catch-all: rufus.

[siblingless]

jae what's a good shitpost

Comments

[soulus]

You may not have been directly responsible, but the secret of my nature was unveiled before all the participants. As a result, I've found myself troubled by the relentless curiosity of others.

My request is an even exchange where you tell me a secret of yours. It doesn't have to be big; however, I would prefer that it be useful for better understanding you as a fellow participant. Is this reasonable?

[siblingless]

[Oh... That's not at all what she expected, and it shows on her face. She stares at him for a moment, unsure of what to say, before she slowly nods.]

... It's reasonable. Though, I'm not sure I have anything valuable to say.

[soulus]

Even if it isn't valuable now, it may have value later.

[They discussed this before. ]

If you're interested, we can continue to exchange what we know after this.

[siblingless]

I... suppose. Then, yes, that is alright with me. I'm interested. [He seems like a pretty okay dude, so it's not like she's uncomfortable exchanging info with him. Though...

Now comes the hard part: Deciding what to say next.]

Um... Do you recall our first conversation?

[soulus]

[He nods.]

It was at the emporium.

[siblingless]

Yes... Back then, I said there had been a mistake. I was talking about my name in the DATA app, "Kasumi Yoshizawa." [She says the name a little shamefully.] I didn't understand why at first, but after the leaders said the app was made from our memories, it started to make sense.

[Are you ready to get info dumped for the plot of P5R, Rufus.]

[soulus]

[He waits for her to continue, expression unchanging. Give him his secret's worth, Yoshizawa. Run him over with the spoiler bus.]

[siblingless]

[Well. Time for the spoiler bus.]

I've told a few people my sister, Kasumi, died. But the truth is, she... died because of me. I wasn't looking where I was going, and Kasumi pushed me out of the way of a car. [Slowly.] ... I couldn't live with myself after that. So I tried to become Kasumi... And for a while, I lived as her. That's why my name is listed as "Kasumi" Yoshizawa.

[soulus]

[She has his full attention while she speaks. Once she finishes, he takes a moment before replying evenly:]

Are you still unable to live with yourself?

[siblingless]

[A shake of her head.]

Not anymore. Kasumi wanted me to live, so I'm going to live my life to fullest. I'll make both of our dreams come true.

[soulus]

. . . Thank you for sharing.

[siblingless]

[A shake of her head.]

We gave you a hard time, so it was only fair.

[soulus]

Fair . . . Do you believe something like that can be possible here?

[siblingless]

[... Hm.]

I think that's entirely up to us.

[soulus]

. . . Of course. If not for that, you most likely wouldn't have considered sharing your secret with me.

[siblingless]

[She nods.]

I won't deny that's true.

[soulus]

A fair-minded person like you is less likely to back out of or shortchange an agreement. I look forward to working with you.

[siblingless]

... Huh? [Sir, what character assessment just occurred.] I, ah... Okay? Then, I look forward to working with you as well.

[soulus]

[Something just occurred.

Nodding, Rufus moves to enter the cafeteria at long last. She is, of course, free to follow.]

[siblingless]

[A mysterious something.

Off they go to the cafeteria, to be presumably disappointed by Gary wrecking the kitchen.]