Danganronpa: Digital Daze

A boy was standing near the popcorn stand, with some sort of drink sitting on a counter near him. He had light brown hair, with a small part of it sticking up at an angle towards the back of his head. I could see what looked like a red gas mask encircled on his dull green hood, and he had on black jeans and a black jacket.

Finally, he turned around, and I realized it was Makoto Naegi, the...Ultimate Lucky Student, I think he said? He walked over and sat in the front row, in one of the two middle seats.

"So, what's this? Looks like a cartoon movie, but I don't know this one," Makoto asked.

I shrugged, having no idea either, and ate a handful of my caramel popcorn. I had decided to sit on the left edge of the front row, so there was one seat between me and Makoto.

The Movie Room lights began to dim, and the movie started.

The cartoon movie started off with some kind of brown animorphic...mouse-wolf like thing with blue jeans and red shoes on, relaxing on a beach. Suddenly, a floating mask named Aku appears, telling Abe (the mouse-wolf thing) that Dr. N has captured Karmen, Abe's love interest, and has hypnotized her into loving Dr. N instead. The only way to break Karmen's hypnosis is to play a long-forgotten song, using a banjo and a kazoo, within earshot of Karmen.

Abe then sets off on a wacky mission, jumping on evil minions (called Bandicoots), or spinning really fast to break objects in his way. He almost never speaks, but gestures a lot, and Aku accompanies him along the way, giving Abe advice on where to go or what to watch for.

Eventually, Abe finds the kazoo and the banjo, but Aku gets captured by Dr. N when he arrives at Dr. N's castle. Dr. N hypnotizes Aku, and threatens to break his Hypno-Timer, leaving Aku and Karmen hypnotized forever.

However, When Dr. N goes to destroy the Hypno-Timer, he finds it missing. To everyone's surprise, one of the guards disrobes their armor, revealing a pink animorphic dragon. Revealing her name to be Ember, she then reveals the Hypno-Timer in her hands, then flies up into the air, away from the guards and Dr. N.

Taking this opportunity, Abe plays the song with the banjo and kazoo, breaking the hypnosis on Aku and Karmen. Ember, seeing the two acting normal again, then incinerates the Hypno-Timer with a blaze of fiery breath, melting it into a metallic goo, while Dr. N rages at Abe, Ember, and his own Bamdicoots. Ember helps Abe, Aku, and Karmen escape the castle, and the last scene is of the three of them running/floating chaotically off into the distance.

As the lights came back on, Makoto looked over at me.

"Well, that was interesting, I guess," Makoto commented, staring at the blank screen.

"Yeah...that was...something." I scratched the back of my head, still processing what I had just watched.

Makoto changed the subject. "Well, I think I'll take some popcorn and soda with me on the way out. I don't see any rules against doing that, after all."

I didn't, either, so I took some caramel popcorn and refilled my root beer, then followed Makoto out to the Courtyard to talk some more.

We sat at one of the square tables, which seated four (one on each side), and I chose to let Makoto talk about whatever was on his mind, while munching on popcorn and drinking soda.

"I just can't believe...that all of us are trapped in here like this. I mean, I know the rest of you got invites based on your talents, but me? I was just randomly chosen in a lottery. I don't have any special talents like the rest of you. I'm just...normal. Ordinary. Plain as plain can be."

"Well, maybe, Makoto, but you were also labeled the Ultimate Lucky Student! That must count for something, right?" I asked Makoto, hoping to make him feel somewhat better.

Makoto thought for a moment. "Hmmmm...I guess so. It's just that, when I compare myself to the rest of you Ultimates, I feel like a bunny lost in the forest, surrounded by wolves."

I shook my head, concerned. "Awww. There's no need to feel like that, Makoto. I mean, yeah, this situation sucks, but maybe we can find some way out of it, right?"

Makoto thought for a while, then nodded. "Yeah, we all just need to stay calm and think things through. Like Kaito told me yesterday."

So Kaito and Makoto were on the same page with each other. That was good to know.

Makoto stood up, staring at the Courtyard door, worry on his face. "Anyway, I have a feeling this is just the beginning. Things are going to get worse...a lot worse...before they get better. I just hope I'm wrong."

He suddenly glanced at me. "Hey, I'm gonna check out some of the other rooms again, maybe talk to Kaito as well. I'll see you later, ok?"

Makoto took his popcorn and soda, both nearly empty, with him as he walked out. I decided to head back to my dorm to work on a new design for a skirt.

Pulling out some sketching paper and colored pencils from the desk, I decided to work on the skirt first. I had an idea for a unique placement for pockets, but I wanted to get the length, fabric, and other details right.

I needed something sturdy for the fabric, like denim or linen, and stretchy for the pockets, like nylon or silk. I preferred avoiding the use of denim as much as possible (as it seems to be everywhere these days), so I went with a linen skirt, with silk pockets (since silk is much stronger than nylon is).

Also, the ends of the pockets would have to be secured to the skirt, to better hide their existence. Silk thread could achieve this goal as well, without making the pockets and the thread feel different, and therefore irritate the legs.

After careful consideration, I decided against pleats, as those would make the pocket fastening more difficult, and decided on an A-Line stye.

My eyes were drawn to the hemline. Should I add something here? Frilly lace, or pleats a long the edges? Or maybe rhinestones circling the front of the hemline?

I shook my head. No. The hidden pockets needed to be the main draw; I don't need to overcomplicate things here. I could do a variety of colors, of course. Black skirts are a staple in nearly any girl's outfit, but I could also do pink, purple, red, yellow, or other colors too. That part wasn't too important at this moment; just the overall design.

After an hour and a half of working on the skirt design, I decided to take a break and take a walk around the facility again. Leaving my room and glancing at the time, it was about 4pm, a little after. I walked out to the Courtyard for a while, and conversed with Kenchikka and Kaito.

Those two, however, seemed to have very differing opinions about how to handle our current situation, with Kaito saying we needed to work together to get out.

Kenchikka, however, was stating (in her broken speech) that we needed to play by the rules for now, to avoid any further punishments from Monorakun. This idea did not sit well with Kaito at all, of course, and I left the two of them to argue amongst themselves.

I eventually arrived at the Dining Hall at 5pm, with Yasuhiro, Hifumi, Angie, Kaede, and Leon present. I made some Grilled Cheese sandwiches with a small salad, putting some Ranch dressing on the side. I had some more root beer to go with it, though my stomach was getting a little gassy from it all.

Leon was hitting on Kaede, who seemed flustered with the attention. Hifumi and Yasuhiro were discussing their dealings with Angie, while she spoke to both of them. As for me, I just minded my own business and ate my food, then cleaned my dishes and returned to my room.

Noticing that my small trash can was full of papers and packaging from my new pens and other materials, I decided to take my trash out. Pulling my bag out, I saw that more were stuffed into the bottom, as replacements. Putting a fresh bag into the trash can, I walked towards the Trash Room to throw my stuff away.

However, as I approached the Trash Room, I noticed the sound of a hushed conversation from within. It sounded like two girls, but I couldn't make out what was said.

Carefully, I cracked the door open, not wanting to set off the camera, to see what was going on.

Inside, Mukuro and Sayaka were talking. Sayaka's eyes were wide with what seemed to be fear, and her body posture was very stiff. However, Mukuro's body blocked most of Sayaka's view from me.

Mukuro muttered something about Makoto towards Sayaka, her face close to hers, and moved a little to the side.

And that's when I saw the source of Sayaka's fears.

Mukuro had her combat knife at Sayaka's throat!