Danganronpa: String Theory (DrV3)

2.4 - Red is the Color of Sacrifice

"Eat slowly, alright, Prairie? I can assure you the food isn't going anywhere. If you eat too quickly you might make yourself sick," Kirumi comments as she brings out the first bowls and sets them in front of those present, moving gracefully around the table.

"Oh, don't worry about her, Kirumi! This girl's a fighter! No hypothermia is gonna take her down, trust me! She's got spirit brighter than the sun- I should know!" Kaito laughs, ever the mirthful one. It's no surprise he's a morning person, what with how boisterous he is.

"You say that, but she's only here right now because Kokichi broke into her room. Her's, unlike ours, is completely made of cement and entirely empty with an approximate room temperature of forty-nine to fifty one degrees Fahrenheit, or nine to ten degrees Celsius. Had she been in there any longer, she really would have passed away," Kiibo corrects Kaito, quietly watching the rest of us eat. Of course, as a robot, eating probably isn't necessary for Kiibo...

"Yeah, I totally saved Prairie Dog's life! If it wasn't for me-" Kokichi cuts himself off to shove food in his mouth, causing his cheeks to puff up. When he speaks again, it's after swallowing the huge portion of food down. "-she'd be a goner. Simple as that. Now she needs to spend the rest of her life devoting her services to me as repayment for my hard work!"

At that, I pause mid chew and shoot the violet goblin a dry look that I hope expresses everything pertaining to the fact that no, that's not happening. I have half the mind to throw some of my food at him, but feeling Rantaro rub the back of my neck makes me flinch violently in surprise enough that I swallow down what's in my mouth whole and my fork goes flying somewhere behind me. With my yip, Rantaro yanks his hand back and gives me a look of concern after a quick glance at wherever my fork has landed.

"What? Prairie, are you okay?" Rantaro is quick to ask as I reach up behind my neck in mild confusion, touching what feels like a sore and tender spot just at the base of my neck.

"Oh, that's right. When I was accused of somehow harassing her by Kokichi last night, I noticed she was rather sore at the back of her neck," Kiibo speaks up, causing the other people in the room to pause their eating as Rantaro turns my head and proceeds to start gathering my hair.

"What is it? Did that bastard Monokuma do somethin' to Perfect Blitz before he was blown to pieces?!" Miu growls around a waffle, followed closely by the blue haired girl who's name I still don't know commenting, "Don't tell me...it's Orochimaru's Cursed Seal Technique!"

Roachimaru...? What a strange name, sounds like a roach. Besides the name though, what is she even talking about?

I feel Rantaro pull up my hair and gently prod at my skin before humming in thought. "I'm not exactly seeing anything... Prairie, I'm going to press around gently, okay? Just tell me where it feels sore."

With a nod on my part, I feel his fingers prod at my skin carefully, applying more and more pressure with each press until I jerk away as his fingers press into my skin just under my head where my hair starts.

"It could be pain from when the Exisal grabbed her in the gym before. It can't have been good for her neck for them to have carried her off like that," Ryoma points out, bringing another spoonful of simple oatmeal and milk to his lips. Does he really like that stuff? It looks mushy and gross...

"Probably..." Rantaro agrees, but something in his tone makes me think he may have other ideas about it. He eventually drops my hair and gives me a reassuring smile when I turn to look back at him. "Don't worry, he's probably right."

I cock my head to the side at his words, making sure he knows I notice that he doesn't quite believe that. Before he can say anything about my look like he appears to want to, I turn back to my food and silently keep eating.