Danganronpa: Melancholic Mayhem

Chapter 2 Part 2- Our Fears, Phobias and Moments of Bliss

"S- so, let's go?" I asked. The two nodded in response, before walking out of the room.

We wandered out of the hotel, my eye's immediately going wide. In place of one of the buildings covered in a giant tarp, was a hospital. The ones you see in movies, that are extremely tall with a red plus sign on the front. But the vibe was all off. It almost seemed to be giving off a horrible aura.

"Um... I kind of don't want to go inside..." Naito said, staring at the front doors.

"It'll... be okay. Everyone is in the building with us. We'll be safe." Otani reassured.

Wouldn't that just make it more dangerous? At least... that's what I think would happen. But either way, I'd never say that out loud to them. Even with my concerns of being absolutely desecrated. I followed the two of them into the building.

The room was dreary, despite the white coloring. The reception desk was covered in papers and pencils, as if the building had been quickly abandoned, along with the atmosphere and decrepit walls, making it seem like it was a fairly old building despite having just been built. Or, maybe it had been used before. We were just told that it has just finished construction. But that could just be a lie...

"Hey, do you think there might be a clue in here to figure out how to get out of here?" Naito said, running over to the table, almost seeming to block out the eerie atmosphere around her.

"Naito, be careful. We don't want to act careless here." Otani replied cautiously. Naito stared for a moment, before nodding. She picked up one of the papers, looking through it.

"Well... all I can gather from this is that these papers described why Yuutsumi Academy chose us as Ultimates." Naito said. I paused, looking at her directly in the eyes.

"W- wait, let me read that." I replied, stepping over to her and taking the paper out of her hand. I began to scan the words on the page.

Kawata Satoru
Was placed in a Police Academy at the age of 9. Excelled in every training session. Became a police officer three years later at the age of 12, and joined a workforce responsible for helping children stuck in situations caused by themselves or by other things. Was transferred to regular police work at the age of 13, where their first case was catching a famous serial killer by the name of Hano Yoshiko, who was placed in the academy after being discovered. He went on to serve for two more years, making national headlines for almost every case he oversaw, and every arrest he ever made. Despite the controversial work of police officers, Kawata is seen as a young hero in the public eye. It may be good to consider him a role as the Ultimate Police Officer at Yuutsumi.

I paused, taking another moment to look over it again. So, this was just different scouting notes taken by the academy for the headmaster to review. I put down Kawata's notes, and picked up another sheet of paper. I paused, before rummaging through the rest of the papers. There were sixteen of them. But one of them caught my eye. I paused, skimming over it. I stared at it for a moment, before putting it back down with the rest of them. I took them all up, and walked over to an old printer at the back of the room.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Naito asked, curiously following me.

"I want to make sure I get all this information for further study. If I don't, it could be stolen and then we wouldn't have any more evidence to help us out in the trials. It may also a reveal a traitor. Or maybe even the mastermind." I explained.

"A- a traitor?" Otani asked.

"Mastermind!?" Naito nearly shouted. I nodded, placing a stack of paper in the printer, before putting one of the sheets in the top.

"I- I mean... it's possibility, right?" I replied. Naito and Otani fell silent, looking to each other trying to get some sort of recognition. Naito sighed.

"Well... I guess that's true... I just wouldn't want to think that anyone would betray us... you know?" Naito explained. Suddenly, I lost control of myself. The words swiftly fell from my mouth before I could stop them.

"No one can be trusted." I said. The two stared at me, concern in their eyes.

"Hirano... what do you mean?" He asked. I felt a panic overcome me, as I stared into their eyes, my heart racing as quickly as the words had escaped my maw. "Do you not... trust us?" Otani said, worry spread across his face.

"N- no, I just mean th- that..." I began, trying to save myself from this situation, before falling silent.

"Hey... it's okay. I get it. We're in a scary situation. But..." Naito started, looking at the ground in with a pitiful expression, a smile on her face all the while. "I just think... losing trust with others is deadly... you know?" She pulled a locket from her pocket, and held it tightly in her hand. "There are times in my life where if I didn't have certain people that I trusted... that I can confidently say that I would be dead." She said, looking to me with tears in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away. "So... don't give up on us yet... okay?" I stared at her for a moment, unable to speak. It was almost as if my will to create words had evaporated into thin air. Naito put the locket back into her pocket, before reaching a hand out to me. "I think that your papers have finished printing. What do you say we continue our little search?" I paused, staring at her outstretched hand. Well, she certainly had backed me into a corner. If I didn't take her hand, then I'd seem suspicious and even more like an outcast that I had been back in middle school. And if I did, then I'd be putting myself in a situation to get close to someone, who would inevitably die or kill me, or anyone else in the group. Or worse, they were the mastermind or the traitor, and all of a sudden it's my fault we trusted them.

"I- I..." I began, trying to stall so I could think of a solution. But nothing came to mind. No matter how brilliant people say I am, I can't even wrap my head around simple situations. They're all wrong about me. Reluctantly, I picked up the pieces of paper from the printer and took her hand. "O- okay... I'll try." I said. The thing was, I'd been trying this whole time. But if it made her happy, I'd lie for now. She smiled.

"Alright! Let's go see if we can find some more interesting things in this weird horror movie hospital." Naito said. Otani smiled at me, as she let go of my hand. We began moving down the hallway, looking for more interesting things.

We were walking down the hallway, before I suddenly stopped. I paused, looking down at the bottom of the wall. I stared for a moment, almost confused, before kneeling down next to the boundary. I couldn't keep my eyes away.

"H- hey guys, this looks..." I began, turning to face where they'd been. But they'd disappeared. Sweat rolled down my face for a moment, before I looked back down at the wall. I began to shake, as I reached out for it. I was barely able to make it out, but there was a small door with no knob on the wall. Slowly, I pushed on it, the small area of wall slowly opening.

I continued to stare, before, I reached inside of the small area. Carefully, I pulled a small envelope from the pocket in the wall. I opened it up, my eyes going wide as I looked at the contents.

If no one kills after three days of the motive being revealed, your target is Imamura Mitsuri.

My eyes went wide, as I began to tremble. My blood ran cold, and the thoughts began to swirl in my mind. Who is this for? Why Imamura? What did target mean? Was there... really a traitor in our group?

I know I had suggested the idea of it. I know that I'd been suspicious of everyone. But I never really believed it. I thought that it was something so far fetched that life would never bring it to fruition. But... it happened. There really is... a traitor.

Words: 2051