Danganronpa: Island Life

Chapter 8: CONFLICTED

Hajime: 'I like you... I really like you... I really, really like you... I love you?' It was morning, and Hajime was just getting back from his night shift at the control room. This was only his first shift, and he spent it thinking about how he would confess. 

All the information that Hajime and the others learned about the research facility was true, a small building was located where the ranch used to be. Every single member of the group that didn't escape alongside Hajime and the others were currently comatose in the control room, showing absolutely no signs of waking up... besides what Kazuichi said about Nagito. 

Hajime: "Why does this have to be so hard?" Hajime smacked himself as he walked through his cottage door.

Pure nervousness. His body shook just out of pure nervousness. Even if he had wanted to, he couldn't fall asleep right now. Especially after deciding that today was the day, he was planning to go for it. Rejection was anticipated, and to be honest, feared.

Hajime: "All right... I'm going to... I'm really doing this." He said to himself as he took note of his deteriorating condition. From the bathroom mirror, he could see that he was sweating profusely, and that his hands wouldn't stop shaking. Hajime had never confessed his feelings to a girl before, so being nervous is understandable. His eyes shot away from his reflection as he cursed out loud. Clearly, he was being a bit too hasty in making his decision, but he had made up his mind.

He still planned on doing it today, but he thought it would be best if he at least got some sleep. He moved over to his bed, flopping onto it in a single motion. He stared at the ceiling, slowing his breathing, trying as hard as he could to relax. He didn't sleep as he had intended, continuing to stare upwards as he laid on his back.

Trying to relax only put him more on edge, he knew he had something to be anxious about, and staring at nothing would do nothing to make that feeling go away. And as intelligent as he was at this point in time, he couldn't think of anything that would stop his heart from racing.

He decided to close his eyes, a yawn escaped his mouth once, and then another one followed. He rolled out of bed quickly, not wanting to succumb to sleep after all. He yawned again when he stood up, stretching his arms over his head. He threw off his clothes without a second thought, deciding spontaneously to take a shower. As the ice-cold water spewed out from above him, he breathed in a calming rhythm. He would use this time to try and rid himself of his nervousness.

Hajime: 'Is this the right thing to do? What's more important? Am I good enough for her? No, I can't answer that myself. But... what would you say? Would you be annoyed with me?... Or would you cheer me on?'

===========Meanwhile===========

Akane: "Ah." Akane winced when she saw the state of her hands, her knuckles were cut up and bruised, trickles of blood dripping from her wounds. She had been at the beach since she woke up that morning and had been venting her accumulated anger by punching one of the scattered palm trees.

*Crack!*

The joints in her hand popped when her fist came down on the tree trunk again, the entire tree rattled and shook as she continued slamming her fists against it again and again. Her wounds were now producing even more blood, staining the tree as she kept assaulting it.

Akane: "Ah crap..." She stopped her odd form of training when she noticed a slip of white paper on the ground. She bent over and picked it up, shaking the grains of sand off it while straightening it out. "Idiot..."

She licked the back of the paper and slapped it onto the tree again. On the beaten sheet of parchment was a name, written quickly and crudely, it was the name of her green and red-eyed friend. In her mind, she wasn't taking her anger out on a tree, she was taking it out on him.