Danganronpa: Painful Truth

Trust

"I don't trust it," Maki stated automatically.

"Yeah, I agree, but..." I examined the laptop for a moment. Unlike the Flashback Lights, Exisals, or any of the other gimmicks from the killing game, there was nothing seemingly futuristic about it. The USB storage device had an impressive amount of space, but not unrealistic. Even the headset didn't appear to be terribly advanced. It looked more like an accessory from a video game console. "I think we should at least investigate for more information."

"I guess you're right," Maki relented. "But I'm not putting on that headset."

I nodded and plugged in the flash drive. There was a small list of folders there, but the one that caught my eye was titled 'Original Memory Backup.' Clicking on it revealed a list of fifty more folders, numbered 4 through 53.

I blinked. It seemed too easy. If the files contained what I thought, why was it being handed to us so plainly? Why would Monokuma, or whoever was controlling him, give us our original memories?

I opened the final folder in the list, the one labeled 53. It revealed a list of 15 files with an extension I didn't recognize, '.mem.' Each file bore the name of one of the participants of our killing game, with Tsumugi obviously excluded.

I hesitated. If I opened the file, would I be subjected to the effects of another Flashback Light? It wasn't unlikely that a copy of our original memories would be stored somewhere, but how would we know the difference?

"Don't do it, Shuichi," Maki cautioned. "Monokuma gave us that, remember? It's probably just more lies."

"But if so, then why?" I wondered. "That was my first thought too. So what would be the point of trying to reuse this trick on us now, when we know it's a trick?" I glanced at the headset on the table. "Besides, opening it doesn't necessarily mean we have to trust it. There's something I'd like to try first."

I right-clicked the file named 'saihara.mem' and selected 'open with...' from the menu. It suggested two programs. One of them seemed to be the software for the headset, and the other was a familiar video player. Holding my breath, I selected the latter and clicked 'open.'

The world didn't warp. There was no feeling of dramatic existential revelation. Instead, a jumble of short, nonsensical clips played, seemingly in no particular order. A first day of school. A Batman birthday cake with eight candles. Waving goodbye to a man and a woman, and hearing a higher version of my own voice call them 'Mom' and 'Dad.' Riding in a car with another man I called 'Uncle' who was buying me ice cream after a successful investigation.

In video format, at least, it obviously didn't function as a Flashback Light. It was simple visual data. And yet, for some reason, something about it felt strangely nostalgic, in a subtle, deeply internal way.

As the video ended, I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Shuichi...was that..."

"I don't know," I replied with a smile. "But this uncertainty is exactly what I was hoping for. If I suddenly felt sure that what I was seeing was the truth, we could assume that these videos have the same properties as a Flashback Light. But since I still don't know, that means that no matter what it means, it's just a video."

Himiko clapped her hands and snagged the laptop. "Oooh! Me next!"

Maki looked thoughtful for a moment. "I still don't need to see mine. If I really am an assassin like I thought then my past isn't something I want to relive. I'd rather focus on where we are and where we should go next."

"You're right," I agreed. "I don't know who broke us out of here, but we may as well follow them."

"Thaaaat's right!" Monokuma chimed in as he reappeared. "Unless you guys wanna be stuck here, waiting to be devoured by a swarm of much less charismatic Monokumas, you'd better move your asses!"

"A swarm...of Monokumas?" Himiko looked up from the laptop with a gasp. "I always knew I was destined to die in such a cute and horrible way!"

"Like I said, they're not all cute and friendly like lil' ol' me! I wanna help! But those guys just wanna rip ya to pieces!"

"Y-you're lying!" Himiko insisted desperately. "You're just telling us that to stop us from trying to leave!"

"Maybe I AM lying." Monokuma grinned slyly. "Or maybe not. But I guess if you don't believe me then you won't care about defending yourselves!" He dropped three electro hammers on the table beside the laptop. "I'll just leave this tooootally useless junk here for noooo reason! Puhuhuhu! Buh-bye!" He giggled and departed once again.

As he vanished from sight, something about his words stuck in my mind. I suddenly remembered where I had seen the grinning clown mask covering the dark half of Monokuma's face.

I nodded determinedly and picked up one of the hammers. After analyzing several pieces of information that I thought would no longer be relevant, I felt like I finally had an understanding of what was happening. I smiled slightly and turned to the others, full of hope from a source I never would have expected. "I think...we should trust him for now."

Maki narrowed her eyes. "You want us to trust Monokuma? Are you insane?"

"Not quite." I picked up the remaining pair of hammers and held them out to her and Himiko. "It's not Monokuma we're trusting. It's Kokichi."

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

"Whew, finally," Kokichi grumbled to himself. He released the control stick to wipe his forehead. Even though using Monokuma to startle and confuse them had been the most entertaining part of the plan so far, he still needed them to trust him enough to follow his suggestions. For once, Shuichi's deductive skills had truly been an asset to him.

He exited the control room and approached the Exisal that seemed to be having too much fun stomping around the hangar. "Okay, playtime is over."

Kaito stopped and raised the hatch, grinning. "How'd it go?"

"Your little friends are just as stubborn as you are, buuuut I managed to get them moving. Go meet up with them, but let them know who you are before they get too close. They have electrohammers now."

Kaito laughed loudly. "Hey, they're your friends too now, dude! Once we all get outta here, I'll make sure we all keep working together!"

Kokichi's eyes sparkled with exaggerated excitement. "Wooooow Kaito, you mean it? Maybe we can all have a sleepover! And Himiko could use her magic to paint my toenails! Hey, you think Maki Roll can braid my hair without trying to slit my throat?"

Kaito rolled his eyes. "A guy like you may not get it, but believing in people is easier than being suspicious all the time. If you give 'em a reason to trust you, they'll figure it out."

"And what makes you think I want that?" Kokichi adopted his most ominous smirk. "Do I look like someone who cares about 'making friends' and 'gaining trust'?"

"Well, you came back to save our asses, right?"

"Obviously, I can't let my rival organization keep recruiting new members. I've decided to beat them at all costs." He looked down at the ground with a hurt expression. "Jeez Kaito, I thought you'd understand me better than that, after we worked so well together so many times..."

"Damn right I do," Kaito laughed. "I mean, come on! You can't play your dumb little pranks on your friends unless they trust you, right?"

Kokichi blinked, caught off-guard by the surprisingly thoughtful advice. He was suddenly reminded of the gang of friends he already had, who always laughed at his lies and pranks, who knew exactly how much to trust him...who were still roaming the dangerous facility, being pursued by murderous robots.

"Whatever. I'll prove you wrong after we get out. Go find those losers before they get shredded and bring them back here. I need to use Monokuma to grab a few things, but I should be done by the time you get back."

"Alright, but be careful! I don't like leavin' my sidekick behind enemy lines without any backup for too long!" Kaito closed the Exisal hatch with an encouraging grin.

Kokichi snorted as the Exisal stomped out of the hangar. As insufferable as Kaito could be, with his arrogance and blind faith, he was also good at following orders and, surprisingly, reading situations. He would fit right in with the rest of the DICE gang.