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Sophie Dries || 15 || Female || SHSL ASMR Hey there! I'm Sophie Dries! Resident ASMRtist! Oh, I hope you don't mind my standing so close though, it makes me feel more comfortable. A part of murderonthemonobearexpress. M!A: None

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Julian sat there for a second, gulping down his saliva before speaking again…Thinking over his words…

I… …Really like you… …Aha..ha…ha……

He quickly shot his face back to the front of the bar, supposedly going bright red before drinking more...

[shslasmr]

Sophie smiled at him as he looked up at her, given the way she looked at him the question seemed less if she liked him but rather how she was still unsure at all. Really her feelings were quite obvious.

Julian was so adorable with his blush, it just made Sophie smile even wider as she leaned in as well, kissing him deeply. It was the same kiss she had tried to cheer up Hazuki with and the same one she had given Julian after he tried to cheer her up. If the way she looked at him wasn't enough this kiss only made her feelings even more obvious.

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Julian sat there for a second, gulping down his saliva before speaking again…Thinking over his words…

I… …Really like you… …Aha..ha…ha……

He quickly shot his face back to the front of the bar, supposedly going bright red before drinking more sake…This time from the bottle…He slammed the bottle down on the table before hiding himself in his arms on the bar table…

Oh god…What did I just say…?

He thought, hiding the redness in his face away…

[shslasmr]

So he did, the deep blush only solidifying that was exactly what he had meant. Just those few words had managed to make Sophie very happy, she was happy because he liked her? She felt more than just happy, she felt elated, and it certainly showed.

She had to pull away from the hug when Julian laid his head down at the bar though remaining quite close and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"...Julian?"

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Chuckling a little, Julian looked at Sophie out of the corner of his eye…

…You’re a terrible liar.

Pouring more Sake into his glass, Julian clunked down the bottle with a simple, but solid thud.

I...

[shslasmr]

Cure for a Case of Despair

[shslasmr]

Sophie just sat there hugging him as he spoke, nodding a little in agreement. They'd really been through a lot of horrible things but throughout it all Julian was right there. She was so glad to have met him and to have him here now, she may be confused as to her feelings for him but one thing she was quite sure of is that simply being around him made her happy, kept her calm.

Suddenly though he started speaking again…was he going to…Sophie looked up at him, did he…

"Y-yes?"

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Chuckling a little, Julian looked at Sophie out of the corner of his eye…

…You’re a terrible liar.

Pouring more Sake into his glass, Julian clunked down the bottle with a simple, but solid thud.

I used to get told stories when I was growing...

[shslasmr]

She was quiet for a little while longer than before, burying her face in him before muttering something that was only vaguely audible.

"I don't know, I think so…" She had never even thought too long about it before let alone said it out loud but…the evidence was starting to become overwhelming. Was it really possible that she could want to kiss him so much and not have any feelings for him? She was starting to doubt it…and she was feeling all these other things and it was just so confusing. Perhaps talking about it would actually help.

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Cure for a Case of Despair

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Chuckling a little, Julian looked at Sophie out of the corner of his eye…

…You’re a terrible liar.

Pouring more Sake into his glass, Julian clunked down the bottle with a simple, but solid thud.

I used to get told stories when I was growing up - One such story about a princess stuck in a tower, sleeping forever until a prince came and woke her up with a kiss; they then ran off somewhere and got married, and lived happily forever…

…In all the stories I’ve ever read, those who kissed eachother were…Always those who were…

…Together…

Julian sat there, staring at his glass, trying to contemplate what he had just said…Was it possible that…

..That Sophie…?

….Wait… …Sophie…Could it be that you…?

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Sophie was silent again, she had no idea what to say. She didn't- She couldn't- Julian was just her friend. Sure she enjoyed kissing him...a lot...but that didn't mean that she had to like him, right?

Right?

He did have a point though, Sophie read a lot and in the stories whenever two people kissed, or someone wanted to kiss someone it meant that they liked each other. But she couldn't doubt herself, she was so sure. Kinda sure. Not sure at all really...

"Ah...well...I..." She sputtered, looking up at him before looking back down. She couldn't like him, could she?

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Cure for a Case of Despair

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Sighing a little, Julian looked back at the sake cup he was swirling subconsciously; watching the two droplets swirl around, chasing eachother to his hand motions…

…But is that all..?

I can’t be so treasured if all you enjoy is my company and humor - In the end of the day, I’d just be another stranger if only these aspects were true.

…There’s got to be some other reason you seemingly treasure me. Why you put time into me. Why you hug me. And…Why you…Do those “Kissing” things to me…

[shslasmr]

Sophie was quiet for a second, about the kissing again. She really didn't know what was up with that, or at least she didn't want to think about any ideas she did have. She couldn't like Julian like that, especially since she felt very similarly and Hazuki. It was impossible and she really didn't want to linger on the possibility.

"You're my friend, and uh...well...so I really like you, as a friend...um..." She didn't seem to have any better an idea as the last time he asked, "Though...I kiss you cause I like kissing you...and I want to kiss you..."

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Cure for a Case of Despair

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Looking at Sophie solemnly, Julian took another swig of Sake before clunking his glass down on the table infront of him - He needed to know. He needed to put his mind at rest…

…Why do you bother with me?

His words were low and stoic, like a man weighing up his values in a single tray…

Why are you always so close to me..? What’s so special about me?

…I’m not complaining, but…

…I’m just looking for answers to questions I don’t know.

He seemed confused…Bewildered…Tormented by the hidden questions inside his head. He wanted to know why Sophie had invested so much time in his company…He wanted to know why she would care so much about a simple guardian like him…

…Why am I so important to you? I’m nothing more than a protector…

[shslasmr]

She stared at Julian for a second, had something happened? Was something wrong? 

"...Julian..." She started as she sat down next to him, "I- well I- uh...you..."

She stopped for a second again, trying to think over her answer.

"Well...I really like you, you're a great friend." She then wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. She agreed completely with Hikari in that affection is the best solution to a problem, "You're really nice and funny and I enjoy being around you."

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Cure for a Case of Despair

It had been at least a few hours since the Train had pulled up into the Tunnel…There seemed to be no hope of escaping, and now that Seiji had been found dead again, more and more questions were arising by the minute…

What was needed right now was answers.

Julian was sitting alone in the bar carriage, having told Sophie to meet him there at a specific time - He just sat there…Drinking sake waiting for her to arrive.

…I need to find out what’s up. I need to know what’s been eroding at our minds for so long now…

Finally…She arrived. As Sophie entered the carriage, Julian warmly welcomed her, with a simple “Hey”.

[shslasmr]

Ever since finding the bear's controls Sophie had been messing around with them, making the bear dance and do other ridiculous things, it was really far better than having to think about the fact that they'd just found the freshly dead body of someone who they'd all thought had died a week ago.

She had been confused though when Julian had told her to come down to the bar car later, what did he want? Had she done something wrong? He seemed so serious...

When she arrived he still seemed quite serious, was something going on? He was drinking too, despite him doing that quite often she still got quite concerned whenever she saw someone drinking.

"Hi..." She said as she approached him, "What did you want to talk about?"

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It was unknown when she left the train, and even more unknown how she ended up getting one of the Monobears down from the top of the train or how she dismantled it but she did, removing the explosives and carefully placing them in front of the iron door. She...

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Sophie pouted as the smoke cleared, revealing a mostly undamaged door. Darn. She cheered up quickly though, hearing Julian's voice behind her.

"Julian!" She said, smiling brightly and she ran and hugged him, "Oh, sorry, I was trying to get the door open…"

Suddenly though she pulled away from the hug, she was starting to feel things again. This couldn't be good.

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Looking up at Pankoke, Julian got up, dusting himself off and clicking his back slightly before leaning on the platform’s edge; chuckling a little.

I did find one thing of interest…Allow me to show...

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It was unknown when she left the train, and even more unknown how she ended up getting one of the Monobears down from the top of the train or how she dismantled it but she did, removing the explosives and carefully placing them in front of the iron door. She had an idea

With a carefully aimed rock and a surprisingly fast run there was an explosion.

Boom.

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Starfruit (open)

It’s six o’clock in the morning and Hazuki Niwa is jogging between the door to the infirmary and the door to the kitchen all by her lonesome self. She really can’t stay cooped up in her room forever, and the rush of adrenaline that comes with heavy exercise makes her feel better. She even brought the bokken with her for self-protection, just in case!

Wiping the sweat off her brow, she stumbles against a wall of the empty train car. How many laps did she do so far? She didn’t count, but she’s still got some energy left in her, so she can keep going. The gourmet stretches for a while, then prepares to jog some more.

She promptly trips over nothing and falls flat on her face. Welp. She gives and just lies there, not even noticing the door opening.

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Sophie couldn't fall back asleep, she had slept pretty well but she was quite sure that it was way to early for anyone to be awake. Eventually though she just gave up and got dressed, starting to head out to the kitchen when suddenly she heard a thump and went to go check it out.

"Hazuki!" She exclaimed, seeing the other girl face down and not moving, "Hazuki are you okay?"

She raced over to Hazuki, resting a hand on her back and looking down worriedly, this couldn't be happening again.

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"I’m sorry…. I wish there was a something I could say," Hazuki was hurt and Sophie just wanted to solve the murder so everyone would be ok. Sei had fallen into despair. At the end of the day, it was more or less Monobear fucking everything up as usual, "Stupid bear,"

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Sophie just nodded at his last statement, stupid bear indeed. She was glad to have met Hazuki and Julian and yes that might not have happened if she wasn't stuck on this stupid train but still, they were being driven to murder in here.

"What should I do?"

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"I’m sure she doesn’t hate you!" he didn’t know what happened, though, so he could be wrong, “Ah… I’m sorry, but… What happened?” maybe he was being too meddlesome in asking, though.

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"She does, I’m the one who brought up the case against Sei and she got...

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She just clung tighter to Akito, burying her face in his shoulder, it seemed she was crying again.

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"I’m sure she doesn’t hate you!" he didn’t know what happened, though, so he could be wrong, “Ah… I’m sorry, but… What happened?” maybe he was being too meddlesome in asking, though.

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"She does, I'm the one who brought up the case against Sei and she got upset, now she won't even let me hug her." She said that as if that meant someone automatically hated her, though to her it kind of did.

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Why did she cry? And why did Akito even ask himself that? It wasn’t as if she didn’t have plenty of reasons to cry. 

"Huh… Hello…." he gave her a small smile and then returned the hug, "Don’t worry… I’m sure, I hope you and your friends and everyone will be fine,"

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She hugged him back tightly, the hug certainly helped, hugged always helpped really.

"Hazuki hates me now, she hates me, I hate it."

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Akito forgot his glasses in the lounge car. He had no idea on how he didn’t notice he was using them. How couldn’t he even notice he wasn’t seeing everything the way he should? How was anything like that even possible? 

He stopped trying to solve this mystery when he noticed Sophie was there, looking upset. Or at least he thought she was looking upset. That wasn’t surprising, consideirng Monobear went out of his way to make everyone miserable, “Ah… Sophie-san?”

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Sophie looked up at the voice, she obviously was quite upset, she may not have been crying just then but it was quite obvious that she had been recently.

"Oh, uh, hi Akito..." She said, trying to smile before just giving up and holding out her arms for a hug.

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Sophie hadn't been back to her room since she last spoke to Hazuki. She knew that Hazuki couldn't have gone back to her own room and having offered up her's for Hazuki to stay in. She wanted to be around the other girl but she didn't want to be around her when she hated her like this. She would have stayed with Julian but...that was just getting so confusing...

So instead she was in the lounge car, there wasn't really too much to do in there but at least it had nice, comfy couches in there, she just had to be sure not to fall asleep as she curled up on one.