"DON'T YOU THINK HOW SELFISH YOU ARE WHEN WE ARE ALL FIGHTING!? DO YOU HAVE NO PRIDE IN YOUR LIFE THAT YOU HAVE TO THROW IT AWAY SO CARELESSLY!!?"
Byakuya's grip was tense and his rage was fulfilling what Naegi thought that wasn't inappropriate at all, but he couldn't fault his boyfriend's reckoning any more than the down casted stares from the group. It all took Naegi's failing strength to give up entirely but Byakuya was holding Naegi up from his school uniform collar, but it didn't deter him. He'd give up so easily because he could sit in that darkness so easily.
"Don't you think you're being too hard on Makoto..." Kazuichi wasn't so confident as he claimed to be but with a harsh expression given in return, he backed away, almost grabbing onto Nagito's shoulders.
"He's right though. We can't agree to this behavior. We need Makoto...because he's a part of this group...we are all friends and we need to stick t-"
"Chihiro, Makoto doesn't mean it after all he has saved us...and thinking about it, isn't it his choice?"
"Why are you saying that, Kazuichi? Makoto's life matters as he...he is needed like I am and thus we gotta keep fighting for him." Chihiro declared despite gaining some ire from Kazuichi. "We have to even if he gives up. I refuse to lose a friend to nothing."
"Y-You're right. I'm sorry for saying those stupid things as I only thought about myself and what we could gain from his death and the peace he could find, but there are other ways to guarantee peace."
"That's the smartest thing that you've ever said." Nagito said quietly.
"Well, thank-HEY!"
Chihiro chuckled.
"Hey! What are you-"
Another round of camaraderie and good will but how long would the smiles go? How long would they have to keep tracing the same lines in the sand? How much long did they have to feign this hollow happiness? This hollowness of theirs'? Wasn't it enough to lose everything and wallow forever in the recesses of despair? Why was despair so bad when it benefitted all?
"DON'T YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU, MAKOTO NAEGI!!?"
Furious droplets escaped from the sides of Byakuya's reddening eyes and while his voice was becoming brutally stuffed up in the pockets of his mouth. His throat dryer than any desert but facing the terror of losing love to despair and not worrying about the end of the world.
Why should they worry about The Fall when they were failing each other? When they were ripping and firing the last shots at moving targets, and not landing anything except wasting more and more precious time.
"DON'T YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE T-TRIED TO TELL YOU...THAT I WANT YOU TO LIVE FOR US, FOR YOU AND FOR US ALL; BUT YOU REFUSE TO LISTEN! You...refuse life and only seek death. Are you trying to atone for Kirigiri's death? She won't come back no matter how much you kill yourself or hurt inside. Yes, we lost her, but not her determination."
"B-Byakuya...I..."
"I don't want you to die and no one does either. We have to live together in the sinking ship of despair but we are the sole light of this miserable world. We are the gem that keeps shining in the roughest mines...we are SEES."
With a loosening grip, Naegi rested his small hands on top of Byakuya's.
"I'm sorry then. I'm sorry for this...I hate my egocentric tendencies and how it guilts you all."
"You're so obstinate, all the damn time. It's quite a bother but, you are more than welcome to continue because I plan on being there for you; We all are."
Byakuya shook his head.
"I love you, Makoto Naegi and while love doesn't solve everything, it can make the journey less tedious and arduous. This I know because I too, was left in the void because I thought it was the best way to hide all my doubts and troubles all the way."
"Byakuya...everyone..."
If it was easy then they would all have found the secrets hidden at the deepest reaches of space with light years separating it all and the exploding supernovae that spread the space with bright gases and light. Light that spun around a single love, a single way to end The Fall and a way to decide to live or simply exist as a zombie; And Naegi's choice was murky like the sea but, with a chance, he'd take the best way to live.
Whatever they needed to do, and whatever came before or after...
"Do you hear it?"
"What?"
And with an echo of sounds, the bell rung in quick succession, drawing out the last note.
"The Fall..."
YOU ARE READING
Memories of Us
FanfictionWhat if the characters of Danganronpa were suddenly in the world of Persona 3 and had to deal with the Shadows? It stars Makoto Naegi as the protagonist and him navigating a world he doesn't recall and facing a destiny he isn't quite prepared for. B...
