Danganronpa: Painful Truth

Forgiven

Kokichi and Shigeri led the way out of the facility and into the night. As we nervously crossed the open field, Kokichi pulled a small device from a secure pocket and flipped a switch. "Hurry and turn your jammer off, Shigeri, we need to let them know we're out of there."

"Oh yeah." Shigeri pulled out a similar device and complied. "Almost forgot about this thing."

Kokichi put a hand to his ear. "Okay, Shigeri and I are headed your way."

The rest of us could just barely hear the irritated voice that replied, even in the silence of the night. "About fuckin' time! You're the last two, I was about to leave your dumb asses here. You're gonna have to wait though, I ran outta room so I've gotta drop some of these bastards off first. Already had to leave a couple behind."

"Well, that's annoying, but I guess it can't be helped," he grumbled, then he stopped and turned toward us. "Bad news everyone!" he announced. "The chopper ran out of fuel, so it looks like we're stuck here for the night!"

Shigeri smacked him on the back of his head. "Dumbass. You know we could hear her, right?"

Kokichi's worried expression melted into a grin. "Whoops! Ya got me!" He laughed merrily. "We do have to wait though, so I wasn't lying about there being bad news."

"That wasn't funny!" Himiko whined. "What's wrong with you?"

"That's my line," Shigeri interjected, frowning down at her. "I get why the assassin's got no sense of humor, but how're you so bad at takin' a joke when you dress like that?"

"Nyeh, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. You dress like you're trick-or-treatin', you gotta expect tricks now and then."

"Well I like treats better!" she snapped. "Don't bully someone you just met!"

"Hey now, at least I'm bein' honest, right?" They smirked.

I trailed behind them, lost in thought. Although the situation still needed time to fully sink in, there was no longer any doubt. The killing game was truly over, possibly forever. The friends we had lost were alive, and we'd even managed to rescue a few of them. The world that awaited us didn't sound like a friendly one, but at least we were free.

That freedom made it easier to think clearly as I continued to study Kokichi. I couldn't see well in the darkness, but even just listening was revealing enough.

The more I listened, the more a strange feeling nagged at me. No matter what Kokichi said or did, Shigeri's reactions were that of a caring yet exasperated older sibling who'd gotten stuck babysitting their bratty little brother.

I thought back to the events of the killing game. Before Miu had planned to kill him in the simulator, had any of his actions actually caused us any harm? He'd done plenty to annoy, frustrate, confuse, and unsettle us, but...what would have happened if we'd simply laughed and ignored his antics from the start? How differently would the killing game have gone if the atmosphere of suspicion and secrecy hadn't caused us to assume the worst of each other?

To my left, Maki walked mechanically, her face blank. She stared straight ahead, as though determined not to make eye contact with anyone in the group. "Hey, Maki," I said quietly. "Is everything okay?"

She scowled, but didn't look at me. "Of course not," she sighed. "There's a lot that's not okay. And...there's a lot that's more than okay." She glanced furtively at Kaito for a split second. I wondered if she'd realized I'd seen it. "There's just...a lot," she said softly. "I'm too exhausted to process any of it, so I stopped trying."