DanganRonpa: Prepare for Despair

"He could do worse," Devin said, seething, and sprinted down the hall. He returned in a moment holding a large monkey wrench.

"What."

Julie stood in front of the door and looked at Devin, "Stop. Nothing good could come of this. In fact, it might be the bear's intention for this to happen. Do you want to fall into his trap?" She waited for a response.

He glared over her shoulder, then tossed the wrench away and folded his arms, avoiding looking at anyone.

Julie sighed, "I think we all need to just take a moment to think things over." She looked over at Alicia, "Maybe with a meal and discuss what our next move is, yeah?"

"I'll go make dinner then." Alicia glared at the door before she headed towards the kitchen.

"I'll go help," Felix said as he took off after Alicia.

"The rest of us should go wait in the cafeteria. A lot has happened these past few hours." she walked off, waving to the others behind her.

Once she arrived in the cafeteria, Julie took her normal spot, crossing her legs at her ankles and staring down at the table. A long silence hung over the kids for awhile.

Liam sat down and leaned his forehead on his knuckles in silence.

Devin didn't move.

(Timeskip to Dinner :D)

The door of the Nurse's office flew open, and Leit ran out, bandages on his knees and cheek where he was wounded. A metal collar with a silver box on the front was clasped around his throat. It looked like a walkie-talkie, with a knob on the side and several wires. He stopped after just a few strides, seeing Devin. "Devin! Devin!" The voice came out of the little speaker, harsh and robotic, but not very loud. He looked overjoyed to see the singer.

Devin's mouth opened slightly, a look of multiple mixed emotions crossing his face. Relief and confusion, primarily. "What... happened?"

"C'mon now. I'm sure he'll have to tell everyone when he sees them anyway. You can wait a few more minutes, caintcha?"

"Yes, let us go, where is everyone?" Leit took Devin's hand and was practically jumping with joy. He had tears in his eyes again.

Alicia came out with dinner on her cart and Felix right behind her. Her face was a bit red but she looked composed. She stopped when she saw Liet and Monokuma in the dining room. "What happened to you?" Alicia asked, eying the box on Liet's throat.

Leit's face brightened up seeing everyone. "My punishment stressed my voice so hard, it pushed me to finally go mute-- but when I woke up, Monokuma let me have this!" He gestured towards the collar. "He let me talk again! And now," He twisted the knob at the side of the little box, the voice coming out significantly louder, but not blaring, "I can be as loud as I want to be!" He turned it back down, laughing at himself in the sheer happiness it brought him. He didn't seem to even be thinking of anything else but the joy his new 'voice' brought him.

Devin was too angry and suspicious to share in Leit's enthusiasm. He lowered the bring of his cap and sat down.

Monokuma began grumbling, "Kid needs more than electrocution to fix his brain. Sheesh." the bear folded it paws, "Hmph. I could always take it back."

Leit went quiet at that, the smile wiped off his face.

"Yeah, yeah, you're a real miracle worker," Felix muttered under his breath.

"Whaaaaaaaatever." The bear shrugged before pulling out a packet, "Just wanted to stop by and give you your usual gifts." his eye shone. He began passing out the files to each student, smiling as he went.

He handed Julie's to her opened, and smiled. She frowned at him, "Mad I didn't read your last one?"

"Maybe a little."

Julie sighed and looked at the pictures he handed her. She gave a soft smile to the first picture, carefully looking it over before turning to the next one. Her shoulders dropped and she clamped her hand over her mouth. She began shaking, but tried to regain her composure for everyone else.

Devin raised an eyebrow slightly as he read his, but his expression gradually tightened as he went on, his jaw clenching, unsure how to deal with this information.

Liam's reaction to his was confusion and curiosity. He didn't waste a moment looking any longer at the pictures, storing them in his suit, before sitting next to Julie, one leg folded over the other. He'd spent enough time alone with her to tell something was very wrong. "Don't bottle it up," he said with a surprisingly aloof tone that contrasted with his soft words. "This isn't a court of law, after all."

Julie laid the pictures down on the table so he couldn't see. She turned her head away from him. "Cases...are not always lost in the courtroom.."

Felix looked at the photos in his back, a small smile crossing his face when he looked at the first one. His smile dropped when he looked at the second one. His eyes widened and his hands began to shake. He shoved the photos back in the envelope and stuffed it in the back pocket of his jeans. He tried to act normal as he took a seat at the table but there was a small frown on his face that deceived him to the others.

Well, one thing was lost for certain. The meaning of Julie's words on Liam. He blinked at her, trying to understand what she meant, but only succeeding in comprehending that her situation was hopeless. She'd lost her professional demeanor around him before, but he still was far from used to it. An awkward silence arose.

"Comforting others was never something I excelled in," he said at length. "If there's a way I could help alleviate your anxiety, I'd be happy to, but I haven't a clue where to start."

Alex looked interested at first, but to the second looked shocked. He then put it back in the folder and looked to nowhere specific.