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It was a gruesome scene of fire and brimstone. The scent of smoke and death roams the broken Moonlight Bridge as mutilated cars and the corpses of innocents litter across the road. The Moonlight Bridge itself looks like it has been torn apart by some malicious entity or powerful army. Explosions and gunfire scream out in the air followed by monstrous roars. It was a warzone, a nightmare come to life and currently the only source of activity during the night. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon.
Standing alone on the bridge and surrounded by blazing inferno among the mass destruction is a little boy with blue hair. Lost and confused, the scared child finds himself trapped in the senseless carnage unable to make his escape.
Nevertheless, the boy searches around for a chance at an opening for safety. The boy doesn’t know how or why he’s in this terrifying situation. All he wants right now is to be in the caring, loving arms of his mother. She’ll keep him safe just like she always does, won’t she?
“Mom! Dad!” The boy cries out to his parents and hopes they’ll hear his call. The boy receives no answer. Instead, the only sound that acknowledges his existence is the ongoing gunfire and explosions plaguing the scene. The boy attempts to call out his parents again, but his voice goes silent as smoke suddenly begins to fill his lungs. He falls to his knees as he coughs violently with tears in his eyes. Suddenly, the gunfire stops, but the boy fails to notice this. As the boy continues to eject the smoke out of his lungs, the Moonlight Bridge begins shaking.
The boy turns around, searching for the direction the rumbling originated from. Suddenly, walking out of the flames is a hulking figure shrouded in shadows. The only visible features of the entity are its glowing red eyes and the sword it's carrying. The boy freezes at the sighting of the monstrous being as it stares directly at him.
The boy wants to scream, but only silence escapes his voice. He wants to run, but his body refuses the move. The boy is too struck with fear to do anything. A million questions race inside the boy’s mind. Where are his parents? What is this monster? Is he going to die? The monster then lets out an ear-piercing roar before flying straight towards the boy and swinging his sword at him.
Makoto Yuki wakes up screaming and his body drenched in sweat. Panting nonstop, he looks around at his surroundings and finds himself in one of the guest bedrooms of the Kirijo’s family mansion here in Yakushima. Finally catching his breath and calming down, Makoto checks his cellphone and sees that it’s currently 3:05 a.m.
The boy lays back down as he groans with frustration. It’s been about a decade since the deaths of his parents on the Moonlight Bridge. They were victims of a tragic car crash that left Makoto orphaned. While Makoto was with his parents when they died, he cannot remember the full details of the accident. Only brief glimpses of it. Yet every night since his parents’ deaths, Makoto would always have severe nightmares about the tragic event that would keep him up at night and leave him tired during the day.
Because of this, Makoto believes that he was supposed to die on that bridge with his parents and that these nightmares are punishment for surviving. The nightmares would have a young Makoto either inside the car with his parents’ rotting corpses or standing alone on the bridge, and they would always end with his younger self being attacked and killed by a large monster covered in shadows.
These same nightmares have haunted him for about a decade now. None of the extended family members who took him in even bothered to help as they saw therapy as too costly, so they just told him to get over it. But no matter which method Makoto had tried, the nightmares would never go away. Makoto Yuki hates his life, if he can even call it one.
Makoto thinks about going back to sleep, but he knows it’ll just be a wasted effort. He’ll just get another hour or two of sleep before the nightmares come back to wake him up again. With a frustrated sigh, Makoto sits back up and looks over at his bag of belongings. In a couple of hours, he and the rest of S.E.E.S. will be heading back to Tatsumi Port Island.
The past couple of days here in Yakushima have been quite eventful for everyone, and Makoto had hoped the change in scenery would give him a night free of those nightmares. Of course, that ended up being wishful thinking as the nightmares followed Makoto just like they always do, and they’re never going to stop.
Hating this thought, Makoto wonders what's the point of continuing living. His nightmares will keep existing as long as he lives, right? If that's the case, wouldn't ending his life also end his nightmares? Maybe Makoto can finally be free from this curse. This isn’t the first time Makoto had these kinds of thoughts. Yet every time Makoto thinks about going through with it, something inside him stops the young man.
Makoto isn’t afraid of death. After what happened that night, he became apathetic to life. Dying is inevitable, and it’ll happen to everyone eventually. If Makoto can’t force himself to die, then he might as well wait for it to happen. Still, Makoto doesn’t know how much of these nightmares he can take. He’d give anything to get rid of them no matter the cost.
The only time Makoto ever had any peaceful nights without them was when he got brought to the Velvet Room in his sleep a few months ago. Unfortunately, now that he can visit Igor and Elizabeth at Paulownia Mall and Tartarus, accessing the Velvet Room through his dreams has stopped. Makoto had pleaded with Igor to let him visit the Velvet Room in his dreams and even confided with the mysterious old man the nightmares he suffered since he was a child, something he’s never done with anyone. However, Igor told Makoto that using the Velvet Room to block out the nightmares is the equivalent of being ignorant to a problem, which is the opposite of what the Velvet Room’s services are intended for. Makoto thinks back to the conversation he had with Igor.
“Are you saying you won’t help me then?! I thought that was supposed to be your job!” Makoto rants, his frustration over Igor’s cryptic words clear as day. The long-nosed proprietor of the Velvet Room is undeterred by his guest’s anger as shown by the wide grin unchanging on his face. Elizabeth stands next to her master as she firmly holds the grimoire in her hands.
“On the contrary. We are here to provide you with our services to help you on your journey. You are asking us to hide you from your nightmares.” Igor calmly replies, and Makoto narrows his eyes as he tries to understand what the Velvet Room proprietor is saying.
“Can you stop talking in riddles for once? I just want my nightmares to end and sleep in peace. Is that so wrong?” Makoto continues his rant as he grips his hair in frustration. Elizabeth gives Makoto a look of sympathy, but Igor’s expression remains constant.
“If you truly wish to rid yourself of your nightmares, then what you’re requesting is not the solution you should be seeking.” Igor answers, causing Makoto to pause and stare at the Velvet Room proprietor.
“What do you mean?” Makoto asks as he rests his hands down. The blue haired teen is exhausted at this point, and no one can blame him. But despite the frustration he’s feeling over his lack of sleep, Makoto didn’t want to pick a fight with Igor. Even though he can be… odd, Igor has done nothing but help Makoto ever since the latter awakened Orpheus.
“The solution you’re seeking is only a temporary one. We’re only here to help you in your journey but once your journey ends and your nightmares persist further, what will you do then?” Igor responds back with a question that Makoto didn’t even consider. The blue-haired teen had figured his “journey” Igor would always talk about meant Tartarus and the Dark Hour. S.E.E.S.’ mission was to end the Dark Hour, so did that mean he won’t see Igor or Elizabeth again when it’s all over? The idea unsettles Makoto, and it makes him begin to wonder if the rest of S.E.E.S. will drift apart after the mission.
“I don’t know…” Makoto hesitates as he appears lost and uncertain. The blue-haired teen raises his head up to Igor. “What should I do?”
“Every dream exists for a reason. If you truly wish to rid your life of these nightmares, then the answer is simple is it not?” Igor advises with his usual wide grin while Makoto thinks over the words given by the Velvet Room’s proprietor.
Even though it wasn’t a direct answer, Makoto had begun to understand what Igor was trying to say. The problem is how exactly will it solve his nightmares? Makoto kept thinking back to that night at the Moonlight Bridge. All he can remember are the wreckage, the burning heat of fire, the suffocating smoke that came with it, and the corpses of his parents. His mom whispered one last word to him that he can’t even remember. No matter how much Makoto tries to remember that night, there are still a few missing pieces lost in his memories.
Even if Makoto tries to revisit the bridge, he doubts he’d find anything worthwhile. The Moonlight Bridge looks completely brand new, as if a horrible accident didn’t take place a decade ago. With nothing else better to do, Makoto begins to compile everything he knows about his nightmares.
The events in his nightmares almost line up with his memories of that night. Almost. Makoto can’t recall anything that vaguely represents the monster in his nightmares. Strangely enough, the shadows that he and S.E.E.S. regularly fight instinctively remind him of the monster. So much so, that Makoto would always take out his frustrations built up from his sleepless nights on every shadow that he comes across.
“Maybe I should ask Ikutsuki-san or Kirijo-senpai for more information about the shadows.” Makoto notes to himself. Suddenly, Makoto hears a knock on the door and a girl’s voice, albeit muffled, from the other side of it. “Makoto-san? Are you awake?”
Before Makoto could get a word out, he hears the door unlock itself and swing open, revealing Aigis to be standing at the other side. Earlier today, Junpei dragged Makoto and Akihiko to the beach to pick up women, which the trio completely failed at. That would’ve been the end of it if they hadn’t found Aigis at the pier. Both Junpei and Akihiko tried to flirt with Aigis and struck out, leaving only Makoto left to talk to her.
When he did, Makoto suddenly became mesmerized by Aigis. The blue-haired teen couldn’t explain why, but something about the encounter made him at peace. Somehow, all the anxiety, frustration, and apathy that had built up from his nightmares suddenly vanished as if they’ve been exorcised by her presence. When Aigis hugged him, Makoto felt safe in her arms.
“Door unlocked in two minutes.” Aigis announces as she casually walks in the room. Makoto catches himself staring at the blonde gynoid with his mouth open. Closing his mouth, Makoto immediately shakes himself out of his stupor, now realizing that Aigis just effortlessly broke into his bedroom.
“Aigis? What are you doing here?” Makoto couldn’t help but ask as Aigis bends her knees to meet him at eye level.
“I felt a premonition and mobilized towards here at top speed to ensure your safety. Are you alright, Makoto-san?” Aigis reports, carefully observing the blue-haired teen. Makoto feels himself flustering as he notices how close Aigis is.
“I-I’m fine.” Makoto reassures Aigis, cringing at himself afterwards for stuttering in front of her. However, Aigis doesn’t seem to mind as she continues her observation.
“My apologies, Makoto-san, but my sensors indicate otherwise. Right now, your heart rate is faster than normal, and your face is currently heating up. Did you perhaps catch a cold?” Aigis surmises with concern. Makoto guesses he must still be shaken from the nightmare, though his face heating was from a different cause, not that he’d tell Aigis. The blue-haired teen is brought out of his thoughts when he feels Aigis’ hand on his forehead. The blonde gynoid forms a puzzled look. “Strange. I’m not detecting a fever.”
“I’m okay, Aigis. You don’t need to worry yourself over me.” Makoto restates as he gently removes Aigis’ hand from his forehead, though the blonde gynoid frowns at his words.
“Your safety is important to me, Makoto-san. My highest priority is to be by your side, so I will do everything in my power to protect you.” Aigis insists with clear conviction in her words. Makoto is at a loss for words. The blonde gynoid had told him this desire during their first encounter earlier and hearing it again fills the blue-haired teen with much curiosity.
Throughout his life, Makoto never considered himself an important person or someone worth saving. After all, what’s special about a guy who can’t even sleep one night without waking up screaming? Sure, he’s the leader of S.E.E.S. on the field, but that’s only because of his ability to summon multiple personas. If anything, Mitsuru is the true leader of the group. Yet for some reason, Aigis is dedicating her life to protecting him. To be by his side. For the first time in his life, a part of him begins to feel hopeful.
“Makoto-san, are you sure there’s nothing wrong?” Aigis questions, to which Makoto responds with a quick nod.
“Everything’s okay, Aigis. I actually feel a lot better now that you’re here.” Makoto states and notices a small smile on Aigis’ face as if satisfied by his reassurance. Junpei’s right. Aigis is cute.
“I comprehend. Please do get some rest now. We are due to depart later in the morning.” Aigis tells Makoto, who wants to protest because he doesn’t want to risk his nightmares to come back. However, his body couldn’t fight back the exhaustion that began to overtake him. As Makoto closes his eyes, the last thing he sees is Aigis watching over him like a guardian angel.
The next night, Aigis travels downstairs to Makoto’s bedroom in the Iwatodai Dorms. Earlier that day, S.E.E.S. had left Yakushima and arrived back at Tatsumi Port Island. The group had their vacation, but now it’s time to continue their mission of ending the Dark Hour. As the newest member of S.E.E.S., Aigis accompanied the group back to Iwatodai Dorms and quickly settled herself right in. Due to not having a room, Aigis was ordered by Mitsuru to stay in the dorm’s command center during the night. Normally, Aigis would follow said orders, but the blonde gynoid has an objective with higher priority.
Despite Makoto’s insistence that he was fine the previous night, Aigis was able to identify that it wasn’t the case. However, Aigis chose not to press him any further to respect wishes, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to allow the issue to be left unresolved. Something within Aigis tells her that she needs to be at Makoto’s bedside right away. Of course, Aigis had already planned on staying in Makoto’s room, but the blonde gynoid acted sooner after receiving a sense of urgency similar to the one she felt the previous night.
As she approaches Makoto’s door, Aigis begins processing several possibilities as to what could’ve been troubling him the previous night. Nothing she found had indicated a break-in. Aigis had spotted no injuries on Makoto’s body, though she had noticed some bags under his eyes. From her understanding, having bags under your eyes results from lack of proper rest. Aigis will investigate if this is the case once she gets past this door.
Checking the hallway to make sure the coast is clear, Aigis kneels in front of Makoto’s bedroom door and starts picking at the lock. Last night, it took the blonde gynoid two minutes to unlock Makoto’s door at the Kirijo mansion. This time, Aigis is better prepared. After 92 seconds, a favorable clicking sound is heard as Aigis successfully unlocks the door.
“Door unlocked in 92 seconds. My timing has improved.” Aigis praises herself with a whisper as she silently enters Makoto’s room and closes the door behind her. It would be problematic if someone was able to see what she’s doing. Locking the door for good measure, Aigis switches her attention over to the blue-haired teen currently sleeping in his bed. The blonde gynoid sits nearby the bed as she observes Makoto up close. Aigis notes how peaceful Makoto looks in his sleep. “I will not allow anything to harm you.”
As Aigis continues to gaze at the blue-haired teen, she begins to feel something different inside her body. A strange sensation that she can’t find an explanation for. At the moment, her systems aren’t reporting a malfunction or error which troubles the blonde gynoid. Aigis briefly considers running a full diagnostic on herself for further evaluation but decides against it since it will require heading back to the command center. Right now, staying by Makoto’s remains her highest priority.
“GAH!!” Makoto’s abrupt scream startles Aigis, causing her to nearly fire her weapons in response. Aigis can only watch in confusion as Makoto thrashes around helplessly on his bed. Aigis doesn’t understand what could be causing such a violent reaction from the blue-haired teen. There’s no enemy in sight, but that’s the least of the blonde gynoid’s concern. Attending Makoto's care is more important.
“Makoto-san? Please tell me what’s wrong?” Aigis asks as she tries to assess the situation. The only response she receives from the blue-haired teen is another frightened scream. It’s like he can’t hear her. Aigis looks back at the door, briefly contemplating retrieving Mitsuru or Akihiko for assistance. However, another scream from Makoto forces the blonde gynoid’s attention back to him. Searching for way to help Makoto, Aigis notices the blue-haired teen’s eyes are still closed. “He’s.. still asleep?”
It all makes sense now, so much so that Aigis reprimands herself for not realizing it sooner. Makoto’s elevated heart rate yesterday, the bags under his eyes, and his seemingly lack of proper sleep. Not to mention Aigis finding Makoto already awake when she entered his room last night. They were all symptoms of a nightmare, which he’s currently experiencing right now.
“Makoto-san! Wake up! You’re having a nightmare! What you’re seeing is not real!” Aigis urgently tells the blue-haired teen as she attempts to shake him awake. Unfortunately, this fails to do the job as Makoto lets out another frightened scream that would’ve hurt Aigis’ ears if she was a human. Seeing Makoto’s arms and legs flailing around, Aigis decides the next best option is to restrain him.
Aigis watches Makoto’s limbs vigilantly to avoid getting hit, not wanting him to accidentally hurt himself. With quick and careful precision, Aigis manages to grab one of Makoto’s arms by the wrist. The blue-haired teen tries to pull his arm away, but Aigis keeps it in place and secured. The blonde gynoid tries to go for Makoto’s other arm, but the blue-haired teen grabs her by surprise and pulls her onto the bed. Despite being caught off guard by Makoto’s unexpected strength, Aigis maneuvers herself midair and lands on the bed next to the still trashing Makoto. Aigis changes tactics and wraps her arms and legs around the blue-haired teen, binding his limbs to his body.
“Makoto-san. Please calm down. You need to wake up.” Aigis whispers to the sleeping teen as he tries to wiggle himself out of her hold. But no matter how much Makoto struggled, he couldn’t escape Aigis’ hold. However, Aigis notices that Makoto has stopped screaming as his thrashing begins to slow down. The blonde gynoid takes it as a sign that he’s beginning to calm down, though she keeps her hold on him just in case. Aigis doesn’t let go of Makoto. Not when he still needs her protection.
As seconds turn into minutes, Aigis watches the fear that dominated Makoto’s sleeping face slowly morph into a state of peace. His thrashing comes to a complete stop. The strange feeling inside the blonde gynoid’s body grows more intense, making it hard for her to ignore it. Aigis tries to take her mind off of it by keeping watch on Makoto, but somehow it only makes the feeling stronger.
“I wonder what it’s like to dream.” Aigis mutters to herself as she carefully moves a strand of hair out of Makoto’s face. As a machine, Aigis isn’t capable of dreaming. Only humans are, but that doesn’t mean Aigis isn’t curious to know. The blonde gynoid had planned on asking the rest of S.E.E.S. the type of dreams they would have, but she never expected Makoto to have nightmares instead. Something must’ve caused them though, and Aigis is determined to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, the blonde gynoid will continue to keep Makoto safe. “Don’t worry. I will always be by your side. Protecting you.”
Inside Makoto Yuki’s nightmare, the blue-haired teen is reverted back to his six-year old self. The setting of the nightmare remains unchanged. Child Makoto finds himself alone in the warzone that used to be the Moonlight Bridge. He calls out to his parents, hoping to find them and be in the safety of their arms. However, the only response child Makoto receives is the surrounding explosions and gunfire followed by the monstrous roars.
Having no other choice, child Makoto tries to navigate his way through the wreckage in a desperate attempt to find his parents. Unfortunately, the blazing inferno and suffocating smoke makes it difficult for him to see. Beginning to feel trapped, child Makoto makes another attempt to call out his parents. However, this allows the smoke to enter his lungs, and he collapses into a violent coughing fit. With tears in his eyes and lungs full of smoke, child Makoto is left helpless on the broken Moonlight Bridge. At this point, the gunfire ceases, and the bridge begins to shake.
Just like in every nightmare, child Makoto turns around and searches where the rumbling came from. As if on cue, the monster covered in shadows emerges from the flames with its glowing red eyes staring directly at child Makoto. The boy is immediately paralyzed with fear when he finally sees the entity. No matter how much he wanted to scream, no matter how much he wanted to run, child Makoto, for some reason, just couldn't. As always, the monster lets out an ear-piercing roar and flies straight towards child Makoto, swinging his sword at him.
In every nightmare, this would be the end. Makoto would wake up right as the monster cut him down. However, something unexpected happened. In a literal flash of light, an angelic figure in white flies down from the heavens and lands in front of child Makoto. Up close, child Makoto notices that the newcomer appears to be a young lady, though he’s unable to see her face. Child Makoto watches in awe as the angelic figure easily catches the monster’s sword with her hand. The angelic figure raises her other hand into a fist and delivers a devastating punch to the shadowing entity. The monster lets out a dying roar before exploding into smoke.
As the flames die down, the angelic figure turns around and wraps her arms around child Makoto, pulling him in close gently. As he begins to weep, child Makoto hugs his savior back tightly, refusing to let go. It’s over. It’s finally over. The young boy can finally be at peace. With the monster now vanquished, all child Makoto wants to do is stay within the angelic figure’s loving embrace. She speaks with a familiar voice.
“Don’t worry. I will always be by your side. Protecting you.”
There’s no reason for Aigis to wake Makoto up now. From her observation, the blue-haired teen is sleeping soundly and no longer thrashing around. It’s as if he never had a nightmare to begin with. Seeing this as a mission complete, Aigis begins to carefully unwrap her arms from Makoto, not wanting to disturb him any longer. He deserves to sleep in peace. Right as the blonde gynoid is about to climb out of the bed, she hears Makoto speak after her.
“Please… don’t leave me.” Makoto cries in a soft whimper. Aigis quickly checks if Makoto has awakened but finds that he’s still asleep. He must be talking in his sleep, though the blonde gynoid wonders if her actions tonight must’ve had an impact on his dreams. Regardless, it’s clear to Aigis that Makoto still needs her. Grabbing the blue-haired teen’s blanket, Aigis lays on the bed next to Makoto and covers them both with the blanket.
“Affirmative. I will not leave you by yourself.” Aigis whispers to Makoto. As if hearing her words, a smile appears on the blue-haired teen’s face. Seeing it causes the strange feeling inside the blonde gynoid to intensify, but she doesn’t mind it. Being by Makoto’s side is important to her and if it gives her this strange new feeling, then Aigis concludes it’s important to her too and desires to learn more about it. Maybe Aigis and Makoto could explore this new feeling together.
“It is morning! I request that you wake up.” A familiar female voice speaks to Makoto as it wakes him up from his sleep. As the blue-haired teen opens his eyes, he notices sunlight in his room which he finds odd. As his vision clears, Makoto sits up in a jolt as he realizes that it’s indeed morning. The blue-haired teen looks at his bedroom window where the sunlight is coming from. Despite seeing it, Makoto still can’t believe his eyes. He actually slept through the night without waking up from his nightmares.
“I did it. I finally did it.” Makoto sighs with relief. The blue-haired teen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he didn’t care. What matters is no more sleepless nights for him.
“You have successfully awakened. Mission complete.” The familiar female voice snaps Makoto back into reality, and the blue-haired quickly turns around to find the owner of said voice to be none other than Aigis. It takes a few seconds to sink in that Aigis is sitting next to him on his bed, causing the blue-haired teen to fluster profusely.
“Aigis?! Why are you here?” Makoto questions the blonde gynoid, who stares at him with a satisfied smile on her face. More importantly, why is she in bed with him?
“My highest priority is to be at your side.” Aigis answers kindly, acting as if there’s nothing wrong with their current predicament. Before Makoto could ask Aigis to explain more, a knock is heard on the bedroom door.
“Hey, are you awake? That girl disappeared, and we can’t find her anywhere. Can you help us? She might’ve gone out on her own, like she did in Yakushima.” Yukari urges from the other side of the door, though Makoto couldn’t help but frown at how Yukari referred to Aigis. For one thing, she has a name. They didn’t spend the last two days getting to know Aigis only for her to be just called “that girl”.
“My name is not-“ Makoto quickly covers Aigis’ mouth before she could finish her sentence. Despite his issue with Yukari not calling Aigis by her name, Makoto knows Yukari is going to freak out if she sees him and Aigis in bed together.
“Her name is Aigis, Yukari, and I’ll help out in a while. I’m uh… naked… right now.” Makoto responds back before muttering a curse at himself for coming up with such an embarrassing lie. Afterwards, there was nothing but pure silence for five solid seconds.
“O-Oh, um, n-nevermind! I just, uh, remembered that I have practice this morning, so I gotta get to school! If you do find Aigis, please tell her not to leave the dorm by herself, okay? Bye!” Yukari splutters before loud footsteps can be heard at a rapid pace. Letting out a sigh of relief, Makoto drops his hand from Aigis’ mouth.
“I don’t see a reason why you would lie to Yukari-san. You are perfectly clothed in your sleepwear.” Aigis points out as Makoto tries to regain his bearings.
“I only lied because we would’ve gotten in trouble if she saw us in bed.” Makoto refutes as he sits at the edge of his bed. Aigis moves over to sit next to him.
“There was no need to worry. I had locked the door after I entered your room last night.” The blond gynnoid reveals as she points at the turned lock on the bedroom door. Speaking of which, the blue-haired teen figures now’s the best time to get answers from her.
“About that. Why did you sneak into my room last night? And why were you in my bed?” Makoto inquires, knowing Aigis wouldn’t be able to lie out of this.
“Back in Yakushima, you told me you were fine after I had checked up on you. However, I knew the whole time that you weren’t being truthful, so I entered your room last night to investigate.” Aigis states, causing the blue-haired teen’s eyes to widen before narrowing at her.
“That’s an invasion of privacy.” Makoto sternly tells the blonde gynoid, and Aigis lowers her head in response.
“My apologies. I did not wish to overstep boundaries, and I’m aware I was ordered to stay in the command room, but I couldn’t remain on standby knowing you were potentially being harmed. It is my duty to protect you, even from internal threats.” Aigis clarifies, raising her head to look back at Makoto. The blue-haired teen’s glare softens, knowing there’s no point getting shocked or angry. He had a feeling someone would find out about his nightmares sooner or later. Plus, it was obvious that Aigis' intentions were in the right place.
“So, you know about it then?” The blue-haired teen bites the bullet and asks. The blonde gynoid slowly nods her head in response.
“Affirmative. Prior to last night, I had realized you were suffering from lack of sleep, but I couldn’t piece together the cause. Therefore, I made the decision to place you under observation as part of my investigation. It was during the middle of last night when I made the unfortunate discovery. Watching you violently scream and move in your sleep was an unsettling sight, and I deemed myself useless when I couldn’t find a solution to help you.” Aigis explains with her voice dripping with guilt while Makoto remains silent.
“When I failed to wake you, I attempted to restrain your limbs to keep you from accidentally hurting yourself. Instead, you pulled me towards your bed, and I landed next to you. From my position, I had an easier time restraining your limbs. After some time, you’ve calmed down in your sleep, and I was initially going to leave your bed. However, you spoke to me in your sleep and asked me to stay, so I did.” Aigis continues as Makoto listens deeply and immediately recalls the details of last night’s dream.
The nightmare started the same as usual, but it changed near the end. Instead of the monster killing him, Makoto was saved by an angel who slayed the monster right after. The blue-haired teen especially remembers the last part of the dream in which the angel vowed to protect him and he pleaded with her not to leave him. This whole time Aigis was the angel who saved him. The realization warms Makoto’s heart.
“I understand if you’re angry with my actions. If you wish, I shall keep myself at a distance from you at this moment forward.” Aigis declares, shocking Makoto as she stands up from his bed and walks towards the bedroom door. However, the blue-haired teen quickly stops her by grabbing her wrist, astonishing the blonde gynoid as she turns around to face him.
“Wait, Aigis. Sure, what you did was a little creepy not gonna lie, but I’m not angry at you. You were just trying to help because you were worried about me. You actually succeeded, and I can’t thank you enough. If anything, I’m angry at myself for letting things go this far. You shouldn’t have to be the one cleaning up my mess.” Makoto confesses as he lowers his head in shame. Sensing his sorrow, Aigis kneels down in front of Makoto and uses her free hand to lift his head up.
“While I don’t know the full details of your nightmares, based on my observation last night, you must’ve been suffering from them far longer than I had perceived. It is not your fault for wishing to keep them a secret, but having to endure that amount of pain is too much for a single person to handle. Makoto-san, if I may ask, why haven’t you told anyone in S.E.E.S. about your nightmares. With the Kirijo Group’s resources, Mitsuru-san and Ikutsuki-san would be more than happy to provide you the necessary treatment for your nightmares.” Aigis counsels the blue-haired teen.
“S.E.E.S. has enough on their plate to deal with. Tartarus. Shadows. The Dark Hour. My baggage is nowhere near as important and will just get in the way of the mission.” Makoto argues, looking away from the blonde gynoid when he spoke those words. Aigis frowns in response and forces the blue-haired teen to look back at her.
“My apologies, Makoto-san, but what you’ve just stated is, as Junpei-san would say, complete bullshit.” Aigis reprimands, shocking Makoto as he didn’t expect the blonde gynoid to suddenly swear at him. “Pardon my language, Makoto-san, but I fail to see the logic in your argument. You might believe otherwise, but your nightmares are just as important as the mission. Not only are you a valued member of S.E.E.S., especially given your role as field leader, but the other members view you as a trustworthy friend. As a group, it is also our duty to support one another, and I want to support you, Makoto-san.”
“Why? Why do you care about me so much? We only met each other two days ago, yet you always mention how I’m your highest priority. I can’t be that important? Or did my pickup line work too well on you?” Makoto chuckles lightly as he decides to end his barrage of questions with a joke, deciding it would be better to lighten up the mood.
Aigis is puzzled by Makoto’s initial questions. The blonde gynoid didn’t expect the blue-haired teen to inquire about her desire to protect him. Truthfully, Aigis never considered there was a deeper meaning in her priorities. After all, she was programmed to follow her objectives yet it never occurred to her how strange that protecting Makoto Yuki and being by his side has higher priority over eliminating shadows and obeying the Kirijo Group.
“To be honest, I don’t have a proper explanation why. After my awakening in the Yakushima labs, my only priority was to find you. At the time, I did not know who you were or anything about you. All I knew is that I needed to be with you and for some reason, I knew I would find you at the pier. Something inside me drew me to it.” Aigis explains as she pulls her hand away and places it on her chest.
“I’m sorry, Makoto-san. I know this might not be the answer you are seeking. I wish I had a better explanation to give, but I do know one thing. Being by your side will always be important to me. And if I do have to give a reason why, then I thought up a new one. You are my highest priority because you are precious to me, Makoto-san.” Aigis concludes as she gives Makoto a heartwarming smile, leaving the blue-haired boy at a loss for words. Even though he didn’t expect this kind of answer from Aigis, it actually made him really happy hearing it.
“That’s actually the best answer you could’ve given me, Aigis. Thank you.” Makoto smiles back as he moves his hand from Aigis’ wrist to her hand. The blue-haired teen stands up from his bed and helps the blonde gynoid up as well. “I don’t know if I’m ready to tell S.E.E.S. about my nightmares yet, but I do know that I don’t want to do this alone.”
“I understand. If you’ll allow it, I wish to continue helping you with your nightmares. I want to make sure you don’t have a sleepless night ever again.” Aigis proclaims, giving Makoto a firm, determined look. The smile doesn’t leave the blue-haired teen’s face. Makoto was actually hoping Aigis would say this.
“Of course, Aigis. You know, someone once told me the best way to get rid of my nightmares is by finding the real cause of them, and I would like your help to discover the truth behind them. Plus… I don’t mind sharing my bed with you if it means I don’t have to go through another nightmare every night.” Makoto admits as his cheeks start reddening after, though Aigis doesn’t appear to notice.
“I comprehend. I vow to assist you in ending your nightmares however I can.” Aigis promises, and her eyes widen as the strange emotion inside her suddenly heightens tenfold. Makoto notices the change in Aigis’ demeanor and looks at her with worry.
“Aigis? Is something wrong?” Makoto asks, and Aigis stares back at him with her smile returning. Maybe once they unearth the true cause of Makoto’s nightmares, Aigis could learn the true nature of her new emotion as well.
“Nothing’s wrong, Makoto-san. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I feel happy knowing I can continue being by your side.” Aigis answers positively, relieving the blue-haired teen of his concerns as he responds back with a cheerful nod.
“I’m glad.” Makoto hums in satisfaction. “We should probably check in with the others. Some of them are probably still searching for you, and Yukari didn’t sound happy over you leaving the command center.”
“If there is a problem, I will address it promptly.” Aigis objects, earning a light chuckle from the blue-haired teen.
“Don’t worry. I’ll convince Kirijo-senpai to set up a room for you nearby. Way better than having you stay in the command center, and it’ll be easier for you to come over at night.” Makoto offers, to which the blonde gynoid readily accepts. A while later, Makoto and Aigis exit the former’s bedroom as they head off to enjoy a brand new day. If anyone were to notice, they would see that Makoto Yuki appears to have gotten a good night’s sleep, the first of many. However, they wouldn’t know the real reason why is due to Aigis being by his side as his guardian angel… and eventual lover too.