Danganronpa: Frozen Mayhem

2-1: Daily Life

Seishiro barely slept for a week. It was like the events of the trial had been imprinted on the inside of his eyelids. He didn't know what he had expected at the end. Justice, sure. An eye for an eye. But something humane, not this...torture.

Shigeko had murdered the one person that Seishiro could have genuinely called a friend here - all for her own reasons. But even she didn't deserve such a fate.

And yet he still couldn't shake the nagging thought at the back of his head that went:

Better you than me.

He wondered if he was being as selfish as her.

~~~

Everyone else mulled around in a similar state of lethargy. Etsuko flitted around, trying to keep spirits up. She was just about ready to launch into a stand-up comedy routine the moment somebody asked.

"Come on," she had told Seishiro and Misaki at one point. "We all

worked great with each other, and we all made it! Look at it that way!"

Misaki, on the other hand, was still embittered from Shigeko's 'betrayal' and took out that bitterness on everyone that spoke to her, having all but lost her bubbly attitude from before.

"Yes, our teamwork worked so well that we even managed to send someone to their horrible death," she retorted.

"Well, if we didn't, then everyone would've died a horrible death," Etsuko snapped back. "Do you want to live or not?!"

That was when Seishiro left. He hadn't seen Etsuko snap at someone like that, not even during the trial.

Keiji put every ounce of effort into keeping everyone together, and presumably in a sane state of mind. Yoga classes began taking place every morning and evening, but the stress was eating at even him.

And Katsuo, who had been so smugly superior during the trial, had quietened down considerably. Seishiro never saw the playwright without a pile of manuscripts nearby, engrossing himself deeper into his work with every passing day.

Worst was Katsumi, who had been traumatised enough that she barely left her room, not even for meals. Misaki had resorted to leaving a few sandwiches outside her door and hoping for the best.

And it was on one of those tired, silent mornings that Monokuma showed up at breakfast. Or rather, he made quite a grand entrance. Halfway through breakfast. Riding on the back of a penguin.

Komi's jaw dropped.

"Is that why the corridors had a layer of ice on the floor?" Yuji questioned flatly.

"Yes," yelled Monokuma in reply, striking a pose. The penguin gave a slightly defeated squawk. "Do you know how long it took me to kidnap this thing and figure out how to surf on it?"

Ryousei's eyes widened. "T-that's animal abuse, isn't it?!"

"Abuse schmuse," the bear dismissed. He hopped up onto the table, commanding the attention of all fourteen students. "Now isn't the mood all dreary and dull in here? Well, I've got a pleasant surprise for you all!"

"No!" Amaya shouted suddenly, slamming a fist down on the table. "No way in hell am I listening to another one of your motives!"

"Upupupupu! Who said it would be a bad thing? Or even a motive to begin with?" Monokuma taunted. "What I was about to explain before you so rudely interrupted me was...oh, wait, maybe I won't tell you after all!"

"Quit taunting us," Amaya growled.

"Upupupu! Fine, I'll tell you out of the goodness of my heart! The second floor is now open for exploration! How's that, huh?"