Danganronpa: Painful Truth

Rescue

"So now that you know everything, you'll join us, won't you?"

Kokichi's eyes flashed with rage for a brief, nearly imperceptible moment, but then he grinned brightly. "Wooooow so you guys were the masterminds the whole time? And all those horrible gruesome deaths were just pranks? Nee-hee-hee!" he giggled. "That's soooo cool! Can I have your autographs?"

The identically-suited figures glanced at each other with carefully guarded confusion. "...In due time. So that means you accept?"

"Of course!" Kokichi's grin widened.

The man at the front of the group nodded his approval, with a small sigh of relief. "Your contributions will be valuable, Mr. Ou-"

"Whoops, that was just a lie."

"Excuse me?" The group scowled, nearly in unison. "This is no time to be playing games."

"Sorry~" Kokichi's face adopted a remorseful expression that didn't match his singsong voice. "I feel super bad for lying to you guys...but the truth is, I can't join your evil organization. I'm already the supreme leader of my own criminal syndicate!" His expression turned mysterious. "But obviously you guys already knew that, right? I mean, what kind of evil organization doesn't research their enemies and victims?"

"Evil?" one of the members scoffed. "We are trying to stop the despair from spre-"

"But you know what else?" Kokichi interrupted again, a smirk spreading over his face. "No evil organization worth anything would really leave their supreme leader to die."

Before anyone could attempt to reply, an explosion of smoke erupted between Kokichi and the group. The Future Foundation members shouted frantically and drew their weapons. Suddenly, an excited cackle joined the cacophony from above them. "Congratulations, Future Foundation! You've earned the right to be my new arch-nemesis!"

As the smoke cleared, they looked up to see Kokichi, clinging to a rope ladder that dangled from a hot air balloon. He waved dramatically at them, smiling like an excited child. "We'll try to make it as fun as possible!"

***********

As Kokichi climbed the ladder, he kept his face frozen in a carefully crafted frown of annoyance. It nearly broke when he saw four of the nine clown masks of the DICE gang grinning blankly back at him.

"Heya Boss! Welcome back!" A round masked figure with a loud, rough voice clapped him on the shoulder. "We knew ya wouldn't get killed off by some dumb murder show!"

"But..." A quiet voice spoke up. "We were watching...Boss...didn't you...get squished?"

"What? Nah Yuri, ya dummy, weren't ya watchin'? That was the astronaut guy!"

"No, it was me," Kokichi interjected casually.

"Woah, damn!" The stocky one laughed. "Leave it to the boss to pick the most excitin' way to go out!"

"Are you...really...this stupid...Ryu?" Yuri sounded exasperated. "If he...died...then how...is he here?"

"Because he's the boss! Right Boss?"

"Whatever," Kokichi shrugged. "The killing game is all fake anyway, so it doesn't matter. Anyway, what took you guys so long? I thought I was gonna have to make small talk with those boring losers forever."

A short figure with spiky blonde hair turned and grumbled. "It took a while to convince my fuckin' dad to let me borrow the balloon. He's been all grumpy about some top secret work assignment. He told me to borrow the chopper first, I told him that we needed to be sneaky, goddamn it. So he said if I borrow the balloon I have to change the bag myself." She pointed upward at the white balloon that displayed a purple DICE logo.

Kokichi smirked. "Your dad is an ex-gangster and he can't even get his hands on a second hot air balloon? How lame."

She ignored him. "And don't you know how fuckin' slow these things are? Ever steered a hot air balloon, Boss? Shit, you're lucky we got here today."

"W-wait! W-what?!" A tall masked person with curly red hair cried out in panic. "B-boss, go back! What do you m-mean the killing game is f-fake?! It c-can't be FAKE! We've s-seen like fifty of th-"

"Don't strain your brain about it, Yoshi, you won't get it." Kokichi waved a hand dismissively. "Even I barely get it, and they just explained it to me."

"Y-yeah," they sighed with relief. "You're right, Boss! B-but, then, w-why would they make everyone think it's real? T-the past p-participants are never s-seen again, r-right?"

Kokichi rolled his eyes. He would never admit it, but Yoshi's naive enthusiasm now reminded him of his two most recent and far more temporary associates. Two associates whose lives he thought he'd risked in a pointless attempt to end a fake killing game. A fake killing game that had completely and thoroughly made a fool of him.

He sighed and leaned against the edge of the basket. "Alright, I'll explain the whole thing to you guys, if I have to." He glanced around disdainfully at the nervous Yoshi, the cautious Yuri, the excited Ryu, the annoyed Natsumi. Were the others waiting at their headquarters? Or was this small group that hovered over the city...all that remained of his friends? The thought made his chest ache. "But let's wait until we're back at the base. We have to start making a plan."

************

They landed neatly in the spacious backyard of an enormous mansion on the side of a forested mountain. Every decoration that adorned the yard, from the flowery gazebo to the ornate fountains to the creepy angelic statues, reflected the wealth that Natsumi's family had managed to reaccumulate since the supposed restoration of society. The mansion that stood a little further up the mountain was somehow even more magnificent, as if constantly inspiring competition.

Once the balloon had safely touched down, Yoshi and Ryu leapt from the basket excitedly.

"Let's goooooo! It's finally time to celebrate!"

"Y-yeah! The b-boss is back!"

Yuri crept after them, long brown hair trailing behind her. "You guys...boss said...we gotta...start planning..."

Natsumi stayed behind, grumbling as she extinguished the flame and allowed the envelope to deflate. "Go on ahead, Boss," she muttered. "Dad said I gotta leave this shit how I found it or I'm fuckin' grounded again."

"Nee-hee-hee! What a good little girl." He faced the mansion, willing himself forward, but something held him in place.

"Shut the fuck up." Natsumi pulled up her mask for visibility, revealing her impatient glare. She spared him one more subtle glance before beginning the task of unhooking the bag from the basket. "You wanna help or somethin'?"

Kokichi wrinkled his nose as he watched her perform the tedious chore. "Uh, no."

Natsumi smirked at him. "Oh, I get it. You're scared to go in." She giggled more cutely than her vernacular suggested. "Pussy."

He narrowed his eyes at her annoyingly accurate observation. His voice took on an even more mocking tone. "Pretty rich coming from the little girl out here busting her ass so she doesn't get gwounded."

Her face morphed into a scowl, but her red eyes softened, only slightly. "Hurry the fuck up, they're all waiting. Get in there before they realize their supreme leader is a little bitch."