Mass Protection

"Baby Baby Baby Ooh Yeah-"

-Sun Tzu 'Art of Swag'

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I flipped open my folded phone, to see a notice pop out that said: 35 unread emails. I didn't need to see who sent them, for I had a very good idea who it was.

One of the senders was Akechi, who sent me 2 emails. The other one...I pushed the button and checked the sender list.

[Kotone Shiomi]: 33 unread mails

Or as she would make me call her when we were alone...big sister.

Thank god we still didn't have iPhones. If this was an iPhone with a messaging app, I was pretty sure the count would have reached 77.

Sighing, I closed my eyes and thought back to where this chaos all began...which was actually yesterday, god damn it.

The story of my life...

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A day ago:

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"...! Give him another dose of amphetamine...50cc IV...signs of extreme hypotonia...risks of apoplexy..."

"Clogging due...phlegm... arrhythmia and severe palpitations...!"

"Where is...no good...the 'Plume of Dusk'!"

Voices..so many...sounds...sleepy...

"What...the vitals...how can he...the anesthetics!"

I slept.

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"...What the..."

Those were the first words that came out of my mouth when I regained consciousness.

First, I was on a king-sized hospital bed. Yeah, that was already strange enough. Nobody uses a bed that big in the hospital of all places.

The only reason I knew it was a hospital bed was due to its rather unique characteristics such as the nurse call buttons, the built-in vital monitors, and the IV bag carrier arm that was right above my head. Oh, and the snow-white sheets.

Second, I was in some kind of hotel suite room in a Five Star Hotel. The fuck?

Well, maybe not a hotel, but definitely someplace related to the Kirijyou. I mean, the Kirijyou name plastered on the glass round desk a few meters away made their connection rather clear.

I pulled out my IV, applied pressure for exactly two minutes, and scratched my chin once the wound stopped bleeding. The warm haze that had been clouding my mind had cleared up, leaving me more room to think coherently.

The memories flashed back inside my aching mind.

...Oh. Yeah. Thanatos Picaro. Mitsuru Kirijyou.

Akechi.

My hand flew sideways and smashed into the nurse call button.

Almost immediately, a nurse flew into my room.

"My condition is fine. Do you know what happened to Gorou Akechi?", I cut in before she could ask any questions.

The nurse blinked, probably taken aback by my bluntness, before she snapped back and replied.

"Gorou...she received some counseling and a check-up but nothing more. She was uninjured so was released. She...just left a couple of hours ago after coming here to check on you. Really, you should treat your girlfriend to a dinner date."

This time, it was my turn to blink. Check on me...did she just indicate that Akechi has been visiting me ever since she was discharged!?

No, I had more important stuff to clarify, first and foremost.

"I'm not her boyfriend, mam."

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Meanwhile, back at Gekkoukan Dorm, a reddish-brown-haired girl had woken up from the strange fever that had been plaguing her for the past few days.

She had been glimpsing through her corridor of memories, a vertical tunnel filled with a dazzling myriad of long-forgotten shards containing lost memories.

She felt the connection towards her persona...the beast that appeared on that night of her awakening...Thanatos grow stronger.

She remembered. Not everything, but more than enough.

Kotone Shiomi...no, she remembered her true name now, the name that had been sealed with her memories surrounding that trauma...Sakuya Arisato.

Yes, Sakuya Arisato...she...she couldn't believe that she had forgotten him, all this time. Her baby brother. Her darling brother.

All. These. Years.

A wave of nausea assaulted her, making her rush to the toilet on trembling legs. She vomited into the sink, once, twice...multiple times.

How could she? How could she!?

Tears welled up from her eyes as they splattered down onto the floor. Her legs gave way. She slid down onto the floor with her back against the wall.

One could argue that the memory loss was something inevitable. Something that could be excused. Something that should be forgiven.

After all, she did lose both of her parents in a horrifying accident.

However, Kotone...Sakuya's sense of responsibility refused that merciful path of forgiveness. How could she not refuse? Even if all her friends and family -adoptive family- said that it wasn't her fault, how could she forgive herself?

She promised her dying mother that she would protect him...Minato.

Suddenly, another fragment of her memory pierced through her mind.

A burning car. The gigantic full moon. The gunshots and a dark looming reaper-

Wait, what? Gunshots? But-

Just as she was trying to make sense of the memories that surfaced in her pounding head, someone urgently knocked on her room's door.

"Kotone! Kotone! Are you alright? May I talk with you for a minute?"

It was Mitsuru, her school's student council president, and one of her best friends. Sakuya stood up on wobbly legs and stumbled to her door.

Mitsuru's eyes widened in concern as she took in the ragged state of her friend.

"Kotone, do you need-"

"I'm fine. Is this...is this about Minato? Minato Arisato?"

Sakuya felt bad cutting across Mitsuru, but she instinctively knew that the news was about her brother. Somehow, Mitsuru had found out.

She didn't care how she knew, her first priority was to find out where her little brother was.

Mitsuru looked bewildered but shook her head and continued.

"I remember no such name on the official hospital record, though there is a young boy whose name is Yuki Mishima, and his...DNA tests match yours by 47%. In other words..."

Sakuya nodded, fresh tears welling up in her eyes.

"Yes. He...his name is Minato. He is my little brother..what do you mean by hospital!?"

Mitsuru put both hands on her shoulder and said in a calming tone.

"Relax. The doctors all assured me that he would be absolutely fine. I wouldn't be surprised if he would be discharged in a couple of days-"

Mitsuru's phone rang. She shot an apologetic look at Sakuya, to which she just nodded understandingly.

"This is Mitsuru Kirijyou...Yes. Yes. Splendid! He made a full recovery- he did WHAT!? What do you mean he just ripped off the doors!?"

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Just when I thought I could get some peace and quiet after quietly leaving the hospital through the back door...this happens.

"Minato-san, my most earnest wish is for you to be by our side."

"...What. (Oh, HELL. NO. How is this even possible.)"

With her sleek black metallic body, golden helm-like headpiece, red butterfly visor, black hair, fair synthetic skin, glowing red eyes, and armored skirt that represents a butterfly's wing, her identity was unmistakable.

Before me, stood not Aegis, but her 'sister'.

Metis.

The accumulated Shadow within Aegis' sea of souls that materialized in the real world, the embodiment of Aigis' rejected emotions...or as she likes to call herself: the 'Younger Sister' of Aegis.

In other words, she shouldn't be here. She shouldn't exist, at least, not yet.

Of course, this was a different universe, so this Metis might be different from the one in 'The Answer'...but if that's the case, what was she?

Was she really a 'sister' android? The Anti-Shadow War Machine? Or was she something different entirely? An embodiment of something else like Pharos?

Most of all, why was she standing here in the back alleyways of this hospital?

Metis' crimson lips curved into a soft smile.

"We've found you...at last.", she said softly.

Hmm...yeah. No.

I swiftly U-turned, walked back, shut the door, and locked it for good measure.

...I mean, technically, they didn't give my notice of discharge.

A patient gotta stay indoors.

Then, the reinforced steel door was ripped off its hinges.

Metis smiled at me, with her hand still embedded in the twisted piece of metal that was the door.

"Are you hungry?", she asked.

I nodded.