Chapter Text
Kaito had said his goodbyes and shambled his weakening body onto the spaceship. The spaceship that was to kill him - but what was the fun in that? Where was the justice? Kaito let out a pathetic cough as the rocket started up and blasted off into space.
He let his eyes drink in the sight of the stars, the sight of the moon and the sight of the other planets. Mars, Venus, Neptune.. It was all here. But Kaito knew it was fake. But even knowing it was fake.. It was beautiful. But even his view of the beauty couldn’t last forever.
Kaito could feel his heart failing. He began coughing, more and more, harder and harder. He wondered, between the flashes of pain from his throat, how he hadn’t coughed out an organ yet. But he figured it out as blood splattered out of his mouth and across the rocket, coating it all in a metallic substance that left a bad taste in his mouth.
He closed his eyes as he felt his heartbeat slow down. He had failed Kokichi. He had failed his classmates.. Shuichi was just an amazing detective. He chased the truth, no matter the cost of it. Kaito should’ve known that this would’ve been the outcome - it had happened with Kaede, after all.
Because, despite the pain, a detective chased the truth, right? Chased justice? But where was the justice? Where was it for classmates like Miu and Kokichi, who hadn’t been particularly liked? Where was it for Gonta, who didn’t even remember his crime?
This is my justice for them.
Kaito let a smirk cross his face as he finally settled into nothingness, letting go of life far before Monokuma’s punishment could harm him.
The next thing Kaito knew, he was waking up in a bed.
It all felt like a horrible dream - people he had never met in his life killing each other? Being executed for it? It all just made his head hurt, but as he went to turn over to get comfortable again, someone tapped his face.
“What the hell..?” Kaito’s words came out gruff and quiet, as though he hadn’t talked in a long time. He went to clear his throat, but hesitated - it didn’t hurt. He didn’t feel the need to cough to clear his lungs.
That’s what really woke him up. He quickly sat up, reaching hesitantly to touch his throat and chest. Nothing hurt. Nothing.. Hurt . He didn’t feel like he was dying - hell, he felt like he could jump up and leap across the room.
And upon thinking about leaping for joy, he finally took in his surroundings. He realized that he wasn’t in his bed, no; he was in a hospital bed. Wearing a hospital gown. He swallowed hesitantly, relishing in the feeling of relief he had when it didn’t hurt to do so, and glanced at the nurse at his bedside.
She had purple hair and bouncy bangs, and her longer hair was put into buns. She seemed a bit shy, freezing like a deer in headlights once Kaito noticed her. They sat, staring at each other for a moment, before she took a deep breath and hid her face behind her clipboard.
“You’re- ah, You’re awake! Good-d uhm.. Mor-morn-n-ing,” she managed out, gulping after the sentence was out. “I’m here to, ah.. Give you the rundown.”
“.. Rundown?” Kaito squinted at her, his brows furrowing. When she glanced at him over her clipboard, she seemed to nearly hide behind it again. “What do you mean by ‘rundown’?”
“I understand your confusion,” she began, “but let’s start sim-simple. My name is Mikan Tsumiki - I am the Ultimate Nurse. What is your name?”
“I’m Kaito Momota!” Kaito huffed out, making her flinch a bit. He softened his tone as he added, “I’m the Ultimate Astronaut, Luminary of the Stars!”
“W-Well, it’s nice to meet you Kaito!” Mikan managed. “So, uhm.. Big news, but let’s start with drinking from this glass of water.”
Kaito felt frustration bubble in his chest - was that just the blood coming back? - but reached as she offered the cup of water to him from his bed stand. He took a hesitant drink of it, finding it slightly difficult to swallow the liquid, but managing it better than he had in the later parts of the game.
THE GAME.
“How am I alive!?” Kaito cried, nearly spilling his water all over poor Mikan. She caught it just in time, gently taking it and setting it back on the bed stand. “I.. I died! Of my illness! The illness that’s just.. Gone now?”
“Ok, Kaito, breathe for me,” Mikan instructed as she sat next to his bed, setting her clipboard down on his lap. “This is going to be a lot, but none of the game was.. Real. All of your classmates are alive and well, though recovering from psychological injuries.”
Mikan must have seen the confusion on his face, because she smiled softly before clarifying, “Their brains think they still have the injuries from their death. Your friends Kaede and Miu are struggling to speak because of a mental block - but that does not mean their vocal cords are actually damaged.”
“Oh,” Kaito hummed, looking at the clipboard in his lap. “So.. Are all of us are alive? Even Rantaro and Miu and… Kokichi?”
“Yes, your friend Kokichi is alive,” Mikan confirmed gently. “But he isn’t quite coherent yet. So don’t go rushing to see him - give him his space.”
“Okay..” Kaito hummed again, furrowing his brows again. “Is.. Is Tsumugi alive, too? Was Ouma right about her?”
Before death, Kokichi had admitted he truly knew who the mastermind was - plain ol’ Ultimate Cosplayer Tsumugi. He even theorized that she had been apart of the team of people who were making their pain a tv show. Kaito had thought he was ridiculous and telling another one of his lies. Kokichi had insisted - and even killed himself for it.
“.. Yes,” Mikan whispered. “Tsumugi is still alive. Kokichi had everything right.”
“... That bitch..”
Kaito gripped his hands into fists. He would never hit a woman - never ever in his life. Women were to be respected, never to be harmed.. But Tsumugi wasn’t even human. She was a fucking monster - one who wrote him and his friends to die.
“.. The Tsumugi you knew was not the real Tsumugi,” Mikan interjected, sensing his anger. “She was just as much a victim as the rest of you, Kaito. Don’t let your anger keep you from seeing the truth.”
“... You’re right,” Kaito sighed. “So.. None of us are our real selves.”
“That’s right.. Danganronpa is a very powerful company,” Mikan hummed, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. “They can change anyone into anything and erase whatever came beforehand, like you were a sketch before the lineart. They don’t care about it - not about the consequences, or the damages, or..”
Mikan stopped herself and took a deep breath. Kaito felt pity bury itself in his stomach, watching as this feeble woman took multiple deep breaths to calm herself. She couldn’t have been much older than him, but there was something about how she looked at him that made her feel like she had been alive hundreds of years.
“I participated in Danganronpa, too,” Mikan muttered, standing slowly. Kaito offered her clipboard back to her, and she took it, looking grateful. “It.. It was hard. To recover. We will give you all a few days to gather yourselves, and for the others to wake up, and have you all meet in the cafeteria for briefing.”
“Who isn’t awake yet?” Kaito couldn’t help but blurt out the question, watching as Mikan flipped a couple pieces of paper up to answer his question.
“U-Uhm,” Mikan hummed, licking her lips nervously, “Tojo, Kirumi.. Ouma, Kokichi.. Harukawa, Maki.. Yumeno, Himiko.. Saihara, Shuichi.. Shirogane, Tsumugi.. And Shinguuji, Korekiyo.”
From the grimace on Mikan’s face, Kaito could tell that most of those people were supposed to be awake. Mikan sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, her hand shaking as she did so, before bringing her clipboard up to hide her mouth. Kaito waited for her to speak for a moment.
“Your, uhm... Si-Sidek-k-kicks should be wak-k-king up... Soon,” Mikan manages, fidgeting. “For the others, we... We-We uhm...”
“You can say it,” Kaito assures her, his headache pounding against his skull.
“We aren’t... Sure if they’ll ever wake up.”
It had been two weeks since Kaito had woken up. Kirumi and Korekiyo had woken up, thank God. Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko, too. Kaito had visited Kokichi a few times but was always shooed away by other nurses and occasionally Mikan before Kokichi became coherent enough to speak to Kaito.
In the meantime, Kaito had showered. God, a shower felt so nice. He didn’t realize how greasy he was - how long his hair had apparently gotten while he was asleep and in the ‘simulation’. Kaito had chalked it up to being like Miu’s, just... Way more detailed.
But he let himself stand in the hot water, breathing in the steam until he felt dizzy, just thinking. About it all. About his friends, about Ouma... About Kiibo. Kiibo was apparently a real person, like the rest of them. He was alive, and breathing, and had to deal with never quite feeling human again.
Eventually, Kaito got too dizzy and got out of the shower. The hospital had supplied them with basic clothing consisting of black sweatpants and white shirts. Everyone got the same outfit, but Mikan helped pull a few strings.
Kaito had his jacket again. It had just appeared one day when he woke up, and the childish joy had made him giddy. Miu had her goggles, Kaede her hairpins, Maki her scrunchies... Mikan had even gotten Shuichi his hat. But whenever Kaito tried to thank her, she simply brought a finger to her lips, winked, and went, “I don’t know anything about that, Mister Momota.”
Eventually, it hit the third week, and the hospital decided it was time for them all to meet in the cafeteria. Beforehand, they had been allowed to visit each other, though very briefly, and Kokichi had been completely isolated. Kaito found himself fidgety at the fact he didn’t know what Kokichi was up to. Not because he thought Kokichi was a threat, nah - not anymore.
He was more worried about what other crazy self-sacrifice Kokichi thought he had to make. Though they were safe now, surrounded by staff who understood them, Kokichi knew better than anyone not to let his guard down. Every night, though Kaito knew he had to relax, he also reminded himself that just because the game is over doesn’t mean it’s safe.
He just had to get Kokichi and get the hell out of here. It couldn’t be that hard… Right?
When he saw Kokichi have to be wheeled in by staff, apparently half conscious, Kaito knew that it would be far harder than he thought. He kept glancing at the smaller boy, who just looked... Tired. And like he was in pain. Even as Mikan set her hand on his shoulder and told him he had to pay attention; he couldn’t quit looking.
He had never seen Kokichi like that, except for right before he died. It made Kaito want to knock out all the staff and take Kokichi and run to the far corners of the earth and protect him for the rest of their lives. Even though he knew Kokichi would threaten to whoop him for that thought, Kaito couldn’t help it.
Mikan eventually led Kaito over to the boy and let Kaito sit next to him. Kaito nearly tripped over his own feet going over to him, making a ruckus as he struggled to grab a chair and get it to his destination. Sure, he was embarrassing himself, but who fucking cared?
The behavior earned a glare of suspicion from Maki, and Kaito knew he was in for a difficult discussion, but thankfully Mikan clearing her throat saved him from the confrontation at that exact moment. He dragged his gaze away from Kokichi and looked up at her, where she had half her face hidden behind her clipboard. Kaito waited patiently, reaching and gently grabbing Kokichi’s wheelchair.
He wanted it to convey something similar to I’m here, don’t worry, but it mostly screamed Please let you be real, I think I’ll combust if I lose you all over again .
“Oookay,” Mikan breathed out, lowering her clipboard with shaky hands. “Now that we’re all mostly awake, let’s start-art-art the uh... Meeting!”
“Yahoo! Atua has blessed our patience!” Angie chirped, clapping her hands together excitedly. This earned a slight look from Tenko, but the girl quickly looked away and back over at Mikan, who seemed a bit caught off-guard by Angie’s outburst.
“Ah, y-y-ye-e-es, he, uhm, has,” Mikan replied gently, turning to address the full crowd again. “So, since Danganronpa has been canceled... For now... and the company is now struggling financially due to lawsuits, ah... You all will have to be placed outside of the hospital. Unfortunately, none of you... Uhm...”
Kaito squeezed his eyes shut. He knew what she was going to say - None of you have homes to go back to . The room suddenly felt heavy, and when Kaito opened his eyes again, Mikan was breathing deep breaths. Trying to calm herself down.
“Anyway! B-But because of this, past D-Dan-Danganronpa contestants have signed up to take some of you in...!” Mikan chirped, trying to bring the mood up. “W-We have considered your relationships with each other extremely carefully before making this list, so p-please give it a read when you can...!”
Mikan began bustling around the room, handing each and every one of them a flier. Kaito thanked her quietly as he was handed his, and Kokichi’s was simply set on his lap. Kaito felt his stomach drop as he read the list, though - being homed with Maki was definitely not going to help him avoid that confrontation.
He glanced over the list again.
MOMOTA, KAITO & HARUKAWA, MAKI - HINATA, HAJIME & TANAKA, GUNDHAM & KOMAEDA, NAGITO
OUMA, KOKICHI & IRUMA, MIU - TOGAMI, BYAKUYA & NAEGI, MAKOTO & KIRIGIRI, KYOKO
K1B0 & YONAGA, ANGIE - NAEGI, KOMARU & FUKAWA, TOKO
TOJO, KIRUMI & CHABASHIRA, TENKO - TSUMIKI, MIKAN & MIODA, IBUKI & PEKOYAMA, PEKO
AKAMATSU, KAEDE & SAIHARA, SHUICHI - OWARI, AKANE & SOUDA, KAZUICHI
SHIROGANE, TSUMUGI & SHINGUUJI, KOREKIYO - NEVERMIND, SONIA
YUMENO, HIMIKO - LUDENBERG, CELESTIA
AMAMI, RANTARO & GOKUHARA, GONTA - OOWADA, MONDO & ISHIMARU, KIYOTAKA & FUJISAKI, CHIHIRO
HOSHI, RYOMA - ASAHINA, AOI & OGAMI, SAKURA
Kaito had never heard of any of these people, except for Mikan, who he only knew because of the hospital. He shifted slightly in his chair before glancing at Kokichi, who seemed to be reading the list. Kaito felt frustration bubble in his stomach - why hadn’t they been homed together?
But then Kaito remembered that Mikan basically said they based it off of their relationships in the game. No wonder he got homed with Maki Roll - their relationship made it evident that it was safe to home them together. Surely they were trying to avoid issues.
But Kaito realized that there was an issue as Miu stood up so fast that her chair clattered against the floor, signing angrily at Mikan, whose hands were shaking. Kaito tightened his grip on Kokichi’s chair - he was going to protect him. He waited and watched as Miu turned and stormed over to the both of them, reaching with one hand to grab Kokichi and reeling back the other to punch him, before Kaito intercepted, cutting her off.
Miu stepped back as he stepped in front of her, her eyes widening, before she began signing at him angrily. He didn’t understand what she was signing at him, but he stood his ground stubbornly, glaring at her. It took a few seconds, but when Miu realized he wasn’t going to move, she punched his chest just hard enough for him to feel it before turning and storming back to her seat.
“.. I-I understand that you do not like Ouma, Miu,” Mikan started, her hands trembling slightly, “but.. You were our safest option. I-I mean, uhm, we thought about.. Homing him with some-someone else, but..”
“But none of us want to live with the fucking guy,” Maki snarled, glaring at the floor before glaring at Kaito. He brought his gaze to the floor and sat back down. After that, Maki shifted her gaze to Mikan. “Why would any of us want to? Can’t he be homed by himself, like Himiko or Ryoma?”
“.. No,” Mikan stated, her voice surprisingly firm. “Ouma is.. Still recovering from his virtual death. He needs someone to keep an eye on him - not just your supervisors. That’s one of the reasons Kirumi is coming and living with me - she needs help. She needs someone who has medical knowledge to help her.”
Maki, though seeming slightly taken aback, simply shifted her gaze away, back to the floor. Kaito recognized the malice, the anger on her face - it was the same look she had when she would grab Kokichi. Just the thought of it made him reach and touch his own throat and glance at Kokichi.
He hadn’t noticed it before, but.. Kokichi was covered in bruises. There was a ring of one around his neck, where Maki had grabbed him. Had she really held on that tightly? Had she truly felt that much hate towards someone who had been a victim, just like them? If Mikan had pushed any further, would Maki have hurt her, too? The thought made his stomach churn.
“... I can’t stre-stress enough that.. We all thought about man-man-many-y different homing situ-u-ations,” Mikan managed. “B-But between that and some of our former participants s-signing up to take some of y-you speci-ci-cifically, some of our hands were.. Tied.”
“.. Who was signed up for?”
Ouma’s voice, though quiet and scratchy, seemed to burst both of Kaito’s eardrums. He whipped around to look at the smaller boy - his gaze was still distant, as though he were living in a different galaxy, but his words were clear. He wanted an answer.
He wanted to know if he was wanted.
“.. Y-You were signed up for, Ouma, if that’s what you’re asking,” Mikan replies, swallowing audibly afterwards. “I-I can’t share who else was signed up for unless they ask, so..”
Mikan went quiet, seemingly waiting for someone else to ask. Kaito wanted to - he wanted to know who wanted to take in some fucked up kid. But there was something holding him back; the fear of the despair the word ‘no’ would cause. He wanted to know if he had been wanted, too, but.. Could he handle it if Mikan said no? Could he handle the thought that nobody wanted him?
“... O-Okay, then,” Mikan shifted gears once it was obvious nobody was going to say anything, “well, then, if there’s no more questions.. I-I guess we’ll all let you meet the people who you’ll be.. Living with..!”