Danganronpa Extra Life

Giving Her Hairpin

Given the times they lived in, all able-bodied Future Foundation members were required to receive combat training, and once her trial period had ended two months ago that had extended to Chiaki as well. So, four times a week she went to the training room, an enormous room divided into two sections—one was the soundproof shooting range, the other was covered in mats and suited for hand-to-hand combat.

The latter was, Chiaki thought as stared at the ceiling above her, gasping in air, perhaps even harder than studying therapy. She had never been a particularly active person; a life playing video games was a sedentary one, and the most energy she ever expended was for playing Dance Dance Revolution. For her first couple of training sessions she hadn't even learned anything; the instructor had taken one look at her and made her do laps and push-ups and other exercises to build muscle and stamina, until her limbs felt like they were on fire.

On the other hand, all those video games, especially shooters, had made her quite a good shot. All she really had to learn was the proper stance and way to hold a gun, and that had been easy enough. After seeing how closely the bullet holes were riddled in her targets, the instructor had quickly decided she didn't need much more gun training. Now she only spent one of her sessions in there; the rest were dedicated to learning proper hand-to-hand combat.

"Get up, Watanabe." The combat instructor, a large woman named Hayami-sensei, nudged her with her boot, and with a groan she complied. The room seemed to spin around her—she must have hit her head too hard when she'd been thrown. Her sparring partner for the day, Honda-kun, gave her an apologetic smile from behind his faceguard as the instructor circled around her, correcting her stance with a sharp nudge here and there.

I hate sparring, she thought as Hayami-sensei finally stepped back with a satisfied nod. But as much as she hated sparring, her desire to get stronger was greater, and even greater than that was her fear. She never wanted to be as helpless and desperate as she had been in that maze, or when those muggers attacked, ever again. And unfortunately, the element of danger still existed.

If Yukizome-sensei finds me, or the Remnants attack, or something...I'll need to know more than just how to protect myself. I'll need to know how to fight.

Not for the first time, Chiaki thought about telling the Foundation about Yukizome-sensei's brainwashed state. And also not for the first time, she reminded herself that she had no proof, that she was just an intern compared to her teacher's high position, and that she would have to expose herself to do so. It didn't stop the twinge of guilt, though.

Because the truth was, deep down, she didn't really want to expose Yukizome-sensei. She was afraid that if she did, the Future Foundation would kill her. And her loyalty to the people she loved, she'd found out, would always outweigh civic duty. So she kept her silence and pretended those reasons weren't also excuses.

A fist whizzed by her face, and only a reflex jerk back stopped her from getting hit. Chiaki realized the signal to begin again had rung while she was lost in thought, and quietly cursed herself for getting distracted. She danced back, avoiding another, and returned one of her own, trying to recall everything she'd been taught so far in the flurry of punches and kicks.

Stay on the balls of your feet, use your hips to add power behind your punches, if you get hit sway with the blow...

"You okay, Watanabe-san?" Honda-kun asked fifteen minutes later, having completely thrashed her in sparring. He pulled his helmet off with a crooked smile; he was all tousled blonde hair and dazzling good looks. "That last punch might leave a bruise..."

Chiaki gingerly poked at her arm, which already had a motley purple blot forming. "I'm fine. It's good you didn't hold back, really. In a real fight, they wouldn't, right?"