He saw the gun raise and his mind calculated as fast as a computer. No one would die again.
He moved faster than he had ever moved before, his NEET body resisting every step of the way. But he had promised, that he would be the hero for everyone's happiness.
The young man shoved the gun in his friend's hand upwards, the shot ringing off into the sky, so similar, but so unlike the last time.
"Did I ever tell you... I once had a friend?"
The other boy looked at him in honest confusion. "Why... Would you try to save me? After I tried to kill everyone?"
"Because we're friends." He clenched his fist and found his resolve.
And cracked the dark version of the pale-haired boy in the jaw.
He fell more from the surprise than the pain, and looked up at the young genius.
"I'll save you, and save you, and save you, and SAVE YOU, AND SAVE YOU AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN! HARUKAAAAAA!"
The dark Konoha's eyes widened impossibly large, his pupils almost narrowing to nothing more than tiny specs.
"Your name, is Kokonose Haruka! And we were friends!"
"H-Haru...Ka? Shin...?"
Shintaro punched him again. "We were friends! For almost a full year!" And again. "But you were sick, but even still you treated me kindly, a young, selfish, rude brat!" Again. "And I thought to myself, finally something I can use this intelligence for! I'd save you, and Enomoto! Even though I ignored you, and walked away from you, and even though you tried to take my food, and I hated it, I was happy! HAPPY!" Again, and again, and again. "THEN YOU DIED!"
His fist was bleeding now, but it was washed away in the rain. Shintaro heard a soft "master" in his ear, but he ignored it, ignored the stinging in his hand, and focused in front of him.
"YOU DIED! AND THEN TAKANE DIED!" He was crying now, he realized. Feelings he had kept a hold of for over two years were coming to the front. He idly wondered what the others were having of this strange conversation. After all, how could the healthy young man beneath him have died, after even as many times as the NEET had punched him, he still didn't even have a bruise.
"And Ayano, she tried to remain positive, but then something happened... And then Ayano... Ayano killed herself... And I was all alone... For two years, I shut myself away, to keep from losing her memory, and the memory of the friends I had made..."
Konoha, no, Haruka, looked up at him, his eyes still wide with shock and confusion.
"Then, I met Ene, and the first time I saw her, I knew it was Takane, but she didn't seem to remember, and then I met the Mekakushi Dan, and everything was linked to Ayano, and then you appeared in front of me and then tried to die again and leave me all alone and I won't accept it I'll save you and everyone! Because that's what I promised her!"
Shintaro grabbed the other boy's jacket and wrenched his face close to his own. "I don't care what the hell has happened to you, or why the hell you think you should die, or what the hell is even going on! I just know, that I'll save you! BECAUSE WE'RE FRIENDS!"
He pulled him to his feet, kicking the gun out of the way, and ripping the headphones out of his phone.
"I want to save you, and be with all of you! Even if you've lost that memory, the time we shared hasn't gone! I still remember! The way you'd try to steal my food! The way me and Takane would bicker! Trying to tutor Ayano, even though her father was a teacher! Playing games, walking home together!"
Shintaro was sure that by now his eyes had become just as red as everyone else's, and he could feel that scarf falling from his pocket.
"The last time we talked before you died, you told me you were going to confess to Takane! You said that the most fun you had was with her! Even if you can't remember that, that's fine, because I'll remember for you!"
He grabbed that red scarf out of his pocket and wrapped it around his neck. "I promised Ayano when she gave me her eyes and her scarf, I'd make everyone happy! So! I'll save you, and I'll let you become happy! Because that's the promise I made with her! So come with me. I won't accept anything less than a "yes"." Shintaro held out his hand to the first male friend he had ever made.
Haruka, or Konoha, or Kuroha... It didn't matter. The other boy could only grab his hand, with a small, almost soundless "yes".
Shintaro turned to all of them, Kido, Seto, Kano, Marry, Momo, and Hibiya. "Let's get out of this... These Heat Haze Days!"
So, it's not really a full thing. This is a kinda little thing that's been on my mind, and I had to write it for Shintaro's birthday.
This is after Lost Time Memory, and is a Shintaro already with Ayano's eyes, with the knowledge of what happens, so most likely AU, but eh, that's fanfiction.
If there's parts where the grammar gets bad, that's intentional, because humans speak in run on sentences, and don't have perfect speech.
Hope you all enjoyed, and enjoy the rest of Mekakucity Actors!