89Disclaimer: It's been a month! But I have not gained the rights to Danganronpa since then...
Chapter 6 – The Reprieve
The shutter-less stairway to the second floor looked oddly imposing to the Luckster and his assistant. The two stared at it, perturbed, and unsure how to proceed.
Sayaka squeezed Makoto's hand tighter.
"Naegi-kun, are you ready?"
He nodded slowly.
"Yeah… yeah, I am. It's just worrying is all. Though, I guess everything about this place could make one feel that way."
The idol couldn't disagree with that sentiment.
"We'll just have to keep our hopes up then!" he suddenly exclaimed. "If we do that we'll finally get out of here!"
Sayaka giggled.
"That was so cheesy, Naegi-kun."
"Wh-what? I thought it was cool!"
She patted his head with a smile on her face.
"No, of course Naegi-kun. I'm sorry. It was very cool." He blushed abashedly. "Shall we proceed?"
Ignoring the feeling in his gut that she was being patronizing towards him, they began to slowly ascend the stairwell; their hearts jumping in their chests the entire time.
Then…
"Well, that was anti-climactic."
To be fair, Makoto wasn't entirely sure what to expect when he got to the second floor. It being just another long-stretching hallway, though, wasn't high on his list.
"I don't know about that," Sayaka disagreed. "I'm actually happy about it looking the part of being... normal? For this place anyway. I just really don't feel like dealing with anything serious today."
That was something Makoto could whole-heartedly agree with. After yesterday…
He shook his head.
"Let's explore then!"
Sayaka smiled brightly at him and nodded.
"Right! Where to first, Investigator Makoto?"
He blinked.
"Wait, didn't you call me detective a few minutes ago?"
The bluenette shrugged.
"Yeah, but I don't know if I like it as much as I thought. I'll keep the nicknames coming until I eventually come up with one that…" she trailed off.
"That…?" Makoto stared expectantly.
She blushed prettily.
"That best explains how I feel about you…"
"Wha-?"
"As a friend of course!"
Sayaka grinned as Makoto face-faulted to the ground. Messing with him was always so much fun.
"Naegi-kun I'm just joking."
He quickly got back up.
"Then does that mean-?"
"That I like you?"
The Luckster pouted.
"Are you sure you're not a psychic?"
She giggled.
"No, I said I wasn't, silly! I just have great intuition."
Makoto sighed.
"Right. Of course, you do. Not only that, you're also really smart. Kirigiri-san said as much too."
Immediately Sayaka felt her good mood, and teasing visage evaporate. A shudder ran down the idol's back. Her mind plaguing her with images of her best friend without her.
Why was he always talking about that girl? Why was he always talking with that girl? Wasn't she enough? Would he just get rid of her? Was she truly that disposable to him? Maybe she-!
"A-ano, Maizono-san…? Are you alright…?"
An imaginary bucket of cold water washed over her at his voice. What was she thinking!? Causing Makoto problems was something she promised she'd never do.
Was she really so shallow to go back on that so soon?
"No. It's nothing, Naegi-kun." She forced a smile on her face. "Sorry… I'm just feeling a little under the weather today, is all."
Makoto, sweet naïve Makoto, accepted the excuse and smiled at her apologetically.
"I understand. It felt so easy to get myself out of bed this morning, but the thoughts are constantly at the back of my mind. It's… unreal, what happened."
Sayaka nodded absentmindedly, not really listening. Try as she might, her mind was refusing to let her out of jealousy's grasp.
Time for a distraction, then.
"I was thinking maybe we could start by investigating the library?"
Makoto looked confused at Sayaka's suggestion. More than likely because she had been so insistent on him choosing where they go up until this point.
He went with it, however.
"Uh, sure! I guess we can start there. Maybe we'll find a clue or something?"
Sayaka breathed a sigh of relief at the successful diversion.
"Yeah. Maybe."
Checking the library, as it turns out, was a bad idea. Of course, Byakuya had a way of making any situation into a negative one. Perhaps a hidden talent? Sayaka could see it.
How did it even get to this point, anyway? They were just trying to get this laptop to work!
"Pointlessly", according to the Scion.
"What do you simpletons even hope to achieve with that thing, anyway?" he looked at them, pitifully. "it is broken, and even if it weren't, there was nothing to be gained, I am sure of it. Did we not conclude as such earlier? The mastermind would not simply leave any clues for our escape out in the open."
Makoto looked conflicted as Sayaka frowned.
"Yeah, we did, but that doesn't mean we can't check for-!"
"Don't waste your breath on me, worthless girl."
Her breath hitched.
"Worthless…?"
Byakuya sneered.
"Yes, worthless. Pathetic. Beneath me." He growled. "Because of you, your knight in shining armor here, and Kirigiri, I was made to look the fool the other night. Who exactly do you think you're going against, here!?"
"Togami-san calm down!" Makoto yelled. Standing protectively in front of Sayaka he narrowed his eyes. "There's no reason to get so angry at Maizono-san for something that wasn't her fault. Kirigiri-san and I decided to do that without consulting you so-"
"No." Byakuya turned around. "I will not listen to your tripe, any further. The two of you, leave my presence. Now."
In any other situation, Sayaka would get ready to argue their position but she still felt rattled. Makoto noticed and quickly took her by the hand, out of the room.
He turned to her uncertainly. "You okay, Maizono-san…?" It was quite a stupid question in retrospect, because she quite obviously was not 'okay'. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Mondo, Chihiro and Kyoko all entered the library. The shouting from inside was getting quite loud.
But nothing would get him to leave the girl shivering in his hand.
"Yes… yes I am it's just…" she closed her eyes and attempted to level out her breathing. "That word… worthless, and the others he used, just brought up memories I didn't want to think about."
Makoto looked upset.
"Have people called you that, before?"
Sayaka looked at her friend. She considered answering truthfully.
"No." 'Yes.' "No one has ever called me that. I don't think so anyway." 'I did.'
The performer shook her head and smiled brightly.
"Sorry, Naegi-kun. I didn't intend to be so much of a drag today. I've been a bit moody, I apologize. I know you wanted to hang out with me, and I didn't mean to bring you down…"
He waved his hands in front of him in denial.
"N-no! No, it's okay Maizono-san. I said it before, and it's true: I'm always happy to spend time with you, even if we don't really do anything productive."
Her smile became more tender in nature.
"Thank you Naegi-kun. That's very sweet of you." She turned to look around the area. "So, the library was a bust. Where to, now?"
Makoto considered the question for a moment.
"How about the pool back there-?"
"THERE'S A POOL!?"
Sayaka's outburst was unexpected. Evidently, judging by her rapidly blushing face she hadn't expected to have been so loud, either.
"You must really enjoy swimming, huh?"
"Yeah… I do." she agreed, in a more subdued manner. "I don't get to go often due to my schedule, but whenever I can, I always enjoy myself. It's so… relaxing, freeing. It's like being on stage to me. Except I'm only performing for myself."
Makoto looked deep in thought.
"I never thought of it that way." He admitted. "I wonder if athletes feel that way too?"
Sayaka shrugged. "Probably. I think everyone has that release, to some degree. Something that they are good at being one, and another; something that they enjoy. They don't always need to be the same thing."
"I see…"
The idol looked at her companion in concern.
"Naegi-kun…?" she spoke softly. "are you alright…?"
"Hu-huh?" he blinked. "uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm good. Sorry about that. Ready to check out the pool?"
Sayaka frowned. She wanted to push, but to do so would be hypocritical.
"Sure." she relented.
"Wow, this place is huge!"
"Yeah, you said it…"
Sayaka was in awe. For such a terrifying establishment, she couldn't deny it has fantastic amenities. The facilities, such as this one, were mind-blowing simply due to their grand scale.
"Hey, Hina! Are you going to swim?" Makoto suddenly yelled. He waved to the swimmer on the other side of the pool, with an excited grin on his face. "You must be excited! I remember you telling me how much you miss it."
The swimmer approached the duo, her smile pained in a rather noticeable manner.
"Hey, Naegi-kun… nah, I just wanted to look at it. The sight of water calms me down." She chuckled mirthlessly. "That must sound stupid, I know."
He shook his head in denial.
"N-no! Not at all, Hina! I understand completely. Especially from someone in your position."
Hina looked slightly happier at that. Sayaka frowned at the girl in concertation. She wished she could do something to help her-
"Hey, Maizono-chan." Leon snuck in. "Have a minute? I wanted to talk to you about something."
No. Not now.
She tried to signal to Makoto that she wanted out.
Apparently, they had very different interpretations of said signal.
"Did you want to talk for a bit, Hina?" Makoto offered. "I may not be the most social person ever, but I've been told that I'm a good listener!"
Hina looked taken aback by the offer. She momentarily considered her options before eventually settling for a tentative nod.
"Great!"
Makoto smiled and led her away, giving Sayaka a thumbs up. Said idol just sighed at her friend's obliviousness. Though, to be fair, this all could have been avoided if she just told him her suspicions.
That could devolve into ranting, though, which may lead to him being freaked out by her. The idol couldn't take that. Not again.
She'd just have to suck it up for the moment.
"Yes, Kuwata-kun…?" she asked, as polite as possible. "what did you want to ask me…?"
"Well, two things actually." The redhead began, chuckling awkwardly. "First… do you have any tips for getting into the music industry?"
The question surprised her.
"The music industry…?" she asked with a tinge of shock in her voice. "Why do you want to know that?"
Leon rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I actually want to be a singer someday, a punk singer to be exact. Baseball was always kind of a thing I did because I was good at it. Not because I enjoyed it, ya know?"
No, Sayaka didn't know. This was all new information to her. Still…
"My knowledge of rock music, outside of its actual genre and the artists that accompany it is limited, sadly. I wouldn't be able to help you, Kuwata-kun." That and she had serious doubts he could actually sing. She was excellent at reading people, and the baseball star came off as incredibly lazy; a toxic trait that Sayaka never handled particularly well. You don't get a free pass into an industry as busy as hers without a real reason for it: talent or connections, and she had no intention of promoting someone like that.
"Aw man," Leon moaned. He did not look particularly upset Sayaka noticed with a barely hidden snarl. "Well, my other question is a bit easier to answer, I guess."
"Oh…?" she gave a pleasant smile. "Go on?"
"Are you single?"
That moment shut down the entire conversation. She stayed silent.
"A-ah I was just curious, Maizono-chan! You're beautiful and talented and I'm sure that-!"
"Ano, Kuwata-kun?" Sayaka cut him off, curtly. "I am feeling a little under the weather today, I apologize. I was actually planning on going back to my room for the night."
The athlete looked taken aback momentarily but regained his footing quickly.
"That's fine! No worries! Here, I'll walk you back-"
"No, thank you." She backed up quickly, taking a glance at Makoto out of the corner of her eye. She desperately wanted him to notice her and come help, but he seemed preoccupied. "I'll be going now. Goodbye."
Sayaka left in a hurry, shame evident on her face. The expression he made when she turned away, planted itself in her brain. A parasite that was unlikely to leave.
It was stuck there.
Sayaka closed her bedroom door behind her, with more force than intended. Keeping up a front was difficult when the only person you trusted was the one person you refused to talk to about your problems.
"I can't be selfish." She repeated as a mantra, locking the door behind her and climbing into bed.
"I'm just overreacting, after all…" Sayaka mumbled. "I'm sure I am. I'm sure. I'm sure."
'I'm not.'
Because no matter how much she denied it, she had seen those eyes before.
And it terrified her.
Side Note: You'll probably notice that some things about how this relates to canon is different. This was intentional. I'll leave the parts that I feel won't change, but depending who is alive, and at what times, can greatly alter the plot. :P Also certain conversations I just won't write out; it's been done to death in the game and in other fanfics. I'll leave some of those to your guys' imaginations ;).
A/N: Damn I'm almost a week late with this upload. Sorry guys. I was transferring to a new computer and lost some chapters of fanfics I was working on... this was one of them :/ As compensation, except the next chapter earlier than usual :D. Hopefully I can find the next couple chapters! (As a side note, this arc is harder to write than the others following it lol. It's just… chapters 2 and 3 in Danganronpa were really dry imo so it's hard to do anything with it. I pray it's not too boring!)
Reviewer Responses:
Doomqwer: Thanks man! It's gonna be a bit slower going for a while, but I'm definitely enjoying the concept of developing her:).
Glover64: Hina is by far one of my favourite characters in the series, so I hope this chapter highlighted how she's feeling for the moment. We'll come back to her don't worry:)
Jpach07: Yeah, almost Stockholm syndrome-like XD but not my intention lol. It is ironic ain't it?
Jpach07 (2): Nope Kyoko is very… Kyoko-like;p. She is not one of my favourites tbh but I love writing her:p. It's fun.
Guest: Thanks fam! Get ready for more chapters heading your way :D
Western-Otaku: No you didn't, I just got the internet back a day after you posted that review so that kicked me into overdrive XD. Appreciate the support!