Danganronpa: Painful Truth

A New Plan?

Tenko twiddled her fingers apprehensively as she waited in front of the door to Himiko's room. She knew she had knocked loudly enough, like she always did. There was no point in announcing one's presence quietly, after all. The mage was either in a deep sleep, or she was still angry. Praying for the former, she raised her fist to knock again.

"Nyeh..." A small, sleepy voice barely pierced the wooden door. "I'm awake...hang on..."

"HIMIKO!" Tenko cheered as the door opened.

The loud voice caused the tiny redhead to wince. "Oh, hey Tenko."

"Good morning! I, uh..." She trailed off awkwardly. "I was wondering...if you felt like hanging out today! And I also want to apologize! I never wanted to hurt your feelings! I'm sorry!" She bowed until her nose almost touched her knees.

Himiko shrugged. "That's okay. Staying mad is still too much of a pain for me." She stepped out and closed the door behind her. "What should we do today?"

"Yaaaaay thank you Himiko!" Tenko hugged her abruptly and grabbed her hand to pull her along. "Maki gave me the day off so let's go see if Ryu and Yoshi want to train!"

"Nyehhh," Himiko whined as she followed reluctantly. "All we ever do is train..."

Tenko glanced back at her with a frown. "What's wrong with that?"

Before Himiko could remind her that she didn't actually enjoy physical activity, she spotted Kokichi emerging from his room. Her face felt warm immediately. She couldn't tell if she was imagining it, but he seemed more awake and alert than usual.

She cleared her throat and used her free hand to fix her hair before speaking. "G-good m-morning, Kokichi."

Tenko gave her a furtive look of disappointment, but said nothing.

Kokichi jumped as Himiko greeted him. Even though they had been significantly less traumatic this time, his night had still been filled with vivid dreams. He couldn't deny that she'd been in several of them. She was the only one left of those who had been rescued who had yet to hear him apologize, after all. Aside from Gonta, she was also the one who deserved it the most.

As far as he knew, he hadn't caused her any more suffering than he'd caused the others. His silly and subconsciously flirtatious taunting didn't even compare to some of the other things he'd done. Even so, if he managed to only convince one person to forgive him, he wanted it to be her. He was glad he'd saved her for last, so he could practice. This apology in particular had to be perfect, every bit as perfect as any of his plans. So why did Tenko have to be there?

He pulled his face into a bright smile, noting that it was slightly easier than usual. "Goooood morning Himiko! Nice to see you two lovebirds getting along again!" He found himself eyeing their clasped hands. Was he really feeling jealous over his own joke? How stupid.

Both of the girls turned pink, but their expressions were drastically different. Himiko shook her head frantically, while Tenko simply lowered her eyes, looking miserable. He almost felt bad for her. Maybe he would have if she had taken the hint sooner.

He frowned curiously. "Uh-oh! Trouble in paradise?"

"No," Himiko groaned. "We're gonna go train."

"Training, huh?" Kokichi raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you always let Tenko choose the activities for your dates? Or did she ignore you again?"

"KOKICHI!" Tenko snapped, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Quit messing with me and just admit it already! You like Himiko, don't you?!"

It was Kokichi's turn to blush. He scowled in a feeble attempt to hide it. "What a stupid question." It was harshly worded, but it wasn't technically a lie. Tenko had never been the best at picking up on the feelings of others, but everyone else seemed to think his feelings were obvious. She shouldn't have needed to ask. "What makes you think that?"