Whisper in the wind by Wordsworthy
Disclaimer: I obviously do not own The Shin Megami Tensei series since obviously Atlas does. This is, after all, just a fanfiction written for the sole purpose of entertainment and no profit motive whatsoever. So please just enjoy the story and do not sue me for this. If you wish to know more about the series, please support the companies producing them directly and purchase their merchandise if you like.
Brisk steps.
"Sempai…"
"What is it Yamagishi?"
"How… are you holding up?" asked the green-haired girl hesitantly.
"Just fine. Can't you tell?" replied the red-haired senior instantly with the usual commanding airs about her that invited no further questions.
The mousy junior swallowed back her instinctive urge to run away but pressed on with what courage she could muster as she trailed after the relentless strides forward.
"But…"
"But what?" There it was again, that impenetrable wall. The younger girl took a deep breath and tried again.
"But you seem so calm… from when we realised we couldn't wake him up… from the ride to the hospital… from handling his registration… till now… Sempai, you were so calm that it's… scary…"
That finally caught the older girl's attention as her long strides froze up for a moment. She turned around to face she who had been in her shadows the whole time.
"So you want to see the indomitable chairwoman cry too?"
"N-No! That's not it!" explained the green-haired one hurriedly upon hearing the edge in the other's tone.
"Does my weakness amuse you so like it would the rest of the world?"
"No! Sempai…"
"Enough!" exclaimed the older girl as she turned to leave, only to find a surprisingly firm grip surround a wayward wrist. Without so much as a glance back, she summoned what authority she could manage and demanded softly.
"Let go."
A barely audible gasp jolted through her being as she felt the younger girl's head lean into her back, her walls shaken further as the fabric on her back moistened ever so slightly.
"Sempai… we're just worried. Worried about you. It's not just me. Yukari too. Aigis as well. Even Akihiko-sempai, Ken-chan and Junpei-kun… How could we not be? The two of you were close…"
Even though the sides of her eyes had already threatened to burn, yet she resisted still.
"Close… I wonder about that…" breathed out the response softly amidst downcast eyes.
"Sempai…"
"He… has always been good for me… showing me new things around me… new sides of my self I wasn't aware of… new emotions that I never knew I would so treasure… But in the end I never really knew enough about him…"
"That's…"
"Not of his past… Not of his likes… Not of his problems… I've even forgotten about him near the end… I'm the worse… I didn't even get to say goodbye… all this while, I've only been protected and looked after. Sometimes I wonder if it's some sort of divine retribution after all, for having only languished in his attention and company all this time… in the end, I'm still all alone…"
"Sempai! You can't really believe that!"
"Maybe… maybe what we had isn't… maybe he didn't lo-"
Slender arms had tightened around her waists as she felt herself held from behind, trying their best to convey their warmth and comfort towards the hurt she had locked away. It didn't feel quite like the way he would have held her, but it did do away the thoughts she had in mind previously, even if it would be but a brief interlude within the rest of her life.
"Thank you Fuuka…" whispered the older girl, feeling the response nodded into her back.
In the end, she couldn't cry after all-
A warm breeze blew through the park where the two girls had found themselves; a breeze hardly of Spring's making, a breeze that intended to move more than the rustle of leaves, a breeze that carried more than it seemed.
The red-haired girl stiffened as the breeze made its way past her, into her and through her. Its unusual warmth refreshed and relaxed the tensed recesses within her bosom as a strange clearness pervaded her mind. Then it caught her unaware until it was too late. The weight she had welled up within her heart started to spread itself out, as though drawn out by some unheard call. Her walls crumbled as her insides began to tremble, resonating and picking up in intensity as it forced its way outwards relentlessly. Breaths taken in futile resistance buckled into sobs. Her control no longer existed as her entire being rebelled against her will, every body part incapable of anything but to express the stirring of her long repressed self, collapsing her to her knees as all her energy went towards emptying and liberating that which had been confined, been hidden from prying eyes and caring ones alike. By the time the tremors had begun to subside, she found herself tucked securely into the arms of her green-haired friend, her eyes shut tight as a gentle palm gently eased the most stubborn of sobs from her, her own hands having gripped the reverse of the other's blouse till the whites of her knuckles showed, her scarlet tresses and uniform no doubt a mess from the overdue tears. Yet oddly enough, even as her heart was hollowed out, the quiet clarity that she had initially felt remained and continued to fill her with a familiar peace that seemed to complete her, even if only for the present.
Her eyes snapped open as the remainder of the lingering breeze continued to blow gently past her, her no longer cluttered mind finally recognising the only final feeling left within the freedom of her heart; a loving embrace from the gentlest soul.
Amidst the new tears, quiet sobs and soothing coos of comfort, the alien breeze spiralled its way upwards towards the darkened velvet of twilight, heading towards where it had began its journey, carrying along with it whispered words that had been heard by she who most needed to hear them.
"Mou… don't make me worry so much."
Author's notes:
A short little something for Mitsuru and Minato lovers in between my schedules and ongoing fics. Some practice at writing emotions since I might be a little rusty perhaps. Hope you like love as I do, bittersweet. Read and review as usual.