Assassins, Detectives, and the Mafia

Detectives and Futures

Bright.

A light shining through his closed eyelids, into the depth of his shattered psyche.

He doesn't like the light. He just wants to sleep. Wants to wallow.

"Saihara-kun, please wake up."

Pressure on his hand, soft words whispered in his ear. The soft touch of a girl's hair on his cheek, wet drops mingling with the soft feeling.

"Yo, Shuichi, you gotta wake up! We're already behind on our training!"

An astronaut's naiveté, as if anything could go back to normal.

"Shuichi-kun, I miss you."

Heart-wrenching words from a liar, almost driving him to open his eyes.

(They're all dead, Shuichi. All dead and gone)

"You're Shuichi Saihara."

That voice is new. It's definitely new, and yet, somewhere in the depths of his memory, someone he worshipped.

The neural connections aren't quite there as he wracks his brain trying to remember who this person it, but luckily enough, she answers for him.

"I'm the first Ultimate Detective, Kyoko Kirigiri."

"Kyoko Kirigiri!"

A younger Shuichi pastes yet another poster of the Ultimate Detective onto his walls, the centerpiece of his collection.

He's always loved the detectives in the series, and yet Kirigiri was the best.

Undeniably the best. She changed the story, changed the world with her deductions and total amount grossed in sales.

He wants to be like her.

He holds an application sheet for Danganronpa 53 in his hands, already filled out.

[Talent: Ultimate Detective]

He wants to be better than Kirigiri. Make that much of an impact on the world, be an idol for the detectives to follow.

"Kyoko... Kirigiri?"

His voice is a horse rasp coming from weeks of disuse, and he has to shut his eyes again from the bright light streaming in from the lights.

But there she is, Kyoko Kirigiri. His idol. The first Ultimate Detective.

He can't feel his hands, he's so excited.

"Shuichi Saihara," Kirigiri smiles, and is that a hint of mirth in her eyes? "I've been wanting to talk with you for a long time."

He can't feel his face.

"Kirigiri," he squeaks out, offering a shaking hand to her. "It's an honor."

She laughs just slightly into her fist, shaking his hand with reservation. "I'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind..."

"I see why they call you the Ultimate Detective."

Shuichi still somehow manages to sit ramrod-straight even after an hour has passed (the impossibility of meeting his idol has apparently overridden all his physical limitations) and is currently eying her with curiosity in his gaze.

"My question is why you're interviewing me."

Kirigiri stares - he obviously doesn't miss a beat - before her mouth twitches into a smile.

"It's simple," Kirigiri replies. "We want the cast of the 53rd Killing Game to come to Hope's Peak Academy.

...what?

"What?" Shuichi asks, staring at her dumbly.

"Yes. It is a legitimate school, Saihara-san."

"But... Hope's Peak Academy? We're not really Ultimates, so-"

"Please, at least consider it, Saihara-san," Kirigiri smiles, placing a small slip of paper into his hand. "I should leave, since some of your friends are waiting outside to see you."

"Some of... my friends?"

Kirigiri walks over to the door, pulling it open unceremoniously.

"Gaah!"

Kaito, Kaede, Kokichi, Maki, and Rantaro fall to the floor in a heap of limbs, one on top of the other. Kokichi, thankfully on top, springs off the pile (leaving Rantaro to be crushed under the massive amount of people) and runs over to Shuichi's bed.

"You're awake!" the small boy grins, clasping his hands around Shuichi's palm. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Rantaro claws weakly at the floor, trying to push off the rest of the pile as Kaede squeezes out of the mess of people.

"Saihara-san! You're awake!"

This... this isn't possible.

They're all dead, aren't they?

So how...

How are they still here?

"It was all a simulation, Shuichi," Kokichi smiles, genuine relief in his gaze. "We're all okay, and now you are too. You can't even remember season 53 that well, can you?"

Shuichi wracks his brain, trying to think of the specifics, but little comes up. Just a black and white bear, a piano in the nighttime, Kaito emerging from a metal beast, and an explosion that seemed to shake the world.

"No... no I can't..." Shuichi trails off. "I don't think I'd want to, either..."

"You're lucky," Kaede smiles, and is that a hint of envy in her voice? "I can remember it... even if there wasn't much of it..."

"Hey, hey, this is a celebration!" Kaito exclaims, driving the conversation back on track. "We're celebrating everyone waking up, remember?"

Never before has Shuichi been so excited for Kaito's ability to send the conversation careening towards happiness, instead of despair.

"Yeah!" Kokichi exclaims. "Shuichi, when you're feeling up to it, come join us in the kitchen! Everyone else is waiting!"

As they all pile out of his room, Shuichi finds himself smiling wistfully, happily.

"How... did I get so lucky to have such great friends?"