Danganronpa Extra Life

Naegi Meets Hajime

To say Kirigiri Kyoko was unhappy when Naegi-kun told her he planned to meet up with some supposed refugees, alone, was an understatement. She found their claims of being afraid of Future Foundation, of only trusting the Ultimate Hope and wanting to meet with just him, suspicious. Innocents had nothing to be afraid of, after all, and Naegi-kun was probably the Remnants' most hated person. It seemed all too likely to her this was a trap. They'd argued about him going for a long time.

Eventually Kyoko managed to compromise—no guards, as the callers had asked, but she'd go with him, and Togami-kun would stay with the helicopter, ready to fly if needed. Maybe she couldn't stop Naegi-kun from walking into danger, but she could certainly walk into it with him.

The meeting place was Hope's Peak's now ironically-named "new" school building, the one destroyed by the Reserve Course. Unlike the old school building, converted into a shelter, it had laid in disrepair for years. Kyoko's first thought, when they stepped inside the entrance hall and saw their upperclassmen spread around, eyes gleaming bright red, was a grim I knew it was a trap. She reached for her phone to call Togami-kun.

But when her eyes registered what they were actually seeing, she paused. None of Class 77 had made moves to attack, or were in positions suitable for an ambush. They were lounging about, some chatting, some eating, some sparring. One of them was even lying down, eyes closed, attended to by the Ultimate Nurse. It took her a moment to catch a glimpse of white hair and recognize him as Komaeda Nagito.

They looked...disturbingly normal.

At the sound of their entrance, thirteen heads snapped over in a single, eerie motion. One of the Remnants, a dead-ringer for Togami-kun except fatter, stepped forward. His talent was impressive; even though she knew otherwise, Kyoko had to consciously remind herself that this was the Ultimate Imposter, not her classmate. "So you've finally arrived. It's about time, we've been waiting awhile." He fixed Kyoko with a searching stare. "And I see you brought a friend."

Naegi-kun smiled his famously disarming smile. "Just Kirigiri-san and Togami-kun—er, the real Togami-kun, that is. He's outside. They only came because they were worried about me; I promise no one else is around."

The Imposter tilted his chin at Nidai and Pekoyama. "Sweep the area. Make sure he's not lying."

As the two nodded and moved off, Kyoko stepped forward. "Is Hinata Hajime here?" Though her tone was steady with practiced cool, her skin crawled, distinctly uncomfortable by how outnumbered and surrounded they were. Almost instinctively, she began calculating escape routes if things went south.

"The brooding one said he would be at the zenith of this place, amidst ruins that held memories dear to us," Tanaka boomed. Kyoko noted the four small coffins hanging from his belt, but otherwise there were no signs of his usual animal army. She marked that as a point in the "not a trap" category. "He imparted we send you his way when you answered our summons. Then, like a bolt of lightning, he disappeared, leaving nary a breeze behind...quite a good trick."

Upstairs, in a classroom, then. Naegi-kun must have worked it out too, for he immediately hurried to the stairwell. Kyoko hesitated, torn between following him to protect him and staying to watch the Remnants. She still wasn't entirely certain this wasn't a trick of some kind.

"You can relax," the Imposter said, seeing her indecision. "Our call was genuine. We have no interest in fighting you, as long as you were true to your word." As if to punctuate his point, the other Remnants finally turned back to their activities, dismissing her as unimportant.

It sounded reasonable, but Kyoko wasn't ready to let go of her doubts just yet. "It's odd this supposed Hinata is the one who called us, yet he's not here...and you seem to be handling the leadership role instead." If the Imposter could mimic anyone, it was entirely possible to fake being Hinata, wasn't it?  She'd never seen his name mentioned in any of Future Foundation's files, after all.