Work Text:
---
Mochizuki had asked her to meet him in her room after he had spoken with everyone in the lounge.
Minako stayed quiet as her teammates talked with him regarding the decision, once the conversation had finished the raven haired teen ( i̶f̶ ̶s̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶c̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶-̶-̶ ) looked to her.
"Shall we?" he inquired, a smile on his face yet it wasn't comforting.
She nodded to Ryoji before turning her back to them all, making her way up the stairs just to have a head start to her room.
Going up another level until she reached the hallway where it was, soft footsteps padded down on the carpet while he followed behind. His own seemed unnaturally light compared to hers, if he didn't look human she'd think otherwise.
She never bothered to lock the door anymore, trusting her dorm mates. (E̶x̶c̶e̶p̶t̶ ̶J̶u̶n̶p̶e̶i̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶k̶e̶p̶t̶ ̶r̶a̶i̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶s̶h̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶s̶w̶e̶e̶t̶s̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶n̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶g̶a̶m̶e̶p̶l̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶l̶a̶s̶t̶s ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶h̶o̶u̶r̶s̶ )
Dainty hands move to grab the door knob, twisting it open and entering inside.
Despite being a good student, her room could be described as an.. organized mess? Not as messy as Junpei's-- she shivered momentarily, yet not as clean as Fuuka's or Yukari's. ( M̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶l̶i̶p̶s̶ ̶s̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶t̶c̶h̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶m̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶r̶o̶o̶m̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶h̶i̶l̶a̶r̶i̶o̶u̶s̶-̶-̶ ̶ )
A bit of stray crumbs and dust lay near the corners of the room, a few miscellaneous items piled near her bed. While a steel pole lay against the dresser casually, despite it being a weapon used to slay things that would belong to tales and novels, or the folklore that she reads at night when the moon glows a sickly green and the world is bathed in it's red, flashlights staring over the words she sucks up like a sponge in water.
Ryoji only hummed in interest, curious eyes ( and his eyes, sometimes she saw blue and barely the grey inside when he whispers and laments with quiet nothings ) swept all over the room before landing on her bed, "Seems you haven't cleaned up in a while." he commented, going over to her bed while he avoids stepping on a few items ( little things, like figurines, or scattered remains of a snack with the bag left open and forgotten ) that littered the floor.
Sitting down on the soft mattress, the bed sinking slightly under his weight.
"Minako I've given you and the others time to think." Ryoji lifted his head up to look at her, his eyes held a kind of sorrow, a kind of charm, they held so many complex feelings. Feelings that she may not even know nor understand.
She only nodded, her arms limp on her sides. It was 11 at night, the light fixed on her ceiling casted artificial rays over the whole room, shadows creeping underneath that sometimes she mistakes for the monsters they find in the tower.
"I will ask you once more, please.. kill me." He asked, not a tremble in his voice, the grey beneath his lashes meeting striking red.
...
She couldn't follow through to that favor, she just can't. Is it selfish? maybe it is.
Seconds pass..
Her lips drew into a thin line as her gaze went over to his somber expression, silent but he knew her answer would stay the same, unchanging and unwavering.
A firm expression displayed on her face, this is her decision.
Ryoji sighed, disappointment in his tone when he spoke. "Do you really want to live everyday knowing that the end is near? You will fight against Nyx, against eternal despair," he reasoned, his voice raising slightly.
"Don't you want to forget?" Living in peace til' the end of days, without the restlessness or the worry. But.. no, she's aware, and in the deep recesses of her mind. Afraid.
"You can all live happily till' the Fall comes-- !" continuing for a moment till' she raised a hand to clamp over his mouth.
"I don't want to live in ignorance," She answered lowering the hand over his mouth, a direct response instead of her stares that could deliver what she means without a single word.
Ryoji nodded his head, lifting a hand just to run a few long fingers through a few stray locks of raven hair.
Letting white noise fill in the silence for a few moments once more, only the sound of breathing could be heard, hers.
"Are you... sure about this?" Ryoji spoke in uncertainty. The lower half of his face tucked into the fading yellow scarf he was so fond of wearing ( l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶s̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶t̶r̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶h̶u̶t̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶-̶-̶ ), eyes downcast.
And she's silent, minutes as the rays of light flit over them, and the hum of a machine. "Yes,"
"I will respect your decision then," pushing himself off the bed as he stood up straight, the small indent on the mattress filling in once more from where he sat. Then adjusting the loose scarf around his neck, tugging the hem of his shirt down. For a moment he paused in his ministrations, his hands lowering to his sides. His head tilting to her, looking and wanting to say a word but deciding to leave it unsaid.
Taking a few steps towards her before stopping, reluctantly he lifted his hands once more to cup her face. Trailing down her neck before wandering down to her shoulders and stopping there, he sighed.
Minako took that as an opportunity to wrap her arms around him, hugging him tightly in hope that she could convey all that she felt through this simple action, small and thin arms clutching tightly because he would disappear and she knows. She always seemed to know, and yet she doesn't want him to.
He felt and he reciprocated, hugging back just as tightly. ( When a little boy disappeared and she worried, and he was born again.. )
Reluctantly the two had to let go.
Before he left her room, Ryoji looked back to give her a sad smile.
He seemed to pause before looking back at her.
"I love you,"
he said it abruptly before he left, the door closing shut. Those words, his which held a kind of affection, adoration, l o v e. Words filled with a kind of longing, that sent a jolt into her.
Time goes on as if it had paused earlier, leaving her alone with herself and her thoughts for company.
Then realization began to settle in as her breath caught up in her throat, the pulse of her heart raised from it's steady beating earlier. It was almost audible against the ringing in her ears.
Blood rushed into her cheeks turning it into a rosy shade of red which contrasted her pale complexion.
And she began to cry, quiet sobs growing louder and louder.
Silence rang throughout her room as she tries to gather her thoughts into something comprehensible, but the waves of grief and melancholy wash up on the rocky outcrops of her mind as she crumpled into herself, on the floor. She never had experience with these kinds of things, despite her charm. But she knew no-
she was sure that she could say that she felt something akin to what he felt, l o v e , though not as intense as his.
She never wanted to assume that he did, thoughts of that kind she painstakingly drags into the dark tresses of her mind to be forgotten. Alas the fool was wrong to say to herself that they would better off be friends.
she heard him mutter,
"My Dearest… "
And her own love, love? for him was left unsaid in her bright room as she mourns and cries quietly for a man that didn't belong with her or anywhere at all.
----
P̶e̶r̶h̶a̶p̶s̶.̶.̶ ̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶o̶v̶e̶d̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶d̶i̶f̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶.̶