Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It couldn’t be her.

He had watched her die. He saw her lifeless body swing back and forth, he saw her get crushed by the giant piano. And yet, there she was, standing at the other side of the crosswalk talking to a group of strangers he had never seen before.

Shuichi knew, he knew, it couldn’t be her and yet.. the person across the street before him looked exactly like her. Her soft golden hair, her fair pale skin, a smile that lights up a room.

She looked exactly like Kaede.

The only thing shaking him from the endless thought spiral was the fact someone bumped him in the shoulder. He finally realized that he was standing on the curbside of the sidewalk, a crowd of people passing him by. The girl was then drowned out by the sea of passing people, only making his heart hurt more. Shuichi tried to play it off, trudging across the road. Even after the events of the killing game he couldn’t get over her. It had been six months since they had escaped, he had seen countless more people die (more than anyone should), but her death still haunted him like the Grim Reaper itself. Why did it break him the way it did? Was it because of her bubbly determined personality? Was it because she was the first person to show him kindness in that twisted place? Was it because she shouldn’t have died-

Shuichi held back a tear, he couldn’t let himself cry in a public setting. God, he really was pathetic... Out of the corner of his eye he saw her, walking right past him. She was eerily close to him, almost close enough to collide with him. It really seemed like it was her.... His heart twanged with another sting of pain, quickly looking away from her. He shouldn’t have even looked over... Though, somehow, he felt like she recognized him too.

———-

He thought that’d be the end of it, just a one time grief triggered hallucination, but... it wasn’t.

Over the next week Shuichi saw her again and again. On a street corner, in a book shop, eating out with her friends. Every. single. time. She still looked like her, hell even more like her each time! Same hair length, same sense of style, even the same backpack!! It was driving him crazy, it was like her ghost was haunting him, stalking him and resurfacing his guilt!

WHAT WAS GOING ON?

Shuichi stirred his tea with the complimentary spoon the cafe gave him, trying to get what he had seen out of his mind. The weekly meet ups at this cafe was set up to help him and the rest of the survivors cope with the drastic change from the killing school life to... well regular life. When they first got out they were lost little children with nowhere to go, obviously they couldn’t return to their previous homes and no one wanted to stay in the dorms (why would they?) so they were essentially homeless. Though, thanks to Maki’s quick wit and even quicker actions they were able to lease an apartment and her and Shuichi had secured jobs.

So, the three of them shared a small flat in a sketchy part of town with two of them holding down shitty minimum wage jobs. Himiko was the only one who didn’t immediately go to work, the shift hit her the hardest. She became lethargic, barely eating and sleeping almost all day. She spent most days just laying on her futon, not interacting with anything or anyone. Sometimes, when he got home from work he heard her quietly crying to herself. He tried his hardest to get her to at least get up but, for awhile, he didn’t succeed. It didn’t help that Shuichi was barely home to begin with... Truth be told neither him or Maki were home often, they needed to work to support the household. The guilt weighed on him heavily, eating away of what’s left of his conscience. His “family” needed him, not just financially. Thankfully Maki seemed to be a rock through all of this, it held them together. Of course he felt bad about that too...

God he really was pathetic.

So, that brings him up to now, stirring his tea with his spoon. “So, you think you saw Kaede?” Maki repeated bluntly.

“You didn’t have to say it like that but... yeah.” Shuichi replied, “but I don’t actually think it’s her Y’know? I-it’s probably just some sort of... grief filled hallucinations mixed with a person who just happens to be similar. That’s my working theory at least.”

Maki just nodded silently, Himiko looked to the ground nervously. “At least you know it’s not her.” Maki said matter of factly. Harsh, but fair. That sums up Maki to a T actually.

Shuichi just chuckled nervously, “yeah...” he muttered.

By all accounts, it wasn’t her. It couldn’t be, but... His brain wouldn’t let go of the idea it was her. Shuichi chuckled pitifully, “Yknow... I know with my brain it’s not her but, some stupid part of me.. thinks it’s actually her.” The other two remained silent, leaving him to stew in his own warped feelings.

“But... you know it’s impossible right?” Himiko asked.

“O-of course!” He rebutted.

But... did he?

...

After a nice, long, cafe session Shuichi finally put his tea cup down, sighing. At least talking with Maki and Himiko helped ease his conscious, and he didn’t have to think too deeply about his strange week... life.

Maki sighed, grabbing her bag from her chair. “Well this has been fun, as always, but unfortunately I have a shift starting in a half hour and I need to get ready.”

Shuichi gave an understanding nod, “yeah I get it. Have fun with that.” Maki giving him her usual death glare in response.

“Byeee Maki.” Himiko said in a jovial tone, her waving goodbye to her.

Shuichi traced the rim of his cup with his finger, exhaling heavily. “I really should be going too.” Did he have anywhere to go? No, but right now he wanted some time to himself, to think.

“Really?” Himiko whined, “and you’re gonna sic the bill on me?”

“W-what?! Of course not!” Shuichi said, quickly digging into his wallet and grabbing his card. It had now occurred to him that Maki did not pay for her share of the meal. Ah well, he can always get it back from her later.

“Just pay with this, we’ll sort out money later.” He sighed, Himiko gave a little nod and waved goodbye as he left the cafe.

Good. Now he can go for a little walk to clear his head without having the others having a window into his psyche. Maki could practically read him like an open book at this point.. so much for being the Ultimate detective.

Though, that was just a lie too right? Shuichi sighed, thinking about the killing game and Danganronpa in general hurt too much. Maybe one day he’d allow himself to openly process what happened but.. he had too much going on right now, it wasn’t worth it anyway. He hadn’t even noticed he had made his way over to a crosswalk about a block away from the cafe until he heard a group of people chatting which snapped him out of it. Though, when he looked to them he saw...

Oh no.

Of course he had to run into her... again. It was like the universe had something against him at this point. Shuichi tried not to stare but... well how could he not!? It was like the spitting image of a friend he saw die standing right in front of him! And it wasn’t just like a vision or a dream, she was right there- No, he can’t let himself think that. It wasn’t healthy. She was just a person who looked like her, it didn’t matter how much, it still wasn’t her. Even if he wanted to believe with all his heart that it was, it wouldn’t change the facts of life. She was dead. Shuichi heard the crosswalk beep, signaling it was time for him to go. So he just pushed his hat down, grabbed his bag strap harder, and marched forward.

Until he was nearly knocked to the ground.

“Ohmp!” A voice cried out as Shuichi caught himself, his hat falling to the ground. Great, just what he needed. “Ah ohmygosh, I am so sorry!” The voice said (more like squeaked). Shuichi just picked up his hat, “it’s alright-“ His throat tightened, cutting himself off.

No. Nononononono. It can’t be..

“I swear I’m not normally such a klutz.” The blond girl said apologetically.

“R-really it’s fine.” Shuichi stammered out, putting his hat back on so he didn’t have to look at her.

“Hey actually, I think I’ve seen you around town lately. Did you just move here?” She asked, still keeping the conversation up for some reason.

“U-uh you could say that.” He replied, trying to keep his hat’s brim low.

Unfortunately the girl raised it, his gaze meeting her magenta colored eyes. Fuck. “Hey, don’t be like that.” She said, “I’m not gonna bite.”

Her voice was so soft. Shuichi felt his face heat up, he just prayed it wasn’t noticeable. “I-I’m sorry, i-it’s just a quirk I have. ‘S hard to look p-people in the eyes.” He muttered, the girl stepping back a bit.

“Oh, sorry I didn’t know. Guess that’s kinda insensitive of me.” She said half jokingly.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean like it like that!” Shuichi sputtered out. God she’s gonna think he’s insane.

The girl just giggled, “Don’t worry about it. I’m the one who ran into you after all. Well, at least I think so, I wasn’t exactly paying attention.” She said, looking up and obviously thinking.

“M-me either.” Shuichi said, trying to play it off. He was totally paying attention that’s why he tried his hardest not to.

“Guess we have that in common then!” The girl said with a smile.

Without thinking Shuichi stuck out his hand, “S-Shuichi Saihara.” He introduced himself. The girl was obviously caught off guard, staring down at his out stretched hand. “What’s your name?” She smiled softly at him.

“Kaede Akamatsu.”

Chapter Text

Maki had already dealt with enough bullshit at work, she didn’t need more at home.

But that’s exactly what she got not even five minutes after she got home. She was just washing the dishes when the door burst open and a very distraught Shuichi tumbled to the floor.

Great.

He was in hysterics, sobbing so hard he was practically hyperventilating. Like the doting person she had become, Maki quickly came over to his side “Shuichi what’s wrong?”

She hadn’t seen him like this since.. well since the killing game. Even though they had barely escaped that place with their lives Shuichi hadn’t once broke down like this, at least in her presence.

He turned his gaze to Maki, his eyes puffy and red. He had clearly been crying for awhile. “I-it’s- it was-“ Shuichi sobbed, trying to sniff away the tears. “I saw her!” He practically screamed before collapsing in Maki’s arms.

“Saw who?” She asked calmly, trying not to have her concern leak through in her voice.

“I saw Kaede.” Shuichi sobbed.

“What?” Maki asked. Was he really back on this thought train again?

“I-it was her.” Shuichi said breathily, “she h-has the same name and e-everything.”

Maki tried not to sigh, breathing heavily out of her nose. “There’s more than one person with her name in Japan-“

Shuichi cut her off, “but none that look exactly like her!”

A harsh silence fell over the room after he shouted, Shuichi retreating away from her. “I-if you saw her you would know...” And with that he stood up shakily, leaving to his room.

Maki stood up and sighed, trying her best not to go after him. Shuichi needs time alone, that’s his way of dealing with things. But the apartment was small, no matter where she went in the apartment Maki knew she’d still feel the animosity in the air. So, against what she had planned to do, she decided to go for a walk. Just a brisk one so she didn’t stray too far in case anyone needed her or if Shuichi wanted to make up. So she made up her mind, slipped on a light jacket, and left the apartment.

———

Y’know, when they first go out of the killing game Maki had gone on a lot of walks. Well, they were more like runs. Even after standing in a hot greasy kitchen for eight hours without a break she would still go for a three mile run every night. It was freeing to her, the wind blowing through her long ponytails, even when her knee finally gave out and she fell to the ground. It gave her some sort of… control in her life. Though she eventually scaled back on these runs after she saw, no realized, that the other two needed her to be around more. Maki remembered a particular time when Himiko clung to her work uniform and buried her crying face into it, pleading with her “please… don’t go.” It was then when she realized that they were worried that another friend would disappear again, and then it would just be the two of them.

Maki stopped at a crosswalk, jogging in place as the glowing sign counted down. It was at that moment in time when she realized that she needed them too. Isolating herself after the killing game, whether she was aware of it or not, was just going back to her old habits. The crossing light turned green, the LED image switching to a little person, and Maki took off once again.

Exercising like this reminded her of a simpler time. Ha, simpler, now she was just lying to herself. Well, it was a calm spot in an utterly chaotic time in her life. It was just her, Shuichi, and…

Kaito.

Maki didn’t like thinking about him but sometimes she couldn’t help herself- like right now. She’d get sudden flashbacks to him a lot, being reminded of him by small everyday things. Loud jocks talking amongst themselves in her workplace, people (usually Shuichi or Himiko) squeezing her hand a bit too hard, the view out of her window at night. Though, over the six months it had been since the 53rd killing game those moments had started to happen less and less frequently. Maybe it’s because… her memories of him had started to fade. Of course, not the memory of his corpse falling out of the rocket, that one will never fade. But it was the memories of those quiet moments with him that were fading. Maki desperately wanted to hang onto them but life was cruel to her. Maybe it was the fact that she was trying her hardest not to think about him that made her memories fade. It was too hard to think about him and the unfair situation he, and all of them, were put in. Maybe if she didn’t shoot those poisoned arrows…

No.

Maki focused on what she could hear around her. Cars racing down the roads, people’s voices (though what they were talking about she didn’t really care), and her own footsteps. It was a bad idea to think about the killing game. It was better to forget. After all, she couldn’t even trust her own memories… or her own feelings. Maki huffed, taking a deep breath. She should probably head home now, Shuichi probably had enough time to calm down. So she pivoted ninety degrees and headed back towards the apartment.

Maki focused on her footsteps as she jogged. She felt the pavement hit her feet as she stepped down, and promptly leave as she stepped away. It helped to ground herself. She also listened to her footsteps as she made her way across the street, the loose rocks and bits of pavement crunching under her feet every other step. Her chest rising and falling with each breath. Even though she tried her hardest to tune in to all of that she still couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had happened. Maki clenched her fists as she sped up her pace. God why was she so stupid? It didn’t matter anymore, she was free and she could focus on the future. That’s what they all fought so hard for, that’s what Kaito gave his life for. So why couldn’t she stop thinking of the past? It was like she was-

-Haunted by it.

As soon as that thought entered her mind she stopped hard in her tracks. She was so close to home and yet something stopped her. A group of men standing and chatting to themselves a few buildings from hers. That was a normal enough occurrence, what wasn’t normal was the hairstyle one of them was sporting. Giant indigo spikes pointed up towards the evening sky, the man they were coming from laughing in amusement at something one of his buddies had said.

Maki felt her blood start to boil, her clenched fists trembling with fury. Who did that guy think he was? Mocking the dead like that. She knew that Danganronpa was a popular series but people mimicking how the contestants looked? That was a whole other level of madness.

“You...” Maki growled. Of course he didn’t hear it, she was too quiet and too far away. Her hands balled into fits as she stormed over to the person. “YOU!” She shouted, startling the group of guys. Maki quickly snatched his collar pulling him close. “Who do you think you are!?” She practically screamed.

The guy just stared back at her with a look of fear, confusion, and.. amusement?

“Well?! Answer me!!” Maki shouted right into his face.

“I-I don’t know!? W-what do you want from me?” The man responded, only making her grip tighter.

“You’re lucky I haven’t started strangling you!” Maki shouted back.

“Woah, lady, what’s wrong with you?” One of the men from his group asked, approaching the two of them. Maki just shot him a death glare, stopping him in his tracks.

“Y-yeah,” the man she was holding spoke up, “w-what’s your deal?”

Maki huffed, “what’s /my/ deal!? How insensitive can you be!? What compelled you to do this, dressing up like the dead!?” She practically screamed in his face.

The man gulped, “mocking the dead?” He repeated meekly.

“Yes!” Maki shouted, “don’t pretend you haven’t seen dangan-“

“Maki!” A familiar voice shouted.

She looked over to him, Shuichi standing in abject horror, with Himiko standing behind him. They quickly approached them, Shuichi grabbing Maki’s arm. “What are you doing?” He asked in a hushed tone.

“I-“ she stammered, Shuichi just shook his head. Maki sighed, letting go of the man.

“I am so sorry.” Shuichi said, ushering her away from him.

Maki took the hint and stormed off towards home. She heard Shuichi apologize once again before quickly running after her.

“Maki-“ Shuichi nagged, her quickly interrupting. “I know.” He sighed defeatedly, deciding not to say anything else. They all walked back in silence as tears started to well up in her eyes.

——

“Y’know” Kaito said, turning to his group of friends. “I think I recognize her.”

Chapter Text

“Yeah and she just grabbed me and shouted in my face. Something about disrespecting the dead? Sent shivers down my spine honestly. Anyway so other guy came over and towed her away.” Kaito relayed.

“Wooow. And this happened out of nowhere?” The clerk behind the counter asked.

“Yeah.. it was really weird.” He responded.

The clerk hummed, “Maybe she saw that you had a spirit haunting you and that’s how you disrespected the dead.”

“H-hey! Cut it out Ouma!” Kaito quipped back.

“Neheehee~” Kokichi laughed, “I’m just saying.”

Kaito huffed, crossing his arms, “God I can’t believe I came to you with this.”

Kokichi pouted, “hey now. I think you came to me because it was entertaining and that I would appreciate it, which I did, buuuut” he held out, “If you wanna make up a story make it more believable ‘k? You know I can sniff out a lie like a hunting dog.”

Kaito just rolled his eyes, “it’s real Kokichi, I promise.”

Their conversation was interrupted by shouting “oi, Momota! Get your ass outta here if you’re not gonna see something, we don’t need you holding up the check in desk!”

Kaito quickly straightened up, bolting towards the door, “a-ah talk to you later then!” He shouted back towards Kokichi (who had also started looking like he was busy) as he ran out the theater.

Kaito doubled over, trying to catch his breath after he left the vicinity. Damn manager, always getting on his ass about “loitering.” As he was doing so a group of friends walked by him, catching his eye. One of them was wearing a backpack which (for some reason) he was drawn to, mostly because of the charm hanging off the zipper. It was a little semi-transparent red.. something, his brain associated it with an eye.

For some reason it creeped the hell out of him.

————

“Yeah, I accidentally bumped into a guy the other day. I thought we had a pleasant conversation but when I told him my name he looked… I dunno horrified? He gave a nice enough goodbye but it seemed like he was going to cry. I hope I didn’t make him upset.” Kaede said dejectedly, clutching onto her pillow.

“Oh don’t worry about it Kaede, all those degenerate males are the same- don’t let him get to you!” Tenko exclaimed.

Kaede pouted, holding her pillow to her chest, “I dunno… he didn’t seem bad.” She responded.

“Tenko’s right, boys just wanna tease you, use you, then ditch you. That’s the bro code after all.” Miu interjected, chomping on a chip as she did.

Kaede huffed, “Miu that wouldn’t make sense, if he wanted to “use me” why would he shy away from me and cry?”

Miu just stared back at her, stuffing more chips in her mouth. After a moment of silence she just shrugged, Kaede groaning and flopping back in her little pillow pile she had made.

“Enough of this boy talk! Let’s find a movie to watch.” Tenko said, getting on her knees and moving over to where the dvds were kept. Kaede turned her head, looking to the floor dejectedly.

Why was this weighing heavy on her mind?

As she laid there, staring at nothing, one of the dvds lining the bottom shelf caught her eye. Some sort of icon adored the spine of the case, the title of it was… Danganronpa? Kaede sat up, shuffling over to it and picking up the dvd. Looking at the front cover the icon as front and center, well it was more near the bottom. The title, Danganronpa, adored the top. Underneath it was the subtext season fifty-one. Finally, the background of the whole thing was a split of white on the left and black on the right.

For some reason the whole thing made Kaede’s stomach churn. “Hey Miu,” she asked, “what’s this?”

Miu got up from her spot and came over to her, kneeling down to look at what she was holding. “Oh this is just a dvd of an old TV show I used to watch.” She said, taking it from Kaede.

Tenko had also come over to look at it, both of them stared at it for a moment before looking visibly uncomfortable. “Y’know, I don’t think I need this anymore. I don’t watch the show anymore and don’t really care about it.” Miu said before walking over to her trash and tossing it in.

Why did that show make them all have the same gut feeling?

Chapter Text

The atmosphere in the apartment was too much to bare. Ever since Maki saw that guy she had been so angry, just stirring in her room... which she shared with Himiko. Shuichi was also weird. She knew he wanted to help but he just... didn’t. Maybe it’s because he didn’t know how to comfort Maki or maybe, like Himiko, he was scared of Maki in this state. She didn’t even go into work for the first couple of days after the incident, it must’ve really unsettled her. That’s why Himiko was out, she didn’t want to stay in the apartment currently. Even though both Maki and Shuichi had gone to work the malice in the air still lingered (even after she tried to use her magic to clear the apartment of the negative energy.)

So she decided to be useful and do the shopping. Maybe that would make both of them feel better, and they were running out of things to eat. So Himiko tallied up everything that she thought they needed and went out to the supermarket. It was smaller than most grocery stores she had seen on the internet and TV but it was only a fifteen minute walk from the apartment (though admittedly it was still a pain.) The walls were a weird tan-ish color, if she looked at it too long she felt like her energy would drain, and the some of the products looked... less than fresh. But the convince of it trumped all of that and it was really that bad of a place to shop anyway.

Himiko went around gathering the stuff on the shopping list she had made. Some cereal, some toilet paper, and so forth. After what felt like hours she thought that she might just become one with the store, assimilated into a shopping parasite that would find and gather items that people wanted. Then she looked at her phone and realized that it had only been twenty minutes.

It was time to go.

Even though she didn’t get every item on the list she decided that they would survive on what she had gathered alone. So Himiko went to self check out, paid for everything, and promptly left; grocery bags in hand. She actually felt proud of herself, after all she hadn’t really done anything this big since... Himiko just shook her head and continued walking back. If thinking about it is how the other two wound up like that she thought it would be best to, well, not think. After all this is the future everyone fought for, why not live in it?

Just then she stumbled, luckily catching herself so that she didn’t spill the groceries all over the sidewalk. “Well well, what do we have here?” A sinister voice called.

Himiko quickly turned to face them, a tall scruffy looking boy staring down at her. She tried to back away slowly before she bumped in to something.

“Where do you think you’re going?” A different person asked. Himiko again turned around, another tall boy glaring at her.

There wasn’t enough time to react before the grocery bag was snatched from her hands, her yelping in astonishment. The man who snatched it from her looked it over “Is this all ya got?.” He said, looking from her to his companions.

“W-what do you want?” Himiko meekly squeaked.

“We want anything we can get from you.” The second boy said sternly.

She was trapped again.

Her heart was in her stomach, tears falling from her cheeks. She hadn’t felt this way since the killing game. Actually this is all she felt for most of it, a sense of being trapped. Even when she had miles upon miles of space to roam she still felt this invisible pressure on top of her. It was like she was a mime, stuck inside an unseeable box that just got tighter and tighter until she was standing in the courtyard with her friends. They had held her hands as their fate set in. She had accepted it, the weight was gone, so why did Keebo have to spare them?

All of this was rushing back as Himiko choked back a sob. “O-okay” she muttered softly, fumbling with her wallet in her pocket. “J-just give me a moment.”

Her fingers felt like they were going to crumble under the pressure of getting it.

One of the men grumbled, “hurry up! We don’t have all day.”

Himiko just sighed, more of a cry really, trying to accept her fate. But the more she tried to, the more the box closed around her. The first guy kept looking around wearily while periodically staring at her with a horrible gaze. It looked like he wanted to kill her. It was just like when Ryoma died, everyone was staring at her just like-

“STEP AWAY FROM HER, YOU DEGENERATE MALES!”

One of the men cried out in pain, Himiko didn’t catch the exact details but it looked like he got kicked in the ribs. The boy doubled over in pain, the rest of the group stepping back. Her savior just had her back turned to Himiko but she already knew who it was, deep in her heart.

“Anyone else want some?!” Her savior exclaimed, the men deciding to throw the groceries down and run off, leaving the injured one to limp after them in defeat. Her savior sighed, turning to Himiko and extending her hand out, “are you alright?” She asked.

Himiko just sobbed, “Tenko?” Her voice soft and hoarse.

She was obviously taken aback, “oh? Do you know me?” She asked as Himiko took her hand and stood up.

They both paused, just stuck in the moment. Himiko just pulled her into a hug, sobbing into her chest. This feeling was familiar as well, soft and warm. Maybe it was just Tenko’s shirt but Himiko could tell that it wasn’t just that, it was her. She radiated this warmth, she made the room light up. Himiko felt so guilty that she was too tired to notice until she felt the warmth be sucked away when she uncovered the cage. She just wanted to stay in this warmth. Tenko put her hand on the back of Himikos head, gently pressing her closer. “It’s okay now.” She said softly, Himiko just sobbing again. All she could think was...

Please don’t leave again.

Chapter Text

“She said she was too scared to go home so I invited her over!” Tenko explained to the other two girls.

“H-hi..” Himiko said meekly, still hiding behind her newly found friend.

“Hi there! My name is Kaede Akamatsu!” One of the girls said, extending her hand out for a handshake.

“Kaede?” Himiko repeated. She nodded, Himiko quickly realizing she needed to reciprocate the handshake.

“Don’t worry, this is only the second weirdest way someone has reacted to my name this week.” Kaede said jokingly.

“Shuichi..” Himiko said under her breath, the other girl obviously noticing. “O-oh, I just.. know what you’re talking about..” Himiko muttered.

“Wait, you said… Shuichi right? You know him?” Kaede asked, Himiko nodding. “Wow, small world!” She said cheerfully.

She had no idea how right she was.

“Speaking of, apparently she knows me from somewhere. Hey, you never told me. I feel kinda guilty about not recognizing you.” Tenko said.

“O-oh don’t worry about it… I know you from…” Himiko trailed off. How the hell was she supposed to explain Danganronpa to her? She didn’t want Tenko to know she died. “I know you from school. We went to… middle school together but we weren’t in the same class, so I doubt you’d ‘member someone like me…” Himiko finally finished.

Tenko just looked at her wearily, like she didn’t exactly believe her but it seemed just likely enough to be possible. “Well, I’m still sorry I don’t remember you.” She said with a soft smile. Though she couldn’t show it, those words cut like a knife. In reality there was no possible way she could remember her, in all reality she shouldn’t even be alive.

Himiko tried to suppress his tears and quickly hugged Tenko, “you saved me, don’t apologize.” Tenko reciprocated by putting her hand on Himiko’s head.

“Enough with all the sappy shit, are we doing this sleepover or what?” The other familiar girl said abruptly.

“Ah, right.” Tenko said. “Himiko, this is Miu.”

Miu huffed, “excuse you, I am Miu Iruma, the busty blonde genius who’s gonna take on the world!” She exclaimed, Kaede laughing in response.

“Y-you’re like… an inventor right?” Himiko asked, still unable to find her voice.

“Huh? Yeah.” Miu said, dropping the facade.

“You were able to get all that?” Kaede asked lightheartedly.

“Y-yeah…” Himiko nodded.

“Ya see that! Even plebeians can decipher my genius!” Miu quickly picked back up where she left off.

Tenko brandished a fist, “Miu be nice!” She (not really) threatened. Miu just pouted, clutching a pillow.

“N-no it’s ok, I know she’s just playing around.” Himiko responded, fidgeting with her cardigan. This caught the other girls off guard (again), “I-I’m just around people with the same sense of humor. I can tell.” She backtracked. The others seemed to shrug it off, everyone settling into the sleepover vibe.

Himiko quickly glanced a peek at her phone, seeing a text from Shuichi that read ‘where are you???’ She quickly texted back, ‘Im at a friends, talk later.’ She sighed silently, shoving her phone back in her pocket as she finally embraced the comfy vibe. She really needed this.

—————-

Himiko stalled before entering the apartment, Tenko had been gracious enough to walk her home, with Kaede tagging along. They had exchanged goodbyes and she and Tenko had exchanged phone numbers, so now… she was just standing there.

Himiko decided to suck it up and enter the apartment, hesitantly opening the door and quickly shutting it. Shuichi was obviously pacing around before she entered. He would do that when he was nervous, hopefully he hadn’t been doing that all night. Shuichi sighed heavily, his body deflating. “Himiko are you alright? You’re not hurt are you?” He asked, quickly coming over to her and kneeling down to get on eye level.

Himiko shook her head, fiddling with her cardigan again. Shuichi sighed again, nodding. “Good, good.” He said, letting her walk around him to the middle of the living room. She didn’t want to be cornered, even if Shuichi didn’t know it was still uncomfortable.

“Shuichi..” Himiko said quietly. “I.. know you’re not lying.” Shuichi raised his eyebrow in response. “I..” she tried to speak, “I met Kaede too… last night.” She spit it out.

His expression dropped, it looked like his stomach dropped. “Tenko..” she started, choking back a sob, “Tenko saved me and we went to her house.” The both stood there, the aura in the air growing sad in still. Himiko just ran over to him and tackled him into a hug, both of them sobbing in anguish.

But it wasn’t just anguish, it was relief. Their friends really were alive, and they had found them again.

Chapter Text

After what felt like hours and nothing all at once Shuichi’s shift was over and he was free to go home.. except he didn’t want to do that. The past few of days had felt like some weird fever dream, blurring all together. The last time he felt.. whole so to speak, was when he pulled Maki off of Kaito. Once they go back to the apartment he knew they got into a heating argument, Maki screaming while he tried to hold back sobs, but that was all he could recall until the world started to blur.

Shuichi sighed as he leaned against the wall of a building that wasn’t too far away from the apartment. He was still on the fence if he wanted to return home or not. For now he just wanted to get his mind in a better place. Maybe he’d bump into Maki on her way back from her job and they’d be force to talk things out. Actually he wasn’t sure when she got off... Shuichi sighed heavily, looking up towards the towering buildings that were touching the sky. It was just starting to creep into the evening hours, the sky still a vibrant blue but bits of orange had started to come through. It had been awhile since Shuichi had stopped to appreciate the beauty of the sky, the last time he did it was when they had all gotten out of the killing game. They all realized that now they could see the actually see the sky and even though it looked almost identical to the one at the ultimate academy it had more.. feeling to it. Like it was tangible, like it was real... well considering that this one was real that made sense.. God he wasn’t making sense. He was just avoiding saying that most of the time when he appreciated the sky was when he was with-

“Hey.” Someone said, startling him out of his funk. Of course he knew who it was.

He quickly turned to see that it was, in fact, Kaito (or at least it seemed like him.) “Ah, I’m sorry-“ Shuichi said, quickly standing up straight.

“Ah, no you don’t have to leave.” Kaito said, also leaning off the wall.

“Ah, I assume you recognize me then.” Shuichi said blatantly.

“Uh, yeah. You pulled that girl off me the other day, yeah?” Kaito asked.

“Ah, that.” Shuichi said. He supposed it was better that Kaito recognized him from that than seeing Danganronpa. “Listen, I’m really sorry for that. She thought…” Shuichi paused.

“I wanted to ask you about that.” Kaito responded, using the pause to interject. “Do you know what she meant by… disrespecting the dead?” He asked hesitantly.

Shuichi sighed, “it’s.. a long story. She thought you looked like… her friend.” Shuichi elaborated. It was better he didn’t know.

“O-oh..” Kaito muttered, leaning back against the wall. “It’s okay. She just… hasn’t really coped well.” Shuichi continued, also leaning on the wall.

“I…” Kaito trailed off, “I’m sorry. I might not grasp that situation all that well but I do know that death takes a toll on someone.” He said stoically.

“…Have you ever lost someone?” Shuichi asked hesitantly.

Kaito paused, looking to the sky, “nah, I haven’t. But, I know what it’s like losing something. It doesn’t compare to a human life but I can at least relate in someway.” He said somberly. Shuichi just smiled softly, gazing up to the sky as well.

Both of them just sat there in silence, watching the faint whisky clouds move across the sky. Shuichi got up, turning to the other man, “you’re Kaito, right?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah, how’d you know?” He responded.

Shuichi just shrugged, “you just look like you’d be a Kaito.”

The other man laughed, leaning off the wall, “well what’s your name? Unfortunately I can’t tell just by lookin at you.”

Shuichi chuckled, “I’m Shuichi Saihara.” He said, holding his hand out for a handshake.

Kaito (of course) took it, giving it his signature strong shake. “Well nice to meet you Shuichi! I hope we cross paths again!”

Shuichi smiled at him, “Same here Kaito.”

He chuckled boisterously, “call me the luminary of the stars!”

Shuichi laughed as well, “alright then. I hope we’ll meet again Mr. Luminary of the stars.”

Kaito smirked, “same to you Mr. Saihara!”

He gave a wave and walked away, Shuichi watching him until he disappeared into the horizon. After Kaito had definitively left Shuichi finally broke out into tears, almost crumpling into a heap on the sidewalk. On one hand seeing him hurt, it felt like some cruel hallucination. But on the other… it was cathartic. Shuichi could spend more time with him, just like he wanted…

Maybe Maki was right. Not to Kaito but him, maybe Shuichi continuing to do this was disrespecting the dead.

Chapter Text

Honestly Shuichi didn’t think that Kaito was serious about meeting with him again. It felt like he meant “hey if we bump into each other we should talk.” But lo and behold only three days later he saw Kaito loitering around his apartment building.

“Hey, Shuichi!” He called out, waving his arm above his head. It was weird to hear his voice again…

“H-hi Kaito, what’s up?” Shuichi asked, walking up to him.

“Oh, nothin’ really.” He responded.

Shuichi quickly studied his body language, “Kaito.. were you waiting here for me?” He asked, catching the other man off guard.

“W-what!? No, how would I even know where you live?”

Shuichi nodded, smiling softly. “I’m assuming you’ve been watching me and saw me enter or exit this building and you figured out I lived in this building.” He stated.

Kaito looked mortified before quickly recovering, “ah you got me. Man, you sure are observant.” He said embarrassedly.

Shuichi chuckled, deciding to pull out his phone. “Here, let’s exchange numbers so you don’t have to stand outside of my building for hours waiting for me to get off work.”

Kaito was stunned, grabbing Shuichi’s phone and typed in his number, “geez how’d you get that part right?” He muttered.

“Wait, how long have you been standing here?” Shuichi asked.

“Ah, about two hours?” Kaito responded, hand back his phone.

“Oh my god, do you need water or something? It’s really hot out.” Shuichi said exasperatedly.

Kaito shrugged, “Eh if you’re offering sure. I mean, this isn’t the worst heat I’ve experienced.”

Shuichi sighed, “Kaito…”

———-

After that incident (it turned out Kaito was actually severely dehydrated and hadn’t drank actual water in weeks) Kaito would come over at least once a week and would text often excluding that. It was… nice to have an actual friend, even though it was weird that Kaito had been so drawn to him.

Even he didn’t know why, just saying “you seemed like a cool person.” in response. Besides that looming question everything else was great. They did have to schedule his visits around when Maki wouldn’t be home, which also felt… icky, but both him and Kaito decided it was the best course of action.

During one of these visits Himiko actual got to meet him, it went about as well as it could’ve gone. She got upset when she first saw him, asking if Maki was okay with it or if she was around. Once the circumstances were explained Himiko was a lot more calmer, actually tearing up and running to hug him. Kaito was caught off guard but immediately comforted her. It was a sweet moment and for once, everything felt calm.

From then on sometimes Himiko would hang out with the two of them, though she was often quite when watching TV shows but over time she livened up a bit. Kaito played along with Himiko’s mage schtick, both of them deciding that she would be the first Mage of the moon (since she said that there’s some magic resource hidden deep in the moon.) Shuichi thought that Kaito might actually believe her.

But as they hung out more and more all of them concluded that they needed to tell Maki, and it needed to be sooner rather than later.

Kaito wanted to take the “casual” approach. They would just hang out normally and when Maki came home he would just shoot her a nonchalant “hey” and if she notices it’s him then that would open the door to a normal, chill, conversation. While that seemed good in theory both Shuichi and Himiko shot that down since Maki was not the type to be “chill” with surprises (especially of this nature.)

Himiko suggested the power of subliminal messaging and that she would influence Maki with her magic so that she lets go of her grudge against Kaito. Shuichi shot it down immediately, of course, but surprisingly Kaito also vetoed it. “I don’t think it’s the kinda grudge you can get over with that type of thing.” He said.

Shuichi’s approach was... well. He didn’t exactly have one. How exactly was he supposed to go about this while she was still in her state of anger and depression? She had outright denied Kaede’s existence when he brought it up, and judging by her reaction the first time she met Kaito it really wasn’t up for debate in her mind if they really were dead or not.

“What if we bring Kaito to one of our café meets and then she’d be forced to talk to him.” Himiko suggested.

“No.” Shuichi rebutted, “we shouldn’t put her in that type of situation.”

Kaito nodded “Shuichi’s right. We should always give someone an out in a conversation.”

Himiko pouted, electing not to say anything.

Just as Shuichi was going to voice another one of his concerns the door swung open, Maki standing there holding her work uniform in her arms. All three of them quickly turned to face the door, their facial expressions ranging from mortified to dumbfoundment.

All them stood there in awkward silence before Kaito gave a small wave, “hey.”

Maki quickly turned to leave before Shuichi stepped forward, “Maki wait!” She stopped in her tracks, not turning to face them.

“Just... we need to talk.” An awkward pause ensued before Maki turned back and entered the room, practically slamming the door behind her. At least she was willing to hear them out...

“Maki, this is Kaito-“ he said, trying to introduce (reintroduce?) them but Maki cut him off by rather violently grabbing her uniform and dropping it besides the doorway. Another awkward silence ensued while Maki pushed her way past Shuichi and stood in the middle of the room.

“Listen I-“ Kaito started to speak.

“Don't.” Maki curtly interrupted, quickly shutting him up.

Shuichi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Maki…” he trailed off, not knowing what to say. “I know that this is hard for you, it’s been hard for all of us, but-“

Maki spun around on her heels, “but what? I’m just supposed to be okay with this?!”

Shuichi paused, trying to find the words he needed. “How long has this been happening?” Maki asked.

“For awhile?” Kaito responded, his voice rising in pitch as he became more nervous. She just shot him her signature death glare, making him step a little behind Shuichi.

“For a few weeks.” Shuichi clarified, becoming the target of her glare.

“How long we’re you aware?” Maki turned to Himiko, the smaller girl making a small “eep!”

Shuichi butted in once again, “she didn’t know.. at first.”

Maki huffed, staring right into his soul.

“I…” Himiko muttered, tearing up slightly. “I missed having him around…”

Shuichi quickly looked to Kaito in horror, he was clearly confused by the remark but it seemed like he blew it off as “someone like him” around… hopefully.

Maki looked like she wanted to choke the life out of everyone in the room, Shuichi deciding he needed to take the brunt of it.

“Maki it was no ones choice but mine. If you need someone to direct your anger at it’s me.” He said, stepping forward.

“Nah man, you don’t have to cover for me. I’m strong enough to handle it.” Kaito interjected. “Listen, it’s not cool for me to intrude in your personal space, I get that and if you really want me to leave you can just say so. But I’d at least wanna know why you hate me so much.” He explained.

Shuichi quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed it, getting his attention. He quickly shot Kaito a glance, hopefully conveying the message of “that was a bad move, you’re in for it now.” without having to say it.

Maki stepped forward forcefully, shaking the floorboard as she did. Her lips trembled as she stared at Kaito with utter malice. It looked like she couldn’t find what words she needed to say. “Hey, c’mon Maki ro-“ Kaito probed before Shuichi put his hand in a death grasp.

Oh no.

Shuichi saw the life drain from Maki’s face, tears starting to form in her eyes. The air in the room was deafeningly quiet before without warning she let out an ear piecing scream of anguish and she quickly ran out of the apartment. Everyone who remanded in the room looked to each other in both shock and horror. After a moment Kaito was the first to speak;

“Did I say something wrong?”

Chapter Text

Maki didn’t know where she was running, it didn’t really matter in the end. She just needed to go somewhere.

Her breaths were labored and heavy, the fact that she was practically sobbing didn’t help. She knew that people were going to stare at her but that didn’t matter either. Maki threw open the doors of the lobby, pushing past some people who were trying to enter. She just kept running for awhile, not focusing on where she was going. Running… and running

And running…

Eventually she found a secluded corner alleyway to finally break down, practically collapsing onto the pavement. And when she started sobbing she couldn’t stop, even when her throat was dry and hoarse and her eyes had run out of tears. She just silently whimpered to herself, making her body as small as possible. It felt like time was as fast as a inchworm, marching on as slowly as possible. She just wanted the world to pass her by, slowly forgetting about her… j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶.

Maki’s body was shaking like a leaf as she tried to calm herself, shuffling herself against the wall of a building. Maybe she could just hide here forever, it’s not like anyone would notice her here.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Or maybe someone would. A voice of someone long lost for that matter. Maki looked up to see what looked like Kaede Akamatsu kneeling before her. She didn’t respond, just sniffling to herself.

“Well, obviously not, sorry for asking a stupid question.” Kaede said, deciding to sit besides her. Maki just looked away from her, still trying to rationalize this whole thing in her head. “I know that it’s kinda weird to have a complete stranger sitting by you but.. it feels wrong to leave a girl crying and alone in an alley. I don’t want anything to happen to you if I can help it.” She continued, Maki still not saying a word.

For awhile they just sat in an awkward silence, Maki trying to calm herself down while having an exact double of one of her fallen classmates sitting right next to her. It went without saying that it would not be easy. Kaede was always looking out for the classes best interests, even giving her life to “help” everyone (even if that didn’t work.) It makes sense that, if this was her, she would try to help anyone she could. But Maki had seen her lifeless body gently swing back and forth before getting crushed in a giant piano, there was no way that it wasn’t real. Kaito could’ve been passed off, after all there was no exterior damage to his body but Kaede? Her body would’ve been crushed into shreds.

“D’you wanna talk about what happened?” Her voice said softly, briefly snapping Maki out of her thoughts. She inhaled deeply, her breaths still shaky. “You wouldn’t understand it. It’s crazy.” She muttered. “Oh I dunno, I’ve been through some pretty crazy stuff.” Kaede retorted, Maki raising an eyebrow to her. Kaede sighed, “well… I got contacted to play piano at a pretty fancy gala and I forgot to pick up a dress that looked, well, appropriate.” She paused, catching her breath, “it all worked out in the end though, no one really looked at me or if they did, they didn’t really care.” Kaede said shrugging slightly.

Maki inhaled shallowly again, “did you.. have a twin?” She asked. Tsumugi said she did, maybe that would explain things. “Huh? No, I don’t. I’m an only child, why’d you ask?” Kaede replied. Maki wiped away a tear, “you look like… someone I used to know..” Kaede hung her head a bit, “oh. Well maybe I’m actually the person and I just… don’t remember you? Did we know each other in elementary school?” She asked.

“She’s dead.” Maki replied stone cold.

"Ah..."

Maki sighed a heavy breath, “that’s why I’m here. I keep seeing people who remind me of the people I lost.”

Kaede looked at her with pity, though she still continued, “and it can’t just be coincidence, you two have too many distinguishing features that are exactly like them.” Maki took a breath, trying to compose herself.

“Two?” Kaede asked, most likely to herself.

“Kaito.” Maki replied, like she was suppose to know that was.

Kaede just nodded along like she did. “Well… I’m sorry. Should I go?”

Maki honestly didn’t know whether or not she wanted her to stay, on one hand her presence felt like life was just twisting the knife deeper into her already gaping wound. But on the other hand… Maki needed a warm comforting energy near her right now.

She sighed, “I’m sorry… if I made you feel bad.” Maki said. “It wasn’t my intention. I just… haven’t been able to talk about it with anyone.”

Kaede just nodded, “it’s alright, I understand that keeping feelings bottled inside isn’t good for anyone.” She said, giving Maki a soft smile. God she’d been too hard on her, it wasn’t her fault that Maki had trouble… coming to terms with this? Honestly she didn’t know what was going on, she hadn’t really thought about it all that much (at least logically.)

Maki sighed, standing up, “Kaede right?” She asked with extending her hand to the other girl.

“U-uhm yeah, how’d you know that?” Kaede responded, taking her hand and pulling herself up.

“It’s a long story..” Maki replied, “oh and you know my roommate.” Kaede gave her a puzzled look, “He’s the guy with the hat.” she added, making her best approximation of a hat gesture.

Kaede silently mouthed, “oh” and nodded.

“I should probably head back, he’s most likely looking for me.” Maki said sheepishly.

“Alrighty, if you need anything just come find me.” Kaede responded cheerfully, standing up and reaching her hand out to the other girl. Maki looked at it cautiously before hesitantly grabbing it. Kaede helped her up off the ground.

The pianist smiled at her, "I guess I'll see you later."

Maki just kept staring at the ground, fidgeting with one of her pigtails. "R-Right..."

And with that exchange Kaede walked off into the distance, Maki standing and watching her fade from view. She sighed, leaning against the wall she was just sitting against.

All of this was just too much to take in all at once. Either there were doppelgängers of their dead classmates walking around or maybe… they didn’t actually die. She stepped out onto the street, looking around without really looking at anything. Her shoulders were heavy, so was her eyelids. Honestly Maki just wanted to take a nap.

So she decided to walk back to the apartment to either be faced with the consequences of her actions or to collapse onto her futon and sleep for 14 hours. She didn’t get very far before she saw a familiar person running down the street.

“Maki!?” Shuichi cried out, quickening his pace. Himiko was following behind him, it looked like she was crying.

Maki just stood in place as Shuichi tackled her into a tight hug. Himiko joined in, wrapping her tiny arms around their legs. It felt nice to be wrapped up into a warm ball of people she loved. Maki had been so wrapped up in her job and her grief to really pay attention to her friends. She had of course participated in whatever they had invited her to but she didn’t make the first move to hang out with them. She thought that she had to be the sole rock for the group, taking on the role of the breadwinner and picking up most of the housework in her free time. But she had neglected that they had emotional needs as well, hell she needed it as well.

She really needed this.

“Uhm..” Maki muttered, “what happened to.. Kaito?” She asked hesitantly.

“Oh.” Shuichi responded, “well we initially split up to find you but when that didn’t work we met up again and he decided it was probably best if he left. He didn’t wanna trigger anything again.”

“Oh..” Maki muttered. That made sense, Kaito was the type of person to consider that. It was probably best that he didn’t come, now at least she didn’t have to continue to think about this whole… situation.

“Well, I’m gonna take a nap. A long one.” Maki said, walking back to the apartment.

“Me too…” Himiko replied, trailing behind her.

“Sounds like a plan.” Shuichi said with a smile.

“Oh yeah.” Maki piped up, turning to Shuichi. “I met Kaede.” Shuichi’s face dropped as a small blush spread across his face, “Oh god.”

Chapter Text

Work was... exhausting. It seemed like it had become more intense over the past few days, most likely stemming from her emotional problems. The whole situation with Kaito and Kaede was... draining to say the least. After all she saw their dead bodies right in front of her. She would never forget the horrifying sound of Kaede’s blood squelching as the piano crushed her, or the heart breaking look Kaito’s face had as his lifeless body fell out of that rocket. Sure his expression looked like one of acceptance, maybe even peace, but the paleness of his skin from the lack of blood will always haunt her.

So how on earth could they be walking around like nothing happened?

Maki’s current running theory was that they were clones that Team Danganronpa made for some unknown reason. After the 53rd killing game incident they most likely didn’t have any more funds to keep them so they just released the clones out into the wild to live on their own. Or maybe they were the originals and the killing game participants were the clones... would that make her a clone too?

God it was too late for this. Well it was 6pm so it wasn’t exactly late, her brain was just exhausted. It felt extremely taxing to just shove fries in a box so she didn’t even have an ounce of the of energy that would be required to think about this clearly. Did that sentence even make sense? Whatever, she was just thinking to herself right now. She sighed heavily, even her movements feeling taxing. All she had to do was get to the apartment to collapse, it wasn’t that far away.

It wouldn’t be until she heard a voice call out her name.

“Hey Maki!” He called out, even without turning around she could tell that he’d be close soon. It was too late to make up an excuse or pretend that she hadn’t heard him. She just took a deep breath, steeled herself, and turned around. There she saw Kaito running up to her, waving enthusiastically.

She sucked in air through her teeth, “Hello… Kaito.” Maki said, trying to sound as polite as possible.

Apparently it didn’t work, as he had a worried look on his face. “Heh..” Kaito chuckled awkwardly, “Hey I, Uhm.” He trailed off, “listen about the other week-“

Maki put her hand up, “it’s... ok.” She said stilted. “I don’t.. hold it against you.” That was a lie but hopefully he couldn’t tell. It was unfair to hold it against him- he didn’t know better- it was in his programming (was he a robot now?)

“I didn’t know.” Kaito said, snapping her out of it. “I mean I shouldn’t have pressed the subject at all. You don’t have to explain why you hate me-“

“I don’t hate you!” Maki exclaimed.

Silence fell over the pair, Maki trying to hold back tears. “It’s just... I..” she sputtered. “I don’t.. know. I don’t know how I should feel about you. On one hand you drive me crazy, you just.. keep showing up. And I’ve been trying my best to move on but it’s like... it won’t let me go.” She felt a tear fall on her hand but she persisted, “But on the other hand... I want you... him, back in my life. And I don’t know whether that’s selfish of me or not. I mean, I know you're not the same person but...” She just wanted to scream. This wasn't going well.

She finally looked up at Kaito, who had solemn look on his face. It’s was like he pitied her but also felt genuinely bad for her. But the look in his eyes told a different story; He was terrified. Kaito rarely showed fear, genuine fear, even in his finally moments. But right now, her words were scaring him more than death ever could.

Maki just took a deep breath and looked back towards the ground. The silence swept over the two of them again, this time it was choking her. After all that she just wanted him to say something. “That’s..” Kaito trailed off. After another moment of strangling silence he spoke again “It sounds like you’ve been needing to say that.”

In someways he was right. “I’m sorry, you shouldn’t be my therapist.” Maki said half jokingly, Kaito laughing.

“Hey, I’m just happy to listen. I feel like I know you better.” Maki looked back up at him, startled. That wasn’t her intention at all, hell that’s probably not a good thing either. “Anyways, I’ll let you know when I’m swinging by from now on. It wasn’t a good idea to keep it a secret in the first place.” Kaito said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, if you’re okay with it.”

Maki nodded, “oh yeah, I wouldn’t limit who my roommates are friends with just because of my stupid feelings.” She said.

“Hey, your feelings aren’t stupid. They’re just complicated.” Kaito rebutted. Maki blushed slightly, grasping onto one of her pigtails.

God he really was the same Kaito, wasn’t he?

“Welp, I’ll get out of your hair. I can tell you have places to be.” Kaito said.

“Oh yeah,” Maki replied, “you probably have somewhere you were going to as well.”

Kaito shrugged sheepishly, “eh not really. I was just wandering around.”

Maki just nodded awkwardly, “right..” She quickly composed herself, “well I’ll see you.. later.”

Kaito beamed back at her, “see ya Maki-“ He quickly caught his words, “Bye Maki.”

She just gave him a soft smirk, “Bye Kaito.”

And with those parting words they both went their separate ways, Maki glancing over her shoulder to watch Kaito disappear into the horizon. She sighed, holding her head up high. She was still /very/ confused by everything but at least she was able to tell someone about it. Maybe someday they’ll both learn the truth of this mystery.

Together.

Chapter Text

Whenever it happened it always started the same way. Shuichi was having a normal day; waking up, making himself presentable, talking to his friends. Maki and Himiko were already indulging in breakfast, Maki leaving soon after exchanging pleasantries with him. She seemed... happier recently. Shuichi wasn’t sure why but it was a good thing. He fixed himself a plate of (now cold) eggs and bacon and chatted with Himiko. She had also noticed Maki’s more chipper attitude. They didn’t really speculate on it, they were just happy that she was seemingly starting to heal.

“You have the day off right?” Himiko asked. That was true, he finally had a day to himself. After all the craziness in his life, he really needed some time to himself.

“There’s a cool shopping district a friend showed me the other day.” Himiko said. Usually when she said “a friend” she meant one of their fallen classmates that she had made, er, re-made friends with. He knew their was Tenko and Miu but he didn’t know if Kaede or Angie was the third in their trio. (He was secretly hoping it was the latter so that he didn’t have to face Kaede again.)

Shuichi made a noise of intrigue, taking another bite of breakfast.

“Maybe... you should go check it out, get yourself something nice?” Himiko added hesitantly

Shuichi chuckled, picking up his now empty plate. “Y’know that sounds nice.” He also grabbed Maki’s leftover plate and Himiko offered hers up for him to take. “I think that’ll be fun, thank you Himiko.” He said, placings the dirty dishes in the sink.

That did sound nice.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

The shopping district was nice. It was this little compact space with shops lining either side of the street. It looked like it opened fairly recently since there were some shops that hadn’t officially opened yet. There were a couple boutiques, a shop selling handmade knick knacks, and a couple of brand name stores. Overall it was basically a strip mall but... more formal? It seemed like a nice place to spend his afternoon.

There were a couple of stores that caught his eyes but nothing he really wanted to commit to, Shuichi was content just strolling along and people watching, but it did seem like a waste to come down here and not pop into a shop. After wandering a bit more he decided that he’d just go into the first store he saw, that way it’d just be up to-

Fate...

His heart skipped a beat when Shuichi saw what store he’d inadvertently picked. A music store. It seemed like they specialized in vinyl records but they still had a varied selection of things. Shuichi swallowed the lump in his throat, this isn’t the worst thing to have happened, it just wasn’t... ideal. But a promise is a promise, even if it’s between yourself, so he walked in confidently (more or less to hide the embarrassment and anxiety he was feeling.)

It was a nice little store, it seemed like it was owned locally. The walls were freshly painted an eggshell white with a wooden baseboard around the bottom third. There were posters of some classic and modern bands on the wall. Rows of record boxes filled the left half of the store while magazine rack style shelves and other thingamabobs filled the other. It smelt like sawdust and “new store smell” so it was one of the newer stores in the market.

After taking all of this in Shuichi finally pushed through and entered the store, wandering over to the record boxes. He didn’t own a record player so he didn’t understand why he was over here, vinyls had always interested him in a weird way. It was probably the history of them, it was really fascinating how preserving sound had progressed over the years. On one of the near racks there were actually some records on display. He browsed the covers, his eyes darting between all the options. Shuichi silently chuckled, leaning down to look over one that read “Classical Music Compilation.” He picked it up, flipping it over to look at the song list. Of course Clair de lune was on it, he always seems to find it.

“Hey! You’re Shuichi right?”

He jolted (thankful there wasn’t a self above him so he didn’t hit his head) almost dropping the record in his hand. Of course she found him… Shuichi quickly shelved the vinyl, looking up at the voice that called to him. That golden hair, those rosy cheeks, that bubbly smile... it could only be one person.

“K-Kaede..” Shuichi hesitantly responded back, standing up to face her (but he dare not look at her.)

“Hey, you do remember me!” She responded cheerfully. “I didn’t know you would shop at a store like this.” (she was correct, Shuichi had never actually been to a dedicated music store before.)

“O-oh, Uhm, a friend of mine recommended this place and this was the only store that interested me.” That was a total lie and she’d probably see right through it.

Kaede hummed in thought, “oh! Did Himiko recommend it?” She asked.

“What.” Shuichi responded deadpan.

“Oh, did she not tell you? We’re kinda friends.” Kaede responded awkwardly.

Of course she wouldn’t tell him, Himiko was probably too scared of stirring the pot. “Huh.. I mean, I should’ve figured. She’s described some of her friends to me.” Another lie, he knew them all by name (or so he thought.)

“Oh! That’s a little weird.” Kaede responded, “though I guess you wouldn’t know anyone else by name so it makes sense.”

Shuichi just chuckled awkwardly, happy that she actually bought the lie.

“Anyway, whatcha listening to?” Kaede asked, bending down and grabbing the record he had just put away. “Classical music ay?” She mused. “Y’know I actually play some classical music.”

“Oh really?” Shuichi asked, pretending to be intrigued. He already knew that, of course, but she didn’t know. For all she knew this was the second time she had ever seen him.

“Yeah! I play the piano.” Kaede responded excitedly.

“Wow, that seems hard. I mean, it’s cool but I could never do it.” Shuichi stumbled awkwardly through his words.

“Well, it’s kind of hard but fun! It’s really rewarding when you get through a piece without mistakes for the first time.” Kaede responded wistfully, seemingly ignoring Shuichi’s social awkwardness.

“That sounds great Kaede. I’m glad you’ve found the joy in your life.” Shuichi said. Kaede just paused and looked at him weirdly. “I mean- that was weird, wasn’t it? Sorry I just..” Shuichi sputtered, looking away. This always happens when they meet. He could never get over his own social awkwardness, not to mention the whole ‘Kaede being alive again’ that only made it worse.

“It’s okay.” Kaede responded, “I don’t know if this is too much but, from what I’ve heard, you’ve had some hard times in your life.” If only she knew. “I hope you’re able to find your own joy in your life too.”

Shuichi took a shaky breath, knowing tears were rolling down his cheeks...

“Shuichi? Are you okay?” Kaede asked, while he was trying (and failing) to hide his tears.

“Thank.. you..” He barely spoke.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry!” Kaede exclaimed worriedly.

“No, no.” Shuichi sniffled, “It’s okay. It’s not a bad thing.”

Kaede just sighed and shook her head, “ugh what was I thinking, I don’t know why I brought it up.” She muttered.

“No no, I understand. It’s kinda a hard thing not to bring up with me.” Shuichi said, wiping away his tears.

“Really? I mean, I don’t know what happened but your other roommate gave me some details.” Kaede said guiltily.

“Wait what.”

“Oh did she not tell you? Uhm she wears red, big pigtails?” Kaede summed up Maki perfectly in six words.

“I can’t believe you’ve met both my roommates.” Shuichi said stunned.

Kaede just giggled, “whoops.”

Shuichi just smiled and shook his head, “wow.” was all he could say.

“I guess I’ve accidentally been worming my way into your life.” Kaede said jokingly.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I don’t really mind.”

“Wait really? From our first interaction I thought you might’ve hated-“

No. Not again

“What?!” Shuichi exclaimed, “I mean- no I don’t. I was just.. caught off guard the first time.” They both stood in a solemn silence for a moment, “I’d like to have you in my life.” He said. Kaede looked back to him, stunned. “If you would like to have me in yours, I mean.” He added.

Kaede giggled at him. “Well if you insist.” Shuichi just smiled back, trying to hide his various swirling emotions.

Afterwards they exchanged numbers and not long after Kaede bid him farewell and she left the store. Shuichi just stood in the aisle, trying to process what had just happened. Even though he had just reunited with one of his fallen classmates, one he had longed to see, Shuichi felt… numb? Not negatively numb, just… speechless. He couldn’t tell what to feel. But this was a good thing, he knew that. At least it was good for him… Shuichi picked up the record that he was looking at before, examining it like he had never seen it before. He smirked, looking over the simplistic cover. “I’d like to buy this please.” Shuichi said, handing it to the clerk at the counter.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

“Shuichi?” Himiko asked. “Yeah?” He said, hanging up the vinyl on the wall. “Why did you buy that? We don’t own a record player.”

Chapter Text

“Hey have you seen this weird virus going around?” Kaito asked. They were currently doing one of their 'hangouts' (which really just meant vegging out on the couch and watching the basic cable channels that came with the trio's TV which just showed terrible B movies)

“Like a sickness?” Shuichi responded.

"nah man, like technology stuff."

"Oh! No I haven't, what does it do?"

“I dunno, I only heard about it. I hear it scans your entire computer and steals your personal data.” Kaito shrugged.

“Yikes, good to know, I’ll keep an eye out.”

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

For the rest of the day Shuichi could not stop hearing about this “mysterious virus.” He overheard a surprising number of people chatting about it, it seemed like it was spreading fast.

“Ugh, I thought my computer was going to explode. My entire screen went black and there was some weird text on it. Luckily it seems like nothing was destroyed.” A girl said to another.

“Ugh, that sucks! I’m glad that I haven’t gotten it yet.” The other girl replied.

“Yeah well I hope the bastard who got my info doesn’t mess up my credit.”

Shuichi shook his head and went back to preparing some food, he shouldn't be eavesdropping. Although his curiosity was peaked about this "virus" thing.

Even when he went on social media Shuichi saw people talking about. Though one thing shook him, when he saw what was trending one of the topics was.. Danganronpa.

Fuck, what was this about. He had barely heard anyone talk about it (besides him and the rest of the survivors.) Surprisingly the only people mentioning the show were people asking why… the virus shared a name with it? Apparently the virus was named DRKHV53.exe and people quickly deduced that the letters and numbers matched up with DanganRonpa; Killing Harmony Version 53. Why it matched up was beyond anyone, it was probably a coincidence but it was still enough to unnerve him. There were too many coincidences happening in his life, it felt Danganronpa was coming for him and it wasn’t going to play nice.

₊˚⊹♡————— ♡ —————♡⊹˚₊

Kaede woke up on the wrong side of the bed apparently as today hadn’t been… in her favor. She felt like she was tripping over herself a lot, was late for a class, and-

“Omph!” Kaede exclaimed, bumping hard into someones side. “Ah, I’m so sorry!” She said, turning to the man. “Ah no worries!” The man with.. a weird hair cut said. Kaede just nodded sheepishly and continued on her way. At least he wasn’t upset… But that was just another thing that was going wrong today.

Hopefully having a sleepover with her friends would make her feel better.

₊˚⊹♡————— ♡ —————♡⊹˚₊

It wasn’t even a few hours later that Shuichi got a taste of this mysterious virus.

He was just trying to write down some notable events in a document to.. well document it when he got a notification. Huh, Maki left her email logged in. Before Shuichi logged out for her he saw that her coworker sent her an email. And like a dumbass he decided to open it, apparently forgetting how most viruses spread. Immediately he saw something downloading and it finally it hit him. Now he’d have to face up to what this virus had in store, even if it wasn’t related to Danganronpa.

Like the girls had said his computer’s screen turned an inky black before green texts quickly scrolled through, no doubt it was code. It was also definitely scanning the computer for all personal data as his, Maki’s, and Himiko’s names appeared in the code. After lines and lines of code speeding past him on the screen it flashed for a bit before a familiar face appeared on screen.

“Ah, are you Saihara-kun?”

A tear rolled down Shuichi’s cheek, “Kiibo?!”

“Ah! You are! Excellent! Are Harukawa-san and Yumeno-san with you?” The computer asked.

“U-uhm, no? Kiibo, you can use our first names.”

“Ah, sorry. It was programmed into my systems to be formal until I get to know you.”

Oh.. Oh no. Shuichi felt more tears well up in his eyes, “Do.. you not remember me?”

Kiibo looked at the bottom of the screen, “I’m sorry but the Kiibo you would've known has been destroyed, at least that's what I've come to understand. I'm a version of Kiibo's software they prepped before the killing game, so while I'm the version of Kiibo you met during the killing game I don’t have the intimate memories he made with everyone.”

Shuichi just tried his best to hold back his tears and just nodded. Why is it when he gets someone back in his life they’ve forgotten him?

Kiibo looked around the screen, “I don’t see Haru... Maki or Himiko with you, are they not with you?”

“Ah, Himiko’s just in her room and Maki is at-“

Right as he said that the apartment door swung open with an annoyed Maki standing there. “Ugh.. My coworker took my shift, again, and didn’t tell me.” She grumbled, throwing her uniform in a pile on the floor.

“Well, it looks like Maki just got back.” Shuichi stated, getting her attention.

“Who are you talking to-“ Maki asked, walking over and freezing when she saw what was on the screen.

“Ah! Harukawa- I mean, Maki. Hello! I hope you remember me!” Kiibo said cheerfully.

Maki clasped her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her cries, “Kiibo?” She asked weekly.

“Ah, I’m sorry to make you cry, that was not my attention.” He said, his expression turning worried.

She wiped her tears, “No, no… don’t worry about it. I’m just.. surprised to see you again.” She said, taking a seat next to Shuichi.

“I understand, it must be a shock to see me again.” Kiibo responded.

“So… how?” Shuichi interjected.

“I will reveal that when we have all of the survivors present. Do you know where Yumeno-san is?” Kiibo asked.

As if on cue the other girl walked out of her room, carrying a duffle bag. “What are you guys doing, I gotta get over to my...“ Himiko suddenly stopped talking when she saw what was on the screen.

“Woah.”

₊˚⊹♡————— ♡ —————♡⊹˚₊

Kaede huffed as she slumped down in-front of the loveseat Miu had in her room. “I dunno, today’s just been.. weird for me.” She complained.

“Oh yeah? How so, he didn’t finish?” Miu joked, getting Kaede to wave a pillow at her.

“Eww Miu!” Tenko looked at her in disgust, “how dare you would insinuate that Kaede would have intercourse with a degenerate male!” She exclaimed.

Miu just shrugged off the complaints, “in all seriousness you good Akamatsu?” She asked in earnest this time.

“Yeah, I’m just… off I guess.” Kaede said.

“Y’know, same here. There’s like a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.” Tenko chimed in, “and don’t make that into an innuendo!” She pointed to Miu who just stuck her tongue out.

“Ditto. And it’s not just from the copious amount of drugs I take.” She responded cheekily.

“Looks like we’re all in the same boat.” Kaede said, switching her tone to a more upbeat one. “Maybe Himiko is feeling better than us.”

The others chuckled, “speaking of, where is she? Didn’t she say she’d be here fifteen minutes ago?” Tenko asked, Miu quickly pulling out her phone to check her texts.

“Yup, but maybe she’s running late, I wouldn’t worry too much.” She said nonchalantly.

Kaede hummed, “well okay. What should we do until she gets here?”

“I dunno,” Miu said, “wanna go rent a movie?”

"Weren't you just complaining the other week that you couldn't afford all the different streaming services out in the world? Your words m

₊˚⊹♡————— ♡ —————♡⊹˚₊

“Now then! Since everyone is here,” Kiibo said after Himiko had calmed down from seeing him. Surprisingly she didn’t cry, out of all of them Shuichi thought she’d be the one to cry. “I’d like to share what exactly I’m here for.” Kiibo continued.

“You’re here for something?” Maki inquired.

“Yes. After the 53rd killing game ended Team Danganronpa neglected to delete my code. After awhile I was able to get myself back online, just not… physically.” Kiibo explained.

“Huh… is that even possible?” Himiko asked.

“Apparently.” Maki responded.

“That still doesn’t explain /what/ you’re here for.” Shuichi interjected.

“Ah, that.” Kiibo said, an ascii art sweat drop appeared on the right side of his head. “I just don’t want to breach a sore subject if you’re not ready for it.”

There was only one topic that was a sore subject in their household.

“You’re talking about…” Shuichi trailed off...

“Our dead classmates.” Maki finished.

Kiibo looked to the bottom of the screen, “yes. But it may be a little more complicated than that.” He said solemnly.

“Uhm, if I had to take I guess,” Himiko said nervously, “you’re gonna tell us they’re not actually dead?”

Kiibo looked shocked for a second, “yes exactly. How’d you guess that specifically?” He asked.

“Uhm..” Himiko just muttered.

“We’ve actually met some of them.” Shuichi interjected awkwardly.

“Oh… Well that’s good!” Kiibo said. “Then I guess that makes all our lives easier!” He said with a smile.

“..What do you mean by that?” Maki asked hesitantly.

“I will now explain.” Kiibo said matter of factly, yet with a kindness in his voice. “Though on the outside, the show Daganronpa looks like everything plays out exactly like on screen, including the on screen deaths. However, like all T.V shows, that was a lie. Though it looks like your classmates suffered through those terrible punishments they were actually kept safe and sound in a stasis chamber.”

Everyone paused, before Maki quietly asked, “…how?”

Kiibo nodded (well as best he could) “They were replaced with either realistic dummies in the cases of the victims and life-like robots, not unlike myself, during the executions.” He explained.

Everyone was still stuck in a state of paralysis. Even though Kiibo explained it all it didn’t seem… possible? It all seemed like something out of a sci-fi movie but that explanation seemed to put all the puzzle pieces together.

“That… doesn’t make any sense!” Maki said, the anger in her voice rising. “We were there with their bodies, /we felt them,/ they had to be real. It felt exactly like human skin!” She said forcefully but not shouting.

“Since Danganronpa was one of the most popular shows in the entire world they had quite the budget, they were able to make it as life-like as they needed to.” Kiibo explained.

“That’s.. I..” Maki stammered, “w-what about Kaede- she was literally right with us before she died! H-how does that fit into your explanation?” The desperation in her voice was palpable.

“We did get ushered into a different room.” Shuichi said gently, trying to put a hand on her shoulder.

Maki quickly swatted it away, “s-so what, you’re trying to tell me that the pain we went through wasn’t even real?! Are you saying I didn’t hold Kaito’s lifeless body in my hands as I grieved?! At least when they /were/ dead we could take solace in the fact that some part of what we went through was real! Now they’ve found another way to fuck with us, even after we’ve escaped!” She exploded, tears streaking down her face. Shuichi backed off, Himiko trying to hide in her cardigan.

“I’m sorry Maki. I don’t know how to comfort you in this situation.” Kiibo said more robotically than before.

“You can start by getting out of my life!” Maki shouted. “I never want to think about Danganronpa again! With you being here it’s all just going to come up over again! I CAN’T LIVE LIKE THAT- NOT AGAIN!!”

……

The air was still, Maki bracing herself, trembling from her violent sobs.

“Maki…” Shuichi whispered. “Maki, it’ll /always/ be with you. Even if you are able to bury it deep down inside you, some part of you will still remember. I know it hurts, out of anyone in the world we would know.” He said, motioning to Himiko who nodded solemnly. “But if you keep trying to ignore it and not trying to move past it then you’ll just… be stuck running away from everything. You’ll be scared to do anything in case it brings back up memories of the killing game. I’ve learned that /everything/ reminds me of what we went through there, I just have to remind myself that I’m a different person now and that… we stopped it. We won.”

….

“Did any of that make sense? I was just goin’ with my gut there…” Shuichi asked, rocking on his heels.

Maki sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, “whenever you make a good point you have a habit of making it awkward three seconds later.”

Shuichi just looked back at Himiko and Kiibo, “sooo… that was a yes?”

Instead of responding with words Maki just gave him a big hug followed shortly by Himiko who was sniffling.

“Well put Saihara-kun!” Kiibo said enthusiastically. Maki cleared her throat while blinking away her tears, “so Keebo, what were you going to say?”

˚⊹♡————— ♡ —————♡⊹˚₊

“Who even goes to video rental store anymore?” Miu asked

"You're the one who suggested it?" Tenko asked exasperatedly.

"yeah well I forgot how depressing these shitholes are."

“What, I thought it would be fun!” Kaede teased. “Besides we didn’t have anything better to do.” She said, swinging her arms back and forth enthusiastically.

“What if Himiko showed up to an empty house?” Miu stated.

“Then you would be a lousy host.” Tenko chimed in, Kaede giving a singular “Ha!” In response. “Okay well then fuck me I guess.” Miu groaned, rolling her eyes.

“Fair point!” Kaede said cheerfully, weaving around the decrepit shelves. She faintly heard Miu groaned again as they went to different parts of the store. She wouldn't call it a "shithole" but she could admit it wasn't far off. Everything seemed like it was covered in a layer of ancient dust.

"Found one!"

Miu shouted from the back of the store.

"What genre is it?" She asked, making her way back to where she was. The other girl had a habit of showing them "something innocent" (Miu would say it was fine instead of innocent) but it then turned out to be a gruesome horror movie or a very schlocky and gross sci-fi movie from the 1970s. "Trashy reality TV!" Oh, and those. But at least all the girls had fun with them, even if it was just poking fun at how bad it is.

“Yeah right, what’s this show even about?” Tenko inquired, which was a very good point. It seemed really vague on the dvd sleeve.

"Sixteen contestants participate in a game of life or death in an all new season of Danganronpa! Hosted by the lovable Monokuma and his five new children!’ What did “life or death” mean? And what kind of game show had a warning sticker on the box?

“With any luck we’ve stumbled upon a raunchy gold mine!” Miu quipped. Keade wasn't going to point out the show was only a year old.

Tenko making a noise of disgust. “What if poor Himiko stumbles upon us watching such filth!? What will she think of us…” She whined.

“Man you really care about what Himiko thinks of you.” Miu said slyly, encroaching into her personal space.

“Ugh, you always take things in the worst possible way!” Tenko practically shrieked.

“Let’s just focus on checking out and getting home fast.” Kaede interrupted. She’d rather they not start a screaming match in the middle of the store.

With a huff and a bit of protesting Kaede quickly rented out the tv show and grabbed a couple of snacks to go along with it.

thankfully the two other girls didn't put up much of a fuss and they were able to get back home in a timely fashion (not before Miu popped into a convience store to get more snacks because "mama's hungry."

“Himiko’s still not here?” Tenko muttered shyly.

“Oh don’t get your titties in a twist, she’s probably fine.” Miu quipped, kneeling down and shuffling over to her DVD player on the floor.

“Miu!” Tenko snapped, more tense this time.

“Hey now,” Kaede interjected, “I understand you're worried, I am too, but Miu is right, the bus is probably running late or something.” She assured.

Both of them just huffed and Miu resumed putting the movie on. She shuffled back up against the bed Kaede was sitting on as the menu displayed that weird teddy bear’s eye and a voice in the background said “Danganronpa!” Kaede already felt uneasy. Maybe this was a bad choice.

Miu flicked through the options with the remote and selected play from the beginning. Everybody held their breathes as the screen switched to black. “We’ll finally see what’s so dangerous.” Miu teased before falling oddly quiet.

Arial shots of a school building inter spliced with shots of people doing day to day things played while an announcer spoke. “Sixteen students, all handed picked, are here to compete on the 54th season of Danganronpa!!” Kaede was expecting Miu to butt in with some quip about how this schlock had gone on for 54 season but.. nothing. The air was deathly still for some unknown reason.

“Thrills, chills, kills! This show’s got it all! And without further ado, let’s introduce the stars our show!” The clips and voice quickly cut out before a camera feed from inside a classroom faded in. It also seemed oddly still, there weren’t any people in the room but it still seemed… foreboding? However one of the lockers one of the left corner of the room began to violently shake before a girl came tumbling out. It felt like a breath was snatched from her throat.

“Hey… Is that you?”

˚⊹♡————— ♡ —————♡⊹˚₊

“The reason I wanted to contact you was to contact the others and remind them of Danganronpa.” Kiibo explained.

“Why should we do that? Wouldn’t it be better if they didn’t know at all?” Maki asked.

“That would be true but I have a feeling they’re going to find out anyway. They will be drawn to it and it could be a shock to “fall into the deep end” so to speak. I think it would be better to hear it from you.” Kiibo said.

“That… makes sense…” Shuichi muttered. It was the only thing that made sense that day.

Maki just huffed, “…fine. We’ll do that.”

“I know that will be hard for you Harukwa-san, I’m sorry to ask this of you.” Kiibo said somberly. Maki just looked to the floor, not replying at all.

“Right then, we’ll work on that Kiibo.” Shuichi said, just trying to ease the tension.

“Thank you! I’ll be here if you need anything.” He responded.

“Ah no!” Himiko shouted, “I forgot I had a sleepover to get to! I gotta go, I’m sorry!” She exclaimed as she ran out the door. Shuichi sighed, walking over the couch and flopping down.

This was going to be… hard.

Himiko ran up the stairs of the house, berating herself in her head. How could she forget something like this? Actually a lot had happened today, she hadn’t really processed it all yet. It explained a lot of questions she had about the reappearance of her dead friends. But it also brought up too many more questions. She sighed heavily as she reached the top of the stairs, almost running out of breath. Maybe she should bring up Danganronpa to them, just to see how they would respond. Himiko to a big breath just before opening Miu’s bedroom door.

What she saw took away any breath she had. Everyone was staring at the tv, an expression of horror, shock, and despair on their faces. Kaede was in tears, Miu looked pissed, and Tenko just looked.. empty. Himiko looked to what they were watching though she already figured it out. A giant piano loomed over the students, Monokid's head lay on the floor.

Oh god no.

“Kaede?” Himiko asked softly, stepping forward slowly.

“..That was me, right?” She practically whispered, “and I just died didn’t I?”

Himiko slowly came toward, putting her hand on Kaede’s shoulder. “I’m sorry…” She muttered.

After a moment of silence Kaede whispered “H-how.. How am I dead and alive? Am.. I a ghost?” She asked.

“Here, let me explain.” Himiko said loudly but calmly.