Live, Die, Wake up, Recover.

"A Song on the Beach/Photograph"

"It's all fiction! It's all a lie!"

Those words echoed throughout Saihara's head as he stared into blank nothingness. The most he remembered was telling Harukawa and Yumeno, "Let's get to the city, maybe then we'll find something." After that, everything just stopped. His mind barely registered what was real and what was not in the final trial against Tsumugi Shirogane, and after it was clear she was dead everything in the world just seemed to stop. Saihara seemed to just stop functioning, and so did the other survivors. After exiting the Academy for Gifted Juveniles, the mage admitted to feeling quite dizzy in the head. What was odd about the situation was that Saihara had felt the same, and Harukawa did as well even if she didn't speak it. The boy's mind felt fuzzy, almost like he was in a daze. He couldn't remember where he was, or if he was even alive. Saihara almost didn't know who he was. The most he could recognize were the sounds of something opening, and eventually a bright light was shone upon him. After that, everything had gone dark again.

The next time the detective awoke, his surroundings were fairly different. For starters, he could actually see where he was. He determined that he was himself, and that he must have been sleeping for a while. His legs had fallen asleep, supporting that deduction. Slowly and carefully, Saihara propped himself to sit up. His arms were wobbly, and he felt weaker than he remembered. He also realized that he was much thinner than he recalled. The boy noticed that he was not dressed in his ultimate costume, moreso in a hospital gown. His eyes adjusted to the brightness of his surroundings, and he soon deduced that he was being cooped up in a hospital. Only then did the ravenette feel the IV in his forearm. Golden eyes traveled from one side of the room to the other, taking in everything there was to see.

Saihara had also been hooked up to a heart monitor, which had been going rather slow. A camera was found in the top left corner of the room, most likely to check in on the detective. Directly to the right, there was his trusty hat and a small notecard. His hands shook as he lifted them, due to the fact they must not have been used for quite some time. The note's handwriting was incredibly neat, almost as if it was printed. However, the slight smudges in certain letters claimed the note was written by a person. Saihara brought the note into his lap, gripping it weakly with both hands to try and steady it enough to read. He saw that most words had been fuzzy to his eyes, quietly bringing the note closer to his face.

'Mr. Saihara,

Congratulations! Your killing game semester is over. We want to thank you for signing up with us at Team Danganronpa(tm) and as a thank you, your school uniform has been sent to you. We also have allowed you to maintain your memories from your experience and send your money in the mail. As another thank you and congratulations on being one of the final survivors, you have been woken up before most of your classmates! Your season will be aired a month after all contestants have been woken up and brought back to their former glory.

In case you were wondering, all deaths in our show are fake. This is to avoid lawsuits, and to make up for that all contenders of Danganronpa will slowly wake up. More times than not, culprits and victims wake up in the order that they died. In your case, Amami Rantaro will be the next contestant to wake up. (Team Danganronpa is not responsible for any trauma for scars left behind from it's simulations, and should not be held accountable for any suicidal thoughts or actions taking place after it's contestants are out of their control. We do NOT recommend participating in the next season if you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or actions).

Thank you for participating in Danganronpa 53: Killing Harmony.

Team Danganronpa.'

The detective could barely believe his eyes. Everything was fake, the thought rummaged through his brain like a hamster on a wheel. He felt overjoyed, as well as overwhelmed. This must have been what Amami was talking about in his tape. "You wanted this killing game." Saihara felt his mind catching up to him, practically throwing himself up and out of the bed. This caused him to go crashing onto the floor, his legs purely not being strong enough to hold his weight. The boy's golden eyes came to a glossy state, tears threatening to leave them. Saihara forced himself to stand, desperately wanting to find Yumeno or Harukawa. He didn't want to be alone. He could have called for someone, in fact he should have. But the detective simply did not have the strength to use his voice. He leaned most of his weight on the IV stand, limping his way out of the room.