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Sayaka Lovebot: GUYS!!! I just found this super long fic of Sayaka surviving the killing game!!!! It has 30k words already and 23 chapters! Ik you guys aren’t a fan of aus but it’s soooo good trust me
💤 : idk that’s kinda too long for me.. i was barely able to get through the 2k word oneshot u sent a few days ago
Sayaka Lovebot: I SWEAR YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!! There’s also a good amount of Sakura x Aoi in it and Sayaka is hinted at being lesbian ❤️❤️ It’s sooo good!!!!! I don’t wanna spoil anything but the author did Sakura sooo much justice
kirigiri luvr: omg i’ve read that before.. i thought their twist on trial 1 was very clever but ik a lot of leon fans hated it. it could’ve had more kyoko in it tbh but i thought her dynamic with sayaka was really interesting.. it’s cool how she almost functioned as a second protagonist. i was going to send it to you since it was very sayaka centric but u already found it
Sayaka Lovebot: You should’ve shown me earlier!!!! I bet Akamatsu-san will love it too bc of Sayaka!
💤 : find something shorter pls
Angie 🎨 : Himiko, if you’re interested, one of my favorite artists just released a comic of chapters 1-5! I was thinking of making some fan art too (:
💤 : send
kirigiri luvr: can i see it too?
(Angie 🎨 sent a link)
Sayaka Lovebot: Okay.. Sayaka does look really really adorable there but there’s a lot more development to her character if you would actually read the fic!
💤 : i’m okay… i'll stick to my podcasts ^^
Angie 🎨 : It’s just more thrilling to see it all drawn out!
Sayaka Lovebot: No. You’re not appreciating Sayaka properly.
Angie 🎨 : maybe you’re the one not appreciating her properly? ww
Tenko stared at the text and seethed, feeling the familiar anger boil in her gut. She couldn’t stand it when Angie teased her like this! Why did she have to be friends with Himiko?!
Sayaka Lovebot: And why did Yumeno-san add you again?
♡ kaede: Thanks for the rec Chabashira-san! Saihara-kun wouldn’t shut up about it but I think you’ve convinced me
Sayaka Lovebot: You’re welcome, Akamatsu-san!!! I know you’re still in the middle of that one Tsumioda fic you mentioned last week so take your time!
Sayaka Lovebot: Saihara-san should’ve told me about it though...
Angie 🎨: www
kirigiri luvr: sorry..
Tenko scoffed at her phone. She felt like the only point of that group chat was to talk to Himiko (if she could even consider it that) and to talk to Kaede. After a few minutes of aimlessly scrolling through social media, she perked up at another message from the group chat.
♡ kaede: What’s everyone doing this weekend btw?
Sayaka Lovebot: I’ll just be staying in!
💤 : our answers aren’t going to change... i’ll just be in bed
Angie 🎨: I’m also going to be staying inside!
kirigiri luvr: yeah
♡ kaede: You guys are so boring. I’m gonna go eat now.
Sayaka Lovebot: Bye Akamatsu-san!!!!
kirigiri luvr: bye!
Angie 🎨: Ttyl!
Tenko ignored the group chat after Kaede, not that anything of substance was said afterwards. She desperately wanted to hear from her more but didn’t want to bother her. After all, they hadn’t met in person just yet. To her surprise (and it felt as if her heart and her stomach performed a split second acrobatic routine) though, Kaede messaged her!
♡ kaede: Are you still online?
Tenko: Yes!!! Do you need anything?
Tenko’s heart kept pounding. Sure, she was ecstatic when talking to Himiko since she was adorable and let Tenko ramble on about stuff whenever she wanted (to an extent—Himiko usually stopped responding after a while or would just leave her on seen), but nothing compared to Kaede. Kaede cared about her and always seemed genuinely interested in and fascinated by what Tenko had to say. Comments like, “It’s cool how you know so much about this!” or, “That character is a lot like you, Chabashira-san” made her feel heard and appreciated. Not only was Kaede a great friend, but sometimes it even felt like she was flirting with Tenko. Of course, the easily-embarrassed girl convinced herself that it meant nothing, but it always flustered her nonetheless.
♡ kaede: remember how we live near each other?
Tenko’s eyebrows shot up. Her heart pounded. Is she asking because…?
♡ kaede: There’s supposed to be a tiny Dangan Ronpa themed cafe opening near my house. It honestly hasn’t gotten a lot of attention since it mainly focuses on the originals but I wanted to see it. I thought you’d like to come with me.
Her eyes went wide. Her mouth dropped. She was silent for a moment. Then, “OOOHHHHHHH!!!!!!! OOOHHHHOHOHHH!!!!! AKAMATSU-SAAAN!!!! YEAAAHH YEAH YEAH!!!” she soon began to squeal and violently kick her legs out like the lovestruck teenage girl she was. She ignored the clatter of whatever she kicked off her nightstand in the process and felt thankful that nobody else was home.
They had talked about meeting up before, she didn’t know it would happen so soon! What would she wear? What would she say? She’s never even seen Kaede’s face up close. She’d probably stare, and Kaede would be weirded out. Or Tenko would overwhelm her and Kaede would stop being friends with her. Tenko was nervous, yet ecstatic, and she quickly collected herself to type back with shaking hands.
Sayaka Lovebot: YES YES!!!! I OWJKD LOGE TO GO!!!!!
Tenko paused for a second after she tapped the send button. Maybe she should’ve calmed down first or double checked her message…
Also, why didn’t Kaede ask the group chat? Maybe she felt like she wasn’t close enough with Himiko or Angie yet, but she is basically best friends with Shuichi. She’s known him for the longest. Wait, maybe she did ask Shuichi, but he turned her down due to some dumb Shuichi problem, so Tenko was just a second option?
♡ kaede: okay, it’s a date then!
The insecurity and doubt that had been pooling in Tenko’s stomach dissipated at her message. Despite her warm face, Tenko once again told herself that there’s no need to get so flustered over a friend. Kaede was just being nice! A date didn't have to be romantic. It was probably just a friend date.
A sudden call from Kaede herself interrupted Tenko’s thoughts. She almost dropped her phone while trying to channel all her energy into pressing the answer button.
“H-Hello, Akamatsu-san!” she said louder than she intended, “I wasn’t expecting you to call!” Tenko swallowed She wanted to hit herself! She sounded so nervous! Totally cowardly and uncool and unnatural! She needed to get it together! She hoped that Kaede didn’t notice. Tenko began to hold her breath and breathe manually, paranoid that her friend would be able to hear her gross panting.
“Yeah, I guess I should’ve asked first.” Kaede’s voice was smooth and girlish, but not immature either. Tenko wished she had more opportunities to hear it besides the brief voice messages she’d send sometimes.
“I just prefer thinking out loud. You can write down the details for tomorrow.” Kaede gave Tenko their meeting location and some screenshots of the directions. Tenko admired that Kaede was organized. She almost felt like the leader of their little friend group.
“It opens pretty early tomorrow but we can come a bit later. How about meeting at the station around 11?” Kaede asked.
“That works for me!!” She typed the time in her notes and thought about what to say next. “Uh, I’m just wondering, you and Saihara-san have met before, right? Is he coming too? It’s fine if he is!” It definitely wasn't, but Tenko didn't want to offend her.
Tenko nervously waited for a response, playing with the wires of her earbuds and biting her lip out of habit. She cringed at the thought of Kaede seeing her bottom lip all bloody and chewed up and forced herself to stop. She stared at the ceiling in her room.
After a pause, Kaede chuckled. “We’ve hung out a few times before, but you know how Saihara-kun is.. he’s always turning down my offers. It gets really annoying, you know? The way he never leaves his room. Don’t mention it to him though. I don’t want him to feel like he missed out. He can always see it another day.”
Shuichi never struck Tenko as the type to miss out on something like this or feel bad at something like this, but she definitely wasn't complaining. She could just imagine walking around with a creepy, nasty, teenage boy with a hat covering his face… it gave her shivers just thinking about it. So, Tenko concluded that she should just be grateful toward Kaede for making the day a safe, girl-only event.
“I see! Well, I’m really excited for tomorrow! I can’t wait to see what you look like in real life!”
“Really? I’m nothing special. I’m more excited to see you, Chabashira-san.” Kaede’s sweet voice slightly deepened. “You know, with a sweet personality and a nice voice like yours, I’m sure there’s a cute girl to match.”
Tenko couldn’t help but smile and attempt to suppress a huge squeal at Kaede’s sudden compliments. She opted to flap her hands instead. “No! I’ve told you before! There’s nothing special about me at all… and I always make weird noises when I’m happy, and open my mouth super wide when I laugh. So there’s no way you’ll actually think that!”
“..Do I make you happy?”
“Um. Yes.”
“Then I’ll get to see all of those cute mannerisms tomorrow and judge for myself. I’ve said this before, but you’re too hard on yourself... it's a little depressing. I like you, and that'd be pretty difficult to change.”
Tenko’s self control surprised her! She felt as if her joy was overflowing from deep in her core and was sitting right at her throat. If she had even an ounce less of concentration, Kaede would’ve heard all of her excited screeches. Still, she would never hide her emotions from her friend and came to an internal compromise with herself.
“Akamatsu-san! You’re way too nice to me! I’m so excited I could just die!”
“I didn’t even say that much,” she chuckled. “It’s kinda amazing how easy it is to make you happy,” she said more quietly.
“Well.. when a sweet girl like you is nice to me, it’s hard not to get excited.”
Kaede shoved her face in her pillow as a grin spread across her face. Tenko thought she was sweet! She knew that Tenko was too good for her, but still resolved to confess during their day out. Having a girlfriend didn’t sound too bad. Maybe it was worth it to have
some
faith.