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Shuichi wakes up to the sound of his alarm clock ringing. He yawns as he gets up from his bed and fixes it up. It was a morning, a bright and beautiful one as well, that Shuichi wishes it to rain, to soak all this positive energy down the drain so he could feel better about himself. It was cold in his room, which was as cold as his heart by now. The bed's presence and feeling was comforting, but now that he has fully awoken, all he feels is hardened wood.
It was a typical morning for a typical Danganronpa survivor, who has lost all hope in the world and has given into despair, which was both cruel, but at the same time, merciful. He had cried himself to sleep last night, and he is facing the consequences early in the morning, as he sees himself in the mirror.
It was a look he despised, but at the same time, has to live with. Skinny, pale Shuichi. Haunted eyes with shadows under it Shuichi. That is him. He is someone else, not the protagonist everyone loved in the series. He wishes that he died in the series other than Kaede. Seeing his friend in the real world, cruel, twisted, and vain, with no memory of her feelings in the game... hurts Shuichi. By now, he has ceased all contact from his old friends.
If he wishes to call them that.
Shuichi looks at the cupboards to find something that can enlighten him, bury all his negative thoughts to the ground until it wears off, but frustratingly, he never finds anything. He has no choice but to go to the groceries.
It was Kaede Akamatsu, with her blonde hair and strawberry eyes, her familiar warm bright smile that Shuichi remembers every time he does something less than innocent, every time he dreams, he can see her face.
But he's locked into this picture where Kaede Akamatsu was the most perfecr woman he has ever met, that no one would live up to her level. She wasn't the same Kaede Akamatsu from the game- she became deceiving and impatient, less of a paragon and more like an evil mastermind as she climbs on top, leaving behind everything she knows.
Leaving Shuichi.
He feels a pang of his chest as he remembers the first time he has visited Kaede Akamatsu. He remembers her scent, so familiar, yet makes him long for her until the end of time, knowing that she can never love him back like she used to. It was cruel, and the worst thing that has happened to him, in all his life.
Shuichi was so sickened by the white halls in the Danganronpa building, that he wants to tear himself a new one. He wants to tear apart this hospital gown, which was currently suffocating him and drowning him off of his desires and goals in his life. He walks with a staff member, who promises to him that he will see Kaede Akamatsu soon.
This was the only time he gets to enjoy this place; being around Kaede Akamtsu in the game had made him feel whole, and when she has died, he felt another part had been separated from him. Once he realizes that she was still alive and kicking, he was eager to have her back. He can feel himself getting excited, at the prospect of Kaede touching his lips with hers, or giving him a bright and wide smile that she always has.
"Here is where we keep Miss Akamatsu", the staff starts to say something else, but Shuichi was no longer listening.
He was staring at Kaede, on a white hospital gown, her blonde hair covering her eyes as she flicks the remote control as the television jumps from channel to channel. Her mouth is downturned to form a frown, arms skinny and slender, and she makes no move to look around her, her eyes focused on the television as it keeps on switching from channel to channel.
Shuichi smiles a genuine smile, for the first time in his life. He walks closer to Kaede's bed, and he wants Kaede to break out into a lovely warm smile, like she always used to. He wanted her to joke around, to start their conversation in the most cheerful way possible, and Shuichi wants to be able to sneak a love confession, hidden underneath the conversation that they'll be having.
Kaede finally looks over at him, and Shuichi breaks out into a smile, turning red in the process. Just Kaede, looking at him, makes him feel like the most important person in the world. But as he opens his mouth, to probably say something flattering, Kaede says something that will haunt his mind for the rest of his life.
"Who the fuck are you?"
Shuichi's heart stops, and the room temperature seems to have grown lower, as he's getting cold. Humiliated, hurt, and embarrassed, he runs out, ignoring the calls the staff member was giving him.
Shuichi forgets all about his groceries as he runs to the mall where Kaede is having her book signing. Nothing is much beautiful than pursuing the girl you love, even if one part of the girl is long dead. He has desired that Kaede will notice him in the crowd, and remember all the times they spent in the game. Shuichi clutches to that little hope beginning to shine in his chest, as he runs and runs.
It has been ten years since Danganronpa has ended, and he's never find peace inside himself.
Later that night, he slams the door open, as he waltzes around his apartment and smiles as if he has unlocked the greatest achievement in his life. Singing and dancing, laughing and smiling, he must've achived the happiness, and the woman who he has been waiting for ten years.
In truth, he was just drunk, and he wishes to spend some more time to himself after the crushing rejection his heart has suffered under Kaede Akamatsu, on how she had smirked while turning him down, insulting him in the crowd. On how one sentence repeats in his head.
Kaede Akamatsu is dead.