Waking Dream - Devil Survivor CYOA

You send Kumiko a message, asking her how she's doing.

"I'm fine," she messages back almost immediately. A few seconds later she sends another message. "OK, maybe not so great." Another pause. "I don't really wanna talk about last night, though."

Hm.

(A) Tennis?
(B) We really need to talk about it
(C) Go find Rita and talk with her, you're about the same age
(D) How'd you get grabbed, anyway?
(E) Oh, OK (choose someone else)

"You want to have that tennis game now?" you ask back.

"Tennis match," Kumiko corrects you.  "Yeah, I'd like that.  And I've finally got all the stuff.  You know where to meet me, right?"

You do indeed.

A short walk later, and you find Kumiko already set up at a surprisingly well-restored tennis court.  She's wearing her school tennis outfit and bouncing a ball.  "Hey, Kira!  Ready to play?  I got you a racket, of course."

You nod.  That's what you're here for, after all.

"OK, I'll serve first!" Kumiko announces.  She tosses the ball into the air, jumps, twists, and swings, hard.  The ball rockets forward and nearly flies past you.  You stretch and barely manage to clip the ball with your racket.  It goes flying up, back and out of bounds.

"Service ace!" Kumiko announces.  "15-Love!"

Ah.  She's not holding back, huh...  And she's definitely a lot more experienced at this game.

(A) Fine, then. Go all-out, too.
(B) Take it easy, maybe she'll calm down?
(C) Wait until she's into it, then start asking about yesterday.
(D) Try to get in her head.
(E) Blatantly cheat.

Alright, you aren't going to win this on skill alone... Gotta find a way to get an edge. The best way to do that would be to try to break her cool. But how to go about it...?

(A) "How're your parents?"
(B) "You're way better at this than not getting kidnapped."
(C) "So, you and Rita, huh? Pretty cute together."
(D) "You still spending time with Elise?"
(E) "Alright, guess I can't go so easy on you."
(F) "How about a little bet on this?"
(G) "Just remember you owe me. Big time."
(H) "What's with the ridiculous outfit?"

"So, you and Rita, huh?  Pretty cute together," you say as Kumiko's about to serve.

"Huh?"  She serves again, but a bit slower.  Slow enough you manage to return it.  "Oh.  Thanks?  HA!"  She yells as she starts a rally.  "Wait, you mean like you - HA! - and Sara?"

You tell her that's exactly what you mean before smashing it back at her.

Kumiko clips the ball with her racket, sending it flying out of bounds.  "Dang.  Fifteen all."  She starts bouncing another ball, getting ready for another serve.  "As for me and Rita...  Yeah, no.  I just don't... y'know.  And neither does she.  I think."

(A) "Are you sure? You never really gave it a chance."
(B) "Come on, haven't you even thought about it?"
(C) "Really?  You were snuggling her pretty hard last night..."
(D) "Are you sure Rita doesn't think you're more than you are?"
(E) Pick another tactic from the earlier list

"Really?  You were snuggling her pretty hard last night..." you tease.

Kumiko hits another bad shot.  "Shut up.  Last night was...  It was a bad night, OK?  Besides, she was all over me crying about...  Ugh, nevermind."

The match starts to shift in your favor.  You're pretty sure you've got her off-balance enough that you can win.  The question is whether you want to...

(A) All in for the win!
(B) Let's try to keep it close.
(C) Maybe give the match to Kumi...
(D) I'm not done messing with her head! (pick another option/topic)

You decide to keep it close without worrying too much whether you win or lose.

In the end... you lose in a tiebreaker. Your bad leg is screaming in pain, and you just can't force yourself to keep up.

Kumiko tosses her racket in the air and literally jumps for joy. "Yes! I did it! I won! Yes!"

You congratulate her.

"Ha! I finally beat you at something! Hey, you weren't taking it easy on me, right? Right? No, otherwise you wouldn't have bothered with all that trash talk. Which I really shouldn't have fallen for..." Kumiko's excitement dies down for a moment. "Uh, you don't... really think Rita and I are... right? That was just messing with me, right?"

You tease her with a noncommittal smile and walk away.

You feel closer to Kumiko, but you don't feel like your Fate will increase just yet...

The time is now 8:30.

(A) Ask Kumiko for a rematch
(B) Check on Rita
(C) Check on Elise
(D) Check on Gregory
(E) Check on George
(F) Check on Daniel
(G) Head back to the fort
(H) Where'd that one guy go? Bart or whatever.
(I) Look for Waite
(J) Naptime!

You decide to go check on Waite.  Since you can't tell where she is, you decide to try the usual spot and make your way to the river.

You expect to see her sitting on the edge of the water.  But no one is there.  You almost turn to leave, but then you notice something up against one of the boxes on the pier.  As you get closer, you realize it's a white dress.  Waite's white dress.  Her hat, parasol, necklace, and sandals are sitting nearby, as well, but that's not what gets your attention.

There's a large slash in the back of the dress.  And it's stained red.  With what is unmistakably blood.  When this disaster began, you would have freaked out immediately.  Instead, you manage to stay calm and take a closer look.  There's a lot of blood, yes, but the white dress makes it look a lot worse than it is.  Probably not a fatal blow.  But... where is Waite?

(A) PANIC
(B) Calmly wait for her to pop out of nowhere
(C) Call someone to help (choose who)
(D) Steal her clothes and run off
(E) Try searching the area and calling out to her

You decide to go looking for her.  "Waite?" you call out.  You try to force any hint of worry from your voice, though you can't hide the urgency.  "Waite!?  Are you there?  You aren't hurt, are you?  Waite?"

You feel something wrapping around your ankle.  Ah, here we go.  With a flash of annoyance you realize how familiar this sort of thing has started to feel.  In an instant, you're in the air.  And then down on the docks.  You notice that Waite - you're already sure who's doing this - is careful not to slam you.  There's a certain tenderness to it, actually.  It doesn't change the fact that you're immediately bound with watery tendrils.  This seems a bit unnecessary at this point...

You glance up and catch a glimpse of Waite, nearly naked, emerging from the water.  An instant later your face is forced back down.  You can see just enough of her legs to tell she's walking over to the clothes she'd abandoned.  You hear her tossing her sundress on, then she takes a seat on a barrel and continues putting on her accessories.

"What's wrong, Apprentice?  Surely you weren't worried about me," she says, flatly.

You tell her that you knew she'd be fine, but you were still worried by the blood.

"Hmph.  It's not my blood," she says.  She finally lets you look up, and pauses as she laces up her sandals.  She frowns as she observes you, head cocked and eyes narrowed.  "Hmmm.  You worry me sometimes, Apprentice.  Tell me, what am I to you?"

(A) A friend
(B) A potential lover
(C) My master
(D) Really, really kinky...
(E) Nothing, really
(F) A mystery
(G) A fool!
(H) What am I to you?

You ask Waite what you are to her.  She immediately stomps on your shoulder and forces you back down.  Hard.  It's not exactly painful, but she's clearly making a point.  "My beloved apprentice... who is currently being a smartass, because she seems to have forgotten her place.  Now, answer the question."  There's a hard edge in her voice, but she takes enough pressure off to let you look up again.

(A) A friend
(B) My backup lover in case something happens to Sara
(C) My master
(D) Really, really, really kinky...
(E) Nothing, really
(F) A mystery
(G) A fool!
(H) A jerk
(I) My guardian, usually