Danganronpa One Shots

Interview with a Remnant of Despair

TW: UDG and Servant Nagito, Talk of Death, Child Abandonment, Panic Attacks, PTSD
Perspective: Makoto Naegi, first person

"Here we go..."
I take a deep breath and click 'record' on my laptop.
"Hello. This is Makoto Naegi, Future Foundation branch 14. I've made the decision to disobey the orders from my superiors and refuse to give up the Remnants of Despair. I've made this decision because I believe we can help them. Killing them goes directly against my beleifs and I think, with enough hope, they can get better!" I close my eyes. "While my friends are fixing the Hope Restoration Program to the best of their abilities, I've decided to see what information I can get through interrogation. While most of the Remnants of Despair will insult, threaten, of just stay silent, I have here today one that will talk to us. His name is Nagito Komaeda. The information we know about him is that, before the tragedy, he was known as the Ultimate Lucky Student of his class at Hope's Peak Academy. We also know he was involved in the incident at Towa City with Monaca Towa. I just hope we can get some good information out of him."
I pick up my laptop and bring it with me to where Nagito is... contained. I hate that we have to keep the remnants in chains but that's really all we can do until the Hope Restoration Program gets completed. I sit down on the ground in front of Nagito and set down the laptop. He looks up at me with a smile.
"Makoto Naegi, what an honor it is to meet you!"
"Honor?" I look at him, confused.
"Of course! The Ultimate Hope himself~" he shifted his head to one side "And the one who killed Junko Enoshima." His smile went from wholesome to creepy in a split-second, and his voice went from light and airy to dark and grim.
"O-Oh..." I remember I'm recording our conversation so I move on to the questioning. "You worshipped Junko, right?" He chuckled.
"You must have me confused with someone else. I absolutely despise Junko Enoshima and everything she stands for." He leans closer to me, being stopped by the chain from getting too close. "I'm quite envious of you, Makoto Naegi. I would've loved to murder her myself. I would've done anything to kill the woman I loathe so much, to see the life drain from her eyes. To see her face-to-face with the despair she'd shown to so many people, the despair she'd forced ME to experience. It would've made me so... very happy to see her die... right in front of me." I look up at his looming presence over me. Even though he's in chains, I'm still intimidated by his aura. His words are overly sadistic... what did Junko do to him?
"U-Um... W-Why do you hate her so much?" I see as he closes his eyes.
"Despair... Junko and Despair are almost synonymous at this point, aren't they?" He smiles at me "The way I see it... Despair only exists to be crushed by Hope. Despair comes when Hope is destroyed, and then an even stronger Hope comes along and destroys that Despair. Junko wanted to be the Despair that destroyed all Hope... And I want to create the Hope that defeats that Despair." I blink. Man, this guy is confusing. I think I get it a little?
"So... If you believe so much in Hope, then why are you continuing Junko's legacy?"
"The reason I helped Junko in the first place, and the reason I'm doing what I'm doing now, is because I want to create Despair for Hope to overcome." I raise an eyebrow. "I'm far too worthless to become Hope, myself. So the second best thing is to become Despair and get killed by Hope. I attempted to do so at Towa City, making Komaru that Hope, but sadly that plan failed." That's why Komaru was dragged into that mess?!
"Why did you decide Komaru would be the one to 'become hope' as you say... There were plenty of other hostages to chose from." He sits back as he continues to explain.
"Komaru Naegi... sister to Makoto Naegi... Wouldn't it have been so wonderful to see your own little sister become True Hope?" He speaks in that more high pitched voice again. "It would've meant so much to Towa City, no, to the world if Komaru Naegi became an even stronger hope than her brother before her!" So... Without me... Komaru would've never been dragged into that mess? "Of course, as such a plain girl, I was worried she'd run away or get lost on her journey, so that's why I had Byakuya Togami kidnapped. I knew Toko Fukawa was in the city as well, and I knew of her obsession with the man, so it was easy to manipulate her into doing as I said. That being, helping our Little Miss Protagonist on her mission." Wow... He really planned that out...
"S-So, you were more of a mastermind behind the events at Towa City than Monaca was!" He chuckles innocently at my realisation.
"Me? A 'Mastermind'? Don't be ridiculous. I don't have nearly enough talent for that. No, I was a mere servant to miss Monaca Towa. Monaca was the mastermind for most of the events at Towa City, I merely... set Komaru Naegi up for greatness. Monaca was the incredible mind behind the 'rise of the children'."
"Speaking of Monaca Towa... When we found and captured you, you were with her." He smiled.
"Yes. After her defeat, I saved her from the wreckage of Towa Hills. I thought I could help make her an even greater despair than Junko could have ever wished to be! Also, I cared very much for her and wanted to keep her safe, but I kept that to myself. I couldn't let her hear that I thought she might die without me." He sighed whismically. "I was expecting her to keep treating me like a worthless servant but... but... she didn't! She started calling me 'Big Brother Nagito'! Can you beleive that?! Monaca thought of ME as her 'Big Brother'!" He spoke very excitedly. Wow... he must have some serious self worth issues... He's treating this like he's been touched by god. "But... Future Foundation... You dragged me away from her..." Emotion fills his face. "You took me away from Monaca, kicking and screaming. Why didn't you just bring her along?! She's still a child! She needs someone to protect her!" I see as tears well up in his eyes. "I promised her I wouldn't abandon her! I promised her I wouldn't leave her alone! No child wants to be left alone! I know what it's like to be a child, scared and alone, without anyone to protect me!"
"N-Nagito!" I lean forward and lay a hand on his leg, trying to get him back to reality. Tears run down his face. Crap... I screwed up, didn't I?
"Future Foundation is supposed to  stand for Hope?! REALLY?! And they call US the monsters?! A MONSTER IS SOMEONE WHO LEAVES A CHILD ALONE TO DIE IN A POST-APOCALYPTIC WORLD WITH NOTHING BUT GODDAMN BEAR MACHINES SHE COULD LOSE CONTROL OF AT ANY SECOND!!!" I stand up, not caring if I knock over the laptop recording our words. That doesn't matter right now. What matters is getting Nagito to calm down. I instantly hug him tight, ignoring the risk of possible harm. I can hear his racing heartbeat. Is this a panic attack? Wait, thinking back on the conversation, it's very possible I accidently triggered some of his PTSD... I've dealt with PTSD attacks before, specifically with Byakuya and his past, I know how to handle this... Hopefully.
"Okay Nagito, calm down, breathe, it's okay..." I guide his breathing by example. Our chests are together so it's easy to lead him.
"Good... Just keep breathing..." I feel as he breathes with me and his heartrate goes down.
"I'm sorry about what Future Foundation did... I had no control over that. But, I can see what I can do to help Monaca, okay?" He seems... happier.
"Wow... I was able to get Makoto Naegi to help a peice of disgusting garbage like me? This must be a dream!" Oh no, his heartrate is going up again.
"Nagito, don't work yourself up, just keep breathing with me." He seems to obey my commands immeadiatly. This guy... why does he idolize me but still work for Junko? He just explained it to me, but I really don't understand. I'm probably gonna have to listen to the recording a few times over to get it.
"Are you feeling better now?" I ask before letting him go.
"Yes... Thank you so very much, Makoto Naegi, you truely have a kind heart." I scoot back into my original position and pick up my fallen laptop. No scrapes or scratches, good.
"Okay, I think this interview is over-"
"Makoto?" he inturrupts me.
"Um, yes?"
"Why did you help me just now? I'm your enemy, right?" I blink.
"I don't think that way at all. You and all the other Remnants of Despair, you were manipulated, even possibly brainwashed. Your actions shouldn't be seen as fully your own. I read up on your files back from Hope's Peak Academy, you know. Your class seemed full of wonderful people! The Neo World Program, or The Hope Restoration Program as I like to call it, it'll help you all to become those wonderful people again. We'll try our hardest to heal the trauma that Junko caused you and reverse any brainwashing. I promise." I smile warmly at him as he stares. I hope that speech was good enough to explain my view. After a few moments of silent staring, Nagito laughs and smirks at me.
"Wow, you're gonna try and fix MY trauma? Let's hope I don't overload the machine and break it." I awkwardly laugh along, is it okay to do that? He seems to find it funny.
"Don't worry, we'll handle whatever you got! You and all of your class!" With a wide grin, I stop the recording on my laptop and close it. I'm happy with this result. We got some good info on the incident at Towa City, why Nagito Komaeda does what he does, and I've seemed to give him just a little hope.