I just KNOW this is going to form a bruise tomorrow.

With one hand pressed firmly against the tiled ground, you wiped the blood from the cut on your lip before pushing yourself to your feet with a sigh. Another intense operation. An emergency operation. An operation where you were called to the scene when you were just about to head to bed early. You were quite literally wearing your pyjamas underneath your clothes.

Scene? Shopping centre. The apparitions? Vengeful ones. A pair of retail workers who were victims of a toxic workplace. Honestly, you had some empathy for them.

You quickly summoned your apparition companions. Alec and Sam cheered, happy they were able to move around.

Sam raised her arms in the air. "Let's go save people!"

"I see someone over there!" Alec exclaimed, already dragging Sam away.

Alastor sighed. "Don't run off on your own."

The twins proceeded to run off on their own. Alastor rolled his eyes and went after them. You giggled to yourself; you'd be sure to thank Alastor later by purchasing that game he wanted.

Copper tugged the sleeve of your jacket. "Can I take Mochi with me?"

The wolf barked happily and affectionately nuzzled his face in Copper's small hands. You nodded your head in affirmation, and Copper teamed up with Mochi to help with the operation. With that, you and your apparitions went to work.

Your focus was to help any injured individuals in dangerous spots beyond the reach of the support team. As you navigated through, being careful to not disrupt the offence members, you caught sight of a boy—likely a high school senior—trapped behind a door of one of the stores. Was it jammed? He seemed unable to open it. Either way, you rushed over to him. The door was jammed, but your strength was enough to open it with a powerful pull. Those strength training sessions with Lyle have been paying off.

The apparitions that would have possessed the boy switched over to you. Of course, you remained impervious to any possession attempts. Fun fact, some people gave you some weird nickname along the lines of being a shield against apparitions. Yeah, titles like that seemed cooler in comics. They made you feel embarrassed in real life.

"Th-thank you," the boy breathed out.

He was limping, so you lent him your shoulder before taking him to safety out of the shopping centre where the support teams were. As you stepped into the open air, the glow of the city lights made you squint a little. It was night, but the city had no shortage of artificial lights. After a quick glance around, you spotted a familiar young woman with braided purple hair.

"Lily!" you called out. "You free right now? He's got a broken leg."

Lily glanced your way and gave a quick nod before swiftly gathering the necessary first aid supplies. While Lily was occupied, you took a minute to catch your breath. A support member nearby handed you a water bottle. When you thanked her, she squealed to herself in happiness before running off. Huh. Maybe you were more popular than you thought.

You watched Lily swiftly tend to the boy, no movements wasted. After, she then sent him off to a defence member where he could be safely escorted out of the area. You couldn't help but comment,

"You've become really reliable."

It was true. Lily was always competent, but for the occasions when you were scheduled operations with her, she had become far more confident in her role as a support member. At your words, Lily's face flushed. Ah, there was the Lily you knew. She was still the usual, cute, timid, easily flustered individual when she wasn't focused on working.

"Th-thank you." Lily proceeded to show you the cutest bashful smile without warning. "You've been working hard, so it's natural that I do the same! I-I know it's been months since you've stopped being our leader, but I still look up to you. Everyone still sees you as an important part of our team. It was thanks to your influence that support members are treated with more respect, so everyone is grateful."

"You guys are way too sweet," you replied. "I still consider myself as a support member sometimes as well."

Your visits to the support team have been slipping away faster than you'd like. Before you knew it, you went from seeing them at least once a day for long chats to once a week for a quick exchange. Everyone had grown a lot in your absence.

With just a quick survey of the area, you spotted Ness and Lucas carrying out their duties, working in perfect sync as a support leader and vice leader. They caught a glimpse of you and sent a cheerful wave, shouting something along the lines of 'great work!' and 'be careful!' The rest of your old support team followed suit. You smiled warmly at that.

You missed them. They reminded you of simpler times, times when you didn't think about your limited time in this world.

Lily continued, "I'm still not as confident as I want, but one day..."

"One day?"

Lily took a deep breath before showing you a determined expression. In the midst of all the chatter and hustle of the city, her voice cut through the noise with a quiet confidence.

"I will become strong enough to tell you how I feel."

Ah...

Lily's words were bittersweet knowing your fate. Her eyes spoke of a growth and potential you wished you could be here to see manifest into something even greater.

"Lily–"

A beep from your device interrupted your sentence. Lily smiled and told you to check the message before going off to perform first aid on others.

"..."

I wish I spent more time with her.

If it were you from the past, you would've puffed your chest and said 'well! There's plenty of time to hang out with her after everything gets resolved.' Obviously, that luxury was far out of your grasp now.

"Maybe it's for the best," you whispered.

With that depressing thought, you checked your message. It was from Elias, he had sent a report on the current state of the operation. Yup, this operation required two SF members. Operations on that scale usually happened, like, twice a month. Now it's becoming closer to twice a week.

The message notified you that the vengeful apparitions has been exorcised. Elias had a chance to speak to the apparitions and hear them out as well. Things were resolved relatively peacefully.

I'm glad he was able to speak to them.

Two new protocols were added when it came to exorcism. You will definitely be taking credit and say it was thanks to your influence––or at least, you played a significant role. To give a TLDR; if it was safe, try to communicate with a vengeful apparition and establish the source of their anger. The second, leave lingering apparitions alone if they are genuinely harmless. There was no need to exorcise every last one relentlessly.

After calling your apparitions back and making sure everything was fine, you almost collapsed in relief.

I've been so overworked that I don't have time to sit down and think about how I'm going to save this city.

After complaining about your work life for three seconds, you entered the shopping mall to do a final check up. During that, you ran into Elias.

"Good work today."

"You as well," you replied.

Elias' gaze stayed on you for a moment. "Don't push yourself, alright? Your shoulders seem heavy. I'd know what that looks like."

Aw, he was looking out for you from one workaholic to another. "I know. It's just... You and I know none of us can afford to take days off because of the state of the city."

Elias reluctantly agreed with your statement. "If you're free, I can treat you to something light after this operation ends."

Damn, late night food would slap so hard right now.

"Some other time," you replied. "But I'm holding you onto that offer!"

It hurt to reject Elias' invitation, but you had things you should do.

"That's alright. Send me a message whenever you like, I'll make time for you."

After you and Elias wrapped up the operation, you two parted ways. Instead of heading home, you had a particular location in mind. Suddenly, you received a message.

It's from Caleb.

He sent you a video about someone baking this peach based dessert. Under the video, he texted: Watch. I'll make it even better. You laughed at that and replied 'can't wait to taste test it' before pocketing your phone. However, just as you did that, your phone rang. Woah, you were popular.

The call was from Amias. You paused. That conversation you had with Amias concerning Brynn was already a week ago, but still fresh in your mind. You picked up the call.

"(Y/n)! You've just finished your operation, right? Do you need me to do anything? It's late, but I can make a warm drink for you."

"It's fine, I won't be heading back to the AEI building just yet."

"Oh, you're not?" With the way his voice deflated, you could imagine Amias' shoulders dropping. "Where are you going?"

"I have some things to take care of."

"Ah..." There was a short moment of silence. "Alright! I'll be waiting if you need anything."

"Amias, you don't need to wait for me. Get some sleep, okay?"

You were about to end the call, but a particular line of dialogue from Amias suddenly came to mind, making you pause.

"I feel so anxious. I don't know much about your situation, so you can slip away at any moment. It scares me so much."

Anxious. The last thing you wanted was to perpetuate that anxiety. Amias never questioned your vague words and explanations, but that didn't mean he wasn't affected by it.

"I'm trying to get into contact with Rose. If I need your help, I'll ask. Oh, don't tell anyone. Only you know this."

"Really?" Amias sounded delighted. "Yes, of course! You can trust me."

"Thanks. I'll see you soon."

You ended the call there. There were a million things about Amias you could overthink about, but not right now.

Where we heading off?

You weren't surprised to hear Alastor's voice. Whenever you're up to something interesting, he'd always be ready to know more.

"We're gonna watch a play."

You could feel Alastor mentally roll his eyes at your vague words. Dude.

Rose, she was the individual you were trying to get in contact with. In the original narrative, Rose's ambitions were muddled with her vengeful apparition state, it led to excessive action and skewed morals. The plot goes: Rose rallies up a decent fraction of the city to rebel against the chairman, attacking the AEI building and causing considerable damage. She was great at commanding mobs of people, her voice authoritative and influence captivating.

Rose was a loved actress who shared the same love for her fans. Even if she didn't always openly show it through her attitude, she definitely did through her acting. However, her fans' betrayal that led to her death due to a certain incident caused her to become a vengeful apparition. In the end, she was exorcised by her closest friend, Sara.

Currently, Rose has been laying low ever since the weapon announcement arc. Where was she right now? What is she currently doing? Well, one could say she was like an actress rehearsing for her final performance.

In the game, Amias doesn't come in contact with Rose outside of her attacks, but the game hinted (and you also gathered clues as someone who explored everywhere) that she'd come to this abandoned theatre often. Of course, going there wasn't a guarantee that you would encounter her. You've tried twice already and failed to meet her.

"Third time's the charm, maybe. Hopefully. Please be the charm."

You stepped into the scene of a familiar theatre, a space draped in cobwebs and dull infrastructure not yet weak enough to collapse. It was as if the building was reluctant to let go of the echoes of past performances. Suddenly, the air turned colder, and your eyes lit up.

Third time WAS the charm!! Hooray for cliche sayings!!!

Any fatigue you've accumulated due to a lack of sleep on top of just doing an intense operation was washed away. You ran further into the theatre until you saw a figure on stage. She was still, unmoving like a statue carved by the most talented artisan. Her form fitting red dress and elegance reflected a lone crimson rose in the centre of a bland stage.

Beautiful and sharp rose gold eyes locked onto you. She didn't seem surprised by your presence. Instead, she smiled with a hint of mischief and motioned you to step on the stage. You felt like you were ruining the scene being alongside her, but complied. Rose's eyes were mesmerising and hypnotic, but were also distant.

"Would you like to be my partner?"

You could totally misinterpret that and assume Rose was flirting with you, but unfortunately you knew what she actually meant.

"I'm a pretty terrible actor."

"Doesn't matter. As long as you understand your role."

Rose held your hand up and spun you around. She then hummed; her voice was deep, yet carried a distinct femininity that was uniquely hers.

"This is a story about two lovers."

Rose intertwined her fingers with yours, pulled you close by the waist, and gently lifted your chin with a soft touch.

"Let's see... I am a desperate woman in pursuit of love. You, my darling, will be the object of my desire. What do you think is your role?"

After you quickly internally freaked out how seductive Rose was being (Cecil had competition), you replied, "The city."

More specifically, the people in the city. At your answer, Rose displayed a satisfied smile before letting go of you. You were disappointed, but also extremely grateful. You didn't know if your head would remain clear if you kept being that close to her.

"The city will betray you," Rose said plainly, tilting her head. "Do you still want to save it?"

Seems like Rose has figured your goal already. As an actress who played many characters, she was a good judge of one as well.

In contrast to her detached tone of voice, yours was steady with resolve. "The city has people who are precious to me."

Rose's expression was hard to read. "Is it worth giving up everything?"

Is it worth giving up everything to save the world of Anomalous? The world that provided you solace back in your previous life? The world you grew to cherish so much?

"Of course." You smiled. "This includes you as well, Rose. I'll be sure to help you."

Talk won't do much to Rose. The moment she became a vengeful apparition, she was already set on her ideals. With her nature, as an actress who always led the stage herself, she would never come to your book. She would never follow your script. Maybe with a lot of time and persistence you would have made a difference, but you didn't have that luxury.

"I'm not cut out for the stage, really." You smiled. "I'm more of a playwright than an actor."

Once my purpose is over and the curtains fall, I'll let the story flow on its own.

"... We're similar. Both trying to please this damn city." Rose's tone was bittersweet, a scoff leaving her red lips. "However, I was trying to be the lead actress. Maybe that's the difference between you and I."

Rose sought revenge, but you had a feeling a part of her hoped that someone could help his city. After all, the reason why she died in the first place was because she was trying to protect the city, even if the citizens turned on her at the end.

"Don't abandon your role just yet. Stay on the stage for as long as you can," you said. Don't get exorcised like in the original story. "Even as the villain if you have to."



===



The one thing you liked about the city of Anomalous is the fact that there were so many late night cafes. You planned to head home after talking to Rose, but you caught a glimpse of an aesthetically pleasing new cafe. Before you knew it, you had sat down and ordered a drink.

I'm reviewing this place so I can tell Sara and Jade if it's worth it.

You kept telling yourself that as you sipped on your overpriced drink. After you mentally justified your purchase, you contemplated the conversation you had with Rose not even an hour ago.

Your objective meeting Rose... It was mainly to strengthen your resolve. Rose was a headstrong individual, someone who could make you second-guess yourself with a simple offhand remark. Having a conversation with her and experiencing her personality for yourself helped you gather some of her strength.

And you also hoped your words would linger in her mind, prolonging the time it took for her to be exorcised.

Once you've organised your thoughts, you savoured the cafe's peaceful ambience. There were a few talks of the operation you attended to a few hours ago. It was all over the internet as with any big apparition case. The photographers did not capture your good side. With every passing day, there were rising concerns about the growing amount of apparitions.

"Oh," you mumbled, glancing outside the window beside you. "It's raining."

As you were just about to select which raindrop you believed would be first to slide down the glass window, you felt an unnatural chill in the air. Before anyone else in the cafe could register the subtle anomaly, you were on your feet and prepared to act. However, before you could use your voice, a violent storm of rain and wind came crashing into the cafe; the clamorous sound muffled any panicked yells. The lights were cut, plunging the cafe into darkness, stripping away its warm, inviting glow.

You assessed the scene. It seemed to be a case where regular apparitions formed a large group and began wrecking havoc. Some seemed to clash with each other, the collision sending waves of cold air that shook the building. There were a lot of apparitions, but it was an operation that didn't require an SF member. Honestly, you could deal with this without backup. You said a mental 'I am so fucking overworked' before taking action.

You summoned the Mochi. "Stand guard outside the cafe and help the citizens."

With that quick instruction, the wolf barked in affirmation before heading off. This case wasn't out of your capability, but man you were way too exhausted for this.

I already alerted the AEI. Backup would arrive in ten minutes or so. I can wrap up everything in that time. They'll deal with the aftermath.

You got to work. It was truly annoying that you couldn't exorcise apparitions like regular exorcists. Well, you had no complaints about your actual abilities; super flexible and reflected who you were as a person. However, allowing the apparitions to possess you and then overpowering them as a means of exorcism wasn't always the smoothest process as opposed to, lets say, blowing them up (cough, Caleb).

In a matter of minutes, you successfully evacuated everyone to safety. There were a handful of apparitions left to deal with.

"I learnt my lesson," you mumbled. "I'm definitely going home after this."

When you called Mochi back, a faint layer of purple mist appeared beneath your feet. It then swirled around the apparitions, calming their aggression and either rendering them harmless or causing them to vanish peacefully.

Is this...?

You quickly took a closer look at the mist. The shade of purple had a blue undertone, resembling violet. Meaning...

It shouldn't make me fall asleep if I inhale it.

"(Y/n)!" A friendly voice exclaimed. "Do you remember me?"

You almost broke your back with how fast you turned around. "Kein!?"

The blond smiled happily at your recognition and nodded.

"Yes, that's my name!" He giggled. "Anyways, do you need any help?"

"Yes, please."

Kein swiftly took care of the apparitions. His expression was focused and he wasted no movements. The violet mist enveloped the rest of the apparitions with one simple gesture from Kein. While he was adorably ditzy at times, Kein was still a speciality force member. Just from this brief act, you could tell he held much more experience than you.

"All done!" He beamed. "Did I do a good job?"

Before you could shower him with praises, Kein was swarmed by citizens. Ah. How popular. Well, you were as well. A group of people came up to you to tell you 'good work!' and 'thanks for protecting us!' You smiled. It did feel pretty good to be praised.

"Is it alright if I take a photo with you?" A woman asked Kein. "I've never seen you around the AEI before. I'm sure you'll become a future SF member!"

Kein's expression was reluctant, though he still wore his characteristic bright smile. Right, Kein doesn't appear in photos due to his condition. Keeping that in mind, you walked over to him and the woman before saying,

"Sorry to interrupt, but I need him for a moment," you said.

The woman nodded. "Oh, (Y/n)! That's alright. Thank you for your services."

Aw, what a sweet person. You grabbed Kein's hand (and got to see his flustered expression omg) and led him away from the crowd. Backup from the AEI had already arrived to clean things up, and delaying your report for the incident a little won't hurt. Caleb was way more irresponsible.

"What did you need me for?" Kein asked.

You let go of his hand. "Nothing."

".Nothing? Did you forget? You can try to remember, I can wait."

You laughed. "It was a lie. You looked like you were in trouble, so I figured I should step in."

"A lie... Oh! You could tell? That's amazing."

"You're easy to read."

"Really?!" Kein suddenly became very excited. He leaned in a little closer, eyes practically sparkling with enthusiasm. "Then, can you guess what I'm thinking about right now?"

"You're thinking... How you bet I won't be able to tell what you're thinking."

"...!"

Adorable. He was so fucking adorable.

"Oh, that's right. A girl lent me her umbrella." Kein showed it off. "You should take it! That way you won't get sick when you go home."

You were planning to call a taxi or something since you were too tired to walk, but fuck that. Kein gave you an umbrella.

"She told me to think of her when I use it. I'm not sure what she means by that, but she seems like a very considerate person."

Kein was so oblivious and you love him for it.

"She was flirting, Kein."

Kein looked confused for a moment. It took a few seconds, but when realisation dawned on him, a soft shade of red dusted his cheek.

"Oh! I didn't know." He laughed. "(Y/n), would you flirt with me?"

Dude. You have NO IDEA.

Look. Look. Yes, you've had romantic experiences with Caleb and Shen. Hell, you've kissed the two of them. Romantically, you felt stronger for those two compared to Kein. However, this loveable blond was your favourite character.

After all, his bright nature helped me during pretty depressing times.

"Do you want me to flirt with you?" you asked.

"I mean, only if you're comfortable! I've always wondered what it's like to flirt with someone." Kein proudly placed a hand on his chest. "If that person ends up falling for me, I'll take responsibility."

"Responsibility?"

"Marriage!"

"What happened to the dating phase???"

You wanted to laugh, but a yawn slipped by your lips instead. Exhaustion was finally catching up to you.

"You're tired? Don't let me hold you up! You should head back to the AEI."

Kein was smiling, but there was a hint of loneliness in his eyes, a quiet disappointment that you had to leave.

"I should, but... We haven't seen each other in a while. Can we spend more time?"

After the incident that caused his condition, Kein lived a lonely life. Honestly, you wanted to punch yourself for not spending more time with him. You called him your favourite character, yet you neglected to check up on him. Kein slipped from you mind, as if––

You paused.

... No way. Don't tell me his condition also impacted me?

You remembered Kein; however, as time progressed, you found yourself not thinking about him as much as you used to.

In the original story, Kein assisted Amias in the final fight against Shen. However, he disappeared soon after the first phase (much to your utter dismay). Kein was never heard from again. In fact, even Amias forgot about him. Only the player behind the screen, someone who couldn't reach Kein, was left worried about his well being.

Was it because Kein's condition finally caught up to him? Did he disappear for good after that?

...

You were not going to forget Kein. No way in hell are you going to forget him. Well, not until you leave this world and the system erases all memories—yours of everyone, and theirs of you.

Kein's eyes lit up in excitement. "Are you sure? I mean, I'd love to! But please don't push yourself. You need sleep."

"It's fine, I'll sleep in tomorrow."

Kein seemed hesitant, clearly concerned for your wellbeing. However, he ultimately accepted. You mentioned to Kein that there was a nice spot on top of a building to chat. There was just a––uh, a dark alley way you needed to pass. He agreed within a heartbeat before you could reassure him it was safe.

You were seriously concerned someone could easily lead him into a white van.

Though you were more than capable of climbing up on your own, Kein always extended his hand to help you––all while holding an umbrella over your head so you didn't get wet. Some may call him unreliable due to his airheaded nature, but his grip was sturdy and reliable. You could close your eyes and lean over the edge of the building, knowing you could trust him to catch you.

"Kein, you're not using the umbrella?"

And why did he look good with wet hair?

"I don't get sick in this state. Kind of like an apparition that doesn't age. You, on the other hand, need to take care of your health! Getting ill is the worst."

As Kein finished speaking, the two of you reached the top. The sounds of the city below were muffled and distant, and the breeze was peaceful. You sighed in content, rooftops were peak spots to relax in.

"Caleb showed me this spot," you said, moving closer to the edge. A low wall bordered the rooftop, providing just enough protection so you didn't fall over.

"Caleb! How is he doing? Is he still baking? I miss his pastries, especially his strawberry croissants."

"Should I get him to make some for you?"

"Can you––I mean, you don't have to. I don't miss them that much."

"Hm, I guess I won't then."

"Y-yeah..."

You laughed. "I'm kidding."

The conversations with Kein after that were lively and full of detail. Kein was animated and happy to spend time with someone who remembered him. Kein shared the details of his day with you—he spotted an adorable kitten, he helped with apparition cases from behind the scenes, and re-telling you a book he came across in the library. In exchange, you updated him on how everyone was doing. Thankfully, you managed to avoid mentioning Finn.

Kein leaned against the wall and glanced over his shoulder, hair flowing as he watched over the city. He smiled, expression free and bright.

"I'm very happy right now."

Happy?

Kein was met with a cruel fate, a lonely one. Someone made to shine so bright, someone so selfless––someone forgotten. And he says he's happy?

"How?"

Your voice came out as a gentle whisper. It was a terrible question to ask, but you were desperate for his answer even if you had an idea of what it would be. After all, Kein's current fate mirrored your future. You came to Rose for conviction and you went to Kein for solace. Tonight was all about finalising your resolve to leave this city, huh?

"How?" Kein repeated. "Sorry, I'm slow on these things. What do you mean?"

Kein's innocent expression made you hesitate; it would be so easy to take your words back.

"Everyone's forgotten about you," you mumbled, avoiding eye contact. "Don't you feel lonely?"

Silence. You snuck a glance over at Kein. He didn't seem offended or troubled by your question. He simply needed time to think.

"I'm happy because everyone's safe. It does get lonely, but I get to talk to you! I think I'm very lucky."

Optimistic, a pure, bright smile. A smile you wouldn't usually find in this selfish world. Kein's attitude helped you during the days when life was a mess, things weren't going your way, and giving up looked easier than living on. Kein was fictional back then, but there was something about that fictional optimism that inspired you.

You smiled to yourself and whispered, "This is why you're my favourite."

"Favourite?"

Oh, shit. You said that without thinking.

"Favourite... blond with purple eyes."

Kein laughed. "You say the strangest things sometimes."

Phew. Thank god he was a himbo.

You two basked in silence for a moment, looking over the city. Kein was happily humming to himself.

"Hey," you said. "How about we meet up frequently?"

Kein's eyes widened. "I... Can we? You're busy and...ah––I... I don't know."

He had a smile, but his voice was fragile.

"Why not?" you asked. "I can make time for you."

"..." Kein took a deep breath. "I don't know if I deserve that."

It was a response you expected from Kein, but your heart ached nonetheless.

"What do you mean?"

You knew what Kein meant because you understood his character and backstory, but you wanted to hear it from him.

"I think I need to give some context first or else it'll get kinda confusing," Kein responded. "Do you wonder why I'm like this? That no one remembers me?"

"I do."

"I can tell you! I'm not a great storyteller like Caleb or good at articulation like Elias, but I hope it makes sense."

You wondered if you'd get some new insights now that Kein was explaining things. The game dedicated a good few hours to his backstory (you got to play his pov which was 10/10), but you were always willing to know more.

"I'll be listening."

"Great!" Kein smiled. "I'll tell you about the incident that caused the city to forget me."



A/n: Kein and Rose !! I can finally flesh out their characters this is a W

A good amount of symbolism and parallels this chapter! That was fun to write :D