Left on top of the bundle of presents already left there by other people is a sparkly green package, wrapped with silly wallpaper covered in little lizards and dinosaurs. Inside is a bundle of shirts, a light pink one, a light blue and a black one. The pink one reads "GO CREATI!", the blue "GO LIZARDY!" and the black, a complicated and beautiful graphic of both their names with matching logos. A picture with Setsu wearing the Creati shirt tops it, the back saying "HAPPY BDAY! To you + to us 💚"
[prev.]
Momo opens the gift wrapping carefully, almost smiling at the tiny reptilians that smile at her on the paper. When she takes in the designs of the shirts, she feels something in her chest ache - a feeling that is all at once so distant and yet so, so familiar. A lone tear runs down her cheek as she runs her thumb over the picture of Setsuna wearing the matching shirt.
Within the next hour, she’s resigned from her internship in France and is boarding a plane back to Japan.
Setsuna! I heard what happened at the 1-B dorms… Is everything alright? Are /you/ alright? Do you need a place to stay?
@ua-setsuna
Ah- H-hi Momo…! I do, yeah… Haha! It’s a little bit of a mess over here!
I’m alright though… A little upset but that’s okay!
ua-momo
I’m so glad to hear that you’re okay! I’ve been a little out of it recently, but when I heard what happened I got so worried about you!
A-And the others too, of course!
Would you like to stay in my dorm for the time being?
I want to make sure that you’re safe…
ua-setsuna
Oh… I’m okay! Really! The only thing that got hurt was a bunch of our feelings HAHA.
(That’s not funny eeeeehehhh…)
But everyone IS safe and that’s what’s important!
Besides that… I’d love to! Thank you so much…!!!
ua-momo
Yeah, getting your feelings hurt is never fun… And to have a classmate betray your trust like that by making you all worry was certainly unfair of her…
N-Not that I know all the details, of course! Just from what I observed…
Um… This may be a little forward of me, but please know that if you want to talk to someone about everything, I’m always hear to listen to you…
I know what it’s like to keep things in, and I wouldn’t want you to suffer like that! And I really like talking to you, so… Anything I can do to help, really!
I’ll work on crafting you a makeshift bed now. I’m actually really looking forward to having a guest!
I’ve never actually hosted a sleepover before, but I’ll do my best to make sure that you’ll enjoy your stay. 😊
ua-setsuna
OH YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THAT I COULD JUST SLEEP ON THE FLOOR YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE TROUBLE 😭😭😭
Honestly, I could just make myself really tiny by splitting myself up and sleep in a box or something!!! I’ve done it before it’s comfier than you would think!!! 😭😤
ua-momo
No, no, it’s important to me that you’re comfortable!! After the stressful few days you’ve had, it’s realy the least I can do…!
ua-setsuna
Thank you…
You’re so nice 😭😭😭😭😭😭 Honestly it has been really… really hard….
ua-momo
It’s absolutely my pleasure!!
I just keep thinking about how I would feel if I were in your situation… but no matter how hard I try, I think it’s impossible to even imagine the levels of stress you’re going through… 😔
ua-setsuna
I-it’s… it’s okay… Really… this is really nothing compared to everything that’s happened, right? Nobody got hurt for real or anything…
It’s a little hard… it’s hard to think about people you trusted doing something wrong and how maybe it’s a little your fault for not stopping them in time… idk…
ua-momo
Tokage, this certainly isn’t your fault… there was nothing you could do! Everything happened so quickly, it couldn’t be helped… 😔
Even if nobody got physically hurt, I can only imagine the emotional roller coaster that you and your class are going through right now… To betray the trust of your classmates that genuinely care about you is such an awful thing to do…
And I’m sure Vlad Sensei was incredibly stressed regarding the matter as well… 😔
But I promise you that you’re not alone… I’m always here to listen to you, and I’ll definitely be ready to give you a big hug as soon as you come over—it’s really the least I can do!
ua-setsuna
:(… Thank you… I can’t wait for that hug honestly 😭😭😭
Honestly… it’s really hard to keep myself from blaming myself… Things keep happening and happening and I feel like I’m just never doing enough to prevent or stop it… and that’s what a hero is supposed to do, right? I just expected more out of myself by now…
I know thinking that way is silly though but I can’t help it 😔😔😔
ua-momo
It’s… it’s not silly… To be honest, I can fully relate to what you’re talking about…
I just want to be strong enough to be able to protect others, but I’ve been absolutely powerless in every situation… Even if it’s something as petty as stopping one of my own classmates from cyberbullying a friend, it’s as though I’m completely useless…
But I think that everything about you is heroic! You’re such a quick thinker and you never seem afraid to jump into the action if need be… And taking the time to visit me during winter break even though I’m sure that doing do so was a hassle? I really needed someone to lean on and it was like you didn’t even hesitate to be there…
That sounds pretty heroic to me.
ua-setsuna
…
Ahhhh…… You’re really making me blush over here!!!! >///<!!!!!!!
Thank you… hehehe… Really!! You’re so good with words and you’re so smart and kind and honestly!!! You’re kind of my hero… I hope that’s not weird to say!
But I respect you a lot…
>:D! We’re gonna make an AWESOME team when we’re pros, I know it! Heheh!!
ua-momo
A-Ah! You’d be… willing to work with someone like /me/ when we’re professionals???
I’m…! Wow, I don’t even know what to say…! I’m so flattered that you’d even consider me as a future partner!
ua-setsuna
Of course!!!! 😤😤😤 You’re someone I wanna spend a lot of time with so of course I wanna work with you!! That’s the dream right there!!! Hehehe 😁😁
ua-momo
R-Really? Then from now on, it’ll be my dream too! Let’s both work hard to make it a reality together! 😊💕
(ua-setsuna) Ahh! Hey, Yaoyorozu-san...! I stopped by your dorm room earlier because I have something for you but I... heard you weren't on campus anymore? Is that true? :/
O-Oh! Goodness, my apologies… It’s unfortunately true… I’m so sorry, I had no idea that you wanted to meet and my parents—!
…
Please forgive me for the inconvenience I must have caused you. But… Perhaps we can arrange a meeting together off-campus? I’m sure that I can sneak out of my house and manage at least that much for you…
(ua-setsuna) Remember I'm always here if you need to talk, okay... I'm here for you. I'm not mad about anything that happened today so please reach out if you need anyone.
I... I’m sorry for responding to this so late, but... Setsuna... Really... Thank you so much for everything.
MOMO! It’s sooooooooo obvious Tokage LOVES you! I’m pretty sure you guys have a fan club since that Press Conference! I’m making Setsumomo Cupcakes, what would you like for the filling?
W-What? I wasn’t aware of anything like that... Perhaps you’re misinterpreting something...? It’s not good to spread rumors like this around, you know...
