Danganronpa: Melancholic Mayhem

Chapter 5 Part 14: The Good, The Bad, And The Blackened

I sprinted down the stairs as fast as I could. I nearly fell all the way to the bottom, but I was able to catch myself on the railing. I quickly continued, heading directly to the front doors. I stepped outside, slightly bending over as I caught my breath.

"Cutting it close huh?" Yamazaki blurted out. I looked over, seeing Yamazaki laying his back against the wall. I fixed my posture, standing straight up.

"I was busy." I said. Yamazaki didn't reply, he just kept his eyes closed with his head against the bricks. I sighed, fixing my glasses. "So, were you the one who opened the exit door?" His eyes opened, as he groaned.

"No, that was left open." Yamazaki said. He took a deep breath, before readjusting the scarf on his neck. "There's been a change of plans." He blurted out, starting to walk down the path. I stared at him, confused, before following behind him.

"What? What are we doing now?" I asked. I glared at him, slightly annoyed. "You said we were looking for an exit."

"I already looked for answers exit all day. I'm going to use the rest of my day to be more productive." He said.

"Okay, what? I don't understand. What's more productive than looking for an exit?" I blurted out. Yamazaki stopped in his tracks, turning around. He glared down at me skeptically, before lifting an arm out, motioning to something.

"You know anything about this?" He asked. I slowly raised an eyebrow, before looking to where he motioned. My eyes went wide, and my blood ran cold. I felt a sick feeling begin rising in my throat, as I tried my best to keep myself from shaking. We were... standing in front of Hano Yoshiko's house. My heart rate started to rise, as I took a step back in shock. "I'm guessing you do then." I opened my both, trying to speak.

"I..." I barely managed to squeak out a single word. After that miserable attempt, I didn't try again. Yamazaki rolled his eyes, opening the front door. He stepped inside, seemingly completely calm. I slowly followed behind him, stepping through the door. But as soon as I did, my legs gave way, and I fell to the floor. I started to hyperventilate, grabbing onto my chest. God, why was it worse than the last time I was here. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my back, as Yamazaki knelt down to me.

"Can you calm down?" Yamazaki asked, an annoyed expression on his face.

But I couldn't control my breathing. I just couldn't. No matter how hard I tried, I just kept gasping for breath. Yamazaki glanced around, looking frustrated. Quickly, he grabbed me up by my arm. He held my arm over his shoulder, and he helped me out of the front door. After a moment, I was plopped down onto the ground. He sat down next to me, remaining completely silent and staring forward. I grabbed onto my shirt, still trying to control my breaths.

Yamazaki, seemingly annoyed, placed a hand on my back. He made eye contact with me, and took a deep breath in, before letting it out. He repeated this motion a couple more times, until I had naturally followed his movements. Yamazaki took his hand off my back, and turned away from me. We sat there in silence for a moment, a small smile on my face.

"That was really nice of you." I said. Yamazaki just kept staring off into the distance.

"Are you done being a little cry baby now?" He asked. I didn't reply. I just twiddled my thumbs, staring nervously at the floor. Yamazaki groaned, before standing up. He popped his knuckles, before heading towards the door of the house.

"W- where are you going?" I asked. Yamazaki glared over at me.

"I'm going into the house. You can stay out here. I don't want you getting in my way." He said. I didn't say anything in return. Yamazaki walked inside, leaving me sitting on the porch.