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“Poor poor Naegi-kun,” a shrill voice sang, staring maniacally at Itsuki. “It seems life isn’t going so well for you, huh?”
“Enoshima…?” Itsuki said blearily, blinking to clear his vision. “Wh...what…?”
“Who else would it be, silly?” Enoshima asked. “You didn’t think you could actually escape, didja Naegi-kun?”
“Or… should I say Nozomi-kun…?” she giggled.
Itsuki struggled to adjust to his surroundings, vaguely realizing that he was in some sort of cage.
“Where are we, Enoshima?” Itsuki asked, glaring up at her.
“Oh? You really don’t recognize this place Nozomi-kun?” Enoshima asked. “Although I guess it would be more important to Naegi-kun than Nozomi-kun, huh…”
Itsuki looked around, ignoring the cage for a moment, he realized she was right, he could recognize this place. It was the maze where he supposedly lost his life.
Why was he captured and brought here?
“Oh, Nozomi-kun, do you still not understand?” she asked, adjusting her hair and putting on glasses. “I suppose I can explain it to you.”
“Nozomi-kun, you and I are not so different,” Enoshima continued. “Like it or not, we both chase tragedy.”
“I’m nothing like you,” Itsuki glared.
“Oh? You aren’t?” Enoshima said, smiling slightly while maintaining her teacher persona. “Then why do you chase after our classmates despite what they’ve done?”
“Like it or not Nozomi-kun, they’d kill you if given the chance,” she frowned. “Isn’t that despairing? Your precious friends who’d you like to save so much would kill you in an instant.”
“That’s your fault,” Itsuki muttered. “If you didn’t brainwash them…”
“Man, Nozomi-kun, don’t give me too much credit,” Enoshima replied while blushing. “I can only do so much, y’know?”
“What do you mean ‘give you too much credit’? You brainwashed them, Enoshima.” Itsuki said.
“If you lived, which you clearly did, there was a chance to save you, right?” Enoshima smiled. “But yet they gave up on you oh so easily, even your precious Ishimaru-kun.”
Itsuki stared, saying anything to that point would be admitting that she was right.
“Even ignoring our lovely classmates,” she continued. “We’re like not so different, y’know?”
“No, I don’t know, Enoshima.”
“Oh, don’t act so cold, Nozomi-kun…! It gets me off when you act tsundere!” Enoshima said, drooling heavily.
“But… ohoho, knowing that someone who was the shining beacon of purity is no better than me, Nozomi-kun, oh you don’t know what that does to me!” she slobbered out, staring at Itsuki with what he deemed to be affection. “I mean you hate me, really hate me, right?”
“Do you really have to ask that, Enoshima?” Itsuki asked. “You’re the ‘Ultimate Analyst' aren’t you?”
“Oh, but you are not getting the question we proposed, Nozomi-kun!” Enoshima said, putting on a crown.
One of her more annoying personalities, Itsuki thought. Although he was fairly sure all of them would classify as annoying.
“A peasant, even like you, should understand what we meant,” she clairified, smiling smugly. “We asked you if you hated us, it’s rude not to answer, Nozomi-kun.”
“Of course I hate you, Enoshima,” Itsuki said easily. “You ruined my life and the world.”
“Perhaps we are just the catalyst for the events that have happened,” Enoshima responded. “After all, we could not feasibly control everyone during the tragedy, could we?”
“It’d be quite the transgression to blame us for the action of rabid peasants, Nozomi-kun!”
“What are you saying, Enoshima?” Itsuki asked, a creeping suspicion that he wouldn’t like her explanation already filling him.
“We believe that you hold a lot of resentments and that you’re taking them out on the wrong people!” she exclaimed. “The wrong people being us, of course.”
“And when have you ever cared about the feelings of others or yourself, Enoshima?” Itsuki asked, feeling his anger rise. “Have you suddenly had a change of heart? Decided to renounce your despair and do some good for the world?”
“Oh, Nozomi-kun is mad…” Enoshima said, sulking as mushrooms appeared on her head. “It’s sad to say that I’m doing this for personal reasons, Nozomi-kun…”
“...Personal reasons?”
“Let me see… if you blame me for everything that has happened to you, then you ignore the innate betrayal you experienced at the hands of your friends,” she explained. “And the greater despair would be a betrayal by the hands of those you’ve trusted…”
“They didn’t betray me, they were brainwashed!” Itsuki protested and Enoshima only stared at him.
“You don’t really believe that Nozomi-kun,” she said. “We both know they could’ve saved you if they really tried… how sad.”
“You’re blaming the wrong people, Nozomi-kun…” Enoshima droned on. “If you hate me, Nozomi-kun, then you should hate your friends just as much.”
“Shut up,” Itsuki hissed out quietly.
“Of course, it’s a lot easier to blame just one person than the people you trust, right?” Enoshima asked blankly, voice void of all emotion. “That’s how you deal with such a harsh betrayal, isn’t it?”
“No one asked you, Enoshima,” Itsuki said, gripping the bars of his cage. “You should be quiet if you know what’s good for you.”
“Oh, are you threatening me now, Nozomi-kun?” Enoshima asked. “How far the mighty have fallen indeed. The old, boring, Naegi-kun would never.”
“Let’s make this interesting,” Enoshima said, passing Itsuki his gun through the bars. “If you can shoot me before our friends get here you can grab the key off my corpse.”
“If you honestly hate me that much, this should be easy, shouldn’t it?”
Itsuki picked up his gun, the weight once daunting felt comfortable in his hand.
This was what he had wanted, wasn’t it?
He aimed the gun at Enoshima, who made no attempt to move.
Once assuring the safety was off he began a countdown in his head.
One, Enoshima smiled wickedly.
Two, his heart steadied to a calm pace.
Three, the gunshot went out effortlessly, hitting Enoshima right in the chest.
“Ahahaha! It seems that you’ve lost yourself, after all, Naegi-kun!” Enoshima laughed, voice fading away to almost nothing.
Itsuki reached for her, attempting to grab the key she had so easily offered.
Once his hand had made contact the world had faded to black.
Itsuki Nozomi was once again in his apartment, a sick feeling in his stomach.
He had changed, hadn’t he? And not for the better, he imagined.
Killing someone, even if it was Enoshima, and even if she wasn’t real, was so easy.
Had he become like her despite his efforts…?
Itsuki didn’t want to think about that, even if it was the case.
He probably just needed more sleep, that would clear his head.
What exactly was the difference between Nozomi Itsuki and Enoshima Junko?