I could feel the corners of my mouth struggling under the weight of this smile, and I fought to hold it just a while longer. I wasn’t sure if the truth was more comforting than the lies I had prepared, so I said nothing. I moved toward the center of the room totally exhausted, they breached the wall well before dawn and if it wasn’t for Matthew and Misaka I’m sure we’d all be dead. The bags beneath my eyes were heavy and I couldn’t imagine appearing as optimistic as she did, it was admirable how happy she could be despite everything.
I took a seat on Erwin’s desk, only half noticing the papers I displaced and the trinkets I disturbed. I reached into my jacket’s inner pocket and pulled the letter, without making eye contact I offered it to her, and explained my instructions as I remembered them and with no confidence at all, “Matthew told me to find you, and once I did I was supposed to get you to safety. And I have no idea what that letter says, but I doubt it’s a goodbye, he’s too skilled to die, right?”