Chapter Text
"You're close to the exit, but you only have ten minutes left. I don't think you'll make it…" The boy spoke discouragingly into the speaker.
The boy, Shuichi Saihara, was watching his captive closely through the cameras. Said captive was a 22 year old man, who was being forced to go through escape room after escape room.
Each room had a specially designed puzzle that would injure participants. Whether it be a time puzzle, forcing them to starve, or a temperature puzzle, forcing them to be afflicted with hypothermia, each room was dedicated to making them suffer. This captive was already missing a few fingers on his left hand, had numerous cuts all over his body, and was very dehydrated.
Shuichi's prisoner had been given two days to get through the rooms, and that included any time spent sleeping. Unfortunately for the captive, he wasn't told how long anything took. Well, not until the last twenty minutes.
And so, the man frantically searched the room for his last clues. He only had this room left. This last stupid puzzle, and he would be free.
There was a large wall with black and white tiles. From what he could tell, each one was a button. He didn't know what they would do if he pressed the wrong one, but he wasn't excited to find out.
As he carefully observed the wall, he noticed that unlike the other perfectly aligned tiles, there was one that was crooked.
Hesitantly, he reached out and pushed the tile. As soon as he pushed forward, he felt a shock run up his body.
"Ahhh!" He screamed as he fell back. He was… electrocuted?
He looked back to the black tile, only to see it had opened into a small compartment.
He shakily stood up and walked over. He grasped the note that had been placed inside and read it.
'Clue 34
That shock must have been a surprise!
To find this, you must have some good eyes.
For the next clue, it's quite similar to you.
It has something electrifying flowing through.
It also helps to illuminate your view.
This clue will lead you to one of two ends.
That, I hope you comprehend.
If you can't escape this room,
This will soon become your tomb.'
The note sent shivers down his spine. It wasn't much different from any of the other clues, but it made the man feel uneasy to be taunted by his captor.
' Flowing right through'? So, it's electric? Or, does it mean something like a wire? 'Illuminate your view'? Is it something bright then? He pondered. Something bright and electric? Oh! It's-
"The light!" He looked up. This light, unlike the barred lights of his last room, had a lampshade. And through the lamp shade he could make out the faint shadow of the next clue.
He looked around the room to see if there was anything he could use to get to it. He ran over to the nearby table and began pulling it over to the light.
But of course it wouldn't be that easy.
As soon as he moved the table, he felt a sharp pain in his right leg.
"Arg!" An arrow was suddenly lodged in his leg.
"Did you not enjoy the trap?" Shuichi said with feigned concern. "Iruma-san and Harukawa-san helped rig it up. So if you have any problems, tell them about it!" Shuichi laughed. "Two minutes remaining!"
The man grasped harder on the table. Every few inches the table moved, another arrow was fired. By time the table was close enough to the light, the captive had seven arrows stuck in his leg.
He stumbled onto the table and reached up towards the light-
'Beeeeep!'
"Ah, time's up!" The boy announced.
No, no, no, no, no! He was so close to the next clue.
As the captive was silently panicking to himself, Shuichi walked into the room. As soon as the prisoner laid his eyes on him, he backed himself away from the human personification of evil.
"S-stay back!" He screamed.
"But I told you the rules." Shuichi spoke methodically, but almost excitedly, as he sauntered towards the man.
The captive knew he was right. When he was first dropped into this place, his captor had told him that if he made it through all the rooms, he would be set free. If he failed, however, his life would be taken.
As the boy stood in front of him, he began pulling out the arrows in his legs. The prisoner let out gasps and screams of pain as he stared at him, with eyes filled with unfiltered hatred.
The younger boy had grabbed the older's face, inspecting… something.
As the other observed the eyes of his captor, he saw excitement (fear?), but he also saw something else. Something so large and dark that it almost appeared as though it was swirling in the other's eyes, but he couldn't tell what it was.
As Shuichi's fingers got closer and closer to the man's eyes, the man started struggling more and more.
The man was beginning to see black spots in his vision from the blood lost. His fingerless stubs were still bleeding, and Shuichi had removed the arrows so his leg wounds were bleeding faster.
As his prisoner's resistance weakened, he started speaking to him.
"You could have gotten out you know? You just had to get the last three clues in the room, and you and your family are safe."
"My family?"
"Ah, were you not lucid enough to remember? Sorry about that…" The boy replied with a false apologetic tone. "I told you, 'If you don't get out, you will die, and your family will be executed'."
"What?! Y-you can't do that!" The man cried out.
"Ah, but you're not in any position to stop me, are you?" Shuichi cocked his head.
"You…!" But he knew his captor was right. He was still bleeding out, and the blood loss was beginning to affect his sight.
Shuichi leaned over to speak in his captive's ear. "There's nothing left for you anymore. Nobody is coming to save you. Just stop hoping. Just fall into despair."
Despair. That's what it was. The dark, unnamed thing he had seen in this boy's eye.
But, the boy was right, was he? His family was on the chopping block, and nobody was going to save them. He's going to die in a few moments anyway. What was even the point?
"Such a hopeless expression." Shuichi smiles. "Junko-sama would be pleased!"
"Jun-?" But was cut off with a scream.
Shuichi had begun removing his eye with his bare hand. The prisoner screamed as he felt nerves become disconnected as his eye was separated from his head.
"Does that hurt? Sorry." Yet he didn't stop.
"S-stop, stop, stop! P-please!" The captive begged. But his cries fell on deaf ears, as he watched Shuichi inspect his severed, blue-grey eye.
"What a unique eye color! It's an almost perfect blend of grey and blue." Shuichi examined.
The boy reached over to start the process with the other eye.
"Please, stop, stop, stop!" The man cried out for the last time.
○○○○○
Shuichi calmly walked to a seperate room. The one where he'd kept his captive's family. They had been put into a small room with a TV that showed the progress of his captive. Well, they weren't the only ones watching. He, along with the other Despairs, broadcasted their carnage.
He opened the door to the petrified family. The captive's mother and two younger brothers.
They didn't say anything, but stared at him, eyes filled to the brim with hate and anguish.
"Here, you have my condolences." He said, his fake sincerity apparent. He handed the mother a jar.
"You are a sick monster!" She roared. Inside the jar, she already knew what it was. How could she not? She had been forced to watch him get them gouged out.
Inside the jar, was a pair of blue-grey eyes.
"Yes, yes, I know. It's a horrible gift, right?" He questioned. "So, to make up for that, I decided to give you a better one!"
The mother backed her and her children away from him.
"What s-sick thing do you have planned for us?"
"Well, I was planning to let you go." Shuichi confessed.
"What?"
"I mean, what would be worse than dying, believing your family will die because of you, but they don't!" He said, as he opened the door.
The mother grabbed her children immediately and ran out.
She may have lost one of her sons, but she would try her hardest to get the others out. She would make sure they survived.
As they ran down the long corridor, she saw a door with light peeking out from under it. As fast as she could, she ran towards the door, pushed it open, then quickly brought her children through it.
The sky was red from air pollution, and it was difficult to breathe, but she was glad that her children had gotten out-
'Bang' 'Bang'
It was like the world went into slow motion, as she watched her two sons drop to the floor.
"Danny! Max!" She cried as she cradled her two sons. Each of them had bullets going through the side of their heads. "No, no, no, no, no! Don't leave me please!" She screamed as tears ran down her face.
As she was busy mourning over her sons, Shuichi had walked up behind her.
"I only said that I would let you go, not that I wouldn't still kill you." He said with a small laugh.
"YOU MONSTER, HOW COULD YOU?! THEY WERE ONLY 12, AND YOU KILLED THEM IN COLD BLOOD!" The woman screeched, as she lunged towards him.
Only to get a bullet implanted in her skull.
Shuichi stared as the woman's eyes became lifeless and dropped to the floor, similar to her children. He walked over to the woman's corpse and used his feet to push her over to her children.
He looked over to the trees to find three snipers all wearing clown masks and checkered scarves.
"Thanks, Ouma-kun!" He yelled, not knowing exactly where the leader was.
And there he was, Ouma Kokichi, the Ultimate Supreme Leader, coming over to him. He was being carried by several members of DICE.
"Nehehe, I wouldn't just let Junko-sama's favorite plaything die! Well, second to only me, of course!" He looked up at the sky, momentarily breaking eye contact with Shuichi. "She would've had my head for that!"
"I don't think she would have cared." Shuichi countered, looking up with him.
"Hm, you're probably right. So," He pointed his thumb toward the dead bodies," What are you gonna do with those sad sacks?"
Shuichi glanced over at the bodies. "I'll probably have Tojo-san send them over to Hanamura-senpai." He replied simply.
"Oh, so you aren't gonna use them for your creepy eye fetish, Saihara-chan? Surprising." He laughed, before throwing Shuichi a sharp look, "And look your leader in the eye while talking to me!" Shuichi noticed several DICE snipers locking their guns on him from the trees.
Kokichi knew that Shuichi hated staring people in the eyes. Most of their classmates did. Which is exactly why all his classmates forced him to look them in the eyes.
"Ah, sorry, Ouma-kun." And begrudgingly stared at him.
"Hmph." Kokichi says with a smug look. "Oh, yeah!" Kokichi exclaimed and looked towards DICE. "Hey! Somebody give me the thing that nasty bitch made." One of the members threw something to Kokichi, which he threw at Shuichi.
"Ack!" He let out a yelp when it hit his face. "Is this… a phone?" He turned the object in his hand. "I thought phones stopped working…"
"Well, duh. That's why the pigshit made them in the first place." He readjusted his hat. "It's a way for the Despairs to meet up. We need to make sure that Junko-sama's influence doesn't get weaker." One of the members whispered something into Kokichi's ear. "Ugh, I do sound like that avocado brat."
"Speaking of, has anybody heard from her?"
"I heard she and her league of brats were planning on hitting up Towa."
"Towa? Why would she be going there?"
"I don't know." Kokichi said before smirking. "Or is that a lie?"
Shuichi ignored that. "Oh, what about Gokuhara-san? I heard from Tojo-san that he was traveling with you?"
"That hunk of meat? He ran into a group of losers trying to fight back against despair, so he's dealing with it." The leader laughed.
"A riot? I didn't expect them to happen so soon…" They should have had at least a few more weeks until this happened. Maybe it was because of that organization, Future Foundation.
"Ah, Ouma-kun!" A new voice appeared.
"Gokuhara-chan, did you deal with those idiots?" Kokichi turned to him.
"Gonta show the people Gonta's black widows." Gonta replied.
"M'kay, whatever." He turned back to Shuichi. "Well, I've got some more bombs to plant, see you at Nevermind-san's tea party next week!" Kokichi announced, eyes almost swirling with the despair contained in them.
It was almost amazing how different, yet the same they all were. Most of them had retained their personalities, even after the Tragedy. Some let their infatuation with Junko completely change them. Causing them to transplant parts of her body to them. Others, like most of Class 79, committed acts of despair as a sort of sacrifice to her.
"Nevermind-senpai's party? Everybody keeps saying that, but nobody is telling me where it is!" He cried out. In all honesty, he didn't care much. It would just be inconvenient if he died at the time.
"You'll just have to figure that out on your own, Saihara-chan!" He turned towards DICE and Gonta. "C'mon, hurry up! We're heading to the next city over, so move it!" He yelled.
"Yes, Ouma-sama." DICE replied collectively, in a monotone voice.
"Okay, Ouma-kun!" Gonta replies.
And so, Kokichi is carried off by DICE, with Gonta in tow, to another city.
Shuichi sighed, talking to Kokichi was always draining. He turned on the phone he was given, and scrolled through the pre-installed contacts. He clicks on 'Tojo Kirumi' and texts her that he needs to make a delivery, and to bring him chloroform.
When he's done, he goes to find a new captive to torture.
After all, he is an Ultimate Despair.