Heartwarming / Slow Damage

You Are Not Alone.

"But there's room for something more to grow. It starts with pity, then acceptance, and then... whatever comes after that. If we feel sorry for each other, then that means we validate each other. Eventually, we might even come to support each other."

— Fujieda

Slow Damage shows that someone's scars, physical or otherwise, may never completely disappear... as much as it shows how one can still heal and be better.

Warning: Spoilers Off applies to these pages. Proceed at your own risk.

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Taku's Route

Chapter 3: Nostalgia

• In contrast to all the nightmares that Towa had suffered, the last dream he gets in this route is a comforting one. At the beginning of the dream, Towa initially feels alone and uneasy, but then that feeling goes away when Taku shows up and holds his hand.
• After many misunderstandings between each other, and even with the situation they're currently in, Towa and Taku get a moment to open up about how their feelings towards one another have changed as of late.
  Towa: When I was a kid, it was such a relief whenever you showed up. I was always waiting for you. You were the only grown-up I trusted to keep me safe.
  Taku: Towa...
  Towa: When you look at it that way, it makes sense why I'd stay with you for as long as I have. [his voice softens as he smiles warmly] Because it's reassuring to be by your side.
  • Shortly afterwards, they consummate their relationship. The entire time, Towa is overwhelmed because in contrast to everyone else he had slept with in the past, Taku refuses to get rough with him and only gives him gentle caresses and soft kisses. The affection in each and every touch Taku leaves on his body perplexes and scares Towa as much as it floods his heart with emotion, especially when Taku tells him that he loves him. After knowing the kind of treatment that Towa is accustomed to, being held in a gentle and loving manner was something he definitely needed.
• As he waits for his trial, Taku brings Towa to his apartment and shows a picture of the latter when he was still a child. It's especially more Heartwarming in Hindsight; since while Taku is determined to keep the darker details of Towa's past a secret, he still wants to show Towa a part of his childhood that he can remember fondly.
• While waiting for Taku to be released from prison, Towa spends most of his days painting portrait after portrait of Taku. Keep in mind that as euphoria, Towa only paints someone once. This time, he's not painting to capture someone's innermost desire; he's doing it to keep Taku's memory as alive as possible while waiting for him to return home.
• The day Taku is finally released from prison, and his reunion with Towa. After a year apart, their conversation starts on a slightly awkward note, especially when Towa abruptly asks Taku something that's a bit risque. But the exchange ends with the sweet reassurance that from now on, they'll spend the remainder of their days by each other's side.
• In hindsight, The Reveal that Taku knew plenty (albeit not all) of the harrowing details of Towa's past makes his love for Towa in his route all the more touching. It may be hard to forget the fact there are some truths he will always keep in the closet. Even then, Taku knew for a long time just how screwed up Towa's past is and why he's the way he is, and yet he loves Towa all the same. And possessive he may be, he never once asks Towa to conform to any ideal he has of him. All Taku wants is for Towa to be safe and content.

After Story

• The day Taku is released, Rei immediately runs over to meet Taku and welcomes him back with Tears of Joy before giving the older man a tight hug.
• Though the scene where it happens is intense, Towa tells Taku that the entire time he waited for him, he focused on nothing but drawing and painting him and never once engaged in self-harm or any other form of brutal violence. While he claims at the time that he could easily relapse into old habits if he wished, it's obvious that he only said such to provoke Taku into making up his mind. Later on, Towa tells Taku that in truth, he no longer has those destructive urges, stating that the man changed him for the better.
• Towa's Character Development shines with how openly he asks Taku for his affection. The first time he was exposed to said affection, he was both puzzled and frightened and felt the need to run away. However, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and Towa now seeks to feel Taku's love for him in any way he can. He shows this by asking for the man to carry him, by actively and outwardly expressing his own affection for Taku, and by requesting to hear those three words that once scared him over and over.

Rei's Route

Chapter 3: Contradiction

• When Rei starts to open up about his conflict regarding his gender identity, Towa always lends an open ear and never judges Rei. Towa may prod Rei every now and then whenever the latter starts bottling up his feelings, but he neither coddles nor criticizes Rei and just lets him vent as much as he wants, making him a presence that Rei sorely needs in his lowest point.
• Cheesy it may be, Taku and Rei's friends cheering Rei on in his final Moneymatch gives the assurance to both Rei and the player he really has people who will be there for him through thick and thin. Even Towa joins in, allowing Rei to snap back to his senses and land the winning blow.

Madarame's Route

Chapter 2: Immutable

• Madarame attempts to attack Rei during one of their excursions around the Deathmatch Area, but Towa takes the risk to stop him from doing so. Even with what will eventually be a tragic outcome, this scene shows that he still cares for his friends even though he feels that his place isn't with them anymore.
• In the end, Towa severs ties with Taku and Rei for good, something that makes this Euphoria ending a notably bittersweet one. However, the player does get the assurance that both Taku and Rei are alive and well. And with both Toono and Sakaki dead, they're freed of the trouble of their monetary debts, assuring that while they lost Towa, they're at least not left to a Fate Worse than Death.

Fujieda's Route

The Last Chapter: Equal

• Concerned about Taku's unusual behavior, Arimura tells Towa about Taku intercepting one of his deliveries. Towa thanks him for this, acknowledging that while they don't get along, Arimura's sincerity did him a huge favor.
• Despite spending at least half of the route being furious at Taku for trying to keep his past hidden, his first reaction when he realizes that Taku's life is in danger is to show concern and worry, even putting his investigation on hold when he gets a call that clues him onto Taku being held hostage in the Deathmatch Area.
• Even though both are in terrible shape from being given a beating by Madarame, when Taku and Rei see Towa in the Deathmatch Area, their first instinct is to warn him to run, even with the possibility of what else Madarame can dish out on them in retaliation.
• After learning of his past and of what happened to Mei, Towa feels that life isn't worth living any longer when an innocent like Mei died for his sake, so he attempts to kill himself. Fujieda walks in at the last moment and talks Towa out of it by reminding him that Mei died because she tried to help Towa be free of his mother's clutches, so if he were to end his life, then everything she died for would be for naught. His words are enough to make Towa change his mind. Even though he still hasn't yet mustered the resolve to live just yet, Fujieda's words still successfully brought him back from the depths of hopelessness.
  Fujieda: The Mei I knew would pray for me to live on. If you remember her... if you remember the time you shared with her... then surely you know I'm right. She tried to save you, didn't she? She didn't abandon you. She fought for both of you. If she pulled you out of that pit of despair, as you said she did, then... please, live on. All I ask is that you grant her dying wish.
• As Fujieda helps Towa clean up in the shower, they eventually come face-to-face. After sharing a Held Gaze for a moment, Towa makes a request to see Fujieda's scars, wishing to take solace in the sight of a body that mirrors his own. Even with the intimate moment that comes later, the rare touch of vulnerable innocence in Towa's voice in this scene makes it palpable that he seeks reassurance from the man who he least expected to understand him the most.
• Once the dust has settled, Towa and Taku have a talk in the clinic. Towa shows his appreciation towards Taku for being there for him, saying that regardless of whatever happened, Towa was only able to be where he thanks to the support of the people who care about him. In return, Taku expresses relief at how Towa seems to be in a better place than before, remarking that he's sure Towa will be fine on his own from here on. It's more than enough reassurance that they have patched things up.
  Taku: All this time, I was scared of you getting hurt. So instead, I figured you were better off not knowing anything at all. But you were stronger than that. You remembered your past, overcame it, and then you came back. It's clear to me now... You just aren't the same little kid you used to be.
  Towa: Well, obviously. But I couldn't have done it alone... Turns out, there is value in connecting with people. I just could never see it.
  Taku: What do you mean?
  Towa: What I mean is... I wouldn't be standing here today without every single person in my life.
• The very simple fact that after everything's over, Towa still gets to retain his friendship with Taku and Rei. Even after confronting the demons of his past, there is still a part of said past that Towa keeps with him as a good thing, and that is the friendships he has made with the two.
• The scene with Maya's diary is bittersweet, but it also drives home that Towa is truly not like his mother. In Maya's final entry, she looked back on her life and realized that even with how she could manipulate everyone into doing what she wanted, she will ultimately die lonely and never truly loved. Perhaps she was admired, respected, and feared, but she was never loved as a simple human being. On the other hand, Towa may not have had the best childhood, but in spite of that he was still surrounded by people who genuinely looked out for his well-being, whether they knew of his past or not. Unlike his mother, he was capable of feeling compassion and love. And as he reads his mother's final words where she expressed that she was ultimately helpless, pitiful and alone, the scene is juxtaposed with a CG of Towa in the embrace of someone who will never make him feel the same way.
• The epilogue where Fujieda and Towa take a walk on the beach together. Simple it may be, but Fujieda points out that because of their terrible childhoods, they never got to enjoy the little things in life. Now, however, they have a chance to make up for that, and Fujieda wishes that they can do it together. Towa is amused at the sappiness of it all, but even he finds himself agreeing as they playfully splash water at each other with a bright and innocent smile on their faces.
• In the very final scene, Towa pays a visit to Tajima's and notices the black painting hanging above the wall... before realizing that the painting was never black at all. Moreover, he begins to recognize it as the same painting that he wanted his mother to buy for him when he was a child. But most importantly, he remembers that it was also the same painting that inspired him to take up art as a hobby. He sees the painting as how it actually appears for the first time: a pair of hands bathed in colorful and ethereal light with a soft, white background. At this sight, he is suddenly overwhelmed with indescribable emotion, struck with the realization that for the first time in his life, he is starting to see the world as how it is, and for once, after spending so many years just going through the monotonous motions, he has begun to enjoy living.

After Story

• Rei and his friends tearfully welcoming back Taku, who is exonerated and released from jail thanks to Fujieda's assistance. Knowing that Taku still manages to get his resolution even in someone else's good ending is a big relief, especially since Nitro+CHiRAL previously made it so that only one love interest gets his happy ending at the expense of everyone else's.
• As Towa and Fujieda walk in a field of kochias, Towa remarks that after recovering his memories, he has grown to dislike the color red as it reminds him too much of his past. But even then, he can't help but admire the beautifully red color of the kochia weeds. That remark alone shows how even though Towa can never forget what his mother had done to him, he won't let his past ruin the life he's living now with Fujieda.
• Just like in the visual novel, the drama CD ends on a touching note. Fujieda asks Towa what last name he wishes to adopt since he had only been using Taku's last name as an alias if he needed to provide a full name; and given everything that happened, Towa wouldn't want to take on either "Takasato" or "Sakuragi" as his legal family name. Therefore, Fujieda makes an unusual suggestion: for Towa to take on his surname. Towa is baffled, but more amused than anything, and there are hints that he's even a bit touched at the suggestion, what with Fujieda basically proposing to marry Towa without even realizing it. And if the lyrics for "Kochia" are anything to go by, they might actually just tie the knot in the near future.
• The very last thing heard in the final track prior to the ending theme is Towa chuckling. One detail that is easy to miss is how the last thing heard in Fujieda's Madness ending prior to the credits is also Towa chuckling. There, however, his laugh was sinister and indicative of his sanity being in complete splinters; whereas in the drama CD, he's laughing out of pure affection and innocent joy.

Others

• Combined with Tearjerker, the artbook shows a sketch of Mei and Fujieda running together while the latter is pulling Towa along◊. This confirms that had Mei and Towa successfully escaped and reunited with Fujieda, Towa would have been accepted as part of their family without hesitation.

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I read the diary

and discovered true colors