Danganronpa Oneshots

The Stranger in My Head - Hajime & Izuru (long)

Opening his eyes was the hardest part. When the illusion shattered, and the dream that had been the neo-world program melted away, there had been nothing but darkness. While his classmates - his friends - all fell deeper into fantasy worlds of their own making, he simply laid in darkness.

Wake up. The voice that was not his own spoke calmly, but with cold authority. Kamukura.

That's going to take some getting used to, Hajime thought.

Only for you, Kamukura responded, confirming Hajime's suspicion that the stranger in his mind could hear him think. He wondered if he'd ever feel okay with that. If it would ever be okay that someone else could hear his thoughts at all times. Someone capable of...

Now is not the time, Kamukura interrupted. We can discuss that later. For now, wake up.

Opening his eyes was the hardest part. Rising from that all-consuming darkness that surrounded him on all sides, and emerging, blinking against the bright lights of the room he was in as the device he was lying in opened like the lid of a casket.

He lifted his hands, watching as he opened and closed his fists. A bizarre thought struck him; It's nice to be back in control.

As if Hajime had just opened a floodgate, he was suddenly drowned in a torrent of memories that he had unintentionally invited. He could remember what it felt like to be a passenger in his own body, watching as Kamukura, brilliant and confused, rose to the top of a despair-riddled world. He remembered how it felt to watch, seeing and hearing and feeling everything but being entirely unable to control his body. He could remember years of that hell, committing atrocities he dared not acknowledge entirely against his will. The tears were unwanted, and yet they came heavily. As he sat there and cried, his mind was full of the raging sea that were his memories, so intense that for a while they even silenced Kamukura.

But not for long.

Get up. I know it hurts, but we have work to do if you wish to save your classmates. You can sort through my memories later.

That caught Hajime's attention. Why do you care?

I don't. Like it or not, you are the dominant consciousness now. I'm merely offering advice.

Hajime frowned. Dominant consciousness? Did that mean that-

No, I assure you I am still capable of taking over if necessary. But, as previously stated, that can be discussed later. For now, the body is yours. But if you want to save them, I suggest you listen to me.

"I-Izuru?" The voice was familiar, snapping Hajime out of his thoughts, and it was terrified.

"Sonia!"

"Oh... you're Hajime now!"

Hajime wondered how Sonia could have mixed them up. They did look different after all... didn't they?

Did you think all that hair would just magically fall out when you woke up? Kamukura's voice was not mocking. In fact, if Hajime hadn't known better, he might have thought he was... amused.

Right... He decided to return his attention to Sonia.

"Yeah, I'm Hajime now. Even if I don't quite look like it..."

"That means it worked." The woman that Hajime recognized as Kyoko Kirigiri approached him with no hesitance. "The neo-world program undid the damage caused by the despair video, and by the Kamukura project.

Hajime frowned, silently cursing the day that he first heard of that project.

Thankfully, Kamukura didn't take offense.