Danganronpa: Painful Truth

Operation Parent Ship

Kazuichi made his way back to the house closest to his own, sweating in the sunlight. He started to wonder self-consciously if his jumpsuit was starting to stink again. He made a mental note to wear something else when he finally decided to try and apologize to Ibuki properly.

He passed a large tree that was being vigorously slashed. One of their new arrivals, Maki, seemed to be training again. Kokichi was on a branch above her, shouting things like "you missed a spot!" and "oooh that one looked like it hurt!" He paused to wave at Kazuichi. "Hi Kiki's Dad!" he called cheerfully.

"I have a name, dammit!" Kazuichi shouted back, rolling his eyes.

"Oh you do? Oh yeah! What was it again? I keep forgetting!"

"Fuckin' brat," he grumbled. He couldn't help but admire how patiently the teenage assassin ignored Kokichi's relentless taunts.

Even though it was hot outside, he was glad to get some fresh air. He'd spent all morning helping Shinji with an overheated game system. After fiddling with it for an hour with no results, he'd gotten impatient and completely disassembled it. To his relief, he managed to put it back together, and it seemed to have worked based on the several test rounds he and Shinji had played together. It had been a fun visit overall, and he'd even managed a pleasant cup of tea with Sonia and Gundham without saying anything awkward. The former princess still scoffed at his table manners, but that only served to assure him that any relationship between them would never have worked. It had been painful at first, but it had soon become a comforting thought for him.

The thought of table manners conjured a sudden memory in his mind. When Ibuki had been about five months pregnant, he had walked into the bedroom to find her eating ice cream from a giant tub, using a pickle she had bitten into the shape of a spoon. As soon as she'd spotted him, she'd held the pickle up to her mouth like a microphone and cleared her throat with a big smile. "You forgot to do the dishes and Ibuki didn't feel like it so I had to improvise!" Her face held a confusing mixture of embarrassment and pride.

The memory brought a rush of warmth to his chest, followed by an ache of shame. Ever since he'd broken through his delusion that Sonia would fall for him someday, he couldn't stop cursing his past self. During the two years they had spent together, he couldn't remember a time where he had properly appreciated Ibuki's cute and carefree antics without taking them for granted or comparing her to Sonia in some way. The memories made him cringe.

Suddenly, her house loomed ahead of him, pulling him from his thoughts. For some reason, the thought of going inside made his mouth feel dry. It wasn't as though he had no reason to be there; his daughter lived there, and he visited her regularly. Today, she'd asked him to come take a look at one of her numerous computers. He'd seen Ibuki in passing on several occasions, although she typically ignored him, and he was usually too ashamed to make eye contact.

He bypassed the front door and walked around the house to the garage. When he knocked, the usual irritating security system greeted him. "It's your dad," he grumbled at it, causing it to squeal in delight and spray him with some sort of floral perfume that made him dizzy before opening the door.

"Daaaad~! You made it!" Kiki sang, running over to hug him. "Thank you soooo much!"

Kazuichi returned the hug awkwardly, staring over her shoulder with discomfort. Kiki's new friend Miu was to the left, leering at him. To the right...

"Oh my my!" Ibuki peered at him, shielding her eyes despite the fact that they were indoors. "Ibuki had no idea Kazuichi was coming over today!"

"Uh...yeah...hey..." he stammered. "I uh, don't usually see you in the lab..."