Danganronpa Zero

Chapters Seven & Eight

"Now, that's truly a strange woman," Isshiki Madarai whispered to himself while running.

It wasn't that he wasn't careful. Quite the opposite - that was exactly why he was outsmarted. He couldn't have guessed from her actions that she would run away like this, but, in hindsight, he realized that what she did was only natural.

A cornered mouse will bite the cat, or so the proverb goes. But in reality, it's very rare to find a mouse who would bite a cat. Even when they're seriously injured, can hardly move, and completely cornered, a mouse's first thought is still try to try to escape.

That's just a mouse's true nature.

And that girl who turned heel and escaped is just the same. In other words, it's in her nature to run away.

"...In that case, all I have to do is catch her, and this will be over in no time." His mouth twisted in a cruel smile. His face was that of a hunter, chasing his prey. But his true goal wasn't simple relentless predatism... and that cruel smile was perhaps a little excessive.

- I'll catch her, and after giving her a good beating, I'll make her tell me everything about that incident...

The Worst, Largest Incident in Hope's Peak Academy's History -

Madarai hated that incident and everyone involved in it. Right now, getting revenge for the incident was the only thing driving him. It gave him motivation.

He got his chance a few hours ago, when he received a suspicious anonymous message.

Junko Enoshima, who knows the secrets behind the incident, is going to show up in the central plaza.

The possibility of it being a trap had crossed his mind, but he didn't care. Even if it had been a trap, it would have been an opportunity to see who set it up.

- I'm going to get my revenge.

- I must get my revenge - I still have someone who needs protection.

There was a flame burning inside his eyes. The moment he caught sight of his prey, running ahead of him, he increased his own speed dramatically. His long hair flew behind him as he closed the distance between them in an instant. In no time at all, he would be able to reach out his arms and catch her.

- It's over.

He pushed his left foot strongly into the ground, and reached out with his long right arm. He could feel his fingers touching his prey's hair - when something happened.

The prey suddenly changed direction with a sharp turn, almost as if she was slipping through Madarai's hands. Taken by surprise, he lost his balance. She had timed her move perfectly, almost as if she planned it all ahead.

"....Keh!"

Madarai clicked his red tongue loudly, and was soon back on his feet. He turned back towards his prey and started running again, but he quickly noticed something strange. His prey, running ahead of him, was doing something ridiculous.

"...What...the...?"

The prey was was writing something in a notebook as she was running.

"Huh...?"

- Writing while running?

- That's clearly impossible, however you look at it.

He was bewildered. It wasn't just that he couldn't understand why she was doing it - he did not expect his prey to do anything other than simply try to escape.

Isn't she just a mouse, running away from danger?

Could she actually have a plan, beyond escaping?