Danganronpa: Painful Truth

Subtlety

Himiko tried her best to appear calm as her hasty plan was set in motion. Ryu and Yoshi hid in a tree across the street while she and Tenko approached the front door.

The closer they came to the building, the more their discomfort grew. The church had seemed welcoming at first, painted with bright colors and full of large windows. As they approached, however, they began to notice details that they wished they hadn't. The windows had been completely obscured by paintings of various sizes and themes. Some of them appeared to have been created with joy, more with sadness, most with anger. All of them, even the happy ones, were unsettling to view for too long.

"This place is so creepy!" Tenko complained. "I thought a youth church would be warm and welcoming!"

They tried opening the door first; it was a public building, after all. Officially, there was no reason for a place of worship to restrict access. They found it firmly locked nonetheless.

Tenko readied herself with a determined expression. "Should I break it down?"

Himiko shook her head quickly. "Nyeh, no, just knock first."

Tenko complied, pounding on the wooden door with her usual vigor. For a few moments, there was no sound other than the echo of her knock ringing through their ears.

Himiko could hardly breathe. She'd been so excited to see her friend, so proud of her plan to obtain the address, she'd completely neglected to prepare for their actual arrival. Her friends had chosen to follow her, to trust her. If anything happened to any of them, it would be unquestionably her fault. That kind of pressure was more than just a pain, it was terrifying, and filled her with guilt and unease.

A sound from behind the door pulled her from her thoughts. A moment later, a panel in the door slid open, revealing a pair of wide, dark eyes. "Um...can I help you?" A fearful voice floated through the small opening.

Himiko began trying to think of a clever explanation for their visit, but Tenko was already shouting. "Don't you 'can I help you' us! We know you're keeping Angie in there, and I bet you have a bunch of other ultimates for more killing games in there too! Now let us in!"

The dark eyes blinked and winced multiple times throughout the loud, accusatory declaration. "One...one moment." The timid voice shook as the panel slid closed.

Tenko beamed. "Wow! That was pretty easy! I knew we would have nothing to worry about!"

"Nyeh...Tenko..." Himiko groaned, covering her face. "I was gonna use a deception spell on her so we could be sneaky." She bit her lip as she looked up at the door. "She probably went to go recharge her mana, or summon her familiar to attack us."

"Huh? Oh!" Tenko gasped. "Sorry Himiko, I didn't even think about that!"

"It's fine..." The longer Himiko struggled to maintain control of the situation, the more she found herself wondering how Kokichi could stand it. Just how much did a 'supreme leader' need to plan in order to feel confident that a mission would succeed? What about all the things that couldn't be planned? It would surely take a tremendous magical power to sway those kinds of variables.

She knew she couldn't do something like that, not that she had the energy to try anyway. She was already shaking, and her stomach was twisting painfully around her meager breakfast. Why had she willingly chosen to take on such a chore? Just to impress a boy? It had made sense at the time, but now all she wanted to do was take a nap.

Her stress and exhaustion were shoved to the back of her mind as the door opened. A familiar figure in a yellow smock stepped out, smiling serenely.