Shipping the SDRA2 Cast With Each Other

Kokosai/Kokoro Mitsume x Shinji Kasai

Kokoro occasionally went over to the Kurokawa Shrine on the second island for some odd reason. She often felt some kind of odd nostalgia and lingering sensation, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly why she felt that way. 

It was for this reason that she liked reading there, the familiar sensation was piquing her eternal curiosity the more time she spent there. Her theory was that if she spent more time there, this sensation would reveal itself in time. But then again, there are mysteries that even the scientific community can't figure out.

Today, she decided to read an analytical report on the human body near the side of the shrine, where she was hoping that she wouldn't be disturbed. Unfortunately, she heard the sounds of chatter and panting nearby as footsteps began to draw closer. The psychologist let out a sigh as she tried to concentrate on her book.

The owners of the footsteps were none other than Shinji and Yuki, who were training on the hiking trail that was nearby Kurokawa Shrine. Yuki looked like he was nearly going to collapse from the exhaustion of hiking up and down the mountain, while Shinji looked like the run had hardly even bothered him.

"Yahoo! That was some great training today!" Shinji declared, then he looked down at the tired lucky student and smiled. "You hear that? That's the sound of my awesomeness. Yours too, you did good today, Yuki."

"Th...Thanks...Big Bro..." Yuki panted, hauling himself over to the cool grass to collapse on it. 

Kokoro looked up from her book and noticed Yuki's state. "There's water in the shrine, he's going to need some." She informed Shinji.

"Thanks!" The firefighter called over as he jogged inside the shrine, soon coming out with a water bottle and getting it over to Yuki, who started drinking it down so fast that he nearly choked on it. "Easy, easy." He urged the ginger.

Kokoro turned her focus back to her book and continued to read it, but she could feel the firefighter's eyes on her as she sat there. Based on a feeling that Shinji would not leave without a conversation, she started one herself. "We've been on this island for quite a long time now. I'm surprised that you haven't climbed that mountain more than a hundred times now."

"Um, well, I wouldn't say a hundred..." Shinji comically reverted back to his shy demeanour around girls from Kokoro initiating the conversation. "More around fifty, maybe less..."

"I went and checked in with Kanade a while ago, she's been keeping a calendar based on the days that people have had birthdays." The psychologist continued. "Since a few of us now have had our birthdays here, it's safe to say that we've been here for approximately half a year, give or take. I'll need to ask Monocrow about how many days we've been here to confirm this."

"Half a year...?!" Shinji was broken out of his embarrassed state by his shock. "It- It couldn't have been that long, it doesn't feel like it at all!"

"If you're not keeping track of the days, then it's easy to miss the signs of time passing. But it keeps continuing, on and on, until you've finally realized that the past has slipped through your fingers." Kokoro shrugged. "We either need to count the days passed or look to the future. That's all we can do at this point."

"Y-Yeah, you're right..." The firefighter settled down, returning to his embarrassed state again. "So, uh, do you have a favourite thing of this island...?"

Kokoro sighed, realizing that he was going to continue to talk with her despite her wanting to just read. "This shrine. It makes me feel this strange nostalgic sensation, but I'm not exactly sure why this is exactly. I've never been to this island before."

"Maybe it's just the memory of being to a shrine before..? I'm not sure, but maybe that's it..." Shinji suggested, and Yuki slowly began to catch his breath and go over to sit beside him. "I-I remember being at a shrine with my family multiple times..."

"That's odd. I barely went to shrines in my childhood at all. I still have the memories of going to a shrine with my family in recent years." The psychologist explained. "That shouldn't be far enough to be considered nostalgic."

"Um, call this a hunch, but maybe it's the name?" Yuki meekly suggested. "Teruya said that he knew someone with the surname 'Kurokawa' before, but it's not an uncommon name."

"Maybe, well, you knew someone close to you in your past named Kurokawa?" Shinji added. "But then again, you probably don't remember anything like that..."

"I don't. I didn't have any friends in my childhood. My...old surname wasn't Kurokawa, and my doctor's surname was Yoshihama." Kokoro shook her head and decided to focus on her book again. "It must be just a coincidence."