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There is nothing around him. There is nothing anywhere, except the gray coffin on which he sits.
Gray, like the drill...
His fingers grip the edges. Smooth. Cold. A ceramic coffin? What a unique choice. He stretches his fingers on the lid, and the material dips. He runs his hands along the carving. It spells a letter, no, two letters. An “A” bleeding into an “S”.
Asunaro.
Ultimately, they were the reason he died. Sara’s deductions, too, of course, along with Keiji’s craftiness. But Meister had been the one to press the button, in the end.
Incomprehensible, that girl. He was sure she’d give up for Keiji. Keiji, who had put his unwavering trust in her from the beginning, Keiji who had disappeared, Keiji who she found again.
Incomprehensible, these humans. Giving everything up for a child. That Gin. If it weren’t for him...if it weren’t for Sara’s misguided philanthropy...he would be alive. He groans then, and buries his head in his hands. He pulls at the strands, scratches the scalp, digs sharp nails into soft flesh.
Tug.
“Stupid Chidouin girl!”
Scratch.
“Stupid humans!”
Tug.
“They ruined my plans!”
With a final pull, tufts of red-stained hair rip in his hands. His head stings. His fingers come away bloody, green clumps sticking to red liquid.
A human head upon a doll’s body.
That drill...
That drill that impaled him: human, doll and all.
Clumps of hair drop to the floor as he unclenches his fists.
That Maple...
That robot he tricked to love him. The one that died.
Some strands still cling to the blood drying on his fingertips.
That Gin...
That Chidouin...incomprehensible as she is. Giving up her Keiji for...for what? Out of...out of kindness?
Sou laughs. Imagine trying to save others in a death game! Look where that got Mishima or Joe!
He sighs. Do humans ever learn?
Footsteps in the distance pull Sou from his thoughts. A face appears, far ahead of him, wearing a familiar scarf, a familiar gren beanie on familiar green hair.
Shin stops a meter away from him, hands in his pockets. For a moment, he says nothing, and silence resumes. Dead, Sou thinks. He’s supposed to be dead.
“Well,” Shin starts, and doesn’t elaborate. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other. Midori laughs. When had Shin ever been good at conversation?
Shin bristles at his laugh. Something passes in his expression. It looks like he’s steeled himself.
“Well,” Shin says, more decisive, “You fucked up.”
Midori smiles. Did he expect a reaction from that?
Shin tries again, “Got yourself killed a second time!”
Killed?—
That’s right...that drill...
Midori’s grip tightens on the edge of the coffin. “I expected a lot better, Hiyori,” Shin continues.
Sou hums to distract himself from the horror curling in his stomach, clutching at his chest. He tries to school his expression and flash another smile. But his cheeks feel like stone. The corners of his lips stay stubbornly down.
So he turns away.
They’re both dead, there’s no way this is happening.
“How did it feel?” Shin says, walking around to face him again. He refuses to take the hint, and it makes Sou’s blood boil. It’s unfamiliar — usually, Sou is the aggravating one. Briefly, he wonders if this is how people feel when they talk to him. Immediately he discards the thought of feeling anything human.
“That drill…” Shin continues.
That drill...
Shin chuckles, walking forward. Sou wants to punch the smirk off his face. He’s close enough to do that now, too. Shin leans forward, smiling.
“It doesn’t feel as good, does it? When you’re the one dying?”
That drill...
That drill!!
Who would’ve thought death would be so terrifying?
Midori props his elbows on his knees. As if he’ll let Shin of all people best him. He rests his chin on his hands and leans in, relishing in the way Shin moves back.
“My dear Tsukimi,” he says, smiling his typical sinister grin. As a result, Shin’s own smile disappears. Midori takes this as a personal victory. “I don’t die. I can’t.” Shin frowns.
“You...You’re already dead."
Midori’s chuckles fade into laughs, laughs into cackles.
“Shin, Shin,” he wheezes. “For a Computing major, you’re surprisingly dumb.” Shin scowls at this. “The AI-Ceiver is still intact. No one can kill me; I will be brought back.” He smiles smugly.
“By who?” Shin says, and Midori’s smile stutters. “Who will bring you back?”
That robot...
That Maple... She loves him! She’ll do it!
...but she’s dead.
Those Dummies...
They’re indebted to him — he brought them back from hell!
But then they died...
I brought them back...how did they die again...?
That drill... his mind supplies, and Sou wants to pull his hair out again.
That Gin...
Those humans...!
“Incomprehensible!” he shouts. Shin jumps. “Incomprehensible, you humans! Asunaro— They- they need me,” he says, licking his lips. “They—”
“What makes you think so? They threw our lives away like we were replaceable. Who’s to say they won’t do that to you, too?” An ugly grimace replaces Sou’s grin.
“Safalin will, or—" he wavers, desperately. "Or Meister—”
“Don’t make me laugh! Who do you think pushed the button that killed you? You toyed with our lives and killed us when we tried to survive,” Shin says, an uncharacteristically scary glint in his eyes. “You had no remorse. Why are you so desperate when they do the same to you?”
Sou weaves his fingers through his hair and groans, ready to start dragging at his scalp again. He scrapes his nails over the skin once, twice, thrice, until red begins to coat his fingers once again.
“H-Hiyori!” Shin cries, stepping forward. Sou looks up to a worried face. Or, maybe scared is more fitting. Then, he laughs. A desperate, whispered laugh. He grips Shin’s face and pulls it towards him, smearing blood on his cheeks in the process.
“I’m your friend, right, Shin?” he says. “We’re best friends, aren’t we?” Shin tries to pull away, but Midori has a firm hold on his cheeks. “Why else would you be worried for me?” he says, as Shin tugs at his wrists. He punches his arm, and Midori laughs, light and airy. As if they’re playing a game. Shin lifts his knee and rams it into his gut. For a moment, the air is punched out of Midori’s lungs. He can’t breathe.
And then he thinks, I don’t need to breathe! I’m dead!
I’m dead! I’m dead! he thinks, and giggles. For once the thought is giving him a strange joy.
He takes his hands off Shin’s face in favor of scraping some dried blood from under his fingernails. Shin jumps back until they are a meter away again.
Shame, Midori thinks. He’s no longer close enough to punch.
“You’re a lot different to my AI, Shin,” he hums. “He was sweeter. More compliant.”
“I don’t want to be compliant to someone like you!” Shin says, even as he holds his arms and shivers. His voice is loud, despite the obvious tremor in it. Midori steps closer, only for Shin to take more steps back.
Shin rubs at his cheeks and Midori's blood coats his palms. He clutches his scarf and dirties the material, red stains on red fabric. He looks at the matching one around Midori's neck. Watches it shift as Midori spreads his arms out.
“Aw, Shin,” he coos. “Aren’t we friends anymore?”
“Like hell I’d ever want to be friends with you!” Shin shouts. Midori cackles, head thrown back.
“Oh, how you’ve grown!” Midori gushes, hands clasped next to his cheek. “You never stood up for yourself in high school! I was the only one you had!”
“Shut up!”
Midori keeps on inching closer, even as Shin moves back.
“Even now, Shin, I’m the only one you have!”
“I’d rather be alone!”
Midori stops then, and a silence settles over them, broken only by Shin’s harsh breaths. Midori holds a hand over his heart.
“That hurts my feelings, Shin,” he says, face drooping in faux pain.
Shin looks up at him, and his eyes are filled with a strange mix of sorrow and frustration. His fingers are twisted in the fabric of the scarf.
“I’m not sure you have any feelings at all, Midori.” His voice comes out so small and feeble, even Sou stills in his theatrics.
The edges of Shin’s figure glow a bright white, blending into the empty surroundings. He hangs his head and sighs, hair falling into his face. He smiles, a thin line, barely there.
“Maybe...” Shin says, grip tightening, “I should’ve believed...in everyone else.”
A single tear rolls down his cheek, but he disappears into the background before it can hit the floor.
Sou is left behind.
There is nothing around him. There is nothing anywhere, except the gray coffin on which he sits.