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"What would you do if you knew the world would potentially end in a month?"
The question came so suddenly, and it felt so odd for the usually chipper Arisato Minako to ask him. But this wasn't the usual girl he had come to know and love over the past year.
The current Arisato Minako looked like she hadn't slept well at all. The current Arisato Minako wasn't answering with the usual joy she had. The current Arisato Minako broke down the moment he asked her what was wrong upon meeting up on the school rooftop.
But more importantly, the current Arisato Minako had no life in her eyes. Hidetoshi's heart sank upon seeing her like this.
He couldn't stand it, seeing her sob like this, and in a moment of pure instinct, he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. A part of him prayed that nobody would walk in on them, partly because his reputation would be in shambles but partly because he knew Arisato wouldn't want to be seen like this.
Hidetoshi was not the greatest hugger by any means, his arms more stiff than he'd like to admit, but Arisato didn't seem to care. She very quickly clutched onto him like her life depended on it, weeping tears into his chest. His heart sank more at the sight.
Hidetoshi said nothing in the minutes Arisato spent crying, offering no more than soothing rubs on her back (or as soothing as he could) as she cried out her agonies.
Only then had she posed the question as her crying became quieter.
It was such an odd question for her to ask, Hidetoshi wondered, 'Was this the cause of Aristo-san's breakdown? ' He thought. There had been a lot of talk about a cult preaching the end of the world lately, perhaps that had been it...
But at the same time, a strange cult didn't seem like something that would bother Arisato that much, much less cause her to have a whole breakdown.
"...What do you mean by this?" He finally asked.
Arisato didn't budge from her position, "I mean what I said, what would you do if the world ended in about a month." she repeated, after a moment of silence she shifted in his arms briefly before adding on "...hypothetically speaking."
Hidetoshi hummed thoughtfully, looking up at the sky as he took in her question "...I don't know." He admitted, "I suppose... spend more time with the ones I care about most while I still can? Take care of unfinished business?" His mind briefly wondered if he would have had the courage to tell Arisato how dearly she meant to him if the world was ending. How he didn't think himself worthy of her because she was too good. Too kind, too pretty, too warm, too selfless, Arisato Minako was too everything.
Her smile, her giggling, her sincerity, the way she could go from being a loveable goofball to acting as a mediator between two arguing students instantly.
...He concluded that he would tell her how he felt about her if the world was hypothetically going to end. If it meant he'd never see her again, he'd tell Arisato he loved her dearly regardless of whether she felt the same way as he did.
But the world wasn't going to end, Hidetoshi had plenty of time. So for just a fleeting moment, he held Arisato close to him for as long as she needed to and let himself dream.