it's a little bit different now.

you no longer wear a paperclip. makoto has cut his hair. kyouko wears her own in a ponytail. but these are small changes, and you're the same people you always were.

perhaps you're better than how you used to be.

nothing perfect lasts. you know this, you've already experienced loss. sakura is gone, she's been gone for a long time now. and touko already brought back what little is left of yuuta.

but you never thought it would end like this. it simply wasn't a possibility that ever crossed your mind.

someone would die, you knew someone would have to die, but it shouldn't have been her.

(it should have been you.)

you never considered this. not when you kissed kyouko in the bathroom on that fateful morning, not when you held makoto close to you during the time limit, not even when kyouko took off her glove to hold makoto's hand.

never did you ever think that the three of you would fail to escape together.

"i shall always be by your side."

could you live knowing this was the last thing kyouko kirigiri ever said to you? she knew what was coming for her, and accepted it with dignity.

and the two of you were left in the dark.

they were your solace. after losing sakura, you were empty inside. but you found them, or perhaps they found you. they made everything better, even in the worst of times.

you cry.

but no matter how many tears you shed, your girlfriend will not be coming back from the dead. not like you did.

(you didn't deserve to come back.)

makoto rubs circles on your palm, as tears race down his face. the two of you loved kyouko more than anything, and now she is gone.

the beautiful thing about her was that she could never break, no matter how much pressure the world put on her shoulders. even until the bitter end, she never told them she was struggling.

she never said she would be sacrificing herself to keep them alive.

don't give up on hope. no matter what happens, we must not lose hope.

your tears will not be enough to save her. and so you stand, makoto's hand in yours.

"for kyouko-chan..." you whisper.

"for kyouko," he echoes.

and with a heavy heart, you leave her behind, makoto's jacket draped over her face.

she loved you both until the end.

that will have to be enough for you to keep going.