~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kaede Akamatsu
"And it was pretty much the same situation with you!"
Makoto had just finished giving his... lengthy explanation of what happened.
"So... Rantaro is still alive too?" I awkwardly tugged at my neck brace.
"Yep! And he didn't have to go through a punishment so he wasn't..." Makoto eyed my neck. "Well, he wasn't out for as long as you were."
"Out? How long was I unconscious?"
"Oh, not long, I'd say... a few days or so?"
Suddenly, a terrible thought crossed through my mind. I turned to Makoto with a more serious look on my face.
"You said the killing game was all for a TV show, right?"
"That's right." Makoto nodded to me.
"Is there any way I could watch and see what's going on in there right now?"
"Yes, actually! Usually we have a few people monitoring the killing game with the TVs in the cafeteria-"
"Great, can you take me there?" I interrupted Makoto.
"Of course!"
I pushed against the bed, struggling to stand up. The second I rose up, my legs began to quiver, buckling under my weight. I stumbled back onto the bed. Makoto gave a gentle chuckle, then pulled a wheelchair out of the room's closet.
"You'll probably need this until you get all healed up."
Makoto helped roll me along to the cafeteria, where a few other people were gathered. There was a swirly haired girl in a red jacket, a lanky guy in a yellow jumpsuit, and a tie-wearing guy struggling to squeeze the last bit of yogurt out of a tube and sitting next to a laptop with a picture of a girl on it. The swirly haired girl locked eyes with me, flashed a huge smile, then ran up to hug me.
"Piano girl! You're doing okay!"
"Oh, thank you!" I couldn't help but smile at her concern. "It's Kaede Akamatsu, by the way."
"Good to know!" The girl stuck her hand out to me. "I'm Aoi Asahina, but you can call me Hina!"
I went to shake her hand. She had a much stronger grip than I anticipated, causing me to flinch a little. Makoto patted my shoulder and gestured towards Hina.
"She's the one who pulled you out of the killing game, you know."
"Hey!" Hina looked down, embarrassed. "No need to oversell it, I mean, it wasn't that hard."
"So this is the other survivor, eh?" Jumpsuit guy squinted at me. "I'm Kazuichi Soda. I'm sorta the tech guy around here."
The laptop screen lit up and the girl on it began speaking. "Oh, we're doing introductions? I'm Chiaki Nanami, and Kazuichi promised he'd build me a robot body one day."
"I most certainly did not!" Kazuichi recoiled back in shock. "You're way overestimating my skills as a mechanic!"
Everyone slowly grew quiet and turned to look at tie guy, grunting as he squeezed on his yogurt tube. Makoto spoke up.
"Um... Hajime?"
Tie guy jolted back suddenly, squirting yogurt all over his face. He gave a frustrated huff.
"I'm Hajime Hinata."
Snickering at Hajime, everyone else returned to what they were doing. Wheeling me to their table, Makoto pointed towards one of the television sets.
"See that right there? That's the live feed of everything going on in Danganronpa V3."
"It's pretty interesting." Hina turned to me, stuffing popcorn in her mouth. "I'm really liking this tennis player guy, I'm excited to see what happens with his character."
"That's Ryoma," I corrected her, "And they're more than just characters, these are real people."
Hina smiled and pointed a finger to me. "You're right."
"So, Kaede..." Makoto sat down in a chair next to me. "Is there any reason you wanted to see the live feed?"
I took a moment and thought about that question. I knew the answer, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to share it yet. But, deep down, I still felt strongly about watching the television.
I want to see him.
"Oh, nothing serious." I looked back at Makoto, feigning my usual smile. "I just wanted to see how everyone is doing!"
"Well," Makoto pointed to the screen, "It looks like they're doing pretty good to me!"
There he was.
I was right. He does look better without the hat.
I sat there, silently watching for a moment. Everyone seemed so somber. I guess they hadn't gotten over me yet. Well, me and Rantaro. Wait a second- Rantaro!
"Makoto!" I did a sharp turn to face him.
"What's up?" Makoto leaned his hand on the handle of my wheelchair.
"You said Rantaro was still alive, right...?"
"Yep." He nodded.
"Do you know where he is right now?"
Listening to our conversation, Hina stood up and chimed in. "Oh, I know! I was talking to him earlier and he mentioned hanging out in the library."
"There's a library!?" This bunker was far more lavish than I had pictured.
"Yeah, Byakuya specifically requested it." Makoto gave a sheepish smile. "It's down the hall there, to the right. You can't miss it."
"Thanks guys!" I turned away, and made my way off.
I was about to see Rantaro Amani, who I had killed. Or, wait, I guess I didn't kill him, but that's only because of Makoto's rescue mission. I was about to meet with Rantaro Amani, who I had almost killed. I really hope that doesn't make things awkward between us.
I had wheeled my way down to the library door, and headed inside. Rows and rows of old books lined the walls. Nothing published past the year 1949 was present in the collection. I guess that Byakuya guy must have made all of the selections. Near the front, there was a smaller bookshelf with... teen vampire romance novels? Those were probably someone else's choice. Either that, or Byakuya was a secret Twilight fan.
Behind a large bookshelf to the left of me was a large sofa placed in front of a coffee table and a whiteboard with pictures of... us tacked onto it.
I guess this was their way of finding out the next victim? It seemed a little sloppy to me, but I suppose their whole rescue plan was made pretty haphazardly.
"Well, now, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"
I heard a voice from behind me. I turned around, and there he was: Rantaro Amani. Makoto had already told me how they'd rescued him, but it was still weird seeing him in person. I mean, just a few days ago, I saw his corpse lying in front of me! My eyes began to water, and a huge smile grew across my face.
"Rantaro!! You're alive!!"
"Yeah, I guess I am!" Rantaro chuckled for a moment, then tilted his head looking at me.
"Woah, what's with the getup?" He gestured to my neck brace and wheelchair.
"Oh, that." I wiped my eyes clear and wheeled myself closer to him. "I was hanged, and apparently, that's not so good on your central nervous system. Makoto's having me use this until my legs start working again."
"Hanged?" Rantaro seemed shocked. "How'd that happen?"
"I was executed. Well, nearly executed. For your murder, actually." I paused for a moment, then gasped. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I had forgot- I'm sorry I tried to kill you!"
"Hey, hey." Rantaro gave me a calming little wave. "It's okay, water under the bridge. You were trying to end that stupid killing game, after all. I think that could warrant a little murder."
Rantaro winked and flashed a smirk. I'm glad he's not angry at me. I guess we all could really used his easygoing attitude right now. Still, even after all he's said, I still felt this guilt, this uneasiness gnawing at me. The reason I was here right now was because I had tried to murder Rantaro. Even if I didn't know it was him, I still almost killed him. Maybe I didn't deserve to be rescued.
I sniffled as tears began flowing from my eyes. Rantaro must have known what I was feeling, because his eyes brightened up as he went in to console me.
"Say, why don't we play something? They've got some board games over on the other side of the room that we could try!"
"Okay." I took in a sharp breath. "What do you want to play?"
"How about chess? That's a thinking game, it's sure to get your mind off things."
"Yeah." I wiped my eyes and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds nice."
~~~~~
We were several turns into our chess game, and I still wasn't quite sure if I was winning or losing. Rantaro had taken one of my knights and a rook, but I had gotten his queen, so it was anyone's game. My fingers trembled before I picked up each piece, and I wasn't sure if that was because of nerves or my near-death experience. Trying to break the tension, I spoke up.
"So, did you ever remember your talent?"
"No, actually." Rantaro leaned forward in his chair. "To be honest, my memory's been all weird after they took me out of the killing game."
Now that I think about it, that was true for me too. I remembered everything so clearly when I was in the killing game, but now it was all murky. Makoto said something about that, didn't he? About how they implanted false memories into us in the killing game? Right now, there were only two things I knew for sure- I am Kaede Akamatsu, and I like playing the piano.
"I think Makoto told me something about that." I responded to Rantaro. "They had some way of rewriting our memories back there."
"Woah, that's scary." Rantaro's eyes widened. "So, how much of what I know is real?"
"I'm not sure." I furrowed my brow. "Makoto said that there are limits to their memory control, but I can't quite remember what they were."
"Hm. Well, I hope there's a way they can get our real memories back to us."
"I'm sure they will." I was not sure, but if I said the words, maybe I would be. "And hey- if they can save us from death, then I'm sure some memory restoration won't be a problem!"
"I sure hope so." Rantaro seemed weirdly focused, and not just on our chess game.
After a few more turns, it looked like I had the upper hand. Rantaro's king was trapped in a corner. Just one more move and I'd finish him off.
"And," I slid my bishop into place, "that's checkmate!"
"Say, you're pretty good at this!" Rantaro rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. "You're a lot smarter than I took you for."
"Hey! what's that supposed to mean!?"
"Oh, no, no!" Rantaro's eyes widened. "That's not what I meant! It's just that-"
"It's okay, Rantaro!" I laughed, cutting him off. "I'm just messing with you."
He laughed it off with me. "Sorry, I guess I've just been a little on edge recently."
Me too, Rantaro. Me too.
It had gotten late, and I needed a place to sleep. Luckily, Makoto had prepared a dorm room for me to stay in. I wheeled myself down the hall until I reached my door:
K. Akamatsu
Yep, that was my doorplate, all right. Unless there was another "K-name Akamatsu" I didn't know about. I opened the door, and my eyes lit up with pure joy. My bed had piano themed bedsheets! And on top of it sat a piece of paper. I picked it up and read it.
Kaede-
I know this whole situation is a little weird and kind of scary, so I thought I'd get you a little something to make sure you're comfortable. Chiaki and I picked these sheets out for you and had them ordered online. They're fresh, too, so enjoy the smell while you can!
Makoto
I smiled and held the paper close to my chest. I know it's not a lot, but this really did help me feel better. Just the knowledge that these people care enough about me to get me special bedsheets put me at ease. Things may have been scary for a while, and they might be still, but here, I'm safe.
I put on my pajamas and wrapped myself up in blankets. I had slept in a place like this during the killing game, a dorm that I wasn't familiar with. But here, things felt different. Everything was much warmer, much softer than before. Even though I was new here, this place was welcoming to me.
And here, I was safe.