[Setting in year 2010, Post Star Plasma Vessel and Pre-Canon]
«I'm Aoi. Aoi Fujikawa. Aoi like Hollyhock, not the color Blue. Yeah, I know-nobody ever gets it right the first time.»
A simple life as an art student in Tokyo was all Aoi ever wanted. S...
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REMORSE
-Satoru-
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Satoru stood motionless, the deafening sound of applause crashing against his senses like a wave. The scene around him blurred, a cacophony of white-clad figures and that accursed rhythmic clapping. It echoed in his mind, mocking, haunting—a sound that dragged him back to a place he'd fought to forget. His chest constricted, each breath ragged as he struggled to ground himself, but he could still hear it—the applause that had filled the air that day, the day everything changed. The day he had become "The strongest".
A title, a badge, that he pretend to wore with pride, but felt more like a scar. A hollow symbol for a man who had failed at the most crucial moment. Failed to prevent a tragedy, failed to save a friend, failed to act when hesitation was a luxury he couldn't afford.
His vision blurred, snapping between the ghostly figures applauding in front of him and the memories that clawed at his mind. There had been a body, too, back then. Riko's lifeless form covered by a white sheet, feet sticking out just like now. Those brown moccasins. Blood darkening the fabric where her head lay. His eyes locked on the scene, and for a fleeting, paralyzing instant, the lines between past and present blurred, and he could almost believe he was back there.
His grip on Aoi's arm tightened unconsciously, fingers pressing down hard enough to bruise. Rationally, he knew he was hurting her, could feel the pain through the cursed bond that linked them, but he couldn't bring himself to care. The world around him had narrowed to a singular vision, and everything else—their mission, Aoi's presence—had faded to a distant hum. He heard her sharp intake of breath, a soft, startled sound that barely registered.
Then, a voice -his voice- sliced through the noise, as familiar as it was impossible.
Everything around him felt muted, drowned out by the vision of a man with long dark hair and a familiar face that mocked him with a smile he'd once trusted with his life.
