Danganronpa: GHOST TOWN

Chapter Nine: The Last of Us

Akemi said no words as I closed the door to her house behind us. She made no sound as she walked to the back and climbed into her bed. I trialed behind her slowly in my own sort of numb daze. Staying with her would give me something to focus on. I hovered in the doorway to her room. "Akemi?"

She buried herself beneath the covers, putting her back to the door. She made no move when I spoke.

"Do you...want anything?"

No response.

I sighed. "I'll be out here if you need..." My body was heavy and achy from remaining unmoving for so long. I traveled to the front of the home noticing the things it held. I hadn't been in the Illustrators house before.

The living room was small and I had to squint in the dark to see it. It held a low white couch and next to it rested a squat end table which to my relief held a throw blanket. I grabbed the material and pulled it around my shoulders like it was some sort of protection. Warily I looked into the dining room. The table looked pale in the darkness, and held only a heavy looking bird figurine.

Gradually I sat on the white couch, back straight and stiff, hands resting in my lap. Surrounded by empty silence I reached up and removed my ponytail, releasing my messy curls. My energy was spent, my mind tired and I ached with an ache that I remembered I was no stranger to.

I had felt this before with similar intensity when we had to watch Rika die. In that horrible way, and now with Kimiko.

I forced my eyes to close and body to lay on the couch. The blanket remained around my shoulders while I buried my face into the cushions. I still couldn't think about it. Not yet.

*      *      *

The sound of footsteps took me from a blank sleep. The small room came into focus slowly and I looked blandly at the far wall. Shuffling came from the direction of Akemi's room and echoed down the hall. Yawning I sat upright, turning to look towards the sound.

If I hadn't already known Akemi seeing her silhouette in the dark hallway would've unnerved me. She moved carefully, like she was unsure of her steps and leaned on one wall as if she needed it's support.

Confused I rose to my feet. She had passed the bathroom, so what was she doing? "Akemi?" My voice croaked.

The Illustrator made it into the living room and paused. "I'm going outside."

Her voice sent an immediate chill down my spine and I rose to my feet. Something in her tone was eerie and familiar. "Why?" I squinted, trying to see past the shadows that clung in the room. My body was on edge as if it had picked up some sign that my mind didn't.

She frowned at the floor, glaring at it with some dark emotion. "To get Kimiko." Her voice was threatening.

I rounded the couch, standing in front of her but growing no closer. "What do you mean?" She didn't look normal.

Akemi sighed and looked from the floor to my eyes. "Kimiko. I'm going to bring her here."

I grew very still when I met her eyes and yet I wanted to back away as quickly as I could. They radiated darkness, the brown color corrupted by some sort of madness. Her gaze was dangerous and fragile, like at any second something within her would shatter. I shuddered, afraid to remove my eyes from the twisting, chaotic despair that was in hers. "Akemi," I fumbled with my words unsure of what I should say to her. "Kimiko...she's- she's gone."

Anger sparked in her spiraling gaze. "Don't be stupid." She stepped closer. "She's still here so I'm going outside." Her body was steady but her limbs trembled. She shook with a storm of pent up tension.