And... There I went again, disappearing for three weeks. My extreme apologies to everyone!

This will be the second to last chapter, and thus, the next chapter will be shorter than usual, and will serve as the epilogue.

Thank you all for your support throughout this fanfiction, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

Chapter Fifty-Two: It's A Brave New World

Matsuda hadn't expected to wake up ever again. The last thing he remembered was Aizawa telling him that he wasn't allowed to die, and that if he dared die, Aizawa was going to kill him. That sentence would have struck him as absolutely hilarious, but given the fact that he had blacked out right afterwards, he hadn't had any time to laugh.

But he did wake up, in a very cold, white room. For a moment, Matsuda found himself wondering if the afterlife consisted of empty, white rooms that looked suspiciously like hospitals. But, then, there was a surprised, girlish squeak, and he looked over to see none other than Callie Suzuki run screaming out of the room.

"Okay…" Matsuda thought, as he listened to the girl's footsteps fade away, "Apparently, this is not the afterlife, unless Callie is in the afterlife, which doesn't make any sense at all. And, besides, if this is the afterlife, then why the heck is Callie running away from me?"

He paused, trying to figure out where Callie had gone to, and wondering if anyone would come explain what was going on.

"Maybe I'm a ghost. Or this really is a hospital, and I'm alive… Which I doubt."

And then, there were running footsteps coming down the hall, and suddenly, the room was full of people, people who were very much alive.

"Guys?" Matsuda asked, "What's going…?"

He didn't get a chance to ask what was going on, or even inquire about whether or not he was alive. Before he could finish the sentence, someone hurtled forward and, nearly landing on top of him, hugged him tightly.

"S-Sayu?!" Matsuda yelped, extremely surprised and slightly in pain, due to the fact that Sayu was currently hugging him, and his shoulder hurt a great deal.

"You idiot!" Sayu exclaimed, "Don't ever do that again, do you understand me? Never, ever, be so stupid again!"

"Am I alive?" Matsuda asked. Behind Sayu, he caught a glimpse of Aizawa, who sighed and shook his head.

"You're not dead, kid," the older man said, "Although if you ever do something that stupid again, you will be. We had the situation under control, and then you had to go and do a stupid thing…"

"Well, if you guys would tell me what the plan was for once, instead of leaving me to blunder along wondering how we're gonna survive, that would be helpful…" Matsuda said.

He looked around at the others, and it was then that he noticed two things. One, Amity looked as if she had been crying. Two…

"Wait a second…" Matsuda mumbled, "Hey, guys? Where's Gevanni?"

There was a long silence, and somewhere in the middle of that silence, Amity turned and left the room. As she left, Matsuda thought he saw her starting to shake, but he wasn't sure.

Then, finally, Aizawa spoke.

"Gevanni's dead, Matsuda," he said quietly, "He died saving Amity from Shinta."

"He saved all of us," Rester said, "We don't know that Shinta was aiming for Amity. We only know that he killed Gevanni, instead of someone else. Who knows…? He may have been aiming for Gevanni all along."

"What happened to Shinta, anyways?" Matsuda asked.

"He's alive, although in worse shape than you are," Aizawa said, "If he survives, there will be a trial. Which I will have to handle."

"Huh?" Matsuda asked, "Won't Amity help?"

"Amity and I are leaving Japan tomorrow," Rester said, "She wants to go home. If I can get away, I'll be back to help you all out. And I'm sure she'll come and visit."

"Yeah," Matsuda said quietly, "Yeah… I hope she does. And you too, Rester. We should all keep in touch."

The blonde man nodded, then turned away and left the room. Mogi and Callie followed, and as they left, Matsuda saw the girl slip her hand into Mogi's.

"You should probably get some rest," Aizawa said, "This is a lot to take in. Sayu, you stay with him for a little, but don't bother him."

The older man smiled at Matsuda.

"It's over now," he said, "There's nothing else to worry about, at least for a little while. So, get better. And Sachiko Yagami says that if her daughter ever gets kidnapped again, she's going to sue the NPA, so please try to take care of Sayu this time."

With this rather confusing and hopefully completely untrue remark, Aizawa left, leaving Matsuda and Sayu alone.

"Hey, Sayu…" Matsuda said, trying to break the silence that followed, "Do you… Do you still hate me?"

"What do you think?" Sayu asked, climbing off of the bed and sitting down in a chair.

"Well… You did just hug me…" Matsuda said.

"Of course I don't hate you, Matsuda," Sayu said, "Really, you are an idiot sometimes."

"Yeah, I know…" Matsuda said, "But… You said you would never forgive me…"

"Well, seeing a person unconscious and possibly dying does remind you of how you really feel," Sayu said. The girl sighed, looking down at the floor.

"I just wish that no one else had died."

"Yeah… Me too," Matsuda said, "Especially not Gevanni. I mean, he seemed so sure we were gonna make it, and then…"

"I don't think he was upset about it," Sayu said quietly, "I mean… It seemed to me that Amity took it harder than he did, and he was the one who…"

"He was kinda like me that way," Matsuda said, "I'm not sure he really cared if he lived or died, since Lidner was dead, and he thought it was his fault."

"He still shouldn't have had to die," Sayu said.

"I wish…" Matsuda said, "I wish that if anyone had had to die, it would have been me."

"If it had been you," Sayu said, "Then I would have gone back into the same depression I was in before you showed up. And besides… You don't really want to die."

"I don't?" Matsuda asked.

"No, you don't," Sayu said, "If you really wanted to die, then you would have killed yourself in the year and a half since… Since that time. But you didn't. You don't want to die, Matsu. You want to live, but you also want to escape from your problems. But you can't just run away. You have to fight. And you did fight, for yourself, for me, for Aizawa… For everyone. And now we've won, hopefully for real, this time. You probably won't go back to normal right away. I know I won't. Maybe none of us ever will. But I do know that we can stand together and help each other until we get better. Maybe that's why you lived, Matsuda. Because there's something about you that gives people hope."

The next morning, Matsuda received an unexpected visitor. It was Amity, who seemed quiet and very subdued.

"I thought it would be proper for me to come and say goodbye to you," the girl said, "As you will not be able to accompany Rester and me to the airport, it seemed like a good course of action."

"You could stay," Matsuda said, "You don't have to leave right away."

"Where can I stay?" Amity asked, "I cannot stay in the headquarters, when around every corner there lurks another memory."

"You're gonna end up just like me," Matsuda said quietly.

"Indeed, it does appear that I will," Amity said with a sigh, "But what else can I do, Matsuda?"

"Stay here," Matsuda said. Then, he stopped.

"You miss Near," he said, "You've always missed him. Maybe…maybe going back will help."

"Aizawa said he needed me," Amity said, "Do you…do you think he does?"

"I dunno," Matsuda said, "He's kinda weird. But, you know… Maybe he needs you like I need Sayu. And if that's what it is… Maybe you need him too."

"I hope it is so," Amity said, "If not… How can I ever forget what has happened here?"

"You won't ever forget it," Matsuda said, "But maybe, after a while, you'll be able to look back on the good times without your heart hurting. Maybe you can remember that dinner we all had together, and not remember what happened afterwards? Just remember the happiness?"

"I… I wish… I wish that I had never come here," Amity said, "If I had not, then perhaps… Perhaps Lidner and Gevanni would be alive today. And perhaps Naoki would as well."

"It was like a war," Matsuda said, "And, you know, in all the war stories, people die. So… You know, if you hadn't come, then me, and Sayu, and Aizawa, and Mogi, and Callie… We would probably all be dead too. So, look at it this way. Two lives were lost. Five were saved."

"Matsuda," Amity said, sounding proud and sad at the same time, "You have grown up."

"I never thought a girl more than ten years younger than I am would be telling me I'd grown up," Matsuda said, "But thanks. If it means anything to you… You've changed. You're a lot more human than any of the other detectives who have come through here. L, Near, Mello… There was something not real about them. I guess it was just their way of protecting themselves, but… You were the one who convinced me that you guys were real, that you were human."

"I am glad I could be of service," Amity said with a sad smile, "Farewell, Touta Matsuda."

"Goodbye, Amity," Matsuda said, "Come back sometime, okay?"

"I… If I can ever return to Japan, Matsuda, I will be certain to stop by," Amity said.

"Come even if your job doesn't bring you here," Matsuda said, "Even a genius needs a vacation."

"Yes," Amity said, "Perhaps I could do that."

And then, with a final, sad smile, she left the room. And after their last conversation, Matsuda found himself wondering if she would ever return. And if she did come back, would it be the same, or would she have reverted to the cold, businesslike girl who had come into their headquarters that day, adding in another, strange variable to their chaotic lives? He did not know, but one thing was certain. No matter what happened, he was not going to forget this case. He would not forget it, no matter how long he lived.