2025-09-06: The Past Always Catches Up
- Cutscene: The Past Always Catches Up
- Cast: Shinjiro Aragaki
- Where: Hirasaka Safehouse, Sumaru
- OOC Date: 2025-09-06
- IC Date: July 7th, 2012 (Night)
- Summary: Shinjiro ruminates over Ken Amada being in the SEES dorm. In the end, he knows all roads lead to him coming back, and bites the bullet.
- Content Warning: Depressive thoughts
It's been three days. Three days since Shinjiro was bailed out of jail, three days since he spoke to Mitsuru in that safehouse. He had four more, give or take, to make his decision. He was planning to refuse, with everything that's been happening. With the risk he presented.
Fate has twisted his hands. The worst possible thing had happened.
Ken Amada had been exposed to the horrors of this cruel reality.
He's had time to ruminate on the train, a grimace plastered across his face, as Shinjiro crumbles into a chair in the Hirasaka safehouse, his hands rapping against the table once. He breathes in deeply, exhaling a long breath.
Then, it starts.
"Fuck... fuck!" He slams a hand on the table, breathing shaky and irregular.
Taking a moment, Shinjiro exhales again. "Why him? Amada..."
It shouldn't have been him. Ten years old, an orphan because of Shinjiro's actions... he didn't deserve this too.
Dead men don't have the right to infringe on the life of others.
Shinjiro rises from his chair, creaking as he starts to pace. What was he supposed to do? This was his responsibility. He caused this. Could he really keep looking away, running from the past, when it was chasing after him like this?
Could he really keep his head down and focus on other things?
The risk had come true, the threat was real, and everything Shinjiro tried to avoid was for naught.
Words echoed in his head, as he stopped near the kitchen.
You can't hold that mistake over your head forever, Shinji. You have to make something of yourself, eventually.
Akihiko was wrong, of course, that he couldn't hold that mistake forever. He did it, and it had tangible cause and effect that ruined lives. Making something of himself...
How can Shinjiro do that when he has no time left? He deserved to rot.
Shinjiro turned on the sink, splashing cold water onto his face. He took another shaky breath, trying to right his heartbeat and calm himself.
Come back. This is... this is not the way to punish yourself for what happened. This is running away. So... so help me. Help me make it right.
Maybe Mitsuru had a point. He couldn't do anything punishing himself this way to fix what he had done, but should he really be the one to fix it? He makes things worse just by existing, hurting everyone he loved.
But she was absolutely correct that he kept running away.
It's all he had ever been doing. Running away from his problems, refusing to face them directly, refusing to acknowledge what he had done besides the crippling guilt.
He had to stop and face the music eventually. It may seem hasty... but he knew this decision was the only one he could actually ever make, deep inside, even if it took forever.
Stepping over to the chair again, Shinjiro took a seat, pulled out his phone, and opened his text messages.
He scrolled down, looking for that group chat the three once had, the one still nested in his messages. Their numbers had never changed, so...
He started typing. Six words that he would be unable to take back, six words that would change his life irreparably. Six words he had to say.
Shinjiro took one more breath. He closed his eyes, and...
He hits send.
i'll do it.
i'll come back.