The room was deafeningly silent. The steel door slammed shut behind you, completely muting the wails of the employees. Your breathing was as loud as a hurricane as your brain reached for something to latch on to audially. The air was completely still, and the absence of any apparent life intimidated you, interpreting yourself as a trespasser.
Now that you were closer to the box, you could clearly make out its features. Small monitors were stationed at the head of the pod, displaying vitals of whoever was inside. A glass lid sealed the container shut, but gave a clear view of the student within.
"Hajime!" you cried, plastering your hands to the glass. Hajime was a corpse, propped into a comfortable position as if he were prepared for his funeral. His eyes were shut comfortably and small adhesive pads were placed on his temples, holding wires that disappeared behind his head. A metallic collar wrapped around his neck and his arms lay limp at his side, with wires trailing to metal cuffs on his wrists. His body was loosely hidden beneath a cheap hospital robe that reached his ankles.
"Hajime, can you hear me? I came to save you. I told you I would." He gave no response to you, instead sleeping peacefully. "Hajime, I'm going to figure out how to open this. Please hold on."
You circled the coffin, tracing the split between the lid and the container in search of an opening or handle. There was no such cleft, and the gap was not wide enough for you to fit your fingertips into.
"I think it's controlled remotely," you said to him. "I'll find the controls." You watched his face, wishing for some sign of movement. "Just wait for me. Wait a bit longer."
You looked up at the glass room containing Sonia and Nagito. They watched silently. There wasn't anything in that room. What about the other? You turned to the second observation area, noticing Peko standing behind the window.
Placing a hand on the lid, you waved the other to Peko, mouthing the word 'open' and pointing to the lid. Seeing your gesture, she nodded and began searching the area around her, silently scanning whatever was found in the room. Her head disappeared beneath the windowsill temporarily, then reappeared again, followed by a thumbs up.
Your heart raced. "Do it!" you called, unsure if she could really hear you or not.
A few moments later, the display on the monitor switched to text, spouting out silent statements. Pod opening. Life signs stable. Remain clear of module.
You turned around, disregarding the monitor's warning. Steam spilled out as the lid began opening, rotating upwards on an axis at the head of the pod. Warmth radiated from the interior, allowing your senses to experience more input.
"Hajime," you whispered, stepping closer. He still didn't move, unaffected by his freedom. The steam settled and the monitor returned to displaying vitals.
You watched his chest rise and fall with long, calm breaths. Touching his arm, you felt the warmth that was signature for Hajime. He made no reaction, compelling you to achieve a response.
"Hajime, the pod's open. Wake up." You gently squeezed his arm. Some beast inside you wished to shake him awake, to rip off the wires and cuffs and carry him away, to somewhere safe and alone. I don't know what any of this stuff does. I'm not touching any of these devices; it could hurt him.
"Hajime, it's me." You leaned closer to him. "Come on. Let's get out of here." You subconsciously touched his face, your thumb caressing his cheek. "Please. I need you to wake up. I need to you come back to me."
You took his hand, placing it on his chest and resting yours on top. The cuff on his wrist was tethered to a set of wires hooked into the side of the pod, though they were lengthy enough to allow movement. "Can you even hear me?" Your fingers curled under his palm and squeezed. You briefly glanced up at the vitals; he was still okay.
"Hajime, I miss you. I miss your voice, and your touch. I want to be with you again."
You felt a twitch in Hajime's hand. You flinched, shocked at the minimal though unexpected movement. With hope restored, you kept going.
"Do that again, Hajime. Keep trying. Please, wake up!" You completely interlaced your fingers with his, otherwise remaining completely still to sense for more movement.
"You can do this. Return to me."
His fingers tensed, clenching your hand aggressively. You didn't mind as long as it meant he was trying.
"Open your eyes. Please, try." Returning the strength of his hold, you gazed at his face, waiting for a signal.
His brows furrowed and his head gave little twitches. "Keep going," you pushed. His eyelids finally shot open, staring at the ceiling.
"Hajime!" you rejoiced. His green eyes moved to you, his breathing becoming heavier and broken. He didn't move otherwise, only staring and suspiring.
"Hajime, I'm going to take some of these wires off. Will you be okay?" You touched one of the pads on his temple.
He nodded once, so quickly you thought it could've just been a twitch. You asked again, and he once again mustered a more fluent nod.
You removed it with one hand while the other was still interweaved with Hajime's. It was just an adhesive pad, no needles or inserted wires like your intrusive thoughts had been hypothesizing. You eyed the vitals as soon as it was off, though they remained unchanged. Hajime was watching you the whole time, his eyes and tense hand the only conscious movement.
"I have to go to the other side of the pod. I'm letting go of your hand for just a second, okay?" His grip weakened, allowing you to reposition on his other side. You began gently lifting off the pad and setting it aside. This awakened something, as he suddenly exhaled sharply and lifted his head, opening his mouth to scream.
"GAHH! Help! Please!" His eyes shut tight and his empty hands closed into fists. His cries echoed in the chamber, emphasizing his anguish.
"Hajime! Talk to me, I'm right here."
"(Y/n)!" He looked at you, his face much more expressive now. "I missed you! I missed you so much."
"I missed you too. We need to get you out." You repeated previous statements now that your audience was more aware.
"I missed you," he repeated, his face wincing with pain.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"It hurts. Everything hurts. I missed you." He sustained this thought as if to distract himself.
"I'm so sorry." You didn't know what was happening to him, but you didn't want it to last long. "I need to get these cuffs off you. We'll be out of here very soon."
He didn't reply, only whispering the same phrase to himself and writhing through the pain. Despite the movement on his face, the rest of his body remained motionless. Assuming the collar was what was cutting off the action, you focused on that first. Feeling around his neck, you noticed more cords attached to the back. You lifted his head, tugging on the wires.
"I don't know how to get it off," you said.
"Doesn't matter. Tear it," Hajime commanded, willing for you to take over.
"I'll try." Hajime held his own neck up while you grasped the wires in your fist, retrieving Sonia's knife with the other hand and lining it up with the cords. You sawed a few times with the blade and finally sliced through the bundle of wires, performing a typically challenging feat with ease due to adrenaline.
Free of the restraint, Hajime shot up and reached for you, his arms attempting to wrap around you before he was stopped by his cuffs. He retreated immediately, clenching his fists and wincing.
"Hajime," you said to the now sitting teenager. "We're almost out. Are you okay?"
"No." His voice was strained. "Please, help me." His knees bent as he pulled his legs close to his chest.
You took his wrist, taking the knife to the wires and severing them as well. Rushing to the other side of the pod, you repeated the process and freed Hajime.
"Come on, step on out. I'm here for you." You offered your arms to him. He swung his legs over the rim of the pod and pushed himself out, though standing for only a moment before crumbling to the floor.
"Are you okay? Be careful." You knelt to his level, only now noticing his trembling body.
He nodded, reaching for some part of you to grab on to. You laced an arm around his back and let him grasp onto your waist and shoulders, pulling himself back onto his feet. "I'm okay."
"No rush. Let's go slow." You looked up to the observation deck, where Sonia and Nagito should have been. It was empty. The other glass room, too. Huh? Where are they?
You kept moving, waiting for them to reappear. Any sounds of what happened beyond the doors were muted, leaving you in the dark.
"We're heading up the stairs, Hajime." You took the first step, then let Hajime take his. This process repeated until you arrived at the top, then you adjusted your support of Hajime and reached for the door handle.
It was locked. You froze, in complete shock. Peering through the window, you saw the observation room was empty and the door to the room beyond was closed. You jostled the handle again, with no luck.
What do I do? You looked over at Hajime; he seemed to be too disoriented to notice.
"(Y/n)." A voice boomed, entering the room through some sort of speaker. You didn't recognize it. "The actions of you and your comrades have guaranteed you expulsion from Hope's Peak Academy. Authorities are on their way to escort you from the room. Make no effort to rebel, or the consequences will worsen."
We were caught? And they locked me in? Where's Sonia? Where's everyone else?
"Guys! Where did you go?" You pounded on the glass with your free hand. Hajime stumbled forward and you caught him, struggling to hold up the heavy teen.
"Hajime," you whispered. "They locked us in. They're coming for us."
"Let me down," he muttered.
You lowered him to the ground in front of the door, leaning him against the railing. Staying on the floor, you kept one of his hands in yours. "I don't know what's going to happen." You lowered your gaze. "No matter what, I promise I'll protect you. I won't let them take you away again."
"Stay here." His head was downturned, but his eyes were focused on you, full of sorrow.
"I won't leave you. We won't be apart again."
You two sat together in the silent cathedral, enveloping yourself in the painful emotions that flooded your minds. Time seemed to stop, yet speed up. Eternities passed as you watched each other, holding hands and waiting for your fate.
The sound of a door unlocking finally broke the stillness. You looked up and watched as the steel entrance opened, revealing a group of guards surrounding a man in a suit, just as steadfast and professional as the director from before. "(Y/n). Step out of the chamber."
"No," you said.
"Step out, or we will force you out."
You stood up, gently releasing Hajime's hand. "You're stupid if you think I'm coming with you," you muttered, then dropped the farce and released your rage. "You all are idiots!" you cried, unafraid. "Look at what you're doing! Look at this student! Do you call this research?" You gestured to the slumped Hajime. "Do you really think this is for the betterment of humanity? You assholes have done nothing but manipulate and harm, and for what? For some silly little experiment? He may be some replaceable kid to you, but he matters to me!"
The room looked like a garden of statues. Nobody had a response to what you said, and you were not going to comply and go with them.
"Rousing speech," a voice from behind the entire group said. "But I think we'll take from here."
Mr. Kirigiri! The wall of people separated to make way for the headmaster, stepping into the observation deck.
"Jin, where did you-"
"Enough. The police are on the ground floor, and the swat team is behind me. Get your men out of here, or they'll all be detained." He continued through the crowd, arriving at his two students. "There's medical help upstairs. Let's go." He smiled softly at you, assuring you everything was going to be okay.
"Hajime," you said, kneeling down to him with tears in your eyes. "We're free."