Danganronpa: Painful Truth

Progress Report

With the sun now hiding behind the surrounding mountains and sinking lower, Shigeri headed back to Natsumi's mansion for food and sleep. They only had a couple more stops to make on the way.

Out of all of them, Natsumi's workshop was the only one that bore any internal resemblance to an actual garage. Grease-smeared tools and parts were strewn over every surface. A modified black sports car sat amid a few disassembled bikes. The basket for the hot air balloon sat in the corner.

Even though all of the vehicles within technically belonged to her father, Natsumi had free reign over any additional upgrades and maintenance she thought were necessary. With Kiki's help, they now had an assortment of transportation options befitting an evil organization.

She still couldn't remove them from the property without permission unless she wanted a loud and vulgar scolding from her father, but it was obvious that he would never refuse her request due to his pride in her driving and piloting skills. He tried to seem cold, but he clearly adored his wife and daughter.

Shigeri found her working on one of the drones Kiki had given her. "Whatcha doin'?"

Natsumi wiped her brow and lifted her goggles to shoot them a red-eyed glare. "You fuckin' blind, asshole? I'm baking some goddamn muffins."

"Clever," they yawned. "Guess I expected to see ya under a car or a helicopter or some shit."

She shook her head. "We won't need any transportation until the next phase of the plan. I'm gonna use these to help Yuri, so they're gonna have to be quiet, and they have to be ready to go long distances without any problems." She let out a sudden cute giggle. "Imagine the look on the boss's face if his plan got fucked over by a drone fallin' right into those fuckers' laps."

Shigeri snickered lightly along with her. Ordinarily, the idea of one of their cohorts being chewed out by their Supreme Leader over a botched scheme would be a hilarious thought...but not this time.

A similar thought seemed to occur to Natsumi as her grin faded to a grimace. "Especially this plan. Seems pretty goddamn important to him."

Shigeri nodded slowly. "I mean, yeah, kid's desperate," they muttered. "Pretty much already died to stop this dumbass murder show, and even that plan failed. Now he gets to try again, with the gang to help out instead of a buncha boring useless assholes with no memories, right? So of course he's gettin' serious."

They stared at the fountain in the yard absently for a few moments, then shrugged. "That's why I been askin' around, seein' what everyone thinks about the plan. Makin' sure he ain't goin' crazy. Ain't great at figurin' that shit out myself."

"Dumbass, the plan's fine," Natsumi snapped at them, but there was concern beneath her scowl. "But how the fuck is he doing after that shit? People don't die brutally and then just fuckin' get over it."

"Well yeah, because they're usually, ya know, dead?"

"And yet here's your sorry ass, out for a goddamn stroll. I don't give a fuck what you call it, you dipshits are best friends. If you can't be useful then at least offer some fucking support."

Shigeri rolled their eyes. "If that asshole wanted my support, I'd know already."

Natsumi held her fierce red-eyed glare on them for a few more moments before looking away with a sigh. "Yeah I fuckin' know that, I just..."

"I'll keep ya posted," they assured her, yawning as they headed inside. They snagged a tiny lightbulb on their way out. "Just focus on the plan. I won't tell the boss about how you were cryin' out here worryin' about him."