danganronpa - deluded | fanganronpa

[ chapter 3 - ' motherly ' bond ]

Question of The Day:

Which of the two trials so far have you preferred and why?

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Akira put a hand over her mouth, face pale and sweaty. She didn't even know this woman - know if she was evil or corrupt - yet she felt the urge to barge into the dining hall tomorrow morning and ask everyone if they knew about a woman with mint-green hair.

She knew she wasn't supposed to watch it, so she only blamed herself. She sighed, relaxing the tiniest bit when Mana put her head on Akira's leg. It was probably a silent plea for food, so Akira pulled out the muffin and gave her another piece.

She mouthed ' make sure to stay quiet ' to Mana as she left the dorms, not wanting anyone to walk past and hear her meowing.

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She walked into the dining hall to get a snack, hopefully clearing her mind in the process. It seemed that Raizo, who was kinda just sitting there alone, had the same idea, so she grabbed a banana and went to talk to him.

He jumped nearly ten feet in the air when she sat next to him and cheerfully greeted, "Hello there, Raizo!"

"O-Oh! Akira!" He laughed nervously and waved back. "Hey...!"

"What's that you're holding?" She asked, pointing curiously to a pink fabric he was twisting around in his fingers. It almost looked like...

"It's Mioko's hair clip... she gave it to me," he explained, "she's really nice."

"Yeah. I'm just concerned about her and Eiko," Akira murmured. "They had a big fight once and she threatened to spill blackmail. I don't know what it's about, but I hope it isn't something bad."

"Yeah, me too." Raizo seemed even more worried now. Great.

Trying to change the subject and hopefully calm him down, Akira decided a simple chat would fix the issue. "Hey, when we first met, you mentioned that your mom always helped you make big orders, right? How was she?"

The candlemaker looked down at his hands and smiled fondly. "Mom was the nicest person I ever met. She never... made fun of me or... was mean. She never scolded me when I messed up... or got bad grades... She was my only friend."

Is that sad or lovely? I can't tell. "Well, she was your only friend. Now, you have everyone here, right? Honestly, my mom's always been the same. She used to fret over me constantly because most of the other hunters in the village stayed close by. I was usually gone for days so when I came back she had bought me a bunch of presents and probably broken a rib with her hugs."

"Pre...sents?"

"...Yeah?" She asked more than answered. Did this kid seriously not know what a present was...? "It's when someone who cares about you gives you something to show their friendship. The hair clip Mioko gave you was a present."

"Wow, that's the first present I ever got!" He exclaimed in slight shock. "I-I need to get her something in return then!"

"The whole point of a present is that you don't get anything back. Did you... never get gifts on your birthday or Christmas?" She asked. "Or is that just a village thing?"

"We never celebrated birthdays," Raizo shrugged, "It... It was too much money."

Ah, so money is tight.

"Well, how about this..." Akira put her hand on the table and tapped on it. "...Once we all get out of here, we'll have one giant party. Sound good? I haven't been able to celebrate since we got here either."

"Um..." He pulled on the hairclip and frowned. "...Isn't it a bit of... trouble?"

"Not at all!" She insisted. "It won't just be for you or me. It'll be for everyone. All of us. A celebration of our friendship."

"Oh, yeah!" Raizo perked up and smiled a bit, albeit it was subtle. "For... our friends!"

"Yes. For our friends," she repeated, soothingly yet firmly at the same time. "I know you're worried about who has your motive video, but we all agreed not to watch them... I'm sure that nobody will see yours. Just relax. They're probably fake anyway."

...I mean, that video looked too real, but it's nice to believe it's fake.

He inhaled a bit sharply. "F-Fake, right. Thanks, Akira... Banri was right... you're... you're a good friend, too."

"I'm glad we can call each other that," she responded with genuine happiness.

Mana is probably hungry. I should go feed her. I'll get water as well.

She stood up and waved. "Well, I gotta go do stuff... sharpening my arrows. See you around, Raizo."

Raizo waved back. "Yeah... See you."

[OBTAINED TICKET FRAGMENT! (3/6)]

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1 more fte

and then we all know what happens :)