Archive of Our Own ^beta

Two and half years. It had been two and a half years since Jyugo had left Nanba prison. Hiiro had sent Uno, Rock and Nico into the outside world to look for him. With the promise that if they found him, Hiiro would permanently delete their records and allow them to be free. It was hardly a fair trade, but the three were more motivated by their own personal reasons than by Hiiro’s promise.

Unfortunately, the escapee was hard to find and elusive. Even with proper information from Karz and Hiiro himself, they never saw him face to face. Just reports of where he had been sighted and people describing someone who fit his appearance. Their hope was dimming, and as time passed, it looked as though they may never see their former cellmate again. Their former friend.

The three of them had plenty of time to discuss it. Despite the initial job being a sham, their feelings had grown to become genuine. They truly looked at Jyugo as their friend. It left them all feeling bitter when Jyugo, justifiably so, didn’t return that sentiment. What they had done was unforgivable, but they could still try to atone. Try to make it up to him.

The fog on the street was thick. Uno couldn’t even remember where they were. They’d been traveling all over. It didn’t matter. Jyugo wasn’t here. They’d all been living their lives blindly and idly once he’d left. As if the color and life had been drained from them after the jailbreaker had left. Laughter and smiles were few and far between these days. Uno could only reminisce on times in their cell when it was different. There’d been light in their eyes, and love and happiness in their hearts.

Faceless people moved about around them, thinning out and disappearing as the sun sank further and further down on the horizon. The streetlights slowly kicked on and the ominous fog remained. They continued walking regardless, not a word spoken as they drifted uncertain along the road. Two and a half years and still nothing. How long would they keep searching? How long could they keep waiting? Was anyone else still looking? It was as if Jyugo had disappeared off the face of the planet, like a ghost.

At the very least, the universe had an ironic and twisted sense of humor. Uno glanced up as the wind shifted, the breeze cold and uncomfortable on his face. As he moved his head, he noticed a couple of people standing before him. He’d been walking straight towards them without even realizing, too distracted by his own thoughts. He stopped suddenly, Rock and Nico noticing and following suit.

“I told you we were being followed.”

“I never said we weren’t .”

“But you didn’t believe me.”

“I never said that.” Two voices went back and forth as Uno frowned. The fog prevented him from seeing them clearly.

“Enough. Are we going to deal with them or not?” A new voice asked, stepping closer to the trio and out of the fog. A man with dark blue hair and a doctor’s coat wearing glasses. He matched the description of one of Shiki’s admins.

“Deal with us?” Uno questioned him, putting a hand on his hip. “We don’t want anything from you guys. We’re just looking for Jyugo.”

“Yeah? Well that guy doesn’t want to be found.” One of the voices from earlier said, a man wearing a maid uniform stepped out, waving a lit cigarette in his hand as he spoke. “He came to us for a reason.”

“To get away from you.” The second voice added, a second man wearing a maid uniform. The only distinction between him and the first was his shorter hair.

“I don’t believe a word from you guys. I’d want to hear it from Jyugo directly.” Rock huffed, crossing his arms at them. The three across from the former inmates looked at each other with amused faces.

“It’s true.”

An apathetic, but familiar voice came from behind them. Uno, Rock and Nico all turned upon hearing it, watching as the thin silhouette came into view. His clothes were different, but his appearance and voice were still pretty much the same. It was as if those two and a half years hadn’t changed him at all.

“J-Jyugo?” Uno breathed, almost in disbelief upon seeing him. His empty eyes barely acknowledged them.

“Are you okay? How have you been, Jyugo! It’s been so-!” Nico shouted, foolishly running towards him to hug him. He didn’t get very far as a second figure appeared by Jyugo’s side, like a shadow. A knife in his hand as he held it up to his throat, threatening to slit it. Nico was frozen in terror and surprise.

"Nico!" Rock shouted.

“That’s close enough.” He said, grinning as he pulled the knife away and pushed him backwards. Nico stumbled back, almost down, but Rock caught him. Shooting a hostile look at the blond that had appeared from seemingly out of nowhere.

“Why are you with these people, Jyugo!? Why?!” Rock shouted angrily, helping pull a trembling Nico back up before putting himself in front of him and Jyugo.

“Stop following me. I’m only going to tell you once.” Jyugo replied, ignoring their questions as Uno just stared at him. He’d never been able to read him, and now was no different. It frustrated him to no end.

“We’re going to bring you back, no matter what.” Uno said suddenly, hands gripped into fists by his sides. Jyugo looked at him blankly.

“I’m not going back. I don’t want to go back.” He answered sharply, coldly. Uno growled in response, frustrated by his indifferent tone. It was hard to believe this was still the same Jyugo who couldn’t count above ten and needed help to not drown in a bathtub.

“Why?! We were happy back then!” He demanded, stomping his foot as the boy that had appeared earlier leaned against Jyugo’s shoulder casually.

“You were. He wasn’t.” He answered for Jyugo with a mocking voice. “Honestly, you’re incredibly selfish. If you were really his friend, wouldn’t you want him be free?”

“What the hell do you know?!” Uno snapped angrily, storming closer to him but keeping a distance. He had seen the knife earlier. He was dangerous, just like the rest of the people Jyugo had assimilated himself with.

“More than you, apparently.” Jyugo said, eyes narrowing. “Or maybe not. You were just lying anyway. You didn’t want to believe what you were really doing. I thought maybe you’d changed by now, but I guess not.” His empty eyes bore into Uno’s blue ones.

“You left before we even had a chance to explain ourselves or tell you anything! Won’t you at least hear us out?!” Uno shouted, ignoring the amused chuckling the boy by Jyugo’s side gave in response.

“No.” He responded simply. “I don’t want or need to hear anything you have to say. I don’t have anything to say to murderers like you.” Uno paled at that, swallowing roughly.

“We never knew anything about that…” He muttered, almost shamefully.

“Even if you did, you wouldn’t have stopped it.” Jyugo said. “You’re just as much at fault as Hiiro is.” He mumbled, looking down. His expression never changed, not happy, not sad, not even angry. Just distant, almost dead.

“Then what are you going to do? Are you going to kill him?” Uno asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. Jyugo looked up at him but didn’t reply.

“Hey, are you guys almost done? Karz and the Zodiacs are going to be here soon.” Yet another new person showed up. A tall blond man with teal lightning bolt shaped highlights in his hair. Jyugo turned away, starting to walk as Uno practically screamed his name.

“Wait! Jyugo!” He paused, turning his head slightly to indicate that he was listening. “I know what we did was wrong, but at the very least, shouldn’t you try to be happy? It’s been two and half years and you look miserable. All we want is for you to be happy.” He insisted defeatedly, almost choking up. “Don’t you remember? 'It doesn’t matter if we’re in prison, or in hell, as long as we live happily, we win…'” Uno couldn’t see it, but his lifeless eyes widened at that, a flare of color bursting in them for a moment.

“If we see you again, we’re gonna kill you, ‘kay~?” The blond boy added cheerfully as he put his hand on Jyugo’s shoulder. That seemed to shake him out of his thoughts, he didn’t look back at Uno or the others as he disappeared back into the fog.

“Are we just going to let him leave?” Rock asked, clearly upset by that, looking at Uno.

“We don’t have a choice.” Uno gritted out, looking around to the doctor and twin maids that had surrounded them. They wouldn’t win a fight against them.

“That’s a wise decision.” The doctor agreed, pushing his glasses up on his nose calmly.

“But, Jyugo…” Nico mumbled, looking after him where he had faded away.

“I know.” Uno said shortly.

“I believe that’s long enough.” The doctor said, putting his hands in his pockets. “It would be in your best interest if you didn’t look for us again.” He said simply as he backed into the fog. The twin maids did the same, and soon enough, an eerie silence fell over them. They were alone.

“What do we do? Should we tell Hiiro?” Rock asked quietly, sensing Uno’s unease as he slowly turned away from the fog to look back at his fellow former cellmates.

“No. We didn’t find him.” The gambler said suddenly, putting his hand up to his face as he took a shaky breath. He was struggling to keep it together.

“Uno… I’m sorry.” Rock said, putting his hand on his shoulder comfortingly. Uno was certain his heart was tearing itself in half, but that pain was nothing compared to what they had done to Jyugo. The guilt and regret ate him alive every day of every hour and every moment.

“I hope one day Jyugo can be happy.” Nico said, looking off and into the fog thoughtfully. “He still looks sad. This is just like always. He tries to deal with everything himself...” Uno looked up from his hand and to Nico.

“Sad? You think he looked sad?” He asked, almost hopeful sounding.

“Oh, I don’t know. That’s just what I thought.” He replied apologetically, dismissing his own thoughts. Uno just wanted to believe him.

“Either way, as long as he’s with those assholes, he won’t be happy.” Rock grumbled, crossing his arms. “They’re bad news. He’ll be in constant danger too…” Uno found it funny that he was still so concerned about his safety.

“Let’s go. I think we’ve done enough today.” He said, sadness still strong in his voice as he faked a smile and pulled his cap down slightly. The other two faked smiles as well, and followed him into the fog, straight into the uncertainty that lay ahead.