Danganronpa: String Theory (DrV3)

2.9 - A Prize For A Price

Monokid is still following me, so when I enter this room I have to hold the door open a bit to let the depressed blue bear hobble in after me slowly with his wrecked guitar still at hand.

"Hey, is the monomachine that big thing at the corner?" I ask, not even hesitating to jump over the counter once the door to what appears to be the student store shuts behind us. The machine is pretty large with a glowing exterior and a few flashing lights, looking like a sort of toy capsule machine that takes coins to dispense prizes. Some of the capsules have items, others have slivers of paper- one which I can just make out to read as Astro Cake. "So...I can get a nectarine from this thing then..."

"Your chances are slim. You'd have a better chance winning the lottery for a laser treatment to fix your ugly face," Monokid still has enough spunk deep down to automatically remark- much to my annoyance.

My fingers trail over the coin eater, making me frown. What sort of coins does it take? I don't know any American coins this size...well, maybe a half dollar coin, I guess, but somehow I doubt a capsule machine would take an uncommon coin like that. Maybe there's yen of a similar size? I can't even remember what yen looks like.

"It takes monocoins, ya bastard. Here, these are from dad. Who's somehow willing to give you coins rather than get me- his son- that cool guitar up there," Monokid gloomily mutters as he jumps on the counter behind me, dumping out a black and white pouch on the counter surface that jingles with the sound of coins. Quite a couple of coins, at that.

When I open up the pouch, I'm pleased to see ten coins for my spending pleasure, yellow-gold coins with the engraved features of Monokuma right in the middle. Monokid sits with his back to me as I begin to pop in the first coin into the monomachine. It'd sure be lucky if I got it on the first coin...

"Come to think of it, maybe I should grind up some coins for the guitar too- even if it IS just as rare of a monomachine item as the nectarine," Monokid speaks out loud to himself as a capsule pops out of the monomachine. I open it up to see what the paper, a ticket looking thing, says before pouting a little.

"Don't bother. You can have mine," I comment, dropping the ticket for the mini electric guitar right in the blue kubs lap much to his surprise. By the look on the monokub's face, you would think he'd just witnessed some kind of religious miracle or something.

I toss the useless plastic capsule shell in a trashcan nearby and try a second coin in the monomachine. This time when I turn the lever to dispense my prize, there's an audibly heavier clank as the capsule rolls along the spiral neon tunnel and hits the metal stopper at the outside rim of the machine. Retrieving the capsule, I can see there's an actual compass within it. I decide to set it aside on the counter where Monokid no longer is for now, looking near the opposite end of the room where the blue monokub is feeding the ticket I've given him to a machine on the other end of the wall.

Next coin in the monomachine drops another item within a capsule- this time a small pocket mirror like the one that plain cow tried to offer me in the game room. Following that is a ticket for a wearable blanket, which I can't help but jump and grin at the sight of. Now I can stay somewhat warm in my cold room! Honestly, with how late it's starting to get, I was a bit concerned over what I was going to do about the whole "my room is Antarctica" issue tonight. Honestly, it'd be too embarrassing asking to share a room with someone else.

Maybe I'll get something else useful next?

I insert a fifth coin and out comes a capsule...with something I can't quite identify. It's sorta fuzzy. Sorta...meaty. I can't help but give it a scowl as I try to figure out what it is until-

"That's a monkey's paw!" Monokid helpfully supplies, suddenly appearing beside me with his shiny new guitar. While he strums it wildly, or tries to since he doesn't quite know how to use a legitimate guitar, I continue to stare at the capsule contents a moment longer before I drop the entire thing in the nearby trash without a second thought.