❝You may find it simple to TAKE SOMEONE’S LIFE AWAY without regret or your subconscious getting in the way but I’m not the same. My mind operates on a ‘ different level ’ where you think of expressing yourself is equal to tormenting innocent lives. If you truly wished to express yourself, then seek a different hobby than enforcing a show that’ll end your audience’s lives by the finale. Expressing myself to the likes of you aren’t worth considering — why bother to allow your obvious taunts to provoke any sort of reaction? Don’t misunderstand me … I will only ‘ express my hatred of you ’ should the time come. As for now, you’re simply delaying the inevitable.❞
Expressing care to her provocations would be a trap. Anyone who loses their composure without warning were just enough to surrender themselves to their game. That isn’t how the STOIC WOMAN was — she saw through deceptions and pathetic means of ‘ trying to get under her skin ’. The worst of who was capable of doing such a thing is long gone by now. There’s no one else who could bother into making her flinch or break composure. Firm tone stood out, leaving this despair to be crumbled underneath her foot. Offering ‘ free entertainment ’ won’t be something she’ll subject herself into … not any more. That situation is OVER and dealt with ( accompanied by horrid memories ).
❝We ‘ are ’ aware of the consequences behind our actions, Ibuki. There’s no need for you to offer any criticism regarding the tactics we’re making. Be aware that I was AGAINST the idea of displaying any mercy on your kind from the very beginning. But he convinced me otherwise because he reminded me something important … you are victims of that woman who were horribly influenced. It could have been us in the same position as you all are if it hadn’t been for Naegi’s HOPE . Otherwise I would have stained my hands with your blood without wasting my time here to bring you in to HQ.❞
She noted the annoyance when it comes to ‘ insulting ’ her precious friend. Putting Enoshima and friend in the same sentence seems unlikely. Could such a statement ever be composed without losing its sanity? Of course not. Anyone who’s sane would find it unlikely but she expected as much, coming from Ibuki here. This INFLUENCE of Enoshima sunk right into their minds, bodies, and souls to fill the ‘ empty gaps of their lives ’ just as she attempted to do the same to the 78th Class. For a moment, it appears the detective’s composure truly eased to a point she sought a tranquil atmosphere. That behavior itself would be the first step in how she TRULY FEELS over the subject — meaningless.
❝And you have faith in your ‘ friendship ’ with her by spilling innocent blood? Do you believe that is true friendship? It’s no different from a cult leader gathering up their FOLLOWERS and enforce their beliefs on ignorant people without a purpose in their lives. You may have been alone and your songs weren’t heard but forcing people to ‘ listen to your music ’ while punishing them isn’t a means to better the situation. You’ll be pushed into isolation forever than you originally were, Ibuki. Enoshima made things worse on you by feeding you false words that were packed in beautiful wrapping. She deceived you, she deceived all your classmates, and she deceived US . Enoshima admired you? I didn’t think a creature like her was capable of such emotions. The only thing she ‘ admired ’ from you was how far you’d reach into despair as well as what you were capable of pulling off. Her only fixation and FETISH she believed in was her characterization as despair. Caring about you or anyone else was words she spilled to entrap you to believe this character you’re playing off.❞
Just to deliver a sense of warning, a quick KICK to the pavement send a piece of rubble to the left. Brows narrowed without making any other movements to draw herself closer. Fear wasn’t present in her complexion for Ibuki to witness because that was obvious: she wasn’t afraid of despair nor ‘feel’ it. ❝Sorry but this isn’t about what you foolishly desire. You say you ‘don’t want Enoshima to be taken from you’ but that’s simply the BRAINWASHED version of you who’s speaking of those lies. Even now, you’ve declared how painful it is to be forsaken completely by hope. It isn’t too late for you to be at peace and having her removed from your life is the only way you can be capable of doing such a thing. It isn’t over as you bluntly say — this is just the BEGINNING . I admit, hope can never bring the dead back to life but it’s something that helps us move forward with our lives. Even now, I still have yet to find hope … I’m searching for it while wandering about a world that’s fallen. We may not be capable of restoring the world within a day, a month, or even years but it’s a belief we have in our FUTURES that makes our hope ‘ stronger ’ than any despair. Your future was robbed because of Enoshima and it plunged you into believing that concept. If you truly met Naegi-kun, he would be the one who admires you and forgives your ‘ past self ’ as a despair. I can’t disrespect him of that strong belief he carries which is why you CAN’T escape. Not unless you have a desire to DIE the minute you escape this place.❞
In a defensive impulse, those gestures weren’t left unnoticed. She saw precisely what this conversation PROVOKES which could make things complicated. There’s no way she could be capable of killing someone ( not unless it involved the predicament where ‘ he ’ was in danger ), though gloved hands also proved a point by clenching themselves together. Her stance certainly throws a person off by being casual and composed. But it was a lie — simply listening about the ‘ good ’ Enoshima brought forth to Ibuki’s life is enough to make her disgusted. That abnormality being PRAISED for her sickening fetish of despair … abnormality doesn’t even begin to describe how appalled she was of that woman. At that moment, it wasn’t the follower who the detective was annoyed with … it was HER . How badly was this corruption of hers to drive these children to extreme measures? If this ‘ behavior ’ came from one person, the others could end up worse or far more dangerous. Familiar footsteps immediately grasped her attention, aware of the subtle THREAT within Ibuki’s presence. That urge to kill was suppressed physically but not from the depths of her mind. It rang perfectly for the stoic woman to hear and prepare herself for.
❝ OH, NAEGI THIS, AND HOPE THAT. IBUKI GETS IT ALREADY. You wouldn’t be here if that short-stack hadn’t convinced you otherwise. And you still think that Junko influenced us into bad, creepy people, right? Can’t Ibuki say the same about you though? Naegi influenced you with hope, and to naive Kyouko chan, that looked a lot like he was saving your life. But just look around you! Hope can’t win in a world like this. It’s too outmatched! It’s soooo much harder to believe in hope than to fall into despair. It’s easier to just....let go.... ❞
MAYBE IBUKI AND KYOUKO WEREN’T AS DIFFERENT as they so thought. Ibuki was certainly noticing that. They both had friends who influenced them to be a certain way, believe in certain things that would ultimately lead them to fulfillment. They were just doing favors for their friends because their friends were the ones who were there for them. At least, that was what Junko was to Ibuki. She was the one who listened when no one else would. She never got tired of Ibuki’s eccentric personality, and she listened to every song. Every lyric, every tune, every note. And now, it was Ibuki’s job to do the last thing that Junko had asked for before she died. Ibuki would spread despair as far as she could. And the whole time she was doing so, she wouldn’t even consider being anybody but herself.
BUT KYOUKO WAS A REAL PROBLEM FOR IBUKI. She made it clear she wasn’t going anywhere or losing her cool anytime soon. She also expressed several times her desire to turn Ibuki back into who she used to be by ripping Junko’s existence right out of Ibuki’s head. She couldn’t let that happen. Not now, not ever. Not Junko. If Ibuki lost Junko too, she’d really be alone. She’d be somebody completely different - somebody she didn’t want to be. It was bad enough that Junko had died, even though Ibuki truly did respect her for doing whatever it took to fulfill her ambition, but if Ibuki forgot all about her....it’d be like the world ending for the second time to Ibuki. And she wouldn’t even know it.
THE DETECTIVE SURE KNEW HOW TO TALK SOMEONE to death. Ibuki didn’t bother interrupting her. This time she would wait until Kyouko was completely finished before replying. After her seemingly endless ramble about how important Junko’s friendship was to her, she felt a little out of breath. Not only that, it was also a sign that Ibuki was the one losing her cool between the two. Her defensive stance remained present as she glared at the other. She refrained from physically moving closer or farther away. Ibuki was doing her best to appear indifferent, if not somewhat amused, towards what Kyouko was saying, but that wasn’t working out so well. The more and more Kyouko spoke, the tighter her expression got. She was angry. Ibuki was so damn furious to hear this girl talk about Junko like that. As if she actually knew Junko the way Ibuki did. She heard the rubble being kicked across the pavement, but her eyes remained locked on Kyouko a she scowled at her. Without her meaning to, Ibuki suddenly stomped her foot hard. The mixture of rage and desperation she had in her eyes would likely be akin to something Kyouko had never seen before in a person.
❝ DO I....DO I LOOK LIKE I REALLY CARE WHETHER Junko chan was manipulating me or not...? Maybe she did say those things to get what she wanted from me. Maybe she only pretended for the sake of her goals. But Ibuki doesn’t think that part matters so much. What matters is that she said those things at all. I needed Junko chan. I still need her. She gave me what I fucking needed, what don’t you understand about that?! Junko chan cared! Even if her motive was different, even if it was only for a short time, she really did care about me! She showed me how to not be lonely anymore, how to be happy with who I am in a fucked up, disgusting, despair-ridden world like the one I helped her create! I helped her because we were FRIENDS! And I want to keep helping her even now! Because all she ever wanted was for me to be me! ❞
❝ A BRAINWASHED VERSION OF ME IS BETTER THAN THE OLD ME! I won’t be at peace if I go with you! Hope won’t get you anywhere! Hope is POINTLESS! It doesn’t fix your problems at all, you know! And meeting some half-assed Ultimate Hope kid like him for myself won’t change anything either! I don’t have any desire to die, Kirigiri. If I died, the pain, the despair that I’ve been fighting for would completely go away. It doesn’t matter how much I hurt. That’s still me. That’s still who I am. And I....I want to, no wait, I HAVE to make sure that the world hears every lyric of my despair. That’s what this is all about. Not so everything can just come crumbling down last minute with your shitty plan to make me start all over. ❞
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