Hollow Lies (Danganronpa)

Chapter 2 ~ Harmful Memories

Darkness. That was all Kokichi could see. Or maybe his eyes weren't even open. He wasn't sure. All he knew was pieces of glass were impaling his body, shooting pain all through out. No doubt that he was bleeding, feeling the liquid beneath him. This wouldn't be bad enough to kill him, right? Of course not. And by the sound of everyone's voices above him, he'd get medical help soon. Everything would be fine. Well, aside from the fact that his plan may be ruined. There's no telling how long he'd be bed written, or how much pain he'd be in.

It's just some glass, he told himself. And maybe some bruises and scratches from hitting the ground.

The pain only got worse as he felt himself be lift up. Though he couldn't see, he recognized their calone. It didn't come as too much of a surprise that Kaito was the first one trying to help him. Despite their hatred for each other, Kaito wouldn't just let him die or anything. He cared way too much about people for his own good. That was something Kokichi always hated about him.

Wait. That didn't sound right. Kokichi groaned as his head suddenly felt like it might explode. It was like a battle was going on in his mind, slowly killing him. His impact with the ground couldn't have been that bad, right? And why did something seem off? Like what he just said to himself was a lie.

"Shit," Kaito mumbled, breaking into a run. "Stay with me, Kokichi! I'm going to get you help!"

Kokichi wanted to roll his eyes and scream at Kaito that he'd be fine But pain shot through his head once more, seeming to trigger something. A memory came to mind. One that didn't fit in to his life story. There was Kaito, yelling at him about something that couldn't be heard, while Kokichi felt himself being punched repeatedly. The two wore different clothing, along with different demeanors. Kokichi felt so weak in that moment, scared for his life as Kaito laughed at him before walking off. All Kokichi could see was the concrete ground beneath him as he collapsed, hearing a laugh from above. Everything was black after that.

Kokichi felt himself be thrown onto a table, dragging him back to reality. What was that just now? It seemed so real, so painful. But it didn't add up. Surely he would've remembered Kaito if they'd known each other before the killing game. Especially if that happened. Maybe he got hit so hard that he didn't remember? Seemed most likely. And yet, that didn't seem right either. Images of this new version of Kaito flooded his brain, causing immense pain. He suddenly felt terrified, hearing Kaito talking to someone. It took him a second to realize the second voice was Shuichi.

A new memory came forward. However, this one was focused on Shuichi. Once again, they were both wearing different clothes and not acting like theirselves. They seemed to be in a school, heading somewhere together. Wait, no. Shuichi was aggressively dragging Kokichi by his arm, giving a wide creepy grin. Without warning, Shuichi pushed him into a janitor's closet, causing him to fall to the ground. Shuichi stared down at Kokichi as he walked in and shut the door. Before Kokichi could comprehend the situation, Shuichi's lips were on his, shocking him. He was unable to pull away as Shuichi held him by his hair. Fear increased within him as he saw the lustful look in Shuichi's eyes. Everything in him told him to kick and scream. But he didn't. There was no use even trying.

It ended there as Kokichi attempted to shake his head, not wanting to think about what he just saw. Suddenly, a pair on hands held him down, sending him into a panic. He lifted a leg to kick them, stopping as the felt the glass in him move. The pain got worse with the more he moved.

"Kokichi," a voice yelled. "Stop! We're trying to help you!"

Shuichi's voice should've been comforting, knowing that he was in the real world and not whatever it was he saw. But the memory continued to flash in his mind, giving him anything but comfort.

"What's wrong? Why are you fighting me?" Shuichi was starting to panic, unsure what was going on with Kokichi, who was struggling and trying to claw at Shuichi's arms.

"Maybe he isn't conscious," Kaito suggested, running over to switch places with Shuichi. "He could be having a nightmare."

Shuichi just shook his head before running over to a small metal cart. He began to dig through what little medical equipment they had.

Monokuma walked into the room, holding out a tray full of more equipment. Despite the fact that the point of the killing game was for these teens to die, it wasn't good enough if it wasn't murder. By now, everyone knew what had happened. That Kokichi hadn't been thrown out the window. Trying to turn this into a trial wouldn't work well and be a waste of money. And he couldn't let one his participants die such a meaningless death. Especially a fan favorite.

So he led the others to Kirumi's lab and provided a bunch of needed medically equipment. Part of him hoped one of these students might take this opportunity to kill Kokichi, being his top motivation for not treating the male himself. That and this sounded like less work that would surely have the viewers on the edge. He wanted to laugh at their eagerness for suspense but contained himself, leaving the room to let the others do their thing.

By the time he left, Kaito had got on top of Kokichi, pinning both his legs and arms. Of course, this caused Koichi to struggle more, trying to scream out but his throat was sore. Instead of trying to ask Kokichi why he was like this, Kaito and Shuichi stayed silent, trying to figure out how to calm him down. After searching through the equipment once more, Shuichi spotted a syringe. Monokuma must have known they'd need it since it was already filled, ready for immediate use. Shuichi picked it up, shaking as he went over to Kokichi and put the needle into his skin, injection the tranquilizer. Kokichi tried to scream, being interrupted by a cough.

It wasn't long before it took effect, calming Kokichi into a long rest. To Kokichi's relief, the memories stopped, giving him a dreamless sleep. He hoped everything would be normal once he woke up. That all of this he could just look back on one day and laugh. Because none of what he saw was real, right?