Kingdoms (kaimaki fantasy AU)

Chapter 34: Hope to Despair

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Kaito didn't know what was going to happen, but he hoped that it didn't change anything. He glared at Junko, ignoring everything else around him. She didn't keep her smile off of her face as she slammed her hand in the red button in front of her. Kaito held his composure as best he could as he felt the ground vibrate under him. He only took his eyes off of the Queen when he had to painfully cough again. As he closed his eyes in pain, there was a metallic clang echoing down his ears. He looked up, only to find himself inside a confined space. He couldn't see what he was in, but he looked out of the window that he now faced. The space that he was in was made of metal, with many different coloured buttons. Kaito highly doubted that they work. Kaito glared out of the window, only able to see Junko.

"You like this? I call it a rocket! Enjoy the stars, Prince Charming!" Junko giggled psychotically, waving mockingly at Kaito. Kaito had no time to process anything as he felt and heard a loud rumbling. He faintly felt heat from where he was sitting. He slowly felt like the rocket that he was in was going up. Was he really going to the stars, just as Junko said? At least he has something to look forward to, right?

That's what Kaito thought until the rocket suddenly flipped upside down, banging on the ground. Things went too fast for Kaito to process. The rocket suddenly started spinning, making the outside world a blur. It was spinning so hard and fast that it was burrowing right into the earth. Kaito should've been thrown about, but the gravity force was so strong it kept him rooted to the chair. There was this immense pressure that threatened to rip his body to shreds if he tried to move. It hurt that much to even twitch a finger. Kaito felt so dizzy that he closed his eyes to try to make it more endurable. It didn't stop him from being dizzy, but it helped a little. There was an intense heat before it suddenly felt cool. The rocket had stopped spinning, but continued blasting to wherever it was going. It kept going for about thirty seconds before it stopped.

Kaito felt less dizzy and opened his eyes. His eyes widened at the sight outside the rocket. The stars...they were so bright and colourful. They were a shining white back on Earth, but here in space, they were so many shades of different colours. It felt so amazing to be this close. This was all that Kaito had every wanted. It was enough to bring a tear to his eye. So this is what it felt like to be this close to the stars. How beautiful. Kaito then spotted something. It was probably the starlight tricking him, but he thought that he could see faces. Two that he knew well, and two that he had never seen, but felt so familiar to him. His smile widened more as he saw them. 'Grandpa...Grandma...Mother...Father...I'll see you soon...' Kaito silently vowed as he closed his eyes.

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Everyone watched through the window that the orb showed above the courtyard. When the rocket went underground, an orb went after it, showing everything that was happening to Kaito. Maki couldn't do anything other than watch as this was happening. She wanted to do more, but what could she do? The execution had commenced and there was nothing that anyone could do to stop it. Junko watched in anticipation as she saw how Kaito's face lit up when he saw the stars. As soon as she pressed the red button again, the black and white rocket with the Monokuma face on top will come crashing back to Earth. It will heat up more than it should on the inside, reducing Kaito to a skeleton. She can't wait to see the despair that the people will have.

However, something happened that no one saw coming. After Kaito had smiled weakly, seemingly happy to be finally with the stars, he started coughing. It was harsh, as if Kaito was literally about to cough up a lung. Blood erupted out of his mouth. It covered the window, obscuring the sight of him. Junko was able to get a visual inside the rocket. Showing Kaito laying in a small pool of blood, with a small smile on his face.

"Kai...Kaito..." Maki muttered as the people wailed at the loss of their prince. Maki wanted to cry for the man she loves, the one she lost. However, something overwhelmed her. She wasn't sad for Kaito, but she wasn't happy that he died on his own terms either. She didn't feel fearful for her own death, nor did she feel anger towards Junko for taking away the one she'll ever love. She felt nothing. She felt numb to everything around her.

The rocket suddenly started falling to earth. It seemed to know that the execution has failed. The ground rumbled as the rocket surged through the planet. Some people fell over as the rocket suddenly burst out of the hole it had drilled. The podium shattered to splinters as the rocket suddenly crashed into it. It landed on its side as it came to a stop. The second it stopped, it opened up. Kaito's body fell out of it, completely limp with a trail of blood out of his mouth and his skin pale from death. The people cried louder, along with everyone else in the kingdom that was forced to watch the true royal die.

"NO! NO! NO!" Junko shrieked, stamping her foot like a toddler having a tantrum. This is not what she had in mind when she created the execution. She then remembered him promising that he wasn't going to die how she wanted him to. Seems that she kept his word. "I don't know how he did it, but the bastard went out like a stubborn jackass alright!"

"At least you're feeling the despair that he didn't die the way you wanted him to." Tsumugi smiled, trying to calm the Queen down. Junko stopped mid tantrum, thinking for a minute. She suddenly trembled with excitement as her eyes went wild with madness.

"Yes, that's true." She smiled gleefully. She started to drool a little until she snapped back into her rage. "Argh! Find out what happened! I want to know immediately!" Tsumugi bowed before she grabbed two guards to escort her with the body. They will have to go to the morgue that Junko had set up in the castle to examine the body properly. As much as Junko hated hope, she had it anyway to find out how her enemy died before her execution did. At least she has made the people suffer more with despair. Their only hope was just some guy that turned out to be the only living royal. Not that he's dead, their hope is truly gone. That's the only satisfaction that Junko got right now.

"Do you want to proceed with the assassin's execution?" A guard asked. Junko looked down at Maki. She saw the emotionless expression on her face. While her eyes were focused on Kaito's limp body, they seemed dull, as if her soul had just been sucked out. She was on her knees, oblivious to everything that was going on around her. Out of everyone else, the assassin was clearly taking it the hardest. Could it be that the cold blooded murderer fell in love with Prince Charming? Such despair that she was feeling...

"No. I have a better idea for her."