I DO NOT OWN DANGANRONPA OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS; THAT WOULD BE SPIKE CHUNSOFT AND HAJIME TOUYA.
Makoto stumbled down the hallway in a daze. They had just killed someone! Leon had been caught for Sayaka's murder and had been convicted for it. He had convicted him. Makoto felt sick to his stomach but no worse than the numbness behind his eyes; his mind was in a million places and the most prevalent reaction was to vomit. He needed to sit or lie down it didn't matter as long as he got off his feet as quickly as possible. Stumbling a little further and hanging a right into a brightly lit room that he couldn't register, the messy-haired youth's knees gave out and he collapsed onto cold wooden floor.
He lay there breathing deeply and soaking in the horrors of the evening. The whole situation was so screwed up!
"No," he thought to himself, that was a gross understatement. This was hell!
Why was this happening? How could they have accused him of murdering one of his friends? What had they done to deserve this? The more these questions stabbed at his tormented mind, the more Makoto found himself putting all of his efforts towards trying not to cry. Dragging his hands down his face and sucking down as many deep breaths that his lungs would allow, Makoto pulled himself up and looked around.
He was in the gym, bright, cold and empty, with nothing but the dusty air and silence for company. In the corner of his eye, Makoto spotted something that immediately struck him as odd; something with such a gentle familiarity and kindness in the face of such cruel abnormality that it seemed so out of place: the orange and black of a basketball.
Pushing himself up, Makoto scooped the ball into his hands, taking in the feel of the pebbled surface of inflated rubber between his palms. Turning his hand over and pushing down, the ball hit the ground with a resounding 'DOOM' before returning to him. Makoto repeated the dribble, allowing his senses to accept the rather soothing sound of the ball. Moving onto the court, he found the hoop and paused, his arm absentmindedly still bouncing the ball. His whole body working as a team, Makoto threw his arms skyward; the ball flew from his grip, soared through the air and slammed hard into the backboard before falling back to the earth. It hit the ground only once before he caught it.
Feeling the tension melt from his body and mind, he stepped back, crossing over between his legs as he went. Pushing into a jump and throwing up his arms, the ball charged towards the hoop, bounced off the rim before falling through the rim with a therapeutic 'swish.' Driving himself forward and catching the ball before it touched the floor, Makoto jumped and jabbed his elbow up simultaneously. The ball bounced off the backboard and then into the net.
A loud, steady tapping echoed through the room, startling the young man. He wheeled around and found someone leaned against the doorpost, clapping slowly; Makoto could easily deduce his eldest classmate from his sporadic, spikey dreads.
"You're pretty good Makoto" said Yasuhiro with a look of total concern "Hey, you doing okay?"
"No" replied Makoto truthfully, "No I don't. This whole thing is just screwed up!"
"Yeah, I hear you" replied the clairvoyant; looking better at him, Makoto could see that he was as equally pale and nauseous-looking. Suddenly, his usual grin returned and he said
"Hey, how about a game?"
Makoto stared at him dubiously "Seriously? Now?"
He immediately regretted this at the despondent look that grew across the man's face; it had been obvious that Hiro was in the same way that he was, scared and confused, and in some desperate need of relief.
"Sure" he said, immediately brightening the dread-locked clairvoyant's face "My ball."
Hiro bent down, meeting Makoto face to face; the messy-haired youth held his arms apart, his right shielding his dribbling left. Hiro grinned confidently as he moved, sporadically twitching his legs from left to right; Makoto grinned in return. Pushing off with his left side, the ball zoomed past the dread-locked man, whose stunned face followed him as he jogged around him and caught the ball. Running up to the basket, he leapt up and with a flick of his wrist the ball flew higher than he could reach and then fell into the hoop.
Makoto caught the ball and turned back to Hiro, who stood wearing the same dumbfounded expression.
"Alright, alright, lucky shot" he admitted with a chuckle. The duo checked the ball; Hiro was in possession. Makoto watched him closely as he dribbled, his gaze shifting to his right every few seconds, however, Makoto noticed, that he would always look over his head immediately after. Hiro's move came fast and unexpectedly. His arms flew left but his legs shot upward; a move that Makoto anticipated and matched perfectly as his hand shot out and slapped the ball out of Hiro's. Charging around him once again, Makoto took possession of the ball, took aim and fired; he held back a snort as Hiro watched the ball, open-mouthed, as the comet of orange-and-black sailed through the air, hit the backboard and made a return journey into the net.
Hiro turned back to him, his mouth gawking but his eyes gleamed with impression. "Oho, he's got skill!" he laughed "You've been holding back bro, why aren't you like the 'Ultimate Basketball Star'?"
"I used to play with my dad when I was little" explained Makoto "I never played competitively though, just a few friendly games at the gym."
"Man, maybe that's a good thing" replied Hiro as he recovered the ball "You'd have wiped the floor against my old school's basketball team."
They checked the ball again, Hiro again taking possession; "Well, I won't make that mistake again."
His right foot screeched against the floor as his arms followed through; Makoto couldn't figure out why he would try the same strategy twice. But then it struck him! It was so obvious that he wouldn't see it coming and wouldn't be prepared for it! As Hiro rose into the air, an action that the messy-haired youth followed, but quickly fell back onto his heels and dodged around him. Makoto smiled playfully as Hiro scored his first basket.
"What are you two doing?"
Makoto and Hiro turned to find the rest of their class standing in the doorway, staring at the two of them. Some looked incredulous, others looked very uncomfortable.
"We just got through Monokuma's trial and you two are playing a game?" inquired Byakuya adjusting his glasses in his typical scrutinizing way.
Makoto exchanged looks of mingled shame and embarrassment with Hiro, not really sure what to say.
From the crowd, Asahina and Sakura exchanged looks when the burly girl stepped forward and spoke in her unnaturally deep voice: "Then how about an official game?"
Makoto and Hiro stared at her in disbelief but they were not the only ones to do so. However, from the stunned silence, the lavender-haired Kirigiri spoke calmly "That sounds like a good idea."
"Are you serious?" challenged Byakuya "Surely you can't mean that you support this idiotic notion to-"
"-we've all been through hell tonight" said Kirigiri, again calm but with the gentleness of a boxing glove "I think it would be a good idea to try and calm ourselves."
He had no idea why she was siding with them but Makoto smiled appreciatively; then, the tallest of their group with his absurd pompadour stepped forward looking both arrogant and fired-up.
"Well, if you two are going up against Ogre" said Mondo pointing at Hiro and Makoto "You're going to need some real muscle to go up against her, I'm in!"
"Unacceptable!" barked Kiyotaka in scandalized tones "Three men against two girls, out of the question!"
"There's a simple fix to that" said an annoyed Hina, "We need a third girls, who's in?"
The group shifted uneasily, obviously still very nervous at the idea, however, a hand shot in the air. The hand, Makoto could see to his surprise, belonged to a tall, slender-figured girl with strawberry-blond pigtails.
"Sounds fun, I'll play" said Junko confidently sauntering to join Sakura and Hina.
"Ahem" Taka cleared his throat loudly and removed a tiny silver whistle from his pocket "If you all are so determined to do this, then I take it upon myself to be the official referee for this game."
Makoto ogled at Taka with a sheepish expression; Taka had always given him the impression of a very pompous hall monitor but with the situation being as it was, he could see no harm in having a ref. As the group took seats in the bleachers, the two teams centered themselves on the court, Taka had taken a single yen from his pocket and took each teams choices. His thumb snapped upwards sending the coin spiraling into the air; as it descended, it landed complacently into Taka's hand before being slapped onto the back of his opposing twin.
"Heads" he declared in his usual over the top manner and he blew his whistle as he tossed the ball to Mondo "Guys ball!"
Makoto instinctively took his place guarding against Junko watching his gang leader teammate as he slammed the ball hard to the ground, a cocky grin splitting his face as he stared down Sakura (who, Makoto noticed, wore a fierce expression).
With the agility of someone much smaller than him, Mondo moved, holding the white-haired girl at arms-length. Stepping and weaving, trying to pass around her, the pompadour-haired man threw the ball to his left and it sank into the arms of Hiro. The ultimate clairvoyant dribbled towards the open and tossed it one handed into the air; it bounced once off the backboard and fell limply away from the hoop (the spectating group issued a disappointed groan). Junko threw out her hand and caught the ball; Makoto watched as Hiro attempted to recover but fell for her fake and she scampered down court. Mondo closed in, followed by Hiro (though guarded by Sakura); Hina was open. The messy-haired youth moved, his hand outstretched, and slapped the ball out of the swimmers reach; with the ball in his possession, Makoto dribbled towards the goal (Hina on his heels) and tossed to his nearest teammate. Mondo caught the ball and pushed off into a mighty leap, slamming the ball through the hoop.
Taka's whistle screeched across the fractured applause from the bleachers "Two points, Team Naegi!" Makoto inwardly wondered why he was screaming the score but put the thought out of his mind as the ultimate gang leader checked with the fashionista.
Junko had the ball and Makoto, for the most part, was beyond surprise. For the ultimate high school fashion model, she seemed to know her way around a basketball; her posture was good and low and her ball handling was superb. The screech of rubber on wood assailed his ears as he watched the pink-haired girl fake to her left and pass to Sakura who dribbled three steps around Hiro and passed to Hina. The brown-haired girl reached for the ball grabbling to keep Mondo at bay; he reached out and snatched it right from her grasp. Sakura, her fierce gaze fueling her feet, thundered down the court towards him; Mondo moved, though he could not avoid her stampede, tossed the ball. It bounced once before Makoto moved in to recover. Keeping his peripherals locked on Hina to his right (guarded easily by Hiro) and Sakura to his rear left, he stared grey-green orbs into blue as he fought to find a way around Junko. Mondo was open but the move would have been obvious…too obvious. It was his only chance! Breaking to his left, Junko followed and Sakura mimicked. Makoto drew back, took aim and fired; the ball hit the inner rectangle, rolled onto the rim and fell through the net.
The clapping from the stands grew stronger, even shadowed with a few scattered cheers; following Taka's decree of two additional points, Chihiro had taken a notebook from her bag and jotted down a large 4 – 0.
"Nicely done, Mr. Naegi!" cried Hifumi, wiping his sweaty forehead from excitement; Makoto felt his cheeks burn as he turned back to the game and checked the ball to Sakura.
Standing there immediately in front of the fire, Makoto found himself more than intimidated by white-haired girl's stature. However, the rush of adrenaline spurred him beyond fear as he ducked and weaved to keep her from passing him. Stepping to her left, Sakura passed the ball to her teammate; Hina volleyed it Junko, who took it several steps before her way became blocked by the dread-locked clairvoyant and then passing it back. Before Makoto or Mondo could reach her, the ball had flown over their heads and landed in the hands of Sakura; the martial arts champion leapt up and slammed the ball through the net.
The stands rumbled enthusiastically; Taka's whistle cried irritatingly though his voice was drowned by the excitement (Chihiro held up her notebook, now reading 4 – 2).
He watched as the burly girl checked the ball to Hiro; the dread-locked man's shoes squeaked and whined as they attempted to guide him around the six-foot wall of muscle.
"MAKOTO!"
He heard his named roared from behind Sakura and the ball came flying out from between her legs. Reacting instinctively, he threw himself forward and scooped the ball into his grasp. Quickly volleying the ball towards the open Mondo, the ball left Makoto's hands, however, Junko had been right behind him and snatched the ball midair. The group in the stands cheered heartily.
"COME ON, WHERE'S THAT DEFENSE?!" boomed an obnoxiously serious tone; Makoto stared in open-mouthed disbelief at Byakuya's sudden involvement in the game. A sharp, shrill whine cut across the air and the moans of disapproval snapped Makoto's attention back to the game. What he found was Mondo holding the ball and Hina flat on her back.
"Offensive foul," declared Taka "Charging!"
"What?!" shouted Mondo "No fuckin' way, she was still moving!"
"I was not!" shot back Asahina, rubbing her rump as Junko helped her up.
"Was too!"
"She was not!" cried Celeste indignantly "you mowed her down like ze drunken ape you are!"
Taka blew his whistle again (drawing the attention of all) and said unwaveringly "Her position was set and her feet were stationary, the call stands."
While the crowd seemed appeased by this, Mondo's face contorted in undignified fury "No way, that's fuckin' bullshit!"
The whistle sounded again "Disrespectful conduct with the ref, that's a technical foul: two free throws for Hina plus her team's possession!"
Makoto and Hiro exchanged looks, both sensing danger, and moved in quickly, each holding Mondo back as a stream of profuse obscenities flowed from his mouth. It took several minutes for the duo to calm down the raging biker, during which time the swimmer took both of her free throws, sinking both and taking two more points.
Running back to resume play, Makoto quickly checked with Hina and lowered himself back into a defensive position. His body zigged as hers zagged, doing his best to keep ahead of her. Acting on impulse, he snapped forward and quickly gained possession of the ball; the tide had turned, as Makoto held Hina at arms-length as she tried to catch him off guard. He looked up: Junko was positioned half way between Hiro and Hina and Sakura was covering Mondo like a hawk. Counting on Mondo as a play wasn't very smart, but there was still a chance that Hiro was an option; after all: they hadn't seen their full one-on-one.
Pushing to his right and tossing the ball to his left, the messy-haired youth circled around Hina (who didn't seem to know which she was supposed to follow), regained the ball and fired towards his teammate. Hiro moved too soon, his preparation of the strategy alerting Junko who moved and intercepted the ball. Dribbling like a professional, she weaved around Hiro only to find her way blocked by Mondo. Making a large circle with her arms, she made a sharp jab of her arms towards Sakura, her fingers locked to the ball; the pompadoured head fell for the fake and Junko pushed into a masterful jump shot. The ball screamed as it hit the back of the rim violently and dropped into the net.
The cheers overtook Taka's whistle (even blowing Byakuya's uninterested façade with impressed, albeit silent, applause) and Chihiro held up her notebook, now reading: 4 – 6.
"Good job Makoto!"
Makoto felt his ears burn at Kirigiri's words. Being an ordinary student among social and academic elites, compliments like that were as rare as they were gratifying.
"Yes, go for it Mr. Naegi!"
"Zis match is yours Junko,"
The messy-haired young man felt the confidence rising with the grin on his face; gain possession of the ball after the check, he crossed over through his legs as Junko stared him down (giving the impression of a wolf watching a wounded deer). She was much sharper and better than he would have initially thought, but then again: so was he. Flinging his arm down behind him, the ball slammed against the floor loudly; Junko took the bait and dived for it. Quickly recovering, Makoto zoomed down the court but ditched the ball to Mondo following his encounter with Sakura. The ball flew from pompadour to dread-locks and then was suddenly high in the hair. It hit the ground only once before any could reach it; Makoto got there first and held it close as he tried to wheel around the defense team of Junko and Hina. Taking a leap and tossing it overhead, Makoto didn't have time to judge his throw and could only watch it bounce off. However, a flash of brown and a mammoth war cry rose into the sky, caught the ball and slammed it through the net.
"YEAH!" cheered Hiro as Mondo returned to the ground; the celebratory whooping and clapping rang like music through the room. Nobody was paying the slightest bit of attention to Taka or his whistle anymore, though Chihiro faithfully held up the revised score of 6 – 6.
Hiro and Sakura, both wearing playful expressions, threw the ball at each other in what Makoto could only assume was a respectful rivalry. The ball was in Sakura's possession but not for long; she volleyed it to Hina, then to Junko; as the ball found its way back to Sakura, Makoto could only feel like the strategy was only to wear them out and (from his sweat soaked head to his burning leg muscles) it was working. As it flew, once again, towards Junko, Hiro reached out and grabbed the ball; Junko charged, punching the ball out of his arm and with a quick twist, the eldest classmate was on the ground.
"FOUL!" screeched the crowd; Taka, completely forgoing his whistle and with noticeably less aggression, deemed the move a technical and awarded Hiro two free throws and team possession. Everyone seemed to get a big laugh as Hiro hammed his way to the free throw line; however, Mondo and Makoto included, the room burst into raucous laughter as it soared over the backboard and hit the ground lamely; after Mondo recovered the ball and returned to him, Hiro screwed up his face in concentration and threw again, this one landing right on the money and sank through the net.
He and Junko checked quickly and play had resumed; in a blindingly fast move, Junko moved and charged down the court, the ball in her possession. She passed to the white-haired body of muscle, however, Mondo came pelting from nowhere and grabbed the ball from mid-air. Suddenly, he jerked his arms and Makoto raised his hands in time to catch it; glancing around the court, Mondo had Hina and Junko covered and Hiro (fighting to keep in front of Sakura) shouted: "SHOOT MAKOTO!"
Taking aim and drawing the force from his feet, up through his torso and exploding out through his fingers, Makoto fired. The ball scorched through the air, smashed into the backboard and bounced into the hoop.
Taka, apparently forgetting his self-appointed role as referee, joined in with the cheering and clapping as Chihiro held up a fresh page of notebook reading: 9 – 6.
Quickly launching the ball between each other, Makoto tossed the ball back to Hina and the game resumed. Zigging and zagging with her, he stared in surprise as Hina's arm curled around her back and the ball flew into the arms of the strawberry blonde fashionista. Makoto gave chase, fighting to pass Hina; but Junko was in no position to move. With Sakura guarding Hiro and Mondo closing in, at half court that would be a tough shot; unbelievably, she reared back her arms and went for it. The room fell silent as the ball sailed across the air, everyone following its trail. It hit the rim and spiraled around it several times. Makoto found himself holding his breath in suspenseful anticipation as it slowed to a halt on the rim and then tipping over through the net.
The whole gym, court and bleachers, erupted in jubilation, clapping and voicing their praises and respects.
"Beautifully done Junko!"
"That was so cool!" cheered Chihiro, setting down her notebook (which now read 9 – 9). Junko, without missing a beat, bowed to her adoring crowd looking so at home.
"Good shot" said Makoto, moving to recover the ball.
"Listen up" shouted Taka; Makoto was beyond irritated when it came to his whistle however his suspicions and irritation vanished the second he noticed him staring down at his wristwatch. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it is nearly night time. It would be unacceptable to be out after then."
"But the game is tied," complained Hifumi "We can't leave it incomplete!"
"You'd rather risk death over a basketball game?" drawled Byakuya
"That's enough, Byakuya" said Makoto pacifyingly. While he did not want to be out after their agreed rule, adrenaline and competition would not allow him to leave it be. "Alright," he called "Next basket wins!"
Passing the ball back to Junko, she and Mondo checked the ball and the final play commenced; the cheers and laughs of the crowd fueling them on, Mondo passed the ball to Makoto but it was snatched from in front of him by Hina. He gave chase of the swimmer but she stopped so suddenly that he couldn't stop in time and skidded past her as the ball went flying to Sakura. The white-haired girl dribbled the ball several steps down the court before passing the ball to Junko but the dread-locked clairvoyant appeared from nowhere.
"GO HIRO!" The words slipped from Makoto in a rush of excitement; Hiro was completely open, Mondo had Sakura blocked, he and Hina were on the other side of the court and Junko trailed behind him. He pushed off into a jump, his arm outstretched…
"Aha! HAHAHAHA!"
Makoto felt the breath freeze in his lungs and his eyes widen in horror at the laughter; the room had fallen silent (Hiro lost his balance and hit the ground hard and the ball (which never came close to the basket) dropped back and fell right onto his spikey dreads). Standing on his podium on the other side of the gym, stood their principal and captor.
"Having fun are we?" crooned Monokuma "I've got to admit: having had a classmate murdered and another executed would have driven anyone nuts. But you all are not only playing a game, but laughing, having fun and staying out past night time! Apparently killing people gives you guys a great rush, puhuhuhu!"
"What?" gulped Makoto aghast "No, that's not-"
His voice became lost as Monokuma's blood-red left eye blazed to life and his claws extended threateningly "GRAAR! Then get to bed, otherwise another one of you might die." He turned on his plush foot with a haughty laugh and vanished without a trace.
The group sat in silence for several moments, frozen by the bear's cryptic words.
"Man," said Hiro finally, his voice much higher than usual "What a buzzkill."
"Well," Byakuya stood looking completely unaffected "I guess that's game."
As everyone filed out of the gym, wearing renewed looks of fear on their faces, Makoto was surprised to find himself being hailed with a chorus of:
"Good game Makoto."
"Thanks Makoto."
"What are they all thanking me for?" Makoto wondered, mainly to himself "I didn't do anything."
"That's not true" came a calm and subtle voice (Makoto turned to find Kirigiri moving up beside him) "For a little while, you made everyone forget about their situation. We all appreciate a little normalcy even more these days."
Makoto froze at these words and turned back to the gym. Earlier this night it had been cold and silent, but now it was filled with the heat and sounds of cheers; it was probably the first time it had ever seen anything so exciting and inviting. Makoto couldn't help the smile that lightened both his expression and mood, maybe they weren't too far gone…maybe there was still hope for them.
I wanted to try something new for my first fic since the end of HoTW. I ended up with Danganronpa and basketball; I apologize for some of the characters being out-of-character, I'm still learning the franchise. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed and don't forget to drop me a review, thanks :-).