April 14, 1912

Don't Let Go

   Hinata falls to his knees.  

   "Kazuichi?" He mutters, "Hahaha. . .Damn. Wow. What the hell happened to him?" Hinata laughs quietly.

   Komaeda is by his side in an instant, and Hinata buries his face in Komaeda's thighs. "Hajime," He mumbles, "I know this is shocking and upsetting, but the ship is going down, darling. We need to get to a lifeboat and see if they're accepting men yet."

   "B-But Kazuichi-"

   "Hajime-" 

   "What if he's still alive, though? We-We can't just leave him here!"

   Komaeda eyes the gunshot wound in the pink-haired boy's head. ". . .I'm pretty sure he's dead, Hajime. I assure you if we can find out who did this, we will have vengeance. But Kazuichi would want us to get off the ship."

   "Wow. . .not even giving me a second to mourn. . .damn you, Nagito."

   Komaeda is silent for a moment. And then he falls to his knees, folding his hands together, praying and paying his respects. 

   Hinata gawks at him for a moment before doing the same. The two are silent for a few moments as the water slowly rises around them, soaking their ankles and knees until it comes to a point where they know they can't stay in the room any longer.

   The brunet stands first, tapping Komaeda's shoulder and urging him to his feet. "I'll find out what happened here, Kazuichi," He murmurs before turning to the socialite, "Let's go, Nagito."

   "Are you sure?"

   "Mhm."

   Komaeda takes his partner's hand, and the two of them jog out of the room. 

-

   "There's a crowd gathering just down the hall," Hinata points out as the two emerge from the passage, "Let's go check it out."

   Komaeda shrugs. "I suppose we have to. I mean, that's the only remaining way to the upper-decks anyway."

   Hinata grabs his hand and tows him over to the crowd. It ranges to the top of a set of stairs where an iron gate is right to the very bottom where the couple ends up. At the top is an attendant trying to reason with the folks at the top.

   Komaeda taps the shoulder of one of the gentlemen in front of them. "Excuse me, what's going on here?"

   A red-haired boy turns around and sighs. "They're not letting us through."

   Hinata frowns. "Hu-What? Why? How are we supposed to have a chance at getting off safely if they don't let us up to the top? The water is almost up to our knees here!"

   "I think that's the point."

   Hinata's jaw drops. "What?! Do they not care about the lower class enough to let us fucking live?!"

   The red-haired person nods. "Socialites are a priority, I guess."

   Komaeda blinks. 

   "Well, they can't just keep us locked up here!" Hinata says with a frown, "Everyone here deserves a fighting chance," He glances around, eyes landing on a bench, "Let's use that to break down the door!"

   The red-haired boy nods. "Yeah, you're right! Hoshina, Takeda, let's go!"

   Hinata, the red-haired boy and his friends rush to the bench, wasting no time prying it out of the wooden ground.

   "Clear a path!" Komaeda calls to the remaining crowd, "Make way!"

   The attendant's eyes widen. "Wait-. . .You can't just. . ."