Chapter Text
Shuichi walked forward, Maki and Himiko beside him, determined to face the outside world and his future. He took his first step outside the dome, anticipation filling his body.
He saw nothing. Absolutely nothing. Complete void. There was nothing outside of Danganronpa. His face fell and he whipped his head to the side to see Maki and Himiko experiencing the exact same terror. Then his vision blanked, and a short holographic message shone before his eyes. It read ‘Congratulations, Shuichi Saihara, you have w̶o̶n̶ ENDED Danganronpa!’ And then it disappeared.
Cracked and dry lips, blurry vision, figures moving above him. Blank. He falls back into the gentle calling of sleep.
Shuichi’s eyes fluttered open as he drifted back into consciousness. He glanced around the room, taking in the atmosphere. He was in a hospital room, an iv feeding into one of the veins in his wrist. The iv bag contained clear liquid, most likely a medication rich in electrolytes, as Shuichi felt like he had been asleep for quite some time. Judging his deductions based on how he felt and the iv, he determined that he had been comatose for quite a while. And when he was done with deducing, his survival instincts immediately kicked in. Why was he in a hospital? What happened to Himiko and Maki? What happened to the dome? While lost in thought the door handle clicked, and Shuichi quickly jolted out of thought, training his eyes on the door, cautious of the identity of the person opening the door.
A man came through the door, his slumped stature guiding him to a chair. Shuichi noted that he clearly hadn’t shaved in the past few days, as he had begun to grow a stubble. He directed his sunken and tired eyes towards Shuichi.
“Congratulations, kid. You ended Danganronpa. For good,” the man began, his scratchy voice filling the room. “After your righteous little speech, people have rioted against Danganronpa, streaming services have removed it from their selections, hell, even the government stepped in and outlawed the special death waivers Danganronpa requires to function as a show.”
“H-huh…?” Shuichi looked up at him, his expression switching from cautious to surprised.
“Now that we’ve established that, I have more news for you,” the man sighed, clearly downtrodden at his prior statement. “Your season of Danganronpa had a special gimmick. The entire game took place in a virtual reality simulation quite similar to the neo world program.”
“Wait…! So… everyone, Kaede, Kaito, Ouma… they’re all alive?” Shuichi asked, perking up as anticipation filled his being.
“Indeed. We originally intended to follow the students' recovery in a special mini-season. However, as you know, plans have changed and we are unable to do that,” the tired man continued, scratching his chin. “Now Team Danganronpa is legally required to use their remaining funds to pay for the living, recovery, and entertainment fees of the contestants of the 53rd Danganronpa.”
The man then got up from his chair and began walking to the door, seemingly ready to end the conversation.
“Ah, wait! Can I see the others? Where are they?” Shuichi nearly shouted, completely overwhelmed.
“Kid, you’ll be able to see them in time. You’re in a damn hospital bed. Recover. Take some time to think.”
“Who are you to come in here and tell me all this, anyway?” Shuichi snapped, getting impatient with the man's mysterious yet sad aura. This wasn’t just some ordinary guy off the street telling him this. There had to be some deeper meaning.
“Just the former CEO of Team Danganronpa,” the man said, the words bitter yet somehow flat when he enunciated them. And before Shuichi could say anything, the man had left the room.
Shuichi had so many questions. Too many questions. He wondered how long he’d been in Danganronpa, and if his old school would allow a leave of absence like this just for a dumb tv show.
School, huh? He wondered if he had many friends before. He had come off so creepy in that audition that he doubted he even had friends at all before. Okay, he’d admit it, even now he often came off as creepy to new people, even when he really just had a hard time understanding social etiquette. It was something that Kaede had helped him with quite a bit back in Danganronpa.
Even if he didn’t have friends before, he likely still had people who noticed his sudden disappearance and probably had wondered about him until they saw his face printed across a poster for Danganronpa’s 53rd season. Speaking of people wondering about him, he was curious about his family.
Had they known about him getting accepted? Did they have to sign waivers for him? Shuichi tried to imagine what they were like. Did he have siblings? We’re his parents good people? Was his former self stuck in a loop of parental neglect too or were things better for him?
Most of all, Shuichi thought about his classmates. He thought about Kaede the most. Sure, he hadn’t known her for long, but he considered her one of his best friends, sharing the title with Kaito.
He also thought about Ouma a lot. Something never added up with that devious troublemaker. Something always felt off about some of his lies, but Shuichi couldn’t put his finger on it. He resolved to make an effort to understand the mischievous boy when he finally was allowed to see everyone.
Shuichi asked the nurses about his musings and curiosities. They said they didn’t have clearance to provide him with that information. He finally asked at what point in time he could see his classmates. They finally gave a clear answer.
“Saihara, you are rather physically vulnerable right now, given you’ve been in a comatose state for quite a while now. We would like you to rehabilitate for a few days longer before introducing you to your classmates again,” the doctor explained. Shuichi nodded, despite his obvious dissatisfaction.
“I see.”