, because at some point he'd apparently become the voice of reason. That was probably a bad sign.
"Yet."
"Do I have to zap you again?"
"Do it and I tell Mitsuru." Why had he not thought of this before? It was the best possible way to keep him from doing something stupid in public.
...It turned out, even the threat of Mitsuru Kirijo's potentially-half-righteous fury was not enough to keep Aki from doing something stupid. Shinjiro supposed he should have known better by now, but he could hope. He'd have to grow up one day, right?
"Aki, I don't care if it stole your money, you can't just deal with all your problems by punching them. Or electrocuting them." Because that was apparently a thing that actually needed saying now.
"Least I'm dealing with my problems."
"I'm dealing just fine!" He protested.
"The other day, Mitsuru had to freeze your door shut so you wouldn't run off again." Okay, that was a good point. Particularly given that it had happened more than once.
"Um... hello?" And then, there he was. The kid. "The- the two of you know about magic, right?" It was like the world just loved to taunt him.
"W-what do you mean?"
"You were just threatening to electrocute a vending machine." Shinjiro had to admit that the kid had a point. That was generally a clear giveaway, if you knew what Zio was.
"And? That doesn't mean anything."
"Also, the last time we met, your friend called you a living cell phone charger." Right. He'd done that. In public. Would probably have to worry about facing one of Mitsuru's executions if she ever found out, even if it was to someone who was known to be active in the Dark Hour. Oh, well. He wasn't Aki, he'd manage. "That's because you have Zio, right? I can use it, too."
Of course he could. And as the conversation continued, Shinjiro came to a realization.
If things continued as they had recently, then 2008 was bound to be his weirdest year yet. Or maybe his last. Or both.
He'd never tell his brother friend Aki, but he was sort-of hoping for both.
