A/N So like, hey, here's a new story that spawned from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony breaking me and the twitch chat during my DRV3 streams. Tears were shed, bears were damned, and much suffering ensued. And yeah, I know I should be working on You've Got That Wrong!, considering how goddamn long it's been since I update, but I'll get to it eventually!
In the meantime, have this fic that I made with the tears I've shed while playing this game! Yeah…oh, and HUGE SPOILER WARNING, but I wouldn't recommend reading this fic unless you've beaten the game or watched a playthrough of it. Seriously, trust me on that—this game is worth going in unspoiled.
To those who will go on in anyways regardless of the warning, because I know I have readers who will read any of my fics just because I wrote them…I hope this doesn't turn you away from getting into the series! Please do give it a chance if you have the time!
Please do read the A/N at the end of the chapter, as I have some important things to say regarding You've Got That Wrong!
Anyways, time for the mandatory disclaimer!
Disclaimer for whole story: I don't own Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony or anything related to it!
With that out of the way, let's get on with this story! Happy reading!
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Who the hell stuffed me into a locker?!
That's about the first thought I had in my head as I stumbled out of a locker I was stuffed into…you know, like a nerd. Never mind the fact that I am a nerd, so this isn't exactly too farfetched, but I digress. As for my next thought…
Oh shit!
Thud!
I fell hard into the floor the second I stepped out of the locker. My legs did not want to work and as a result, I slammed my forehead hard against the floor.
"Ouch!" What a way to wake up after a night of drinking…I probably should be more careful about that, even if I wasn't the designated driver (hence why I was drinking so much in the first place). Well, at least I got that out of my system…please tell me I didn't break into a school in my drunken haze and then passed out in a locker. "Hoo boy, Mama's not gonna like this…"
Where the hell's my phone…?
I probably have a lot of missed calls from home.
I am so dead—huh?
When I tried reaching into my bag, I quickly found out that I didn't have one. I panicked immediately, because my fucking ID, driver's license, and debit card were in there!
"Fuck me!" I swore loudly as I began to look around for any signs of my belongings. That's when I realize something very off. "What the hell are these clothes?!"
A light purple sweater vest and brownish-red tie over a white dress shirt with a purple skirt? The hell—I don't wear shit like this normally!
Forget that, what the hell are these boobs?!
I stared down at my surprisingly large chest and tentatively poked at it a few times—juuust to check if they were real.
Poke! Poke! Pooooke!
"Oww!" Aww, crap, I felt that! "Oh, hell—they're real!"
Dammit, I was hoping they were fake!
Okay, stay calm…just stay calm—no need to freak out, even though your body may have been modified for whatever fucking reason you don't know. Focus on what's more important…like these clothes. Seriously, where the hell did I get these clothes? Is this a school uniform? Because if it is, why am I wearing one?! I'm in college, for fuck's sake—not high school!
This is some anime con gone bad, isn't it?
Is that what happened last night? That would explain the lacking need of a designated driver…
That still doesn't explain the boobs, though…
Or the fact that my skin seems a lot paler than it should be…
…
…
Poke, poke! Poke, pooooke~!
Might as well get this out of my system before I do anything else…
It's a good thing there's no one around to see this, or this might be really embarrassing.
BAM!
Or so I thought, because it looks like I'm not alone after all!
"Hyeek!" I scuttled away from the lockers after hearing a loud noise coming from the one right next to mine. The locker was shaking intensely, the noise still as loud as ever. A minute passed before the noise stopped and the door slowly began to open…
Thud!
That's when a pale-skinned boy fell onto the floor, not too far from me. He wore a striped black school uniform with a black cap on his head. He was definitely younger than me, because he looked like he was still in high school (while my college-tormented ass graduated like almost five years ago). Though, I probably shouldn't assume that, considering my track record of getting mistaken for someone much younger than I actually am. For all I know, he could be older than me…
I won't even be fucking surprised if he is.
"Uugh… Uuuuugh…" he groaned out, obviously not feeling so good right now. He lifted his head after a second, his strangely colored eyes staring out at me. They were like a pale, yellowish-gray—kinda like flax. He had really nice eyelashes, too, like damn—I'm heckin' jealous. And his hair was just as strange as his eyes, being a dark teal color that seems far too realistic to be just regular hair dye.
"Nice wig," I muttered out without even thinking twice about it. A part of me wants to ask where he got his wig as well as his contact lenses, because damn—his cosplay is on point!
Now who's he supposed to be…?
Oh man, I think I might be too hungover for this shit, bleeegh…
"Huh?" The boy blinked a few times, his movements quite sluggish. He seemed to be in a daze, not really reacting much to my presence or comment.
Is he hungover too?
What the fuck did I do last night and how many people did I drag down with me?
Don't tell me I got laid…
If that's the case, then I better have used protection and we better be in Vegas, or I will be very disappointed with my drunken feats, because dammit, I have standards with how I want these things to go while I'm under the influence!
I don't think we're in Vegas, though…
A quick look at my surroundings show me that we're anywhere but Vegas. We're in a classroom…alone.
…
…
…
We should leave.
"H-Hey, whoever you are, we should probably get going." I've managed to maintain a spotless record with the law and I would like to keep it that way, for the sake of my future and my financial aid eligibility.
My broke ass literally cannot afford to lose that!
"Uuuugh…" The boy groaned again, still looking blearily at me through half-lidded eyes. After about a minute or two, he finally regained control of his senses and realized that I was there. That's when his eyes snapped open wide and he yelled out, "Waaaaahhh!"
Well, hello to you too!
I watched as he scrambled backwards, trying to get as far away from me as possible. In his panic, he wasn't paying much attention to what was behind him until his back crashed into the inside of the locker. I flinched at the loud noise he made from the impact and nearly cringed when I heard him yelp in pain.
Shit, is he okay?!
"H-Hey—I'm not gonna bite!" I immediately tried reassuring him that I meant no harm. He was really freaked out and by the looks of it, on the verge of an anxiety attack. "C'mon, it's okay—you're going to be fine!"
Kinda…I'm mean, he's not dying, so that should count as something!
Except if he gets any worse, then he'll sure as hell feel like he's dying!
The last thing anyone needs in their day is an anxiety attack and if he loses it, then I might, too, because I do not have the energy to stay calm right now!
Fucking do something before it escalates!
"You have a cute voice, ya know?" That is not what I wanted to do!
This is not the time to be flirting with people, ya dunderhead!
"S-Sorry if that came out of nowhere!" Crap, there goes my face! "I-I swear I'm not trying to hit on you—honestly!"
Abort, abort, abort!
There was no way I could stay here any longer—I had to go! So I tried to stand up…and immediately regretted it as I was hit with a sudden wave of vertigo. I lasted a total of four seconds before falling flat on my ass.
Thud!
"Oww!" Shit, man—how much did I drink last night?! "Uuugh…"
Kinda off topic, but have I always sounded this girly and high-pitched? I mean, it's not like it's a bad thing or anything, but like…what the fuck happened to my voice? This isn't how I usually sound—and I'm sure as hell not sick, because my voice gets hella deep and raspy when I'm sick.
So what gives?
"A-Are you okay?!" the boy finally sputtered out a response. His face was cherry-red with a blush, likely because of my earlier comment about his voice.
I mean, I wasn't lying about it being cute…but I digress.
"I'm fine—just…dizzy." Okay…okay—I might just swear off alcohol after this. Uurp, I'm too much of a lightweight for this… "Sorry about scaring you like that—you're probably just as confused as I am."
"Uh…y-yeah…" The boy tugged down on his cap, his face turning an even darker shade of red. "Actually, I…should be the one apologizing—n-not you. I shouldn't have screamed…"
"Hey man, it's fine!" I waved off his concern. "I'd scream too if I was you."
The reason I haven't is because this fucking hangover is killing me slowly…
"Okay, no more booze after this…" I placed a hand on my forehead. "Probably for the best…"
Alcohol is expensive and I do not even wanna know how much money I spent on it last night…
"H-Huh?" The boy gave me a strange look.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
I never got an answer, because an annoyingly loud group of voices assaulted my ears with, "Oha-kuma~!"
"HYEEK—JESUS CHRIST!" I shrieked loudly as a group of colorful stuffed bears entered my field of vision out of fucking nowhere. There were five of them and they were each a different color, like red, blue, yellow, green, and pink. The red one was wearing a scarf, the blue one had a guitar, the yellow one wore glasses, the green one was a robot (what the ever-loving-fuck?!), and the pink one had a flower.
"Stuffed bears…?" Surprisingly, the boy was calm, while my startled ass kept screaming.
"UWAAAAAA!" The blue bear began screaming back at me, which made me scream even louder. The blue bear had a rather deep and masculine voice, which was the last thing I expected to hear from it!
Oh, fuck—they're alive!
"You're scaring her, Monokid!" the pink bear lightly scolded the blue bear in a soft and somewhat feminine voice.
"She's scaring me!" he yelled back.
"Well fuck you and whatever it is that's controlling your stupid two-toned ass!" My fear had turned into anger, as it tended to sometimes. I mean, I was still scared, but now I can do something about it—like insulting Monokid (I think that's his name?).
"What did you say?!" Monokid growled loudly as he broke his guitar in two pieces. His mouth was open, showing two rows of sharp, triangular-shaped teeth. Only one half of his mouth had teeth, but that still didn't make him any less unsettling.
You dun goofed!
"HIII!" I lost whatever fight I had in me almost immediately. My body was shaking, hot tears beginning to sting my eyes. My heart was pounding so hard within my chest, that it felt like it was going to burst. To make matters worse, my head was beginning to throb painfully from all the screaming I just did. My hangover did not make it any better… "Uuuuuu…"
Make it stop, please—it hurts!
It hurts. It hurts really, really bad.
Hurts, hurts, it hurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurts!
"Son of a bitch!" I curled into a tight ball, the pain hurting far too much for me to handle. It feels like my head is splitting in two! "Aaaugh!"
Why did I drink so much?!
"Uuuuuuuuuu…" I'm gonna cry…
Fuck my life, fuck my life, fuck my life, fuck my life!
"Akamatsu-san!" Who the hell is that?!
Is that boy talking to me?
"Are you okay?!" I don't know when he got so close, but the boy's hands grasp my shoulders so suddenly that it catches me by surprise. I tense up under his touch and nearly scream. "Aahh—s-sorry!"
The boy hesitates for a moment, but his hands remain on my shoulders—his grip firm, yet gentle. He helps me sit up and lets me lean against his chest. It's awkward, but he doesn't seem to mind and the pain is too overwhelming for me to even give a shit.
"It's okay, Akamatsu-san—it's okay!" There's that name again! "You're going to be okay!"
Is that supposed to be my name?
But that's not my name!
I know that's not my name!
So why…
Why does it sound so familiar? Like I've known this name my entire life?
Passionate red maple tree…
"Akamatsu Kaede…" the name rolls off my tongue so easily, that something just clicks.
This is your name.
"I'm Akamatsu Kaede…" There's truth behind what I said that feels right. At the same time, it feels so wrong, because—because!
That's not my name!
It's just not!
What else could it be if it's not?
It's…it's…it's…
…
…
I don't know.
I don't know I don't know I don't know.
Don'tknowdon'tknowdon'tknowdon'tknowdon'tknowdon'tknow!
Why don't I know?! "Uuuuu…"
Whywhywhywhywhy?!
Why don't I know?!
What's my name?
Is this…even my body?
I clenched my teeth through the pain and opened my eyes. I catch a glimpse of blonde hair out of the corner of my right eye and reach out to harshly tug on it with my left hand. I feel pain from the action, but it's nothing compared to what I'm already feeling. My heart almost stops when I noticed something off about my nails.
They're so neat and short…all of them are, when one of them shouldn't be! I'm missing a cracked nail on my left index finger, which was caused by one of my dogs crunching down on my finger during a visit to the vet.
This is wrong…
My skin is pale, when it's supposed to be tan.
So very, very wrong.
And my hair is blonde and straight when it's supposed to dark brown and curly.
This isn't my body…
This isn't me…
This…isn't…me.
…
…
"Uuuuwaaaaahhhh!" I cried loud and hard as tears poured down my face. Sobs wracked my body, my breath growing short and choppy. It almost feels as though I'm suffocating because of how hard it is to breathe. My head still hurts and everything feels as though it's falling apart…or maybe it's already fallen apart?
I want to go home…
Where am I even?
I'mscaredI'mscaredI'mscaredI'mscaredI'mscared!
Why is this happening to me?!
Helphelphelphelphelphelphelp!
Why me?!
Someone—anyone—help me!
I feel arms wrap around my body as I continued to cry. It's that boy again—why is he doing this?
"It's okay, Akamatsu-san." I wanna scream at him that that isn't my name, but all I can do is continue bawling my eyes out. I bury my head into his chest in an attempt to hide my face from everyone in the room. I don't want anyone seeing me like this… I don't even care if it is too late for that. "It's okay—I'm here. I'm…here."
It's pathetic…just crying into the chest of some stranger I just met. I appreciate his comfort, though, if only because it's keeping me grounded. This might not be my body…and I might not remember my name…
But I'm still here.
You're alive.
I just don't know what to do…
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…
Saihara Shuichi tries his best to ignore the Monokubs in the room as he holds Akamatsu Kaede tightly against his chest. He doesn't care if she'll leave a wet spot on his jacket from all the tears she's been shedding. Nor does he care about how close she is to him, when he'd normally feel so awkward and embarrassed. All that he cares about right now is that this is her—this really is her. This is Akamatsu Kaede, the Super High School Level Pianist who always has a deep melody playing in her heart. He feels every movement her body makes as she sobs loudly into his chest. He takes note of the way her body is trembling, making her appear far more vulnerable than she already is.
What he pays close attention to the most is the way he can feel her heart pounding so rapidly within her chest.
Th-Thump, th-thump!
Th-Thump, th-thump!
Everything about Akamatsu just reminds him of a very important fact that he's notice from the moment he first laid his eyes on her.
"She's alive…" He can't help but smile as the thought repeats itself continuously in his head. "She really is…alive."
A part of him worries that this is all a dream—that he'll just wake up and find that Akamatsu is gone. But as he continues to listen to her heartbeat, his fears begin to lessen as it quickly becomes clear to him that this isn't a dream.
"This is real…" It's such a comforting thought, even though he knows that they're nowhere near safe at this academy. He knows better than to shrug off the memories he has of his classmates' murders and executions. As tempting as it is to pretend that those were just vivid nightmares he had, he knows that he'll have to keep them in mind if he wants to ensure his classmate's survival.
The last thing he ever wants to do is lose Akamatsu again over a crime she never committed.
"Once was enough…" Saihara resists the urge he has to cringe when he recalls Akamatsu's lifeless body hanging above the keys of a giant piano. He still remembers the sickening splatter of blood he heard after the spiked piano cover shut over her motionless body, destroying her corpse. "I won't…let it happen again!"
He just got her back.
"Don't worry, Akamatsu-san—I'm here." He doesn't know how, but he just is. "Everything…Everything is going to be okay."
He'll make sure of it.
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A/N And there you have it, y'all! This is a fix-it fic with a SI!Kaede and a time-looping Shuichi who only got as far as discovering that Kaede was accused wrongly as the blackened in the first trial. Anything regarding the mastermind's identity is still something he doesn't know because he never got a chance to investigate it any further.
As for SI!Kaede, or as chat and I like to call her, Siaede—she…is a mess. She's another cold-turkey SI I have, though, unlike my KHUX SI OC, Noa, Siaede does not retain her original body at all. She still isn't aware of who she is just yet because she is very hungover (and yes, that actually is a thing and not just a joke about her disorientation with her situation) and not doing so good with her emotional stability. She…needs a moment.
Thankfully, you have Shuichi on the job! And…yeah, expect the POV change in this chapter to carry over to the next one. There will be POV shifts in this story, but Siaede's will always be in first person. That aside, there's a lot more to come regarding this fic. It functions as an AU with a lot of different factors, which I'll explain when I get to them. Until then, this is as much as I'll say for the time being.
Anyone who has been watching my DRV3 streams should have an idea of what to expect (you can find all of them on my YouTube at KlonoaDreams). Speaking of which, huge shout-outs to everyone in the twitch chat during these streams!
Shout-outs: Benven99, Arbitually, JosephineSilver (aka, memoriesofpurelight/sealingdesigneejosephine, who made an awesome cover for this fic!), Shiraki_Nagi, StrawburrieSlushie, PartyFavors, Alicitzen, Grim Izanagi, Qwertyshuman, a-dolphin-cubed, logicallyinlogical, MonochromaticEclipse
Thank you guys so much for showing up to my streams! It really means a lot, especially to those who know me through the fanfiction I've written! We had a lot of fun times, as well as a lot of bad times during these streams—like us losing our favorite characters one by fucking one, me crying multiple times on stream, or my SHSL Good (Bad) Luck kicking in…like when I experienced a black-out partway through the chapter six investigation and lost all my progress because I forgot to save.
By the by, I'll be sticking with Super High School Level as opposed to Ultimate and referring everyone (unless otherwise) by their surnames, because that's honestly what I'm used to after DR1 and DR2. I've also been playing with the Japanese voices, too, because I do watch a lot of YouTubers playing this game and they always default to the English dub, so I stick to Japanese to mix things up a little, as well as to help me with my Japanese comprehension (by the by, I have taken a semester of Japanese—that is a thing now as of this year, so aaaayyy).
So like…expect certain things to carry over from the Japanese voices, like Shuichi having a feminine voice and the Monokubs saying "Oha-kuma!" instead of "Rise and shine, ursine!" The latter is mostly for personal reasons, as well as the fact that typing out "Rise and shine, ursine" is something I refuse to do because of how often it is fucking said. I'm not saying I hate it, because fucking hell, localization did a good job with translating that!
Like, Oha-kuma is basically ohayō and kuma combined, with ohayō being a greeting you use only in the morning (you wouldn't say good morning to someone in the afternoon—that's what konnichiwa is for). So with "Rise and shine, ursine", it just FITS so well and it also rhymes! That being said, I do not have the energy to stick with "Rise and shine, ursine" to the very end. I will die if I try.
Moving on, I eventually plan on streaming DR1 in November so that I can get back into the groove of writing my fem!Naegi fic, You've Got That Wrong! Trust me when I say that I have felt the urge to write for the fic again, thanks to the DRV3 streams I've been doing, as well as the support I've gotten after I posted up an update regarding my situation on why I haven't updated that fic in a while. So I decided it might be a good idea to do a fanfiction run, as I have done with Persona 5 for my fem!Joker fic, Jamais Vu. Lots of ideas were thrown around during those streams, so I'm hoping the DR1 stream will do the same and help me get back to writing more for You've Got That Wrong!
So if any of you guys are interested in participating during those streams, I'd suggest you keep an eye out for my streams at my twitch, klonoadreams. Fair warning, I AM loud and I DO swear a lot. I get emotional quite easily and may repeat myself without meaning to, thanks to my shitty memory. I also tend to laugh quite easily (as well as loudly) and choke a lot when I laugh too hard, thanks to my asthma, so like…yeah, expect a lot of, "Don't die, Noa!" or "BREATHE!" in the chat.
That's about it for now, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! We're just getting started, so expect a lot more to come! Until next time, everyone! KD out! XD