Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Tsumugi Shirogane clasps her hands to her chest as she examines the fifteen mannequins surrounding her. They’re standing side by side, forming a wide circle—a circle Tsumugi is in the centre of.

Each mannequin is wearing an outfit she has poured countless hours into. Even though these outfits will never be worn by her characters in the outside world, Tsumugi still loves them. She made them so Team Danganronpa would have outfits to use for the promotional photos for season 53.

Season 53, her very own season. The season Tsumugi gets to be the mastermind of.

All those years of auditioning and pleading and promising that she loves Danganronpa more than life itself has finally paid off. Tsumugi pauses in front of her own outfit. She stares at her long skirt and white shirt and orange ribbon. Yes, her outfit is plain—but that’s the point. She’s not supposed to stand out, at least, she’s not supposed to stand out until the very end.

Ahh… She’s beyond excited for her season’s grand finale. Not only does she get to cosplay, she gets to cosplay as Junko Enoshima. That’s right, Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Fashionista.

Danganronpa’s first mastermind.

Tsumugi tenderly tucks a loose piece of orange ribbon back into place before smoothing down the collar of her white shirt. She can’t wait to join the simulation and wake up with all her characters. She can’t wait for Kaede Akamatsu and Shuichi Saihara to find her standing next to a dragon statue. She can’t wait to introduce herself as Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer.

She can’t wait to live in her fictional world.

Of course, it’s wonderful that the outside world loves Danganronpa so much! However, getting to experience a game of Danganronpa itself?

And not only that, but also being the mastermind…

Tsumugi has never felt so alive.

She’s put so much thought into everything. Into every character, into every death, into every punishment…

Tsumugi turns to Shuichi Saihara’s uniform and sighs fondly. Not only has she been given the very important role of being this season’s mastermind, she also got to personally pick every participant who is going to join her inside the simulation, too.

To everyone she picked—you’re welcome. Tsumugi hopes this year’s participants feel honoured that she picked them. After all, millions of people auditioned this year. It was an exhausting process searching for her fourteen perfect characters.

But she found them in the end, and that’s all that matters.

Anyway, tomorrow is the day Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony will begin, and Tsumugi cannot wait.

The door to Tsumugi’s office is abruptly flung open. Her boss steps inside, and the first thing Tsumugi notices is her boss’ perfect blonde hair tied back into a high ponytail. It reminds Tsumugi of the hairstyle Junko wears when she’s acting academic.

“Shirogane!” Her boss smiles wide at her, showing off her pearly white teeth. “Just the person I wanted to see!”

“Ah, really?” Tsumugi scratches her cheek shyly with her finger.

“Of course!” Her boss finally notices the circle of mannequins. She looks almost amused as her eyes bounce from one outfit to the next. “You know, I’ve got a really good feeling about your season, Shirogane. You’ve created an amazing cast of characters! The world is going to love them!”

There are sparkles in Tsumugi’s eyes. “Do you really think so?”

“Oh, I know so!” Her boss claps her hands loudly together. “Anyway! I’m glad that you’re here, Shirogane. I just wanted to tell you about a last minute change that was made to your script.”

Tsumugi freezes. Someone… changed her script? “I… I thought you said it was perfect?”

“I did,” her boss agrees. “But after reading what you had planned for the finale again…”

Ah yes, Tsumugi’s grand finale. It’s going to go like this: Shuichi finds out the truth about Rantaro’s death and figures out that Kaede is innocent. He then figures out Tsumugi is the mastermind. Tsumugi is then going to allow Junko Enoshima to use her as a vessel to spread despair.

Tsumugi swears that she’ll handle Junko’s appearance with the utmost of care. Cosplaying isn’t just slapping on an outfit in hopes of looking like your favourite character. It frustrates her that people think that’s what cosplaying is! Cosplaying is about bringing your favourite character to life! You don’t just dress up like them—you become them. You use your love to let your favourite character exist in a world that isn’t their own.

See, some people think cosplaying is just pretending to be someone else—and that’s unforgivable. Tsumugi is going to give it her all to channel her inner Junko Enoshima. She’s going to spread despair as flawlessly as Junko did. She promises.

Anyway! Tsumugi is going to reveal that she’s the mastermind, that she’s Junko Enoshima the 53rd, and that Danganronpa is eternal.

And then the audience (who are going to be selectively picked by Team Danganronpa to rig the votes in the story’s favour, of course) is going to turn on her. She’s going to fall at the final hurdle, just like Junko had.

But that’s not the end! No, Tsumugi is going to go out with a bang! She’s going to do what Junko Enoshima did. She’s going to experience the Ultimate Punishment. She’s going to dangle above a piano. She’s going to climb a thorny vine. She’s going to be spun at a dizzying speed before being dropped into a pot of boiling water. She’s going to be stung by countless bugs. She’s going to fall through the sky like a shooting star.

Tsumugi is going to end up as a splatter on the floor. Just like Junko, she’s going to be reduced to nothing.

Well, that’s what she planned, anyway.

“I understand that you love Junko Enoshima, and it’s clear you want your ending to mirror hers,” her boss says. “But the thing is… Junko Enoshima earned her punishment. I love that you’ve decided to bring her back using cosplay, but…”

“But what?”

“Completely copying her final moments… I don’t think you, Tsumugi Shirogane, have earnt that right,” her boss tells her, causing Tsumugi to pale. “So I’ve changed the ending just a little. Instead of you being punished, I’m going to have Kiibo destroy the school. He’s going to follow the 'will' of the outside world and put an end to Danganronpa.”

“...Huh?”

It feels like the floor has opened up underneath her. Tsumugi stares at her boss blankly. She waits for the punchline, for her boss to suddenly burst out laughing and tell Tsumugi that she’s kidding.

But she doesn’t. Instead, her boss says, “Whilst it’s tradition to bring Junko Enoshima back for every season finale, we’ve never copied her ultimate punishment before. And I get it, it’s clear that you love Junko Enoshima. But you’re not her, Shirogane. When you cosplay as her, you look and act exactly like her, but… you’re not her.”

“So… So what’s going to happen to me?” Tsumugi asks.

“You’re going to be crushed by a falling piece of debris,” her boss answers, a little too dismissively for Tsumugi’s liking. “You’ll get your wish of being crushed… just in a more poetic way. See, I like that you had the guts to try and copy Enoshima’s ending, but at the end of the day, you’re Tsumugi Shirogane. You’re nothing more than a… cosplaycat? So I think you deserve your own ending.”

“But—”

“Anyway, here’s the script for the new ending.” A script is shoved into Tsumugi’s hands before she can protest. “Try your best to memorise it. Don’t worry, I’ll have someone add this script into the simulation so you can read it in there, too.” Her boss smiles brightly. “Thank you so much for your cooperation! Have fun in the simulation, Shirogane!”

“Wait—”

Her boss leaves before she can protest. Tsumugi stares emotionlessly at the floor, her hands limp by her sides.

…This isn’t fair. She knows that she’s not Junko—that she’ll never be Junko, not really. But she thought… even though she’s not Junko, she’s the mastermind, and… Tsumugi really thought she’d get to go out the same way Junko did.

Tsumugi reads through the first few pages of the script dejectedly. It’s pretty much similar to her planned ending. Only, Kiibo doesn’t get to live with everyone else, and they don’t go to the huge metal door at the end of the tunnel.

They don’t stand as a group like Makoto, Kyoko, Byakuya, Aoi, Toko, and Yasuhiro had at the end of the first game of Danganronpa. Instead, Kiibo sacrifices himself and brings down the End Wall. Only Shuichi, Maki and Himiko emerge from the rubble alive.

….Tsumugi isn’t sure if she wants to acknowledge this new ending.

She leaves her office in a daze and heads down hallways covered in posters advertising her season. She walks until she reaches the office that’s filled with the pods that’ll transform her picked participants into her characters. Tsumugi silently walks over to the computer, sits down, and begins typing.

Fine, if Team Danganronpa wants to take her perfect ending away from her, they can. But in return, she wants to live in her fictional world for longer.

Maybe if she stays in it long enough, she’ll get to experience an ending that satisfies her.

—

“Momota and Ouma are on the fifth floor.”

Tsumugi stills after hearing those words crackle from her walkie-talkie. A part of her wonders if she simply imagined them, but as soon as the thought crosses her mind, she hears thunderous footsteps—rapidly approaching thunderous footsteps. She squeaks as a group of Team Danganronpa members push past her, racing upstairs.

She catches herself on the wall and stares blankly at the floor, blinking a couple of times as she reorientates herself. What’s going on?

Tsumugi wavers before following everyone upstairs. As she climbs the stairs, she realises she's empty-handed—she must’ve dropped her flashback light after everyone shoved past her.

The closer she gets to the fifth floor, the tighter her chest feels. There’s only one thing on her mind: reaching her characters first. No one else cares about them the way she does. She loves her characters, and she isn’t ready to let them go. Even Kaito and Kokichi, her hero and her villain. Even though she’s spent the last few weeks tormenting them, she doesn’t hate them, not truely. How could she ever hate her characters—her characters she poured so much time and love into? She was just playing her role.

A role that has unfortunately come to an end.

Tsumugi reaches the fifth floor and begins searching. Despite being desperate to find Kaito and Kokichi, she finds herself struggling to move quickly, apprehension weighing her down. Her legs feel heavy, like they’ve been filled with sand. She reminds herself that she’s racing against time. If she finds Kaito and Kokichi too late…

She can’t bear the idea of losing more of her precious characters. She knows she’s already lost Shuichi, her protagonist; she overheard her colleague boasting to his friend earlier that he was the one who caught him. And Kiibo—he’s gone too. Reduced to a broken mess. She saw him a while back, a destroyed heap on the floor, his eyes empty and staring at nothing.

Breathlessly, she turns another corner. The more she thinks about her beloved characters, the lighter she feels. She’s not ready to live in a world without them. She’s not ready to say goodbye to Danganronpa. Not now, maybe not even ever.

Call her selfish, but she wishes she could live in the fictional world she created forever. If she could gather everyone up and drop them back into the simulation…

She hears Kaede’s voice inside her head, defiantly telling Tsumugi that even if she did somehow force her back into the simulation, she’d escape. It’s not just Kaede’s voice Tsumugi hears. All her characters promise her the same thing.

Tsumugi blinks as an image pops into her head. She’s standing alone in front of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles. Not even Monokuma is with her. It’s just herself and her lonely, fictional world.

A clatter forces her back into reality. Tsumugi jumps and peers around a corner.

There are countless Team Danganronpa members filling both sides of the hallway, flashback lights in everyone’s hands. In the middle of the crowd: Kaito and Kokichi. Only, Kaito’s standing, and Kokichi is not. Tsumugi stares at the flashback lights, her face clammy and pale. Even though they’re not on now, she gets the feeling they were only a couple moments ago.

No one notices her as she creeps forward, her heart in her throat. Low murmurs fill her ears. She can’t make out exactly what anyone is saying, but she thinks she can take a guess.

Then, just as she reaches the back of the crowd, there’s another clatter. A second body slams against the floor, causing the murmuring to stop. Tsumugi’s stomach swoops as she rolls herself onto her tiptoes and peers over the sea of heads and shoulders.

Kaito’s now also on the floor, but she can’t see him due to the wall of bodies blocking him. She tries to shove through the crowd, but she isn’t strong enough. With a huff, she remains trapped at the end of the hallway.

“Did we get them both?” Someone eventually asks, apprehensively.

Tsumugi holds her breath. Once again, she finds herself staring at the flashback lights. They look innocent enough, but she knows the damage they can do, the life they can give and take away.

“I’m not sure,” an equally wary voice responds.

Between the gaps of everyone’s legs, Tsumugi watches a young man crouch down into a squat and stare at Kaito and Kokichi wordlessly. There’s a slight frown on his face as he tries to figure out if Kaito and Kokichi are gone or not. The young man reaches forward, and—

“Ah!” Tsumugi suddenly screams, twisting so she can jab at the door behind her. She flushes as she earns herself a roomful of startled stares. “I think I just saw, um, Tojo run past!”

“You did?”

“A-And a bunch of others, too!” Tsumugi adds as she restlessly shifts her weight from one foot to the other. “I’d go after them, but I lost my flashback light—”

“For goodness sake, Shirogane,” a muscular man huffs. He nods at the exit, gesturing to everyone to leave. Before he goes, he grabs the flashback light out of the hands of the person next to him and shoves it into Tsumugi's chest. “Just… Stay here and escort these two out once they’re less groggy, got it?”

Tsumugi clutches the flashback light to her chest as everyone exits the hallway. As the room empties, she gets a better view of Kaito and Kokichi, who are on the floor, unmoving. If it wasn’t for the rise and fall of their shoulders, she’d assume they were dead.

A couple Team Danganronpa members hesitate near the exit, watching Tsumugi cautiously, like they’re unsure if they should leave her unsupervised or not.

To get them to go away, Tsumugi offers them a saccharine smile before heading over to Kaito and Kokichi. Her shadow engulfs them as she looks down at them. Behind her, the stragglers shrug before leaving.

As they leave, Tsumugi hears one of them say, “I guess she really is taking her job seriously…”

Tsumugi lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Even though the room is now empty—aside from Kaito and Kokichi, of course—she still feels sick. Time slows to a crawl. She waits uneasily for something to happen. She’s not entirely sure what to expect. Is Kokichi going to lift his head up and announce that his demise was actually a lie? Is Kaito going to jump up and punch her so hard that she falls?

She instinctively takes a step back, just in case. Even though Kaito has every right to punch her (that is, if he still exists,) Tsumugi can’t afford to be hurt right now. She can’t protect her beloved characters if she’s too injured to walk.

But still, she wishes Kaito would do something already. Anything. She doesn’t care if he decides to lift his head only to yell at her. Even Kokichi—if he wants to laugh at her for being pathetic, that’s fine too!

The silence continues to stretch on, and it feels like torture.

“Guys?” Tsumugi’s voice comes out as a squeak, causing her to clear her throat. She takes a tentative step forward, blood roaring in her ears. Has she lost them? Has she lost even more of her precious characters? A lump grows in her throat.

She watches them both like a hawk, waiting for any sign of movement. Should she give them a shake? She doubts either one of them is seriously hurt, although she can’t fully dismiss the possibility until she’s taken a proper look at them both. She has no idea what happened to them before she arrived.

Tsumugi hears a quiet groan and immediately tries to figure out who made it. “A-Are you both okay? Momota? Ouma?”

Kaito doesn’t lift his head up, but his shoulders do stiffen. Tsumugi redirects her attention to him. When she arrived, Kaito was standing. Then, in a blink of an eye, he ended up on the floor. She’s never seen someone have a delayed reaction to a flashback light before, so it was weird to witness.

“Momota,” Tsumugi says, taking a step towards him.

Before she can get closer, she sees more movement from the corner of her eye. She turns to see Kokichi pushing himself up using wobbly arms, his back facing her. He slumps into a slouched sitting position, his head lowered. Kokichi sniffs. It sounds wet. Kokichi sniffs again and lifts his hand up to wipe his nose. Thanks to his awkward positioning, it takes Tsumugi a moment to notice that there’s red blood dripping down his hand.

Kokichi sniffs once more. Kaito suddenly snaps his head up, causing Tsumugi to let out a startled yelp. He doesn’t so much as spare her a glance. Instead, Kaito’s attention has been completely stolen by Kokichi, whose back is still facing them both.

The knot in her chest loosens ever so slightly as she realises that Kaito is still himself. The clues that it’s still him are small and subtle, but plainly obvious to her. His clenched jaw, the look in his eyes, the way he focuses solely on what matters to him first instead of the danger surrounding him.

Not that she’s a danger to him, of course! Well, she supposes from Kaito’s point of view, she’s the biggest danger he’s ever had the displeasure of meeting. As he passes her, he regards her for only a second. He glares at her, and the saying if looks could kill springs to mind.

She steps to the side as Kaito stumbles past. To her surprise, he winces after he puts his right foot down. Did he land on it funny after he fell?

Whatever’s wrong with him, Kaito doesn’t let it stop him. He positions himself in front of Kokichi, landing on his knees, eyes wide and desperate. Something significant must’ve happened before she arrived, and Tsumugi tries to figure out what.

When she arrived, there was a group of Team Danganronpa members with flashback lights. Kokichi was on the floor, and Kaito was not. Then, Kaito ended up on the floor. It looked like everyone wasn’t sure if their flashback lights got Kaito and Kokichi or not.

Kaito definitely wasn’t hit by a flashback light since he’s himself.

Tsumugi turns to Kokichi and allows her mind to finish the sequence of events. If Kaito is still himself, that means he wasn’t able to see the light. Something must’ve covered his eyes.

No, not something. There isn’t anything in the hallway other than herself, Kaito, Kokichi and a couple posters on the wall. Someone must’ve protected Kaito, and that person could have only been Kokichi.

Which sheds light on a very important question: Did Kokichi also manage to hide his eyes when the flashback lights were turned on?

Tsumugi watches as Kaito stares at Kokichi searchingly. It’s strangely amusing, she thinks, seeing Kaito care this much about Kokichi. Amusing and bemusing. When she created them both, never in a million years did she think her hero and her villain would ever care about each other. Kaito was supposed to think Kokichi was nothing but a lost cause. Kokichi was supposed to be so paranoid, he’d refuse any hand that reached out to help him.

She supposes, in a way, it's been interesting watching her characters make their own choices without being influenced by her script. The Kaito and Kokichi she’s been around the last few weeks are a far cry from the characters she envisioned.

Actually, truth be told, watching Kaito almost fall into despair all those days ago made Tsumugi wish she had kept him around longer during her scripted game. She didn’t think he’d react so… strongly to what happened in the hangar. Here she thought she had done him a favour—letting the hero defeat the villain. Ah, if only Kaito hadn’t been running on borrowed time. Now she wishes she had made him spill all his regrets, just so she could’ve heard his despair drenched voice right before he hopped into the rocket Monokuma set up for him.

…Not that she remembers the first killing game. Thanks to the loops, those memories are long gone. Oh well.

Tsumugi shakes her head, willing herself back into the present. Now definitely isn’t the time to lose herself in her thoughts. She still doesn’t know if Kokichi exists or not.

What if he’s gone? Sure, she would get to experience the despair of losing him, but… Is that truly what she wants? Junko Enoshima would be ecstatic to experience such despair, so doesn’t that mean she should be excited by the idea of losing her precious character?

Why does she feel so nervous? Why is there a lump growing in her throat? Why does she want Kaito to tell her that Kokichi is fine?

“Momota,” Tsumugi tries again, her voice soft. To her dismay, he ignores her. “Is he…”

Tsumugi observes Kaito’s face helplessly. He’s staring at Kokichi, searchingly. Desperately. Then, Kaito reaches forward, and—

Kokichi flinches, and Kaito immediately recoils as if he’s just burnt his hand.

Tsumugi’s stomach drops along with Kaito’s hand, which thumps against the floor. Kaito’s jaw clenches as he attempts to veil his distress. She can tell that he’s upset—she knows because she knows all her characters like the back of her hand.

“I-I tried to get here as fast as I could,” Tsumugi tells him, licking her lips nervously after she notices a splash of blood land on the laminate floor in front of Kokichi. Seriously, what happened before she arrived? “I know you won’t believe me when I say this, but—”

“Shirogane,” Kaito snaps. “Shut up.”

“I just want to know if he’s okay,” Tsumugi says.

Kaito spares a second to shoot her a dry glare before turning his attention back to… whoever’s in front of him. Kokichi? Not Kokichi? Tsumugi isn’t sure.

“Like you care,” Kaito snarls. His eyes harden after another drop of blood hits the floor. “The hell are you even doing here anyway? Just… Just go.”

“I came to help you both, of course,” Tsumugi answers, baffled by Kaito’s question. “What happened?”

Kaito ignores her. He reaches forward again and gently grabs Kokichi’s chin so he can turn his head to a better position. This time, Kokichi doesn’t flinch, accepting Kaito’s hand without much of a reaction.

“Fucking hell,” Kaito hisses. His hands begin to tremble, and Tsumugi wonders if she’s about to witness some sort of eruption. Kaito looks like he’s seconds away from punching a wall—or maybe punching her.

The thing is, even though he’s obviously angry, she’s not scared of him. Scared of losing him? Of course. But she finds herself far from intimidated as she watches him tremble, his jaw locking.

Tsumugi looks over her shoulder, apprehensive. It’s only a matter of time before someone returns. “Momota, we’re not safe here. We need to go.”

“Like hell I’m going anywhere with you,” Kaito retorts, peeling his attention away from Kokichi so he can pin her down with a withering glare. “I don’t give a shit that you got all those assholes to leave. If you’re expecting me to be fucking grateful—”

Tsumugi holds her hands up placatingly. “Of course not! It’s just, if someone sees you both alone, they might get the wrong idea. If you guys stick with me, I can say that I’ve already used a flashback light on you both if we do bump into someone.”

Kaito pulls a face before glaring at the flashback light in Tsumugi’s hands. “And what’s stopping you from using one now, huh?”

“Because I care about you guys,” Tsumugi answers, worrying her lip between her teeth after Kaito lets out an incredulous scoff. “It’s true! You guys are my entire world—of course I want to keep you safe.”

“You care about us?” Kaito shakes his head in disbelief. “You locked Kaede in your fucking office! How can you even say—”

“I did that to protect her!” Tsumugi insists. “Momota, I’d do anything to keep you alive. You’re… You’re my pride and joy—my everything. You and everyone else, you’re my very precious characters.”

“...Your very precious characters,” Kaito echoes, dully.

Tsumugi nods. “We need to move before someone realises I lied. C’mon, let’s go see Akamatsu and—”

“Let her out of your stupid office,” Kaito finishes for her, causing Tsumugi to wince like a scolded child. “If you think I’m gonna let you stay with us—”

“I have to,” Tsumugi tells him. “I’m serious, you guys won’t be able to leave without my help.”

“Like you even want to help us,” Kaito huffs.

Tsumugi bites down on the inside of her mouth, looking away when Kaito’s stare starts to feel a little too heavy. He doesn’t get it. She can keep him safe! He won’t like the outside world, which is why he needs to stay with her. He can’t leave her. He can’t.

She’s already lost so much: her killing game, her protagonist, Kiibo. If she lets any more of her characters slip through her fingers, she’ll have lost everything. There’s nothing waiting for her outside. No family to return to, no friends to laugh with. Everything she cares about is in this building—is right in front of her.

Tsumugi doesn’t want to return to her boring life. She wants to live in her Danganronpa inspired world forever—with her beloved characters.

“I do,” Tsumugi responds desperately. “Honestly, I do. I really, really do—”

“Not only am I dealing with the world’s worst nosebleed, I’m also starting to get a really nasty headache. So will you please,” an exasperated voice huffs, “shut your stupid fucking mouth?”

Kokichi glares at her from over his shoulder, granting Tsumugi a full view of his face. He’s got a bloody nose which is spewing blood like a morbid waterfall. There’s an irritated glint in his eyes, which causes Tsumugi to snap her mouth shut.

Oh. He’s fine. Kokichi is fine.

That’s good. That’s more than good, actually! Because even though he’s Kokichi, which is all the explanation that’s needed to describe him, Tsumugi still wants him to exist.

Kokichi sniffs again, roughly wiping his face with his sleeve. His nose is still bleeding, but only slightly. Tsumugi predicts that he’ll be fine in a few minutes. Well, close to fine. To put it plainly: Kokichi’s face looks like it had a fight with the floor—and lost.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Tsumugi whines, causing Kokichi’s face to twist into a crooked sneer whilst Kaito rolls his eyes.

“Because you’re awful to talk to?” Kaito answers in Kokichi’s stead.

Tsumugi narrows her eyes at Kaito, shooting him an accusing look. “You knew he was fine, didn’t you? You pretended that he wasn’t—”

“I didn’t do shit,” Kaito spits. “I took one look at his face and…” Kaito grimaces, still trembling. “Not everything is about you, Shirogane. Comforting you was the last thing on my mind.”

Kokichi pulls a face as he wipes even more blood from his face. His sleeve isn’t the most effective mop; all he’s doing is smearing blood around his nose and cheeks. He peers down the hall behind Tsumugi before checking behind him, his brows furrowed. “How long do you think it’s going to take those dummies to realise they’re running around like headless chickens?”

“Not long,” Tsumugi answers earnestly. She notes that Kokichi’s voice is lacking its usual playfulness. He sounds… tired. Wary. “Which is why you guys really need to follow me—”

Kaito groans loudly. “Not this again.”

“I promise I won’t do anything!” Tsumugi says. “But staying here for any longer would be a mistake. I swear I’ll take you both straight to Akamatsu.”

Kaito looks pained as he mulls Tsumugi’s words over in his head. She watches his jaw clench and unclench over and over. Then, Kaito finally grunts, “Fine—as long as I get to hold the keys. I swear if you even think about stealing them, I’ll sort you out myself. I swear to fucking God, Shirogane, if you try anything—”

“I won’t,” Tsumugi responds, softly. Like if she responds quietly enough, Kaito won’t hear her and she won’t have to stick to her word. Only, to her disappointment, it becomes obvious Kaito heard her because he pins her down with a look of warning.

And Tsumugi knows Kaito, her hero. Her character. She knows what he does to villains—irredeemable villains—who get in his way, who compromise the safety of those closest to him. She lets out a small sigh and leads the way back to her office.

They don’t bump into anyone. However, as they get closer to her office, Tsumugi hears the distant sound of footsteps running around on a lower floor. She wonders how long the wild goose chase she sent everyone on will last.

When they arrive, Kaito shoves her out of the way and unlocks the door. He doesn’t even get the chance to reach for the door handle before the door is yanked open. Kaede appears in the doorway, pale and wide-eyed.

“Are you—” Kaede doesn’t get to finish before the sound of approaching footsteps echo down the hallway.

Tsumugi reacts instinctively. She shoves everyone into the room and closes the door behind her. Whilst the footsteps run past, Kaito glowers at her whilst Kaede stares at Kokichi’s bloody nose in shock.

“Shirogane,” Kaito says, his voice low. “You fucking promised—”

“I hid you guys for your own safety!” Tsumugi immediately argues. She presses her back against the door, refusing to move. She wonders if she blocks it for long enough, Kaito will give in.

It’s a lovely idea, but even she’s not delusional enough to think Kaito will change his mind just like that. He already looks like he wants to throw her through the door. Actually, Kaede does too.

Oh dear.

“Are you okay?” Kaede asks Kaito. She spares him a quick glance, too distracted by Kokichi’s bloody nose. “What happened—”

“Could you help him clean up?” Kaito asks her, his voice taut. Fragile, like it’s made of splintering glass. “While I deal with her.” Kaito fires Tsumugi a pointed look.

Kaede blinks before nodding. “I can do that. There’s some cloth near the back of the room we can use.”

“But that stuff’s…” Tsumugi withers under Kaito’s blazing glare. She finishes with a lame, “Expensive…”

“Good,” Kaito says, although he doesn’t sound satisfied. As Tsumugi expected, he tries to pull her away from the door. He swears profusely under his breath when she digs her heels into the ground. “For fuck’s sake, Shirogane—”

“Just hear me out!” Tsumugi pleads. She’s got three characters with her, and like hell is she letting them go without putting up a fight. Okay, maybe Kaito was right earlier—maybe she doesn’t want to help them leave. Maybe she wants to keep everyone in her office and… She can figure out the details later. Right now, making sure no one leaves is her priority.

Kaito pulls her shoulder harshly. Tsumugi grimaces and concentrates on keeping herself pressed against the door. She desperately tries to search for the right words to appease him with. To appease all of them with.

She knows her characters, right? Surely she knows exactly what to say to them!

Tsumugi opens her mouth, but no words come out. She makes a rather pathetic noise instead, causing Kaito to wrinkle his nose. He probably thinks she’s just screwing around. But she’s not, she swears!

It’s just, Kaito’s a little different now and she isn’t sure what to say to him…

…No, that’s wrong! Of course she knows what to say to Kaito, her character! She can appease him by… by convincing him that staying here will ensure everyone’s safety! Some risks are not worth it, and leaving the office is one of those risks. Surely he’ll understand if she tells him this!

Only, when she tries, she once again remains wordless. Kaito raises an eyebrow at her, more confused than annoyed at this point.

“Quit screwing around,” Kaito grunts, pulling on her shoulders so hard that she has no choice but to stumble forward. She tries to push herself back against the door, but Kaito blocks her, snatching her wrist so she has no choice but to look at him. “The hell is your problem, huh? I knew you’d pull a stunt like this.”

Tsumugi feels like a record stuck on repeat. “I really am just trying to protect you guys—”

“The only thing we need protecting from is you,” Kaito snarls, tightening his grip. It’s quite intimidating, Tsumugi realises, being on the receiving end of Kaito’s anger. She’s still not scared of him but his hatred is making her feel… uncomfortable, like her collar suddenly feels too tight and is trying to strangle her.

“No, you guys need protection from the outside world,” Tsumugi responds. “It… It isn’t a nice place, you know? The world you guys think you remember… It's nothing like what the real world is.” She lets out a nervous laugh. “For starters, everyone genuinely adores Danganronpa—and I mean everyone. You can’t hide from it. It’s literally everywhere.”

“And that’ll be our problem to deal with,” Kaito says. “By ourselves.”

“What more do you want from us?” Kaede asks her. There’s an empty water bottle by her side. In her hand, a wet piece of extremely expensive material. Tsumugi sucks in a sharp breath through her teeth as Kaede dabs at Kokichi’s face with it. Kaede spares a moment to roll her eyes at Tsumugi before returning her attention back to Kokichi. “You’re never satisfied, are you? We’ve been through enough, yet you still want to put us through more—”

“That’s wrong!” Tsumugi quickly insists, shaking her head. Kaito drops her wrist, which Tsumugi hugs to her chest. “Putting you guys through another killing game is the last thing on my mind. I mean, of course I’m disappointed that we can’t go back into the simulation, but…” She smiles tightly once she notices Kaito’s unimpressed stare. “It’s just… you guys are all I have. If you guys leave…”

The truth is plain and simple, really.

Tsumugi’s entire existence revolves around Danganronpa.

When she bagged herself the role of season 53’s mastermind, she was ecstatic. She abandoned her boring life without a second thought so she could live in a fun world full of mystery and excitement. She had been so excited to be around interesting people. People who she’d bring to life. Fun, unique people who won’t treat her like a wallflower, who’ll acknowledge her existence, even if for a moment…

Tsumugi even joined the game as herself, using her very own name. Maybe a part of her thought she could abandon her place in the real role to live in a fictional one. It’s not like she’d be missed, anyway.

She doesn’t want to let her season go yet. Even though the despair of losing everyone is waiting for her just around the corner, she finds herself wanting to freeze time so she can stay with her final three characters forever.

Junko Enoshima would embrace any sort of despair with open arms. Junko Enoshima the 53rd is a little different, so it seems.

“We’ve been through enough.” Kaito’s voice jolts Tsumugi back into reality. There’s a scowl on his face and fire in his eyes. “No one is staying with you, you hear me? No one. I think we’re all in agreement that we’d rather… we’d rather give ourselves up than spend another second with you.”

Tsumugi blinks before saying, “You don’t mean that.”

But the thing is: he does. He does mean it, and Tsumugi knows this. She knows if it means being away from her, he’d forfeit his life. 

She looks over at Kaede and Kokichi. Kokichi looks a little cleaner now, no longer looking like the protagonist of a horror film. When their eyes meet, Kokichi sneers.

“Aren’t you bored?” Kokichi asks her. “Don’t you literally have anything else better to do with your life?”

Tsumugi answers honestly: She shakes her head with a sad, tiny smile.

“No one here feels sorry for you. You’re not our responsibility,” Kaede tells her, which hurts more than expected because when Tsumugi thinks of Kaede, she thinks of warmth and kindness. Not hostility and resentment. “Kaito’s right. If you get in our way, we’ll make sure you lose us—permanently.”

“But…” Tsumugi desperately tries to resuscitate their dying conversation. She can tell that everyone has nothing more to say to her, but she’s not given up just yet! She doesn’t want to accept that this is the end. “But—”

“Shirogane, even though it’s painfully obvious that you don’t have any dignity, this is getting beyond pathetic,” Kokichi says. He hops down from the table he was sitting on and crosses his arms. “We’re not playing your stupid game anymore, and we’re certainly not about to have some cringy showdown. It’s been a long day and I’m tired. We all are.”

Tsumugi stares at Kokichi like he’s just changed into someone new in the blink of an eye. He’s not wearing his usual smirk and there’s no playful glint in his eyes. He isn’t standing with his hands tucked behind his head, pretending to be relaxed when his heart is racing on the inside. In front of her is someone who looks and sounds tired, someone with bags under his eyes, evidently exhausted.

She turns to Kaito. His gravity defying hair isn’t standing proud and tall—and neither is he. He’s tense, as if he’s entered a state of fight or flight. He’s looking at her like she’s the final obstacle in his way. She doubts he’ll ever consider her someone worth befriending, someone worth saving from their troubles. Kaito befriended Shuichi and Maki—even Kokichi, eventually. But herself? She must be beyond redemption.

Kaede has nothing but hatred in her eyes. Tsumugi isn’t surprised. If Tsumugi were in Kaede’s shoes, she’d hate her, too. Even in the real world Tsumugi is still trying to call the shots, and it’s clear Kaede has had enough.

“If you actually care about us, you’ll make sure we leave safely,” Kaede tells her. “You’re going to walk us to the front doors, make sure we have the necessities to survive, and then you’re going to leave us alone and never see us again.”

“...Never?” Tsumugi asks, her voice small.

“Never,” Kaede confirms.

No one argues against Kaede’s demands. Together, the trio stand side by side and stare Tsumugi down, silently daring her to even suggest staying together one more time.

It becomes plainly obvious that Tsumugi has two choices. Either she lets them forfeit their lives, or she lets them go. There is no secret third option.

She stares at the trio, and Tsumugi suddenly remembers who she's dealing with. In front of her are three characters who would throw away their lives if it means defeating a villain. They’re still the same, stubborn characters Tsumugi envisioned. And here they are, refusing to participate in another argument, in one final showdown. They’re done, finished with Danganronpa. Finished with Tsumugi.

It’s so plain to see.

“...Okay,” Tsumugi agrees after a moment of tense silence. She closes her eyes and lets out a tiny sigh, her shoulders sagging. “If it means keeping you guys alive, I’ll—”

“Don’t you dare make it sound like you’re doing us a favour,” Kokichi says, his voice icy cold. Tsumugi suppresses a shudder. “All you're doing is finally taking responsibility.”

“About damn time, too,” Kaito adds.

Tsumugi lowers her eyes. Quietly, feeling like a confused child, she asks, “Are you sure you guys just want to… leave?”

“The further away we can get from you, the better,” Kaito answers for everyone. “So c’mon, let’s get moving before you can pull another stupid stunt.”

He throws the door open and storms outside. Tsumugi almost falls over her feet as she rushes to follow him. As she checks the hallways, she says, “You guys can’t act like yourselves if we bump into someone. Momota, I need you to frown—a lot. Akamatsu, you can smile, but don’t look like you’re happy.”

Kaede raises an eyebrow. “Okay?”

“Ouma, just… keep your mouth shut,” Tsumugi decides.

Kokichi mimics zipping his mouth shut with a pinch of his fingers.

Before setting off, Tsumugi looks over her shoulder one final time. Directly behind her is Kaede, who narrows her eyes when their eyes meet. Tucked behind Kaede is Kokichi, who has his arms crossed tightly, holding himself. Hopefully, not together. None of them can afford to freak out whilst they leave. Finally, at the back is Kaito, who is doing a very good job frowning—at Tsumugi.

Well, it looks like this is it: the final grand finale. One final performance for one night only.

As they make their way towards the exit, they pass several posters including Monokuma and Junko Enoshima, both of them waving. It almost feels as if they’re waving goodbye. Tsumugi doesn’t spare them so much as a glance. She becomes sadder the closer to the entrance she gets. Once they’re outside, her characters are going to leave and never look back.

Tsumugi isn’t sure what sort of future is waiting for her, but she does know one thing.

She’s going to be all alone.

There’s no chance that Kaede, sweet and selfless Kaede, is going to change her mind and stay with her. Kokichi, as unpredictable as he acts sometimes, will definitely not decide to have a change of heart and remain by Tsumugi’s side. And Kaito? Tsumugi’s confident that if she even so much as thinks about asking him to stay, he’ll throw her out a window.

When they approach a group of Team Danganronpa members near the entrance, Tsumugi tenses. She has no idea what expressions everyone behind her is wearing. All she can do is hope that they’re doing what she told them to do.

She smiles at the group as they walk past, gauging their expressions. When they look at the trio behind her, they let out amused scoffs, their smiles cruel.

“Just because you can run, doesn’t mean you can hide,” one of them tells Kokichi, causing the rest of the group to laugh.

Oh, if only they knew that three Danganronpa characters are hiding quite literally in plain sight, right under their noses. Not only that, but also holding Tsumugi hostage, too. Of course from an outsider’s point of view, it looks like Tsumugi is leading the trio out, but that would be a lie.

When they finally reach the entrance, Tsumugi peers through the glass doors and notices the beginning of a sunrise. Honey-orange light threatens to spill over the horizon. Before she opens the doors, she heads into a room near the reception and shoves a couple of necessities into some bags. Then, she plucks her lanyard from her chest and taps it against a scanner.

The doors open.

The fresh air that hits Tsumugi should feel pleasant. Instead, Tsumugi shivers and pulls her jumper a little tighter against herself. Kaede and Kaito shove past her immediately. Kokichi strolls past a little more slowly, trying to act casual. Tsumugi, however, can see how stiff his shoulders are and how fake his smile is.

As Tsumugi listens to the distant sound of early morning traffic, her three characters bundle together. Kaito drapes an arm over Kokichi’s shoulders whilst Kaede snatches the bags from Tsumugi’s hands.

“...Not even a thank you?” Tsumugi weakly jokes as she tucks her hands into her armpits to protect herself from the cold. It’s the start of autumn, she realises. Leaves are beginning to fall from the trees and the wind is cruelly cold.

When she entered the simulation for the first time, it was summer. The weather had been pleasant, the leaves had been green. For some reason, Tsumugi can’t wrap her head around the fact the world kept spinning whilst she was inside the simulation, that life continued, even without her.

Kaito's nose is already turning a rosy red. He rolls his eyes at Tsumugi before taking one of the bags from Kaede. To Tsumugi’s disappointment, Kaito ignores her and instead turns to Kaede and Kokichi. “We should get going.”

“Yeah,” Kaede agrees. Tsumugi can’t help but notice that Kaede is looking around, as if searching for something. Maybe she’s looking for someone, like Rantaro.

“A-Aren’t you guys going to say goodbye?” Tsumugi calls out to them as they begin to walk away. She doesn’t receive a response. She watches as the trio grow smaller and smaller. Tsumugi feels like a blob in the background, insignificant. “Guys?”

No one acknowledges her.

Tsumugi stands alone, rejected. Abandoned by her own creations, by her own characters.

Tsumugi’s extended version of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, a story dragged out because of her, has finally reached its conclusion.

She wonders if this story had been shown to an audience, would they have liked it?

—

It’s safe to say that Kaito Momota has been through a lot.

Waking up in an abandoned school and then being told he has to kill to escape by a homicidal teddy bear. Dealing with an incurable illness and coughing up blood whilst trying to survive a killing game. Killing a person just for the chance to ruin said killing game.

Waking up, again, in an abandoned school and then being told he has to kill to escape by a homicidal teddy bear—

Long story short, he’s been through a lot. And he’s endured countless experiences—scary experiences. Experiences that made his blood run cold, that made his stomach drop.

Nothing he went through inside the simulation compares to the fear he felt when he felt Kokichi slide down his body and drop onto the floor, though. Congratulations, Kokichi, for being the first person who has ever made Kaito feel like he’s experienced the end of the world—and not by showing him the literal end of the world, either.

As far as Kaito was concerned, his own life had ended the moment Kokichi landed on the floor. Kaito is no stranger to grief, but what he felt whilst in the hallway was a completely different type of loss. It was in a league of its own. It felt like the universe had ripped his soul in half.

Then, Kokichi kicked his ankle, causing Kaito to also drop onto the floor.

And yeah, maybe in hindsight reaching out to touch Kokichi’s face wasn’t Kaito’s brightest idea. The thing is, seeing all that blood on Kokichi’s face, dribbling down his nose, it startled Kaito. It startled him, and then it enraged him; Kaito does not like seeing those he cares about in pain.

Cards on the table, Kaito doesn’t actually remember much after that. He somewhat remembers Tsumugi’s pathetic face. Only somewhat, though. He just remembers being blinded by anger and exhaustion and relief and… He was blinded by a lot of emotions—too many emotions.

His head feels a little clearer now. He’s currently outside, battling against the wind as he walks down a concrete path. It’s dark and freezing, the wind nipping at his skin. All he can hear is the wind whistling in his ears and the distant sound of early morning traffic.

On his right is Kaede, who is fighting against her hair, constantly pushing it out of her face. There’s a distant look in her eyes, and Kaito wonders how lost in her thoughts she is. He squeezes her hand, causing her to jump. She peers up at him and offers him a loose smile. There’s no doubt that she’s missing Rantaro. Kaito hopes he’s okay.

Kokichi is on his left side, teeth chattering as he walks through the sickly yellow light emitting from a nearby lamppost. Like Kaede, he also looks like he’s thinking hard about something.

Even though they’re finally free, that doesn’t mean they’re going to be instantly granted a happy ending. In fact, Kaito doubts any of them are going to be truly happy for a very long time. Hopefully, as time passes, they might become close to happy. And maybe one day, a day far into the future, their time in the simulation will become a distant memory, something they’ll think briefly about once in a while.

Kaito lifts his head and glances around, wrinkling his nose. Unfortunately, Tsumugi hadn’t been lying when she said the world was Danganronpa obsessed. There are billboards on top of buildings advertising auditions for the next season of Danganronpa, blocking out the sky. Posters including Monokuma, some pink and white bunny, and Junko Enoshima cover every wall he sees. It’s almost comedic, actually, how many posters there are.

Even the coffee cart they pass has Danganronpa characters decorating their cups.

Kaito well and truly feels like he’s stepped into some sort of warped alternate reality. A nightmare, actually. He pulls a face like he’s just tasted something sour as he passes a shop that’s full of Danganronpa merchandise. Through the huge glass windows, he sees a couple workers preparing for the day ahead of them. They're all wearing black and white aprons. 

“I know Shirogane said the world loves Danganronpa, but…” Kaede nibbles her lip as she comes to a halt in the middle of the pavement. “This is just… it’s ridiculous, right?”

“Are you sure we’re not in another simulation?” Kokichi suggests.

At this point, Kaito wouldn’t be too surprised if he turned a corner and saw Monokuma himself. Maybe Kokichi is onto something—maybe they are trapped inside another simulation.

Kaito pinches himself just to check, hissing when he registers pain.

Kokichi bats his hand away, clicking his tongue. “You’re not dreaming, spaceman. I’m seeing what you’re seeing, too.”

“How about we figure out where to go next? I don’t know about you guys, but I’m exhausted,” Kaede answers, inching closer to Kaito and Kokichi as she looks around, half horrified, half morbidly intrigued.

“Then how about we…” Kaito reaches into his bag and pulls out the files Miu had given him. He had placed them into a bag earlier for safekeeping. He reads through them before suggesting, “How about we catch a train? Look, the file says I… I live out in the countryside. You guys think things might be calmer out there?”

Kokichi shrugs. “There’s only one way to find out.”

“Kaede?” Kaito looks at her expectantly. “This okay with you? Or…”

He understands if she wants to go somewhere closer in case Rantaro is nearby. Kaede hesitates before nodding slowly. “I… I think finding somewhere less… overwhelming is the right call. I just hope everyone else is okay.”

They walk until they find a train station. Kaito leaves Kokichi’s and Kaede’s side for a moment to buy some tickets, using the money Tsumugi had put into the bags for them. He then pulls out a couple coins, figuring he should buy some snacks for the journey.

Kaito looks down at the coins to count them. He freezes. In his hand is a pile of Monocoins. Kaito pales and almost drops them. He blinks and the Monocoins transform into regular, normal coins.

He quickly heads over to a vending machine to distract himself, wondering if his mind is merely playing tricks on him because he’s tired and his guard is down. However, after Kaito takes a good look at what’s on offer, he promptly loses his appetite once he realises that every snack has a picture of, take a wild guess… Monokuma on it. Which… seriously?

Kaito returns to Kokichi and Kaede empty handed before finding a bench for them to rest on. He sits down heavily, letting out a loud sigh. Now that he’s got nothing to do but wait, he realises that his feet ache. He leans back, rests his head against a brick wall, before closing his eyes.

He’s tired. He’s so tired. Even though they’ve escaped, he feels like he’s waiting for something bad to happen. Like any second, Monokuma is going to appear and announce that he’s dreaming, that he needs to wake up so he can prepare himself for yet another killing game.

A warm weight rests itself on his shoulder. Kaito cracks an eye open and looks down at Kokichi, who has decided that Kaito is a suitable pillow.

“Hey,” Kaede suddenly says, causing Kaito to direct his attention to her instead. She seems nervous, unable to look Kaito in the eye. She chews her lip before quietly saying, “About Saihara…”

Just hearing Shuichi’s name feels like a direct hit to the gut. Kaito smiles tightly. “Don’t worry, Kaede. I already know what happened to him.”

Kaede shakes her head. “But you don’t.” She takes a deep breath and squeezes her eyes shut. “He’s gone because of me, Kaito. I’m the reason why Saihara lost his memories. He was protecting me and… and I left him behind.”

She tenses like she’s expecting him to immediately yell at her. Kaito frowns before saying, “The only person responsible for Shuichi losing his memories is the person who removed them. Not you.”

“But…”

“Do you really think Shuichi would want you to blame yourself?” Kaito asks her, causing Kaede to open her eyes so she can look at him, tearfully. He can’t stand seeing her so upset, so he continues in hope of cheering her up. “You inspired him a lot, you know? The wish you told him before you… died, your hopes and dreams that you passed onto him, you motivated him, gave him a reason to keep living despite everything. You saved him, Kaede.” Kaito smiles sadly to himself. “Of course he decided to return the favour. Shuichi… might’ve lost his way for a while, but he still cared about us all.”

Kaede hesitates before letting out a shaky exhale. “Thank you, Kaito.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kaito says. He reaches down and offers his hand. Kaede squeezes it gratefully. “My sidekick… he was an impressive guy, you know? Honestly, he went beyond my expectations. In the end… it kinda felt like I was his sidekick—that’s how amazing he was.”

“So the student became the master?” Kokichi says. “Or should I say, the sidekick became the hero?”

“Something like that,” Kaito agrees.

As time stretches on, more and more people crowd onto the platform, waiting for the train to arrive. Kaito instinctively lowers his head, hiding his face. Of course he looks different now. He doesn’t have purple hair and eyes. He’s not wearing a long jacket, and he isn’t showing off an awesome galaxy print. He still has some familiar features. He has a goatee and he’s the same height as he was in the simulation. His hair is also a similar length, albiet a little flatter due to a lack of hair product.

It’s unlikely that anyone is going to recognise him, especially considering how crowded it is, but Kaito still feels the urge to hide.

When the train finally arrives, Kaito’s soul almost leaves his body. He’s on the fucking train. Well, not literally. But himself, Shuichi and Maki are plastered along the side of the train. He’s smiling whilst Shuichi laughs at him. Maki is rolling her eyes, although there’s a tiny smile on her face. Judging from the starry background behind them, he assumes someone took a screenshot of an episode of Danganronpa, turned it into vinyl wrap, and slapped it onto the train.

They find a secluded area inside the train and sit down on seats which are facing each other. Kaito and Kokichi sit next to each other automatically whilst Kaede sits across from them. 

As Kaito waits for the train to set off, he glances out the window, watching as people rush to catch the train. To his dismay, he keeps catching glimpses of Danganronpa related merchandise. Whilst he doesn’t recognise many of the characters, he knows they’re from Danganronpa thanks to the logo each piece of merch has. He spies keychains dangling from backpacks, button badges proudly on display and notebooks clutched to chests.

Kaede turns noticeably pale after someone wearing a white backpack, one which looks exactly like the one she used to carry around inside the simulation, steps onto the train. They’re talking to someone wearing Shuichi’s hat. No, not Shuichi’s hat, but a replica of it. In Kaito’s opinion, it looks cheap. Fake.

The person sitting behind him turns their phone on without wearing headphones. Class trial music blasts from their phone. Kaito clenches his teeth as he listens to a voice he doesn’t recognise arguing with someone. No one tells the person to turn their phone down. In fact, someone stupidly asks them to turn it up, and they do.

Kokichi grumbles something under his breath and slumps down his seat, crossing his arms.

Eventually, the train sets off. Kaito distracts himself by staring out the window, watching the world go by. In a matter of minutes, they enter fields—fields that are thankfully devoid of anything Danganronpa related.

For a while, none of them say anything. Not even Kaito, whose desire to talk is currently non-existent. He feels… overwhelmed. He just needs time to unwind, to ground himself. Every time he closes his eyes, he ends up back in the hallway, Team Danganronpa members closing in on him. He always snaps his eyes back open before they can reach him.

As the train continues down the tracks, the sky gradually lightens up, turning pale blue. The sky is cloudless, but the sun is out, bright and almost blinding. Luckily, the train tracks are near trees which block out most of the eye-watering rays.

Again, Kokichi drops himself onto Kaito’s shoulder. And again, Kaito lets him.

This time, though, Kokichi isn’t awake. Kaito pauses before lowering his cheek onto Kokichi’s head. Mercifully, Kaede doesn’t say anything as she watches him get comfortable. If anything, she looks happy for him.

“He got super mad when you ran off, you know?” Kaede suddenly tells him.

“Huh?”

“I couldn’t see him, but he sounded annoyed.” Kaede pauses before asking, “Can I ask what happened? I know you ran off and Ouma followed you, but…”

“I, ah, got caught,” Kaito admits. “Then Kokichi found me and just… threw himself onto the guy who caught me. Honestly? I didn’t know he was capable of fighting like that.”

“Is that how he ended up with a bloody nose?”

Kaito shakes his head. “Thing is, we got trapped by a crap ton of Team Danganronpa members. They blocked off our exits and…” Suddenly, Kaito’s grateful for the fact Kokichi is using him as a pillow. His warm weight is grounding. “Kokichi pretended that he got hit by a flashback light a little too well. He dropped himself onto the floor, and I’m guessing he hit his face in the process.”

Kaede makes a sympathetic sound. “And are you hurt?”

“Nah. Well, I guess Kokichi did kick me to get me onto the floor…” Kaito rolls his ankle around. “Doesn’t hurt much, though.”

“...I’m glad you’re both okay,” Kaede says, softly. She wrings her hands together in her lap. “If you both had lost your memories… You only got cornered because you were trying to help me.”

“Hey, don’t look so guilty,” Kaito tells her. “I’m the one who should be apologising for running off like that. I just… I didn’t think things through properly, huh?”

Kaede smiles, although it quickly turns bitter, causing Kaito to raise an eyebrow. “Sorry, I started thinking about Shirogane. I’m still mad that she locked me in her office.” Kaede rolls her eyes. “I can’t believe she thought she could convince us to stay with her. I mean, after everything she’s put us through? Just to… what? Play pretend a little longer?”

“Who knows what goes on inside her head,” Kaito says. “At least we’ve seen the last of her.”

Kaede pulls a face. “You don’t think she’ll try and find us, right?”

“If she does, I’ll send her into orbit,” Kaito promises her. “She might’ve been the one in control inside the simulation—but in the real world? She’s nothing. I wouldn’t worry about her if I were you.”

“Right.”

They fall into a comfortable silence. Kaede rests her cheekbone against the back of her hand, her elbow on the window sill as she looks out the window. Kaito sneaks a peek down at Kokichi, who wrinkles his nose but doesn’t wake up.

Kaito wonders where everyone else went. Did they return to their former families? Are they hiding somewhere? Wherever they are, Kaito hopes that they’re okay. He wants to see everyone again.

Eventually, Kaito dozes off, lulled to sleep by the rumbling train. His dreams are, unfortunately, rather unpleasant. He dreams of hydraulic presses and plummeting rockets and falling glass walls. He jolts awake a couple times. Every time he does, Kaede asks him if he’s okay. He always answers positively, not wanting to worry her. He thinks she can see through his lies, though, but she doesn’t call him out.

When they need to swap trains, Kaito wakes Kokichi up with a light nudge. Finding the next train is pretty simple. To Kaito’s relief, the second train they get on doesn’t have a picture of him on it.

The three of them sit together in a line, Kaito in the middle whilst Kokichi and Kaede plop themselves by his sides. Kaito opens a bag of snacks he had bought whilst waiting for the second train and shares them around.

There’s less people on this train, which means everyone is spread out, sitting far away from each other. However, a couple minutes after the train sets off, someone sits down in the seat directly across from the trio. A high school student, Kaito thinks, taking note of their uniform.

The high school student, a male who, quite frankly, doesn’t have any distinguishing features, squints his eyes suspiciously at them. It takes Kaito a moment to realise that the high school student is staring specifically at Kokichi, who raises an eyebrow.

“What?” Kokichi eventually asks, unimpressed.

“Has anyone ever told you that you look like Kokichi Ouma?” The high school student asks him.

Whilst Kaito disguises a splutter with a cough, Kokichi pauses before tilting his head to the side, looking the definition of baffled. “Who?”

“Kokichi Ouma? From the latest season of Danganronpa?”

Kokichi blinks once, twice, three times, before looking the student dead in the eyes and says, “Danganronpa? Never heard of it.”

The student blanches whilst Kaede hides a smile behind her hand. “What do you mean you’ve never heard of Danganronpa?! Have you been living under a rock or something?”

Kokichi shrugs. “Nope, I just have taste, is all.”

“...Not only do you look like Kokichi Ouma, you actually sound like him too,” the student responds, leaning forward.

Kokichi continues his confused act. “...Who?”

“Ugh! This guy!” The student pulls out his phone, scrolls for a few moments before revealing his screen. On it is an image of Kokichi, his hair and eyes purple. He’s wearing his trademark black and white scarf.

Kaito wonders if Kokichi misses it.

Kokichi leans forward, rubs his chin and then smiles wide. “You think I look like him? I’m insulted!”

The student ignores him as he types something into his phone. A moment later, he turns his phone around again before saying, “Watch and listen closely. You definitely sound similar to him.”

Kaito peers down at the title of the video. Top 53 Kokichi Ouma Moments!!!!1!!!!!1!!!!!1!

…Kaito isn’t sure why but seeing an entire video dedicated to Kokichi makes him feel… uncomfortable.

If Kokichi is also uncomfortable, he’s hiding it well. He watches the phone blankly, listening to himself wake Shuichi up in the most obnoxious way possible.

The screen then fades to black before a new clip starts. 

Kokichi doesn’t appear straight away, which is a little strange considering they’re watching a video about him. Instead, a zoom up of Maki’s face appears. Then Kiibo’s. Then, unfortunately, Tsumugi’s. Himiko’s face pops up, then Shuichi’s, and then—

Kaito freezes as he finds himself staring at a bloody hydraulic press. No, not just any bloody hydraulic press, the very same hydraulic press he turned into a murder weapon—Kokichi’s grave. Kaito's chest tightens as his heart leaps into his throat. He barely hears Kaede’s sharp intake of breath over the sound of blood thumping in his ears.

Suddenly, the phone is knocked out of the student’s hand. It flies down the aisle. The student lets out a distraught cry before chasing after his phone.

“Well then…” Kokichi clears his throat. “I can’t lie—that was not my most flattering angle.”

Kaito stares at him incredulously. Even his anxiety wavers, dumbfounded.

“O-Ouma!” Kaede splutters, her eyes wide.

Kokichi shrugs. “What? It’s true! That angle wasn’t at all flattering! It was more flattening, if anything”

“Fucking hell,” Kaito chokes out, a strangled laugh escaping from his lips. “How can you joke about seeing yourself dead so easily?”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I thought that was super gross,” Kokichi tells him. “And I also think it’s kinda rude that someone thinks my best moment is my death.” Kokichi puffs out his cheeks. “Danganronpa fans are something else, huh?”

Kaito finds himself nodding along, his panic dissipating. He thinks Kokichi’s bewildering comments must’ve distracted him from having too bad of a reaction to the video. Kaito reaches down and squeezes Kokichi’s hand, a smile tugging on his lips when Kokichi quickly squeezes back before letting go and stretching like a cat.

“Anyway,” Kokichi says, before peering out the window, positioning his hand above his eyes. “How much farther do we have to go? All this sitting around is boring.”

“Just a couple more hours,” Kaito answers.

“What do you mean just?” Kokichi huffs. “I bet the sun’s gonna be setting by the time we arrive.”

Kaito sighs. “Quit your yapping.”

Kokichi miraculously does quit yapping. He instead leans over Kaito and engages in an abrupt game of rock-paper-scissors with Kaede, who takes a second to realise that she’s playing. She instantly loses the first game—and every other game afterwards.

Kaito closes his eyes as he listens to them both. Kokichi’s giggles and Kaede’s huffs eventually become background noise as his thoughts begin to take over. The video that the student showed them is still bothering him. If he goes online, will he find a video full of his best moments, too?

…Would his death be on it? Would the video include the moment Monokuma’s rocket snaps shut around him, trapping him inside before digging down, down, down, and…

No, he doesn’t want to think about that. Fuck off, intrusive thought.

Kaito can’t believe that student casually showed them such a gruesome video, though. That student doesn’t even know them; he just assumed they were also Danganronpa fans. He didn’t even pause to think that maybe they didn’t want to see a dead body.

A shudder runs down his spine. Is this seriously the world Shuichi wanted to protect? Shuichi desperately wanted to put a stop to Danganronpa, assuming he could save everyone from it. Fuck… If only Shuichi knew how enamoured the world is with Danganronpa. Maybe he wouldn’t have tried so hard to stop it. Maybe he’d still be here if…

Kaito mentally swats the thought away, banishing it to a dark corner of his mind. He can’t afford to think like that. He especially can’t start lamenting in front of Kaede, who he knows already feels guilty enough.

It’s just… he still can’t believe Shuichi is gone. He’s never going to be able to train with his bro again. One minute he existed along with everyone else, the next…

Kaito forces himself to think about something else, something less distressing. He swallows heavily, hoping to dislodge the lump in his throat. He can’t cry in public; he doesn’t want to draw any attention towards himself.

His mind wanders somewhere else. He wonders what the address they’re heading to is going to be like. He also wonders if there’s going to be anyone there to… greet them? It suddenly feels like there’s butterflies in his stomach. When he arrives, what’s he going to say? He can’t remember exactly what his file said. He remembers something about… living with his grandmother?

Is an old woman going to open the door, take one look at Kaito and become heartbroken once she realises her grandson doesn’t actually exist anymore? Kaito feels nauseous.

He’s all but stolen a stranger's existence—their future, too. All this time he’s only been thinking about himself, but… What about the guy who auditioned for Danganronpa? The guy who was turned into the Ultimate Astronaut?

God, when did he start overthinking so much? He can’t fall down this particular rabbit hole; his sanity won’t be able to take it. His former self made a choice, forfeited his life for a gameshow. And Kaito… he doesn’t want to disappear.

Worse case scenario: they arrive and get told to leave.

Something light brushes against his face, causing Kaito to open his eyes. He sees Kokichi quickly lean back, grinning mischievously whilst Kaede smiles, eyes sparkling.

“What did you guys do?” Kaito immediately asks.

“Nothing!” Kaede insists.

“We’re just admiring your moustache,” Kokichi tells him as he clicks a lid back onto a black marker. Kaito wonders if he found it in one of the bags.

Like that matters, though. Kaito narrows his eyes and whips his head around so he can check himself using the window’s reflection. His skin is clean, void of black ink. He turns to Kokichi, unimpressed. “You liar.”

As Kaede giggles in the background, Kokichi says, “Me? A liar? Do you know who I am, spaceman?”

Kaito grumbles before planting his hand in Kokichi’s hair, ruffling it messily. Kokichi squawks in response and attempts to bat Kaito’s hand away—and fails miserably.

At some point, they stop bickering. Kaito once again becomes a human pillow; both Kaede and Kokichi rest their heads on him. Kaito sighs and accepts his fate, although he supposes he isn’t actually mad. He’s quite comfortable, actually. The warmth of the sun seeping through the glass windows and Kokichi and Kaede leaning on him is enough to make him feel sleepy.

He closes his eyes but doesn’t fall asleep. Instead, he sporadically cracks an eye open to scan the area, checking to see if anyone is watching them.

The sky is a golden orange once they reach their stop. Kaito guides a yawning Kaede off the train whilst Kokichi follows them both with their bags. Once he’s outside, Kaito shudders, wishing he had a thicker jumper on. The trio walk away from the train station, following the flow of the crowd.

Kaito doesn’t recognise where they are. They’re surrounded by fields. In the distance there are buildings, which are almost hidden by trees. Houses, he realises. Homes. He hesitates before finding the friendliest face he can find and asks them for directions.

The person he ends up talking to is an older woman with grey hair. She squints at Kaito, bemused, like she’s trying to figure out if she’s seen him before. Before she can say anything, Kaito asks, “Hey, do you know which way this address is?”

He shows the woman the address. She pauses before silently pointing him in the right direction. Kaito thanks her and scurries back to Kaede and Kaito.

They walk down a muddy road in silence. Kaito doesn’t point out to Kaede that she’s wearing a frown. He also doesn’t complain whenever Kokichi almost accidentally trips him up by walking too close. In turn, neither of them say anything whenever he pauses, his confidence wavering.

It’s a lot more peaceful out in the countryside. Instead of traffic and chatter, Kaito can hear the wind weaving between leaves, crickets chirping in the distance, and a flowing river.

The darker it gets, the colder the wind feels. Hopefully they’ll find somewhere warm soon.

As they get closer to the houses, Kaito notices a group of older men up ahead, walking home together. Kaito wonders if they’ve just finished a day’s work. It takes a while for the group of men to notice him but once they do, they abruptly fall silent, their idle chatter coming to a deafening halt.

Kaito notices that Kaede has slowed down ever so slightly. He offers her a reassuring smile and takes the lead, putting himself in front of her. Kaede places herself next to Kokichi, who is quietly keeping an eye on the men, wary.

Kaito swallows as they get closer. The path that’ll take them to the houses is near the men, meaning they’ll have to walk past them. Kaito gives the men a nod of acknowledgement once he’s close enough before asking them, “Are we close to this address?” He shows the group the written down address.

The man closest to him looks him up and down before raising an eyebrow. “Did you hit your head or something? Why on earth are you asking me?”

“Uh…” Kaito blinks, caught off guard. “It's fine if you don't know…”

“Don't tell me you've been drinking, boy,” another man sighs, shaking his head disapprovingly.

“Drinking?” Kaito looks at Kaede and Kokichi, who both shrug, equally as baffled as each other. “You know what? Never mind…”

Kaito quickly leaves before the conversation can get awkward. To his relief, there’s a sign a little further ahead, which announces that they’ve reached their destination. All there’s left to do is find the right house.

“Those men…” Kaede murmurs as Kaito checks each house they pass. “It seemed like they recognised you, Kaito.”

“More like they recognised his appearance,” Kokichi says.

Kaito doesn’t respond. Now that he thinks about it, those men did seem surprised by Kaito’s question. Like they were confused that Kaito asked it in the first place.

Eventually, Kaito stops in front of a small house. Nothing about it stands out in any way; it looks like all the other houses around it. The roof is covered in moss and the walls are an off-white colour. There’s a stone path leading up to the front door, which Kaito walks down slowly. The front garden has been well maintained; the grass has been cut and the path doesn’t look overly dusty.

Before he can reach the front door, it slides open with a snap. Kaito freezes so suddenly that Kaede walks into him, causing him to stumble.

Standing in the doorway is an old woman with cropped grey hair. She’s tall—not as tall as Kaito, though—and on the slimmer side. Actually, if anything, she looks a little too slim. She stares at Kaito with a haunted look in her wide eyes as she readjusts her lilac shawl around her shoulders.

“...Keiji?” The old woman’s voice is soft, bewildered. It’s almost as if she can’t believe that… Keiji is here?

Kaito swallows heavily before forcing a polite smile on his face. He feels like he’s seconds away from throwing up, even though his stomach is close to empty. Fuck, why did he come here? He suddenly feels like a criminal.

“I…” Kaito struggles to find the right words, his confidence draining like sand through fingers. He shouldn’t have come here. This was a mistake. He takes a step back as the lump in his throat turns solid, unmovable. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be here—”

The old woman stares at him silently. Then, in a blink of an eye, her expression hardens. Of course it didn’t take her long to realise that there’s an imposter controlling her grandson’s body. “Something went wrong.” She doesn’t sound like she’s asking a question. It sounds like she’s stating a fact.

Kaito hesitates. His face burns as he lowers his head, ashamed.

“We… We’re still technically characters,” Kaede answers for him, taking a step forward so the old woman can get a better look at her. “And we came here because we didn’t know where else to go. We’ve… been through a lot, and…”

The old woman looks Kaede up and down silently, her eyes narrowed. Then, to Kaede’s surprise, she says, “Then you must be… Kaede Akamatsu, correct?”

“That’s right,” Kaede says. She reaches for a pair of bag straps that don’t exist before freezing. She snatches a strand of her hair and plays with that instead. “Was… Kaito called Keiji before he was turned into a character?”

Kaito grimaces. The longer the old woman, who is technically his grandmother, remains silent, the more nauseous he feels.

“Keiji, you foolish boy,” the old woman murmurs to herself, closing her eyes. Kaito feels a little cruel for thinking this, but the old woman doesn’t sound overly devastated. Upset? Yes. But she sounds almost… resigned, like she expected something like this was going to happen.

“Are you okay?” Kaede asks the woman, gently. “We didn’t come here to upset you, I promise.”

“When Keiji didn’t return home, I knew deep down something went wrong,” the old woman says. “I kept telling him that stupid game show was nothing but bad news, but did he listen? Of course he didn’t. And when I called that stupid company for answers, they kept telling me everything was under control. I knew they were lying to me from the start.”

That stupid company? Oh, she must be referring to Team Danganronpa.

“I’ve never liked Danganronpa,” she continues. “Never liked how it was run, either. Promising a vulnerable audience that they can make their lives more meaningful, that they can change them completely…”

She shakes her head with a bitter sigh and tightens her shawl around her shoulders.

“Maybe if I had moved Keiji further away…” She clicks her tongue. “No, my Keiji was already far too gone. He wanted more than anything to audition for Danganronpa.”

“I’m sorry,” Kaito blurts out. Even though this woman isn’t the grandmother he remembers, she’s still a grandma—a grandma who is mourning her grandson. Her grandson who isn’t allowed to exist as long as he does. “Team Danganronpa… They did try to turn us back to normal. But we wouldn’t…” He can’t even finish his sentence. But we wouldn’t let them—I picked myself over your grandson.

The old woman wrinkles her nose. “Don’t try to defend them. Of course you wouldn’t let them. They’re cruel, creating life and then taking it away for the sake of entertainment.”

Kaito blinks. “You’re… not upset?”

“Of course I am,” the old woman answers. “But the truth is, I lost Keiji years ago. The moment he discovered that wretched game show…” She looks at Kaito curiously. “I must admit, though. I’m surprised you’re here.”

Kaito smiles tightly. “Well it’s like Kaede said, we have nowhere else to go.”

His grandmother—Keiji’s grandmother—stares at him wordlessly, her emotions veiled. Whilst her face remains blank, her eyes darken once she directs her attention to Kokichi, who has been quiet all this time.

“You must be Ouma,” she says, flatly.

Kokichi nods, clearly deciding that silence is his best option. Kaito can’t exactly blame him; the old woman’s glare is scathing. Kaito thinks if he was the one being glared at, he’d disintegrate on the spot. Even Maki’s glares pale in comparison.

“...Momota, Akamatsu, please make yourselves comfortable inside.” The old woman steps aside, allowing access to her house. “I’d like to have a word with Ouma—privately.”

“Is… something wrong?” Kaito asks.

“I’d like to speak with him privately,” the old woman repeats herself. She arches an eyebrow when neither Kaito or Kaede move. “Are you going to make an old woman stand outside in the cold?”

“Go on,” Kokichi prompts them both, shooing them away with a wave of his hands. He shivers, the wind whipping his hair into his face. “It’s rude to listen in on other people’s conversations, you know?”

Kaito pulls a face before heading inside with Kaede. As soon as he closes the door behind himself, he turns to Kaede and asks, “You don’t think she’s going to tell him to leave, do you?”

“I’m guessing from her reaction to seeing Ouma, she watched this season,” Kaede responds.

That’s what worries Kaito. The old woman doesn’t understand that they’ve all changed, that Kokichi isn’t a threat anymore. “If he’s not welcome, then…” Kaito clenches his jaw. “That means I’m not welcome too. We’ll find somewhere else to go—”

The door slides open and the old woman walks inside, Kokichi behind her. She squints at Kaito and Kaede, like she’s trying to figure out if they listened in on her conversation. She tuts and shakes her head before heading into the kitchen. A moment later, she returns with a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel. She shoves the frozen peas into Kokichi’s hands, staring at his nose with a frown. Then, without saying anything else, she once again retreats into the kitchen.

“Are you okay?” Kaito immediately asks Kokichi once the old woman, who Kaito really wishes he knew the name of, is out of earshot. “You… You can stay, right?”

“Of course I can,” Kokichi answers as he holds the bag of frozen peas delicately against his face. “Turns out she’s my biggest fan. She absolutely loooves me, you know? She even said I’m more welcome than you.”

Kaede raises an eyebrow. “She did?”

“Yup, I’m definitely not on thin ice,” Kokichi tells her.

Kaito sighs. He’s in a hard position. Of course he wants to defend Kokichi, but…

“Geez, your brain will explode if you keep thinking so hard,” Kokichi says, clocking Kaito’s expression. “And I don’t want to get the blame if your brains end up splattered all over the walls.”

“You say the most… loveliest things,” Kaede responds, dryly.

Kokichi smiles. “I know, right?”

They hover awkwardly in the hallway, unsure where to go. Eventually, the old woman pokes her head around the corner and stares at the trio almost judgingly.

“What are you doing? I didn’t invite you all in just so you can block the hallway. Go into the room to your left and sit down. I’m making tea.”

Kaito isn’t sure why he’s so surprised by her hospitality. He’s still expecting her to say that she hates him. He won’t blame her if she does.

“You heard her,” Kokichi says, snatching Kaito’s hand and leading him out the hallway. “She said she’s making tea, and I’m definitely not going to turn down something warm right now.”

…Yeah, something warm does sound good. Kaito thinks maybe for just a moment, he can turn his back on his worries. Right now, he’s cold, and he deserves a break.

After everything he’s been through today, he deserves every moment of peace he can get.

—

Keiji’s bedroom is… interesting.

Kaito’s first thought is that the room looks untouched, left behind by time. There’s a fine layer of dust covering everything. Every piece of furniture, the window sill, even the blanket and pillows on the bed. Kaito stands in the doorway, unsure if he should venture further in.

The old woman, who Kaito eventually found out is called Reina, said he was welcome to reclaim his old room—if that’s what he wanted. Kaito said yes, but now as he stares at the dusty bedroom, he’s starting to think he made the wrong choice.

He hypes himself up with a deep breath before stepping inside. At first glance, Keiji’s room seems rather ordinary. His desk is a mess, pieces of paper littered everywhere. Kaito reads what’s on one and feels even more like an intruder once he realises he’s just read a handwritten letter that tells Keiji he’s fired.

There are several similar letters, all of them wrinkled like they’ve been scrunched up at some point.

Hanging above the desk is a poster of… Mondo Owada? Kaito double checks the name on the poster. Mondo is definitely a Danganronpa character; Kaito knows this because next to Mondo’s name on the poster is his ultimate talent: Ultimate Bike Gang Leader.

In the corner of the room is a punching bag, which looks like it’s one punch away from spilling at the seams. There’s also some weights on the ground next to it. 

Keiji’s wardrobe consists of dark colours. Black and grey shirts. Dark red jackets. Dirty trainers. There’s nothing inside that appeals to Kaito.

The most surprising thing in Keiji’s room is probably the telescope that’s by the window. It takes Kaito only a glance to know that the telescope isn’t an expensive one. However, the fact that it’s here, angled towards the sky, is interesting. Kaito heads over to it and takes a peek. He sees stars dotted along the sky, twinkling peacefully.

Kaito pulls away and rolls his neck before it can get the chance to seize up. Then, he freezes, his eyes glued to the ceiling. His breath catches in his throat. There’s glow in the dark star stickers spread across the ceiling. They’re dim and likely old, but…

Did Keiji like space, too? Maybe that’s why Kaito ended up as the Ultimate Astronaut…

Even though this is technically his room, Kaito feels like an intruder. Reina said he was welcome to use it, but Kaito isn’t sure if he should. Everything in this room doesn’t belong to him; it belongs to someone else. Someone who doesn’t exist anymore.

Because Kaito took their place.

He sniffs and presses his palms into his eyes, swearing softly under his breath. Kaito drops to the floor, sitting by the bed instead of on it. A cloud of dust flies into the air, causing him to cough.

Kaito feels lost. He feels so, so lost. He feels like a man with no passion, a man with no purpose. Now that he’s escaped from the simulation and Team Danganronpa… What is there left for him to do? He escaped; he should be happy. He should be happy.

He isn’t happy.

Kaito is scared.

He feels like a story character who has outlived their purpose. Oh wait—he is. What does he do now? Inside the simulation, he wanted to escape so he could go to space. But now? Dreaming of going to space no longer has the same, sparkly appeal.

Plummeting through stars in a cramped rocket helped dull that dream.

Should he even settle down here? For all he knows, Team Danganronpa might arrive any minute.

…But what if they don’t? What if he really is in the clear? What if he takes a deep breath and accepts that right now, right this very second, he’s safe and sound? Maybe… Maybe he should be a little more gentle with himself; he’s just survived hell.

Kaito hears a soft knock. He lifts his head up and spots Kokichi lingering in the doorway, a pale pink blanket draped over his shoulders. His hair is still damp from his bath. When their eyes meet, Kokichi pokes out his tongue before trotting over and dropping himself down next to Kaito.

“Remember what I said about thinking too much?” Kokichi says to him. He presses his thumb in between Katio’s eyebrows and massages away a stubborn crease.

Kaito sighs. “I know, I know…”

Once upon a time, Kokichi was the overthinker. He was paranoia’s puppet; unable to work with anyone because he was convinced someone would stab him in the back. Now here he is, making sure Kaito doesn’t overthink himself to the point of getting a migraine.

“So this is your room,” Kokichi says, craning his neck to get a good look around. He pauses when he spots the glow in the dark stickers on the ceiling. “Well, would you look at that? Looks like you’ve never had taste.”

Kaito splutters on his next breath. “You’re the one who said when we move in together, you’d decorate our bedroom with—”

“I remember what I said,” Kokichi sighs loudly, pouting as he cradles his ear. “I think you’ve just shattered my poor eardrum…”

“...Really?”

“Geez, spaceman must really be going through it if he couldn’t tell that was a lie,” Kokichi says, dropping his hand from his ear.

“Yeah. I… I guess you’re right.” Kaito lowers his head, unable to look Kokichi in the eye. “How about you? Are you okay? Because after everything that’s happened, especially today…”

Kokichi blinks before staring at something only he can see. Kaito watches him patiently. He waits for Kokichi to say something—anything. But Kokichi doesn’t. Kokichi opens and closes his mouth a couple times, like he’s about to say something before retreating at the last moment.

Then, Kokichi finally says, “I’m fine, spaceman.”

“...But that’s Kokichi’s lie, isn’t it?” Kaito responds, knowingly.

Kokichi’s lips twitch into a small smile. “Yup, you got me.”

And in a blink of an eye, Kokichi’s face crumples.

“C’mere,” Kaito murmurs, wrapping his arms around Kokichi, tucking him under his chin. Kokichi doesn’t protest; instead he buries his face into Kaito’s neck, retreating from reality so he can wrap himself in Kaito’s warmth.

Kaito feels the front of his shirt become damp from tears. He swallows heavily, trying to dislodge a particularly thick lump from his throat. He can feel his eyes begin to burn. Every time he feels Kokichi’s shoulders shake, he tightens his hold.

He wishes he had the right words to say, an inspirational speech tucked up his sleeve. But he doesn’t. Is there even anything he can say that’ll make things better? They’ve still got a long road ahead of them.

What do characters do once their story is over? Books and films and games never show the aftermath—what happens after a story reaches its conclusion. That’s the thing with fictional stories: they get to end. What happens afterwards doesn’t matter.

Kaito feels like an actor on an abandoned stage, looking out at an empty sea of seats. The audience left a long time ago—there’s no one left he needs to entertain. He feels like he missed the curtain call, and he can’t move forward until he receives recognition.

He wants an imaginary narrator to tell him that he’s allowed to breathe, that he’s allowed to finish playing his role. That his story is over; that he’s about to live happily ever after. He wants an audience to appear out of thin air and tell him that they’re satisfied, that he’s allowed to finally rest, that his job is done—

“Woo! Bravo, spaceman!”

Standing on his imaginary stage, Kaito lifts his head up as he hears a round of applause. Sitting in the front row is Kokichi, who is cheering loudly, his cheeks flushed and a sky full of stars in his eyes. Kaito watches wordlessly as Kokichi continues to cheer, clapping his hands so hard that his palms turn red.

A hand touches his shoulder. Kaito jumps and turns around just in time to catch a glimpse of… himself? His other self, who still has purple hair and eyes and is wearing an extremely familiar galaxy jacket, grins wide and holds his thumb up.

“We did good, didn’t we?” His other self tells him, his voice low so only Kaito can hear him. “Good work, luminary! I’m proud!”

Kaito blinks. When he opens his eyes again, he’s once again alone on the stage.

He turns to Kokichi and for a split second, he sees two versions of Kokichi. One version has black hair and bags under his eyes. The other version has plum coloured locks and a black and white scarf. The Kokichi wearing the scarf pokes his tongue out at Kaito before standing up from his seat and disappearing with a small wave.

“Did you hear me, spaceman?” Kaito looks at Kokichi, who has stopped clapping.

“Ah, my bad. I think I zoned out for a second,” Kaito admits, rubbing the back of his head with a bashful smile. “Did you say something?”

Kokichi rolls his eyes playfully. “Sheesh, how rude of you, ignoring little ol’ me. I suppose since I’m such a merciful guy, I’ll forgive you just this once. I asked if you were going to join me?” Kokichi pats the seat next to him. “The epilogue is about to begin, you know?”

Kaito navigates his way off the stage. Before he can sit down properly, he’s tugged into his plush, red seat by Kokichi, who pulls him down by the arm. Even once Kaito is sitting down, Kokichi doesn’t let him go.

A white light appears on the back wall of the stage, so bright that it’s almost blinding.

Kaito doesn’t shield his eyes, though. Instead, he faces the white light head on. He frees his arm from Kokichi’s grip and laces their fingers together before Kokichi can protest. He finds Kokichi’s hand pleasantly warm.

He’s not sure what sort of epilogue is waiting for him, but that’s fine. Kaito is ready to say goodbye to his role, to his fictional purpose. He’s ready to live a life without someone pulling the strings behind the scenes. He’s ready to walk down a path of his own choosing.

Kaito Momota is ready to say goodbye to Danganronpa, and hello to something new.

—

Reina receives a phone call early the next morning.

As Kaito swallows down a spoonful of cereal, he watches as Reina answers her phone. A moment later, she frowns. Reina doesn’t say much; she just purses her lips and rolls her eyes, tutting every so often.

Then, she finally says, “No, I haven’t seen my grandson. Are you telling me that you lost him?”

It finally clicks who she is talking to. Kaito watches, guiltily, as Reina hangs up and slams her phone down a little too harshly. When she eventually notices him, she tuts again.

“They shouldn’t come here looking for you,” she tells him.

“...Thank you,” Kaito says.

Reina acknowledges him with a hum before busying herself with putting away the dishes she washed earlier this morning. After a couple of minutes, she eventually says, “What sort of food do you like to eat, then?”

“Huh?”

“Are you deaf? I asked you what you like to eat,” Reina sighs before adding, “And your friends—what do they like?”

Kaito stares at her. He’s not sure why but he feels like he wants to cry. Despite everything, she’s treating him like he isn’t a burden, like he’s… family. She’s different from the fictional grandmother Tsumugi fabricated for him. She’s colder and abrupt and angry at the world.

She cares, though.

Kaito hopes he can get to know her better.

—

Kaede loiters awkwardly in the doorway once she realises Kaito and Kokichi aren’t in the kitchen.

She’s not entirely sure what she’s supposed to do in this sort of situation. She knows Reina is in the kitchen; she can hear her washing dishes. Does Kaede help her? That feels like the right thing to do, but—

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to sit down?” Reina suddenly asks, her back still facing Kaede. “I don’t have much to offer in terms of breakfast, but I’m sure I can sort something out.”

“I-I’m okay with anything!” Kaede responds a little too enthusiastically. She darts into a seat before Reina can scold her for blocking the doorway.

Kaede didn’t get much sleep last night. Instead, she tossed and turned on the couch Reina set up for her. She spent most of the night wondering where everyone else is—wondering where Rantaro is. Whenever she managed to fall asleep, she was greeted by Tsumugi. Sometimes Tsumugi was nice, acting as timid as a mouse. Sometimes Tsumugi stood back and watched as blood trickled from a poisoned Kaede’s mouth.

A cup of coffee and a plate of cooked breakfast is suddenly placed in front of her. Kaede blinks and looks down at her breakfast, watching as steam rises from the food. It smells delicious.

To Kaede’s surprise, Reina takes a seat across from her, nursing a cup of tea in her hands.

“I got a call from Team Danganronpa this morning,” Reina tells her, causing Kaede to almost drop her cutlery. “They were wondering if I had seen Keiji. I told them I hadn’t.”

“Oh…”

Kaede can’t decipher what expression is on Reina’s face. She can, however, spot the sadness in Reina’s eyes. Reina might be good at frowning, but even she can’t completely conceal her emotions.

“I’m not going to ask you what happened after season 53 ended,” Reina suddenly says. “And I’m not going to ask you why you’re still a character. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation why—which I hope I’ll find out eventually. But right now…” Reina sighs and stares into her cup of tea. “I’ll be blunt, I wasn’t expecting Kei—” She clears her throat loudly. “I wasn’t expecting Momota or any of you to come here.”

“...Is us being here going to be an issue?” Kaede asks hesitantly.

Reina shakes her head. “If I didn’t want you here, I’d make it clear. Your arrival was a surprise, but not an entirely unwelcome one.”

Kaede lets Reina’s words sink in. She takes a sip from her cup before asking, “Why didn’t you tell Team Danganronpa that we’re here?”

“Partially out of spite,” Reina admits. “But mostly because it’s clear you’ve been through enough. That all three of you have been through enough.” She shakes her head with a tiny sigh. “Although I am curious—is it just you three who are still characters?”

Kaede shakes her head. “Mostly everyone is still a character. I, um, don’t know where everyone else is, though…”

Even though the food in front of her looks appetising, Kaede can’t bring herself to eat it. It’s like her stomach has tied itself into a knot. Her anxiety is consuming her. She wishes she knew where everyone else is. Are they safe? She needs to know.

Reina pauses before saying, “When season 53 ended, I was contacted by some of the relatives of the people who were on this season’s Danganronpa. Because it became obvious Team Danganronpa weren’t being honest about what happened to you all, some of us worked together to try and figure out the truth. Of course, we didn’t get anywhere and had no choice but to give up, but…”

Kaede’s heart flutters. “So does that mean… you can call around and ask if anyone else has turned up to their family’s house?”

Reina answers by walking over to her phone that’s hung up on the wall. She presses a few numbers before placing the phone against her ear.

The knot in Kaede’s stomach loosens ever so slightly as she watches Reina. She must’ve hit the jackpot by coming here. Despite everything, Reina has taken them in without a single complaint. She has every reason to turn them away, but hasn’t. Better yet, she also despises Danganronpa.

Kaede hopes everyone else got as lucky as her.

She straightens her back as Reina begins to speak. She watches Reina’s face closely, almost disappointed when Reina’s expression doesn’t change—at all.

Then, Reina turns to Kaede and holds out the phone for her.

“Here,” Reina says, before picking up her cup of tea. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

As Reina leaves, Kaede looks at the phone apprehensively. Someone she knows must be waiting for her, right? Kaede steels herself and holds the phone up to her ear.

“Hello?”

“You’re okay.”

As soon as she hears Rantaro’s voice, Kaede smiles warmly.

“I’m okay,” Kaede agrees.

—

As Kaede scrolls through her phone, she realises she can’t remember the last time she heard a stranger utter her name.

She’s currenting inside a deserted café. Even though she’s the only customer inside, she’s tucked away in a corner, hidden from the large glass window which is showing off the outside world.

Kaede adjusts her large, pink sunglasses as she sneaks a glance outside. Practically everyone she can see is on their phone, their eyes glued to their screens. She spots excited smiles and sparkling eyes.

Today is the day season 54 of Danganronpa begins, and it’s all the world has been able to talk about. Season 53? Yeah, that’s basically ancient now. It’s old news, and so is Kaede.

Kaede turns her attention back to her phone before taking another long sip of her drink. Is she waiting for the first episode to begin? Absolutely not. She’s currently scrolling through her photos as she waits for Rantaro to arrive.

She smiles to herself as she stops on a selfie of herself and Rantaro. She’s resting her head against his, nothing but love in both their eyes. She fondly recalls the day she took this specific photograph. It was a couple days after everyone escaped from the office. After some deliberating, she ended up hopping on a train and headed back to the city. The first thing she saw when the train doors opened was Rantaro waiting for her on the platform.

Thinking back, it was a miracle that she didn’t knock him over when she jumped into his arms. She remembers that they earnt themselves a couple of strange looks as they held each other, but they were mostly ignored. Everyone must’ve assumed they were lovers who hadn’t seen each other for a very long time.

And, well, that was pretty much the truth.

The next photograph on her phone was taken a week later. It’s a picture of herself, Maki, Rantaro and Miu. They’re sitting inside Maki’s parents house. The photograph includes a wooden table covered in empty plates of food. Maki had worked with her parents to cook a meal for everyone, and it was absolutely amazing. When Kaede had told Maki this, she turned a bright shade of red. In fact, Maki looks a little red in the photograph, a small pout on her face as she averts her gaze away from the phone’s camera.

Although there are dark circles under her eyes, Miu had grinned for the camera, a piece of spaghetti stubbornly sticking to the corner of her mouth. Her dyed blonde hair, which is dark at the roots, hovers just above her shoulders.

Maki and Miu had initially stayed at Maki’s parent’s house for a while. Eventually, they ended up moving in together a couple months later, buying a small apartment on the edge of the city. Kaede’s visited it a couple times. She’s even slept over a few times, too.

Kaede flicks onto the next photograph. It includes Korekiyo, Kirumi, Himiko and Angie. They’re all outside building a snowman together. The photograph captures Kirumi, whose long, pale brown hair is hidden under a white hat, diligently plucking stray flakes of snow from Angie’s recently dyed silvery hair as Angie searches the ground for pebbles to use as the snowman’s buttons. On the opposite side of the snowman, Korekiyo is adjusting the snowman’s hat whilst Himiko talks to him, her mouth wide open. Their hair, amusingly enough, are similar lengths, just slightly longer than shoulder length. None of them seem to be aware that Kaede is taking a photograph of them.

She’s pretty sure she took this photograph at the beginning of winter last year. The special thing about this photograph is that it was taken the very same day Angie and Korekiyo finally gathered enough courage to go outside for the first time since escaping.

The photograph afterwards was taken on New Year's Day. The darkened sky is full of colourful fireworks, sprinkles of pinks and greens and blues fluttering from the sky like fairy dust. On the left side of the photograph is Ryoma and Tenko. Ryoma has his hands in his pockets as he listens to Tenko, who is pointing up at the sky. On the right side of the photograph is Kaito and Kokichi. Kaede must’ve coincidentally taken the photo the same time Kaito decided to sneak a kiss against Kokichi’s head.

Despite knowing it was going to be crowded, all of them decided to meet up on New Year’s Day to check out all the stalls. Kaede remembers how her heart thumped wildly as she glided her way through the crowds with Rantaro, hand in hand. Thankfully, no one was recognised, and they managed to have an amazing night together.

The next photograph was taken in spring. It was raining the day Kaede took it. The photograph shows Gonta showing off a snail to Miu, who is pulling a rather interesting face at it. In the background, Himiko is jumping into a puddle wearing a bright red raincoat. Beside her is Angie, who is cheering Himiko on.

Angie’s laugh replays in Kaede’s head. Everyone had been so happy when that picture was taken. They had been on their way to Kokichi’s and Kaito’s new house. A small house near Reina’s had become available and with a little financial help from Reina, Kaito was able to buy it.

It’s rare that it’s only ever Kaito and Kokichi inside of it, though. At least everyone has slept over once. Kaede is pretty sure that one of the guest rooms is actually Ryoma’s, too.

Kaede’s latest photograph includes Tenko chasing after her pet dog whilst Kokichi laughs at her in the background. Kirumi is setting up a picnic on a picnic table along with Rantaro. Unbeknownst to them, Kaito is stealing a slice of fruit whilst Maki and Ryoma shake their heads at him.

Kaede smiles at her phone before turning it off, not wanting to waste too much battery. It’s an old phone and was kindly given to her by Reina before she left to meet Rantaro last year.

Truth be told, her photographs only tell half a story. A happy story. Life after escaping the office has been… challenging. Some days are better than others. On a good day, she can breathe easily and go outside without having to check over her shoulder every couple minutes.

On a bad day, even getting out of bed seems like an impossible challenge.

Kaede suddenly hears the jingle of a bell. She snaps out of her thoughts and turns her attention to the door. She waves zealously until Rantaro notices her. Once he does, a small smile appears on his lips.

She might still be navigating her way through her non-fictional life, but at least she’s not alone. Once Rantaro is in reaching distance, Kaede grabs his hands and pulls him down next to her, excited to see him.

As the outside world eagerly waits for a brand new season of Danganronpa, Kaede and Rantaro read through the cafe’s menu, their arms pressed together.

Kaede Akamatsu’s story started inside a dark locker within a fictional world.

Now, her story will continue in the outside world—and only she gets to decide what happens next.