Just One More Time

1 - The Goal Is Set

Ding dong. Shuichi groaned as his eyes fluttered open, his body jolting awake as he noticed the greenette under the covers next to him. Ding dong. "I'll answer it, you should hide in case it's Ouma." Nodding, the bluenette scrambled to untangle his legs from the bedsheets, throwing himself into Amami's closet as he attempted to steady his breathing. Shutting the door, Shuichi had no method to figure out who kept ringing the doorbell, knowing if he left the door cracked, he'd be found. "Ah, hello Shirogane."

"Hi Amami, I'm sorry for waking you up."

"It's fine, don't worry about that, come on in. Is something bothering you?" Shuichi heard footsteps approach the closet as the two continued to chat. What's Shirogane doing here, why would she want to talk to Amami? Maybe it's to do with the fact they were both in the last killing game?

"I need to speak to Saihara, it's something really important about his detective skills. Do you know where he is?" Maybe she wants to talk about stopping the killing game or something? No, she's the mastermind, why are you forgetting that?! There's no way in hell she'd want this to end. "No one's seen you two apart, it's plain to see you'd know where he is. He didn't answer when I rang his room either."

"That's true, we're close friends already, but that's because I know I can trust him. I thought he'd be at his dorm, it's strange that he isn't. Maybe he's spending the night with someone? It's a good strategy in case you're ambushed in your sleep, especially after Ouma's accusation earlier. Anyone could pick the locks on the doors, especially him." Maybe I should confront her? What if she can tell me about this cycle?

"I'm here," Shuichi sighed, leaving the closet to find the two talking next to him. Amami's green eyes widened in fear, only to glare at the male. Shuichi knew that glare well, one that questioned why he came out of hiding. "Sorry about hiding, Shirogane, I thought you could be Ouma."

"I understand, but don't worry about me, I'm just a plain girl after all," Shirogane smiled.

"I'll give you both privacy, please don't kill each other in my dorm," Amami joked, leaving the dorm. The moment the door latched shut, Shirogane's upbeat facade switched to rage.

"What the fuck is going on Saihara?! You're ruining this game and it's only been a day!" Shirogane shouted, the male flinching at the abrupt change of volume. "I've been working on this season for years, my entire life even, just for a fucking error to occur and switch you between universes!"

"W-What are you talking about? Look, I don't know what's happening and I certainly didn't plan this, so whatever you know, please tell me," Shuichi begged. This is the wrong person to plead for help, but what choice do I have? If anyone knows anything, it's her.

"Alright, listen. Every season contains multiple universes where one thing changes, mainly because we can change things last minute when each chapter airs to the public. It's a way to increase our ratings if the audience wants a specific person to die in the next chapters. That's not important, whatever happened in your universe, I don't know, but something occurred that made your code override this Saihara's code." Shirogane paced around the room as she continued to explain, Shuichi's brain crying from stress and overuse.

"That's nice and all, but how do I get out of this loop?" Shuichi interrupted, only wanting an answer.

"How the fuck should I know? You're the one that broke the game, I didn't even know this was possible!" Shirogane threw her arms in the hair, rolling her eyes as she continued to pace in thought. Gasping, she turn to Saihara and held a finger in the air. "I might know how to get your answer. Understand this, I hate this situation as much as you do, so I'll do anything to correct this." Shirogane frowned, pulling out her Monopad and pressing a few buttons. "Hey, we have a serious issue," she spat into the electronic.

"I know, I've been listening to the cameras and Nanokumas." A strange voice answered the mastermind through the Monopad. Fighting the curiosity to see the person on the other side, Saihara managed to stay put, staring at the ground. "Saihara, I know you can hear me. From my research, the only way to fix the error is by your own actions, think of your code as your soul, no one else can change it."

"Then how did Shirogane create it?"

"Exactly, she created it, now it can't be changed. According to my sources, you rejected Danganronpa in the last class trial and caused multiple errors in the game, including your memory. Saihara, if you win the game, the error will be corrected. You can do this by either winning as a blackened or sacrificing yourself."

"If I sacrifice myself, won't I just go to the next game?"

"No, a new code will be created, so you won't restart, but another version of you will."

"Alright thanks, bye bitch," Shirogane groaned, turning off her Monopad and slipping it into her uniform. "Now you know what to do. Fix it or suffer the consequences. There are a lot more fates worse than death Saihara Shuichi. Oh, and if you tell anyone else about me, I'm going to kill you and frame Akamatsu." Shirogane glared at the male, placing her joyful mask on as she left the room and waved to Amami. 

Shuichi dropped to the bed, his head in his hands. I have to kill, or watch everyone else kill, which is worse? Can I do this again? "Saihara, what's wrong? Did Shirogane do something to you?" Worry seeped through Amami's voice as he wrapped his arms around the bluenette.

"No, she helped me a lot. I know how to stop this repeating thing that happened, I just don't know if I can." Tears dripped down Shuichi's arms to his lap, his eyes burning as he sobbed. Amami pulled the male's head into his chest, rubbing circled on his shoulder as he shushed Shuichi.

"I know you can do this, if anyone can survive another killing game, it's you Saihara." Shuichi nodded, clutching to Amami's striped blue shirt as he continued to cry, letting out all of the emotion of the current and past killing game. As Shuichi's sobs slowed to a stop, his eyes fluttered, threatening to close as his body felt fatigued. "Are you tired? It's pretty early, we can go back to sleep if you'd like?"

"Thank you for your help Amami, I'll go back to my dorm now," Shuichi chuckled, stuttering out his words through residual hiccups.

"No way, you're staying here. Remember our promise? No leaving each other's side," Amami reminded his best friend. "Come on, bed."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh come on Saihara, we've already shared a bed, let's just go back to sleep!" Amami laughed, taking Shuichi's hands and tugging him to the head of the bed. Shuichi sighed, a grin formed on his shining cheeks as he slipped underneath the covers beside Amami. "Goodnight Saihara, sleep well," Amami wrapped an arm over the male, the two holding each other as they fell asleep.