Danganronpa- Lone Survivor

Lone Survivor- Gundham Tanaka

A/N- This is my second last one I'm writing with Celeste being the last, sorry my goth children for neglecting you this long while I did your goth brother Korekiyo second. Also this one is kinda garbage but I didn't really have any ideas for Gundham sorry

"Of course the heinous fiend who ended the life of our robotic counterpart was none other than the great GUNDHAM TANAKA!" Gundham let out a bellowing laugh as he posed with the devas. But while on the outside he appeared proud and triumphant,  on the inside he was devastated. They had chosen wrong. And while this meant he got to live, got to escape...that wasn't what he had wanted.

He wanted them to figure him out. 

Because if they had figured him out on their own, then he could fight tooth and nail for his own life. He had already made very clear to the others that they should never give up, especially when it came to their own lives. So, he could not be hypocritical and confess to his crimes- he, essentially, would be giving up. So he covered it up, played along with the class. Figuring hat eventually they'd corner him, so he would never have to surrender. 

He didn't kill Nekomaru so he could escape, he killed him so they could escape. So they could all live, and not die of hunger. He would never admit that, but it was always his true intention. Even Nekomaru had known this, and they squared off as men.

Maybe he had overestimated the capabilities of the mere mortals in relation to his own...should he have made it easier for them? Well, it was too late for that now. There was no use in dwelling on the past, for even though he had immense power, he could not rewind time. He could not defeat the robotic arms coming to take his friends away.

He couldn't bring the dead back to life.

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It had now been almost three months since Gundham awoke from the Neo world program. His recovery had, surprisingly to the foundation, been going rather well. It all got off to a rough start when he saw the bodies of his classmates, laid out in pods adjacent to his. But Gundham was strong willed, more so than anybody had anticipated. 

Many believed his strength came from the fact that upon his awakening, he was reunited with his precious devas. And while many of the foundation members were slightly intimidated by him, it was hard for them to continue to be when he was snuggling with his 4 hamsters. 

But he never felt right. He gave off an image of being stable, almost unbothered by the events which transpired within the program. And that's what he told the therapist who came to visit him, and the members from different branches when he was asked. But the words never felt authentic coming out of his mouth. 

Soon, he decided to depart from the foundation facility. He felt no need to be contained within their walls any longer, and he wished to be able to work with animals yet again- and for some reason he was never permitted to bring larger animals in (he tried once, with a bear... it ended up trying to fight Juzo). 

Maybe he would also find what what was making him feel so...off

Once he was out on his own, he realized how alone he truly felt. The hustle and bustle of the foundation, combined with the numerous employees assigned to monitor him made everything seem busy, the days seem full...but it was all artificial. 

As he encountered different animals, he was constantly reminded of his friends who had passed. He watched as a mother kangaroo carried a joey protectively in her pouch, and couldn't help but be reminded of Peko and Fuyuhiko. In mighty lions, he saw the proud nature of Mahiru. In a bird of paradise performing an intricate mating dance to capture the attention of the female, he saw Kazuichi and Sonia. He thought he had recovered, he thought he had gotten over their deaths...but he was wrong.

He missed them.

He missed them so goddamn much. 

But a dark lord such as himself? Pining for the company of such weak, helpless creatures? It couldn't be so...and yet, here he was. Thinking about them. The times they were kind to him. The times they included him, and made him feel like he was a part of something in a way nobody else ever cared to before. Maybe their friendship with him was due to the fact that mutual suffering creates strong bonds, and had nothing to do with Gundham as a person...but he didn't care. 

In complete solitude, he was free to break his facade without judgement. He sat, in the cool of the forest, and cried. Cried for the first time in so long. It felt odd, but at the same time, very comforting. To be emotional was to be vulnerable in his mind, so he avoided being so for many years. 

It was now that he realized what had been off for so many months- he had never mourned for his friends. He was always too proud to, and pushed the thoughts out of his mind. But now, he was letting the thoughts and memories overtake his mind...and it felt good. 

He realized that not only did he deserve the opportunity to mourn, but his friends to deserved to be mourned. After all, he was probably now the only person who really missed them. The only one who still thought of them as people, and not horrible monsters or experiments gone wrong. 

That was why he decided that no matter what, he had to live and he had to thrive. He had to continue to be powerful and command this realm. Because that is the type of person they deserved to have remember them.