Ikusaba Quest [Danganronpa/SMAC] - an Exodus story

You wake up with a strange feeling again. It's as if there's a weight pressed against your brain, in a psychological sense, a weak but present one. Turning your dreams... But to what end?

Well, it doesn't matter. Today is Sunday - The weekend! It's your first time in a while being really, truly off-duty, without having to worry about being drawn into training or combat or some other hullabaloo. You even lay in your bed for a while, awake but dozing, fragments of a red dream flashing past your eyes... until you're given a faint impression of terror you can't place, and open your grey eyes into your pillow. It's soft, but... You suppose it's time for breakfast.







You knock awkwardly on Kirigiri the Younger's door, wondering if she's even in. You're aware she's keeping secrets; that much is obvious even to you, beyond just the glove thing. Still, she somehow feels more comfortable to you than Makoto, even if she doesn't cause the same heady fear to grip your heart.

You wonder if he's doing that on purpose. You wouldn't put it past him. Leave it to the lesser Despair Sister to get seduced by a foreigner in like, a week.

Stifling your inner-Junko, you almost turn to leave before Kirigiri opens her door, one eyebrow crooked. "Good afternoon, Ikusaba."

"Hi, Kiri-... Kyouko."

The quiet girl smirks slightly at that. "I suppose I did give you permission to use my first name." She says wryly. "What do you need from me, Mukuro?"

You absently scratch at the tattoo on your right hand. "Uh, Nothing, really, I just wanted to hang out, you know?"

Kyouko looks to the side, considering. "I see. Very well, come in."

Kirigiri's room is spartan, relatively undecorated. In truth, it could belong to anyone at a glance. But Kyouko's personality shows through the titles on the small stacks of books scattered around the room, detective novels, instruction manuals, and even a copy of what you think might be one of Fukawa's books that Kyouko surreptitiously pushes deeper into a stack as she passes, obscuring the title. Like most of the rooms, there's a small alcove with a little table and couple of chairs, for personal meetings between students or workspaces for the more chaotic Ultimates who can't make space on the desktop. The walls are mostly barren, the only decorations being a couple of degrees in Criminal Psychology and a graduation certificate that looks like it might have come from a police academy in Kyushu.

Everything is compartmentalized, with clearly delineated lines between each workspace. It's... very Kyouko, and very detective-ish.

"You got a lot of books..." You say, stretched for conversation already.

"Hmph. So I do." Kyouko says, taking a seat in one of the little chairs. You slide into the opposite one, facing the door. "I admit, I've been looking for somewhere to offload some of them, but... There's something of a sentimental value to them. I would... Be saddened, were I to lose them or give them away. And so they stay, gathering dust."

"Heh, I've done the same thing." You say, wriggling slightly. "I've had this book I got off a mission for years... Although I can't say I've read any of Fukawa's stuff."

Kyouko stiffens, and then glares at you. "So you did see."

You shrink. "Sorry... Is it any good?"

Kyouko is silent for a moment, and utterly unreadable.

"...Yes, Fukawa is a skilled wordsmith." The detective admits.

You lean forward. Girls are supposed to be interested in romance, right? And Romance definitely seems interested in you (and not Junko, YES), so it seems prudent to know thy enemy. "What's that one about?"

Kyouko's shoulders hunch slightly, and she glares at you again, before sighing. "It's about a fisherman..."

"So that's 'So Lingers the Ocean'..."

Kyouko's blush is in full force now, but there's a smile playing at her lips. "It's quite interesting... Actually." She says, and then clears her throat. "The... Motivations of the main character are very unique from my usual material, I find."

"Oh?"

Still blushing, Kyouko leans forward as well, placing both gloved hands on the table in a shockingly feminine gesture. You join her, slightly awkwardly. "Well," she says, glancing away at the stack of books for a moment, "to begin with, she's not very bright, even compared to charlatans like Holmes..."

You and Kyouko spend a good couple hours discussing romance from the worst possible angles, trying to come to grips on what people like Junko and Sayaka seem to understand intrinsically. You make almost no progress at all, but it's actually quite entertaining.

Eventually, the conversation turns from Fukawa's writing to Fukawa herself, and from there, to your other classmates.

"I'm uncertain of that though. The particular scent is familiar, and not in a good way."

"Well, duh, it's blood. I dunno why she'd smell like blood though." You say, waving a hand in the air, Kirigiri blinks, and then nods.

"You're quite right that it is blood. I hadn't recognized it, since I have never smelled it so faintly, but you're quite right. Thank you, Iku- Mukuro."

"Don't mention it." You say, smiling softly. "But really, she smells like blood, but doesn't move like she fights or kills people."

"Really?"

"Really." You confirm, nodding. "Toko Fukawa is definitely a person who's never killed anyone before. I just don't know what would..." A thought strikes you. "...Kyouko, do you think it's..."

Kyouko looks disgusted, an oddly vivid expression on her normally passive face. "I certainly hope not, but after a week of sitting in front of her... I cannot rule out such a possibility."

"Fucking ew!" You say, wrinkling your nose at the thought. "Somebody needs to force her to take a bath, STAT."

"Quite right. Even Yamada has the decency to..." Kyouko makes the face again. "I should prefer not to even say it."

"Let's just stick with 'bathe' and just agree to push her in the pool next chance we get." You say, smiling.

"Agreed, although then I would worry for Aoi." Kyouko says, and she chuckles. It's really soft, and she instinctively hides it with a closed fist, but it makes you smile even wider. "...So, speaking of our esteemed classmates," she says, and you feel a flash of killing intent that kills your smile, "Would you perhaps have your eye on someone?"

"Kuh!"

"I'll take that as a yes." Kyouko says.

You hang your head. "Well, no, though."

"You're sure? That reaction said otherwise."

"It..." You hesitate. "It's not that I like somebody, but... Makoto, I think... Maybe... Likes me?"

Kyouko's face grows serious. "Is this true?"

"I-I-I dunno, it's not like h-he's confessed or ssomething, j-j-just... He's always smiling at me and c-calling me pretty..."

Kyouko thinks for a moment, deeply. "I see. I would stay away from him. He seems dangerous."

"A-are you sure?" That's the opposite of the advice Junko gave you, but for the same reasons. Junko wants you to spy on him; Kyouko wants you to stay away from danger, it seems.

"I am not as skilled in combat as yourself, of course, but I do have an eye for recognizing dangerous people." Kyouko elaborates. "However, I had been ignoring it, in favor of... Other matters." She glances away for a moment, deeper into the school. "But if he is trying to seduce you... Taking advantage of your naivete..."

"...I'm not naive..."

Kyouko bites her lip, ignoring your mutter. "Perhaps it is best to put my own plans on hold for a moment. I shall consider how best to approach Naegi and see how honest this attraction is."

"...You're going to do that? For me?"

Kyouko glares at you again. "Of course. I would be remiss in allowing my friend and classmate to walk into danger." She smiles charmingly at you, and you blush, looking away.

"Thank you..." You murmur.

"'Don't mention it.'" She quotes.





Come Wednesday of next week, however, nothing has changed. Kyouko has made no obvious attempt to interrogate Naegi, and you're starting to wonder if she ever meant what she said. But your mind is easily taken off the subject by your elective classes.

Speech begins to be more honest work than you expected, with a shocking amount of preparation and engineering going into even a simple speech. You utterly bomb the first real speech, stuttering and forgetting half of your prep work despite the small audience of just Sensei, Ishimaru, and Sayaka. Ishimaru, allowed to speak, continues to have difficulty lowering his voice, but his determination to master the subject does him credit, and he has soon learned that his "stage whisper" is other people's "normal speaking volume", according to Sayaka. Sayaka herself seems to have no trouble with the class, later informing you after your failure of a speech that, as an Idol, she was not only expected to sing and dance but also to act and speak at events. You learn that she's something of a jack-of-all-trades for media in general, with a broad skillset.

Psychology also grows difficult, but is actually rather fun. Makoto continues to be an enigma, and Miaya-Senpai continues to pick on him, much to his chagrin. Every time, he skillfully deflects the question, only for it to reorient and pierce his armor, putting him on the spot. You and Togami begin to make something of a game of putting Makoto in the worst possible position to joust with Miaya-Sensei, although the other three in the room prove to be very solidly your masters in the matters of verbal fencing. Through it all, though, you learn very little actual information, save that Makoto loves his family very much. The room continues to be comfortably chilly, although Makoto does end up bringing a jacket to curb his chattering teeth. Byakuya huffs, but the next week, he too has a heavier suit jacket than before. Makoto and Miaya become fast friends for the day, lambasting Byakuya for trying to hide his issues with the cold. Through it all, Miaya drip-feeds you insightful psychological knowledge, and you're shocked at how effective she is as a teacher.

Combatics is a more easy course. Pekoyama appears to be used to taking orders, and her drills quickly grow sharp enough that you aren't embarrassed to drill her in public. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of Hinata, who several times trips and stumbles when doing an about face. Fortunately he manages to avoid any silly cliches, and Pekoyama isn't forced to slaughter him in return for any lost chastity, although the fortunately might be debated by Hinata's broken nose. Hinata himself takes it in reasonably good stride, a somewhat pessimistic outlook mollified by his determination to at least make sure you don't fail the course, which you can appreciate him.

The firing range, though...


There are no teachers in the firing range. When you realized there was nobody to watch the guns, you were briefly scandalized, marching up to the administrators office to chew them out for poor weapon control.

"How can you have nobody watching the guns?!" You shout, barging in.

"Maybe the nobody is the somebody, man..." Mutters the rastafari behind the desk.

Your eyes narrow, and you glance back and forth. "...What?"

"Like, why assume nobody's there just because you don't see anybody?"

You glare at him for a moment, trying to lower your intellect to his incredible depth, but quickly find yourself stymied by the sea level of sapience. "Because I looked. There's nobody there but students."

"You gotta look with more than just your eyes, man."

"I'm sure I'll be the first to know when my ass becomes capable of sight." You growl, irritated. "But until I become a buddha and achieve Nirvana, I can't see invisible people."

"...Why your ass though?"

The door flies open once again, and Sonia bursts through. "Mukuro, you must not kill- Oh, Good evening, Mr. Hashibara."

"Suh, Little Princess!" The rasta says sleepily but happily. "Don't worry, I think we were just discussing Nirvana."

"That's definitely not it."

"Mukuro, do not kill!" Sonia orders. You shoot her a look that's half angry, half exasperated.

"I'm only going to kill him if I need to." You say.

"Oh, good." The rasta says. You twitch.

"So who is this guy?" You ask Sonia. "Hagakure's elder brother?"

"I do not think they are related." Sonia says, sounding a bit unsure. "However, I do know that this is Nasu Hashibara, the Ultimate Factor from class 67."

"This guy is the Ultimate Factor?"

"Like, Ex-Ultimate Factor. I graduated fair and square."

"I won't even ask how." You mutter, pinching your nose. "Ne- Sonia, how long has there been no overwatch at the firing range?"

"Hmm? Never."

"Huh?"

"They use amazing Japanese engineering to overwatch the honorable training of warriors!"

"...I'm going to say that again. Huh?"

"Like, the robot's in charge, man. Didn't you know?"

"You put a robot in charge of the firing range?!"

"It's a very good robot." Sonia confirms.

You twitch. "I'm sure."

Sure enough, once Sonia drags you back and shows you what you're looking for, you can see the robot. In fact, you've been seeing it the whole time, just without realizing it; the dark glass of the booth where a human would normally stand and watch troops fire has been converted into a mixed screen-camera. Sonia even 'introduces' you to the robot, leading to a short, very strange conversation with the machine.

"Greetings, Student 1806. The firing range is open today." The robot bleeps.

"What happens if I flag Sonia with a rifle?"

"Authorities will be alerted." Comes the response, while Sonia smiles.

"What happens if I have a misfire?"

"What is the nature of your problem?"

"Huh? No, I don't have a misfire right now-"

"I'm sorry, I did not understand that. What is the nature of your problem?"

"I just said I don't have-"

"I'm sorry, I did not understand that. What is the nature of your problem?"

"...The bullet is stuck."

"Have you tried S.P.O.R.T.S?"

"...How old is this thing?" You mutter to Sonia. She giggles.

"It has been here for two years. It was a gift from Touwa Industries, I understand."

You sigh. "Well, that's half the period wasted."

"Oh no, but we learned much today! We learned how to deal with a stuck bullet!"

You shake your head, but you have to smile slightly when you see Sonia's grin. "You should've already known that."

"It is always good to review!"





[ ] WEEKEND PLANS:
-[ ] Go out with someone (they must consider you a friend, or be interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with you. At rank -E, this action may fail)
-[ ] Hang out with Junko (possible event, -10% Despair, +5% JUNKO DEPENDENCY)
-[ ] Visit a classmate
--[ ] Who?
-[ ] Read the Spartan Survival Manual (???)
-[ ] Stalk Makoto

[ ]Dream:
-[ ] Red
-[ ] White
-[ ] Black

[ ] At class, make an effort to:
-[ ] Concentrate on schoolwork
-[ ] Observe your classmates
-[ ] Interact with your classmates
--[ ] Specifically interact with a student
--[ ] who?


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Sorry for the short and late update. More spider troubles, because Florida, and the discovery of DRV3's dungeon crawl minigame made it difficult to find time to write.

I'm going to try to keep up a tempo of one update a day though. That seems to help keep my quests running instead of dying quiet deaths.