Kaito waited for the perfect moment. He could practically feel the Grim Reaper staring him down as the rocket blasted off. His raspy coughs were rising in his chest as he stared out at the stars he loved so much- until he finally let it all out.

There was more blood than ever before, just blood and blood, spewing from his mouth. Despite the pain and the horrible stickiness, the Luminary of the Stars died with a smile on his face. He may have died, but Monokuma would never get the satisfaction of killing him.

He woke up in a hospital room. There were machines all around him, and beds lining the walls, some empty, some occupied. The residents of the occupied beds looked rather familiar- was that Shuichi?- but also strange to him. In a confused daze he shook his head, attempting to awake from whatever nightmare he had entered, but to no avail. The room was still there.

Quick paced footsteps tapped along the corridor. They seemed both light and forceful at the same time. Kaito lifted his head to look at the door and there he saw-

Tenko?

No. Not possible. Tenko was dead. She had been killed by Korekiyo days ago in that séance. This couldn't possibly be real. Unless she was a ghost… the very thought sent chills down his spine.

The overactive girl rolled her eyes at him before either of them even began to talk. "Chill scaredy-cat, I'm not a ghost."

Her completely un-Tenko-like attitude took him by surprise. "Then what are you? Cause I saw your corpse with my own two eyes." His own confidence surprised him. He thought for sure he'd stutter at the mere thought of a ghost- or even just out of confusion- but he believed Tenko. There was no real reason to, but he was sure she was telling the truth.

"I'm alive. Just like you. The whole thing was… honestly I'm not even sure. I- Tenko… Tenko probably isn't the best person to explain. Normally we ask the person closest to them to do it, but Harukawa-san and Saihara-kun are still in the game. I suppose next would've Ouma-kun, but he's… occupied." She glanced away, clearly hiding something. Kaito noticed she also had to remind herself to speak in third person, which was definitely odd. Tenko had always done that without a second thought.

He thought for a second. "What about Kaede-san?"

"Ah, she, uh… Akamatsu-san's been having some… issues." Tenko refused to make eye contact.

"Alright Chabashira-san, stop skittering around things. Just tell me. Whatever it is, I can handle it. Afterall, I'm Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!"

"But that's just it," she blurted out. "No you're not."

He faltered. "What do you mean…?"

"The entire killing game- including us- was fake. It was all just a fabrication. The mastermind implanted fake memories in our brains and gave us all fake talents, fake names, fake personalities, fake lives."

"That's… that's not possible."

Tenko could tell he believed her. "I'm- Tenko's sorry. Some of us are trying to be their old selves again, but Tenko likes the way she is- except being so rude to males. Tenko is trying to stop that now."

"So… I can still be Kaito Momota if I want?"

Tenko nodded. "Most of us are staying the same. No one minds which you choose."

"Then I am Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!"

"Tenko will get a nurse to unhook you from the machines so you can join us, Momota-kun."

Kaito gave her a grin. "No need to be so formal. Call me Kaito."

She considered for a moment before nodding, one of her familiar smiles coming to her face. "And you can call me Tenko," she decided.

With a nod to each other, Tenko left the room again, leaving Kaito alone with his thoughts.

After a few seconds of contemplation about what Tenko had told him, Kaito realised one big thing. This had to mean he was no longer sick. His illness had been faked all along! He could make it to space- but then the other side of it hit him. He had never taken the test illegally. He had never been accepted. He wasn't an astronaut trainee.

But of course, being Kaito, this didn't get him down for long. He had gotten to that stage once, even if it was fake, and he could- no, he would- do it again.

His thoughts were interrupted by a nurse barging in. "Alright, Mr. Momota-kun, how are you? Feeling okay?"

As she began checking him over and poking and prodding at him, Kaito decided that everything was going to be okay.

Whether the world liked it or not.

So uh... I WAS going to work on JJ's Tale today, i swear. And I did. A bit.

But this story has been building up in my mind since I finished the game and I couldn't sleep, soooo. I'm gonna upload this to my tumblr and ao3 and wattpad at some point (probably once I have a few chapters written) but I figured I might as well shove it on here for any DR fans floating about who can help me improve before the more official postings.

Yes, Tenko is ooc. She's meant to be. She's in shock. She'll act more like herself soon.

Is saying "Mr Momota-kun" correct? IDK. I wrote it anyway.

It's 2:52am as I write this. I regret nothing. This will get more interesting once I've added Kokichi, Kaede and Rantaro. Angie should also liven it up. Also Kiibo and Tsumugi should be interesting. And then eventually Shuichi, Himiko and Maki.

Aight, see you losers whenever I can be arsed to upload again. Bye from ya boi ~Rae