After everyone had left Ryuji's hospital room to try and cope with this reality of one of their closest teammates and most of all, friends, being now stuck in a comatose state still. Everyone in the room knew: They just didn't deserve him as either a member as the Phantom Thieves, nor as a friend, if, despite the differences they had over the last few weeks, he was still willing to put all of it aside, just to save both them and Mishima a SECOND time.

But unlike last time, where he ended up being OK, there was no join to be found here anymore, even worse, because of their fallout, they had slowly started to realize: They were responsible for all this. Especially Ren. Had they actually cared enough to be somewhat more considerate towards Ryuji and not carelessly write off their constant criticizing and "comical belittling" toward him as "harmless friendship banter", he wouldn't be knocking so close death's door now. He was hurting... and they completely failed to notice it all. And instead of actually trying to understand Ryuji's position, they just carelessly continued making all jokes at his expense, thinking "he will be fine, he is a big boy".

Yusuke was the first to break the silence, looking as though he was ready to hit something and normally, he is FAR removed from being a violent type of person. But with one of his closest friends now possibly laying in the bed, from which he shall never wake up again from... he violently grabbed Ren by the collar to glare at him and looking really conflicted over how to feel about this and Ren didn't fight back, feeling as though, the rest of his team has every reason to spite him now and he refused to bite back, knowing he deserved that for his spinelessness.

Yusuke: "I hope you're proud of yourself... I really do. Do you see this? Any of this?"

He then grabbed Ren by the head to push it against the window to Ryuji's room, fixating his head to look in his best friend's direction.

Yusuke: "Look at this! Look at this! Is this what became of us?! That we not once start questioning ourselves in our own roles as friends FIRST and teammates SECOND?! This is your, my, no, OUR friend right there, possibly being busy writing to the devil himself, asking if there was still a free spot in hell, where he believes himself to deserve to go, which he does NOT! I really, genuinely hope... you're proud of yourself now. I am starting to see, why Ryuji was so fed up with us... because we were too stupid to notice him hurting deep down... that every time we laughed, it felt as though, we were laughing AT him and not with him! You're the boss, but... I just... I just don't know anymore..."

Then, Ann gently tugged at his arm, looking as though ready to just break down and cry her eyes out, not wanting to look at this anymore and not wanting her closest friend and business partner to lose himself in his emotions.

Ann: "Yusuke, just... don't... OK? This is hard enough as is... this is about as much as my heart can bear for one day..."

He nodded, feeling just as depressed as the others, especially Ann and then Ren pointed out something important:

Ren: "I can only say this once... even with the recent tragedies, I want all of you to not lose sight of yourselves in these times of crisis. Or at least, try your best... I will do the same... Ryuji fell, but... he fell for our sake. A 2nd time, no less. From now on, no matter what happens, always remember: If it weren't for Ryuji, we wouldn't even be alive right now, to see another day. Never forget this... I sure as well won't, not anymore..."

He felt his own voice growing shaky, as it really began hitting him like a freight train: They are responsible for this bad situation that they themselves created and him laying on his possible deathbed is the receipt. Then Futaba spoke in an almost croaky voice, as though she is so ready to go into hiding and scream into her pillow to try and cope with this tragedy...

Futaba: "Can we... Please go home now...? Please...?"

Ren gently began patting her on the head to try and somewhat comfort her, before nodding to her, trying so damn hard to not show his own grievances, while also speaking to the others, needing to set the record straight over what to do next, since hard times will be waiting ahead of them and his role as the leader is now more important than ever before.

Ren: "Yeah, I think that's for the best... There is nothing we can do about it, for the time-being. Listen up, everyone. From now on, we have to believe in Ryuji, we need to put faith in him now, more than ever. His life depends on it. That is the only way to secure his eventual recovery."

But he also had to be real with them, since he knew deep down, because of what happened between him and Ryuji, they are putting a great portion of the blame on him and he knows for sure, once Ryuji awakens, the welcome will not be warm and he may stand by his decision of staying outside of the team effort and he wholeheartedly understands that it really is mostly his fault, since he, as a leader, didn't do or care enough to set the record straight with him or open an ear up for his issues with the rest of the team. He really felt the guilt in bigger droves than the others, so he gently added, reassuringly:

Ren: "Do not get me wrong though, I am more than aware... even with him making it back to us, he very likely will not be joining us again, nor forgive us for the BS we, no, I myself put him through... he was clearly hurting... and I blatantly ignored his pleads. I am not one to make excuses, however... I naïvely believed that, because I am a leader of a secretive group, I am not allowed to be too approachable during duty, or allow the situation to ease up in any capacity, due to our job being too dangerous to joke around in, but... Ryuji always meant well... he never meant to be annoying or patronizing or arrogant... so I really don't understand my own inner hostility towards him... in any case, let's regroup next week and see what we can do, with Shiho still being out there. That's all I can say for now."

However, in a heartwarming gesture, Futaba was firmly gripping his hand, looking at him with an adorably determined, yet somewhat shaky and uncertain look, saying:

Futaba: "Please, Ren. Don't start blaming yourself. It's not just you who treated Ryuji this spinelessly, we ALL did. If you start shouldering the blame all by yourself, this won't help anyone. Trust me... I would just like to remind you, you're not the only person in the hall right now to feel that itch of just busting in and apologize until there is a clearly defined crater on the ground..."

Then Makoto cuts in, stomping the ground, in a very fiery rage, glaring at Ren, very coldly, feeling as though she might be the only team member to not share Futaba's mindset in spite of her understanding where she is coming from...

Makoto: "Don't start getting cocky now, Ren. Just know this, I may have forgiven you for what happened with Haru and me, but I'll let you know... this with Ryuji, was seriously stretching it...! I couldn't care less, what you think about him or any of his flaws as a person, how annoying he is, how hard he is trying to be cool or how his own outlook on his own responsibility as a Phantom Thief being mildly twisted, however... what you pulled on me, regardless of the intention, given the severe aftermath of this... you won't be seeing any forgiveness from me on THIS matter."

Ren: "..."

Makoto: "What's wrong? Got nothing to say? Did I make you speechless? Well... you should be. And this goes out to ALL of you."

She angrily began telling them all, shaking so badly during her monologue, trying so hard to keep her voice steady, failing to do so as near the end, it began cracking in half and rage-filled tears of pent up anger began rolling down her cheeks, standing in for the teammate who selflessly risked his life for her a 2nd time...

Makoto: "You all took him so much for granted, it's making me downright sick...! I have no idea, whether you really cared about him or it was just some shallow excuse to keep him in the team, because, "the more the merrier", right? We treated him like garbage and yet despite all the odds, he still came back for us, selflessly risking his own health for OUR sake, in spite of his resentment...! Again, I don't know how much you all really cared to know, but I did commit to it... he is a wonderful person... what he did for us, time and time again, even with him having had every right to abandon us and leaving us to our fate, really speaks volumes of his character...! Yeah, he is flawed, like all of us, but guess what...?! He didn't care, despite it all, he was still willing to die for our sake! I hope you're all satisfied now...! Because I can assure you, as things stand, there probably won't be a 3rd time he will come to our rescue...!"

Since Ren, Morgana and Ann were the closest to Ryuji, hearing Makoto scold them this personally, it cuts very deep... it just strikes them in their mind: They really lost their way. Ryuji has always been their friend, first and foremost, not a meatshield, just existing to be doing most of the defense all by himself... and their constant belittling of his entire character, was the one straw to break the camel's back. All three of them were struggling so damn hard to not cry, but it was useless. The reality of the situation is only now starting to truly set in and Ren, wanting to maintain his pride turns away, saying in a really shaky voice, as tears of raw agony began flowing down from his cheeks, realizing now, how he may lost a true friend today, due to his selfishness... and for a short moment, he reminisces of all the times when he and Ryuji bonded like brothers and all the wonderful memories he had shared with him and the others, especially at the start of their adventures... and it just served to throw more salt onto his wounds...

Ren: "I know... you're absolutely right... Makoto... I... I am so sorry... everyone... especially you... Ryuji... should you wake up again, rest assured... even if you were to give me shit, I am never going to treat you like this... ever again..."

Morgana: "Let's go... everyone..."

And with this, everyone left, except for Makoto, with all of their heads hanging low, still desiring more time to let the reality of their situation sink in and as soon as everyone is out of sight...

...Makoto simply was unable to hold back any longer. Having been the one to lose her father during active duty, seeing Ryuji in this miserable condition, very similar to her father, it gave her insane levels of PTSD. She began feeling as though, being called "useless" in this situation, would be very fitting for someone like her. She could have prevented all of this from happening, had she had done enough to defend Ryuji from the team's BS, but it felt like a gut punch to know: Just like them, she didn't care at first... but after meeting and getting to know him, she gradually had to change her stance and yet, it was already far too late by this point in time... and it frustrated her beyond belief. She could have put Ren in his place to prevent the misunderstanding from even happening, but the lack of communication amongst them all, made for an easy excuse.

She leaned against the window, with her heart beating completely out of control, with her tears still flowing and tightly grasping the spot on her chest, where her heart was, as she began feeling mildly lightheaded as well...

Makoto: "What was wrong with me...?! I am supposed to be a role model for them all... and yet, despite this, I failed to teach the most important lesson among team members: Basic kinship. I feel so damn useless and this time, for real... for all my big talk, I am about as useful as nails on a chalkboard..."

She then opened the door to Ryuji's room, approaching the bandaged and unconscious blonde, shakily sitting down next to him, wanting to have a heart to heart, knowing that even with him unconscious, he is still able to hear her, even in a comatose state, as she is also trying to keep her composure steady.

Makoto: "Hey Ryuji, it's me again, Makoto. I, umm... I wanted to talk to you for a moment... I don't know how much you are able to hear, but regardless... I just felt like talking, hope you don't mind. First of all, I... really would like to thank you..."

She choked on those words, slightly, as she felt her heart beating out of control again, not really understanding why at first... but as the conversation continued... something dawned upon her...

Makoto: "Out of all team members, you easily were the most laid back and yet temperful fighter that we got in our ranks... and the more I spent time with you, I quickly understood... I was jealous of you."

She shook her head, feeling so ashamed of herself for admitting this, as she felt as though jealousy is one emotion that everyone associates her the LEAST with, but here they were...

Makoto: "You were a slacker at school, you were an extrovert, you really enjoyed angering the ones above you and most of all, you were never afraid to speak your mind, even if it was really vulgar and uncalled for in terms of time and place... but I realized... I always wanted to have these "less desirable" traits. Just for one day. Ever since my father died, I spent most of my life being scared of everything, of everyone, unable to trust nor ever even open up to anyone about how I really felt. The adults always had high expectations of me... meanwhile, you were the type of youth that most adults would regard as "worthless", as "coversome" or straight out "irredeemable trash". As if, you were not worth anyone's time... oh, how wrong they are. How. Very. Wrong."

She began smiling warmly, as she continued onward...

Makoto: "It's really funny... you came to me, because you said, you needed help getting your entire life back on track, by finishing all of the exams, through my assistance. ...but looking back, I didn't understand why you chose ME in particular. I mean, there is more to succeeding in life than just getting good grades... I mean, look at me go, everyone calls me a "model student", but I just don't see it. I may be good for teaching, but that's all I was ever good for: Scolding, complaining and putting others in place. I was never good at anything else. And my scolding held as much meat and substance to it as the literal tail of a pig. I guess you can say, "I am as wide as an ocean, but as deep as a puddle"."

She averted her gaze in shame, realizing the hard way: She was the bigger idiot than him in every single way, as unbelievable as it sounded.

Makoto: "But you welcomed me in... you showed me all the ways of having a good time without judging me for being "dense", you never judged me for ANYTHING in fact... tsk, the fact that you were able to draw any sort of enjoyment out of someone as boring and bland as me is honestly astounding... but I can't say I hate it... on the contrary."

She moved her seat a little closer to get closer to Ryuji and as she did, she felt her heart slowly sinking, as she kept forgetting he is practically lifeless...

Makoto: "But what confuses me about the whole thing... Why were you willing to share really personal info about yourself with me? As I said, I... I am nothing special, I am not a psychiatrist and I am most of all, an idiot at heart. I don't know jack. Why would you... choose me... out of everyone else? I joined in on the other girls beating the crap out of you... so why were you willing to give ME slack, while you refused that privilege for the others...?"

But then... for one brief moment, it struck her like thunder...

FLASHBACK

We see Ryuji getting really mad at Ren having kissed Makoto in front of his very eyes... That was the first instance in which she found his rage mildly strange...

But we then cut to him fighting her and there, he carried her home, as Futaba let her know, who has been watching from a far away place...

And before he sacrificed himself, he looked at her, saying gently, "If I don't make it... I hope to see you again in another life.".

FLASHBACK ENDS

...in this brief instance, Makoto fell silent... and slowly put all the pieces together... realizing what these implications meant... her pulse suddenly starts increasing in speed and despite her total inexperience and density in this subject as a whole... now understanding where all of this was going and her own bodily reactions to whenever she saw Ryuji being all happy and cheerful in her presence...

...she was hit by the realization: She is in love with him. And he was infatuated with her as well. ...too bad, this realization came at a really bad time... and once the thought sunk in... the young Niijima's eyes widened in disbelief, as her heart was beating out of control again and her tears began flowing like a waterfall of nothing but raw and unadulterated misery, muttering...

Makoto: "No...! Don't tell me... oh no, you did not, did you...?! But... Why didn't you tell me sooner...?! You loved me... but... why didn't you- damn it...! You are such an asshole... toying with my emotions like this...! Come on... you are only pretending to be asleep, aren't you... right...? Open your eyes... we need to talk about this...!"

Her delusions were not met with response however, as Ryuji was as lifeless as he can be and slowly understanding he is not going to wake up anytime soon and this wasn't an act. Realizing this love confession comes a little too late, with a blank expression, she collapses onto Ryuji's upper body, crossing her arms to hide her face, starting to sob into his chest, quietly at first, before she erupts in a pain-filled scream of his name...

Makoto: "RYUJI! Ryuji...!"

...and while he is unable to respond in his current condition, Ryuji was still able to hear all of Makoto's heartbroken cries and plead for his awakening...

...he thought to himself out loud, in his head, sounding quite broken himself:

Ryuji: "Oh, Makoto... I am so sorry I couldn't tell you sooner... but if I was ever to wake up again, this will be my promise to you... I am going to make you... the happiest girl on earth. I am so going to make up for lost time with you. I don't care about the others... but you mean the world to me. I love you..."

Both could sense their own bond strengthening even further, growing more intimate by the second...

Priestess & Chariot Arcana! Level up! Level 8!

Makoto decided to stay over for the night, refusing to leave Ryuji all alone... hoping that her presence may eventually, just MAYBE, wake him up... and like him, she promises to always be by his side.

THE END