danganronpa - deluded | fanganronpa

[ chapter 1 - scents of beauty ]

After bidding farewell to Ikue, Akira left the area in search of someone else to talk to. There was still time left in the day, so why spend it sulking like a child? HoggoKuma did say he wanted them to bond.

She took the liberty of exploring as much of the ' funfair ' as she could. Most (if not all) of the rides were closed, so instead she simply just wandered around, murmuring theories to herself about why each of them seemed to be themed.

Eventually, she saw Raizo sitting on a bench by himself, awkwardly fiddling with the gloves he kept in his apron pocket. Though his eyes were still covered, she could tell he looked nervous. It was fair - especially considering the situation they were in. Hoping to provide comfort, Akira walked over and sat next to him.

When she sat down and said, "Good afternoon, Raizo!" him nearly jumping ten feet into the air wasn't what she expected. Concerned, she moved away from him an inch and asked, "Oh! Sorry, did I scare you?"

Raizo refused to (as much as he could with that mop on his head) meet her gaze, looking down instead. "N-No, is okay... I should say sorry instead... for making you worry... S-Sorry..."

"Hm? No need to apologize," Akira replied, a bit confused. Who apologized for getting scared? Either way, Raizo looked extremely nervous for some reason. "Either way, it's fine."

"What? R-Really?" Raizo asked, utterly baffled and astonished. "You... not mad?"

"No," Akira shook her head, "why would I be mad?"

"Well, papa said is never good to do it..." Raizo replied. "said is bad for man to get scared... and says apologizing bad for man too..."

Akira snorted. She was glad Raizo didn't act like him in that case - it'd make him look arrogant. "That's not true. Men can be scared. Men can be sorry. Don't listen to that sexist stuff, it isn't good for you to hear."

"What... sexism?" Raizo repeated the word, confused. "Never heard that word before."

"Oh. I'll explain. Sexism is when you think one gender is better than another, or look down on a gender," Akira explained in a simple manner. "Have you never learned it? Usually, schools do something on it."

"Oh... um..." Raizo started to fidget with his gloves again, a bashful smile and a dusty pink color overtaking his features. "Never went to school much... had to stay home a lot..."

"Oh? Why?" Akira knew he may not be comfortable answering that question, but it was good to ask anyway!

As expected: "Uh... is not important... right now..."

"I understand. Sorry for asking," Akira murmured apologetically.

Raizo looked up at her, mouth agape and surprise written on his face. "You... sorry? Why you sorry?"

"I invaded your personal space...?"

"Personal... space...?"

Gee, how clueless is this kid? I kinda feel bad for him...

"I did something you weren't comfortable with."

"Oh." Raizo murmured. He looked down and shook his head. "It's okay. I'm... used to it... by now."

Akira's eyes narrowed.

I don't know much about him... but I don't want him to feel so uncomfortable around me.

With a defeated sigh, Akira stood up. "Well, it was nice talking to you, but I should probably go."

"Oh," Raizo murmured. He nodded and smiled a bit. "Bye Akira. Was nice... talking to you."

OBTAINED TICKET FRAGMENT!