Title: the frog and the snake

A/N: For the Ultimate Heroic Despair zine, a Bnha x Danganronpa zine! I wanted to write a shattering Asui, and how she could turn to despair. I like the imagery in this one!

Summary: Looking at Monokuma was like looking at a snake, waiting for it to strike. Asui didn't know when she got caught in his trap, only that there was no escape.

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Once, when Asui was young, she spotted a frog on a rock next to a pond. A big green frog, standing out against the light grey of the rock. It ribbited once, twice, a big balloon expanding at its throat as it breathed in and out.

What a silly creature. She crouched a short distance away, watching as it sat there. The balloon expanded. Deflated. Expanded once more.

And stopped. Nothing happened and she cocked her head, unsure of why it was holding its breath. Before she could stand, she spotted a snake with bright yellow eyes slithering closer and closer to the rock. It stared at the frog unblinking, a tongue flickering in the air as it carved a path through the mud. Frozen in fear, the frog didn't move, not even as the snake's jaw unhinged and swooped down for the kill.

-x-

"Upupupupu!" Monokuma sang through the speakers, his childish voice echoing through every room of the school and dormitory. "Time for good girls and boys to wake up! Though I guess you all aren't good, killing each other like that!"

Asui blearily sat up, running a hand through her hair. It was quiet in the mornings. No, that wasn't right, it was silent. In the morning, in the afternoon, in the night, there were no sounds outside of the school's walls. Despite the school's location in the heart of the city, there were no signs of traffic. Even her home in the boonies had the sound of birds every morning. Here, it was silent as the grave and it was hard not to convince herself that the rest of the world was in that grave.

Maybe they all were. This school might as well be a coffin. In the span of a month, no one had come to save them, no rescue mounted by friends or family. Maybe the world outside was destroyed. Or maybe no one cared. As Asui exited her room, locking it behind her, she heard eager footsteps behind her and a bright cheerful voice. "Asui! Good morning!"

"Morning, Ashido." Asui yawned, covering her mouth with a hand.

"Tired?" Ashido bounced on her feet, her smile too big to be natural. It was a fragile thing, most like, easily broken.

Asui understood the feeling. She herself felt delicate, like glass waiting to shatter. "Just a little."

Asahina joined them now, a donut in her mouth. Asui was ninety percent certain that she had stolen one of the donut machines, it was the only explanation of how she always had a donut, no matter what they did. She was chewing it slowly, thoughtfully as she stared at Asui. "How do you keep finding them?'

"What—oh." Asui tilted her head to peek at her shoulder, a green toad sitting on it. With a smile, she rubbed its head. "You're far from home."

"Seriously, we're in a locked school where nothing can get in or out. How do you keep finding frogs?" Ashahina asked, peering closer at the frog. It ribbited loudly and she jumped back. "It's completely different from the last one you showed me. You're telling me another frog got in here?"

Asui shrugged, careful not to disturb the amphibian. "Well, I am the ultimate catcher."

"More like ultimate magician," Ashido cut in, cocking her head curiously. "You sure you're not Doctor Doolittle?"

"Definitely not." Asui opened the doors to the cafeteria and whatever banter they had going died at the sight in front of them. Half of their class was already inside, sitting on tables and chairs and looking depressed. Even Midoriya and Ishimaru were slouching, none of their usual cheer or energy in the room.

It had been that way for the past week, ever since Iida had killed Minato and started the first round of the killing game.

First round. The worst part of that was that it meant there could be a second. A third. Any number, really, until someone got out or everyone died.

Midoriya gave a small wave, his lips quirking into a fake smile. "Good morning."

"Morning." Asui rubbed the frog on her shoulder, his wet skin comforting her. Frog slime could be a poison or cure, she remembered. Maybe they'd need it if they got trapped here forever.

Next to Midoriya, Kaminari rested on the table, his head buried in his arms. His voice was muffled as he muttered, "I still can't believe Bakugou wasn't the first one."

Fortunately, he was too quiet for Bakugou to hear. The surly explosive maker sat at the far end of the room, angrily munching on a sandwich as he glared at everyone who entered. Ever since they first met, he had been a ball of rage and aggressively argued or attacked almost everyone he interacted with.

"Then he isn't a killer," Asui muttered, before covering her mouth.

It was too late. Midoriya paled, a hand rubbing his forearm. "Iida…he…he was just desperate."

She closed her eyes. Her parents had raised her to always speak her mind but sometimes that wasn't the right thing to do. "You're right. Sorry. He…I didn't mean that."

The atmosphere grew heavy. Not even the frog could prevent the sinking feeling in her stomach. Iida wasn't a killer either. But maybe that was the point of this all, to show that even the most innocent could have a dark side.

"Hey!" Ashido broke through the gloom, her voice wobbling a little as she gave her usual cheerful attitude. "I made something new." In her hands was a small glass of murky coloured liquid.

Asui blinked, not sure how to respond. As Ashido's smile grew more strained, she tapped the glass and played along. "What is it?"

"Don't know." Ashido laughed. Despite being the ultimate chemist, almost all her creations were complete accidents. "But it's an energy drink. I think."

"You think?" Asahina frowned, taking a deep sniff. "Ugh. Smells rotten."

"Good things taste bad?" Ashido held it out. "Want to try?"

When no one offered to be the guinea pig, Midoriya reluctantly took the flask. "We have a medic, right?"

"Probably." Asui tapped her chin, running through their class. "Though Ashido might also have to make your medicine."

"Oh." Midoriya stared at the flask, looking greener than her frog. "Maybe I should pass, then."

"It's not poison!" Ashido crossed her arms, glaring at him angrily.

"It's not?" Midoriya sniffed the glass once more, his expression twisting with revulsion before he finally took a sip. Within two seconds, he spit it out, coughing hard. "So…vile…"

"Huh." She stared at the glass, rubbing the back of head sheepishly. "Well, it probably isn't poison."

Asui chuckled and after a moment, they all joined in, the tension broken if only for the moment.

-x-

The hallways all looked strange, like some exhibit in a modern art museum. The windows were all bolted, most rooms were locked, and the garish colours painted on the wall reminded Asui of a poison dart frog. Keep away, they warned. Danger.

Despite nature's warnings, she couldn't run from this. There was no where to go. As she passed door after door, the light flickered on in the room to her right. The AV room. She turned her head, watching as the door slowly opened.

"Hello?" Asui croaked, taking a step forward. She poked her head inside, wary, but no one was inside. The only thing there was a projector and a cassette on one of the tables. Slowly, she approached the cassette. On the white label, Asui was scribbled in black marker, a small heart after her name.

A trap. She didn't have to hear Monokuma's voice to know what it was. This must have been how they got Iida. It was a trap. She remembered the frog, its mortality reflected in its eyes as it stared at the snake.

Her hand reached out for the cassette.

-x-

There was a secret to frogs: they were maybe the most poisonous animals on earth. Even more than spiders. Even more than snakes.

A golden dart frog could kill a hundred people while being as small as a finger. Asui opened her bedside drawer, staring at the small group of frogs inside. There were no proper terrariums here and she had carefully set inside a long plate filled with water and small morsels of food. Amongst the dark green and grey frogs were several small colourful ones: a red one, an orange one, and a gold one.

With a gloved finger, she gently swiped its glands. "Just a little," she whispered. "I need just a little."

-x-

He was not a killer.

Asui hadn't realized how quickly those words would come to haunt her. Had Iida felt like this, sitting in the cafeteria with everyone, trying to pick which classmate would be the easiest target? Even her walk to and from her room felt like the laying of a trap, her eyes darting around as she tried to pick up information on who liked to be alone and when was the easiest time to escape notice.

Midoriya would often read alone in hallways and rooms, his nose in a book as he tried to find a way out. Kaminari was always cowering around someone, unable to adjust to this new environment. Kirigiri was always walking somewhere alone. Fukawa never left her room. Asahina took a swim every morning at six am.

He is not a killer, she had said and now here she was, weighing her classmates' lives, playing god as she decided who would live and who would die.

-x-

"You're up early." Asahina looked up in surprise as Asui stepped onto the pool deck. She rubbed her body with a towel, cleaning up most stray droplets of water.

"Thought I'd swim a bit." Asui smiled, her heart sinking with each step she took.

"Really?" Asahina's expression brightened before dropping into a pout. "You should have told me! We could have swum together."

"Awww…I was hoping you could give me some pointers." Asui sighed as she held out a lightly glazed donut. "And I even got you a treat."

Asahina dropped the towel, clenching her fist. "You will become an excellent swimmer."

Averting her eyes, Asui stared at the wall as Asahina gleefully took the donut. It would have been easier if the swimmer hadn't been so happy or if they hadn't become friends before this.

It would have been better if they had never come to this damn school in the first place. There was a soft chomping sound as Asahina bit into the donut and Asui closed her eyes. If there was one good thing, it was that Asahina would be dead before she felt any pain.

-x-

"Upupupupu!" Monokuma popped into Asui's room the second she closed the door, a paw covering his mouth as he smiled. It was a sound she would never forget, a sound she would carry to her death bed.

Which, depending on how this trial went, could be in a few hours or even days.

"It's always the quiet ones." The bear laughed, rubbing his paws together gleefully. "And what a clever trap you set up! Putting the poison in the chemist's room! I wonder if they'll all blame Ashido?"

Asui didn't say anything. For all his words, all she could hear was the soft hiss of the snake, its tongue flickering as it stared at her unblinking. Too late, she realized that it didn't make a difference if she got away with it or if she didn't.

Whether it was today or ten years from now, the snake would strike and Monokuma would get her.