Danganronpa: Locked Doors of Despair

Ch.3 Daily Life Part 6: Of Angel Hair, Apologies, and Afterimages

Fujiko

Nothing like losing half your friends to make you totally homesick. But I'm not the type of girl to just cry myself to sleep when there's stuff to be done! No matter how dainty I may look, I'm a go-getter!

I march into the kitchen and grab a box of pasta out of the cabinet.

"Woah, woah, woah," Tozen interjects as he walks in the room. "What are you doing here?"

"My family used to always make angel hair pasta on Friday nights and eat it together! So I figured, hey, it'll be like a taste of home," I explain.

He sighs heavily. "I mean, that's really sweet and understandable, but the last time anyone let you in here, you started a grease fire, Fujiko."

"But there's no oil involved here," I point out.

"Yes, but I wouldn't put it past you to accidentally overfill the pot and burn your hands because it boiled over. Just let me handle it," he insists.

"Fiiiiiiine. But I'm not leaving! I'm gonna watch you, so that I can learn how to do it perfectly and you can leave me alone next time," I tease.

He rubs at his temples. "If you must. Okay, so first off, it's good to have a pot that's at least slightly deep. Fill it roughly two-thirds of the way. Maybe a little less. Tap water is fine." He demonstrates. "Now, this is a gas stove, so when you put the pot on the burner and turn it on, you're gonna hear a few clicks. Make SURE you actually see the fire ignite, because if it's just the gas, that's really dangerous. Now we'll just throw in some salt and wait for it to boil."

We spend a minute or two in awkward silence as I fidget, restless. "Can we just... talk? Like normal freaking people?" I plead.

"Sorry... I know this isn't about me. It's just... it goes against my ideals and beliefs about the world so strongly," he mumbles.

"What about it tips you off so much?" I ask, clacking my nails against the countertop impatiently.

"Doing that feels like a cheap shortcut," he denounces with a surprising amount of force.

"I just didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want them to hate me. And I didn't have faith in my own ability to move on. Because I know from experience that it takes me WAY too long to move on, and that was when I didn't have to see that person's face for weeks! Kana... I have to see her every single day!"

"But the hurt is important! The pain we suffer through is one of the most important things in the world! We all have our own deep, personal scars, and the process of overcoming it through our own willpower is part of the reason we're alive! It shapes our entire identity! I've been fighting... for years... just to be who I am now. And I'm still flawed as hell, but I just want to keep pushing through." His fists are clenched in determination, and his eyes are fierce.

"If my pain could hurt someone else, I don't care about how it'll impact my identity or whatever. My feelings could've really hurt the dancers, so I just wanted them gone, okay?"

"Look, I... I get it. I do. I'm bad with romance, too. I have a ridiculously tough time accepting it if anyone has feelings for me. Even if I reciprocate."

"Why? What happened?" I ask, starting to feel more sympathy.

"It's stupid. You'll think I'm just being overdramatic," he closes up again.

"Nuh-uh. I won't, I promise."

He sighs once again. "I had someone. When I was fourteen. And I was so excited, cause I thought she loved me for me. It's dumb to put so much faith in a relationship at that age, I know, but I was just so thrilled to be wanted like that."