A Future to Call Our Own

Chapter 6 - Something New, Something Old

Chapter 6
Something New, Something Old

I was sleeping for what seemed like forever. I don't recall even opening my eyes once. Maybe I was in a coma now, as well? No one seemed to come into whatever room I was in . . . it stayed quiet. There were no dreams, just me in a seemingly-sedated state of consciousness. I don't recall how I fell asleep. I don't . . . remember a whole lot. Komaeda was missing, right? Yes, that's right . . . I called the Future Foundation, but I don't remember who picked up or anything after that.
I wonder if they found Komaeda? Am I asleep because of what had happened to him, too?
Something inside my chest hurt whenever I thought about him . . . Why would I feel that way? I guess it could still be that selfish wish of us staying in his cottage or what exactly that feeling pinpointed from.
"Oh, Hajime . . ." a voice rang out in the darkness of my sleep. "I'm so sorry . . ."
Just then, I felt myself being held. A hand was placed on my head from behind.
"Chiaki . . . you're back." It wasn't until she placed her hand on my head did I feel an immense pain.
"You need to wake up soon, Hajime . . . They need you."
I swallowed, feeling a lump in my throat. I felt small, insignificant. "Who needs some normal person like me?" I curled more into Chiaki's embrace, soaking as much of it as I could.
"Well, Nagito, of course. Don't you know how sorry he is about what he did to you?"
I felt confusion. "Wh-What did Nagito do to me?"
Her hand delicately made its way to my head again, myself feeling immense pain. Making a connection, I felt tears stinging my eyes.
"Why did he do this?" I managed to ask.
"Because of our enemy, Hajime," she said in a sad tone, her touch caressing my head, soothing me as much as she could.
My heart seemed to sink more into my chest, fear starting to course through me. "Chiaki . . . D-Don't tell me . . . h-he r-reverted?"
Looking up at her, I saw a flash of something. It wasn't Chiaki.
"Chiaki? Wh-What was that?"
"Hmm, what do you mean, Hajime?" Her voice was changing . . .
This . . . This wasn't good.
. . .
Suddenly I woke up, jerking awake. I saw someone I wouldn't expect . . . holding me, as I dreamed Chiaki was.
"Oh, Hajime, you're awake!" Mikan squealed with excitement, ushering her hands under my arms to help me slowly get up. I felt immense pain in my head again. "Easy, easy. You surely have a concussion, Hajime, please, be careful."
My hand went up to feel my head, feeling the fabric of the long bandages wrapped around my head again.
"Hajime, do you know where Komaeda went? I-I heard this loud crashing sound, and I came rushing as fast as I could to see you passed out here! K-Komaeda ran out of the cottage before I could catch up to him. Th-Then I saw you, and I-I rushed to get bandages, and n-now . . ." Mikan started crying, wiping her eyes.
I then heard Sonia screaming.
"Mikan, go!" I shoved her, and she went. I worked my way as fast as I could to get out, too, but I fell onto the wooden planks, laying there, feeling my consciousness starting to fade again.
My vision was blurry and distorted. I weakly tried getting myself up, falling down a couple more times before I grabbed ahold of my mailbox, using it to help me up. My breathing was becoming short, wheezing was starting. I saw figures in the distance, but couldn't make out who they were. I looked around, trying to gain my composure if just a little before trying to walk.
Just as I was falling, I felt someone catch me.
Distant shouting, though I didn't hear what it was. I looked to see who I was leaning on, seeing his light hair, his green jacket. I eased more into his embrace, trying to relax at the thought of him being here. I didn't remember that he was actually the one who had made me like this. Little did I know he was actually holding a knife to my neck at the time, as well, but I only found that out later.
My arms reached around him one last time, and I fell unconscious again.
Apparently me falling unconscious brought his Ultimate Despair down a notch, and he finally looked to see that the knife he was holding had cut across my cheek while I fell. If any good luck was there, at least it didn't go across my neck. My eyes opened again. I regained consciousness much faster than before, surprisingly. I saw Nagito kneeling over me, his face blurry. It came into focus only once, and I saw such a terrified and hurt expression on his face as I felt tears drip onto me. Then he got attacked, two guys in suits restraining him back as his despair sunk in again. I heard his laughter fade in and out as I saw Mikan's figure above me. Then Sonia, Fuyuhiko, Akane, Souda . . . all the rest.
I saw two more men in black suits shoo the others out the way, and I felt myself being lifted into the air, my head falling back. My limbs felt limp. Numbness was coursing through my body.
The sky was moving ahead. I saw palm trees pass me by. The faces of the two men came into focus a couple times before I closed my eyes, feeling too tired and drained to keep myself awake anymore.
I fell unconscious again.
The next time I woke up, I was on a ship. In a room with one window, I felt the ship rock back and forth. I felt a strong headache, and a stinging pain on my cheek. I was laying on a cot, and opposite of me was Komaeda, on another cot. He had a mask on his face, one he used to have to give him oxygen. This time, however, it was to keep him calm.
I slowly sat up on the cot, having to have help from the wall.
Standing up with a severe dizzy spell, I stumbled over to Komaeda. His eyes were open, and he looked at me. His hand went up into the air, mine coming in contact with it. He held firmly onto it, looking at me with tears starting to form in his eyes.
"Hajime . . . I-I'm . . ." his voice was blocked slightly from his mask, but I understood what he was trying to convey.
"I know, Komaeda . . ." I sat down on his cot, he sat up with me.
His hand came to my face, running over my cheek's bandage, as well as my head bandage. He started weeping fiercely.
"Hajime I'm so sorry for doing this . . . I-- I have no idea what came over me. I'm . . . I'm so scared."
Though my head was pounding, and I did feel anger towards him, I let it go. I placed my lips upon his forehead.
"I don't . . . I don't know where we are going." I had to speak slow.
The boat continued to rock back and forth, taking us wherever it was destined to go.
I had a lingering question on my mind, "Komaeda . . . How did she get to you?"
He looked at me with tears still in his eyes, staying silent.
Taking in a breath, he began, "There . . . was a file, on my computer," his head leaned onto my shoulder, "Junko, Monaca . . . They were all there. All those damned kids and . . . all of us, the Ultimate Despair. I . . . I was trying my best to get rid of the file, but it wasn't deleting. I kept pressing the delete key and any method to try and get rid of it . . . but it was there. It just showed up, right on my desktop. It was a video . . . of all of us vowing to Junko. Conveying our every ounce of love and honor we had for her," he let out a sob, "So many bodies . . . So much despair. Who's side am I on? Why did I cut off my own hand to replace it with her's? Why did I fall for her brainwashing? Why did I do all of these things . . ." he was shaking badly. My eyes drifted slowly to his figure, seeing him starting to laugh in his mask.
I grabbed ahold of his shoulders, turning him towards me. "You better stay away from me, Hajime Hinata," his voice rang out with a cold, distant tone, "For some reason, I feel that I don't want to hurt you."
Placing my hand on his cheek, I looked into his eyes. Though the swirls were blocking them, I could still see the fear in his eyes of what was becoming of him again. Gently removing his mask, I placed my lips upon his, trying to return to times back on the island alone with him. I felt his hand move to the back of my head, the other moving to my back.
Letting him go, he continued to hold onto me, stuttering, "H-Hajime, I'm . . . I'm so scared." Tears continued to fall from his cheeks, I ran my hand over them. Easing the mask back onto him, I laid down beside him, him laying back with me.
I wrapped my arms around him, letting him curl into my chest. His breathing slowed, became more steady. Eventually, he fell asleep, as the sun set over the ocean. I kept my eyes on the window, looking out to see its last few moments before it disappeared completely. Breathing in his scent one last time, I drifted off to a restless sleep, as well.
All except, we were jerked awake by two men in suits busting into the room, dragging Komaeda by the collar out of the room. I sat up too quickly, my head became so dizzy to the point where I collapsed back onto the cot. I tried speaking, but it was only seeming to be slurred.
The room was blurry, I could hear my breathing becoming more slower than usual. And, unconscious I went.
I hoped, wherever the Future Foundation men took him, that he was safe. No experiments . . . please, just restoration, if anything.
. . .
The next time I awoke, I didn't feel the rock of the ship anymore. I was in what looked like a hospital room. Hm . . . How familiar. I heard the machines beeping, saw the fluorescent lights above. There was a window to my right, it was light outside.
"Oh, you're awake, Hajime?"
I turned my head to look to my left, seeing Makoto sitting beside my bed.
"Sorry to have brought you here like this . . . Those guys who brought you here are a bit new, still learning to not be so forceful."
I stayed quiet, listening as he continued, "I guess I'll be doing most of the talking, right? Well . . . I'm actually not supposed to be here right now. I'm supposed to be working upstairs, trying to defeat all of this despair and whatnot. Funny, huh? The so-called 'leader' is slacking off. If anything, I would think Kyoko would be the leader, don't you think?" He sighed, glancing ahead of him to the window.
"I'm sorry that this happened to you, Hajime. I knew Nagito could still have been unstable, as well with everybody, but . . . He was never like this, not even before he was apart of the Neo World Program, when he was still Ultimate Despair. He would still have the calm, selfless tone about him . . ."
Leaning back in his chair a little more, he still continued, "And if you're worried about that AI Junko taking over our system, don't worry. Alter Ego got her out in time before she corrupted us entirely. It was just, again, one of her tricks to lead you into despair," he glanced at me, "I guess you're wondering where he is, huh? Well, no need to worry about that, either. We just wanted to bring him here to keep him away from the island for a little while, where he's in a safe place and won't be corrupted by Junko while we're here, supervising him. Oh, I forgot to mention, too! We brought Mikan here, as well, to take care of you and him. We also wanted to bring her here so that way she can help us develop medicine to get rid of this despair syndrome completely, hopefully from everyone in the world. Though, we had to bring Ibuki with her, as well, since she seems to need her treatment the most."