fridgeninja | PRISMATICA INBOX

[She'll come in the door to the scent of baking - Souji'd already started a batch of orange madeleine cookies when she'd texted, and it made sense to continue, so as she comes in, he's just moving a tray's worth onto a cooling rack.]

[The smell of flour and sugar hits her nose immediately. "Mmmm," that's a hint of citrus too. Gosh, Souji, you make it impossible to be mad at you for any length of time.]

Did I walk into a bakery by accident?

I wouldn't call it an accident, exactly...

Is that so? Trying to bribe me, then?

[It's a bit of a harsh tease, but she feels like she's earned it.]

[There's just a little bit of a pause before he answers.]

Trying to apologize.

Cookies won't be enough, but I thought they'd be a start.

[Oh that takes all of the angry wind out of her sails. Rise deflates, softness starting to show through her guarded expression.]

You put in the effort and that means something.

[She takes a seat in the kitchen to watch him finish setting the cookies on the rack to cool.]

[He doesn't take long before he's bringing over a small plate with three cookies on it for her, one for himself in his off hand.]

Here you go.

[He sits, takes a bite of the cookie, and folds his hands thoughtfully. The best way to begin this...]

I'm sorry. I won't make excuses. I should have said something earlier, rather than...

[He trails off, sympathetic expression not quite a wince, but he'd polite enough to be uncomfortable saying it too bluntly, even as direct as he is.]

[Softness all around, now. The warm smell of cookies melts the ice still around her heart. You're a clever boy, Souji Seta. Guess that's why you're the leader.]

Yes, you should have.

[A beat, and she lowers her hands to her lap.]

I could have handled it better, though, probably.

[She knows she can be immature.]

I worried. But it was my fault, so.

[He shrugs.]

Yosuke's let me know I've been a little off lately. I'm trying to fix that.

I got a lot of good advice.

[And made new friends. It was a net positive, probably.]

Yeah? I wish I wasn't the very last person to get here. It feels weird, knowing all of you have been living lives in this place and I had no idea.

It's weird for us, too. And I'm still not used to Naoto and Kanji being my sempai.

[He smiles a little wryly, and then reverts to formality, choosing his words carefully and letting each sentence sit in a little pocket of quiet while he thinks through the next one.]

So.

There's a lot I should probably tell you.

Where should I start?

I think Kanji would turn blue if you tried to call him that.

[The image is amusing, and the smile stays in a trace even as Souji gets serious.]

I guess I have some catching up to do, yeah.

Hmm.

How long has it been since you last saw me?

He does. It's pretty great.

[That much is worth a smile.]

Before you came here?

... It's been about seven months. I'd just boarded the train to go back to live with my parents again.

[He carefully doesn't say 'go home.' Inaba was home - more than anywhere else ever had been.]

I watched everyone waving from the platform until I couldn't see you any more. Then I went to take a nap.

I woke up in a different world.

Seven months...

[That's a long time. Kanji had also said he and Naoto had been here in Prisma... was it six months? So long. It's hard for her to wrap her head around.

A smile comes to her face as he evokes the memory on the train platform. Her eyes sting a little, too. That memory is still fresh.]

You mean here?

Ah...

No.

This was my second stop.

[His voice is crisp, firm. It's not that he's unwilling to share, but he wants to be sure - when he reaches the unpleasant part of the explanation - that she's not ambushed by it.]

I was somewhere else first for... I think it was about a month and a half.

Oh.

[Souji may be a poker face extraordinaire, but when he wants to use a tone, it comes across loud and clear. Right away Rise can tell this is something serious, and an apprehension settles over her. She needs a bite of confection for this.]

Okay.

[She's buckled in, captain.]

I don't want to make it sound like an excuse, but. It was... unpleasant.

When I got here, it was a big relief. But I haven't been as thoughtful about how I'm acting as I should have been,

[There's a lot to unpack there.]

I'm glad you didn't stay there.

[That at least is a clear thought. She's actually reminded of Kairi, and the things she said about how being in Prisma changed the way she acted in ways she wasn't even aware of. That cushions some of Rise's fears.]

You're being thoughtful now.

Yosuke kicked my butt a little.

[That makes him smile a little more broadly.]

I'd been relaxing into a routine here... but I wasn't thinking as hard as I should about Chie's feelings... or his... or yours.

I was going to catch you up on things after he talked to me... but I thought I should straighten things out with Chie first.

[He glances down, flushing, and scratches the back of his head.]

... It didn't go exactly how I expected.

[That makes her smile, too. Yosuke is a good friend, to all of them. Maybe better than they deserve, but definitely what they needed. At least in Rise and Souji's case.]

I guess you were kind of in a hurry to move on and get back to something normalish? Or Okayish, at least.

[She can't say she'd blame him, even if she doesn't know what he's dealing with.]

It didn't?

....Oh.

...........Oh.

[Rise's cheeks warm a little as well.]

It... kinda makes me feel better to know you had a plan to talk to me and you weren't just going to put it off indefinitely. I definitely didn't need to know what Chie sounds like in bed, though.

[Feeling better enough to rib, that's something.]

If it hadn't been for Yosuke, I don't know when I would have made that plan. So, don't let me off too easily.

[He's steadily getting redder as they continue on this subject.]

We'd been careful to be quiet since Yosuke overheard once, but... we lost track, this time.

Yosuke's really lookin' out for me lately.

[She smiles fondly. Maybe she can find a way to thank him for this, too, without him getting too embarrassed.]

I see.

[Not a great look, but he's being honest and she needs that from him. She nibbles more of a cookie, waiting to see if he has more he needs to say.]

For me, too.

[He sighs, and munches on the rest of his cookie. he knows it isn't a great answer, but it's all the answer he has.]

We're lucky to have him.

[She finishes her own cookie and smiles.]

He'd probably lose it if we tried to tell him that, though.

[That little bit of levity aside, they still have some stuff to talk through.]

Someone very helpful told me that for her, she often slips into habits and things she doesn't realize she's doing. That this place has changed her in ways she forgets to be aware of, especially around new arrivals. That helped me be a little less angry.

Yosuke told me you're collecting girlfriends. Well, not in those words. Apparently that's something kind of common, here.

[She doesn't really have a point or a plan, she's just saying what's on her mind.]

Ah...

[And she hits him with it directly. That's...

Well, he really wouldn't expect anything less. Rise's always been someone who could jump in the deep end of a conversation, and he appreciates that, even when it does, well, this to him.]

I learned about it from someone - her name's Megumi - that I met in the last world, after we arrived here... mm, and after she shot me down.

[He chuckles, a little weakly, and looks away in momentary embarrassment.]

But it's true. In Inaba, I never felt like I could choose... so when someone explained I might not have to... I asked out Chie, and Hifumi-san. And...

[He turns even redder.]

There are... some people I've moonlaced with... that I should probably have a conversation with. One of them, for sure.

(is this one, two, or More days later after The Incident?)

i'm thinking two!

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