Guardian Angels (Saimatsu)

His Last Goodbye (Chapter 4.)

And finally, onto the trial. Now all that's left is for Shuichi and Kaede is to prove to everyone else that Ryoma is the killer. However, someone has a few last thoughts...

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Shuichi's POV:

I saw a dark room before me. I knew I was dreaming. The last thing I remembered was Kaede calling out to me as the steel ball ran into my head. Suddenly, a man appeared before me. Before me stood... Rantaro.

Me: "Rantaro?"

Rantaro: "Hey, Shuichi. It's been a crazy few days for you."

Me: "Yeah. Between your death, the trial, Kaede's execution, and everything regarding her feelings towards me, it's been a lot."

Rantaro: "I get it. Sit down with me."

A bench appeared behind him. He sat down on it.

Me: "Thanks, but I need to get back to reality. I need to make sure I'm there for Kaede in the trial."

Rantaro: "It's fine. What may seem like an hour here will be no more than a second in reality. You still have one hour before the trial."

Me: "Rantaro, I can't believe that. You're just my imagination after all, how would you know that?"

Rantaro: "That's not true, actually. It's the real me."

Me: "What?"

Rantaro: "When I died, I woke up here. I'm pretty sure I've been waiting for you to finally get my last thoughts out."

Me: "I... I can't prove the truth in this, but honestly I want to hear what you have to say."

Rantaro: "Then go ahead and sit down."

I sat down next to Rantaro. It was weird, sitting next to a dead person."

Rantaro: "So, you've finally pieced it all together?"

Me: "Yeah. It wasn't Kaede."

Rantaro: "Correct.She was set up."

Me: "It's Ryoma."

Rantaro: "Correct again. You really are a good detective! He did it manually. Kaede's ball did hit me, but it crashed into my stomach. It didn't knock me out, it just knocked me back far enough for Ryoma to drop the ball on my head. When it hit my head, I didn't instantly die. I somehow knew that it was Kaede who shot the first ball. I looked up at the hole in the vent, and I saw Ryoma staring down at me. With the last of my strength, I was able to call for Monokuma. As soon as I said his name, he appeared. I told him to hide the ball Kaede shot in Miu's lab, as I said that her missing projectile would make the trial more challenging. Of course, he loved this idea. My true intentions in this were to make sure that Ryoma could manipulate the evidence to make it seem like her projectile was the one that killed me. I think that it helped in the long run."

Me: "You found it in yourself to do that with your dying breaths?"

Rantaro: "Yeah. I had to... for her..."

Me: "You loved her, didn't you?"

Rantaro: "Yeah, I did. I really did fall head over heels for her in this past month, just as you did."

I blushed a bit.

Me: "It was that obvious, huh?"

Rantaro: "Yeah. You were always around her, and you always seemed so flustered when she did something cute, complimented you, or anything else of that caliber."

Me: "Heh, and I thought I was being discreet by hiding under my hat."

Rantaro: "No way! That made you at least a million times more suspicious!"

We laughed for a bit.

Rantaro: "Hey Shuichi? Can I ask you a favor? A last request, if you will. "

Me: "Yeah, go ahead."

Rantaro: "Take care of Kaede for me. Be there for her. Show her the love she deserves, because I know that she loves you back."

Me: "Man, you're good at reading feelings."

Rantaro: "It's second nature to me. She would always talk about you to me. She would always get  bit flustered herself whenever she even thought of you."

Me: "S-Seriously?"

Rantaro: "Yeah. Now go get her, detective!"

Me: "Thanks Rantaro, if that's really you. I'll take your explanation into account. And of course, I'll take care of Kaede for you. I'll miss you, and I know she will too."

Rantaro: "No, thank you. Farewell, lover boy!"

He faded away from my mind. I woke back up in Kaede's room.

Kaede: "SHUICHI!"

She pulled my into a tight embrace, crying a bit.

Kaede: "Why would you do that?"

Me: "I had already worked out the physics for your launcher by looking at the blueprint in Miu's lab. I knew that it wouldn't kill me as it didn't hold enough force."

Kaede: "Even so! You fucking shot yourself in the head with a metal ball!"

Me: "It was worth it. It proved your innocence. I may have hurt myself a bit, but I'm fine."

I swing to my feet out of the bed, and stand up. My head does sting a bit.

Me: "I may have to convince the others that I'm not insane, but whatever."

Kaede: "You may have to convince me."

Me: "And why is that?"

Kaede: "You're hurting yourself just for me. I don't understand, Shuichi. Why are you doing all of this for me? I know that you care about me, and you strive for justice, but is it worth it?"

Me: "...W-we'll t-talk after the trial about that. Hey wait, did you... sleep at all when I was knocked out?"

Kaede: "I got a few hours in. I woke up just before you. Don't worry, I'm perfectly awake!"

Me: "Perfect, I won't have to do all of the talking. Now let's go, we only have an hour!"

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I made this one way shorter because I wanted to relax yesterday when I wrote it. The last chapter (Favor of a Purple Rat) was a lot on me, and I wanted to slow down a bit after that.

And don't worry, the main fluff is starting soon...

Thanks for reading as usual, and I'll post later today.

Now I'm going to play Final Fantasy X.