Chapter Text
A never ending field of flowers, with a completely pitch black sky.
When did she end up here? Didn't she just collapse one day because she overdosed on whatever medicine she took and she hasn't woken up since? Gold Ship thought to herself.
The flowers consisted of a mix of black roses and red spider lillies, the thorns scratching Gold Ship's legs as she tried to navigate the place.
However, Gold Ship wasn't alone like she thought she was.
She suddenly saw Rice Shower just standing there in the flowers, shaking, whispering "i'm sorry" over and over again.
She wasn't injured at all, but Gold Ship still couldn't get the mental image of Rice's lifeless body in that pool of blood, with thorns strangling her out of her mind, it haunted her dreams for ages prior to her coma, and it seems it was here to stay.
She just wanted to tell Rice that it wasn't her fault, or was it? Maybe if she didn't kill herself, Haru Urara would have still been hopeful and cheery, Zenno Rob Roy would have still been at Tracen, Symboli Rudolf would have still been president of the Student Council, Mihono Bourbon would have never started hurting herself... the list goes on and on.
No, she could never tell Rice that, it would just make things even worse for her, not even letting her have peace in the afterlife would be such a cruel thing to do, especially since Gold Ship had already prayed to the Three Goddesses for her friend to rest in peace, telling her that everything's all her fault would just cause the opposite of that to happen.
She tried walking to the black haired girl in front of her, but the vines and thorns kept her in place, the more she tried to approach her, the more her legs bled from the thorns digging into her skin, was this how Rice felt in her final moments?
"Rice Shower!" A familar, but unknown voice called out.
That voice belonged to none other than Symboli Rudolf.
"Why did you do all of this? I want an answer! Please! I'm begging you!" Rudolf pleaded.
"Rudolf? Big Sis? What are you doing here?" Rice weakly asked, still trembling, tears forming at the corner of her eye, threatening to spill at any moment.
"I REGRET EVERYTHING! I'M SORRY! I DID THE SAME THING AS YOU AND I SHOULD HAVE NEVER DID THAT! I WISH I WAS STILL ALIVE! I SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN THAT HARD ON MYSELF! BUT JUST GIVE ME AN ANSWER!" Rudolf sobbed, clutching onto Rice's shoulders, shaking her back and forth a bit.
"I'm sorry Rudolf, I knew I was a misfortune to everyone for as long as I could remember, and the audience of the races I participated in really didn't make things any better, so I did everyone a favor by taking my life, that way I wouldn't make things any worse for everyone..."
"Rice... you were never a misfortune, and I don't understand why you still think that, I still remember Haru crying into my arms in the rain, wanting you to come back, I still remember patching up Bourbon's wounds for her after she had cut herself, I still remember how tired Gold Ship was until she collapsed and never woke up. They all miss you, and this is one of the reasons why I heavily regret my decision to jump off that buliding that day. Narita Brian... Tokai Teio... Air Groove... and so many others... I've left all of them behind, and for what? When I was falling, I wanted to go back in time, but it was all too late. I still don't know who found me on the ground.
I don't think some people will ever forgive me, and maybe some people will never forgive you for what you've done as well."
Rice stared at Rudolf, who was still clinging onto her desperately, like if she let go of her, Rice would dissapear again, and she really didn't know what to say. Did they all really miss her that much? But it was too late to go back now, they were just stuck in this flower field for eternity.
Rice pulled the former Student Council president into a tight hug, despite Rudolf being much taller and stronger than her, Rudolf felt like she was going to be squeezed to death, but she took it anyways, as they sobbed into eachother, making up for anything that was left unsaid between them.
Unlike Gold Ship, they didn't seem like they were bound by the flowers underneath them, or at least they didn't act like it. She couldn't really tell.
While she was unconsious, she swore she could hear Rudolf whisper into her ear about her not being there after she wakes up, which stabbed into her heart like an arrow, she could hear everything, but she wasn't able to do anything about it, she couldn't move a muscle.
Ever since that, she never heard Rudolf's voice beside her ever again.
Was she really gone? Maybe she was, no wonder she wasn't affected by the thorns like Rice. If only the brambles would let go of the girl used to be known as "the unsinkable ship" as well, and she could finally be free. What a joke that nickname was, she could only let out a humorless laugh at that.
But they wouldn't let go, originally they wouldn't hurt her if she just stayed put, but now even if she didn't do anything at all, they would just continue digging into her flesh deeper and deeper, blood constantly gushing out of the wounds.
She wanted to scream from the pain, but nothing would come out.
Rudolf and Rice broke away from their hug, and Rudolf stared approaching Gold Ship at an eerily slow speed, her magenta eyes getting duller than they already were by the second.
And she just kept repeating the words "I'm not here on this planet anymore, so don't look for me when you wake up. I've already ended it all." into Gold Ship's ears over and over again like a mantra, in a voice so calm it was like she was just addressing some boring announcements like she always used to do, which sent shivers down Gold Ship's spine.
The thorns started digging into her at a even more rapid pace than before, until everything faded to black.
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Gold Ship opened her eyes, a white celing was above her, it seems like what happened to her in that flower field was all a dream, but she was also attached to all sorts of medical equipment, so it was still hard for her to move, she was still stuck in the hospital, after all.
With all the energy she could muster, she sat up on her hospital bed.
"Festa! She's awake at last! I knew she'd get better!" Mejiro Mc Queen yelled excitedly, trying to get the attention of Nakayama Festa.
The two of them would visit Gold Ship every day, and the doctor had already told them about Gold Ship's improving health, so this wasn't really a surprise, but it was still a relief that she was able to open her eyes yet again.
Sometimes, Fenomeno, Dream Journey, Orfevre, or even Stay Gold, who temperarily put her adventures to a halt after hearing about her roommate's conditon, just to make sure that her roommate was alive, would come and visit too.
And today it was Fenomeno who came to visit alongside Mc Queen and Festa.
She immediately went to go notify the doctors that Gold Ship had finally woken up, bolting down the hallways as fast as she could, while being careful of her surroundings as to not crash into any people or objects.
Festa took a glance at Gold Ship, she looked a bit better than before, but her pink eyes once filled with mischief were now all dull and empty, she didn't even bother to smile at this point.
And there was going to be a lot that had yet to be explained to her.