Chapter Text
Aigis never stopped thinking about him. She had accepted his sacrifice, his passing and how unjust and short his life was. This didn’t stop her from keeping him in her thoughts. It took her a very long time to accept it all, she even almost gave up in the process. But in the end, she had decided to move forward and to live her life, even if he wasn’t a part of it anymore. She didn’t see herself as a machine anymore, despite her mechanical body, her cold hands or her artificial heart. She was a person, and she did not want to think of herself as anything else.
Aigs never was meant for anything more than killing Shadows. Grotesque monsters whose only aim was to harm humanity. She was built as a thoughtless weapon, designed to kill anything her creators told her to shoot at. Be it monsters, humans, even her own companions. And yet she broke free from Ikutsuki’s clutches, driven by the desire to protect the people she cherished.
Aigis never was supposed to disobey him, to make friends, to feel, to laugh, to cry, to grieve, to live. And she definitely never was supposed to fall in love. She knew her feelings for her old leader weren't just platonic. With how strong she felt about him and only him, how envious she felt towards “lovey-dovey couples”, as Akihiko said, and with how hurt she was when he left. A romantic kind of love was the only logical answer.
However, because of her metal body, Aigis used to think it was impossible for her to be loved in return, that nobody would want to be with someone like her. She was aware of how romantic attraction worked, she thought a vulgar machine like herself was destined to end up alone. Her leader knew how she felt towards him, and how she felt towards herself. He had rejected her, not because she was an android but only because he wasn’t interested in romance himself. He made sure to explain to her why he rejected her and to tell her that she would find someone one day. Someone who would love Aigis simply because of who she is. Someone who would see through the metal and circuits and only saw Aigis as someone wonderful. His kind and reassuring words soothed the hurt from the rejection..
After his passing, Aigis didn’t think about romance much. She does not reject the idea of it nor does she actively seek it. She just never found anyone that made her feel like how he did. Her friends, however, seem to push her to find someone. While she was spending time with some of the old SEES members, Yukari told her she will make it her mission to become her “wingwoman”, as she said. Aigis asked her why and she simply told her, “Come on, Aigis, that’s just what friends do ! And to be honest, you deserve someone in your life.” After seeing Aigis’ confused face, Junpei told her with a grin, “She means you need to get laid, Ai-chan.”, with a look of utter disgust Yukari told her, “Rule number 1, never go for idiots like Stupei.”
Ever since then, when she and Yukari hung out together, she would point at random men, asking her if they were her “type”, as she said. Aigis always told her no, she didn't know these people and wasn't interested in looks or physical appearances. She never understood how Junpei could tell a girl was cute, or pretty or “smoking hot”, as he said. Never understood the infamous Akihiko female fan club from highschool, who apparently weren’t into boxing at all. She didn’t get how Yukari’s magazine was able to rank the top fifty most attractive people on Earth. She simply concluded caring about other people’s physique was not for her, surely it wouldn’t be the most unique thing about her. With all that in mind, she was now wondering why was she staring so intently at a stranger's features at this very moment.
She was taking her usual train back home, after a day of work as a member of the Shadow Operatives. She was idly looking at the other passengers, trying to pass the time, until she saw her. Aigis couldn’t help but stop and stare. It was the first time she ever saw her this person the first time she acted like that with someone she didn’t know. The girl was thin and a bit smaller than her. She wore a ponytail adorned with four silver barrettes which spelled the number twenty two in roman numerals. Her hair was a bright brown, to the point where it almost looked as red as her eyes. Her smile was cheery and easy going, yet somewhat forced. She wore a white sweater, an orange and brown plaid skirt, brown boots, and to top it all off she had an orange scarf. Said orange scarf was very aesthetically pleasing when combined with her hair and eyes. She was also listening to music thanks to a red MP3 player. She clearly was greatly enjoying the song she was listening to. Aigis was sure this was the kind of girl Junpei would call pretty, but she didn't know why she herself spent this much time examining her.
That was when it hit her, this girl somehow reminded her a lot of her old leader for a reason she couldn't place. With just the stranger’s demeanour she could tell they had very different personalities. She seemed outgoing and bubbly while he was cool and calm. Maybe it was because of the MP3 player, after all he was always seen using one. She never quite understood why Fuuka denied her request of installing her an MP3 player feature. Finger guns were fine but an audio jack was too much to ask ?
Focusing back on the stranger. Aigis quickly realised the player couldn’t be the answer. The way they listened to music was much too different. The girl clearly was “vibing”, as Junpei says, while her old leader calmly listened to his music without much expression. Besides Aigis saw, everyday, a huge amount of people using similar devices. While the players themselves reminded her of him, the people using them never did. Yet for this person in particular the feeling was here. A total stranger was making her think of her most precious. A warm, inexplicable feeling which was immensely confusing her. She had to know why and she was tired of making theories. Maybe she should just talk to her ?
This somehow proved to be easier said than done. Aigis never was a shy person. Sure she was calm, usually didn’t raise her voice and rarely talked more than needed. But she also had no problem talking to people, and she was not one for mincing her words. She “knew” this girl for less than an hour and she was starting to disturb the android’s daily life in a lot of ways, who wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not. After finally summoning up the courage, the mechanical angel started approaching her. She thankfully didn’t notice Aigis, who has been staring at her for the last couple of minutes. Old habits die hard, even for robots. Once Aigis reached her, she gently tapped her shoulder to get her attention. Clearly not expecting someone to talk to her, the girl jumped out of her zone. The girl quickly removed the device from her ears and turned to the android.
“Ca- '', she suddenly cut herself as her eyes laid upon Aigis as a small blush started creeping on her cheeks. The girl cleared her throat and tried again after recomposing herself, “Can I help you ?”
The android took a professional stance and told her in an even voice, “Good evening. I apologize for bothering you but do you happen to know anyone named Makoto Yuki ?”
Kotone, a young nineteen year old woman, just moved out to Tatsumi Port Island about a week ago. The main reason as to why she did so was to see her twin brother, Makoto Yuki whom she had been seperated with. Aside from this, she also wanted to get out of the orphanage she was staying in as soon as possible. The orphanage was located in a nearby city and she had spent almost her entire life living there, alone. This wasn’t always the case, a few months after their parent’s death she and her brother were adopted by a married couple. She has always hated them. Her foster parents only viewed them as trophies. Their step father was a desperate, unpopular politician who wanted to boost his ratings. Adopting them only served to make the couple seem like good Samaritans who saved two poor orphans.
While the twins weren’t mistreated, their adopting parents didn’t care for their well-being. They fed them, clothed them, made them go to school and gave them a roof, but that was about all the help they would get. Did they love to remind them of how grateful they should be. Two broken kids, who needed support, love and attention more than anyone else. And all they got were pointless lectures, unpleasant comments and condescending looks. It all made Kotone's blood boil, her temper would get the best of her and she’d often butt heads with them. Her brother was too affected by his mom and dad’s departure, he never interacted with his guardians much. While Kotone was suffering as much as he was, she didn’t want her brother to worry or her foster parents to notice, so she held it all in. Her sorrow was usually overshadowed by the distaste she held towards the two people who adopted them anyway.
Things weren’t much better outside of home. Their parents’ accident became well known. The media talked about it non stopped, everyone had heard of the tale. At school, other children would avoid them, nobody wanted to interact with the kids everyone treated differently. Kotone hoped that by trying to appear cheerful and happy, she and her brother would be able to make friends. They all just thought she was a freak. The crazy orphan girl who loved cracking jokes despite her parent’s death and her apathetic brother who seemed to hate everyone.
In the end, Kotone and Makoto only had each other. Kotone gave up on her uncaring foster parents and her judgeful classmates. Instead, she made sure to take care of her vulnerable little brother. She’d try to make him laugh with her silly antics when he felt worse than usual. She’d fight off the bullies who tried to take advantage of him. When her guardians were too harsh on him for no reason, she’d break a vase or taunt them to get the attention off him. She got him into music, to help him heal and forget, since it helped her so much. She even went as far as to steal some of her foster parents’ money to buy MP3 players for the both of them. A red one for her and a blue one for him. They made sure to hide them from their guardians, so they wouldn’t realise what she’d done. They did not receive gifts nor allowances after all. She’d do anything for him, he was his only friend, the only person who understood her and the only person she had left. He wasn’t as brave or daring as his sister but he cared for her just the same.
One fateful day they took him away from her. Her guardians grew tired of Kotone's shenanigans. According to them, she wasn’t worth the trouble. They didn’t mind keeping the calm and submissive one, but “the mouthy little brat has to go”, as her foster mother said. So they kicked her out. They gave her back to the orphanage by exaggerating her misbehaves at home. With all the fights she got into at school, it was enough for the orphanage to believe them and retrieve her. Her brother trying to reach out for her, as staff form the social services forcefully took her away, was the last time she ever saw him. They both knew they wouldn’t be able to stay in contact, none of them had access to phones or the internet. They were fourteen years old.
Kotone was devastated, traumatized by her old caretakers, she acted horrible at the orphanage so nobody would take her in. During five long years, she remained alone. Most of her time was spent working part-time jobs, trying to earn as much money as possible to finally get out of here. She’ll have to live in a shitty apartment for a while, trying to make ends meet with even more boring odd jobs. But it was worth it if it meant seeing her brother again. She still hoped she won’t have to work part-time jobs her whole life.
Kotone dreamed that one day, she would make it big as a musician. She didn't really have the opportunity to train but she already wrote lyrics for songs. She also visited Mandragora, a karaoke bar, a few times. Not the best way to train your singing voice, but she had to make do with what she had. She was always met with odd weird looks since she went alone, but she didn't care. The way people looked at her didn't bother her anymore. She was also hoping she could save up enough money to buy an instrument. She wasn’t sure what she should get for now but she was excited anyway. Living in a big city like Tatsumi Port Island, she thought it could help her start off her potential career. Music had always been there for her, it had become a part of her. She bonded with her brother thanks to it. She could calm herself down after her guardians were done bitching to her. She could tune out the insults and mocking comments from her classmates. She could try to not think about her parent’s accident for a while. She wondered how she would have made it without music. But hey, if she could help people like her while doing something she loved, and also making a living out of it. Well, Kotone thought it sounded like a win-win-win for her. It also probably would have pissed off her old guardians if she tried to pursue music as a career. Sooo, win-win-win-win ?
Now, Kotone was finally in Tatsumi Port Island. She managed to somewhat track her brother down, all she knew was that he used to study at Gekkoukan High School. She didn’t know his exact location, or if he was still living in Port Island, or even if he wanted to see her again. She, at least, had to try.
At this very moment, Kotone was on a train, on her way back home after her shift at Chagall Café, her third part time job. Despite being exhausted, she was in a pretty good mood. She was done for the day, and her favourite song was currently playing. What more could she ask for ? Her thoughts were interrupted as someone tried to get her attention, which almost gave her a heart attack. As she removed her headphones, Kotone wanted to ask what the stranger wanted. However, as she laid her eyes on the most beautiful girl she had ever seen, her words died in her throat. The stranger was slightly taller than her, but it was enough to make a noticable difference. She had cute short blonde hair, piercing blue eyes which reminded Kotone of the ocean. Her unique look made her wonder if she was born overseas. She was wearing what seemed to be headphones, which funnily contrasted with her super classy black suit and red tie. Kotone briefly wondered what kind of job required a girl about as young as her to wear such a thing. She looked fly though, so Kotone didn’t mind. Realising she was gawking at her, she recomposed herself and politely asked the beautiful stranger what she wanted from her.
Kotone didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t this. Out of nowhere, the girl asked her if she knew a person who had the same first name as her brother, and the same last name as her old foster parents. She tried to not get her hopes up just yet, Makoto’s a very common name and this was a massive town with tons of people. A small part of her hoped it wasn’t him, she felt disgusted these creeps possibly made him change his last name. She needed more information. However, it has been so long since she last saw him. She had no idea what he looked like now, or what kind of relationship this girl and his brother could have had. She didn’t really know what to tell her, or why even she was talking to her in the first place. Maybe, because they looked like each other ? Could it really be him, she hoped despite herself. Either way, if she moved out to a city with low odds of meeting Makoto, she could also try her luck by talking to cute girl.
She told her with a slight waver in her voice, “Um… well, I know someone named Makoto Arisato, and it’s possible he changed his last name to... “, Kotone made her disgust very clear as she said the name, “Yuki… We haven’t seen each other in a long time but... I know he’s staying here, or well he was staying here. I mean, huh, not that he moved out, he could still be here. Or not ?”. She didn’t know if this was because of her complicated situation, her tiredness or if it was because the blonde woman was just too pretty but she was rambling. Said girl is now looking at her with an adorable but very puzzled expression. Kotone chastised herself for confusing her interlocutor so easily. She rubbed the back of her neck and tried again with a sheepish smile, “Sorry, that probably didn’t help at all, didn't it ? I could explain it all to you in more detail but it’s kind of a long story...”
The girl’s face changed instantly. She told her, without skipping a beat, “I would gladly listen, if you have the time. I am heading to my apartment as we speak. If you do not mind, we could talk in private there.”
Well that was straightforward, Kotone thought to herself. Slightly hoping this was the only thing straight about this girl, now that she was inviting her over that is. Her usual confidance and outgoingness came back full force as she couldn't help herself. She told her with a teasing tone and a shit-eating grin, “Gee lady, at least invite a girl out to dinner first.”, she even winked at her.
Her expression remained unchanged. Without a single hint of emotion in her voice, she told her, “I have food at home.”
Turns out, anything that comes out of her mouth manages to surprise Kotone. Stunned for a second, as she was not expecting this kind of answer. She couldn’t tell if the girl was dense, making a move on her or just really weird. Before she started pondering about how going over to her apartment wasn't such a good idea, she noticed a small discreet smile creeping on the blue-eyed girl’s face. Oh, she liked her.
Kotone started laughing out loud, and the stranger followed her in a much softer manner. Her joke wasn’t even that funny, but she didn’t have very high standards when it came to humor. Kotone was a sucker for bad jokes and puns. And to be fair, the woman’s deadpan expression was priceless, it looked like she spent her whole life practicing it. After her laughter died down, she told her in her usual cheery voice. “Okay, maybe we’ll have to postpone our dinner date for another time, but I’ll gladly take you up on your offer !” She extended her hand to the other girl and introduced herself. “I’m Kotone Arisato, bee tee dubs, pleased to meet you Missssss ?”, she fluttered her eyelashes at her in a very exaggerated way, while waiting for the blonde-haired girl to give her a name. Finding her silly antics endearing, said girl let out a small chuckle as she introduced herself to Kotone in turn. “You can call me Aigis, it is a pleasure to meet you Kotone.”, as she gently shook her hand.
Kotone didn’t even register how unnaturally hard and cold Aigis’ hand was. She just wanted to talk to her more. She retracted her hand and told her, “Aigis, huh ? Like Athena’s shield, right ? That’s so freaking cool ! I don’t think I’ve ever met someone with a name like yours. Were you born overseas, Aigis ? Or were your parents just suckers for greek mythology ?”
With a small smile, she answered, “I suppose that would be the latter as I was born…”, she seemed to hesitate for a while before deciding on an appropriate answer, “here, in this town.”, she finished quietly.
Kotone disregarded that, she simply assumed Aigis wasn’t very comfortable when talking to other people, which would explain why she was so formal and polite. Kotone won’t push her out of her boundaries if she didn't want to. Relationships take time and understanding to form. She didn't need any close friends to understand that. And Kotone already wanted to form an actual healthy relationship with Aigis. The two had clicked quite easily, even if it was easy to tell they were quite different.
The two girls proceeded to spend the next twenty minutes making small talk, and getting to know each other. They both wanted to wait until they were at Aigis’ appartement, to get to the more serious topic. Kotone didn’t want to bother her with the heavy stuff in her life just yet. Not when she was having so much fun, and basically making her first real friend. She talked to her about her love for music and how much she wanted to make a living out of it. Aigis was barely more than a stranger, yet she was the most supportive person she met when it came to her preferred career choice. The brown-haired girl also lightly complained about her jobs and made silly jokes anytime she could. Which were either met with deadpan looks, soft laughs (or absolute victories if you ask Kotone) or weird humor from Aigis herself which she somehow found hilarious.
The suit-wearing girl was a great listener but she also contributed to the conversation herself. She slighly talked about her job which apparently was linked to the police. Altho she couldn’t get into details much since basically everything was classified. Between her work and her looks, Kotone thought Aigis was pretty badass. She fondly talked about her close friends, the brunette loved how happy it made Aigis when she talked about them. This Junpei fella sounded like an absolute dumbass, she really hoped she could meet him one day. She melancholically talked about her time during highschool. Kotone was surprised to find out the blonde girl wasn’t really that great of a student, apparently her memory wasn't the best. Her and her friends used to live in a massive dorm which sounded way too large and fancy for a couple of highschool kids. They even adopted a dog which Aigis seemed very fond of. Sorry Junpei, you seem cool but meeting Koromaru is now my number one priority, Kotone thought to herself.
They knew each other for not long, but both of them could tell they were getting along very well. Kotone thought that Aigis was not only incredibly cute, but also just a kind and great person overall. She truly seemed to care about people. Meanwhile, the android couldn’t remember the last time someone, who wasn’t a member of SEES, made her feel this warm inside. She found the way the other girl spoke incredibly endearing, no matter what it was about. Kotone was just entertaining to listen to, in a way which reminded her of her close friends. However, despite the cheery attitude, Aigis knew she was hiding pain and suffering deep inside her. There were a few subtle signs but she also knew too many hurt people to not notice. It was the same kind of pain she felt, grief. She barely knew her, but she wanted nothing more than to help her, to protect her, to be at her side.
Seems like Aigis’ theory about Kotone and Makoto being very different turned out to be wrong after all. Sure, Kotone was outgoing, bubbly and loud compared to her reserved leader. Yet, Aigis could tell they both were kind and caring people who had their fair share of suffering. They had the same aura to them, like two sides of the same coin. The blonde woman now realised they had reached their destination. Suddenly dreading the conversation which was about to happen. As she took a small breath, she looked at Kotone in the eyes, and gently told her with a soft voice, “This is our stop.”