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The café door opens and you’re suddenly sitting across from Megakin.
He notices how you tense, and he immediately puts his hand out, trying to touch your arm, but you pull back and pretend not to notice the look of hurt on his face.
“…Relax,” he says, entirely serious, no trace of his usual humor to be found. “I’m not here as a Liberator today.”
This coffee shop is one of your favorites. You’re not sure why it didn’t occur to you that one of your friends might find you here in your usual spot. Maybe you’d been craving it, unconsciously. Them. The companions you gave up because Astaroth showed you the futility of it all.
You’re not listening. You realize this at the same time Megakin does, but instead of being angry, he just looks at you until you meet his gaze and starts over.
“I’m not here as a Liberator today,” he says again, quiet. “Can we talk?”
Demons and broken futures sound like fanciful stories with the taste of chocolate in your mouth.
Megakin calls you by your name, and you finally focus, giving him your attention. You don’t nod, but you don’t rebuke him, so he takes that as an invitation to continue.
Megakin—Taro—takes in a slow breath. You think he must’ve seen you sitting by the window. He doesn’t seem prepared at the moment, but you think he’s been pondering this for some time.
“Does it scare you that much?” he asks, and the way he speaks the words makes you think of that reassuring touch he tried to give you earlier. “The future Astaroth showed us.”
It does. In just a few years’ time, everything is gone. The entirety of Tokyo—the world—is torn up by its roots. There’s broken glass everywhere and skyscrapers toppled like children’s toys. The worst part of it all?
Not a single person to be found.
“It’s going to happen,” you tell him, and your voice sounds different to your own ears. Tired. “I don’t…I don’t know how, but I know he’s telling the truth. If nothing changes, it will come to pass. Vanitas will destroy mankind.”
Taro pushes his hand through his hair. “Then we’ll change something.”
“What will we do, then?” you ask, mild, as if discussing the weather. “The more we fight the Acolytes, the stronger Vanitas becomes. If we can’t fight them, we have to ally with them.”
“How can you say—!” Taro cuts himself off with the swiftness of a certain samurai demon’s blade. He takes in a deep breath. Two. “You know the…the evil the Acolytes have done. How can you even consider siding with them?”
“They won’t side with us. If they won’t bend, we have to.”
He sighs. “How’d you lose faith so fast…? You seemed like one of our strongest supporters.”
Megakin says he’s not here as a Liberator…but he is. Because that’s what you both are. Liberator and Acolyte. Hawke has left it to you.
You stir your drink. The whipped cream and chocolate and java are all mixed together. “I haven’t lost faith in us. I’m hoping you’ll all realize this is the only way. If we keep fighting like we always have, we’ll just accelerate the clock…Vanitas will strike sooner.”
“Lesser of two evils, huh?” he says, bitter.
You smile wryly. “Yeah.”
He’s silent for a long time. Thinking. You don’t say anything, don’t interrupt him. You know he’s not going to change his mind. Megakin is stubborn like that. You’re trying not to think about Templar Dragon’s despondent plea for you to not leave after all you’d been through together.
“You won’t rejoin us until we prove there’s a better way?”
You pause. “Yes.”
Megakin brightens at that. You’re so confused, and it must show on your face, because he flashes that smirk that made you fall in love with him in the first place.
“Then there’s still hope, Newbie. Place your faith in me and I’ll show you!”
You give a disbelieving chuckle. Hope. Faith. You’re flying blind, even Astaroth had said as much. The future yawns—gray and desolate—in your mind’s eye, but you decide there’s no harm in saying: “I’ll be waiting for you to prove me wrong.”
His spirits have been lifted. You wish desperately for a moment to hold his hand. He did that a lot when you explored the Aura Gates…it almost made it feel like a date (with Seiran thirdwheeling, of course).
You’d rather he’d hate you and be alive than love you and be dead.
His phone goes off. The screen lights up and you stare for a long time at that two second glimpse you catch of art of you both, drawn by one of his fans. It looks to be inspired by that zombie game Let’s Play…maybe one of your fans drew it. It's innocent. Just you jumping in terror in your seat with him laughing at your side.
That seems like such a lifetime ago.
Megakin clicks his phone screen back to black, ignoring the text. But you’re done talking. You look away, knowing all too well he’s seen your eyes fixate on that display.
“Newbie.”
You’re just gazing out the window.
He says your real name again, and you can’t stop yourself. There’s love and hope in his eyes and all you can think is that he’s an idiot, that this world is doomed.
“I’ll see you later,” is all he tells you, but when he touches your arm, you don’t pull away.
The café door closes.