Danganronpa: Painful Truth

Apologies

After making sure we weren't being tracked or followed, Kyoko and I headed back to the mountain. We couldn't bring them back with us until we had somewhere they could stay, especially now that three more locations full of victims had been revealed to us. I felt terrible leaving Ryoma and the others there, but at least we had a plan in motion.

Kyoko pulled the car into her garage and stepped out. I followed suit, locking my door and closing it gently.

She turned to me suddenly. "We stumbled on something very important today, Shuichi," she commented. "I'll be communicating our findings to my friends and associates as soon as possible. Can I rely on you to relay the information to your peers as well?"

"Wait..." I frowned in confusion. "You...want me to tell them?"

"I see no reason for anyone to be kept in the dark about this situation." She adjusted one of her gloves as she spoke. "My daughter and her friends have every right to know why they can't safely go into town by themselves. And if they decide to recklessly take matters into their own hands once again, they should at least know the potential consequences."

I couldn't help but notice the resigned expression on her face as she spoke. It was clear that she wished she could hide the horrors of the world from her teenage daughter. She wished she could simply forbid Ayu from putting herself in danger, like any other parent...but the way society had become, she couldn't justify it. It wouldn't be fair to forbid Ayu from protecting herself, and trying to create a world that would be safe for her and her friends someday.

"Alright," I agreed solemnly. "I won't leave anything out of my report."

***********

When I entered the fancy dining area, I saw Kaito, Shigeri, and Kokichi sitting around the table, eating snacks while playing an elaborate and colorful board game. I retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge before joining them to watch. I couldn't deduce any specific rules of the game, only that Kokichi and Shigeri seemed to be enforcing them at their convenience. Unsurprisingly, Kaito seemed to be losing.

"Shuichi!" Slamming his cards on the table, Kokichi pointed at me suddenly. "Finally! You'd better have a report ready, or I'll lock you up until you do!"

"Ah, yes, actually. We made some important discoveries."

"Oh yeah?" Kaito grinned and winked at me. "That's my sidekick!"

Blushing, I cleared my throat, trying to keep a giddy smile from forming on my face. "We found Ryoma working as a security guard at a nearby juvenile detention center. Apparently, the facility has been secretly scouting for ultimate talents and sending people off to the killing game."

Kokichi stiffened slightly. He clearly hadn't been expecting such a serious report. "Those bastards," he spat. "Anything else?"

I nodded. "Even worse, Ryoma told us about three more locations that are being operated the same way." I did my best to recall the exact names. "I believe it was St. Suzuki's prep school, New Dawn youth church, and Guardian Angels orphanage."

When I listed off the third location, Kokichi and Shigeri shared a meaningful look. "Knew it," Shigeri nodded. "We damn near ended up in that dumbass game anyway."

Kokichi snorted, looking arrogant. "Well, I would have. I don't know if they would have been desperate enough to use the Ultimate Lazy Trash Collector."

"Maybe so," they snickered. "Lucky me."

Before I could ask any questions about the cryptic conversation, Maki and Tenko entered the kitchen. Tenko was chatting animatedly to Maki, full of energy despite having clearly spent the entire day training. Maki had little to say in response, but was listening contently and smiling. After grabbing their own bottles of water and a few healthy snacks, they joined us in the dining area.