Under the Rain [Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS]

S2-32✩ When the Gullible Meets the Awkward

"Earth, the EARTH Ignis..." Mirai echoed after that 'suspicious thing' introduced himself. "Are you one of Ai-chan's... I mean, the DARK Ignis' friends, then?"

"You could say that we are friends to a certain extent," true to his name and Attribute, Earth replied with boldness in his voice. "But that isn't important. Right now, I have some more pressing matters that I wish to discuss with you, Kogami Mirai... come closer to the monitor."

Mirai was still a bit hesitant, but her curiosity finally made her approach the monitor like she was told. Upon closer inspection on Earth's appearance, she noticed that besides the two glowing blue squares that resembled a pair of eyes on his face, he also had an orange bulky humanoid body with brown stripes and pattern all over it, resembling Ai. She could see his small satisfied nod when she sat down in front of him and asked, "What do you want to talk with me about, Earth-chan?"

"Earth-chan?" Earth blushed upon hearing the cute addition to his name, before quickly feigning a cough. "Ahem. First, I shall let you know that I am fully aware of your association with Dr. Kogami and the Knights of Hanoi."

Mirai silently nodded at his reason. She already had a hunch when Earth called her old name, after all. His explanation continued, "Knowing what they tried to do to us Ignis five years ago, I was wary of coming into contact with you, but then I saw in a recent video that you also have an association with Fujiki Yusaku, the human behind Playmaker's face, who is partnering with one of the Ignis. With that in mind, I concluded that you at least should be on the more neutral side and therefore could be reasoned with."

"I-I see, you also saw that video, huh?" at the mention of that, Mirai's face flushed instantly in embarrassment while unlike her, Earth was unfazed, since he didn't understand why she made that face. "Although it was hard to locate you, I didn't give up. Just like how I won't give up searching for Aqua, the WATER Ignis. I'll eventually find her... just like how I found you."

Even though Mirai didn't quite understand what Earth was going through, she was touched by his words. "Earth-chan..."

Earth suddenly lifted his face to look directly into her eyes, startling her. "So Kogami Mirai, let me ask you. What do you think about Ignis and humans living in coexistence?"

Mirai blinked. "That's... so sudden. Why are you asking me that?"

"Aqua asked that before she went missing. Then I dueled Playmaker yesterday to find the answer to that question," Earth tightly clenched his fist as he reminisced about his defeat. "He told me that he's teaming up with Ai because they share the same objective. If we go with this logic, then surely the answer to coexistence is 'yes' because we Ignis also share the same goal as you humans, who wish to preserve the future generations. Yet, Aqua said we Ignis will split into those who oppose coexistence and those who don't. Opposition means there will be conflict, and I doubt Aqua would want that. I wish to follow her judgment, but..."

When Earth didn't continue, Mirai silently stared at him and eventually nodded in understanding. "I see, despite agreeing with Playmaker and Aqua-chan, you're still unsure of what to do yourself. Earth-chan, are you maybe... not getting along with your partner?"

"Huh?" Earth's face lifted up once again to look at Mirai, seeming to be surprised by her question. "How did you manage to correctly draw that conclusion?" he asked back.

In response, Mirai gave him a small mysterious smile. "It's not that difficult to tell, honestly. That feeling when you don't want to betray your closest ones, but you just can't help but think differently from them... I completely understand that."

"Then what did you do to get rid of that feeling?"

"I didn't do anything," she replied, grinning sheepishly, "Sure, it's uncomfortable, but I still wanted to hold on to what I thought was right. But, well... you have to steel your heart when your selfishness is eventually proven wrong."