Running away is a natural reaction to and overwhelming situation. It is programmed into our bodies, a fight-or-flight response to how we handle stress. In dealing with dangerous situations, it is often the correct choice of action.
But when its a personal problem, it doesn't go away just because you avoid it. Worries and fears have never been soothed by pretending they don't exist. The thoughts wander through your mind, popping up now and then to remind you of your failures and mistakes, your shortcomings and bad decisions. You can distract yourself from the issue, or disregard it for a time, but it will never truly disappear until you deal it.
Waiting only prolongs the regret. The suffering. The despair.
-[When Hope Crumbles]-
{The Previous Day}
"Ugh. I'm so bored it's despairing!"
Junko Enoshima sat in the Monokuma control room, feet on the control panel, chair leaning back. She was chewing gum while wearing a bored expression as she viewed her monitors, which were currently broadcasting the ongoing despair of the world, blowing bubbles as she watched. Junko had made a game a while ago of trying to blow a bubble every time she saw someone die onscreen. She was having a hard time keeping up.
*POP!* There went number eighty-four.
A light on the console suddenly started blinking, and Junko eyed it for a moment and sighed before lazily pressing the button next to it. The monitors then moved together and combined, turning into one big screen that was now displaying a certain person's face on it.
"They are moving towards the edge of the city, just as you said they would.", the figure reported.
"Of course they are! My sister is so despairingly predictable! She wants to get them out of the city and into the hands of those disgusting resistance types as soon as possible. I wonder how she even survived out on the battlefield with those kindergarten-like tactics of hers!", Junko wailed in exasperation.
"There's something else.", the figure said. "I noticed it as I was following them today."
"Did they notice you?", Enoshima interjected.
"Probably. But luckily I wasn't caught."
"Ooooh...Imagine what its like to be in enemy territory, to be watched and stalked all day and night, always having to be afraid of enemy attack and constantly looking over your shoulder!" Junko was beginning to salivate. "Just imagining the despair on their faces!... Upupupupupupu!"
"Yes, that does sound despair inducing, but back to my report...I think Naegi-kun is beginning to crack.", the figure said.
"Oh?", Junko had a manic grin on her face. "Tell me all about it.", she said, leaning toward the console.
After Junko heard the figure's explanation she laughed. She laughed so long and so hard, if you didn't know she was already psychotic, you might begin to question her sanity. The person on the monitor just stood there; watching, waiting, smiling. Finally Enoshima stopped.
"So...our despair-inducing eternal optimist is feeling a little down in the dumps? A little depressed? Well don't worry, Naegi-kun, your favorite despairing mastermind has a plan to cheer you up...or not." She smiled, turning back to the monitors. "Keep a close eye on their group. Very soon, Naegi-kun might do something...reckless. And when he does, this is what I want you to do..."
After the figure left to continue their assignment, Junko Enoshima went back to what she was doing before, this time with a grin on her face.
*POP!* Eighty-five.
-[When Hope Crumbles]-
{That Night}
Naegi realized two things as he half-jogged, half-limped behind Ikusaba, trying to keep up as best he could. One was that laborious physical activity on recently closed wounds is not a good idea.
The other was that he was not cut out to be a soldier like Ikusaba was.
When the mob attacked, he just stood there, eyes wide like a deer caught in a car's headlights. He didn't even respond as Ikusaba called his name over and over, until she finally just bodily picked him up and began to run.
Only later, when she lost sight of the despairing mob of people, that she put Naegi down and told him to move, which he did; slowly, blindly.
It wasn't just that he was nowhere near Ikusaba's physical capabilities (which he wasn't, Ikusaba was not even winded from running while carrying Naegi for half an hour), it was also that he didn't have the mentality of her either; calm and collected, even in the face of horrifying situations, and able to make snap decisions on what to do instantly. That kind of thought process was impossible for someone like Naegi.
You're useless Naegi, he thinks to himself. You almost got both you and Ikusaba-san killed! What? Didn't expect the senseless violence? Or this crumbling, ruined world? What did you expect? You are nothing here! A tiny speck in a great void.
They had walked in silence for a time, until Naegi decided he couldn't stand being inside his own head any longer.
"Maybe...we shouldn't have done this...", Naegi said.
"Really.", Ikusaba said. Naegi couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic, or if it was a question, or if she agreed with him. There was no emotion in her tone.
"Yeah...Say Ikusaba-san? Were you really about to go out scouting when you found me?", Naegi asked.
"No. I wasn't.", she replied.
"Then why did you say you were?"
"Because you had already decided that you were going out there.", Ikusaba said, looking over her shoulder at Naegi as she walked. "I wasn't going to let you go alone out there. Look what happened. It's a good thing that I came"
"I wasn't going to be gone long!", Naegi said. "I just wanted some fresh air to clear my head..."
"This air's not fresh.", Ikusaba bluntly replied.
"You know what I mean! I just wanted some time alone to...think about things.", Naegi said.
"..."
"Where are we headed, by the way?", Naegi asked.
"The edge of the city. I am going to drop you off with a resistance group called the Future Foundation, then come back to find the others and bring them there too.", Ikusaba answered.
"What?! I can't leave my friends back there alone!", Naegi said.
"Why did you want to have a midnight walk then?", Ikusaba asked.
"Thats...", Naegi turned away.
"...Anyways, lets get some rest before the sun comes up. No matter what we do tomorrow, we'll need the energy.", Ikusaba said.
Ikusaba walked over to the burnt-out shell of what was left of a vehicle, reached through the gaping holes where doors should be, and began ripping out the least-burnt seat cushions before tossing them into a pile. Then she proceeded to pick them up and carry them into a secluded alleyway that was almost entirely hidden by the wreckage of the vehicle, arranging a psuedo-bed shape on the ground.
"Here.", she said, plopping down on the ground and patting the cushions.
"Where are you going to sleep?", Naegi asked, perplexed as he followed Ikusaba into the alley.
"The ground. I am used to it.", Ikusaba said, laying down with her eyes open towards the sky.
"There's no way that I am going to sleep on those cushions if you aren't.", Naegi declared, and laid down on the ground as well, ignoring the cushions behind him.
"...Whatever.", Ikusaba said, taking a cushion to use as a pillow and rolling over.
Naegi smiled as he also placed his head on a cushion. He could feel his exhaustion overcoming him and his consciousness fading away.
Before he fell asleep, two things crossed his mind. One was a thought: I hope that we didn't worry them too much...They might not even notice I am gone...
One was a voice.
"Good night Naegi-kun."
-[When Hope Crumbles]-
{Present}
"Wake the fuck up, Naegi!", Mondo Oowada yelled, ripping open his apartment door.
Only to be confronted by an empty room.
"Huh?!", he said confused, before turning and yelling down the hall. "He's not here!"
"Ikusaba is also nowhere to be found.", Sakura Oogami reported as she walked into the lounge area. "I have checked what remains of the upper floors and some of the surrounding area, but have found no trace of her."
The rest of the students had already gathered in the lounge at this point, eating through a large stash of cup ramen that Asahina had found as she was investigating the kitchen that morning looking for donuts.
"Both Naegi-kun and Ikusaba-kun are missing? Unacceptable!", Ishimaru shouted. "A man and a woman disappearing together is highly irregular!"
"Tch! That Ikusaba bitch probably kidnapped Naegi and took him back to her sister!", Fukawa spat. "I-I knew we couldn't trust her!"
"S-Surely that's not the case Fukawa Touko-dono," Yamada said, nervously wiping his glasses, "I-If it were, would we have not heard or seen evidence of a struggle?"
"She's a professional soldier! Naegi's a wimp! She could take him easily without any of us knowing!"
"I suppose a Vulkan nerve pinch would indeed be most effective..."
"Oowada-kun, what was the state of Naegi-kun's room?", Kirigiri asked.
"Huh? Oh, it was pretty clean, didn't even look like a fight went on in there. His bed was even made!", Oowada supplied.
"So we can assume that idiot Naegi left his room of his own volition? What a pain...", Togami said.
"What about Ikusaba-chan?", Asahina asked. "Surely she would have seen Naegi walking around?"
"Ikusaba never contacted me to relieve herself of guard duty last night, so I assume she would have.", Oogami said.
"S-See! She did kidnap Naegi!"
"Lets not jump to conclusions. All we know is that they are both missing.", Kirigiri said.
"I hope nothing b-bad happened to them!", Chihiro said anxiously.
"Umm...shouldn't we be out there looking for Naegi-kun and Ikusaba-san instead of staying here?", Maizono said. "Like Chihiro-san said, they could be in danger!"
"Maizono's right!", Kuwata piped in. "We can ask them what happened after we find them! I, for one, am ready for some action!"
Suddenly the window behind Kuwata exploded into shards of glass as a metal baseball bat made its way through the frame.
The group froze as a head with Monokuma mask over it stuck its way through the window.
"Heeeeeere's Johnny!", came a male voice from underneath the mask, then began to snicker madly.
"Johnathan!"
This time a woman's voice could be heard, and sure enough, another Monokuma masked head appeared through the window.
"What have I told you about breaking windows?!", the woman's voice continued.
"I don't know...", came Jonathan's voice, sounding dejected.
"You have to swing with your whole body!", she said, and then proceeded to smash the window in front of Kuwata.
"Run!", Kirigiri yelled, snapping everyone out of their trance.
The students ran through the building towards the entrance, which was now full of the sound of smashing glass and mad laughter. Dozens of people in Monokuma masks were pulling themselves through windows, breaking down walls and doors, and smashing anything in their way with bats and sticks and other weapons Fires had sprung up from nowhere and enemies appeared around every corner. Finally they arrived at the entrance hall, only to find the door blocked on the other side.
"Shit!"
"Oh no!"
"Save me o great Odin!"
"Stand aside." This from Oogmai, who proceeded to stand in front of the door. She posed, readied herself, then unleashed her punch upon the door. "Haaaaa!"
The door promptly blew off its hinges, sending the ten men behind it holding it closed into the air.
"Let's go!" Togami yelled, and they took off through the entrance and continued running down the street, as the mob reformed and began to pursue them.
"You can't escape!", yelled a voice they knew belonged to a man named Jonathan. "Your friends are already caught in our trap!"
"Then we need to hurry and find them before its too late.", Kirigiri muttered.
Part 2: Hope's Flight End.
