The Loveliest of Lies (Oumota)

The suspense is killing me.

Author note: Will publish the second part tommorow. This is one of my longer chapters.

-------

"We're so fucked, aren't we?" The young man said.

Nanami sighed and pushed up his glasses.

"I don't think so Watanabe. Why would we be?" He said.

"We've lost our second main character! Seasonal marketing was relying on Saihara, and audience polls have been largely negative to his death! It's only chapter two and people already hate this season with a passion!" Watanabe squawked.

Someone laughed sharply.

Watanabe turned around and glared at a tall willowy woman with long black hair who was leaning against a desk.

"Stop being such a worrywart. This has happened before. The audience usually hates chapter two anyway, irrespective of who dies. They'll warm up to it after the season is over." She said, walking up to them and crossing her arms.

"But it's my first season! Nothing's going right!" Watanabe complained.

"In a killing game, nothing ever goes right. Adapt or die, Watanabe, adapt or die." The woman quipped.

Watanabe flinched.

"Sakura, can you please not antagonize our director? If I recall, you also have a personal stake in this season...you don't want it to fail." Nanami said pointedly.

Sakura bit her lip and nodded.

"I'm sorry Watanabe. It's just...panicking will get us nowhere. It's best to view a season of Danganronpa on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Our cast could still fuck up and vote wrong. They hate Tojo. We could have an early end." She said gently.

Watanabe took a deep breath and shook his head.

"I don't want my first season to end this early." He said, focusing on his monitor.

The kubs intermission was almost over.

"Why not? Early ends are the best. We get more holiday time. Plus, it gives you the clout to demand a new season!" Sakura joked.

Watanabe glared at her again.

Nanami smiled.

"She's right. "Better a short season that works than a long season full of errors"." He stated.

"You're siding with her?" Watanabe balked.

"I am. Look, I've been working on this show for over a decade. This is only your third year and your first as director. Don't be selfish. You don't want a long season for your first gig. You'll get overwhelmed." Nanami warned.

"I just want a proper season! Like the early seasons of Danganronpa. They were so good!" Watanabe confessed, smiling dreamily.

Nanami frowned at him. Sakura snorted.

"Yeah, and I want a pony made of diamonds. Neither one of us is going to get what we want." Sakura snarked.

"It's just...it was so inspiring when the kids defeated Monokuma and came out on top. They had so much hope." Watanabe said.

Nanami blinked.

"Trust me, you don't want that. Not that there's a real risk of that kind of ending happening...we have a two-survivor limit for a reason." He said.

"Oh yeah. I understand that bit. I just want a good ol' fashioned hope vs despair showdown." Watanabe beamed, smiling at his co-worker.

"We've had plenty of those..." Sakura murmured, sounding confused.