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He set his shoes down by the door. The rooftop gave him a beautiful view of the city. Lights from buildings all around him were stars on the Earth, giving him the lonely feeling of knowing life was all around him. The night air called out to him, giving him the courage to sit on the ledge.
Korekiyo Shinguji held his phone in his hand, worried for an irrational moment about dropping it. His face was lit by the screen as he looked at nothing in particular on a social media feed he hardly cared about.
Someone was posting about Danganronpa season 52—live blogging the trial.
He sighed, remembering his audition for the next season. There was no way he would actually be chosen. Not with what he said.
“I want to be loved.”
He had said it without thinking. Nobody in his life cared for him and the only thing he could think of as to what kind of character he might want to become would be someone who had been loved by someone, anyone.
He shook off that thought process.
It was a dare anyway, why should he care about his chances?
His classmates had made him go to the audition and waited outside so he had to go through with it. They had been harassing him since he had gotten into high school. Those who he had been in class with in middle school had clued everyone else in as to how to treat him.
He took a hand and pulled down his face mask for a moment. His doctors had said he needed to keep it on all the time outdoors because of his asthma, but he didn’t think it mattered in this moment. Not with his plans.
Was it really worth it to do something like this so publicly? Why not go someplace quiet? He had wanted to see the world before everything stopped, but he was second guessing himself now.
He sighed and leaned back, tipping himself back onto the stable rooftop. His hair was a mess around and under him.
His phone buzzed in his hand. He had a call. “Yes? This is Shinguji Korekiyo.”
“This is a representative from Team Danganronpa. You've been chosen to participate in season 53."
He was silent for a moment.
"Could you please repeat that? I'm not sure I heard you correctly."
“You've been chosen to participate in season 53 of Danganronpa. Would you be available to come into the office to complete the final paperwork next Friday? "
He resisted the urge to say that he had school that day. He was going to be a part of a killing game. He wasn't going to be back to school after everything was ready.
"Yes, of course. I'll be available at 10:00 am to come in. Would that be fine?"
Everything was finalized and the phone call ended.
Korekiyo lay on the rooftop a few minutes longer, feeling numb. He should contact his doctors and his school. He'll need to cancel appointments and talk about his gap in attendance.
He should tell his parents.
He did none of that, simply laying on the roof with his mask on his chin, breathing in the forbidden night air of the city.
He started coughing and took a puff of his inhaler before pulling his mask back up.
Would he even survive a killing game? He gave a small laugh, imagining himself as the first victim.
Why did they have to call so late in the day? He sighed, rolling over and pushing himself up to his feet.
He walked back to his shoes. He had to get home.
He had an appointment in 7 days