Danganronpa Midnight: Lantern Lament (Fanganronpa)

Chapter 2 - A Grasp of Fading Spotlight - FTE: Shouko, Yuna

"Um..."

"Is it...a friend? Relative? Not trying to be rude but I really have no guesses right now." I crossed my arms. "So who is it?"

"My...cat."

"...Your cat?" I repeated. "What does your cat have to-"

"My...dead cat." She corrected herself.

"O-Oh." I realised immediately. "Oh..."

"Yeah." She looked out the window again.

"So the reason you hunt ghosts is to see your cat?" I assumed.

"It makes sense. The day I lost him...I was alone. In my garden. I refused to believe Crusty was dead!" She cried.

"C-Crusty?!?" My words caught in my throat at the name.

"Yes, his name was Crusty. I found him while I was searching the trash near my house. He smelt. His fur was crusty too." She acted like it was nothing.

"He smelt? Crusty fur? That's not sanitary- Wait, why the hell were you searching through rubbish?!?" I exclaimed.

Every word she says just makes this story even more bizarre.

"Because...Because I forgot." She shrugged. "I think...My parents threw out some of my little jars."

"Jars?" I wondered.

"Yeah. My collection of dead insects. I liked to keep them in nice small jars so I could watch them. I never found them though..." Shouko informed me, as my jaw dropped.

"R-Right! Cause that's completely normal...!"

"His smell, his messy look, his weird noises...all of those things made me connect with Crusty for the short time we knew each other."

"What the...Short time?"

"It hurts that I only knew Crusty for nine solid days." Shouko casually mentioned, turning around. "I tried to hide him in my room, but he...He didn't make it. I even found the biggest box I could find."

"S-So...You knew this cat for only nine days? And kept him in a box...And then he inspired you to ghost hunt?!?" I tried to piece everything together.

"On the day he died, I saw him! In my garden. A-A ghostly apparition right in front of my face!" She insisted. "It had to be him! Crusty loved my garden! He was always searching in the garbage and smelling the dirt. From there, I saw more spirits, all around my garden. I couldn't take my eyes off them. Even if it was just for a second."

"I'm honestly scared to ask, but what do you mean?"

"As soon as I blinked, all the images of ghosts had disappeared. Every last one of them...Even Crusty." she explained. "But I'll never forget the scene I saw, right before my eyes. I think about it every day as a constant reminder."

"And this got you into ghost hunting?" I guessed.

"Of course it did...My curiosity was peaked and I had to know more. Not just about the tons of ghosts, but for the spirit of my cat that I saw. It's all for Crusty now. Now...All my focus is on hunting! Though now I don't mind sensing human ghosts for as often as they usually appear. They can be fun too."