A/N: I'll be honest. I don't like using this site anymore, so I'm more active on ao3. Check my ao3 profile for contact.

And yes it's been like 9 months hahha

Yukari and Mitsuru found her in the lounge one evening, said they'd be willing to explore Tartarus once more. Fuuka gave them a cheerful smile. It's nice to see SEES back in high spirits. Higher than yesterday, anyway, which is good.

"What do you think the true meaning of Christmas is, Minato?" Fuuka asked when he returned to the dorm.

Minato shrugged. "Peace? People being kind, something like that."

"Yeah, that's what I think too. The Christmas spirit should put a smile on everyone's face."

"Even us?"

Fuuka thought it over. "Even us."

There is one person Fuuka wanted to check, because she was sure no one else had come to check on him yet, or ever.

What is he doing now?

Is he crying?

Fuuka asked Juno for his location.

Fuuka knocked on the door of what was once Shinjiro's house. Now it's Ryoji's. What Ryoji did was technically trespassing, but she's sure if someone homeless asked Shinjiro for a place to stay, he would gladly share it. It's an abandoned house that Shinjiro also had technically trespassed.

There was some shuffling behind the door, and it creaked open.

"Welcome, and thanks for visiting," Ryoji said. Fuuka followed him inside.

The interior was not as clean and cozy as she remembered. It didn't look like a living thing lived in here. Almost three months without Shinjiro in it.

Refrigerator, unplugged. Window, closed, but Ryoji opened it just now to let fresh air flow in. Bed, untouched. Table, between them. Chair, having a Ryoji on top of it. Another chair, available. Fuuka sat across from him.

"So," Ryoji started. "What do you want to ask? Ask away."

Of course he assumed that. "Actually, I'm here to ask how you are, Ryoji-kun."

Ryoji frowned. "That doesn't matter?"

"It does! You are our friend, too."

"But..." Ryoji hummed. "I will be gone soon, one way or the other."

"But you are here now!" Fuuka leaned forward. "And everyone's feelings matter. None is worth less than the other, even if it's going to be gone soon, don't you think? And no, I don't think you'd be completely gone anyway."

Ryoji, probably to avoid answering, asked, "How are you?"

"Better than last time you were at the dorm."

"Good," Ryoji said. "I mean, as in, good that you're better..."

"I get it, don't worry. It's hard to be okay and say okay things these days, but we all are doing our best and try to keep going, right?"

Ryoji smiled at that. "You're a good leader, Fuuka."

"Wha? I- I'm not a leader!" Fuuka stammered. "Mitsuru is the main leader, and Minato is the field leader. Me? I'm someone who checks people's health each day, and tells them if we will explore Tartarus that day, and checks their health when they are in Tartarus, and guides the people who got lost back to the entrance, and makes note of who feels well enough to explore Tartarus in what condition in a case by case, and..."

Ryoji was quiet as he let her finish. He crossed his arm on the table and rested his chin on them. "You have a lot of fate, Fuuka. A lot of hope. Eager to form connections to people. It's a valuable skill, I'd say."

Fuuka squeaked. "Uhhh thanks?"

"One person was about to die, and he ate Takoyaki just like any other day. You remind me of him, in a good way of course. But, is it the same thing? Making yourself happy in the moment, and being connected to people?"

Fuuka thought. "Well, for me, knowing my friends are happy brings me happiness, so yes, it's like having a good meal, or petting a cat. You know you might not meet this one cat anymore, but you still pet it right?"

"Oh." Ryoji could see that. He did have some time to think. One part of him was stubborn, the other agreed with Akinari and Fuuka. "Thanks a lot, for coming over."

"And you haven't answered my question, Ryoji-kun." Fuuka added, "No pressure."

Why is she so full of kindness in such despair? Ryoji didn't feel like he deserved it at all, but if it made her feel better, then sure. "It's difficult to know how to feel." What should he feel, knowing that he's the bringer of Death? That brings it to his friends, no less?

Bringing it way too early to his friends' liking, but too late for some people that's wishing for it. Those people without hope, wishing for Nyx to come. He was born because of them, but now that he has lived, he learned his friends didn't want him?

"I can guess that you feel responsible," Fuuka spoke up as if she read his mind. "But it's absolutely not your fault."

My existence causes pain and suffering.

But it's not my fault?

"If it will help, how about coming to our Christmas party at the dorm?"

Huh? Ryoji blinked. Fuuka was sitting across from him at this wooden table. Fuuka was in his small little house. Fuuka just invited him to a party that may be their last. "Is that... your way of enjoying life? To include someone like me in your party?"

"Yep, exactly." Only Fuuka can say that with a straight face, so she meant it.

Ryoji thought friendship didn't matter anymore, but Fuuka was here, and that mattered quite a lot, he would think.

"So, how about it?" Fuuka asked. "Are you gonna come?"

"I'll think about it," Ryoji said. Yes. Yes, for sure.