Chapter 4: An Azure Uproar Part 4 (Daily Life)

Remaining Students: 11

Sayori (Doki Doki Literature Club): Ultimate Poet

Bede (Pokémon): Ultimate Gym Leader

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd (Fire Emblem: Three Houses): Ultimate Prince

Saki Nikaido (Zombie Land Saga): Ultimate Biker Gang Leader

Reyn (Xenoblade Chronicles): Ultimate Tank

Minori Ichinose (Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure): Ultimate Bookworm

Konata Izumi (Lucky Star): Ultimate Otaku

Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic The Hedgehog): Ultimate Pilot

Kale (Dragon Ball Super): Ultimate Berserker

Satou Kazuma (Konosuba) Ultimate Thief

Ray (The Promised Neverland): Ultimate Strategist

Sayori's POV

Insert Song: Moon on the Water (Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony)

Was that really Hachiken?

It sure sounded like him… but how in the world is that possible? As much as I hate to say it, since it's hard for me to even bring it up, he's dead. Yet here I am walking all the way to the I.T. Zone after my nap ended so abruptly by him speaking to me. It had to have just been a dream, right? It's impossible…

Yeah, it was just a dream….

It was just a dream…

Just a dream..

A dream… agh! Get out of my head!

I frantically rub my head to try and stop thinking about this weird thing that just happened, only to spot Dimitri up ahead. Maybe a good conversation can help steer myself away from Dream Hachiken's voice resonating through my brain.

"H-Hey Dimitri! Good evening!"

When he turned around he had bags under his eyes again, he hasn't been sleeping enough, has he?

"Ah, Sayori… good evening to you as well…"

We walked alongside each other and soon reached the transport tube to the I.T. Zone, Dimitri politely let me enter first and away we went. Hachiken didn't really like going through these, but I found myself enjoying it the first few times. It's just like that one tv show that takes place in the future, or traveling through a warp pipe in a video game! Although, I'm starting to see the problems with all the bumping around and my hair getting all messed up… I just brushed it too!

After the two of us make it to the forest, we see a large projector screen in between two big trees.

"Hm, it seems we've arrived early. I suppose we could wait for the others, but I must apologize in advance, Sayori."

I turned to Dimitri as we sat down on the log benches, trying to ignore the splinters poking into my legs.

"Apologize for what?"

Dimitri had a glum smile on his face as he answered, "Conversing with me wouldn't be too pleasant, considering my behavior as of late. I wouldn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

I shook my head frantically, "N-N-N-No! It's okay, I honestly need to talk to someone right now. I had a weird dream and I needed something to distract me from it. We can talk about anything, Dimitri!"

He stared at me with concern when I mentioned those dreams before shifting himself so he was in front of me.

"I won't pry into the details of said dreams until you feel comfortable explaining them. However, my apologies for assuming this but… this isn't the first time you've had a dream like that, is it?"

I gasped and held my hand over my mouth in surprise.

"H-How did you…?"

"That look on your face, it tells me that you've been going through it for quite some time. Like I said, I won't ask what occurred in the dreams, but could you tell how you're feeling right now?"

I take the time to think it over, it's more difficult for me to just say it outright so… I decided to tell him in the best way I could. Thankful that I took my notebook and pen with me, I began to scribble down my feelings into the first blank page available. After finishing up I put down the pen, take a deep breath in, rip it out of the notebook, and show it to him.

Hopefully this isn't too much for him to handle, he already has a lot on his mind…

"I feel… scared… lost… and confused, all of that rolled into one big rain cloud over my head that rarely pauses its storm. I don't feel safe in my sleep anymore, and to be honest… it's tearing me apart. If I tell anyone else about this, it'll only make them worry more and I don't want to put that burden on them.

He nodded along as he read through it, before handing it back to me. I crumpled up the paper and tossed it into a nearby trash bin and sighed. I had no choice, if I hadn't said a word then he wouldn't have given up until he got the answer.

"So… that's all. Bad dreams aren't the only thing I've been dealing with, I've had really bad depression my whole life… Sorry for dumping this on you…"

We sat in silence for a few minutes before he spoke up again.

"Sayori, you do realize that we can help you through this if you ask. You are surely not alone in feeling like this, so you shouldn't see us assisting you as a burden for us to endure."

I shook my head and hugged my knees, "It feels like it is though… when I see you all so concerned for me, it feels like a waste of time. You all are so strong… so brave… so focused on trying to escape the killing game… while I'm sitting here being useless."

Dimitri stood up from the bench and his volume went up briefly, "Useless?! Sayori, that's not true…"

I stuck with what I said, however, "It is… and when I see you all try to cheer me up, get me through this awful game… it hurts. I'm the weakest one of you here… unable to help in the ways that matter. I'm a horrible person, Dimitri…"

His strong arms pulled me into a hug and I sobbed into his shoulder.

"Just what have you experienced to make you end up in such a state…"

"Nothing happened to me… I've always been like this, but… I think the killing game has made it worse. In fact, I almost… almost…"

I got choked up before I could finish, and Dimitri clutched me closer to him.

"Almost…?"

"I… almost… almost… almost…"

Every time I tried to tell him, the words just wouldn't come out. It was like I was stuck on repeat, all while more tears fell down my face each time I got close.

"Almost k-k-k…. Almost c-c-committed… Almost e-e-ended…"

Soon Dimitri figured it out himself and sighed, I must have sounded so annoying to him…

"Sayori?"

I stopped my stammering as soon as he said my name.

"Y-Yes?"

He let go of me and sat back a few inches, "Have you made any other attempts like this?"

"..."

"Sayori…" He says my name again in a stern manner.

"No… but I've thought of it…"

He nods, "Thought of it, but haven't gone through with it. Why is that?"

My head lowers as I recall what happened that one night, "The first time I tried it, I was stopped. Hachiken, Saki, and Tails stepped in before I could put the rope around my neck. If I tried again, they would have ended up blaming themselves for it… I can't do that kind of thing to them."

"I see… and that is your strength, Sayori."

"... Huh?" I tilted my head at what he told me.

"You've stopped yourself from ending your life for the sake of others. It shows your kindness, and willingness to think about others first before yourself. Pure selflessness."

I slowly take it all in as he looks into my eyes and continues on.

"Like I said before, however, you shouldn't see our help as a hindrance. We're always happy to lend you a hand if needed. So please show some care for yourself alongside your care for others around you, and we'll do our best to support you as well."

I let out a sigh, hopelessness filling my head once again.

"But… compassion isn't going to get us through this killing game…"

Dimitri shook his head at my response, "You say that, yet you've managed to get by thanks to the compassion shown by your companions towards you. But… ultimately if this talk won't help you feel any better, so be it. I told you once that there is no need to force yourself to smile while you're suffering, as long as you don't give up on your precious life. Remember that?"

A warm smile showed up on his face and I struggled to answer verbally, only managing to nod a bit as he patted me on the back.

Don't force myself to smile…

"Well now, it seems as though the others should be arriving soon enough. Ah, and there's some refreshments over by the lake. Allow me to grab enough for all of us."

Without a second thought, my hand reached out and clutched his arm. I lift up my head and look him in the eyes. I trembled a bit, and a few more tears were beginning to well up in my eyes… but I just had to tell him…

"Thank you…"

Dimitri's eyes went wide before he gave me another smile, "You're very welcome…"

After another few seconds of thinking, I ultimately decide to tell him.

"So… those dreams I've been having… I was hearing these voices calling to me."

He raised an eyebrow in response, "Voices?".

"Yeah… they were all so unclear to me until today, that's when a new voice showed up. This time though, I recognized it immediately… it was Hachiken."

Dimitri audibly gasped after hearing that, "Hachiken… then that means you also hear—"

"We're here!"

Tails shouted as he landed in front of us, the others in tow behind him. Dimitri and I turned away from each other and began to welcome them, but as everyone was getting settled in I couldn't help but sneak a look at him. He looked shocked when I brought up that I heard Hachiken, and "also hear"? What did he mean by that…?

"A movie under the stars… if we could actually see the sky and were not in a killing game, I would have thought we were in a romance novel." Minori sighs in disappointment.

Kazuma pricked himself on the log bench, "Ack, couldn't we have done this inside? We could have just used one of the conference rooms or the theater, but noooo, we have to stay outdoors where it's cold and you get splinters on your ass."

Ray then promptly pushed him off the bench and smirked, "If that's the case, then feel free to use the ground."

Kazuma briefly tenses up, like he was about to yell at him, before exhaling and storming off into the woods. He really needs to stop complaining so much, even if what he says is true he doesn't have to say it. Being a grump won't help at all.

"Alrighty! I've got unseasoned, caramel, zebra, and buttered popcorn here, who wants some?!" Reyn asked and a few of us raised our hands.

"I'll take it unseasoned, since I actually think about the contents I put into my body." Bede says and I stick my tongue out at him as I grab my zebra popcorn.

It's not my fault it tastes so good. With the white and dark chocolate on top of the caramel popcorn, layers of sweetness that makes my mouth tingle. This makes the fact that we're watching a horror movie a lot more worth it. I pop a few into my mouth, but I then notice something peeking above the movie screen…

Insert Song: Toreador March (Music Box Version)

"W-Where is that music coming from…?" I ask as the streetlamps suddenly turned off,

"H-Hey! My peppermint cookies!"

"What the hell?! I thought we were done with this blackout shit!"

"Nobody move please, I dropped my glasses!"

"Oh, I see where this is going…"

Everyone panicked in the dark as I got flashbacks to what happened before the first trial. I then heard the sound of something scraping against the wood bench I was sitting on, and I pulled my legs up in fear. That's when I heard some familiar laughter that was in time with the music.

"Pu hu hu hu hu hu hu hu hu hu, pu hu hu hu, pu hu hu hu huuuuuu…"

"Agh, damn it, I just got back and it's all dark. Let's see…" Kazuma returned and ignited a small flame onto his index finger.

And that's when…

"RAGH!"

"AAAAAAAHHHH!"

Nearly everyone jumped and/or screamed at that jumpscare from a yellow-green colored Monokuma with a small purple bowtie. I struggled to catch my breath, as I looked at some of the ones who weren't scared. Dimitri and Ray were more annoyed than scared, Minori's hair was ruffled but she didn't look frightened, and Konata was snickering to herself.

"Bwahahahaha! Ahh, jumpscares are such a cheap way of spooking an audience, but seeing your reactions made it all worth it!" Monokuma guffawed.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. So are we gonna watch this movie or what?" Saki growled at the bear.

"What? I was just getting you ready for things to come while you're watching this, but if you insist…"

Monokuma kicked the movie projector and it began to play the film on the screen in front of us.

As expected I ended up quivering the whole time, even if the little girl in the film was pretty cute. I've never gone to these animatronic mascot places, since there weren't any around where we lived, but I would have probably cried a few times if I had gone to one as a kid. These things look so freaky, and those large teeth can bite down on you… and they plan on stuffing this little girl into a suit like theirs, how horrible!

"This Steve Raglan fella rubs me the wrong way, don't trust 'im one bit." Reyn says aloud before he's pelted from behind by some chocolate covered raisins (ew), "Hey, what's the big idea?!"

"Better not talk during the movie, or else I'll bite ya 87 times!" Monokuma threatens him.

"Why that specific number, hmm?" Konata says, probably referencing something.

After a few more awful scenes of people dying, I ended up shutting my eyes and covering my ears for the majority of it. I tried focusing on the others to see if they were feeling the same way.

Tails was nervously munching on his peppermint cookies, Kale was turning away from the screen like I was, Dimitri was stoically watching the killing, Ray & Minori cringed a little bit, Kazuma was yawning (How is he getting bored of this?! Has he seen worse stuff?!), Saki and Konata were enjoying it, Reyn was trying to be brave but he was clenching his teeth the whole time, and Bede… well…

"Urgh! Agh…"

Thankfully the popcorn bag was emptied out so it can be used for other things.

I wish I could enjoy it as much as Saki and Konata did. This bloody stuff is already bad when we've seen it happen for real, but somehow movies manage to make it just as or even more disgusting.

"I-Is it over…?" I asked timidly as I opened my eyes, breathing a sigh of relief as I saw the credits rolling.

Tails sighed along with me, "Thank goodness it is… Hm, I remember Eggman saying something about repurposing some badniks and putting them in pizza restaurants, but this is just a prime example of what could happen if he did!"

Saki downed the rest of her popcorn and smiled, "Hoo, that was fun! Really glad that blonde bitch got taken care of."

"Video game adaptations aren't always done well, but it really did manage to do it well. I guess it makes sense, since the original creator was working on it too. If only other game movies got that treatment…" Konata says as she sips a soda.

Monokuma waddled over in front of the screen to address us next.

"Had fun, didn't ya? Wouldn't it be nice to be a security guard, being a lookout and making sure no suspicious characters try to murder you or anyone else? Maybe it can be useful for what I told you guys earlier…"

Bede scowled at the "not" teddy bear, "Just what are you planning…?"

Monokuma turned around and pulled out a keychain he got from… nope, not gonna say it!

"Follow me, kiddos!"

We hesitated a bit before Dimitri stood up first, giving us a nod of permission before leading us. We walk through the woods for a few minutes until we come across a wooden shack. Monokuma unlocks the door and displays what's in it with a:

"Ta-dah!"

It's an office room that feels pretty cramped, definitely not suited for 11 people all at once. The most eye-catching thing here was the pile of computer monitors stacked atop one another. Each one of them showed black and white camera footage of each of the different areas of the campus, even one that looks to be in one of the bathroom stalls, gross! Thankfully there's none that look to be around the dorms, so we have that bit of privacy, but why were we shown this at all?

"In case you all were wondering, these aren't the only way I can monitor you losers. I have my own way of finding out where you all are, so there was no need to use this old tech until I got an idea… allow me to direct your attention to that paper on the wall."

He points it out and Ray takes it, all of us crowding behind him as we finally see the full extent of our next motive.

Saki, Tails

7:00am-10:00am

Reyn, Minori

10:00am-1:00pm

Ray, Bede

1:00pm-4:00pm

Sayori, Dimitri, Kazuma

4:00pm-7:00pm

Konata, Kale

7:00pm-10:00pm

Monokuma crosses his arms and chuckles.

"Tomorrow, you'll all get the chance to observe your peers all over campus. This is a prime opportunity to find out who the traitors are, so you might as well take advantage of the time you have. And just to be clear, none of you will be able to leave the security room until your shift is over!"

So every three hours, a few of us are forced to stay in here and spy on each other? We probably have to use the cameras too, can't mess with school property by turning it off. Having the ability to watch over everyone, we might end up seeing some things we weren't meant to see and hearing things we're not supposed to hear…

"Yet again bringing up that ridiculous idea that there are traitors…" Dimitri shook his head.

Ray read through the schedule once more, "Like we mentioned before, it's possible. And this could indeed be a good opportunity to take advantage of."

"Well… I guess it's worth a shot, but…" Tails stops himself from continuing and Reyn checks up on him.

"Hey, bud, you can come out and say it. Keeping things to yourself won't help one bit."

"I guess… ever since we heard about this whole traitor thing it's been on my mind the entire day. And this security room motive is making me more anxious about it! What I've been thinking is… if we do find out that there is a traitor or two… what will we do to them?"

Upon him asking that, the whole room went silent, unable to answer. Everyone was just busy looking at each other, their eyes constantly shifting. None of us would do anything bad, right? Right? RIGHT? Yeah, I'm just overthinking things… but I couldn't help but despise the feeling that's slowly growing within me, something that I shouldn't feel about any of my friends:

Distrust.

Hey, peeps… you're probably wondering why this one took so long to post. August 15th was the last time I updated this story, and it was then that I somehow lost a lot of my motivation. I did manage to write some things, it's why RenAi and Nanasama's Soliloquy got posted (and there's another Seven of Seven story coming soon too!), but for some reason the ideas weren't coming for this. I have the ideas for how these chapters will end, but getting there is the problem. The buildup is getting so difficult to write and I really hate that it's happening. I won't give up though, I want to finish this story by early next year so I can begin working on the final entry in the series and I don't want to let you all down. We're so close to the end… I hope I won't disappoint you all. This chapter probably wasn't the best I've made, but it was all I could do for now. See you all next time, thanks for the support everyone! (Also, a minor thing to point out, DISTRUST was the original prototype to Danganronpa. Turned out quite different from what it originally was. Monokuma was a human anatomy doll with revealed organs on his left side! You're welcome for that image, puhuhuhu~.) - Renegade Braveheart