Chapter Text
His eyes burned. The sickeningly bright florescent lights blinded him even behind his eyelids, not giving him a chance to properly adjust to his surroundings. Fingertips tingling, his head spun as he flinched against it.
He groaned quietly, turning his head to the side on top of the plush underneath it. The sensation immediately caused him to freeze in realization. Where am—
---
We gazed up at the broken, shattered dome looming over us. A feeling of bliss. Our hearts having not felt this light since the moment we awoke in this academy; in this utter hell.
What is waiting for us outside of here? Is there hope for us? Is there anything of worth to us, of relief to us, behind this cage of lies?
"What.. are we going to do?" The "ultimate mage" asked, her voice showing both excited anticipation and lingering anxiety. Of course she's nervous. We don't know the truth of the outside world, the truth of what we're stepping into.
We know what the flashback lights and the Road of Despair showed us, but that was all supposedly "fictional". Though, what if that was a lie? What if that really is the outside world? That's the outside world and we were the only 16 left. 16 now reduced to 3.
But if that wasn't a lie, was it really what the mastermind showed it to be? A deranged, cruel society that supports– and maybe even thrives off of– the live broadcasting of children brutally murdering one another? A "show" that ended up influencing those same children to sign up for it in the first place..?
I don't know which option i'd prefer if it was forced upon me to choose between the two. Would I want us to be only 3 survivors of humanity remaining, existing on a different planet? Or would I rather live with the knowledge that the people around us have little to no empathy towards the horrors in this academy. As if you could even call it that.
"I don't know..." I admitted, looking back at the small magician before glancing over to Maki, who seemed equally as hesitant, unsure of what was to come.
The assassin pondered for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she thought of what to say. When the words finally came to her, she opened her mouth to speak and —
---
"Mr. Saihara? Can you hear me?" A gentle voice spoke out, cutting through the static that echoed in his ears.
It took him a moment to process her words; his mind sprinting to catch up with his senses. His eyelids slowly cracked open, squinting against the bright light before dragging his shaky, unsteady hand up in front of them.
Eventually he adjusted, and almost instantly a feeling of panic and confusion washed over him, causing him to physically jump up in the bed to survey his surroundings.
The nurse standing next to him quickly set her clipboard down on a small, wooden side table attached to his bed and put her hands out to block him from potentially getting out it.
"Woah, hey calm down! I'll explain everything- you're safe don't panic." She spoke quickly, assuring the surprised detective and attempting to get ahold of his worries.
"Wh- where am I?! What happened we were just- did I blackout? Who are- Where–.." Shuichi trailed off, whipping around as if he could try and recognize the room.
"Wheres Maki and Himiko?!" He asked, looking at the young nurse standing next to him in pale blue scrubs. An ID with a name tag was attached to one of the pockets on her shirt and she had her platinum blonde hair pulled tightly into a bun.
"They're here too, in different rooms down the hallway. You'll be able to see them soon, I just need to explain everything. I understand you're confused so please listen." She asked softly, clearly still on alert incase Shuichi were to try and get up for any reason.
Shuichi looked like he wanted to spill out every question and hypothesis racing through his jumbled mind, but held himself back in hopes everything would be answered by her explanation.
"My name is Nurse Hiramatsu, and I'll be your day nurse for the time you spend here at New Hope hospital. If you have any questions please let me know, but until then I will explain why you're here." She spoke calmly, as if she had already had this conversation before and rehearsed it enough for the words to come out naturally.
"Your Danganronpa experience has ended, and until it is safe for you to be released into the public, you and the rest of your peers will reside here at New Hope. Our goal is to support and help stabilize you; slowly reconnecting and reintroducing you into the outside world. We understand the challenges and horrific experiences you've faced up to this moment, but we want you to know that it is over, and we'll support you through your adjustment to a safe environment."
"..Excuse me?" Was all Shuichi was able to spit out. His brain barely able to understand the words she was stringing together. The nurse's soft expression turned a little sour at his reply, realizing she might've not explained it with enough depth.
"Danganronpa- well your experience with it- was nothing but a virtual reality. You and your classmates were individually contained in a type of cryonic vessel while your consciousnesses were active inside of the virtual reality. So basically, it wasn't real. You and the rest of the survivors, including those who passed, are alive."
It felt like time stopped. Shuichi felt his breath hitch. An expression of pure shock formed on his face. Nothing was making sense, and truthfully, no matter how much she explained, he didn't think it would ever make sense.
"I understand it's a hard concept to grasp– but I promise it will all come together soon. You have no reason to believe me, especially after everything you've experienced, but I hope with time you will come to trust us, and help us help you heal from.. Danganronpa." She said the name as if it was the title of a taboo topic; as if it was just a game that they had lost. A game. Though... was that what it was? Was it more? Was it less?
Shuichi was silent. So silent, it would've made you question if he even heard you. A distant stare, full of uncertainty and disbelief.
"Um..." The nurse glanced to the side, clearly thinking of anything else that might help the situation.
"You-.. you're.. saying that.. everyone's alive..?" He spoke slowly, almost hesitant of speaking the question aloud as if when he attempted to try to confirm what he was hearing, it would become untrue.
It felt unreal– the possibility of her statement. It reminded him of the many dreams he had each night his head hit the scratchy, stiff pillow of the dorm rooms. The hard mattress under him giving little to no comfort after yet another day of an unwanted murder, unwanted trial, and unwanted verdict. No matter who it was that was killed, no matter who the culprit turned out to be, Shuichi never wanted to lose another one of the precious, unique, and special lives he had come to know. Because at the end of the day, when he tried his best to drift to sleep– to ignore the emotional pain in his chest that had conjured into physical– he knew none of them deserved it. He knew it was the only hope they had of getting out alive, victim or blackened.
He dreamed they escaped through the Death Road of Despair together. All 16 of them. And the end of it wasn't a horror story, but instead the bright warmth of the sun, the fresh sent of the air and grass. He dreamed someone came and saved them. He dreamed it was all a nightmare, and that his "classmates" were just classmates from Hopes Peak– the school he was tricked into believing he attended– that he was tricked into believing was real in the first place.
This situation was so sudden and almost too good to be true. What felt like just a little while ago, he and the two other survivors had clawed their way from beneath the boulders that had protected them from thick, sharp shards of glass raining down across the graveyard of the academy.
But now he was in a hospital bed with no memory of how he ended up here. In a hospital bed being told the weeks upon weeks of hell him and his friends were forced (forced..?) to endure, was nothing more but a false reality. It felt more like a dream than the wishful stories he created in his sleep.
But this wasn't a dream. This was real.
He.. hoped.
"Yes. Well.. uhm.. all 15 of you that were supposed to survive in the first place." The nurse said, glancing away as she finished her sentence.
"..What do you mean?" He asked cautiously, a bullet of anxiety shooting through his chest at her words.
"The mastermind- uhm- Tsumugi- wasn't supposed to survive under the circumstances that she hadn't successfully completed her role. While there were supposed to be survivors, it wasn't supposed to be all three of you. Not to mention the fact that the last trial, and your interactions with the viewers, abruptly forced the show to end. Which Team Danganronpa was extremely upset about.. to say the least." The nurse winced a bit at the end of her sentence, showing the intensity of the complications.
"So due to these conditions, her physical body was injected with lethal poison by Team Danganronpa the moment her conscious body was crushed, and we were unable to save her upon the poison killing her almost instantly." She explained.
That explanation made Shuichi ponder, ultimately giving him more questions than answers. He searched her expression for a moment. "So.. this hospital.. isn't in cooperation with Team Danganronpa...?" He asked.
"No. We are on your side. It might be challenging for you to understand, but your doctor will be able to answer any other questions you may have better than I can." The nurse seemed to gain her confident demeanor back when seeing Shuichi physically relax after her explanation.
"When can I speak to the doctor?" He asked, glancing behind her past the open door to his room. There were two other doors across the hall from him, neither directly in front of his, but half of each were visible from his point of view.
One door was closed, but the other was cracked open slightly, and he could see the edge of a hospital bed that had a navy blue blanket draped over the edge. It was folded in half neatly, looking like it had recently been cleaned. On the window sill to the left of the bed, there was a small stack of handwritten cards, some of which were propped and standing up on the ledge of the window.
On the wall next to the window, there were a few colored pages of childish designs with jagged edges taped to the stark white surface. The uneven edges clearly from being ripped out of a coloring book of some sort.
"The doctor will meet with you shortly. Though if not today, definitely tomorrow. If you're feeling up to it, I can give you a tour of the hospital." She suggested, picking up the clipboard she had earlier set down and scanning over the contents of it.
"Usually after waking from the induced coma you are in during the game, it takes a few days to recover your strength, though I believe you wont have much problems due to you not experiencing death or major injuries within the simulation. You might feel a bit unsteady, but I'll be next to you the whole time for support if needed." The nurse gave Shuichi a kind, encouraging smile.
The mention of a prolonged recovery time after death in game arose more questions in Shuichi's mind, but he decided not to ask it due to her earlier comment of speaking to the doctor.
Besides if... everyone is really here, I can just speak to them about it. He told himself, biting his tongue at the sudden fear he felt bubbling up in his throat. Everyone's here? Everyone is.. alive. I'm gonna see them again... It was all a lie. I'm gonna see my friends again.
"Yes please, I would appreciate that." He answered. "Uhm.. will I be able to see everyone?" Shuichi hesitantly asked, the thought of the possibility still feeling new and weird in his mind.
"Well I can't be sure that everyone is out of their rooms.. some are still having trouble with their health or just prefer to be alone at times. But it's a little after noon so those who go to the dining hall for lunch might still be wandering around the area. We'll be going there after I bring you around this floor." She assured with another smile, placing her clipboard back down on the desk to reach over the support beams on the bed and remove the heart monitor wrapped around Shuichi's finger, who looked down at it in surprise after realizing he hadn't taken a moment to assess the medical equipment attached to him.
He had an IV stuck in his arm which was being held in place by a patch of clear tape, a bit of blood visible in the chamber of it. After removing the heart monitor, she turned to grab a big syringe out of a cabinet across the room, taking it out of the plastic and preparing to put it in the IV.
"This is just saline, Im gonna flush the catheter with it so we can temporarily remove the tube, okay? And if the doctor says you don't need the IV anymore after your visit with her then we'll get it removed for you. You might feel a bit of cold, sorry." She attached the syringe to the IV and pushed the liquid in. A weird sensation shot up his arm but it vanished as quickly as it came and she replaced the opening with some sort of cap.
After she removed stickers with tubes connected to his upper chest and stomach, she lowered the safety bars and he slowly slid his legs off the edge of the bed, the pale blue gown he was in draping down right above his ankles.
The monitors surrounding his bed had been turned off following her taking the attachments off, but they still flashed yellow at the loss of connection.
He didn't think he would need that much help getting up. He assumed since he had been imagining the use his muscles to walk in the simulation, it wouldn't be that much of a difference. But the moment he put even an ounce of weight on his legs, he had to grip her outstretched arm immediately, the fear of falling washing over him.
"You're alright." She assured kindly in reply to his mumbled apology after feeling slightly embarrassed he had tried with such confidence. "Again, It's alright if you don't feel ready today. Or just right now. We can try again in an hour or two if you'd like." She suggested, no trace of judgment in her tone.
"No I'm fine. I just need a moment.." Shuichi said quietly, slowly letting go of her arm as he attempted to steady himself without physical support.
Fortunately the slightly dormant but familiar muscles finally registered in Shuichi's head, the memory of how it really felt to walk resurfacing.
They both stepped out of the room. Shuichi's hand lingered near the wall incase he felt too unsteady and the nurse had hers held out to catch him if he fell.
A door a few feet in front of him opened suddenly and he froze, watching as a tall, mint haired boy stepped out of it, closing it quietly as if not to awake whoever was inside before turning in the direction of Shuichi.
When the two made eye contact, he also froze along side Shuichi.
"Oh.. hey. Didn't uh.. know you were awake." Rantaro spoke awkwardly, subconsciously bringing his hand up to the back of his neck out of habit.
Then, as if someone had kicked the back of his knees, Shuichi's legs buckled underneath him, and Rantaro quickly reached to grab him underneath the arms before he hit the ground too hard and before nurse Hiramatsu had even processed the fall.
"Woah there-" Rantaro said, gently holding Shuichi up as he tried to regain his balance.
"S-sorry I-.. I don't know where that came from." Shuichi said, visible panic in his tone as he held onto Rantaro's forearms, quickly steadying himself.
"No worries, it happens." Rantaro assured gently as if this wasn't his first time catching someone mid-air. When Shuichi managed to look back up at him, he gave the shorter boy a smile as if to tell him "I got you".
"Ah uhm.. thank you." The detective thanked quietly, once again embarrassed of his slight immobility.
"'Course."
"Thank you Rantaro, my bad for not acting fast enough." The young nurse behind Shuichi chuckled quietly at her mistake, holding her hands out in an offer to take the fallen boy.
"I got him. Were you gonna show him around? I don't mind doing it if you need to go do something else." Rantaro offered, pulling one of Shuichi's arms around his neck to help support him while they walked.
"Oh! Uhm... okay. You know your way around here as much as we do by now anyway." She joked, which earned her a silent nod from Rantaro.
"Dr. Mutsumi might come looking for him soon so don't go too far. Uhm... floor 4 is still on lockdown so please don't bring him up there." She requested quietly, the mere mention of "floor 4" making her visibly fidgety.
"Yea I know, don't worry about it." Rantaro said with a monotone voice, the mention of the floor seeming to also make him feel a bit off.
The nurse bowed slightly at the waist in thanks, a smile on her face before she turned to walk towards two double doors splitting the hallway in half.
Shuichi watched her walk away, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. He noticed and questioned himself, unsure of why he felt uneasy in her presence despite her nothing
but kind and caring demeanor.
"Don't worry if the staff here give you any weird vibes. I learned it's just the oddness of it all making things feel uncomfortable." Rantaro commented after a moment of silence between them, attempting to make a lighthearted joke in the midst of the unusual circumstances they were in. His tone had a thread of sorrow laced into it; a tiredness far from something physical.
Shuichi looked up at him again, searching Rantaro's eyes for any secret message he may be trying to deliver.
"'M surprised you woke up this early on. Himiko hasn't yet. Maki tho, she got up almost immediately after they transported her into her room." Rantaro explained, figuring Shuichi was wondering about the other two survivors. The taller boy had slowly started walking them down the hallway, motioning to the doors as they passed them with brief explanations.
"Angie's room, she's sleeping." He said, talking about the door he had just previously came out of. "Miu, Kirumi." He pointed towards the next door, then the one across from it. "My room is across from yours, Tenko is next to me and Ryoma is the room next to you." He said, nodding towards the rooms behind them.
"Ryoma was in his room last time I checked, pretty sure Tenko is too. She's probably showering, you'll see her soon though. She doesn't like to stay anywhere alone for extended periods of time." He said, scratching his cheek a bit with his free hand as he pondered what else to mention.
"Kirumi is on the main floor right now and Miu likes staying locked up in her room unless it's meal time. Kaede is trying to help her with that tho-"
Shuichi's mind had been trying– and slightly failing– to process all this sudden information while actively forming questions, analysis's, and concerns despite him still trying to find an overall understanding of just what the hell was going on right now, but it all went silent at her name.
Her name. The name that haunted his dreams and memories. The name that somehow managed to get brought up at least once a day while they were in the game. The name that brought a storm of emotions; a mix of longing, regret, sorrow, love, grief, hope and despair at the mere thought of it.
She.. was alive.
Rantaro glanced over at Shuichi, noticing how his eyes had fixated on the floor in a wide, almost terrified manner.
Rantaro brought their slow paced walking to a stop, turning towards him and bringing Shuichi's arm down from around his neck so he could hold him by his shoulders.
"Hey listen. I know this is a lot, I know you're confused and probably still a bit scared, but we're here Shuichi. We're alive." Rantaro told him, his previous, casual sounding tone dropping to a more serious one as he peered into Shuichi's pupils.
"The game is over. You helped end it. It's over and.. and we're safe here. Alright? No more Monokuma, no more trials, no more killings. I know it's hard to get used to, especially since they just.. honestly threw you out here instead of giving you at least a day of conscious recovery to process everything. Even if you wanted to they should've known you needed more time to process it alone." He slightly mumbled the last part to himself, glancing to the side with a small frown before wiping it away to look back at Shuichi.
"If you need a break, if you're not ready, there's nothing wrong with that. You don't have to go see anyone today, and you don't even have to speak to the doctor if you don't want to. Don't feel like you have to get used to this immediately." He told Shuichi with a gentle, caring but firm expression on his face. His furrowed eyebrows relaxing a bit when Shuichi hesitantly nodded in understanding.
"I'm sorry. Everything is happening too fast, I just.. it doesn't make sense. None of this does. I don't know what's the truth and what's the lie. I..." I dont know who I am. Those "audition tapes"... was that me? Was it a fake? Who was the Ultimate Detective in the 53rd season of Danganronpa? Was that me or was that just a fictional character created solely for the entertainment of others? Did Kaede really say those things in the video? Did Kaito really mean those threats? Was the love and relationships I shared with my friends real? Or were they already set in stone the moment I woke up in that metal locker.
"Don't apologize Shuichi. I just.. don't want anything bad happening to you if you're too stressed over this." Rantaro said. The way he said it gave away the fact that he was trying to avoid a situation he had already- or is currently- dealing with. Assuming it wasn't himself Rantaro was talking about, Shuichi frowned a bit in concern.
"Is.. everyone okay?" He asked Rantaro hesitantly, not wanting to make him upset if it wasn't the best topic to be bringing up right now.
"Yeah yeah, nothing for you to worry about it's just.. some are taking this harder than others, yknow?" He explained vaguely, bringing his hand up to rub the back of his neck again.
"Anyway.. uhm.. everyone else's room is upstairs. If you ever want to visit it's through those doors and up the stairs." He said, pointing to the doors the nurse had previously walked through. "We can do that later tho. I think theres a good handful of people in the dining hall downstairs if you wanna talk to anyone." Rantaro suggested, motioning in front of them. "Thats if you feel like you're doing okay." He added, glancing down at Shuichi.
"Yeah, of course, i'm fine." Shuichi assured, giving him a small smile to enhance his words. Rantaro hesitantly nodded at him before thinking for a moment. "Think you can take the stairs? If not, the elevator is past the doors back there."
"No I can do the stairs." Shuichi assured, which Rantaro nodded at again. He linked arms with Shuichi just in case before walking forward with him towards a single door with "EXIT - floor 2" labeled above it.
There were big windows on the first floor, taking up most of the main wall and allowing rays of sun to shine onto the furniture. In front of the windows was an open common room; a wide, gray couch settled in front of a large TV that was mounted in the opening of a large, dark, wooden stand that looked similar to a bookcase but had cabinets and drawers in place of open spaces for books. There was a dark recliner next to the couch and a medium sized coffee table in the middle of the two.
The common area's floor was a dark gray carpet, but past the area, the rest of the hospital's flooring was your typical bright, white, polished tiles reflecting the harsh, fluorescent light.
The door to the staircase opens to the common room. Shuichi and Rantaro steadily made their way past it after Rantaro let him look over it for a moment, down a wide hallway lined with doors. Some were labeled things such as "janitorial" or "file room" while others remained blank. The more Shuichi examined the building, he started to realize it wasn't exactly the typical hospital you would go to for medical treatment. While it certainly did act like it with the staff in scrubs, medical machinery, crash carts nearby, etc... Shuichi couldn't help but notice it was set up a certain way.
The only patient rooms were on the floors above, none were located on the first. Most rooms lining the hallways of the first floor were all closed, and he assumed, locked.
There was a room labeled "REC ROOM" that they passed, and Shuichi was able to get a good idea of what was in it by glancing at a board game laid out out on one of the circular tables.
"We can go into the open rooms whenever we want. Well, unless it's past 10:30, then we have to be in the patient hallways. They call it that cus all our rooms are up there. The courtyard is always open, but if you go out at night a nurse will most likely come to watch over you." Rantaro explained, motioning to the REC room as they walked by. "Just games and stuff in there. They have some books and journals too."
A little more down the hallway that was about right in the middle of the first floor, there were two doors cracked open. These specific doors were more bulky; thick locks on the outside of the metal doors while there wasn't any on the inside of it. The doors also had square windows made with visibly sturdy glass, making it easy to examine what was going on inside even if it was locked. The rooms were completely empty and small, but Shuichi couldn't see any other details due to the lights inside being off. Between the two rooms, he noticed a sign marking them "seclusion rooms."
"What about those?" Shuichi quietly asked when he noticed Rantaro hadn't even hesitated to completely ignore the two rooms they walked by.
Rantaro slowed to a stop, trying to ponder up an explanation. "Uhh... well you can go in there if you ever need time alone. Though i'd just go to my room or somewhere else if I were you, theres a weird atmosphere in there, heh." He said, trying to sound lighthearted even though he seemed a bit uncomfortable thinking about the rooms. "Plus you can't lock it from the inside." He added casually.
"Okay.. so what do they use it for? I don't think anyone would prefer to have alone time in there." Shuichi asked, clearly feeling that there was more to them. The windows and outside locks gave him a good idea, but his idea contradicted the purpose of the hospitals being "helpful."
"Well uh.." Rantaro hesitated; slightly circling one of his hands in the air as he tried to think of the best explanation. "They.. could put us in there if we're causing trouble. As in potentially harming each other or.. ourselves. Obviously it's not the best tactic or idea to lock someone up who had just gotten back from being trapped inside a killing game, but it's for our own safety. In a way." He explained, trying to make it seem less harsh.
Shuichi noticed the way Rantaro spoke, almost as if he had explained that from a personal experience of some sort. Then the memory of a question he pondered earlier reappeared in his mind, and with the new information, Shuichi assumed the two correlated with one another.
"What's on the fourth floor?" Shuichi asked.
"Nothing much. Literally. Just Cockichi and more seclusion rooms where they're eventually gonna preform lobotomies on all of us." A familiar, but oddly raspy voice spoke from behind him.
"Good afternoon to you too, Miu. Finally fall asleep around dawn?" Rantaro said playfully, ignoring the grotesque– and overall incorrect– explanation she came up with.
She scoffed with an eye roll, which caused her to have to clear her throat before speaking. "Fuck no. And i'm starting to think they're giving me vitamins instead of 10 milligrams of melatonin a night."
"Also are they like paying you to do tours now? First it's Gonta, then Kaito, now this little wannabe detective." She conveyed with a rather crude tone.
Shuichi frowned a bit. Despite the wave of shock that had surged through him at the sight of her, he recognized what she was most likely referring to.
"You... guys watched the trial..?" Shuichi asked quietly, shame filling his chest at the vision of him on that TV screen overwhelming his mind. Him in his school uniform. Him declaring his want for murder.
"Well duh. It was the only entertainment we had while waiting for everyone to wake up." Miu said, though it's clear her definition of "entertainment" was exaggerated.
"But don't look all depressed over it. I mean, everyone's auditions were probably as bad as yours. Who knows? We definitely won't!" She added after observing Shuichi's insecure demeanor, laughing at what he assumed was supposed to be a joke.
"Good talk Miu. We're gonna get going now okay?" Rantaro said, visibly trying to suppress a cringe as he turned Shuichi back towards the hallway in front of them.
"Mannn I didn't even get a chance to get a good look at him!" Miu complained, whining dramatically as Rantaro swept him away from her. "Hey if they let that little psycho out of its cage later, i'd stay about 15 feet away. Maybe even lock yourself in your room." She cackled, her mood switching up as she called out to Shuichi.
"She means Kokichi? Is he upset or-"
"Nah he's fine." Rantaro excused quickly, cutting Shuichi off before he could finish. "He's not feeling the best is all."
"..Uhm okay.." Shuichi frowned a bit, looking off to the side as he accepted what was by far the most careless attempt at a lie he'd ever heard.
Is Kokichi dangerous..? If they have him contained, is it because he hurt someone? Rantaro said they'd seclude anyone who's a threat, did Kokichi do something to be marked as unsafe? Is that why he's on an entirely different floor thats on lock down?
"Rantaro I'd... I really want to know whats going on. Before we uhm.. see anyone else, can you at least tell me what happened before I woke up?" Shuichi asked, forcing the both of them to stop walking as he turned towards the taller boy.
Rantaro hesitated, biting the inside of his cheek a bit as he silently thought to himself. His face in a soft frown, showing he was deep in thought.
"It's.. a lot. I don't know if that's the best idea, yknow? Don't wanna overwhelm you more than you already are." Rantaro admitted thoughtfully, worry seeping into his expression though he tried to stay neutral.
"I'd rather be aware of everything happening than be confused if something comes up." Shuichi said, pleading in his voice as he spoke.
Rantaro searched his expression for a moment, but eventually sighed as he motioned in front of them to a metal bench placed against the wall between two closed doors.
The two sat down on the bench, Shuichi glancing up the hallway after hearing a small group of laughter quietly echo down it.
"Uhh.. so.." Rantaro trailed off, trying to decide where to start. "When I woke up, they told me pretty much everything they told the rest of you. I recovered pretty quickly, they assumed it was because I hadn't been in the simulation as long as others that made my reconnection with reality easier. I woke around the time the first trial was wrapping up, and Kaede woke up early the next morning. I hadn't been able to get out of bed yet. Even though I woke up early, I still had side effects from my cause of death in-game. I had the nurse tell me when Kaede woke up, and that day I managed to convince them to let us talk." Rantaro said, glancing down the hallway as a nurse strode past with little attention on them.
"What were the side effects you had?" Shuichi asked hesitantly, not sure if it was something he could ask so bluntly but wanted to return to one of the questions he had came up with earlier.
"Nothing major. Got my skull caved in and came out with a concussion. Crazy right?" Rantaro said, laughing it off as if he had already moved past the thought of his death long before he even woke up.
"Ryoma, Kokichi, and Gonta had the worst injuries, but Gonta and Kokichi are doing better. Ryoma needs surgery on his hands, but I'm sure that'll work out. There's good people here." He assured, though the way he stared down at his fidgeting hands made Shuichi assume he was trying to convince the both of them that was true.
"Uh.. so it was pretty okay after that. Ryoma and Kirumi seemed to take the truth.. fine. I mean, definitely better than some of the others did." Rantaro trailed off for a moment, still having his eyes fixed on his fingers. He opened his mouth to continue but stopped when movement caught his eye, looking up as Tenko made her way down the hallway, not having noticed the two as she continued to rather roughly squeeze her damp hair into a bleach white towel.
Taking the towel away, she looked up from it just to immediately lock eyes with Shuichi. She stopped dead in her tracks, her jaw dropping theatrically.
"WHAT HAPPENED???" Tenko blatantly shouted, whipping around as if the hallway could give her answers. "I-! They-!.. WHERE'S HIMIKO!?" She questioned, looking back at the two boys when no answer came.
"She hasn't woken up yet. They said she'll probably come around later in the day." Rantaro told her, which caused a defeated expression to cross her face.
"Oh.. okay. Tenko will be patient then." She told herself, awkwardly rocking on the heels of her grippy-socked feet. "Eh.. That wasn't the best way to say "thanks" and "welcome back" after everything you've accomplished. Sorry about that. I just have aloooot to say to Himiko." She said to Shuichi, which surprised him for her even acknowledging him. "But thank you!" She added, immediately swinging the towel onto her shoulder to allow her to properly bow in appreciation.
"It's okay, I understand. And you don't need to thank me." Shuichi assured her with a soft smile, a small dust of blush crossing his face from slight embarrassment.
Tenko seemed relieved at his acceptance, nodding to herself proudly in approval before a questioning expression crossed her features.
"Also, Ran-... hmm.. actually, I'll ask you later." Tenko said, cutting herself off as she glanced from Rantaro to the boy next to him. "Don't forget, they're letting Kirumi cook tonight! I can't wait to finally chow down on something other than fruit and an endless amounts of carbs." Tenko cheered before giving a little wave, continuing her previous walk down the hallway.
"Really?" Shuichi asked, glancing over to Rantaro after he sent a goodbye wave back to her.
"Hm? The cooking thing? Yeah, none of us really expected her to. I think she said something about "celebrating" the end of Danganronpa. It was Kaede's idea to have a little party, but Kirumi insisted on making something she knows we all like. Food definitely isn't a strong suit here when the workers do it." Rantaro admitted, chuckling a bit at what seemed to be a memory.
"She said her hands haven't been bothering her as much, and she'd gotten a good amount of her grip back after a few physical therapy sessions. Probably not wanting to squash the confidence she had in herself, the staff eventually said she could do what she wants." He explained.
"Oh, thats good! Im glad everyone is recovering well... when they told me about "after effects" I was expecting much worse." Shuichi said, sighing quietly in relief.
"The worst days are always the first two, but by the third, the shock has usually worn off enough for you to actually start healing." Rantaro explained, probably getting the information from his own observations.
"Ah.. then are Kaito and Kokichi still coming out of it..?" Shuichi asked, thinking about how the two of them have most likely just woken up before he and Maki did.
"Huh? No it's.. oh, sorry I think I forgot to tell you. Time is different for the outside world and in-game. Usually, 7 hours of a day in-game, is one "episode" for us, and they release two episodes per week. They cut out unnecessary or repetitive parts, so those 7 hours are able to fit into a single episode that the average person could watch in one sitting..." Rantaro said, struggling a bit to try and make his explanation make sense
"Therefore, one day in-game could be split into two to four episodes depending on how much information is gathered that day in-game. Trials are usually one episode in itself. It's more complicated to explain than it is to just watch it, especially since they have to time the streams a certain way. The game itself literally pauses between each episode too, which is mostly why the time gap exists in the first place." Deciding that was the most sense he could make, he summed up the explanation with "So there's been more days out here than in-game."
Shuichi bit his lip as he processed the wall of information.
"But what about the last trial? With the live chats and people controlling Kiibo?" He asked.
"That was the only trial to be unedited and was live-streamed on TV. Even before they had audience interactions, that was kinda the tradition for each ending trial. Guess they want every season to go out with a bang." He shrugged casually.
"Every season..." Shuichi repeated quietly to himself, still not used to the reality of the games being a romanticized slaughter show. Well, it used to be. "So, how many days has it been since they woke up?" He asked.
"Kokichi woke up about a few hours before his trial episode aired, so it was the next day, which was very unexpected to say the least. The doctors predicted he would be in a coma of some sort. They thought this because Ryoma had been in one for about a week after they brought him into a room, and the both of them had suffered full body trauma, so it would make sense for Kokichi to experience the same outcome." Rantaro explained.
"Though he.. didn't. Ignoring the cause of death, it still should've taken a little longer for his consciousness to properly attach back to his body due to him being one of the last ones to get out. He woke up too soon."
Shuichi analyzed Rantaro's face. It was mixed into a hidden expression of guilt and fear, but his eyes wandered almost dissociatively. No matter how monotone or calm Rantaro tried to make himself sound, it was obvious he was still shaken up about something.
Too soon? Shuichi wondered silently as his curled finger absentmindedly moved to rest against his chin while he thought.
"He shouldn't be awake... It's too soon. And they-"
"Shuichi? It's great to see you up and moving so quickly! I figured you had started to explore by now. Not surprised Rantaro's assisting." A tall lady in black scrubs with long, dark maroon hair pulled into a single braid had suddenly wandered up to the pair on the bench. She had a kind, relaxed smile on her face as she spoke. "I'm Dr. Mutsumi, you'll be in my care while staying here at New Hope. If you feel up to it, can we have a short chat?" She asked casually, making it clear it was Shuichi's decision.
"Uhm. Yes, that's fine." Shuichi responded, visibly a bit hesitant to end the conversation him and Rantaro were having, but also eager to see if he could get any additional explanations from the doctor.
He slowly stood from the bench before looking back at Rantaro, who was blankly staring at the doctor. When he felt Shuichi turn to him, his expression switched, giving him a reassuring smile and small thumbs up, almost as if to tell Shuichi to let his guard down.
Shuichi returned a hesitant smile in appreciation before looking back at the doctor. She motioned down the hallway to one of the closed doors.
When the two arrived in front of it, the doctor pulled out a set of keys. She picked one out of the stack before sticking it into the door, unlocking it to open into a small room with a tall metal counter. It resembled one you'd sit on at an exam; a plastic, black cushion attached on top of it.
Shuichi, assuming that was the patients seat, boosted himself on top of it with his arms. The doctor walked in behind him and shut the door, moving over to a small computer in the corner that was set up on a moveable desktop.
"So, how're you feeling? Any pain or discomfort? Dizzy?" She asked, typing something on the computer before Shuichi responded.
"Uhm.. my head hurts a bit, but that's it. It feels a little weird to walk though I don't have any problems with it." He described honestly, holding back the random urge to childishly swing his legs that were dangling a foot or two above the floor.
"Well that's good. I can get an order for a pain killer for your head if you'd like?" She offered, glancing up at him for his opinion.
"Oh, no thank you. I probably just need to drink water." He excused politely.
She nodded at his response, glancing down at her screen again as she typed a few more sentences, her fingers moving at a lightning speed across the keyboard.
A few moments of silence went by, her dark red nails still clacking on the keys as Shuichi glanced around the room awkwardly, a bit of nervousness still bubbling in his chest from awakening in this unexpected situation.
Plus, he never really liked hospitals to begin with.
"There's not much I wanted to talk to you about today, just checking in on how you're feeling. If you ever need to speak to me just ask one of the nurses or your councilor." She said with a smile.
"Speaking of which, you'll meet her later this week. The councilors are only in every other day unless an emergency happens and they're called in. They also have about 4 patients each, so thats another reason she won't be able to see you right away. Her name is Ms. Reiya, she's a very sweet lady" The doctor explained, her voice gently spoken.
"Oh, okay." Shuichi said, a bit taken aback as no one had previously mentioned a "councilor."
"Do you have any questions?" She asked, seeing the change in his expression.
"Uh.. yes. A few. But they're more about.. Danganronpa." He hesitated on what to call it– the game, the show, the VR? The truth?
She nodded, nonverbally telling him to continue. He hesitated, pondering for a moment on how to start.
"So is it over? The entire show? We got the audience to like... reject it?" Shuichi asked, the idea of the games continuing burning in his brain.
"Yes. Your interactions with the audience helped them kinda.. snap back to reality; helped them realize how the show had been affecting our world." She explained.
"Outside, Danganronpa is promoted as reality tv. People were fond of seeing how humans interacted with each other under the extreme situation of having to murder." She continued calmly, reciting information as if it was in history textbooks.
"Millions of high schoolers– even some young adults or older middle schoolers– sign up to participate."
"Millions?" Shuichi repeated in shock. "I realized the show was rather popular but... not like that." He mumbled, a feeling of unease washing over him.
"Yes, it has quite the reputation. Every season is something brand new, it gives people excitement and a purpose. I've heard many claim it's the only thing that keeps them on this Earth." Her words were filled with sorrow and shame, as if she was personally guilty for society as a whole.
"I don't understand how it has so much power." Shuichi spoke barely above a whisper, talking to himself more than the other person in the room. He frowned as he thought, scanning the ground with his eyes as if it could give him answers.
"Any other questions?" The doctor hesitantly asked after a moment of them sitting in silence, not sure if he was ready to keep going.
"Did we really sign up for this? I know that you said millions do but... the way we acted in the audition tapes doesn't make any sense knowing that it's VR. Actually, none of the outside world's interest in it makes sense. They treat it as if it's a real event, when it's not" The question formed when he processed her earlier comment about the audience being interested in their human interactions. Would they care about it as much if they knew it was VR, even though the players didn't? Would our suffering matter then? Would it be as popular, as impactful?
"Yes, all participants come from auditioning. I'm sure of this because everyone signed contracts and paperwork before they even got accepted." She assured, crossing her legs and sitting back a bit in her chair.
"Contracts? Do you have access to those here?" Shuichi asked, piping up a bit at the opportunity to get more details about danganronpa's system.
"Uhm.. yes, sort of. We don't have access to all of what you signed, but a majority of it was given to us following the participants being released into our care." The doctor admitted, seeming a bit disappointed herself about the lack of paperwork. "Though unfortunately, it's against the rules for you or your peers to view any of it. I'm guessing that was your next question."
Shuichi's hopeful demeanor dissolved at her words, sighing to himself quietly as he looked down in his lap.
Why aren't we allowed to see a contract that we signed? Especially since we were forced to forget about it, why aren't we allowed to review something that could potentially help us understand our situation better? Unless this was apart of the contract too, it doesn't make sense.
"Okay well.. the outside world doesn't know that it was a virtual reality, do they? They believe the dead are really.. gone?" He asked, already feeling like he knew the answer, but wanting to make sure he was right.
"Correct. And something I can tell you about the contract is that the truth of the games– which is it being a VR– is strictly inside information. You and your peers will get in a dangerous amount of trouble if it gets out. You don't currently have any contact, but for future reference, please try and keep that in mind." She warned, her tone more serious than it had ever been since he first spoke to her.
"Okay, I understand." Shuichi hesitantly complied without argument, though there was still an expression of confusion on his face. "But so... what happens to everyone that didn't survive? They can't be apart of the outside world anymore? The show is over, can't we just reveal the truth? I mean.. it doesn't matter anymore, does it? The contract was made before anyone even thought of the games coming to an end." He noted aloud, assuming all the previous regulations they were given ultimately don't matter anymore.
"No, not necessarily. There are still many precautions we have to follow, along with plans we are trying to put in place that affect the survivors and the murdered. Everyone is here to be rehabilitated, but you're also here so you can eventually go back into the outside world. Our job is to make that transition easy, which is why even after the rest of your peers are restored to their normal self, it might take additional time before we can release you. Talking to your counselor and overall team will help this process flow easier, which is why we are encouraging everyone to participate in their treatment." She detailed her explanations, hoping it was hitting all the points the detective was eager to make sense of.
Shuichi didn't reply for a moment, just nodded to show he had been listening. He pondered silently to himself, staring down in his lap.
"Okay, I understand." He said simply, not fully satisfied, but deciding that bombarding her with additional questions most likely wouldn't get him any further.
"That all?" She questioned quietly, understanding that he was still processing all the information.
"Yes that's it for now." He confirmed, giving her a small smile of appreciation and slipping off of the counter after seeing her standing up.
"Is it only Rantaro you've talked to? I can walk you down to the dining hall if you'd like, most of your friends like hanging out there more than the common area, so you'll see more faces." She suggested, glancing over at Shuichi who had been looking down at the thin scrubs he was wearing.
"Ah, yes, I was going to go there before I spoke with you." He said, looking back up at her. He hesitated for a moment, but decided he'd rather not be in the scratchy, almost paper, scrubs any longer than he had to. "..Will we be getting normal clothes soon..?"
"Well, if you're sure you're not feeling unwell and we get your IV removed, you and some others might be able to receive your clothes, but don't worry about it for now." Dr. Mutsumi smiled before motioning to the door in front of them. Shuichi decided not to question how she said "your clothes", stepping up to the door then opening it before walking out into the chilly hallway.
The doctor took the lead, Shuichi started to follow her after glancing back to see Rantaro wasn't on the bench anymore.
The rest of the hallway looked identical to the first half; a repeat of closed doors down the bright white floor.
The doctor occasionally glanced back at Shuichi, slowing down a bit when noticing his calmer pace and searching eyes, wanting to make sure he wasn't having any problems with walking.
He noticed her observing and straightened up a bit, smiling a little to try and give the message that he was okay as he matched his speed with hers.
Eventually they took a turn, walking down a different, shorter hallway that led into a wide, open area of the building. The ceiling of the room was a large glass dome, allowing natural light to brighten the open room.
There was one long table stretched across the front of the back wall, 12 or so chairs at each spot. In front of it, scattered around the area, were 5 circular tables with 7 seats attached to each.
To the far left of the dining hall, there was a serving area with a large kitchen visible behind the serving counter, a large wooden door a few feet away from it, presumably leading into the kitchen.
On the serving counter lay a small, woven basket filled with different types of snacks. Sitting next to the basket were stacked containers of juice.
At the long table, Rantaro sat near the end holding an open cartridge of juice, a slender boy with long black hair sat next to him, seeming to talk behind his blue medical mask.
A seat away from them sat a larger person with long, frizzy, curly green hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail. A tired expression was plastered on his face, but a joyful smile fought its way through as he listened to Tenko excitedly speak.
Miu had run over to snatch what seemed to be her 5th bag of chips (due to the 4 empty packages sitting on the table she was previously seated at) out of the basket before hurriedly going back to her circular table, sitting across from a taller girl with silver tinted green hair. She watched Miu open the bag with a concerned expression, saying something to her that was inaudible to Shuichi.
Said detective was standing a few feet from the doorway, he had frozen almost immediately after turning down the hallway, staring into the open area with wide eyes.
No one had noticed him yet, probably because his stance was almost out of sight for anyone unless they were actually looking in the hallway. No one noticed him, but he watched them all. They laughed, exchanged conversations, showed off whatever they were tinkering with, and overall seemed... normal.
Shuichi didn't know what he was expecting; he had already seen Tenko, Miu, and Rantaro earlier. Each one had seemed to be acting as they usually would. So why did he feel like something was off?
Should everyone be acting normal? Shouldn't they be trying to leave? It seems safe but... we're trapped. We're trapped like we had been in the academy. Does none of that worry anyone?? It looks like an average day for them. Like they woke up this morning knowing that nothing was to go wrong. Like they woke up knowing they were safe.
"Shuichi? Are you feeling okay?" The doctor asked softly, having examined his face and seen nothing but fear.
"Uhm- yes, yes I'm fine." He tried to seem sure, but his stomach had started churning and his body felt light. I'm fine. He told himself, forcing himself to snap back to his senses and get out of his head. Out of his head, out of the racing thoughts and his skull was caved in; brain matter sprawled out around his limp frame. Her mutilated body fell, and fell, and fell, and CRASH
The glass in the ship shattered when it came in contact with the ground, his body falling out as the doors slammed open, debris flying in the air all around us.
The door clicked as it unlocked, we stepped inside, seeing the puddle of blood underneath her continue to slowly seep into the threads of her-
"-you sure? Here lets go sit down, you-"
"just one-" THUNK "-will the guard dog....
His body was devoured less than a split second after being revealed, the handcuffs drifting calmly through the-
-boiling water. He tried not to appear in pain, but eventually an agony filled scream rippled through his body as his bulging eyes leaked-
blood poured from his stomach... or what was left of it. His head hung low, his body still trapped against the wooden stake as his insides drip drip dripped
drip drip dripped from the edge of the hydraulic press. It was sprayed all around the machine, crimson red splattered everywhere we looked.
Shuichi stumbled a bit, immediately grasping onto the wall near him for support. His ears rung, reaching up to hold his pounding head as he collapsed against the wall, though he didn't seem to notice as his legs hit the ground.
There were voices around him, muffled by the static that overcame his senses. A soft hand grabbed his, the one that had been previously pressed against the wall.
He blinked, trying to force his vision to clear as he looked up, watching as a figure crouched down in front of him.
When the figure made it to the same level as him, his vision had finally broke through the void. He blinked, nausea coming over him as he attempted to recognize who was trying to speak to him.
It only took him a second more before he was able to put a name to the familiar, gentle gaze that looked at him from soft lavender eyes.
Kaede...