So... This story started out as a prompt, but was scolded for not writing the prompt as wanted and I got my hand slapped. So, I'm changing the name and ditching the prompt at the start! Yay!

Tears to Roses

…

"Shinji…"

Akihiko Sanada watched his friend with deep concern as he punched at the wall. He couldn't quite understand what Shinjiro was feeling, but he did know that the whole group was shattered by their fearless leader's sudden departure. Only Aigis had seemed to think she was anything other than tired. In retrospect, Akihiko knew there was something wrong. She hadn't been her perky self, but, while he might've been able to talk to her, he wasn't sure there was anything else he could've done.

Shinji, however, had been in a coma and had only been discharged from the hospital a few short days before she'd passed. He hadn't been able to see her shine or watch her as she'd floated up to the moon. He wasn't there to watch her give everything to save the world.

He was, on the other hand, the last one to be with her.

Akihiko had had a hunch there was something going on between his friend and the leading underclassman. He had thought something was up when he'd seen Shinji actually smile when he was with her, but his suspicions were confirmed when Shinji had taken those two bullets and she'd run to his side, gently touching his face and his expression had shifted from one of pain to that of tenderness.

He'd never seen that look on his friend's face before and he was glad that he'd had the opportunity to love someone. What he'd never tell Shinji was what he felt for her. Though he knew he was kind of a coward when it came to women, he wasn't sure he fully regretted not telling her his feelings.

Because he'd refrained, both she and Shinji had had the opportunity to be happy for a brief period in their lives. While, yes, he was in pain over her death, he couldn't even imagine what Shinji was feeling. His friend hadn't smiled since the orphanage had burned and Miki had died. The death of Ken's mother hadn't helped at all and Akihiko knew his friend had somehow become scarred beyond repair deep down. One after another, disasters kept happening.

And now, Akihiko feared, when she died, he felt that Shinji was borderline self-destructive.

He'd lived on the streets and he'd been taking medications that would've killed him, but he had always survived. He'd always fought to live. But twice in the last week, Akihiko had walked in on his friend holding a switchblade and just staring in the mirror. A punch in the face and a fight over the knife later, he'd managed to talk him into living, but he knew the thought was only temporary.

He knew that Shinji had done that several other times when he didn't catch him. He also felt that the only thing keeping him from cutting or stabbing himself was the fact that she'd given her life so the rest of the world could live. But beyond that, he knew that he kept living because she had had him in mind when she'd sacrificed herself.

It had only been a few weeks since the Abyss of Time, but Shinji hadn't been in the dorm when that had happened. He hadn't been able to see her. He hadn't been able to say goodbye like the rest.

Now he stood in a hospital room for a check-up after awakening from his coma. The bullet wounds had long since healed, but his mental injuries were far from restored. Akihiko knew Shinji and he knew that his friend was torn between life and death. He wanted to live for her, but he wanted to die to be with her.

Castor had calmed in his mind after he'd awoken and he didn't have any more need for the suppressants, so he was left to physical violence. Akihiko obliged him now and then with a fight, but he wished there was more he could do. Shinji was his brother in all but blood and it killed him to see him suffering like this.

The brunet hadn't bothered going back to school except to sit on the roof where she'd died. He stayed cooped up in his room, he didn't cook anymore, and he only left the dorm to get ramen or when Akihiko forced him to his appointments.

Once when he'd gone to the school to drop off some Kirijo-crafted paperwork to get Chidori into the school, he'd gone to the roof to find Shinji there. His words that day had stuck with him and he didn't know his friend could be that poetic.

"I don't believe in trouble; I don't believe in pain; I don't believe there's nothing left but running here again. I don't believe in promise; I don't believe in chance; I don't believe you can't resist the things that make no sense."

He had been so noble about it at first, but his personality was slowly deteriorating. Akihiko sighed and walked a few steps closer to Shinji. He set his hand on his shoulder and turned him to face him, glaring. "Shinji. This has to stop."

The brunet scowled, staying silent for a long moment before finally saying, "What the fuck do you think, then?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, but you're killing yourself here."

Pulling his hat over his eyes, he turned away. "Good. Maybe I'll get to see her, then."

Without thinking, Akihiko pulled his fist back and punched him in the joint at the back of his shoulder. Had he hit a little to the left, he probably would've broken a bone and he knew there would be a bruise there for awhile. "Shinji! Quit being such a selfish son-of-a-bitch! You know full well that she wouldn't want you to die. She gave her life so you could live!"

He raised his opposite hand to touch at the wound but still didn't look at him. "I know. But I…" He grabbed at the lamp on the bedside table and threw it to the ground where it shattered into tiny pieces. "What the hell am I supposed to do? I loved her!"

Akihiko felt something freeze up in his chest when his friend said the one word that he didn't think he'd ever hear from him. "Shinji…"

He dropped to his hands and knees, punching at the floor with his right, uninjured arm. "I… I knew it was a mistake to let myself feel, but… but the damn little minx forced her way in! I thought… I thought I was going to be the one to die. I didn't want to make her hurt. See? If it had been me, this is what she'd be going through! Is that fair? Goddamnit!"

He cringed as his friend punch at the floor again, hitting the broken glass of the lamp and cutting his hand open. Akihiko walked over and bent down next to him, grabbing his wrist and holding his other hand over the bloodied one and mumbling, "Diarama."

The cuts healed down to a few thin scars and Shinji slowly stood up, facing towards the window. Somehow, Akihiko knew his friend was crying, though he never showed it. He'd been forced to grow up so quickly that sometimes he forgot he was still a teenager.

He was only eighteen, but the weight of the world had been thrust upon him. He'd carried the guilt of letting Miki die, he'd committed murder, been shot twice in the chest, and held his first love while she died. His life had been far from easy, but to top it all off, he'd had the power to fight Shadows and forced to spend his nights in combat.

Akihiko had no idea how to help him and wondered, if only for a brief moment, if his friend would be better off dying.

But he knew, as well as Shinji did, that she wasn't really dead. She was petrified and chained to a door, sealing back the most powerful of the world's despair. She was sealing both Nyx and Erebus. Even if Shinji died, he still wouldn't be with her.

Akihiko's phone started to ring in his pocket, but he chose to ignore it. Instead, he set his hand on Shinji's shoulder and took a breath. He had no idea what to do for his friend and he was getting sick of feeling so helpless. It wasn't the first time and he knew it wouldn't be the last, but at least he could get through to him with a punch or two before. Now, he just took it and sat in silence.

A knock sounded on the door a moment later and, assuming it was the doctor finally coming around, Akihiko stood to go open it. When he did, the person who stood on the other side was not Shinji's regular doctor. He wasn't even wearing the white coat. His clothes were strange, to say the least. He wore black slacks and a bright blue jacket and tie combo with a hat that looked like a bellboy's. He smiled softly and spoke gently, "Hello. My name is Theodore. I believe Aigis told you of my coming?"

Akihiko shook his head and paused, pulling his phone out to check his messages to see there was indeed a missed call from Aigis. But… That was only about three minutes ago. Akihiko shrugged and asked, "Can I help you?"

"I am here to speak to the one called Shinjiro Aragaki."

Shinji stood slowly and sat on the bed, giving a half-wave before pausing. "I know you… You were hangin' out with her at Naganaki."

The man, Theodore, nodded. "Yes. I asked her to show me several different places of this world. I must say. This… hospital… is a confusing place. It all looks the same and reeks of strong chemicals."

He nodded. "So, what d'you want?"

Akihiko blinked. "Wait. 'This world'? Who are you, exactly?"

He smiled softly. "As I said, I am Theodore. My master is he who had aided you and your friends through your exploration of Tartarus. Now, my master has discharged me so that I may search for your leader with the Wild Card ability."

Akihiko pulled the door open so that Theodore could come inside and shut the door behind him. "What?" She had never mentioned anyone like this. She did always seem to know when Tartarus had expanded. Was this guy and his master he ones who'd helped her out?

Theodore walked over to Shinji and leaned over, coming within three inches of his face looking him right in the eye. "You are the one she held dear. It a pleasure to meet the one who has made my master's guest so happy." He paused. "You are injured. A small wound in light of human capabilities, but it is still an interference." He pressed his forefinger to Shinji's forehead as he leaned away from him. "36.8888889 degrees Celsius. A normal human body temperature. Blood pressure, one-twenty-seven over eighty-three. Also normal. Pulse, sixty-seven. You appear to be in good health."

Shinji kept giving him a purely shocked—albeit disturbed—expression and asked as a question, "Thanks?"

Theodore nodded and walked around behind Shinji, pulling at his shirt. He jumped off the bed and away from him. "H-hey! What the hell is wrong with you?"

He looked puzzled, as if not realizing what he'd just done. "I apologize. Have I disturbed your privacy?"

"What d'you think?"

"I'm not sure I fully understand, but I was only attempting to visually examine your injury. If possible, I was going to heal you."

"I don't need your help! What the hell d'you want with me, anyway?"

He stiffened for a moment before smiling again. "My apologies. I came here to ask you for information. Aigis has stated that you were the one closest to my master's guest. You see, I am on a journey. I am searching for a way to return her to this world without breaking the seal."

Shinji froze. Slowly, he asked in a low voice, "Is that… even possible?"

Theodore looked puzzled. "I don't know for sure, but I am searching."

He took a slow step forward. "Let me help."

The blond man blinked. "I don't quite understand how you could help…"

"I still have my Persona and my evoker."

Akihiko looked at his friend. "Are you sure about this, Shinji?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She…" He averted his gaze. "She's the only thing that matters, Aki."

"I see. I know you have to do something, so I won't try to stop you. Just call now and then, okay?"

His chin dipped slightly in affirmation before turning back to Theodore. "What do you need to know?"

…

Okay, I'm going to stop this here. ¬.¬

Thanks for reading and please review!

-Valk