The Aftermath

Memories

...

"Why are we...alive...?"

They had been sitting in silence in the park for so long they couldn't even keep track...before Himiko spoke. Shuichi slowly pointed his gaze towards her, arching his eyebrows slightly.

"It's not fair...why do we get to be here?" Her lips were pressed together as to not pull them into a frown. 

Maki's previously soft expression became a more cold, stern one. She pulled the jacket resting on her shoulders more tightly around her body. 

Shuichi tried to control himself from sobbing, fidgeting with the strap of the backpack that hung over his shoulder. He'd helped and comforted so many people before, he could do it again. "I...I know. It isn't at all fair, Himiko, but...they sacrificed themselves for us. We can't just sulk about their deaths if we don't want them to be meaningless. This isn't what they would want-"

...

This...isn't making anything better...is it? Himiko's...crying. Maki looks like she's about to. Oh god I...I knew I wasn't ready to do this again I...I can't...I...

"...I'm so sorry Himiko. I n-never meant to do this...uhm.."

Shuichi grabbed the white backpack that was hanging over his shoulder, staring at it for a moment before opening it. He reached into it and shuffled through a few things before finding what he wanted.

"Uh...I know you both thought I was taking too long looking around when we left the academy. I'm...sorry if I worried you...but...I was trying to see if I could still find anything that...belonged to the victims of the killing game."

Maki smiled ever so slightly, hugging the purple jacket wrapped around her.

"A-and while I was searching, I...found this."

Himiko looked to Shuichi with tired eyes, calming a bit after seeing what was held out in front of her. It was torn badly, but she could still make out what it was. "...T-Tenko's bow...? You f-found it, Shuichi...?"

"I'm sorry I didn't give it to you sooner...I wanted to wait until we were safe and-" His words were cut off by Himiko bursting into tears and nearly leaping onto him. It took a few seconds for him to process this, but after that he happily wrapped his arms around Himiko and let her cry onto his shoulder. Maki smiled, a rare sight for her quiet, serious demeanor. 

After a few minutes of Himiko crying, she pulled away from the embrace and smiled brightly at Shuichi. She didn't say a word, just reaching out her hands eagerly for the tattered bow that Shuichi was holding. He laughed, placing it in her hands...well, sort of; she pretty much tore it out of his grasp as soon as he reached out. She held it tightly to her chest, looking like she would never let it go.

"Th-thank you, Shuichi..." Himiko stuttered out quietly. Shuichi just nodded at her with a smile. 

Maki sighed and pulled the purple jacket off her shoulders, holding it in front of her. She stared fondly at the galaxy pattern on the inner part of it. Arching her eyebrows, she began to speak. "How did you even find this thing in such good condition?"

Shuichi shrugged. "I don't know. But I think it's because...Kaito really would've wanted us to have it."

Maki smirked and rolled her eyes. "I think that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say."

Shuichi arched his eyebrows with a defeated look on his face. "Hey! I-"

"But, yeah. You're right." Maki laughed under her breath. Shuichi's expression softened, but he still looked a little sad. Meanwhile, Himiko had apparently decided that this was a good time to fall asleep, cuddled up between the other two. A bit more peaceful silence followed, only interrupted by the wind.

This time, Maki's voice broke the quiet. "I wish that idiot was here with us. I...really loved him..."

Shuichi paused, following up in a hushed tone. "Yeah...but he would wake up Himiko by yelling at you for calling him that." The two of them had their bit of laughter about this, a sort of bittersweet feeling washing over both of them.

"Kaito...would be really proud of you, Shuichi."

...

That made tears well up in the corners of Shuichi's eyes. "Why do you say that...?"

Maki gestured towards him vaguely. "I mean, you're his sidekick, aren't you? And...you ended the entire killing game. You helped everyone's deaths...not be in vain. Kaito was even impressed when you found out his and Kokichi's own plan, so...yeah. He would definitely be proud of you."

Shuichi's body shook a little as tears came down his cheeks. "Th-thank you, Maki." He gave her a sad smile, which she copied in return. But the name stuck with him after Maki had said it...Kokichi. He didn't want to admit it but...he really missed him. God, he forgave people too easily. If only he had known about Kokichi's intentions sooner, he could've prevented any of that from happening and-

"It wasn't your fault."

"...Wh-what?"'

"It wasn't your fault, Shuichi." Maki persisted. "Look, I hated Kokichi. I still do. I won't ever forgive that asshole, but..." She shook her head. "That doesn't matter...what I'm trying to say is that there's no way you could have figured it out in time. It was going to happen anyways. And...I'm sorry."

Shuichi was already sobbing, trying his best to stay quiet. Maki stared at him with a somber expression. She wasn't sure what to say.

"I j-just wish I could've stopped him...I-I wanted him to know that h-he could trust me!" He had started speaking louder without really noticing. "I c-could tell he was terrified about e-everything and I only wanted t-to talk to him but I was scared too! I-I was such a coward and he could've been alive if it weren't for m-me!"

"Nyeh...? What's going on..?" Himiko had sat up and was rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looked on either side of her, only to find that both of her friends were stressed and crying.

"It's...about Kokichi." Maki spoke so softly that she nearly just mouthed the words.

Himiko's eyes lit up just a bit. "Nyeh! Shuichi, don't cry! L-Look!" Shuichi kept sobbing, but turned his attention towards the girl in front of him. She rummaged through little things in the pocket of her jacket, eventually pulling out a piece of fabric and waving it out in front of her. "It's magic!!" She calmed herself down. "I-I did some looking around too before we left and I...found this scarf..."

Shuichi wiped the tears from his eyes to see. Though he nearly started crying again when he recognized the checker pattern he knew too well. "H-Himiko..." She gently handed him the torn up fabric. He stared for a moment and grabbed it as tight as he could.

"I-I didn't trust Kokichi all that much, but...I thought he still deserved to be with us. Just like Kaito and Kaede and...Tenko." Shuichi choked out an almost silent thanks, smiling while his tears continued to pour.

"...You guys are too sappy." Maki remarked, making the others giggle a little. Only proving Maki's point more, Himiko pulled the other two into a hug. Shuichi gratefully accepted, but Maki was a bit tense.

"Do you wanna die...?" They all paused before letting out the laughter they were holding. It was...sort of nice to take that so lightly now.

"They would all love this, you know. Seeing us all get along." Shuichi said with a grin.

Maki nodded. "Yeah. They would be really happy."

[DID I MAKE YOU CRY AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT I HOPE I DID THAT WAS MY MISSION 😌✋bye shawtys hope you liked it]

[Word count: 1210]

[this is from like january but i never posted it lol]