Cutscene: It's Okay

IC Date: August 4th, 2011

"You'll wake up, right?"

From the bed, there is no reply.

"You're making Ran-chan and Nori-kun sad! If you keep sleeping like that, they won't ever be happy again! So... you have to wake up!" With all the latent psychic energy she can muster, the auburn-haired girl /focuses/ on the figure lying there in the bed. Her hands curl into fists in her lap, her eyes close. "I'll help you, so just listen, okay, Shinjiro-senpai? I'll lead the way, but you have to do the rest!"

YOU WILL WAKE UP YOU WILL WAKE UP YOU WILL WAKE UP YOU WILL WAKE UP, she wills, hoping to link up with the dormant mind of Shinjiro Aragaki and drag him out of his coma. Her entire face screws up with the effort.

Minako Arisato manages to keep this up for a good minute before, a little exhausted, she sinks backwards in her seat with a drawn-out sigh. Her hands, slowly, uncurl. Red eyes blink, slowly, her gaze focusing on the nondescript ceiling of the hospital room.

Somehow, she had a feeling that wouldn't work. But it was worth a try, right? Maybe she had latent psychic powers-- It's a thought that doesn't do very much to cheer herself up.

"Hey, you will wake up at some point, right? You've got to! Even if it's in a few weeks, or a few months, or even a few years--you'll wake up! Okay, Shinjiro-senpai?"

From the bed, there is no reply.

Pushing back against the chair she'd been sitting in, which squeals a very short distance across the floor in protest, Minako approaches his bedside.

"Because... there's something I've been meaning to tell you. I should have told you, but I didn't. And I want you to know. I'll tell you again when you wake up, but--"

Minako leans in close over the bed, and whispers a few words into Shinjiro's ear.

"--You'll remember, though, right? You've got to remember. I won't ever stop being me, but... I'm scared, senpai."

Straightening, the young Fool pulls away from the bed and walks back to plop down on her chair again, her knees drawn up close to her chest.

"So! I'll stay here with you for a little longer, okay? I bet you're scared, wherever you are, too. But, it'll be okay. My dad always said it was okay to be scared, just so long as you don't give up. And I know that you haven't given up, senpai. So..."

Her arms encircle her legs.

"It's definitely okay."