Neo Killing Game - Danganronpa x My Hero Academia

Chapter 4 : Justice Demands of JDs and Tears - Part 3 - Daily Life

"Hey, Tsuyu, can you pass me that wooden rice spoon?"

Tsuyu turned to Kyouka and gave her the item in question. "Thanks!" The Musician ran off again, hurrying to help Denki with the fried rice. It was the most energetic she'd seen her be in a long time.

The entire class was having a feast together for dinner. Tsuyu was in charge of baking little fruit pastries, staying in the one corner of the huge kitchen with her baking supplies. She slipped on her gloves and took the final pan of pastries out of the oven, transferring the small soft cookies onto the cooling rack. She then began icing and filling the previous batch, which was now cooled enough to not melt the icing.

"Is this your way of remember Ochako and Rikidou?" Fumikage questioned as he approached her. For once, he wasn't wearing his leather gloves, and his sleeves were pulled up. He was in charge of the barbecue with Mezou. They've been getting along recently, I think.

Tsuyu supposed she did choose the job of baking pastries in respect to the bakers. Heck, she hadn't even helped Ochako with baking the first time they'd had a feast, way back before Rikidou's death. 

Yet now, with the pink-splattered figures of Ochako and Rikidou at the edges of her sight and Yuga's blurry face melting into oblivion within the oven's flames, she realized he was absolutely right. "Yeah. Sort of," Tsuyu replied idly without glancing up from her work filling a creme puff.

Fumikage continued standing there, observing her work for a few moments, before turning away to return to Mezou, who was covering another grill of chicken and beef with sauce.

After about a half hour of preparing and table setting, the feast was in full swing. The lineup of their seats at the table had shifted, since they'd lost so many classmates that it'd be depressing for people to sit with chairs between them. Tsuyu sat between Mirio and Izuku. She silently ate her barbecue and fried rice and observed her classmates.

Mezou and Fumikage sat together. Mezou was chatting with the shorter boy, who ate while listening intently and replying when needed. They're really getting along, huh?

Katsuki and Eijirou were sitting especially close together, bumping each other's shoulders. The shark-toothed male was jokingly attempting to feed Katsuki, who was less than cooperative.

Tsuyu had expected Denki -the last remaining member of their group- to be with them, but no; Denki was sitting between Kyouka and Hitoshi; the latter was sharing fried rice with Mashirao. Tooru sat a short distance away from the trio, excitedly chatting with Mei about her invention.

Kyouka was smiling and sitting pressed up next to Denki. He too was especially happy. Yaomomo was on her friends' other side, watching from a distance and careful not to intervene. There was a glimmer of relief in her eyes; Kyouka had been acting off earlier in the week, and it was nice that she now had Denki to ground her.

However, even despite her new buddy-buddy, Tsuyu could see the glaze in her eyes, as if she were still distracted, her mind in another galaxy of sorts. Denki was a bit too high in cloud nine at the moment to tell, though, much to Tsuyu's dismay.

Next to Yaomomo was Nejire. However, she was more focused on her closer two friends, Tamaki and Mirio. The golden trio appeared to be content. Nejire was chuckling, amused by her friends' antics. Tamaki was flanked by both of his friends, so he appeared somewhat comfortable. Mirio was joking and keeping up the mood. The same as usual. They're always happier together than apart.

Finally, there was Izuku and Shouto, who were to Tsuyu's left. Izuku was leaning against Shouto, talking softly. Tsuyu tilted her head, observing the two. Izuku seemed... almost subdued, his movements smaller. He winced if he moved a little too sharply or exerted a bit too much muscular strength, relying instead on Shouto for strength. 

But despite his strange behavior, Izuku's eyes didn't lose their blossoming light. Actually, he seemed even happier, even, now with his closest friend at his side, alive and well.

They're all seeing hope... finally...

And behind them... Tsuyu thought she could see the rest of her class there, too. There was Tenya and Ochako weaving around Shouto and Izuku, both of their clothes soaked with blood and their eyes filled with tears; whether sad or happy or pained, Tsuyu did not know.

And there was Rikidou, hovering by and dripping thick, blackened liquid out of his punctured neck, and Kouji, his skin burnt and ashen, oozing thick blood out of the many cracks caused by the dryness and heat of flame- both were content to merely observe as well. The Animal Tamer was smiling as he watched Kyouka and Denki, who were now calmly talking, a consistent giggle edging the male's voice. The small upwards curve of Kyouka's lips betrayed her warm affections for the boy she so often said was infuriating and annoying in the past.

A fuzzy apparition of Yuga was present, but he was trapped against the wall of the room. The flames fluttering behind him and his unblinking stare forced her to look away.

Mina and Hanta were there, too. Two zombie-like spirits with hollow eyes hovering over Katsuki and Eijirou, smiling with their living companions.

Our class...

Tsuyu stared at her visions of the deceased, the world fogging around her as she focused on them and tried to ground them. However, her efforts were to no avail; one by one, they dissolved. Even Yuga, who so often remained to haunt her, vanished in a mere blink of an eye.

I once said I'd remember all of you... 

Tenya, Ochako, Rikidou, Kouji, Mina, Hanta... 

I intend to keep that promise.

~~~

"You know, so much has changed here," Nejire said, stirring sugar into her tea with a petite silver spoon.

"Yeah," Yaomomo murmured absently.

The girls were having tea together that very same evening, after dinner. The only one missing was Mei. She had been determined to stay in the lab and work on her mystery device, and was so passionate about it that Yaomomo and Tsuyu allowed her to stay.

"I know this is tea, and toasts aren't exactly suited for such a beverage, but... for Ochako and Mina." Yaomomo raised her cup.

"For Ochako and Mina." The girls solemnly toasted tea to their two beloved friends, both of whom had been killed at the stake. When Tsuyu gazed upon their five hands, their five cups clinging together, the image flickered, and for a moment she thought she could see two more; there was a hand that was ringed by a pale, blood-soaked cuff, and another that was pink skinned, dull, and zombie-like. 

But when she blinked, her eyes flickering down to see the bodies and faces attached to those ghostly hands, they were gone once more. She shook herself and lowered her cup with the others to take a sip.

"We've all been through a lot at this point... but, somehow, I still sort of am enjoying myself. Is that strange?" Kyouka asked, her voice soft. Despite her words, Tsuyu still felt as if the Musician were a thousand miles away; so distant, yet so present all at the same time.

"Nah, it's fine!" Tooru reassured, sipping tea. "Living together, working together to a common goal, it's all pretty nice, to be honest."

"While this is a truly terrible thing to happen, it's also a bonding experience," Yaomomo elaborated. "And to just hang out like this... it's nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Kyouka stared into her tea. Yaomomo gave her a concerned look, her relief from earlier gone now that Denki was no longer present and Kyouka had gone directly back to being distant.

"Anyway, it'll be all fine soon, I hope. We're so close to getting out of here, now, with Mei's invention and whatnot. So it'll all be fine soon!" Nejire said, always trying to be optimistic.

Hope.

That's all... we just have to have hope. Hope that we'll all escape, together.

Hope, hope, hope...

...but do we really have hope?

Do any of us... Yaomomo, Kyouka, Nejire, Tooru, Mei... have hope?

Do I?

I don't think I know anymore.