Through Hell and Back | DRV3 Chatfic/Story | Postgame AU

Prologue - Part 1

warning: i'm not the greatest at writing in detail or being very descriptive, i struggle a bit to find the right words so i apologize if this is shit and doesn't make sense

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POV: Shuichi Saihara

Everything was black.

Where am I?

Who am I?

I attempt to grasp onto something hoping to make sense out of nothing.

...

Suddenly I remember who I am.

I'm Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective...

Well, not really, considering everything that took place during the killing game up until now was all just fiction.

...

What happened?

Why is everything dark? Why can't I see?

I try to remember what had just happened... Nothing.

My head hurts. Am I dead?

The more I thought about it the more confused I got. When, suddenly, something clicked.

... ... ...

"Ugh— all this rubble is such a pain to get through..." I grunted.

"Nyeh... We have to keep looking. There *has* to be an exit somewhere!"

Yumeno-San seemed disheveled as well, but continued to keep her hopes high.

Harukawa-San sighed.

"We've been searching for hours. There's too much debris to properly search. Plus, it's not out of the question that the exit could've been blocked by rubble."

She's not wrong... It's possible that any possible exits have been blocked. But then again, we were supposed to die back there. So there might not even be an exit for us...

I looked at Harukawa and Yumeno-San. We were all sweaty and tired, and clearly mentally exhausted.

"Hey... Let's take a break for a little while, we're obviously all very tired." I suggested.

"Yeah... It's probably for the best that we sit down for a little." Yumeno-San seemed to agree.

Harukawa simply nodded.

The three of us sat down to catch our breath for a little while.

It was awkwardly silent.

I figured I'd try to break the silence.

"So... when we get out of here, what do you think we should do?" I said, making a poor attempt to break the ice a little.

"You mean *if* we get out of here." Harukawa mumbled.

Yumeno was sat down beside me, staring off into the distance.

"I... dunno. I mean, it's possible we aren't even in Japan anymore."

Right, I actually hadn't thought of that.

I looked up at the opening at the top of the dome. It could work as an exit... if only it weren't so high. I simply stared at the sky, *the real* sky. It was a nice shade and yellow and blue, nearing evening as the sun continued to set.

The sound of crickets rang through my ears. They likely escaped from Gokuhara-Kun's lab after the school was destroyed.

Harukawa had her hands tangled in her hair, twirling it around her fingers every so often.

Suddenly she spoke up.

"What about Team Danganronpa? You don't think it's possible they're going to come collect us or... something?"

I was a little surprised by the question.

"It's possible they might, but in all honesty I don't think I wanna stick around long enough to find out." I answered calmly.

I looked over at Yumeno-San, only to notice she was squinting her eyes really hard at something off in the distance.

"Ah— Yumeno-San, is everything alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I just..." Yumeno began to trail her words off.

"I thought I heard something, that's all."

Harukawa lifted her head upon hearing this.

"What did you hear?"

"Nyeh? Uhmm, I-I dunno..." Yumeno stumbled over her words.

"I think it came from over there though." Yumeno pointed over towards the Shrine of Judgement.

"C'mon, lets go." Harukawa-San stood and dusted her skirt off.

The three of us headed towards the Shrine of Judgement only to find...

That a giant boulder that had shifted onto it's side just enough to reveal an opening.

"Nyeh?! A-An exit!" Yumeno exclaimed with a sudden burst of energy.

"Huh. This is weirdly convenient. I know for a fact it wasn't like this the first time we searched the perimeter." Haukawa said.

"Well, if this is an exit we should probably go! If we wait it might get blocked off again." I reasoned.

Yumeno-San had already stepped through the small gap. Harukawa and I soon following pursuit.

And for the first time in what felt like a long time, we stepped into the outside world.

... Part 2? ...

Word count: 673