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Makoto wasn’t home yet. It was hours past when he usually returned to the small apartment they were staying at, and Makoto wasn’t home yet.
Aigis drummed her fingers against the desk, accidentally kicking up a cloud of dust that would have sent her into a coughing fit if she needed to breathe. As it was, her fans kicked into high gear to blow away the foreign objects.
Pulling a phone out of her dress, she checked her messages for what seemed like the thousandth time.
It’s past the time you normally arrive. Are you okay?
Makoto, where are you?
Call missed (4)
All unread. She felt herself starting to pace before typing a quick message. Futaba-san, you usually eat lunch with Makoto-san. Was he alright today?
He seemed pretty out of it. He talked even less than usual, and it felt like he was looking right through me and Sumire. I asked if he wanted to walk home together, but he said he was busy.
Thank you, Futaba-san.
You can drop the formalities with me, we’re friends!
Aigis glanced at Makoto’s contact again, willing another text to appear, before finally admitting defeat and opening the door to their apartment, climbing downstairs, and starting to pace around Yongen-Jaya.
Where am I going? She thought as she watched people pass by their apartment building. She walked past the cafe that they spent so much time in, and the clinic where Makoto went for exams once a month.
“She says my health is perfect for someone my age, and she doesn’t get why Ren and Mitsuru are insisting I come by so often.” Makoto sounded annoyed. “But, if it’ll calm Kirijo-senpai’s nerves, I’ll deal with it.”
“I can talk to her if you-”
“It’s- It’s fine. Don’t worry about me.”
She looked away from the clinic and tried to organize her thoughts. It doesn’t make sense to try and look for him now. I don’t know where he might have gone- We’ll probably miss each other, even if I can figure it out. Aigis was then snapped out of her thoughts by her phone suddenly springing to life and starting to ring. Makoto’s contact displayed on-screen, and she nearly dropped it trying to answer.
“Where are you? It’s been-”
“I know it’s late. I should have called hours ago.” His voice sounded flat, even more than usual. “I’m- I’m-” He let out a weak sigh, and said nothing.
“Makoto-san? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Aigis. I’ll head home soon.”
“You are not alright. I can hear it in your voice.”
There was a pause on the other line.
“Where are you? I can come to you.”
“...Aoyama Reien.”
“Why would you- I’ll be there soon.” Aigis shoved the phone back in her dress pocket, and bolted for the subway station. When she got off in Aoyama, she realized that she had no idea where in the massive cemetery he actually was. It took some time, and another phone call, but soon enough she was staring down the exhausted-looking boy as cherry blossom petals fell around them.
“Makoto-san… Why did you come here?”
He didn’t meet her eyes. The single eye she could see looked swollen and red. “I heard some of my classmates talking about how beautiful the cherry blossoms are in Tokyo. I wasn’t thinking… I meant to just stop by here before heading home. Or at least, that’s what I told myself.” He wiped at his eyes with his uniform sleeve, still looking anywhere but at her face.
“We promised to watch the cherry blossoms together back then. I started thinking about- …And then I just couldn’t make myself leave.”
He tilted his head down, both eyes disappearing beneath his fringe. The petals floated down around them, and both were silent. He wiped his eyes a few more times before finally looking Aigis in the eyes.
“I’m sorry, Aigis.”
“For not telling me where you were?”
“I mean, yeah…” He shrugged. “But that’s not what I meant. I- I knew what was coming. And I went with you anyways… I didn’t think about what dying like that would do to the-”
“Makoto-san, stop.” She put a hand on one of his shoulders. “There wasn’t another option. And… Do you think if you’d died alone in your room, that would have made anything better? I’m glad that we were able to spend that time together, even if it was sad. I don’t think I’d have been able to bear it if you’d been alone in those moments. And besides… We had a promise to keep.”
He let out a choked gasp as a few tears fell down his face. Aigis lifted her hand off his shoulder and wiped them away for him, as his hand entwined with her free one. The two went quiet again, staring at the blossoms falling around them. “I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner. I should have known I’d worry you, especially since it’s…”
“Don’t worry about it. You’re safe, and that’s what matters to me.”
“Aigis…” He took a deep breath, seemingly searching for the words. “I’m glad we finally got to watch these together. …We should… We should do it again.”
“I agree. Maybe… Maybe we can watch these together every year from now on. Find new places to watch them together.”
“I’d like that.” He gave her a slight smile, before releasing her hand. “We should… We should go home. I’ve got homework to do, and I should probably call everyone else. I got texts from Junpei and Yukari asking if I was okay earlier…”
“Cherry blossom season won’t be over for a little while… Maybe while you’re calling everyone, you should set up a time for us to all meet up and watch them together. It’ll finally let us fulfill our promise.”
He nodded, reached over to give her hand one last squeeze, and the two of them left the cemetery together.