Izuru knew what happened as soon as he heard the sound. I could tell because his lips let up a bit of pressure against mine.

But he held the position, nonetheless. I opened my eyes to look at him, but his eyes were still closed. It's almost like he was in disbelief, unable to process what just happened.

He's been using the same tricks against me, and they've been working.

Until now.

After a couple seconds, Izuru finally released his lips. He staggered backwards a couple steps, and then his eyes opened wide. I could see the reds of his eyes, still a deep, warm red.

Izuru was looking at me as well. Rather, it seemed like he was looking past me, as his eyes were unmoving and unresponsive to my motion.

I quickly untied the knots around my legs, and then stood up next to Izuru. He turned towards me as I got closer. He raised his eyebrows, expecting something from me. Maybe some sort of explanation, or speech, or possibly a kick to sweep him off his feet and knock him out…

But before I could say something, Izuru spoke up.

"I guess I really can't trust you, then..."

I couldn't let everything end here... I couldn't let all our hard work go to waste... I had to object.

"No, Izuru... It's not what you think-"

"No, it's exactly what I think..."

He growled at me, and I jumped a bit, startled. My face showed compassion, but it didn't reach him.

"No, please-"

"Just... take me away... Complete your mission..."

A glazed, aloof look formed on Izuru's face as he turned away from me. I felt bad for what I did - but I'm sure he would understand eventually. I hugged him from behind, and whispered something. I couldn't leave him in this state...

"You know I still love you... I'm doing this to save you..."

"You don't understand..."

"Understand what?"

Izuru didn't even move. He stood there, awaiting his fate, not letting me interfere, staring at the wall. I shook him a bit.

"Understand what?"

He didn't respond. After a couple seconds, I decided there was nothing I could do, and I slowly grabbed his right wrist and started leading him out of the hideout.

The sun was hot that day. It was noon, which meant it was only getting hotter. The sun beat down on me quite like the first day I received this mission.

Except it wasn't like that at all. I was a different Kyoko Kirigiri now, one who learned the valuable lesson of understanding human emotions. Emotions aren't something that we should just hold back. Weakness or strength, they're what make us human. And they allow us to truly experience life unlike any other animal.

Izuru Kamukura didn't once attempt to escape. I led him through the trash in front of his hideout, and up to the gate, which I somehow managed to unlock with one hand after finding some piece of trash similar to the skewer I used last time. And through that, Izuru didn't speak a word. His eyes trailed off every so often.

Eventually we escaped the alleyway, and we walked out onto a side street, where the full intensity of the sun radiated upon us. The shining rays of Hope pierced through everything it could see... Izuru turned his face upwards and looked straight at the sun, his face very pensive.

I gave him a couple seconds to himself, and then pulled him along, as looking directly at the sun was bad for your eyes. We walked down this side street and turned right onto another, more bustling one, inching ever closer to the Future Foundation's Headquarters.

We caught the eyes of many people, as we were indeed out of place. I was still in my purple nightgown, as changing was too risky, and I was walking on foot with Izuru Kamukura in handcuffs, staring off into space, without any additional assistance or bodyguards for backup.

Even in this world, that was a very uncommon sight.

However, I decided to not let their invasive eyes bother me, as this was the right thing to do. If I learned anything on this journey, it was to not let anyone get in the way of what you want.

Anyone, including yourself.

I stopped on a street corner, as the traffic lights indicated to me that it wasn't my turn to cross. I took a couple of deep breaths, as walking in this heat wasn't very comfortable, especially while leading someone else. I started to remember the pathway to the Headquarters. I sighed, as I realized there was still a long way to go.

As the crosswalk sign ticked white, I snapped back out of my thoughts. I looked right, and then I stepped into the street with one foot before looking left.

There was a car speeding towards me from about a hundred feet away. Startled, and a bit angry, I hurriedly brought my foot back onto the sidewalk as I watched the car as it approached us. Izuru turned to look at it as well.

The car screeched to a halt in the middle of the crosswalk. It was a light brown car, at least ten years old, and not too big. The rightmost window rolled down and I was looking at a somewhat familiar face.

It was the detective from the news program I was watching on TV the other day.

"Kyoko! You've been here all along? Am I glad to see you, pal!"

"Yes, I've been here. Just out of sight. I honestly didn't need to be rescued at all, detective."

"Oh? Well… could you come with me anyways? I'd really like that promotion…" The detective scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

I thought about it for a couple seconds, and then I had an idea.

"Fine."

"Hop in, pal!" The detective reached over to unlock the passenger door on the right.

I opened the door quickly, and then gave Izuru a little shove to indicate that he should get in the car first. After he obliged and moved to the far seat, I entered the car, sat in the rightmost seat, and closed the door.

"Wait till the precinct hears this one!" The detective smiled as he saw the green light and revved his engine.

"Actually, we're not going to the precinct." I responded

"Huh?"

"We're going to the Future Foundation's Headquarters."

"Why?"

I gave the detective a stern look, "Just do it."

"Ok, pal." He shrugged as he instantly turned left.

Now, we were moving much faster to the Future Foundation. I grinned at myself, but then my face became more somber as I looked at Izuru.

He was staring out the window, into the distance again, probably thinking about something. He's probably still unable to believe what I did to him… and mad at himself for letting me do it. He hasn't said a word since we left his hideout...

To be honest, he's most likely overwhelmed by all this. Not to mention his entire way of life would change once the Foundation got a hold of him. And so he's sitting here, engulfed in his self-pity in the present and the future…

From my perspective, there's only one word that could describe how he felt right now.

Despair.

But he'd want to feel that way, right? After all, he is Izuru Kamukura, Junko's best student.

Anyways, regardless of whether he wanted this feeling or not, I felt incredibly guilty and sympathetic for inflicting this on him. I felt like I messed everything up. My heart has been sinking ever since I saw him like this, and I didn't know what to do. After I deceived him, he didn't deserve to feel like this. No one deserves to feel Despair. If only there was some way…

I opened my mouth to speak again, but no words came out. There was really no right thing to say here, either. Izuru had to know that I was there for him, and that everything would be all right in the end.

And actions speak louder than words, don't they? But nothing too imposing...

I looked down from Izuru's face, and at his hands that were sitting on his lap. With a subtle touch, I moved my left hand and rested it on top of his right. His hand felt warm from the sun's rays.

Slowly, Izuru shifted his face towards mine. An unstable look once again enveloped him, as he stared into my eyes. His bloodshot eyes wavered every so often, and his glossy black hair looked slightly frazzled.

I smiled softly, not looking deceptive or sarcastic. A smile that would convince anyone that there was nothing wrong. I released all of my emotion into my expression, so that Izuru could see that it was genuine.

From my hand, I could feel that Izuru lost some tension in his body. I started breathing again, not realizing I was instinctively holding my breath.

After another couple minutes of us sitting there in silence, the detective pulled the car up to a stop at the front of the Future Foundation's Headquarters.

"We're here, pal."

"Thank you." He did do me a favor, after all.

I got out of the car and dragged Izuru along with me. I started walking up the door of the building. As I turned around to look at Izuru once more, I saw the detective wave at me from his car before pulling away.

I quickly opened the door and stepped into the entrance hall of the Future Foundation with Izuru Kamukura.

The inside of the Future Foundation was visibly grand, even though it clearly gave our location away to our enemies. There was a reason for this… But I wasn't sure what. I surely wasn't the one who designed this building, after all...

A long carpet on top of white marble tiles greeted me as I took my first couple steps inside the building. The ceiling was very high, especially for a building like this one. As I looked upwards, the perfectly carved walls seemed to go on forever.

The hallway was bustling with people in suits and other formal attire. Many voices could be heard amid the clicking of shoes against the marble floor.

However, most of those voices stopped once everyone realized I was there.

They seemed to stare at me in amazement… In complete surprise…

Well, it wasn't just me, I was sure. It was Izuru as well. The Foundation's biggest target.

Actually, I think it was both of us there, together, amplifying their stares.

I realized I shouldn't just stand there watching everyone look at me. So, I decided to keep on moving. As if in a trance, their eyes followed us.

At the front of the room, there was a counter with a man behind it, who was staring at the two of us as well. The counter was a sleek black marble, lined with gold. As I approached him, I started speaking.

"Excuse me, sir."

The man seemed out of it for a second, and then shook his head quickly, "Y-yes?"

"Could you please lead me to-"

"Kyoko!"

My sentence was interrupted by a familiar voice coming from my left. I turned and saw him. I spoke with him not too long ago, actually.

Makoto Naegi.

His eyes widened at the sight of Izuru Kamukura, and then he rushed over to me. Izuru continued to show no emotion, despite the large crowd. He was staring at the ground again…

"Kyoko… Good job, I guess. But I thought you were going to-"

"Makoto, please. We can talk later. Could you direct me to the cells?"

The Foundation keeps all of its prisoners in jail cells on the lower floors, but I've never actually been down there. This was my first mission. From what I've heard, they're the most secure jail cells in the city, yet they were humane enough to give their victims a somewhat healthy lifestyle.

After all, the Foundation didn't want to impose Despair on its victims. That would be contradictory…

Makoto nodded, acknowledging both statements, "Of course, Kyoko."

He then sternly walked in front of me and continued to the elevator, in which Izuru and I entered. The elevator was gold-lined just like the counter, and had a felt red carpet on the floor.

Makoto pressed a button and the elevator started to move. I noticed Makoto staring at Izuru for some reason, but when Izuru noticed and looked up slowly, he looked away. Maybe he was trying to decipher what Izuru was thinking, to better understand his enemy.

But, I actually thought he was looking at Izuru to see what I saw in him, to see why I wanted him so much. I gave Makoto a slight stare, and to my expectation, he gave a small nervous grin.

The elevator slowed to a stop after a couple seconds. Makoto led the way down the hall, which was lined with jail cells. It looked to me like they were all in use.

However, besides one inmate who was laughing to himself uncontrollably, everyone I saw was sitting in a corner in the shadows, not doing anything at all. It's like they just gave up, just like Izuru… It's like they gave in completely to Despair and yearned for nothing else.

Well, that would change soon. Izuru looked side to side at the Remnants imprisoned here, showing more movement than he did the past ten minutes. Each Remnant looked up at him in response, but showed no emotion or other signs of acknowledgement.

Eventually, Makoto stopped at an empty jail cell.

"Well, in he goes." Makoto motioned towards the inside of the jail cell.

I stopped outside of the cell and gave Izuru a gentle push in that direction. To my surprise, he obliged willingly, taking the couple steps necessary and sat down against the wall in a similar fashion as the others. I stared into his deep red eyes, still visible despite the darkness. Honestly, they were about as inviting as they used to be, and something clicked inside me.

Makoto grabbed the cell door and started to close it, keeping a close eye on Izuru, when I spoke up.

"Makoto, could I have a minute?"

Makoto, startled, stopped closing the door, "Y-yeah, of course."

"Thank you." I nodded at him, and then walked inside the jail cell with Izuru. Makoto closed the door behind me in precaution, but he didn't lock it.

Izuru's eyes did not move as I walked towards him. I sat next to him calmly.

I turned my head to look at him, yet he continued to stare at the door. He needed to acknowledge that I still cared for him. I wanted to explain to him everything, and for him to understand me, so that we could live happily ever after like in all those stories my mother read to me as a child.

I never believed them back then. After my father left, all hopes of a happy future were gone, and what remained was my work only. No matter how much you willed something, sometimes it just wasn't meant to be.

But that doesn't mean you should give up hope. Because you never know what could happen. I still didn't believe in these fairy tales, but I never dismissed the possibility that everything could work out the way I wanted.

I opened my mouth, ready to talk to Izuru about my true feelings.

Yet again, the words that I heard were not my own.