The gentle ray of an ephemeral sun (Mae)

Charles glanced at the ticking clock, hanging off a wall in his apartment; 5:24 pm, Tuesday after the... incident. He was supposed to meet Mae yesterday, but he didn't feel like going anywhere or meeting anyone at the time, so he stayed indoors, chained by his self loathing over what had happened.

He left Gao with the building manager upon waking up and returning home, under the promise that he'd come and take her back soon. The old manager didn't complain, but Gao did - she just wouldn't comply and let Charles go without her. Perhaps she could sense something was wrong, even through his emotionless facade. It wasn't just because of Nilo's death. No, it was over breaking down the way he did and attacking the Angel, but also over the fleeting memories buzzing through his head. He couldn't truly recall those memories, but he had faint realizations of what they were about...

He lowered his head back down...

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7:28 pm... It was already pretty late and the sun has already set. Something... odd started bugging Charles around half an hour earlier. A strange urge to go and do something... meet someone, someone who would care and who he cared about as well.

Mae.

It was getting late, though... But he needed to do this and go meet Mae, even if she was going to be upset about him not showing up on Monday. So he got up, grabbed his scarf and wrapped it around his neck.

At 7:43, his front door slammed shut behind him, and at 7:48, he was inside a nearby phone booth, dialing Mae's phone number... The phone ringed for a while before he could hear the person on the other side picking up and answering...

"Mae, I need to talk to you..."

Mae was listening to some music in her room when her cellphone rang. Mae had been lying down on her bed most of that evening, so when her cellphone went off, the girl positively jumped out of bed, and almost pounced her phone. Huh...? She didn't recognize this number... "He-hello?" Mae said cautiously. Then she heard a familiar voice on the other end, causing Mae to smile widely. "Oh, hey Charles! What's up?" She asked in her usual cheerful manner. The fact that he didn't show up yesterday didn't bother her that much, honestly... She had been swamped with homework and preparations for the school's talent show that was going to be held at the beginning of April.

"You wanna talk with me...? Sure. Is there something on your mind?" Mae's voice changed from the usual cheery tone to worried... Something wasn't right. She could hear it in his voice... It was subtle, but there nontheless...

Honestly, it was a relief to be able to hear Mae's voice. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to come and get in touch with her right now. Charles let out a relieved sigh and continued. "Yes." He stopped for a while, thinking about exactly what to say... He wanted to invite Mae to come meet him somewhere, but he was afraid it was too late to do that already.

"Do you... have anything to do right now?" He stuttered, wondering why was it all so difficult all of a sudden. He was a robot, for crying out loud, not a human being... Behaviour such as this was out of any bounds and limits, and it made him afraid and unsure of anything. "Would you mind..." He sighed again, closing his eyes as he braced himself. It was now or never, right?

"Would you meet me in front of the school gates?"

"No, not right now... I've been pretty bored most of the day actually... Why?" She laid back in bed for the moment, listening closely to what Charles had to say. Did he feel bad about not coming yesterday? "Listen, you don't need to feel ba-" She began, but Charles interrupted her mid-sentence. "You wanna see me in front of the school gates?" That was certainly an odd request, even coming from someone like Charles. By now, Mae had gotten used to his slightly different behaviour compared to everyone else. He was still her friend after all.

Mae looked at the clock... 7:49 PM... The sun had already set, and it was getting slightly darker outside. Luckily, the school gates weren't too far away from the dorms, so on Mae's end it shouldn't be a problem getting there. "As in right now? Sure... I always have time for my friends!" Mae said cheerfully. If he wanted to see her that badly, then something must be off... "Charles... You okay over there? Did something happen?"

"Yes, something happened... I'll be there in a few minutes." He was just about to end the call, the hand holding the phone already halfway to its destination when he brought it back to his face and whispered... "Thank you..." before putting the phone back to its place.

After exiting the phone booth, Charles turned towards the direction of the Academy and began walking over there where he would be meeting Mae... The city was brimming with life, people were chatting, dogs were barking, motors were rumbling... but it all seemed to pass him by, or maybe he was the one passing all of it by... Like it mattered now. Charles kicked a nearby can out into the street and looked up. The Academy was only a minute away now, so he hurried.

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Charles sat on the ground by the school gates, waiting for Mae to arrive... Upon seeing her, he would get up and greet the girl with a silent "Good evening..." while looking down at the soil beneath them...

"Alright, See you soon, Charles-kun!" Mae said before the call ended. She rose up from her bed, and got changed quickly. She couldn't exactly go see charles in her night gown, now could she? After changing into her usual attire, Mae went downstairs, and put on her jacket as she left the dorms and headed straight towards the academy. What was it that troubled Charles so that he would ask to see her at this time of the day?

Despite how late it was, the city was still very much alive, with people walking back and forth across the busy streets. It didn't take very long for Mae to reach the school gates. Charles was sitting there, waiting for her. "Good Evening. Have you been waiting for me long? Hey, cheer up." Mae would push his head up with her right index finger, so the two made eye-contact. "You wanted to see me?"

"I only just got here..." He stood up and glanced at Mae's petit figure, illuminated by the moon and the stars above, along with the never-resting city below. "And yes, there is something I wanted to talk about, but... I also just wanted to see you." He paused for a moment to take notice of the Moon and the starry sky. Nights such as that were always beautiful and made him feel some curious, tingling sensation around his heart. "It's beautiful, is it not? The sky, of course." He gazed up for several more moments and with a mysterious smile on his face before turning back to look at Mae. He wanted to tell her everything that happened but something heavy held the words down, pulling them away from his lips and deeper into his hollow body, where they dispersed one after another and he could never manage to arrange them as properly again...

"I..." He must've looked odd back then, staring straight into the girl's eyes as he struggled with his words. He kept his hand dug deeply into his pockets and his scarf danced in the evening breeze. The only thing missing from the scene were blushed cheeks on his face and voila!, it would've been a perfect romantic setup... heh.

"Ah, glad to hear I didn't keep you waiting." Mae said in a relieved tone. "O-oh..." Mae's cheeks turned pink, and she smiled sheepishly. "G-geez, you're making me blush..." Her gaze averted from his, looking up at the sky. "Yeah... It is something else." The stars glimmered in the sky like small flickering fireflies. You could barely see them from anywhere else, due to the lights constantly being on in the city at night-time, but up here... things were different. "You know, I could sit here and look up into the sky for hours if I had the time... Sights like these are so rare nowadays, you know?" She looked back at him, with a smile on her face.

Charles seemed to be struggling with something. Realising that he wanted to say something, Mae laid one of her hands on his shoulder. "Charles... Look at me." Her tone was very gentle and caring. "Just take a deep breath, and tell me what's causing you so much pain... I can see something's not right. What happened...?"

"I'm making you blush?" He asked curiously, not really getting what she was talking about. He just told her his reasons for coming and that was pretty much it. He nodded when Mae mentioned the night sky. "I remember the sky from a while ago, when it shined just as brightly as tonight... It makes one wonder how small they really are, doesn't it?" He recalled  the unknown memory of the night and the two silhuettes on a hill overlooking a darkened city, along with the picture of said sky, the picture she drew, as he watched the stars twinkle in Mae's eyes...

"..." Not yet sure of how to react and what action to take, Charles just watche Mae's hand on his shoulder. If she was asking him to tell her, then... should he just do it? Should he just say he had killed somebody? A friend? Should he tell her everything about Personas and whatnots? Mae's caring tone served as a booster to his determination, but it could only get him as far... He gently pushed her hand off his shoulder and focused on the thought... "Mae... I- it is about a friend." It was no good, he wasn't able to tell her the truth... But would he rather deceive her and make her always observe him with eyes full of doubt? Still, he did not want to make even her hate him now.

"Y-Yeah... I guess I-I just get easily flustered... T-that's all!" Mae puffed up her cheeks. "Baka..." She muttered to herself. Was he really that oblivious...? Or was he just messing with her? // Geez, way to get flustered over nothing, Mae! // Mae thought to herself.

"It's been a while since I saw the night sky this clearly. Hehe, reminds me of when I was 5 years old and went hiking with the Orphanage once. Now that I think about it... That's an awfully long time ago." She chuckled to herself, taking out the pendant she had gotten from her caretaker at the Orphanage the day she left. She opened the small locket, and showed to Charles.


Mae closed the locket again, and tucked it under her jacket once more. Not saying that this information was relevant at all... Mae just wanted to share it. Hopefully it would make Charles feel a little bit better.

"Hey... Just take it easy, alright... I'm here to help, remember? But if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I understand. Just... Don't lie to me... Alright?" She gave Charles a gentle smile. "Come, let's take a seat." Mae pointed towards a nearby bench by the gates.

"I- I see." Charles frowned, feeling even more confused. What was it that got her flustered, he wondered for a bit, pondering the thought, but he was interrupted by Mae pushing something his way; a small locket with a picture of a girl inside. She seemed younger than 23 to him, though, but what did he know? He didn't even know his exact age and couldn't even remember Jack's or even Mae's. He assumed they were both somewhere between 10 and 20. How old are people in high school anyways? "Was she important to you?" He asked eventually once Mae has put the locket away.

Once again, Mae's words made his mind tremble, as he was still debating over what to do. He knew for sure now, though, that he shouldn't lie to her, no matter what. So then, would it be better to just keep quiet? She said he could do that, but... what would be the purpose of this visit, then? Charles followed Mae to the bench and sat down next to her, staring at his hands, crossed in his lap. "A friend..." He paused for a moment when he noticed he had started to speak and his eyes widened. Was he really going to say it? "...died several days ago."  

Wrong words, wrong words, Charles! But it was a start nonetheless...

"Well, yeah. She was the closest thing I had to a family for a long while. I haven't seen her in like 4 years now... I dunno what she's up to, but I hope she's happy, wherever she may be." Mae gazed off into the distance. "I guess I can kinda relate to you. Neither of us know anything about our origins at all... I don't know my real parents... But with your help, I'm sure I'll be able to find them." The smile on her face was warm and gentle, like the sun's rays on a beautiful summer day.

"Oh... I'm so sorry for your loss... What happened?" She looked at her friend with worry... "I understand if you don't wanna talk about it, but I'm here for you, should you need it. We are friends after all, and friends support eachother, regardless of how grim the situation is." Mae wasn't planning on abandoning Charles. No way. Regardless of what had happened, Mae would stay and listen to her friend.

"Yes..." Charles silently replied after listening to what Mae had to say about her caretaker. He was looking away from Mae. As a gust of wind carassed his hair, he spoke once more, this time, his words were broken up. He could not understand why exactly he got the sudden urge to tell the truth after hearing Mae's story, it just happened. "I- I'm not human. And I... murdered my friend..." Perhaps it was the worry in Mae's voice or the compassion, or maybe the fact she considered him so similiar to her regarding the past... One thing was for sure, though: he said it and there was no turning back now.

He turned to Mae with a hopeless, almost afraid expression on his face, like a kid with no way out of a situation pleading for help. Mae was the only one who could save him at this point... He knew that even before coming. In fact, that was why he even came here and met her on that night; because he knew he would be unable to find solace in anybody else's words, because Jack would not have been able to communicate with him at such a level and nobody else he knew had earned his trust yet. He needed her to tell him what to do... He needed her to stand there for him and to ease his suffering.

He needed to be his bright ray of the fleeting sun and guide him out of the darkness.

"W-What do you mean 'not human'? I was right?" Mae was at a loss for words for the first time in years. She looked at him, more worried about him than ever before. "What happened? What do you mean you 'murdered a friend'? Because the Charles I know is not a murderer..." She knew something was terribly wrong, but she had not imagined anything like this.

"C'mere... Just relax, and tell me what happened.". And with that said, she gave Charles a comforting embrace. "Everything is going to be just fine... You can bounce back from this. I know you can." The girl whispered into her friends ear, in an almost motherly tone. She could feel him shaking, and who could blame him honestly, after hearing what he had just said? Truly it was a little hard to relate to, but Mae did her best to comfort her friend in need. She didn't care about anything else at the moment. Time could pass as much as it wanted, she would not leave Charles alone until he felt better about himself, sleep be damned.

"Sorry... I've been lying to you from the start..." Mae would be able to feel his hands on her back, gripping her into a tight embrace. "I-I'm not human and I will never be human... So how can you be so sure I am not a murderer?" He dug his head into her hair as she whispered into his ear. It felt comforting. He closed his eyes shut and continued his tearless sobbing, unable to keep his composure long enough to actually tell Mae what happened. Besides, he didn't think he had the strenght to do so after having already telling her all of this... He hoped he could just stay silent for this gentle moment...

He wasn't sure how much time had passed between his final words and the next time he spoke. It was as if it had stopped in its tracks so that the two of them could have this moment. When he finally rose up his chin out of her hair and spoke again, his voice was a mere whisper. "Don't... hate me..."