Danganronpa: String Theory (DrV3)

3.3 - Not A Child

I walk on over to the dragon statue and lift up the red gem I have, clamping it in the empty eye socket of the statue with little hesitation. There's a momentary rumble I can feel all the way down to my bones as the wall behind the statue shakes violently, followed by the sound of heels clicking behind me. Kirumi stops at my side, looking my way with a sigh when I keep my expression flat and determined. I'm guessing she can tell this is another one of my spats with Rantaro...in reality though, it's more of a spat with the people here that treat me like a kid.

She doesn't say anything else, and that much I appreciate when I shoot her a meaningful look midst taking off in a run ahead as the wall completely falls to reveal a hallway.

"Wait for meeee!"

I don't slow down, mostly because I know he can keep up. I stop and push open the first door I see, planning on doing the same thing I'd done to Rantaro at the casino- run through quickly and don't get caught so I can skip out when Rantaro and Shuichi get here.

Of course, I miscalculate Kokichi's speed and he crashes into me from behind far too soon for my liking, wrapping his arms around me and lifting me up in the air with a laugh when I growl.

"Put me down, I'm in a hurry!" I demand, wriggling wildly when he swings me side to side with a thoughtful hum. "What? Is this how you treat someone that does something nice for you?"

"Something nice for me? Aw, come on, Prairie Dog. Don't pretend you got this item for me. What did Run-turdo do this time, hm?" He asks, setting me down and crossing his arms with a grin as he moves around me to stand in my way. "Doctor Oma is willing to fix all your ailments, even stress! You just have to open up to him a little bit~"

I give him a look, dubious even before the 'Doctor Oma' bit.

"...It's not just Rantaro. It's everybody. They're pissing me off," I admit after a second, feeling my temper spike just a little. "But it doesn't matter, that's not important right now. I need to get in and be gone before Rantaro and Shuichi get here, or I'm gonna get another stupid punishment, like a 'time-out' or something."

I move around him to examine the room, which is an antique designed one that resembles something from Europe in the Elizabethan era. There's a Victorian styled dining table, a chandelier, and what looks to be human-sized puppets that make me raise a brow.

"Why would you get in trouble? Did you snatch the items straight out of Shuichi's hands like the little devil you are?" Kokichi inquires, making me tear my gaze away from the decor of the room to retort, "Of course not! I just...picked them from his pocket as payment for wasting my time to try and apologize with empty words."

"Ehh? Why? Don't you wanna get out of here? How do you plan on doing that without the magnificent power of friendship?" Kokichi presses, easily making such a cheesy statement sound entirely natural with that bright and cheery tone of his. I resist losing my temper, simply scrunching up my expression in disbelief. At that face I make, Kokichi laughs a little under a hand like this is the usual fun and games. "Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one against the saccharine idea of working together the nice way."

"I thought that was obvious enough considering how everything serious I've done to get answers has been done alone. By myself. Without a babysitter," I huff, walking towards a large closet and pushing it open. Inside are washing machines, dryers, cleaning supplies- everything room service should have access to...or in this case, Kirumi. This is obviously the Ultimate Maid's lab, but I can't help but feel a wave of relief inside me. With these here, I'll be able to wash my clothes the easy way rather than scrubbing them to hell and back in my shower.

"What a find! Washing machines. Perfect, get in one and I'll start it. After thirty minutes, maybe you'll have a good idea to really get us out of here, Prairie Dog!" Kokichi laughs, but rather than give him the time of my day, I simply jot the discoveries down in my mental notepad and turn to scurry out of the lab now that I'm done exploring it. "Hey, I'm coming too! You can't get away from this leech that easily!"