Danganronpa: Island Life

Chapter 24: INTUITION

Kazuichi: "How would that be a start!?" Kazuichi yelled at Hajime's smiling face, stomping his foot down to protect himself from being toyed with as his tormentor let out an audible chuckle, waving his hands in front of him after he turned to face the mechanic.

Hajime: "It's fine, it's fine. I'm just messing with you." Kazuichi was given a tiny bit of relief when he heard that, before he saw the look on Hajime's face turn into a flat, judgmental stare. "But if it happens again, there will be hell to pay." Kazuichi only shook his head, not wanting to know exactly what he meant. With threats made and apologies expressed, the group collected themselves and went back to the task at hand... getting the barge into the water.

===========Timeskip===========

Nagito: "Hmmm... I wonder..." The commotion following Kazuichi's blunders was engrossing enough that Nagito could simply walk away and not be noticed by anyone. Even after saying that he was going back to his cottage to change the bandages on the stump that was once his left arm, he wasn't paid any mind. "Kazuichi should be able to make a mechanical arm, right? But then again, with luck like mine, maybe living with one arm won't be so bad."

Fuyuhiko: "Hey, you! If I find out you had anything to do with that explosion, I'll have your head on a platter!" A few feet down the road, Nagito spotted Fuyuhiko and Peko, and took the yakuza's words in stride. He said nothing in response, only smiling as both parties continued walking and dropped the expression as soon as they both were to his back. He let out a dry huff and quickened his pace.

Nagito: "Acceptance... how long until I'm not the odd man out anymore? Such a shining stepping stone I have been given, but I suppose it's to be expected. Yeah... I should expect it..." Glancing at his stump reminded him of his history with his group of companions, his behaviour and actions reminding him why he was treated the way he was. An exhale came from his nose, his phantom limb clenching its fist and bringing a light pain to what's left of his arm.

For some reason, he imagined an artificial limb would alleviate him of the pain and cringed when he recalled how the pain was once something he could say gave him joy. A pain that would nourish hope with each passing ache, that's what he would call it. a sickening view, even the thought that It was. The time that he lived in despair's name not too long ago was even more so.

A wave of vibrations shot up his arm when the phantom pain faded away, drawing his eyes to his empty jacket sleeve as he walked. The feeling was painful, yes, but when it was there, it was almost like he had the rest of his arm again.

===========Meanwhile===========

Things were moving along pretty quickly with the barge, as Hajime was already in the process of towing the vessel with Kazuichi's truck. The barge was incredibly heavy, but the truck was able to pull it without much resistance as the truck rolled out of the airfield gates and onto the road. Hajime shifted in his seat, his warm torso slowly peeling off of the leather interior when he did. It was a useless effort though, his body sticking back to the seat once he settled.

Akane: "Do you want my shirt?" His head shot to his right, eyes bulging wide, making a blush wash over Akane's cheeks as she drifted her eyes down and away from his. Her mouth opened while she shifted in her seat, a breath coming from her throat when she stopped what she was going to say, trying to say her words appropriately. "I mean, I have this on, so..."

She was referring to her training bra, her left hand pulling it part way out of her shirt. His eyes looked down to the fabric, then back at her, the same wide-eyed expression on his face. As far as he could remember, and not in a perverted way, Akane wasn't ever wearing a bra during the simulation. Whether she didn't find them comfortable... or she couldn't find one her size, Hajime couldn't deny the fact that Akane was more... developed than the other girls on the island, Peko was a close second though. They both looked away at the same time, their eyes now fixed on the road ahead. Silence wasn't allowed, the purr of the engine pouring in though the open window, the voices of the others filling the air as they sat upon the barge as it was being towed.

Hajime: "I'll be fine without a shirt for now. Besides... it's pretty windy... you could get sick." And he was the one without a shirt or shoes. He leaned forward a bit, pulling his skin from the seat again before leaning back into it. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw her move, shortly before feeling her sit down right next to him. His head turned slightly to see her reach forward and turn the truck's air conditioning knob up a few notches before she inched just a little closer to him. Their legs and arms were touching, her body heat creeping onto his skin as the heat coming from the vents in front of him caused his eyes to slightly narrow.

Akane: "You're the one who's gonna get sick first. If you do, then you wouldn't be able to be my sparring partner anymore. Like hell I'd let that happen." Her clutched fist playfully came down on his thigh, he laughed a bit and let a calming exhale pass his lips.

Fuyuhiko: "Yo!" Just ahead, Hajime could see Fuyuhiko and Peko on the side of the road, the boy flagged him down with a wave of his free arm. The truck sped up slightly before stopping, so that the two hitchhikers were parallel to the driver's window. "What the hell is this?" He gestured to the truck as well as the huge barge. On the water vessel, Kazuichi had peeked out, having heard the question. He waved out his greeting to Fuyuhiko before giving his answer.

Kazuichi: "We're going to use this barge to check out the other islands, maybe bring back some stuff!" Being a few feet off the ground made him feel like he needed to yell for some reason, Fuyuhiko was giving him the side eye before looking to Hajime with a raised brow.

Fuyuhiko: "And you're shirtless because..."

Hajime: "He threw up on me." Hajime gestured behind him, Fuyuhiko glancing at Kazuichi again to see him tugging at his collar. His nose twitched, searching for an unpleasant smell, only finding the salt-infused ocean breeze.

Hajime: "Are you joining us? We're going to the marina right now. The one the Future Foundation ship was docked at."

Peko only looked straight ahead, leaving the choice up to Fuyuhiko. He shrugged his shoulders, saying nothing while he led Peko around to the truck's passenger side, opening the door and helping her inside. Hajime and Akane inched more to the driver's door to make room, all of them were shoulder to shoulder as Fuyuhiko slammed his door shut, a heavy breath heard from him afterwards.

Kazuichi: "All right!" Behind them outside, Kazuichi pounded on the metal of the barge as he beckoned for the truck to set off once more. "Let's get going!"

===========Meanwhile===========

A cold breeze made by his door shutting behind him made Nagito's body quiver, his teeth clattering once or twice as he settled back into his warmth. Taking a step forward, he let his jacket slide off so he could throw it towards his bed. Entering the bathroom, he stopped at the mirror, lifting up his arm to view the worn bandages wrapped around the end of his stump. Picking the end of the bandage, he pulled it off in one motion, afterwards leaning over to grab the roll of medical tape he kept under the sink.

The bandages that were touching the end of his stump were more worn than the others, the black scab having rubbed off on it during the past few days. He debated to stop wrapping it, slightly, but ended up doing so anyway. He most likely did so just to stay in the habit of it. He walked out of the restroom after that, grabbing his jacket and sliding it back on, leaving the zipper undone. As he stepped forward with the intent to rejoin the others, a sudden impulse popped into his head.

Some feeling, one that felt closer to intuition than anything else, it had brought the idea to go to the control room to his mind. He thought about it for less than a second, before deciding to go to the building where the rest of the group still slept. After all, for such an idea to come so suddenly to mind...

It could only be a lucky occurrence, right?