Danganronpa: Locked Doors of Despair

Ch.5 Daily Life Part 2: Of Trail Mix, Toss-Ups, and Terror

[A/N] I was helped on the second scene a little by cherry-cheescake, since they suggested some of the plot. I hope you enjoy, lovelies!

Chimon

"Still hungry?" I hear from behind me. I jump a bit, surprisingly antsy.

"Yeah. Seems like I can't stay full for long nowadays. It's not bad, is it? You're the nutritionist, you know all about this stuff," I ask, popping open a small bag of yuzu salt potato chips and trying not to look self-conscious.

"Not bad! Trust me."

"You're... sure?" I ask hesitantly. "I don't want anything to be wrong with me. It's bad enough being held captive in a murder game. Contracting some sort of disease sounds like the perfect little disaster cherry on the ice cream sundae of destruction."

He laughs a little bit. "You're not sick. C'mere." He leads me over to the dining room table and beckons to my seat.

"What are we doing?"

"Just sit down, okay?" he insists with a hint of a smile on his face. Skeptical but willing to see where this goes, I listen to him.

"Okay... what was the point of this, exactly?"

"Notice anything different about yourself since you got here?"

I mean, aside from the fact that I can experience grief and feel genuine affection? Aside from the fact that I have the ability to find your giddiness endearing? "Oh! My feet can kind of touch the ground! I'm growing!"

"That's right! Your apetite's increased cause you're starting your growth spurt!" he announces, beaming.

"Oh. I'm growing," I repeat, suddenly feeling a little unstable. "It's weird that I hadn't realized. I guess when you see yourself every day, it can be hard to notice changes." I fiddle with my key necklace. It's a little more painful, now, but it's become my self-soothing gesture, so I kind of need to. I should put Monterio's ring from Kana on a chain. It's too big for my finger, but I wanna wear it.

"Didn't you notice your jeans not reaching the same length? They only hit the high part of your ankles now," he points out. "Our legs get longer first, then our torsos."

"I assumed they shrunk in the wash. They're like... three years old," I explain, running my hand against the torn-up spots they've gathered over time.

"I thought you'd be a bit more excited. Is something bothering you?" he asks, sliding into the seat next to me.

I sigh and furrow my brow, trying to decide how much to tell him. Tozen and I have never interacted much, so we don't really know the first thing about each other. Even if I can feel bonds now, it's still safer not to go around telling my whole life story to everyone. "Well, I guess... I'm used to being small. Small is comfortable. It's served me well. Being cute is... weirdly important to me? If I get back home and I'm grown, things will be different. Possibly harder."

"There are benefits and drawbacks to all body types. As long as you're healthy, if you get to the point where you can honestly love the way you look, you really can't go wrong either way. You seem like a resilient guy, Chimon, so I'm positive you can overcome whatever obstacles lie ahead."

"I'm... not too sure. But it's not like I can stop myself from growing, so I guess it's probably better to embrace it, right?"

"Of course! Being small and childlike may make you look innocent, but maybe, in time, people will come to think of you as reliable. Plus, you'll be able to reach things easier!"