Chapter 3: Part 13
"Ladies and gentlemen-men-men," Monokuma created his own echoing voice as he spoke through the intercom. "Please-please-please put your hands together for the new president of the universe-verse-verse…MONOKUMA!"
As if the morning announcement couldn't be any more irritating, Monokuma blew into a kazoo, playing the star-spangled banner off key. If anyone had managed to sleep through his prior screaming, the massacre of music that occurred made sure they were awake by then. "Oh, yeah," Monokuma spoke up. "It's morning and…whatever, just get up and have a patriotic day!"
There was one duo that didn't need to be awoken by their capture's morning announcement. Sayaka and Rantaro had stayed up all night, with the pop idol jotting down notes on everything Rantaro had said while cross-referencing his statements with what she could gather from all the books they had. Some of the notes were topics the group had previously gone over. Everything being a show, six class trials, double murder for the third trial, a giant dying by the fourth, etc. It was repetitive, but Sayaka knew she needed to keep track of everything, even if it was rather scatterbrained and unfocused.
-The show didn't receive its official title as Danganronpa until season 6.
-Most rivals are dead by the end of the fifth trial.
-A serial killer, or the idea of a serial killer, is often a major plot point in the 2ndor 3rdtrials.
-As the killing game goes on, the motives will become more complicated, sometimes outright forcing a murder to take place for all participants to live.
-Despite the rules saying there can be more than one killer, most double murders in the third case are performed by one person.
-Keebo was the first attempt at implementing audience participation for the show. As a robot, his decisions would be voted upon by fans at home.
-Outside of Junko's Remnants of Despair, she had several acolytes that attempted to follow her will. The two most notable were Kazuo Tengan and Monaca Towa. Kazuo is dead and Monaca quit.
-Junko Enoshima developed the earliest form of memory erasure and memory creation devices.
-The participants willing go along with receiving new memories to better immerse themselves in the show as well as gaining talents they've always wanted.
-There has been a history of Flashback Lights and Blackout Lights malfunctioning.
-The Gofer Project was a red hearing the make the participants believe they were related to the original killing game casts.
-Despite everything, Junko Enoshima is wildly popular with fans and is the most cosplayed character in history.
-Other killing games involved plots around Voids, ARGs, different "mono" animals, and references to other games, cartoons, and web shows.
-Rantaro was the rival character of the 52ndseason and was able to successfully manipulate the killing game to kill 10 people before sacrificing himself for the remaining cast to win.
-Makoto Naegi's new version of Hope's Peak Academy welcomed students from all walks of life, instead of specifically recruiting students. This was to allow students to develop their talents naturally with the school's resources and become "Ultimates" by the time they graduated.
Sayaka took a break from her writing, not only to rest her hand to prevent any cramps, but also to reexamine what she had wrote. 'This whole thing is a mess,'she thought as she rubbed her eyes. Her eyelids were getting heavy, and keeping herself away made her actual eyes to get dry. 'It just keeps going back and forth with the show facts and reality facts. Could they both be lies? Could they both be true?'Sayaka ran her hands through her hair. 'I…I shouldn't over think this. If I do, I'll probably go crazy, like…'
Sayaka glanced over her shoulder to check on Rantaro. The lime-haired boy still had his hands cuffed behind his back, with the chain wrapped around her bed leg. Despite his hands being "occupied," he used his feet to skim through the pages of his notebooks. He had been reciting everything he had written for Sayaka to copy down, but as the hours passed through the night, the two of them became quieter and quieter. Eventually, Rantaro was simply skimming through his notes by himself.
A knock at the door was enough to catch both of their attention. With only Sayaka able to freely walk, she rose from her seat and opened the door and, sure enough, Tenko was on the other side. Almost immediately, Tenko flung her arms around Sayaka to hug her.
"Oh, thank God!" Tenko let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're safe! He didn't try to attack you or anything, right?!"
The pop idol didn't respond at first. Instead, she showed just how tired she was by yawning for an extended period and immediately laying her head down on Tenko's shoulder. Tenko's face turned a bright shade of red as Sayaka's head nuzzled next to her neck.
"S-sayaka…" Tenko whimpered. "Wake up, please."
Sayaka grumbled before lifting her head back up to face Tenko. "Sorry…I haven't slept all night…Oh, and no, he didn't. He's actually been very cooperative."
Tenko leaned over to the side to peak at Rantaro, and sure enough he was still seated and handcuffed. In fact, Rantaro noticed Tenko staring at him and flashed her a polite smile.
"OK, good," Tenko said as she let go of Sayaka. "Still, we can't be too careful with him around."
"There's nothing you need to worry about, Tenko," Rantaro said before turning his attention to Sayaka. "After taking notes with you the whole night, I know I can leave the rest of this investigation to you, Sayaka."
Sayaka raised an eyebrow and turned back to face Rantaro. "What do you mean?"
Rantaro sighed and shook his head. "I already wasn't fond of having to plan out murders to get further into the killing game. Tsumugi's journal even said I was doing it back in the first killing game I was in. But now, I literally have my hands tied. So, we're just going to have to go with Celeste's plan."
Sayaka let out a groan, still too groggy to fully react with all her energy and emotion. "No, we're not letting you kill yourself. We still don't know the truth behind the killing games, so we still have a lot more to go over."
"You don't have to protect me, Sayaka. It's what I deserve anyway."
Before this conversation could go any further, a rude voice called out. "Tencrotch, Sayacunt! Step aside!"
It was Miu. She of course had Nagito following behind, but he was dragging something with him. An iron crate on wheels with handlebars, similar to the wooden cages that Miu had made previously. Despite the unusual sight, Sayaka's attention was caught on something else.
"Sayacunt?" Sayaka asked.
"Yeah, I had been thinking about a good insult name for you for a while now and I finally…SHUT UP!" Miu snapped at the pop idol. "I told you two to move out of the way, so move, bitch!"
Tenko gently took a hold of Sayaka and pulled her off to the side, which Miu then took the opportunity to step on by to enter Sayaka's room. As Nagito followed behind, he smiled and waved at the two girls before entering the room. Nagito rolled the iron cage in front of Rantaro. Miu then knelt down next to lime-haired boy and unwrapped the chains from the bed leg.
"Alright, get in the cell," Miu lifted Rantaro up the arm before tossing him inside and shutting the door behind him.
"Good luck breaking out of this one," Miu laughed at him through the cell window before locking him inside.
With their biggest threat locked up, Nagito pulled the cage away from Sayaka's bed and examined the room looking for a spot that wouldn't block off Sayaka's path to her bed or dresser or bathroom with a giant metal box. After a second or so, Nagito eventually scooted Rantaro's cage towards the back corner of the room, right by Sayaka's desk.
Miu then turned her attention the two girls outside, "Alright, he's locked up! He can't try to diddle you anymore!"
Sayaka pinched the bridge of her nose. "He wasn't."
"You sure you still want to watch over him?" Nagito asked. "I'm sure Sakura or Gonta would be comfortable guarding him."
"It's fine," Sayaka said as she stepped back into her room. "I'm sure this cage will hold him."
"Uh, duh! Of course, it will! I fucking made it!" Miu rolled her eyes.
"But didn't Kokichi break out of your last cell?" Tenko asked as she stepped back inside.
Miu opened her mouth to respond, but Tenko's point was correct. Miu did in fact make something that failed. The inventor's face turned red with a mix of embarrassment and rage. "S-shut up, Tencrotch! I didn't see you make anything!"
Miu huffed and stepped by the duo, dragging Nagito by his leash.
"Bye, guys!" Nagito waved before Miu took a turn with him, disappearing from sight.
With silence once again filling Sayaka's room, the pop idol approached her bed and laid down on it. Tenko stepped to the side of the bed.
"Are you not going to breakfast?" Tenko asked.
"No," Sayaka grumbled. "I need to catch up on some sleep."
"Do you want me to wake you up later? I mean, you don't want to miss out on Ibuki's party."
"Oh…right. Ibuki's party…" Sayaka buried her face in her pillow. "Honestly, I'm probably going to be late…"
"Oh…o-ok then," Tenko said solemnly. "I…I was hoping to spend some time with you."
Sayaka smiled slightly as she closed her eyes. "I said late…that doesn't mean I won't be there…I'll be fine, don't worry."
"Oh!"Tenko's entire attitude took a positive turn. "Then I'll see you there."
Tenko almost skipped as she sprinted out of the room. Thoughts of all the activities she could get into with Sayaka swirled around in her mind. Sharing food, listening to music together, dancing together, playing games together, swimming…in their bathing suits. Thoughts of Sayaka in a bathing suit filled Tenko's mind. The pop idol already wore clothes that, while not revealing, weren't afraid to accentuate her figure. Her skirt and thigh high socks showed off her long legs and smooth thighs, her shirts stuck fairly close to her body, creating an outline for her curves and breasts. To see all of that in a bathing suit? Tenko's mind went…well, full Tenko.
'I…I have to kiss her tonight!'Tenko thought. 'She's too perfect! She's the single smartest, most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life! I…I'm in love with-'
Breaking through Tenko's haze of infatuation for Sayaka was the image of a girl with red hair and a witch's hat. Tenko's eyes widen. 'Wait…Wait, Himiko! I have to get back to Himiko! But…But I have to be there for Sayaka! But…Himiko…but Sayaka…Oooooh no…'
This day was all Ibuki's idea, so it made sense for her to set everything up. However, most people would probably be surprised with how much she had done. She had completely decorated the cafeteria, placing a giant purple tablecloth over the center table, spreading out orange paper plates for everyone, she hung up a paper sign from the ceiling that read "Happy Friendship Day!" Hell, she even laid out a red carpet from the door to the middle of the room. Finally, Ibuki took it upon herself to cook breakfast. No Teruteru to assist her, no Kirumi or Gonta as backup, just Ibuki. As to be expected of Ibuki, she went all out with sweetest and most unhealthy choice possible; chocolate chip pancakes covered in layers of chocolate syrup, regular syrup, and butter. All the while, Ibuki would sing one of her favorite songs to herself.
"IIIIIIIIN YOUR HOOOOOOOOUSE! I LOOOOOOOOOONG TO BEEEEEEE!" Ibuki shouted at the top of her lungs. "I'LL WAAAAAAIT FOR YOU THEEEEERREE! LIIIIIIKE A STOOOONE!"
"What the hell?" a voice cried out from the cafeteria.
A friend! Ibuki stepped out of the kitchen with two plates with towers of stacked pancakes to be greeted by Mondo. The biker was visibly dumbfounded by the new look of the cafeteria.
"How many fucking times are we gonna change this room?" Mondo asked.
"Good nom-nom-noming, Mondo!" Ibuki cheered. "Ready to get your party on?!"
"I guess, I don't know. You really think this will get everyone to stop acting like morons?"
"Of course, it will! We all got along last time, right?"
'Yeah, then Rantaro got Kaito and Nekomaru killed,' Mondo thought to himself. "Look, you got anything that isn't pancakes?"
"Uh…" Ibuki looked at the two towers of pancakes in her possession. "Nooooo."
Mondo huffed but eventually relented to Ibuki's insanity. "Just give me a damn plate."
"You got it, dude!" Ibuki dashed over to the table and circled around it as she placed two pancakes on each of the plates. Upon finishing passing all the food out, she slid a plate down towards Mondo's direction.
Mondo sat himself down and took a hold of some silverware, but before he could begin eating he noticed a someone in particular enter the cafeteria. It was his old bro, Taka. The two locked eyes, and feelings of hyper masculine pain and longing formed some tension in the air.
"Bro…hey, man," the biker said.
Taka's eyes briefly broke contact with Mondo, the resentment was still present at that moment. Yet, the moral compass eventually responded. "Hello…Mondo."
'Shit, was that a good or a bad reaction?' Mono thought. "You wanna eat with me, man?"
Taka was silent.
"Come on, bro," the biker almost pouted like a hurt puppy.
Taka remained silent. However, he would seat himself next to Mondo, not making eye contact or even conversing with him, but he wasn't creating a literally space between them. The two of them began to eat, with Mondo making occasional glances at his friend, hoping for any return to the macho bromance they had previously had, while Taka solely focused on his food as if Mondo wasn't right next to him. Eventually, everyone (sans Sayaka, Rantaro, and Kokichi who were all absent) entered the cafeteria, but since they're were all part of different "factions" the tension didn't dissipate. Hiyoko refused to look at Mahiru as they entered, instead she latched onto Angie's arm. Hifumi was sweating bullets as he felt Celeste's judgmental gaze on the back of his head. Peko and Gundham received a look of disappointment from Chiaki before they sat off in their designated corner.
Even the poor individuals who mostly remained neutral in this matter like Chihiro and Leon were forced to sit in the middle of the crossfire of everyone's death stares and looks of suspicion. Noticing that the morning was immediately going wrong, Ibuki smacked her hand against the table, creating a cracking sound similar to a whip hitting a wooden post. This obviously garnered everyone's attention.
"Everyone, dig in!" Ibuki shouted. "This is some scrum-diddly-umptious food!"
Celeste huffed as she stared down at her meal. "Pancakes are far too fattening and sloppy," she said as she twirled a bit of her hair with her finger.
"Well, if you don't want'em, I'll take'em," Leon said before snatching the two pancakes from the goth's plate.
Gundham immediately shot up from his seat and leered at Leon. "You have some nerve to steal something from the Dark Witch! Return her meal to her plate or face-"
"It's fine, Gundham," Celestia held her hand up, silencing the man. "Like I said, I don't care for pancakes. Teruteru, will you be a dear and get me some milk tea and strawberries?"
Teruteru rose from his seat, but suddenly paused. He looked to his side to see Angie, Hiyoko, and Hifumi staring at him.
"Teruteru, you don't have to listen to her," Angie said.
"Y-yeah! She can get it herself!" Hifumi said, finally taking a real shot at Celeste.
Celeste, however, maintained her composure. She neatly folded her hands together and flashed a loving smile to the cook. "It's only a simple request, Teruteru. Or…do you want a kiss in return?"
A trail of blood leaked from Teruteru's nose as less than wholesome thoughts flooded his mind. He was nearly blinded by his own arousal when Hiyoko slapped him across the face.
"Angie told you that you can't let yourself get tempted like that, remember?" Hiyoko hissed. "So, stop being a stupid pervert and sit back down!"
Realizing that he had in fact allowed his impure thoughts to cloud over his judgment, Teruteru sat himself back down, bowing his head towards Angie. "I…I'm sorry."
"Nyahaha!" Angie laughed. "There's no need to apologize, Teruteru. Overcoming such thoughts is not an easy task."
Celeste frowned for a moment. 'That stupid bitch really is ruining everything! The rest of these morons are perfectly content with allowing me to do as I please, so having them fall to my rule will be easy. But she's already taken away that fat pig manslave from me, and now she's taken away that pathetic cook?! The only way to beat her at this…is to take away their beliefs…'
"Teruteru," Celeste spoke up, "does this…Atua encourage you to make your own choices?"
Teruteru looked up at the gambler. "Of course, he does. He's given us the chance to form connections and experience the joys of life."
"So, why would Angie keep you from making your own choice then? I mean, she's the one that taught you that Atua has given you freedom, but she's restricting you from helping me with such a simple task?"
Teruteru paused as he pondered over Celeste's words. He turned back to Angie, worry clearly seen in his eyes. Angie smiled and patted his hand lightly before shifting her attention to Peko.
"Peko, I remember you saying your friend didn't want you to act as a tool, yes?" Angie asked, completely shifting the conversation off her teachings.
Peko was taken aback by being dragged into the conversation, especially with such a personal question. "Yes. Fuyuhiko told me that he never wished for me to only be a weapon for the yakuza's will."
Angie's smile grew wider as she leaned forward in her seat. "But you allow Celeste to order like a tool? That would upset your friend, no?"
"Ok, that's enough," Chiaki spoke up. "We're not doing this anymore."
"Why don't you stay out of this, Nanami?" Celeste asked. "We know you're incapable of resolving anything."
"Hey, she's the one trying to solve this whole mess!" Mondo shouted. "She's not a crazy bitch like you or the artist chick!"
"Nanami is nothing but a liar!" Taka finally spoke up, snapping at Mondo. "She keeps secrets from us then surrounds herself with other liars!" His leered at Shinji as he finished his sentence.
"Yet you forget you had also hidden a secret from us all," Gundham said to Taka. "Were you not the one so ashamed of your grandfather's actions that you locked it away in the darkest corner of your mind?"
"Are you guys really this childish?!" Mahiru shouted. "It shouldn't be this hard to know who's right and wrong!"
"Can you jagoffs stop shouting so I can focus on my food?!" Miu joined in.
Kaede frowned at Tenko. "Why can't you ever take things seriously, Miu?!"
With more people jumping in to speak their minds, the more of an audible mess occurred in the cafeteria. With each person arguing with at least two other people who are having conversations of their own, it was a miracle that anyone was able to hear each other in the first place. Despite her love for being the loudest in the room, Ibuki couldn't handle another second of her friends fighting. She'd have to up the ante if she wanted to keep everyone together. Grabbing a knife, Ibuki stabbed the table as hard as she possibly could. Once again, Ibuki caught everyone's attention, although they felt more fear than with her previous attempt.
"No more!" Ibuki raised her voice. "No more arguing about religions, no more arguing about who's right and wrong, no more making everything gothic, no more fighting, no more nothing! Ibuki's got a great day planned today! We're gonna to eat breakfast, we're gonna play games, we're gonna go swimming, and we're going to play music! We did before, and we were all fine! We can do it again, and we will do it again! So…" Tears formed in the corners of Ibuki's eyes. "Please…stop fighting. We're all friends, right?"
Ibuki's pleas were able to reach through to most of the students, shifting their previous moods from suspicion and hatred to empathy and shame. With this new moment of silence, everyone had the chance to reflect on the arguments they've had. It is true that they had a right to their beliefs, to have differing opinions from others, but it was also true that they're acting irrationally. It was clear Monokuma loved sowing distrust and despair amongst the group, so all the infighting would only benefit him. The first person to fully acknowledge this and speak up was Taka.
"I apologize, Mioda," Taka said as he stood tall. "You are correct that we need to put our differences aside. For the sake of our survival as well as…" Taka shifted his attention to Mondo, "As well as for the sake of our friendship."
With the first sign of sanity and reason from his friend in days, Mondo smirked and patted him on the back. "Hell yeah, man!"
"Hmph," Gundham crossed his arms. "I care not for appeasing anyone. I will simply welcome the absence of the incessant bickering."
'I guess that's the best apology he can give,' Kaede thought.
"I'd like to apologize too," Chiaki said.
Shinji looked at the gamer. "You have nothing to apologize for."
"No, I do," Chiaki responded before facing the rest of the group. "I haven't been the best leader. I have kept secrets from everyone. I fall asleep a lot. I'm not that assertive, either. You all have the right to be mad at me…But I can make things right…I think."
Ibuki smiled as she surveyed the table. Everyone's moods lightened as they apologized to one another. The only two people who didn't join in on the apology train were Angie and Celeste. The two of them remained silent as even some of their followers expressed their regrets. Celeste rolled her eyes at every apology while Angie just stared at her followers, her static smile being the only expression on her face. While most people ignored them, two of their followers couldn't help but feel doubt for them. Both Peko and Teruteru looked towards their respective leaders, yet they did not look back. Eventually though, the tension in the room faded and they were able to enjoy their breakfast in peace.
Despite how desperate she was to gain an appropriate amount of sleep, Sayaka's eyes opened up anyway. Upon sitting up in her bed and stretching her arms she noticed the metal cage in the corner of her room, a reminder to the tired pop idol that Rantaro was in her room. She slowly rose from her bed and leaned against the cage window. Peaking inside, Sayaka saw Rantaro was sat at the bottom of his cell.
"How long have I been out?" Sayaka asked.
Rantaro looked upward to see the idol's blue eyes peering into the cell. Rantaro shrugged. "Hard to say without a watch. Maybe an hour and a half or two hours."
Sayaka leaned back and rubbed her eyes. "Ok…I guess we got no choice but to eat now." Sayaka reached for the skeleton key in her pocket to unlock the cell.
"You don't have to let me out," Rantaro said.
"Of course, I do. I got to feed you."
"You don't have to let me out to feed me. You can just bring something back."
Sayaka sighed as she put the key back into her skirt pocket. "Sakura lets Mukuro and Kiyo out to feed them. I don't see why I can't do the same for you."
Rantaro looked back up at the cell window. "Would you do the same for Kokichi?"
…
"Ok, I'll bring something back," Sayaka said before stepping away from the cell.
"If you want to eat by yourself first, I'm fine with that," Rantaro shouted out to the pop idol before she exited the room.
As shocking as it may seem, the group were able to avoid anymore infighting upon arriving at the game room. Granted, part of that could be attributed to most of them splitting up to play separate games, but any form of conflicted being avoided was a victory to Ibuki. The musician stood at the entrance of the room, watching over everyone. Chiaki, of course, made a break for the arcade games. Mukuro, Leon, Kiyo, and Sakura went to toss darts. Miu dragged Nagito the Mono Machine's to get more trinkets. Celeste sat at the poker table with her followers while Angie let her followers out on their own. Ibuki smiled to herself. Perhaps things would get better.
"Hey, kid," Mondo called out to Chihiro. "Why don't we try this out?"
Chihiro turned to see Mondo standing beside the punching machine. He looked down at his hands for a moment. Sure, he had been working out, so naturally his arms have gotten more muscle as opposed to the stick-like frame he started with. However, he still had tiny, doll-like hands.
"Are you sure I should try?" Chihiro asked. "I mean, we never tried any punching exercises in training."
"Well, we start somewhere," Mondo said before stepping away from the machine and over to Chihiro. "When you make a fist, he you got to keep your thumb up. Don't stick it in."
Chihiro pulled up his fist just as Mondo instructed. With you reassuring nod from his teacher, Chihiro cocked his arm back and threw out a punch at the ball as hard as he could, nearly stumbling forward. He just barely regained his footing in time to avoid bashing his face against the machine. Taking a step back, he saw just how much the machine calculated his strength at. 45.
"Not bad, kid," Mondo congratulated Chihiro. "Next time, though…keep your feet on the ground."
"R-right, sorry," Chihiro said.
"Nothing to be sorry about," Mondo said. "Just don't fuck yourself up when you throw punches. Here, watch this."
Chihiro stepped aside for Mondo to take his turn. First, he had to do the classic tough guy move of cracking his knuckles before throwing a furious right hook at the ball. With both of his feet planted on the ground, he simply leaned back to see how strong his punch was. 493.
"Hell yeah!" Mondo cheered. "That's what I'm talking about!"
"Wow…you're really strong, Mondo!" Chihiro complemented. "Your score's…way better than mine!"
"Ah, I just had more practice," Mondo brushed off the compliment. "Keep it up, you might pass me up."
"Excuse me," a voice called out from behind the duo.
Turning around, Chihiro and Mondo saw it was Taka. The two of them were honestly startled by their old friend's sudden appearance, but Taka maintained a calm demeanor.
"I…was just wondering if I could also partake in this activity," Taka said.
Mondo grit his teeth, unsure of how approach the situation due to their strained relationship. However, Chihiro made the decision for the three of them.
"Sure thing," Chihiro smiled before taking a step aside.
"Thank you, Fujisaki!" Taka said before stepping forward. Upon facing off with the machine, the prim and proper student rolled up the sleeves of his jacket before balling up his fists. After a few deep breathes, Taka threw a left jab at the ball. The machine calculated Taka's strength at 494.
"Wow!" Chihiro admired Taka's strength. "That's incredible, Taka! You managed to get a higher score than Mondo!"
"Why thank you, Fujisaki!" Taka smiled at the shorter boy.
"Hold on a damn sec," Mondo spoke up. "He only got one point over me. Let's not get cocky here."
Taka turned around to face the biker. "One point? Well, I must apologize since I was only using half my strength. Your punches wouldn't match up to mine."
"Wow, wow, wow," Mondo stepped forward. "You think I wasn't fucking holding back either? Want to make this a contest bro?!"
Taka stepped forward as well, his nose mashing up against Mondo's. "Oh, so we're going to have another gentlemen's challenge?!"
"You're damn right we are!" Mondo shouted before turning and punching the ball even harder. It came up as 567.
Taka gasped overdramatically. "Wh-what?! 567?! What strength!"
Mondo got back in Taka's face. "You got anything to better than that?!"
Taka immediately regained his composer and smirked. "No way! You may be strong, Mondo! However, my will cannot be diminished! If you want me to lose, you'll have to push me to my absolute limit!"
"You'd have to push me to the gates of Hell to beat me, bro!"
"Then, let's do this, BRO!" Taka shouted before turning and throwing a powerful right hook at the ball. 570.
"Impressed, bro?!" Taka shouted.
"Oh, 570?! That's all you got, bro?!" Mondo shouted back.
"Show me what you got, bro!"
Chihiro simply took a step back to watch the two boys, no, men, battle it out in this contest of strength. A soft smile grew across face as Mondo and Taka's bond began to reform.
Meanwhile, Kaede had been testing her dancing skills on a Dance Dance Revolution machine. Well, less dancing and more synchronized stomping, but she was having fun with it regardless. She wasn't doing too bad, either. She had been hitting the right buttons and gotten "Goods" or "Greats" for her score. That was until someone interrupted her.
"Kaede!" Tenko grabbed onto Kaede's arm. "I need to talk to you!"
In the short moment Kaede lost his balance, she dropped her combo string as the song came to an end. "GAME OVER," the DDR machine announced.
Kaede huffed and looked over at Tenko. "Tenko, you know better than to surprise people like that."
"Kaede, I need your help," Tenko repeated.
With Kaede no longer focused on the game, she noticed just had anxious Tenko looked with sweat shooting off from the sides of her head while pressing her fingers together. Kaede stepped off the machine and faced her friend.
"What's wrong?" Kaede asked.
"W-well…" Tenko nervously gulped down some saliva. "Can I ask a question?"
"Of course. What's wrong? You seem really upset."
"I just…I'm having a little bit of a problem right now, and I thought maybe you could help me out."
Kaede nodded. "What is it?"
After a few breaths through her nose, Tenko finally asked her question. "What…wh-what if you like two different people?"
Kaede raised an eyebrow.
…
"Is this about Himiko and Sayaka?" Kaede asked.
Tenko's eyes widened. "Wh-what?! How did you know?!"
"Tenko," Kaede sighed while putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "you are the worst at hiding a secret crush."
"Oh…" Tenko blushed in embarrassment. "So, what should I do?"
Kaede shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know what to tell you, Tenko. I mean, it's kind of your choice."
"I can't just choose between them! I promised Sayaka I'd stay by her side, but I swore I'd find Himiko when I leave! I can't break those promises!"
"You don't have to break any promise. You just got to choose who you like more."
"B-but…I don't know who I like more! I've known Himiko longer and she's so adorable and her magic is so cool and she's super funny and I can't help but want to hug her all the time…But Sayaka is super sweet and really smart and her voice is beautiful and…Every time I see her sad, I want to hold her. I want to keep her safe. I want to keep them both safe."
Kaede briefly facepalmed as she watched Tenko's face get redder, and drool slide out of her mouth. "Honestly, Tenko? I think Sayaka's got her mind settled on Makoto."
Tenko hung her head down. "Oh, right. Makoto…"
"I know that doesn't mean your feelings won't go away immediately, but I think you should take that a sign. Maybe Himiko's just the right one."
"Yeah, maybe," Tenko said. That moment however, Tenko recalled the time Sayaka got her three photos from the first class trial. The one that showed Makoto with that silver-haired girl. 'Or maybe not.'
Sayaka entered the then empty cafeteria and observed the renovations Ibuki had made. If she was more awake or simply had more energy to care, she'd probably let out a cute idol giggle. Instead, she could barely muster up the effort for a slight smirk before stepping into the kitchen. The first thing she noticed was a pile of dirty dishes carelessly left in the sink.
Sayaka let out a tired huff. 'There goes most of the plates, I guess.'
Sayaka moved over to one of the cabinets to grab one of the few plates left to spare. 'OK, what should I even eat though? Just another sandwich? I'm kind of sick of them. Maybe I'll just let Rantaro have one. Then I'll have…'
Sayaka scanned the room once more to see that there was a tray of left over pancakes from the group's breakfast. 'Oh...' she approached the tray. 'You know what? I'm too tired to make anything myself.'
Sayaka two of the pancakes and haphazardly tossed each one onto a separate plate. Just as she was ready to leave, she turned towards the kitchen door but was startled by the sight of Mikan blocking it. Sayaka let out a yelp and had to readjust her grip on the plates to avoid dropping them.
"You really shouldn't sneak up on me like that," Sayaka said as she took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," Mikan fidgeted with her hands and avoided eye contact. "I just…I need to talk to you about something."
"Is it about Rantaro? If you want to, I can let you check on him."
Mikan's fidgeting got faster. "No…I-I mean, I do want to see him again, if that's ok…"
"I just said it was. He's actually been very cooperative, so you don't have to worry about him trying anything…I hope at least."
"Can we go to my room first? I…I want to talk about something private."
Sayaka tilted her head to the side as she examined Mikan's body language. The fidgeting, refusing to make eye contact, asking to go to a private location. Sayaka's intuition was flashing bright red warning signs in her mind.
"No," Sayaka said. "You can tell me right here."
Mikan shook her head. "N-no, we need to go to my room."
"There's no one here right now. If you're worried about the cameras, then your room still doesn't work."
"Please just follow me-"
"Mikan, stop," Sayaka silenced the nurse. "I don't know what you're trying to do. If it's about Rantaro, I know it must be complicated for you, but I can't let you do whatever it is you're trying to. If it's to get back at him or to break him out-"
"I'm not trying to kill anyone!" Mikan shouted over Sayaka. "I'm not a monster! I'm not!"
"Ok," Sayaka took a step away from Mikan, but the nurse stepped closer.
"I'm sick of being picked on…" tears poured out from her eyes, "and of everyone tricking me."
"OK, Mikan," Sayaka stepped to the side to put her plates down on the counter. "It's ok. I'm not trying to hurt you."
Mikan began wiping away her tears. "I know…"
Sayaka was careful with her approach, making slow steps. "OK. Let's just talk here. What did you want?"
Mikan's breaths became shaky. "I…I want to see Rantaro."
"OK. Are you mad at him?"
Mikan nodded.
"Do…do you want to hurt him?"
Mikan's hands shook violently.
"We're just talking. You can tell me, and I won't tell the others."
Mikan shook her head. "I don't want to hurt anyone."
"OK, ok, that's fine," Sayaka slowly placed her hand on Mikan's shoulder. "Just…tell me what you want to do."
Mikan's hands slowly lowered to her sides. "I…I just want to talk to Rantaro."
"OK, that's fine. I'll take you to him."
Mikan finally lifted her eyes to face Sayaka's. "I…I have to do something first."
"What is it?"
"I…I have to take you to see Kokichi…"
Got a long one this time. I think the one thing that has made this stretch of the story harder to write is, since Kaito is gone, I kind of have to make people more proactive and think more. There's no go with the flow leader that managed to keep everyone together. I hope I was able to make people reasonably suspicious other one another without making them rock stupid or irritating.
Another thing I brought up is Sayaka's intuition. The game really made that a huge part of her character and it should've been a bigger part of her investigation process. Hopefully it isn't too out of nowhere. I want everything to feel natural. That's also why I had Sayaka refuse to go off with Mikan. I know the one thing anyone hates in a story, particularly murder mysteries and horror, is someone doing something so obviously stupid. I've really been trying that lately after the messiness of the 2nd trial.
Another I wanted to balance was...for lack of a better word, horny the story is. Danganronpa is an anime style game and anime is very horny, but outside of feeling uncomfortable writing that kind of stuff at times, I'm also trying to get over a porn addiction. So, I want to avoid it, but not make the story feel sterile as well. One thing I really strive to do when writing fanfic stuff is to match the tone and feel of the original story as much as possible. Let me know what you think.
Good luck and take care.