Chapter Text
29/04 - 09:00
“Fuyuhiko! Fuyuhikooooo!” A thundering knock smashes against the door down the hall, “Fuyuhiko, I’m not leaving until you get out here!” Kazuichi smashes his fist against the door once again.
“He’s going to be there a while…” Izuru sighs quietly enough that Kazuichi won't be able to hear him. Although given the volume of his yells, he probably doesn't need to try that hard.
Him and Sonia are curled up on either side of the couch, tea cups in one hand and a book in the other. It hadn’t exactly been the fastest start to the day - especially not when both Akane and Fuyuhiko have locked themselves away this time. Their already small group of survivors gets smaller and smaller by the day no matter how much Sonia and Kazuichi fight against it.
“Yes…I think so…” She mumbles, flicking to the next page casually.
Should they be helping him? Maybe. But he hasn’t asked for assistance yet so Izuru sees no reason to get up. They’re lucky he’s even out here with them when he could be enjoying his own space where he doesn’t need to worry about accidentally invading Sonia’s space. With Kazuichi practically smashing down every door there isn’t much peace and quiet to be found anywhere - not even in his own room.
“AKANE! You too! You need to come out and eat you idiots!” It’s almost pleasant hearing a different name being yelled for a change.
What is that saying again: insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? Well if this isn’t insanity then Izuru doesn’t know what is. He’s not going to be the one to tell Kazuichi that though.
“Does he really think this is going to work?” He raises an eyebrow and looks over at Sonia, taking a sip of his tea.
“I think he does.” Sonia shakes her head, her lips pursed tightly, “I am just glad it is not only me trying to drag them out now.”
“Yeah, a whole lot of good it is doing.”
Four days in and they’re already falling apart. Even Naegi, Kirigiri and the others have given up now. Not one of them have dared cross over into their territory since the meeting the other day. At this point they might as well be on their own.
“If we keep trying eventually they will come out. It has to be driving them as mad as it is driving us.” Sonia forces a wobbly smile. Hopefully she’s better at lying to herself than she is at lying to him.
“You say that as if you aren’t aware how stubborn those two are.”
He might not have spent much time with Fuyuhiko and Akane but they aren’t exactly closed books. Like quick sand, the harder any of them try to drag them out, the deeper they will retreat. If anyone thought their situation these last few years was going to encourage Fuyuhiko and Akane of all people to be more open and less stubborn then they clearly weren’t paying attention. The rebellion inside them never left, now they just don’t have Junko pointing it in the direction she wants.
“What would you suggest then?” Sonia slams her book closed. Her voice is still as soft but the woman she once was certainly hasn’t gone away, “I have been trying to come up with ideas and you are surprisingly quite for the ultimate hope. Perhaps you can join in the effort.”
“No.”
“No?”
“Correct.” He sighs heavily, “There’s no point in any of this. They will come out when they want to and us forcing them out isn’t going to help their situation. I could go over now and pick their locks but then what will we do? They’re not doing any harm, sometimes people just want to be on their own.” He shrugs non-chalantly and turns back towards his book.
If he was in Akane and Fuyuhiko’s position he knows full well he would be barely refraining from smashing Kazuichi’s head through a wall. It’s not as if Fuyuhiko hasn’t been making an effort at least. He’ll willingly admit that Akane might have some issues they need to deal with (when hasn’t she?) but Fuyuhiko is just mourning the only way he knows how to. Well the only way that isn’t just straight up massacring people. If anything this is him being healthy.
“What people want and what is best for their health is not always the same thing. And when it comes to us, I would presume it is quite often the opposite.” Sonia meets his gaze, staring him down with raw determination.
It’s hard to fully disagree with her. He might have his issues but it isn’t possible for him to ignore the ultimate psychologist knowledge within his mind. You know its bad when the only person even mildly informed about mental health is the teenager who had his skull cut open and mental health knowledge surgically inserted into him. It’s not like any of them have been given the chance to develop coping strategies. But this approach isn’t exactly going to teach them that either.
“We have our freedom, its up to them how they spend it.”
“Well we can’t afford to lose anyone else.” The words are barely more than a whisper as she breathes them out. Anxiously speaking them into the world like that will solve anything…
Akane and Fuyuhiko might not be dead but that doesn’t mean they haven’t already been lost. Only time will tell at this point.
“I don’t know if we have the power to stop that Sonia. If they want to join us they will but forcing them isn’t goint to help.”
Sonia frowns, the wrinkles marring her normally pristine face. For a moment he thinks she’s watching him but her eyes are fixed on something over his shoulder. Her usually bright eyes have gone vacant. Still…
“Are you okay?” He narrows his eyes and turns to follow her gaze. There’s nothing there except the normal kitchen. The same kitchen they’ve had since the started living here. Not a hair out of place from its usual set up. It’s times like this when he begins to wish he had a talent for mind reading.
“Sonia?” He tentatively moves forward, stretching out his arm as if to shake her awake, “Sonia? Are you okay?” He withdraws his arm at the last moment, pulling away from any physical contact. Instead he leans in front of her eye line, waving dramatically. Its only then that he notices the single tear rolling down her cheek. “Sonia!” He raises his voice sternly, staring her down.
“Hmm…? Oh sorry.” She finally shakes her head and brushes the tear from her cheek with a swift and elegant movement. “Sorry, I need to leave.” She clears her throat and jumps up from the couch.
Her teacup is knocked aside, spilling the hot liquid all over the fabric, but that doesn’t stop her from running off. Tearing down the corridor past Kazuichi to lock herself away in her room just like the others. All he’s left with is an empty sofa and a steadily growing stain.
“Dude!” Kazuichi’s head pops around the door frame, “What the hell happened?! Sonia’s gone too now?”
There’s nothing he can do but shrug, “It appears so.” An empty couch sits in front of them both.
Kazuichi groans and throws his head back, stalking across the room to lean over him determinedly, “Well, what did you do to her?” As he speaks, his hands remain firmly planted on his hips. A stern expression etched into his face - or as stern an expression.
“What did I do? Why do you think I did something?” He scowls up at Kazuichi, chucking his book to one side.
Of course it has to be his fault. He might have been talking with her but that doesn’t instantly mean it was something he did or said. The human psyche is rarely that simple.
“Because you were the only other person in here!” Kazuchi rolls his eyes. Grumbling as if it's completely obvious but of course he's as close minded as ever.
“We were just talking about how pointless this all was. Then she went glassy eyed and began crying before running off.” He purses his lips and tucks his book down at his side. He wouldn’t be surprised if it was somehow related to those damn videos she was watching. Everything seems to be going back to their memories from that time period.
“What?! Dude seriously?!” Kazuichi finally backs off, before skipping over and launching himself onto the couch. By the time he flies forward its too late for Izuru to warn him. He lands directly on the wet patch of the couch, his clothes undoubtedly soaked with tea right about now.
“Ughhhhh. You could have warned me Izu.” Izu? He almost chokes at the horrific nickname.
Still, seemingly unaware of Izuru's reaction, Kazuichi groans and spins about in a weak attempt to assess the damage. It’s a good thing they’re all locked in here so it’s not like having a wet patch on your butt matters to anyone. Especially not when most those people are locked in their rooms right now.
“Well first, never call me that again. It’s Kamakura or Izuru if you really want to.” Kazuichi rolls his eyes but Izuru kicks out at him sharply. “And secondly, you didn’t exactly give me a chance to before you launched yourself at it. Maybe use your eyes for once.”
In deafeat Kazuichi flops down onto a different couch, letting his head fall back against it.
“Ugh, whatever. It’s just us now then. You better not ditch me too.”
“Fine…but I wanted to go and learn the building layout today so if you’re coming with me you better change those trousers.” Izuru looks Kazuichi up and down. The last thing he needs is Kazuichi complaining like a child the entire time.
“Fine, fine. Whatever you say. Don’t leave without me though.”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
Him and Kazuichi again. It seems he can never be rid of the boy. But for once, he’s not sure if that’s such a bad thing.
~~~
29/04 - 09:25
“So how come you’ve never explored this place. I thought you would have been the type to be straight on that” Kazuichi hovers right by Izuru's side as he carefully brings the teacups back to the kitchen sink and sets his book back on the shelf.
The tea is still seeping into the couch but he’s not some maid that’s here to clean up after Sonia. If she wants it clean then she can sort it out when she decides to come out of her room. Until then it’ll be fine once it’s dried out. He just needs to keep Kazuichi off it until then.
“I just had better things to do.”
Honestly, he hadn’t even really considered it. He had been too swept up in the Neo World Program that he had mostly written off the actual building they are in now. No matter what rooms they’ve set up, it doesn’t actually change anything anyway. Nevertheless he might as well take a look, what harm could that do?
“Hmmm. Fair enough.”
“What about you? You haven’t explored?” He tilts his head to the side, examining the mechanic.
His hands have slunk away into his pockets as he hunches over, waiting for Izuru to take charge and lead them forwards like normal. Its funny how quickly humans settle back into routines regardless of how much time has passed.
“Not much point. It’s easier staying here without exploring. I can pretend the area were allowed to travel in is bigger than it actually is if I never go out and actually look at it myself.” His tone gets more and more sombre with every word that passes.
“Hm.” He nods ever so slightly and straightens up as he leads the way out of the room…this is going to be a fun exploration trip.
It’s painfully obvious how little he’s seen of this place when he gets to the very first cross road, directly outside their main door. A now distant memory from before they got into those machines reminds him that the stairs to the entrance are to their right but everything else is a black void in his knowledge.
Even so, Kazuichi makes no complaints as Izuru turns left down the corridor. In fact quite the opposite. He falls into step behind Izuru, his footsteps just a second behind, never once daring to close the gap between them. Not even words breech the gap as they traipse through the empty corridor.
Given the fact that it's the future foundation who created this place he isn’t exactly surprised at the lack of decorations. That doesn’t make it any less drab and gloomy though. Fluorescent light and plain white walls really help them regain their sanity…
It’s a relief when they stumble upon the next door in the corridor. The pale brown isn’t much but at this point anything will do. That is until they swing open the door and the lights flick on.
Izuru freezes in the doorway, his face hardening subconsciously.
“What is this place?”
Kazuichi squeezes past him into the room. As usual personal space isn’t his forte. His shoulders thump into Izuru’s back, jolting him forward uncomfortably. But even Kazuichi can’t make him move one step further. He is forever rooted to this exact spot.
It’s like someone has reached into his mind and pulled out his first memory to display in front of him. Even the reek of bleach and antiseptic is the same. Each and every one of his senses screech and burn.
A dark and heavy pit writhes in his stomach. He doesn’t bother holding back his sneer. They might not be part of Hopes Peak anymore but even they can’t hide their roots.
Pure white as far as the eye can see. The walls, the floors, the ceilings. White, white, white. He never did understand the obsession, it just made every fleck of filth stand out amongst the perfect. Every foot print. Every strand of hair. Every fleck of blood. Never clean. Always one step away from perfect.
Kazuichi steps forward, his footsteps echoing ever so slightly as he circles the large metal gurney say askew in the middle of the room. It’s not like Kazuichi is the kind of person that can ever blend in but he’s never stood out this much. His shock of bright pink hair drowning everything else out. Something living and breathing amongst the stillness.
But even as he drifts around the room he pays no attention to the implements on the counters or the sparse furniture. No, he’s singularly focused on the same thing as Izuru. Izuru has seen more brain scans in his short life than most people would ever even imagine but even he raises an eyebrow at this. Every wall is pasted with scans, each one the tiniest fraction different to the last. The only thing separating it from Izuru's memories is the haphazard way they have all been blutacked to the wall. Hope's Peak would never have been that careless with their prized work.
He closes his eyes, only for a moment, and images of those staggering figures drowns his mind. Long white coats billowing as they swarmed around the room like flies on a corpse. Their mouths hidden away behind pristine white masks. Their voices still bark at him even as he pries his eyes open.
In an instant the figures melt away into the empty nothingness. Just like everything else in this place it is utterly deserted. For once he counts his blessings.
“What the hell is this dude?!” Kazuichi’s forehead is wrinkled as he spins around to face Izuru.
Izuru shifts his weight uncomfortably as he tries to pull his gaze away from the scans, “The others did mention they had a hospital in this place.”
“Then what about these?!” Kazuichi reaches out and rips the nearest one off the wall. The corners peel away, still clinging onto the wall for dead life. The rest of the scan hangs limply in Kazuichi's hand as he waves it about.
“Read the name on the corner.” He stiffly nods his head towards Kazuichi and the multitude of scans. Sure enough Kazuichi takes one look at it and stiffens, “They had to keep an eye on our brain health while we were strapped into that thing. Just normal procedural testing.”
“Is this…does this show his brain after he…” He looks between Izuru and the scan frantically.
Of course Izuru is supposed to know all the answers. Maybe if Kazuichi wasn’t waving it around like a mad man he would be able to somewhat read it and see if the person is brain dead or not. Maybe. If he tried.
“I don't know. Does it really matter? It could have been taken at any point. They probably took them daily, maybe even more often.” He doesn’t dare close his eyes but he spins around, putting the room squarely in his shadow, “Come on, there’s more to see and we probably shouldn’t mess with their stuff.”
Judging by the look of this place nothing has been touched since they all woke up so he doubts Kirigiri or the others would give half a damn if a scan was moved but the sooner they leave this place behind the better. There’s nothing left for them here.
He doesn’t even bother waiting for Kazuichi. As soon as he steps away the door is freed and it slams shut behind him. He can open a door on his own, he'll live.
Sure enough, as Izuru moves to lean on the wall across the hallway, the door swings open once again for Kazuichi to slide through. He can just about catch a glimpse of the room behind him before the door seals once more. Everything is still and neat, just how they found it, with the exception of the scan which Kazuichi has left awkwardly in the middle of the gurney. That’s going to be an awkward conversation when one of the others sees it - that is assuming they haven’t already been watching them on the cameras this entire time. He has no idea when they’d find time for it but he’s not going to put it past them.
Just as the door thumps closed Kazuichi freezes, his brain finally catching up with him, “They aren’t going to be mad we went in there, are they?”
“Probably not. They told us we could explore and they haven’t locked the door.” He pushes up from the wall and takes a step closer, “Even if they were it doesn’t matter. There are plenty of other things for them to be mad about.”
Kazuichi doesn’t have a response to that.
Izuru’s feet take charge before his head. Where are they going? He has no idea. Only a single word rings in his mind. Away. Even so he keeps his face still and impassive. Kazuichi might be quiet but his presence is still heavy behind him. His footsteps thud in Izuru’s mind. His breathing echoes softly through the empty halls. Every shift of his arms and legs rustles ever so slightly. Always there.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Even as the corridor bends and they change direction to follow it, he can’t help by wonder if this hallway has gotten longer. Even though he can see the dead end up this path, they never seem to get any closer.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
He feels a single bead of sweat dribble down his forehead. It clings to his brow for dear life. Taunting him.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Every breath rattles his bones.
And then it stops…and Izuru goes stumbling forwards, a heavy weight pushed against his back. For a moment he stumbles, his legs slipping out from under him. But then, as if nothing had ever happened, the world rights itself and he’s still and steady once again.
“Are you okay?!” One of Kazuichi's calloused hand is still gripped tightly around his shoulder, “I'm so sorry, I didn’t realised you had stopped.”
As Izuru twists around he can see the boy biting hard into his bottom lip. His other hand is buried in his cloak of hair, rubbing ferociously across the back of his neck. Keeping his hand as steady as possible he reaches over and gently frees himself from Kazuichi's grip.
“I’m fine. I just saw a door so wanted to check it out.” He presses his lips together until he is sure they must have turned white.
He’s not sure if he subconsciously noticed and his feet stopped before his brain or if it was just a lucky coincidence but it seems to be convincing enough as Kazuichi breaks out into a smile. Well, the closest any of them have gotten since waking up in this place anyway.
“Nice one.” Kazuichi claps his back awkwardly, darting forward to grab the door handle. “What do you think it is this time?” Kazuichi snorts, his hand resting motionless on the handle.
“This is a stupid game.” He rolls his eyes.
Knowing this place it could be any number of things. A medical center, a library, an office, a server room, a supply room. Whats the point if even trying to guess?
Kazuichi’s shoulders sink ever so slightly, “Fine…”
But as he pulls down on the handle it rattles but stays firmly in place. Again. But it still refuses to budge. Hmmm…
“Did they lock it?” Kazuichi rattles the door once more for good luck.
“If they didn’t then they need to sort out the hinges.”
He bends down slightly to peer at the handle but theres no lock in sight. Just plain smooth steel all the way across. It’s not like he needs a lock to break through but he suspects that wouldn’t get a positive reaction from their gracious ‘hosts’. He’d be lying if he didn’t say it suddenly made the entire room one hundred times more appealing. The temptation of a locked door is just too tantalising.
He’s not the only one that feels that way. As they continue down the corridor Kazuchi decides to ponder every possible option. Apparently he ran out of reasonable ideas pretty early though as he barely comes up with five possibilities before he goes off the deep end.
“Maybe it’s where they have their creepy psycho murder room.” He claps his hands together and skips forward enthusiastically. Izuru is beginning to think he’s spent too much time as an Ultimate Despair…
“People don’t have psycho murder rooms. Who would they even murder?” Izuru rubs his forehead slowly.
“People don’t have creepy rooms filled with brain scans either!” Kazuichi spins around to fully face Izuru. He doesn’t even bother stopping walking, instead he deems it sensible to half-skip half-stumble backwards. His hands chop the air dramatically as if that somehow adds more weight to his insane arguments.
“They had a reason for the brain scans, they don’t gain anything by having a secret murder room.”
“Pft, you say that.”
“Because it’s true.” Izuru shakes his head rapidly. This is not what he signed up for today.
With Kazuichi blindly stumbling backwards Izuru has to take the reins once more. He gently nudges the boys shoulder as they get closer to the next door, slowly herding him in the right direction. Sure he might stumble a few steps past the door but there’s nothing more he can do to stop that.
“Okay, if not a murder room then it’s probably some kind of secret passageway. That seems like a very future foundation thing.” Kazuichi leans against the wall as Izuru swings open the next door.
“What seems like a very future foundation thing?” The voice is instantly recognisable by the innocent and cheery tone.
Naegi's smiling as usual. His eyes crinkle warming as he sits bathed in the warm lamp light. A fort of files surrounds him, hiding away everything beneath his neck. Even with his hair rustled and slightly darkening bags under his eyes he manages to look exactly the same as ever.
Looking around all he can see are bookshelves and filing cabinets as far as the eye can see. They stretch out deep into the room until the darkness swallows them. Apparently the rooms occupants didn’t think the overhead lights were neccesary - and why would they when they had the worlds softest lamps surrounding them.
On the opposite side of Naegi’s fort is anothe figure, the blonde tall boy from earlier. Byakuya. Although searching the archives of his own memory, his ast name Togami flutters to the forefront of his mind this time.
Somehow, despite his hair being perfectly styled and his skin as clear as ever, the sour look on his face makes him look even rougher than Naegi. Every part of his face is creased and tense. The light reflects off his glasses casting a glare across his face. It only adds the boys the distasteful look.
“Ummmm well, we found a locked door. We were just discussing what it could be leading to.” Kazuichi scratches the back of his neck as he shuffles into the room.
“Why are you trying to go through the doors anyway?” Togami scowls and lazily flips the page of his file. “What are you trying to find?” Togami’s eyes sharpen, staring daggers at each one of them in turn.
Kazuichi flinches back ever so slightly. Shimmying closer to Izuru as his breath catches in his throat. Fumbling with himself, “Um…”
“We’re just trying to get used to our new home.” Izuru snaps. Without hesitating for even a moment, he takes one step forward to put himself in front of Kazuichi and the others.
“Home.” The blonde boy snorts and raises one eye brow.
Clearing his throat, Naegi’s hand dart forward between the files to grip Togami’s sleeve gently. As soon as his hand makes contact Togami freezes. Even from all the way over here Izuru can see the vein popping in the middle of his forehead.
“Byakuya, leave it.” Naegi’s voice might be soft and sweet but that doesn’t stop him sounding like he’s chiding a misbehaving dog. He certainly has a tight rein on all his little lackeys. All they need now is a little collar to complete the image.
“Whatever.” Togami slams the file closed and slides out from the desk.
Every step is an elegant dance as he glides across the room towards the filing cabinet. Whatever file he was reading is still clutched tightly in his fist. Step by step he’s swallowed up into the darkness until they can no longer see him. Good riddance.
“Sorry about that,” Naegi clear his throat and scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, “You’re welcome to explore anywhere. Anything you need to feel more comfortable.” He offers a weak smile, shadows dancing across his face as he turns away from the light.
"Uh, thanks…” Izuru can’t see Kazuichi but he can hear the slight shuffling of his trousers as he shifts his weight from side to side.
“So does that mean you can unlock that door for us?” Izuru slowly stalks forward until he’s leaning over the desk. Pressing his hand into the wood as he lingers nearby.
From here he can just about read some of the titles on the files surrounding the desk. Sonia Nevermind. Kazuichi Souda. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. All of their names scattered about, open on the desk. And the stacked up files around him have an assortment of both familiar and unfamiliar names. Junko Enoshima. Peko Pekoyama. Chihiro Fujisaki. Yasuke Matsuda. Hiyoko Saionji. Each one branded with the same ugly logo. And right at the bottom of one of the other stacks he spots and name that stiffens his entire body.
Chiaki Nanami.
“Ummmmm…sorry…” The soft voice of Naegi snaps him to attention. At some point he must have stood up as he’s now upright directly in front of him. From here his clothes looked even more dishevelled. Wrinkles are practically burnt into his clothing and there’s a slightly stale scent of musty books seeping off of every fibre. How long has he been stuck in here? Kirigiri has been glued to the Neo World room since they arrived and now it seems Naegi has been cooped up in here. Have none of them even gone outside?
“What do you mean ‘sorry’?” Kazuichi drawls cautiously, narrowing his eyes. As he does so he begins to shuffle deeper into the room. Reclaiming his spot at Izuru's side.
“It’s just…”
“He means that he can’t let us through. It’s locked to keep us in here probably - either that or it’s where they keep all the things they don’t want us to find.” Izuru sighs and shakes his head.
It’s obvious. No matter how nice they are trying to come across there is no delusions about the truth of the matter. Hell, they even told them that on the first day here. They’re not exactly free people. They’re prisoners in a gilded cage.
“Ah…I see.” Kazuichi hums softly.
“Look, we want to help you and I’m sure some day we will work out a plan where you can freely go wherever you want but for now we have to keep things as they are… I hope you understand.” His smile wavers weakly. Pity seeps off of him in waves. It sends a shivers down his spine. Why is it always that look?
“Sure, sure…” Kazuichi bites back. His shoulders stiffen awkwardly as he shifts closer and closer to Izuru.
They hear Togami before they see him slink out from the darkness, “Leave them alone Makoto. They aren’t owed your explainations.”
“We’re not here to start an argument. We understand. We just wanted to look at the area around us.” He holds his head high.
He’s not letting Togami think he can just walk all over them. Regardless of the sitaution and the rules they have agreed to follow, they aren’t punching bags. If they really tried he doubts even these three would be able to stop them - especially since they get stronger and stronger with every passing day.
“I’m glad.” Naegi breaks into a forced smile, “You’re free to access this library if you want, there’s not much entertaining reading but it’s still open for any of you to come by.” They all pretend not to hear Togami snort to himself.
In this low lighting its hard to decipher any of the other files but if they’re anything like the ones on the desk then maybe they seem far more worthwhile than any of the books still stowed away in their ‘common room’. A treasure trove of the knowledge the future foundtion has gathered over the years.
“Thanks, we’re good for today though.” Kazuichi grips onto Izuru’s sleeve, pulling him out the room bit by bit. “Come on Izuru, we have other rooms to check out.”
He doesn’t bother arguing. As much as he might want to check out those files there’s no point when Togami is there glaring holes into the back of his head. At this point he has no idea if these guys ever leave their designated rooms - they always seem to be lurking somewhere - but even they have to sleep at some point. His chances are going to be better when he eventually finds that time. Eventually…
“Thanks for the talk. It was enlightening.” Izuru shakes off Kazuichi for a moment, giving the pair a short bow. Before he even rises he spins around and steps through the doorway.
“Kamakura.” Naegi’s voice calls out sternly but Izuru doesn’t turn around. The most he offers is his stillness as he listens quietly, “I would love to chat with you at some point, just the two of us.”
“Makoto you -” Togami tries to cut in with his steely sharp words but Naegi smothers them without wasting a breath, “I really do want to help you all. Kyoko has told me all about your search and I’m here to help in any way.”
Izuru doesn’t even bother replying. What is he supposed to say? What would the boy even be able to offer him other than trying to push him towards the videoes. No, he doesn’t need his help. He’s more than capable of handling his own mind for once in his life.
Even so he offers the slighest nod before slipping out of the door and sealing it behind him. Both him and Kazuichi take a few steps forward before stopping and turning to each other.
“Ughhhh….Is it bad if I say I still hate those guys?” Kazuichi growls.
For the first time a sharp laugh breaks out of his throat. His lips curl up as he stares at the pink haired boy next to him.
“What did I say?!” Kazuichi frowns, his eyes blown wide.
“Nothing.” He laughs again, the noise rattling through his chest awkwardly. He’s not even sure what he’s laughing at. It’s not like the future foundation had said anything unreasonable. Logically there’s no reason for them to have been bothered by their words. And yet hearing Kazuichi say that feels like a load lifted straight off of his shoulder.
“I still don’t like them either.” He breathes in deeply and shakes his head.
He’d be lying if he said he didn’t have some respect - maybe even some positive feelings - towards Kirigiri but that says nothing about the rest of them. In spite of everything, he finds little redeeming or interesting qualities about any of them.
“Not that it matters. We don’t need to like them. It’s not like they’re expecting us to.” If anything it would be against their nature to even entertain the idea of liking their unwanted prison warden.
With a mildly lighter feeling in their chests, they turn to examine the other side of the corridor and travel back to the other half of the building. And yet it seems like anything of any interest has long since been sealed away. The only other rooms they can get into are half empty offices and a decent sized gym that is covered in a thin layer of dust. Considering the building it is located in it’s surprisingly well populated with equipment. There might not be any high quality machinery but they’ve got a decent selection of treadmills, bikes, rowing machines and weight lifting equipment, along with a single tennis court. More than anything he struggles to see how Asahina never end up finding the gym since the corridors could hardly be considered hard to navigate.
However, even after searching the entire floor and trying ever single door they passed, they never found a single window or staircase. That is enough to answer the question of the locked door then. They have freedom alright, freedom to roam this single floor for the rest of time. How wonderful.
What else can they say though? They agreed to this. This is their grave to lie in.
After being coaxed into a game of tennis with Kazuichi, they both slowly wander back to their rooms. At least they made some progress, maybe not as much as they would have wanted but it’s better than nothing. At least that’s what he tells himself.
Eveything is still as quiet and empty when they return as they were when they left. The only differences are the two wet pans resting on the drying rack. A few beads of water still trickle down the edges, pooling on the cool counter top underneath. At least one of the three of them are eating. It’s a day full of settling apparently…
He barely even remembers what Kazuichi spoke about as Izuru pottered around the kitchen, quietly preparing a dish for them both. There’s not the greatest selection of foods to choose from but after spending years out in the chaos of the world these might as well be gourmet ingredients.
It’s only as he puts the finishing touches on the meal that he leans back and pauses. Has he ever done this before? While he might have a wide variety of cooking talents he’s never exactly had to use them; why even bother? And yet as he casually drifts around the kitchen piecing the ramen together he’s overwhelmed by a strange feeling. It’s not the same as the feeling of his dreams or of being in the Neo World Program and yet…it feels soft and warm. Quiet and calm.
It feels like home.
And for now that’s enough. That’s enough...