[PP|F1] At the End of the DAY

[ChaseR 0]

When Chase heard NIGHT ask about Titan, he was rather surprised honestly. He'd never heard of him aside from Shay, and he had no clue where he still was. All he knew was that he was still alive. And then came the rain of thank you's from both sides, making him somewhat confused but he smiled awkwardly and nodded. They were both interested after all, so it only made sense that he'd share given how much he trusted the both of them, didn't it? "A-As I was saying, ahem!", he coughed loudly and dryly when NIGHT started to go at DAY's throat again, he closed his eyes tightly and sat more comfortably on his chair.

"Uuh... Titan, right. Well... I don't know much. Shay didn't share a lot, just... Before me and her got together as a party, she said that she was leveling with someone else. They both reached around level sixteen before he poofed on her and went off to... well, somewhere. She kept checking the monument in the first that tells you about who's died, apparently, and she never found his name. So he just... disappeared or something. I don't see why he'd do that, but she refused to trust me at first until we were together for a few days all of the time."

The long explanation was bound to be somewhat tiring, but he'd dragged it out a bit more to help NIGHT get her mind off of trying to roast DAY for that one time that she broke some agreement the two seemed to have made amongst themselves. Whatever the case, Chase hadn't a single clue of what went on in this household, but judging by their behavior, the swordswoman didn't seem to take too kindly to her counterpart, which was funny enough for two housemates. Especially the same person, too.

[NIGHT 0]

It had been a short hum that NIGHT had offered at the information provided by ChaseR. When he'd mentioned the man had been missing for quite some time...

"Oh, you'd be surprised."

A dry remark, just as the player stuffed the last of her salmon in her mouth. The woman then failed to elaborate, picking up her now-empty plate and bunching her cutlery in one hand.

"Right. Dishes are on me tonight."

The swift avoidance had earned the player a raised brow from their counterpart, but nonetheless DAY proceeded to rise to the collection of their ceramic. A quick ask of the man in blue was enough for the Gemini to stack their plates in full, metal gently laid out across the messed plates just as they'd paced over to the sink in the kitchen, handing them over to NIGHT.

"Kind of weird for her to want to be around you all the time, though," DAY observed, another set of small tubs in her hand retrieved from the fridge just as she'd paced back over to ChaseR's side. "But maybe that's just the evaluation stage; y'know, as training partners? I don't exactly get why she'd stop heading out into the field after that though. Seems like you're the one who's been pretty proactive about it, even from my point of view."

Sat down, lid to one side. DAY continued to snack on the remainder of the ice cream from earlier, almost like it was an unconscious habit.

[ChaseR 0]

What DAY said wasn't really wrong. He watched NIGHT head off into the kitchen, letting out a deep sigh and looking at the blonde before picking up his own spoon and following right up, eating away at the ice cream left alongside her. "Well... I didn't want to stay weak and unable to protect her. So I popped off with NIGHT and took some levels. I agree though, it didn't make sense. And for her to be frustrated and taking it out on me too that she wasn't catching up while she refused to go out and let me help her, it genuinely made even less sense."

"Whatever, Shay is on her own for now cause she wants to. I trust she'll come back with a clearer mind, if she really does. It's not that I don't have faith in her, but... she's stubborn. She'll be a while.", he noted quietly and looked at the ceiling as the creamy dessert melted on his tongue, swallowing it and letting out a relieved sigh. Man, this ice cream really was good. "Er... Sorry about ranting on her all this time. I didn't want to sound like I was gossiping or anything but you both wanted me to tell you about it, so... Sorry if I went overboard.", he awkwardly laughed and stretched, looking at the time on his HUD with a small smile. It's been a fair while, hasn't it? NIGHT Night had already fallen by now, but the sky was pretty as ever, alongside the city with its town lights.

[NIGHT 0]

"Wha--"

At ChaseR's reach of the dessert with his own spoon, DAY watched the thief stow away with a moderate haul, their teeth biting down on the spoon half licked of cream with a frustrated look upon their face. A grumble, blue eyes sparked with fervor while half-lidded. "You could stand to say something too, y'know."

But still they listened, just as the sound of dish washing gave ambiance and noise to the relatively quiet household. The entity seemed to take a bigger portion than usual, collecting remnants of loose crunchy dough bits, found set in between the slough of frosty mush, starting to devour them whole. With a nod, just as their conversationalist finished speaking, so too did the mirror pull their scoop away from their lips, gulping the savoury and tender treat down.

"Good luck with however it is you're interacting with her, at least."

"Ditto," chimed the returning player, a few cardboard boxes and tubs in tow. NIGHT set her haul down upon the table, the stack nearly reaching the ceiling of the room; with a careful split, she shifted the tower into various separate halves.

"Woah. You're really giving all of this away?"

"See how he likes it. And we still have more where this is coming from..."

Had this been the real world, the woman would've started to shove the overload of Yuki's Desserts™ away into a fresh paper bag. Instead, all she did was signal to the man in blue with a couple of finger snaps and taps upon the desserts' packaging. "These are assorted ice-cream mochi," she began, patting one tower down. "And then those over there," a gesture with a point, "are the deep fried ice cream bits you two have been munching on all evening. And--"

One last round of taps on a number of other towers lined up in rows across the table. "I'm not even sure what these ones are. Frozen Taiyaki, maybe? Whatever, take a look and pick some out for yourself."

[ChaseR 0]

Chase laughed awkwardly at the tease from DAY, giving her a nod and taking his spoon away from her container. "S-Sorry, I got taken away for a moment, haha... Hehe~...", he tried to shrug it off, although he did feel his cheeks burning up a little bit. When he saw how much was set out for him though, his eyes lead up with a childish gleam again as he clapped his hands and tilted his head. He didn't want to resurface old memories of his lack of cultural knowledge, but here he was at its mercy once more. He leaned in to DAY and asked with squinted eyes, starting to sweat slightly.

"O-Oi, Day, you don't know what Taiyaki is, do you?". In order to try and fail at raising no suspicions, he looked back to the tub in front of the blonde and then the one that NIGHT had patted before declaring it as 'deep fried ice cream'. "D-Deep fried ice cream? It tastes good, but... it has to be an accident, what the hell..?". Whatever the case, he raised his hands in the air and shrugged, unsure what to take. The mochis were his first taste of good food in Aincrad during his second lessons, the deep fried ice cream tasted fairly well, and the Taiyaki he hadn't a single idea what it was. So many choices...

[NIGHT 0]

"O-Oi, DAY, you don't know what Taiyaki is, do you?"

"You're the worst liar."

"You're barking up the wrong tree."

In that show of solidarity, NIGHT recalled just how awful ChaseR had been with food and culture. She let out a sigh, fingers pushing up her bangs in a huff, before opening the small mysterious cardboard box by her side.

Sure enough, it was taiyaki; the player was at least glad she hadn't misremembered the treats at all.

"It's like an ice cream sandwich," she elaborated, picking up the fish-shaped dessert and ripping it in half. The insides of it were green-- matcha. NIGHT took a bite out of the head of the fish first, before offering the other portion to DAY. "Just not as sweet as chocolate or strawberry. I think some of these might have red bean in them as well."

"That's a lot of ice cream for one day, don't you think?"

Between soft fingers, the Gemini took it, sliding the creamy dessert into their mouth.

"And you're still going to eat it," NIGHT mumbled between bites.

With a hand, she'd shut the lid on the singular box -- there were a few pieces of taiyaki still left in there, but a shove of the variety of boxes over to ChaseR was the best she could do to offer the man to at least try them out. Or force him to take it home.

[ChaseR 0]

And force him exactly he did. With embarrassment from NIGHT having overheard his question and DAY calling him out on lying about getting too comfortable, enough to steal from her tub of dessert, he just laughed lowly and awkwardly, his voice fading into the fourth dimension after a few seconds as his cheeks burned up. This time, at least NIGHT's words to DAY weren't as much going to her throat as it was just playful teasing. He could do with that, so long as there was no ill intent. He grabbed a taiyaki from the box too before shutting it for good and trying to stash it in his inventory, nomming on it silently.

It was definitely tasty, even if he hadn't the slightest clue what exactly it contained. Hell though, this amount of sweets was definitely unhealthy back in the real world, and it'd soon enough end up sickening if they kept going at it this way. "Y-You said pink cooked this? For all I don't like her, she's good at cooking when she's not deep frying ice cream...", he mumbled as he enjoyed the texture and taste of the food slowly melting inside of his mouth, shivering from pleasure even. Fuck she was a good cook. For all she lacked in making him feel at ease, she made up for with her desserts or whatever other food Chase had claimed from her shop.

[NIGHT 0]

Without any outward signs of specific enthusiasm, NIGHT merely piled a few choice desserts -- enough for two players across two weeks, she estimated -- and set them aside, gently prodding the stack towards ChaseR. The other collection, still piled in numerous towers by the side of the desk, were then picked up by the player as she returned them all to her inventory. By the time she would reach the fridge, the transfer of food items would come easy.

"Well, if that's dinner settled..."

The Gemini dusted off their hands before stretching backwards, letting out a small grunt when they'd recovered. "I'll head on over to the yard for now. Need to make sure the slimes in the farm aren't causing enough of a ruckus just yet."

With a wave, they bounded off past the kitchen, leaving NIGHT alone having returned from her storage of desserts back to ChaseR's side.

"If it makes you feel any better about the food, just assume that you bought them instead from an NPC or something. Sounds good?"

[ChaseR 0]

A shrug was all the response she got, once he'd waved DAY off and watched her exit the building. Throwing both of his hands behind his head, he wasn't sure exactly what to say or do by now. Outside it was dark and it'd be a good idea to leave sooner or later. "Nah, it doesn't ruin the food for me. Yuki's food is hers, no stealing credit. Same as the katana she gave me to pass onto Shay. It's hers, not mine.", he nodded to himself and looked to the side at NIGHT, with a blank expression leaning towards a very faint smile.

"... Are you feeling any better than before? Now that we've had dessert, dinner and all?", he asked with a hint of worry in his voice, unsure if she was doing better or not. Every time he thought that things began to go smoothly, she just appeared to start screeching at DAY again for the sole reason that she could. "Ah, and sorry if I intruded. I just... hadn't seen DAY in a few days and missed her somewhat? It's still hard to process that I'd spent two days with her without knowing or noticing the difference."

[NIGHT 0]

"... Are you feeling any better than before? Now that we've had dessert, dinner and all?"

"A little," NIGHT returned, though she wasn't certain of the mood she was to compare her current state in. She'd folded her arms, leaning against a close wall; from the corner of her eye, the player could spot their mirror shuffling towards the fences in their yard.

"Ah, and sorry if I intruded."

"You didn't. Don't worry about it."

"I just... hadn't seen DAY in a few days and missed her somewhat?"

It was instinctual how her brows had furrowed, gaze darting over to ChaseR with a look of mild curiosity upon her face. Even as he'd explained, her mind continued to focus on the idea that her shadow would've been fawned over.

That thought gnawed at her, somewhat. But barely enough for her to shrug it off for the moment.

"Hard to blame you," came a murky accusation. "But you barely knew me as a player back then. Doubtless you wouldn't be able to tell from a second meeting with someone."

A scoff, just as she'd return her gaze to the darkened outdoors. "Can't say I see her the same way you do, though."

[ChaseR 0]

It was nice to see NIGHT understanding of him even now, when she had all the reason to disagree. She did, at least with her own viewpoint, but she still accepted Chase's all the same. He was intrigued, but just from his own meeting of his familiar, he knew fully well why she wasn't as comfortable with her gemini roaming about. "She's still you, isn't that it? The same reason I feel uncomfortable about Freyd. I've killed my gemini, but he feels like a more sour version of him- well, me.". It was hard to put into words, but to see something so similar to oneself, so uncanny... He knew what it was like.

Especially when that something was your own double. "I don't think there's anything I can or should do to help.", he pointed out and pulled his hands back to stuff them in his jacket's pockets, huffing and turning to look to the side at the swordswoman. "What's the plan either way? Just stick with her until?", the bluehead showed genuine concern, curious to hear whatever she could possibly have in her mind.

[NIGHT 0]

She'd listen to him talk. ChaseR's words made sense, sure; she had came to the same conclusions he did whenever the player first let the Gemini go.

-- Of course, she hadn't expected someone else to have slain their doppelganger. It struck NIGHT as odd; the woman side-eyed her companion as he spoke, almost as though her glare was accusing him for having committed a crime.

It sort of was, wasn't it? Killing someone else, whether or not they did, in fact, look like you?

But then came back the players' dynamics with each other to sink her back into reality. She wondered, for a moment if Freyd too had slain his own Gemini. How many more others would be able to say the same?

Why?

How do you kill another human being?

"I don't think there's anything I can or should do to help."

"No," she murmured, still somewhat stuck in her stupor. "No, it's fine."

"What's the plan either way? Just stick with her until?"

-- The million col question. What exactly was she to do with her Gemini?

(In all honesty, having named them in the first place was, perhaps, NIGHT's biggest mistake.)

"They need me," she returned, eyes drifting towards the highlights of the glass that fronted the yard. "I'm clueless as to what for, but they need me. So I'll let them."

[ChaseR 0]

The glare did all the talking. Whatever her thoughts were, it was going right through to him. And having watched DAY go about her day, he knew that NIGHT could have been right- had his own Gemini acted differently. To him, it was a villain. It was one of Kayaba's monsters trying to convince Chase that he didn't know himself when he, in fact, did. "... Mine was a monster. It tried to kill me and mocked me. Told me I didn't know who I was and questioned whether I really even knew myself well at all. The only moment he showed semblance of life was before he passed away, but... The dipshit knows a way to bring them back. Freyd."

Despite having briefly mentioned that, he shook his head and looked down at the ground before towards the window. He couldn't catch a glimpse of DAY, but he was certain that his friend could see her just fine. "I see though. I would never think to kill a person. And DAY is more of a human than some people in here I've met. Please, continue to take good care of her.", he requested from NIGHT and turned to her with a small, genuine smile.

[NIGHT 0]

"That's how all of them start, then," NIGHT concluded aloud, eyes still settling vaguely around ChaseR's frame. Just the thought of imagining her friend's own double had been an exercise in walking through how her personalized construct had came to be, right before the player had spared them. Shaky vision, the pounding in her ears --

"The stalking, the death threats, the murder attempts--"

-- and yet she'd let her own past death's door.

Had she been smarter, just as ChaseR was; or more steady, solid, more unforgiving... she wouldn't even have this problem by now.

"Freyd knows them," she echoed, the information failing to register in her mind fully. Even as her fingers gripped her chin, her sights merely swept across the floor in mindless thought just as she'd started to consider the what-if's of her scenario. "I see."

She didn't see.

ChaseR carried on with their conversation. NIGHT attempted to follow.

"...DAY is more of a human than some people in here I've met. Please, continue to take good care of her."

"Good care--"

Could she keep her promise? Did she want to make it in the first place, even, as her eyes swept over the yard entrance once again?

 

"... Okay."

 

It was hollow, uncertain, the woman scratching at the emptiness of their conversation within the past minute, trying to shove the thoughts of her own trauma away from the fore-front of her mind. She thought her breaths might've been shallow at some point; she took the moment to recover, a heavy blink and an expelled breath to cleanse her thoughts of burden.

"Sorry-- did you just mention something about Freyd?"

[ChaseR 0]

To think that Chase's own gemini might have become like DAY was honestly moving. In more ways than one, too. He wasn't sure how to feel about it, but all he knew was that he didn't regret his decision. Maybe his own skills would be different, or he as a whole would be. That might have meant never meeting some of the people he had on his way here, and the like. And then came the question on Freyd when she accepted his request. It was a relief on one hand, a crashing wave on the other. "He hurt Mari. He tried to manipulate her and tricked her into getting her own Gemini out of her, so she could 'engineer her own oblivion'. He shouldn't be trusted. He's a monster."

His thoughts went on and on as Chase's eyes narrowed to a blood cold stare down at the floor, with concentrated hatred burning up inside of him. His breathing even got somewhat shaky amidst his resurfacing anger, and he remained like that for almost half a minute. The silence was more tense than ever, but once said half a minute had passed, he snapped out of it and instantly softened his expression, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"All I ask is you remember to breathe, and take a moment. That's all."

Even if she wasn't there, her voice echoed in the back of his head as he immediately calmed down. If Chase had no weak spots up to now, Mari was the one he just found. The only person whose words could soothe him within seconds. That's why he felt all that pent up anger come out when Freyd was mentioned, too. Despite that, NIGHT had no business with this whole ordeal. As did Chase, but he wasn't willing to accept that. "No, nothing. I just made a slip up. Don't worry about it.", he finally answered as he looked to the side with his blank expression again, offering a short and fake smile of reassurance. 

[NIGHT 0]

Funny. Two players, three feet apart, neither of them saying anything, too caught up in the very idea of their own troubles -- unsaid, unspoken secrets -- should be kept to each of themselves.

So it was without expectations, even after all that time had passed, that NIGHT had received her companion's reply in grace.

"No, nothing. I just made a slip up."

The smile betrayed everything NIGHT knew the situation to be -- if, for once, the woman was paying attention to it.

"Don't worry about it."

She hadn't the capability at the moment.

"I see," the player returned. A fold of her arms once more; did the atmosphere grow heavier while she hadn't noticed it? She steadied her breathing once more, this time finding more success in the endeavor.

"I hadn't expected you two to be familiar with each other," NIGHT unveiled, watching the man's form for any signs that he'd wish to leave soon. "I remember meeting the man once when he was just starting out, half expecting news about anomalies. Something like our Gemini problem here."

The player waved with a hand towards the yard. Perhaps it was on her subconscious that she continued to reach out for truth.

"Guess he hasn't run into anything just yet."

[ChaseR 0]

"He has.", the bluehead almost abruptly interrupted her, his look sharpening for a moment before he realised it, closing his eyes to take another deep breath. "... Sorry. He has. He doesn't know about DAY, but he knows about Geminis and Cardinal fucking up. The Sundered Spire, like I mentioned when we did the unicorn quest. Monsters by Cardinal that keep their memories and respawn. Fueled with hatred and drive to kill the players and nothing else. He also knows how to manipulate Geminis or create 'fake ones'. Make sure he never runs into DAY."

For once, there was little malice when talking about her and more worry for her counterpart as he looked to the side with a blank look but furrowed brows. His tone was rather wary, but that's because he tried his best not to let loose and rip Freyd a new one before his friend. "... He can be dangerous. Avoid him please.", he finally blurted out despite his best efforts to stay objective, looking down at the ground with a pained expression. He seemed almost hurt as he held his right arm with one hand, tightening his grip and clenching his other fist.

And then it made its return, the awkward silence. He had nothing else to say, and talking about the man just seemed to send him into almost overdrive. It was easy to see, even with little knowledge of what had happened, that he was holding his tongue back- probably biting it right now to prevent himself from blurting any more about his personal affairs with the scumbag.

[NIGHT 0]

"He has."

ChaseR had begun.

At least NIGHT was awake this time. To hear of the priest's own sins; the duplicates, she imagined, crafted row after row after row, alongside the existence of the Sundered Spire, but to which she barely recalled comprehending in full after a long day's tiring journey. The man had called them fakes and NIGHT knew them to be true to their word.

But to manipulate or create them? That was news to the player herself.

She watched as her companion fell silent, wondering of the truth of his words of warning. Less of the fact that she didn't trust her friend, and more of the knowledge that she'd gone uncontacted, unaware of the happenings of the system, just as she'd kept her own secret to herself. And as the two stewed in the quiet -- ChaseR still brewing anger and grief, NIGHT still reeling from the shock.

"... He can be dangerous. Avoid him please."

The player huffed. "I barely make contact with him as it is."

Their emptiness stretched on, until NIGHT chose to speak. "I'll take your word for it." And the weight of that refracted promise from earlier only grew heavier by the woman's registry. "I trust DAY can hold out on their own for just as well as I can, if it's anything like an immediate threat; a monster or an army of foes to defend against. But I'll do as you said."

"Please, continue to take good care of her."

Her breath only hardened upon recall of their agreement.

"Let me know if you find anything more."

 

"--But it's getting late." The final addition to the conversation, NIGHT stepping away from the confines of her home. "I trust you'd want to turn in soon; either way, the road back home should be safe from danger if you're travelling from safe zone to safe zone. Still-- need me to walk you back?"

[ChaseR 0]

Chase trusted just as much as NIGHT did, in that she could defend herself- nah, probably much, much more, given their disparity in strength and levels even. As much as he lacked in strength compared to NIGHT, he lacked that much more compared to DAY, an NPC that couldn't even miss her own attacks. "I'll keep you updated, I promise. I'll help you protect her anytime.", he promised with a warm smile again, offering a tired thumbs up with one hand as he stretched again, letting out a yawn in the meantime. "I'll head home on my own, don't worry about it."

And so, Chase began to head for the door alongside NIGHT. He'd run into DAY as soon as he exited the house, but he wanted to make sure he waved his friend goodbye proper first. "Thank you a lot, for having me here and treating me to dinner. I'll be at home, and... I've something out of the ordinary for tomorrow, if you want. A sub-dungeon. We'll talk on the specifics after a good rest either way, alright?", he reassured her and dipped his head in once more, exiting the house and looking about the yard for DAY. It'd be nice to wave her goodbye too, considering this was their second meeting and it had been a good week or so.

[NIGHT 0]

"A sub-dungeon?" NIGHT tilted her head, holding the door open for her companion in his departure. "Like from one of those maps from monsters?" She'd been on only a handful of their adventures so far, and none of them had seemed too pleasing; still, as long as she was with another player entirely, the fights shouldn't be too difficult. She nodded at his suggestion. "Talk to you tomorrow then. Rest well when you get back."

The light slam from the door shutting was completely natural due to its weight. Nonetheless, just as it was closing, he might've been able to catch sight of the returning Gemini striding back into the house, watching ChaseR leave and hurriedly giving him a wave from the back. It was only when NIGHT had sighed and turned around with the intent to turn in for the hour did she realize the entity's sudden appearance.

She let out a squeal of surprise then.