The golden sunlight touched the grass and filtered through the trees, bathing the forest path in front of them in a soft golden hue. He looked around at the trees, and then his eyes flickered down to the hand grasping his, fingers interlaced.

His eyes flickered back up to the person, next to him, only to meet the familiar dark lavender irises he'd become accustomed to seeing over time. Even with being accustomed, his breath hitched.

Kaede grinned at him, pulling him forward. She had on a white dress that seemed to be patterned with some song. It fell to her knees, and slightly puffed out at the waist, where a black belt separated the top half and the bottom half.

The blonde must have noticed him staring, because she dropped his hand and stepped out in front of him and twirled.

He watched as the dress caught the air and puffed out around her, making her laugh freely. She looked her age - not how he'd last remembered seeing her.

He was glad. This was what she deserved.

"C'mon, Shuichi! We're almost to the end of the forest!" She cheered, holding out her hand to him.

Shuichi smiled softly, reaching out to take her hand in his once again.

But this time - he'd never get to take it.

A collar came from somewhere, cuffing her neck. Her eyes went wide as the clothes and scenery flickered.

Her dress - to a skirt and vest.

A beautiful forest - to a deadly killing game.

Again and again it flickered as Kaede was drug up and up, to a place that he couldn't reach no matter how hard he tried.

Memories are trickling back now.

Kaede on the giant piano.

She'd been skipped from key to key, drug back and forth while suffocated by the rope she was dangling from.

Just enough to kill her mercilessly.

Just enough to allow her glimpses of eye contact with him, sadness, and longing, and need there, haunting him like ghosts. Although, he probably looked the same, beside the tears.

The light caught in her hair as Kaede hung there, her face clouded in shadows. A sick feeling welled up within him.

And as he watched in those final few moments, the light caught something else, too. Her face seemed to turn up to the light, and it caught her wet lashes, the gleam of tears on her cheek - and that ever present, ever peaceful smile.

He remembered what she had said to him.

"You are my wish."

Yes, he remembered it now.

Just before the collar had taken her, she'd stepped forward, kissed both of his cheeks, and wiped the remaining tears on his face away with her thumb and hands. He'd leaned into her touch ever so slightly at that moment, watching her smile up at him with warmth, even though she knew this was the end for her.

And then - the collar came. Desperately, he reached out for her, and she reached back, fingertips brushing his before she was ripped away from him. But he had seen it.

That smile.

That trust.

That blush.

That hope.

"Shuichi! Take care of them! Survive, even if that's the only thing you can do!"

And then, the piano came down.

Her blood had gone everywhere, mixed in with pieces of the robotic bear.

The tears seemed to be swallowing him now - taking him over like a tsunami washing away items on a beach.

His eyes slid shut - and he began to shake. His knees almost buckled.

Shuichi tried with everything he had to breathe, but it felt like his throat had swollen shut.

He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't breathe.

Oh god, he couldn't breathe.

He couldn't-

A searing pain welled up in his cheek, and he fell to the ground. A salty taste invaded his mouth.

Finally, he took a deep breath in.

He was grounded now.

He looked up at Kaito, listening closely. His eyebrows furrowed.

He was grounded, wasn't he?

So why -

*Ding-dong!*

"Huh?"

*Ding-dong!*

"What the…?"

He stood, only to find everyone suddenly frozen. The Kaede from earlier was back, but she had an ugly scarring from the rope around her neck.

She smiled at him sadly. "I'm sorry things didn't go the way I wanted...but...I have control for a couple more minutes before I have to really let you go."

"Let me go…? What?"

Kaede shushed him, laying her hands on his shoulders and then wrapping him tightly in a hug. She was shaking. "I'm sorry," She cried, "I'm so, so sorry for leaving you alone like this."

He hugged her back. She felt...real. Warm. And yet...somehow ethereal.

The blue haired boy rested his head on hers.

"Behind the chalkboard in my lab….there are three items. Just for you. Don't let anyone else see, okay?"

Shuichi's shaking now, too. "Are...you real? Or...is my mind trying to cope?"

Kaede smiled softly. "Well, that's for you to decide, now isn't it?"

Shuichi laughed. "Yeah, I think you're real enough."

Kaede grew quiet suddenly. "Hey, I know this seems random - but did you ever want to...be with me?"

Shuichi nodded.

In response, Kaede let out a sigh in relief, slumping against him. "Oh, good. You know, when we were here, I had a dream that we had a kid together."

The grey eyed male went red in the cheeks. "Mhm…"

*ding-dong!*

"And….it was a little blonde girl."

*ding-dong!*

"What did we name her?"

*ding-dong!*

"Maya."

*ding-dong!*

Kaede stepped back from him suddenly, and looked up.

"Oh, no."

"What?"

*ding-dong!*

Kaede stepped closer and pressed their foreheads together.

"Listen, we don't have much time. But, I want you to know that I love you. And I always loved you. Even though we were together two, three days? Doesn't matter. I love you. And I want you to be happy. Live. Live for me, okay? Just...get out of here."

"Kaede-? What-?"

She steps back, just out of reach.

"Goodbye, Shuichi."

He reaches out to her, but the chain has come again, and drags her upward. Shuichi gets one last glance before she's gone. A white, floor length silk gown replaced her other dress, and she seemed to have wings and a halo.

He looks around again - but only sees white.

Shuichi supposes that was when he woke up.

The next day - when he has time, he stops into her lab. He knows that someone probably sees him when he's doing this - but decides that they're most likely brushing it off as him coping.

The door slides shut with a soft 'click' behind him, and he sighs, taking a deep breath. He steeled his nerves. Was….that really Kaede?

Some desperate hope inside of him wanted it to be her - craved that connection. The majority, though, reasoned that it was his mind coming up with desperate images to get that connection he craved.

His steps as he approached the chalkboard were slow, methodical and even, even though his arms were beginning to shake violently.

Shaking still, he peeked behind the chalkboard, his heart thumping as violently as his hands were shaking still.

At first, he saw nothing. It was so elaborately hidden - he thought - that he began to wonder just how much time Kaede had spent in this room. But, when he adjusted himself to see if he was missing something, he noted a glint of silver. Reeling back, his mind began to go wild. Was there actually something there? If so, did that mean that Kaede had really contacted him in his dreams? But why him? And that declaration of love….it was real?

She'd loved him?

And he'd never known?

Before his mind could fall further into the abyss of his thoughts, he reached up to the silver glint he'd seen and pulled.

A bag came away in his hand, the handle covered in silver wires. He reached back again after setting the bag on the ground, only to find a small portion of the wall that cut away - almost like a cubby hole.

He smiled to himself. He should have known that she'd do something like this - something that would be passed off as a trick of the mind.

It's what she'd done for the murder, after all.

He paused after that thought, darker thoughts threatening to consume him. He shook them off however, and investigated the bag as he sat down on the floor. There were items inside, which he took out.

Three items, just as the dream Kaede had specified.

A CD case, a little pink pouch, and a large envelope.

The CD case was clear and simple enough, and if he looked, he could see two discs. The pouch was a drawstring pouch, and it was a light, pastel pink. He remembered seeing something like that in the warehouse, so he supposed that she could have gotten it from there. He opened it by pulling on the drawstrings, and found hundreds of Monocoins in there.

He sat it back in the bag carefully. The next item he investigated were the discs.

One read "Songs Saihara Would Like," and the other read, "Playing."

The first he could figure out pretty easily, as well - there was an extensive music collection in the warehouse. The second was a little harder.

Playing? That could refer to a number of things. Playing a video, children playing in a park, playing an instrument.

An electric charge lanced through him.

Playing an instrument….

Playing the piano.

He'd never mentioned that he'd wanted to see her play, but somehow she knew. He was itching to go down to the A/V room to watch them, but he decided that he had to look in the envelope, first. It was large and a bright shade of orange, and Kaede had wrote something on it. It also bulged slightly, like it was holding something.

"Unless you are Shuichi Saihara or my future self and have found this envelope - do not open it! - Kaede Akamatsu"

He smiled, and then turned it around and opened it. Inside was a piece of paper, Kaede's monopad, and her room key.

He took out the paper first. It was a letter.

Dear Shuichi, -xx-yy-zz

If you're reading this, then I've died. I died trying to defeat the mastermind. Maybe you'll never read this at all. Maybe I'll be too much of a pansy to let you know where it is. Hehe, maybe I'll come back after death if that happens.

If there's one thing that I have to say to you - it's that I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I don't know what will happen at this 'class trial,' if we have one, but I'm willing to bet that you'll figure me out. And then you won't say anything because of all the time we've spent together, so I'll make you convict me.

And I know that we'll both probably be emotional messes the entire time, and everyone will say that I didn't do it - because really, who would expect me to be the culprit? God...I'm just so terrible. At the time I'm writing this - Monokuma has told us about the time limit on the killing.

We came up with a plan to trap the mastermind, and I've come up with my plan to try and kill them. And then, I slipped away from you and went to write this. Honestly, this is stupid, and I'm sure everything will turn out for the best...but something just doesn't feel right. I mean, the mastermind brings us here and keeps us trapped - even going as far as to build that huge dome - and we'll be able to end it all?

Just like that?

I do trust you, and your plan - but I don't trust myself to do this right. So, that's that.

There's also something else that's been going on lately. I...I've been getting these flashbacks of a girl who's just like me - but isn't me. She says stuff I would never say, and yet, some little part of me resonates with her. I feel like...at a time, she was me - but she somehow isn't me now. Do you know what I mean? I feel like...she was putting up a front with all the things she said, but I was at her core. And then I was exposed somehow, and now she's a part of me, but I'm who she really is.

It's weird, I know - but maybe it'll help you in some way.

Anyway, this is getting pretty long, so I'll wrap it up. When we were together, it was awesome. I felt like I could do anything with me - and while I don't know if you felt the same, I feel like...you would agree. I think what I'm feeling now that I'm thinking about you is something like love, but not quite love just yet. Maybe when we get out of here, it will be more. I hope so.

In the envelope with the letter will be my Monopad and the key to my room. I don't really know what use you'd have for this stuff, but I thought you'd like it. Plus, there's no one else I'd really trust with my Monopad and stuff with other than you. The discs and Monocoins are my way of atoning, too. For making you convict me...and all of that.

Shuichi, stay safe and survive, okay? Even if I don't - I want you to survive for me. Keep your head up, and lead everyone. I know you can do it!

Goodbye, Shuichi.

I love you.

With love,

Kaede Akamatsu.

Tears were falling freely from his eyes as he read the letter over and over again, hand covering his mouth as he tried in desperation not to cry.

He did.

The letter fluttered to the floor.

Oh, Kaede.

The tears that were flowing down his face were ones of a heartbroken and mourning boy - one who'd like anything more than to have her back.

But - that wasn't happening, anytime, now was it Shuichi?

No, no it wasn't.

After a few minutes, he pulled himself together. Quietly, he slid everything back into their respective places within the bag, pulled himself up off of the floor, and walked out of the room with the bag hung off of his shoulder. In retrospect, he's glad that no one saw him, and especially Miu, who would probably ask him if he was carrying around that bag to carry around his "lady products" in. He would have snapped at her.

That didn't happen, however, and he got down to the A/V room with no hassle. Quickly, he locked himself in and sat the bag on the couch, and then took the discs out. First, he inserted the one of Kaede playing. Then, he started everything and sat himself on the couch, staring at the screen.

At first, there was black, and then there was a small beep, and a view of Kaede and her piano. She smiled at the camera and said; "I assume you're watching this after the letter, so I can't say much except that I'm sorry. But, even still, I hope you enjoy!"

With that, she placed her fingers to the keys and began to play. The soothing melody of "Clair de Lune," by Debussy flowed throughout the room.

He supposed she meant it to be calming, but it overwhelmed him with a tidal wave of emotion, and he began to cry.

He wasn't sure when the first song ended and the other started. He wasn't sure when the sound of the piano left his ears altogether.

He wasn't sure when he passed out from crying.

He woke several hours later, extremely tired even after sleeping, the bag clutched against him tightly.

If anyone had found him - they didn't mention it.

Neither did he.

A/N: so this was written for saede week

and we get a week of fanfics for these two nerds!

yay!

this scene had been floating around in my head for a while and i finished it yesterday wooo

i'm not very confident in this fanfic honestly

but, i like it and the idea.

it gives the boy some closure.

Anyway, maybe leave a review or favorite if you enjoyed?

Thank you for reading!