Work Text:
As they were setting up a plan on how to break that wall in Sojiro's Jail, Ryu and Ken, and also Jackie, who tagged along with them for their part, went to go check out which side it's in.
"Hmm…" Ken was deep in thought. "Maybe this wall could be right here."
"And where do you propose that we strike at?" Ryu asked.
"Uhh… probably at this angle."
"Maybe we should put in a few sticky bombs from here and there. That way, the Shadows could get distracted while the others do their thing." Jackie suggested.
"And get Soren to dispose of them further. I'd say that's a good idea." Ryu nodded.
"Alright, looks like we got ourselves a vantage point. Let's jot it down before I forget." Ken writes it down on his notes. "Alright, we're good. Let's get going and see how the others are doing."
He turns around, but accidentally bumps into someone, who fell into the ground.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't see you there. Here, lemme help you up."
He helps the person up on their feet, until they saw and was staring like they were surprised, though it was kind of hard to tell, considering that SHE was wearing a face mask.
"Hmm? Do I have something on my face?"
"Ken Masters?"
"Uhh… Do I know you?"
She looked at the other two who were standing there.
"Ryu-san? Jackie?"
"Uhh, what? Does she know us?" Ryu asked the Shiba.
"What are you asking me for?" Jackie scoffed.
"Do you guys have time to talk? There's something I want to ask you about."
The guys looked at one another.
They were sitting at a local bistro where the strange girl bought for their lunch. They're not entirely sure why she would do this for them, but it's not like they're going to say anything about it.
She came back with her own meal, but her mask was off.
"Here you go. Enjoy your meal." She says.
"Thanks for that." Ken said back.
"Thank you." Ryu bowed.
As they were eating their food, the guys were looking at her as she was eating her meal. How could she ever possibly know any of them? None of them have ever met her before. They never even seen her before. But how is it that she knows them?
Now that they’re all full, it was time to talk.
"So…" Ken started off. "Is there a reason why you brought us all the way here?"
"I wanted to talk to you guys about something, but I wanted to find a quiet place first, so I brought you all here."
"Okkaaayyy…" Jackie wasn't sure where this is going.
"To start off, my name is Alice Hiiragi. It's nice to meet you all."
"Alice Hiiragi? Ohh, you used to be that fashion designer that was really popular in Shibuya!" Ken remembers now.
"Yeah. Used to be. It's also one of the reasons why I brought you here in the first place, so that I can talk to you privately. The other reason is this: Do you guys know Takamaki-san?"
The guys looked at each other again.
"Well, we may as well tell her." Jackie suggested.
"Of course." Ryu nodded.
"Yeah, we know her. You were hoping to see her?" Ken said.
"Yes. Can you guys find a way to reach out to her?" Alice requested.
"Alice… We're unfortunate to inform you that Ann had passed away." Ryu gave it away.
The girl gasped. "Really? Since when?"
"A couple of months ago."
"Oh… That's so sad. I was hoping of seeing her again, give her something as a thank-you gift, for helping me find the courage to confess what I did on national television, and for me to find my footing in life again. But if you said that she's gone, then…" She calms herself. "Thank you for telling me this."
"No problem." Ken said. "You know, if you wanna go visit her, I can give you the address. I've visited her not too long ago."
"Really? You would do that?"
"Yeah. We're also friends with Shiho so you can tell her that you wanna visit Ann."
"Thank you so much, that would be greatly appreciated."
Ken gives Alice the address.
"So what will you do now?" Ryu asked.
"Well, I want to pick up fashion designing again, but I want to do it differently this time-"
"Differently huh? I wonder what she has to say to that-" Jackie said to himself.
"As a VTuber."
The dog bursts laughing, with the Shotos looking at him, having no idea what he was laughing about.
"What's that?" Ken asked.
"It's like a virtual avatar that's like an anime character using CGI and motion capture."
"I don't know what any of these mean, but good for you." Ryu said.
"It's okay that if you don't. If you've been on the internet long enough, you'll see them around pretty much everywhere."
"I see."
"Well, I shouldn't keep you here long. It looks like you have something important to do, and I'll be on my way. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me, and I wish you guys the best."
"Thanks, you too." Ken returned. "Good luck on your future endeavors, and send her our regards."
"I will."
Alice puts her mask back on and walks out the bistro.
"So Jackie, what was with that loud laughter you just did?" Ken asked.
They were walking their way back to Haru's mansion.
"Sorry, it's just- I can't believe that this would be her career path after her reputation has gone down the shitter." Jackie said.
"Are you saying it like it's a bad thing?" Ryu says.
"Nono, it's actually a good thing, because now, she can be completely anonymous. No one's gonna know who she is now, and her privacy will be kept hidden and be safe from harassment."
"Okay, that's good, I guess." Ken shrugged. "But that still doesn't explain why you laughed so loud."
"Oh right. The reason why is because… to be honest… I'm one too."
"Uhh, what?" Ryu was confused.
"Yeah, I'm also a VTuber, but only as a hobby. My main job is still a photographer, through and through."
"So how are you able to do all of this and that and still have time to hang out with us?" Ken wondered.
"My work schedule is very flexible so I pretty much have time to do it. But when it comes to you, I just put it aside just so I can hang out with you guys. We don't get a lot of chances like this so I really wanna to spend time with y'all while you're still here."
"That's very considerate of you, Jackie. Thank you for saying so." Ryu said.
"'Course! All of y'all are my friends. I wanna be with my best buds for as much as I wanna be, and this upcoming road trip will definitely have us be this close together."
"Oh I bet it will, but not until we update everyone about our end." Ken told the dog.
"Right. Let's get back to it."
Jackie ran ahead, with the Shotos catching up.
Whether or not Ryu or Ken knows what that part of the conversation was about, but they can at least know that Alice is starting off with a second chance in life and doing much better than she did, and that she can still say her goodbyes to Ann.
They hope that she can hear her messages from the afterlife.