Danganronpa: Days Before Despair

Chapter 14~Gone Girls

Super High School Level Ninja Zuka Fubayashi's POV

The next few months passed as school always does: go to class, get homework, finish homework, repeat. Nothing too extraordinary happened for ages, making me think that paying tons of money to come here instead of staying back home to go to a regular school might have been a mistake.

My thoughts changed one October morning around the 22nd, when I walked into homeroom to see every desk filled with the exception of two of them, belonging to Chouko and Ayameko respectively.

Xindel and Sabastian looked full of concern. They wouldn't stop fidgeting, even when Mr. Jing entered the room. "Are you two okay?" the teacher asked harshly. Neither of the boys replied, so Mr. Jing rolled his eyes and began to take roll.

I glanced around curiously, seeing if anybody else had seen the empty seats. Nobody had missed a class I'd been in all year, so this confused me. It's not like goody two shoes Ayameko to want to cut class, and I doubted aforementioned Ayameko would let Chouko even joke about something like that. There had to be something up today... Maybe the school vandal did something to them so that they couldn't come to class... Even so, I bet I would have heard about it.

"Has anybody seen Chouko or Ayameko today?"  Mr. Jing questioned. I guess that's why Xindel and Sabastian wouldn't stop moving. They shuffled through stacks of papers just to have something to do (and so they wouldn't be called out by Mr. Jing again). 

Nobody responded to the teacher's question. We all looked around to see if anybody else had an answer. As I was glancing over the classroom, I noticed something else odd about the class: another empty desk. I didn't know the kid who sat there all that well, but I did know a little bit.

It was boy named Alexis, a pale type of guy. He never answered questions in class, so I barely noticed when he was in class. I didn't remember his last name, having never spoke to him and all. I glared down his corner desk, asking for answers over his disappearance in addition to Chouko and Ayameko's. As I should have expected of the desk, I got no answer. If nobody knew what happened to any of them, what was gong to happen? Would they be expelled or something like that? It didn't seem all that likely, but you never know with fancy, high class schools like Hope's Peak.

"Alexis?" Mr. Jing continued to question. Nobody replied other than Jon, who hesitantly raised his hand.

"I-I think I remember something about her..." Jon began.

"Him," everybody in the class corrected.

Jon rolled his eyes in ignorance and began twiddling his thumbs. "I heard him talking to some girls earlier today. Not sure who they were, but they were female. He didn't sound sick or anything..." Jon declared with a frown. Maybe those girls were Chouko and Ayameko or something like that...!

I made the mental note to go check out the disappearances after classes today. Something foul was at play. I just knew it.

Super High School Level MMA Fighter Jon Shushiro's POV

Zuka dragged me off after classes ended. I frowned as she continued yanking my hand further through the hallway. "Ow!" I cried out, trying to pull my hand away as my shoulder pretty much came out of its socket. "Could you cut that out?!"

Zuka didn't hear me, or she was just choosing to ignore my groaning. "Something happened to Alexis, Ayameko, and Chouko," the girl told me, a glare going strong in her irises. "We need to find out what happened."

"You could have told me that before you started tugging me down the hallway," I whined. 

Zuka sighed. "Fine. But I'm going to need help finding out what happened. That's what you're here."

My stomach fluttered at being Zuka's backup. I smirked and shot her a cheesy grin. "I am here to defend you, my lady," I flirted, bowing to her like all the cliche princes do in princess movies about magic and unicorns. 

Zuka shot me a confused glance, as if she thought such Casanova ways were beneath her. After she stared at me for a few seconds, she shook her head. "Come on. Let's just go find them," she instructed of me. "And for the record, I'm a ninja. I can defend myself if worse comes to worst, you know."

My spirit deflated slightly. She was right, but I still couldn't ignore the fact that somebody was using me as backup. I wasn't used to that sort of stuff, despite my likable personality. 

Regardless of that, I trailed Zuka out of the school, where she took me out to the garden that lay outside the school. Her strides were long, making it somewhat difficult for me to keep up with her. I eventually found a way to keep pace with the tall girl, which relieved me.

Zuka led me off of campus entirely shortly after we left the building. I frowned. "Where exactly do you think that they could be?" I asked her. "An overnight trip at the supermarket?"

Zuka sighed, rolling her eyes. "No. Yesterday, I saw Ayameko at the doughnut shop near here," she explained. "There has to be some sort of clue as to her location there."

Zuka held the door open for me once we arrived at the shop. I nodded her a thank you and looked around. Everything was pretty much normal, in spite of a piece of paper crumpled up near the trash can, having just missed the rim of the container. I approached it, though Zuka beat me to it. She unfolded the note and read it, eyes wide.

"I knew there was foul play at work here..." she muttered, stuffing the note into her pocket. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" I asked her curiously, following her out of the doughnut shop and back in the direction of the school.

"The school's cellar for natural disasters," Zuka replied, leaning into her walk a little bit more, leaving me wondering about the paper we found.

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The next few chapters are why you should only read this story if you're ready for blood

V T for Teen

-Digital