Danganronpa: String Theory (DrV3)

2.6 - Invalid Trust

...Why isn't he saying anything? We've been in here for several minutes and Rantaro has been totally quiet this entire time.

"What do you want? At least say something, you're weirding me out," I blurt out after a moment, prompting Rantaro to cast me a smile and rest his elbows on the backrest of the chair he's sitting on improperly.

"..." Rantaro still doesn't answer, but now he's actively studying my face. I give him a leer of confusion at first, but it eventually evolves into puzzled embarrassment when he leans forward over the chair to get a better look at me. At this point, my cheeks are red hot and I can't help but shrink back a little in my seat and yank my hair over my lower jaw to help regain some of my composure. "...You're a smart girl, Prairie. There's no doubt about that. So it baffles me why you go and try instigating these fights with Monokuma."

Rantaro isn't taking a scolding tone with me...yet. But still, I'm irritated despite it. For the moment, I just sit there and quietly wait for some elaboration from the green haired ultimate. It's obvious I'm still getting scolded for the most part, but he's taking a different approach this time it seems.

"...Are you sure you ought to be playing with fire like this? You really worry me with this behavior of yours and-"

"Then stop worrying. Other than those times we met in the other resets, we're strangers to each other too, you know? You shouldn't be so concerned about me," I cut him off, hating how unaffected he appears by my interruption or sudden verbal aggression.

"I could say the same thing about you, although...I was a little surprised considering who you were concerned about and took the blame for back in the dining hall, but still. You didn't have to do that. I'm worried for the same reason you were worried about M-...him," Rantaro continues, much to my annoyance.

Obviously he noticed...but why doesn't he just give up? This is ridiculous...if he's not going to give up willingly, I'll make him.

I stand up from my seat and Rantaro abruptly does the same, paralleling a memory of the time in the gym when I'd punched him in the face.

"Are you sure it's the same reason? I don't see you doing the same with everyone else. Heck, it sounds like they hardly understand you at all, going by what Shuichi told me," I reply, voice an annoyed hiss as my irritation becomes more and more apparent.

"And you think you understand me?" Rantaro inquires, following me when I turn to head to the classroom exit. He's easily able to keep in step with me, even as I'm able to quickly slip past the desks in the classroom with my smaller body. I can't help but laugh a little at his question, considering how obvious the answer is.

"If I understood you, we wouldn't be having this conversation, now would we?" I ask rhetorically, grabbing the door handle and pulling at the door...only for it to remain unmoving in the door frame. As it stays stuck shut, I tug at it harder and even lean back to use my weight as a source of leverage. When it becomes clear that it's not about to open anytime soon, my eyes eventually land on the locking mechanism I failed to see on the door earlier. Rantaro was tinkering with the door for a while before he sat down with me, wasn't he...?

I slowly trial my eyes around to look at Rantaro, who is holding up a key in his hand, one which is then tucked in his pocket once I've seen it. Something about it tickles the back of my mind, but I'm too frustrated with Rantaro to focus on it. I shove the oddity of the key in the back of my mind to deal with later.

"So now you're locking me in rooms on top of scolding me like a child, huh?" I demand, fully facing the green haired teen and crossing my arms with a sharp glare.

"Well, I had a feeling you'd try and run away. Prairie, I don't enjoy this either, I really just want to talk to you. If by the end of it you still feel the same way you do right now, then I'll leave you alone just like you want," Rantaro insists calmly, a pleading expression across his features.