Fanganronpa: Destination Despair

Part 3/Chapter 8

 "H-Hikari...? Hold up, are you alright?" I asked. "You look like you've been running a lot."

"Huh...? O-Oh, I-I'm fine... It's just... Well, I was looking all over for you, and I couldn't find you anywhere." she answered.

"Looking for me? But why?" I cocked my head to the side. "Is there a specific reason, or...?"

"U-Um... I-It was about earlier..." she said, a little more shy as she looked over at Mirai.

"Hm?" Mirai said. "Would you like me to leave the two of you alone? I can go check on Tomoka while you talk with her, Sachi." she suggested.

"N-No-!" Hikari said suddenly. "I-I mean... I don't w-want to prevent you from s-seeing Tomoka or anything... It c-can wait..." as she said that, I noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes, or even longing.

I smiled. "If you insist. Just don't forget to tell me later, okay?"

She nodded. "O-Okay...!" she seemed a little more happy after that.

"So, Hikari, would you like to come check on Tomoka with us?" Mirai offered. "She's in the kitchen again. I'm sure she'd be happy if you were there, too! The more the merrier!"

"O-Oh... U-Um... Are you sure?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, really! Maybe you'll be one of the first to try out the brownies she's making!" Mirai said.

"I-I don't know..." Hikari fidgeted with her hair.

I ran over to her and grabbed her hair. "Come on, Hikari! You don't need to be shy, okay?" I pulled her towards the kitchen. "Come with us, alright?"

Hikari looked shocked and scared, but she didn't fight back, so Mirai decided to follow us into the kitchen. Opening the door, I saw Tomoka putting something in the oven. She touched a few buttons on the stove and the oven light turned on.

"Hey, Tomoka!" I shouted. "How are the brownies going?"

"Hm? They're going well! Thank you for..." she then looked over at Hikari. "... Asking...? Hikari, when did you get here?"

"I-I, um... Just a few seconds ago..." I let go of her hand.

"Yep! Mirai and I went ahead and came to check on you and I brought Hikari along!" I explained.

"Oh, that's amazing! I feel like the two of us don't really get to talk too much, huh, Hikari?" Tomoka asked, now facing the shy giant beside me.

"U-Um... I s-suppose you're right..." she said quietly. "S-Sorry..."

"Don't apologize! It's perfectly alright. Maybe we'll have to fix that, though, okay?" Tomoka said with a playful wink.

Hikari nodded. "O-Okay... Sure..."

"How's the progress on the baking going?" Mirai asked.

"They're almost done!" Tomoka said gleefully. "I plan on butting some frosting on them and maybe even some sprinkles! What do you guys think?"

"I think it sounds delicious." I said with a smile.

"I'm glad you agree!" Tomoka said. "I can't wait for you guys to try them! Back at my family's bakery, they were a really big hit! Very popular, right alongside our birthday and wedding cakes!"

"You guys made wedding cakes...?!" I asked, completely surprised.

"Yep! We were a pretty famous bakery, despite the small building! It's all thanks to our family, though! We're hard workers when it comes to baked goods!" Tomoka explained.