Work Text:
in the seconds before the camera's red light starts flashing, there are rivers of electric energy coursing through every inch of your body til they pool at your toes. your heart is a bird pounding against its bony cage, your breath a rushing stream crashing against giant boulders. you glance around the room, soaking in the hot lights glaring down at you. this it it: the moment you've been waiting for your entire life. all of the rejected applications, all the hours you put into researching criminology and detective work, all the sacrifices you made led you up to this studio. it's finally time to show them that you're worthy of being on the show that had kept you going for so many years.
"are you ready, hinata-san?" one of the directors, a woman with black hair sliced to her ears, drawls. her sharp eyes bore into your chest, daring you to stand out from the line of desperate teenagers snaking around the building. it takes you every ounce of restraint to not laugh in her face. while they were clutching onto their scripts and whispering amongst themselves, you had yours memorized verbatim weeks before the date. oh, you'll stand out alright.
"yes, taro san," you reply with a nod, the t sound slipping past your teeth with a practiced smoothness. "i'm ready." you take a deep breath, rolling your shoulders back like the articles online told you to do.
the cameraman presses the record button & gives you the signal to speak. there's no turning back now. it's time to show them what shinichi hinata is capable of. all you have to do is speak clearly and from the heart, like you practiced for countless nights. you look up at the lens and begin to speak.
"number 154, hinata shinichi. i've loved danganronpa for a long time now... i would like to participate in it someday. if i do participate, i would like to become the 'ultimate detective.' i know there have been some ultimate detectives in the past and i loved them... s-so i want to be just like them."
"oh, but you d-don't have to make me a d-detective!" you sputter, blood rising into your cheeks as one foot slides back on the slippery green screen. stupid stupid stupid! "ah, anything is fine as long as i get to be on danganronpa!" the directors' collective glare bores through you. don't sound defensive, shinichi. you're here to achieve your purpose. you've gotten this far –– don't back down now.
pulling your leaden foot back into position, you continue, "a-anyway, i absolutely want to particip-pate in the world of d-danganronpa..."
with that phrase, the tension that had been holding you back melts away like snow in april. your lips slice up into a grin, the blood in your cheeks blooming into a bouquet of roses. your gaze meets the camera in earnest as you continue.
"so if i can participate in this killing game, i a-absolutely promise to do my best. i'm going to amaze everyone and commit a murder that no one else has ever seen before! th-the ultimate detective should have a trick that only detectives can use! a-and i've even thought about my own execution –– something that'll fit the ultimate detective!"
you pause, words fading into the dust particles highlighted by the stage lights above you. grey eyes flicker back to the camera crew, then the directors. it's impossible to read their stony expressions, but you hope that somewhere there's a glimmer of hope. a hope that you can fulfill their lofty promises as the new ultimate detective. bowing, you look each of them straight in the eye with a bright smile.
"everyone, thank you for your time. i look forward to hearing from you."
as you step out of the studio, you watch the sun fall below the horizon, painting the sky shades of red and pink. part of you is grateful that this day is nearly over –– all the anxiety and tension is over. gone. every word and action you made is now in the hands of team danganronpa. all you can do is hope that the future will be just as bright as the end of danganronpa 2. you can almost feel the sea air caressing your cheek, the bright island sun beaming down from above…
your reverie is interrupted by a buzzing in your pocket. it’s yuuto.
Hey Shin, how did it go? Please tell me they’re finished with you.
even in text form, there’s still a kindness to your boyfriend’s words, a gentleness that’s reserved only for you. you could clearly picture his soft, dark brows furrowed in worry as he sent the message, and it’s enough to make you melt.
yeah i just got out, you reply, i think they liked it??? it was a little hard to tell tbh
Can’t say I’m surprised. he says, a light scoff tainting the text. They gotta be “professional” and all, you know? a minute passes before your phone buzzes again. But hey, you put yourself out there, and that’s what matters. Whether you make it into this one or not, you’ll be an amazing detective.
and thats the truth? you finish for him, lips quirking up into a faint smile. you feel like an idiot smiling down at your phone like this but you’re far too exhausted to care.
wanna come to my place? my uncles out of town for the week so i can make something for us. not even a minute passes before yuuto replies, Sure, I’ll be over in an hour. See ya. <3
sending him a heart emoji, you adjust your bag and set off for the subway station. your gaze drifts toward the sky –– the crimson clouds hang low over the horizon, as if paving a way to your boyfriend's arms. regardless of what happens, you know that he's always there to lift you up.