Danganronpa: GHOST TOWN

Chapter Ten, Part Two: Broken Promises and Memories

PART ONE: CONFESSION

It was my turn.

Now I knew what they had felt. Renji. Saori. Kimiko. I knew the pit they had had in their stomaches. I knew what terror and what relief they had felt.

Now I was a blackened like them and as much as I didn't want to be, there was nothing that would ever be able to change that.

~ALL RISE~

The regular ding filled the elevator and I'm the first to step out, and the first to freeze.

Saori.

I blinked but her image didn't fade. There she was, bent over laughing silently at some joke I couldn't hear. A still picture on the wall but it felt as real and as shocking as if she was suddenly alive in front of me.

"What the hell?" Kena whispered harshly, the others filing out behind me.

The walls were screens like before yet now they displayed picture after picture of us. All sixteen of us from moments I had no memory of.

An enormous picture faded over Saori of our entire class. There was Hana, grinning between Chikara and Renji, who held hands with Kyofu. Farther down was Haruko, looking as serious as ever but somehow less guarded then I had ever seen her. In the next row I saw myself and I couldn't help but stare. It felt more like I was looking at a different person instead of the me from a few years ago.

Next to me stood Saori, Toshiro, Mae, Ryu and Kena. All our smiles looked genuine so Kena must have had just said something to make us laugh. My eyes dropped to the next row but I looked away as quickly as I could. I didn't have the heart to see them smiling again.

Instead I looked at a different spot on the wall and found more. There was a picture of Kyofu and Haruko which I could see he clearly took. He was sitting next to her except Haruko's head was laying on a table in front of her that was covered with pieces of fabric and thread, fast asleep.

Next I caught sight of the top of my head in the bottom of one photo. The camera was tilted up to catch Kaz who was climbing across a ceiling upside down. Behind my head was my arm as I pointed up at the grinning Climber.

Another materialized over that showing Toshiro and Saori, mid bow on a large stage. Next to it was one of Mae and Ryu captured during what had to be them dancing together. They were frozen in movement, Ryu dipping Mae who wore a bright smile on her face. I looked away from that too.

I decided to try to ignore the photos but something caught my eye before I looked away. There was Utsumi, lab coat and goggles on, bursting out with a silent laugh. Next to him stood Kiyoshi who was busy laughing as well. I turned away.

Akemi was standing in her spot already with a scowl. She pointedly looked down at the floor in an attempt to avoid the bright and happy photos. Mae was staring at the one I had noticed earlier but I couldn't read her face because her back was to me.

Haruko looked pale and strained, a sheen film of sweat over her face as her dark eyes flashed from photo to photo like she was trying to remember. Her hands were clenched around her podium like it was some sort of lifeline for her. Something in her face reminded me of the moment she and I first saw Kyofu's scars.

"I don't remember these." Kaz whispered, turning round and round to see them all come and go. "Does anyone remember these?"

"No." Toshiro said, squinting at each one.

Kena was at her spot, looking wide eyed at the walls. "We...we look so..."

"...happy." The word left Kyofu as a shaky gasp. Displayed on the wall beside him was a beautiful sunset picture of two figures kissing on a beach. Kyofu's face was pale and hollow looking as he stared at himself and Renji, their arms around each other.