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The doors finally opened, and Taichi breathed a sigh of relief. A very poorly timed sigh. The beast lunged, and his vision went black.
He awoke in a cold sweat, aching, and covered in dried or drying blood, presumably his own. Attempting to move was agonising, but Taichi knew staying put somewhere so exposed would mean certain death, something he'd just narrowly escaped here. The pair of teens were no longer around, and his beloved laptop lay shattered under the mighty paw of the now-slain Monokuma. His first goal would have to be to find some sort of clean cloth to cover the major wounds that covered his arms and torso, but from what the man had seen the task would be virtually impossible, given the nearly-destroyed state of the city. So painkillers would have to do, antibiotics if he was lucky.
Lucky.
One of the kids in Chihiro's class was the ultimate luckster. So if she stuck with him, she'd make it through this mess. Of course.
He hoped his wife would be ok too.
Avoiding monokumas and the bear-headed children was particularly difficult to do when injured. More than once, Taichi had resorted to the cheap trick of throwing a rock to distract an enemy, but he knew it would stop working soon enough. His wounds stung with every movement, and the gouges on his right arm seemed to be producing a yellowish pus - he still couldn't get any antibiotics. Time must be running out, but Taichi had to survive, had to find his wife and child. He wouldn't dare give up on them, couldn't continue to be so unreliable when it mattered most.
He was lost in his thoughts, not focusing on his surroundings.
From behind, a pair of strong, arms wrapped around him, a calloused hand clamping over his mouth as he was pulled into a seemingly abandoned building. No amount of squirming could break the man free from his captor's grip, and upon realising the futility of his actions, Taichi let himself fall limp, the struggling only causing him unnecessary pain.
He thanked every deity for who he saw when he was let go.
'Kaaki?' He asked, half surprised but mostly just happy to see a friendly face.
'Airheaded as always,' was the man's simple remark, 'Coulda got yourself killed, n' it looks like ya nearly did.'
Taichi smiled sheepishly, head facing his torn up hands that fidgeted in his lap.
'I'm glad you're still alive,' Said Takaaki, bringing over a surprisingly well-stocked first aid kit, 'Even if you are so ruffed up.' He wordlessly set himself to work cleaning at the wounds all over Taichi's arms, ignoring his whines and whimpers of pain in typical Takaaki fashion. Taichi was pretty sure the guy only ever smiled for his son, and otherwise had only three emotions; apathy, disappointment, and rage.
'Yo, Taki,' Came an unfamiliar voice from a doorway, 'When we - Oh, hi newbie, you look like shit!'
'Michi, learn some manners, please. This is Taichi. We were friends.' Takaaki didn't look up, focused on his task. Taichi smiled and waved a little at the boy, who looked younger than Chihiro (which was saying a lot, considering how much of a babyface his daughter had). 'Michi' nodded in return, slinging a beat-up satchel off his shoulder and onto the floor.
'So, I heard more 'copters today. Maybe the stupid future foundation fucks are finally gonna help out,' The boy said, throwing himself onto the stained mattress Taichi was resting on.
'Language' Takaaki replied curtly - he sure hadn't changed over the past year and a half! 'Besides, they'll need to deal with the children before they can start a rescue mission. If they don't deescalate the situation, the little shits-'
'Language' The teen replied snarkily, earning him a hardened glare.
'The little shits,' He repeated, 'Will just target the helicopters and the agents. They may be young but they're scary smart.' He told the pair. 'Damn, Taka must hate them,' He added softly, an afterthought. Taichi could see from the look on his face that he wasn't the only father carrying on for their child. But unlike himself, Takaaki only had his son - the great and terrible Toranosuke Ishimaru had ensured Takaaki would have an unfairly difficult life, after all. And yet here he was, alive during the most despair-inducing event in human history, while his father had been one of the first bastards killed by the 5-person terror team of children. It was what the guy had deserved.
Months passed, and the trio banded together through it all. Taichi was on lookout duty, as due to the severity of his wounds Takaaki refused to put him in further danger, and the other two men would explore the remains of a once-thriving city for food, supplies, or survivors. They never found much.
'Yo, Taichi, c'mere!' Takemichi's voice called from across the street.
'What about-'
'Fuck guard duty, we found Hiro! He's from your kid's class right?'
Taichi needed no further persuasion, running as fast as his legs could take him, running on adrenaline alone as he heaved breaths in through lungs that weren't used to more than a few minutes' exercise. Following the tall blond, Taichi found himself by a marketplace, gasping heavy breaths and trying to stammer out any words to his daughter's friend. Takaaki was there too, a blank, distant look on his face.
That was odd.
Hiro never went to speak unprompted, so the inevitable conversation had to wait until Taichi caught enough of his breath to form broken sentences.
'Hiro! How's Chi-' *gasp* 'Chihiro? Is - is she with you?' Takaaki turned his still-distance gaze towards Taichi for a second, before staring at the ground - shit, was Kiyotaka hurt? Or maybe he was still missing?
'I'm so sorry dude,' Said Hiro, refusing to make eye contact. The lack of eye contact wasn't unusual, considering both men were far from allistic, but the refusal to even look at his face concerned Taichi.
'What's the matter? Is she lost?' He asked.
'I wish - aw jeez, why'd they make me do this?' Hiro muttered to himself, a hand going to pull at his locs.
'Yasuhiro?' Taichi asked again, softly. He didn't mean to push, didn't mean to make the guy uncomfortable, but he needed to know. He needed his darling daughter to be ok and alive.
'Chi's... Chi's not with us.' Hiro said, barely managing to choke out those words. The frayed elastic holding his ponytail together snapped as he tugged harder at his locs, trying to control the panic.
'She's lost?' He asked. That wasn't good, but hey, if she was lost it means they'd seen her alive sometime-
'Chihiro's dead' Hiro announced, a sob escaping his lips, 'Mondo killed her, he smashed her head in with a dumbell and that stupid bear killed him too, and, and then Taka, he - shit, I'm so sorry dude I'm really really sorry dude-'
Taichi wasn't listening. He couldn't listen. His baby... his dear baby, gone?
It was impossible.
It wasn't right.
He watched his knees buckle, felt his body crumple in a heap, heard the screams of despair that came from his own mouth.
But it couldn't be happening.
Not her.
Not Chihiro.
Anyone but her.
'N' she basically saved us too with Alter Ego, n' she never gave in to despair, n' -' Hiro was still rambling comforting nonsense, tears spilling down his cheeks. Takaaki was still silent, emotionless, the shell he was destined to become without the hope for his son. Takemichi seemed stuck in place, trying to process what Hiro had said about Mondo - Taichi's brain had stopped functioning, he couldn't even begin to question why the biker would ever hurt his baby, his only thought was a horrible, horrible image of a bloodied corpse his mind conjured, Chihiro's ginger hair stained red, her expression as blank as Takaaki's or as shocked and confused as Takemichi's, laying cold and alone. It couldn't be true.
'Future foundation - they preserved their bodies - so we can have a proper funeral, ya know?'
The reality sunk in against the tired man's will. Future foundation agents dragged his screaming body off of the cold hard ground, shoving him into the metal cage that was most certainly a helicopter but his brain promised was a morgue, a morgue for his baby. He lay in his crumpled heap aboard the helicopter, Takemichi joining him on the floor in a desperate attempt for some form of comfort, while Takaaki remained vacant throughout the whole ride.
They arrived.
They were at a massive building.
It was the Future Foundation HQ.
It wasn't like it mattered, anyway.
'Um, if you'd like to come with me, Mr Fujisaki?' A familiar, nervous voice offered. Taichi nodded aimlessly, and was guided along by an older, taller, far more mature Makoto Naegi. The luckster he'd been convinced could protect his baby. The body they were going to see today.
'Here she is. We're all so so sorry, none of us would be alive without her... I'll be just outside, if you need me,' The boy assured him, leaving a grieving father alone, staring at the door, the one labelled for her. Chihiro Fujisaki.
Taking a shaky breath, saying a silent prayer, he opened the door. Pulled out the rack. Saw the damage, saw his child. It was all real. It really was her, dead on that slab, not some miraculous doppelganger.
Tears filled his eyes as they had so often these past few days.
But hey, he thought, at least she doesn't look scared anymore.