Kirigiri got off at the next stop, trying to drown her thoughts by pushing her headphones on, playing mildly upbeat things...
If that wasn't a dream... then how did Kirigiri get here? Where was the psycho she had been with? Why was Naegi still alive? Nothing made any sense...
Kirigiri couldn't stop her eyes from welling up as she walked down the road, the air crisp and cold. She could see her breath in the air as she exhaled... it was bitterly cold.
She pulled her gloves tighter around her hands, and winced as she felt her arm ache at lifting it...
She felt so scared...
So alone...
So...
Lost.
Kirigiri had no destination in particular at this point, aimlessly wandering. Of course she knew this would only cause more trouble for her in the long run, but didn't care...
This time, her destination was simply "Away from here".
It was childish, and didn't even make much sense, and Kirigiri knew that... but somehow it gave her a tiny bit of hope.
Hope that something... someone... would help her.
In situations like these, there was always a solution to any problem... she just needed to figure out what the problem was. She had so many questions she needed answers to, but being the only one experiencing this horrific confusion nobody could answer them for her... everyone seemed to be oblivious...
Kirigiri feared she was going insane.
Now of course, part of her was hoping that someone wonderful would turn up to sweep her off her feet and tell her it was all going to be ok... but that was almost as childish as her aimless wandering.
She could do the last part herself...
Kirigiri started to mumble to herself again, feeling her eyes getting hotter, her face wet with tears. "E-everything... will be... ok, Kyouko..." she forced herself to smile, although felt herself frowning the second she stopped. "Everything will be... ok..." She started shaking as she spoke... of course it sounded fake coming from herself, but somehow she liked to convince herself that this kind of thing was reassuring... despite not even believing that.
Kirigiri looked ahead of her, and saw two faint red lights in the distance. She expected they were probably from a car, or a motorcycle, and took no notice, continuing to walk, her breathing becoming heavier with every step she took.
The lights appeared to get slightly closer, and Kirigiri started walking closer to the grass on the passway to avoid getting hit in the dark... after all, she wasn't exactly in high visibility gear...
She began to hear the faint sound of footsteps on the pavement, and looked behind her.
There was nobody there... yet the lights continued to get closer, appearing brighter and brighter as they did.
Kirigiri started to feel a little nervous... if she was mugged in this light whoever was doing it would probably get away without much trouble... she wasn't carrying any serious weapons, and wasn't prepared for combat in her current state either... an easy target. She was now walking under a bridge... it became even darker as the moonlight was obscured... the perfect place.
The lights got brighter and brighter, and Kirigiri eventually resorted to looking down at the pavement as she walked, walking quicker and quicker as she felt her stomach turning...anything could happen at this point... anything...
Kirigiri walked so fast her legs ached, almost breaking into a run before she bumped into something... or rather, someone.
She stepped back in shock and looked at the figure in front of her, spitting out a small "M-My apologies..." before seeing the two piercing red lights right in front of her. She stepped back again. "No, no, no..." she gritted her teeth.
This was not how she planned to die...
In front of her was a tall boy, holding a knife in his teeth that was only just visible... the only other thing she could see of him was the two shining lights, which looked like fire in the darkness...
"K-Kirigiri-kun?" The boy mumbled through the knife handle, looking down at Kirigiri.
Kirigiri stared at him, a look of terror in her eyes. "Ishida?"
This was it... this would be her death... Kirigiri just knew it.
So she ran, past the boy, out from under the bridge, and out into the moonlight. She gasped, trying her best to keep running.
"Don't turn around, don't turn around, don't turn around Kyouko!" She said to herself as she ran, tears from her face dripping off and onto the ground.
In her panick, she didn't notice the pavement becoming more uneven, and tripped falling onto the ground with a loud "KA-THUNK!"
Kirigiri managed to turn onto her back, but when she tried to get up her arm gave way, causing her to recoil in pain, and collapse with her back on the pavement.
The boy stood over her, and in the moonlight Kirigiri could see Ishida slightly more clearly now.
It was definitely him...
"Uh... I'd help ya up, but y'know, I kinda got a problem of my own 'ere..." his voice was still muffled by the knife, but unmistakably his. Ishida looked down at the straightjacket, and then looked down at the knife in his teeth.
Kirigiri stared up at Ishida with wide eyes. "W-what..." She could feel herself shaking. "I-Ishida?!"
He was real... everything was real...
what was going on?!
Kirigiri managed to stand up after a few seconds of wincing and hoping Ishida wouldn't take this opportunity to kill her.
Ishida nodded "Mhmm..." he looked at the knife again, and bent down slightly for Kirigiri to be able to take it from him.
In this light Kirigiri could see his eye clearly when she was so close, and she placed one hand over her mouth, turning her attention to his one working eye instead. She brought her arm up, still shaking, and took the knife from Ishida.
"Ugh!" She almost dropped the knife in surprise when she realised that the handle was dripping wet. She pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket, and wiped across the handle, shivering slightly.
Well, she was never using that handkerchief again...
Ishida raised one eyebrow, and spoke clearly this time now that the knife was gone. "What do ya expect? I was holdin' it in my mouth for an awful long time!" he growled slightly.
Kirigiri just sighed, discarding the handkerchief on the ground, and holding the knife in her hand. She looked up at Ishida.
"As ya can see, I can't really get outta this myself..." He looked at the straightjacket. Kirigiri had barely noticed in her exhausted state until now, so looked slightly shocked.
Nevertheless, she walked behind Ishida, and with a sharp swing of the knife, stabbed into the back of the straightjacket. She sighed...
The knife he had was really blunt...
Even if he had planned to use it for attacking Kirigiri, it would take a long time, and be horribly messy. He would be caught way more easily with such an ill suited weapon... but there was no telling if Ishida had enough sense to know that.
Ishida flinched as Kirigiri hacked mercilessly at the material "A-ay, easy!" he growled slightly, seeming nervous.
Kirigiri continued to cut through the straightjacket with reckless abandon. She wasn't quite sure why she was helping Ishida... but she knew he could always attack her without using his arms... like what happened to poor Aoi. So giving him a certain amount of freedom wasn't really changing much.
When Ishida was finally cut free, he pulled off the straightjacket, feeling his arms aching. "A-ah... thanks." he smiled awkwardly, turning around to Kirigiri, who stepped back again nervously.
This caused Ishida to look a little sad...
Kirigiri stared up at Ishida weakly... she appeared lifeless and exhausted, unable to resist any kind of attack... she felt her eyelids droop...
Ishida noticed this, and stepped forward to Kirigiri,hesitantly throwing his arms around her in the most reassuring way he could. He wasn't very good at seeming non-threatening, but was at least going to try his best somehow... He felt his eyes filling with tears again. "I-I'm so scared... what the hell is going on...?!" He whimpered, holding Kirigiri close to him. He chuckled softly despite his crying "R-right?"
But at that point, Kirigiri has already passed out from exhaustion.