Danganronpa Extra Life

Returning Home To Loved Ones

Chiaki closed her eyes, inhaling the salty tang of the ocean air. Beneath her, the Second Wind bobbed up and down, carrying her closer and closer to her destination. Above her, the sky was still valiantly clinging to blue, only a slight purple-red tinge hinting to the pollution. She chose to interpret that as a good omen. Maybe the Tragedy was finally over, once and for all.

It had taken a day or two to get everything ready for her departure. First, Chiaki had to finish crafting a cover story with Class 78. They'd decided to announce that the trauma from discovering Gekkogahara-san's body and fighting for her life had left her confused and psychologically scarred, and she was moving out of Tokyo to live with friends; a clever mix of vague truths and lies.

Then Chiaki had joined one of the helicopters bringing the wounded back to mainland, riding with Branch 14 instead of her own division. Once she'd returned to Tokyo, she'd spoken to her landlord about breaking her lease on the spot. Fortunately, her rental agreement was month-to-month, and the landlord was pretty understanding about her 'fragile' situation; he'd allowed her to move out on such short notice so long as she paid for the next few months' rent while he searched for a new tenant. She'd readily agreed, figuring she wouldn't need money where she was going anyway.

The final thing to do was go about making her goodbyes and moving her things out of the seventh division building. That was a short affair; she'd been a licensed therapist for all of one day and hadn't had time to take any clients. And while her division had swarmed her with thanks and praise, very few of them had known her on an individual level, sparing her the need for many personal goodbyes. She'd only really visited a recovering Hayami-sensei and Ueno-sensei, wearing that hateful disguise for the final time. The latter had been a short, stilted conversation.

Ueno-sensei leaned against his desk, looking her resignation papers. "So you're leaving?"

"Yeah. Sorry...I just..." She waved a hand uselessly. "I'm just kind of having a personal crisis."

"Well, it was rough down there from what I hear. You're not the only one from that place who needs counseling now, or even the only therapist. No one expected things to turn out that way. Still, are you sure you don't want help from us?"

"I'm sure," she empathized. "I just...want to be with my friends."

He nodded, clapped her on the shoulder, and wished her the best. And that was the last she saw of him.

This morning a few of Togami-kun's personal men, who he assured could be trusted, had helped her move her things onto the boat and seen her off. Naegi-kun had also contacted Kamukura-kun to let him know to expect a ship with 'a pleasant surprise' on this date. He'd offered her the chance to speak with him, but, well...she'd refused.

She'd just...needed the past few days to come to terms with what Kamukura-kun had done. She hadn't been ready to talk to him at the time. And she'd been nervous and scared of talking to her classmates. Chiaki couldn't help wondering whether they would really want to see her. It had been years, after all, and she'd led them to their doom. Maybe they were angry at her. Maybe they couldn't forgive her. Maybe she was just a clingy fool, holding onto the past.

And—it was superstitious, stupid, but she couldn't help being afraid that if she did call and say she'd be there soon, she'd tempt fate into interfering.

As the autopilot's smooth, mechanized voice informed her she had arrived at Jabberwock Island, she nervously smoothed out her cream and brown dress—it was the nicest thing she owned, but it still didn't feel special enough for this occasion. There was a familiar, lone figure on the pier, wearing a white dress shirt and a green tie. Her heart sped up. Even from this distance, she could see his eyes widening, and knew his superior vision had likely picked her out already. And yet he stayed on the shore, still as a statue, as if she was an illusion and moving would dispel her.