Crimson Vision
Summary: The reality of it all is worse. So much worse than his imagination.
Contains Spoilers from episode 11, side: Future. If you haven't seen it and still want to read, go ahead and spoil yourself (unless you figured out the culprit yourself. In that case, congratulations! This scene still fucked with you, anyway)
Clang, clang.
The sound of the cuff that had been around his wrist hitting the floor filled his ears, echoing in them long after the sound had stopped bouncing off the walls. It had kept him chained down, forced to participate in this sick game orchestrated by a man he had trusted for years. And another man that he had turned his back on for this game - one he knew far longer than he had known Tengan - had just freed him from his shackles.
One who he had stabbed within the last two hours, believing him to be Despair, consumed by it just like Chisa. Like he had believed everyone in the Future Foundation to be after what Tengan had initially told him. Now he knew the truth, that Tengan was the traitor, and everyone's deaths; mindless, brutal, true torture - had been nothing but suicides on their part. They had been driven to despair by the monitors in the building that had gone dark the moment Juzo started pulling the plug on the power of the underwater tower.
As each hour had passed the person that fell asleep closest to a monitor was woken up, made to watch a video that brainwashed them into despair, drove them to commit suicide because of it. Unless they were killed by their forbidden action first, had poison released into their veins from the iron bangle clasped to their wrist. No one had betrayed the Future Foundation, no one but it's founder.
Kyosuke's fingers gripped the katana in his hand even tighter as he ran down the hallway stained in red from the emergency lights. It was like the whole building was bathed in blood, and even with the black screens of the monitors reflecting the dim light he didn't feel any better. The game was officially over with the main power off, with his chain gone, but the feeling of dread didn't leave him.
He threw open doors he otherwise would have had to find a way around just a minute ago, continuing on his mad dash to the breaker room, leaping over the hole in the floor of the library, ignoring the body of Izayoi as he passed it: sitting on the couch with an almost peaceful expression, if not for the fact that the left side of his body had grown dark from the poison, blood spilling from his left eye; an imitation of Monokuma. An icon of despair created by Monaca Towa, who was responsible for the death of Miaya; another member of Future Foundation, the when and how of her death was an unknown. He only knew of her death because of the machine that had taken her place here, the one that had gone on a rampage that he cut down; literally, he had cut the cyborg in half during their duel, cutting off the source of power within.
Just like Juzo was doing with the whole building.
He was cutting it off, tearing down the power that had sustained the insanity in this building. The last Remnant of Despair would have no where to run now; Kyosuke was going to track Tengan down and kill him if he had somehow survived-
Kyosuke stopped just steps away from the open door of the breaker room. There was smears of blood on the wall next to it, on the floor... no, more like pools of it. After he had stabbed Juzo with his katana, after he had reportedly cut off his own hand to get rid of the wristband... just how much blood did he still have? Had he really been able to sustain himself on such a small amount?
He could see a dark form in the breaker room when he stepped to the side, hunched down, hand still curled around the last breaker that had been turned off.
Juzo.
Kyosuke stepped forward quickly, ignoring the sound of his shoes falling in the pools of blood, making them expand further, ribbons of it arcing up to decorate the walls and door even further, staining his own pants a deep red.
When Kyosuke reached down with his empty hand towards Juzo's shoulder he froze. He wasn't moving, Juzo wasn't moving. His body was perfectly still, fingers clutched around the last breaker that he must have lowered with the last bit of his strength. It must have been shortly after everyone else was released from their manacles that Juzo had died, alone, with the knowledge supplied from Naegi that Kyosuke Munakata had believed him to be Despair. But he hadn't been... Juzo had been here, ending everything because he believed in Kyosuke even after he abandoned him.
His eyes stung, cheeks warm as the liquid ran past his skin to fall and mix into the blood of his friend. "I was too late." Kyosuke reached out once again, fingers grasping onto Juzo's suspended hand. His gaze dropped to his friend's face even though he wasn't sure he wanted to see it.
A smile was present on Juzo's dead face, eyes closed in peace about... about what? His redemption? For saving Kyosuke from another round of this death game?
He clenched his jaw. This was his fault. He shouldn't have believed Tengan; he shouldn't have bought into those words so easily. He shouldn't have believed Juzo either - or Chisa - when they told him Junko Enoshima was innocent; he hadn't agreed with either of them then. He should have known that they had both been manipulated by her, but he hadn't found out about Chisa until she was dead. He didn't know about Juzo being blackmailed, not even what it had been that drove him to lie to Kyosuke. Not when Juzo had been with him every other step of the way to bringing the world out of the despair it had fallen into.
Kyosuke uncurled Juzo's fingers from around the breaker, bringing the now limp arm down so it was just as relaxed as the rest of him. At peace, rather than gripping a last hope for the rest of them, for him.
"I'm sorry."