summary: kirigiri and aoi ponder over what could have been different
ships: kiriaoi
ao3 link
Kirigiri usually loved the sun. It warmed her, inside out; she supposed the feeling of being warm was so splendid, no one ever took the time to describe it, everyone simply knew it made them feel… better. It made the world a little brighter, made it less torturing to look at the gray, dingy building she worked at all day. Instead, the windows shined blue, made it feel less of a prison than usual.
It didn’t shine right on a gravestone.
It emphasized that without them, the world was still bright, the world still continued. The only thing they did was make a long shadow, identical to many next to them.
She much prefers visiting during the winter, but alas, that wouldn’t really show how much she misses her.
So instead, she sat on the bench, absolutely hating the feeling of warmth washing over her as she lied cold, dead, six feet under.
“Hey.”
Ah. Sometimes, for some reason, she forgot other people mourned here. She hated herself for it.
“Hello, Aoi.”
There she was; instead of her usual gear, she wore a black tank top and black shorts to match. Her hair was down; after the killing game, she hadn’t bothered to keep putting hairspray into it, only ever putting it up into a ponytail. Kirigiri, personally, liked it better this way anyway. Regardless, her outfit seemed unfitting for someone in such a place.
They had lost so much, anyway. Why dress up for such a dreary occasion?
Kirigiri scooted to the side of the bench, allowing her coworker to sit down beside her. “Want some water?” She held two bottles in her hand, offering one to her.
“Yeah.”
It tasted unpleasant, warm; must have sat in the back of her car for a while. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
It was odd, to see Aoi so solemn, even in a graveyard. She was always peppy, brightening up the workplace. Though she was one of the people who took deaths the hardest; Touko and Hagakure hadn’t much a connection to any of the people who had died, Togami was, well, Togami, and Naegi had put most of it behind him, though it pained him; she always hid it well. The only person she really confided in was Sakura, and she was gone. Aoi and Kirigiri were the ones who were most connected to those who had died.
“Why weren’t we in their place?” Aoi questioned, her voice slightly uneven. “We didn’t do anything to deserve it.”
“I don’t know,” Kirigiri replied, face neutral. “I hope we never find out.”
Celestia Ludenberg. She was akin to her; didn’t show emotion, smarter than the rest (as egotistical as it was, it was true, as she had seen in the class trials), but that was where the similarities stopped. She was the queen of liars, and Kirigiri was the ultimate detective. It was fated they’d be at odds from the start.
Still, she managed to fall for her.
She remembered Celestia pulling her into a kiss, in the bathroom, before the third class trial started.
(That’s when Kirigiri knew what she’d done.)
Sakura Oogami. A traitor, but not really; once she was outed, Kirigiri knew she’d be the next to die. Aoi was the only one who had still trusted her, though Kirigiri didn’t intend to avoid her, either. Her death had come so quick.
“She drank the poison, but you drove her to it! You all murdered her…… and you deserve to burn in hell!”
She felt Aoi’s tears on her skin as she leaned onto her shoulder. “She didn’t do anything, Kirigiri……… why did she die? Why did… why did any of them…”
Kirigiri’s hand clasped tightly over Aoi’s. “I don’t know…” she mumbled, hating herself for sounding like a broken record. “Why Sakura died, why Celestia did all those things… why anything happened.” Her voice cracked, and she felt tears sliding down her own cheeks. “It shouldn’t hurt this much after so long, right?”
“No, I think this is normal.” Aoi laughed softly, even as she cried. “How normal can you be, after she put us all through that?”
-
Kirigiri never left work before 7 pm.
Not that she couldn’t; the Future Foundation employees were only required to stay until 4 o’clock, since their hours began so early. Not that they had anywhere else to go, in a world so ravaged by despair. Reconstruction of lost cities was only beginning.
So there she was, 5:30 pm, fingers clicking on the keyboard, lights on but room empty. Kirigiri liked it that way.
“Hey.”
Kirigiri turned around in surprise, not used to voices after 5.
None other but Aoi Asahina stood there, now in a suit. Kirigiri automatically blushed; even after the first and third killing games, no such emotional events took place between them as the day before. “H-Hey,” she stuttered, immediately cursing herself for it.
“I-I was wondering-” Aoi coughed, though Kirigiri found comfort in that she wasn’t the only one nervous, “I was wondering, if, uh…” Aoi adjusted her suit nervously. “If you would go out to dinner with me?”
It seemed Aoi was nervous for a completely different reason.
If her face was pink before, it was now a dark red.
“I mean, if you have more work, or something, or have plans, tonight, then that’s totally fine I get it-”
“I’d love to, Aoi.”
Aoi looked up in surprise. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Kirigiri affirmed warmly, a small smile glowing on her face. She stood up, striding over and taking her hand. “Work can wait for another day.”
