Escape

Sora had not known getting all of his memories back would hurt so much. It wasn't just painful – it was agonizing. Worse than a stab in the arm. Worse than every hair on your arm being set on fire. Worse than being held underwater until you choke.

Worse than a fall from a two story building.

"Sora, I'm going to switch with you." Yoru said, snapping him back to the here and now. "You can deal with this person better."

Okay.

"Can you handle this?"

Yes. I have to. Said Sora.

The one thing his memories had given him back, something he hadn't been expecting, had come from remembering his times with Sunao and Ran. Holding each other when it was cold. Playing games they made up themselves. Talking to each other about things that only made sense to them. But most of all, remembering Sunao, who comforted him every time he got back from being hurt. Sunao's smiling face was one of the first things he remembered – and he promised it would be something he would never, ever forget.

His memories had given him back his courage. They'd given him his hope.

Sora felt Yoru tugging to switch with him, but before they did Yoru leaned down to Ran, squeezed his hands.

"I'll come back, Ran.."

"I know you will." They kissed. "Yoru will always come back for me."

Sora and Yoru traded places, and he stood tall. Ran acknowledged him by smiling up at him.

Finally, Sora fully took in the man who'd suddenly appeared before them. He'd hardly paid attention during his moments of weakness, but that Yoru knew Sora could handle him must have meant that he believed in him, and Sora was grateful.

Nagase was standing patiently, not an ounce of concern on his face, the passive expression the same as it had always been. Sora found the appearance of his teacher completely random, and knew it couldn't possibly be coincidence, but found the sight of him and not Aizawa so reassuring he didn't question it. Instead, he decided to skip over all the pleasantries.

"Are you here to help us?" Sora asked. Nagase's glasses flashed as he nodded slowly, which was spooky since there was hardly any light.

"Yes. Aizawa has the building surrounded with his team – it's a good thing you didn't go outside, because if you did, you would have been recaptured."

Sora didn't ask any questions about his knowledge on this, but he did what he'd been doing a lot lately, and simply trusted him. How someone figured out Aizawa's plans couldn't be too hard – could it? He was a teacher and he was going to help them, and Sora trusted that.

"What should we do?" Sora asked.

"Wait on the roof. It's safest up there, and then we can call the police. Tell them what happened." Nagase said. "Everything."

Sora looked at Ran for his opinion, and Ran nodded at him. It sounded like a good idea.

"Okay." Said Sora. "But hurry."

Ran was running out of strength, and he wondered if he was going to regret not telling Yoru while he had the chance. The force of Sunao's willpower was threatening him, and Ran wasn't sure how much longer he could keep control. He followed Sora and Nagase on small, silent feet, and spoke to Sunao in such a soft voice he knew that only they would be able to hear.

"Sunao. We're not murderers." Ran whispered.

I know we're not. Sora is.

"Stop this, Sunao." Ran hissed. Sunao responded by pulling up a memory of his mother.

Ran saw her holding a vase of flowers, smiling down at her little boy. They were decorating the new house, and half of her face was obscured by light. Ran could tell how small he was by the memory – and how blurry it was unsettled him.

The memory faded. It was the best he could remember of her.

They were your parents too. Sunao said, a lot more calmly now. If anything, Ran was just happy he wasn't screaming anymore. But he couldn't help but feel Sunao was right.

It was this thought that accidently let Sunao slip free, and before Ran could blink, he was trapped on the other side of their heart, yelling for Sunao to come back.

"Ran?" Sora asked behind him. He was falling behind the others, who were rushing up the stairs.

"I'm okay!" Sunao said, trying to make his voice higher. Sora raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, so he figured he'd been fooled. He would pretend to be Ran, and then when Sora wasn't looking –

Nagase opened the door to the roof and led them outside.