Danganronpa: Painful Truth

Making Progress

The sun was high in the sky as they meandered beneath the leafy canopy of the forest. Kaito and Shigeri made casual conversation, joking and exchanging insults. The astronaut was even starting to laugh and retaliate rather than taking offense to jabs at his intelligence. He really was starting to fit right in.

Kokichi trailed behind them, glaring at them suspiciously. Shigeri already knew about his nightmares and slept nearby, so their nosy behavior was to be expected. It was Kaito's involvement that worried him. The astronaut's unrelenting sincerity made him cringe. But Kaito had no reason to know about the true nature of his terrible sleeping habits, and Shigeri wouldn't betray him by talking about it, would they?

He suddenly remembered how Kaito had found him in the hangar during the mission. He groaned. Just has he had thought, as stupid and naive as Kaito could be, he was surprisingly good at reading situations.

They passed through a gap in the trees. The sudden direct sunlight stung his bleary, tired eyes. He yawned so hard that he shivered and had to briefly stop walking.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes. His mind drifted back to his notebook full of hasty scribbles. With how exhausted and panicked he had been the previous night, there was a good chance that none of the ideas he had written would be useable.

Was Shigeri right? Was he overthinking everything? Was his anger, his determination to beat the killing game for good, clouding his judgement?

With a final yawn, he silently relented. It was bad enough that his restless mind refused to let him relax at night. Perhaps, with the help of his oldest and laziest friend, he could manage it during the day.

"So how the fuck did a dumbass like you become an astronaut?" Shigeri asked curiously.

"Because I ain't a dumbass, that's how!" Kaito insisted. "I aced their test like it was nothin'!"

"Right." Shigeri snickered. "Well there musta been a dumbass involved somewhere if they let some teenager stumble in wearin' pajamas to take the test."

"Ah, yeah, well, I had a buddy forge some stuff to get me in." Kaito grinned sheepishly. "They weren't too happy when they found out, but they liked me so they let me in anyway!"

"You bullshitted your way in?" Shigeri blinked, looking conflicted. "Alright, I'll admit it, that's...at least slightly awesome."

"Damn right it is!" Kaito grinned proudly.

With the other two deep in conversation, only Kokichi noticed the small, dark figure that flitted between the trees. He watched furtively, a smirk spreading slowly across his face.

"Don't act like you've passed my test yet, Astro Boy, you're still lame," Shigeri assured him with a yawn.

"Hey, come o-oof!" Kaito tried to step forward, only to discover that his pants were around his ankles. He stumbled and fell on his face.

Kokichi laughed so hard he had to sit down. "Oh poor Kaito!" he giggled. "All that over confidence makes soooo much sense now!"

Shigeri shook their head, grinning. "Hey Yuri!" they called. "Tryin' to get a good look at Astro Boy's space junk, huh? I see how you are, ya perv."

"Gross..." Yuri wrinkled her nose as she stepped out from behind a tree. "He doesn't...have shoelaces...so I had...to improvise..."

Kaito turned red and glared down at Yuri. "Quit screwin' around, that ain't funny!"

"Come on Spaceman, you sure?" Shigeri smirked as they watched him scramble to pull up his pants. "It's gotta be a little funny. What if it'd been one of us instead?"

"It...will be...next time...don't worry..." Yuri promised.

Kaito sighed as he shook off the embarrassment. "Yeah, I mean, I guess. A little." He coughed awkwardly. "How the hell are you so damn fast, anyway?"

She grinned proudly. "I'm just...really...easy to miss..."

"Chill out, Yuri," Shigeri scolded. "Sexual harassment's Kiki's shtick."

"Oh right, I forgot!" Kokichi nodded fondly. "Yuri loves things that are tiny and cute! Nee-hee-hee!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Groooooosssss..." Yuri whined. She sat on the ground and pouted, her arms crossed.

"And who the hell are you callin' gross?"

"He's actually fuckin' offended, ain't he?" Shigeri snorted. They expected a laugh from Kokichi, but he was suddenly silent, smiling blankly at a spot in the forest. A brief glance in the same direction told them why.

Gonta was striding through the trees, grinning happily. His new suit was black, with a white dress shirt and a black and white checkered tie. It was surprisingly clean and intact for having been worn during outdoor adventures. "Gonta finally find Yuri!" He waved at the rest of them. "Hello! Kaito and Kokichi and Shigeri come to help find bugs?"

"Uh, not this time dude," Shigeri shook their head. "We were on our way to play some video games. Wanna join?"

"Video...games?" Gonta winced slightly. "Gonta think that sound too much like 'vir-chew-al world' place. Gonta rather not deal with that again so soon, sorry." He chuckled sheepishly.

Shigeri spared another glance toward Kokichi. His expression hadn't changed, but they thought they could detect a small bead of sweat forming on his brow. They subtly sidestepped toward him and jabbed him in the ribs.

Kaito stepped forward and clapped Gonta on the shoulder. "How ya been, dude? You been havin' fun out here hidin' in the forest this whole time?"

"Yes, thank you!" Gonta nodded cheerfully. "Gonta meet many bugs he never meet in person before! Shinji make Gonta new gentleman suit that not tear or get dirty so easy, so Gonta make good first impression!"

"Glad to hear it!" Kaito gave him a thumbs up.

"Yeah, cool threads, dude." Shigeri nodded their approval and tugged on Kokichi's checkered bandanna. "You get to match with us now."

"Thank you! Shinji talk very strange, but he know a lot about gentleman clothes! He say, tiny bit of pattern make gentleman stand out without making rude loud noise!"

"Just like...a bug..." Yuri nodded. "They use...bright colors...and patterns...to make...predators...stay away..."

"Exactly! That right!" Gonta looked excited.

"Someone big and scary like Gonta doesn't need help keeping predators away!" Kokichi finally spoke, his voice loud and exaggerated. "Nee-hee-hee! He's strong enough to defend himself! He's not a slow weakling like you, Yuri!"

Yuri stuck her tongue out at him. "Watch...your back...boss..."

Shigeri ruffled Kokichi's hair in the most obnoxious way they could. They hadn't expected it, but Kokichi had managed to muster up something to say after all. The fact that it was at Yuri's expense was acceptable; she could handle it, and would have no problem getting her revenge.

They chuckled fondly as their Supreme Leader swatted their hand away. "Alright, Astro Boy, let's go get a few rounds in before this baby needs a nap."

"Maybe I don't need video games," Kokichi smiled dangerously up at them. "Maybe I'll just destroy you both myself. I'll throw you down a hole and make you live off your own filth."

"See what I mean?" Shigeri looked at Kaito exasperatedly. "Kid's gettin' cranky already."