Danganronpa Midnight: Lantern Lament (Fanganronpa)

Purgatory 1

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Last Night

The mortician knocked on Akemi's door, rereading the note in his hands.

"What would he want to discuss now...?"

Eventually, the door was pulled back to reveal the theorist standing before him, grinning immediately.

"Ah! Shunsuke...You came! That's great, man." Akemi held his hand out for the other boy to shake.

"Right...Why exactly am I here?" Shunsuke ignored Akemi's hand, already making things awkward.

"Oh, come on in. Don't stress, it's nothing too big."

Akemi moved to the side, allowing Shunsuke to walk in, taking a seat on the bed. The theorist stood against his desk instead, sighing.

"I'm gonna cut to the chase...I got your secret."

Shunsuke paused, slowly looking back at Akemi.

"My...Secret, you say?"

"Yeah. I know you left someone to die. But, it's fine."

Shunsuke didn't reply after that, looking off into the distance almost as if he weren't paying attention.

"I-I won't tell if you want! I mean...I guess it's kinda messed up, but it looks like you've changed, huh?" Akemi nervously laughed. "Sorry if I sound dumb...I'm trying to turn over a new leaf! The first step was to clear things up with you."

Akemi glanced back, noticing Shunsuke was now by a stack of boxes in the corner. He was about to say something, but shook his head and continued. "What I'm saying is...That was in the past, right? And you've obviously changed...And now I'm trying to change!"

Akemi's smile grew even larger, already daydreaming about his new self as he stared out of the doors to his balcony. "This experience has actually made me realise a lot...And your secret helped me realise how much of an asshole I was. So in a sense...I suppose I wanted to say thank yo-"

Before Akemi could finish thanking the boy, he felt two firm hands grip around his throat, cutting him off immediately.

"H-Huh?!?"

Akemi tried to break free and managed to turn around, seeing Shunsuke staring at him straight in the eyes, his hold growing tighter.

"S-Shun...Shunsuke! S...Stop...!"

Akemi's words began to go voiceless as they thrashed around the room, trying to get the upper hand. Boxes and sheets of paper were knocked over and sent flying as they progressed, each second getting harsher than the last. They even managed to move their fight into the balcony for a few moments.

Eventually, Shunsuke pushed Akemi onto the bed, kneeling over him and pushing the other boy into the mattress with his hands. Akemi's arms desperately tried to pull and claw Shunsuke away, soon grabbing and scratching the walls in an attempt to escape.

But it was no use as just a few short struggling breaths later, he passed out.

Shunsuke released his hands and panted after the long battle where he stood as the victor. He looked down at his hands and then at Akemi before clenching them.

He got off the bed and pulled Akemi along behind him. Shunsuke's eyes settled on the balcony, dragging Akemi's body into the night towards the dining room, a certain grandmaster watching them leave with a slight smirk.

"So I see..." she nodded, talking to herself from the doorway to her balcony. "The killing has finally begun! Now the fun can truly begin."

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Purgatory

The mortician awoke in a cold sweat, sitting straight up and glancing down at his torn clothes along with decayed skin all around. He examined up his hands and arms, all covered in blood and scratches. He even had to cough up some soil from his lungs.

Shunsuke slowly stood back up, his head in a spin as he tried to stand still in the void he was now in. The space was mostly empty except for a large screen, displaying what was happening back at the camping grounds along with rows of chairs for people to watch.

One boy sat, his arms crossed as he stared at the screen completely bored. But at the sound of Shunsuke's arrival, he turned his head.

"Oh."

It was Akemi, exactly as how Shunsuke had last seen him. Bloody, carved and breathless. He rubbed the back of his neck as the other approached.

"Hey..."

"Hi..."

Then it was just uncomfortable silence.

"I'm...I'm sorry," Akemi admitted.

"Hm? Why are you the one who's sorry?" Shunsuke wondered.

"I-I mean...You must have gotten pissed! You killed me, man."

"...I'm the one who's sorry."

"Huh?"

"I acted without reason, overcome with emotion...And because of that, I let another person die by my hands. It's..It's all my fault. I started the killing." Shunsuke's lips quivered as he fiddled with the remaining rings on his finger, noticing that his family heirloom was still missing.

"I...I just wanted to thank you for helping me realise how much of an asshole I was being with your secret. That was all..."

Shunsuke couldn't reply to Akemi once again, his eyes wandering.

"It's...It's fine now. People can really change, huh?" He awkwardly laughed and tried to cheer Shunsuke up as the two were left in uncomfortable silence once more, unsure of what to do now with each other.

"What is this place?" Shunsuke broke the silence with his question.

"From what I've gathered...It's a sort of purgatory state where the dead must go. Here we're expected to watch the others back on the campsite with the other dead folk." Akemi theorised. "Like some twisted cinema."

"I...I see." Shunsuke inspected the room but stopped. "Peculiar."

"What...?"

"I don't see Shimura."

"Shimura?" Akemi repeated. "I've been waiting for more people, so I haven't been paying attention to the screen. I didn't know Shimura was dead..."

Akemi thought for a second, putting his talent to good use.

"...Shimura is one smart guy."

"Hm?"

"I don't know what he's planning, but if he ain't here, he must still be on the camping grounds! But what is he thinking of doing...? The guy faked his death though, that's for sure."

"...I underestimated how intelligent you are." Shunsuke smiled lightly.

"U-Underestimated? Come on...I'm not that stupid looking!" Akemi cried.

"No, no...You're fine. I wouldn't have figured that out. It's quite an intriguing plan. Now...We should take a seat. The others must be in for a long journey."

"Oh yeah..."

The two sat in front of the screen, awkwardly separated by two chairs. Seems a few things still went unresolved between them...

Then it was back to yet again more uncomfortable silence.

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14/16