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Everything was falling apart. After Junko's defeat and pressing the buttons, the place began to self-destruct. They gathered in a circle at the center of the trial venue and amidst the bugs and glitches, Hinata saw his friends looking around in confusion. Akane and Fuyuhiko suspicious, as if expecting some kind of trap, Sonia worried and Souda scared.
“It's- it's a good sign, right? W-we're just going back to the real world, right?" Souda anxiously sought confirmation.
"Yes." Hinata has never been so sure of anything. He knew in his heart he still had a bit of fear, all of them had, but the hope in the future exceeded it.
"O-okay." There was a little silence, the world crushing in the background. There wasn’t even the floor under their feet anymore, they seemed to be floating in a gray space. If Chiaki was here...
Hinata gave a little laugh at the thought, he didn't even try to hide it.
"W-what are you laughing at?!" Souda attacked.
"I was thinking that if Chiaki were here, she would probably make an observation about how we ended up in a crushed game." He was still smiling, perhaps now a more sad and melancholy one, but the feelings were there.
Akane immediately laughed heartily "Yes probably."
Sonia’s added her gentle but sincere laugh and Fuyuhiko shortly exhaled.
Souda sighed, smiling "Definitely..." his eyes went dark again. He seemed to have remembered something "We’ll not forget each other... will we?"
“Of course not!” Akane exclaimed determinedly.
“I will remember you all! I will resist with all my strength to anything that makes me want to forget about you! " Sonia proclaimed, always so royally.
Fuyuhiko made a scornful sound but smirked right after "With your colorful personality, there’s no way I’d forget you guys that easily."
"Right... no, right!" He rectified. Those words were the push Souda needed. “I will never forget you either! A-and you better not forget about me too! "
"As if."
They kept talking and Hinata smiled looking at them. He was so happy they listened to him, that together they overcome the despair… that's what Chiaki wanted. No, not just her. It was also what he wanted. They went through this hell together and now they acted as if they were not shitting themselves to give strength to each other and believe in hope and the future.
"Guys." Hinata attracted everyone's attention "We will not forget each other. I will never forget you and you will never forget me. We will all remember Chiaki" he tried to hide as much as possible the broken note on the name "Her sacrifice will not be in vain, neither others. Our friends will wake up” that was still an open wound for everyone, he saw heads lowering, fists clenching. Junko said the possibility of them waking up from a coma was impossible, minimal. But even if minimal, they had to believe in that shred of hope, not see it as the impossible. It wasn't. "And we'll build our future together."
"Hell yeah!!"
"Absolutely!"
"Y-yes, of course!"
"Tsk. You're getting sappy Hajime. "
He had to agree with Fuyuhiko on this one. He was indeed. Hinata looked at them again: he wanted to memorize all their faces good. Probably they would be gone soon, the places they were was already on it’s way to disappear, there were glitches through the bodies of his friends. At this point, Hinata couldn't wait anymore.
He spread his arms and took everyone in a big hug. There were little complains from Fuyuhiko and Souda, not so serious, they didn't fight him at all. They were so close, he could feel Souda shaking. Maybe he was shaking too.
"Thank you aLl so muCh." Were those cracks from crying or glitches in his voice? He couldn't hear himself, the noises around them had grown louder and closer.
"EvEryOne... tHanK yOu t-tOo." Now he could hardly tell the difference anymore, the voices interfered between a robotic and a human one, but he swore he heard the broken crying voice of Sonia.
“You guys…” a little moment of clarity. Fuyuhiko's voice hadn't been cut, his sentence stopped there. He felt him squeeze his side in their big embrace. He really wanted to see his expression right now.
"Not-- GOinG t0 @- foRgEt yoU." Was it Souda? Hell, he couldn't hear well the first sentence Souda’s seemed sure of. However, he would make sure to be heard.
"N0t44- GoiNg T0 ?? f04g2T 10u." they all said it together. He could tell despite the cuts between the lines and the overlapping voices. Although he could no longer see them.
Not going to forget you and all the things we've been through together.
Hinata no longer felt anything. He was floating in oblivion, alone.
But it won’t be a long separation. He would see them again shortly, in the new future they would create.