Part 18

46 2 2
                                    

It was after 10:00 P.M. Makoto had spent the better part of six hours giving his testimony. He was so exhausted, he didn’t even have the energy to retort when his mother picked him up at the police station and started scolding him.

What a terrible day, he complained to himself, letting out another sigh as he and his mother left the station. I completely missed that music show too, he thought, remembering the TV program an old classmate of his was supposed to appear in. It wasn’t the end of the world, though—she would most likely make many television appearances in the coming months. She was, after all, a member of an incredibly popular girl group.

What Makoto really wanted to do was sleep. He wanted to go home, collapse into his bed, and put the worst day ever behind him as soon as humanly possible.

He did still have one thing to take care of tomorrow: apologizing to the guys he had left at the park. They probably assumed he’d pocketed their money and ditched them. He doubted they were happy, and he was sure he was in for a rough time convincing them of what had actually happened.

The very thought of what lay ahead for him multiplied Makoto’s exhaustion. Seeing her son’s dejected face, Makoto’s mother did something unusual and hailed a taxi. The Naegi family tended to be rather frugal, but she must have felt bad enough for him to make an exception.

The drive from the station to their house took around thirty minutes, and the whole way, Makoto stared out the window at the scenery rushing past and prayed that nothing else would happen. It was only natural, considering how unlucky he had been that day. The air in the taxi was so tense, Makoto almost wished they had taken the train instead, like always.

But Makoto’s worries were for naught. They arrived home in one piece.

As he and his mother climbed out of the taxi, Makoto let out a sigh of relief. When he opened the front door—

“M-Makoto! Big news! Big, big news!” his younger sister shouted, charging him. Her face was red as a tomato.

“N-News?” Makoto asked, his body tensing up.

“U-Umm, uh, I, uh, y-you... you promise you won’t freak out?”

“Who’s the one freaking out?”

“Good point,” she said. She rested her hand on her chest, took several deep breaths, and then muttered, “Imagine everyone in their underwear,” under her breath three times. “H-Here. Look at this,” she finally said, extending her shaking right hand toward him. She was holding a white envelope.

“What is this?” Makoto asked, taking the parcel from his sister’s hand and examining it. The envelope was a fairly thick paper, and “Mr. Makoto Naegi” was printed in large letters on the front. It was, indeed, addressed to him, but he didn’t get what the big deal was.

“Th-The back,” his sister said. “Look at the back.”

“The back?” Makoto parroted, then flipped the envelope over. “Huh?!” he shouted, completely caught off-guard.

Danganronpa Secret File Makoto Naegi's Worst Day EverWhere stories live. Discover now