Danganronpa Zero Vol. 2

14

Are you really Matsuda-kun?

I quickly swallowed those words almost coming out of my throat. I could tell that they would only make matters worse.

"...Hey, Matsuda-kun. Let's stop this."

Being cornered by Matsuda-kun like this, pleading was all I could do.

"How about we just head back to the laboratory? We could just relax and chat while you perform treatment on me. If we do that...everything will go back to normal!"

By the end of my pleading, my voice changed into a scream.

After all, this is just wrong!

This has to be wrong!

"...It's already too late."

But, Matsuda-kun turned his head.

"I can't go back anymore. Neither you nor I...we can't go back..."

Hearing his freezing voice, my whole body quickly began to grow cold.

"W-Why are you saying that?"

"Why are YOU spouting these cruel words."

Continuing with that freezing voice, he spoke with rage and irritation.

"You still can't remember what I've done to protect Junko Enoshima? I see, then I'll make you remember."

"I-It's alright! Let's just forget about this and get away from this place!"

"Nothing will change even if we forget, no one knows that better than you do!"

"I don't know anything!"

Reaching my limit, I shrieked with all my might.

But Matsuda-kun, without paying it mind-

"...Alright, just hear me out."

But, why was he speaking with such a sad face?

I'm the sad one here.

"Hope's Peak Academy's Worst Incident...everything changed because of it. No, I finally realized it because of that incident. The fact that my life which I thought was completely normal, was actually a fake scenario set up to control me...."

Those words were not directed towards anyone, not even me, but towards himself.

"I've been fooled by Junko Enoshima all this time...completely fooled...but even so, I couldn't stay away from her...I thought I could save her. I thought I would be able to stop her...that's what I was made to believe."

His voice immediately began to stain with bitterness.

"In order to protect her, I concealed her existence itself. But regardless of that, she went ahead and even killed the Committee Board members...that's why I went as far as to hide those corpses. I dealt with the evidence for her sake."

As my ears took in his words, my mind began playing through all the scenes that had occurred up to this point. There was no time to even feel the itching.

"Not only that...I even murdered people for her sake. In order to silence Soushun Murasame, who knew the truth about the incident...it's the same with that Yuuto Kamishiro...for her sake, I couldn't let them live. That's why...I killed them..."

I was completely submerged by the torrent of truth blasting out of Matsuda-kun. But there was something I needed to know no matter what, so I struggled to keep my head above the waves as I attempted my question.

"I-Is she really that important...? Junko Enoshima...is really that...i-important to you...?"

"She is."