The Light Of Hope In The Face Of Despair

Chapter the Tenth: Hold On

"Makoto-kun..." those two soft words slipped out of Mukuro's mouth as her eyes met his. Makoto noticed her shoes placed next to the ledge, which instantly caused him to worry. The shoes meant she was planning to take her life, stepping from this life to the next.
"What are you doing?" He asked, stepping closer. His mind was going a million miles a minute, but on the outside he was calm. He didn't want to startle her when she was that close to the edge. One wrong move and he'd lose her forever.
"It doesn't matter, Makoto-kun. Just go." She told him, turning away again. She was looking down at the ground, just waiting until he was gone to do what she'd been lead to believe she needed to do. He shook his head, walking over and suddenly grabbing her wrist.
"I'm not going to go. I'm not going to leave you, Mukuro-san. You're my best friend, and I'm not letting you do something this stupid." He insisted adamantly. Mukuro didn't look at him. She couldn't. She just wanted to remember him smiling at her, not whatever expression was on his face right now. "Step down. Talk to me, please. Tell me what lead you to this point. I want to help you, Mukuro-san. Please." Mukuro hesitated a lot, her feet moving uncomfortably. She wanted to step down and talk to him, but Junko had ordered that she jump. She looked back, seeing the desperate and almost sad look in his eyes. That settled it. She could allow herself this conversation, even if it was the last. She took a deep breath and stepped off the ledge. Makoto instantly hugged her, taking her by surprise. She froze up, but her resolve melted. Suddenly, she burst into tears. She grabbed him and cried on to his shoulder, sobbing loudly. Makoto didn't expect this at all, but rubbed her back and played with her hair gently to comfort her. "Just let it all out... it's okay..." he told her softly. This carried on for almost ten minutes, with Mukuro crying and Makoto comforting her. Once she was finally calm, he sat down with her on the ledge, keeping her in his arms. She seemed most contented there. "Can you talk now?" He asked gently, not wanting to push her too far. She nodded, breaking the hug. It didn't feel right to talk to him while hugging him like that. "Why were you going to jump?" He asked, a chill going down his spine at the thought, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. Now wasn't the time to be depressed over that.
"She told me to." Was Mukuro's response. She wasn't going to 'out' Junko for all the horrible things she'd said and done to her. She didn't have it in her.
"What? Can you tell me who 'she' is?" He asked, dulling his emotional response. Mukuro shook her head, but that didn't surprise Makoto. He didn't expect her to be able to tell him. "It's okay. If there comes a day you can tell me, then don't hesitate. I'll be here no matter what." He promised her, linking his pinkie with her. She looked at his hand, then up at him.
"You promise?" She asked quietly. He nodded and smiled his usual smile at her. That smile almost sealed it in her mind that she wouldn't jump today, but it was his next two words that did it.
"I promise." The pair fell silent for a moment, both damp from the rain that was still falling. The wind had died down though. "I guess, since we're talking, I'll tell you what's on my mind. Me and Maizono-san broke up yesterday." He decided to admit. He hadn't spoken about it with anyone, but now seemed a good time. He didn't really know why though.
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that..." she said to him, a little awkwardly. She didn't really know how to comfort people in situations like this, but she wanted to try.
"Ah, it's okay. We're still friends. We only went on one date, and we didn't do many romantic things. She was so busy with her work that we just decided it was best we broke up." Makoto assured her, laughing a little and brushing his soaked hair from his face. "It just kinda stings as any breakup would, you know?" Makoto said to her casually. He remembered Junko saying she'd had her heart broken recently, so he assumed she understood.
"Not really." Of course she didn't have a clue. Makoto fell quiet, looking towards the door. He was at a loss for what to do now. Mukuro meanwhile shuffled closer to him, resting her head gently on Makoto's shoulder. She wanted to be closer to him, and he didn't mind at all. He gently put his arm around her to keep her closer. This felt pretty nice for a while, until he noticed her shivering. She was soaked through, and the rain was still far from stopping. It was getting late now anyway.
"Do you think we should head inside?" He asked, noticing something had caught her eye in the distance. He looked over, seeing the sun was setting. Even with the rain and clouds, the sunset was visible and beautiful. "You'd rather watch the sun set, right?" He asked. The only answer he got was a gentle nod of the head from her. He took off his damp blazer and put it around her shoulders. He hoped that would ease her shivering, if only temporarily. She held the damp blazer around herself, noticing it was warm still. He smiled and relaxed, allowing a pleasant silence to fall over the pair as they watched the sun set in the distance.
"I like the sun set." Mukuro said quietly after a while. She was still staring out at the sun set, not sure if Makoto was still with her until she felt him place his hand over hers. "It's pretty to look at. Even when the sun goes down, that just gives the moon a chance to shine. It's like me and my sister in a way. She's the sun, and I'm the moon." Mukuro continued telling him, a faint smile appearing on her face for the first time throughout the conversation. Makoto nodded, deciding that was a suitable analogy for her and Junko.
"Well, you should surround yourself with people who prefer the nighttime, like me." Makoto told her casually. That comment made Mukuro blush, and mumble some syllables that sounded like they could've been the start of a sentence. Makoto let out a soft laugh. He found her stuttering kind of cute. Another long period of silence followed. "Maybe you should stay in my room tonight." He suggested to her, standing up.
"Huh?" Mukuro looked up at him, seeing his hand held out to her. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well, after all this I wanna be able to keep an eye on you. You're my best friend, and I wouldn't know what I would do if anything happened to you after all this." He insisted, still holding his hand out to her. She hesitated, but slipped her hand into his. She stood up and slipped her soaking shoes back on her feet, following him off the roof without looking back.