Summary: [SPOILER FOR EPISODE 11]
Set after episode 11. A short story about Ginti and Mayu's feelings after she fell into the Void. Since Ginti said that the human mind is still there and feelings like terror or despair are there I thought that a soul in the Void might still be able to think, feel, remember things from their life and also the time they spent at ViGinti.
This is a translation of my own work, which was originally posted on the EFP circuit and it was written in my native language, Italian.
A/N: As I said, this work was originally written in Italian, then, after almost a year, I translated it in English. As the latter is not my native language there may be mistakes and also, since this is the very first story I write in English, my writing style might be awkward since I tried to mimic my Italian writing style. Please, feel free to point out any mistakes and give me suggetions and advices.
The original female characters are Mayu's friends even though they don't really have much of a part in the story.
"Do you know what kind of place the Void is?"
"No, I don't."
You then proceeded to give me your signature spiteful look while sighing. At that moment, probably, you mentally regarded me as anunfathomably reckless idiot.
"It amounts to a space containing nothing, a graveyard for souls. Your mind is all that remains. Terror, regret, despair… it's the sensation of falling forever while embracing all your negative feelings. That's the kind of place the Void is."
Wow, such an intense description. As expected from you, to tell the truth. I was really terrified at that time, actually. That's why I opened my eyes wide and backed a bit.
And you did know that I would react that way.
Let me tell you, the terror part actually goes away after a bit, until only regret and despair remain. And also, it's really cold. It's colder than that night when my father forgot to pay the bills because he was so engrossed in his work. I spent the night shivering under my sheets while listening to Harada's songs with my phone. After a while the cold was gone. But here, thinking about Harada doesn't work. Here, the cold and the pain don't stop. Is it because of you?
"That's why I'm giving you the opportunity to avoid it" you said, while placing in front of my eyes a photo showing a guy I didn't know. "Harada or this guy. You choose which one is going to end up in the Void."
I'm a reckless idiot. That's why you're so confident you can read me like an open book. You're right, actually. You're completely right. I would never send Harada in that kind of place. He's the person I admire the most, my light, my everything. Harada is my life. It's pretty obvious that I'd sacrifice the life of a complete stranger in order to save him and talk to him one more time.
And, of course, you did know that.
I'm a reckless idiot. But so are you. You're a reckless idiot who thinks he knows how the human mind works just because he doesn't have emotions. And yet, why do you get mad when I do something stupid? Why do you take my decision to remain with Harada until the end so personally?
"When you both get reincarnated, you'll probably meet again in your new life."
That's not true at all. My selfish choice, my life which revolved all around Harada isn't worthy of a second chance in your world.
And I did know that.
And I also knew that things are not always what they seem. I knew that a grumpy man like you, whom relies on his cat to decide who to get along with, isn't really that much grumpy on the inside. I knew that you were actually happy to have me around, even though you always hid it with complaints and annoyed sighs. I knew that those sighs you gave me were actually meant for yourself who was feeling something new, something never felt before. And I knew that you would never accept that my life had a shallow meaning in your eyes.
And I also knew that you didn't want to accept the fact that my time at ViGinti was almost up.
To tell you the truth, there's not only remorse and despair in this kind of place. Sometimes I can also see fragments of memories from when I was alive. I can see my best friends, Ritsu and Misaki. I met them thanks to Harada, the three of us were his fans. I've known them for so long, and our love for Harada and his music always kept us together. When Ritsu's parents got a divorce, me and Misaki invited her to our places in order to spend the night re-watching Harada's old concerts.
Sometimes I also used to think that I would find the love of my life through Harada. I would meet him by chance during one of his concerts and our love for Harada would give us the best love story ever.
You know, ever since I've been staying at ViGinti, the love of my life started to look like a barman met during the aftermath of a concert. Then he gradually became a grumpy barman met during a night after me and my friends followed Harada into a bar in order to take a picture with him. After a while, he just started to look like you and his voice started to sound like yours.
And that was something I never told you.
And that was something you did not know.
Original A/N: Thank you for reading. I want to apologize if Mayu seems a bit OOC especially in the last part of my story. In Death Parade we've been blessed with very deep characters, so I thought that even if Mayu looks a bit air-headed she is also able to think seriously. I'm thinking about writing a second chapter about Ginti's thoughts actually, but I'm still waiting for inspiration.