Danganronpa: Painful Truth

Captured

Shigeri awoke groggily, rubbing their eyes. They couldn't recall falling asleep; in fact, their last memory was of being cornered by the Monokuma robots while Kiki and Miu emitted oddly suggestive whimpers of fear.

"Fuck," they groaned, and opened their eyes. They had been crammed into a small, sparse office along with eight others, all seemingly waking up from a similar state of unconsciousness. They spotted Kiki, Yuri, Ayu, Yoshi, and Ryu immediately. Miu was there too, along with two others he recognized from the last killing game.

"What...happened?" Gonta inquired, looking worried. He glanced down at Ayu and Yuri. "Tiny ladies okay?"

"I think so!" Ayu reassured him. Her face fell as she examined her surroundings. "Oh no! We got caught, didn't we?"

"Seems...like it..." Yuri got to her feet, looking uncomfortable. "I...don't like...being trapped..." She started to walk around the room, exploring and checking the walls and floor.

"Well, you shitheads better get me the fuck outta here right the fuck now!" Miu raged. "The world has suffered without my inventions long enough!"

"Ohhh she's so stupidly confident, I just love her!" Kiki squealed.

Yoshi scooted to the corner beside a still unconscious Ryu and curled up into a ball. "I kn-knew it! Shigeri, you j-jinxed us!"

"The fuck did I do?"

"Don't worry everyone, we can't give up now!" Tenko shouted, striking a powerful martial arts pose. "I'll fight until my last breath to make sure all the girls get out of here alive!"

"B-but what about the b-boys?" Yoshi whined, looking betrayed.

"And what about me?" Shigeri added, picking their nose boredly.

"Found...something..." Yuri muttered from the corner. "There's...a vent...behind this...bookcase..."

"Good job Yuri! Gonta impressed!" Gonta gave her an encouraging thumbs up. "But Gonta not think he can fit through there."

"That's okay...I can go...and unlock...the door...from the outside..." She inspected the grate and tugged on it slightly. It didn't budge. "Wait...does anyone have...a screwdriver...?"

"Hmmm..." Kiki checked her pockets, then pouted. "Damn it! I always forget to bring my toys with me!"

"Oh! Gonta strong! Gonta open vent with mighty force!"

"That might be too loud, Gonta!" Ayu observed. "They might come check on us and catch us again!"

Shigeri shoved their hand into their pocket instinctively. They felt around until their hand brushed the pair of pliers they had pilfered from Kiki's lab. "This good enough?"

Yuri took them carefully and inspected them. "I...think so..."

"Yaaaay! Shiggy Wiggy's Pocket Trash saves the day again!" Kiki did a little dance of excitement.

After removing the grate, Yuri pulled her flashlight from her pocket. She flipped the switch, but nothing happened. "Really...the bulb...went out...?" she groaned.

"How can you tell it's the bulb?" Tenko asked curiously.

"I changed...the batteries... before...we left...duh..."

"For fuck's sake," Shigeri snorted. It always seemed to happen the same way. No matter how useless they were during the preparation process, there was always a moment during any dangerous mission where the others would run out of answers. Whenever that happened, the elusive solution could nearly always be found in one of Shigeri's cluttered pockets. It was a ridiculous and entirely luck-based talent that required no skill, which suited them fine, but never failed to amuse and exasperate them.

They reached into their pocket again and pulled out the tiny lightbulb they had taken from Natsumi's garage. Miraculously, it was still intact. "How about this?"

Yuri snagged it and quickly disassembled the flashlight. The bulb was too long to allow the glass cover to screw on, but the light worked.

"The fuck kind of deus ex machina bullshit is that?" Miu commented angrily.

"I know right?" Shigeri rolled their eyes.

With her face full of determination, Yuri put the flashlight between her teeth and clambered into the vent. She climbed the metal walls like a squirrel and disappeared from sight.

"Wow!" Tenko's eyes sparkled. "How does she do that? She's so nimble and cute!"

"Keep it in your panties, Tencrotch!" Miu retorted, snickering.

A few minutes later, Yuri reappeared with a frown. "So...the good news...is that...the vent...leads to...the hallway..." she explained. "But there's...robots...out there...patrolling..."

"Of c-course." Yoshi looked miserable. "Th-there's n-no w-way it would b-be that easy..."

Shigeri heaved a dramatic sigh. "Alright fine, here's the plan." They tossed the stopwatch from their pocket to Yuri. "Go figure out how often they pass by. Open the door when it's safe and get back in here 'til they pass. We'll slip out in pairs and head to the elevator so we can get the fuck out of here." They paused thoughtfully. "The pairs should be one wimp and one musclehead in case there's a fight."

When they finished speaking, they were met with silence and an assortment of surprised stares. "What? Ain't that bad. Better than all the jack shit you dumbasses got to offer."

"No no, it's a great plan!" Ayu giggled. "That's why we're so surprised!"

"Oh wow. Thanks so much."

"Sorry, but Gonta have question." The large boy looked contemplative. "If we going in pairs, that mean one person left over, right? Who that gonna be?"

They shrugged. "I may as well stay here. If I know the boss, he's gonna come lookin' for us even if that ain't part of the plan. I'll wait for the asshole and let him know we got out."

"Ooooh look at Shiggy! They're so brave all of a sudden!" Kiki giggled, blushing.

"Shut the fuck up," Shigeri grumbled. "You can all talk about how cool I am on the way out. Now, who's goin' with who?"

"I can go with Gonta!" Ayu suggested, beaming up at him.

"Then I'll take Yuri!" Tenko volunteered happily.

Shigeri snorted and scratched the inside of their ear. "Weren't ya listenin' lady, I said two wimps can't go together."

"Wimp?" Tenko glared intensely. "WIMP! I'll show you a wimp!"

Shigeri blinked uncomfortably as she strode toward them and grabbed their arm. "Uh what the f--"

"HIIIIII-YAAAAAAA!" Without hesitation, she flung Shigeri over her shoulder. They crashed roughly into the wall. "I am the ultimate aikido master! Show some respect you degenerate!"

"FINE JUST FUCKING GO YOU CRAZY BITCH!"