Chapter Text
December 20th, 2016
Night, Maruki's Apartment
Clicking noises permeated the room as Maruki typed on the keyboard's surface. He finally had what he needed to finish his paper on cognitive psience and prove to the world that he was right about his research. So many months of struggling to understand why financial support for his research had been suddenly stripped away were finally coming to a close. The college Maruki worked for, blamed it on a lack of evidence, and ceased all funding. He was treated like a fool for wanting to help the masses… But no more, he was finally going to create a world full of happiness; a world in which suffering didn’t exist. And all it took was the support of the supposed delinquent transfer student of Shujin Academy - Ren Amamiya.
Maruki had spent various long sessions discussing his ideas with Ren. Each time Maruki had a new hypothesis, Ren’s answer would intrigue him beyond the teenager’s understanding. Their perspectives on many subjects regarding cognitive psience seemed to always align, although Maruki had to wonder if it was because Ren had been wronged as well. Rumors of Ren’s delinquency spread like wildfire throughout the campus, making him out to be some violent irredeemable criminal. And yet when Maruki spent time with him, he found the complete opposite; he found a gentle boy who’s only desire was to ensure that no one else was put in his situation.
It helped that he just so happened to stumble upon him and his friends manifesting out of thin air one random afternoon after school. They had directly proven to him the existence of that other world, the one the late Wakaba referred to as Mementos. A place where the dreams of people’s hearts took physical form. And so he wanted to give Ren his wish, after all, it’s what he and his friends deserved. Not to mention that they were the last piece to the puzzle he had to solve, the piece that would reveal itself once he finished his paper.
“Just a few more sentences…” Maruki whispered to himself, continuing to type quickly. “Now put this here… this part here… And done! I did it!”
Maruki stared at his computer screen and let out a sigh of relief. He sat in his chair and stretched out his arms, allowing himself a moment of relaxation. He looked to the remote near his computer.
“I think I earned a little break. Let’s see what’s on the news…” He clicked on the remote, bringing the screen to life as the image settled in the rectangular box. “Oh? It’s an interview,” he said to himself.
“Welcome viewers! Tonight we have a special guest! She’s a famous actress who’s still relatively new to the scene, please welcome Yukari Takeba!” The TV host’s voice was followed by a wave of cheers and applause for the actress.
Yukari walked on stage, waving casually to the viewers in the audience before taking her seat next to the show’s host. The interviewer asked question after question, none of which seemed to catch Maruki’s interest all that much. They were all about her lifestyle, and the latest gossip in terms of competition with other actresses. Bored, Maruki was getting ready to change the channel when a particular question caught his attention.
“So, Ms. Takeba, rumor has it that you’re in a relationship now? Would it be too much trouble to enlighten us on the matter?” The host asked with a smirk.
“Now there’s one I haven’t heard in a while,” Yukari scoffed in a teasing manner. “What even sparked this ‘rumor?’”
“Well, there’s the ring on your hand right there,” the host pointed to her finger.
Yukari giggled, interrupting the host, “Let me stop you right there. No, I’m not in a relationship, and frankly, I don’t think I’ll ever be in one again,” she spoke confidently before she directed her attention to the audience. “This ring is special to me and it’s from someone who I love.”
“Erm… Ms. Takeba wouldn’t that put you in a relationship? I don’t seem to quite understand…”
Yukari shook her head, “Nope. The person I love is no longer with us, unfortunately. But he gave me this ring a long time ago, it’s a promise ring of sorts,” she said, looking down fondly at the ring. “The reason I even decided to become an actress was to inspire hope in children and bring smiles to their faces. It’s my promise that I swore to keep before he passed away. But, I guess you could also say it’s my way of showing him that I’m doing okay. And that’s all there really is to it,” she giggled gleefully.
The crowd let out a collective “Aww,” leaving the host stunned and in complete silence.
Though Maruki found the sentiment to be touching, he had a frown on his face. He pushed his glasses along the bridge of his nose. His eyes had a serious expression about them as he continued to look at the actress from the screen. Though there was a clear sense of love in her eyes, he could also feel a hint of sadness and longing radiating from them. It was the sort of thing that, to most people, would go unnoticed. But years of experience with helping others cope with their emotions — he knew. He knew what she was hiding from them; what she truly felt deep down inside her heart. It didn’t matter how much time passed, the death of someone so important to anyone was not something that was easily dealt away with. No, it didn’t matter how much any person said they’ve grown or moved on, that lingering feeling of wanting that special someone at your side would always remain.
Part of why he even gained the power and evidence to create his perfect world was because he too lost someone so near and dear to him. Not to death, but to a tragic incident that left her completely and utterly broken. Her name was Rumi, the woman of his life, they were set to get married soon, but those plans had changed. And it didn’t matter how much he tried to do for her, she simply didn’t want him around anymore. So in a way, it was like she was dead regardless of what he felt towards her. That’s why he had to see his world become the new reality, even if in that world she still rejected him, the sole accomplishment that he could be the one to rid her of her trauma would be enough to satisfy him.
So when he turned to look at Yukari again through the small TV, he knew he had to bring back that person. And the best part? Maruki didn’t even need to know the individual, all he needed was Yukari’s lingering desire and the rest would work itself out.
“He’ll be back, I can promise you that much,” he told her, clearly not expecting to see her reaction through the TV. “No one should have to suffer the loss of losing those most important to them. In my reality, everyone will have what they want most, I will bring them true happiness. Rest assured that it will include you too, Ms. Takeba.”
Maruki turned off the TV and shifted in his seat before facing his computer again. He immediately got to work on editing his paper. He was going to see this through; he was going to make sure that his reality came to be. A faint chuckle escaped his lips as it filled the room, bringing life to the otherwise quiet space.
“By this time on the 24th, my reality will be born.”