Hello again! Here are two more parts. :D The part after this ends what /would/ have been the first chapter; I'm thinking of tacking one more on unless it gets too long, since it's not a BIG cliffhanger. Enjoy!
TWs: Gun/weapon use, suicide references.
The Future Foundation, Part Three
The first clear thought Koizumi had after that was about just how much she wanted to slap this Yasuhiro Hagakure across his big, dumb, grinning face.
And so she did.
He scrambled away from her pretty fast, but she managed to get another slap in before he got far enough away to be out of her reach. "Hey, hey, whoa!" he said, his eyes wide. "What'd you do that for?"
"You – were supposed - to be here - three days ago!" Koizumi forced her words out through her teeth as she stomped across the clearing, her fists clenched so tight she could feel her nails digging into her skin. "Akane-chan, Tanaka, Nidai – they were supposed to live and you could have saved them!"
Her face was burning, and her eyes were swimming with tears. Hagakure had backed himself up against the same tree Touko-chan was hanging from, and no matter how close Koizumi got he didn't move any further away, as if somehow the girl stuck screaming in the tree could protect him. All of the color had drained from his face, apart from the red patches where Koizumi's slaps still stung. Good, she thought. He should have been mortified, more so than he looked.
But, to her surprise, Hagakure was still smiling. "Ah...right. That's… yeah, huh…" He spoke with excruciating slowness, and tried hard not to look Koizumi in the eye. "I get it, I get ya. Look, I can explain –"
"That doesn't matter now." She turned away from Hagakure, and started back towards the edge of the clearing. Saionji still lay ground, still motionless, while Kuzuryuu looked just as angry as she did – but then, he always looked angry. "Hiyoko-chan is dying. If I don't get her to the hospital-"
"Hey, it's alright, she's fine!"
Koizumi whirled back on Hagakure. He was still smiling, but now he actually looked confident. At least, he did, until he took a second glance at Saionji lying curled up on the grass, actively bleeding from just above her hairline. "…I mean, she's gonna be fine, right?" he said, his smile fading. "She's… not looking too bad…"
"HEY, S-SHUT UP!" Touko-chan interrupted, yelling down at Hagakure from up in the tree. "D-Don't make us look like we're s-stupid!"
"Hey, I'm just trying to defuse the situation, right?" Hagakure whirled angrily on Touko-chan. "'Cause it's true, even if it'd take a while to explain-"
"Right now I couldn't care less how you look or what you're talking about," Koizumi said, speaking through her teeth. "You already got here; that's all you were supposed to do. So either help us save her, or stop holding us back!"
Now Hagakure's smile was more of a grimace, and he looked more nervous than ever. "Aright, yeah, of course," he said. "First things first, gotta get things under control from the inside…"
"Makes more sense than a-anything else you've said," Touko-chan mumbled. "B-but just what what do you expect me to do? I can't do anything from up here…"
Koizumi made a grunt that changed to a scream halfway through. She couldn't believe that they were still standing here at all. She'd been hoping for the best-case scenario of the Future Foundation as some kind of miracle problem-solver, one that would make the Impostor or whoever they were now regret ever crossing them. But at the very least she'd expected them to have some sort of agenda at hand, or at least to be more organized. Instead of course she'd gotten these two, who could literally look at a little girl bleeding on the ground and still need to be convinced to act like it was an emergency. Why did she even feel the need to rescue them? Why did she have to do any of this at all?
"I'm going to get you down," she said, pulling her camera off her shoulder and storming towards the tree. "And once I do, we're going straight to the hospital, and once we're certain that Hiyoko-chan is stable you can give me all the explanations you want."
She was fully prepared to ignore any other comments from Hagakure, but none came. So she diverted her focus to climbing the tree, which was not something she'd done in a very long time, but still had some idea of how to do. On the way up she took a quick glance over at Touko-chan; she wasn't too far up off the ground, and her braids could easily be moved out of the branches they were stuck in. She gave Touko-chan what she hoped was a reassuring but not altogether friendly smile; Touko-chan didn't seem to react to it before Koizumi turned away. She could only hope that Touko-chan's own lack of helpfulness was a direct result of being stuck in the tree.
"Hold on, forget the hospital," Kuzuryuu said when Koizumi had just reached the ends of Touko-chan's hair. "Where's your stuff?"
Koizumi started; she hadn't been expecting him to talk. "What do you mean –"
"Yeah, what do you mean?" Hagakure interrupted. "Stuff's kinda vague, right?"
"Your emergency medical supplies?" Kuzuryuu spoke slowly, making himself seem twice his size with only his voice. "You didn't bring any?"
When neither Hagakure nor Touko-chan answered immediately, Kuzuryuu exploded, and Koizumi felt her own blood pressure flaring. "Where the fuck did you think you were going?! Almost all of us are injured!" He pointed one bandaged fist, very angrily, at another bandaged fist.
Hagakure looked shiftily from left to right, and then up at Touko-chan, as if expecting her to cover for him. When she didn't, he looked back again. "Why would we need to, though, right? There's a hospital around here. You know that."
"Why the hell not!? That's nowhere near what we need – and it's a half hour walk at least!" Koizumi said through gritted teeth. She'd made it to the middle branches, and the point where Touko-chan's braids were caught was in sight. "Didn't you come on a boat? Or a plane, or…"
"Yeah, well, about that… explaining's a bit of a tricky business," Hagakure said, biting his lip. "Should prob'ly wait until Naegi-chi gets here…"
Naegi-chi? That was the second time she'd heard that name. Was Naegi their boss? If so, she hoped they were halfway competent – but at least they were making some progress without them. "I'm about to drop you," she mumbled down to Touko-chan, before she grabbed the ends of her braids and yanked them out of the branches they were stuck in.
She couldn't support Touko-chan's weight for long, and with a yelp Touko-chan collapsed on the ground in a heap. She was on her feet again by the time Koizumi dropped down from the tree, but without so much as a word of thanks Touko-chan stormed over to Hagakure, looking unmistakably surly.
"I t-told you to stop making us look suspicious!" She grimaced, but despite the clear strength of her anger it took her a few more seconds to speak again. "We c-couldn't come with anything but the clothes on our backs," she said to Kuzuryuu. "And even then we're lucky to have those…"
"'Cause we parachuted in!" Hagakure interrupted. "Makes sense, 'right?"
"What…" Kuzuryuu looked absolutely incredulous. "Why'd you do that, though? We have a friggin' airport right on the first island!"
Touko-chan screwed her eyes shut, as if she were racking her brain for a solution, before she opened them, looking altogether calmer. "D-do you think it's been easy for us, either?" she said. "That… bastard… it's like they're toying with us for t-their own amusement…"
Touko-chan's words sent a shiver down Koizumi's spine; for the first time in the entire conversation she realized that perhaps things were not all that they seemed. But at the moment, this was the least of her concern, and she had to make that clear.
"Forget about that for now," she said, through gritted teeth. "I'll tell you this much – even if you're on our side, I can't trust you to protect us. There's only two of you, and we're only safe if there's six. And as far as I'm concerned, you still owe us a world's worth of explanations. But if you slow me down, then your excuses aren't going to mean anything. Got it?"
Hagakure and Touko-chan shared a quick, wordless look as Koizumi knelt back by Hiyoko-chan's side. She was now only semi-conscious, and the wound on her head wasn't bleeding as badly. But she had no way of knowing what internal damage had been done, or if Hiyoko-chan was just inches from death.
She wished Mikan-chan was there, to give her a better idea of Hiyoko-chan's chances. She wished they were all there: Nidai and Tanaka and Akane-chan, Peko-chan and Sonia-chan, and even Hanamura, and Komaeda, and… and Togami. She would've taken them all if it meant being surrounded with people with the resolve to survive.
Instead she had these two. Plus Kuzuryuu. But then… at least Kuzuryuu was on her side. She never thought she'd be thankful for that.
"W-we can carry her for the rest of the way," Touko-chan said, interrupting Koizumi's thoughts. "Y-you guys have been through enough already."
"Yeah," Hagakure said. "Just point us back to the path and we'll be back there in no time, 'right?"
For a second, Koizumi hesitated. But her arms were weary to the point of collapse, and she couldn't afford to waste any more time. "Alright," she said. "Let's go before it's too late."
Hinata solved the Final Dead Room as though he were walking through a dream.
There was no need for him to assess the situation; he already knew every detail about his surroundings, even without looking at them. He walked up to the beaten desk, removed a pair of pliers from the first drawer he opened, and took them to the nearby closet, where he used them to bend a coat hanger into a long, hooked wire. Then he bent down by the side of the bed, slid the wire under, and retrieved a small key, which somehow he knew would open the locked drawer on the desk.
He retrieved the scissors from the drawer, and then walked back to the bed. He sat down at about the middle of the mattress, picked the Monobear doll up off the covers, and then, slowly and methodically, began to hack the scissors into the stuffing of the doll's head.
He worked at this for quite some time, moving the scissors down the Monobear's body, feeling nothing but the satisfaction of a job well done. No, that wasn't all of it at all. He was terrified. He was out of control. But at the same time… he wasn't in any danger, and he certainly wasn't about to stop. Not that it was possible, if he'd wanted to try.
Buried about the middle of the Monobear's chest was a set of small batteries. Hinata removed them from the bear and walked with them to the doorside console on the other side of the room. The exit was sealed behind a row of thick iron bars, just like the entrance had sealed itself when he'd come in. His first guess was that the keypad would open the door, but when he punched in the numbers he'd seen on the walls, all that moved was a nearby hidden panel.
He retrieved the camera and USB stick from the cubbyhole inside the panel, slid the batteries inside the camera, and headed for the computer after only a split second glance at the image inside. He plugged the stick into the computer, typed in a password he'd pulled out of the thin air of his mind, and then headed back to the console for a second try at the code.
9 8 7 5. Much like the password, he entered the numbers without quite knowing how he'd come to the conclusion that they were correct.
With a slight ding, the door proceeded… not to open. Instead, a small depression opened up in the ground, and a circular dais rose out of it, slowly and smoothly.
On that dais was a gun. A regular revolver, not that Hinata had ever seen one so close.
He stood still for several seconds, before he realized that in order to move he would have to command his own body. Then he stumbled, suddenly fatigued, and held onto the dais for support.
All you have to do is shoot, Hinata-kun.
A few quick blinks returned him to his senses, but he couldn't bring himself to look back at the revolver. He tried to tell himself he was confused. That he didn't know what he was expected to do. But even then, deep down, he knew.
Pull the trigger and penetrate the Octagon.
What's the Octagon? he tried to think in his own voice. But he didn't get a response back – and he hated all the more that he was even dignifying whatever this was. He hated the voice. He thought he'd been rid of it, told himself that it was all in his head, but now he knew he would never convince himself of it. He couldn't understand it, either, but he'd gone far beyond trying.
Pull the trigger, Hinata-kun.
Whatever it was that had pushed its way into his mind, it wasn't forcing him to do what it wanted, at least not as subtly as before. It was talking again, and giving him orders, but it wasn't guiding him, the way he was sure he'd been guided to solve the rest. Was the preservation instinct too strong to be overridden? Was…whatever this was giving him the free will to refuse, or at least the illusion of it?
Why do I have to do this? he thought.
Pull the trigger, Hinata-kun.
I can't.
Do it.
I can't.
You have to.
I won't.
You'll die if you don't.
I'll die if I do.
You're not meant to live forever.
But I don't want to die now.
But if I could keep you alive for a thousand years I would.
For a moment he wondered if he'd thought those last words himself. They didn't feel like a command, but he felt the emotion behind them as strongly as if they were. Was it concern? Or empathy? Or even remorse?
He picked up the revolver, and the next thing he knew he'd opened it, with an expert precision that he knew he lacked. Six slots, six bullets. He could play a standard round of Russian Roulette (and how he knew he would have to play Russian Roulette was something he simply could not explain) by removing five of the six bullets, spinning the revolver, placing it against his head, and firing.
He slid exactly one bullet out of its place, but then, instead of going on to the second, he spun the revolver and pushed it closed. He realized what that meant within a split second, and his blood turned to ice in his veins.
You're not meant to die today, the voice said.
I can't do it, he told himself.
You can, the voice replied.
But it's suicide, he thought. I –
It's not what you think, the voice interrupted. You're not doing this alone.
I'm scared, he thought.
It's alright, the voice said. I'm here. I've taken hold.
But how?
You'll see, Hinata-kun. You know this is how it has to be done.
…I do. I…I know.
I'm so glad, Hinata-kun. I'm amazed that you trust me, even though I've done nothing but scare you… but it'll be alright. You know, and so do I. And we can show the world what happens when hope accomplishes the impossible.
Click.
Hinata's finger fell from the trigger, and his arm fell slowly to his side. He didn't know if he could hold onto the gun at all anymore, but rather than put it back on top of the pedestal he bent down to set it on the floor.
Another, slightly louder click came from somewhere behind the door, along with a chunk as the bars disappeared. Hinata approached the handle, and on turning it he realized it was no longer locked. He opened the door, and stepped through into the room beyond.
It was not at all what Hinata had expected, because it was not at all like the rest of the building. It was brighter, angular, not oddly patterned, and filled from tip to toe with weapons. Every available wall space was crammed with them, arranged in various fashions on a series of hooks. They all looked to be in good condition, and for that matter ready to use.
He stood stunned for several seconds, taking it all in. He could not for the life of him figure out where he was, or how he'd gotten there, or why of all things this had to be hidden in some kind of candy-coated wonderland. Was it Monobear's idea of a joke…? It had to be.
Or the Impostor's, of course, but… he had the feeling that this wasn't the Impostor's doing. If they'd wanted anyone to see this, they would have brought them here themselves. Or at least used some of the weapons to… no, he didn't at all want to think of that.
He lingered for a time at each of the displays. Against one wall was a series of blades, from tiny pocket knives to axes larger than Hinata was. Across from that was a series of refrigerators which, on frenzied examination, appeared to contain nothing but various vials of poisons. A third wall had two sets of hooks mounted into it – and those hooks held even more hooks, hooked together, as it were, into one of the most disgusting-looking whip weapons that Hinata had ever seen. Another had only innocuous looking items – ropes, razor wires, and even some good-sized cinderblocks – but it didn't take a genius to figure out that they could be weapons, and were there to be used as such.
Eventually, overwhelmed, he slumped against one of the few spaces of empty wall. The silence in the room was deafening, and he wondered if he'd get some sense of where to go, or what to do next. Was there a reason that he'd felt compelled to risk his life to get here? He was starting to get angry at the very concept. He couldn't figure out how he'd gotten here, or why suddenly he seemed to be losing control of himself. He even wondered if giving up on this, on life itself, would be more rewarding than trying to figure it out.
But he didn't want to let that thought take over. Instead, he pushed off against the ground, and attempted to stand.
"So you're back, are you?"
And then he froze.
He didn't dare make another sound. The voice… the voice was familiar. Too familiar, but he couldn't remember where he'd heard it. It was high, and girlish, and animated. But, most importantly, it didn't belong to anyone he'd known on the island.
"Are you going to try again? Won't that be interesting… I wonder what you'll try, this time…"
Every ounce of Hinata's fear was back, and he felt weak and vulnerable, even though he'd just played and won a fool's game of Russian Roulette. Her voice… it wasn't angry, or even upset, but something about it sent a chill down his spine. He found himself thinking that he could easily run away, and leave this mystery well enough alone, and even be better off in the end. But he was curious – and not just about the voice. He'd been brought here for a reason, and he had to find out what it was.
He finished standing and then crept along the narrow corridor, passing rows and rows of weapons without giving them more than a passing glance. Maces, whips, guns, crossbows, bombs, semi-automatics… each was just as terrifying as the last, but nothing compared to what he was afraid to find alive.
"Stabbing, strangling, slicing, dicing, torturing, tearing, despairing…it doesn't matter what you do, and I know you're not the type to torture for fun…"
The voice trailed off as Hinata rounded the final corner. Strangely enough, the racks of weapons came to a stop there. The eighth and final side of the Octagon was entirely empty… apart from a girl of about Hinata's age, the first unfamiliar person he'd seen in weeks, who lay slumped against the farthest wall.
Her hands were held behind her back – literally, as they'd been bound by a chain that hung from about the middle of the wall. A similar pair of chains held her legs at the ankles, connecting her to a metal tether in the middle of the floor. Her only clothing was an over-large white dress shirt, which covered her hands and fell past her knees. Her hair, which was bleached to a shade somewhere between red and blonde, fell limp and disheveled down to her waist.
She was staring into the distance, with her head slumped over her shoulder, and hadn't moved or reacted when Hinata had entered or spoken. All he could think was that she was purposefully ignoring him, though he couldn't think of why, or otherwise that she really had not noticed that he was there. She almost looked like she'd been drugged. Or had she been poisoned? he thought. Is she even alive?
No, she had to be – who else could have spoken? But it didn't make any sense. One way or another, her presence disturbed him as much as her voice. Was it the shock of finally finding someone here, or finding someone in this state? Or was it the way she seemed to hang between life and death…? No, it was something else. Somehow… somehow this girl was familiar. He'd seen her somewhere before, but not like this. She'd been full of life there, full of power…
It took him several silent minutes to see it, but if she put her red hair up in pigtails, and wore the outfit he'd seen on the girl from the rulebook… even if that girl was only a pixelated image, she'd look enough like her to be her. He didn't know how to explain how he leapt from that conclusion to the next one he made. But he did have one more mystery to solve, and he was willing to take a leap of faith on it.
"Enoshima?" he said.
At the sound of his voice the girl's head snapped up, her listless expression gone in an instant. She had the kind of big blue eyes he'd only seen on magazine covers before, and the kind of manic grin he'd only seen on a cartoon character. Both were now aimed straight ahead – and their power seemed to grow as she absorbed the sight of him.
"Well, well, well, this is not what I was expecting at all!" she said. "Hajime Hinata, how the hell did you get in here?"
Dun dun dun dun DUNNN!
Carth
