Mirai SMP (SMP Live AU x Future Diary)

➸ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 25: repay for. your. debt.

chapter 25 ; repay for. your. debt

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NUMBER 10 — ALTRIVE

Ryan and Altrive had eventually settled on a plan; That plan being they wander aimlessly throughout the area until their diaries alert them of something new.

As they made their way out of the apartment building, they ran through the streets of an early morning suburb.

He runs behind his friend, watching as Ryan's raven hair blows back; for a pretty slim built, he makes running with a 100 tonne backpack on his back look easy.

He doesn't know much about the boy — For all he knows, Ryan could have been going to the gym his whole life.

And then there's me, just a dude who plays video games on his computer in his spare time. Man, now I wish I paid attention in sports; this backpack is heavy as FUCK!

"Ryan dude," He pants, "Why are we running?"

Ryan slows down, causing Altrive to crash into him.
"Good point," He muses, "Why are we running?"

Altrive rolls his eyes, and manages to crack a small smile. Breathless, he walks beside Ryan as they travel along the sidewalk.
The question strikes him again; What did Ryan do before Mirai SMP? It can't hurt to ask, right?

"Hey Ryan," He asks after a minute or so, fiddling with his fingers, "I don't really know anything about you other than you're an architect. And that was because of the introductions God made at the start.. I just wanna know, uh.. How was your life before.. Well, this game..?"

Ryan doesn't look to him, and instead he responds blandly. "Not anything interesting. Just being an architect. What about you, aren't you a doctor?"

Woah, he remembers that?

"Kinda," He shrugs, "Not that I want to be."

"You're a doctor but you don't want to be one? How come?"

Now this was the question he had been afraid of being asked. He hasn't told anyone this before. But Ryan was his friend, and one of the most important qualities of a friend is communication.

"Uh, I guess you could say it was 'cus my parents sorta forced me to become one. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to make them proud. And in my mindset back then, that was all I ever wanted to happen."

Ryan looks down, and a few seconds pass before he murmurs.
".. You were lonely."

He can feel his heart beat inside his chest as he says this.

"It's a terrifying thought, knowing you're trapped and have nobody to turn to other than yourself. It's what you felt, right?"

He purses his lips. "All my life."

Ryan looks at him with dark blue eyes, making direct eye contact as he mumbles out:
"How did you find it?"

"Find what?"

"The strength to move on?" He asks, "Wouldn't you feel hopeless in your situation? Feeling like your miserable future was sealed?"

Altrive looks at him for a good few seconds.

"I guess I just kept believing.
Even though my situation was shitty and it looked nothing could get better. I had hope. Hope that someday I will break free from my parents strings and follow my own dream. And I guess.. I just held onto that hope. And I swore to myself I'd never let that go."