Danganronpa THH: Resurgence

Chapter 5: A New Dawn

Waking up from his head on the desk, Shimizu stretches his arms and takes a deep breath. The peaceful silence of the morning - if that is what it truly is - embraces him as he rises to his feet and begins his daily morning routine.

Silence creates the loudest noise as they say. In this silence, he can feel everyone's hopes and wishes.

"What is this?"

"That fucking bear is going to get it."

"D-Die.... D-Die?!"

"...horrible."

"Sayaka."

Their thoughts entwine with his and Shimizu groans in agony. Kneeling on the floor, he grips his head and the pain releases a new wave of torment.

It doesn't stop.

"Stop....stop.....stop...stop....stop!" He bangs his head against the floor and rolls on the ground in agony. He doesn't want to think anymore. The pain never subsided but only grew more, as if taking delight in his torment. His screams merely fuelled the engine of it.

"How long are you going to act like this?" A voice asks him.

As Shimizu lifts his gaze, he's met with the sight of a man staring back at him. The man's eyes are a fierce shade of red, almost glowing in intensity. His hair, a sleek silver-grey, falls neatly over his face, framing his features that are both familiar and enigmatic. He's dressed in a white cloak and white tactical pants, but there's something different about his outfit that Shimizu can't quite put his finger on.

"How long are you going to act like this?" He asks again, no hint of tone or emotion can be detected in his voice.

"W-Who...are you?" Shimizu clinches his throat and gets on one knee. The aura around this man is suffocating him, becoming an effort to talk and stay conscious.

"I asked you a question first."

"I....c-can't answer a question that I do not know what it means."

He nods. "I gave you a choice: Hope or Despair."

"Hope? Despair? What are you saying?"

"You are lost, yet found. Despairful, yet hopeful. Battlefields of the remnant's past reside within you. You have forgotten."

"Forgotten what exactly."

He grabs Shimizu's throat and picks him up. Shimizu feels the tight grip on his throat and looks at him with perplexity.

"Perhaps, your body, heart, and mind are all at odds with each other." He examines him more carefully. "Your path of ruin might be able to create."

"W-W-Who are you?!" Shimizu manages to get his voice out.

He drops him and walks towards his door. "A lingering thought, or rather a forethought." He opens the door and evaporates into thin air.

Shimizu just stares at the door in thought and shakes his head, clenching his throat - still finding it hard to breathe. His heart beats techno and his blood feels boiling.

Maybe he's losing it.

Just a mere illusion, right?

Right?

Shimizu gets up and loosely laughs to himself over his weird head trauma. He thought it would stop once Junko had died, but it didn't.

Far from it.

The breakfast meeting was still in effect, and he left his room to head there.

Inside the dining hall was Taka sitting alone and waiting for everyone to arrive. It takes willpower to trudge through death and still uphold your morals. Then again, he is the Ultimate Moral Compass.