Title: Letter in a Bottle
Fandom: Zero Escape: 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors & Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
Characters/Pairing: Junpei/Akane
Rating: general
Length: ~400 words
Content notes: spoilers for all the 999 and VLR paths
Summary: Junpei sends a letter.

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Akane,

It feels strange to be writing to you like this, after leaving you on the base. Will this reach you? I don't know. You might have left already; I have no way of knowing. If it doesn't reach you, I suppose this could be considered an old man's foolishness.

You're not the girl I knew. It feels stupid to write that. Of course you're not who you were. Neither am I. The world isn't the same world that we grew up in, the world we laughed and played in together. The world where we came from seems very far away, and maybe that's what I was chasing all this time.

But Akane, something reminded me of that first Nonary game-- the second Nonary game, for you. Not the game itself… the whole thing is burned in my brain more surely than the Radical-6 incident. No amount of alcohol makes it go away. But I hadn't thought in a while about how far you went to save yourself. You and Aoi were little more than children, then-- we all were. I felt so adult at the time, but the more the years have piled on me, the more I realize how little I knew. You've always had to fight for your own survival, Akane.

I never married. I don't know if you did or not. It doesn't really matter. I have a child to take care of now, and these days there are few enough children with two parents. If I had married, she would probably be dead by now. But it was always you. The girl you were.

I can't understand the methods you used this time. I can't understand everything that you did, and I can't forgive what nearly happened to Quark because of it. In some timelines, I'm sure he's dead, and I hope that I followed after him. He's all I have to live for, now. But I think, given time, I might be able to understand how much you love humanity to dedicate your life to a project like this that caused so much hurt.

I don't know how to speak to you anymore. Sometimes, I wonder if I ever did. But I don't have much time left in this world, and Quark's made me realize that some things are worth taking a chance on. I don't want it to end like this after all. If you're still out there, answer me.

--Junpei

---

Jumpy,

Your life is on Earth, and mine is not. But my work on this project is done, and there is nothing more for me in this timeline. Rhizome 9 has no need of me at the moment, and I would like to make a visit.

If nothing else, perhaps we can talk the way we used to. It would be an enjoyable way to pass the time.