moonrisecalamityretreat

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

#Youtube

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

With Love || END

[♫♫♫]

And so you went.

The same woman who had scolded Maxime and Yuriko ushers you onto a helicopter, checking each of you over for injuries as she does so. Soon enough, you’re seated, and…

Happy Smiles Health slowly grows further away.

Climbing high into the sky, watching as the ashen and crumbling remains of the facility fade away into the distance, until it's nothing more than a plume of smoke on the horizon. Away from the snowy mountain top that had once been the Happy Smiles Health facilities home. Had once been your home too, even if you cannot remember too well. 

With your newfound trinkets, recollections, and memories of those who would not be making this journey with you, you give it one last glance. To the facility that tried to help, to the Lost Lambs and their Shepherd who burned it all to the ground, and to those still on the ground left to clean up the mess left behind.

The effect Jinpachi Otsuka and his followers had on you and the rest of the world would be a wound not so easily healed. The world had only just begun to heal when he ripped those wounds open. You've lost loved ones, friends, and went through hell and back trying to escape this tragedy and despaired he was desperate for you to have.

But even so, you survived.

You're alive. 

As the nine of you turn to look at the sun rising on the horizon, with the two left behind gazing up at the same sky, it's unclear what the future may bring. May it be that of hope or that of despair, it's uncertain. It may take a while to adjust to life once more, for 110K9 to reign in order during their fight for hope, for all of you to recover from the losses you've experienced. Many of you still have or had AEDS after all. Would the world still treat you the same once you returned home?

The uncertainty was scary, frightful even, but even so you all had each other. Battered and bruised, but alive and certain of one thing:

Whatever the future may bring, it belongs to all of you now.

As long as hope exists, no future will ever be out of your grasp. The cruel world you were born into takes and takes, but at the same time, it has given you so much. As you settle onto the helicopter and leave the game behind, not a single one of you is without the love of another.

With that love, it just may be that you can do anything.

#ch6

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

Going Home

“Now, as for all of you… Well, you all have seen how I arrived here, yes?”

As if on cue, everyone could hear the whirling sound of blades roaring in the sky above. Looking up in the sky the group spots a set of heavy duty transport helicopters coming in over the treeline. From one glance you can all tell they're big enough to fit everyone and then some in them.

Standing clear, everyone braces themselves as the helicopters begin their descent. Blowing dustings of snow and wind all around you as they land on a clear patch of ground near the facility. 

Once the wind settles, and everyone takes a moment to re-adjust themselves, the door to the helicopter slides open as others begin beckoning you to come inside.

“All of you will be transported somewhere safe. Don’t worry about us– everyone here will be cleaning up this mess. Consider your journey over… Soon, you all will be able to go home.

And, Chupacabra… you and the pink one will stay here while we stabilize him. I need to have a talk with you.”

After many months of heartache, despair, and loss-

It was finally time to go home.

#ch6

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

What the Future Holds

Being murdered was one thing, but to live with the knowledge that your child has left on their own accord? It was a different, special type of hurt. Still, Risumaru was a victim– under normal circumstances, he knew Risumaru would still be alive, and well, and not having to resort to becoming a martyr.

Before the grief overwhelms him, he continues on.

“I erected this agency in hopes we would be able to prevent another tragedy. To prevent humanity from experiencing what I had to experience… losing family for one’s selfish views…

Before I knew it, my efforts in trying to maintain peace in Japan ended up inspiring the rest of humanity, and now 1101K9 has many affiliates spread across the world. Haha… In fact, all of our spy tools are sourced from America. But I digress.

Our goal was plain and simple. With 1101K9 having eyes all over the nation, our goal was to prevent any attempts to rile up humanity with a second apocalypse, and to keep up peace between Japan’s islands by taking out anything that could threaten it as soon as possible. So, of course, once AEDS has started appearing again… we had to act immediately. And we probably couldn’t have gotten this far if it weren't for Chupacabra, honestly. Everything they have stolen from HPA has aided us greatly, from recreating the memory tech to confirming and elaborating HPA’s island experiment. Had the killing game not end up being mobile… I fully believe the game would have been deconstructed much faster.

So now, we had to find and suppress whoever was the cause of the sudden uptick AEDS cases. The first outburst was obviously the cause of another party– Izana Sakurai and Shinichi Kanemoto– so now, we had to find and stop whoever was following in their footsteps.”

But now that was over, Madara looked down to the snow with a sigh. They’ve all found the catalyst, and now it was time for rest, but still, sorrow bubbled up inside him.

“Most of all…I just wanted to end this all so my son’s efforts weren’t for nothing… I like to believe I am finishing a second part of a job for him. That… is what he wanted to do, you see. To end everyone’s suffering, even if it meant he had to go. Although all of this was for humanity, of course… still, it is in honour of my late son.”

And perhaps, it is even repentance, for having held back his own son’s life by trying to tie him to his company as heir. He felt bad, guilty, that he had to watch his son give up the life he worked so hard to get, just to end everything, yet have it all be in vain.

He knows he’s not the only one in pain, though. 

The job may be done now, but Madara could only hope Risumaru could forgive him. And he could only hope Risumaru was proud of his best friend, who wanted to save the world for him. To find justice for him. To give him all of the answers…

“Now, this just leaves… What will happen now? Where will you go, what will become of the Lambs, and what will become of us, and the future?

Well…”

He looks at all the agents, still hard at work in the background– investigating the ruined HSH building, taking care of stray Lambs, trying to save as much personal belongings as possible from the airship… For a moment, Madara looks pleased. Satisfied enough to know that now wasn’t a time to stop now.

“1101K9 will still exist, for one. However, we will not be going fully public. We are still an agency specializing in espionage after all, and if we all officially came out of hiding now, it could become a serious security threat. We must be as untrackable as possible, both so unsavoury groups cannot attack us, and so they won’t know when we will attack. I humbly ask that you all do not leak what has been revealed to you about us… or we will have to take extreme measures I would rather not have to follow through with.

As for the Lambs and… him,” he addresses Juzo, “For the stray Lambs still out there we will do our best to suppress and catch, and all Lambs including this little one will be taken into custody for questioning and such. We will still continue to suppress any threat we catch scent of, and we will be here should this ever happen again. Of course– our goal now is to ensure it doesn’t, this time. Our investigations on this will very well extend past this finale to further prepare us.

Our job may be done for now, but we will still continue to fight for everyone’s right for a peaceful life. So I hope you can only look forward to our plans for hope and the future… We will keep fighting, no matter what. Fighting for the future, no matter what. And I could only hope you would do the same, in your own ways.“

It was a lot to take in, but even so the reassuring relief washes over everyone like a wave. 

Even if things were still chaotic around the globe right now, that it might get worse before it gets better, there was still hope. That small tiny little feeling all of you had been fighting so hard for throughout this entire killing game. It's what kept you going on for so long.

People like the 1101K9 were still going to be out there fighting. There would still be hope for a better tomorrow. 

A better future.

A better future for all of them. Juzo was being taken from Hanji to emergency care by two others in masks. One a brown Tanuki and the other a silver Kitsune. The bunnies weren’t separating from Juzo though, they clung to his hoodie with a scowl that showed they weren’t gonna just let these people take him.

“You’re gonna fix Unkie Juzo, right!? He owes us a lot of candy!”

“Yeah! He said he’d give us more rope too!” He didn’t say this but maybe the bunnies could try and trick this one masked person to give them some rope to eat.

“Clean us up too!! We’re all nasty!” 

These poor Tranquility Dogs that had been there to take Juzo were quickly finding out that they were in for a rough couple of hours with his entourage. Juzo stirred slightly to reach his hands up and lightly pat Angeline and Diabelle for being such menaces. His vision blurs again as he peers over at everyone that survived…especially at Hanji who saved his life.

The Kitsune holds Juzo as he lets his head hang, the Tanuki reaching over to have a small laugh as he pets the bunnies heads. Surely, he was promising to give them the candy they were gonna beg for. 

With all of those explanations given and answers received, there was just one remaining question lingering on everyone's mind…

How exactly would they be getting escorted home again?

#ch6

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

Checkmate

With heavy breaths and burning lungs, everyone can feel as the adrenaline wears off. Your limbs ache, bodies sore, and you're all left exhausted after today's ordeal. From an airship crash to being chased through the woods- and now escaping the burning remains of Happy Smiles Health? It was a lot to say the least. And your bodies were feeling it.

There’s nothing more you would all love than to sit down and finally rest… 

But before you could have time for yourselves at long last, two masked figures approach you, a few more following to check up on you all. A man with brown hair and a blue mask points over all of you, counting, before sighing with relief.

“Are you all okay? No one grievously injured?”

And at his side was a taller man with hair the color of the snow on the ground. His own mask was a bright red and resembled the shape of a dog’s skull. His voice and tone betrayed the more unsettling mask that adorned his face.

“We can get you all some first aid!! I have some doggie band-aids!!” 

So, once more, all of you can only accept the assistance and treatment from the agents of whatever minor injuries you’ve received from the escape. Maybe it was comforting to some, irritating for others that you’re still being coddled, but either way, it was still nice to know that it was all over now for real. No more having to dread another phase of this godforsaken game. No more having to expect another hurdle happening. No more having to solve a tragedy you never asked to be in.

It was finally all over…

“You can all rest easy now. The game is over, and all we have to do now is rebuild again. That’s the only thing we can do from here after all, right?”

“Just like we did before when we were kids right, Cerberus!? If we did it before, we can do it again!!”

Even with that, though, it looks like there were still things needing to be addressed.

You now know most if not all about the Lost Lambs, but… Who exactly was 1101K9? You already know that they seem to exist to keep peace, but beyond that, you barely knew anything of the people who saved you.

Whether you wanted the question answered or not, while you were being treated and watched over by the agents, a helicopter comes into view, and eventually lands itself. A tall man steps out, with four escorts accompanying him, as he adorns a white and gold mask of a gryphon…

…A gryphon? That’s not a canine. That’s far from being one.

Still, all you could do is watch with curiosity, and surprisingly, Hanji seems to look just as confused as well.

“Boss…?”

Has Hanji never seen their boss in person before?

“Looks like you have done a good job here, Chupacabra. Everyone else, too.

As for the rest of you…”

The newcomer addresses all the survivors, looking over you all, before letting out a shallow exhale.

“...I’m especially glad you all came out alive, as well.”

Not the best outcome, he thinks, but it was still a better result than two games wiping out everyone before it stops on the third one. A killing game may have still started, but an attempt to nip it in the bud was still taken.

And that’s all he could ever ask for. But… who was he, anyway?

“Well… I shouldn’t keep all of you in the dark any longer, no?”

The mystery is short-lived as he finally reaches up to his mask, promptly pulling it off…

…to reveal an older looking man, long hair tousled like a lion’s. Still, though, just looking at him didn’t answer much, so he speaks up once more.

“Let me introduce myself, at the very least. My name is Madara Tengoku, the founder of 1101K9… and, well, CEO of Golden Gates Conglomerate, if you live in Japan. Normally, it is bad practice to recklessly show my face like this… but, I hoped this would reassure you that I am a figure you can trust.

You see… My son, Risumaru… He ended up getting caught up in the last killing game. A death he shouldn't have had to have chosen in the first place…”

#ch6

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

This is Your Story

Juzo weeps for his brother, over the lost life as Hanji continues fending off the lambs– they had their own tomorrow to protect too, after all. Satisfied with everyone successfully making it out, they can finish up here and get out themselves. But they have to go back, to make sure Juzo isn’t left here to burn away.

Although their actions were critical, making their way towards Juzo as quickly as possible, they know not to interrupt a moment when they see one. For once, they stay in their lane. There was a time to have surprise and a time to celebrate but this wasn’t it.

Juzo knows he can’t stay here forever…Juzo can lay Jinpachi’s body down…he can lean over, still in mind numbing pain to give his brother a final kiss on the forehead. This was the last time that he’d ever see Jinpachi’s real body. From this day on, just like before, he will always see Jinpachi staring back at him in the mirror. He will always hear his voice every time that he speaks. He will never be able to not be with him. 

It was now that Hanji decided to come get Juzo with a sense of urgency, though the way they brought Juzo to their embrace was far from frantic. Gingerly holding him, helping him up, with a smile just as soft, voice even softer.

“Knew you’d live. Ain’t no way you’d let yerself die here. C’mon, kid, let’s go home.”

“Yeah…let’s…get goin'…”

Juzo reaches his hand to hold his own chest, he can almost feel himself about to pass back out just from pain alone. 

“W-Wait…wait…Hanji-kun…”

Juzo turned back to where Jinpachi lay and he shouted into the fire. They had to still be there…scared and not knowing what to do. Juzo opened his arms and shouted again.

“Angeline!! Diabelle!! To me! C’mere!!”

His shouting was excruciating but his pain was nothing close to the pain the others felt so he will bear it. From the flames come the two bunnies, tears in their eyes and whining and a hamster ball in their arms.

“Unkie Juzo!! Help!! Get us outta here!”

They leap together into his arms and he holds the two close along with the little ball they held.

“…Umm…yucky!! Unkie Juzo you’re all bloody!”

Angeline whines out and he gets the smallest and most painful laugh in.

“I know…just bear…with it for a moment…I’m glad…you’re both safe…We’re…we’re…”

Finally, with them in his arms, Juzo’s body begins to give out.

Hanji feels Juzo go limp in their arms, and rather than panicking, their heart stays in place with no drop in sight nor sense. Because they believed in him, because they knew. They knew he was alive, and he would continue to be alive.

No matter what, they just knew that Juzo Miyazaki will always be so full of life. So full of life, and so full of hope for the future… of course he would live to see it all. To have fought so hard to see it all.

In the end, Juzo Miyazaki ended up becoming the miracle he was hoping for.

He still breathed but the pain was far too much. He needed immediate medical care. Hanji quickly wraps Juzo’s wound with their coat before turning to run from this trial room that was starting to cave in on itself…Juzo is able to give one final look to the room as they leave…All of the Saints were gathering around Jinpachi. The edges of their robes catching and running up to burn them all. This was Hajime Hitsuji’s fate…and Juzo wishes he could’ve done more for him…He wishes he could’ve done more to save all of them from what they became…

Jinpachi Otsuka was left behind…Juzo hoped…that the fire would cleanse him…it was better to burn than have a corpse that could be desecrated. With that last thought, he passes out in Hanji’s arms.

[♫♫♫]

“Waaah! I’ve got blood on my paws…”

“This is NOT fun anymore… I wanna go home!”

“Sacre bleu…”

As you all make it out of the room of your final trial, you hear some familiar whines. Following the voices of the twin rabbits and your french captain, you turn to see Hanji running to catch up with the rest of you with someone in their arms.

It’s Juzo.

But now wasn’t the time to think about this. The lights above you flicker and burst with a shower of sparks and glass like a warning shot. There was no going back. You can only continue to run to your freedom. 

As you all run, you pass through recollections of those who were lost. Within them lay fragments of those you all can’t forget. You gather them on your way. They were important enough to risk. You carry these trinkets in the place of those you must leave behind, as the fire within the facility spreads behind you. 

This place of forgotten memories… This place where this whole tragedy began.

It shall all be cleansed in the burning blaze. 

None shall remain.

As the flames roared ever closer, nearly licking at your heels, all you could hear was the blood pounding in your ears. But as you feared it would all but consume you, you suddenly feel a hint of winter’s chill across your skin as you run. You’d made it to the lobby.

Almost there.

You’re almost there…!!

With one more step, one last final push, you burst out of those doors into the unforgiving frigid air.

There is a final crash of lumber and rubble as the flames roared on behind you. Embers fly after you only to fizzle and falter in the cold mountain air. Though some of you are singed and your lungs still burned with the sting of acrid smoke, you’ve made it.

You made it out alive…

You have finally reached the end of this tragedy.

#ch6

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

1/100,000,000,000

Their sacrifices will not be in vain. 

Their deaths will not be in vain. 

This hopeless ending will not occur. 

Haku Hisakawa

Reimi Hanada

Rowan Valentine

Hisakata Imai 

Ikko Denda

Sayuri Nomura

Hotaru Doigawa

Yvette

Mio Date 

Those that lost their lives in this pointless game that only existed to drive the world to destruction. This game that was created for the sole purpose of pushing despair onto a person that never wanted it. 

This game he participated in so that he could try and save his most precious person…his other-half. He will carry this cross for the rest of what remains of his life.

He will carry their names on his back…their dreams…their aspirations…Everything they wanted to be he will have to carry. 

He will carry the burden of his other-half. He will carry his sorrow…he will carry his despair…and he will deliver him to absolution. 

With the chance of one in a billion…Juzo Miyazaki grabs hold of the knife that will guide the way to the ending of Jinpachi Otsuka’s despair.

[♫♫♫]

Juzo had held onto hope…but he never believed in a miracle. As the body count rose he never believed that there could ever be a miracle in this game of death. 

It was when Ikko Denda died…that he renounced any belief in a miracle…and yet…what would one call this?

Jinpachi Otsuka, the hopelessly perfect human being, the perfectly identical twin to Juzo Miyazaki would know the make up of his physical body more than anyone else. His blade drove deep into Juzo’s chest…He shouldn’t be alive and yet he still breathes.

How could Juzo ever again deny that miracles existed? 

Juzo has become the living proof of them. 

With the blade in hand, he turns his body to his stomach. Every single movement feeling like those flames around the room were a single, red hot, metal rod lodged into his ribcage. Even with this unbearable pain, Juzo moves through the puddle of his blood. Both of his hands slip and slide along the floor as he tries to pull himself close enough to his brother. 

He knew…he knew that he was the one that had to do this. 

Once he was close enough, he grabbed hold of the bottom of Jinpachi’s pants. He pulled himself closer. Jinpachi…who couldn’t ignore this feeling finally turned his gaze downwards. 

Jinpachi’s blade not striking true…was far from purposeful. His face fills with fright and surprise at the blood smeared face that stares up at him with determination. 

Maybe…some part deep in Jinpachi…hesitated when he stabbed. Some part of him that he wasn’t even aware existed anymore…a part that even with this sight he can’t acknowledge. Who can truly say for certain when not even Jinpachi can?

The blood soaked body pulling himself up Jinpachi’s leg to stand spits out at him.

“Onii-….san…no…more…we’re…stoppin’ here! We’re stoppin’ this…I ain't…lettin’ ya…suffer like this…no more…”

Jinpachi didn’t know what to say, this was the first time in years he had actually felt genuine surprise that didn’t fill him with despair. If not despair…then what was this feeling? Jinpachi speaks back.

“Nii-chan. You should’ve stayed dead…so we could all go together. You love them…I love them…so let’s not be apart from them anymore. This despair can only be felt once. Let’s all share it together.”

Juzo’s hand smears blood down Jinpachi’s sweater vest as he grips tight on it and speaks his mind again. Every single word, every single sound was a new knife driving into his chest. He survived…but he knew he couldn’t last much longer. The flames are only growing…

“Shut up! I ain't…hearin’ it no more! I ain’t wanna…hear yer despair…no more…Yer…yer m'brother…y'ain’t this!” 

And he pulls himself up more as Juzo grits his teeth through all of the pain. Finally on his feet, he stabilizes himself the best he can…he wraps his arms around Jinpachi. He pulls him into the tightest hug that he can…and Juzo cries…No matter what Jinpachi has become, no matter how far he has fallen…Jinpachi Otsuka will always be Juzo Miyazaki’s twin brother. He will always be that scared little boy that hid his face in Juzo’s shoulder when the roller coaster went over the hill. He will always be that curious little boy that wanted to collect all the flowers and weeds because he never got to play outside. He will always be that happy little boy that smiled at Juzo and asked him to play tag or draw with him when their parents weren’t around. He will always be that excited little boy that would jump on Juzo’s bed to wake him up and pull him to watch cartoons in the morning. He will always be his big brother…he will always be his twin. He will always be his most precious person…he will always…

“Onii-san…I love ya…always gonna love ya…but I can’t…there’s no way to pull you out of this…but I won’t let you suffer…like this anymore…I know…this isn’t who you…ever wanted to be…and I should’ve…so long ago…I should’a ended yer suffering…I let ya get worse…I ain’t know how to help…I’ll give ya what ya want…this once in a lifetime despair…I won’t let anyone else do it…Because yer m'brother…yer my responsibility…”

Jinpachi…is left speechless…as if he is a puppet being controlled by another, by something else caged inside of his head. Jinpachi’s arms raise and through the smoke he wraps his arms around Juzo just as tightly as Juzo holds him. 

Jinpachi feels his chest getting warm from Juzo’s blood wetting it, he feels a sharp tip pressing ever so lightly against his back. Those blades of the Saints…they were sharp. It wouldn’t take much…

Jinpachi knows what’s going to happen…what’s finally going to happen. What marvelous despair this was…to be killed here at the end by his own twin brother…Jinpachi whispers to him.

“That accent of yours…You didn’t have it till you left…You covered it well…You changed so much…Haha…Nii-chan…Do it.” 

But it wasn’t a command…it was a plea. A plea from the caged bird that wants to be let free. 

Right on cue, Juzo squeezes his eyes tight and drives the blade to the hilt into Jinpachi’s back.

As the blade pierces swiftly through Jinpachi, the door in front of you all breaks from the force you’ve been tackling it with. It’s open! You can run, you can run through and you can escape this nightmare once and for all. And you do. You hold your arms over your faces to block the smoke and you run…you run through those bloodied halls and you run to your freedom.

Back in the trial room, as quick as Juzo can, he releases the handle of the blade and feels Jinpachi lose his balance against himself. Even though it hurts, Juzo holds Jinpachi up.

He cries, he laments the loss of his big brother.

And his brother…this blade being driven into him…it gave Jinpachi clarity for the first time in 10 years. How cruel…for it to only be in these last moments that he can love his brother as he should. Jinpachi cries with Juzo…he holds him tight…and he wishes.

“Live…nii-chan…I’m sorry…I…for you…I wanted us…to be happy…Always…but…I was…so…I love you…I love you, Juzo…”

His final moments are not filled with despair but with regret. His final moments are filled with apologies that can’t all be voiced before his life leaves him. In that last moment…his life flashed before his eyes.

Juzo and Jinpachi ran through the open world. They were hand in hand, they made the promise to always be together…the promise to always fight the world if they had to. If their parents rejected them, they would have each other. If their friends rejected them, they would have each other. If society rejected them, they would have each other. Even if the whole world rejected them, they would have each other. They smile together, they roll through the grass. In a better world…this never ended. The two of them grew, they changed as people, they grew into their own. Yet despite whatever distance was made, they were always connected. In that better world…they would never be split apart by tragedy. 

Jinpachi wishes with his last breath he could’ve lived in that world…

“Let’s…meet again…next time…we’ll be happy…”

His final words…before life leaves him…and Juzo was left to collapse in agony as he held his brother’s corpse in this burning room. 

#ch6

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

Battle of Armageddon | MM Execution

Jinpachi didn’t have any hope for a future

Jinpachi didn’t have any hope for tomorrow

There was never going to be a tomorrow for him and he really wouldn’t have it any other way. From his most beloved people, despair is denounced and hope is held on high. Maybe not hope, both the concepts that shaped Jinpachi’s life and beliefs have been denounced in full by his beloved. 

They will walk away from here with heads held high, they will walk out into a world that they will make their own. No matter how much destruction overtakes it again and again…they will rise. Despair was just a feeling, hope was just a feeling. Two human emotions that exist in tandem with each other. Jinpachi was devoid of the latter and he wished he could make everyone feel the same. Everyone in the world feel the freedom of AEDS and feel the freedom that is despair…

But, they were just feelings that these people could work through. What drove these people felt like it was more than just hope. It was determination. It wasn’t a feeling that guided them, it was the knowledge that they will take action. They don’t hope for a better future. They are going to make one. 

For they have faith in themselves to persevere. 

How sweet…how disgustingly beautiful Jinpachi found this. He can’t help but let out his small laugh.

“Hmhmhm! So this is the path you’ve all chosen. Regardless of whether this is hope or the path you’ve all chosen for yourselves…I’m a sore loser as you know…”

He looks at them all as his face darkens and the Saints behind him raise up their arms with vocalization. They didn’t speak words but instead chanted. They began to sing a hymn for their messiah. 

[♫♫♫]

The madness in his own head spirals out of control. The gears of what was left of him shaking and turning at such high velocity that it all shatters and they fall. 

“I hate predictability. What fun would this ending be if it just went how it was expected? Don’t you think that’s a little boring? I won’t just say au revoir and go alone. As much as I desire the despair of death, I desire just as much for you all, my beloved friends, to experience it together with me.” 

A smile stretches from ear to ear as his arms rise to the sky with sick delight. As if he had full control of it, as if he was an otherworldly conjurer, a line of flames began and ran past his sides to the back of the room and up the walls. 

Just as quickly as the walls become engulfed in burning patterns stretching all along the outside of the room, your own makeshift podiums ignite forcing you all away from them. With the way this was spreading it surely wasn’t going to be long till the room was filled with smoke and falling apart. You can cover your faces and as you look to the opposite side of the room where The Shepherd stood surrounded by fire you see that hopeless face.

If Jinpachi had seen himself as an angel, as a Christ-like figure, you see clearly from his expression that he was actually an Anti-Christ. 

[♫♫♫]

“Kill them all my lambs. None of them are to escape from here. I won’t lose my most precious people. I won’t let them live without me in their lives again. If I go then we all go together.”

Jinpachi Otsuka wanted to die, he wanted all of his loved ones to die with him.

To have them all know the despair of Haku Hisakawa felt gripping at his throat as it closed up and strangled him.

To have them all know the despair of Reimi Hanada as the bomb came down on her and left them an unrecognizable corpse.

To have them all know the despair of Rowan Valentine who experienced his greatest fear as she fell from the carriage of the ferris wheel. 

To have them all know the despair of Hisakata Imai as his rope was sliced and he fell just like the way his victim did.

To have them all know the despair of Ikko Denda as despite her best efforts to defend the people she wanted to save, she was gunned down. 

To have them all know the despair of Sayuri Nomura fighting for her life and yet despite it all taking a swift smack to the head.

To have them all know the despair of Hotaru Doigawa as she saw her sister and suffered the same fate of having a bullet run her through.

To have them all know the despair of Yvette as she was surrounded by the people she loved who could do nothing to save her.

To have them all know the despair of Mio Date as she assisted in trying to kill him and yet her back was torn open by an axe.

To have them all know the despair of Juzo Miyazaki as he struggled against his brother before succumbing to his hands in front of you all. 

Were these deaths truly all despair…or were some laced with hope. It mattered not to Jinpachi because they all ended the same way anyway. 

The Saints rush the moment they are given their command. Blades in hand, they aim to take your life. If it was one or two then maybe you could take them but with them all at once, the only choice was to run. Before you can even turn, one moves to throw themself in front of you all. They leap right into action. Maybe it was stupid, maybe it was the move of a fool, but they were confident in their strength and their abilities. After all, they’ve always sought to be an idiot, after all.

They’ll protect everyone’s tomorrows if they must…

The Chupacabra, the goat sucker, the predator famous for turning lambs into prey: Hanji throws themself through the flames into the heat of them with the wild intent to maim, the instinct the leave the sheep bleed where they stand. Swift like a creature of ambush, they swoop in to deliver a mask-cracking punch towards The Fiend with ease, their knuckles heating up from the blow as the cultist is knocked down momentarily.

Another one of them attempts to strike– the Terror– as they come in from the other side, though Hanji quickly repels the attack with a prompt roundhouse-kick to his side. The blade he held in his grip is sent flying into the puddle of blood Jinpachi stood by, skidding across the floor before it stops. Jinpachi’s blank stare didn’t flinch at anything that was occurring. This is just what he wanted from them all. Pure Chaos.

It’s a bit of an unbelievable sight to behold, seeing one person fight against a whole group as though it was something they did for a living, and it was, and it was because they wanted to, because it fell in line with what they wanted, and how they felt.

If wanting to fight for another chance at life was the move of a dumbass, then they don’t mind being one. They wouldn’t mind having to do this again and again, if it meant a chance to create their own path. To protect those who still breathe, and to live to see the infinite tomorrows for those who couldn’t anymore…

As Hanji continues to fight the Saints off, they look over their shoulder towards everyone else– the group they risked their life to protect, and still are– brows furrowed, expression urgent, voice screeching, scratching against the walls of their throat like nails on a chalkboard.

“Th’ fuck’re all yall gawkin’ round fer?!

Go!! Break the fuckin’ door down an’ git outta here!

Git outta here an’ live, god damn it!!! JUST LIVE!!!”

You can fight, you can stay back and risk your life or you can make a break for it. Even if you wanted to fight, the better choice was to get out of here. And so, you all gather and throw yourselves against the door. It was sturdier than it should be, even being able to withstand a punch from Kazuo Hayashi, but with perseverance you will have your freedom. 

There is one however that doesn’t listen, that grips that sharp blade in their pocket. 

As if she were a wolf provoked into defending her pack, Mikazuki charges forward. She remembers practicing before in the village, that she was more suited for speed than strength, so she’s quick when setting her sights on the Cursed. A quick shank-like stab aimed for the ribs and an immediate pull-away, and she hit her target. The Cursed recoils, but unsurprisingly, lets out a heaved laugh as he clutches his new wound.

“I told you your days were numbered, you cock-sucking–" 

She widens her eyes with mild outrage at Hanji forcing her back, lightly hitting Hanji’s shoulder with her free hand in her adrenaline.

”What are you fucking doing?!“

Hanji’s at the very least relieved they’ve pushed her out of the increasing danger, and fortunately, Mikazuki was hitting a brick wall, but that wasn’t Hanji’s concern. They look back up to see the Saints closing in again, and they grip Mikazuki’s shoulders to both protect them, and to address them.

“I didn’t teach ya that shit fer ya t’die here! Y’ve gotten this fuckin’ far, grab yer brother an’ GIT’!”

Mikazuki looks conflicted for a moment, but really, they know Hanji’s right. As much as she wants to stay and fight, more importantly she wants to get Tsuneo out of here alive. 

”…ok, fine! Just–don’t fucking die, dickhead.“

Mikazuki begrudgingly joins the rest in tearing down this door, but not before without the Cursed suddenly stepping towards her, unmasked with a bleeding smile. And they whisper something, something only she can hear, before Hanji plucks him away from Mikazuki and everyone else. He’s thrown away without a fight and collapses unceremoniously; one down, few more to go.

Hanji’s efforts in fending the Saints off don’t show any signs of stopping anytime soon, with every struggle they have, they’re able to knock them back ten times more. Each blow is returned harder than it was received, dodging and parrying with precision and skill and years of training. They push back as much as they can as they try to make their way to you, but in their path, they’re suddenly pulled back by their ponytail by the Devout– a long, ribbony hazard both in flames and combat, giving them a disadvantage.

The remaining standing Saints surround them, one of them having retrieved the disarmed knife from earlier, as they’re seemingly held in place by the hair… before they’re caught pulling on their own hair in an attempt to pull the Devout forward for one nastily planned headbutt. The Terror comes in with the knife once more, but with a calculated strafe, the blade connects with their hair, stretched between Hanji and the Devout stumbling backwards with the locks still in his grip.

And it slices through, freeing Hanji.

The long lock of hair falls to the floor, and it eventually catches light from the gentle licks of the roaring flames around them. Strands they’ve kept for years burning up like memories of the past, but giving them the opportunity to grow in something new. Something fresh. Something to look forward to…

There are grunts of pain, there are coughs from the inhalation of smoke but even through this you will not succumb. You’ve all come too far and you will not let this be the end. Let The Shepherd burn away in this hellfire, and get out! This was your fate, it was in your hands and Jinpachi Otsuka wasn’t going to steal anyone else’s life ever again. 

Near Jinpachi…down by his feet…a hand curls through the puddle of blood…eyes trying to peel themselves open. Fire…surely…they’ve ended up in Hell just like they deserved. But this wasn’t Hell…this was still life…and standing above them…was their everything. And down here with them…was a silver glint smeared with red. 

There was only one way to bring this all to an end…the bloodied hand reaches out…and takes the handle of the knife in their hand…

#ch6

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

Hanji votes hope! Duh

Vote Recorded.

DESPAIR - 1

HOPE - 10

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

i will free you from despair || hanji ruzaki || trial 6.7 || re: this mf bubba gump shrimp

Despair this, despair that. Resign to it, give up, accept it... It will always come back, it will persevere, it will continue to coexist, and so you have to love it--

It was annoying.

It was so, so annoying to be told what to do. To be told what you had to like, what you had to follow, what you had to do, that it was for your own good-- what would anyone fucking know? Hanji's life didn't belong to anyone except themselves. One life is never the exact same as another. One's experiences won't always mesh well with someone else's, one's opinions won't always fit with someone else's, so what made them think they knew everything about Hanji's? As if they knew them? As if they also owned their life?

[♫♫♫]

That was one of the things Hanji was fighting for. To finally feel like their life belonged to them. To stop being the freakish kid who had the mind of an adult, when really all they wanted was to do what they wanted to do. To be able to control their own damn life. To not have to listen to stupid outsiders thinking they know what's best for them.

Even through the killing game, although they couldn't achieve everything they wanted to... They're still here, fighting, aren't they?

That was their own choice that they wanted, wasn't it? Trying to find Risumaru, and ending up with stolen papers instead; papers that led them here, stopping the end of the world...

Jinpachi’s words have long become irritating white noise to Hanji by now, immovable by their own resolve. Just as it was useless to try and sway the mind of the mad, it was just as impossible to convince Hanji, so now rooted in their ever-so-growing determination.

They knew there was no point in responding. No matter what words are pulled from everyone’s mouths, it’ll bring Jinpachi joy. It gave him content to consume, after all– an entertainment to satiate that boredom that seemed to be so infinite…

Still, the Shepherd used to be a person. A person who wanted to enjoy life as much as everyone else, before tragedy struck, and he was left to resort to the worst. Just for a chance at happiness.

Just for a chance to be with his brother.

Just for a chance to be happy with his brother-- a development the world didn't want, for whatever reason.

So, for his brother, Hanji speaks.

“AEDS won’t cling ‘ta shit. Yer the only one clingin’ to it fer yer dear life, ‘cos y’ain’t had no life left.”

The choices come up. And unsurprisingly, the majority is…

…well. Even if it was hope, there was a single detail that stood out about it. Maybe it was the frustration, the exhaustion, to only vote Jinpachi’s opposition if it meant this would all stop… The desire to just go back home, if there even was a home to go back to–

But, it was clear that this all wasn’t about hope. It wasn’t just about the black and white, and which side you’d align yourself to.

Hanji knew this advice very well. If there’s no other choice, make one yourself. Them and Jinpachi may be similar, but if there was one difference to be pointed out…

“...God, yer really pathetic. It’s a sad fuckin' display fer all o’ us. You’ve just completely given up. An’ by now, it should be clear we ain’t fuckin’ like you. You’ve stopped walkin’ when we all kept runnin’.”

Honestly? It was never ‘bout eradicatin’ despair or whatever. It was never ‘bout that. Despair will also be a feelin’ that will always exist, so long as humans exist, yer not wrong 'bout that.”

“But, it ain't mean we haf'ta live wit' it if we don't wanna. Hell- who said we had'ta like it? An' if we ain't like sum'n, we jus' gotta throw it away, right?

So long as there’re folk who fight fer despair, there will also always be folk prepared ‘ta fight against it wit’ hope. An’ th’ more they try t’gain th’ upper hand, the more we'll git’ better at suppressin’ that bullshit. An’ now may as well be that example.

Despair will never die? Y’can say th’ same thing wit’ hope. All yer arguments can be just as valid if ya flip everythin’ around. Reverse th’ words, an’ them statements’re jus’ as true.

So long as despair exists, hope will follow. Despair exists as an incentive fer hope. Hope will never die. Hope will also be a feelin’ that will always exist, so long as humans exist. It's all jus' a matter if ya see th' glass half-full're half empty."

One settled with the choice of despair, while the other refused to have it. Inaction versus action-- even now, Jinpachi let this happen, didn't he?

It wasn’t even for Risumaru anymore, at this point. He wouldn’t have wanted all this to just be for him. He probably wanted Hanji to fight for themself, too. To reach this far for themself.

For themself, and all those they love, and the world they never knew they loved until now…

"Sure, this can all happen again, but nuthin’ ever lasts forever. Even if you die today, even when another jackass like you shows up, even if we have to stand up to another apocalypse, humanity will never stop movin’ forward to fight fer their lives. To fight fer th’ world they believe in.

No matter how many times we step back into it, so long as people keep on movin’, despair can never fuckin’ catch up wit’ us!”

Old, untraceable sayings kept being said for a reason. Once you fall into a hole… the only thing you can do is climb back up, right?

To go back to everything you love, to the normalcy you look forward to everyday, to want to know what tomorrow will give you…

“...Life can hate us. Life can hurt us, break us, make us want ‘ta give up an’ think what’s the point… up until we all die wit’out fanfare. In the end, we’re all just a single person on a planet full o’ billions…

But still, it ain’t hell. It ain’t hell if we won’t let it be. Our lives an' our stories are our own t'weave, not yers. Fifty million bad things can happen, but it ain't mean nice things can't happen 'nymore.”

You can’t get it back if you just sit there. All of it can be within reach if you just move. Miracles can be made with your own hands, and every human has the ability to change fate. And to change fate meant to take action.

"It isn't about ‘bout this fuckin’ hope shit, ‘re despair shit, or nuthin’. Life ain't a game like ya think it is. Life ain’t a fuckin’ black ‘n white gameboard where ya haf’ta choose one side fer th’ rest o’ yer life. Living shouldn’t have to be a fuckin’ two toned checkerboard– a life is filled wit’so much rotatin’ colours, the shades overlappin’ t’make more like a discoball.

But still. Even if despair is t’stop, an’ hope is t’go… Y’ain’t gotta choose a side to wanna live yer life.”

No matter how many times your hands are scraped, they’re still made to create.

"We just want to live. We want t’live an’ write our own stories, hope an’ despair bullshit aside...

And if all we need t'live is to keep on hopin' we do... "

"...Well, we don't have to answer you. It doesn't matter how many times we fall and rise up again. Right now, it's time to move on.

To move on from you. And step into a brighter future. One we will keep rebuilding no matter what."

And of course, Hanji understood the place Jinpachi was coming from… It wasn’t quite empathy or sympathy, but rather taking all sequence of events and making sense of it, and seeing where it took him. To cling onto anything that felt like freedom to him, after being broken by family, the public, and expectations…

He thought, in order to be happy was to give up. To give up, to stop his legs from traveling and succumb to despair, where it embraces him so warmly, in such a suffocatingly tender grip until it seeped through his flesh and into his soul now stained. To the point where despair couldn’t be differentiated from love, where joy couldn’t be separated from devastation. Where hope wasn’t any different from hatred.

A poor child who embraced stagnation, in hopes it was freedom, believing the choice to stop was freedom… And maybe it was, in a way. To choose to jail yourself in darkness was a type of freedom. To choose to not be free was to be free– a paradox of its own kind.

But to stop meant to stop experiencing more than just the agony he chose to nurture.

Was it ever so black-and-white like that? It shouldn’t be hard to understand it didn’t have to be.

That’s what made life so interesting though, wasn’t it?

One thousand chess games played, with billions more pieces with their own rules and movements– it’s what made life… fun. If life was a game after all, it was one without an end.

There was so much life had to offer, if you let it show you.

"Now, hurry it up. Yer toys have become worn, an’ it’s jus’ ‘bout yer bedtime, huh, little man?”

There was no point in telling someone already dead to die. So, at long last, the squares on the board blend into the same shade of grey.

Hope… Despair… It doesn’t have to revolve around either.

Sometimes it was okay to just want to live.

It was okay to just trust tomorrow.

It was okay to not think and keep on walking.

To hope to live to the next day with a smile.

To live…

Live…

Live…

Live…

“So go fuck yer past self in th’ afterlife…”

No matter how dark it gets, no matter how blinded you are by the light…

“...an’ move on already.”

...they'll protect everyone's tomorrows if they must.

Just live.

#ch6 #hanji #submission

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

Mikazuki Soma chooses Hope.

Vote Recorded.

DESPAIR - 1

HOPE - 9

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

O Lucifer, son of the morning star | Mikazuki | Re: Voting

Mikazuki looks unamused at the choices before her. Of course it’s such a black and white decision. What is a creature of despair that refuses to be shepherded into the flock to do, then? 

There’s always going to be the shadow of AEDS in her–or maybe AEDS was simply the result of something latching onto the shadows of her pain and hatred and turning them into the worst version of herself. Even now, a puppet show of carnage and revenge plays in the back of her mind, urging her to throw it all away and aim for Jinpachi’s throat. If she’s a creature of despair, why not jump and allow angels to tear at her flesh? 

Plenty of reasons. 

Someone has to give those last words to Hotaru’s family. Someone has to help find Hisakata’s guardian. Someone has to make sure all the effort Rowan had put into treating her sickness doesn’t go to waste. Someone has to be Hayato’s sidekick.

Sayuri had told her the best revenge is to survive. Dr. Denda had told her that even if she’s let down, she’s allowed to be happy. Mio taught her that there were always bright spots even in the darkest of places. Yvette taught her that fighting against the darkness was worthwhile as long as someone was worth fighting for.

Plus, everyone in this room is on the same page as her–regardless of how long their hopes might last, it was better to keep them than to let Jinpachi have the satisfaction.

Suffering never has a higher purpose. She’s never thought it did. Pandora’s box is filled with agonies that mean nothing. Hope is the only thing in that box that has a purpose: to push people forward despite their suffering. Whether that’s cruel or kind, she doesn’t know, but that’s always been what Mikazuki Soma did. What is revenge but the hope for justice? 

“To choose despair is just giving up and languishing over nothing mattering, isn’t it? I’m a bit too stubborn for that. That’s part of why the diseases you and I have are never gonna mix. Aside from basically everything else about you.” 

She looks at the blue-haired boy behind her, who’s resolved to stop trying to please people who’ve never loved either of them and go into the future. Her little brother, who responded to the truth by deciding it was his turn to care for her. Mikazuki gives him a soft smile, which then turns into a toothy grin of mockery towards the Shepherd’s own.

“Besides, you were right about one thing. Twins should stick together. Too bad you couldn’t manage that, huh, Patchy? Choke on that despair, stupid bitch~”

 She flips him off for an extra measure of being childish in turn for his own. 

#ch6 #mikazuki

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

the miserable have no other medicine but only hope || maxime || trial 6.7 || re: jin

Jinpachi's answer to Maxime's question, and response to his words, tells him all he needs to know about what's going on here. That is, that it's pointless to try to tell him anything he's doing is wrong. It'll be better for him to just die. He imagines that actually isn't a particularly out there thought, for once.

"It's kind of you to be concerned for our lives outside of here, but I'll be perfectly fine. What, did you think you made that much of an impact on anyone? Even if you did, it was your brother, not us-- ah, not that either really mattered deeply to me."

He smiles very politely.

"My dog is waiting outside of here, actually. It's quite nice. I'm looking forward to returning to my job."

Above anything else, Maxime just wanted to go back to living a very boring life. And he would! Just maybe with slightly less isolation involved in it, given that Loic and Yuriko were here now. And maybe, very slightly, as a better person.

He's not a better person yet, though. ...After a second, though, his gaze does slide over to the other cultists still standing around Jinpachi.

"...By the way, if your other little clowns don't have any grand plans, I'm happy to be reunited with whichever of you I beat with a pipe the first time around. If we're getting rid of you all."

The offer is out there! Just in case! Message to all The Cursed! He laughs demurely and then looks down at the voting options.

"You know, hope and despair are just words. You're talking like they're sentient concepts we're voting in favor of, but that's frankly ridiculous. Despair isn't waiting anywhere. It's just a feeling you feel. Maybe you're thinking of AEDS, the disease. You really lose credibility when you word things like this. Hope is just a thing people feel as well, though I suppose I've politely accepted it being mentioned as if we're some grand force for it.

Having to vote to support an abstract concept is an absurd ending to whatever you think you're doing here. Did this really sway people the first time? Honestly."

Still as polite as ever, he taps in his vote.

"I'll vote in favor of not thinking about you ever again as soon as possible."

#ch6 #maxime

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

Maxime votes for hope!

Vote Recorded.

DESPAIR - 1

HOPE - 8

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

At the end of it all, Ken really felt this whole experience was just a painful mess of losses. Thankfully, the words of those around him, as well as the kindness shown to him. The wisdom shared, by both those in this room and those that had died, are enough to him to keep him from falling into DESPAIR.

And so Ken Murase votes for HOPE!

Vote Recorded.

DESPAIR - 1

HOPE - 7

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

Futaba votes for Hope.

Vote Recorded.

DESPAIR - 1

HOPE - 6

[moonrisecalamityretreat]

now our hands join round the meaning you sought || futaba || trial 6.3 || re: SHUT UP!!

It’s something of a feat to get on Futaba’s nerves. It was rare for her to find others irritating in general, really. Of course, some had managed to do so before now, and almost always for similar reasons - bias clouded their judgment or their ability to cooperate, they acted without thinking a little too often, they provoked others for no discernable reason other than causing trouble. She’d gotten over these grievances by now, of course, and most all negative feelings she’d once had toward anyone had been overshadowed by a general sense of camaraderie.

This does not, however, mean she’s lost the ability to find people grating, and somehow Jinpachi has managed to tick every box when it comes to traits she can’t stand. Not that she'll show as much - she's sure he'd only get more annoying if she did.

“… I know the answer is obvious, but are you stupid? Surely you’re aware we’ve all considered the worst case scenario already? I doubt most of us would bother engaging with you at all if we hadn’t come to terms with what may or may not be waiting for us back home. How you’ve failed to account for the fact we’ve bonded as a group, I don’t know, but… there are many people here I know I can trust once we’ve returned. No matter what we’ve lost, none of us will be left alone. … And, in any case, my fathers have survived the worst of the apocalypse once. I’m confident they’re capable of doing so again.”

She sighs, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head to the side. While her expression is as blank as usual, there’s a small hint of genuine dumbfoundedness in it.

“… I was far from normal to begin with, anyway. Have you already forgotten your little comment about inorganic lifeforms? … I figure I’ll have to fight for some sense of normalcy regardless of the current state of the world, and I’ve long since accepted that. That threat means nothing to me. … Really, nothing you’ve said thus far means much of anything. If I didn’t know any better, I’d almost think you were simply trying to postpone your death for as long as possible.”

“... How irritating.”

She’d be rolling her eyes right now if she wasn’t sure he’d find it amusing to see her do so. Her affect remains as flat as it always is.

“I think I can say with relative confidence that another Jinpachi Otsuka, or Izana, or Shinichi, won’t last terribly long if and when they decide to show their face. You speak as though we’d be afraid to face them again. Personally, I’m fairly certain everyone here would be happy to remove them from the equation, just as I’m certain we aren’t the only ones who would be willing to do so.”

“... That said, Hayashi-san is right. None of us asked to be part of this game of hope versus despair. It’s childish. Frankly, I’d have no part in it if I had a choice. … But if participating will free us from your nonsensical rambling sooner, then I’ll happily do so.”

Without sparing any thought, Futaba casts her vote. And, for good measure, she gives Yuriko a small thumbs up. Kity say fuck!!

“... Anyway, hurry up and die. I want to leave now.”

#ch6 #futaba