Tears: A Battle Royale fic

by Yumi Hinasaki

Yutaka Seto reminiscences about his friendship with Shinji before they see each other in the program. He remembers how the two relied on each other a vital moments in their lives. It is never stated whether Yutaka has any siblings but I gave him one anyway. Can be seen as Shinji x Yutaka interpret it as you wish.

Yutaka Seto was a crybaby there was no denying that fact. He always managed to cry in front of his best friend Shinji Mimura even if he didn't want to. But Shinji never judged him for this. He would always be there to listen. The first time Yutaka cried in front of Shinji was when they were younger. He had an older sister Yumako who was murdered by a guy from her school. Yutaka had held it in for ages until Shinji had heard and came to visit him.

The next thing Yutaka knew he was running into Shinji's arms sobbing uncontrollably about how unfair everything was. Shinji just held him tightly to his chest. It must have been an hour before they parted. Shinji suggested they go to the arcade just to take Yutaka's mind off the bad things for a while. They continued on like normal. After that Yutaka crying became a normal thing and it was kept between them. Yutaka was grateful to Shinji for always being there.

Yutaka had never forgotten the time he saw Shinji cry for the first time in their friendship. It was after his uncle had died and the two were hanging out in Shinji's bedroom. Shinji had seemed preoccupied for a long while until Yutaka finally asked him what was wrong. "You know you can tell me what's bothering you Shinji. I'm worried about you." He had said. Shinji had smiled faintly at Yutaka. And that's when he told him about how the man he had respected so much and had taught him everything had died.

Shinji had said all this while looking down at his duvet cover. Yutaka moved over towards Shinji and had put his arms around his back. Shinji didn't push him away he just rested his head against Yutaka's chest and let the tears come. Yutaka felt so much respect for his best friend for sharing these emotions with him. It wasn't something he had ever done before. He felt a little glad because it meant that Shinji trusted him just as much as Yutaka trusted Shinji.

But now they were stuck in this awful game and Yutaka had been hiding in these bushes since the start. He wanted so much to be with his best friend. He hated being on his own especially since he didn't have a weapon to protect himself. He rested his head in his arms shivering in fear. And that was when he heard the voices from the viewing platform...