Kotone & Aigis

Chapter 4: Determination

Several minutes had passed since the dark hour had begun; time was running out. We had managed to ascend several floors tonight, making the most of the dark hour, and not only that, I had expressed my feelings to Aigis, and she had reciprocated.

Aigis walked by my side, holding my hand. She hadn't let go of it since our confession, where she had shared her feelings with me. Are we now girlfriends? We hadn't discussed it yet, but this probably wasn't the time or place. First, we needed to get out of this place. We had already informed Fuuka to let Ken know we were leaving and that they should find the exit as well.

After walking for a while on the floor, we managed to find the teleporter to return. But before going in, Aigis stopped me.

"Um, do you think we should tell the rest of the team about us?"

"About us?" It's true that we hadn't finished discussing our feelings, and it would be best not to tell anyone for now until we'd talked it over more.

"For now, let's keep it between us, okay?"

"That sounds fine." With that, she let go of my hand, and it had been a while since I had my left hand free. We both walked to the teleporter and made our way back to the entrance to meet up with the others.

Once at the entrance, we saw Ken and Koromaru. It seemed they had arrived a little before us, so we all started walking to leave. Amongst the group, I noticed Fuuka, and her face was completely red. Something had happened to her. I wanted to ask her, but I decided to wait until we got back to the dorm, although I was curious.

On our way back to the dorm, I was in a fantastic mood. I felt like I could go back to Tartarus and spend another hour fighting shadows, even though I knew it was just a mental effect, and physically I was tired. On our way, I stopped at a vending machine to get a drink. While I was opening the can, Aigis noticed that I had separated from the group and came over to me.

"Do you want a drink too, Aigis?"

"You know I don't need to drink to survive."

"That's true, hahaha..." There was an uncomfortable silence afterwards. What kind of question was that? She's an android; obviously, she doesn't need to drink.

"Are you okay? You still seem to have a fever, your temperature is high."

"I don't have a fever; it's just that I still feel a little embarrassed when I'm close to you."

"Embarrassed? Should I move away then?"

"What? No, I, umm... I don't want you to move away from me." I had said something embarrassing again, and my face grew even redder.

"Umm, Aigis, we're not—"

"We should hurry; the rest is leaving us behind."

"Oh! Right, let's go." I missed my chance to ask her, but it wasn't the right moment anyway, was it? Maybe I could talk to her privately in my room or hers. But, wait, alone in a room with her? I wasn't sure if I could handle that. So, when could I ask her? I wasn't sure when the right time would be. I kept thinking about it as I walked alongside her to catch up with the rest of the group on our way back to the dorm.

We had caught up with the group and headed back to the dorm. The dark hour had ended a few minutes earlier. The coffins had returned to being people, continuing their routine from before the dark hour began. I found this fascinating; an entire hour when dangerous beings called Shadows would appear, some of them even outside Tartarus. I sometimes worried about what might happen if a Shadow managed to escape during the dark hour. How much damage could it cause? Could regular people even defeat it? I felt a bit anxious just thinking about it. However, it was impossible for something like that to happen. I suddenly realized that we were standing in front of the dorm's entrance, and thus ended another expedition into Tartarus. Everyone went to their rooms, including Aigis. I wanted to stop her and talk, but I couldn't find the courage. I didn't know the right way to ask Aigis about us.

We had already made our way back to the dorm, and everyone had gone to their rooms. Aigis and I had yet to discuss our feelings and our newfound relationship. But something made me hesitate. Suddenly, someone tugged at my sleeve, and it was Fuuka. I hadn't realized she'd stayed behind.

"Did something happen, Fuuka?"

"Well, you see, Kotone, you and Aigis... are you now... girlfriends?"

What? How did she know? When did she find out? Did Aigis tell her while I was distracted, or...? Then it hit me—she could have heard us with her Persona inside Tartarus. Did she overhear the entire confession? Now I realized that her face was quite red when we returned to the entrance of Tartarus. I had been careless, and confessing while in the middle of an expedition to Tartarus may not have been the best move on my part.