Test is done, so I'm back with another one baby!

VIII: The Corrupted Justice

Justice: Justice, Consequences, Law, Truth, Cause and Effect

Reversed Justice: Injustice, Dishonesty, Corruption

"…Care to explain why?"

It's the first thing she thinks of saying once Aragaki is gone, and she's alone with him. He still looks a bit dazed, a little pale and bruised, but she knows he's alright now.

He looks her way, lips pursed. His eyes say that, yes, he does know exactly what she's talking about. Him flinging himself into harm's way for someone else's sake is commendable, and she is proud, but this is not how he should do it. There should've been some other way to stop Castor. There are many of them, after all — she's sure he could've thought of, well, something other than literally blowing himself up.

He looks away from her, and she sighs, crossing her arms over her chest and sitting down beside the bed. When she's sure he's going to remain silent, she takes his right hand into hers and squeezes it gently, drawing his curious (and slightly red) face to her.

She sighs. "So? Are you going to say anything?"

He frowns a little before finally nodding. "…I'm not sure how to put this, but… I just don't see any other way."

"There are six of us who could've done something about it, Makoto, don't be ridiculous—"

"—But I don't want any of you to get hurt," He says, tugging his hand away from her grip and to his own chest. She doesn't push him.

"We're not weak, you know."

"I know."

She sighs, this time exasperated. He turns defensive very quickly when she wants to ask something. She thinks she knows why he's being this way, and his answers just prove it; he still thinks himself less than the rest of the team. Which means he puts everyone before his own safety. She understands that, but this is just ridiculous.

"Makoto," She tries again, voice low, brows slightly furrowed. "I know what you're thinking. You think you're less than us, but that's not true. We're in this together. We're friends. Learn to lean on us — on me — sometimes, okay?"

"I don't want you to end up—" He says, before cutting himself off completely, his eyes avoiding hers. She just frowns and waits for an eternity for him to say something more. He does, quietly, scared. "…I don't want history to repeat themselves."

"What history?" She asks, frowning.

Fear is the first thing she notices crossing his steel gray eyes. And then, there's nothing. Whatever it is that's on his mind, he just wipes it off and looks away from her.

"Makoto—" She begins, trying to get him to talk, to open up a little more.

And she's met with immediate resistance. "…Stop, just… stop."

She looks at him a while longer before sighing again. Whatever the issue is, it's a bit deeper than she had originally thought, and pushing him will do her no good. So instead, she just smiles, and pulls at his hand a little. He turns to look at her, and she murmurs. "I'll stop. Just… let me play with your hand. I still have time before I have to go back."

At this, he looks like he wants to say something, but doesn't in the end. His hand relaxes into her fingers, and she hums, satisfied.

For now, keeping him company is the best she could do. And maybe, someday… she might be able to help him more than just this, too.

He's… more distant.

And only to her, too.

What the heck?

"Fuuka," She says, tugging at the navigator's sleeve when Makoto avoids her and goes straight back up the stairs and probably to his room. He's been like that since he's discharged from the hospital, and she is so damn confused. When her friend gives her a hum, she murmurs. "Why's he avoiding me?"

"I have no idea. It's not like you did anything, did you?" She says, eyes following hers to the shadow casting over the staircase. Yukari winces a little; she did give him a little scolding over his recklessness during the last full moon, but that was it. "But I mean, he still lets you into his room and play with his hand—"

"I've never told anyone that!" She's red to the ears. Goddamnit, she must be really easy to read if Fuuka can tell that she's been doing that a lot more often. And here she thought she's discreet, too.

"I'm not going to say anything about it, then," The other girl hums. "Well, have you tried talking to him yet?"

"I did," She sighs. "He didn't say anything. But if I asked to play with his hand, he'd readily agree. Or rather, it looks like he didn't want to refuse."

The first day back from the hospital and he didn't say a word to her from morning to evening, but when she knocked on his door to ask to play with his hand, his face had looked torn and tormented. But he did relent, in the end. The process kept repeating itself for a few days, now, and today she thinks she's going to force the issue a bit more to get an answer out of him.

"Well, what're you waiting for, then? I'm the only one here right now, so sneaking in should be easy," She hums, nudging Yukari in the rib slightly.

Fuuka's a reliable friend, a really good friend. But sometimes she thinks the girl might be a bit too observant for her own good. Then again, she's the navigator of their groups, so being able to perceive the smallest of details should be a given.

She sighs. "Fuuka, one of these days your teasing is going to send my face straight into the furnace, and I'll come back to haunt you for an eternity and a half for it."

The other laughs. "Oh come on, I'm not that bad, am I? Now go, before the others get back."

Yukari rolls her eyes, but take her friend's advice and gets up.

The way to his room is more familiar to her than the way to the roof, at this point. Going there for almost every single day for the past two and something weeks would do that, she supposes. And it's not like she dislikes it, either. He did seem a bit strange before, but after the fight with the Hermit Shadow, he seems… even more off. It's like he's intentionally trying to create some distance between them, but it looks like he could only manage to half-ass it.

He gives off a weird vibe she couldn't describe. One thing that she could tell, however, is that he's going to destroy himself from within if this keeps up.

She stops in front of his door, the obviously changed locks a sight for sore eyes. The discoloration is way too obvious, but she doesn't think he'd care about it. After a sigh, she knocks softly on his door and steps back slightly to wait.

It doesn't take long before he opens it, his face passive, save for the same deep-seated pain that seems to grow stronger every time she looks at him. They stare at each other for a while before he curls his lips into that small, captivating smile (…she thinks she has a problem if she's starting to think in that direction every time he smiles) before murmuring. "Good evening."

"Evening to you, too," She says quietly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Um… can I come in?"

As usual, he looks like he wants to refuse. In the end, however, he opens the door wider and steps away. She takes his invitation and enters the room and, as per usual, goes straight for his bed.

She sits down first, and pats the spot to her right. He reluctantly walks over and sits down next to her, his hands clasped together. They stay like that for a while before she speaks up. "So… can we talk?"

He closes his eyes and sighs. "What is it?"

If she asks for his hand or whatever, he'd just resign to his fate and agree. But whenever she tries to pry something out of him, he could turn defensive – and even a bit hostile – really quickly, much like at the hospital. She bites back her urge to retort and questions. "Why are you trying to avoid me?"

He feigns the look of ignorance, because his quirked brows could not hide the obvious discomfort in his pair of steel grays anymore. "I am not."

"You are," She hisses, looking straight at him. "It looks like you always want to keep your distance from me, but can't in the end. I'm not idiotic enough to not notice that, you know."

He looks at her for a while before tearing his gaze away. He scratches the back of his neck before letting out one long, shaky breath. "…Aragaki-senpai is right, I am an idiot."

What does Aragaki have anything to do with this?

"Well?" She presses on, arms crossed. "I'm not leaving until I get an answer, you know."

"I'm aware," He murmurs, his hand rubbing at the bridge of his nose. The look in his eyes is not a good one, and she outright hates it. What is it, though? She couldn't quite place her finger on, but it looks so… familiar. It's like she's seen it there before. "You won't be happy with the answers."

"I don't care," She snaps. "I want honesty from you. So?"

He works at his jaw a little. "Do you want me to sugarcoat it?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?" She hisses at him, anger and fear mixing together in the pit of her stomach. He's a very dear friend, and even an inkling of that friendship (it's already more than just that) being threatened terrifies her. She suppresses her uneasiness and the tremor in her voice as she presses on harder. "Just tell me the truth already."

"…Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am."

He frowns, his eyes looking at the wall ahead of him. The anxiousness in her is at its peak, and the anger that would accompany it is right around the corner. She doesn't want to wait for the answer. But she has to, because if she presses harder now, she's going to snap when he refuses to respond.

He inhales deeply once. "I don't want you here."

It takes her maybe a bit too long than it should to actually realize what he'd just said. And when the sentence does sinks it, she could feel her anger and fear rising and breaking out of their confinements as she hisses out, low and threatening. "…What."

"I don't want you here," He repeats, but refuses to look her way. He clenches his hands tighter, his jaws set. Yukari could practically hear his teeth grinding themselves to dust. "I don't want you around. It's annoying."

He's lying. He's lying to her face and she knows, because it doesn't explain anything.

"Liar," She whispers.

"I'm not lying," He says.

"LIAR!" She screams at him, her restraint hitting its limit as she stands up and grabs the scruff of his neck, pulling him to face her as she shakes at him. She could feel him trembling, she could see the pain in his eyes, she could notice the uneasiness. None of his words makes sense. "You're lying! You must be! You have to be! If you didn't want me around, you would've pushed me away a long time ago!"

His voice is quiet, and he's looking away, his body laxed – too laxed, perhaps. "I didn't because I have to make it up to you, somehow. But the longer you're with me, the more uneasy I feel."

"Lair," She could feel her control slipping away as he continues to lie, lie, lie through his teeth. His words and his tone and his eyes do not match. They make no sense. "You make no sense. None of your words makes any sense! What the hell, Makoto!? Why are you pushing me away now, of all times!?"

"I'm not lying," He repeats again, as if it would convince her, as if it would convince himself.

"Makoto!"

"I'm not fucking lying!" His voice rises in volume, so much so that it shocks her into silence. He never yells at a person in anger; even in Tartarus or during the Full Moon Operation, his orders might be loud, but it's not with fury. This time, it's like his anger – cold and suppressed inside – has finally reached the tipping point and is splitting its cage open, spilling itself all over. "I'm not fucking lying to you, so just shut up! Shut up and get out! Get out of my sight!"

He's pushing her away.

He's pushing her away without a good reason, and while that little voice knows that something is amiss, she ignores it in favor of allowing her own rage to take control. Without even thinking, she slaps him, hard enough for his cheek to bloom in red on contact, whipping his face to the side by the force. He doesn't retaliate, not with force, not with words, and remains silent, seated, his fingers digging into the bed sheets. He's shaking slightly, but she just couldn't give it a thought anymore.

"Then you can also go to hell, for all I care!" She snaps, reasons disappearing into the wind. All she could see is red, painting her world in a monotonous color of her own fear. She doesn't bother trying to stop the tears that spill out of her eyes, and just screams at him. "You are horrible! You lie and you hurt me! You can just go screw yourself, I don't give a damn anymore!"

Her legs lead her away from him and out of the room before she could get the chance to think twice.

She doesn't know what to do.

She just wants to apologize, to talk, to find out why the hell would he say that, but he just shut himself off, cutting her out completely, mercilessly, uncompromisingly. He talks with Junpei like normal, he chats with Fuuka sometimes, but he refuses to acknowledge even her existence, and it hurts.

One thing she notices, though, is that he seems to talk to Aragaki more. A lot more.

Kirijou had called the two of them into another private chat, having seen and felt the tension between them. Makoto outright said that it won't affect their performances (it's a lie), and when she seconded it, the heiress dropped the issue.

She hates it, the way he closes himself off like that. She never understands why, and she wants to. Him giving her the cold shoulder hurts. She misses his touch. She misses his presence. She misses him, and she just wants to at least bring back their friendships, if she could. But the door to that path is already closed to her – her anger made sure of that. Slapping him and telling him to screw off like she did doesn't help. If she hadn't said all those horrible things, it might have changed the outcome.

He chooses to cut her off. And it hurts so much she just cries and cries until her tears dried up. And now that she could think a bit straighter, clearer, she needs someone she'd be able to talk about this to, because if she's left to her own devices, she might do something she'll regret later on.

A few days later, she finds herself at Fuuka's door.

The girl opens the door almost as quickly as Makoto (he's faster), and doesn't wait for her to say a word before dragging her inside and closing the door. A few minutes later, she says. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah," She murmurs, playing with her own hands. She misses everything about him. "I need to."

"Okay," Fuuka hums, sitting on the bed next to her.

She spends exactly 275 seconds (she counts that, somehow) sitting there, not a word leaving her mouth. The other doesn't rush her, either. All she does is giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. When she's sure she won't break down into series of ugly, uncontrollable sobs, she murmurs. "I miss him, and I don't know what to do."

"I know," Fuuka whispers, petting her head lightly, her knee nudging at Yukari's own. "I'm sorry. Can you tell me what exactly happened?"

She nods.

Recounting the events is physically and mentally taxing, to the point that Fuuka had to force her to stop in the middle multiple times to stop her from breaking into pieces. She hates recalling the way his body seemed to her, tense and maybe a little bit scared, or the way he looked, or the way his voice shattered at the tail end of his outburst. She doesn't like any of it. She hates it. But she doesn't know how to help, and her anger made it all so much worse.

After she's done, Fuuka doesn't speak right away, instead gripping her hand and squeezing it lightly, in reassurance that she's still there. Yukari wants to cry again, but her tears are all dried up, at this point. After a while, Fuuka hums. "You know, it might not've looked it, but even after all that he's said and done… he still loves you, Yukari-chan."

"Is he really?" She whispers, hugging her own arms, recalling the way he looked — small and fragile, on the verge of breaking — after she slapped him. No sane person would forgive her after the things she had said and done. "It's not possible."

"In Tartarus," Fuuka begins, rubbing circles on her back absently. "His attention is always on you. He cares for all of us, even if he doesn't show it, and we all know that. But his attention for you is different. I would know; Lucia allows me to see that much. He loves you still, Yukari-chan."

"Then why?" She whimpers. "Why did he push me away like that? What's he thinking?"

"I—"

Before Fuuka gets the chance to respond, someone knocks on her door, loudly. Yukari makes a face, and turns to Fuuka, who looks at the door with a slight, but uncharacteristic, frown. She gives the girl a nod that it's okay (she needs to breathe anyway), prompting the navigator to open the door.

To her surprise (since it's almost against the dorm's regulations), it's Aragaki. He is about to say a word when he sees her, and stops himself. Fuuka then sighs. "It's okay, Senpai. What can I help you with?"

"The same thing," Aragaki says, heaving out a sigh as he looks towards the stair. "Refuse to go no matter what, and I can't drag 'im there against his will. So I'm stuck taking care of 'im."

She has no idea what the older boy is talking about, but Fuuka does as she walks back in and grabs a box hidden under her desk. "You can use these. I'll get a new set later on."

"Thanks," Aragaki murmurs, glancing at her again before turning his eyes to the box. "Seriously, I can understand therapy sessions going badly and maybe triggering episodes sometimes, but causing him to self-destruct like this is just ridiculous."

"Can't you do anything about it? You're closet to him, aren't you?"

Another sigh. They're talking about Makoto, there's no two ways about this. But… self-destruction? What the hell are they on about? Yukari wants to ask, but she decides to continue listening. She does not want Aragaki to come after her ass, ever.

"Doesn't mean he'll tell me everything," The man says, frown deepening slightly. "Hell, telling me as much as he did is already a miracle."

"I… see," Fuuka murmurs. "…Do take care, Senpai."

"Duly noted."

When the man leaves, she speaks before she could stop herself. "What's wrong with Makoto?"

"Nothing much," Fuuka says (lies) flatly, closing the door and walking over. After sitting down next to her, Fuuka makes a face. "Aragaki-senpai didn't tell me much, but from what he told me, it looks like the therapy is not going so well, and it's starting to trigger some of his bad memories again."

"…Oh," She'd never ask about the session much. If he's telling Aragaki, that means those two must've been closer than she had originally thought. She shoves the uneasiness away. "Is he okay?"

"Kind of, I guess. I wouldn't know, though," Fuuka murmurs. "Sorry."

"S'okay, not like he talks that much about anything with everyone anyways," She hums.

Still, she's lost. She doesn't know what to do, but what Fuuka says make her think that maybe, just maybe, him cutting her off is his way of trying to protect her from something.

From what, though?

"Can we talk a bit more? I could use a distraction," Yukari mumbles.

"Of course. I'd be happy to."

They both agree that, yes, Makoto was trying to protect her from something.

Still, after two days of brainstorming, nothing comes to mind, at all.

She sighs and sinks into the couch, ignoring the TV and the remote entirely. She couldn't do or find out anything, so in the end she's stuck with the knowledge that he did all of it to protect her from something. If asking him is impossible, then she is truly at an impasse.

She looks out the window, at the blazing sun, and then back at the book she was trying to read and the homework that's due in two days. She can't focus on anything, so she just throws the book up into the air and lets it land wherever.

…She really is smitten, huh.

After a while, she decides that she needs to go somewhere else to distract herself from her increasingly convoluted thoughts. But when she gets up, the door practically slams open, and Aragaki walks in with a scowl on his face. He stops when he catches her eyes and opens his mouth, as if to say something. In the end, he sighs and closes it.

She is about to ask him what he wants to say when Makoto follows, not even attempting to look her way, and murmurs. "Sorry about that, Senpai."

The man sighs. "Told ya it ain't your fault. Still, I'm surprised. Of all people, I didn't think Tendou would be the one to purposefully trying to trigger you."

"Color me surprise when he remembers me, rather," Makoto says, looking at the floor and scratching the back of his head. "Guess I'm back to square one."

"Enough of that," Aragaki says, patting his head and dragging him towards her (why!?) before pushing him down onto the couch. She just watches him as he lets himself slide halfway off the seat, both hands over his face. Aragaki then walks over to the kitchen. "Omurice or Onigiri?"

"Onigiri, thank you," He mumbles then lets out a long, dejected groan. "Fuck."

"I'll headbutt the dipshit the next time I see him, I swear to god—"

"Please don't."

Aragaki looks like he wants to continue, but he takes a while to actually take in Makoto's features. She couldn't quite see his face, but the way he lets himself sinks into the couch in an uncomfortable position without caring to change it, and the way his hands are trembling, are enough to tell her that he's not ready for any more stress of any kind. The older boy sighs again and disappears behind the counter, leaving her alone with the subject of her plight.

She just sits there, a bit tamed, while Makoto remains in the same position, with his head cranes backward, eyes on the ceiling. She chews on her lip a little before deciding to bite the bullet. "What happened?"

He glances her way, his eyes tired and defeated. He doesn't say anything right away, but he's keeping his eyes on her for a while, long enough for anxiety to set in. In the end, he closes them and mumbles. "My shrink knows me."

"…Uh, what?"

"He knows me from before," He stresses the last word with effort as he exhales again. His hand goes back to his face, pressing firmly, as if to shut the world away. "Fuck."

What does he mean by that? She wants to ask, she really does, but she doesn't think she should now, if ever. Instead, she settles for the phrase she's used so many times before. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," He shakes his head and lets his hands slide off his face. "I don't want to talk about anything."

He does. From the way he says the words slowly, as if thinking them through. He wants to, but he's still trying to keep her away.

She hates this, but she couldn't do anything else, so she just sighs in defeat; she'll make him worse, so it's best if she removes herself from the vicinity (it hurts to think that he wants her gone like this). After a while, she stands up and gathers her things.

She doesn't miss the way he looks at her when she leaves, and she doesn't know how she feels about it.

She knows the school loves rumors, but…

Isn't it getting a bit out of hand?

This morning, during her archery practice, Yukari overheard some of the club members talking about murderer and monster, describing someone. She didn't listen much, since rumors flying around the school are mostly baseless, anyways. Well, not until the name Yuuki came up in the middle.

She couldn't hear much, but they were talking about him killing his parents on the Moonlight Bridge (all of those are over exaggeration! What the hell?) and calling him a monster. She didn't want to make a scene, so she ignored it.

Boy, how idiotic that decision is.

When she enters the classroom, Junpei catches her eyes, and immediately hiss while pointing at the empty seat behind her. "Yukari-cchi, where the hell is Makoto!?"

"How am I supposed to know that?" She says with a frown and puts her bag down. The class is… a bit chattier than usual. The air doesn't feel right, either. "What? I thought he left the dorm before you do."

"He did, that's the point," Junpei grunts. And then, his face turns even more sour. "Did you hear what lies they've been spouting?"

Yukari tilts her head slightly. "What lies?"

"Calling him monster and murderer ain't right," He hisses, anger clear in his voice. "Hell, even Kenji is starting to really think about the rumor, and I don't like it. He's just awkward, calling him a monster is going way too far."

She sighs. "Tell me about it. When the hell did all these start anyways?"

"Apparently, someone's dad is a shrink working with Makoto," Junpei explains. "You can guess from there."

Oh. Ooooooh.

That explains why the two of them look so furious (and Makoto so tired and beaten) yesterday. She bites her lip and tries to ignore the guilt crawling up her throat. So his own psychiatrist, who's supposed to be helping him, is spreading false rumors about him (a child) through and throughout the school. How much more mess up could this get?

The door to the class suddenly slides open, and the class falls silent when Makoto walks in with a scowl and a bandage over his left wrist. Her instinct knows immediately why it's there, but she couldn't make a scene about it now. All she could do is watch as he walks over to his desk, drops the bag to the ground, and slumps onto his seat with a sigh.

"Dude, you okay?" Junpei whispers. "You want to talk 'bout it?"

"Thanks, but no, I don't," He murmurs. He's stressed and maybe a little annoyed, judging from the way he sounds. Yukari will have to wait for later to ask. But, before that, there's another problem.

Their classmates are gossiping. Those two horrible words come up again and again, and she could see just how much more agitated Makoto gets after only a few minutes.

She wants to scream at them to stop, but Junpei stops her with a look while Aigis (when the hell was she there?) just keeps an eye on Makoto as he flops his head onto his crossed arms on the table.

They're going to break him if this keeps up.

And she has to do something.

They are called to the student council room at lunch.

They are all there in a heartbeat, even Aragaki who had skipped classes in the morning, except for the one who should be most affected by this.

Where the hell is Makoto?

"I'm going to beat that bastard into submission with my own two hands," Aragaki growls out, his voice low. He punches his own palm before spitting out with anger. "Goddamnit! And here I recommended this guy to him, too!"

"It isn't your fault, Shinjirou," Kirijou says with a sigh. She frowns as she takes a look at the psychiatrist's profile, with disdain. "I'll make sure to press charge against him. Breeching a patient's confidentiality is not something a psychiatrist should do."

"His panic attacks for the past week ain't accidents — they're all fucking deliberate. We're lucked out he's still of sound mind," Aragaki hisses. "And now his sessions are back to square one. Just perfect."

"Wait a minute," Yukari says before Junpei or Fuuka has the chance. "Panic attacks? For the past week?"

Fuuka bites her lip, looking down, hands trembling.

"Yeah," The older boy murmurs. "You all saw the bandages on his wrist, didn't ya?"

Oh god.

She has to put her hands over her mouth to stop herself from saying whatever words are crawling up from her vocal cords. She spies Sanada clenching his hands around his arms, and Aragaki is grinding his own teeth into oblivion with the look in his eyes that could murder half the school with a glance. Kirijou has a contemplative look, with a lot of disgust behind it. Junpei looks both horrified and furious, and Fuuka is mimicking her expression of horror.

"They'll break him if this keeps up," She manages through her teeth. "We need to stop it before it's irreversible."

"Mitsuru and I'll take care of here," Sanada says before he looks at Aragaki. "Shinji, I'm sorry, but you are the only one he could lean on right now. He trusts you more than any of us."

"Got it."

"Let's get rid of these rumors before—"

The door suddenly slides open, interrupting Sanada and drawing their attentions to it. Fushimi and Odagiri are there, panting their lungs out. Fushimi recovers first and says in a frantic voice. "I'm sorry, but um—a fight broke out in the cafeteria! It's uh, Yuuki-san and—"

Sanada and Aragaki are already out the door at the name, and she follows closely behind.

There are commotions, loud shouts and curses and something hitting another things. The crowds are way too thick, and the teachers are forced to the edge. She sees Aragaki making his way right through the middle while fuming, Kirijou right on his tail. She follows to see one of the students she isn't familiar with being held back by her friends from the club, an ugly bluish contusion on his cheek. And—

Makoto is held back by Tomochika and Miyamoto, growling, heaving, crying, like a cornered animal.

"Dad's right, you have zero control and should be caged and kicked back to the streets!"

"Shut up!" Yukari snaps at him. Makoto's already too unstable, and if this person says the wrong crap again, he could send Makoto down another breakdown and that would not be a good thing.

"Bitch, he punched me first!"

"You're the one who started calling him names in the middle of the cafeteria!" Tomochika argues, his arms still wrapped around the leader's torso. "Who in the hell would just do that to someone's face!?"

"Cuz it's the truth!" The boy spits.

"Cut it off before I punch you," Sanada says through gritted teeth and squeezes himself in between the two of them.

Aragaki is quick to put his arm around Makoto's trembling shoulders, his other hand ruffling his head almost reassuringly. His eyes are hard, jaws tight, as he nods at Tomochika and Miyamoto before trying to lead Makoto off. It doesn't seem like he'd let the older boy do that, though.

After a while, she could hear his voice, barely above a whisper and so, so broken.

"It's not like I want to be like this," He murmurs, his arms shaking, his tears flowing too freely. He doesn't look up as he continues, whispering to the silence that covers him like cloak of despair. "I didn't want any of it to happen. I didn't want to become a monster. I just want to be normal."

"Yuuki," Aragaki cuts him off, arm pulling the boy impossibly closer as he glares dagger at the other one as Sanada pulls him up by his shirt. "Yuuki, it ain't your fault. Calm down. Let's go someplace else for a change, yeah?"

"…Okay," The boy whispers weakly.

And then Yukari finally realizes, after hearing the rumors, after remembering how he would often blame all those people's deaths on his shoulder, after seeing him like this.

He's pushing her away to protect her—

—from himself.

Mweh heh heh. So, how was that? Hope you guys enjoy it. See you next time!

I can update much more frequently now cuz I'm only two chapters away from finish, so yeah, hope you enjoy it to the last!