Requested by @XsidereusX. I kind of went purely on headcanons for how the killing game was set up, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!
Fic title: Get The Man A Place In DR!
Y/N's POV
The letter of acceptance came through my door at around seven in the morning. My mother was the one who read it, actually, and she screamed the house down with excitement and joy and anxiety for me. The character I'd submitted to play had been accepted - the Ultimate Donor. It was a self-insert, but a good one at that. Most people's characters were self inserts tweaked by the mastermind.
I'd taken my outfit of choice for the killing game to the organisers' offices. They'd clone the outfit for the killing game, for my new persona. So, I didn't need to dress up fancy. I just threw on a f/c sweatshirt, jeans, a pair of sneakers and tore a brush through my hair.
I said goodbye to my family that day. I promised I'd return with hope on my side. They believed in me. It was all they could do at that point.
I took the train. My picture had been released onto the official Team Danganronpa website (they had a photoshoot for each student participating, which I thought was a nice touch) so hundreds of people stopped me on the way, asking me to sign things, asking me to take a selfie.
I accepted, humbled, and ended up running against the clock.
I was on the block where we would be flown off to Hope's Peak Academy for Gifted Juveniles and placed inside the school, dolled up and ready. However, we had to be there ready to get on the plane by eight in the morning. Sharp. It was seven fifty five and I'd yet to even get in the building. I had a small luggage bag of items I wanted to take into the game. Nothing personal, of course, just things like phones and books and things to do. Apparently it was vital for one of the motives. I took a crossword book, mostly for on the plane, but I hid messages in each page, a word that could lead me to the answer.
Fictional
World
Ewe
Will
Bee
Inside
It roughly meant that I - my character - would be inside a fictional world. Maybe they'd confiscate it, maybe I'd get it in the game, who knew? Logical thinking told me that they'd find it. Still, I'd rather die trying. That's what Danganronpa was all about.
I threw open the doors to the large building, an airport and office combined, calling out that I was ready to go. A few interns took my bags away and escorted me down to the plane.
One stood out more than the others. Blue hair, grey baseball cap, sparkling curious eyes masked by a subtle shadow.
He was blushing.
"Are... you okay?" I asked, trying not to sound arrogant because of my position.
The stranger looked up a bit at me. "Oh, no no no, sorry, I just thought you... you look cool. I bet you'll look great in the game..." His voice died towards the end.
I lifted his cap slightly. "Is something up, dude?'
"...I don't know, it's dumb. Besides, you have to get on the plane soon, Y/N— I mean, sir."
"You know my name?" The question was stupid. Most people did. Still, I was confused at the idea this amazing guy seemed so adamant about calling me it. A fan? Maybe. Wow, I had actual fans since when?
"Wait..." I paused, stopping. He looked up at me anxiously. "What's your name?"
"Y-You're going to miss the flight!"
"I'm Y/N L/N. You are...?"
He sighed his nerves away. "Shuichi Saihara."
It clicked with me in that moment. The sad, almost wistful, eyes. The small smile when he was talking about me in the killing game. The slight... distance, I felt between us.
It hit me.
"You want to be in the game, don't you?"
He stood, stunned, in the middle of the corridor. The other interns had hurried ahead with my bags.
"I... I don't think people should die for our entertainment." He whispered, barely glancing up. "I wanted to try and change it, but they turned my application away."
A determined flash masked my face. "We're getting you on that plane."
"Wh-What?!"
"Shuichi, there's still time. I'll tell them I'm giving up my place for you. Look, here, before I do..." I fumbled around in my backpack, the one thing I still had on me, and handed him the crossword book. "It has a message in it, and I think you'll crack it in the game."
"I-I-I can't just... take your place..." He spluttered.
I placed my hands firmly on his shoulders. "You have a belief. I may want this game to continue, but if you can find a way to make that happen without people getting hurt, sign me up. We're getting you on that plane, Shuichi."
His face was bright red.
The duo practically flew down the corridor to the organisers' office and slammed the door open. Tsumugi Shirogane, infamous DR organiser, looked up in surprise. "Y/N? You should be on the plane by now. And who's that?"
"Shuichi Saihara, Ultimate...?"
"Ultimate Detective, yeah." He'd clearly given his character a lot of thought.
"I told you, your application was turned away—"
"—He's taking my place, Miss Shirogane."
Shirogane glanced him up and down. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely." We said in unison.
Shirogane pinched the bridge of her nose. "If you're going to be so adamant about it, fine, but you have a lot of nerve to come bursting in half an hour before we board the plane. Shuichi, you're taking the new protagonist spot. I'll be forced to throw something together from some failed designs of Y/N's costume."
"I-I'm going to be wearing his clothes?"
"Don't get flustered on me, Shu, we don't have time." She threw open a closet of unused clothes. They'd been leaked to the public months prior, and Shirogane tossed a grey and black striped shirt and pants at him. "Take them on the plane with you, since we don't have time to pack them. Now, out of my office." Her tone lightened a bit, having sorted out the predicament. "I suppose a slight twist behind the scenes will keep the audience engaged, won't it?"
Shuichi nodded, almost scrambling out of the office. The second the door closed, I knew I couldn't stay for long. I'd have to be escorted out to watch Shuichi win the killing game.
Without thinking, I kissed him on the nose. "End it. End Danganronpa. Make it a happy series again."
I left without a word.
Shuichi's POV
He'd gone. He'd just up and bolted out of the building.
When I was on the plane, I saw the message. The words that would lead me to the conclusion in game. Thankfully, Team Danagnronpa hadn't confiscated it.
I thought about Y/N, even when fellow competitors tried to chat with me.
Even as my memory was being wiped clean, my mind could only sweetly recall Y/N L/N's lips.
Y/N L/N.
Y/N L/N.
Y/N L/N.
Y/—
Y/N's POV
I watched him progress through The Prologue live with some girl called Kaede. Envy consumed me. He'd still know me when I got out of the game, right?
...Right...?
Even so, over the months, hope was being lost. Trial after trial went by, until he finally looked in the crossword book.
Fictional
World
Ewe
Will
Bee
Inside
Then, he debunked it. The trial was quick and dramatic and a grande finale that the fans deserved. There'd been an agreement - alternative games would be made where nobody had to die.
The second I heard the news, I ran to catch the tram back to the Team Danganronpa Office. I waited as survivors stepped out and fans swarmed them. Shuichi was almost immediately tackled by fangirls, praised for ending the game so well.
His eyes landed on me. He stepped forward, looking down at me.
"Do... I know you?"
My heart broke in two.
Word count - 1379.