Anis: Sparkling Summer/Story

Spoilers!*"Your greatest villain Drake shall warn you, SPOILERS AHEAD!"*The following article or section contain **spoilers!** Viewer discretion is advised.

Overview**Story**VoicelinesGallery

## Behind the Scenes

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Kim Seong-hui

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Michelle Marie

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Miho Okasaki

## Profile

Frustrated over her dearth of opportunities to do so last time, Anis dons her swimsuit in preparation for fun under the sun as Counters goes back to Blue Water Island for a mission. With refreshments in hand and a sparkle in her eyes, nothing(?) will stop her from enjoying her vacation ~~and catching a certain someone's eye~~~!

### Nikke Backstory

Anis has finally brought out her much-anticipated swimsuit and put it on.
This time, she is sure to get what she wants, be it free time on the beach, or more time with those close to her.

## Story

### Character Story

*Set during the events of Sea, You, Again*

#### Episode 1 - Treasure Cave

The protagonist is at his most relaxed on the shores of Blue Water Island, his consciousness drifting off to the lapping waves and shining sun...right until Anis snaps him out of it, wondering what he's doing passed out alone. Hearing his answer of "taking in the ocean view," she calls him out for languishing by his lonesome in this tropical paradise, and decides to drag him off to do something or other, despite his token attempts at protest.

The two arrive at the beach shack where Liter greets them. The protagonist feels underwhelmed at how Anis dragged him off just to see Liter, but it turns out Anis had asked the builder to make her something for whatever she's planned. Whatever it is, it's wrapped in a cloth bundle, and both Nikkes are being incredibly obtuse about what it is, with Anis assuring Liter that this *isn't* for some kind of prank. Liter lets the protagonist go with advice to not let Anis lead him by the nose.

Following Anis leads the protagonist to the bottom of a cliff. The Tetra Nikke proudly displays the scene to the commander, but the man in question sees nothing beyond...a hole covered in vines? This cave here is just what Anis was bringing him for, a (in her words) "mysterious cave where adventure awaits!"

Anis found this cave while out on a walk, and dreaming of ore deposits and hidden riches, kept it secret until she could show the protagonist. The man himself is concerned about hostile fauna and the lack of light, but Anis has answers to both those. For the former, she simply eggs the man about being scared. For the latter, she unwraps the bundle Liter handed her, revealing a small flashlight. A click of the switch reveals that even in broad daylight, it's bright enough to blind the protagonist.

Sheepishly flicking off the light, Anis continues to appeal to the protagonist to follow her in, positing that a small cave on a small island like this is unlikely to hold anything of value, and on the off chance that something dangerous is there, she promises to protect him. Of course, she *is* going in that cave with or without him, but she'd be a smidge annoyed if he backed out now. The protagonist looks at the maw of the cave, and though the whistling air emanating from it unnerves him, one look at the excited Anis and all his reservations fade. The duo delves into the cave in search of treasure.

#### Episode 2 - Cave Traps

As expected, the cave is incredibly dark and cold, though not so much that neither of the two can handle it. A squeak and the sound of something rushing by briefly gives them both a scare, but after a moment to calm down, they reason that it was probably just a bat. Somewhat sheepishly, Anis sidles closer to the protagonist and grabs his arm, knowing full well how much of a hypocrite she's being after egging him for being scared.

Some time later, the two come to an enclosed space at the end of the path. Just as Anis thought, this cave was a whole load of nothing. As the two decide their minor adventure suffices as a consolation prize, Anis turns to head back...only for her foot to step on something that makes a **\*click\*** noise...

With a mechanical rumble, a boulder falls from the ceiling and begins rolling towards them! Anis urges the protagonist to run while she positions herself to stop the boulder. Musing that Anis is liable to hurt herself doing such a thing, the protagonist frantically looks around and finds a small alcove where two people could squeeze in. He grabs Anis' arm and bounds for the opening, squeezing themselves in with some effort. Thankfully, it's just enough to let the boulder tumble by and crash to a stop at the entrance. With the crisis averted, the two try *very hard* not to think about how much they're squished against each other face-to-face, and decide to see if they can leave the cave now.

As the duo extricates themselves from the gap, they ponder on the nature of this cave. That boulder was a trap no doubt, but then they notice something else. The cave has suddenly gotten a lot darker than when they'd entered, almost as if the boulder is obstructing the light...or even blocking the *entire cave opening'.' To make matters worse, it seems they dropped the flashlight during that earlier panic, and it shut off when it hit the ground.*

Anis apologizes for roping the protagonist into this mess while groping about for the flashlight, her silhouette faintly visible to his eyes. Eventually she finds the flashlight...completely crushed by the boulder running over it. While ruminating over the situation, the protagonist's adapting vision notices a light coming from the gap they'd hidden in, and after noticing it, Anis decides to check it out for a possible exit. After a brief moment where the protagonist's blind flailing leads to some...*unfortunate* contact, the two agree to hold hands as they proceed.

Hand-in-hand, the two approach the faint glimmer in the gap...

#### Episode 3 - Life in the Cave

Within the gap, the two find a wooden door just barely big enough for one person to squeeze through, with the light they'd seen earlier leaking out from its edges. Cautiously, Anis opens the door...

It creaks open to reveal an old dusty room, filled with a few small pieces of furniture like a bed, couch, and table. Somehow this room still has power, likely still hooked up to the grid when Liter reactivated the hydroelectric plant. While Anis dusts off a journal to look for clues, the protagonist peers about the table and bed, finding an assortment of timeworn dolls. Though tattered and moldy, they're positioned in such a way as to fill in for spaces where *people* were meant to occupy...

Anis remarks that this was likely a shelter someone made to hide from the Raptures, which would also explain the trap they found earlier. The journal she found also lends credence, though she doesn't recommend reading it. Against better(?) judgements, the protagonist reads it anyway...

The journal's author writes about their isolation on this island, having neither Raptures to keep away from, but also no people to be around. Whilst lamenting having no one to share a drink with, the author decides to watch the sunset from the hotel tomorrow, perhaps raise a toast...

Seeing the dour look on the protagonist's face, Anis physically quirks the edges of his lips to turn his frown upside-down. By her take of it, the owner of this journal kept a positive outlook on life, even with the bad hand they'd been dealt. They managed to make an elaborate trap all by themselves, and even went to the trouble of keeping beer around just in case they felt like making an occasion special. Noting the attempt to lift his spirits, the protagonist also takes a moment to quirk the edges of Anis' lips to form a smile. Chuckling over their mutual obscuration of their emotions, the two agree to wear their hearts on their sleeves for once. As the protagonist muses that he can't stay here pitying this departed soul, he notices something by the bedside...

Another crack in the wall reveals another door. Anis muses that it makes sense to have another way out if the trap blocks the main entrance. Excitedly, the protagonist grabs the handle to the door...only for it to not budge an inch. Joking about how little the protagonist lifts, Anis gives it a go, only for even her Nikke-enhanced strength to fail to glean any results. It would seem the door has become rusty and stiff from neglect and disuse.

A few more pulls later, and the duo looks on with nonplussed expressions as the handle literally flies off and clatters to the floor. They can only dumbfoundedly remark on how bad things have gotten.

#### Episode 4 - Dust in the Cave

Now well and truly stuck in the cave, the two ponder over their next course of action. They consider calling the others for help, but the protagonist's phone can't get any reception this deep underground, and Anis left hers to charge back at the villa. After a moment's deliberation, Anis decides to recheck the cave entrance, asking the protagonist to wait here. His stout insistence on accompanying her (and some questionable logic) serve to convince her to at least hold hands as they go, otherwise it'd be too dark to find each other.

Pitch black swallows the protagonist's sight as Anis leads him back to the cave by hand. While the latter remarks on how the dark is distorting their perception of time, the former sees this sudden bout of chattiness as a sign of fear. Anis asserts that it's only nerves talking, but the protagonist doesn't buy it, giving Anis' hand a gentle squeeze.

In the dark where nothing can be seen, Anis makes flushed remarks on how the protagonist can seemingly break out some smooth moves at the drop of a hat. Thankful for the assurance, Anis lets go of his hand so she can link their arms together. She calls it her own form of reassurance, after that bat gave him such a fright. Taking Anis' hand again, the protagonist walks to the entrance of the cave with her, chatting all the way to keep their minds occupied.

The entrance of the cave is, as they expected, completely blocked by the boulder. Some faint gaps let light seep in, but they're not nearly big enough for either of them to slip through. With no other recourse, the protagonist decides to go back to the room and regroup, perhaps figure out a way to open that other door. Anis simply complies, feeling more confident and sure of things when the protagonist is with her...

Back at the room, the two look at the door that refuses to open, with neither pushing nor pulling serving to do anything. Given how absurd it would be to make a door not even a Nikke could move, it stands to reason that it's most likely locked. Yet the door lacks any kind of keyhole, padlock, or anything that would take something to unlock it. Ergo, there may be a button or mechanism in the room to trigger the door.

A thorough and spirited search turns up a whole lot of nothing, even when Anis went to the trouble of checking outside the room. With exhaustion creeping in, the protagonist dusts off the bed to sit on it. Anis expresses her disgust at being anywhere near such a dusty old thing, but soon takes a seat herself, seeing the protagonist's lack of concern as a reason to not be worried either.

Side-by-side on the bed, the two dust off each others hair, eyes locked in a gaze that seems to last forever. Then Anis makes a comment about the protagonist being "too majestic" to be dusty, and his self-control crumbles a little. Grabbing Anis by the wrist, the protagonist leans back onto the bed, dragging her down with him. Sprawled in a mildly compromising position, Anis chuckles over how the protagonist is *really* pushing it here, leans in to say something, and...notices something else?

Anis pushes the protagonist aside and displaces some of the dolls on the bed to reveal a button. While she's briefly concerned that this is some kind of self-destruct switch, both she and the protagonist share the same sentiment; to hell with it, they're pushing the button anyway. Thankfully it simply unlocks the door with a \*click\*, and they're free to escape the cave.

#### Episode 5 - The Treasure Left Behind

While Anis is confident that the switch unlocked the door, she's less confident about whether or not it truly leads to an exit, instead of another shelter or something. Taking her outstretched hand without a second thought, the protagonist declare he doesn't care; they're finding a way out, and they'll do it together. Giggling and sharing the sentiment, Anis opens the door, pleading for it to be an exit outside...

Light pours in from the opened door, blinding the protagonist after the time he'd spent in the dim cave. He can feel something pulling him forward, with Anis beckoning him to see something. His vision finally clears to reveal the sunset. They've made it out of the cave.

Looking around, Anis marvels that the door must've taken them to around the hotel. A nearby path leads to a small hill, where they can see the horizon where sea meets sky, dyed in the sunset's colors with nary a tree or building to obstruct it. A worn-down table and chairs occupy this hill, accompanied by an old beer can. This must have been the place the journal writer spoke of, where they'd raise a toast as they watched the sunset...

Seeing another unopened can on the table, Anis ponders on how long that person waited for someone else to have a beer with. She takes a seat across the can, inviting the protagonist to have a drink with her. He sits down near the can, as Anis contents herself with a soda. With how old the beer is though, she warns the protagonist against *actually* trying to drink it. A flip of the tab causes a tide of suds to burst from the can, taking the man by surprise. The two clink their cans together, enjoying the taste of their drink (or pretending to, in the protagonist's case).

Soaking in the atmosphere, Anis smiles as she proclaims they found the treasure after all. While it wasn't the gold and jewels she'd hoped and dreamed of, this moment, this entire day they've spent, is a treasure she won't forget anytime soon, if ever. While still drinking in the moment, the protagonist remembers something from earlier. What was Anis trying to tell him while they were on the bed?

With a flushed smile on her face, Anis gets up to lean towards the protagonist's ear...and murmurs a few words. Whatever they were, they're a secret between the two of them. Deciding that they've had enough enjoyment and everyone else is probably worried, Anis stands up to leave her soda can on the table. The way the protagonist sees it, the beer can is no longer alone when facing the sunset...

Anis holds out her hand, and the protagonist immediately takes it. Almost inaudibly, Anis mutters about how she could get used to this, denying that she said anything in a fluster as she drags the protagonist back. Perhaps it's the light of the setting sun, but Anis' face seems quite red, though there's a high chance his own face is just the same.

The protagonist muses to himself that he and Anis found a treasure like no other in that cave. A once-in-a-lifetime experience that perhaps may never be found again, yet is so valuable that nothing in the world could possibly be worth trading it for.

## References

Notes

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