(this doesn't really count as oumasai, I just wanted to write it)

A recording from an interview between a reporter and Shuichi Saihara.

Interviewer (abbreviated as Iv): Come in, please take a seat.

Shuichi (abbreviated as SS): Thank you.

Iv: It should be me that's thanking you. I know it can't be easy talking about what you've experienced.

SS: It may not be easy to talk about, but it needs to be said so it never happens again.

Iv: That's an admirable cause. now, let us begin. Please, introduce yourself.

SS: My name is Shuichi Saihara. Whoever I may have been or not been in the past, that is who I am now.

Iv: For the viewers at home who may not be familiar with who this, Shuichi here was one of the participants and survivors of the massively popular TV series called Danganronpa. Alongside a few other participants, he was also responsible for the abrupt end of season fifty-three of the show and the current controversy surrounding it. You've been very vocal concerning the controversy. I've heard Team Danganronpa is currently taking you to court to get you to stop.

SS: Yes, they are, but I seriously doubt they will win. The crux of their case is that, because my identity is a character of their creation, I am, or at least my mind, identity, etc., are essentially their property under intellectual property laws. That would also make my opinions their property, which would mean voicing them without their permission would be breaking the law. I don't believe anyone would actually rule in their favor. I may have started out as their character, but I'm also a living, breathing human, and owning a human in any capacity smacks of slavery. Besides, as a human being, I am also constantly learning and changing. The basis of 'me' may have been their character, but I'm not just that character anymore.

Iv: That's a constructive way of thinking about your situation. If you don't mind, I'd like to move on to another topic. Tell me, Shuichi, what was it like, being in the killing game?

SS: (voice full of restrained emotion) It was awful. Everyday I wondered which of friends would become a murder and why. I felt so helpless, and to make things worse most of the culprits had very understandable reasons for doing what they did, making it that much easier to empathize with them and thus making the feeling of loss after they were dead near unbearable. And then, when we learned the truth about everything...

(a few moments of silence)

Iv: *clears throat* I'm very sorry for your loss, and my condolences for what you and your friends had to go through.

SS: That's why I'm here today, to make sure no one ever has to go through what we did again.

Iv: So your lost friends are your motivation for speaking out against Team Danganronpa?

SS: In part, yes, but it's not just for them. It's also for their potential future victims, and for us.

Iv: Us?

SS: Maki, Himiko, and I. Our experiences in the game were akin to torture. We were cruelly and sadistically manipulated, and there was absolutely nothing we could do about it. Now we can do something about it. We can't undo what has been done, but we can make sure the ones responsible don't get away unscathed either.

Iv: (sympathetic tone)I can't even begin to comprehend how it felt to go through what you did, living under the looming possibility of your own death or the death of someone important to you. I'm sure, looking back, there are things you would have done differently. What is your biggest regret about the game?

SS: My biggest regret? That would have to be the way we treated Kokichi. If we had just listened to him, maybe the game would have ended sooner. Maybe more of us would have lived.

Iv: Could you explain that more?

SS: Kokichi knew. Before everyone else, he knew there was an audience. He knew that Monokuma was lying. If the rest of us had given him the time of day, maybe he would have told us. Maybe, if he had the rest of us to support him, to help him, he wouldn't have resorted to such drastic measures. Maybe he and Gonta and Miu and Kaito would be alive today.

Iv: You can't blame yourself for that. You were all being manipulated into your impressions of him. There was nothing you could have done.

SS: Logically I know you're right, but that doesn't change the way I feel.

Iv: I understand. What about yourself then? Do you wish you could go back and stop yourself for auditioning to be one Danganronpa?

SS:  (abrupt) No! *deep breath* ( tenuous forced calm) Sorry. It's just... that person I used to be -if you can even consider that person and me the same, which I don't- was messed up. He was infatuated with death, even his own. If he hadn't auditioned, I wouldn't exist right now. Either way, the game would have continued on regardless of whether he auditioned or not, but because he did, I exist, and I was able to help break Danganronpa's circle of cruelty after fifty-three seasons of blood and death. So no, I wouldn't stop past version of me from auditioning. *another deep breath* I'm sorry I got carried away just now. This is just something I feel very strongly about.

Iv: If this is too hard a topic for you, I can ask about something else.

SS: Thank you, I'd prefer that.

Iv: You're welcome. Well, what are your plans for the future? Now that you are no longer under Team Danganronpa's thumb, you can do anything you want. Where do you see yourself in ten, twenty years?

SS: I honestly don't know. There are so many unanswered questions. Do my fictional experiences prepare me for a life as a real detective? Do I even want to be a detective? If I don't, then what should I be?  I suppose one thing I can say with surety is that I will stay close friends with Maki and Himiko for as long as life allows.

Iv: It's a very good thing to have friends, especially friends who understand what you're going through and can support you. How are the two of them doing? How have they taken everything that's happened since your escape?

SS: They are doing well. Himiko is as enthusiastic as ever. She's been an especially valuable voice in our fight against Team Danganronpa. As for Maki... She... She's waiting, I think. Waiting to see what will happen. Unlike the rest of us, I think Maki felt... a sort of wonder at learning she was fictional. I don't mean the part about our actions being predetermined -obviously, she was as upset about that as everyone else- but about learning that her past wasn't real; she wasn't an assassin, and she hadn't killed anyone. It was like she suddenly had a do-over, a blank slate where she could chose to be the person she wants to be. The problem is, I don't think she knows who she wants to be. So she's waiting, trying to find what defines her before really forming an in depth opinion of everything.

Iv: I wish her luck. I believe we're almost out of time. Before we end, is there something you'd like to say to those tuning in?

SS: Yes. Please, those of you hearing this now, live your life for yourself. Don't make someone else live it for you, and don't let anyone else choose the life you will live.

Iv: Thank you for being here today, Shuichi.

SS: No, thank you for this opportunity to tell everyone the truth.