Danganronpa: Song Of Despair

Chapter 2: Therapy

Satchiko led me downstairs to where everyone was waiting in the restaurant. They all had solemn looks on their faces; no one was smiling, no one was talking.

I sat with Satchiko at a table with Michio, Mai, and Riku. Immediately, Mai looked at me with an expression of guilt and sadness.

"I-I'm sorry for how I acted... yesterday..." She muttered, and I remembered that she was yelling at Momo in her final moments- she even rushed us into the voting before I could get answers to all my questions. "It's just... y'know, I was emotional... about Ichiro... but what happened to that girl was too cruel."

"It's fine... I understand." I responded, looking down at the table.

"Is everyone here?" Jirou asked, looking around and counting everyone. "Fourteen... we're missing-" he cut himself off, pale blue eyes shifting downwards. "R-right, we're all here..."

"What's up Jirou? Why'd you call us here?" Haru asked.

"Oh, well, you see..." The therapist adjusted his glasses, "I was thinking, it might be a good idea if I personally talked to everyone regularly."

"Y'mean, like, give us a therapy session?" Natsumi inquired.

Jirou nodded, and was about to continue before Orochi interrupted. "What do you mean, do you think we're gonna go crazy or something?!"

"N-no, of course not, I just..." Jirou trailed off, and Haru stood, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I think it's a good idea. We all saw how Momo was acting, if we can catch that sort of behaviour early on we can maybe stop another killing from happening." Haru explained.

"Exactly. Thanks, Haru." Jirou said with a small smile. "We should take any precautions necessary."

"Upupupu! You really think you can stop the killing game just like that?" Monokuma said. I was shocked- where did he even come from?

"Shut up you stupid bear!" Orochi exclaimed. "We won't let you win!"

"We'll see about that~" Monokuma snickered, "anyways, I'm here to tell there's a whole new world for you to explore, that's all!" As quickly as he appeared, he was gone.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Riku wondered. "Is there a new area now...?"

"I-I think Jirou should talk to us before we go look..." Katashi suggested. "Something could happen at any moment we aren't all together..."

"Okay, then you can all wait in here and I'll take you outside one at a time. It won't take long, just a little chat." Jirou told us, "let's do this in alphabetical order. So Mai, you're first."

Together, Jirou and Mai left the room, taking two chairs with them. They were only out for a few minutes, before Mai walked back in, taking her seat. Jirou stepped inside, and called out Riku. Then went Akio, Jikkō, Natsumi, Satchiko, Kaiya, and Haru.

Jirou and Haru seemed to be taking longer than everyone else, and a few people gave each other concerned looks. Even I started to wonder if something was up.

Suddenly, Jirou walked in. His face was bright red, his hair messy, glasses askew, and he appeared to be short on breath. "S-sorry that took so long..."

Haru walked in behind him, slightly gasping as well with his hair ruffled. I didn't even ask.

"They totally did it. I ship it. This is giving me ideas for my manga." Riku muttered from beside me.

I heard a muffled squeal from across the room, and looked to see Natsumi covering her mouth. I rolled my eyes, it was probably just a misunderstanding... well, maybe.

Jirou quickly fixed his glasses, looking to me as Haru sat down. "K-Kazuki, you're next."

~*~

We sat facing each other in the hallway, and after Jirou ran a hand through his silver hair to fix it, he started.

"We haven't really talked much, so I don't know much about you..." Jirou pointed out with a small smile. "Let's start simple. How have you felt since coming here?"

I shrugged. "Like everyone else, I guess. I've been on edge, but nothing too major... I mean, until now."

The therapist nodded. "That's completely normal, I mean, especially with yesterday's events... I suggest that you should start talking to more people instead of just being shut up in your room. Of course, everyone needs time to grieve, but you can't hold onto it forever."

Jirou gave me a thoughtful look, "I think that's it for now."

That was short, I thought to myself, but stood up with a small nod. "Alright."

We headed back into the restaurant, and I sat back at my table. There were only a few people to go.