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Mercedes sighed to herself as she sat down on an open bench in the garden, rested her elbows on her knees, and leaned her head forward onto her fists. She needed some time to think, but also some time alone after having to tell her mother that she wasn't actually getting married .

"I know Leslea meant well as soon as she saw that I was back ," she spoke to herself to sort out the events of the past few months in her head. "But her methods of helping are as subtle as a brick wall through a plate glass window. I really should have known she was up to something right away when she asked me to model that outfit . Not only that, she sent those photos to Madre , and I wasted the last hour convincing her it was a misunderstanding. Leslea said she was meeting Cole for dinner before long, so she'll show those to him sooner or later no matter how much I beg her not to..." she sighed again. "And I know Lex said she'd help me out too , but so far all of her ideas have just been fake kidnappings so he could 'rescue' me from Terrible Tickler Blue... as if everyone doesn't already know who that really is."

"That was a big sigh," a voice suddenly spoke up from nearby, causing Mercedes to quickly raise her head and open her eyes to see that Kitsuki had approached her without her noticing. "You're also talking to yourself quite a bit. Do you need to get something off of your chest?"

"Oh, Kitsuki, hi," Mercedes relaxed a bit. "I know I'm safe on the campus grounds after already getting kidnapped a few times since I got back , but I really shouldn't lower my guard like that."

"If you have so much on your mind, then relaxing for a little bit couldn't hurt. I'll hear you out if you need someone to lend you an ear, if that will help."

Mercedes pondered for a moment, thinking about how she was with someone who she didn't speak with much, but also the first one she could think of who sounded willing to listen to her without trying to offer unsolicited advice. And, perhaps, this would be an opportunity to hear her side as well.

"It's my love life," she decided to speak up. "I think Dyne told you about how he and Alexus met a few years ago when a job brought her to this town. Our friend Porsha and I came along with her and, while the stay was uneventful for Porsha, I also met someone."

"Leslea-chan's brother Cole, right?" Kitsuki asked to confirm.

"I'm not surprised you already know. The grapevine around here is pretty loose with these things thanks to both Leslea and Angie. But you're right. This feels a little weird talking about this since you're one of Dyne's girlfriends too, but as he and Lex grew closer, so did Cole and myself. But, in the end, ultimately nothing happened to escalate our relationship to the next level before we had to return to our hometown."

"Mind if I ask why you had to go back?" Kitsuki asked, clearly wanting to get a feel for the whole picture.

"To keep an eye on our mortal enemy, Maxima," Mercedes sighed again. "Chasing her here was the reason we came in the first place. And chasing her back to our hometown was why we had to leave. We spent the last two years dealing with her there until she up and disappeared. After a few weeks of trying to track her down without any results, Lex and I figured she was gone for good and decided to see how things were here. To make a long story short, Dyne and Sephira kidnapped us on sight and Lex's fires were still stoked , but I was both hopeful and scared that Cole had forgotten about me and moved on. I didn't even tell him when we went home and didn't contact him, either."

"Every day during that time must have been hell," Kitsuki placed a supportive hand on Mercedes's back. "You didn't want to let go, did you?"

"I didn't..." Mercedes admitted after another moment. "Part of me wanted him to follow. Part of me wanted to come back here much sooner. Part of me wanted to try and convince myself the time here was just a pleasant dream. But, even after learning he still has feelings for me, we're right back where we started."

"But was it worth it just to see him again?" Kitsuki asked bluntly, causing Mercedes to turn her head to face her.

"Exactly what do you mean?" she asked.

"Dyne and I thought we had a fairy tale romance when we first met," the foxgirl began to explain. "We thought our 'true love' would conquer everything that could get thrown at us, but ultimately it was used against us to nearly bring us apart. Thanks to Akiha-chan, we avoided the worst-case scenario, but I was away from the man I love for four years and even just seeing him ran the risk of him trying to kill me through no fault of his own. And, even though I could go anywhere on the Tohno estate, I was still a prisoner; not just physically but emotionally too. I did everything I could to try and forget him, but my heart wouldn't let me. Then, just a few weeks ago, I was in my room going about my evening, and there he was . Even though his memories of me had been sealed away once and 'killed' by his own hand, he didn't forget me. The moment I saw him and saw I hadn't been forgotten, I realized that every day of the previous four years of waiting had been worth it all. Part of me still feels a bit silly for thinking like my younger self, but I still feel like that was the real time I could say, 'True love conquers all.' You were happy to see Cole again after your time away, right?"

"Yeah..." Mercedes slowly nodded and smiled as she recalled the look on Cole's face the moment they made eye contact. The two of them could barely stammer out their greetings to each other due to how sudden it was, but she would never forget the way his eyes shone. "It was worth it."

"Being forgotten is worse than dying," another voice suddenly spoke up as Allie seated herself next to Mercedes on the other side. "I'm afraid I overheard a lot of your conversation."

"It's okay, Allie," Mercedes nodded again. "You look like you have something you want to say too."

"It's not quite as happy an ending as Kitsuki's story," Allie sighed, "But I can understand your own fear from the opposite perspective. How much do you really know about me, Mercedes?"

"We haven't spoken much either," Mercedes thought for a moment, "I know you use the cover story of being Elly's twin sister but you don't have the same last name."

"That's because Hamilton is my maiden name," Allie took a deep breath, bracing herself to open up an old wound once again. "I'm actually a widow. My husband was my world's version of Elly's boyfriend Tim."

"'Widow?!'" Mercedes widened her eyes, "But we're the same age! If you grew up in this world you'd just barely be getting out of college."

"It was normal for couples in my world to marry young... when they had the choice and opportunity to," Allie nodded but also clasped her pendant. "For a long time, we promised ourselves we'd get married after defeating Parasyte and saving the world from ANGRY, but as time went on and our resistance lost more and more ground, we ultimately decided to marry as a morale booster before our final mission as we didn't know if we'd be returning afterwards... There are so many things I wanted to do with him, but I don't regret accepting his proposal when I did or else it would have been one more thing to regret after what happened."

"And you're afraid you're going to forget him?" Mercedes softly asked.

"It's what I fear more than anything," Allie's voice broke a little as she tightened her grip for a moment before also placing her free hand on Mercedes's back. "If not for him, I wouldn't have been brought here. And if not for Dyne, I don't think I would be here now. They say that time heals all wounds, but you still have to go through the pain so there's something to heal."

"And true love can't conquer anything if there's nothing to conquer," Kitsuki added.

"I think I'm starting to understand both of you a bit more now," Mercedes looked between them.

"You're probably sick of everyone trying to give you advice on your love life," Allie spoke up again, having heard Leslea talk about her recent actions, "but where there's love there's also trust. Be fully honest with him and with yourself."

"Do you love him?" Kitsuki asked, again bluntly.

"I..." Mercedes felt her face going red as she thought about how to answer, but immediately recalled Allie's words and stopped thinking, letting her heart speak for her with a resounding, "Yes!"

"Then you'll be just fine," Allie smiled. "It may take Cole a little more time to learn the same lesson but, once he's honest with himself and his own feelings, things will fall into place for you two. And, in his case, I think we can leave his wake-up call to Leslea since she knows him better than anyone."

"Allie's right," Kitsuki smiled and wagged her tail. "You've waited this long and haven't given up. It may take a little longer, but we're rooting for you!"

"Muchas gracias, both of you," Mercedes soon found herself smiling again as their words sank into her heart. "I think on our next date, we can have a long talk about all of this so I can at least be wholly honest with him. I want to get to a point where we can say we didn't regret what we did versus regretting what we didn't do."

"That's the spirit, Mercedes-chan!" Kitsuki pulled her into a one-arm hug as Allie did the same from the other side.

"We don't get to talk like this very often," Allie smiled, "And I don't see a reason to stop now. We'll make it a girls night and chat until morning."

"That sounds pretty fun," Mercedes nodded. "I guess there are still some things you never outgrow."

"Oh, becoming an adult just means you can have fun in all the ways you couldn't as a pup," Kitsuki grinned. "I think we should start at the spa and we'll make sure you get the VIP treatment."

"We'll all celebrate being confused women in love," Allie added.

"Sounds good to me," Mercedes began laughing a bit as the trio stood up onto their feet and proceeded to get their night of fun started.

She was indeed already feeling better.

Made in Kisekae.
Mercedes Rivera belongs to DLShowtime
Kituski Ichiyuki belongs to Yi-Phan
Allie Summers belongs to Parasyte123

Description
Mercedes sighed to herself as she sat down on an open bench in the garden, rested her elbows on her knees, and leaned her head forward onto her fists. She needed some time to think, but also some time alone after having to tell her mother that she wasn't actually getting married .

"I know Leslea meant well as soon as she saw that I was back ," she spoke to herself to sort out the events of the past few months in her head. "But her methods of helping are as subtle as a brick wall through a plate glass window. I really should have known she was up to something right away when she asked me to model that outfit . Not only that, she sent those photos to Madre , and I wasted the last hour convincing her it was a misunderstanding. Leslea said she was meeting Cole for dinner before long, so she'll show those to him sooner or later no matter how much I beg her not to..." she sighed again. "And I know Lex said she'd help me out too , but so far all of her ideas have just been fake kidnappings so he could 'rescue' me from Terrible Tickler Blue... as if everyone doesn't already know who that really is."

"That was a big sigh," a voice suddenly spoke up from nearby, causing Mercedes to quickly raise her head and open her eyes to see that Kitsuki had approached her without her noticing. "You're also talking to yourself quite a bit. Do you need to get something off of your chest?"

"Oh, Kitsuki, hi," Mercedes relaxed a bit. "I know I'm safe on the campus grounds after already getting kidnapped a few times since I got back , but I really shouldn't lower my guard like that."

"If you have so much on your mind, then relaxing for a little bit couldn't hurt. I'll hear you out if you need someone to lend you an ear, if that will help."

Mercedes pondered for a moment, thinking about how she was with someone who she didn't speak with much, but also the first one she could think of who sounded willing to listen to her without trying to offer unsolicited advice. And, perhaps, this would be an opportunity to hear her side as well.

"It's my love life," she decided to speak up. "I think Dyne told you about how he and Alexus met a few years ago when a job brought her to this town. Our friend Porsha and I came along with her and, while the stay was uneventful for Porsha, I also met someone."

"Leslea-chan's brother Cole, right?" Kitsuki asked to confirm.

"I'm not surprised you already know. The grapevine around here is pretty loose with these things thanks to both Leslea and Angie. But you're right. This feels a little weird talking about this since you're one of Dyne's girlfriends too, but as he and Lex grew closer, so did Cole and myself. But, in the end, ultimately nothing happened to escalate our relationship to the next level before we had to return to our hometown."

"Mind if I ask why you had to go back?" Kitsuki asked, clearly wanting to get a feel for the whole picture.

"To keep an eye on our mortal enemy, Maxima," Mercedes sighed again. "Chasing her here was the reason we came in the first place. And chasing her back to our hometown was why we had to leave. We spent the last two years dealing with her there until she up and disappeared. After a few weeks of trying to track her down without any results, Lex and I figured she was gone for good and decided to see how things were here. To make a long story short, Dyne and Sephira kidnapped us on sight and Lex's fires were still stoked , but I was both hopeful and scared that Cole had forgotten about me and moved on. I didn't even tell him when we went home and didn't contact him, either."

"Every day during that time must have been hell," Kitsuki placed a supportive hand on Mercedes's back. "You didn't want to let go, did you?"

"I didn't..." Mercedes admitted after another moment. "Part of me wanted him to follow. Part of me wanted to come back here much sooner. Part of me wanted to try and convince myself the time here was just a pleasant dream. But, even after learning he still has feelings for me, we're right back where we started."

"But was it worth it just to see him again?" Kitsuki asked bluntly, causing Mercedes to turn her head to face her.

"Exactly what do you mean?" she asked.

"Dyne and I thought we had a fairy tale romance when we first met," the foxgirl began to explain. "We thought our 'true love' would conquer everything that could get thrown at us, but ultimately it was used against us to nearly bring us apart. Thanks to Akiha-chan, we avoided the worst-case scenario, but I was away from the man I love for four years and even just seeing him ran the risk of him trying to kill me through no fault of his own. And, even though I could go anywhere on the Tohno estate, I was still a prisoner; not just physically but emotionally too. I did everything I could to try and forget him, but my heart wouldn't let me. Then, just a few weeks ago, I was in my room going about my evening, and there he was . Even though his memories of me had been sealed away once and 'killed' by his own hand, he didn't forget me. The moment I saw him and saw I hadn't been forgotten, I realized that every day of the previous four years of waiting had been worth it all. Part of me still feels a bit silly for thinking like my younger self, but I still feel like that was the real time I could say, 'True love conquers all.' You were happy to see Cole again after your time away, right?"

"Yeah..." Mercedes slowly nodded and smiled as she recalled the look on Cole's face the moment they made eye contact. The two of them could barely stammer out their greetings to each other due to how sudden it was, but she would never forget the way his eyes shone. "It was worth it."

"Being forgotten is worse than dying," another voice suddenly spoke up as Allie seated herself next to Mercedes on the other side. "I'm afraid I overheard a lot of your conversation."

"It's okay, Allie," Mercedes nodded again. "You look like you have something you want to say too."

"It's not quite as happy an ending as Kitsuki's story," Allie sighed, "But I can understand your own fear from the opposite perspective. How much do you really know about me, Mercedes?"

"We haven't spoken much either," Mercedes thought for a moment, "I know you use the cover story of being Elly's twin sister but you don't have the same last name."

"That's because Hamilton is my maiden name," Allie took a deep breath, bracing herself to open up an old wound once again. "I'm actually a widow. My husband was my world's version of Elly's boyfriend Tim."

"'Widow?!'" Mercedes widened her eyes, "But we're the same age! If you grew up in this world you'd just barely be getting out of college."

"It was normal for couples in my world to marry young... when they had the choice and opportunity to," Allie nodded but also clasped her pendant. "For a long time, we promised ourselves we'd get married after defeating Parasyte and saving the world from ANGRY, but as time went on and our resistance lost more and more ground, we ultimately decided to marry as a morale booster before our final mission as we didn't know if we'd be returning afterwards... There are so many things I wanted to do with him, but I don't regret accepting his proposal when I did or else it would have been one more thing to regret after what happened."

"And you're afraid you're going to forget him?" Mercedes softly asked.

"It's what I fear more than anything," Allie's voice broke a little as she tightened her grip for a moment before also placing her free hand on Mercedes's back. "If not for him, I wouldn't have been brought here. And if not for Dyne, I don't think I would be here now. They say that time heals all wounds, but you still have to go through the pain so there's something to heal."

"And true love can't conquer anything if there's nothing to conquer," Kitsuki added.

"I think I'm starting to understand both of you a bit more now," Mercedes looked between them.

"You're probably sick of everyone trying to give you advice on your love life," Allie spoke up again, having heard Leslea talk about her recent actions, "but where there's love there's also trust. Be fully honest with him and with yourself."

"Do you love him?" Kitsuki asked, again bluntly.

"I..." Mercedes felt her face going red as she thought about how to answer, but immediately recalled Allie's words and stopped thinking, letting her heart speak for her with a resounding, "Yes!"

"Then you'll be just fine," Allie smiled. "It may take Cole a little more time to learn the same lesson but, once he's honest with himself and his own feelings, things will fall into place for you two. And, in his case, I think we can leave his wake-up call to Leslea since she knows him better than anyone."

"Allie's right," Kitsuki smiled and wagged her tail. "You've waited this long and haven't given up. It may take a little longer, but we're rooting for you!"

"Muchas gracias, both of you," Mercedes soon found herself smiling again as their words sank into her heart. "I think on our next date, we can have a long talk about all of this so I can at least be wholly honest with him. I want to get to a point where we can say we didn't regret what we did versus regretting what we didn't do."

"That's the spirit, Mercedes-chan!" Kitsuki pulled her into a one-arm hug as Allie did the same from the other side.

"We don't get to talk like this very often," Allie smiled, "And I don't see a reason to stop now. We'll make it a girls night and chat until morning."

"That sounds pretty fun," Mercedes nodded. "I guess there are still some things you never outgrow."

"Oh, becoming an adult just means you can have fun in all the ways you couldn't as a pup," Kitsuki grinned. "I think we should start at the spa and we'll make sure you get the VIP treatment."

"We'll all celebrate being confused women in love," Allie added.

"Sounds good to me," Mercedes began laughing a bit as the trio stood up onto their feet and proceeded to get their night of fun started.

She was indeed already feeling better.

Made in Kisekae.
Mercedes Rivera belongs to DLShowtime
Kituski Ichiyuki belongs to Yi-Phan
Allie Summers belongs to Parasyte123