You opened up your eyes. What just happened? You blinked a few times, at least it felt like you did. You wouldn't be able to tell because everything in your sight was dark. While you tried to brush off the confusion, you did your best to remember what happened before you woke up. Wait, where's Kokichi...?

You tried to shoot up in place, only to find that your movements were limited. What the hell? You felt around with your hands -- they were met with the odd feeling of metal. That only added to your confusion. Vague flashbacks to when you were stuffed into a locker at the beginning of the killing game popped into your mind before being dismissed.

This is... fine. I just need to find my bearings and get out of here. I need answers as to what happened...!

You attempted to reach up and see what exactly was blocking your vision, only to discover that your arms were restricted too. Panic started to bubble in your chest, but you did your best to ignore it and stay calm. Gah, but what do I do??

"...Hello?"

...

"Hello!?"

You cleared your throat a bit before yelling, "HELLO!? IS ANYBODY THERE?" Sure, it was a bit risky if someone (say, Tsumugi) were to be around while you were in this position, but you really had no way to tell. You just needed to leave wherever you were and find Kokichi; at least find out what happened, whether it be good... or bad.

"...L-Look... behind you..."

Oh, Kokichi... What did that even mean? You sighed, figuring that it would be a decent amount of time before anyone would find you. Only more time to wallow in guilt. Guilt that you were gullible enough to think that you had subdued Tsumugi for enough time to get away. Guilt that you hadn't done anything better. Guilt that you weren't there in time to stop the whole thing altogether.

You squeezed your eyes shut, even though it didn't make any difference. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm--

You heard something. Something very faint in the distance.

But it was definitely there.

"Hello!? Is anybody out there?" you shouted again, this time with more panicky desperation in your voice.

...You began to hear the quick paced clicking and clacking of high heels on a hard surface. Both panic and relief rushed through you.

The footsteps got louder by the second, and eventually, they only seemed to be a few feet away.

"A-Ah! You're... patient (Y/N), right?" The soft voice was that of a female, but you couldn't for the life of you recognize it.

Wait... "patient"? And also...--

"Please, d-don't panic! I know that you don't know me and that you're probably very confused right now, but trust me, I'm not a bad person. I'm only a nurse... I'll explain everything to you, but first, let me help you out of there..."

You stayed silent and still, listening as you heard things being unstrapped and unplugged. Finally, she took your headset off and helped you to sit up. With your vision finally returning, you immediately looked around. The room that you were in was plain enough, having white walls, a window off to the side, and one small painting of a forget-me-not. As for what was restricting you, you looked down to find yourself in a weird capsule that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie. Underneath of you was just a small layer of cushion, sunken down from where your body had previously lied. Next to you was a machine with a bunch of wires, buttons, switches, and all other things of the like that you could think of.

You finally looked up at the nurse. When your eyes met hers, she was quick to smile at you. The most notable part of her was her bright pink hair. "W-Welcome back!" She clasped her hands, an excited glint in her eyes.

"...Welcome back from what? And where the hell am I!?" The nurse whimpered a bit when you raised your voice. You looked down and blushed slightly. "Sorry... I'm just confused is all."

She nodded her head. "Don't worry about it, that's only to be expected. And as to answer your question, I heard that you managed to get into Danganronpa!"

You tilted your head at her. "Dangan...ronpa...?" you asked softly.

She didn't seem to hear you. Instead, she turned away from you and started rambling on. "Did you win? Ah... I suppose not, since the others are still under... I wonder, how far did you make it?"

"Still under"? "How far did I make it"?? "You're confusing me."

The nurse blinked at you silently before pulling out a screen from the machine, typing in a few things and pulling something up. She watched the screen for a few moments, leaving you to wait in an awkward silence, until she turned the screen over to face you. "Danganronpa. It's the game that you were just in."

You stared at her for a second before her words set in. "...Wait. Wait. So that game... was called Danganronpa? The killing game? But... But we were all trapped inside there, how the hell did I get here? Explain to me! Explain to me what's going on!" You hadn't meant to start shouting, but now that you started, you felt that it would help you calm down faster.

The nurse took a small step back away from you. "E-Eep! I'm sorry, I should have been telling you everything directly from the start! I'm sorry! I-I'll start doing that now..." She took the screen back, typing in some more things, and turned it back once more. On the screen, you could see a logo displaying "Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony". You remembered from one of you flashbacks seeing a logo. You weren't able to see the words, but comparing that to the logo that was on the screen, you could see how the layout would fit perfectly.

"I... I still don't understand. I don't understand! So are you telling me that this was just some entertainment for your amusement!?"

"No, no! It's not like that at a-all! I swear!" She rushed over to a cabinet on the other side of the room. You didn't even notice that it was there. You stared intensely at her while she flipped through some files, finally grabbing one out and cautiously walking back towards you. She opened the folder, glancing up at you a few times nervously. After flipping through its contents, she took a paper out and handed it to you so you could look at it. You hesitantly grabbed it from her.

"See? This... This is a contract that you signed before -- b-before you, uh, went into the killing game..."

There was more than an essay's worth of words on the small sheet of paper, and down at the bottom was the line to sign. There your name was, in big, bold letters. You couldn't believe it. You didn't want to believe it. No, surely this couldn't be real... right? You would never sign up for something like this!

Fully believing this, you looked back up at the woman with rage in your eyes. "This is bullsh*t! I don't believe for one second that this is real! Why the f*ck would I want to do something like this!?"

The nurse looked down at the ground and closed her eyes. She sighed and responded quietly, "Your personality... A-According to the documents and reports I received on you, your personality -- along with everyone else's who participated in the game -- were different than how you remember. They were just... altered to make Danganronpa more 'interesting.'"

Just like that, most of your anger was gone. You just felt lost as you slumped down, slouching and looking down at your balled up hands. "...So everything was a lie... huh?" You didn't even try to hide the shakiness of your voice. You just glanced up at the nurse who solemnly nodded.

Through clenched teeth, you continued, "So I was mentally scarred for life all for nothing?? I'm not getting anything out of this, so why was past me stupid enough to agree to this!?"

"Please, calm down! I... I'm assuming that you didn't reread the contract all the way through, which makes perfect sense... but, down at the bottom, it does tell you about the rewards you'd receive in participating."

You looked down at the bottom of the contract. In fine print, it read: For participating in the 53rd game of Danganronpa, rewards will be given out. Normal participants will be gifted $100k. For each additional round survived -- with rounds being one person gets killed and the blackened gets executed -- there will be another thousand dollars added onto the reward. The team behind Danganronpa will also cover any expenses pertaining to the recovery of coming out of the game.

"S-See? You're getting a lot out of it!"

You skimmed through the contract, one paragraph capturing your attention. After reading it all the way through, you almost through the damn thing across the room. "This was BROADCASTED!? To BILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE GODDAMN WORLD!?" You stood up and out of the machine that you were hooked up to.

The nurse took a phone out of her back pocket. "P-Please, (Y/N), calm down! If you continue with this behavior then I'll have to call security!!"

I may be p*ssed, but I guess I probably shouldn't get in trouble with security... I still haven't gotten all of the answers that I can out of this lady yet, anyway. With that in mind, your took a few breaths and forced yourself to calm down.

"Fine!" you exclaimed with a huff, dramatically turning around to face the wall. "But even with the money, what am I supposed to do now!? What about my schooling? What about my family, friends that I (hopefully) have? I don't even know what time of year it is... and how long have I even been in that game?"

"D-Don't worry about schooling. You may not remember it, b-but you were in an advanced class at your high school, but it's not like that matters since you didn't miss any of the school year. It's summertime right now. It's July 1st, 2022. And you have been in the simulation for... u-um, a while." She looked away before quietly adding, "About a month or so..."

"A month!?" She nodded at you. You dropped your head into your hands, slowly shaking. You sighed after a while and decided to ask about something else. "Wait, so how are the others? Did they wake up today like I did?"

"U-Um..."

"You seem nervous. It's suspicious."

"E-Eep! I'm... I'm sorry. Fine, you wanted to know... so I have no other option than to tell you the truth." Suddenly, her demeanor changed. She looked at least ten times more serious than she was before. "Some of your friends may not have it as... fortunate as you."

"What do you mean?" you questioned instantly. "Are you... implying that they're dead?"

"No, I can assure you that if they die, it wouldn't have been caused by Danganronpa. It's just that... You experienced the killing game through an advanced virtual simulation. It's so real that those who have died can trick their body into believing that they are actually dead. Don't worry, though. You see the machine that you were hooked up to? It helps to make sure that the body is completely fine during the whole thing. That being said... those who experienced more traumatic deaths, and those who were executed, are going to have a more difficult time recovering. Those of you who may have been killed while caught off guard -- this would include you -- your body didn't have enough time to process what happened."

So I was killed... Well isn't that just great. "Who killed me? Was it..." You thought back to what happened right before your memories of the killing game cut off.

"I... I-I can show you?" the nurse offered, her serious attitude melting away. When she didn't receive a response, she pulled out the screen and started typing anyway. It took her a while to pull up what she needed, but she eventually got there. Gripping the screen tightly, she walked over to you and held it out so that the both of you could see. The screen displayed a still image with a large button in the middle. She then pressed play.

You watched the scene that was happening in the library. There you were, kneeling down next to a slowly dying Kokichi while holding back tears. You saw what you couldn't see before. Tsumugi was slowly stalking up to the two of you, shot put ball in her hands. When did she get up? You couldn't tell due to the camera angle. But you did see the moment the ball came crashing down on your skull. Part of your head was cracked open, and blood had splattered onto the ground.

You stared intensely at Kokichi on the screen. His face displayed utter horror. You also swore that you could see tears beginning to run down his face, though it was a bit hard to tell since the camera was so far away. It seemed that he spoke a bit to Tsumugi before flipping her off with both hands. Tsumugi just smiled and finally dropped the shot put ball onto his head.

The nurse pulled the screen away from you, leaving you to stare at a spot on the floor. A few moments of silence passed.

"(Y/N)...? Are you o--"

"Where's Kokichi? Since he... died, he must have woken up, right?"

"U-Um... W-Well, y-you um, you see... time in Danganronpa isn't exactly the same as time in real life--"

"That doesn't make sense. Just leave." You raised your head to glare at the nurse.

The nurse had her mouth open, seemingly prepared to say something until she closed it, deciding against it. She walked nervously over to the doorway, glancing back at you. "Go," you repeated. She sighed.

"A-Alright, I'll give you some time for yourself... Just as a head's up, sooner or later we'll have to transport you to a different section of the hospital to help you with any repercussions of the killing game. Tomorrow, visitors will be allowed to see you, and then you'll most likely have to go through some therapy sessions... s-seeing as most participants need them upon waking up. Oh, a-and if you ever need something, just press the green button on that big machine next to you..."

And with that, she finally left. Good. She was starting to get on my nerves. You sighed and held your head in your hands, letting your mind unravel. This is just ridiculous...

At least I'm not actually dead though, right...?

You pondered the thought for a bit.

No, I think I'd rather be dead... Danganronpa is sick and twisted. I can't tell why I'd sign up for this sack of horse sh*t, even if I did have a twisted personality back then. Now I have to live with all of the memories...

You pulled your hands away and looked back at the big machine that was next to your capsule. You found the small tablet that the nurse had taken from it. The recording of Kokichi's and your death was still on the screen. You felt yourself grip onto the tablet with a death grip, the knuckles turning white. All of a sudden, you remembered of the times when Maki had strangled Kokichi.

You bit your lip and put the tablet down, turning around and looking at the capsule on the floor. It was a bit strange to look at, now that you had the realization that you had been sleeping in that thing for about a month. Suddenly, you also realized that that meant you hadn't bathed in a month. My hair is probably oily and disgusting and I probably reek... You grimaced, starting to feel self-conscious.

You sighed and sat down in the capsule. You pulled your legs up to your chest and wrapped your arms around them. Half of you considered just spending the rest of eternity like that: curled up in a silent ball with absolutely nothing to do in life. What a pitiful, yet seemingly fit ending to that of (Y/N) (L/N).

You looked around some more, eyes landing on the headset at the head of the capsule. Flashbacks of Miu's virtual reality appeared in your mind, and then the image of her corpse manifested itself in your mind. You tried desperately not to think about it, but the mental image stuck like glue.

More memories from Danganronpa just seemed to pile up after that. The sounds of bees and Gonta's screaming in his execution, and the smells of ash, blood, and burning flesh. With that in mind, all you seemed to smell every time you tried to breathe through your nose was the scent of Gonta being burned.

Your mind rewound to the very start of the killing game. Images of Kaede's body hanging from a noose before being crushed; Kirumi's horrified screams as she tried to escape the academy, only to fall to her death in the end. Korekiyo being cooked alive, and even his spirit getting melted into oblivion. Not to mention the victims, the poor victims...

Rantaro probably has it the easiest... He was the first one to die. That means that he didn't have to see all of the other deaths. And he was attacked by surprise, so the pain mustn't have lasted for too long...

You sighed. No matter how much you tried to force your mind to not think about it, it still went to think about those subjects as if it were purposefully trying to taunt you.

Drifting somewhat back into reality, you finally realized that all this time, you had been silently crying. Wet trails traveled from your eyes and down your cheeks, where the tears that created said wet trails fell from your face and dropped onto your clothing. Your clothing... You also just noticed what was different about that too. You weren't in the clothes that you were wearing during Danganronpa. It seemed that you were in some hospital gown that the doctors always put everyone in.

"At least I don't have to wash anything whenever I get home, r-right?" you muttered to yourself in a sad attempt of a joke. The silence that followed right after it was overbearing, so you decided to continue talking. Anything to just fill up the empty space around you.

"Home... I do have a home, right? Having a mother wasn't a lie, right? Perhaps I have even more than her... For all I know, I could have a huge family, a huge house, and maybe, if I were raise my hopes, some cute pets..." You paused, looking around at the expansive room. "Or maybe I have even less than that..."

The tears continued to fall. You wiped away as much as you could, but after a certain point, you just gave up.

"Oh, what's the point..." you muttered through heavy sniffles. "What do I even have left in life? It'd be better if I just died, didn't have to live through this anymore... Even if I do have somewhere to return to, they wouldn't understand."

Kokichi.

Your eyes lit up just the smallest bit.

Kokichi... He should be awake, right? Er... Well, he's at least going to wake up at some point, right? Dammit, I should have asked that nurse more about this stuff...

You groaned.

...But hey... I guess that means that I do have something to look forward to...

You felt something. Something light and fluttery in your chest. It was the most subtle thing that you have perhaps ever felt in your life, yet it was for certain there.

Could this be... hope?

~~~

"..."

"Please, speak with me. I promise, this will only help you recover faster."

"..."

"The faster you recover, the sooner that you can go home."

It sounded tempting, it really did, but at the same time, it didn't. You weighed your options, and decided that remaining silent felt better.

"..." The therapist sighed. You heard the sound of a pen scratching something onto paper before the therapist spoke up again. "Alright then. Seeing as I've gotten nothing from you today, I'll be expecting you to be back here again tomorrow. Have a good day."

You stood up from the chair, stretching a bit before wordlessly leaving the room. A nurse, the same one that you saw upon waking up, was waiting outside by the doorway for you. "How'd it go? Did you finally decide to answer them?"

You shook your head at her.

"Ah, I-I see..." She shook her head. "I kind of expected that from you," you heard her mumble.

You just let her escort you back to your hospital room. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air, but you didn't bother to try to fill it. Occasionally, the nurse would ask you a small question, probably in an attempt to start up some small talk, but you would always give her a curt response and continue walking.

The two of you eventually made it. The lady opened up the door for you to walk inside. "I-If you need anything, you know which button to press. A-And... And if you ever feel like talking, then please make sure to call either me or one of the other nurses, and we'd gladly book another therapy session."

You saw the flicker of hope in her eyes, like there always was whenever you'd return from another session. This time, you just felt bad for her. She's having to take care of someone completely uncooperative, and you could tell that she was really trying her best. So for today, you softly responded, "Okay. I'll make sure to do that." A slightly better response than normal.

That seemed to satisfy her. A bright grin spread across her face before she nodded and closed the door.

You looked around your bland room. There was your bed with a nightstand right next to it, some counters and shelves for the nurse, a small table and chair, a window on one wall, and a painting and a calendar on another wall. The painting was a simple purple abstract painting. It was originally a pink abstract painting, but you had refused to sleep in the room until it was changed. Now, every time that you looked at the painting, you would instantly think of Kokichi.

Shifting your eyes, you looked at the calendar. It had been about a week since you woke up. You had gotten used to a certain routine: early morning, the nurses would encourage you to go to the cafeteria to eat breakfast, only to end up serving you in the room since you were so stubborn. Then you would spend some time to yourself -- more often than not, you would just be pondering over your own thoughts. After that, lunch would be served and right after, you would be forced to go into therapy.

After therapy seemed to be the time when visitors would come in. Usually, nurses would drop in and make sure that you "stayed social," as if that were really possible at that point. Sometimes they didn't come in. Never have your parents tried to visit you. It made you wonder if something happened to them, if they just didn't care about you, or if you didn't even have parents in the first place. The nurses never seemed to answer you whenever you would ask about family and friends, so you never brought it up anymore.

Sighing, you walked back further into your room before sitting down on the bed. You sat to where your back was facing the door and your front was facing the window. Hey, I'm not getting any better... I have no idea about how Kokichi is doing right now... and this window seems pretty high off the ground...

All of a sudden, your thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Strange. That doesn't sound like the knock of an anxious nurse... "Come in," you spoke lowly, yet loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear. You listened as you heard someone walk in, closing the door softly behind them. Their footsteps were too heavy, and they didn't have the click-clacking noise of heels to be a nurse.

Curious, yet also a bit anxious, you turned around. Standing in the middle of your room was a teenage boy, wearing a green jacket, jeans, and brown sneakers. You looked up to find a familiar head of green hair and just about fainted.

Your mouth had dropped slightly in shock. "R-R..."

The images came flooding back. You quickly turned away and clutched your head in your hands. You felt strands of your hair poking out in between your fingers. Your breathing quickly became labored, and it felt as if the walls had started to shrink.

"I-I'm sorry, did I startle you?" That goddamn smooth and familiar voice...

You did your best to turn around. You saw Rantaro standing there with a slightly panicked expression, which only intensified upon seeing your state. It was like seeing a ghost. You could vividly remember the blood that gushed from his head...

As if Rantaro could read your mind, he said, "I'm alive. I'm sorry if I disturbed you..."

You felt yourself slowly calm down. He's right... He's alive, and he seems to be perfectly fine... After taking a moment or two to calm yourself down entirely, you finally felt yourself able to speak. "Um..." Not as if you knew what to say, though.

Luckily, Rantaro started to lead the conversation with, "So how are you feeling?"

"...Fine..." you lied. You glanced back to the glass of the window. From what little reflection that you could see, your eyes stayed the same color as they apparently have been since you woke up from the simulation. A vibrant blue with a hint of violet.

Rantaro seemed to notice that something was off. "Are you sure?"

"...Well, I'm not entirely fine... but therapy is going to help me and then I'll finally be able to leave this hell. As much as I don't want to go outside, there are still things that I need answered and things that I want to see."

The green-haired boy nodded slowly at you. "Right... but the nursers have told me that you haven't said a single word during your therapy sessions."

You gulped nervously.

"And that's why they were so delighted when I said that I wanted to visit. They really wanted you to talk to someone, and they thought that I could do a better job at communicating."

You blushed a bit out of embarrassment until a question came into mind. "Why did you even want to come see me...?"

Rantaro pulled out the chair next to the table and sat down. "Well, I've been trying to see everyone from the killing game that I can. Some people have rejected seeing me while others were a bit more accepting."

"...How did you feel? Y'know... when you first woke up and found out that everything was a lie?"

"Not to say that I wasn't thankful to have gotten myself out of that situation, I was still pretty angry at everyone. After the anger settled down, I decided to watch Danganronpa. Just to see how everyone was doing."

You awkwardly looked over to the side. "Does that mean that you saw... me...?"

He chuckled a bit. "Yep. You and Kokichi, huh?" You wilted when you heard Kokichi's name. Rantaro seemed to notice this. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry... Do you not want me to talk about h--"

"No," you snapped, and then softer, you repeated, "No... You're fine... I'm just worried about him, is all."

"I've actually visited him before."

Your eyes widened. "S-Seriously? When!?"

"I believe it was two days after you had woken up."

You felt some heat rise up to your cheeks. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but... How is he? Is he doing okay?"

Rantaro chuckled a bit. "He seemed to be... decent. He was a bit stubborn when we spoke together, though. I think that he may have fared a bit better than others because he thought that we may have been watched during the game, just not like this..."

"I'm assuming that he hasn't been released yet...?"

"He should be released soon."

You groaned and mentally facepalmed. "Ugh, I should have gone to the cafeteria for meals... Then I may have been able to see him!"

"He's on the other side of the building, so I doubt that you would've seen him..."

You felt yourself deflate just a tiny bit, but at least you didn't get your hopes up. "Did you two talk about anything else?"

The boy in front of you just stroked his chin, trying to remember it all. He hummed a bit before replying, "He's looking forward to leaving. He has people that he wants to see."

"Do you know where he'll be going?"

Rantaro shook his head. "Nope. Sorry..." He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck until he seemed to remember something. "Oh!" He pulled something out of his back pocket. "Here's a list of phone numbers that belong to the people who have woken up. Some of them didn't want their numbers to be shared, so not everyone's number is there, but most of them agreed... So, if you ever wanted to talk to me or someone else, you could probably just ask a nurse to make a call."

You took the list from him, eyeing it for a few seconds before finally looking up once more. "Thank you..."

"No problem, but I should get going now. I wanted to visit someone else, and they're limited on time. See you later."

"Bye," you spoke softly, waving as he began walking out of the room.

He waved back. He was standing in the doorway at that point until he turned around one last time. "Oh, yeah," he quickly said, "make sure that you cooperate with the nurses and therapist so you can get out of here quicker. Kokichi really misses you." With no further context, he took a few more steps out before closing the door behind him.

Rantaro's words rang in your head. "Kokichi really misses you." Your heart started to beat faster. It was a bit embarrassing, since you compared it to acting like a little school girl, but you couldn't deny how you truly felt for the small boy.

For you, Kokichi... I'll get better. Then I'll find you, wherever you may wind up, so that we can reunite... I promise you that.

~~~

"When will I be able to leave?"

The nurse fiddled with her pink hair as she looked down at a clipboard with a hum. "...Well, since you started talking during therapy and doing all of the recommended recovery treatments and courses..." She flipped a page up, looking at something else. "...Ah! It seems that you'll be able to leave tomorrow evening!"

Your eyes lit up. "Really?"

The nurse nodded with a smile. "Mhm! I'm so proud of you!"

"Where will I go now?"

The nurse tilted her head. "Um... Wherever your guardian takes you. Most of the participants in this game of Danganronpa are fairly local, so you most likely won't live too far away from here."

"Do you know who will be picking me up?"

The lady thought about it for a second before shaking her head. "I know that some other workers have called everyone's parents to come pick them up after they've recovered, but I haven't made the call to your family so I'm not sure. You might want to call... Wait, do you remember one of your family member's phone number?"

You shook your head. "Not... really... I don't remember much before Danganronpa."

"I see... Well, if someone fails to come pick you up then we can send you to go with another student until you get everything sorted out."

Speaking about other students... "Hey, you've been watching Danganronpa, haven't you?"

The nurse slowly and nervously nodded her head. "Yes... why?"

"So you know who Kokichi Ouma is, right?"

"Yes, I do know who he is. However, he is on the other side of this hospital, so I haven't worked with him."

"Oh..." You looked away, suddenly sounding uninterested.

"U-Um... If you want, I can call a worker over from that side of the building so you can talk to them?"

You shrugged. "I mean, you don't really have to. I just... wanted to know where he might be now, is all. I heard from Rantaro that he's already gotten better, and he's already probably been released by now."

The nurse sheepishly looked to the ground. "I-I'm sorry, but I don't have any information on him... I-I can leave you alone now..."

"Thanks," you said with a small sigh, listening to her walking out and closing the door behind her.

Without knowing it, time had flown by that day. It was already dark, and you had already eaten dinner. It was just that you held the nurse back for the brief interrogation. I never did get her name, huh...

You turned around on your bed, looking out at the night sky. Tonight's sky held a full moon, shining its light down on the land and casting dramatic shadows. I wonder where Kokichi could be right now... I miss him... You felt a spark of frustration that you couldn't find him yet. Calm down, (Y/N)... I'll find him eventually. Yeah... You reassured yourself of that before trying to get some sleep.

That night was a dreamless night.

When you woke up, you immediately saw the window. It seemed darker than usual. I must have woken up early. The moon was nowhere to be seen, so the sun must have still been waiting to rise. You contemplated on what to do. There wasn't really any form of entertainment in your room, so you decided to just think like you always did when you had time to spare.

I've been here for two weeks by now... Two damn weeks. Geez, it feels like it's been forever... but I've made it. I'm sure that by now, everyone has woken up from Danganronpa. I wonder how Shuichi's doing. You paused on that thought, biting your lip. Um... probably not very well, actually. I hope that I can find a way to reach out to him.

You began to think about where everyone else may be in their lives. Rantaro didn't mention much about himself in the short time that he had visited. It was a shame, you did kind of want him to return and talk to you at least a bit more. No one else but him had visited. Maybe they were all busy.

If Kirumi has recovered, which she most likely has, then she's probably doing fine being a maid. Hopefully no one holds a grudge against her for what she did in the game. They probably won't. They'd see it as an act of loyalty to the country, just maybe not loyalty to... us.

You remember one day when the nurse had stopped by to give you your food whenever you had refused to go to the cafeteria. She mentioned how there aren't any Ultimate talents, which was a bit disappointing, seeing as there were some very interesting talents in the killing game. Other things about certain characters were added just to make the game more interesting. However, the talents were based off of the people who entered. So Kirumi was still a maid, just not... the prime minister of Japan. Ryoma was a retired tennis player, but he (thankfully) never went to jail. Miu was still an inventor, and so on. That also meant that your eyes didn't change color. During the game, you thought that it was kind of cool, yet useless. Now that you've been in the real world for two weeks, you couldn't care less.

You looked out the window. The sun was just barely peeking up over the tops of surrounding buildings. Geez. I thought that thinking deeply had the time to pass hours. Turns out that that was a lie. You sighed and tried your best to wait it out in bed, but even that seemed futile.

Finally, though, after what seemed to be hours, there was a knock on your door before it started opening. Both you and the nurse had gotten used to this unspoken schedule that you had that she reduced her warning that she was coming in down to just a knock.

"Good morning, (Y/N)," the nurse greeted with a small smile.

"Morning," you lazily responded.

"I know that you're probably hungry right now, but I just received word that you are going home earlier than expected."

"Wait, really?"

The nurse nodded, brushing a strand of her pink hair behind her ear. "Yes. I heard that your mom called and said that she was coming over right away...!"

"When will she get here?"

"Probably in about ten minutes or so."

You nodded at her. "Thanks, and also... Sorry for acting so harsh whenever I first woke up."

She obviously didn't expect this, but she seemed content anyway. Her eyes softened and she smiled. "It's okay... I understand. You were just confused, that's all. But hey...! You're finally going to go home!"

Yeah... Holy sh*t, I'm going home.

"I hope that you'll be able to catch up with whoever you like. Best of luck with you and Kokichi."

You blushed a bit and groaned. "Seriously?" you deadpanned.

"W-Well, I mean... most of the things that the two of you went through... was, um, was broadcasted on television..."

"That's... right..." You looked down at the ground. "I forgot about that part..." you mumbled.

"...What's wrong...?" The nurse seemed to be nervous in approaching you, and you didn't blame her. You couldn't imagine yourself looking approachable during that moment.

"I just feel... exposed? I mean, Kokichi was the one who I opened up to the most! And... e-everyone saw that!?"

"P-Please, calm down... I know that this isn't the best thing to say right now, but, ah... Um, I'm sure that you'll get over it soon. Danganronpa is a television show in the entertainment industry. Viewers don't know what things the team forced into the plot or what things have been twisted, so..."

"...Doesn't change the fact that they saw me acting all weak like that."

"Being open like that isn't weak though... You have the right to express human emotions, and in the situation that you were in, it makes sense that you'd, u-um..." She trailed off, hoping that you got the point.

Kokichi... If he realized this, which he probably has since he's so smart, he... he may have gone through the same situation as this. You bit your lip. Kokichi, Kokichi, Kokichi... I have to get to him--

There was a knock on the door. Both you and the nurse froze in place, waiting until there was another knock on the door. Then the nurse opened the door.

Your mom was standing at the doorway. She looked the exact same as she had when you watched your motive video during the killing game, except... without all of the injuries. You felt elated when you saw her, even though she was almost a stranger. That can be worked on. I can... probably... regain some memories. And if I can't then I'll just have to make some new memories with her.

You smiled at her, and all of a sudden she rushed at you and embraced you in a big hug. You awkwardly hugged back. "I missed you..." is all that she muttered. You could feel some wetness starting to form on your shoulder.

"I... missed you too, Mom..."

You glanced up at the nurse. She was smiling gently before noticing your gaze. "Ah! S-Sorry, I realize that this must be a personal moment! I can step outside while you two talk for a bit, and then I'll, er, I'll return to escort you all out and give you the reward for being in Danganronpa..." She quickly scampered out of the room, shutting the door softly behind her.

"Oh, my precious (Y/N)..."

You didn't know how to exactly respond to that, so you just awkwardly asked, "...Yeah?"

"Congratulations on surviving for so long... You don't..." You heard her pause to sniffle a bit. "Y-You don't know how hard it was to watch... to watch your skull get bashed into pieces...!"

"Calm down," you quietly told her, although you felt yourself starting to tear up. "Hey, at least my skull didn't really break, right? Ehehe... heh..."

Your mother chuckled a bit. "Awkward as ever... Heh..."

She finally pulled away after a bit. She wiped her tear stained face and pulled a tissue out of her pocket, blowing her nose and throwing it away in a mini trashcan. "Look, I... I know that you may not remember why you wanted to participate in Danganronpa, but I just wanted to say... thank you."

You tilted your head at her, feeling confused. "...Thank you?"

She nodded her head, starting to smile a bit. "Y-Yeah... You told me to use some of the money to help p-pay for my surgery since I was going through some debt problems... I didn't want you to go through with it, but you did... So... thanks to you, I'm all better now...!"

I... certainly don't remember that. You gulped nervously. "Um... What did you need the surgery for?"

"Colon cancer."

You went wide eyed for a second before letting your gaze drift somewhere else. All that you found you could say was a quiet, "...Oh..."

"I was also able to pay off the debts, and we still have a lot of money left over..."

You slowly nodded your head. "That sounds... nice... So were you watching me the entire time I was in there?"

She rubbed the back of her neck and let her gaze sweep around the room (was it some sort of passed down habit?). "Well, I still had work that I needed to attend to, but yes. Whenever I got the time, I would turn on our TV to see how you were doing. I was so nervous that I couldn't sleep properly..." She snapped. "Oh, yeah! Once you finally woke up, the team behind Danganronpa sent the money over and that's when I got the surgery. That's why I wasn't able to visit you all this time... I'm sorry."

You shook your head. "You don't need to worry about it, really... but did you see everything that I did in the game?"

She raised an eyebrow at you. "If you're referring to the relationship that was going on between you and that Kokichi boy, then there's nothing for you to be embarrassed about." Despite her saying that, you couldn't help but to blush. "Aw, come on. You two were cute!"

Is everyone going to tease me about it!? You mentally sighed. I suddenly remember that my mom loved to tease me at every chance she'd get...

"Mom..."

"I'll be honest. I didn't think that you'd really go for someone like him, but I'm glad to see that you were happy with him. I'm surprised that you didn't confess to him already... I mean, it was obvious that you liked him, considering how much time you spent with him and how you acted during said times."

"Mom..."

"I also can't believe that you didn't see how he felt for you! I love you, but you're as dense as an anime harem protagonist. I mean, come on! He kissed your hand for god's sake!!"

"Mom!!"

She chuckled a bit and regained herself. "Ah, I'm sorry... I just couldn't help myself."

"Yeah, no kidding," you spat, although it didn't come out as cold as you had intended. She was right, though. And now you were blushing like a tomato, although you acted as if you weren't.

"Really, though..." You suddenly felt a hand on your shoulder. "Do you want to see him again?"

You bit your lip and looked down while you could feel your mom's gentle gaze bore holes into your body. Too embarrassed to verbally respond, you merely nodded at her question. She sighed knowingly. "Then I'll help you find him... but first, you need to adjust to your life at home! You're practically an amnesiac!" You felt her ruffle your hair, causing your cheeks to flare out in a huff.

As if perfectly timed, the nurse opened up the door. She was smiling at the sight of you two. "I presume that you all are ready to go?"

You nodded eagerly at her and your mom just chuckled. "Yes, I do believe that we're ready. Come on, (Y/N). It's time to go home."

Home... It felt like such a strange concept.

~~~

About a month had passed since you first arrived home. When you first arrived, you had checked every room in the house thoroughly. It seemed like a quaint place, something that you could definitely get used to... for technically the second time. The kitchen, bathroom, and living room were all on the ground level. You had marveled at the realization that there was a second floor. Upon climbing the stairs, you saw that there were a few more bedrooms along with another bathroom.

After that month had passed, you could say that you felt quite comfortable in your home. You remembered when you didn't have anything to live for in life. What a sad attempt at being edgy that was... Now I do have something to look forward to... Geez, and I can't believe that I even thought like that. You often still had nightmares about what you saw in Danganronpa, but... you always had your mom to go to. If she wasn't available then you could always try to text Rantaro, despite it normally being in the middle of the night. You were truly thankful for the time that he gad visited you...

God, your stay at the hospital felt like an eternity ago.

There was a certain emotion that you felt upon settling down into your own room for the first time -- well, the first time since you got back from Danganronpa. It took you a while to place a finger on it. You realized that you felt... free. Free and happy. Even to you, it sounded rather cheesy, but it felt true.

However, you still hadn't managed to find Kokichi yet... Now that was a bit discouraging. Who knows? Does he actually live far away? Your mom most likely didn't recognize him, seeing as she referred to him as "that Kokichi boy," so that demolished any hopes of possibly going to the same school as him. At least that might have explained your strange closeness to him.

Now, you were just sitting on the couch, flipping through channels on the TV to find something to watch. You had watched the end of Danganronpa. Tsumugi turned out to be the mastermind, and Kiibo sacrificed himself to end the game. Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko all survived. Thinking back on it, the image of everyone trying to get a panicked Kaito out of a locked bathroom was kind of humorous. Kaito seemed like a bit of a crybaby, but who were you to talk, when you had a crush on someone who could summon tears out of literally nowhere.

You continued flipping through channels, eventually landing on the news channel. You mentally groaned. Nothing interesting seems to be on. Maybe Mom would like to watch this later on. You glanced over at her, watching her prepare dinner. You glanced back at the television screen, deciding to watch whatever drama that they were presenting that evening just out of curiosity.

There was a man and woman staring into the camera as they spoke. Occasional images flashed up on the screen. You were already tuning out, and were about to stop paying attention entirely until they pulled up a peculiar image on the screen. It showcased graffiti art on some sort of wall.

"There have been multiple occurrences of graffiti as of lately. There have been no eyes witness records, and all security cameras that surround the area of target seem to have been spray painted over. As you can see from this footage here, you can vaguely see a shadowed figure walk beneath the camera before all vision gets slowly taken over by this neon purple color."

The woman started to speak up now.

"Yes. And we know that these jobs of graffiti must have been done by the same person or same group of people since they always have a similar style and always show a pair of dice."

Your eyes widened and your heart fluttered. This surely has to be a coincidence... right? You weren't quite sure on that, though. You vaguely remembered the times where you tried to brush something off, only for the reality of the situation to come back and punch you in the gut. You cringed at the memories and continued to watch the screen. Images of spray painted black and white dice enclosed by a purple circle appeared, flashing on for a few seconds before it switched to a similar yet different picture. The locations of where each one was found was conveniently placed right underneath the pictures, including the most recent one.

No, this can't be a coincidence. You thought back to Kokichi's motive video. His group... Right! It was literally called D.I.C.E.! They pulled petty pranks, but never actually harmed anyone... With that description, graffiti doesn't seem like that far of a stretch... And the colors used are black, white, and purple. Those are Kokichi's main colors, aren't they--!?

You felt a tap on your shoulder. You looked up at your mom. "You seem to be really deep in thought. What were you thinking about?" She then briefly glanced up at the television, which at that point had moved onto a different topic. "What are you watching?"

"It's just the news," you rushed out, obviously causing for some suspicion. "Hey, uh, Mom? When will dinner be ready?"

Your mom raised a skeptical eyebrow at you, but didn't comment about it for the moment. "In thirty minutes... Why?"

Dammit, I don't think I'll have enough time to go check the graffiti before dinner...

"I was just getting impatient is all. Sorry, but I'm really hungry..." At times like this, you were glad that your eyes didn't actually change color. If they did then it would both be a blessing and a curse. But technically, you weren't entirely lying, you were pretty hungry.

Your mom seemed to be content with the answer. She just smiled playfully and bopped you on the head. "Well, you've gotta learn to wait!" She then walked back to the kitchen.

Wait for it...

"Thanks for dinner," you told your mom.

"No problem," she replied with a smile.

Now, normally, you would help her clean dishes. Like a responsible child. But today, you decided to be a bit selfish and ask, "Hey, Mom? I know that I normally help you with this, but do you think that I could be excused early? I have something that I want to go out and check..."

"That's no problem! I don't mind you taking a break." She then paused, seeming to think for a few seconds. "...Where are you going? I just want to make sure that you'll be okay."

You thought back to the location. "Um... Oh, it's just the park around the corner. The one with the playground and stuff."

She sighed a bit in relief. "Alright then. That's fine with me. I just trust that you'll come back at a reasonable time, okay?"

You smiled at her and nodded eagerly. "Mhm, yep. Bye!" You couldn't do anything to hide the excitement in your tone. You ran towards the door, waved her goodbye, and left.

You quickly made your way to the small park. Your mom had taken you there only a few times after you got back, but it was enough for you to remember how to get there and back. You couldn't see why Kokichi would come to this place, though. It just had a playground for children and a pavilion for picnicking or whatever. Now where is that graffiti...?

You looked around for a bit. There was nothing in the pavilion -- wait... You facepalmed, your hand making an audible smack against your face. It's probably been washed away by now... You sat down on one of the swings and groaned. Ugh, how could I be so stupid?? Of course the opportunity wouldn't be given so easily to me...

However, at that moment, you swore that you could hear a rustle in the bushes. You looked around and then deep into the nearby bushes. You couldn't see anyone...

But then you noticed an all too familiar checkered scarf sitting on the bottom of a slide. Heart beating heavily in your chest, you nervously stepped up to it. You anxiously touched it and picked it up. It looks real... it feels real... Would Kokichi really have the same outfit that he had in the game in real life?

Your inner question was cut short when the bushes rustled some more. Before you could even react, something was pressed up to your face and you soon fell asleep.

You slowly woke up, feeling your eyes flutter open against something. Cloth...? Then you remembered what happened, and you began to panic. You tried to move but, of course, you couldn't. You felt something like cold metal around your wrists, and judging on the clanking noise that resulted from your efforts, you assumed that both your wrists and ankles were handcuffed. Surprisingly though, you didn't feel any pain anywhere on your body, so whoever your captor was didn't beat you up while you were unconscious. That was the only good sign in this situation.

You began to wonder who exactly took you. Why would they want you? Unless... they recognized you from Danganronpa and were an obsessed fan... A heavy feeling of dread settled in the bottom of your stomach. Please, I don't... want to die. I have someone who cares about me, and I still have to find Kokichi--!

You heard a door open. Much to your surprise, you heard the chipper voice of a young teenage girl. "What time is it!? SHOWTIME!"

Another voice made itself apparent. It sounded older, more mature, and it came from a male. "Now's not the time for your antics. We need to get them safely to Boss."

You decided to take your chances and speak up. "Hello? Who are you two and why am I here?"

You heard the girl gasp. "I didn't expect them to be awake already! And much less talk back!"

"Are you kidding me? You know how long that stuff was supposed to work, and I thought that you knew enough about them already to expect some retaliation."

"Oh, come on, Squip!! You already know how bad my memory is!"

This so called "Squip" person just sighed. "Just... hurry up. You said you wanted to surprise Boss, didn't you? So shut up and actually get to work."

"Ugh, fine."

You started to panic once you heard the sound of footsteps growing louder. No matter how much you tried to wriggle your way out of the situation, you were utterly powerless when you felt yourself get heaved atop someone's shoulder, most likely Squip's shoulder.

"...So I've got the name of one of you. 'Squip.' Now what's the other person's name, and why--... what am I doing here? Where am I?"

The girl sighed. "Just like Boss thought. So full of questions, this one..." She sighed once more. "But anyway! My name is Akira, nice to meetcha!" You felt a hand snake into yours and shake it as best as possible, given your angle. "As for your other questions... Sorry, but as much as I'd like to answer them, I can't right now. You've got a scheduled appointment with the boss right now, so you can converse then!"

"Boss will be so happy..." Squip added with a tint of hope in his voice.

Akira snapped. "He better be! We spent all this time tracking this person just because of how much of a wreck he is!!"

"He...?" you repeated quietly.

The two of them went silent and they continued walking. Along the way, you swore that you could hear some other people in other rooms, but you couldn't be entirely sure. Eventually, you seemed to make it to your destination. Squip stopped in his tracks and set you down to sit on the floor.

"Don't try to move, okay? I'm watching you... Look, we don't want to harm you. Handcuffs seemed like the safest way to keep you restricted, but... Just please, don't be stubborn with us."

You had to admit. It was a bit weird hearing your captor speaking to you in such a pleading tone, but it wasn't like you have much choice. "Fine," you mumbled.

Squip sighed with relief. "Thank you... I can assure you that you'll return home safely at some point."

At some point??

"Hey, Boss," you heard Squip say, most likely talking into a walkie-talkie, "could you please come to the main hall?"

"Be quick, and no questions asked!" Akira popped in.

You heard no response, so you continued to wait there silently. A part of you considered to just lie down on the floor, maybe take a quick nap... Actually, that doesn't sound half bad... That idea was thrown out of the window, however, once you heard footsteps off in the distance.

"See ya!" Akira whispered, uncomfortably close to your ear before skipping off.

You swallowed hard and decided to speak up. "Hello?" You heard a gasp. Then footsteps rushing towards you. Startled by the sudden threatening noise, you tried to back away, only to find yourself starting to fall backwards. You were stopped, however, by small... warm hands placing themselves on your shoulders... Your breathing hitched, but the hands felt... oddly familiar... Then, the most unexpected thing happened.

Arms wrapped around you in a tight embrace. Whoever this person was started cry softly into your shoulder. This all feels too familiar... Then you started to put together the pieces, and you could just barely hold in your gasp. "Who are you?" you whispered. "Could you possibly be... K-Kokichi?"

A hand traveled up to the back of your head. You felt it undoing the knot to the cloth covering your eyes, and all of a sudden, you could see everything clearly again. The room that you were sitting in was large and empty for the most part, with the exception of a large throne against the wall you were facing.

You focused your attention onto Kokichi once more. He was still crying, and at that point, you started to tear up as well. "K-Kokichi..."

He embraced you tighter, the feathery tips of his purple hair tickling your neck. "(Y-Y/N)! I missed you so much!" he exclaimed through his excessive tears and sniffles. "Where h-have you been? Y-You... MEANIE! You kept me w-waiting for so LONG! Way too long!!"

"I'm sorry... I swear, I've been looking for you ever since I got out of the hospital... I promised that I'd find you, a-and now look at where I am..."

"I tried to warn you... and I didn't w-want to die... But I guess that we at least died together. I wasn't able to outsmart the... the m-mastermind, so I still don't feel like I really won... but I guess that I'm still happy that it's all just a lie..."

You sighed. "Kokichi, please... It's been too long. Hell, it feels like it's been an eternity... Let me see your face."

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Kokichi pulled away from you. He quickly looked down to wipe the tears away from his face, but his eyes were still red and his lip was still quivering at small intervals. "O-Oh, I'm... I'm sorry. Here, let me undo these handcuffs..." His small hands brushed up against your wrists and ankles when he worked.

Once he was done, he looked back up at you. A heavy red blush painted his features. It was cute until you noticed the bags under his eyes. His hair seemed messier than normal; he seemed paler than normal, too (even if it was hard to tell with that blush on his face). Even his eyes, although they were glossy from previous tears, seemed to be duller than normal. It was almost as if most of the life was sucked out of him, leaving him to hold desperately onto one single thread of humanity that was left in him.

"Kokichi...!"

"Hm... What?" he asked weakly.

"Kokichi... No offense, but you look like sh*t."

"Ah-haha, as I always do..." Kokichi smiled painfully.

"Kokichi..." You cautiously brought your hand up to his cheek and cupped it. "What's happened to you?"

He sighed and looked away from you. "Well, I seemed fine at the hospital. I was well enough to be able to talk to Rantaro normally... I -- I just don't know what hit me. All of a sudden, I couldn't stop thinking about Danganronpa -- and then I realized just how much I missed you... I... I missed your comfort a lot." His blush seemed to get darker, if that was even possible.

"It seems that you need more sleep..."

"Eh, I'm not in the mood for it right now," he joked. "Oh... and sorry for my minion's behaviors. I didn't know that they managed to capture you. Did they hurt you?"

You shook your head. "No. Squip actually seemed pretty apologetic... And, um... 'minions'?"

Kokichi smiled a bit. "Mhm...! My minions... they're the other people in DICE! They do all of the dirty work that I can't be bothered with!"

You smiled a bit too. "Does that include spray painting graffiti all over the place? I saw it on the news... and that's kind of the beginning to how I got captured."

"Nuh-uh! That's my work! You know, I gotta leave my mark so other crews don't think that they can roam the area like it's their own territory!"

I'm glad that he's... kinda back to the way that he was.

Kokichi blushed again and bashfully looked away.

"Wh-What's wrong?" you asked nervously. Did I do something weird...?

"N-No!" Kokichi responded. "I-It's just... the way that you looked at me... It was too kind..."

You looked away as well, frowning a bit. You thought back to moments before you had been killed. "...Hey, Kokichi? What were you going to say to me... you know, before I died...?"

The boy just stared at you for a second before smirking. "I was just gonna say, 'stop smoking dru-'"

"Don't lie to me, Kokichi." Then, softer, "Please."

He looked down at the ground and mumbled something. "Hm? I'm sorry, I couldn't here you."

Kokichi groaned and looked at you with an annoyed glare. "Hmph... I was going to say... I was going to say that I-I..." He clenched his eyes shut. "...I love you..."

You blushed. Your heart sped up, but now you knew. He returned the feelings, and you couldn't feel any happier. Everything seemed to have been concluded, except something felt... unfinished.

Before you knew it, you pulled Kokichi close to you and gently placed your lips on his soft ones. Kokichi's eyes shot open for a moment or two before fluttering close once more. It was made obvious that neither of you were professionals at kissing, and that's what made it seem so endearing. Just two amateurs in love sharing a kiss together. Kissing Kokichi... you still couldn't believe that it was happening.

After a few more seconds, you finally let go of Kokichi. His eyes slowly opened and he brought up a hand to touch his lips. Ah... It seems like even he doesn't believe that that happened... It's a bit cute, honestly... His gaze reached yours once more. You noticed how much he was blushing. He nervously pecked at your lips before hugging you again. This time, you could return the gesture.

"I love you, (Y/N)... I love you, I really do..."

You smiled. "I love you too, Kokichi..."

The two of you sat there for what felt like hours. You wished that it could last forever, but alas, good things never will last forever. You remembered this when you felt a buzz from your phone in your pocket. "E-Excuse me," you mumbled awkwardly to Kokichi as he pulled away from you. It was a text from your mother asking if everything was okay.

Geez, Mom... As much as I love you, I'm just going to be honest. Breaking the mood isn't the best thing that you're ever done...

"I should go home soon."

"W-Wait!" Kokichi called out. He cleared out his throat. "I mean... You don't know your way back to the park, do you? Let me take you there!"

"Kokichi, you don't need to make excuses... Do you want to come home with me? I'm sure that my mom will be delighted to meet you."

Kokichi's eyes lit up. "Nishishi~ Well, if you insist."

"Great...! Let's go." You smiled and took his hand, letting him lead the way out to the park. As the two of you were walking in a peaceful silence, you couldn't help but to let yourself think. There was a lot of questions that you hadn't asked him yet. There was still a lot that you didn't know about him. But you knew that you would get to that eventually. All that mattered at the moment was just relishing the time that the two of you had together.

We did it. We may not have had a good ending in Danganronpa, but we made it out together in the end.

Word Count: ~11k

***

*crawls out of the depths of hell* *shrieks and screeches* eeeEEEEAHHHH, I'M ALIVE!

(You don't have to read anything beyond this point. It's just me giving my thanks and talking about possibly future works. If you're leaving here then have a good day, night, evening, or morning. :D )

But really, sorry that it took me so long to come back! I have my reasons, but I'm sure that you all wouldn't bother about them, so I won't bother putting them in here (but don't worry -- if you are worrying, that is -- i'm perfectly fine). Lemme just say thank you to everyone who's reading this right now! This means that you've stuck with my sh*tty writing all the way through and that just... really means a lot to me. Lemme also say hOLY F*CK GUYS. Thank you for 218k views and 7k votes! I honestly don't know how in the world I managed to make it this far... Seriously, I remember whenever I thought 1k was the biggest thing in the world...

Ah, I will admit, this is putting a bit of pressure onto me for my next work which I'll hopefully actually publish. I have no idea whether or not it'll be as successful as this story -- probably not, to be honest -- and whether people will actually enjoy and read it since, *ahem*, I know that certain people make it blatantly obvious that they dislike Saiouma, soooo.... yeah... But either way, I have a feeling that I'll have a fun time writing it. It's gonna be a master/slave Saiouma fic, so if you're interested in possibly seeing that in the future, make sure to check back on my profile every so often! You could also follow me and turn on notifications for whenever I post a new story... but you don't have to, of course! (Geez, I feel like a cringy Youtuber). Speaking about cringe, hopefully this story wasn't too much of a cringe-fest for you all. I hope that my future works won't be this, well... terrible.

(Ps, I know that there may be a few questions that I haven't answered. It's simply because I couldn't find a way to answer them with the story's context, so if you really want to find out something then just ask here. I know that it's probably bad practice to do this, and that I shouldn't leave any questions unanswered unless I have an open ending, but the option is here for you all just in case. In the future, I'll try to get to every topic there is.)
(Pps, I may or may not see your comment. If I do then I might not reply instantly because I stayed up in order to finish this chapter, I'm tired and hungry, and it's almost 3:30 am, sooo.... yeah. Bye~!)