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Everything about their meeting in the room had thrown Yukari way off, unable to process exactly what Mitsuru was implying at first. Wait, she didn’t actually think that-- did she? Because it wasn’t true! Yukari hadn’t even been here long enough to set up such an extravagant show, so how could she have made such a thing happen? This was all on the staff, thank you very much![break][break]
“W-Wait, this wasn’t me--!” She’d immediately spluttered out her defense when she all but jumped off of the couch, to point out that she would never try such a thing on her senior, but the words never left her lips. Mitsuru was just teasing her, wasn’t she? That didn’t make it any easier to handle!![break][break]

“O-Oh, uh….yeah, she’s probably gonna have to do a little bit of adjusting…”[break][break]

As she spoke, Yukari hesitantly sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to touch any of the rose petals. They’d likely have to sort out their sleeping arrangements and...clean off the bed before they could turn in later that night, but that wasn’t something to be worried about right this instant.[break][break]

“You know...I think she’ll probably be okay, though,” she mused for a moment, a hand reaching up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. “If any of us are good at adapting and thinking on the fly, it’s definitely her.”[break][break]

Her expression morphed to something a little more thoughtful, the embarrassment about their room and situation forgotten for the moment. Though it still lingered in the background, ready to rear its ugly head once again to fluster the poor girl. [break][break]

“S-So, Mitsuru-senpai, is there anything you’re looking forward to doing while we’re here? I’m kinda looking forward to playing beach volleyball with everyone...Though I bet the bathhouse they have is pretty nice, too.”[break][break]

Waiting for her senior to answer had Yukari glancing over at her luggage, suddenly realizing that she hadn’t put anything away yet. Maybe she’d wait until Mitsuru decided where she wanted her things; the last thing she wanted to do was ruin her senpai’s rhythm.

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One thing Yukari had to admit from the start was that Aegis was incredibly thorough; even if she hadn’t come looking for her help, the cyborg definitely already had a game plan set up to track down their companion. Though since it hadn’t yielded any success yet...Yukari couldn’t help the worry that now settled in the pit of her stomach. Where could he have been? Was he okay? Did he find a nice husky and they ran off together? The questions were unending, and they were threatening to give the female a headache. She’d deal with that later, though. Finding Koromaru was their top priority first. [break][break]
“How about we try the park first? Maybe he’s just out playing with some of his friends and he lost track of time.” Yukari knew that could be a possibility, but it hadn’t happened any time before then. It was better to be hopeful than to run the risk of worrying the Aeon beside her anymore than she already was; it was unusual for her to show so much emotion, but it wasn’t an unwelcome change. Yukari actually thought it was good that she was embracing some of her more human tendencies.
She’d been following Aegis’ lead up until this point but she decided to take the lead here, offering an encouraging smile to try and lift the blonde’s worries off of her shoulders. The least she could do was try and calm her down, right? [break][break]
“We won’t stop looking until we find him, okay? Friends don’t leave friends behind.”

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“Y-You’d really do that??” [break][break]
The hope blossoming in Yukari’s chest only seemed to grow with the other’s every word, her excitement pushing her to make a rash decision and sit across from the other girl at the table. She knew it was in bad taste to just jump in like she did, but she couldn’t help herself! Her first solid lead in months...and all because of some random text she’d gotten out of the blue! All she could think about was finding out the truth, and unfortunately that made it hard for Yukari to think rationally. [break][break]
“A-Ah, sorry…” She seemed to be apologizing a lot that afternoon, cheeks dusting a faint pink and a hand reaching up to nervously tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Talk about being way too forward, and to someone she hadn’t even properly introduced herself to yet. “I-I keep getting too excited and forget my manners...I’m Yukari Takeba.” [break][break]
A little bow of her head was given, the female attempting to hold her tongue until the other spoke. She didn’t want to just keep firing on all pistons like this; it was incredibly hard to hold herself back however, especially when her father had been mentioned. [break][break]
But then it wouldn’t be long until she was off again, firing out another question before she could stop herself; “D-Did your mom talk about him often? It’s been a while since I’ve heard...really anything about him…” [break][break]
This cafe really had a cozy feel to it, Yukari finding herself sinking back into the comfy booth as she awaited the other’s answer. The smell of the curry and coffee was also relaxing in a way, though before long it had the girl’s stomach growling inaudibly...Maybe she should’ve actually grabbed lunch before going out on her grand escapade.
“A-Ah, excuse me…” Her gaze moved from the other just long enough to hopefully get the attention of the man behind the counter. “Could I please get a bowl of curry and a plain coffee?” [break][break]
Maybe with food in front of her she could actually shut up long enough not to bombard the poor girl with more questions.

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“W-Wh--” [break][break]
It seemed Aegis knew exactly what buttons to push to get the reaction she wanted out of Yukari; damn that cyborg and her intelligence. Her cheeks burned bright from anger, her statement cut off as she stared at the blonde. Just what was her angle? Did she really want to make her lash out that badly? [break][break]
That answer should’ve been obvious but in this state Yukari seemed to look right past that; Aegis was trying to make this seem like it was her sworn duty to be killed for the cause of the mission, not because the well being of their leader meant that much to her. That in itself infuriated her to no end. [break][break]
“Why won’t you just be honest about it?” Her voice shook, hands clenched so hard at her sides that her knuckles began to turn white. “Robot or not, you have some semblance of emotion in there. This isn’t just about fulfilling the mission, Aegis; you care. You care so much but putting it into words or actions that you can actually understand is difficult. Trust me, I get it.” [break][break]
It was ironic that the two of them were the ones left waiting at Minako’s bedside; Yukari, who felt far too much and had absolutely no clue how to deal with it, and Aegis, who felt but didn’t understand how to accept it. Had it not been such a traumatic situation for the two of them right then, she might’ve even laughed. But not this time. [break][break]
Stepping forward slowly she faced the blonde head on, tears trickling down her cheeks making her feel far too weak in this moment. That’s all she seemed to be feeling lately; weak and helpless, just like she’d been when her father passed. [break][break]
“You feel more than you let on, and you need to express it. Just putting it bluntly as if it’s ‘just part of the mission’? That’s bullshit, if you ask me.”

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Yukari awoke with a soft groan, rolling over in her bed to stare at the alarm clock sitting on her bedside table. Only...there was no alarm clock there, nor was it blaring into her ear like it normally did. As a matter of fact, the bedside table wasn’t even in the same spot it usually sat. Did she do some light renovating before she passed out? [break][break]
Sitting up in her bed brought a slurry of other questions to the forefront of her mind, the first regarding the bangs that now dangled before her eyes. What exactly was going on? Was she being punked by someone? The rest of the room offered no answers to her growing list of questions, and once she finally stepped in front of the mirror adorning the door frame, she was left in a state of shock. [break][break]
Glancing back at her was not Yukari Takeba. It was Minako Arisato. [break][break]
Nothing made sense anymore, and the longer she stared the less it did; how was the dumbfounded expression plastered on her friend’s face staring back at her like it was her own face?? [break][break]
“What’s...going on…?” Minako’s voice met her ears and she was sent into a panicked spiral, reaching for whatever clothes she could find before heading out of the room. [break][break]
She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew one thing for sure; she had to find herself before something stranger happened.

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At first Yukari couldn’t even actually formulate a response to the cyborg; had she expected Aegis to answer her question? Not really. All Yukari wanted, more than anything else, was for their fearless leader to jump out of her bed and reassure all of them that she was okay. But the last words from the doctor made that seem more like a pipe dream than anything else. [break][break]
Sitting here like this...Yukari felt so helpless.[break][break]
Why hadn’t she heeded Fuuka’s warning sooner? Had she acted, or pushed Minako out of the way, or done practically anything then maybe she’d be the one stuck in such a state instead. The thought brought painful tears to her eyes, hand clenching into a fist to keep them at bay. She’d already cried too much, and what good would more tears do?[break][break]
Suddenly she was up and out of her chair, facing the blonde with her lips pressed into a firm line.[break][break]
“What good would that have done, Aegis? You know Minako would’ve been devastated if you got hurt in her place…”[break][break]
The brunette knew all too well how true that was; Minako wasn’t the type who’d let anyone be hurt if she could help it. Yukari had witnessed it time and time again. Their leader was...incredibly stubborn in that regard. Aegis taking the brunt of the damage would’ve just hurt her in a deeper way, and they likely both knew it.[break][break]
“We did...all that we could…” Did she really believe that? No. But she was trying so hard to convince herself of that. Minako was strong, and she would pull through this. She had to.[break][break]
“She’s...gonna be okay…”[break][break]
Defiant fire lit up in her eyes as they finally landed on Aegis, the tone in which the cyborg spoke sitting wrong inside of her. It wasn’t Aegis’ fault she was designed to be void of emotion or sympathy, but that wasn’t Yukari’s problem, either. All she knew was that her emotions were raw and the only outlet was standing before her.[break][break]
“Be honest with me...do you even care? Or is it programming that made you wanna take the fall for her instead…?”

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Yukari couldn’t stop the frightened chill that continuously crept down her spine.[break][break]
From the start she’d thought she was in the Dark Hour, but...everything felt different. The air felt colder than she remembered, and the atmosphere was intense. A hand reached back to feel for the bow still strung over her shoulder, reveling at the sliver of relief it gave. The arrows in her quiver rattled with her every step, signifying that she had slight means to defend herself if things got dicey. And knowing how her luck went...things would certainly become dicey at some point. [break][break]
Moving around a crumbling building gave way to a dilapidated scene, crumbling buildings and worn away sidewalk and roads stretching out in front of her. It was a disheartening sight, but the sheer familiarity of it all was what really struck the poor girl. Had she somehow stumbled into a different Dark Hour? Did something like that even actually exist? These were questions she likely would’ve had for Mitsuru if the upperclassman was around, but the more she tried to find something actually familiar about this place, the more she realized she was indubitably alone.
Or at least...she was for the moment.[break][break]
The echo of a gunshot rang through the area, the sound piercing through Yukari’s ears and putting her on edge. Gunshots could mean anything, right..? It could be a friend! Or it could be something else entirely...there was genuinely no way to tell without investigating. Swallowing the apprehension that began to well up inside of her, she squared her shoulders and made her way in the direction of the gunshot.[break][break]
Had Yukari taken her earlier feeling of apprehension more seriously she might’ve been prepared for what she almost ran into, a Shadow popping up seemingly out of nowhere in front of the brunette. It seemed to stare into her soul through its mask,its gaze freezing her every muscle in place as it surged towards. Instinct kicked in before the terror could completely set in, her bow drawn and an arrow directed towards the creature. She took a steadying breath, eye trained on the mass as she took her shot, arrow sinking into the Shadow right beneath his mask. Not planning to wait around and see if the creature was vanquished she hightailed it out of there, hand still clenched around her bow’s grip as she moved on.[break][break]
If that creature had meant anything, it was that she wasn’t as alone as she’d initially felt, and that in itself was its own comfort. Maybe if she kept pushing on she’d find that one of her friends found their way into this place as well. The more she thought about it however, the more she hoped not.[break][break]
Being stuck alone in this messed up Dark Hour felt like its own special kind of purgatory.