Those who early loved in vain.

Spoilers for the real ending of the game, and FES. The title is taken from the 31 Days theme for December 12, 2008.

Yukari is, understandably, a mess on the night that they discover the truth: that Minato Arisato isn't in a coma, that he's really dead and all they have is a body in a hospital cot somewhere in the city. Mitsuru finds her in the bathroom, sitting in the tub with her knees drawn right up to her chest, battered by the water streaming down from the shower head and apparently not caring. Listening carefully reveals that she's crying – she's keeping it quiet of course, but it's there, to those who care enough to notice.

When Mitsuru strips and crawls in to take Yukari into her arms, she tells herself that this isn't just about being a leader and making sure that one of her comrades will be good to go and fight on another day. This is about communal loss, communal regret, and all the things that they wished to say. This is about loving the same boy and getting nothing but his corpse in return and one too many memories that no sleeping pills and no amount of anything can ever erase.