Danganronpa: Days Before Despair

Chapter 15~Captives and Cells

Super High School Level Judge Ayameko Etsuko's POV

When I came to, my head was pounding and I could feel a spot on my head that was rather heated, which made me gulp. It felt like blood in a way... But why would my head have blood on it? It didn't make sense... Unless...

Memories flooded my mind's eye until I remembered just what had happened before I blacked out: somebody with these bright purple eyes came walking into the dorm room that Chouko and I shared. I'm pretty sure that they did something to knock us out... And now I'm here. As far as I can tell, it's rather dark, as I couldn't see much of anything. I frowned and noticed something pulling on my arms.

Ropes.

Before I could try and yank myself away from whatever I was being tied down to, I could hear a muffled screech. I gasped and looked up in shock and bewilderment. Chouko was in a similar position to me on the opposing side of the room, fear written clearly on her paler than usual face. I observed a white gag around her mouth. It took a few extra seconds to realize that my mouth was also covered, causing me to gasp slightly (well, as much as you can gasp with a gag over your mouth).

I attempted to pull away from the wall I was up against, but a voice came from the doorway, which was apparently to my right.

"I see you finally woke up..."

Super High School Level Ninja Zuka Fubayashi's POV

I looked around the cellar with a deep frown. I couldn't find anything that resembled a clue even slightly. I turned to Jon. "Have you found anything yet?" I asked, hoping he had noticed something without telling me of the discovery.

Jon shook his head. "Sorry. Nothing yet," he told me. "If I had found something, I'm sure that you would be able to tell. People tell me I have a habit of being more than a little transparent."

I didn't give him an answer, instead choosing to look around the room a little bit closer. The cellar was rather large. It had to be that big if it was supposed to hold all of the Hope's Peak students in case of an emergency. It seemed like one was afoot at the time, what with Chouko and Ayameko's unexpected disappearing act. Didn't they know that neither of them was a magician and wouldn't pop up from the inside of a hat?

Suddenly, I heard a gasp from Jon's general vicinity, causing me to look up from my scrutinizing search of the cellar's corners. "Didi you find something?" I demanded of him, hoping it was true.

Jon nodded. "I found a tiny diamond... Come to think of it... Doesn't Ayameko always wear a bracelet with gems like this on it?" he asked, eyes wide. "She must have been in here at some point! We don't know if it was before or after she vanished... But at the very least we have a clue! That's a good place to start."

Before I could nod my agreement, a chilling voice echoed from the doorway, declaring one sentence that sent a shiver running up and down my spine. "I suppose I have visitors..."

I tried to open my mouth to speak and say something to the mysterious person who now blocked Jon and I's only means of escape, but I never got the chance to tell the cryptic figure anything, because they lunged forward, teeth bared and looking ready to fight.

I cursed under my breath and ducked out of the way of the impending attack. The figure, being quite nimble as far as I could tell, caught themselves before they could fall and land on their face. I took this chance to run to one side and avoid yet another assault by the hazy outline of a human I didn't recognize. The dim light made it hard to tell that somebody was even there at all, so identifying who it was seemed to be nearly impossible.

"I don't take kindly to visitors..." the person whispered, their voice hard as rocks. They spat out the words as if they were a deadly sort of poison that would hurt them if they lingered on the thought for too long. Judging by the tone of the voice, low and resonating, it appeared that our mystery attacker was a male.

The boy, who I assumed was yet another student at the school, ignored me upon realizing that he couldn't catch me no matter how hard he tried. Instead of pouncing like he had been doing previously, the boy jumped for Jon and scratched his arm. "I guess now I'll know who ran in on my plans..." the boy hissed as Jon's scratch began to bleed ever so slightly.

I tried to ask what the mysterious person meant by that, but just as quickly as they had appeared, they had run through the door and vanished. I blinked as they ran away, confused about what had just happened. Who in the world was that, and why did they run off?!

Jon grabbed my wrist and pulled me for the door. "Let's get out of here. That creeper could come back and attack us again, so I suggest that we split and not come back until at least tomorrow. Does that sound like a plan?" he asked, staring at me in the way that screamed 'resistance is futile'.

Taking his eyes' advice, I nodded. Fighting with him was going to be pointless, so I might as well just let him drag me out.

And let him I did. Jon pulled me out of the cellar and out into the plain sunlight that early evening brought about. I blinked at the sight of the sun, but that wasn't my largest concern at that point in time.

Just who was it that attacked Jon and I? Why did they do it? And most importantly...

What were they doing down in the cellar?

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Next few chapters are kind of gory

Warning

-Digital