fujimaru | Palace Game 6/3

[ I think we can argue that "normal" got left behind right around the time "I had to use an app to enter my girl's metaphorical heart" happened. Ritsuka startles, making a little surprised noise, but she doesn't pull back, wide-eyed as she looks at him at the first touch. ]

[That is fair, and that is a good reason to sweep her into a deep, affectionate kiss right now. It isn't demanding, but it isn't quick or chaste either. Just a good old-fashioned romantic kiss for his girlfriend who did not fade away forever (unless the plot ends while they're doing this and both of them are forever trapped inside her subconscious).]

...!

[ Wow that's a really weird bad end, good thing that is NOT what is happening,

She makes a surprised little noise in her throat when he deepens the kiss, again confused but not rejecting the gesture. It still feels like a practically brand-new gesture to her; this may possibly the first kiss like this since they arrived at the inner prison, and she is not vaguely accustomed to it the way she has grown used to his other, more chaste gestures. ]

[He doesn't jerk back or anything, but he does break it slowly, breathing steadily, to give her a moment at the very least.]

Was that all right?

[ It takes her a couple of seconds to blink her eyes open, her face flushed as she stares at him, and it takes her longer before she manages a small nod, raking her teeth briefly over her lower lip. ]

[Oh don't do that. Don't do that! This Palace was almost over, and now to hell with that, another kiss is happening instead, a little more shameless this time!]

[ He started it. He started it! Ritsuka squeaks, clearly startled, her hands coming up automatically to grab at his shirt. ?????? this is happening, apparently?! ]

[He is going to be a good boy! He is not going to seduce her right here in the control room! But he is at least going to make this enjoyable and dramatic and hold her close while he kisses her, smiling into it even as he's being very thorough about this.]

[ Is this really being a good boy? Sources are unclear, but this does not actually appear to be good boy behavior! There's a point where she just ends up hanging off him slightly, clinging to him for support. As it turns out, when you're not used to this, even one kiss can be a lot, and now he's gone for two. What the heckie. ]

[This is what a good boyfriend would do! He does pull back with a grin, still holding her up against himself to support her, nosing at her hair.]

We should go. Probably.

[ She grumbles a little, still clinging to him, because for some reason her knees do not appear to be working right now. Weird how that works. She is breathing hard and fast, making a concentrated effort to try and calm herself. ]

Wh--okay...?

. . . Yes. Surely. Unl—no. We ought to leave. Um. Where exactly is the door?

[HE'S WRESTLING WITH HIMSELF HERE RITSUKA THERE'S A BEDROOM RIGHT THROUGH THAT DOOR UP THERE HE WAS IN THERE EARLIER]

...?

[ She can guess a little of what he might have said, but it's that conflict between what she is hearing and can guess what he might be getting at, and also her vague conviction that nothing would happen if she threw caution to the wind and gave him permission. ]

I think probably... you just wake up?

I see . . . that makes sense, but . . . I don't really want to wake up without you. That's all. I thought we may be able to leave together. I'm being silly, aren't I?

This is supposed to be my heart, right? However that works. So... it's not like there's a problem, right? I'll still be here.

[ With a bit of time to catch her breath, she finally straightens up herself, on her own feet again. And then she smiles at him, small and tentative. ]

I'm awake now, in here. So I'll wake up fine out there.

. . . I'm sure you're right. Forgive me. I've been worried about you. I missed you, so I'm a little reluctant to leave your side now that I have you right here with me.

And besides that, at least one of the rooms in here is much more charming and comfortable than what's waiting for us out there.

Are we still in that weird Silent Hill prison...?

[ She blinks at him, taken off-guard all over again. He missed her? He was worried?? What, ]

'Cause if we are, I dunno if I can think of anything that's really charming or comfortable about it.

Yes, we are. I'm hoping that freeing the lot of you will help us do something about that, but we have no way of knowing yet. I hate to tell you this, but you will still be waking up to Dorito and Oreo sandwiches. Though those were your fault. You made those exist.

. . .

[ . . . He takes her hand and begins leading her to the door to My Room.]

They're not that bad, you know? Like, I wouldn't have put them on that list if they were...

[ She's agreeable enough, following after him, though her confusion is only intensifying. ]

...aren't you going to wake up?

In just a little while. In the meantime, I've talked myself into spending a little more time with you here instead. Unless you protest? I don't want to go back just yet to that awful place. Though I wouldn't mind if we brought the canteen with us when we did go back to normal . . .

[A balanced diet includes both fresh homecooked healthy fish dinners and also Dorito and Oreo sandwiches.

BACK TO HER ROOM.]

[ She laughs aloud at that, which means she is distracted from noticing exactly where he's leading her just yet. ]

I wouldn't mind, either! It was kind of like the combini thing we were talking about, right? But I miss the diner...

[Look he just knows this room is cute and harmless! He's not going to risk taking her to any of the paths he didn't go down!]

Exactly like that. Restocking automatically and everything. Now that she's proven she can do that, why wouldn't she let us bring it with us? Having both it and the diner would be ideal . . .

[ Her room is just like how he left it, nice and cozy, with the one little baby demon pillar watching them. ]

Maybe that's a thing to ask for? Like people did for the arcade. Though if you ask me, I think we deserve it as a freebie after everything that's happened.

[It's a cute room! He leads her over to the bed, where he left the Cerberus objects, the Tarot card, and her reformed bingo card, and where he put the Tsuruno phoenix on the shelf over the bed. Once they get over there, he reaches out to scritch the demon pillar again with his finger. Reunited!]

That was my plan. I'll only need enough people to agree with it . . .

[ The tentacle baffs at him, but without much aggression to it. Ritsuka, on the other hand, is looking at the rearrangements he's made, her brows drawing together. It's dawning on her that they're in her room now, but she's surprised at what he's done. ]

I guess hold off for the moment, just in case we can make demands for compensation or anything... did you move stuff in here?

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