Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Guilty Crown. Kinda wish I did though. Lord knows that I'd rewrite or retcon the heck out of that downer of an ending by greenlighting a second season. Established canon lore be damned. We're gonna make Shu use some random deus ex machina void thing and Inori's gonna come back and stuff, and we're gonna get a happy ending goddammit!

#######

Release my soul - Regular Text

"Bios" - Spoken words/Dialogue

'My Dearest' - Thoughts

{Departures} - Text or audio displayed on-screen or by speaker, be it from a computer/smartphone/TV

"The Reunion at hand may bring joy. It may bring fear. But let us embrace whatever it brings. For they are coming back."

[Phase 1 - Dissonance]

With a sudden jolt of his body, the boy was abruptly woken up.

Despair was etched all over his being. He looked really haggard, to say the least.

Beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face, and his eyes were bloodshot and struck with sudden grief. This was accompanied by the gradually increasing pace of his beating heart. Like the roaring pistons rapidly pumping up a fully revved car engine.

Shu Ouma, the boy who ended the Fourth Apocalypse, had just been plagued by yet another disturbing nightmare.

They were instruments used by fate to deprive Shu of the inner peace that he sought.

Perhaps though, merely referring to those horrifying visions as "nightmares" wouldn't be doing the effects they had on the boy enough justice.

Night-time terrors, would be more apt to describe the various vivid scenarios that would play out in Shu's dreamscape, due to the fact that they terrorized his slumber to no end almost every single night.

Literal terrors of the night, if you will.

The Apocalypse Virus. Voids. His estranged sister Mana. The deaths of countless of people. His days as a tyrant at Tennozu High. Lost Christmas. Gai's role as Triton. Visions of the lonely singer that managed to forever leave her mark on his heart.

Visions of Inori's death, over and over.

The terrifying visions would vary in how they would play out. Some of them had Shu reliving his old school life before everything turned to hell. Back to the moments in time when everything had some semblance of normality to it.

Back to the days when Inori would be curious about rice balls and the like. During the time he was still being shaped into a competent fighter by Ayase and his Funeral Parlor comrades.

Shu's dreams would give him pleasant visions at first, only to later horribly twist into what could only be mentioned as the stuff of his worst fears.

All merely serving to remind him that he would always be the one, who would accept the burdens of the world, and lose the one he loved the most.

Forever bearing the Guilty Crown, and the sin of Adam.

Without his Eve, Inori Yuzuriha, by his side.

How many times was it already? The Ouma had lost count. Just this month alone, he could only recall two or three nights that he hadn't been subjected to such mental fatigue by the night terrors. This evening was no different, as Shu had just been deprived of another good night's rest.

The imagery of Inori being stabbed by a million duplicates of Mana who somehow was wielding *that* void, that familiar long sword of Eve that Shu knew all too well, would do that to you.

Being greeted by pitch-black darkness wasn't the most comforting thing in the world either.

Yet another consequence of the final battle at the headquaters of GHQ.

Even though three years had passed by since that fateful moment.

Since Inori essentially disappeared forever from his reach, her sacrifice on his behalf forever changing him into an alive, yet broken man.

He was blind. The light from his eyes had completely vanished.

Out of habit, his left hand traces that feeling of cold metal that now served as a replacement for the right arm that he lost, around the same time that his eyesight was destroyed.

He was a shell of his former self. A troubled boy who had been unfortunate enough to enter the forefront of a calamity.

"Current time." Shu robotically says to no one in particular.

The one to respond to his statement was a grey-colored automated clock, conveniently placed on top of his bedside drawer for ease of access. It had the option of being operated by voice, and thus was the perfect option for the currently blind Shu Ouma.

It was one of the perks of his current generation, brought about by the advancements in technology.

{The current time is now 3:27 AM.} the clock droned out mechanically, making Shu merely sigh out loud with a tired exhale as he scratched his scalp.

He knew that it was pretty pointless to try and go back to sleep and get some shut-eye, as his mind was now fully roused from its prior dormant state. Therefore, his next course of action would be to feel for his walking cane instead.

Shu would always place the cane nearby, having it rest diagonally at the foot of his bed, with its handle in an easy to grip position. And thus, even with his lack of proper vision, it would take less than a minute for him to fetch for the apparatus.

"Might as well go for a walk outside. I just hope mom doesn't catch me going out at this hour..." he remarks with caution in a hushed tone, not wanting to wake up the other currently sleeping resident of their humble home.

The boy knew that he was sure to get a scolding from Haruka, his mother.

Well, not quite. You see, Haruka Ouma wasn't his biological mother, but rather, she was his stepmother actually, being the second wife and lover of the late Kurosu Ouma, his father.

But after everything they've been through, Shu had come to see her as his mother figure. To say that Haruka was his mother, was the only fitting way to put it. They had that kind of bond between them.

And yet, it was this very same bond that would merit him a disciplinary earful from his guardian if he got caught trying to step outside of the house at the godforsaken hour of 3:27 in the early morning, though. That much was certain.

Haruka tended to be quite the mother hen towards the boy as of late. And he appreciated it, he really did. But sometimes, she could be quite overbearing with her parental protection.

He was the one who had thwarted Da'ath's plans for humanity after all, surely a peaceful walk outside wasn't such a big deal?

"Oh who am I kidding, I'd be lucky if I didn't get grounded or something."

Shu would worry about that later, for now, he would clear off his troubled mind with some much needed fresh air.

With the help of his walking cane, the Ouma managed to change into some outdoor clothes, the attire consisting of a pair of jeans, a gray t-shirt, and a hooded jacket with some pockets on it.

And to top it all off, his favorite red scarf.

Years ago, even such basic routines would be a struggle for the blind Shu, as he kept bumping into his furniture, his bed, the walls, and so on. But here he was, three years later, easily performing such tasks without a care in the world.

He had gotten used to his lack of vision, for better or worse.

The walking cane helped too. Tsugumi was the one to gift the fallen king his new "sceptre", so to speak. And as such, she had riddled the walking apparatus with various teched out features to help aid Shu in his condition.

One such feature being put to good use by the boy was a hazard detection system. If the cane was nearing a solid object that wasn't Shu's own hand or skin, it would emit a faint vibration to signal Shu.

Thus, the boy was able to get his clothes from his closet, change into them, and go on with his day.

Well, night in this case. Shu then gets ready to exit his bedroom, but not before making sure that his smartphone was locked and loaded into one of the pockets of his hoodie.

And his trusty pair of wired in-ear headphones.

Yes, Shu still used wired headphones in favor of the popular wireless ones. When asked, he would only state that he wanted to listen to his music in the highest quality possible, and no matter how far technology had come during his time, the fidelity of a high-quality DAC I/O with a 3.5mm headphone and jack wasn't easily replicated by their wireless successor.

And Shu did have good reason to warrant such pickiness with his music.

For as soon as he made his way out of his bedroom door, and then the front door out into the outside world, he immediately listened to his favorite playlist.

One that consistered entirely of EGOIST's songs, and essentially, Inori's legacy.

At least that way, it was like she was still with him, always. And not even death, nor Da'ath, could take that away from him.

The current song was "Departures", and it was fitting for his current melancholic mood.

"I feel quite cold, today."

Whether Shu was referring to the windy coolness of the atmosphere that currently surrounded him as well as the faint traces of snow that he felt, or the numbness that his heart had as he walked by himself, was up to interpretation.

As the boy coasted through the mostly-vacant streets of Tokyo and relished in the comfort of silence, a luxury offered to him by the fact that it was still quite early in the morning, his lack of vision didn't really hinder the imagery that his mind saw.

The buildings that lined up on each of his sides, these streets of Tokyo that in the coming hours would be filled with people and bustling anew.

All of this thanks to Shu becoming the "savior" of their nation, and essentially the world.

And yet, Shu wanted no part in their social ecosystem.

Some of them were grateful towards Shu, who absorbed the burnt of the would-be Fourth Apocalypse, and thus were spared from Mana and the virus' machinations.

Others... were not as kind to him though.

Especially those who remembered his prior stint as the unchallenged tyrant king of Tennozu High. Back when he had all the power in the world, to enforce his will.

The power of the voids, and the despair that came with such a power.

Shu remembered it all, and he was constantly reminded of his sins. Such an instance occurred merely a week ago, when one of the former Tennozu students attempted to stab the boy, and would've succeeded too, if it weren't for Shu having the basics of self-defense down due to his time at Funeral Parlor.

He was no pushover, that was certain. A fact that would probably make Ayase proud.

Though he no longer wielded the coveted Power of the King, his body still had the essence of a hardened combatant. It was even fortunate for him, that his blindness actually helped to sharpen his hearing skills, which in turn made him able to skillfully react with timed dodges towards each furious thrust of the student's knife, just from the sound of whooshing air alone.

What he had lost in terms of sight, Shu had gained tremendously in hearing and touch. It wasn't too bad of a trade-off.

He also managed to parry a few kicks, here and there, with relative ease. Not too shabby, for a blind man with only one organic arm left.

And thus, Shu had quickly disposed of the attacker. He hadn't killed the former student, but instead left him with a few broken bones that were merely deemed as "collateral damage" by the Ouma. Shu had been on the receiving end of multiple curses and expletives during that entire ordeal though.

Right now at least, there were no such attempts on his life, and he was quite alright with that. The less unnecessary violence, the better.

'But make no mistake, I'll promptly mow down anyone who tries to attack me.' he bitterly thought.

That was another thing with the current Shu, as he continued to calm himself with Inori's soothing vocals.

He had become something of a cynic. Right now, he truly believed the words that he uttered a while back, which at the time were merely out of spite.

"I wonder if it's the selfish people who get ahead in this world, after all."

Shu truly believed now, that the selfish people were the ones who were a notch above the others. As their own selfishness leads them to cling to whatever they could, in the face of adversity.

Arisa Kouhouin, being a prime example of this, back then. Nowadays, they had a civil relationship, but Shu kept his guard up around the Gai-obssessed woman.

Another example would be Yahiro Samukawa. Even though Shu still considered him as something akin to a friend, they both held some faint mutual resentment towards each other, and both were content with that.

Despite all this, Shu was still a kind boy, deep inside. But the past three years had lead him to develop emotional barriers towards people that weren't in his immediate circle.

People that weren't Haruka, Ayase, Tsugumi and a select list of people, were met with budding suspicion from his mind.

The current cynical Shu, lived life on the edge. Sure, he kept up the facade of normality around his mother, and his friends, but otherwise, one could even say that he hated the world.

He had been broken once, when he lost Hare. And three years ago, the old Shu died with Inori, when she sacrificed herself.

Shu was a husk. But he continued to live on, if only to honor Inori's memory, and for the sake of his loved ones.

After walking for quite a bit, he ended up at a nearby park.

Well, he could at least tell that it was the park, thanks to his muscle memory, and how the cane reacted to what he assumed was a park bench, if the intensity of the cane's vibration was anything to go by.

"Might as well rest for a bit, hmm. Maybe before the snow fully manifests." he noted after making sure with his left hand that it was indeed a park bench.

He began to hum the beginning tune of Inori's current song on his phone, a somber track titled "Euterpe" by EGOIST.

"Saita... no no hana yo..."

Hearing the voice of his beloved, would always calm the raging fire inside him that was his troubled emotions. She had this calming effect on him, a "security blanket", so to speak.

Shu allowed himself to be immersed into the music.

It was his way, of becoming one with Inori once more.

The boy could almost feel her warm touch, almost as if she was within arm's reach, and that she had never left him...

"Inori..."

A lone tear fell from his right eye.

It still hurt, after all this time. But he had to deal with the fact, that she wasn't coming back. Her music, her voice, the memories. These were all that he had left of her, and he had to eventually come to terms with that.

He knew, that even without Inori Yuzuriha, the world would continue to move on.

Ayase had told him as much, when they had last met.

"Shu! We all miss Inori dearly, believe me, but you have got to accept the fact that she's gone!"

Shu choked up a bit at the recent memory. He knew. The boy knew damn well that they were right. He was the one who was acting irrational here, like a stubborn child who threw a tantrum when he couldn't get whatever it was that he wanted.

He had to move on. The world itself demanded that much from him. The people around him were also expecting it from him, he knew. None of them wanted to see Shu still bound by the shackles of their unfortunate past.

The thing is though, having to do something and wanting to do it, were two separate things.

And Shu Ouma never wanted to "move on" over Inori Yuzuriha.

Three years had done nothing, but make her absence sting all the more for him. He would never truly get over her departure from the realm of the living.

This moment, right now, where it was only him and no one else in sight, it was a time where Shu could break away from his patented cold facade, and cry his heart out. For none of them had known the true extent of hopelessness and regret that Shu felt these past three years.

This was a for him time to let out the bottled feelings that had accumulated within the deepest crevices of his heart.

No one would judge him, and no one would care right now. There was no one around to tell him that he needed to "move on", especially since he wasn't quite ready to. It felt like he would never be ready to move on, from the girl that had changed his life forever.

He would never be able to just go on with his life, without her.

It was just Shu by himself, no one else.

No one.

And he would grieve, like he did every single time Inori haunted his dreams, the girl just had that much of an effect on him.

The pain, it all came back to him, and it was very painful. Shu felt like he was being stabbed through the chest, with a sword of despair and hurt.

Like the entire world was out to get him, to forever separate him from his love.

"I miss you so much, Inori..." he cries out in a hoarse voice, letting the tears all flow out freely as he hugged himself. Just this once, he would let it all out and cry for himself. For his own sake.

After he had given up so much for the world, for the people around him, after being forced to carry a burden that came with the power he once had.

He would give himself this moment, to fully comprehend that she was gone from his life.

It was winter time, indeed. Snowflakes started to form a carpet of white around the place where Shu stood, crying his heart out.

Maybe it was heaven itself, sympathizing with Shu. Maybe the snowflakes that fell towards the earth, were actually the frozen tears of God himself, crying for Shu's sake.

For he had lost, basically everything.

Inori Yuzuriha had left an everlasting void of loss within Shu Ouma, one that could not be easily filled by anyone else. A deep abyss of longing and sorrow, that gnawed at his sanity as each lonesome day passed by.

All because of that cursed guilty crown, that the boy was forced to wear.

Shu Ouma... was truly broken.

-Phase 1 END-

A/N: Welcome, to the rewritten and refined version of "A boy, a girl, and their reunion", my Guilty Crown fanfic. This will mostly follow the base plot structure of its predecessor, however some events may be altered, expanded on, or omitted altogether.

I've decided to give this storyline of mine another go, and it will coincide with my Doki Doki Literature Club fanfics in terms of updates, though the schedule might be tighter on this end as I'm currently focused on my main fanfic - The World Beyond The Screen. But yeah, rest assured that I am once again attempting to do my best, to give Shu, Inori, and the GC ensemble the ending they deserve. Well, my interpretation of that at least, seeing as there's already tons of amazing stories by the fandom here anyway.

These characters still mean a lot to me, and even after all these years, I haven't truly gotten over their fate just yet.

For those of you who have read "A boy, a girl, and their reunion", look forward to an improved story this time around, now with a better grasp on grammar and flow thanks to the experience I've gotten with my other stories. The first thing you'll notice is that this rewrite will now have its story told in the 3rd Person POV, instead of being in a shifting 1st Person Narrative POV. And for the new readers, I hope you all enjoy the story I have to tell. This is just the beginning.

It's been a while, but I'm back and reborn anew. I've missed the Guilty Crown fandom dearly.

See you all soon, in the next update.