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Makoto recognized where the two were almost instantly; they were in Gekkoukan’s music club room. Stacks of papers lined the shelves behind the piano. Vacant seats filled the left side of the room, a miscellaneous assortment of instruments filling the right. There was nothing outside the two sets of doors, and the only thing allowed in was the faux sunlight that painted the room a mixture of golds and oranges. It was almost exactly like the day they first met.
The soft sound of piano keys rang through the air, golden sunshine dusting the skin of the boy sitting at the bench. Ryoji’s delicate hands played the instrument with ease, and even though the melody was simple, it was enough to make Makoto sit beside him, watching as he played.
Ryoji finished his song, silence hanging in the air between them. Neither wanted to speak, they knew what this conversation was about to entail, and neither were willing to begin.
Ryoji grabbed onto the end of his yellow scarf, letting out a gentle sigh, “You know, you amaze me, Makoto.” The blue haired man didn’t reply, just waited for Ryoji to continue. “Did you know you were going to die?”
Makoto gave a silent nod, his eyes fixated on the keys of the piano. The pristine white reflected his pale face; he was still recovering from the mysterious illness that caused his sudden death. “You know they will mourn you, right? And they will never know what you truly did for them?” Makoto nodded once more, still unable to look at his companion.
The two went back to their moment of silence as Ryoji tried to figure out what he should say, more accurately what he could say. Makoto made his choice when giving his life to defeat Nyx, but he didn’t understand it. Wasn’t life supposed to be precious? “You only live once” is what others say, so why throw that life away for others?
Makoto’s first words of their shared time came out so suddenly it caught Ryoji entirely off guard, “I wish you could have lived.”
Ryoji felt himself tense, inhaling a sharp breath, “Makoto, I was never meant to live, not like you or your friends.”
“But-” His voice was shaking now, his hands trembling. “I wanted you to live, I wanted us to live.”
Ryoji smiled, his hands finding their way back to the keys or the piano. The music filled the mostly quiet room as he considered his friend’s words carefully. “Life is so many things,” He started, his fingers grazing over each key gently. “It’s unfair, it’s terrifying.” The melody of Ryoji’s song increased in intensity, but it still sounded beautiful. There was almost a haunting aura about the minor key he played in. “Yet so beautiful,” Ryoji turned his attention away from the piano to look at Makoto.
Makoto could feel the eyes on his head, so he looked up, locking eyes with Ryoji.
“You’re so beautiful,” Ryoji mumbled, the song slowing as it began to come to its end.
“Ryoji,” Makoto stuttered his name out, moving closer. Their legs collided as Makoto wrapped his arms around the man beside him. The embrace brought an ubrupt end to the song, but Ryoji didn’t care. His arms wrapped tightly around Makoto’s torso, inhaling deeply.
The two sat like that for what felt like years. The hug had said so many things that had been left unspoken before the two’s untimely departure.
“Let’s rest here a while, yeah?” Ryoji said to Makoto in a gentle whisper.
Makoto shook his head vigorously in agreement, “I’d like that. I would like that a lot.”