danganronpa - murderous heights // BONUS CONTENT!

Backstory Blurpt - Hoshino

heehee

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"Hey! Give that back, you brat!"

Hoshino clutched the likely stale bagged bread close to her chest, her own heaving and panting the only thing filling her head. She could sense the store owner wasn't chasing her, possibly out of sympathy or just the fact that he was on the heavier side - either way, she was grateful.

She wasn't entirely sure how it ended up this way. She didn't really remember much of her parents either, just that her mother was a beautiful, young woman and that her father was a softie who would often slip her some candy right before dinner or let her stay up another hour to play video games with her friends.

Her mother always told her, "If someone knocks on the door, even if you know your friend is coming over for a playdate or that Grandma is visiting for a while, do not open it. Get me or your father to open the door. Understand?"

Hoshino, not exactly understanding the request but also wanting to make her parents happy, nodded happily and chirped, "Yes, Mammy! I'mma get you when someone comes over like a good girl."

"Very good." And then her mother would lighten the mood, offering pizza or a trip to the park. Her father would always seem happy to go out with them, and they'd start the car and leave, sometimes taking their collie dog (who Hoshino had fondly named Yankovic after he favorite musician) along for the ride.

And, just like that, everything was normal. Hoshino got average grades, not good, but she wasn't failing anything, and her parents praised her for being intelligent anyway. Every Friday was, "Pizza-game night," and the three of them would get out their giant collection of board games and play while eating Pizza Hut, and Hoshino would always insist that Yankovic played with them. After all, he was still part of the family.

And then, one time, late at night, Hoshino was all alone. Her parents were out doing "business" and had asked her to stay behind, her father bribing her with the promise of ice-cream (obviously neapolitan) for dinner. She was sitting on her couch, watching cartoons and trying to keep Yankovic from eating her ice-cream more times than she could count.

Then, someone knocked on the door.

It was loud. Desperate. As if it was telling Hoshino, "Open the door or I'll die and it'll be all your fault." Hoshino was as conflicted as she could be - what if it was someone in real trouble? Was she willing to let someone get hurt, possibly even die, just because her mother told her opening the door was something she wasn't allowed to do? All of her friends were going through their rebellious phase. Maybe it was time Hoshino did the same.

Pushing Yankovic aside, she ruffled his head and told him to sit down, which he did obediently. She skipped over to the door and, hesitating slightly, she opened it and-

She felt a sharp wave of pain as the door was kicked down, and she involuntarily let out a cry of pain from her back hitting the shelf by the door. She covered her mouth with her hands and held her breath, trying not to hyperventilate as a bunch of big, bruly, serious-looking men ran into the room. She must've been well-hidden, because one of them looked around the room sharply and shouted, "Clear!" And the three of them ran to the living room, where Yankovic was. The excited dog jumped up on them, barking and trying to get their attention, to which one of them quickly pet him on the head and pushed him aside, whispering, "Down, doggy. Don't make too much noise."

At least he was okay.

She started to crawl backwards towards the door, waving from the kitchen and grabbing Yankovic's attention so he ran over to her instead of bothering the guys, who didn't seem to notice him leaving. She wrapped her arms around his neck and slowly pushed back, easing out of the door. Thinking she was home free, she stood up and tried to bolt out, only to slam into the kneecaps of another adult.

Only this time, it was her parents.

Her mother, holding a small bag inside of another brown bag, narrowed her eyes sharply and shoved it into her pocket. She looked down at Hoshino, absolutely furious. "What did you do?! I told you not to- ugh, forget it. Just go before they try to catch you."

"What's going on?" Hoshino asked, Yankovic tightly pressed to her side.

"Doesn't matter. Just go!"

The commotion got the guys in the house, with their own dog who was sniffing around everywhere (probably why Yankovic got so excited), to notice the four standing in the hallway. Someone pulled out what appeared to be a pistol. Her father pulled a pistol out of a sack in his pocket.

"Put the gun down, Mr. Sata!" The man ordered. "You're under arrest for possession of illegal substances. If you cooperate and try to work with us, we may be able to shorten your sentence-"

"Shut up! Shut the Hell up!" Her father screamed, throwing the sack on the ground. The smell was horrid - Hoshino covered her nose and gagged, giving Yankovic some mercy and covering his as well. "If... you put your gun down or I... I'll shoot!"

"You're outnumbered. Stop resisting or it'll be worse for you." The guy was trying to bargain, but what the Hell were they talking about was the real question here. Hoshino scooted away and over to the sack, looking inside. The smell grew stronger, and inside was a bag with a bottle full of weird, cloudy liquid and one of those things wrapped around your arm during a blood pressure test.

"Hoshino, get away from that!" Her mother snatched the bag up from her.

"Both of you! Put down the weapon and give us the kid!" The man barked out another order. Hoshino let out a shaky gasp, knowing full-well he was talking about her.

Her mother kneeled down beside her and put a firm hand on her shoulders. "Hoshino. Get out of here. We'll both be fine, but we'll only truly be okay if we know you are, so please just run. We'll hold them back. They're bad guys."

Hoshino slapped her arm away. "You guys- you guys are the bad guys! They said ' illegal '! What were you doing all those times you were away?! Were you doing illegal stuff? Is that why you never let me do anything? Cause you were just... scared of getting caught? Like I'm just a nuisance?!"

Before her mother could respond, she had run off.

For all she knew, they were dead. She liked to hope they were in prison, becoming better people. She wasn't dumb and naive anymore - she knew they were off dealing drugs. She prayed the police found who they sold their stuff to.

Yankovic was always waiting for her in her spot, where she basically lived. Down a dark alleyway in the heart of the area she ran away to, food vendors all around. The best part of living here was that nobody had the energy to call the police to try and take her to a shelter, while at the same time, cheerful butchers or store owners knew her (or, more likely, her dog) and always spared her a slab of meat for the two to share or a few dollars extra to go buy some candy. However, she spent most of her time by the city library.

They had computers, and you were allowed to use them for free. Hoshino would always pay the lady that worked there any money she had (stolen or gifted) to keep a single computer reserved for her. That computer had her life's work on it - a small website she made. In her life, she found a lot of junk. A lot of this junk was probably more valuable than it looked, which means she could make a website where she would meet with people and sell all her junk.

It wasn't a hit right now, but it would be soon.

Something in her gut told her it was meant to blow up.

She ruffled Yankovic's fur as he jumped on her when she returned, getting slobber all over the bread she stole. She snapped it in half and gave the smaller half to the excited dog, seeing as he was more average weight than she, as she had to run around doing all the work while he laid there and waited for her to return.

The dog laid down and put his head on her lap, obediently falling asleep and not trying to steal her bread like he used to. He had probably just adjusted to this life is all.

Hoshino gently pet his back and whispered, "I promise I'll get us outta the slums someday, Yankovic. My website's gonna blow up, and when it does, I'll be so stinkin' rich that I can buy this alleyway."

He snored slightly. Hoshino took the last bite of bread and covered him with the dusty old blanket she found in a dumpster nearby.

"I promise."