A gray sky. Drizzling. Buildings, some with broken windows. Fire. Cars tipped over, destroyed. Figures of what used to be lively people, now dead, but walking among the streets with others wandering. It was all he could see. Kohta stood on the roof of a small building, observing the world he once lived in now in chaos. "So... the world we once knew is gone..." He stood, looking up into the sky, then down to the ground below. He looked at the rifle on his hands. "A... Asami..." he closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as the image of the young woman and police officer Asami Nakaoka flowed through his mind.
[Minutes Earlier]
Takashi Komuro, Rei Miyamoto, Saeko Busujima, Saya Takagi, Kohta Hirano, Alice Morisato, and Zeke were inside an abandoned building to cover themselves from the rain. "Looks like we're gonna have to stay here for a while," said Takashi, looking outside through the glass pane. "Well, let's see what's in this store, maybe we can still stock up on items," Rei smiled as she spoke to Takashi. Everyone was talking, except Kohta. He looked around and found the stairs that lead to the rooftop of the small building. Alice noticed him and followed him. "Kohta, where are you going?" she asked quietly. He stopped and slowly turned to her, patting her head, "I'll be checking up around the building, so we can all be safe..." Alice knew the sadness he felt from the incident. "Kohta..." Alice looked up at him and gave him a hug, "you'll be okay... I promise." "Kohta smiled weakly and hugged the young girl back, "I know I will..." Alice let go and smiled, as Kohta walked up the stairs. He opened the door and looked around as he walked over to the edge.
The group had gathered some items and walked to the back of the building. Alice looked on as she played with a flashlight she found. Saya looked around, "where's Hirano?" Takashi, Rei, Shizuka, and Saeko looked at each other. "He didn't leave on his own, did he?" asked Takashi, concerned. Alice walked to the group, "Kohta went upstairs to keep us safe from them." Takashi looked at the door leading to the stairs and walked to it, "I'll check up on him..." Everyone looked at him as he walked up the stairs. "It's best if he goes..." said Saeko, "after all, he was forced to do something he didn't want to..." Alice turned to them then looked down, sadness overcoming, "I don't... want to see Kohta sad anymore." Saya kneeled to her and hugged her, "he'll be alright."
Kohta sat down on the edge of the building, looking around, holding his cries in and wiping his tears. Takashi appeared and looked at the hunched Kohta. "Do you... mind if I keep guard with you?" he asked as he looked at him. Kohta wiped his tears again making it look like he's wiping his forehead, clearing his throat, and sat up right, "n-no, I don't mind." Takashi smiled a bit and sat next to him. Kohta smiled a bit. "Kohta, you don't have to hide it anymore..." said Takashi. "What? I'm not hiding anything. I'm still me here," Kohta gave a small grin but then the grin faded away. "I'm sorry if it had to end up like that. We had no other choice..." said Takashi, giving the same expression Kohta had. "It's... it's okay..." said Kohta, wiping his tears away again, "it's just that..." Takashi patted his shoulder gently, "you loved her the same way she did with you, didn't you...?" asked Takashi. Kohta gritted his teeth.
Saya looked at the girls, then turned to the door. "What's taking Takashi so long?" she asked. Saeko looked at Saya. "Let them talk... He needs this..." she said. Saya then turned to a now sleeping Alice and Zeke, "I... I'll go talk to him..." She began to walk to the door. "Don't overdo it, Takagi..." said Saeko. "I know what I'm doing, Saeko," said Saya.
Kohta clenched his fist. "She didn't have to do that..." he said, gritting his teeth and slammed his fist to the ground. Takashi looked at Kohta, "she felt it was right for her to do." Kohta held his anger in, "but it was Asami... she didn't have to do that... if she didn't, she... she would've still have been here with us... with me..."
[…]
Let Asami come with you! Asami wants to stay with you, Kohta!
Kohta remembered the young woman lunging herself at him, hugging him tightly. "The fact that I had to... ugh... it's killing me from inside..." he said, looking at the same rifle he used.
[…]
DON'T LET ASAMI TURN INTO ONE OF THOSE MONSTERS...!
"She didn't want me to... either... I know it..." he said as he kept looking at the rifle, "I... didn't want to..." Takashi looked at the rifle. "She confessed to me... before she died... by my hands..." said Kohta as he gritted his teeth more, gripping the riffle, his tears flowing down...
[…]
You don't need to... say anything... Asami...
BANG...
Saya, with two ponchos on her arm, looked through the small gap, hearing everything the two were talking about. "Kohta loved the police girl, didn't he..." she asked, but then her mind began to fill with the image of his sanity fading away. "Even the girl cared for him..." she said to herself, and she slowly opened the door.
"Can... can I be alone...?" asked Kohta, as he put the rifle down to the side. Takashi stood up and nodded. "Take all the time you need..." he said and patted his shoulder. You'll be alright, man, he thought as he began to walk to the emergency door, noticing Saya walking from the door. "Go..." mouthed Saya, with Takashi nodding in response. Saya walked to him, as he looked up in the drizzling gray sky. Saya's concern for Kohta grew as she walked closer to him. "This should keep you dry," she said softly as she placed the poncho on him. Kohta looked at Saya and wiped his whole face. "Oh... thanks..." he smiled weakly, then looked back up at the sky. Saya sat next to him, putting on the poncho as well. "This is really surprising... you coming here..." he said. "You... don't have to hide it from me, either..." she said. Kohta looked at her, then looked away. "I know you are all concerned about what happened..." he said, "but it happened..." Saya looked at him, "you're angry... that I slapped you... aren't you...?" she asked. "No... I'm not..." he said, still looking away. Saya looked down a bit, "you... liked her a lot didn't you...?" Kohta sat there silently, gritting his teeth. Saya placed her hand on his shoulder. "It just... hurts me..." he said, "the moment she said she wanted to come along..." Saya began to attentively hear him. "I was the only one that understood her..." he said, tears running down his cheeks. Saya looked on as he looked down, his tears running down, clenching his fist, "what I would've done just to save her..." Saya looked down. Kohta felt an immense pain as the only thing that was on his mind was Asami's last smile as she had tears down her cheeks...
[…]
I... love you... Kohta...
Saya looked at him, as she wiped the tears off of his face... "S... Saya...?" he said as his eyes looked at hers. "She really meant that much to you, even if you two had met in such a short time..." said Saya. Kohta sat as he let Saya's hand touch his skin only to wince as the cheek she slapped hard hurt him. Saya looked at him and smiled, "I may be a genius, but even I have a soft spot..." Kohta smiled a bit. "Thanks... Thanks a lot..." he said. The rain began to hit hard, and Kohta stood up, helping Saya up. "Go inside. I'll stay here a little longer..." he said as he looked onward. Saya looked at him with concern as the rain kept hitting hard. "I'll be fine..." he said. Saya looked then smirked a bit, "you better not try anything stupid, alright?" "I know," he whined a bit. Saya smiled and walked to the door. Kohta... You'll be fine... she thought, smiling a bit as she walked down the stairs to the others.
"Asami..." he said to himself, "I..." he gripped the rifle and wiped his tears as it kept raining. "If only you were here... I would've told you how much I loved you, too..." he said as he looked up at the gray sky, seeing the image of the young police officer smiling at him. "Someday..." he said and smiled a bit. He turned around and began walking towards the emergency door.
"I'll... see you someday..."
La tristesse de Kohta: END
Author's Note: Hey, everyone, Daisuke Haoru back after a long absense because of writer's block (oh, writer's block, how I loathe you so...) to bring you guys this short story. After reading the manga from where the anime left off, let's just say the Kohta/Asami pairing became my absolute favorite, but it had to end in the most tragic way. This is coming from a guy, but yes, I cried when Asami asked Kohta to not let her turn into one of them. The motivation came from three tracks: Tears of the Light from Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Musique pour la tristesse de Xion from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (which is what the title is based on), and Lightless Struggle from Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2. And so, I felt like doing this really short one. It may not be as good in my point of view but it's up to you readers to decide if it is or not. All reviews and criticism is accepted here so I can see for myself where I need improvement. Well, if you enjoyed this a lot, I thank you for stopping by and reading it. Until next time, Daisuke Haoru, out!