Danganronpa: Boiling Point

Chapter 23: Dealing with Devas

The Dance Hall was empty, so I looked inside the Shop Room. There, Nekomaru was working alone, with the Devas sitting nearby on a bench. I could not tell what Nekomaru was doing, however, as his back was to me. Not wishing to mess up his work, I decided to approach the Devas instead.

The largest one was watching Nekomaru intently from the edge of the table, nose twitching. One of the other ones seemed to be napping, and the other two were playing with each other. I noticed one of them had a chipped ear. Curious, I reached out for its ear, but the hamster jerked its head away from my hand, then tried to nip at my finger. It seemed more like a self-defensive nip than an actual attempt to hurt me, though, but I got the message.

Nekomaru finally looked over at me. "Hmm.... I thought I heard someone coming in. What brings you here, Shishano?"

I turned to face Nekomaru, and answered him. "I wished to check in on the Devas. How are they faring, with Gundham no longer among us?"

Nekomaru shrugged. "They definitely miss Gundham, I can tell that much. That said, I think they'll be alright. I've made it my job to take care of them, so they can become the best Devas they can be"

Intrigued, I inquired further. "What, exactly, do you plan on doing with the Devas?"

Nekomaru replied, "Every top athlete needs three essential things: physical fitness, visual acuity, and willpower. If any athlete, human or otherwise, wishes to strengthen these three essentials, then it's my job to prepare a solid and effective training regiment for them. Let me tell you, it can be a real challenge to bring out the max potential of each and every athlete under my watch."

So Nekomaru was planning on using his talent to maximize the physical potential of these hamsters...somehow. Hence the mini-gymnasium he was building with Mondo.

Still curious, I inquired, "So what is your assessment of the four Devas, thus far?"

Nekomaru chuckled lightheartedly. "San-D and Maga-Z have the most potential when it comes to speed and agility, with San-D perhaps having the edge between the two. I believe Cham-P may be the strongest, though, as well as the smartest of the bunch. Jum-P...so far, all he ever seems to do is sleep. I haven't really figured out what to do with him yet."

I was genuinely impressed to get such a detailed answer from Nekomaru. He had only taken possession of the Devas yesterday evening, and already had a feel for each hamster's strengths and weaknesses, to an extent. But then, I supposed that was to be expected of the Ultimate Team Manager.

Nekomaru continued. "Anyway, can you do me a favor? I'm gonna carry this gym set to my room, but I could use an extra set of hands to handle the Devas. I'd rather not accidentally injure one of them while carrying this thing. You mind giving me a hand?"

I smiled. "Certainly." I curtsied out of respect, then walked over to a carrier that looked like it came from the School Store, judging from the Monorakun logo on it. I did not recall seeing it there before, but I also had not been in there in a few days, so maybe the stock changed in there. I managed to coax the Devas into the carrier, then zipped it shut and slung the long strap over my shoulder, carrying the smaller handle in my left hand. The top half of the carrier was mesh, so there was plenty of light and air to get through to the Devas within.

As for Nekomaru, he carried the gym set on one shoulder, leaving one hand free to get the doors. I had offered to get the doors for him, but he asked me to stay behind in case any small pieces fall off. I followed him all the way from the Third Floor to his dorm room, only running into Kyoko coming out of the Trash Room. She said nothing; we said nothing.

Entering Nekomaru's room, I set the Devas down on an end table, then opened the door so they could run into a terrarium that appeared to have been built for them. It had the standard hamster litter at the bottom, and a few hamster wheels, four water tubes, and four trays of food, all in opposite corners.