Author's Notes
Ehh.. trying to write another fanfiction…?
This time Dangan Ronpa X Jurassic Park mkay
Because I felt inspired to write this?
Hopefully I'm able to portray the characters properly, I get nervous writing characters I'm not super familiar with (characters I'm very familiar with being Higurashi characters lol)
PLUS there's a lot of characters, and I don't want to accidentally completely leave a character out (though it may happen with some)
Anyways;; this takes place in an AU sort of world where there's no Tragedy, and no 'Killing Game' has taken place… yet. Also, Naegiri is the overall main couple of the fanfic (and they will be the main characters), but all 16 students are present (+ my DR OC, who is the guide here!), and hints and such at other ships will also be there (but not on as large of a scale!)
So… without further ado…
48 Hours
Waves crashed against the boat as it made its way through the water, heading quickly towards its destination. It was headed to a far off island from the coastline of Costa Rica.
Isla Nublar.
An island that had been abandoned for almost 20 years, until a new sort of amusement park suddenly opened its gates. A new park opening up on a faraway island seemed strange to people, however after people found out what was on the island, they began flocking there in the thousands. The park had only been opened for a few months, but it quickly climbed the charts of the most popular amusement parks, almost surpassing Disneyland in just the short time it had been open. The island-park had fun attractions, but not as many as Disneyland; the real stars of the show were the animals.
Animals that Makoto Naegi couldn't believe were actually alive and existing at that very moment. He didn't want to doubt all the people who raved about the park, saying it was all real; but he wouldn't be able to believe what they said until he saw it with his own two eyes. There were rumors of an incident on the island 20 years ago, where these animals seemingly overran the previous park, but there was never sufficient proof that such an event took place. Naegi wanted to believe the animals were real, but part of him was saying that such a thing could not happen in this lifetime, and that they were probably just high-tech robots, or guys in scarily-realistic costumes. He was anxious to find out the truth, however. Naegi looked over at the other 15 students. They were all chatting or observing their surroundings as the boat went on. Though it must be getting boring, the boat ride was almost hitting the two hour mark, and there was nothing really interesting to stare at the whole time. Unless of course, you couldn't keep your eyes off the endless sea. The students were here on a field trip, funded by Hope's Peak Academy. It was more of a little vacation for them; they were heading to the island for a couple days of relaxation and fun. It was nice to get away from school for a little while though, Naegi thought.
Just when everyone thought the boat ride wouldn't end, they saw the silhouette of the island in the distance, getting closer as the boat sped along. Upon seeing the island's shape, Naegi smiled, relieved they would be arriving shortly. The rest of the ride felt like a blur to him, luckily it didn't last long though, and soon enough they were docked at the island. Flags reading 'ISLA NUBLAR' with the logo for the park - a skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex - were lined along the wooden dock.
The sixteen students of Hope's Peak all stumbled off the boat in a single line, relieved they could move again but also stiff from standing around for so long. Naegi stretched, re-adapting to being on dry land, and not a bumpy boat.
"Sheesh, I'm all cramped up! Way too crowded on that boat, right Sakura-chan?" one of Naegi's classmates, Aoi Asahina, spoke to her friend in the background, whilst stretching. "It was really long too! I love the water but I wouldn't wanna be on that boat again for a ga-jillion hours. I'd rather swim here!"
Swim… here? All that way? Naegi thought to himself, giving a small confused smile as to why she'd want to swim the whole way. She was the Ultimate Swimmer, but he thought even that was a little too extreme.
After the group stretched out for a few moments, a woman approached the group of teens. She had long, messy black hair, and her outfit consisted of a T-shirt featuring the park's logo on it, and torn-up jeans. Over it all she wore a white lab coat. It was as if she had just thrown on a lab coat quickly to just look a little more professional. "Ah! You all must be the Hope's Peak group!" she smiled. She was giving off overly-positive and excited vibes. Some teens in the group shared the same attitude she had, but many were still annoyed and cramped from the long boat ride.
"Can we just hurry up with this? I want to go to my room and read." One of the clearly annoyed students, Byakuya Togami, Ultimate Heir, asked - though more like demanded.
The woman blinked at the rude comment, but shook her head and smiled again. "Welcome to Jurassic World! I'm Rikka Tomoe! Just call me Rikka though! I'll be your guide here for the next couple of days during your stay." The more she spoke, the more everyone seemed to lighten up. "I'd like to take role first and then I'll explain what we'll be doing today." Rikka held up a clipboard with a paper on it, containing a list of names. "Aoi Asahina…"
As Rikka called out names and Naegi waited for his name to be called, he took the short moment to look around him at the island. A beautiful jungle atmosphere, exotic birds chirping, people laughing and enjoying themselves - it really seemed like a great place.
After role had been taken and everyone was accounted for, Rikka continued with what they would be doing today. She looked at the wristwatch on her arm. "Okay! It's 7 PM right now! Sheesh you guys must be exhausted - I assume you were traveling all day… to get to Costa Rica and all… and then to get here… anyways! We won't be doing much today, so you guys can just relax and hang out. Tomorrow we'll do fun stuff!" She looked at her clipboard and lifted up the name paper and looked at another document below it. "Let's see… yep, very simple! I'm just gonna show you to the hotel and your rooms, and point out some things on the way that will be helpful to you later on. We won't be seeing any animals today."
"Awww! I really wanted to see the water thing! What's it called, Sakura-chan?" Asahina looked up at her muscular friend, who seemed to be thinking about what the name could be.
Rikka giggled a little. "I believe you're talking about our Mosasaur? We'll see her tomorrow, don't worry. So, shall we get going? Your luggage will be taken to your rooms by the staff, so don't worry about that." With that, Rikka began leading the way off the dock.
"It's about time…" Togami mumbled to himself, and began following Rikka.
"Y-yeah! S-she talks way too much… r-right Byakuya-sama?!" Touko Fukawa, the Ultimate Writer, stuttered as she quickly and closely followed behind Togami, who ignored her.
All the students were now following Rikka through the park, chatting with each other about how they wanted to spend their time there and what they wanted to see. At the head of the group, Rikka was talking about the various species that lived on the island with a small chunk of Naegi's classmates, including Asahina, Sakura Oogami; the Ultimate Martial Artist, Chihiro Fujisaki; the Ultimate Programer, Sayaka Maizono; the Ultimate Idol, Yasuhiro Hagakure; the Ultimate Clairvoyant, Kiyotaka Ishimaru; the Ultimate Hall Monitor, and Kyouko Kirigiri; the Ultimate Detective. Kirigiri seemed to be paying extra attention to what Rikka was saying - did she find the information about the animals that necessary? Naegi shrugged off the thought, after all Kirigiri tended to pay close attention to all details.
"Are there any questions?" Rikka asked the small group listening to her.
No one said anything, so Naegi decided he'd ask a question just to eliminate the random moments of silence. "What kinds of flying dinosaurs do you have here?"
Rikka stopped dead in her tracks after hearing that question. The class seemed surprised by her sudden stop, and everyone paused and looked at Naegi. Rikka slowly turned her head towards Naegi. "Flying… dinosaurs…?" she paused, but then started laughing uncomfortably. "Flying dinosaurs?! You mean like… a Tyrannosaurus with wings? Haha you're funny!" Naegi blinked at her weird response; did he say something wrong? Rikka stopped laughing and her tone became threatening. "Seriously though there were no flying dinosaurs, a few may have been able to glide, but not fly... I assume you were referring to Pterosaurs which are flying reptiles, not dinosaurs. Got it?"
"Such ignorance!" Ishimaru commented with his loud voice.
"Y-yes Ma'am…" Naegi stuttered, sweating nervously.
Rikka returned to being bubbly and smiling. "Good! To answer your question though, the flying reptiles we have here are Pteranodons and Dimorphodons! Okay, let's go!" she continued walking as did the other students, and resumed her conversation about prehistoric life with the group. Naegi gave off a relieved sigh, and rubbed the back of his head. Sheesh, she was serious about her dinosaurs.
"The hotel is right over there!" Rikka pointed a finger to a tall, nearby building. "But first…" she looked over to her left, where the entrance to a dinosaur exhibit was. She knew she told the students they wouldn't be seeing any animals that day, but she couldn't resist showing off at least one. "Wanna say hi to Miss Rexy?"
"Miss Rexy? Is she like a movie star or something?" Hagakure asked whilst rubbing his head.
Maizono giggled. "I think she means an actual dinosaur."
"W-what?! A dinosaur?!"
Maizono blinked. "Hagakure-kun? What'd you think was on this island?" Hagakure didn't answer, but instead glanced to the side.
"Anyways…" Rikka started, "Miss Rexy is our Tyrannosaurus Rex! The staff usually just calls her Rexy. So let's go!" Rikka grabbed two random students, notably Leon Kuwata; the Ultimate Baseball Star, and Hagakure and began dragging them to the entrance. The rest of the class followed as well.
They walked up the short set of stairs and entered a tube, much like the kind you'd find at an aquarium where the sharks are swimming above you, but this one wasn't underwater. It was high above the exhibit's ground, to provide safety for both the people and the animal. The exhibit itself was pretty large, and full of green. It looked like a jungle or a dense forest.
"Let's see… where is she?" Rikka mumbled to herself, looking around. "Ah, there!" She pointed straight ahead of them into the dense foliage, but no one else could see anything.
"Is it invisible?" Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate 2D Artist, asked, unimpressed.
"No, she is very much real! Rexy! Come over here!" Rikka yelled at the foliage, though it was uncertain if anything could hear past the glass. She tapped her finger on the glass loudly. A growling could be heard from the foliage.
"Y-you've angered her!" Hagakure panicked, then clapped his hands together to pray for his safety. The rest of the students seemed to slightly panic, except for a few; Kirigiri, Celestia Ludenburg; the Ultimate Gambler, and Togami were unwavered.
"No, no, she's fine." Rikka said, looking at Hagakure, smiling reassuringly.
Thud.
"Waaah! The demon gods are awakening!" Yamada panicked.
"The hell?! Demon gods?! Don't eat me please demon gods!" Hagakure prayed harder.
Thud.
Rikka sighed. "I suppose you've never experienced the sensation of a Tyrannosaur walking before…"
The Tyrannosaurus Rex - Rexy, for short - was approaching the viewing tube, each foot fall creating a loud thud accompanied by a vibration. She was a warm shade of brown with dark yellow-green eyes. There were mysterious scars along her face and neck, probably from something long ago. She stopped right front of the tube, her head eye-level with the group. She stared, but didn't move. The only movement that came from her was the gentle teeter of her body as she breathed.
Nobody moved. They were all too scared to, fearful that the mighty Queen would smash through the glass and gobble them all up in one go. Rikka sighed again. "She can't break through the tube. It's highly reinforced with… technical stuff y'know. I'm not a professional technological person, I'm a paleontologist. She's just being curious now and checking us out."
"Isn't T. Rex like… not able to see you if you stay still?" Asahina asked in a hushed voice.
"What? Where'd ya hear that malarkey? She can see ya just fine!" Rikka answered. That answer was not what the students wanted to hear, and some let out a surprised gasp and started shaking. Rikka chuckled a little at the reactions. "She's uh… 'trained' guys."
"W-why do you say that like you're n-not sure?!" Fukawa stuttered, grabbing her braids nervously.
"Y-yeah! D-don't just say things like that to make us feel better bro!" Hagakure followed.
"No, no, she's trained. Not in the way you train a dog though, or some sort of pet. She's been taught not to touch the reinforced glass or barriers of the exhibit - they give her a little shock. Well, little to her. Don't touch the fences. You'll be dead before you realize you touched it."
"W-what?! How do you keep your guests safe with stuff like that?!" Asahina questioned, a shocked look on her face.
"Oh right, the electric stuff's only on the insides of the exhibits, so calm down there swimmer girl. But yeah, Rexy here's trained to avoid barriers and not touch the viewing tube. She responds to being called 'Rexy' too, but usually only if it's feeding time or something… strange she'd come over here without the motivation of food... I guess she just likes me! I spend most of my time around her after all!" Rikka exclaimed, slightly bragging. In return, Rexy let out an exploding roar that shook everyone. It felt like a warning to Rikka, that they weren't buddy-buddies.
The students all freaked out at the sudden roar, some of the running out of the viewing tube. Even the students who didn't react much before had surprised or nervous looks on their faces. "Okay, that's enough Rexy for today, bye-bye now love!" Rikka said, dashing out of the tube followed by the remaining students. Well, Naegi definitely knew that was a real dinosaur now, not some highly advanced robot...
"It appears that she doesn't like you very much." Celestia remarked, smiling, after they had all exited the Tyrannosaur Kingdom.
"Eh, I think she only likes me during feeding times."
Naegi remembered hearing about Tyrannosaur feeding shows, he wondered how they went down. "What happens during feeding times…?"
"Rexy, the mighty Queen, the ultimate Tyrannosaur, she… eats." Rikka answered bluntly.
Naegi internally facepalmed. "N-no, I meant…"
"Are you sure you received a proper education? What an idiotic answer." Togami questioned, clearly annoyed by the guide's attitude. Naegi guessed he was cranky from being scared by the Rex, since usually Togami didn't speak up like that.
"Fight me, rich boy." Rikka hissed. Togami scoffed. "Anyways!" She returned to being cheerful, "We put a live goat out in Miss Rexy's exhibit, and throw a flare in next to it. Then, well, it's bye-bye goat."
"Why a flare?" Kirigiri suddenly questioned. "Wouldn't she know if there was a goat in her exhibit already?"
"It's a much faster way to get her attention than waiting for her to notice there's a goat in there with her. She doesn't always know a goat's been put in the exhibit, since we use a platform from the underground to raise the goat up into the exhibit. It's a pretty quiet system, surprisingly. Rexy's attracted to flares, she'll follow you like a puppy dog if you had one. While Tyrannosaurs can still see you when you're not moving, they are attracted to movement like other predators. A torch moving definitely grabs her attention, and the bright glow from the flare is an added bonus. It always draws her in, she wants to investigate what's going on. " Rikka explained. "...Or she might just know it means food. Nonetheless, she'll chase after you if you got a lit flare!" Kirigiri nodded, taking note that the Tyrant Queen liked flares. Naegi still wondered why she found the information important.
"So… whattya say we head to the hotel now? The sun's going to go down soon." Rikka smiled, leading the way to the hotel.
Naegi matched his pace to Kirigiri's and walked beside her. "So uh… can I ask you something?" You could tell he was a little nervous to be talking to her.
"What is it?" Kirigiri answered.
"Um… why're you paying so close attention to the things she's saying? I know the stuff's interesting, but you seem to be taking a deep mental note about it…"
"You never know when it'll come in handy." Kirigiri replied; a straight-forward answer that still felt as if it hid something within it.
"When are you going to need to know a dinosaur likes to follow flares though?" Naegi kept questioning.
Kirigiri was silent for a moment. "In the next 48 hours while we're here, if she were to get out, wouldn't you want to know something as useful as that?"
"What? Are you saying she'll get out? The chances of that are… overly unlikely!" Naegi thought Kirigiri knew something he didn't.
"Calm down. I'm not saying something will happen, I'm saying if something were to happen, you'd want to know that. I want to know as much information as I can. I know we're only here for a short while, but anything can happen." Kirigiri responded before walking off.
"Huh…" Naegi murmured.
"Here we are!" Rikka announced as the group entered the hotel lobby. The lobby was a shade of dark blue and had DNA strand-styled decor all around. In the center of the room was the skeleton of a dinosaur - it wasn't too big, about the size of a human. As they passed the skeleton, Naegi walked slower to get a better view of it. Two sharp, sickle-like killing claws on both its feet. Rikka caught notice of Naegi's interest in the skeleton. She stopped next to him.
"You like her?"
"H-huh?!" Naegi gasped, surprised by Rikka's sudden appearance next to him. Rikka and the other students laughed.
"That's the Big One." Rika said.
"T-the 'Big One'...? It's not very big…" Naegi commented.
"Ah, no, she's definitely not the biggest dinosaur. But she is the biggest raptor we have here." Rikka explained.
"Y-you're speaking as if she's alive…" Naegi smiled nervously.
Rikka smirked, and started talking in a low voice. "Her spirit still roams…" A few students flinched hearing that. "She's no ordinary Raptor. Raptors of this size never existed on this island, aside from the ones we make… so… how do suppose we dug up a skeleton like this on the north side of the island? In the restricted area?" Before anyone could give an answer Rikka continued, still in a low voice, like she was telling a horror story. "Some say many years ago there was an experiment on this island… they wanted to try and breed Velociraptors, but they ended up with this monster right here…" she pointed to the skeleton. "Things never go as planned though, and the monster escaped, killing everyone inside the lab and escaping to the outside. She mysteriously died one day, leaving these bones… but when we found them, some… strange things happened. Upon discovery our excavators reported hearing things in the jungle around them, and feeling a strange presence." The students tensed up. Rikka was really enjoying all this.
"They'd hear something moving in the bushes, heavy footfalls, and occasionally snarls. The excavators were only out there for a couple days collecting the bones, but it got weirder with each passing moment. One said when they went to the river to wash off their hands, they swore they saw a Raptor standing over them in their reflection, but upon turning around nothing was there. Most commonly reported though was a figure standing or running in the distance during the foggy morning or at night. It would just be staring at their excavation site with empty eyes. The strangest thing though was on the last day of the excavation, one of the workers disappeared… the others looked everywhere for him. The only thing they found of him was a bloodied and destroyed wrist-watch. After bringing the skeleton here though, the strange things started happening here… footsteps, silhouettes… so, watch out, ok? The Big One might getcha~"
A door slammed.
The students all jumped and started shooting glances around the room. Rikka was holding back laughter, but soon failed to do so, bursting out into a loud cackling.
"That wasn't funny!" Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Fashionista, growled.
"Y-yeah man! What if the Big One doesn't like you talkin' about her?!" Hagakure added.
"Are you that stupid? She clearly was just making up a story." Togami huffed.
"Hehe, yeah it was a story! There is some truth to it though! They really did find these bones up in the restricted area. It's not one of the Raptors we've bred though so… it's been a mystery ever since! Though some of the staff seem to be hiding something about it… hey, maybe one of you can solve that mystery though." Rikka gave a quick wink to Kirigiri, knowing she was the Ultimate Detective. "Another mystery is where Miss Rexy came from. I didn't come onto the island until after she and a few other species were added in, but she was already fully grown when I came over. The other species were still young then, and a Tyrannosaur shouldn't grow that fast. The staff won't speak up about that either. Whatever though, she's great nonetheless."
"I don't mean to be rude, but can we please go to the rooms already? A new episode of my favorite anime came out today and I've been waiting to watch it." Hifumi crossed his arms as he spoke.
"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses boy. I get anxious as hell about new anime episodes too. Anyways, follow me and we'll head up to your rooms." Rikka led the way to a large elevator, which was just big enough to squeeze everyone in.
The elevator silently moved upwards, and no one spoke. They were all worn out from the long day or didn't feel like saying anything to break the peaceful silence. A ding notified them that they had reached their destination on the fifth floor of the hotel. Rikka stepped out and peaked both ways, then headed to the left. The group of tired students followed. Rikka stopped at the end of the hallway, then checked the numbers of the rooms.
"There we go! These four are the rooms for you guys." Rikka pointed to the two rooms at the end of the hall, and the two next to them. "Nice-sized rooms, since there's a lot of you. Split it up between four rooms so that you're not too crowded."
"I have to share a room with these… peasants?" Togami asked, unamused with a slight look of disgust on his face. Rikka frowned and sighed, but shook it off. She looked at her clipboard at a list that indicated who would be going in what room. She scanned it to make sure everything looked correct.
"Alright, I'll tell you all who's in what room now." Rikka pointed to the first room on her left. "Uh… in this one… Aoi Asahina, Sakura Oogami, Kyouko Kirigiri, and Sayaka Maizono…" she pointed to the other room on the left, "... and in this one, Celestia Ludenberg, Mukuro Ikusaba, Junko Enoshima, and Touko Fukawa." Mukuro Ikusaba was the Ultimate Soldier, and Junko's twin sister, though they were quite different. Ikusaba had been quiet for the most part of the trip, only whispering things to her sister occasionally. Fukawa let out an irritated grunt hearing who she was with. It wouldn't have mattered who she was with though, she would've made the same sound of annoyance. Unless, of course, she was with Togami, who she was madly in love with. An awkward silence followed after Rikka had read the names and Fukawa grunted. Rikka cleared her throat to signify she was going to start talking again. She pointed to the first room on her right, "And in this room… Byakuya Togami, Makoto Naegi, Yasuhiro Hagakure, and Hifumi Yamada… then in the final room we have Leon Kuwata, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Mondo Owada, and Chihiro Fujisaki." Rikka smiled, finishing the reading off of names. "Okay!" she checked her wristwatch. "Huh, around 8:30 now… but you guys should relax and check out the hotel for now. You'll have more energy tomorrow so we can do more things. If you need anything…" she turned and pointed to the room all the way at the other end of the hall. "I'll be in that room! Or around the hotel somewhere… bleh, you'll find me! Okay, have fun!" With that, Rikka headed off to her room. The other students stood there in silence for a few moments before dispersing into their designated rooms.
Upon entering the room, Naegi saw there were four twin-sized beds in the room, each with the luggage of one of the students next to it. Naegi found his luggage next to his bed. Glancing around, he noticed the room was the same dark shade of blue as the lobby was, with white lining around the windows and doors. The beds had blue blankets on top with white pillows and under-sheets. At the end of the room was a balcony with a glass sliding door between it and the room, and two chairs were positioned in front of the door. Out the sliding door was a gorgeous view of the main street of the park, as well as the huge Mosasaur Lagoon. Naegi stared out the window for a few moments, taking in the view of the sun setting over the park. There were a lot of people outside on the main street, probably shopping or going to eat or look at animals. Naegi tore his eyes away from the window to see what his roommates were doing. Togami was sitting on his bed reading, and Hifumi was watching anime on his phone.
"Oi, Naegichii!" Hagakure said in a not-so-indoor voice. "Wanna look around the hotel with me?"
"Huh? O-oh, sure!" Naegi nodded.
"Nice! Let's go!" Hagakure smiled and grabbed Naegi's arm, dragging him to the door. He opened the door, then suddenly jumped and screamed. Naegi jumped too at the sudden reaction, then looked outside to see what scared Hagakure.
It was Fukawa. Standing outside the door, probably waiting for Togami. "C-Can I speak to B-Byakuya-sama?"
Before Hagakure or Naegi could answer, Togami's voice entered. "No. Go back to your room. I don't want to see you right now." Fukawa shrunk back a little, shuddering. She gave an annoyed glance to the two boys in front of her, then slunk off back to her room. Hagakure let out a relieved sigh when she was gone, and left the room with Naegi.
It was only a few seconds before they ran into Rikka in the hallway, who was carrying a weird duffel bag over her shoulder. She wasn't paying attention and bumped into Naegi. "Wah!" RIkka shouted, before quickly jumping back, and pulling out a sharp Raptor claw. "I'm not afraid to use this!"
"YAAH! She's gone mad!" Hagakure screamed. Rikka blinked a few times, finally realizing they were just students, not a threat.
"Whoopsie! Thought you were tryna mug me! Myyy baaaad!" Rikka sang, putting away the claw.
"What the hell's wrong with you?!" Hagakure whined. Rikka gave a smug look in return, smirking. Naegi had his eyes on her bag. Rikka noticed him staring, and snapped her fingers in his face, making him jump a little.
"Oi! Whatcha starin' at boy?!" Rikka demanded. Naegi squirmed uncomfortably in his spot. Rikka smiled playfully and laughed. "Nah, don't worry about it." She pulled the bag in front of her body and unzipped it. Inside were a bunch of what looked like super-sized dog treats shaped like bones. "Rexy loves these. I always bring her some. I stand on a catwalk over the exhibit and drop 'em into her mouth. If you give her one of these you'll be her best friend… for a few minutes, at least." Rikka smiled. Naegi knew that Rikka must really love that T. Rex, though that Rex didn't really seem to be a big fan of Rikka. "Say, you wanna come with me?"
"Huh?" Naegi looked surprised.
"Y'know, come feed these to her. Before it's pitch black outside. You'll get to see her sweet side!"
"S-she won't eat us, will she…?" Hagakure nervously asked.
"If I don't push you in she won't. So behave!" Rikka ordered.
"Y-yes ma'am!" Hagakure saluted.
"Sounds like fun." Naegi commented.
"Great! Let's go!" Rikka said, heading into the elevator with the two boys. After reaching the lobby they headed for the entrance and went out. Naegi noticed a lot of people seemed to be leaving the park, but it probably wasn't anything strange. A lot of people were staying there anyways, so a lot of people were going to have to check out. Rikka led the way back to the Tyrannosaur Kingdom, and entered into a small building next to the exhibit, that read on the door 'Employees Only'. Rikka walked up a metal staircase and the boys followed, all three exiting on a catwalk above the exhibit.
"Rexy, love! Got some treats for ya!" Rikka shook the bag, the contents inside rattling around. Almost immediately, the loud footsteps of the mighty Tyrannosaur were heard. Rexy emerged from the vegetation, standing right under the catwalk, looking up.
"Oh jesus!" Hagakure gasped, seeing the Rex standing below him. Naegi took a step back. Rexy huffed at the trio, her breath reaching their nostrils. Naegi covered his mouth as if he were about to puke, and Hagakure held his nose. "It smells like death!"
Rikka, unaffected by the scent, smiled. "Well she does eat lots of meat y'know!" The two boys gave her a strange look.
"Y-you're not bothered by the smell…?" Naegi asked.
"Hmmm? Nope! Guess I'm used to it… that doesn't sound good… being used to the smell of death and decay… ANYWAYS!" Rikka spoke up, and put the duffel bag on the floor of the catwalk. She pulled out one of the large treats from it. It was red, and looked like it had a rough texture.
"Ew what's that thing made of? Looks and smells just as bad as the dino's breath!" Hagakure asked, still holding his nose. Rexy gave a small growl at Hagakure, who jumped slightly in response.
"Hmm… think of it like a big bone-shaped piece of jerky, made up of different meats mixed together, but without all the seasoning and all the fancy stuff they do for human jerky. Err not actual jerky made of human meat… that'd be gross... I just mean the kind humans eat! But anyways, this jerky is all for Miss Rexy~!" Rikka exclaimed, a big smile on her face as she held the treat. She turned her attention to the Tyrannosaur, and lifted up the treat. "Looky Rexy!" Rexy perked her head up, her jaw slightly opening. Naegi and Hagakure watched as Rikka threw the treat down, right towards Rexy's mouth. Rexy opened her jaw wider to receive and swallow the treat. She gave a low growl that almost sounded like a purr to show her approval. "Alright you two, I've got two more treats left and you two are gonna be giving them to her!" Rikka grinned.
"W-wha?!" Hagakure panicked. "I-I mean, it's cool but… what if she jumps up and snaps off my arm?!"
"Don't be ridiculous Hagakure-kun, Rexy can't jump." Rikka sighed. "You'll create a positive impact on her though with this, so she'll respond more positively to seeing you. You should feel honored because I don't let anyone else give her treats." she bragged.
"Yet she still seems to dislike you…" Naegi remarked, giving a confused smile. Rikka ignored his remark, and took another treat out of the bag.
She shoved the treat into Hagakure's arms. "Go for it!" Rikka encouraged.
"E-eh!" Hagakure stammered, struggling slightly to hold the treat. Rexy, getting excited at the sight of the treat, gave a low roar and snapped her jaws a little. This didn't make anything better for Hagakure, who let out a yell in response. Rikka sighed and facepalmed, and Naegi was shaking slightly, nervous about the agitated-sounding Tyrannosaur below them. Rexy let out another roar, this time louder, and Hagakure freaked out even more.
"Okay! Here's your dumb treat just please don't eat me!" Hagakure shouted, looking away and closing his eyes tightly as he tossed the treat down. Rexy moved her head and caught it, swallowing it quickly. She didn't take her eyes off the three humans for a second though. Her powerful gaze just sent shivers down their spines - well, except Rikka's.
"Okay Naegi-kun! Your turn son!" RIkka exclaimed, pulling out the last treat from the duffel bag.
"S-son…?" Naegi asked, looking confused. He took the treat from Rikka.
"As your elder I ask that you do not question me! Thank you!" Rikka lightly, but loudly, demanded. She had this serious expression for a few moments that freaked Naegi out, but quickly she began laughing. "Juussst kidding! Anyways let's throw that treat down to Rexy! I wanna go back to my room and eat some mini muffins!"
"R-right…" Naegi looked down at the treat in his hands. It was somewhat heavier than he expected, and it felt like some sort of rawhide bone or drier-than-usual beef jerky. He looked over the railing of that cat-walk and down at the Queen, who was still staring right back at him. It wasn't an angry glare though, or an aggressive look. If Naegi had to guess, he'd say she looked curious, maybe even gentle - though that may be pushing it. Silently, Naegi dropped the treat down, and again Rexy ate it.
"Okay! Great jobs sons!" Rikka cheered, picking up the duffel bag. Picking up the duffel bag probably let Rexy know they were done, since after the bag was lifted up, Rexy removed her gaze from the humans, and then walked off back into the vegetation. Naegi kept his eyes on the dinosaur until she disappeared into the jungle, while Hagakure seemed very eager to leave. Rikka laughed at Hagakure, then tapped Naegi on the shoulder. Naegi, who at the moment was scanning the jungle for any signs of movement, jumped slightly and looked at her. "C'mon, let's go!"
Rikka led the two back down the cat-walk and out of the employees-only room. They headed back to the hotel, though not much talking was done during the small journey back. The sun was down now and all three were very tired from the long day; especially Naegi and Hagakure, since they had to wake up extremely early that day, only to travel for several long hours. Upon reaching the hotel and going up the elevator to their floor, the three said a quick goodnight and headed off to their rooms. When Hagakure and Naegi entered the room, they found both Yamada and Togami fast asleep in their beds. The two boys were as quiet as possible, careful not to wake their sleeping roommates. They weren't necessarily scared of waking up Yamada, who was a deep sleeper, but if Togami woke up it wouldn't be a pleasant experience.
Hagakure whispered a 'Goodnight' to Naegi before collapsing on his bed, almost falling asleep instantly. Naegi rubbed his head, surprised by how fast Hagakure fell asleep. Then again, after traveling all day, Naegi couldn't blame anyone for passing out so quickly.
Naegi stretched then laid down on his bed. It was soft and comfortable - firm but not too firm, just enough so that he didn't sink in. It was too hot for blankets, so he didn't bother moving them. He thought to himself he should probably change into his pajamas, but sleep was quickly overtaking him. Besides, he could just change his clothes in the morning. He slowly closed his eyes, feeling like a small child, a fascination and excitement for what was to come - he'd get to see all kinds of prehistoric creatures from the dinosaur age! He smiled a little to himself before falling into sleep.
Would such a feeling last, though?