Neo Killing Game - Danganronpa x My Hero Academia

Chapter 8 : The End of the Beginning - Part 2 - Daily Life

{ tw: mentioned c*tting, body m*tilation, many deaths, including the death of children; implied child ab*se }

A few days later, Hitoshi awoke to the sound of a bell.

He blinked away sleep and looked up to see the monitor alight. Monokuma's face graced the screen. His beady eyes seemed angry; Hitoshi flinched and wrapped the sheets tighter around his lean form.

"Ahem! This is an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!" Hitoshi flinched again at Monokuma's sudden rise in volume; it was clearly intended to wake up every student. "Got your attention? Good.

"Everyone, please wash up as per usual and come down to the auditorium within the next hour! I repeat, clean yourselves all up so we don't have to deal with your stinky morning breath and drag your sorry asses down to the aud! Get over here ASAP!"

And then the message cut off.

Hitoshi sighed heavily; running his fingers through his tousled violet hair. Guess I have no choice. He seems to be in a bad mood.

The Psychic monotonously went through the motions -brushing his teeth, taking a shower, changing, brushing out his bird's nest mess of hair-, the only scrap of motivation in his mind being that everyone'll be mad at him if he doesn't clean himself up to look half-decent. I should check on Denki after this, too, he mused as he fixed his tie and gave himself a once-over in the mirror. He should wash up, too.

Hitoshi left his room on light steps and hurried down to Denki's room. He knocked on the door; shuffling could be heard inside as the room's occupant greeted him. "Hitoshi." The blonde's voice rasped; he looked more like a mess than even Hitoshi. "What a surprise, I was just about to leave."

"No, you aren't," the violette said promptly in return. He entered the too-bright room and shut the door behind him. "I'm going to help you fix up your appearance, okay?"

"Hm. Does it matter?"

"It does." Without any more words, Hitoshi gently took Denki's arm and dragged him to his desk. "Sit down. I'll brush out your hair."

The Electrician obliged and sat still in his chair, allowing Hitoshi to pick up the brush on the tabletop and smooth out his tangled golden locks. The latter worked in silence, breaking the comfortable quiet only when he hit a knot in Denki's hair and uttered a small "Sorry if it hurts", to which the latter muttered, "S'okay."

After a few minutes, Hitoshi was satisfied with his work. Not that he was one to talk; his own tresses generally looked like a dead peacock's tail at best. He stepped back and set the brush down. "Go look at yourself in the mirror," he suggested to his friend.

Denki got up and gazed into his reflection for a moment. "Thanks, but... why did you make me look so energetic?" he inquired softly.

"W-Well... this was how you looked as a hero, right?" Hitoshi tried to salvage an answer, mentally slapping himself after the words already left his tongue. Why would I dig up old memories that probably hurt like hell for him now? Hero days... that meant days he spent happy, spent with all of his class, with Kyouka, with a future ahead of him instead of death waiting to swallow him up each and every day.

"..." Denki was quiet as he reached up, sleeves sliding back a centimeter and revealing the edges of dusty porcelain bandages. He tousled the bouncy locks Hitoshi had brushed out, causing them to fall down a little, drooping like wilted flowers; a mirror image of his mind, of the energy of this place. "I'm no hero," Denki muttered softly, blinking at himself in the mirror.

Hitoshi stared at his last companion for a heartbeat before slowly slipping forward and wrapping his arms around the smaller, looping his hands in front of Denki's shallow stomach. "You're a hero to me," he whispered. "You've survived all this time, haven't you? You're a winner in the end."