"Come with me." He tells me, his brown hair flopping over his eyes. I nod nervously, biting my lip. I'm not sure I can do this. Disappear, I mean. It's not what it sounds like, I swear.
I follow him into the hall, clutching awkwardly at the gun in my pocket. It calms me down just to know that I have it.
"Oyama." He says, looking up at me, his small, black eyes wide with worry. "You have to be here. I can't go on my own."
"F-Fujimaki..." I whisper. I always forget just how scared he can be under that tough exterior. "I don't want you to leave."
"I'm ready." He tells me, placing one hand onto my fluffy, red hair. "Just... Don't forget about me, man. Promise me you won't. I can't be happy if no one remembers me."
Nodding shakily, I force a smile.
"I... I promise! I could never do that to you! But please don't leave me!" Tears begin to flood down my cheeks, and he smiles at me.
"Aw... Don't cry, man. You gotta learn to keep some of those tears hidden. I don't think you've ever gone a day without crying, have you?"
Blushing, I duck my head low, but I don't stop crying. I don't think I can, even if I try.
"...Oyama." He continues, "Stop that. I can't bear to see you cry, remember?"
Pulling me close into a bone-crushing hug, I can feel his own tears dripping onto my blazer, soaking my back.
"Try to move on, will you? I mean, you've been here so long it'll be hard, huh?"
I wipe my eyes with my sleeve and gulp, before finally choking out a reply.
"Fujimaki." I splutter, salty tears dripping into my mouth. I'm always such a crybaby, aren't I? "I don't want you to leave me here. Don't go..."
He pulls away from me, tilting his head back a little.
"I know." He sighs, a small tear rolling down his cheek. "I'll miss you too. But we'll meet again, right?"
"Um, y-yeah."
"Yeah! It'll be awesome! And we'll look out for each other, so that neither of us will get hurt again."
"...Sure." I lie.
"Even if there's a a seven billion chance we'll ever meet, I'm sure we can defeat those odds. We'll be best friends again, you and me. You'll see!"
I don't answer, just smile encouragingly at him.
He smiles at me, and pulls a piece of paper from his pockets. It's a checklist, from the look of it. And at the bottom, scrawled in an untidy print, it reads:
Hug Oyama once more.
He takes out an old stub of a pencil, and with a flick of his wrist, ticks the box next to it.
"Well, I guess my time here's up." He says, forcing a grin onto his tear-stained face. "Goodbye, little buddy..."
And then he was gone. Just like that. In a split second, my best friend just... Disappeared. All that remains are his sword (still in it's wooden sheath), and a pile of crumpled clothes.
I fall to the ground on my knees, and stop holding back the tears in my eyes. Gathering the clothes in my arms, I sob into his blazer until my head aches, before curling up in a ball next to them, hugging the sword to my chest.
I don't know how long I stayed like that, asleep with the only remnants of Fujimaki by my side.
I wake to a sudden chatter, and laughter rings through the corridors. With such a happy interruption to my sorrow, it's no surprise that the tears begin to flow again, and I scramble to my feet, dragging the blazer with me. I run to the nearest cupboard, not able to show myself to anyone just yet. The door slams shut behind me.
I watch as a few people file in. The only others who haven't been obliterated yet, I guess. Yurippe, Hinata, Naoi and Otonashi.
I see Hinata drag a desk up to the stage, and Yurippe pulling a long banner behind her. I'm too tired to read what it says, though. My eyes slowly begin to close, and, pulling Fujimaki's blazer over myself, I slowly fall asleep...
I jump awake at the sound of singing, a heart-warming, yet sad melody that I've never heard before. Looking out through the crack, I see that the survivors are still there, and they've brought Angel- I mean, Kanade with them. They're having a ceremony, it seems.
I consider leaving my hiding space and joining them, but I can't. Somehow, I don't feel welcome. 'I'll just watch.', I think to myself.
The ceremony is long and boring, and the cupboard is freezing. My teeth begin to chatter, and I take Fujimaki's blazer and pull it on over my own. It hangs off of my small frame- He always was much taller than me.
The ceremony stops, and everyone begins to talk. I can't quite make out what they're saying, but I watch nonetheless.
Naoi disappears.
Hinata salutes Yurippe, and she salutes back. Then she's gone too.
My lower lip begins to tremble.
Hinata and Otonashi high-five each other.
My eyes fill with tears.
Kanade and Otonashi leave together.
Tears spill from my eyes, and I throw the door open. I make my way to the corner of the hall, where someone has politely stashed the sword.
"Everyone I've ever cared about is gone! They've all been obliterated right before my very eyes!" I cry, falling to my knees and clutching the sword to my chest. "What do I do now?"
Tears stream down my cheeks, splashing onto the wooden floor. Try as I might, I still can't accept my life.
"Why won't you let me move on?!"
I curl up in a ball, sobbing into the loose sleeve of his blazer.
"Why do you hate me, god?! I've never done anything to you!"
I throw my head back and scream.
"Am I being punished? Why me? I've never hurt anyone!"
Whimpering, I lie down on the floor.
"...Will you ever let me move on...?"