Interlude
Nakahara Katsuro & Toriumi Yoko
'Shine on You I'
"..."
With nothing to say about the scenario, the teacher that locks the door behind him as he goes out of habit, is one that does not seem to act accordingly to the situation. The sky a brilliant crimson, one that bears an infinite number of darker clouds, it is a world that seems to have opened a door or two to hell, as the dead have begun to rise, and the gods have begun to descend, the shrieks of the people drowned out by the sudden advent of supernatural combat.
It is a scene that certainly would have startled him once.
Indeed, it is one that had caused him some distress in the past.
But once again, like many times before, his heart is leading him away from the suffering of the people. In the eyes of many it is a cruel action, indeed, even rationalizing it with the thought that 'others will appear to help' and thus 'it's okay if I don't' can only be called weak at best, and just a front for cowardice at worst.
He had been a coward many times.
His introduction to this whole affair had been one tinged in cowardice, after all...
And that was something he would never forget.
But not this time.
Walking through a city that was being torn apart by many different forces, some belonging to heaven, some belonging to hell, most belonging to humanity itself, in these moments, going forward to do what his heart is telling him he must, this man has the most bravery out of every ESPer in the city.
Even so, it was cowardice that had led to this bravery.
Thousands of years, no, perhaps millions of years.
He had lost count a long time ago.
Even so, he remembers this routine.
"..."
Yoko meets him at a crossroads. Having been silently waiting until now, the two acknowledge each other only with the smallest of nods, before starting off together, side by side, heading for a certain hotel, a certain tower.
From there, those who remembered, would always watch the world come to it's end.
While the air is different this time, Yoko does not comment on it, from the start, or rather, over the course of all of these years, she has become the person that understands Nakahara Katsuro the most. Just looking at his face was enough to understand his thoughts, and understanding now that the time has come, the two that had worked together long before all of this had started, continue on without pause, both aware of what awaits them at the end of this path.
...No matter how many times this repeated, they had both continued to become teachers. The reason was a feeling he couldn't quite place, but even so, it was something that he had felt he always had to do, to continue to make up for his original sin, no...
To make up for the sins he continued to commit.
If you asked him if he was a good teacher, he'd probably say he wasn't. The reality was that, every time before this, all of his students had always been killed; of course, he had tried to protect them each time, but even so, that failure continued to stain his heart.
Because even though he tried, he never truly gave it his all; in fact, more than once, he had died before giving it his all, telling himself that it was alright, because everything would just start over again.
And he had tried, even if only a little.
Justifying it for the greater good, acting as he did because he believed that he must.
Because there was only ever going to be one shot at this, because if he tried and failed, he would never get another chance.
And that would be that.
So he should make absolutely sure that he would succeed before trying.
However... Was that really the case?
Or was that just his excuse? His way of avoiding reality, of telling himself that if he allowed things to go on as that woman planned, then in the end, happiness would be achieved for everyone without him taking that risk?
So that he wouldn't notice that he had given up on any other possibility a long time ago?
That he wouldn't have to face the fact that he had surrendered to fate?
Had become the pawn of a God?
...Cowardice had been his original trait, so in the end, he was sure it was that.
Even so...
Even so...
Everything was in place now. His hand had been rushed early, this cycle was different from all of the cycles that preceded it, but what had to be done remained the same, had always been the same, and had just been impossible because of his cowardice.
Or perhaps...
This really was...
Just the right time.
The final time, for the world's last stand.
"..."
He wouldn't have time to give a proper goodbye.
As a teacher, there were many things he had wanted to say to those kids, not just his daughter, but his students at the school. Some silly things, other serious things, somethings that were in between those other two categories.
'Eat well.'
'Sleep well.'
'Learn well.'
'Don't be afraid of the future.'
'As long as you hold onto hope, nothing is impossible.'
He laughs as he reaches the base of the elevator.
Yoko laughs to, she was thinking the same thing.
Even so, that laughter turns to melancholy.
Even now, he's feeling a little selfish.
Not getting the time to say goodbye, or even to tell them to watch his back one last time.
Wanting someone to witness what came next...
If he had one last wish for himself... That was probably it.
He didn't deserve it though, so this...
Originally Posted by
Saki
“Now, that gray future I so frantically tried to paint over with power seems more colorful than I could have ever thought. There are still many things left to sort out, but I see a place for myself in the distance, once I’ve won the Conception.”
Originally Posted by
Makoto
“Grrrrr you’re the one looking down on me I’ll show yoooou! I’ll show the world that I can surpass it and how it can’t bind me with its icky foods.”
Remembering those words... Even the silly words...
Was good enough for him.
The elevator opens up to a lavish penthouse. Even though the rest of the world is beginning to burn, here, nothing ever really changes. The television set is still on, even the lights and heating continue to work, as if this room, this one room, was in a different flow of time than anything else.
The reporter and the police officer are on the balcony outside.
A lavish thing that is far too fancy to be practical, so large that a helicopter could use it as a landing pad without a problem. They turn to face him, him who was one of them, and-
(BGM off)
"Yo Chronos-!"
To his students, that cheerful voice had always promised safety, but here, at the end of the world-
"Sorry, but I'm here to kill you."
That laughing voice carries an infinite weight.
Because they were his friends, he would not assassinate them, however, there were things he could no longer allow them to do, and a certain crime he could never really forgive.
If they succeed, the future his students wished for would never come true.
Humanity would become something else, and the world would become a stagnant paradise.
For the sake of wishes that may very well never come true, for his daughter's future, and the sense of humanity he had thought he had thrown away...
The man consigns himself to a death-match with a God.
One that was thousands of years in the making.
Interlude Out