Danganronpa: GHOST TOWN

Chapter Three, Part Three: Paint the Town Red

Here upon this midnight hour

When shadows fade and night devours,

A tolling clock shouts to all

And crows nest as all light falls.

I climb the steps of this tower,

Here upon this midnight hour,

A task to be done atop this prison,

A curious desire among the living.

With a sigh I looked away from the notebook I took from the store, pen in hand. My flow of words became interrupted again but by what I couldn't name. I was only trying to pass away some time on my own. Just me, a pen and some paper. I usually thought my best at a time like this but today I was failing. It was like something invisible was popping up within my mind making me stop.

A sound alerts all my senses

I forced the words onto the page, trying to focus.

Fear arrives and body tenses.

Another sigh racked my lungs and the swing squeaked under my weight. I tossed the notebook to the ground with a soft thud, resting my head against the chain. The park was lonely and quiet. A perfect place to sit and see the lake and houses. I couldn't believe what had already happened in this day alone. Nothing bad really. Suspicious and immature yes but nothing bad.

The notebook looked at me, it's dark red cover begging me to write within it's pages. I had decided to take a break from poetry but it was the only thing I had to do while on my own.

The afternoon sun broke through a drifting cloud casting warmth across my face. No one was in sight and I had a clear view of all ways to approach the park. Carefully glancing around I quickly fumbled with my shirt, eventually retrieving the incident report. The old paper crinkled softly in my hands and my eyes bore into it. Questions resurfaced immediately looking at it.

An uneasiness settled over me. Kyofu hadn't seemed like he had lost something today. Although it was extremely clear from earlier he wasn't sure about the pockets and he had been distracted by Renji. Their interactions surprised me. None of us knew each other, how were they so infatuated by one another already?

But then...if I thought hard enough about it....to me...something about nearly everyone here seemed familiar. I immediately shook my head, my thoughts drastically losing shape and comprehension. I couldn't handle the thought. It was too much. What was I thinking? That wasn't possible.

My eyes found their way back to the paper. If an incident so terrible had occurred at Hope's Peak, an incident that could've meant 'the end of Hope's Peak.' Then-

With a glare I frowned, scolding myself. No. That definitely wasn't possible. This must just be an old paper but if so, then why and how did Kyofu get ahold of it?

"Ooh! What's that?"

"AGH!" The swing lurched violently and my hands crumbled around the paper.

"I'm sorry Hon'yomi! I didn't mean to scare you!" A small voice said from above me.

"KAZ!" I shouted, blinded by fear and surprise.

The small climber nimbly jumped down from a tree splayed above the swings. He appeared to be struck with pure curious intentions. "Are you mad at me?" Kaz blinked unevenly up at my face.

The air in my lungs worked to slow and return to the normal intake rate. "I-I'm..." His eager gaze somehow got to me. "No."

"Okay!" He grinned widely and leapt onto the swing beside me, standing on the seat. "So what's that?" Kaz asked, nodding to my clenched hands. "And why's your shirt undone?"