Chapter 4: Clash, J-Stars! Part 2 (Daily Life)

Remaining Citizens: 11

Ai Mizuno (Zombie Land Saga): Ultimate Idol

Emma (The Promised Neverland): Ultimate Moral Compass

Killua Zoldyck (Hunter X Hunter): Ultimate Assassin

Gold (Pokémon Adventures/Pokémon Special): Ultimate Hatcher

Miles Morales (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse): Ultimate Successor

Yu Ishigami (Kaguya-sama: Love Is War): Ultimate Pessimist

Espio The Chameleon (Sonic The Hedgehog): Ultimate Ninja

Aoba Kuronuma (Durarara!): Ultimate Manipulator

Trunks Brief (Dragon Ball): Ultimate Swordsman

Ryuji Sakamoto (Persona 5): Ultimate Track Star

Bernadetta von Varley (Fire Emblem: Three Houses): Ultimate Recluse

Ai's POV

"'Hina's Pool Treats, where making sweets goes swimmingly!', that's quite a tagline." I read the sign before entering the store to see rows of donuts and ice cream flavors.

For the latter, it was split between soft-served and large tubs of standard ice cream. This 'Hina' had hair that's similar to soft serve ice cream too. Though I guess the donuts are the main draw to this shop, though as someone who highly dislikes carbs, not too appealing to me.

"Mpmh! Ai!" Speaking of donuts, Emma had a standard glazed one in her mouth.

"Chew first, how old are you again?" Killua told her as he licked an ice cream cone with three scoops, all of which had chocolate in it in some form.

"You're one to talk, the both of you are the youngest ones here." I said as I wiped the ice cream off his mouth with a napkin.

"Hey, knock it off!" He complained.

"Don't make fun of Emma if you're not 100% mature either." I scolded him.

"Ha ha ha, wow, it's like Ai's our… mom or something." Emma laughed before she suddenly looked down.

"Yeah… a mom." Killua did the same as well, what's wrong with these two?

"Is… something the matter?" I asked them.

"It's fine, we shouldn't bother you with our problems." Killua stated.

Hm… I suddenly began thinking…

With all we've been through, I should take a moment to strengthen our bonds further. That way we can collaborate more towards our escape. In order for that though, we need to open up more. Emma did explain what happened in her world, but I have a feeling she hasn't told me everything she went through. Killua on the other hand has told me nothing about his past.

We've come so far since we first met, yet… I feel like out of everyone, these two are the ones I trust the most. Which means…

"No, it's totally fine. We're friends after all, though I understand if you two have gone through a lot that you don't feel like sharing. Though, if you don't mind, I'd like to share something about me that the both of you have a right to know."

"Huh?" Emma tilted her head.

"What are you saying?" Killua asked.

"I just feel like I can trust you guys quite a lot. And I know you all trust me as well, but I want to start being more honest. You don't have to tell me more about your pasts if you do not feel the need to, but I assure you that I am someone who wouldn't take your words lightly."

"... Fine, but you go first then. It can't be too crazy." Killua agreed and Emma nodded.

"Alright." I took a deep breath in.

.

.

.

.

.

And then I popped off my head like one would do to a doll. Needless to say I expected what I heard next.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!" Killua and Emma screamed in unison.

"So… I'm a zombie. The undead, a revived corpse, anyway you can describe it, that's what I am." I told them.

Their eyes were wide, and they didn't stand up or move in response. Like their butts have taken root in their seats.

"Well that's, uh… something I've never heard of before." Emma responded awkwardly.

"I've seen a lot of amazing things, but this is… a new one for sure. A sentient zombie…" I saw Killua trying to think it over.

"To answer any questions right away, I am not infectious or have any cravings for brains, no I do not know how I was revived, and I behave 100% like a human." I informed them.

"Dang! I never thought I'd see something like this before." Emma was surprisingly impressed.

"Huh?" I responded.

"If you're willing to admit this to us outright, I can believe that you're not gonna use us as chew toys. Though why us specifically and not the others?" Killua asked.

"Well… you're the only two who I know can trust and keep a secret, especially after seeing you two lead us in the last trial. This secret would have scared Bernadetta, Ryuji is out of commission (plus he and Gold probably wouldn't keep their mouths shut about it), Trunks has been distant lately, and Ishigami couldn't care less. Miles and Espio were another two I could have told, yet I would rather keep the number of people who know this low. Especially since somehow Aoba found out…" I explained and they sat up after I mentioned that last part.

"So that's why he whispered in your ear at the end of the second trial!" Emma shouted before covering her mouth quickly.

"That bastard, he's going to use that to his advantage. Since he knows how helpful you have been with investigating and the trials, he'll bring it out as a wild card…" Killua grimaced.

"I know. I just can't stand it, knowing that he's a few steps ahead of us. He is without a doubt dangerous, and he won't stop until he wins this game. Sacrificing four people so that there's less competition…" I screwed my head back on before I started looking down.

"We just need to gain an advantage over him, so when he does finally decide to kill someone himself, it'll backfire." Emma stated and we agreed.

"Well for now, keeping an eye on him is top priority. At least until something can be done. We can't let this killing game go on, and it won't end with him on top. Anyways, thanks for telling us about yourself Ai." Killua turned to me.

"Yeah, this zombie thing is weird, but I've seen worse!" Emma grinned at me.

I widened my eyes before giving them a smile of my own, I knew I could trust them.

"Thank you, Emma, Killua. Now before I explain the other reason why I'm here, you did say you would go after me." I raised a finger as I waited for them to answer.

Emma breathed in and breathed out, "Okay, so… I did mention that I was raised on a human farm before. Though about my "mother" Isabella… I don't 100% despise her for what she did. I still somehow think of her as my mother, and that she really did care for the children she raised. Sure she tried to discourage us from escaping, even breaking my leg in the process…" I did a double take when she finished that sentence.

"But even so, I hope to one day see her again before I go to the human world. Seeing you act motherly like that just brought back the good memories of her, ha…" She looked like she was trying to fake a smile there, so me and Killua just pat her on the back.

"I see… maybe you'll get that chance once we get to escape?" I said, hoping to cheer her up a bit.

"Yeah… maybe. It's your turn now Killua. You didn't share last time, but since there's just us here…" Emma told him and he stood up to say his piece.

"Here goes nothing…" Killua took an extra deep breath so he could focus on how to explain.

"I was the middle child of the Zoldyck family of assassins. I was put through hellish training in order to learn many techniques used by them. Literal torture was included as a part of it." Already this was a lot to take in.

"I managed to kill so many people at a young age with all that knowledge, yet I was tired of it all. I ran away from home, not before attacking my mother and my brother before leaving to become a Hunter, individuals considered to be elites among society. On the subject of my mom, I hate her so damn much. She desperately wants me to continue being an assassin for the family, and she's too attached to me. I wouldn't want to see her ever again, not just for my sake, but for my sister's. I'd explain more about what they did to her, but we'd be here all day. In short, my family sucks, and I'd much rather journey far away from them as possible. Preferably with some… good friends of mine." He finally stopped to take a drink of water.

"I… I'm sorry for what you had to endure." That was all I could say in that moment, my jaw almost dropped as I listened. If he had continued, it would be on the floor by the time he finished.

"So yeah, I was reminded of how awful my own mother was… although you would be a much MUCH better one compared to her, Ai." He complimented.

"Yeah! You've been trying so hard to keep us together and stay confident enough to escape this place. Caring for our well being and everything too, you pretty much are our mom!" Emma said and after those two statements, I blushed a little.

"W-what are you saying? I'm just looking out for you all…" I let out and they laughed at me.

"Ugh…" I sighed before I noticed Killua heading for the door.

"Well this was interesting, I should really get going now though, I have a lot to think about."

"Hold on, we have a job to do before we break for today." I interrupted him.

"Sorry, explaining my backstory was a bit exhausting for me." He yawned.

"Fine, I guess I'll eat all of these on my own…" I whipped out the Choco Bears before he quickly marched towards me.

"(sighs) You know just how to bribe me. So what now?" Killua popped a few chocolates into his mouth before I took out the letter.

"Take pictures of the city? How will that help with finding out who the mastermind is?" Emma questioned.

"Beats me, but if it helps, it can't hurt to try. I'll go up high to get shots from the top of the city." Killua volunteered as we exited the sweets shop.

"Hold on, here Emma, for you." I handed her a gift for listening to my story and for sharing hers.

"Aw, thanks Ai! I know just where to put it in my room!" She gleefully smiled as I saw Killua wolfing down more chocolates.

I've really bonded with the two of them quite a lot. It's truly great to have made friends when put in such a dire situation.

After bidding farewell to Emma and Killua, I handed the photos off to Maga-Z while Bernadetta began to write another letter to that Byakuya Togami character. I ate my dinner before deciding to go see our injured friend.

I made my way through the previous area, taking my time since it was only 7:30 pm, quite a lot of time until nighttime. The city's lights were all shining bright, if this weren't a prison, I'd consider it to look stunning. Unlike regular city sights however, there was barely any noise around. A city like this was most likely never lived in, yet it seemed abandoned.

The quiet atmosphere was calming, yet it was eerie as well. Like at any moment someone could come up from behind to knock you out, luckily with my better senses I would know if there was anyone there.

I eventually came upon a metal wall hiding the new area from outsiders, but then I heard something coming from the other side.

"YAHOOOOOOO!" I fell down after hearing that yell.

"That was great, time for some grub! Eh?" I saw Gold walking out of the area as the large door automatically locked behind him.

"What are you doing?" I confronted him.

"Jeez Ai, I was just visiting Ryuji to check on him. No biggie." He said as I lowered my eyes at him.

"What's got you so excited then, hm?" I asked.

"Huh? I'm just ready for dinner. I'm in the mood for some curry, ever since I heard it was a delicacy from a foreign region. See ya tomorrow! Unless you plan on joining me for a bite." He took out his skateboard and lowered his goggles over his eyes.

"I already ate, thank you. Be sure not to make a mess of things in the restaurant district." I waved as he shrugged me off and zoomed away.

He's been off doing things on his own as well, so reckless. We can't afford to act like that with how things have been lately.

I knock on the wall to get Monokuma's attention.

"Hey Missy, I'm on the last word on my crossword puzzle, whaddya want?" The bear showed up in a security uniform with a moustache.

"I just want to visit Ryuji. Nothing more, nothing less." I put it bluntly.

"The second time tonight, grrr. Fine! But no looking at the buildings under construction!" He grumbled before pressing a button and opening the door for me.

"Much obliged. Also the last word is G A M B I T." I told him as he gets frustrated and throws the puzzle at me, but misses.

I walk in and see that there's a large lot for construction, none of the buildings looking anywhere near complete. I then look to my left to see a large hospital building, marked as Bye Bye Ouchies. There it is.

I make my way to the hospital and see a few things that were finished being built. One was a sports arena, a boardwalk with carnival games, and a dock with a large body of water leading to a small island surrounded by more metal walls. That must be the area after this one.

I finally make it to the hospital but then I smell something odd. I looked to my left to see a grassy field… and it was ravaged.

I observed the field and saw that the stench I encountered was from burned grass. There was also a large puddle in the center of the field, and a shattered boulder.

What could have caused this? Or who?

… I should really get to the hospital before I use up all the time I have.

This chapter as a whole will probably be a lot different than something usually found in Danganronpa. It could even end up shorter if it feels like it should be. Let's just say though that there's gonna be some more free time coming up. I already have a certain Pokémon trainer in mind, but more recommendations could be cool! The motive I have for this chapter is already set though. So I hope to see you all next time! How about after the next part, you all share who you think will survive the killing game? Or do it now, up to you.