trustfelled | come out of hiding, i'm right here beside you

come out of hiding, i'm right here beside you

[A while after the execution has ended, everyone will find a simple note slipped under their door.]

If you don't want to be alone after everything that's happening, some of us will be in the dining room. Even if you decide not to come, please remember that you aren't alone here.

[The note isn't signed, but the handwriting is feminine and neat.

For anyone who decides to come, there's a good array of food laid out on the table. There are some small and simple cakes, cookies, and pastries, a healthy amount of okonomiyaki, okayu, and other Japanese dishes (with a focus on rice and eggs), along with curry. In addition, there are pancakes, and a large pot of soup. It looks like a few people collaborated to make enough food for everyone here.

Just like the meal they shared together earlier in the week, the candles from the storage room lend a more peaceful light than the fluorescent lights above.]

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Aa... she sounds like a wonderful person.

["Kind and accepting", he says. Which means his supervisor is nothing at all like herself (she knew it). Still, Sakura tries her hardest to sound pleasant for Kogami's sake. There's no need to turn this into a big deal.

Arietta's death is making her tired. Yes. She'll cling to that excuse with every breath.]

But if you're already afraid of it happening, then I think you'll be okay.

Fear means you'll be watching yourself, right? To make sure it doesn't happen. [She assumes because, well... that's been her life's work. Though her crest is still absent, Sakura turns her gaze inward, feeling every twitch of muscle]

I can't guarantee it won't happen.

[He looks up to the ceiling and gives a bit of a self-depreciating laugh.]

I have one goal... and I'll probably do anything to achieve it.

[He knows that much about himself. He's kept himself alive for that very reason. And it's that belief that makes him know he'll probably be hurting a lot of feelings. He already hurt Gino's feelings. A man that... a man that no longer has faith in him.]

She gives me hope that maybe I can be a detective. I'm not entirely sure if I cling on to it, though.

Is being a detective the one thing you want most?

[No matter the answer he gives her, she doesn't pause or hover over her words. Her voice goes on, low and steady, watching the fog cling to the window]

Everyone has a goal they'd do almost anything for, I think. [A slight shift] It's a matter of patience, seeing if you can reach it without sacrificing someone else for it.

[Some do, and they're upstanding citizens.

Some don't, and they're the criminals.

And some? Some are just unlucky regardless]

Your supervisor sounds like someone who can help you wait, to maybe do things the right way.

Maybe she can. Maybe there's hope despite our flawed system.

[That's right, he just said something about his system being flawed. He catches that he says that, but it's not like he's really hiding anything from himself. He's like the Transmitter. Unless asked, he's not going to answer.]

I want to hope we can do this right.

[He inhales... then exhales as he looks out the window himself.]

Then maybe I can finally rest.

[Sakura's not really a girl who asks the big questions out loud. She isn't relentlessly inquisitive, like Rin, and definitely isn't half as smart. The Tohsaka heir exists on the opposite end of the spectrum, so much that sometimes Sakura wonders if...

Well. That doesn't matter. A thought best discarded.]

Mm... but you have to survive this before you can rest. [It's just the truth. She seems to dip into bluntness more often when she's around Kogami. That almost scares her]

You'll be careful, won't you?

That's true. I can't die here. I have something I absolutely must do.

[There's emotion on Kogami's face. Sadness. Anger. His voice is a low growl exhibiting those same emotions as well. The guarded man that usually hides behind a smirk and rude words and behavior is almost unguarded around a high school girl.

What is it with young women and their tendency to do this to him? Maybe he's soft.]

[She's never gotten a chance to see Kogami at his rudest, but that doesn't mean she can't sense the fragility underneath that resolve. Something he must absolutely do.

That's the kind of dedication that turned Arietta into a murderer.

In the corner of her mind, Rin's disapproval blares like a siren at full volume.]

Right... We'll both get home...

[Spoken mostly to herself, it sounds less a promise and more a prayer.]

[He was sympathetic to Arietta's reasons. He really was, more than he thought he would. Honestly, he should be mad, but he's not. At the moment, he's calm like nothing really happened. Then again, aside from the trial, murders are just an everyday part of his life.

People who's lives he investigates without ever getting to know them. Solving crimes, not really getting attached to anything or anyone.]

Somehow, some way, we'll get home.

[His voice is soft, but there's still that subtle low growl. Like he might be determined now.]

I can't die here.

[For someone so affixed with crime and murder-- he has the same obsession with not dying while thrusting himself into danger.]

[Eventually, Sakura folds up her legs, perched on the window ledge with her arms rested on top of her knees. It's not a position she usually takes, and the girl looks even smaller for it.

Stranger still is that she's smiling suddenly, glancing at Kogami]

You really would be good at therapy, Shinya-san. I'm glad I talked to you.

Would I? I think I'd be terrible at it.

[Especially since sometimes he puts other people in psychological danger thinking the risk will pay off.

Sometimes.]

[Hey, can't make an omelette without breaking a few... okay that's a terrible metaphor and says too much about Sakura.]

Oh? Well... I guess it only counts if it's me, then. [She doesn't seem to mind that, either]

What makes you say that?

[He's a little concerned he can help her. Then again, he did lend Tsunemori an ear when she needed it as well.]

It's because I feel a little better.

[Maybe she feels understood. Maybe it helped he'd prodded her into giving answers. Sakura doubts it matters. Even a slight turn in the tide is significant for her, and the burn in her chest has lessened to a simmer]

I guess that's a good thing I could help then.

[Especially since his opinion is usually discarded. He's used to it, though, and that's okay. It's weird that people respect his opinion here, the more he thinks on it. It makes him feel... human again.]

Mm.

Though I... I don't understand why you try.

[If he wants to be nice to someone, he should at least find someone more worthy of his time, frankly.

Perhaps its pity? Sakura turns the thought in her head, examining it for imperfections, but ultimately discards it in the trash. She doesn't think Kogami prefers that pitying approach.]

I guess I tried because it seemed like you needed someone to talk to.

[That perhaps despite all of Kogami's flaws, he still has a big heart that's able to help. It helps in his own way, but that doesn't mean that often times his intentions are good.]

[he really is too sweet to her, she thinks in the quiet]

Did I?

[...]

I guess it doesn't occur to me to try.

You mean why people try to talk to you?

[He won't press too much ~~he'll do that in later conversations~~, but she seems to lack a lot of self-confidence.]

Me talking to them.

[Most people don't care to know her past her quiet demeanor. And that's fine. Sakura prefers that; far easier to judge and stew than to try.

But she shakes her head a little, trying to smile past her thoughts.]

Well, this isn't like school. Of course things would be a little different here.

I suppose. However, with what happened, it's probably good to get to know each other a little.

[Just in case they need to solve more cases in the future.]

[That, and get more in touch with everyone's weak points.

... Maybe one day her thoughts won't immediately shoot for the darkest path. She can only hope]

Right. I'm sure most people could use companionship right now...

They likely could. Some people lost a friend and need that comfort.

[That Corrin literally lost a friend. Some others just got really friendly really quickly...

Bonds are terrifying for that reason.]

[Ah, Corrin... yes, Sakura's thoughts also hone in on that poor girl. Sakura can't help her sympathetic mumble]

Poor Corrin-san... I wasn't close to Felicia-san, but I can imagine how she's feeling.

[Kogami's silent on his end in regards to that before he takes a deep breath and speaks once more.]

Awful. She feels awful. And responsible and...

[Shit, he about had a breakdown earlier. His breath is shaky, but he recomposes himself.]

[...]

Shinya-san... do you feel the same way?

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