#like when i saw maki was fighting with us i was at first like 'yay omg maki wahoo yippee 😁😁😁' | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

m1ckeyb3rry · 5 months

Text

Pomegranate Ink: XVII

Series Synopsis: Unable to heal but willing to fight, with a fiancé in Kyoto and a last name that looms over everything you do, you accept an offer to study at Tokyo Jujutsu Tech. What you did not know was that your salvation and your ruination alike would soon join you at the school, neatly wrapped in the form of a boy followed by death.

Chapter Synopsis: You have an argument with your father before going to meet Yuta.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Yuta Okkotsu × Female Reader

Chapter Word Count: 5.4k

Content Warnings: angst, misogyny, naoya zenin, forbidden relationships, canon-typical violence, character death, original characters included

A/N: yuta reappearance yay!! enjoy the crumbs because he’s going to be gone until like shibuya now though

“Are you excited to visit Yuta?” Tullia said. She was sitting cross-legged on your bed, watching you pack, while Maki was frantically finishing the last of the summer homework that Kusakabe expected you all to turn in for the next class.

“Of course I am,” you said, folding a shirt and setting it in the small carry-on bag you were taking with you. You weren’t going for a long time, so you didn’t feel the need to bring an entire suitcase with you, but it was long enough that you’d definitely need a couple changes of clothes. “It’s been forever since I saw him last.”

“I’m jealous of you,” Maki said, her face reddening and cracks forming in the wood of her pencil from how hard she was gripping it. “Since you’ll be in Africa, you won’t have to worry about turning in this essay for Kusakabe!”

“Actually, I already turned it in,” you informed her. “As well as the rest of the work for the time that I’ll be missing. So the jealousy is unwarranted, because I’ve done more than you the past few days.”

“You’re such a nerd,” Maki said.

“Don’t blame me for your lack of planning,” you said. “Anyways, have you guys had the chance to meet the other first years yet?”

“Mm, nope!” Tullia said, apparently speaking for all them when she did so. “The higher ups have kept everyone busy, so it seems like we’re never at the school at the same time as them. Besides Fushiguro, we don’t know any of them.”

“The one boy, Itadori, is Sukuna’s vessel, and the other student is a girl, according to Gojo. That’s all I can tell you,” you said.

“Sukuna’s vessel,” Maki said. “I can’t believe we’re actually classmates with someone like that.”

“He’s a nice boy,” you said. “He didn’t seem to have ill intentions, so I don’t really mind it. Wasn’t it the same with Yuta? And see how he turned out. I think we’re past the point of judging people for whatever entities are attached to them.”

“Oh, I don’t disagree,” Maki said. “It’s just a little fantastical, is all. The King of Curses is our classmate — Tullia, for a frame of reference, it’s like if you went to school and suddenly you found out King George III would also be attending.”

“I know who Sukuna is,” Tullia said, giving her an incredulous look. “Since when are you informed on the American Revolution, though?”

“I did some light reading on it to make you feel more at home,” Maki said.

“Actually, I’m pretty sure Megumi’s the one that told her about that particular fact,” you said. Maki looked up from her essay to glare at you. You threw a sock at her in retaliation. “Don’t think she’s some kind of educated and well read woman. She still hasn’t finished her summer homework, so she’s definitely the opposite.”

“Okay,” Tullia said, sitting on her hands as a clear show of her neutrality in the argument. “Whatever you say.”

“Which one of us?” Maki said.

“Both?” Tullia said.

“Wait, we’re saying opposite things, so you can’t exactly go and say you agree with the two of us, can you? That’s not how it works,” you said.

“Um…Y/N, please be sure to pick up some souvenirs for us from wherever in Africa you’ll be visiting!” Tullia said in a rush. It was an obvious tactic to change the subject, but you and Maki exchanged looks and decided to allow it.

“Do you want food or something else?” you said.

“They probably wouldn’t let you bring food, at least not anything that would be really cool for you to bring back. Even if they did, it wouldn’t taste as good anymore,” Maki said.

“Something else it is. If anything catches my eye, I’ll be sure to get it. Gojo and Yuta will both be there; one of them can foot the bill. With those two having special grade salaries, I’ll really be upset if they make me pay for anything!” you said.

“Yuta would probably insist on paying, even if you were the better off between you two,” Tullia said. “I don’t think he’s the kind of boyfriend that’d let you lift a finger or open your wallet around him.”

“Plus Gojo just about starts crying from joy every time he gets to spend money on you, so you likely don’t have to worry about a thing,” Maki added.

“Exactly. So I'll get you guys something nice for sure!” you said.

“Alright!” Tullia said.

“Make sure to get something for yourself, too,” Maki said with a frown. “You’re always thinking of the rest of us, but it’s okay to think of yourself every now and then.”

You waved her off. “I have enough people thinking about me. I don’t need to add to the count.”

“If you say so,” Maki said.

Just then, there was a knock on your door. You frowned, wondering who had any business coming and knocking on your door. The two people that could be reliably counted upon to visit you were already sitting in the room, and if it was Toge or Panda, they’d have texted before coming. Gojo would just barge in, and even if he did by some miracle decide to knock, it wouldn’t be such a polite sound.

“Um, who is it?” you called out, shoving your suitcase to the side and standing, crossing the room to open the door and then flinching at the man who stood before you.

“Y/N,” he said. You swallowed, bowing your head at him.

“Father,” you said. “It’s a long way from our home to the school. Why have you come without announcing your arrival? Is something the matter?”

“I wanted to meet you and that girl of yours. The empty glass,” he said, gesturing towards the room. “May I come in?”

“Yes,” you said, “You’re in luck. Tullia’s in here already. Maki is as well, but whatever you want to say to us, you can say in front of her, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Who was it — oh! Mr. L/N!” Tullia said, leaping from the bed and waving at your father. You briefly wondered how she knew it was him before remembering what Noritoshi had said about how she was making the L/N and Kamo clans pay for her college tuition, since they were so grateful to her for saving your life.

“Tullia,” he said. There was a slight measure of affection in his voice when he said her name, as if she were his daughter, not you. “It seems the L/Ns owe you a greater debt than we had first realized.”

“What?” she said. “I don’t know if I plan on going to grad school yet, but if I ever do, I’ll definitely contact you…though I don’t really know what you’re thankful for this time.”

“You’ve given that girl the power to heal as well as fight,” he said. “She so stubbornly insisted on fighting, but at least this way, our family’s legacy isn’t entirely lost with her.”

“That’s Y/N’s accomplishment, though,” Tullia said. “You should do something nice for her, for a change.”

Your father turned to look at you. You raised your chin at him, waiting for him to say something cruel, something demeaning — but he only nodded at you in acknowledgement.

“Yes, maybe that’s true,” he said. “Your mother asked about your health, by the way. Y/N. Should I tell her you’re well?”

“I doubt it matters to you whether I am or am not,” you said. Your father swallowed.

“Your mother asked,” he repeated. “You do not have to respond. I’ll tell her you’re the same as always.”

“Tell her Gojo misses her, too,” you dared to say. You knew your friendship with Gojo was one that aggravated the higher ups, and your father was no exception; Gojo was the one man who could protect you from their whims, the one person who you were unequivocally safe around. As long as you were with him, they could not punish you. They could not force you to be the dutiful little daughter that you had been for much of your life.

“Gojo is not someone who has any right to miss her,” your father said shortly.

“He loves her, too,” you said. “Probably more than you do. She cared for him when he was young, I’m told. Why shouldn’t he miss her?”

“Y/N, maybe you shouldn’t…” Tullia said, trailing off weakly. You knew it was different for her. You knew she still held some hope that she might be able to mend the relationship between her and her own parents, but it was not like that for you. You had long ago given up on your father. You had long ago realized what the nature of that relationship was.

The man who all but sold you off to the Kamos. The man who had refused to let you attend school. The man who had refused to heal Yuta. But he was also the man who had protected you from Naoya Zenin’s offers of marriage. He was also the man who had believed in you when you had to fight Todo. It had such a contrary nature, this relationship, but it was only after becoming friends with Maki did you realize that this was not how it was supposed to be.

People who loved one another were not contrary about it. You looked at Maki, sitting at your desk and pretending to write, and that gave you all of the strength that you needed.

“Father,” you said. “Was there a purpose to your visit, beyond just sending my mother’s regards and saying hello to Tullia? If that’s the case, then please hurry up and get on with it, because I am busy. Gojo and I are going on an overseas mission, so I need to finish packing.”

“Yes, that’s right. I heard the news,” he said.

“The news,” you repeated.

“That Sukuna has found a vessel, and that you were involved in saving him. You know the history our family has with that creature, don’t you? Please stay well away from him. It’s likely he resents your namesake for the role she played in his defeat,” he said.

“It’s not like I was planning on befriending Sukuna himself,” you said. “It’s like that, by the way. He does feel something strange about the entire situation; he was adamant that he could not kill me when we met the first time.”

“What?” your father said, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “Couldn’t kill you?”

“I’m as confused as you are, so don’t question me further. I don’t know why he’d say something like that,” you said.

“He must need you for something,” your father said. He was a practical man like that, always coming up with solutions and whatnot. “Think of what purpose a being like Sukuna could have for you, and you’ll have your answer.”

“I hardly know!” you said.

“Of course it won’t be that obvious!” he said, his temper flaring before he calmed it again. “It might take some time for you to understand what purpose you have for him, but I can assure you that whatever it is is most likely nefarious, so please don’t be fooled by his so-called kindness.”

“It wouldn’t describe it as kindness,” you said under your breath. “Was that all? Basic advice? I would’ve done all of that anyways, so it’s not like you’ve offered me anything profound by coming here. It could’ve just as easily been a text or email. A phone call, if you really missed the sound of my voice that much.”

“We’ve never discussed it in person, so I came to beg you, one last time, to give up fighting,” he said.

“Why? I can even heal, now that I’ve made that contract with Tullia and figured out how to manipulate it to our advantage. What point would there be in giving up fighting now?” you said.

“Sukuna has been reincarnated. Now that he’s found a vessel, and given what the higher ups plan on using him for, the level of curses that will appear from now on will be far beyond anything you can imagine, beyond anything any of us can imagine,” he said.

“All the more reason for me to fight,” you said. “I don’t know if you understand what it means for me to be a Grade 1 sorcerer — it means I’m strong. It means I’m one of the strongest sorcerers in active duty, only officially outclassed by three people: Gojo, Yuta, and Yuki Tsukumo. If the curses really will get that much stronger, then doesn’t it make sense for me to continue to fight? They need all the fighters they can get —”

“Do you think that you are special?” your father said, cutting you off. “You are not Satoru Gojo. You are not Yuta Okkotsu. You are not Yuki Tsukumo. I will not deny that you are a gifted fighter, leagues above most of your colleagues, but you are not a special grade sorcerer. There can be people to replace you. Noritoshi Kamo, Aoi Todo, Megumi Fushiguro, Toge Inumaki…all of these people will one day stand where you stand.”

“And all of them are men,” you noted. “Isn’t that interesting?”

“This isn’t about that,” he said. “I’m a man, and you don’t see me fighting, do you? Because I understand my strengths — something which you stubbornly refuse to do! Y/N, I didn’t come to belittle you, believe it or not. This is actually praise!”

“Praise!” you repeated with a laugh. There was a rustling of bedsheets as Tullia got up and went to stand by Maki, who by now had returned to her essay. Their attempt at giving you privacy. “What praise comes from you insulting my choice in occupation?”

“Y/N!” your father said. He said your name as if you were his existence’s biggest problem. You wished that he’d say it in a kinder way. “You brought someone back to life. Why can you not understand what that means? You are meant to be a healer! What you did for Yuta Okkotsu has only been done once before in all of history. It’s the kind of thing that myths are written about. You are not a healer but the healer, and yet you reject your fate!”

“I understand what you are saying,” you said.

“You do?” he said.

“Yes,” you said. “If you compare healers to fighters, then I’d be Gojo himself. A figure without precedent. The kind of person that changes the world just by existing. But I don’t want to be that person. I don’t want to change the world just by existing. I want to do something with myself! Healing kills me, father. I die every time I use the Reverse Cursed Technique. It is only through fighting that I may feel alive! I can’t go back to being who I once was. Do you understand that?”

“I do,” he said. “Because it was the same for me. And it was the same for my father before that, and for every other L/N that has possessed Dissection and Composition. All of us want to fight. How do you think it feels, seeing all of the people that come to us and knowing we can never stand by their sides? We are trapped by the constraints of who we are. We are L/Ns, and L/Ns don’t fight. We heal. That is how we contribute to society. That is how we have made a name for ourselves. That is what we are meant to do. Our very bodies are designed for it. Why do you insist on escaping that?”

“Then give me a new name,” you said. “Clearly, I am no L/N.”

He scoffed. “You don’t mean that. You are the example of a L/N. You cannot get away from that.”

“What if I go to Africa?” you said. “Will my name follow me there, too?”

“It will follow you no matter where you go,” he said. “Stop denying it. Give in to who you are meant to be.”

“Father, I can’t be who you want me to be. It’s not who I am. Won’t you accept that?” you said.

He gave you a measured look before nodding and turning away, striding towards the door and then pausing before shutting it behind him.

“I do accept it,” he said. “But I hope you fully realize what it means.”

The door shut before you could fire back a response. You settled for swearing at the wood paneling, stomping over and locking the handle before flopping back on your bed. Your motivation to pack had suddenly vanished entirely.

“Sorry you guys had to hear that,” you said. Maki and Tullia turned to me with fake smiles on their faces.

“Hear what? We didn’t hear anything,” Maki said.

“Yes, that’s right! We were so busy working on that essay,” Tullia said.

“You guys don’t have to lie. It’s fine. That’s how it’s always been. My father and I don’t get along, obviously. He’s always wanted me to be something that I’m not. Before, it was because I had no aptitude that I disappointed him so greatly, that I could not fulfill my destiny as another healer of the L/N clan. Now, it’s because I have so much aptitude that I frustrate him to this extent. It doesn’t matter what I do. It’ll never be what he wants,” you said.

“It’s fine,” Maki said. “I get it. You all know exactly what expectations my family had for me. Obviously I didn’t abide by those, so I understand what it’s like completely. You won’t find any judgment from me.”

Tullia let out a soft breath. “I don’t really know what my parents want from me anymore. I thought I might figure it out one day, but I don’t think I can. I don’t think that anything I can do will make them proud of me. So I get it, too.”

The three of you had all disappointed your families in some way or another. You, who refused to follow the path set out for you. Maki, who wasn’t even capable of following that path. And Tullia, who did not know what the path was in the first place. Things were different for people like you. People who had to fight in order to prove their worth instead of being given respect automatically. It was something that none of your peers would ever understand — because at least they had been given the grace of being born male. You all didn’t even get that much.

“Have a safe flight!” Maki said as she put your bag in the back of Ijichi’s car, alongside Gojo’s. “Tell Yuta we all said hi.”

This was said in a whisper; no one else knew that you and Gojo were going to check in on Yuta. The official reason was that he was going on a mission overseas, and you were accompanying Gojo as a part of your training. Although Kusakabe was your teacher now, you were technically ranked the same as him, so the higher ups had allowed for Gojo to continue to work as your instructor when situations arose that necessitated it.

“I will,” you said. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear it.”

“See you soon, Y/N! Just text me if you need to heal anyone,” Tullia said.

“There’ll be a time difference. What if you’re asleep?” you said.

“If you need me, I’ll wake up,” she said. “Pinky swear.”

You smiled at her, wrapping her in a hug, feeling the way your hearts beat in tandem. Tullia, who had given you half of yourself back; who would you be without her? She had saved your life. She had given you everything so that you could be happy, so that you could continue to fight. And here she was, continuing to sacrifice for your sake.

“Remind me to do something good for you once things settle down,” you said.

“I’ll get a PhD,” she said. “You can pay for that one.”

“Alright,” you said with a laugh. “Alright, Tullia. I’ll do that.”

The flight was not as long as you had imagined. You slept for most of it, Gojo turning off his Infinity so that you could use his shoulder as a pillow. He explained that flying got him too wired to rest, but he was glad that it was not like that for you. You were just glad that his shoulders were broad enough that you could comfortably rest against them until he shook you awake for the landing.

“Yuta doesn’t know you’re coming, by the way,” Gojo informed you.

“Why not?” you said.

“I thought it would be fun to surprise him!” Gojo said. You were about to argue, but then you decided that he was kind of right. You hadn’t mentioned your visit to Yuta, since you assumed Gojo had told him already, but you were suddenly glad you hadn’t, if only because imagining the look on his face when he finally saw you was incredibly satisfying.

“Okay,” you said.

“That’s it? I thought for sure you’d be annoyed,” Gojo said.

“I considered it, but to be honest, you were kind of right this time,” you said.

“Alright!” Gojo said, pumping his fist in the air. “I’ll let you guys have your reunion while I catch up with Miguel, so be sure to report all of the details of how it goes, okay?”

“Maybe not all of them,” you said. “But sure, I’ll tell you what most of it is like.”

“Good enough! Now go have fun,” Gojo said. “Have him take you around the city. You guys deserve some time off.”

“Isn’t it Miguel’s decision if Yuta gets time off?” you said. Gojo waved you off dismissively.

“I’ll convince him, so don’t worry about a thing! Seriously, you deserve to spend some time just relaxing with him. It’s a chance that you won’t get very often in your life, so take advantage of it,” he said.

“You’re right. Thank you, Gojo,” you said.

“Yeah, yeah. Anytime,” he said. “Now go.”

As the two of you rounded the corner, you saw him. He looked different now, but also the same: he was taller, his face narrower and his shoulders wider, a wrapped katana strapped across his back. His hair had grown longer, too, neatly parted now instead of falling in his face haphazardly. But his eyes were the same, though they had not landed upon you yet, still the exact shade of poison blue that you had grown to admire so dearly in the time that you had known him.

Seeing him again was like a great burden being knocked off your shoulders. It was as if you had not been able to fully breathe, and now you were inhaling great lungfuls of air to make up for the lack. To your surprise, something hot scalded your cheeks the longer you stared at him, and you realized you were actually crying.

“Yuta,” you whispered, taking one step and then finding that you were unable to contain yourself. Breaking into a run, you sprinted towards him, wanting for the distance to grow smaller in as quick of a time as possible. “Yuta!”

He turned as if he could not quite believe what he was hearing. You saw his forehead scrunch into an endearing expression as he mouthed something that you were certain was your name. When his eyes landed on you, they lit up, his entire countenance transforming from the gloomy man that scared off passersby to one who was so delighted he was all but glowing from it.

“Y/N!” he shouted, opening his arms. Without hesitation, you threw your bag to the side and flung yourself into them, wrapping your own around his torso and clenching the white fabric of his jacket in your fists.

He held you so tightly that you might’ve shattered if you were a lesser being. In fact, he held you like you had already shattered and he was the only thing that could keep you together, and maybe that really was the truth. For a while, you two stayed like that, clinging to one another in the middle of the airport, and then he finally let go, grabbing your face — however, this was gently done, softly, though the calluses of his fingers were rough against your cheeks and jaw.

“Are you really here?” he said.

“Yes,” you said, still a little in awe at all, too. “I’m really here.”

“Thank goodness. I’ve missed you more than I could bear,” he said.

“I’ve missed you, too,” you said. “So much.”

“You know,” he murmured. “Here in Africa, the higher ups don’t have any power.”

“Is that so?” you said.

“Mhm. They don’t have eyes everywhere, the way they do back home,” he said. “In fact, they don’t have eyes anywhere.”

“Convenient,” you said.

“You think?” he said.

“Yes. I’d rather not delay doing this, after all,” you said. With that, you allowed your hands to tangle in his hair, tugging on it, pulling him to your mouth so that he could fit his own against it. You stayed there for you didn’t know how long, savoring the taste of being reunited, relearning how each other worked, what had changed and what hadn’t in the time that had passed since you had met last.

It was when you pulled apart, each gasping for breath, that you had the sudden, horrible sense that you were being watched. Spinning around and ignoring the sound of surprise Yuta made, you glared at the two men very conspicuously trying to not look at you.

“Gojo!” you shouted, jabbing your finger at him. “Stop doing that! It’s so weird that you always show up at these moments!”

“Don’t blame this on me! I tried to tell Miguel to leave you guys alone, but he insisted we get a move on to his village before anyone got wind of us being associated with him!” Gojo said, holding his hands in the air as if to proclaim innocence.

“Sorry,” Miguel said, clearing his throat, obviously embarrassed. “I did not realize that you and my student were so, ah…close.”

“Well!” you said. “To be honest, that’s probably how a normal teacher-student relationship should be like. Gojo is just a meddling idiot who doesn’t understand that!”

“Your mother was my babysitter,” Gojo said. “I think we crossed the line of ‘normal teacher-student relationship’ several years ago!”

“You guys haven’t changed a bit,” Yuta said, holding your bag in one hand and using his other interlock his fingers with your own. “Miguel, sir, with your permission, can I take the day to show Y/N around the village once we return?”

Miguel distinctly avoided eye contact with both of you when he responded. “Go ahead, kid. I doubt you’ll get much training done while she’s here, anyways, so you might as well make the most of it.”

Gojo gave you a discreet thumbs up while Yuta and Miguel were distracted. You took the opportunity to flip him off before returning your attention to Yuta, leaning against his arm as you walked towards Miguel’s car.

“How have things been back home?” he said.

“Ugh. The same but also different,” you said. He frowned.

“Are the higher ups giving you trouble again?” he said.

“When are they not?” you said rhetorically. “My father came to see me. He thinks I should give up fighting.”

“Still? I thought you made it clear that you didn’t want to do that,” he said.

“Oh, right,” you realized. “You haven’t heard what’s been going on yet.”

You quickly summed up the most important events that had occurred since Yuta had left: this discovery of the contract you and Tullia had formed, Itadori manifesting as Sukuna’s vessel, Sukuna’s cryptic words about how he could not kill you. With every word you spoke, the crease between his brows deepened, until you finished and he was just about fully scowling.

“Of all the times to send me out of the country, it had to be right before all of this happened,” he said. “Why would you ask Itadori to let Sukuna out? What if you had gotten hurt?”

“Like I said, I knew Gojo was on his way, and in the meantime, if it came down to it, I had Megumi there to help me,” you said. This obviously did nothing to alleviate his concerns; if anything, it worsened them, as he gave you a look.

“Megumi is only a first year,” he said. “He’s nowhere near ready to fight Sukuna, even if he only has one finger’s worth of power.”

“You were only a first year, and already doing so much,” you said, poking him in the side as a reminder. He rolled his eyes.

“Yes, but Megumi isn’t me,” he said.

“He definitely isn’t,” you said. “That’s not a question. It’s why I got involved in the first place; without my intervention, there’s no telling what might’ve happened. He wasn’t meant to fight Sukuna; he was there to aid me, if things came to it, until Gojo could arrive. But things didn’t come to it, and I could’ve handled the situation completely easily, even if Sukuna didn’t have that weird aversion to fighting me.”

“I didn’t doubt that,” he said.

“Are you sure?” you said.

“It’s Megumi I was doubting!” he said hotly. “Not you. I was just worried about you. After all, everyone knows about Gojo’s track record of only showing up once all the action’s over.”

“That’s true,” you allowed. “You’ll not believe it, but that’s what happened that night, too…”

Yuta snorted. “No surprise.”

“Anyways, everything worked out fine. I didn’t get hurt, Megumi didn’t have to fight Sukuna, and Itadori proved his worth as a vessel. Overall, it was a success,” you said.

“They’re not going to execute Itadori?” Yuta said.

“They tried. Megumi didn’t want it to happen like that, so he asked Gojo to stop it. I showed my support,” you said.

“Why?” he said. “You of all people would know how dangerous Sukuna is.”

“Of course, but the situation reminded me too much of yours. If the higher ups had executed you that night, I don’t know what I would’ve done,” you said, grasping him tighter at just the thought. What would your life be like if you had lost Yuta that night? If you had never known him in the first place, if he had never been yours to lose at all? Where would you even be now? Still a disappointment, probably, but of a different sort.

He exhaled through his nose. “You’re right.”

“He’s a very kind person. Sukuna’s vessel, I mean; he’s genuinely very sweet. It’s odd to think that such a terrible creature lives inside of him,” you said.

“It seems like you’ve been making a lot of friends,” he noted. “With Megumi and Itadori and all.”

“I guess so, but I still spend most of my time with Maki and Tullia,” you said. “Those two are just my underclassmen, so I have to look out for them as best I can. It’s kind of like how Gojo is with us, except unlike Gojo, I’m not a little creep about it.”

“He is so odd,” Yuta agreed. “No wonder he’s still single.”

“Very true,” you said. “But enough talking about this kind of thing. We have souvenirs to buy!”

“Souvenirs?” he said. You nodded.

“Yes, Maki and Tullia asked for some, so I promised to bring stuff back for them,” you said. “Where are the best shops around here?”

“I’ll take you,” Yuta said fondly. “We have to make the best of this trip, right? I’m not about to let you go shopping by yourself.”

“Uh, I wasn’t planning on going by myself. In an unfortunate turn of events, I seem to have forgotten my purse at home,” you said.

“What a shocking plot twist, indeed,” Yuta said dryly. “It’s okay. I wouldn’t have let you use it, so it’s not that unfortunate.”

“I love you,” you said.

“I know,” he said.

He still refused to say it back. He still couldn’t say it back, still had that thought in his mind that it would kill you or curse you or something if he did, but you didn’t mind. You understood his reasoning, even if you found it a little superstitious, and you understood that it didn’t mean anything in the long run, didn’t mean he cared for you any less.

And when he squeezed your hand in a secret, quiet response, undercutting his seemingly callous words, you understood that, too.

#yuuta x reader #yuuta x y/n #yuuta x you #reader insert #canon au #pomegranate ink #m1ckeyb3rry writes

21 notes · View notes

commentaryvorg · 5 years

Text

Danganronpa V3 Commentary: Part 4.1

Be aware that this is not a blind playthrough! This will contain spoilers for the entire game, regardless of the part of the game I’m commenting on. A major focus of this commentary is to talk about all of the hints and foreshadowing of events that are going to happen and facts that are going to be revealed in the future of the story. It is emphatically not intended for someone experiencing the game for their first time.

Last time, as chapter 3 concluded, Kiyo was the worst and I yelled a lot, Kokichi accidentally did something nice for once in the process of deflecting his own issues, Himiko had emotions and so did everyone else, and the out-universe writers quite rightly decided that Kaito’s character arc was important enough to be the focus of the chapter-end stinger.

Now that we’re done with the weakest chapter of the game, we can move on to one of the best chapters of the game! Yay. I hope you’ve been looking forward to this, because I sure have.

This opening stinger with Rantaro’s video message to himself is even more obviously a thing for the out-universe audience’s eyes only. The in-universe audience already knows exactly what Rantaro’s deal is, so this wouldn’t be interesting for them at all.

Rantaro: “You wanted this killing game, so you have to win no matter what.”

This is super misleading. I imagine the writers worded it this way for the sense of mystery it brings to seeing the scene here without context – making people think maybe Rantaro was the mastermind or otherwise a bad person who was only out for himself. But since that’s not the case, this really isn’t how you’d think he’d actually phrase things from his point of view. He didn’t want this killing game – he volunteered to sacrifice himself so two of his friends from season 52 could survive and escape, and at the time he presumably expected his “punishment” to be death rather than having to do it all over again. And he certainly didn’t want to “win” in the sense of “become blackened and get away with it” that this seems to be implying. He presumably wanted to end the killing game, especially upon having learned that this is an endless cycle, which isn’t something most people would describe as “winning”.

Live and Let the Languid World Live

I think I sort of get what this title’s relevance is, but maybe the Japanese title, “Living in a Lazy Parallel World”, gets it across a little better. It gives the sense of there being a separate world in which one can remain blissfully oblivious to the horrible reality of the situation, which fits in multiple ways. There’s their life in the academy versus the supposedly-ruined outside world, there’s Miu’s claim that the Virtual World is a peaceful world with no killing game, and then there’s the way that Gonta loses his memories as he leaves the Virtual World and remains oblivious to what he did in there.

At breakfast in the morning, one of the few people managing to stay upbeat is Kaito. Naturally he’s completely fine and definitely didn’t realise he was dying last night.

Himiko: “Heeey! You guys have no energy! You need to look alive! You’re all still teenagers!”

Himiko is also managing to be upbeat! She’s even taking a leaf out of Kaito’s book and trying to boost everyone else’s spirits too!

Maki: “…Weird. I thought you’d be the most depressed out of all of us.”

Himiko: “Of course… I’m depressed. This is the most depressed I’ve been in all my 200 million years. […] But… being depressed won’t help those who died rest in peace…”

And I appreciate that acknowledgement that she is still horribly depressed. That’s not going to magically go away just because she’s been inspired by Tenko. She’s just trying as hard as she can to fight it now, which is really admirable.

Himiko: “S-So anyway… Please… t-take care of the… new me…”

Kaito: “You’re out of breath already. You’re going full speed right out of the gate!”

Like you wouldn’t do the same, Kaito? Like you aren’t doing that right now, considering what’s going on with you?

Kokichi: “Ughhh… but now that there’s less people, I might… be the next victim… Woooow, so exciting! But I definitely don’t wanna die!”

Kokichi’s doing his usual shtick of pretending this game is totally fun for him. Since this is still before he sees the outside world, I don’t think this has any greater meaning to it than usual.

Then again, he’s also added more to the graffiti, meaning the “claim to be the mastermind” part of his plan is already in progress. So really, seeing the outside world isn’t going to change his intentions that significantly at all.

(I have a lot to say about Kokichi’s intentions in this chapter, but I’ll wait until we get to the part where he actually has seen the outside world.)

Tsumugi: “Wh-What about this world? What does it mean? Is there some crazy story going on?”

This is Tsumugi’s response to the graffiti possibly saying “this world”. It sure is telling that she’d think of what’s going on outside as a story, because that’s all it is to her.

Maki has started using her catchphrase at Shuichi in front of everyone else, by the way! She’s opening up more and starting to feel like the others aren’t going to think she really wants to kill anyone either. Progress.

Kokichi: “But Gonta stumbled onto the writing by coincidence, right? If it was a prank, they would’ve done it in a more obvious spot, not in the grass.”

Kokichi’s saying this to try and support the idea that the writing isn’t him, but this is misleading. The original message wasn’t his, and it’s only after Gonta found that and pointed it out to everyone that he started adding to it, since he knew at that point that people would definitely pay attention and notice his additions.

Kokichi: “There’s nothing more depressing than an unnoticed prank.”

This says a lot about Kokichi’s approach to things in general. He doesn’t just want to mess with people – he likes it best when they know they’ve been messed with and that it was him who messed with them. Keep this in mind in chapter 5 when I’ll be talking about the reasons his plan fails, because this is at the root of another one of them.

Kaito: “Well, I don’t really get it, but… Maybe it’s some kinda clue. Thanks for the report, Gonta.”

Another interesting observation about Kaito: he very rarely directly thanks anyone. Which might seem strange when he’s all about encouraging people and letting them know how much good they’ve been doing. But it makes sense when you consider that specifically thanking someone is a bit more personal to Kaito himself and comes with the implication that he needed their help, which is of course something Kaito does not like to admit to. This instance here is an exception to that probably mostly because he’s just thanking Gonta on behalf of everyone, so it doesn’t come across as if he specifically needed anything.

Gonta: “…Gonta just glad to help. Gonta want to help, even little. Tell Gonta if you need help with something, okay?”

But it’s also likely because Kaito knows how much Gonta needs to hear that and to feel useful and like he’s helped someone out right now, more than ever before.

(And Gonta’s not the only one. Which might be why Kaito is so aware of that.)

Kokichi: “O-kay, got it! I’ll let you know if I want you to punch someone.”

Himiko: “No! You don’t get to tell Gonta what to do anymore!”

Gonta: “Y-Yeah… Gonta learn lesson after Insect Meet and Greet…”

Yeah, Gonta’s definitely never going to get manipulated into doing something bad by Kokichi ever again, right? Hnnnngh.

Monophanie: “…a card key! Which just so happens to be the motive, too!”

So, uh. Let’s talk about this card key. First of all, it being a card key is super misleading, because the immediate thing I assumed when I first saw it was that it’s the key to the hidden door in the library. That’s the only door we know of with a card reader, so that’s the obvious assumption to make. But none of the characters comment on this at all, not even Shuichi, who found the hidden door and indirectly got Kaede killed because of it. You’d think it would have come to mind for him at least. Clearly the writers don’t have anyone comment on it because they don’t want the players to think it’s connected to the library door (since it isn’t), but if that’s the case then they really should have just made it a different kind of key so it wouldn’t bring that to mind.

Second, we never see the place in the school that the card key actually opens. It would have helped immersion to at least show some kind of mysterious locked door that could plausibly be what Kokichi unlocks with this. As it is, from the players’ perspective, that hidden route Kokichi finds simply doesn’t exist, so we just have to use our imaginations to pretend that it totally is somewhere that we just don’t get access to while playing the game, which is a little awkward. It’s also pretty unclear how this card leads to a place from where one can see the outside world. Does it lead to the same place that the Death Road to Despair does? Is it like, a shortcut through that tunnel so that Kokichi can reach the end of it without worrying about the traps? Or is there another totally different place in the school that also shows the outside world, meaning Team Danganronpa would have had to double-up on the special effects? It’s annoyingly unclear.

But what’s most annoyingly unclear is how seeing the outside world is supposed to be a motive. Presumably Monokuma expected everyone to use the card key and view the outside world, right? That would have been the very opposite of a motive! Everyone would have fallen into despair and realised there was no point killing each other to escape at all, which is exactly what happens when Kokichi shows them all the outside in chapter 5 and which really annoys and bores the audience when it does happen! The only reason it functions as a motive in this chapter is because Kokichi steals the card key and keeps it to himself, and then later decides to show the motive only to Gonta to convince him to try and mercy-kill everyone, since the mercy kill plan would be meaningless if everybody had already seen outside. The part where Kokichi shares the motive with Gonta explicitly isn’t Monokuma’s intended plan right now, since he has that conversation with Kokichi later where he agrees to go along with it. And I doubt he would have known Kokichi would steal the card key before anyone else could use it in the first place. Even if he predicted that as a possibility, he couldn’t know for sure that Kokichi would be fast enough to swipe it and run off without getting caught, and if that didn’t happen and everyone used the card key then that would have been the worst possible outcome from Monokuma’s perspective. It shouldn’t be worth the risk.

Like, I love this chapter a lot for most everything that happens in it. But this initial decision of Monokuma/Tsumugi’s that sets off all of the fun stuff that happens in this chapter feels kind of contrived and illogical, and it’s a shame.

Keebo: “Right now, we need your skills as a detective, Shuichi.”

Shuichi: “Right… in that case, let me hold onto that. I’ll look around again.”

Himiko: “Nyeeeh, Shuichi’s grown up! He’s become so reliable!”

Again – the job of using the objects on the mysterious items to open up new areas really does not require a detective. Kaito only gave that job to Shuichi back in chapter 2 to help make him feel useful when he was feeling down. But now that’s just become how things are done to the point that everyone’s forgotten they don’t really need Shuichi for this, and they’ve been relying on him so much in trials (where his skills really do make a difference) that it’s just kind of extended to outside the trials as well even when it’s a lot less necessary.

(Kaito isn’t here at this point, since he’s already run off after Kokichi, which is kind of a shame because I would have been interested to see how he’d respond to this.)

Gonta: “Shuichi is so amazing. Gonta wanna be useful to everyone too.”

Aww, Gonta looks up to Shuichi and desperately wants to be as helpful as him. And he’s being so open and honest about feeling this way. (Unlike someone else.)

(Again: it is a shame that Kaito has already left the room.)

Maki: “Don’t worry. When the time comes, we’ll use your body as a meat shield.”

Gonta: “Okay! Gonta hope time come soon!”

Maki is probably joking (she’s at that point in her development where she’s starting to make jokes that still don’t really sound like jokes because her delivery is too deadpan), but still, gaaah. It’s admirable that Gonta’s willing to risk himself to protect everyone, but he should still hope that it never has to come to that, so the fact that he’s actively hoping it will is pretty fucked up. He doesn’t just want to help if he’s needed, but he wants to be needed, even if that means he’ll need to get himself hurt.

Opening up the new areas, I’m starting in the courtyard with Keebo’s lab.

Keebo: “Anyway, Shuichi… That black object over there looks suspicious, doesn’t it?”

This goes to show that they don’t actually need Shuichi’s skills as a detective at all to open up these new places and Keebo would have been able to do it himself if he’d had the mysterious items.

Since there was nothing else to examine inside Keebo’s lab, I decided to examine the monitor (which I usually never remember to do), and…

Shuichi: (These monitors are everywhere, but I don’t see any cameras. How is the mastermind behind this killing game monitoring us? Or… are we not really being watched at all?)

An important question to ask, Shuichi! Even if he hasn’t figured out like Kokichi has that this is clearly being shown to people for entertainment, there still absolutely must be cameras in order for Monokuma to know who the blackened is in each case. Unfortunately Shuichi never quite thinks this through far enough until halfway through the fifth trial.

Shuichi: “But I imagine that a lot of things in here would really help you out. You should take a look.”

Keebo: “No… I do not want to be assisted by sci-fi technology.”

Congratulations, Keebo, you’ve just become partially responsible for every death that happens from this point onwards. The things in his lab include a jetpack and a laser gun, which make him an equal match for all five Exisals in a fight and are able to blow a hole in the wall to let everyone escape. (Well, apparently only after Keebo modifies them to be more powerful, but since he’s the one who’s capable of doing that, the point still stands.) If Keebo decided to use them right now, the killing game would be over in a matter of hours. The fact that he’s refusing to do so because he’s uncomfortable with sci-fi technology is not a remotely valid excuse in this situation when people’s lives are at stake. He should be willing to make temporary sacrifices like that for the sake of saving everyone! It’s not like he’d have to ever use those weapons again if he didn’t want to once they’re out of here!

What the out-universe writers really should have done here to justify Keebo not using these yet is make it clear that it’s because his inner voice doesn’t want him to. The only meaningful difference between now and chapter 6 is the lack of his inner voice, not any kind of character development to have become more okay with being sci-fi. The audience obviously wouldn’t want him to use his weapons to bust everyone out of here in chapter 4 – they want an exciting killing game.

Shuichi: (It doesn’t seem like Keebo is going to use this lab. Well, he’s free to do as he pleases. Nothing I can do about that.)

I mean, you could try arguing to him that he could save everybody’s lives if he used it, Shuichi. You’re still too passive sometimes.

Back up to the fourth floor, Tsumugi and Maki are there, which for some reason only happens if you’ve already been to Keebo’s lab first, hence me doing things in this order.

Tsumugi: “I still don’t get that stuff with his sister or why he killed Angie and Tenko…”

THEN WHY THE FUCK DID YOU WRITE KIYO THAT WAY.

Maki has also figured out exactly where to use the mysterious item, proving that splitting up into two groups with one item each would have been much faster than mindlessly assuming Shuichi’s the only one who can do it.

Shuichi: (Maki has never been this cooperative with investigations before… She must have been serious about what she said after the trial.)

Maki: “…What? Why are you making that gross face?”

Shuichi: “Wh-What!? It’s not *gross* …is it? I’m just happy… It’s, ah, really nice that you’re working with us like this.”

It’s really heartbreaking that Maki considers expressions like the one Shuichi’s making – expressions of caring about her as a person and considering her feelings – to be “gross”. Gah.

Maki: ��“Well, unlike Kaito, I’m not just all talk. I always follow through with my decisions.”

Maki still doesn’t quite properly understand Kaito. Kaito always means to follow through on his words, even if he’s not always as good at it as he wishes he was. She’s probably still annoyed at him skipping training last chapter because of the ghost thing.

I’m ignoring Tsumugi’s lab for now even though it’s closer and heading to Shuichi’s first.

Shuichi: (This also looks like an Ultimate lab. But whose lab is it?)

Even if you can’t see the icon for it on the map, it’s still clearly yours, Shuichi. None of the others left without a lab would have a door like this (except maybe Rantaro I guess). But of course Shuichi still kind of hates his talent and hasn’t been remotely thinking about what a lab based around it might look like, so it’s a nice little detail that this doesn’t even occur to him.

Maki: “But this place doesn’t match you at all. I think this lab is too good for someone like you.”

Ouch, Maki again being bluntly realistic about Shuichi’s detective skills still having room for improvement.

Shuichi: “There are a bunch of files lined up. It looks like about 50 of them.”

Not just “about fifty”. To be precise:

…there’s exactly fifty-two of them.

Maki: “The newer files have photographs, but the older ones have illustrations?”

Shuichi: “But why? Are the old ones just fictional?”

That’s exactly what they are. Almost as if something involving murder cases which has happened fifty-two times up until now used to be fictional at the beginning and then became real.

Each one of these files contains the cases from a single season of Danganronpa.

I didn’t pick up on this for the longest time – I assumed that it just included some random fictional murders in among with some real ones because why not? I didn’t quite register the fact that it was specifically all of the earliest files that were fictional, nor the fact that there were exactly fifty-two. But given both of those facts, this is so, so clearly what the out-universe writers intend for this to be, and it blew my mind when I figured this out. Have I mentioned how much I love it when there’s details like this that are deliberately hinted at but never made explicitly clear because they don’t need to be as it doesn’t stop them being true.

Maki: “Then this would make a good guideline for anyone who wants to commit murder.”

I’m not so sure about that, since these are all murder cases where the blackened got caught. If we’re to believe chapter 6, every single game ended with hope winning, which means no blackened has ever succeeded in getting away with it. They’d make a good guideline of what not to do, maybe.

Shuichi: (The first few files have only illustrations, but the others have photographs… Is there a reason for that?)

Oh, Shuichi, if only you’d sit down and spend longer thinking about what that reason might be.

I have to assume they kept the precise details of the overall context the murders happened in pretty vague so as to not make it obvious they all took place in a killing game just like this one. I imagine they edited the illustrated ones to make the blood red rather than pink, too, because that might have got Shuichi’s brain ticking.

We also have to assume, then, that nobody ever happened to look at file number 1. Otherwise, when they all see the Flashback Light about Hope’s Peak in chapter 5, that would definitely raise some fucking questions.

If this weren’t a killing game, I’d be very sceptical about why an Ultimate Detective’s lab would need actual poisons in it. Facts about poisons, sure, and antidotes, maybe, but there’s no need to have a whole cupboard full of the means to actually kill someone.

Shuichi: (…I suppose that’s right. There’s a fine line between criminal and detective.)

All it serves to do is make Shuichi feel awful about his talent again.

Shuichi: “The only time I can use my detective talent is after someone dies… A detective… can’t save anyone. I’m only useful after it’s already too late.”

Maybe in the real world, detectives don’t usually save lives, but giving loved ones closure is still worthwhile, Shuichi! But of course he still thinks of everything in the context of that one murder case where the culprit had a sympathetic reason for doing it and hated him for figuring out the truth.

More to the point, though, in this killing game, Shuichi is absolutely explicitly saving the lives of everyone except the victim and the culprit. Sure, it’d be better if the murders didn’t happen at all, but given that the murders do happen and nobody is able to stop that part, Shuichi’s talent makes him the biggest hero out of anyone here.

Maki: “Why are you so upset all of a sudden? Do you want to die?”

Shuichi: “You’d kill me just for that!?”

Kaito: “Nah, I understand why Maki Roll would say that. Your face looked pretty gloomy.”

Thankfully, both Maki and Kaito realise how ridiculous it is for Shuichi to think that he’s not saving anyone in this situation and call him out on it appropriately.

(I also really like that this is the point in the conversation at which Kaito happens to show up.)

Kaito: “With a face as gloomy as that, I can’t believe you’re my sidekick. Be more proud of yourself, Shuichi! Everything you’ve done up until now has been amazing!”

Of course it has! Of course Kaito thinks that! And he can hardly believe that Shuichi could still be self-deprecating even now when it’s so clear from where Kaito’s standing that Shuichi has been the real hero all along.

Shuichi: “Ah… thanks.”

Shuichi’s response is somewhat lukewarm, like he still mostly thinks Kaito is just saying this to encourage him and doesn’t quite fully believe it. No, Shuichi – Kaito absolutely means it.

Maki: “Because of how well you did in the class trials, people are keeping their eyes on you, Shuichi… The next culprit might come after you.”

So I’ve seen some people complaining that it’s unrealistic that nobody ever does try to murder Shuichi, since this is a very valid point. But it makes perfectly good sense in the context of the actual people who attempt murder. Obviously Kaede believed he wasn’t the mastermind. Kirumi probably should have targeted Shuichi, but her thing was that even though she was desperate to escape, she still couldn’t bring herself to directly kill anyone who actively wanted to live, which is why she targeted Ryoma. Kiyo only targets girls. Miu is an idiot who might have never had the issue of Shuichi’s prowess in trials occur to her, and even if it did, she falsely believed that Kokichi trusted her, which is why she goes for him.

Honestly, this argument about how the culprits should go for Shuichi because he’s so good in class trials is most relevant to the question of why doesn’t Kokichi choose Shuichi to be his accomplice in chapter 5? I’ll talk more about that later when we get there, but suffice to say that’s probably the biggest reason his plan is really not as clever as he thinks.

Kaito: “Heh, you don’t need to worry about that! I won’t let anyone mess with my sidekick! I’m gonna protect both of you! It’s a hero’s job to protect his sidekicks!”

Kaito, meanwhile, is probably quite unnerved at the realisation that Shuichi is an even more likely target than anyone else now. Naturally, he’s going to do something about that – because, you know, it’s totally possible to make absolutely 100% sure that a particular person will not get killed. Short of designating himself Shuichi’s personal bodyguard, which he’s obviously not going to do because that’d come across as ridiculously paranoid, there’s… really no way to come close to guaranteeing that at all. But even though he has no way of knowing for sure that he can back up these words, that doesn’t diminish the intent behind them one bit. Of course he wants to protect Shuichi! Of course he doesn’t want to stand back and let Shuichi get killed if there’s anything he can do about it!

Also, consider: Kaito almost certainly feels that he in particular should have been able to prevent each of the murders that have happened so far. Rantaro left Kaito’s meeting to “go to the bathroom” just before getting killed, which Kaito should have realised was suspicious and at least offered to go with him for safety. I’ve made it very clear that Kaito could and should have saved Ryoma just by reaching out to him, and I’m pretty sure he realised that himself in the end. And if he’d just been able to be his usual self last chapter, then surely he’d have done something to stop the resurrection ritual, or noticed Kiyo acting strangely, or been at the seance and noticed something off there, or something. Which is admittedly the kind of thing everyone is probably thinking in hindsight, even though really they were trying their best and couldn’t have done any more than they did – but Kaito could have done more, couldn’t he, if he just hadn’t let something as stupid as being scared of ghosts get to him?

But this time, it’ll be different! This time, he’ll definitely notice whatever’s going wrong and step in to do something about it before it’s too late, especially if the person lined up to be the next victim is Shuichi!

…Right?

I also enjoy how he promises to protect Maki too even though she is clearly the person least in need of protection from being murdered. Kaito is trying really hard to seem like he’s being a good hero to his sidekicks.

Maki: “…What if I end up as a future culprit?”

Kaito: “Are you stupid? That’s impossible.”

And guess what Kaito actually will end up protecting Maki from? Becoming a future culprit! He will manage to keep this promise that he’s making here! More or less. It’s not like he directly promises that he’ll prevent Maki from becoming a culprit, since he believes in her so much that he doesn’t think he’ll need to (I love the way says it’s impossible for her to become a culprit like it’s just obvious), but that’s absolutely something he feels just as strongly about as preventing her from becoming a victim.

(Also, Maki still not believing in herself enough to assume that she wouldn’t ever kill anyone any more. Which she’s unfortunately right about, but still. Gah.)

Maki: “How… can you believe in people so easily?”

Because he’s Kaito, of course!

Other than still questioning why he believes in a murderer like her, I think part of Maki might be asking this for the same reason Shuichi also asked Kaito this back in chapter 2 – because she’s starting to wish that she could also believe in people more and wants to know how it comes so easily to him.

Kaito: “Huh? Didn’t I tell you before? I believe in people I wanna believe in. And if they betray me, it just means I made a bad call believing in them. Of course, you’re one of the people I want to believe in, Maki Roll!”

Maki: “…”

I think she’s finally starting to accept that Kaito really is just like this – and that it is possible to be like this in general. Also, she’s given up on protesting the nickname, so that’s progress! Sort of.

(Also this is literally the fourth time Kaito has explained his principles about believing in people and acknowledged that he could be wrong but chooses to believe anyway; this shouldn’t remotely be something that is easy to miss about him.)

Anyway, Kaito couldn’t catch up to Kokichi, but he found the Flashback Light instead.

Kaito: “So let’s all gather in the dining hall!”

Maki: “Huh? Me too?”

Of course you too, Maki! You said yourself that you want to start working together with everyone and getting them to trust you, so of course you should be at important gatherings like this!

The reason I did this lab before Tsumugi’s is that you miss out on some dialogue here if Shuichi doesn’t still need to check any more places and they can just head straight to the dining hall.

Maki: “…You’re not going to check this place?”

Kaito: “I’ll let Shuichi handle it! You got this. Right, Shuichi!?”

Kaito’s still being so encouraging! I guess he really is okay with Shuichi continuing to be the one solely responsible for opening new areas even though it really doesn’t need to be him any more. Kaito gave him that job in the first place to boost his confidence, which Shuichi doesn’t need anywhere near as badly by now, but Kaito’s still continuing to use it to boost his confidence anyway.

Maki: “…You didn’t even complain. You seriously *are* his sidekick now.”

Shuichi: (…I can’t even argue with that.)

Aww, look at Shuichi becoming more used to the idea of being Kaito’s sidekick (not that he ever actively protested it in the first place). And Maki still thinking the word means “someone who does whatever Kaito tells them to”, when that’s not it at all. Kaito only tells Shuichi what to do as a way of encouraging him to do things he might otherwise be hesitant to try, even if that’s not really as necessary now as it used to be.

Tsumugi: “Yeah, I think it’s just plain fun to become fictional characters. To become a completely different person and feel like you’re part of a different world.”

Yeah, it really must be fun to become someone who doesn’t enjoy watching real people kill each other and immerse yourself in a world where the idea of real people killing each other is barbaric rather than everyone’s idea of a good night’s entertainment, huh.

Tsumugi: “Doesn’t that sound interesting? Don’t you want to live in a fictional world?”

Why are you asking Shuichi this? You already think he does.

Tsumugi’s lab is way bigger than it really needs to be. Someone just wanted to give herself the biggest lab, now, didn’t she.

Also, in the thing at the back that keeps putting up and taking down different backdrops, one of the possible backdrops is very much a Hope’s Peak classroom complete with Monokuma graffiti on the blackboard. Like it’s just a place she’d want to do cosplay photoshoots in or something.

---

[Next post]

#danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #drv3 #ndrv3 #chapter 4 #daily life #commentary

7 notes · View notes