Hope for Freedom (Persona 5 x Danganronpa)

Before the Storm

I hung up the phone and began concentrating on the road again. By the way we talked, especially due to the lack of honorifics and the use of first names, one could get the idea we were dating. However, we weren't. I had feelings for her, but I was too scared to confess.

Pathetic, huh? I agreed to work under a corrupt leader to save her from a life of servitude, but I couldn't even tell her how I felt in fear of her rejection.

I shook my head to break me free from these thoughts for the moment. I needed to focus on the topic at hand.

As I continued to drive, I questioned why Shido would drag me down to a small country town like Inaba. What business did he have there?

When I reached the town, I was greeted by my disgusting answer. Before me was Masayoshi Shido, drunk beyond all reasoning.

Shido: "Ah, Saihara-san. *hic* "I have a case for you."

Me: "What did you do?"

Shido: "Heh, it seems that you already know the gist of the situation. I'll cut straight to the point, then. I harassed a woman who works with me on the street."

I nearly vomit when the words escape his mouth.

Shido: "However, *hic* some damn brat pulled me aside and I fell to the ground. *hic*"

Me: "And you want me to falsify evidence to make it seem like he assaulted you?"

Shido: "Heh, you know me far too well. *hic* If I didn't have you under my thumb, that would be a problem. Anyways, there's too much evidence against me and not enough evidence against him. Fix that."

Me: "So you plan to ruin the life of a kid who stopped you from doing something that could have landed you in jail? Keep in mind, this isn't Tokyo, so you don't have the entire police force under your command."

Shido: "I have a couple of officers. *hic* That's more than enough for a backwash town like Inaba. And yes, I plan to incriminate him."

Me: "But he saved you from making a mistake that could have destroyed your life!"

Shido: "He crossed me. He needs to learn his *hic* place."

Me: "But he's completely innocent!"

Shido: "You'll *hic* do what I say, or else say good *hic* bye to Akamatsu-san."

I gritted my teeth and hung my head in despair. I pulled my hat over my eyes, too ashamed to look anyone in the eye.

Me: "...Any suggestions as to handle this?"

He smirked at me.

Shido: "Good man. There was a security camera in the area. Take the footage out and 'investigate it.'"

Me: "And by that you mean delete the footage and claim that the file was corrupted."

Shido: "Exactly. Then, make it seem like he's the kind of person who would commit assault."

Me: "Hide a knife in his belongings."

Shido: "Genius. Get a full account of the incident from the woman. Her name was Ai Ebihara."

Me: "Leave out the parts you wouldn't like."

Shido: "You're a natural. The bitch has already testified that the brat assaulted me, so it shouldn't be hard to cut out the... 'unimportant details' of her account."

Me: "...Yes sir."

Shido: "And my last request, make sure my name is never mentioned."

Me: "Yes sir."

Shido: "Alright then, get *hic* moving."

I quickly found the crime scene, which was closed off by a policeman.

Me: "Good day, officer."

Surly Officer: "Whaddya want, kid?"

I hold up my detective badge as the officer jumps in shock.

Me: "I'm Shuichi Saihara from the Tokyo police force. I was personally requested to investigate the assault that happened last night."

The officer looked around to make sure nobody was listening. He then leaned in to whisper to me.

His breath reeked of smoke and booze.

Surly Officer (Whisper): "You with Shido?"

Me: "Yeah."

Surly Officer: "Alright. The crime scene is yours."

I left him to grab the camera. I took the footage and went to the station, where I scanned it onto a computer. However, I deleted everything that happened over the past week. Having only footage for the exact day of the crime disappear is extremely suspicious.

A few hours later, I had interviewed Ebihara. There wasn't much that I had to cut out, mostly it was just her namedropping Shido and calling him a creep.

Lastly, I went down to the room where they kept the suspect's belongings, and I put a long, sharp knife in his bag. I had made the Surly Officer buy it in a local shop called Daidara Metalworks. I had the officers working with Shido help me in sneaking it in.

I presented my evidence to the officers working with Shido, and they accepted it all. I told them to make sure I was not referenced or given credit to from here on. They said they were happy to take the credit.

Idiots.

After this, I took my leave, saying a silent prayer for whoever my actions have affected. Even though my actions saved Kaede from a life of servitude, I felt sorry for the man who would be wrongly accused of assault. I prayed that he would get the lightest possible sentence, probation.

As I drove home, I started to think about all of the inhumane things Shido had done. I thought about all of the lies Shido made me spread. As I thought about this, I only grew angrier and angrier by the second. I wanted to rebel. I wanted to fight back. But I couldn't. No one could.

At least...

That's what I thought...